Parting Shot

News May 10, 2017

By Eric Mattson

Are you awake? My photography increasingly becomes an act of silent worship in which my aim is to notice the creative face of God. Looking at the world through my lens helps keep my soul awake to what God desires to show me. Do you remember in Mark’s gospel when Jesus repeatedly commands his disciples in the Garden of Gethsemane to stay awake? Photography as a spiritual discipline is one way we can stay awake to eternal moments if used in a way similar to Lectio Divina. It becomes a form of contemplative prayer where one may encounter the sacred in even the mundane as the images are creatively received. Something clicked in my mind back when reading “The Practice of the Presence of God” by Brother Lawrence (yes, I’ve taken pictures of salt shakers). This contemplative picture was taken about two blocks from my house on yesterday’s walk. You can practice contemplative photography anywhere! Grab any camera!