Shining Spirit

Unseen. Unheard.
Through the cold black cosmic clutter,
a jagged rock near the size of a house
streaks among familiar stars,
between planets yet unrecorded
in earth journals.
The speed is astonishing,
the course straight,
the destination: the
end of infinity.

Until the meteor
passes into the blue
haze surrounding Planet
Earth, an atmosphere
that resists penetration and
probing, a blue curtain
protecting the green planet
from cold extinction.

There is no anonymity when racing
through the blue corridors of heaven.
Atmosphere resists the intrusion,
applies pressures against the
meteor’s bad manners.

Result: chips and flakes and
bits and pieces fall away,
ripped from the diminishing
stone by furious friction. As
meteor’s size shrinks, the
heated stone begins to glow.
Light increases!

Brighter and brighter until the
pilgrim stone bursts into earth’s
awareness as pure light. “Look!”
he said, standing on the corner
of 5th and Main. “Is it the end
of time?” “No,” his friend replied,
“the end is always the beginning.”

Dense darkness.
Faint glow.
Pure brilliance!

If it were not for the friction,
would we ever know light?

I’ve never found any historical evidence for this, but it could have happened. I’m still searching.

One day, early in the time Jesus was getting started in public ministry, the Master realized that his mission was so big that it would be necessary to enlist helpers. Disciples. He knew many young men and women in his community, so he thought and prayed and thought some more, then approached a selected few to join him in the work. He decided that since his mission was unique and would appeal to all people, it was necessary to get a good representation of the community; credentials were not important, just courage and commitment.

After inviting quite a few people, he held a meeting at which he explained his calling, the work to be done, risks and rewards, and everyone listened intently. He went through the organizational structure, the amount of time asked, positions of leadership that would have to be filled. Someone in the back of the group asked: Do we have Bylaws? Jesus smiled and replied: Well, in a sense. We certainly have guiding principles, like: Do unto others as you would have them do unto you, and Love your neighbor as yourself, and Let your light shine in order to honor God, and Do not judge others, and Do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink….things like that. Another hand went up: Do we have a name? What do we call ourselves? Came the reply: Well, how about People of The Way or just Disciples. Disciples of Jesus, how’s that? Some people got up and drifted away; not their kind of organization. Others sat focusing intently on this dynamic, genuine young man who added one or two more principles: Speak truth; insist on justice for everyone; be willing to stand up with the helpless; teach mercy and forgiveness. But most of all: Love God with every fiber of your being.

Another hand shot up in the back: “Do we get name tags?” Of a sort, Jesus answered: Here take these things, and he handed the man a bowl and a towel. The questioner looked at both, laid them down and walked away. Most of those who stayed became Bowl-and-Towel carrying Disciples of Jesus and history tells us they changed their world.

Finally, I’m glad to report this reality which I believe to be completely true: Name tags are issued when you walk through one door of the church, bowls and towels when you walk out the other door, out into ministry. What happens in between is called Disciple-Making. A church doesn’t shield us from the ugliness of the world; it puts us right in the middle of it. And when asked for our credentials, we hold up the bowl and the towel and announce “I am here in the name of Jesus.”

The rest is entirely up to God. Every age, even this one, needs people who identify themselves as Disciples of Jesus, bearers of beatitudes into a broken world. If you’ve never had a bowl and towel, get them. If you do, use them. It is always time to make a difference.

Every Thursday morning I spend a few hours with 25 Kindergarten students who are excited to be learners. I see it in their eyes, hear it in their voices. Mixed in with all that energy there is a joy in discovering. When the light comes on in young minds, in those first moments of understanding, they laugh and clap in astonishment. They have discovered something that has always been present to those who seek it: the reality that C-A-T spells Cat.

For fifty-five years as a Pastor/Minister/Chaplain I have sat with adults who seek deeper relationships with and understandings of God. They want to discover, and when they do, when the light comes on in the heart, there is a depth of joy that is unexplainable. Alphabet letters and a numbering system have been around a long time. Each one of us tapped into them with the help of a teacher or friend. Likewise, the inviting presence of God has moved through life since time began; available, present, inviting, discoverable. No one can take it all in with one “Ah, ha!” whether it’s 2+2=4 or a flood of sacred light. We learn God. In a relationship, in a moment of study or worship, driving along the freeway, listening to music, playing with your grandchildren, holding the hand of a sick friend, singing in the shower, smiling, forgiving. God is like a constant stream, like a river into which one can step. God is a constant presence that invites inquiry, discovery, and relationship. And, to me, that means life is a question looking for an answer. Those Kindergarteners take in as much as they can, but certainly not the entirety of intellectual understanding. In the same way, you and I learn our way into God, the eternal and constant presence, in all those experiences and encounters that we call daily living.

