Shining Spirit

Hope you don’t mind if I re-visit a poem/prayer written six years ago.

Today will be like no other day
in the long journey of creation.
The sun will appear,
people will come and go,
laugh and curse,
rejoice and weep.
A bird will sing from
the laurel bush, and
the mountain will look
out over the brown desert.
I will pray for human
understanding and kindness
and feel a stab in my heart
at the depth of our insensitivity.
But this day will be like no other
because today I will hum a tune
and hear your harmony in my
soul. When I walk through the
garden, I will see your smile
in brilliant colors and soft
shadows. I will speak your
name in the wind, and the
world be embraced
in blessing.

To the Christ of Life. Amen

There were hints of sunlight yesterday. Not many, but enough to make you feel that there was a reasonably good chance of a pleasant day. Then the sky became gradually darker, and then the wind blew stronger, and then came the thunder and a sharp bolt of lightening. Now what to do? I was on my way to get the car, located on the far side of the car park, when the symptoms of storm became serious.

The prelude to the several-act drama was light rain. It was gentle at first, the trick rain plays when it lures you out into the unprotected open and then dumps on you. No umbrella, so I’ll wait. It won’t last long. The wind picked up, the sky darkened, then a bolt and a boom and the first few ice droplets clicked off the glass door. A few more people stood at the exit, pondering the predicament. Do I run now while it’s hailing a little bit? Do I wait for a break in the action? Maybe I give up and take a chair in the lobby. What to do is sometimes influenced by the urgency of the moment.

Long story made short: within a ten-minute sliver of my life, dark asphalt pavement became a glistening glory of white wonder released by the sky. My choice: do I curse under my breath about the inconvenience of this unexpected moment? Why now! Or, do I hear the rhythm of the ice crystals tapping on the door, watch the transformation, feel the temperature drop slowly, think of that Winter painting I admire so much, remember the family fun we used to have in the deep snow, gasp at the canvas changing before my eyes as the artist splashes Titanium White recklessly?

Unexpected life happened unexpectedly. How to respond? Gratitude or grumbling? Squinted eyes of impatience or wide eyes of wonder? Which “me” emerges: the curmudgeon or the kid? My choice.

I have collected 100 prayers in a little book called Songs Of My Soul. Today I decided to open the book without looking through it…just open the book and see which prayer is revealed. This is the result and I offer it to you this good day.

“May this prayer rise today from the depths of my heart as an offering of sincere gratitude for mercy given and blessings bestowed.

Ever Creating God, may your kingdom come on earth and may I be an agent of its boundless love and healing mercies. As you spoke through Jesus long ago, today speak through my life so that all creation will know of your abundant love.

May healing and health come to all who suffer illness; may joy fill the hearts of the despairing; companionship replace the loneliness so many feel in our complex world. Show us the way, Lord Jesus, to wholeness and peace.

May the hearts of world leaders be moved by the simple needs of the people they govern. Our commonality is in you Jesus, our completeness and our sense of purpose and direction. You are the light in our darkness…you are the living water for which we thirst. Show us, again, the way to the fullness of God.

I am thankful for this moment of prayer, a sacred moment spent in the presence of the One who gives me life and purpose. Amen.”

Today is a gift. Treat it that way. Press on.

Shining Spirit of Truth, in this season of Lent, help me clear away all the debris in my life. So much is unnecessary, and yet I carry it with me from day to day. Old wounds. Words heard and words said. Memories, both negative and positive, that keep me from seeing your fresh creativity. As the great oceans release debris through the natural motions of tide and wave, so through my prayers and reflections, may I release all that troubles my spirit and keeps me from a profound relationship with you.

May my personal journey toward wholeness be free of the clutter and contamination that seek to keep me isolated from your love. I am a Resurrection man. I am a Resurrection woman. Help me, Lord, to approach the cross and the tomb with courage and a clear commitment to your purposes in the world.

I make this prayer in the name of Jesus, the Way, the Truth, and the Uncluttered Life. Amen.

I am happy to introduce you to “Singing To The Mountain”. It is a 60-page collection of recent poems put into book form. I’m really not advertising or marketing the book, but you have been kind enough to read Shining Spirit periodically, so I thought you might like to know it exists. This is book number seven, and I’m not sure how many words I have remaining. Maybe we never run out of words, just the wisdom to curtail them, to know when to stop. I don’t say “thank you” often enough for your interest in Shining Spirit, but please know that I truly appreciate your sharing and your comments. Here is the final poem in the little book. It is titled “Living Water.”

Living Water, fall upon all things that
crave refreshment, upon people
who walk dusty roads in
search of drink, into
rivers that struggle
to move though
arid lands.

Touch the flower that wilts
in the scorching sun,
animals that pant
for moisture.
The Earth
that allows us to live,
temporary residents,
in this paradise of
possibility.

