Moonlight

Moonlight is one of those things most of us are unable to fully appreciate since it occurs while we are usually asleep.  We're familiar with the light of the sun, a light so brilliant we can't look at it directly.  The sun's light encourages growth, and warms us.

But what can we say about moonlight?

A few nights ago I awoke and became aware of a light shining under the bedroom door.  Thinking I had forgotten to turn off a light, I got up to investigate.  Imagine my surprise when I opened the door and discovered the glow was produced not by an electric light, but by the light of the full moon.  The light was streaming in through the picture window, bathing the room in a soft, white light.  I sat down in wonder, enjoying this scene which had been playing out while I slept.  I thought about how the moon itself has no light of its own, but reflects the light of the sun, and I began thinking of the "moonlight" in our spiritual life.

Just as we cannot look directly at the sun, we cannot experience God directly in this life - but we are provided "mirrors" that reflect God to us.  These are the graces we experience through the movement of God in the people and the world around us.  When we pass from this life to the next, we will experience the brightness of God with no need of mirrors or filters.  In the meantime, however, God is revealed to us in our daily life - stay awake and take notice!

Here's a story* which illustrates the idea of experiencing God through the familiar things in this life:

"God decided to become visible to a king and a peasant and sent an angel to inform them of the blessed event. 'O king' the angel announced, 'God has deigned to be revealed to you in whatever manner you wish.  In what form do you want God to appear?'
  Seated pompously on his throne and surrounded by awestruck subjects, the king royally proclaimed: 'How else would I wish to see God, save in majesty and power?  Show God to us in the full glory of power.'
  God granted his wish and appeared as a bolt of lightning that instantlty pulverized the king and his court.  Nothing, not even a cinder, remained.
  The angel then manifested herself to a peasant, saying: God deigns to be revealed to you in whatever manner you desire.  How do you wish to see God?'
  Scratching his head and puzzling a long while, the peasant finally said: 'I am a poor man and not worthy to see God face to face.  But if it is God's will to be revealed to me, let it be in those things with which I am familiar.  Let me see God in the earth I plough, the water I drink, and the food I eat.  Let me see the presence of God in the faces of my family, neighbors, and - if God deems it as good for myself and others - even in my own reflection as well.'
  God granted the peasant his wish, and he lived a long and happy life."

*Spiritual Literacy, Reading the Sacred in Everyday Life by Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat