Shining Spirit

Yesterday was a very special day for me. I was honored to celebrate the baptism of a good friend who lives in the community. When I arrived at the church to do some preparation for the ceremony, I noticed that the lovely baptismal pool, with its cascading waterfall, was bone dry. Hard to do a baptism without water. So I found the maintenance tech who quickly fixed the problem, explaining that the pool at been cleaned earlier in the day and water would be flowing in a matter of moments. While he filled the pool, I walked to the main entrance of the church and stood looking out the large stained-glass window. Through I clear portion I could see rain falling gently. It must have just started because I didn’t get wet coming into the church. And then it hit me…no water in the baptismal pool, but not to worry. God provides. Here, in a moment of scarcity, God brings water. I smiled as I walked back into the sanctuary and approached the maintenance tech who said he would just be another moment. I strolled over to a large window on the back side of the sanctuary, glanced out and got another wonderful surprise. A brilliant rainbow arched perfectly in my view. Breathtaking!

Water from the sky…and now a rainbow that brought an appreciated reminder: When I set my bow in the clouds, you will know that I am with you. It’s right out of the scriptures. The rainbow is a symbol of the abiding presence of God. So, this was a moment to remember, not only for the one being baptized, but also for the Pastor who needed to be reminded that God provides. Quite a moment.

Today I plan to do two important things, not three or seven. Just two. Of course, more important moments may come forward, but I cannot anticipate them. I’m planning for only two and that’s enough for someone my age.

The first important moment is the meeting of a community Memoir Group. I think maybe four or five “mature” citizens will attend. We will read to each other the stories, anecdotes, and vignettes we can pull up from the dark place called Memory. Ah, yes; Memory. I knew him well. One or two of us will not remember that we read that particular piece at the last gathering. My friends will be kind because they do the same thing and because they don’t remember what I read, anyway. Some of us are hesitant to admit that Memory packed up and moved to St. Louis not long ago.

Today’s second important moment will be in the late afternoon when I will baptize a very nice woman who just remembered that she was not baptized as a child, she can’t find any pertinent documentation that would confirm an adult baptism, and that it would be a good idea to take care of this oversight in the second half of her life. I agree and will be honored to conduct this sacred ceremony.

The point: Memory is involved in both events. Clearly in the first, as in the second which asks us to go far back into history, to the baptism of Jesus in the Jordan River and to his admonition to “go into all the world…baptizing in my name.” This holy rite of the church is remembering, rejoicing, rebirthing and responding to an invitation. Baptism is not a good-luck charm or fire insurance. It’s a response to an invitation to attend a party that starts now and extends into eternity. Some things are important to remember, some aren’t. This is.

So, today I will be doubly blessed. I will laugh and cry with friends as we remember poignant particles of our lives and I will feel again the presence of The Spirit splashing around in the waters of baptism. As the Psalmist of the Old Testament writes: “this is the day the Lord has made; I will rejoice and be glad in it.”

You got that right!

Everybody knew him as “Mr. Rogers”, the soft-spoken, always smiling host of a TV show for children: “Mr. Roger’s Neighborhood.” Fred Rogers told stories with profound lessons, sang, shared his popularity with puppets and captured the hearts of people all over the world. Adults, too. His song, “Won’t You Be My Neighbor?” was included in every show and left its indelible mark on the world. Here’s one of many “lessons” Fred Rogers shared with his viewers: “Imagining something may be the first step in making it happen, but it takes the real time and real efforts of real people to learn things, make things, turn thoughts into deeds or visions into inventions.” Everybody wanted to be Fred Roger’s neighbor.

My wife and I have wonderful neighbors all around us. A few days ago, I saw one of those remarkable neighbors at the cluster of mailboxes where…you guessed it…we pick up mail. I opened the little door of my box, saw nothing but empty space, and commented ” Empty again. We never get any mail.” My neighbor must have heard my grumbling, thought “hmm, I can solve that”, went home and painted the two beautiful bookmarks you see in the photo above. From scratch. The real deal. She didn’t buy them at the Hallmark store. She made them. Cut the paper, mixed the paints, dreamed the scenes and then applied brush to paper. Then she put the bookmarks in an envelope, stamped it and dropped it in the mail. Yesterday I opened the little door on my mailbox, saw the envelope, thought to myself: “well, we’ve got mail.” When I opened the envelope and saw these two lovely bookmarks, one for me and one for my wife, I knew in a flash: we’ve got a beautiful gift. We have two hand-crafted pieces of art. We have a very thoughtful neighbor. We have a friend.

The best insight was the last one…we have a friend. All the possessions you can imagine don’t equal the value of a good friend. Maybe today you might want to look around and “count your blessings.” The gift of friendship given and received is priceless. You are richer than you think.

Psalm 133:1 — How wonderful, how beautiful, when brothers and sisters get along…and then take the next step: Be a friend.

Compassion is not weakness.

It is good for aristocrats
and aliens alike;
It works in the environment
and the economy;
It opens hearts 
instead of closing doors;
It is a balm for the broken
and backbone for the weak;
Compassion speaks truth
rather than design deception;
Compassion is a friend
of the courageous,
not an ally of the cowardly;
It lives in hope of the better,
not accusations of the worst.
Compassion is the way of Jesus,
not the methods of monarchs.
Compassion lives in the heart of goodness,
retribution in the minds of evil.

Compassion is not weakness.

May you feel the stirring of your heart today
when a smile is received, a kind word heard,
an authentic embrace shared. Take note.
Practice gratitude.

May you experience a sense of necessity
when the opportunity comes to sing,
to dance, to laugh, to cry. Take note.
Practice awareness.

