Let Go and Let God

 I receive a daily word – “Brother Give us a Word” - from the Society of St. John the Evangelist (SSJE)  https://www.ssje.org/  This is a short-focused comment, by one of the brothers, on a word to reflect upon for the day.  I find it quite a good way to start the day.  One of the words this week was “Let Go”; Okay for those who are that way inclined - it’s not ‘a’ word but it is a thought for you to ponder:

Each season of fall reminds us again of Jesus’ invitation to us to an autumnal experience of letting go and of dying – if we want to truly live, and be filled with the fullness of God.  - Br. Geoffrey Tristram

 

Rereading that this morning, what came to mind was the phrase ‘let go and let God’ which was so very popular a few years ago.  This seemed to me to be a good follow up to my reflection on Centering Prayer last week.  In Centering Prayer, we have, in my experience, the challenge of giving up the control that our ego wants to maintain.  We have the message that this type of activity should have a goal – we should make progress in the activity and should progress i.e. getting better and better with practice.  Otherwise what is the point of doing it?  You might even want to give each session of Centering Prayer a mark out of 10. 

Is there any point in just letting go and making space for God in our goal-driven lives?    I did not have much luck in Googling or origins of the phrase ‘let go and let God’ but I imagine it has some connotation that you put everything in God’s hands and all will be well.  I think that, as with any simple idea it can become simplistic so there not any need for us to be active in bringing about God\s Kingdom or following the commandment to love your neighbour through action such as feeding the poor and the orphans. 

To my way of thinking, the goal of letting go and letting God is to be silent and make room to listen to God - listen not with our ears but with our hearts and minds and bodies – our whole selves.  That is more and more difficult in these times when our lives – even in this time of the COVID pandemic.  There is so much we can fill our time with – so much that is accessible to us to fill up and minute where silence manages to break through the cacophony of social media. 

I will close for a quote by Cynthia Bourgeault, one of evangelists for Centering Prayer, “Silence is not absence, but presence. It is a “something,” not a nothing. It has substantiality, heft, force. You can lean into it, and it leans back. It meets you; it holds you up.”

Give time to let go and let God on your journey.