Shining Spirit

According to the poet Gerald Manly Hopkins, creation is “charged with the grandeur of God.” We and everything around us are infused with the Sacred. God is embedded in the consciousness of humankind. No wonder we have trouble distinguishing God from the aggregate. God is the aggregate, the sum of all things. And every time I try to sort out and define God so that I can better “understand” the wonder and the workings of the world, I fail. But I try again with the same result. There is no sermon, no lesson, no song, no movie, no book that can give me what I desire: a collegial partnership with the Principal Designer of everything. Where did we get the notion that we must “partner” with God to solve the ills of the world, the messes that we make? I don’t think a Divine-Human strategy conference is really necessary. The change we long for, the new direction, is not new at all. It is “embedded in the consciousness of humankind.” From the beginning, from the start, revealed over and over again, most completely in Nazareth’s man, the grandeur of God cannot and will not find a common denominator. It refuses to be watered-down or sanitized, which is another way of saying “compromised.” We don’t go to church or chapel or cathedral to negotiate with God. We don’t walk the path of Jesus for the exercise. We do these things because we have within our humanity the means and the methods to change the world. The day when we live what we say and do what we profess, that’s the day the wheel will slowly begin to turn in a new direction. And here’s the good news of it all: today could be the day for you and for me to become light, to become the enactment of the Prophet Micah’s words: “what is God looking for in men and women? It’s quite simple: Do what is fair and just to your neighbor, be compassionate and loyal in your love, and don’t take yourself too seriously…take God seriously.” Let today be the day we stop wanting and waiting. Let this be the day we start daring and doing. “Charged with grandeur…embedded in our humanity.” Creation awaits the courage of the sons and daughters of God.

Regardless of what I think,
the sun is still in the sky,
a bird flies somewhere,
and fish swim in the ocean.
It’s not about me.

And regardless of how I feel,
someone is born
and someone dies;
Somewhere someone laughs
at a joke and a baby takes her
first steps. It’s not about me.

And regardless of my fear
about the future, my anger
over betrayal, my longing for
days that were simple and
granite strong, regardless,
little drops of Love cause
walls to collapse and
mountains of hate to erode
and vanish. Regardless.
It’s not about me.

There is Something bigger
than my small doubts,
stronger than my weaknesses,
wiser than my diplomas and
momentary insights. Regardless
of the day, Dawn comes and I
know I am loved. And so are
you.

I identify with Frank Cunningham’s thought…do you? “I struggle for words, for concepts that freshen my imagination as I escape childhood-induced notions of God.” I think it’s called “growing up in faith”. Eugene Peterson’s translation of the New Testament puts it like this: “When I was an infant at my mother’s breast, I gurgled and cooed like any infant. When I grew up, I left those infant ways for good.” On my list of the hardest things to do in this life is this: to leave perceived certainty behind; to take the chance that God calls us to soar, not settle. That certainly matches the mind of the Jesus I know.

When Mamma Bird took her youngster to the edge of the nest and said: Remember to flap your wings when you jump, she offered her precious little one an opportunity fraught with possibility and with peril. Do you want to stay in the nest, or do you want to ride the wind currents? Consciously or unconsciously, we all make that decision. Safer here…scarier there. But it’s not that simple, is it. Not that clearly defined. Back to Peterson’s conclusion of 1st Corinthians 13: “We don’t yet see things clearly. We’re squinting into a fog, peering through a mist.” I believe the sun will break through when I stop looking for new descriptive words, new concepts and begin touching life with my own hands. If you’re tired of the unending chase for new ways to conceptualize God, just go be Jesus for a while. Warning: when you look over the edge of the nest and think: I can’t do that!…trust and try. It’s the only way you and I will discover who and why we are.

If the shoe fits…

As the sun rises on this first day of the week,
may I embrace each day as an opportunity to
reflect and rejoice in the goodness of God.
My first day prayer.

When I encounter beauty, may I announce it;
when I feel pain, physical or emotional, may I
acknowledge it, not deny it. May peace be
the pathway in the coming days. May
gratitude be on my lips and in my heart.
My first day prayer.

May I share the suffering of my sisters
and brothers in my prayers for justice
and mercy. May I recognize Christ in
everyone I meet, no matter what their
station in life might be.
My first day prayer.

May forgiveness wash over me like
cleansing water. May hope live in
my heart and charity be the gift
of my hands. And may God smile
upon me in all my comings and goings.
My first day prayer, remembering
Christ my Lord and the Spirit, my
guide. Amen.

In a moment of casual conversation, I was once asked to name my favorite time of day, as in morning, evening, not a specific mark on the clock. Already somebody in the group had said “Morning” and someone else “Dawn.” Others claimed the same or added new categories and then it came to me. “Dusk,” I said. “I like dusk best of all.” “Really?” I was asked. “You like dusk? But the day is over; everything’s done. It’s too melancholy, kind of sad.” And I thought to myself…and still believe…that dusk is a beautiful, most often calm, “quieting” time of day. The jolt of awakening, the heat of activity, afternoons of meeting deadlines…all done. Dusk, that time just before the sun slips away in the west, just before gray turns to black and shadows disappear into night, is a time when fairy dust and angels’ wings fill the air. I choose Dusk.

I might, though, suggest another name for this special time of day: Vespers. That word appears in the title of Frank J. Cunningham’s book “Vesper Time: The Spiritual Practice of Growing Older.” Published by Orbis, it’s worth a look. Early in the little volume, the author comments on the spiritual practice of prayer in this way: “prayer is much more than addressing volumes of words to God. It means being open to God’s presence in everything we do. Or put another way, everything we do can be prayer.” My kind of book! In case you can’t find your dictionary, Vespers, or evening prayer, is an observance of the day’s progression. “A time of lighting the lamps just before darkness descends,” Cunningham writes. Sounds a lot like “Dusk”. In the Liturgy of the Hours, Vespers is a beautiful time.

And so I make my case for looking upon the Vespers time of life as a potentially beautiful moment. Of course, you have to go easy on the “organ recitals”…my left knee, my right hip, my sciatica…and look at life through a window of Grace and Gratitude. I’m told that the view through that window is remarkable. And it is.

In case you haven’t reached the Vespers time of your life, you’ll get there. When you do, throw open the window and wave at the wonder.

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.