Learning to Taste and See

Knowing God comes not from reading about him, but by experiencing him in prayer. Not just any kind of prayer, but the kind that sits in silence before God and lets God permeate the soul. Christians call this kind of prayerful experience contemplation. It is a time when, as Richard Rohr writes, we stop judging, controlling and analyzing life and everything in it and turn instead to seeing, tasting and loving what we have, what has happened to us, where we find ourselves. None of this happens naturally. We must practice it a long time before we begin to experience its fruits.

Taste and see that the Lord is good says Ps. 34:8. We are invited to enjoy God as we would a banquet. To do so we must change our image of God. We must know how concerned he is about our daily lives. We must see him as in our midst. Contemplation allows us to become aware of this mystery, to push past the veil and begin to tangible know the goodness of God.

Contemplation begins with listening. Often people tell me, "I can't be still. A thousand thoughts come rushing through my head when I try." So the need for practice. It takes time to learn how to wait upon the Lord, who indeed is waiting upon us.

If we would taste and see that the Lord is good, we need to learn how to be still. Not a sterile stillness, but one of readiness, openness and hope.