Twilight, that moment just before darkness of night covers the earth, seems to hold a mystical and magical beauty. It is exquisite, romantic and full of intrigue. Visions of fireflies, campfires, and sunsets come to my mind. Twilight, that moment when light fades away and night promises to usher in, presents a time of pure potential. What will the night hold? Will our dreams be filled with joy and peace, or will a restless night soon follow.
Twilight is also the moment when the Passover Lamb was slaughtered. This is the moment when everything changed for God’s chosen people. This Lamb, the one whose blood would protect the Jewish people from death, was central to the new life they were about to enter in. Through this lamb God saved his children. Without the protection of this lamb’s blood, God’s chosen people would surely die. With such a death the love relationship God desired to experience with his people would fade away. Yet, through all their oppression God had a plan, a plan that would secure the lives of his chosen people and the lives of the generations to follow.
Why Twilight?
Why did God choose twilight for the slaughter of the Passover Lamb? Why not daybreak? Or midday? The choice of twilight struck me somehow. Then for a fleeting moment I recalled the Twilight series of books and TV shows where vampires come out at twilight. While I don’t watch this series or read books of this nature, I can’t miss observing their popularity in the world. (By the way – I highly recommend you do not fill your subconscious minds with such images. Our subconscious minds are highly susceptible to what we are expose them to. I make it a general practice to be very selective about what I let into my mind.) Anyway, I was struck with God’s choice of twilight so I sat with this in Chapel as I prepared to write today’s reflection.
What I observed initially was the fact that God prepared the Jewish people for the Passover long before twilight came – long before the lamb was slaughtered. Additionally, God also shared with the people the importance of community – “If a family is too small for a whole lamb, it shall join the nearest household in procuring one and shall share in the lamb in proportion to the number of persons who partake of it.” God knew what his people would need before they did and he was already on the job! They would need food, they would need protection, they would need to mentally prepare for their flight, and they would need each other. God’s plan was already in play long before twilight commenced.
Darkness Will Come
Twilight calls to our attention to the cycles of day and night. The daybreak that awakens us will eventually come to an end and night will follow. And at that critical moment, twilight, God is with us. God has already prepared everything we need so that we can enter into the darkness of night safely by his side. Through God’s continual offering of love we receive all we need to get through the night. God offers this with one goal in mind – that we move into a deeper love relationship with him. He saved the Jewish people because he desired to share in relationship with them, and he holds the same desire for us today.
God is continually calling each of us into a deeper love relationship with himself. After all, he created us in his image, and in doing so, he created us to love and be loved in return. We are all God’s people and we have all been given the lamb of salvation – Jesus Christ. Yet this Lamb is different from the Passover Lamb isn’t he? His blood was shed for all. Saying yes to the Lamb of God is the key, we must say yes and we must decide follow him before we can receive his full protection and guidance. Once we do this we will receive all the direction, provisions, and protection we need once twilight passes and we enter into the dark of night.
God’s Mercy
God required that the Passover Lamb was to be used up – all of his body. God even went on to describe how to dispose of any remains – they were to be burned up. Nothing was to remain. Again, this portion of scripture spoke to my heart, so I sat in Chapel and meditated on it. Then some dots began connecting. Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God, must also be used up to the point where nothing is left of him. And this is what he did on the Cross – he emptied himself fully to the entire world. The empty tomb reveals much.
Just as the Passover Lamb was to be shared and its remains burnt up, so too is the Lamb of God to be used and burnt up. Jesus Christ made himself completely and wholly available to us, to be used up so that we can fall deeper and deeper in love with our Triune God. When we share Jesus Christ with the world our actions become reminiscent of the first Passover meal. Darkness approaches, yet, we become nourished and loved in a community of believers. When we share him we use him up and he burns within our hearts. A burning that unites us as we move towards the Alpha and Omega, where we all merge into one with God through Jesus Christ and in the Holy Spirit. A point of divine perfection.
What Binds Us
Merging together calls for a binding substance, something strong that connects all the parts. In today’s Gospel Jesus reveals the binding substance that holds us together – God’s Mercy. His mercy binds us together because mercy is born of love and love is the substance we are created in. When we love another, you know, really love another, we are naturally inclined to offer mercy.
Through mercy we will accept and love those around us because mercy and love allow us to see one another’s humanity and brokenness with compassion and empathy. Instead of judgement and condemnation, mercy allows an opening of the heart. Once the heart is opened the love held within it is granted permission to flow between persons. When love flows like this we will then experience God and a bit of his eternal love. The Lamb of God, our God who came into the earth in human form, comes alive inside of our human body in a very unique and divine way when the heart is open. He will use the twilight of our lives, that transitional time between light and darkness, to prepare us to love more in the darkness of night.
Tonight’s Twilight
I invite you to observe twilight tonight in a new way. The dark of night is coming, yet, God has already been working for you. He desires sweet dreams for his children, dreams where we draw closer to him. Let tonight’s twilight be magical, beautiful and full of divine potential that leads you into a deeper love relationship with your heavenly Father. Through the Sacrificial Lamb Jesus Christ and in the Holy Spirit God will comfort you. Breathe in love and mercy this evening and allow it to enter into every one of your cells as you observe twilight. Then breathe out any pain you hold in your heart as you prepare to drift off to sleep my friends. Sweet dreams.
May you and your family be blessed my friends in Christ. – Carolyn
Further Meditation
On my website I share several forms of meditation I use on a regular basis to more fully experience God. I would like to share with you today. I call them Fasting of The Mind. Here is the link my friends – enjoy: Fasting of The Mind
Thank You to Our Readers
I want all of our readers to know that I deeply appreciate the comments you share. I have noticed that many of you offer prayer requests. I invite you to post your prayer requests here today and I then invite our readers to pray for those prayers. Our power is found in our prayers. I am honored to join with all of you in such prayer and I appreciate the sharing of your stories – they are sacred and holy.
I will begin the prayer chain by asking for prayers for my LIVE Retreat – which is being held this weekend. I pray that God’s healing and protection cover each attendee and that they receive God’s love into the hurt and broken spaces in their hearts.
Triune God – help us to sleep in your arms every night of our lives.
Sacred Heart of Jesus – have mercy on us.
Father God – consume us.
Holy Spirit – enter in to us.
Mother Mary – pray for us.
Saint Lawrence of Brindisi– pray for us.