The very good news is that the nature, purpose, and character of God have been revealed in the historical person of Jesus. In a sense, he is the one sitting at the table holding up flash cards, not the ones that say C-A-T means Cat but the ones that announce: Do unto others…love your neighbor…give to receive…forgive as you are forgiven…follow me into more and more discovery. Each one of us is learning God and we are at different places in that discovery process, we approach the learning through different methods and experiences, and we move at different paces or speeds. However you choose to do it, discover with honesty, humility and genuine gratitude. Is there a final goal, a diploma to be obtained at the end of the learning process? Yes. More discovery, further revealing. Forever.

Think about this today. Be a learner through today’s encounters. And when you experience the moment of insight or revealing, clap your hands and be grateful.

Class dismissed.

You’re looking at a wooden, backyard deck that is covered in ice. No, it’s not in Tucson, Arizona. And, no, the photo wasn’t taken in September. And, yes, I’m very tired of 100+ degree days. Will this heat ever end? So, by posting this picture I am acknowledging that the daily temperature is beginning to warp my view of reality, and, that there is a life lesson for each of us in the icy setting. It is this: it is a wise person who walks carefully through life because everything is not as it seems at first glance. That’s not a fresh coat of varnish on the wooden surface; that is slippery, “watch your step” ice and it is both beautiful and treacherous.

Be observant today. Watch where you step. Be alert to possibilities for good and to warning signs for danger. Don’t rush headlong into a tumble. Take your time, reflect, discern, and most of all, follow the footprints of the One who has walked the way before you. And, if today gets really slippery, take his hand and walk by his side.

You are safe with, beside, in and through Christ who loves you. Don’t be afraid. Even if you fall down, He will pick you up. Press on.

One of my favorite stopping places online is “Quotations.” I just put that word in the search line and then explore many wonderful collections of important sayings and insights. An example or two: the famous theologian, Reinhold Niebuhr: “Man’s capacity for justice makes Democracy possible, but man’s inclination to injustice makes Democracy necessary.” Niebuhr knew us well. Or Edmund Burke: “Nobody makes a greater mistake than he who does nothing because he could do only a little.” Every positive act counts, even if it is a little act. But the one that really hits home is this, a quotation from Alfred Adler: “It is always easier to fight for one’s principles than to live up to them.” He was right. In our spiritual lives, it is sometimes easier to argue for justice while living unjustly; for mercy even while being merciless; to advocate for love while hating my neighbor. What we say has to match what we do. To love Christ is to love the unlovable; and that’s not easy. Sometimes our best arguments for a particular principle or practice are lost when what we say does not match what we do.

Probably a good idea for each of us to examine our dearest principles in the light of our faithful practice. Press on.

I had a brilliant idea the other day (he said modestly). I will rearrange my desk for better usage of my electronic toys, more efficiency. Isn’t that the point of life — be efficient? So, from left to right on the desk: a lamp, a round electronic ball that makes music, the one that has a name: “Hey…” Next comes a small, framed picture, post-it notes, two three-ring binders, a large desktop video monitor, a small notepad, another framed photo, a ceramic figure holding a candle over her head, a bluetooth keyboard and mouse, a laptop, a printer, and some things on a bottom shelf. And, since they all need to “talk” to each other, there are wires everywhere: monitor to laptop, laptop to printer, etc.

After extensive planning and what seemed like hours of rearranging, I put everything back like it was originally. The challenge was to reconnect all those power cords and cables, in the right places. HDMI and USB cables don’t live at the same address. So, finally I had all the cables connected and running into a power-surge device, and I began pushing “On” buttons. No response. No printer. No monitor. The laptop wouldn’t wake up. Efficiency. Even the desk lamp refused to cooperate. Well, electronic wizard that I am, I fiddled with the wires and fumed but finally noticed one substantial cord resting on the floor without any connection. Just laying there. Guess what…that power surge mechanism, bristling with wires, doesn’t function well unless it is plugged into a source. Power! Current! The simple electrical outlet on the wall welcomed that one wire, and everything came to life. Source! The Source! Nothing works without power from The Source. Things don’t work unless they are plugged in. Get it?

Ok, one last try: spiritual insight and energy are readily available to you today, but you have to plug into The Source. Ah, ha!

