New Year Comin'

New year coming!

We make a lot of this time

when numbers change

and somehow

we think

we can too

We think about all the things we want to do

differently

We think of how we want to be

different

But new years is not just a matter of grabbing hold of the new

it is also a time of letting go

How many things do we drag with us

day after day 

month after month

year after year

how many fears

mistakes

how much guilt

starting fresh is not just a matter of grabbing hold of the future

it is also a matter of learning what to leave behind

it is also a matter of trust

sometimes we wait for the path to be clear

all the way to the end

before we take our first step

when we do this, we rarely start

and all too often the end we think we see, is not the destination at which we arrive

John Shea puts it well

"If we wait for the new future before we break with the old

we will never move.  We will have to brave the darkness, even trust it, if we 

are to find a better way."

Happy New Years my friends

let go

look forward with expectation

step into your new future

your new identity

that one given you by god

Happy 2013

Where does right action come from?

Where does action come from?

How do we birth the Christ?

How do we allow the Light to shine forth,

and extend itself into a darkening world?

Being light

is not only a matter of what we do

but where we do it from

acting out of guilt

is not the same as acting out of love

do we not think

that the world sees the quality of the light?

do we not know

that people know when were are working on them

rather than for them?

Action is not a matter of motivation

It is a matter of finding the spiritual source of action

it is finding that place of love

that is deeper than the mind

it is finding a place that is beyond agendas

and motives

actions from this place

actions that come, when we have emptied ourselves

and be "filled with God"

much as Mary was filled with God

actions that flow from the spiritual center

will always shine forth

as love and compassion and engagement

rather than fear and avoidance and objectifying

When the light shines from this place

it will overcome the darkness

so action

right action

comes from an empty center

filled with God

Hungry Again (and again)

Adam and Eve woke up

They were hungry

and so they ate

and six hours later

they were hungry again (from a story by John Shea)

hungry Adam

hungry Eve

hungry Stephen

hungry all of us

that hungering dark

we are always hungry

and thus

always searching

grasping

striving

Christmas comes and we buy

New Years comes and we party

The new day dawns and we resolve

to do things better

this year

and still the hunger returns

until

until

we find the bread of the world

the bread for all

until we taste

and see

and it is good

Hiding in the light

Hoary morning

late moon

early sun

gently easing the day

into being

frost and snow

glittering sparkling dancing magical

turning dry branches

into wands

in the grass

pressing shrinking

a doe lies

ears flat

hoping beyond hope

not to be seen

powerless vulnerable afraid

eyes big

as I pass by

how many times I see her

each day

in many forms

many places

how often I am her

Accepting the Gift

"Everything I have is also yours...
So forgive Hafiz and the Friend if we break into a sweet laughter when
your heart complains of being thirsty"
                                                             Hafiz

Pretty much says it all

 

There are so many gifts offered

by God, by people around us

 

The gift of forgiveness

Gifts of affirmation and compassion

 

but all to often

our guilt

our shame

our pain

 

closes us down

blocks our receptivity

and we do not recieved

 

a gift cannot really be a gift

unless received

 

we be must open to gifts offered
especially the gift
that is God
and love

 

 

Lost and Found

Lost is lost

Some times I wander

Starstruck

Looking at this world created

Seeing only the

With the eye secular

Seeing only the hate and greed

And fear

And knowing

Too keenly that I am lost

Sometime I dive into the sacred

I become drowned

In the sea of eternity

Sunk into the depths of the sacred

Out of this world

lost in God

But lost is still lost

In a child

Sacred and secular are found

Bound inside the swaddling cloths

Bound inside a child

Who draws together

Everything

All

Creation is invaded by the creator

Creator in the created is bound

And in that single one

In that union

I am found

Manger Talk on Christmas Eve

There it lies

a wrinkled bit of flesh

squalling into the night

the delight of his mother's 

eyes

but to us

just a baby

just that pink

and squalling mess

that baby in a manger

so common

and yet

lying there in that trough

made for feeding

do we not see glimmers of some truth

that he may be more than we see

or understand

that he may be

food for the world

that he might become

bread broken

and wine poured

sustenance for us

for me

what I need to live

________________________________________________________________

 

He is the Way

Follow Him through the Land of Unlikeness;

You will rare beasts, and have unique adventures

 

He is the Truth

Seek Him in the Kingdom of Anxiety

you will come to a great city

that has expected your return for years.

 

He is the Life

Love Him in the World of the Flesh;

And at your marriage all its occasions shall dance for joy.

