Contemplate. It is a word that we don't use much anymore. It brings up images of people sitting in one spot with their eyes closed and maybe even humming softly to themselves. For others it sounds like hard work or even frustrating work. For all of us it means exiting the fast lane for a period of time. Perhaps that is why it is so infrequently practiced.
Jesus called his disciples to contemplate or consider carefully what he was saying. It was not "just do it" but rather "if you don't focus on this now, you may never understand". He called us to deeper knowing.
It is an intriguing and perhaps scary to know that by contemplation I can come to understand much more but that without it, I will actually lose what I have already understood. Therefore it is impossible to "arrive" at a spirituality that does not require ongoing effort. To be spiritual requires listening. To listen requires effort. To truly live requires effort. It requires the effort of focus and the effort of not "just doing" until we have truly heard.
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