Shining Spirit

The meeting was over, I was tired, the evening air was heavy and hot, and I was ready to make the twenty-minute drive home. I tossed the backpack of group material in the seat next to me, punched all the necessary buttons to wake the car, seat belt on, off we go. When I made the turn from the parking lot onto a quiet side street, I hit the brakes. Not because there was a traffic danger but because there was a divine wink in the sky before me. The conversation in the group meeting had focused on being sensitive to the surprising presence of The Holy. And there it was, hanging in the darkening sky.

How could I not stop, turn the car engine off, and breathe in the message and the Mystery? Some people would see the same dramatic sky as beautiful. They might even take pictures of the moment, just like I did. I saw it, though, as God’s wink of confirmation that all is well. All is well. It was a very pleasant drive home from that revealing moment. Be on the lookout. Keep your spiritual eyes open. “The heavens declare the glory of God…” Keep your head up and travel the journey with confident hope. We are not alone.

A lot of people are worried today. Are you one of them? Worried about family problems, about the future, about cultural changes or political unrest, about something very personal. A lot of people are worried today and a lot of them suffer from GAD. GAD! Generalized Anxiety Disorder. Here are some symptoms: pain in the back, fatigue, restlessness, irritability, nausea, lack of concentration. I’ve got them all! I’m a GAD carrier! What can I do? How can I rid myself of his debilitating disorder? Well, you can try the Big Three: take pills, practice self-care, and/or go see a therapist. The usual. And/or you can listen to good advice: “You may not control all the events that happen to you, but you can decide not to be reduced by them.” Thank you, Maya Angelou. “Worry often gives a small thing a big shadow.” Thanks to some old Swede who stated the Proverb. “It is during our darkest moments that we must focus to see the light.” Aristotle is right.

Allow me, Sir, to expand your good thought about seeing the light. You and I can or do have the remedy inside of us, present and waiting to blossom. And when we realize or remember this truth, life begins to regain balance and some stability. Here’s the answer in the wonderful chorus of a song that sings the solution to the pain of GAD: “the second you realize what you have inside, then it’s only a matter of time until…. you Sing, so the back row can hear you; Glide, cause walkin just won’t do; Dance, you don’t have to know how to; Laugh til your whole side is hurtin; Smile, like you just got away with something….the second you realize what you have inside! Grace Got You! That’s the name of the song by MercyMe, and it is number one in the list of remedies for GAD: Grace, God’s Grace, is inside you. Grace Got You! And when I realize it, remember it, then it’s only a matter of time until light begins to replace darkness.

GAD be gone! Grace got me! You, too! Come on…let’s dance!

All of you who are frightened and confused,
Come stand here.

Here on the high ground of reason
Here on the rock of faith unshaken
Here where you can see tomorrow.

Without the hype and the spin
Come stand here, for there is room for everyone.
Room for people of every color and culture
Of every memory and story.

Come stand here, in the midst of the madness
Here where others can see us and take hope.
Do not be afraid
But believe in the foundation beneath us:

Justice and mercy, truth and integrity
Common sense and compassion.
We may have moved from them
But they have not moved from us.

Come stand here, in freedom and love
And together we will build the sanctuary
For which so many have longed and so many have prayed.

(A meditation written by Steven Charleston in his book Spirit Wheel: Meditations From An Indigenous Elder, Broadleaf Books, 2023, p. 122)

Thank you, Bishop Charleston!

It was a vicious storm with 80 mile-an-hour winds, waves of stinging rain and nickel-sized hail that turned the asphalt white. When it was over, people ventured out to assess the damage and to make contact with each other. Words were spoken, smiles shared, stories told and somewhere in the mix of it all, there was a touch, a handshake or a pat on the back or a hand laid on a shoulder. It was as if the conversation of concern, compassion and caring was sealed with a touch. When I was a little boy and I did something “naughty” like little boys will do sometimes, it was good to hear my parent or grandparent say; “All is well, everything is okay; you are forgiven.” But it wasn’t enough. “Can I have a hug, Grandma?”

There are hugs of “hello” and hugs of “I forgive you” and hugs of “hang on; it’s going to be okay” but whatever kind of hug it is, a gentle touch or a bear hug, human touch links and connects. Remember the derogatory phrase “touchy, feely”? Well, surprise, surprise! When neighbors or nations lose the capacity to touch or feel, when we build barricades and throw bricks at each other…or bullets…we will never be healed and restored and renewed. The day will come when former enemies look at each other through moist eyes and ask: “Can I have a hug, please?” But in the meantime, God forgive us for all the damage we can and will do to each other.

