Shining Spirit

O, how I wish for a heart that sings!
Mine is so tired from all that I bring
to the altar of God, all the time that I spend,
programs and councils; it never ends.
So much to do; the conference next week,
here we are right at the peak
of Advent planning; the days fly by;
exhausted at night, I feel my heart cry.
How do I break this cycle of doom?
My soul is so full; there just isn’t room
to take on more; is this God’s desire?
Where is the spark that kindles the fire?

Today I will stop the self-imposed ways
that clutter the hours of my tedious days.
Today I will sit on a bench in the park,
maybe gaze at the stars when the night is dark.
I’ll wonder instead of wandering through
the maze of the old, the list of the new.
I can no longer deal with all life brings
if my soul has no ears to hear my heart sing.

Come Holy Spirit! Reshape my ways.
Give me the will to alter these days
in ways that will foster peace and calm,
the joy in knowing your healing balm.
I will gaze with wonder as each day brings
gifts that prompt my heart to sing.

"Just try it," she said, as she held the spoon under my little nose.  I did and it was terrible.

“Just try it,” he said, steadying the bicycle with his big hands while my little hands trembled on the handlebar. First ride fear. I fell over and skinned my elbow.

“Just try it,” my junior high friend said. “It will really make you feel great.” I told him I had symptoms of bubonic plague, so he took the bottle and hurriedly walked away.

The success of American culture is built on the phrase: “Just try it…” The new thing, the better thing, the fashionable thing. And sometimes the result of “just trying” is rewarding and you’re glad you tried. Other times are very forgettable. Is it curiosity built into our souls? What’s the root reason for “just trying it…”?
Maybe I’m just looking for something to fill an empty place in my life, a deep down emptiness, a sense of incompleteness. People fill that emptiness with lots of things. Religion is one of them. Religion as in structured law and easy answers. It feels good for a while, but one day you wake up and say to yourself: Where’s the joy?

Religion without relationship doesn’t fill the hole in our human makeup. Religion without relationship produces a social club that does good things for the neighborhood or the world. Relationship, not with the person next to you in the pew, not with the Pastor or Priest but with a Mystery that causes us to yearn in the first place. The little hole in my soul was left there so that I could realize my need for completeness, so that I could wonder and yearn, seek and find. People find lots of things to fill that empty spot, but over time, those things wear out and, as in a piece of fabric, the hole gets bigger.

I stake my life on a relationship that becomes a friendship that becomes a Lordship. It is social and sacred, public and personal, rewarding but radically different from my natural inclinations. And it is focused most clearly and completely in the man named Jesus whose words and actions redefine life.

One day, many years ago, I took the training wheels off the bike and I dared to ride alone. But you know what? I think I could still feel my grandfather’s steadying hand on my shoulder. Even so today. My 83-year-old legs get tired more easily, but I still feel a hand when I start to wobble. My Friend and Companion. The Completeness of my soul. I offer you a sacred opportunity and challenge. To the extent possible, think as He thought and live as He lived. Just try it.

Sometimes we are so focused on a task, an assignment, an obstacle that we don’t see alternatives or options. Poor guy. He knows the rock is in the way. He knows he has to get beyond it. And in his admirable determination, he begins to climb. Too bad he doesn’t open his eyes, glance to the right or the left and see the better way. Is there virtue in climbing over the rock?

A faith parallel: Sometimes we get so focused on a religious rule or doctrinal position that we begin to worship it, and when we do, we shut down other possibilities…things like charity, mercy, even compassion. Do you remember the man who used to say: “You have heard it said….but I say to you”? He saw the better way and demonstrated that strong faith, while based on foundational principles of love and selflessness, is open to a new Word, to sacred insight, to the mystery of The Spirit’s movement. Faith is foundational and fluid at the same time. One without the other puts a lot of rocks in the way.

Maybe the best option is this: Keep your eye fixed on Jesus…what he did and what he said. Stay close to him. He knows where the big rocks are, and the better way. Press on.

As a kid, I looked forward to Sunday School. My teacher brought snacks. Mary Lou thought I was cute. Our classroom was on the second floor of a very old building that used to be somebody’s house and that was much better than the sterile cinderblock building where most of the other classes met. And, of course, we learned religious stuff. But what turned out to be the best part of Sunday School, at the time, was when my teacher mentioned having been a competitive tennis player in her younger days…she was old now, maybe 50. And, she offered to teach any of us how to play the game. My hand was the first one waving in the air. So began my love of the beautiful game. Now that I know what old really means, I watch professional tennis on TV, wonderful events like the US Open that is about to conclude.

Now to the point. Tennis has a rather strange scoring system, and in that system the word “Love” means nothing. Well, it does mean something; it has no value. Love equals zero in tennis. So if I say: Eddie is ahead of Roger 40-love, you know several things: Eddie is serving; Eddie has 3 points to my zero. One more point and Eddie wins, unless we go to deuce, or unless we end up 6-6 and have to go to a tie-breaker. Strange, right? But here’s the most bizarre thing: Love means nothing…valueless, zero, zip.