                                                          W.H. Auden

The Spiritual Life

The spiritual life

is not a matter of doctrine

right thinking

rules

and rituals

it is a matter of seeing

it is all of life

seen from a certain perspective

it is 

waking, sleeping dreaming

eating, drinking

working

loving

relaxing, recreating

walking, standing, and breathing

understood and experienced

and seen

though the eyes of the soul

the spiritual life is simply life

seen from the vantage point

of the Spirit.

it is heaven and earth

united

___________________________________________

An Advent Antiphon

"Drop down, you heavens, from above and let the skies pour down the Just One"

"Let the earth open up and bud forth a Savior"
                                 
                                                       Quoted in "Starlight" by John Shea

Baby Jesus, Manger Boy

"But I don't look like a sun"
a young star still wrapped in swaddling
veils said.

To which I replied,

"But you will, my dear... so don't worry. Don't fret"
                                                                Hafiz

Baby Jesus
Manger boy

wrapped in swaddling cloths

 

not looking much like a King

even less like God

 

and yet

the light could not be kept

under wraps

and shone

for all the world to see

we too
each of us
called to be the light of the world
called to shine

we may struggle
a bit
and sometimes the light
may be under wraps

but we should make no mistake
ultimately
the sacred in us will win. . .
or at least, can win
if we are willing

to shine

Wander and Bump

There was a wonderful cartoon which showed a family crossing the Sahara desert on camels.  First came the father, then on a second camel, the mother, and finally, on smaller camels, three children.  The last little girl and father were obviously have a dialogue and the father looked back and shouted to her,  "Stop asking if we're almost there yet, we're nomads for crying out loud."

All of us

in one way or another

are nomads

wandering through life

never quite there

we are looking for so many destinations

wealth

happiness

love

but it seems we spend a lot of time

looking

and not finding

and I times we get a little frustrated

with it all

this wandering

 

it seems

so unproductive

and we feel

so lost

 

but sometimes I think

wandering is not so bad

I think about Jesus

He seemed to wander at lot

His path seemed pretty undefined

 

he just wandered around

and bumped into people

and places

and situations

 

and when he did

he noticed

he looked with compassion

he acted

and he healed

 

Perhaps we are all meant to be nomads

people kind of wandering through life

not intent upon our destination

but intent upon our journey

 

perhaps we are meant to simple wander

and bump...

 

to wander

and see the people

the situations 

God places in our path

 

and notice

and look with compassion

and act

in love

 

There are divine riches everywhere

There are divine riches everywhere
The most natural way for most to find them is by caring for those who are close to you
as if they were our Beloved
                                           Hafiz


sometimes
it all seems dark
sometimes our lives seem empty
sometimes
we start feeling
like we don't have enough

poor me

but there are divine riches everywhere
all we have to do
is open our eyes
and see
the wonders around us

the blessings that come
not as we strive for love
but that come
as we simply give love

as we feed the hungry
clothe the naked
comfort the sorrowful

the blessings that come
when we are there for others

this is how we share the light
it is also
how we fill our own cup
with joy

Overcome evil with good

No heaven can come to us
unless our hearts find rest in it today
Take Heaven

No peace lies in the future
that is not hidden in this present instant.
Take Peace

The gloom of the world is but a shadow;
behind it, yet within our reach, is joy
Take Joy

As so at this Chirstmas time, I greet you with the prayer
that for you
now and forever
the day breaks
and the shadows flee away
                                                Fra Giovanni (1513)

 ____________________________________________________________________

It is a world of shadows

the shadow of fear that drives us

to arm ourselves

behind defenses stark

behind anger

and fear

behind prejudice

and guns

It is a world of shadows

where people struggle alone

isolating

sitting alone

with thoughts

that drive us deeper

into the darkness

 It is a world of shadows

where people strive and fail

where violence flares and children die

where poverty robs men and women of dignity

and greed creates empty wealth

It is a world of shadows

but we can take heaven

and find the kingdom within

We can take peace

and live each moment

in the divine presence

We can take joy

as we experience the power of  divine love

It is a world of shadows 

but

into the shadows have come a great light
in the land of the shadow of death 
a light has dawned

love has been born

evil is not over come by evil
nor guns by guns
nor hate by hate

the light shines
and the shadow is dispelled
only by good

that's the way God works

Banning God

People say

that we have banned God

Shut God out from our schools

Shut God out of Christmas

or is that Xmas

Pushed God to the side

to such a degree 

that our culture 

is God-less

Really?

