The Very Rev. Dr. Malcolm C. Young

“Do not get drunk with wine… but be filled with the spirit” (Ephesians 5).

This morning I am going to teach you how to meditate, or at least how I meditate. But first I want to point out something that you may have already noticed.

On the corner of Arguello and Jackson you will find a stop sign with magical properties. Under certain circumstances it becomes invisible. Even though I am well aware of this phenomenon, I have run straight through the intersection without stopping twice. I’ve seen many other people do the same thing. It’s not hidden, or smaller, or less red or octagonal than other stop signs, but something about that intersection makes it hard to notice.

We never come close to really seeing what is in our field of vision. You realize this riding a bicycle around San Francisco. You can be in the very middle of an intersection and discover that a driver doesn’t even see you. My brother bought me a red helmet and a red jacket. I couldn’t believe what a big boost this gave to my visibility.

I believe that our experience of God is a little like this. For the most faithful believers and the most ardent atheists, God is in our field of vision or rather in the range of what we experience and yet most often we don’t notice. We are absorbed by inner dramas, daydreams about what we are going to do next, or thoughts about other people, regrets about the past, fear about the future, politics, etc. So we just don’t see God.

The purpose of this striking Cathedral, with these majestic columns and the light filtering through these arresting stained glass windows and the extraordinary music, is getting us to notice God who is with us not just at this moment but at all times.

I do not know why God chooses to appear in this way to us. I do not know why this seems pretty much like the nature of reality for human beings. I can’t really imagine what any other existence would be like. Many people I know have had the experience of God’s brightness being so obvious that they couldn’t help but notice. And many of the same people have had times when they were desperate to recognize God but couldn’t find anything Holy.

Meditation helps me to really experience God’s companionship throughout each day. It helps me to be less at the mercy of my fantasies and worries, and more present in what is really happening.