The Beatitude, “Blessed are the pure of heart for they shall see God” seems to create a dilemma since we also read in Scripture that “no one has ever seen God. So, can we see God or not?

A young novice monk asks his Zen master, “Teacher, what is the Principle Truth?” where upon the teacher slaps the young novice. This action brings the young monk into the Present moment, a place where he cannot muster enough thought to cloud this found awareness.

Jazz great, Miles Davis, used to say, “We live for eight measures a month”. A profound statement considering that he played thousands of measures each month, but only eight reached the summit. All creative people eventually come face to face with the Creator, the Architect of all creativity.

I don’t think we are capable of the enlightenment suggested in the above examples for any sustained period of time. The statement, “seeing God” is only figurative. Maybe we just briefly step into an eternal moment that takes us out of the ordinary, creating the experience of pure heart and for that brief moment we encounter the Divine presence. This experience cannot be achieved through any efforts of our own. It is God’s gift of Himself.

Chuck Marohnic
Director of Music for Darkwood Brew