Shining Spirit

They are not forgotten. On a brilliant Saturday morning, at the Arizona Veterans’ Memorial Cemetery in the small community of Marana, Arizona, a beautiful thing happened. The cremains of more than 20 veterans were laid to rest with dignity and appreciation. Each of the simple wooden boxes had been left unclaimed, but in this ceremony, each veteran was named, acknowledged with appreciation, and carried with dignity to a final resting place. They may have been forgotten by human beings, but not by Love that prompted this gathering. Jesus once told his friends: “In my Father’s house are many rooms…” and I will go and prepare a place for you. No one gets left behind. No one is forgotten in the mind and heart of God. This morning they rest in the earth, acknowledged with appreciation by the living, received with joy by Life’s Source. Welcome home. Be at peace.

And so I debated with myself this early morning: Should I go down to the Fitness Center for a workout? Or, should I go outside and walk for a couple of miles? Fitness Center: quiet, excellent equipment, comfortable conditions. Outside walk: rather cool this morning, cars and trucks rumbling along, noisy, up and down off of curbs. So, in one of my better instinctual decisions, I went outside. And do you know what I found? Perfect temperature for a walk, very few cars at 5:30 on a Sunday morning, brilliant sunshine, birds singing their hearts out, flowers blooming everywhere, glowing mountains in the distance, and a multi-colored hot air balloon floating just above my head.

It was reasonable to stay inside in a place made for exercise. It was unreasonable to go outside and deal with a lot of unknowns. My mind told me one thing. My curiosity and my heart told me another.

Don’t be afraid to lead with your heart.

Be at peace today, and leave peace behind everywhere you go.

What I reflect today, Lord, 
depends on decisions
I make now.  If, in the moments 
of stress or pressure
that will come, I forget You, 
I will reflect the confusion
that surrounds me.  The 
anxiousness that controls
me.  I ask that You help 
me remember the
little house by the pond 
and this 
peaceful moment, so that I
might reflect You,
the Source of
my hope.
Amen

My printer decided to go offline without asking my permission. I needed a particular book to finish a project; it was on Mars or Pluto. It was not in the bookcase. My fountain pen…yes, I use an old fashioned fountain pen…ran out of ink and the nearest ink replacement inserts are at Office Depot. While searching for the book and the ink cartridge, I walked around the end of the twin bed, the one with the wooden frame, and put one leg of the bed firmly between my great toe and its next door neighbor. I hopped around the room, trying to hold my toe and maintain my balance. But I didn’t, and I leaned against the wall, exactly on the overhead light switch, which I turned off with my shoulder. And now I am in complete darkness, without a printer or ink or a normal foot. Then it hit me…not literally…that I needed an Emergency Shut-Off Switch, the one in my brain, the one that says: Ok, calm down. Get control.

The other name for that switch is prayer, or reflection from the mind and heart, or meditation…name it as you will. It’s sitting down, clearing your mind as much as possible, breathing deeply and letting go of the urgencies that have gained control. I know, of course, that not all confusion or chaos is the result of simple inconveniences. Sometimes the situation is much more serious, but the Switch works then, too. To intentionally sit with Jesus, side by side, until the pain lessens is what I need in those moments. An Emergency Shut-Off Switch. Do you have one of those? Do you use it?

I’ve met some people over the years who are very tight-fisted about their money or their possessions or their willingness to give somebody a second chance. One mistake, one blunder, even accidental, and no second chance. Apologies don’t matter. Restitution is out of the question. One mistake and it’s over. No second chance. I have to admit that I’m a big fan of second chances, especially since I’ve had to ask for a few. You?

I think of this today for two reasons. Jesus, the author of our faith, didn’t hesitate to give people a second chance if they were contrite. “Go and sin no more,” he used to say. Learn from your mistake; don’t do it again. A second chance. The other reason is part of the lyrics of a song sung by a wonderful folk-ballad singer, Gregory Alan Isakov. In the song titled “Second Chances”, Isakov sings: “if it weren’t for second chances we’d all be alone.” Probably true. Second chances have not only taught lessons, but also given the benefit of the doubt and encouraged new and better efforts.

Friendships, marriages, business deals…second chances. Have you ever been given the gift of a second chance? Maybe that makes it easier to bestow a second chance on someone who has made a mistake affecting you. Maybe today you’ll have a chance to bless someone with a second chance. What would the world be like without them? “If it weren’t for second chances, we’d all be alone.” Charity and mercy are markers of our faith. Those who walk the way of Jesus know the value of a second chance.

Do you remember the phrase “Random Acts of Kindness?” It wasn’t so long ago that we were encouraged to look for “random” opportunities to be kind. During the day, be alert to and prepared for that moment when you can do a kind thing for someone else. Great phrase and great idea!

But, let’s change one word of the phrase for a different emphasis. How about “Rehearsed Acts of Kindness?” Random = Watch for opportunities. Rehearsed = Make the opportunities. Reactive vs. Intentional. Here’s how it works: think of all the events and things you will do during this good day. Maybe there are meetings, or appointments, or social gatherings. Next, in at least one of those scheduled moments, think of a person(s) who will be the recipient of your Rehearsed act of kindness. The point is to enter the activities of your day with a Kindness Plan…and carry it out.

