Immanence
Evelyn Underhill
I come in the little things,
Saith the Lord:
Not borne on morning wings
Of majesty, but I have set My Feet
Amidst the delicate and bladed wheat
That springs triumphant in the furrowed sod
There do I dwell, in weakness and in power:
Not broken or divided, saith our God!
In your straight garden plot I come to flower:
About your porch My Vine
Meek, fruitful, doth entwine;
Waits, at the threshold, Love’s appointed hour.
I come in little things,
Saith the Lord:
Yea! on the glancing wings
Of eager birds, the softly pattering feet
Of furred and gentle beasts. I come to meet
Your hard and wayward heart. In brown eyes
That peep from out the brake, I stand confest
On every nest
Where feathery Patience is content to brood
And leaves her pleasure for the high emprize
Of motherhood—
There doth My Godhead rest.
I come in little things,
Saith the Lord:
My starry wings
I do forsake,
Love’s highway of humility to take.
Meekly I fit My stature to your need.
In beggar’s part
About your gates I shall not cease to plead—
As man, to speak with man—
Till by such art
I shall achieve My Immemorial Plan.
Pass the low lintel of the human heart.
‘Immanence’ is defined as the state of being within a given domain. In philosophy and metaphysics, the word can refer to the belief that the Divine Spirit is seen to be manifest in the natural world. It is sometimes contrasted with ‘transcendence’—the idea that God exists outside the natural world. Many believe, as I do, that the Bible makes clear a beautiful and mysterious relationship between the two.