Shining Spirit

Pay attention. Watch what’s about to happen. The well-dressed man in the front row clears his throat loudly. An attention getter. A hush falls over the crowd as Mr. Prominent rises to pose a question to the guest teacher. Here’s what he asks: ”Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” He didn’t ask “what MUST I do…” or “what must I DO…” He said: “WHAT MUST I DO TO INHERIT ETERNAL LIFE?” (All CAPS means he said it in a very LOUD voice.) The “I” in the question sounded like this: ”What must I do…” Upper case “I” in a large, bold font. And all the audience whispered among themselves: Why, he is a religious leader, a man set apart for Yahweh. Jesus will probably run to him and give him a big welcome hug. Jesus didn’t. In response, the teacher listed a few important life responsibilities, like, don’t murder somebody; don’t steal; be good to your parents. Everybody nodded. Once again, Mr. Front Row cleared his throat to alert everyone that he was about to say something significant. And again, not in a soft reply, he announced for all to hear: I HAVE DONE ALL THOSE THINGS SINCE I WAS A CHILD. Yea! He’ll be at the front of the line for the bus to eternal life. And then Jesus dropped the bomb. In a rather matter-of-fact voice, the teacher told him, sell all your possessions, give the money to the poor, then come and live with me. Wham-O! In fact, it was a double Wham-O. Jesus punctured his pride and hit him in his weak spot….possessions. Money. Riches. The stuff the man prized most. Stuff, indeed. This story is told in Luke 18 and makes this point: in the time of Jesus, rich people, particularly wealthy religious leaders, were generally thought to be less than honest, not very charitable, sometimes downright crooked. Two observations: if you were then, or if you are now, among the less than rich…among the struggling or the poor…rich people still stand in question. ”Why does he have so much when I have so little? How did he get it, anyway?” Second, you and I are rich. Don’t giggle. You and I are among the wealthy of the world. Surely that is obvious. So, don’t be too quick to dismiss the story as old, out of date or irrelevant. It would be a gut punch if Jesus said that to any of us. This is not about surrendering position or power or prestige. This is about accepting an alternative manner of life that is directed by a different set of principles. What is the ultimate commitment or allegiance in my life? What do I value most? What gives me the greatest, the deepest joy?  What or who could I never walk away from? You’ve just named your “god.” The Teacher never said his way was easy. It’s not. But it is authentic. Authentic.

Come on. Let’s go for a walk. Mind that big fallen tree on the left. This is one of my favorite pathways and I thought you might like it, too. That wonderful sound you hear is the song of a very happy stream, also on our left. It twists and turns, all the while pushing its way to the ocean. There aren’t many flowers along the way, but the trees are dense and tall, like a rain forest because there is a dampness that makes everything glisten. I love the sound of gravel crunching as we walk past more fallen giants, past rock formations that look just like art exhibits in a classy gallery. If we stop for a moment and stand very still, we can hear the ocean surf hitting the rocky beach behind us, the cracking of twigs off to our right. Don’t worry…no bears; maybe a moose or one of the hundreds of deer that live in these woods. As we keep moving, the path will twist and turn following the stream and we will see exhibit after exhibit of Creation’s glory. Want to sit for a few minutes and listen to the heartbeat of the universe? How about right here? Make yourself comfortable. This is a moment you will remember for a long time.

Where do you go when you need refreshment? To the beach for a walk, to the mountains, to your familiar route through the neighborhood, that special trail or pathway, to a gathering of good friends, to a quiet spot with a good book to read, to the company of a person special in your life, to prayer or meditation? Long list, and you could add more. Think about your “refreshment place.” Honor it as an essential part of your life, and visit it every time you feel overwhelmed or exhausted. Don’t run away from the confusion; run to the clarity. Believe it or not, every one of us needs soul refreshment now and then . Maybe even today. “Be still and know…” Be still and be known. And from the knowing, be a blessing.

In my eighth decade of life, I can tell you with absolute certainty that the object pictured above is a large piece of driftwood that found its new home on the Oregon beach. Does that interest you? Excite you? Make you want to run away? Consider this: If, instead of 82, I was 8 years- old, I could tell you with reasonable certainty that the object pictured above is a giant beach monster…a sand-eating, people-chasing, bow-legged monster. And I would advise you to get out of its way.

