Shining Spirit

If you look through death, there is hope.

Beyond the moment is the greater reality.

Practice seeing “beyond” the obvious: beyond the disappointment or sadness. Faith is simply seeing through the moment into the mystery.

“Nothing can separate us from the love of God in Jesus Christ…”

Nothing

Here? But, where is here?

The object above is called a street map. People used to use them before “you-know-who” came along. I don’t remember ever talking to my street map: “Hey, Map…” But it got me to my destination…if…if I knew my starting point and the final destination. First problem: where am I on this confusing display of streets? Go ahead and draw a circle around your destination, but that won’t get you there. So, I begin to look for identifying markers, location points around here. For instance, I’m looking out over a river…that helps. Over there is a street sign…another step forward. That’s a tall skyscraper off to the left…making progress. Finally, when the moment comes that you’ve got a reasonably good sense of your present location, you begin to relate that to the destination. Or, as an alternative, you scream: “Hey, map…!!

Overlay this onto your spiritual life and you get this scenario. “How do I determine if I’m on track to the treasure I seek: deep communion with the heart of God? Where am I at this moment?” And you begin looking for markers, like “my familiarity of and commitment to the message of Jesus. What did he teach and am I walking in his footsteps?” Or, “how do I express or practice my relationship with Christ?” Or, “do I really care about the sick, the poor, the suffering. What am I doing to address those conditions?” Or, “Have I developed a prayer or meditation life; that is, do I have a listening-session regularly when I listen for that ‘still, small voice’?”

Sign posts. Guide markers to your goal. “Wanting” won’t get you there, just like holding a paper map in your hand won’t get you to your destination. If your answers to the questions above are: “No,” “I don’t”, “No” and “No”, you need some help. Sit down on that park bench over there and have a little conversation with The Spirit. Maybe something like: “Ok, Jesus I can’t find my way. Help, please.” It’s likely that in your heart you will hear: “Know what I taught and follow it. See how I lived and do the same.” There’s joy in the journey and amazing grace at the destination, and lots of twists and turns along the way. Sure helps to recognize those signposts and to know that you’re heading in the right direction. Press on.

I am deeply moved by this paragraph from the book “You Are Here” by David Steindl-Rast. I hope you, too, feel its spiritual power and urgency.

“…many people are not aware of their dignity. To grow into consciousness of his or her human dignity, a child needs two things: being loved unconditionally and being recognized, affirmed, and supported in its uniqueness. Because so many children today lack these two essential experiences, more and more people are feeling worthless and degraded. For adults it is difficult to make up for what they were not given in childhood. However, even adults who are in this way underprivileged can come to the insight that life gives them what they need to become aware of their dignity, even if their parents and caregivers failed to do so. We stand in the great network of life and belong unconditionally to that great community. Not only that, but life loves us and affirms us in our uniqueness. We can rely on that. There never was nor will be another human being like you, and life says yes to you just as you are.

Human dignity–our own and that of every human being–deserves top priority as subject matter in basic education today. But the misery in our world makes it almost impossible for some people to feel loved and recognized. Extreme poverty is thus a crime against human dignity and poses a most urgent challenge to the whole human family. Misery can be overcome, and according to reliable experts, this goal is within realistic reach. Each one of us needs to find a place in this enterprise and go to work without delay. Our own human dignity demands it.”

“You Are Here: Key Words For Life Explorers”
David Steindl-Rast pp. 121-22
Orbis Press

I heard someone say the other day: “I should have that! I am entitled!” And the statement reminded me of a paragraph in David Steindl-Rast’s book, “You Are Here: Key Words For Life Explorers.” He writes: “Entitlement is the unfounded conviction that Life owes me a living. It misses the fact that everything is gift, even my very existence. The more we realize this fact, the more the sense of entitlement will be replaced by a sense of gratitude. This would mark a decisive switch toward a healthy society because gratefulness appreciates and cares for things, for example, the environment, while entitlement’s way of taking everything for granted leads to careless use and abuse.” I wonder how life would be different, how today would be different, if we regarded everything as gift and treated each moment, each breath, with thankful minds and hearts? In a “throw-away” society where everything is for my personal use and benefit, little is valued, waste is enormous, and callous self-interest rules the day.

The way of Jesus prescribes a different approach. Humility, gratitude and stewardship come to mind. No, we are not entitled. Pray that leaders of nations, all who govern, may realize the inherent dangers in personal and national entitlement.

I know. Some people don’t like to open a website and have a bug staring at them. But I submit to you that this is a work of art, not a picture of a bug. The anatomy is amazing; the wings are wonderful. Overall, a masterpiece of creative marvel. Do you know how many things are in this world that could rightly be categorized “amazing”? More than that! So, today is unofficially “amazing day” and our assignment is this: Look for the amazing. Note each amazing thing you see in a little notebook or on a simple piece of paper. Be generous; count everything that amazes you. Then, tonight before you sleep, go back over the list and say thank you for each entry. Everything around you qualifies; if you think it is amazing, then it is amazing. One way to remind ourselves that we are surrounded by and immersed in wonder. And, one way to be reminded about the source of all beauty and wonder. Thanks be to God who makes flying bugs and universes upon universes. Notebooks ready? Press on.

