The Ambient Presence of The Lord.
© The Rev. Nigel Mumford+
I got up this morning as usual at 4.30am. For some strange reason I was wondering about darkness. The sudden realization that every morning I can see my way in the dark. It is of course familiar territory, but I can see my way.
On my journey the words ambient light came to mind. Where is that light source from?
A revelation began to unfold. Jesus said, ” I am the light of the world” he also said, ” I will never leave you.” Therefore His “ambient light,” His “ambient presence” is with us always. The understanding is that on any given night, there is always a light source, however subtle, however gentle. The Lord is always with you.
So I had to see what the dictionary says about the word ambient. The definition is, *existing or present on all sides : encompassing, encircling.” Well, there you have it – Jesus existing and present on all sides. This also struck me, “People shopped as ambient music played in the background.” The background music, Jesus is always there in the background, always with you, ambient in nature.
Ambient is: an encompassing atmosphere : environment. When we go to a Spirit filled worship service there is an ambient atmosphere. The Lord is with you.
Some words popped up that I had never heard of: Malthusian, anthropogenic, biomass, carbon footprint, crepuscular, niche, sere, symbiosis, taiga, tundra…
Wait, “carbon footprint?” How about a sand footprint?
Ambient lighting is a general illumination that comes from all directions in a room, yet has no visible source. Now we are onto something… No visible source? The ambient presence of the Christ?
In the context of places of worship the synonyms struck me: environment, atmosphere, environs, milieu, surroundings, place, position, and microenvironment. Having just spent time at Rochester cathedral (a place of worship since 604AD), I am now getting the picture of “ambient” in all its forms.
The medical definition of ambient writes, “Surrounding on all sides” or “completely enveloping” could suggest that the ambient presence of The Lord is with us for healing. That even The Lord is surrounding “that cell” that is misbehaving itself.
The medical definition even goes on to include “ambient air pollution”. In a positive sense, we breath in the ambient presence of God. We breath in the pray that has been proclaimed for centuries in a sacred place of worship.
Ambient lighting can refer to: available light in an environment. Perhaps we can look at it as the available presence in the environment. In other words Christ is always available and we are always in His presence.
As we pray, may I suggest that the ambient presence of The Lord surrounds us, encapsulates us, and consumes us with His love.
May you walk today in His ambient presence….
Amen.
*Source: Merriam-Webster
© The Rev. Nigel Mumford+ 2013
