Message Sent This Morning to a Friend

I had checked my e-mail a few minutes ago and laid down to rest and meditate prayerfully. I was contemplating the nature of the Being who is the heart of the Universe, that that heart is broken, and it was the moment of the shattering of the Eternal Unity of Relationship that is the Godhead that was the "Big Bang" bringing all of this into existence. I was beginning to understand that we all encounter the Eternal Relationship whenever we witness one of children being born, when we fall in love, or share a special moment with a best friend or grandparent, etc. And all of us are bound to have our hearts shattered when we lose a loved one to suffering and death. And it occurred to me that it is then that we are closest to God and most like the Eternal Relationship that is at the heart of the Universe. And I remembered verses from the Psalms that say this exactly, came to the computer to search them out to send them to you, and found your message. Here are the verses:


Psalm 34:18
The LORD is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart; and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit.
Psalm 34:17-19
Psalm 51:17
The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.
Psalm 51:16-18

From Webster's

Main Entry: con·trite
Pronunciation: 'kän-"trIt, k&n-'
Function: adjective
Etymology: Middle English contrit, from Anglo-French, from Medieval Latin contritus, from Latin, past participle of conterere to grind, bruise, from com- + terere to rub -- more at THROW

The definition given relates the grinding of our hearts as reflecting sorrow for our own sinfulness, as in the Catholic Act of Contrition prayer, but this clouds the issue. It is not that we are in this state of holy contrition necessarily because our actions and attitudes have made us less like God and we are "crushed" for the threatened loss of heaven and for fear of eternity in hell. To the contrary, it is that when the inevitable crushing losses of this life occur, we become most like Him and Them. And it occurs to me that this is what Jesus said repeatedly in stating that it is the hungry and naked, the lonely and abandoned that are His representatives on earth. They truly are .....