As I sat in the empty stillness of the church welcome area, I turned and looked left over the sofa cushions, my eye caught by a sudden glare of light. The sun had reached the back of the building as it travelled its native path towards the west. Rays were streaming through windows behind the closed door of the prayer room.
The reason I know this is because the prayer room door has clouded glass panels that form the shape of a cross, granting access to the eager sunlight which stretched further into the seating area. For a short space of time, while the earth rotated on its axis, the sun aligned with that glass cross and blazed vivedly, directly through the place of prayer and out into the place of welcome beyond.
The photo may not capture it very well but it was a moment - a moment of wonder and delight at being given this sight of a blazing cross, an all too fleeting sight of sun and cross conjoined. A picture of light flowing from its source, streaming through a place of prayer to permeate a space of community and welcome.
And there, just to the left of the door was the wall of words with ‘Christ-centred’ in the midst, the words that were already next on the list of potential blog posts. The sight of the light and the cross with the sense of encounter and wonder, readily became the connective substance between word, thought and meaning.
To be a Christ-centred people is to be the place where God’s light floods through the cross and out into the world. The Light flowing from the Father, through the divine/human meeting place and suffusing the ordinary spaces of life where people gather to be together in his name. The prayers of God’s family align with his heart and become an artery for love and life to flow into the places beyond.
When we are given a glimpse of cross shaped radiance, we are filled with reverence, awe and a deep sense of gratitude. None of the other words on the wall will have any true value or meaning to us or to the world if they do not flow directly from this enounter. Jesus is at the heart of every word. He is the reason for all of them, each one a blessing and a gift. He is the connection at the centre.
My attention was held captive for the time it took for the light to shift from left to right and soon it was time to go.
Light is not something we can take in our hands to capture and possess, neither are encounters such as this. We are simply to enjoy being present and blessed, knowing that we are greatly loved and drawn continuously back to the cross of Christ, our centre.
‘Everything comes from him;
Everything happens through him;
Everything ends up in him.
Always glory! Always praise!
Yes. Yes. Yes.
Romans 11:36 (Msg)
