Shining Spirit

I learned this fact a long time ago:
two plus two equals four.
But now I’m not sure if it’s really true:
I don’t trust the truth anymore.

You said it was easy to forgive and forget,
that love always shines its light
into the corners of pain and doubt,
light in the darkest night.

But love has a way of shining its light
in places I’ve hidden so long,
revealing the truth that I want to forget,
like the words of a haunting song.

Show me this love you talk about;
teach me the words to say,
I am lost in a world of confusion and strife,
help me discover the purpose of life.
Take my hand and show me the way.

It’s not that easy to forgive and forget;
I’ve tried again and again.
But I’ll put my trust in what you say.
I’ll walk beside you along the way.
I know it’s time to begin.
It’s always time to begin.

Isn’t it amazing how often passages of scripture amaze us? Sometimes when I least expect it, there it is: truth or hope or courage just jump off the page. Here’s an example. The Apostle Paul, the one who developed Christianity through a few pieces of correspondence to local communities, mentioned in the first letter to the Corinthians an issue that was troubling the good people of Corinth. Problem: should we eat meat that has been offered to idols? Is it contaminated by that offering? If my neighbor throws a party and serves idol-offered meat, should I refuse the invitation? It was a serious issue.

Apparently some people held strong opinions–on both sides of the issue. You’ve met people with strong opinions, haven’t you. There is often the assumption that everyone should believe their way, and, if they don’t, then clearly they are misinformed and mistaken. Well, Paul does get around to answering the question of “idol meat” and if this is a major question for you today, then have a look at Chapter 8 of First Corinthians. I’m more interested at the moment with a preliminary comment Paul makes. He writes: “We sometimes tend to think we know all we need to know to answer these kinds of questions, but sometimes our humble hearts can help more than our proud minds. We never really know enough until we recognize that God alone knows it all.”

Nothing wrong at all with having opnions, even strong opinions; just get to your conclusion and opinion via the pathway of humility. And then once there, in the position of having an opinion, hold it gently, rather like holding a delicate flower instead of a club. In most tough issues, there is always room for conversation, listening, and considering with the heart. So, the next time “meat offered to idols” comes up in conversation with your neighbor, remember this simple statement of ancient wisdom: “humble hearts can often help us more than proud minds” and “We never really know enough until we recognize that God knows it all.”

A taste of humility for a Sunday morning. Bon Appetite!

I rise this morning from the comfort of my bed. I rise into the world of choices, experiences of responsibility and consequence. I stand surrounded by the anguishs of injustice, threats of power without accountability, challenges to my foundational beliefs about mercy and compassion. I stand in The Light that affirms goodness and fragile hope. And I do not stand alone. I see you there. I see you reaching for a hand of steadiness, listening for a word of encouragement, just like I do. And I see you in the moment you realize that you and I have become “we” and that this world is filled with people who struggle through the early morning unsteadiness into the stability of confidence.

I affirm you as one who brings beauty to this day, for whom truth is foundational to the day’s unfolding, one who, in the course of the day, will see and be fundamental goodness sharing itself with a confused and confrontational world. I acknowledge, with genuine gratitude, that I possess, in the gift of my humanity, the fullness of life meant to be enjoyed and shared in the bright lights of this new day. I also acknowledge that I am possessed by The Source whom I call God, the Mystery that gives my life meaning, the Unknowable whom I recognize in you and in others who walk with us through this bright and beautiful day.

I rise from the comfort of my bed into all this day offers and demands, for I walk knowing that you are at my side and that the collective “we” of humanity is capable of limitless goodness and unending hope. Let us smile together into the new day and walk together along the path of Goodness and Light. At the end of the day, may we all look back and see the lovely flowers of peace growing in the footprints we have left behind.

These things I affirm humbly and hopefully. May it be so. Amen.