I live in a world that values noise.
It must; there is so much of it.
It communicates. It irritates.
It becomes the tolerable backdrop for life
until, purely by chance, I discover
that there is a state of being,
far superior to noise.
It is that moment when
hiking the forest trail, I step into a
dimension beyond word description,
beyond physical parameters. Motionless.
Not even the sound of the world breathing.
No bird song.

No melody of the river.
No leaf crunch under foot.
The marvelous mystery lasts until my
next breath or until I shift my weight
from one foot to the other, snapping the
brittle branch, creating the rolling echo
that races toward a distant star.
If I create noise, which I can,
I call it life. If I create silence,
which I must, I call it sacred.
Perhaps today is your day to
step into that holy place that
is always on the verge of becoming.
You are good at making noise.
Now, make silence.
Be still and know.

Never walk past a burning bush without saying “Hello!” You might hear a response, one that would comfort, challenge, encourage you, and sometimes we need those things, don’t we? Burning bushes are not all that common, so you have to be on the lookout for them, alert to the possibility, conscious of the Sacred as you walk the path. Today, try not to be a point A to point B person, destination driven. Instead, watch for the burning bushes, stand still in the Presence, and listen to your heart. You and I live in the great ocean of spiritual reality. Float. Float as if you are held up by strong, caring arms. As a matter of fact… Press on!

I think it was Henry Ford who said: “Whether you think you can or think you can’t, you’re right.” How the mind operates has a lot to do with succeeding or failing. Do you remember a very popular book by Dr. Norman Vincent Peale called “The Power of Positive Thinking”? It was a big hit in its time, and the theory still works today. I wonder if Dr. Peale, a clergyman, got the idea for his book from Philippians 4:8 in the New Testament? In summary, whatever is true and honorable and just, pure and lovely…put these things in your mind and there is a good chance they could be manifested in your life. Another famous quote: What you think about, you become.

Works the other way, too, doesn’t it? Fill your thoughts with mean, evil, unkind ideas and often your behavior will follow your thinking. I think this is a particularly important concept today. I meet so many people who saturate their minds with fear of the future, or anger at current circumstances, or ideas of revenge and retribution. If you choose to live in that world, you become part of it. And it becomes part of you. Jesus never called his people away from the realities of injustice and evil. But he never let them get lost in the quicksand of those negative realities. More than once he called them to look up at the heavens that declare the glory of God, at lilies in the field, at birds sailing through the air. He directed them to the innocent beauty of children playing in the marketplace. And every time Jesus pointed them in those directions, he was washing their minds of all the dirt that can accumulate.

No question about it: Jesus fought against religious corruption and social injustice, but he knew the importance of keeping life in balance. He didn’t call us to casually ignore evil, but he also never called us to lose sight of the lovely, the beautiful, the positive. And that’s because he knew those things lead us to God and God’s love, the source of our strength to address the major problems causing the injustice.

Think on these things…he said. You might want to have a closer look at Philippians 4:8 today. Good for your mind and your soul. Press on.

I was lost in the dense jungle of my sorrow,
afraid of the sounds in the night,
unable to find comfort in kind words
or generous gestures.
And then you found me.
You searched for me at personal
cost, sacrificial effort.
Relentless compassion
unable, unwilling to
ignore the sounds of
my heart breaking
in the darkness of my night.

You lifted me from the
tangles of my tragedy,
sang to me songs of
hope and courage.
You held one candle against
the darkness of my despair,
light enough for me to lift
my head and see the faint
outline of my own freedom,
the pathway ever there but
hidden in my hopelessness.

One of my favorite photographs from the files. It helps me remember so many important things about my spiritual life. It helps me pray my way into this new day.

Lord God, creator of all that was and is and will be, guide me by the light of your love today. I know I have several paths I could choose to follow today, paths that will lead me deeper into the fears and concerns that want to capture my mind and my heart. May I be brave enough and devoted enough to choose the pathway of Christ, the lamp for my feet and the light for my path. The way is rugged, Lord; uneven and often treacherous. Help me find my way through the dangers and into the delight of your abiding presence. O Lord, how beautiful is your creation. The mountains call out your creative name; colors and textures remind me of the beauty that surrounds me; even the rugged pathway teaches me to step carefully but to never stop in fear or disappointment.

I cannot see around the bend nor over the hill to know what awaits. I simply trust that the Light will lead me through all moments, through unknown and unexpected engagements with life today. I will climb the hill and follow the path, Lord, in the confidence of faith, gladly and gratefully in the name of Christ Jesus, who is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. Amen