Something happens between 8 and 82. We grow up, yes. We mature in our thinking processes, yes. And we lose far too much of our capacities to imagine. Without doubt. “What if…” is the language of imagination. You and I will never regain the quality of our 8-year-old imaginations, but we can look around us and see what the world would be like if nations didn’t war against nations. If everyone had enough eat and a safe place to sleep. If justice and honesty drove our economic and/or political systems. What if… Change in this old world can come at the end of a sword or as the result of power, but “what if” we imagined our way into justice. That is soul work, spirit work, and it takes courage to move into this child-like, sacred way of relating to reality. Imagining has to be turned into acting, to doing. But it takes folks like you to strike the match. What if you imagined 5 new things before dinner tonight, five new things that would make the world right around you a better, safer, smarter place. You can’t change the world with one “what if…” but maybe you could begin to influence change in your little patch of life.

So, say after me…”What if….” You take it from there.

Aren’t skies beautiful? Well, most of the time. But even in storms, lightening flashes and ominous clouds can be breathtaking. I drive along the coastal beach road each morning to say hello to the great ocean and the surf rolling in. Sometimes it’s difficult to see the magnificent scene because of invading fog or heavy mist, but I can hear it. I know it’s there. And the song it sings is a glad “good morning” in return. On this particular day, I watched the light give way to evening, and it wasn’t the sand or the surf that caused the gasp. Sky again!

I hope you stop for a moment today and look up. No matter where you are, there is sky above you and it holds something your soul needs…something beautiful, something intriguing, something special you will miss if you don’t look up. And while you’re looking, say “thank you.” Gratitude is a nice response to Grace. Be blessed today. Be a blessing.

I had the world to myself today along narrow streets bathed in cold December rain, walking as royalty over thick carpets of fading yellow leaves, accompanied by insistent winds singing through mist covered pines. I had the world to myself today and I found few words with which to express the rush of gratitude I felt in my heart, for the gifts of the earth and being a part of this sacred moment, divine revealing to this broken earth so in need of healing.

“Life isn’t about waiting for the storm to pass…it’s about learning to dance in the rain.” Thank you to Vivian Greene. Dance on.

The streets are shiny this morning,
narrow black tunnels through
rain soaked trees;
song birds sleep much later
in wet, cold weather.
No deer nibbling plants in the front yard.
The bobcat isn’t out looking for the rabbit,
and at 6:20, a reasonable hour, it is
still as black as coal outside.
It is as if the world is paused in night mode,
waiting, somewhat impatiently,
to fling back the curtain
and let the drama of the day begin.

But where is the script?
What words do I say when
the house lights go down?
What emotional expressions?
Robust or recluse? Courageous
or cowering? But there is no
script, is there.
Only reaction to, or better yet,
relationship with the unfolding
of life in the immediate moments
ahead. To be in relationship with
is so very different from
reacting to…

Today I will be in relationship
with life, in communion with
the revealing,
not as critical spectator,
but as a participant, a small
element of the eternal.
Today I will help write history.
And so will you.
Today matters.

I was stomping around on a wet patch of ground soaked by two days of non-stop rain, trying to get just the right position for the perfect picture of a large rock formation. It wasn’t easy because the ground was uneven, a little slippery, and I wasn’t looking down much because of my focus on the picture target. When I was about to settle into that “perfect” place, at about the final stride through thick underbrush, I looked down and met the angels. One more step would have put me right in the middle of a pansy patch, a beautiful collection of bright purple flowers, each one boasting the design of an angel with extended wings. For a wonderful moment, I forgot about the rocks and the difficulty journey to photogaph them and I started shooting pictures of these remarkable flowers. The big rock formation will be there for a long, long time, but the angels will fly away very soon. So, I brought them this morning to share with you. There are angels all over the place, so watch where you walk, where you step. We are not alone in this time and place. You might even have encountered one and not known it. Rejoice in the reality that life is precious, that we are all related as members of this remarkable creation, and that angels abound. Thanks be to God!

Do you see it? It’s right there. Slightly to the left of center. On the horizon. It’s the end, or the beginning, of a rainbow. I know it’s difficult to see…but then, so are a lot of life’s wonderful surprises. Maybe today or tomorrow a rainbow will pop up on your horizon. Take time to look, to listen, to feel the affirmations and blessings that will surely come your way. They won’t intrude, but they will welcome your embrace. Keep looking. Press on.

You’re looking at The Three Graces, three large rock formations in Nehalem Bay on the coast of Oregon. Many years ago, when fishermen brought their boats to the narrow passage from the Pacific Ocean into the bay, they searched the horizon for The Three Graces, markers very important for their safety. The helmsman would align the boat in a certain way in reference to the Graces, thus increasing chances that the little craft would make it over the extremely rough waters at the bay’s entrance. Markers are important, aren’t they. Most of us need markers to keep us on course, out of treacherous waters. Spend a little time today taking inventory of the markers in your life. What guidelines, principles, imperatives have helped to keep you on course? It’s good to keep them in sight because rough waters can appear unexpectedly. But you know that, don’t you. In Christ, press on.