What's Your Heart’s Longing?

“Then the wolf shall be a guest of the lamb,
and the leopard shall lie down with the kid;
the calf and the young lion shall browse together,
with a little child to guide them.
The cow and the bear shall be neighbors,
together their young shall rest;
the lion shall eat hay like the ox.
The baby shall play by the cobra’s den,
and the child lay his hand on the adder’s lair.
There shall be no harm or ruin on all my holy mountain . . . ”

This Sunday we get a beautiful vision from Isaiah, a picture of a world in which the most vulnerable are cared for, and no one takes advantage of or uses their power against another. It’s a vision in which even predator and prey coexist together. There is safety, justice, and peace. And this doesn’t just come about by itself; at the center someone is working to make it so, someone who comes from God to bring all the good in the world to fruition. This person — a savior or helper or instigator — shows us who God is and also reflects who we are as we long for safety, justice, and peace.

These are good things to long for, and it seems like we all want these things; as far back as the writer of Isaiah, and even before, we’ve wanted safety and peace. People have also, despite our desire for it, found ways to sabotage peace. Maybe those who cause violence do so because they don’t have the peace they desire or have never had the experience of peace. Even so, I think we all want it. We long for it. Threaded through the vivid description of this peaceful place I hear a deep longing, a yearning for a world that really looks like this.

There’s something about Advent that puts me in touch with my own longing. Does it have that effect on you too?

As a child I was waiting, yearning, heart burning for Christmas to come with all its fun and presents and shiny things. Although my longing is different as an adult, it’s still there. There’s something in me that longs for more, that seeks something deeper, that desires. Although there’s a certain ache to this longing, there’s also something about God in it. My deepest desires, the ones that move me toward love and connection and intimacy, are sparked by God in the first place. They show me who I am and what’s important to me. The fact that at my core I desire love shows me that I’m someone who loves. My desire for intimacy and connection shows me that relationships are important for me. My desire for peace and justice shows me that I want those for myself and also that I care about other people. My desires reflect myself back to me, and they also show me who God is; at the heart of my yearning for love is one who is made of love. My desires also show me what God is calling me to, because that which God pulls me toward seems to be what God wants me to bring about. And that which I desire at my deepest level is also what God desires for me — and probably those around me too.

What about you? For what do you long? For what does your heart pine – in your life, in your family, in your community, in the world?

If you were to envision a world in which your deepest desires were manifested, what would it look like?

I invite you, and me, to pause and be with those questions. Somewhere in this vision is a call. Somewhere in it is a reflection of who you are. And who God is. Maybe God just needs someone to bring it about. Maybe that instigator is you. And me. And us together.

May we come to know what we desire. May we walk together in peace, love, and justice. And may God, who makes all things possible, bring our longings to fulfillment. Amen.

For reflection:

Considering the world right now, its deep needs, its darkness, its hunger, for what do you long?

Considering the church right now, locally, globally, for what do you long?

Considering your community, how things stand, who’s a part of it, your gifts and challenges, locally, globally, for what do you long?

Considering your family, who’s a part of it, their ages, their stages in life, the dynamic you have together, for what do you long?

Considering exactly where you are in life, this moment, given your challenges, given things that are hard, your incompleteness, your limitations, your gifts, your joys — what’s your heart’s longing?

By Sister Leslie Keener, CDP

Sister Leslie Keener, CDP is the director of God Space, a community-building spirituality ministry in Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky. She’s a Sister of Divine Providence with a Masters in Ministry and a Certificate in Spiritual Direction and Retreats from Creighton University. She directs retreats, meets with people for spiritual direction, and serves as the vocation director for her community. She also serves on the Coordinating Council of Spiritual Directors International. She enjoys music, meaningful conversations, dancing, and shiny things.