Then, tonight when you go to bed, give thanks to God for all the moments of Rehearsed Kindness, for each one was provided by the Spirit. God’s grace is sufficient, but grace is just a word until it is turned into acts of intentional kindness. Okay? Start planning.

Blaise Pascal, the French philosopher once said that people “never do evil so completely and cheerfully as when they do it from a religious conviction.” Someone who is absolutely convinced that he or she is right by the authority of God, and that I am wrong because I disagree with the “authorized” version, is at least misinformed and at most dangerous. It must break God’s heart to observe the meanness of people who are fanatic about their “God given rights” and who ignore the fullness of the Gospel taught by Jesus. Anytime the Gospel is narrowed down to “the basics”, you can bet there is a narrow mind somewhere in the neighborhood.

Using God for personal or political gain, no matter if you ride a donkey or an elephant, is evil. I grow weary of hearing pulpits tell us how to cope rather than how to create. The only people who can, and should, address this phenomenon are Christians, and it’s about time. WWJD? Jesus told us to walk the narrow way, but he never meant with a narrow mind.

I’ve heard the comment that our nation is toying with the concept of democracy as a political system. That may or may not be true. More likely we are moving toward a referendum on the Christian faith as a meaningful expression of human life. I neither expect nor want Christian preachers or national Christian organizations to engage in the tactics of who can shout loudest. I do expect that the undeniable message of Jesus will echo across the land, and that message is not about passive toleration. It is about passionate transformation of rage into relationship, anger into mutual agreement, cruel comments into compassionate acts.

The pablum days of Christianity are long gone. As I was told the other day in a local restaurant: Our menu has changed. So it should. Today we feast on truth, justice, compassion, mutuality and mercy. It’s time to order. Bon Appetite.

Yellow flowers decorate the hillside;
soft yellow, not the harsh look of well-
mannered hot house creations.  
These are bush flowers, not stem plants,
clusters of randomness perfect for the
unpredictability of the Sonoran Desert.

Whoever named this gentle obstinance "Brittlebush"
should be ashamed.  It is flexibility, daring and
courage stirred together to form a tenacious plant
that dresses the desert in festive attire.

Tall, elegant Sahuaros look down on the desert's
yellow floor and swoon at the sight of
the earth's undulating carpet.  
Bees sniff from yellow to yellow, a
slender coyote naps in the ample shade of
the rounded bush.

Soon summer will replace the juices of sweet Spring.
June follows too closely.  August is the brutal reminder
that this is desert, not Disneyland.  There is nothing
make-believe about savage heat and precious drops
of water.

Yet, few things die in summer's assault.  They simply sleep
to bloom another day, like yellow flowers that,
in this stunning moment, announce that
life is stronger than death,
more flexible than we think,
and capable of producing
wonder.

Amazing what drops from heaven can do.

Nobody planted this field of Brittlebush. No straight rows. No careful cultivation. They bloom because they’re there, on the corner of a busy intersection, quite visible for everyone to see. You’ve heard the phrase: Bloom where you’re planted. Maybe it should be “bloom wherever you happen to be,” in every unexpected moment, every unplanned encounter.

Be alert today to those moments when you can act in ways that portray the character of Christ. An extra moment spent in listening, a word of encouragement given, forgiveness offered or received, a simple smile accompanied by a “Good Morning.” If each of us did this, wouldn’t the world be a beautiful place? Then, just before retiring for the night, do a little honest inventory. Where and how did I show Christ to the world through my words or actions? The truth is, if you just show up in the moment of encounter, if you are alert to it, and if your spirit is joined to that of Christ, He will do the rest.

So, today bloom wherever you happen to be. You can make the world a better place, if for a moment. You can change the landscape of life into something very lovely. You, and the Christ who abides within you. May it be so, today and every day. Press on.

Moving from one location to another, as I did very recently, means that you have to prove who you are over and over again. It’s that necessary but distasteful “change of address” process. Merchants, doctors, the Postal Service, it seems that the whole world has to be notified about your new address. And some of them are pretty picky. For good reason, I know, but picky is picky.

In a phone call to an insurance company, I was asked: Your name, please. Your address. Your phone number. The last four digits of your social security number. Your former address. Your spouse’s name. Your date of birth. The location of your birth. The twenty-seven digit number of your policy. The date of the policy issue. The name of the person who wrote the policy. At this point I said: Sorry but I don’t remember the man’s name. That was thirty years ago. Then came the verdict: I’m sorry, the voice said, but you have not proved your identity and I cannot help you. Then he told me to write a letter to the insurance headquarters.

It takes about 25 questions answered correctly to prove who I am to an insurance company. It takes one act of kindness, charity, or compassion in the name of Christ to reveal my true identity. I am a child of God and a brother of the Risen Christ. You and I are not in the “doing good deeds” business. We are in a relationship that names who we are and guides behaviors that become blessings for others. I rejoice in the profound simplicity of my true identity and for the one who knows me through and through. He knows my name…just like he knows yours. Thanks be to God for the Shepherd who knows his sheep.