God, have mercy on your wandering children. Christ, forgive our intentional forgetfulness of your meaning and message. God, can we have a hug, please? And when that hug is truly felt, there is only one remaining to give or receive. And that’s the hardest one.

Grant me, Lord, the gift of quiet today, the grace of silence as I reflect again on the horrors of cruelty and brutality, the acts of abhorrent violence demonstrated yesterday in the attempted assassination of a political figure in our country. Why, Lord, can we not agree or disagree with human civility? What is the source of our hate that drives us beyond conversation or dialogue or negotiation to guns and violence? Is there a way back to human understanding, to graciousness, to compassion? Only in the truth of the message of Jesus do I find that possibility. Only in His Way, His values, His demonstrated life do I find hope for our troubled time. Help us, Lord God, to have the courage to meet each other on that path and to walk side by side into a better time of understanding and common efforts toward peace, both at home and around this world. In the spirit of the one who said: “I am the way…” do I make this prayer. Amen.

A Yellowjacket on the lamp shade, invader but fascinating to a four-year-old. The inevitable. “But it hurts!” she cried as she ran from room to room. Will the running make the pain go away? Is this where we learned the technique? Run! Escape! Lose control to fear and then to confusion, and then to chaos. Run!

“Come to me and I will give you rest…”

“Look,” I said to my child. “Look how clear the water is today. You can see all the way to the bottom
of the pond.” Then, with a giggle, she threw a stone into the water, once calm, now churning and bubbling. Ripples everywhere! “Daddy, I can’t see anymore. Make it clear again.” And all the while, she moved her little hand back and forth in the water in her effort to brush the ripples away. “Let the water rest,” I said. “No,” she countered, trying so hard to smooth the surface. “I must make it clear again.”

“Still waters…restored soul…come to me.”

Moist ground, raw from picks and shovels, covered the grave. A gash in the earth, like a cut trying to heal. He knelt in the wet grass, never noticing a soft rain that fell from dark gray skies. Tears mixed with droplets covered his cheeks. When he struggled to pull a handkerchief from his coat pocket, I reached out to help. No need. His hand reappeared holding a small bottle of amber liquid. Two gulps and then he waited for the rain to stop. But it didn’t. And it won’t.

Run! “Make it go away, daddy.” Hide! Scream! “But it hurts!” Faster! Farther! Run!

“He leads me to still waters; He restores my soul….”

Slow down. Stop. You can’t outrun the pain.

She stands on the corner of my desk, holding a candle to the sky, waiting for light to come. Isn’t that what we are called to do? Lift our hands to the sky, our hearts, our faces. It’s called Faith. I urge you to lift your hands and your heart to the heavens today. Make time to actually stand with your arms and hands extended to God. Light will come in due time, at the right moment. Be persistent. And, once receiving the Light, carry it courageously, compassionately, carefully. We are entrusted with light from Light. Thanks be to God for the gift. Amen.

What are you going to celebrate today? Yes, celebrate! Turn cartwheels! Dance! Sing! Maybe just dancing and singing. Most of my friends probably shouldn’t do cartwheels. But I still ask: What are you going to celebrate today? A person? A memory? A plan? Sing so the last row can hear you; smile until your face hurts. Celebration is in our nature, for we have been claimed by Christ, blessed in so many ways, given mission and ministry to do for Him, and assured of abiding Presence. See! Good reason to celebrate! But, no cartwheels, please.

Where will your flight take you today? Appointments? Meetings? Coffee with a friend? Errands? Here’s a fact: You will never be alone, and I don’t mean all the other travelers you will meet. You possess and are possessed by The Companion who whispers to your heart: “You are loved so that you can love. You are blessed so that you can bless.” Listen carefully and live this day

“It doesn’t have to be perfect to be wonderful.”

It’s an anonymous quotation that showed up in a little book of quotes and sayings. It’s worth a second look.

People who demand perfection often live in a world of disappointment. And that’s because perfection is rarely found in friendships, families, spouses or one’s own self. How many kids have been driven to despair by parents who try to compensate for their own frailties by insisting that their child be perfect. There’s a powerful line in a Gregory Alan Isakov song that says: “If it weren’t for second chances, we’d all be alone.”

I hope your friends are perfect, your spouse is perfect, your apple pies, your memory, the state of your house, your children, that report you wrote, your golf game and your understanding of quantum physics are all perfect. If not, settle for wonderful.

Another song lyric comes to mind: “O Lord, it’s hard to be humble when you’re perfect in every way!” Willie Nelson? That person in your mirror: God thinks that person is wonderful. Perfect? Well…

Finally, treat other people today as if they are wonderful, because they are. Don’t demand perfection of them or yourself. It won’t work. “If possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone…” (Romans 12:18) They are wonderful, and so are you.