You Only Die Once!

“A coward dies a thousand times before his death, but the valiant taste of death but once. It seems to me most strange that men should fear, seeing that death, a necessary end, will come when it will come.”   ~ William Shakespeare, from Julius Caesar

"Those who try to make their life secure will lose it, but those who lose their life will keep it"  
~ Jesus, Luke 17:33

Remember the old James Bond novel/movie titled, "You Only Live Twice?"  The basic premise of the title and story is that Bond fakes his death in order to infiltrate an enemy plot.  Of course the title is a play on the phrase, "You only live once."  In reality both are somewhat true.  We do only live one lifetime, but within this lifetime we have numerous "second chances" to re-imagine how we go about living our lives.

The same can be said of death.  Each of us will die only one time.  However our lives are made up of many deaths as we "die" to former ways and embrace new ones.  A primal example of this for the vast majority of humanity is learning to walk.  In learning to walk, the necessity to crawl literally disappears and dies. The appropriation of language may be another example.  The point is there are many natural deaths throughout our lives.

Unfortunately we also have a penchant for imagining unnecessary deaths. These are the fears of our demise that never transpire, fears that often times keep us from exploring and fulfilling the potential and possibility of claiming our true humanity. In this vein, Mark Twain is reported to have said, "I've had a lot of worries in my life, most of which never happened." 

Of course this is not encouragement to do foolish things and intentionally endanger our lives or the lives of others. It is, however, invitation to let go of the "risk aversion" that seems to have permeated our collective and individual consciousness.  Why not stop living the "thousand deaths" of fear we encounter daily.

What are we afraid of anyway?  Death?  Jesus, not to mention the whole of creation, reminds us that death is a given.  By totally accepting the fact of our "one death" we find freedom from the many deaths, however great or small they may be.   Perhaps this is the way to let fear die once and for all so we can get on with truly living.     



   

You Never Know

The last time we ate at the Columbia Restaurant in Tampa's Ybor City, Peg and I were in Tampa in 2009 for a conference/retreat which was part of our anniversary celebration that year. Little did we know the next time would be to meet our daughter, Jayme, there for dinner six and half years later - and we would live in the Tampa Bay Area in Clearwater.  You never know.

The same can be said for just about anything we do, or anywhere we are. Look back in your life five years, or even two, and ask, "Did I have any idea I would be where I am in my life today?" And the "place" need not be physical. Perhaps our different place is a shift in attitude, or perspective, or belief. It could be the loss of someone close, the renewal of a friendship/relationship, the discovery of a new talent, or a reawakening of lost passion for life.  Whatever it is, one thing is for sure, we are not the same person we were then.

Here's a twist. We also won't be the same person tomorrow or five years down the road. Things change. And when they do, we humans have two wonderful qualities that allow us to not only survive change but to flourish in it. We have the ability to dream and envision our future, and we have the ability to adapt to whatever circumstances come our way as those dreams and visions unfold. In doing so we plant seeds for the future, either consciously or not. And because we may not be aware of the seeds we are sowing, we may be surprised at what eventually grows. Who knows - maybe we were sowing such seeds nearly seven years ago while enjoying a weekend respite and a good meal in unique restaurant?        

Recently I've had a persistent phrase rattling around in my mind, "We know what we know - until we know something else." And of course you never know what that "something else" might be.  

The Shape of Absence

We have this fixed idea of youthfulness from our teens or our 20s. But, actually, there’s a form of youthfulness you’re supposed to inhabit when you’re in your 70s or your 80s or your 90s. It’s this sense of imminent surprise, of imminent revelation, except the revelation and the discovery is more magnified. Fiercer, more to do with your mortality and what you’re going to pass on and leave behind you, the shape of your own absence.  ~ David Whyte

The quote above comes from a beautiful and captivating conversation between English/Irish Poet-Philosopher, David Whyte and Krista Tippett on Ms. Tippett's radio/internet show, On Being.  The idea and image that absence has shape never really occurred to me and now captures my imagination.

To me, and I suspect to many others, absence usually means empty, nothing, not here. For someone to be absent means they, you, or I are not present.  However, if as Mr. Whyte suggests, absence has shape we begin to imagine what this shape looks like and what fills it, and as he says "...what you're going to pass on and leave behind you..."  Looking at the big picture, "What is a person's legacy?" 

However, there are smaller shapes of absence.  What about when we simply walk out of a room or leave a building?  What do we leave behind?  How about simply passing someone on a sidewalk or even on a highway at a much faster speed?  What is the impression or shape we leave for those who stay?  Is it pleasant, kind, positive, cheerful, encouraging?  Or, do we leave a trail of fears and tears?

Of course all of the small shapes end up becoming the substance of our larger shape of absence. The truth is, like it or not, we leave a shape of absence.  What that shape looks and feels like is determined by whether or not we are actually engaged and aware while present.  The way in which we are missed and remembered is in many ways equal to the way we participate here and now.  This is also the way we miss and remember those whose absent shapes we experience and eventually inhabit.

