“As for me I will behold Thy face in righteousness; I shall be satisfied when I awake with Thy likeness.”  Psalm 17:15

“When you come home you walk into a vibrant web of Presence”

To be a good listener requires presence.  Being present with the other and with God. Often-times there is no difference.  How easy and convenient it is to NOT be present with the “Holy Other”.

“Working from Home” (a bit of an oxymoron, in my opinion) has provided a constant reminder of this.  Zoom has become an insufficient substitute, a technological version of the living one who filled in for the beloved grade-school teacher.   It is a poor attempt at personifying the meetings, engagements and events that are fueled by inter-personal interaction.  It is true that there are some unique advantages to this world of “virtual reality”, such as being able to see a person who lives in another place.  However this modern-day method of communication lacks an essence that is significant and essential.  Screen sharing simply cannot recreate soul sharing.  It really isn’t “The next best thing to being there”, as the old commercial used to say. 

Throughout this seemingly endless season of covid, I’ve been unsettled with this attempt to connect—I mean really connect—with others on a deep basis. I’ve tried to put my finger on exactly what was missing, describing it as not being able to see or experience the non-verbal cues so essential in communication, or lacking the ability to sense the other’s energy.   Finally while reading “Eternal Echoes” by John O’Donahue it came to me;  Presence. 

O’Donahue calls Presence the flame of longing. He describes it as “Something you sense and know but cannot grasp.  It engages us, but we can never capture its core.  It remains somehow elusive.”  This description applies both to the other and the Other.  O’Donahue takes a deep dive into this topic of presence, dissecting it like a skilled surgeon, using the scalpel of his poetic prose.  He speaks of the presence of Music and Nature.  He describes the elements of anxiety and longing and even anger in presence.  But it is in his description of reverence that we encounter the sacred connection with Presence. 

            “Without reverence there is no sense of presence or wonder.  To engage life in a reverential way is to maintain a sense of proportion and balance.  You acknowledge that there is a depth of presence in every person . . . there is something deeply sacred about every presence.”  

I interpret this use of reverence to be the recognition of God.  The divine nature that is in others, and in ourselves.  That is in human beings in a uniquely distinctive way.  Yes, one can be in the presence of God in the natural elements, but not in the same way that one is when with the Holy Other.  This is what the psalmist is recognizing when he writes, “Nevertheless I am continually with Thee, and Thou hold me by my right hand.” Psalm 73:23

Recall a time when you were fully in the Presence of Another.  Not merely a religious “high” from seeing a sacred site or having a sudden epiphany.  Rather a time when you experienced in the very depth of your being the presence of God.  A time when, if you were alone, you suddenly knew that you were NOT alone; sensing deep down that there was Another with you. Perhaps you even looked around to see who it was that was there.  Or a time when you were with another person and there was such a close connection that it gave you goosebumps.  If it was a stranger you perhaps felt as if you had known them all of your life, or if it was a friend or a family member it was as if they had become the embodiment, the incarnation, of the divine.  Can you remember such a time?  Sit with that for a moment.  Perhaps you can recall many such times.

When that happens it doesn’t matter what we’re doing—all we want is to Be.  It’s as if time stops and eternity begins.  To be present with Another. Fully. Intimately.  Listening.  Looking. Experiencing. Perhaps this is what it will be like to die?