Shining Spirit

It feels like some of the pieces are missing. The countless days of Covid Confinement, the unending photos and descriptions of protest in the streets prompted by senseless cruelty, the charred mountain that glows in the dark night, political and economic uncertainty, and now our faithful companion Maggie’s unexpected death have caused the puzzle to shake so that pieces are scattered all over the place.

These things are real, very real, but they are not final. Each of us, at different times, carries a bucket full of crises and challenges. It’s heavy and tedious and tiring. And we would be thrown completely off balance if it were not for the counter balance of Presence. A bucket in one hand, the Spirit holding the other. The Spirit doesn’t lessen the load. The Spirit increases the capacity to cope, to climb, to confront, and ultimately to conquer.

Beloved community of faith, hold your heads up. We are inherently stronger than we think. The puzzle pieces all fit, even though they are now scattered. Keep walking. Carry the bucket in one hand and hold on tight with the other.

There is light ahead.

Did I tell you I’m reading a good book?

It’s one of the discussion books my church is going to use soon in a small group setting…Zoom, of course. It’s called Still Writing – The Perils and Pleasures of a Creative Life. Dani Shapiro wrote it.

This idea jumps off one of the pages. Today I am going to collaborate with God. Here’s what Shapiro writes. “Michelangelo saw a statue in every block of granite…the woodworker George Nakashima believed that when a true craftsman brought out the grain that had been imprisoned in the trunk of a tree he ‘found God within.’ I’ve long envied those artists who work with materials such as these…clay, marble, granite, wood…because I imagine the feeling is one of collaboration.”

So, today I’m going to intentionally co-labor-ate with God in some creative way. Don’t ask me how or when or where. It will just happen, I’m sure. Co-laboring with the Creator! Maybe even Co-Creating! I’ll supply the hands and feet. God will supply the motivation…Compassion.

Yes, I know. God will be in charge.

P.S. Why don’t you try it, too. We can compare collaborations.

Be patient! Just a few more minutes. Very soon the glorious sun will leap into the sky from the shadowy gray mountain and the fullness of day will have arrived.

But for some of our friends and loved ones, our families, the dawn is another day of struggle. Greet this day with praise but also with prayer.

Two million sufferers with Covid19

More than 1 million Covid19 deaths

The impact of the virus on the economic welfare of millions. The courageous caregivers who risk their lives for ours. Hundreds of people forced to evacuate their homes because of the Bighorn fire in the Catalinas. And all the fire fighters struggling to save homes and property.

This morning pray for the courage and welfare of all. Then put your prayer into practice. What can I do? Food? Water? Shelter? May we all be the prayers we pray. People of The Way can do no other.

Somewhere behind this saguaro cactus is the mountain, scarred by fire that sent animals fleeing, left the burned bones of stately trees and created one huge gasp of sorrow from those of us who daily watched the smoke rise.

But Nature has an elegant and tender way of responding. Thousands of saguaros in the valley now offer juicy buds and fruit to hungry birds, an annual gesture made more poignant now because of the ravages in the canyons and on the ridges.

Life will continue in spite of fire and smoke. But isn’t that the way it is in life? Creation’s redundancy and genereosity sustain us. A very good reason for human beings to protect the sacred nature of our planet home.

The fire is so big and my bucket is so small. I can’t make a difference. Really?

My one voice, my single act of kindness, my vote, my little offering? In spite of the odds, do what is right. You don’t know which kind word will heal the broken heart, which little act of caring will turn the life around.

One voice can change the situation.

One life can be the catalyst to change the world.

What if that’s you, and you miss the chance?

Do it or say it because you must. It matters.

And what does the Lord require of you but to seek justice, love kindness, and walk humbly in the presence of the Holy. And so my protest is my prayer and my prayer is my protest against injustice, the loss of simple kindness and choices made to walk down paths of violence and hate instead of pathways of peaceful reconciliation. Prayer and Protest. Sacred efforts to a common goal.

Let justice roll down like waters and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.

I would not have believed it if I hadn’t seen it. A passenger-sized, multi-engined aircraft. Remember the old DC10 with the third engine in the base of the tail assembly? That’s it. That’s what is coming straight at the camera after releasing the orange fire retardant.

Wave and say “Thank You!” to the crew when it pulls up and banks sharply to the right. Airborne acrobatics! Amazing human ability! Stunning skill! All to save your house or mine, your life or mine.

Does anyone care, at the moment, if the crew is black or white? Straight or gay? Republican or Democrat? All female? Does it really matter? Only to people whose bigotry is as bold as the crew’s courage.

How often I look to the mountain for strength when I am weak, for beauty when everywhere there seems to be ugliness, for peace when there is no peace.

And now the mountain burns. A lightening strike that could have touched anywhere. Majestic trees lining the upper ridges explode in the intense heat, animals scurry to find shelter, a thick blanket of gray smoke churns in the upward draft of heat, then lounges casually in the blackened canyons.

But when the smoke clears, revealing the charred surface terrain, there they are. The majestic faces. The unyielding foundation of the earth remains through it all. They will not be moved. They have seen it all before. The graceful giants have been battered by the moment, but they have stood like sentinels, commentators on the nature of creation.

So much of our taken-for-granted lives has burned away in massive contagion, blatant injustice, corruption and fear. We are not who we used to be. We will never be who we used to be. There is no going back. The grass will return to the mountain canyons and trees will grow where others used to stand, but it will all be new growth, fresh shoots of hope and opportunity. When the rains come and wash away the debris of yesterday, the mountain faces will shine again.

May they look down on a new world, a new mind and heart in their human neighbors, people scattering seeds of justice and hope and truth where hate and violence used to thrive. Through the explosions of pandemics, racial confrontations, economic disaster, and the reality of death…through all the fires surrounding us, may we emerge wiser, more compassionate, committed to justice for everyone, bringers of hope instead of hatred. May we be both seed scatterers and the seed itself. May all the things we think and say and do right now bring forth the green pastures and still waters of life as it should be.

In the polite language of golf, it’s called an unplayable ball and the player is usually given a free drop. In the everyday language of golf, well…I can’t print it here. Can you image a worse position to be in? It usually happens when you’ve hit a sweet, straight, amazing drive, only to find that the ball decided to give you a taste of humility and found this shelter in the prickly pear cactus. If you get a free drop then you still might have a chance for par. But, more than likely, this situation means at least a bogey, or a double or a triple. One of these can ruin your round and your day. More than one of these in a round and you’ll be buying drinks in the clubhouse.

There are some days when it seems like every decision you make, every effort you expend, every attempt at something new ends up in the prickly pear. It’s called disappointment, or a chance to learn a lesson and do it better next time, or rotten luck. For the golfer, it usually happens because the grip isn’t right or the stance is wrong or timing is off or any of a dozen other technicalities. For me, in my daily routines, it usually happens because I haven’t paid attention, or I’ve wanted my way at the expense of good advice, or I’ve tried something way over my head…pride goes before what?

Try to remember that there are a lot of prickly pears out there and they love nothing better than to gobble up your golf ball. Slow down, pay attention, stay within the limits of your proven abilities, do it for the right reasons, and listen to good advice. If you’re going to hit a 500 yard drive to impress your friends, bring along a box of balls.

Fore!

There’s a lot in life to choose from.
Choose wisely.

There will be opportunities today to make a difference in the world.
Choose one.

There might be a time when fear taps you on the shoulder.
Don’t look around. Press on.

There will be a time today when someone says you are special.
Believe it. You are.

It’s possible that sometime today you will feel tired to the bone.
Sit down and rest in The Spirit.