Author Henry Miller once said: “One’s destination is never a place, but rather a new way of looking at things.” I beg to differ. A destination is always a place. I’ve got to get to the grocery store, or to Chicago, or to my doctor’s office; those are destinations. My days are filled with departures and arrivals. Another way of grasping what Mr. Miller said is this: Every destination reached is an opportunity to see in a new way. Seeing in a new way; seeing as if for the first time; seeing beyond what your eyes take in. For instance, my doctor’s office is packed with sick people, and here I sit in the midst of coughing, sneezing, and runny noses. And then I look to my right and there is a sweet little girl nestled in her mother’s lap, her head resting on mother’s chest. I’m looking at her…the destination of my looking…and then, suddenly, I see her. I see her because she glances my way and her eyes lock onto mine. For a moment only, we see each other. A soft smile forms on her face and I return the smile just as she closes her eyes in the peace and security of Mom’s arms. In the midst of sneezing, coughing and runny noses, I’m not looking, I’m seeing. Two smiles meet; a connection is made, and for a split second my destination becomes a divine encounter.

The destination is important, but destinations always hold surprises that are encountered not simply by looking, but by seeing. Think about some of the destinations in your life, the ones you will go to today: the restaurant, the barber shop, the next room in your house. Every destination is a doorway to seeing with the eyes of your heart, and that’s certainly in keeping with who we are, followers of The Way. “Lillies of the field…birds of the air…”

You look at them every day. But, do you see them?

Arthur Ashe was a marvelous tennis player lost to the world too early in his life. In his playing, he thrilled audiences. In his wisdom, he challenged those of us today who shrug our shoulders and say: “But what can I do?”….about…hunger, or my neighbor’s loneliness, or a child’s fear, or…you name it.

Ashe’s suggestion:

Start where you are

Use what you have

Do what you can

Don’t wait until you are confident of success, or better equipped, or smarter, or less busy with your own commitments. Risk for the reward of seeing one hungry person fed, one homeless person sheltered, one child given a chance, one broken heart mended, hearing the sound of that inner voice saying: “Well done, good and faithful servant.”

“As you have done it to the least of these, you have done it unto me.”
What can you do? What are you doing?

To the ancient Jesus gathering that met in the city of Corinth, Paul writes: “I give thanks to my God always for you because of the grace of God that has been given you in Christ.” It isn’t many lines later in his letter that Paul writes: “it has been reported to me by Chloe’s people that there are quarrels among you, my brothers and sisters.” And here’s what Paul is hearing about the Corinth community: “Some of you say ‘I belong to Paul,’ or ‘I belong to Apollos,’ or ‘I belong to Cephas,’ or ‘I belong to Christ.'” The Grace-filled community is struggling with the eternal issue of disunity, favoritism, confused allegiances. So, Paul is quick to remind them: You belong to Christ, and Christ alone. You, Corinthians, gave up your former identity when you became Christ followers. Now you have one identify: Christ! and Christ alone.

It seems to me that it’s about time we took Paul’s Corinthian reminder very personally. Our angry, divisive time calls for it. Taken seriously, Paul’s statement would mean this for me: I am not a Texan who is a Christian; not an American who is a Christian; not a Democrat/Republican who is a Christian; not a husband/father/grandfather/retired male/nature lover/blog writer…who is a Christian. More than once in the 20 years I spent on active duty as a U.S. Navy Chaplain, I had to decide: Am I a Naval Officer who is a Christian, or am I a Christian who is a Naval Officer? I encourage you today to hear Paul’s words to the Corinth church and apply them to your own experience. Where is my first allegiance? Do I think and act as a “……-Christ” person or is Christ first in every aspect of my life? This moment in time begs each of us to be authentic, honest and honorable; to identify our reference points, the standards by which we define life. We don’t belong to a variety of different identifies plus Christ. Christ defines everything else. This is who we are…or should be.

Several of us went out into the early morning darkness recently…4 a.m…to watch the much publicized meteor shower that was just above our heads. We found a good place from which to view the spectacle and we waited. 4:15. 4:30. No flashes across the sky. About 5 a.m., not having seen even one bright streak, we blamed our failure on too much moon light or too many clouds and we drove home. On the way, someone said “well, it was a pleasant outing anyway. Very quiet. Temperature comfortable. Scenery magnificent. Did you notice the lights of town off in the distance?” And then it occurred to me: we just had a wonderfully quiet, beautifully decorated, peace-filled hour…in good company…and we called that a failure? We were so intent on seeing meteors that we missed the magic of that moment.

Said it before…say it again: beauty is everywhere. Today be mindful of the remarkable. It all waits to be discovered by one who sees with the eyes of the heart. Press on.