Imagine going 50 miles per hour, down a hill, on a rough asphalt surface with 40 other riders elbow to elbow. Now imagine a sharp turn at the bottom of that hill. If even one rider makes a mistake anywhere within that cluster, bumps another biker’s wheel, or turns too quickly, or slows down too much….well, you know what happens. Human error can be costly. Recklessness, miscalculations…we pay the price everyday, It’s a sure thing.

But consider this. You are never wrong, no matter the circumstances, when you lean into Christ. Hard decision? Difficult moment? Uncertain outcome? Lean into your strength, the personal power you carry with you all the time and everywhere you go. Today, maybe even right now, take a moment and focus on the spiritual strength you have by virtue of your commitment to The Ever Present One. Do your part, given the circumstances, but don’t forget to lean into Strength.

Roll on!

Some friends and I have been talking recently about the meaning of prayer as affirmation and the reality of “presence” that walks with us through the world. Thinking of them and in gratitude for the Presence, I found these words this morning. It is titled “It Is Good!”

I am a note, one note, in an endlesss
song that floats through the universe.
I am a fragment of a passing star,
a light source that chooses to glow
deep within my being, illuminating
an inherent treasure…a gift.

I am not the gift, but I bear it.
I am not the song, but I sing it.
I am not the light, just a star fragment
walking the earth with wonder and
immeasurable gratitude for the gift.

Sometimes I hear a whisper, as if
the cosmos is calling from a distance;
and then I realize that the voice is
closer than my breath, moving through
my veins to the chambers of my heart.
And the whispered word I hear is
“Yes!”

The gift, that each day becomes more and
more myself, re-minds me, sweeping out
the meaningless and the mundane, refocusing
my mind. And at the gift’s prompting, I
re-member, reconstruct, restore
that which I had almost forgotten.

I am not aloned
and
goodness lives in the cracks
and crevices of human life.

I am a note,
one note in an enedless
song that floats among
the galaxies and comes to
rest in our hearts. And
so are you. Hold my
heart as I hold yours
and let us sing of goodness.

Do you remember a song titled: “Try To Remember”? Sung by The Brothers Four? In 1965! “try to remember the kind of September when life was slow and oh, so mellow…” How many years ago was that? Yes, that many! Where were you in 1965 and what were you doing? Work at it.

Memory loss is a topic of conversation in my social circles these days. It was not in 1965. In those days my memory was intact and strong. The edges of life were crisp and sharply defined. Now, I sometimes have trouble remembering the name of that place we visited in 1992, or the number of the highway that runs through Corsicana, Texas, or the name of that guy in the Navy who showed me the ropes. I can’t remember the ropes, either. Time has a way of refocusing reality, and sometimes the picture is out of focus. But there is another factor that distorts memory, even obliterates it. Prosperity. You might remember the rather inelegant phrase: “fat, dumb and happy.” It could have been “fat, numb and happy.” It has been my experience that “the good life,” relative prosperity, numbs the brain and redefines old realities. And that’s not a recent development. Pull out your Bible, if you can remember where it is, and spend a minute with Deuteronomy 8:11 and following verses. Here are a few bits of that passage: “Take care lest you forget the Lord your God…when you have eaten and are full and have built good houses and live in them, and when your herds and flocks multiply and your silver and gold is multiplied and all that you have is multiplied, then your heart be lifted up and you forget the Lord your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt…” led you through tough times, fed you in the wildernesses of your life.

Memories begin to change when the human body ages. I get that and I agree. But I assure you that being who we are, in the age in which we live, in the circumstances of our lives, comfort and prosperity work the same dark magic. Losing your keys is one thing, but losing touch with the Source of who you are is quite another. Remember daily. Say “thank you.” Never forget.

If today turns out to be
just like the days before,
if I try my humble best,
opening every door,
if showers come unexpectedly
and rain on my parade,
spoiling all the lovely plans
my mind and heart have made,
let me rejoice with gratitude
for the effort, the attempts
and choose to try again someday
for I am not exempt
from life’s uncertain whims and ways
that challenge, test and undermine
the best planned of my days.