I really didn't realize

that God was so small

I mean I know God came as a baby

one small and squalling

red and raw

But there was power in that smallness

power in that child

as there is power in all children

Power is a funny thing

what looks like power to us 

is often not

oh there may be a kind of power

in bruality

in assault rifles

in attacking others with words

there may be a kind of power in money

and status

but Christmas shows a different kind of power

a power we barely understand

The baby of Christmas came into a world

that was often brutal

frequently deadly

Herod massacred children

It was a dark world

but then there was that baby

this baby came

this baby comes

 

it is still a dark world

the baby comes

to find our health is gone

our finances are precarious

our relationships as distant

our jobs are sucking us dry

 

It is a world of gloom and doom

children are massacred

 

but when the outer world is darkness

the baby comes

and brings to life

an inner world of transcendent love

 

this love which comes from God

and oozes from those who love God

this love 

defies the hate

the fear

the darkness

 

it overcomes 

all those things that seem so powerful

so scary so in control

 

And we are reminded

that God is big

really big

God cannot be shoved to the side

 

for whenever God is present

in a person's life

even in the life of a child

 

everything changes

 

Those who think God is banned from schools

just because ritualistic prayers have been banned

or that God is banned when people call a Christmas tree a Holiday tree

 

Those that think an act of horrific violence

by Herod

or by a disturbed young man

can remove God 

 

Have underestimated

the power of God's love

Have missed the meaning of the baby

Have your self

my friends,

a defiant Christmas :)

Hostility to Hospitality

Henri Nouwen, in his book "Reaching Out" suggests that 

one of the main movements in the spiritual life

is the "movement by which our hostilities can be converted into hospitality"

I have thought a lot about the recent events in Connecticut

And I have decided, when thinking about it all

That hostility marks our age

It was hostility, a sense that one is surrounded by enemies

That, perhaps, drove Adam's mother to gather weapons

Hostility, that kept the mother and son isolated and alone

Hostility that drove Adam to his act of terror

Perhaps he felt he needed, for some reason to do the most horrendous thing possible

kill children.

I think of Herod, when I think of this.  This man who would be king 

who feared the enemy

who feared the child who might take away his power

and so murdered the innocents of Bethlehem

But I have been stuck just as powerfully by the hostility of 

those who are for guns

and those who are against guns

those who name call

and batter and abuse each others in the comment sections on the internet

so much violence

so much hate

us, them

the enemy

what if

what if

what if

we could transform the hostility into hospitality?

what if, sure of our ground

sure that we stand on holy ground

in the presence of the sacred

what if we could offer

if we could create

as people filled with god

and those oozing the sacred

in the form of hope, peace, joy and love

what if we could create "a free and friendly space"

a place where others could lay down their hostility

a place where light overwhelms the darkness of 

fear and hate

and banishes loneliness

what if.....

______________________________________________________

 

"Hospitality, therefore, means primarily the creation of a free space where the stranger can enter and become a friend instead of an enemy.  Hospitality is not to change people, but to offer them space where change can take place.  It is not to bring men and women over to our side, but to offer freedom not disturbed by dividing lines.  It is not to lead our neighbor into a corner where there are not alternatives left, but to open a wide spectrum of options for choice and commitment.  It is no an educated intimidation with good books, good stories and good works, but the liberation of fearful hearts so that words can find roots and bear ample fruit.  it is not a method of making our God and our way into the criteria of happiness, but the opening of an opportunity to others to find their God and their way.  The paradox of hospitality is that it wants to create emptiness.  Not a fearful emptiness but a friendly emptiness where strangers can enter and discover themselves as created free.  Free to sing their own songs, speak their own languages, dance their own dance...."   (Henri Nouwen,  "Reaching Out'  pp.71,72)

Finding Freedom

"Our value, our sense of enough, will never, ever be granted by the world. Our wealth is in being part of something larger, the family of the earth, the body of Christ, the sangha of the Buddha, the mosque, temple, ashram, or community of service. What we bring is our own uniquely precious, yet ultimately very small gift, to a very large table....Play with the freedom of being ordinary, nobody special. Remind yourself: The world isn't waiting for me to do, fix, heal, or proclaim anything. The pressure is off. Nobody is watching me. Why should they? I am just an ordinary human being, a child of the earth, like everyone else. I am perfectly good enough, just the way I am."   

                                                               Wayne Muller

I am always tempted

to find ways to feel special

I am always tempted to think

I must do something, say something, be something

that will make people like me

I often want people to make me feel special

and that can have its unhealthy side

It is this sense that I must

fix, heal, proclaim

that too often drives me

It is this need to be liked

appreciated

valued 

that shape the way I am in this world

Jesus after his baptism, went an hid in the desert

Satan tempted him by asking him

to make himself noticeable

Jesus refused

The heroes in the  New Testament are often the humble

the outcast

the insiginificant

Peter was at his worst when he was trying hard

to be the best

Lord teach me this day

simply to be a child of the earth

help me to understand that it is when

I am quietly

authentically

just present at the table

that it is when I am just present

gently caring

that I am the greatest power for good

and am enough      

     

Seriously people!

