There’s a mystic poem used in spiritual traditions about a little fish who lived in a pond on the edge of a great ocean.
In a quiet pond beneath the sky,
a little fish swam, asking why—
“Where is the Ocean? Where might it be?
They say it’s vast and deep and free.”
He asked the minnows, asked the eels,
searched the stones and spinning wheels
of water stirred by dragonfly wings,
longing for more than pond-bound things.
At last he found an elder near,
whose silver fins moved slow and clear.
“Tell me,” begged he, “where I can go—
to touch the Ocean, feel it flow.”
The old fish smiled, with knowing eyes:
“The Ocean?” he said, “it’s not a prize.
It isn’t there, or far, or wide—
you’re in it now. It’s all outside.”
“It’s in the ripples, in the rain,
in every joy and every pain.
It holds your fins; it lifts your tail—
it’s in each breath you take, inhale.”
But the young fish shook his head.
“No, this is only water,” he said.
“I want the Ocean—deep and grand.”
And off he swam, to search the land.
In this tale the ocean symbolises God - a divine presence and spiritual reality that many people yearn for, yet mistakenly believe to be distant, hidden and beyond their reach. The old fish knew from experience what the little fish didn’t persist long enough to find out, that we are never outside the great ocean of divine presence.
Jesus told the parable of the Persistent Widow, to show the disciples that they should always pray and not give up and that God is not distant and unreachable.
History honours some remarkable individuals who were not content to splash in the pond on the edge of the ocean, they explored the depths of spirituality through persistent prayer.
Hildegard von Bingen, a German Benedictine mystic who lived in the 12th century, swam in the deep ocean of God’s presence believing the divine radiates through all that is. For Hildegard, praying was not about appealing to a far-off deity but awakening to the God who is already within and around us, sustaining the world, filling it with beauty, vitality, and divine purpose. She was declared a Doctor of the Church in 2012, a title conferred to individuals whose teachings and writings provide exceptional insight into faith and doctrine. Rooted in her understanding of the cosmic unity of creation, Hildegard’s mystical theology integrated faith, science, and the arts, emphasising the deep interconnectedness of body, soul, nature and God within the harmony of creation. She described God as light, life, flame, and greening power that causes life to blossom, heal, and renew. A person of intellectual power and knowledge Hildegarde challenged the Church concerning female spiritual authority, and the moral decay, pride, and complacency of the clergy. Outside the Church, for her groundbreaking work in observing, documenting, and theorising about the natural world, she is considered the founder of scientific natural history in Germany. Consulted by popes, emperors, and bishops, Bingen was progressive thinker, a woman of extraordinary influence in a male-dominated Church and society.
Joan of Arc, the heroine of France, though not a mystic, was a powerfully strong young woman who defied the gender expectations of the early 1400’s. She was another extraordinary person who swam in the deep ocean of God’s presence and heard the voice of God. In her second public examination she said, “I was in my thirteenth year when I heard a voice from God to help me govern my conduct. And the first time I was very much afraid.” But Joan didn’t stay afraid, she grew confident in her relationship with the Divine, and in her leadership of men. Her ethereal experiences were so real, she complained, that noise and company interfered with her ability to hear the voices and see visions. That is true of prayer, we need a quiet place uninterrupted by distractions, but we are not good at finding a peaceful place and remaining still for long enough to connect with everything around us.
Like many biblical prophets, mystics and saints, Joan of Arc heard voices. Hildegard of Bingen saw visions. Were these holy experiences or symptoms of mental illness? We can determine the answer to that question by the context. These women were not crazy, confused or incapacitated, the voices and visions were not chaotic or incoherent, they were meaningful, and purpose driven. Responding to their call, these women were courageous, creative, intelligent and highly influential. Joan led an army. Hildegard advised bishops and emperors, and both are revered for having been touched by the Divine.
Martin Luther King Jr experienced racism at a young age, and inspired by his Christian beliefs, fought none-violently for equality for both black and white people. He believed God speaks through conscience and conviction, prayer and silence, Scripture and preaching, and, in solidarity with the suffering of oppressed people. During moments of fear, exhaustion, and moral crisis, King sensed the voice of God and believed God was speaking to him personally and directly. During an event in January 1956 when he was receiving daily death threats and feeling overwhelmed and despairing, he sat in his kitchen and prayed. Later he wrote, “I heard the voice of Jesus saying to fight on. He promised never to leave me, never to leave me alone. Almost at once my fears began to go. My uncertainty disappeared. I was ready to face anything.” This moment of divine reassurance gave him renewed courage to continue leading the civil rights movement which he did at great personal risk. King’s spirituality was deeply experiential, shaped by personal encounters with God in moments of vulnerability; God he said, “is not merely a concept or a doctrine. God is a living reality that can be experienced in the depths of your soul.” Martin Luther King swam in the deep ocean of divine presence.
One of the most respected and influential scholars of Christian mysticism in the world today, Bernard McGinn, emphasised that, “Mysticism is not primarily about feelings, but about a transformed consciousness of God.” Prayers can be read like the Lord’s Prayer can be said without much thought, but move into deeper prayer, what mystics call “experiential prayer,” and we no longer splash about, we dive. The parables and stories of mystics motivate people to think at a deeper level, and Jesus also considered a mystic, told his parables for this same reason. The sayings of many sages from antiquity and the wisdom teachings of Jesus invite us to dive, jump or fall into the ocean of God’s connectedness.
If we persist as the widow in Jesus’ parable did, the swells, currents and tides take us further out and into an ocean of possibilities. Not just nice little stories to keep kids quiet while their parents get on with the business of church, Jesus’ parables can take us to where only with hearing ears and an open heart we go. He once said, whoever has will be given more, and they will have an abundance and those who have not, even what they have will be taken away. [Matt: 13:10-13] These words seem harsh but think about it, the more a person seeks, it’s true they do find, and the less one seeks, even what they once knew they’re inclined to forget.
Many people live their lives in a tiny pond, thinking that is all there is, but in the deep ocean we learn to swim and not just splash about. The parable of the persistent widow is more than a lesson in perseverance because it reveals something about God’s presence and accessibility. Passively waiting for divine intervention is nowhere in her story, the heroine invites us to persist in our prayers, turning up again, and again, and again. Prayer is not appealing to a distant God but tuning our hearts to the divine presence, which is not hidden, but is as accessible, for those of us who live on the coast at least, as a swim in the ocean.
Hildegard of Bingen, Joan of Arc and Martin Luther King Jr each were deeply conscious of God, but prayer is not just for the spiritual giants of history. Prayer can be a part of anyone’s life, anyone who wants to deepen their consciousness of the Divine should begin by turning off the noise, the notifications on phones, the beeps, buzzes and pings. In a world of loud entertainment, endless debate and crude and rude laughter, we need a place of quiet where we can, as Jesus often said, have ears that hear.
When you find a place to listen, train yourself to be sensitive to the nudge in the inner recesses of your heart. There’s no need to say anything unless words come easily, and from that place of quiet, we emerge into each new day and every challenge we face with an inner knowing that Christ is with us and all is well.