O Love that bids me overcome
disappointments, needless strife,
guide me through the twisting maze
of my disjointed life.
Place in my mind the wisdom I need,
in my heart determined will,
to take each day as a gift of grace,
a vessel that I fill
with mercy, justice, gratitude,
kindness and goodwill.

I lift my hands and I bow my head
as I rise from this warm and comfortable bed,
forming a prayer in my mind and my heart:
Loving Spirit, may this day start
with justice and mercy falling down like rain
to wash away any suffering or pain;
may the sun rise to heal the wounds of greed,
may every creature find what they need
to live in a world that values life,
a world that ransforms the sword and the knife
into joy-filled toys for our children’s play;
may this, your gift, be such a day.

And may I find my way by hope and trust
with the courage to live as one who must
emerge from the shadows of division and fear
because I know that you are near.
I stand on the earth, my brother, my friend;
I surrender my will as this day begins.

May all who hear this song I sing
stand in faith as they gladly bring
the best they have to bless this day
with what they do and what they say.
Spirit of life, walk this way with me
for in your presence I am bold and free
to be the man you hoped me to be.
Faithful Friend, proven and true,
I’d like to walk this day with you.

Amen.

How about a laugh today? Are you up for it? Laugh now, just in case your team loses in tonight’s Super Bowl. No, this is not another commentary about the elites of football. Needing a laugh, given the world situation and the sadness of the Cowboys missing the Super Bowl (this is not about football), I asked the invisible, online masterminds to tell me about “what happened on this day in history.” That’s always good for a chuckle. And 2.4 second later I had a list of “today in history” and one of those entries seemed perfect for a smile or a laugh. The listing said “funny events in history for children.” Click, and there I was, already smiling into the new day, ready to burst out laughing.

Here’s what I found: in 1587, Mary Queen of Scots was beheaded. In 1672, Isaac Newton read his first optics paper at the Royal Society in London. In 1883, Louis Waterman began experiments that would result in the invention of the fountain pen. Maybe, I thought, if I got more current, I’d stop crying. I gave up after: in 1976, the movie “Taxi Driver” premiered in New York City. Now there’s a children’s movie.

All I wanted was a laugh. Under the circumstances, though, I’d settle for a smile. Having pushed away from my computer to wallow in my disappointment, it happened. I remembered that yesterday my son-in-law taped off a room that needs painting, then he applied the new color. I don’t climb tall ladders anymore. And I saw a specular sunset last evening. And I had a simple dinner with a few friends and we enjoyed each other’s company. And my Beloved told me: “I love you.” So, here I sit at 4:42 on this Sunday morning with a smile on my face and one in my heart. Gratitude seems to always produce joy. Simple gratitude.

“For the beauty of the earth; for the glory of the skies; for the love which from our birth, over and around us lies, Lord of all to Thee we raise, this our hymn of grateful praise.”

Pick at place today that offers at least five minutes of quiet. Yes, they exist, but sometimes you do have to search for them. It’s a bonus if your place happens to be a remarkably beautiful setting, but, then, that’s why we have imaginations. In your place of real or imagined beauty, in the sacred quiet, let your voice or your heart speak the words above: “For the beauty….” Say it slowly, thoughtfully, as a prayer. Then say it again with the same reverence. And again. And again. There’s no rush. You’re less than one minute into your five; don’t be in a hurry. Feel the rhythm of the words as they fit together, a poem of gratitude. If you know the tune to this old hymn, sing! Or, make up your own tune. Folliott Sandford Pierpoint wrote the words and Conrad Kocher gets credit for the tune of For The Beauty Of The Earth, but neither of them would mind if you modified it in your meditation. Or, fit the words to the pattern of your breathing: inhale as your say “For the beauty of the earth”, exhale the next phrase: “for the glory of the skies”. Keep going, you’re doing fine.

I think it’s very possible that you will feel a little more relaxed, or focused, or grateful, or joyful at the end of your five minute breath-prayer time. But, then, you won’t know unless you try. Five minutes; that’s all it takes.