Now that I have reached adult maturity and have put my tennis racquet away; now that I reflect on the many years that I have loved and been loved, I come to this conclusion. Love means everything. Priceless. Jesus was right in all those Sunday School booklets he wrote and my teacher handed out to our class: Love is patient, kind…able to endure…love is a healing balm and a bright light of hope in the sky. Tennis has got it all wrong.

With whom will you share your love today? Who has loved you into the person you are today? Is today the day you will let someone know they are loved? I hope so. Love wins.

May peace walk hand in hand
with honor today.

May truth and justice meet
in a place of mutual hope.

May love be known for its
resilience rather than its romance.

May dignity be accorded every
living thing without the
necessity of my personal judgment.

May I see the wonder of life
without trying to market it
for a profit.

May I realize that my opinion
might be good for me
but not necessarily for you.

May we agree on the easy
work together on the difficult
compromise where it is possible
and agree to disagree without
violence or vitriol.

May we meet as human beings
with common dreams
and part as friends.

Amen

You have, no doubt, heard about the Burning Bush? I had a Glowing Cactus experience yesterday. Well, not exactly the same. No voices this time, but the earth did speak in its own way. It said: “Watch where you walk today.” “Good morning!” “Light makes things beautiful.” “Even prickly things (including people) can be lovely.” “Maybe if Light shines on you today, you’ll be beautiful, too.”

Sometimes Glowing Cactus has a lot to say. Yes, it was holy ground in that moment. No, I didn’t take my boots off. But, I did say “Thank you!” Amazing to me where the Spirit will show up.

Do you have trouble making up your mind? Do I do this, or that? Yes? No? Buy the widget? Don’t buy the widget? Meet my friend, the tree, who can’t make up his mind. Should I grow up? Out? Around? And the answer was “Yes!” You can see the result: a strange looking tree that, in its indecision, is a work of art. Maybe he just dares to be different. Maybe he’s a rebel among trees and just wants to show off. Or, maybe there wasn’t chaos in his formation, but creativity. And maybe it was for you to see and admire, and others like you who pass by. Once in awhile, Creation puts the blueprint down and slips in a tree like this one, just for the fun of it, just for you to take notice and smile.

Of course, you’ll never see it if you’re rushing through your day. These prizes, and there are many, are reserved for those who walk slowly, look gratefully, and say “Thank You” to the Design Artist. What a wonderful example of the laughter of God.

My agreement with myself concerning photography is this: If I can get one or two good shots out of fifty taken, then it has been a good day. Thank heavens for digital photography. The rule wouldn’t work with the old print process. And, a good picture is one that is, among other things, sharp, crisp in detail. Unless your intention is to produce a blurry picture, then blurry is not welcome.

And then along comes a photo like the one above. When I first saw it, I thought trash bin. Not very good. Then I looked again…and again until I finally saw something special in the soft blending, which is to say, in the blurry. The flowers, the lovely hummingbird in motion, the color and texture of the wall; I like it. It’s a keeper.

Moral of the story: Not everything has to be perfect. You would think that by his time in my life, (yours, too?) I would have figured that out. How about you? I think about that man named Jesus and how he took people where they were, accepted, welcomed, didn’t demand perfection before he would associate with them. He seemed to care for everyone, and, even better, Jesus said this same welcoming love for everyone is the very nature of God. A divided, hostile, imperfect 21st Century needs to hear the message everyday.

Maybe today, “blurry” will happen in your comings and goings. Maybe you will encounter someone who is different from your own personal standards. Two suggestions: First, go slowly and thoughtfully before you write them off, second: look for the good, not just the “bad”, and third: look in the mirror. I know, that’s three. Life’s a little blurry, isn’t it.

With Christ in you, through you, and with you, press on.

So, I called the office and said: “I’d like to report someone(s) in my reserved parking space.” They said: Can you describe the car, please? I replied: “It’s not a car. It’s two furry things that look like pigs on stilts.” There was a long pause. “And both have hair standing up on their backs, and they’re looking at me,” I added. “They look hungry.”

That was an experience yesterday morning. In truth, they didn’t hurt anything. They just wandered in through an open gate and after sniffing some purple flowers nearby, they trotted back through the gate and on to their next visit. Sometimes neighbors act in strange ways…unannounced visits, borrowing this or that. But I guess all neighbors have little quirks; all except you and me, of course.

Maybe if these furry neighbors stop in again, I’ll have a little refreshment for them. Jesus said be kind and generous toward all people because everyone is our neighbor. Furry ones, too?

From the mind and heart of the Christian mystic, Fr. Thomas Merton, a valuable thought and spiritual gift:

“Finding Myself In Christ”
There is no failure for those who are loved and sought by Christ. He loves you, even though you may feel that you have lost your religious energy and that your faith does not have its old drive. To feel oneself a great and vital Christian is a luxury that we have to do without today when God is so hidden and so unknown in His world…Perhaps he wills to be hidden even in our lives. We must be content to be united with Jesus in his passion and darkness, for it is thus that we cooperate with Him (God) in helping others.”

In those times when God is silent, when there is no word, unite your mind and your strength with Jesus. Be the Living One in your world and two things will happen: You will be helping others, as Jesus did, and you will have placed yourself in the perfect position to hear the message of God when it comes.

The Art of Thomas Merton, John Moses, 2017, Franciscan Press, p141