May I regard the water that washes
my clothes as valuable as the wine
that fills the crystal chalice.
May I wear life as beautifully
as the rose wears her
jeweled necklace.

Thank you again for your friendship in this sacred journey of life.

Sacred Spirit, help me be a delegate of The Divine 
in this new week, living the Way of Jesus 
a little more than I did last week. 
 
I am made with the capacity to think,
may my thinking benefit all living things.

I am made with a heart that feels; 
may it feel the suffering of the world.

I am given companions for life's journey;
may I treat them with respect and dignity.

I am loved without limits;
so may my love be given without stipulations.

I am the eternal dream of God.
Lord, at the time of your desiring, bring me home.

Amen

With gratitude I come to this moment, acknowledging my trust and hope in the Way of Christ to give me life now and life forever, to sustain me in my need and to guide me into a closer, richer relationship with God. So, in that gratitude, I bow in prayer:

For the wrong I have done…in word or in deed…I ask forgiveness, Sacred Spirit. Free me from any guilt or shame and renew a right spirit within me. May it be so.

May I always be aware of goodness that surrounds, the original goodness that is inherent in creation, the good that surprises me in my daily relationships with friends and strangers. Help me, Lord, to focus more on the things that build up rather than on the words and actions that tear down and destroy. May it be so.

Help me, Christ, to release my grudges and resentments, and clothed in the garments of charity and mercy, to dare to live the way Jesus did, thinking of others before self and living daily in ways that bring people closer to God. May it be so.

In the quiet of this moment, in the stillness of my spirit, I bring these deeply personal thoughts and petitions before you…

And now to the Source of our being, to the Christ of God, and to the Spirit who walks the way with us, I lay these hopes and dreams and prayers into your hands, and I do this, confidently in the name of Jesus, companion in this journey, Truth of all time. Amen.

If it’s okay with you, I’m going to offer one more thought about the meaning of Matthew 4:19. Not okay? Sorry.

Not to take away from the absolute importance of “Come with me…” or “Follow me…” and the doorway to potential change in the world, I suggest that the meaning of the second part of the saying “….and I will make you fishers of men”…has nothing to do with enlisting or enrolling people in the Jesus movement . It is not about reaching people to save them; it is not a salvation teaching. That would be too narrow, too limiting.

Think about it. A good fisherman can catch a fish, but no one has ever “caught” a human being. The exaggeration is huge and would bring a smile to the faces of those fishermen who heard the words. Impossible. Can’t be done. And that’s the point! That’s the meaning of this colorful saying. “Come with me…” Jesus told the men; “follow me” and I will teach you how to do the impossible, illustrated by the absurdity of fishing for people. He even said once: you (disciples) will do the things I do and even more. Come follow me and I will show you how to do things that you never thought possible.

So many times I’ve heard preachers say that the meaning of this remarkable passage is about saving souls. Catch ’em for Christ! Broaden your thinking and see if this doesn’t make more sense: Come with me, friend, and I will teach you things you never imagined. I will show you how to do things that everyone thinks impossible, things like radical forgiveness, trusting love to be powerful, standing up to oppression. Nothing is impossible with God. Nothing is impossible to Christ. And nothing is impossible to the average human being who hears the invitation, “Come with me…” and accepts.

So here we are in a Bible Study Group and the focus text is Matthew 4:19. That’s the one about becoming “fishers of men”. I understand the importance of using language familiar to people, and that Jesus was addressing fishermen, and that there is value in using highly descriptive language because it tends to stick in people’s minds. Try to imagine the dumbfounded look on the fishermen’s faces when they thought of fishing for people. Now, in our study group, as soon as that verse is read, a hand shoots up and the inevitable question surfaces: “What does that mean? What does it mean to be “fishers of men?” And here we go: what does it mean? How do we do it? Should I use a big hook or a small hook? Am I deep sea fishing or casting from the shoreline…that will make a difference? Bait? Best time of day to catch someone for Christ? By the end of the study hour, we have exhausted all the theories and ideas and we are confident that we have learned an important lesson. Now that was a good Bible Study today!

But you know what…it was an exercise in how to have a good conversation. And that’s because the Bible students missed the most important part. They focused on the “fishing” and spent little or no time on the “following.” Doing the latter is impossible without doing the former. “Come with me…” “Follow me…” Then I will teach you how to change the world. Hold on a minute! Coming with you, Jesus…following you means sacrifice and possible suffering. I like the fishing part but I don’t have a great desire to sacrifice or suffer. I like my fishing gear to be neat and tidy and I prefer to cast the line from a quiet, peaceful river bank where the birds are singing and the breeze is cool and the smell of Spring is in the air.

Everything he asks us to do is possible only as the result of first deciding to follow. Come with me…that’s the rich topic of study and conversation. When I finally decide to be serious about the following, and accept the realities of following, then the door opens to change and transformation. Otherwise, I think I’ll just stick to bowling.