I made the mistake this morning

of reading the news on the internet

I made the bigger mistake of reading the comments

posted after the articles

I am sorry I did that

the comments are painful

for their twisted logic

their hate

their bias

my whole being was assaulted 

by the name calling

the brutality

the excess of emotion present

for a few moments I wrote some responses

trying to insert fact

trying to moderate the insanity

but then I realized

that this is a sickness I cannot cure

I am not sure any of us can

we are looking 

at the face of fear

fear of "them"

that "they" will break into my house and attack me (so I need guns)

that the nasty government will become a dictatorship (so I need guns) 

actually fear of almost everything

including vaccinations

(how that got into a discussion about Sandy Hook is a long story)

Even fear of God was present, with the "turn or burn" (law not grace) crowd making a strong showing  (I read an argument that the teacher who died protecting the children might not have been a Christian, so was in hell, yes, really)

ultimately the fear leads to hate

and the hate?

We see that all too clearly

So much of what makes our society sick

and dangerous

and deadly

emerges out of fear

I can only imagine the fears that assailed the mother 

who stockpiled guns

and, apparently, taught her son to use them

In the Word we are told 

that "perfect love casts out all fear"

The love that was in Victoria

as she protected her students

The love that say

violence stops here

The love of God that says, "come to me... and rest"

We don't love very well

usually

We really do need the love of god in us

to get to that place where we love others

and can move away from fear

and fear based behaviors

So for my part, I am not going to buy a new gun

I am going to let the spark of the sacred God placed in me

connect me to God

and I am going to nurture that connection

and seek to learn how to love

more deeply

more selflessly

more powerfully

and that is how I am going to combat evil

will love protect me if someone comes after me with a gun?

No

But I can live with that

And die with that

Mary Mary

Mary Mary

What ya gonna call that baby.....

In the light of the events at Sandy Hook

I started thinking about Mary

and not just Mary

God

and Jesus

The words of scripture echo....

"For God so loved the world that he gave his only son....."

The images of scripture haunt us

Mary pondering

Mary at the foot of the cross

God understands

better than we can ever comprehend

God understands

and God

is with us

going through this pain...

knowing this pain

and working

to make good emerge from evil

working

to transform

God weeps

I read the news

I think of my children

I think of my granddaughter

and my heart weeps

for children

killed

brutalized by what?

hate

fear?

children killed

by ideologies

that don't work

and foster

a culture of violence

I have read

and re-read the blogs

I have made my comments

and yet

I see 

a culture of violence

I see

hatred and bigotry

I see fear

I see violence proposed as a cure for violence

God

we are so deluded

can we not understand

that the cross is our model

did Jesus have a sword so

that not only Romans would have swords?

Did he react to violence and hatred with 

violence and hatred?

no... the cross says

it all ends here

it all

ends here

the hate

the violence 

the death

it ends because

I 

God 

refuse to continue the pattern

refuse to keep the loop of violence and death intact

but we do not see

we do not understand

we pick up the sword

the gun

and children die

and God weeps

Fast time, slow time

.... here's the truth of it: Everything precious, beautiful, or sacred needs time. Love needs time; friendship needs time; children need time; honesty, contentment, peace, authentic relationships, honest attention, curiosity, our best work, all these live and flourish only in the sweet soil of unhurried time.  Now, today, we are called inward, to tend to the timing of our hearts. Because enough — enough to satisfy our aching need for relief, spaciousness, and ease within whatever we have this day — needs time.
                                                                                                 Wayne Muller



Time flies
Time stood still

We know about time
Mostly we know that we feel like we don't have enough
We speed through our days
our hours
our minutes

We speed through life
Our minds spin
Almost faster than we can comprehend....
almost?

We have gadgets
 ipad
computers
cars
smart phones
all designed to help us make the most of our time

and yet
at moments the world stands still
when our child is born
when someone we love dies
when a sunset cannot be ignored

when we play with a grandchild
are with one we love

I seems to me that the deepest moments,
the moments when I am most fully myself
come not when I am racing through my day
but come when I have time
take time
"make" time

When the cell phone stays in the car
and I listen to a person share their hurt
or perhaps their hope

when I walk through the woods and gaze
at the mountains

when I slow down

the deepest moments come
when time stands still
in the face of death and birth
extreme pain and extreme joy

Perhaps
I need to slow down
even stop
a lot more......

_________________________________

"Those that wait upon the Lord will renew their strength....."