May your faith be strong, your hope be
grounded in Certain Mystery, your
courage be sufficient, your love
endless. Take note.
Today will be like no other.
There may never be another opportunity
to do what you know needs to be done.

Live today. This is it.

I sit at the foot of the mountain,
rugged mountain, shadowed majesty,
in the dusk of the day, and I hear
the harmonies of wind and water in
the laughter of a distant waterfall.
I cannot see it, but I know it is there.
I long to feel its soothing spray fill
the pores of my flesh, penetrate to
the tender dryness of my soul.  Yet,
it is enough to hear its song and
to feel my heart begin to sing again.
Somewhere, deep in a darkening
canyon, the waterfall whispers to
me over smooth, wet stones.  And I
am paralyzed in the pleasure of
the moment.  Shall I climb toward
the sounds, seek out the source of
my dusk delight?  Or, shall I remain
under the canopy of the willow
listening to the distant splash of
angels' wings as they frolic at the
foot of the mountain, in the pool
of paradise?

I shall lay aside my pack and rest
myself in the cool, green grass
as willow branches dance above
me and I drift to sleep in the embrace
of the earth, stilled by the song
of the waterfall.

I like the solid ground of certainty as much as the next guy. It’s nice to know that what you know is true. It’s true because I learned it from a reliable source. If your reliable source doesn’t agree with my reliable source, mine’s right. Obviously.

Here is the brief homily given by the character Cardinal Lawrence in the movie Conclave. The Cardinals of the Roman Catholic Church are in Conclave upon the death of the current Pope and they are charged with electing the next Pope. In the midst of debate and heated dialogue, Cardinal Lawrence says:

“Our faith is a living thing precisely because it walks hand-in-hand with doubt. If there was only certainty and no doubt, there would be no mystery. And therefore no need for faith. There is one sin which I have come to fear above all else…certainty. Certainty is the great enemy of unity…the deadly enemy of tolerance.”

Fear is often the parent of absolute certainty, the companion of violence, the friend of power seekers. Absolute certainty demanded in the name of flag or faith sounds very much like foundations cracking and walls crumbling. We will never find unity within ourselves or tolerance toward inevitable diversity if we are not willing to wonder.

May the Beautiful Mystery challenge us today in the comforts of our certainties, replacing absolutes with awe. May this be true for both of us. Amen.

Hardly! I leave it to you to attach emotional feelings to this particular day. I simply report these realities to you: (1) Today we remember the life and work of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. His contributions to the welfare of humanity are significant. It is appropriate to honor his memory and to live out the positive principles that he advocated. (2) Today we witness the inauguration of the 47th President of The United States of America. Some observers are calling Mr. Trump’s second term as President, “Trump 2.0.” It is likely that many changes in governmental leadership will be proposed and some carried out in practice. (3) I have to get my car washed and go to the grocery store. (4) I need to make an appointment with my doctor. Getting old is not always fun.

Observation: All four things about today are important, plus all the other things that will happen unexpectedly. Each thing you and I do today will have some degree of impact on some little piece of civilization. What we think and do matters, perhaps not on the level of prophet or presidential inauguration, but matters still. Life matters whether we agree with it or not, support it or not as it is played out on the grand stage of living. As a steward of this life, as you are, too, I offer back to the Creator of time this Just Another Monday day. I lift up this day before God and I pray with gratitude for the memories of prophets and priests, leaders like Dr. King. And I pray for Presidents, former and present and to be inaugurated. I encourage you to do the same. Let’s set aside the highs and lows of emotions and concentrate on the most profound prayer you can ever pray, four words: Thy will be done. Think those words, say them, sing them, share them, live them on this Just Another Monday day.

God of all histories and all futures: Thy will be done. May it be so. Amen.

As the sun rises over the mountain ridge,
I open my eyes to see, my mind to new
understanding, my ears to hear your voice
in the early morning breeze. But not my
mouth, Lord, because sometimes the sound
of my own voice drowns out the life flow
from You. So I sit in quiet anticipation.
Holy Spirit speak.

Yes, Lord, I ask for the mercy of forgiveness,
for the abundance of your Sacred Love to
fall upon us, for relief and courage for all
the people caught up in the terrors of fire
and destruction in California, for this nation
as we witness the change of national
leadership tomorrow. Unite us in one mind
so that in concert and cooperation we might
seek, discover, and implement righteousness
for all your creation.

Glory to God in the highest; peace on this earth
and throughout all creation, in the spirit of the
one we know as Jesus Christ, Lord of all. Amen

Goal For The Day: Find a Quiet Place. Name it. Maybe it’s nearby, in your neighborhood, within reasonable driving range. Find it, name it, and claim it as your own. “This is where I go when I have nothing to do, or too much to do. This is my refreshment place.” Don’t search for the perfect place, idyllic. Spirit refreshment happens when you find and name a place that is special for you…and when you go there.

Another possibility: the Quiet Place might be inside rather than outside; inside yourself. Some people have the capacity to find their Quiet Place without getting in the car and going somewhere, or moving to a new location. They pause, even in the midst of activity, and rest for a few minutes in their own interiority. They meet renewal there.

Do you keep a calendar of daily or weekly events? Then the next suggestion is to “calendar” your Quiet Place visit regularly. Daily? Every day is probably best. Put “Quiet Place” on your calendar just like you do for doctor visits or pickleball with your friends. And when you see that entry on the calendar, honor it. If you think this is another obligation among many, then forget it. It will be just that. Trudge on. But if you see it as a gift from Spirit to spirit, then treat it gratefully, open it slowly and intentionally. It’s just for you.

A Quiet Place. Your rendezvous with rest, refreshment and renewal. “Give us this day our daily bread.” Got it? Okay. Off you go.