As the season of Easter continues, perhaps one way to explore Jesus' resurrection is by embracing the empty tomb as the shape of Jesus' absence.  Jesus leaves a shape of love, compassion, forgiveness, and justice which we are invited to enter, inhabit, and live.  By doing so we then create similar shapes of absence for those whom we encounter along life's way.  Is this perhaps what Jesus means when saying, "Follow me?"  Isn't he inviting us into the shape of his absence?   

"Uncle!"

Have you ever had a day when it seems like your whole world is screaming "Say, 'Uncle!?'"  I'm having one today, which is why those of you who subscribe to this blog by email are getting it on Wednesday afternoon rather than the usual Wednesday morning. 

Let me begin from three weeks ago on Palm Sunday when I said in my sermon that what we commonly refer to as Jesus' "Triumphal Entry" into Jerusalem was a actually a "Surrender."  I went on to talk about how we as Christians are called to surrender our fears, especially our fear of death and our need to control our lives.

Fast forward to today.  I awoke this morning full of anxiety, I'm embarrassed to say, over the weather and a baseball game.  Well, not just any old game, but the home opener tomorrow for the Washington Nationals which Peg and I have looked forward to for weeks.  In comes the weather - 100% chance of cold and rain for most of the day in DC!

So I began my early morning routine which these days starts with a guided meditation followed by at least three regular written daily meditations and affirmations that come by email subscription.  Then I take a long walk and listen to a podcast.  This morning every one of these sources had a common message - "Surrender!" Give up the need to control circumstances that are beyond control and make good choices to change my thoughts and perspective.  In other words, all of my "inspiration" for today basically said to me, "PRACTISE WHAT YOU PREACH!"

So, tonight I'll pack layers and rain gear and look forward to a great couple of days in DC and Baltimore with family and friends - and maybe even a baseball game.

"UNCLE!"

Empty

I remember back in my "theatre days" of directing how the week following the opening of a show always felt so empty.  Up to opening night the pace slowly built for weeks as each piece of a production was added and rehearsed. Then came the final, often frantic, week of technical and dress rehearsals.  There were even times when the curtain opened and lights when up on wet scene paint while costumers made final adjustments in the wings.

There is also another memory, a recurring dream I would usually have sometime during those final hectic days.  It was recurring in the sense of theme, but always with new content of the particular production.  In this dream, on opening night everything that could possibly go wrong with the production happened. Scenery fell. Actors forgot lines, came on stage in wrong costumes, props were misplaced, or just didn't show up at all.  I would be in the audience frozen with horror, or worse yet begin shouting at the cast and crew and jump up on the stage myself.  Complete chaos!

The morning following "the dream" I would announce to Peg, "I had the dream last night. Everything is going to be fine."

In many ways this is one way to reflect on the week following Easter and the preceding days of Lent and Holy Week.  The lenten journey begins quietly on Ash Wednesday and steadily builds to the drama and eventual chaotic horror of Holy Week.  Then the curtain, or in Easter's case, the tomb opens.

In the theatre, the empty week following opening night was always the empty place where creativity began to stir and the seeds of the next production began to grow.  The emptiness of Easter's tomb is a place of potential and possibility, resurrection and new life. It is a time to take a deep breath, breathe in the Spirit and begin new things.

 

"Into"

Those who try to make their life secure will lose it, but those who lose their life will keep it.  ~ Jesus, Luke 17:33

Our Lenten Pilgrimage of Prepositions brings us to a threshold.  Just as Jesus in the passion narratives of the Gospels goes into Jerusalem to face the darkness that awaits, we too stand at myriad thresholds in our lives.  Time and again throughout life we are invited into the shadows of our lives.

In the various biblical accounts of the final week of Jesus' life we see him playing a deadly game with the fate that awaits him.  As mentioned in the previous blog, once he leaves the safety of the Palestinian countryside on what we now call Palm Sunday and enters Jerusalem his life is endangered. Throughout the week he goes in and out of the city until finally on Thursday he steps completely into the darkness of death. 

The game he plays is one we often find ourselves playing as we stand on the thresholds of the situations and circumstances in life we fear. The ultimate threshold is of course the same one which Jesus steps through, the door of death.  

In many ways the season of Lent and the week we Christians call "Holy" is our annual pilgrimage to death's door.  It is our annual reminder of our mortality when we are invited to mentally, emotionally, and spiritually rehearse our death.  Much like Jesus going in and out of Jerusalem, we face death without dying, knowing fully well that one day we will step into what seems to be final darkness.

The good news in all of this is also the ultimate Good News - by going into and through death's shadow, we discover life's light.  On a smaller more practical level we now know that all of life's shadows are also thresholds into life's light. Perhaps this is why we can call the pain, suffering, death and darkness of Friday "Good."         

"Towards"

When the days drew near for him to be taken up, he set his face to go to Jerusalem. ~ Luke 9:51


As our Lenten Pilgrimage of Prepositions continues we find ourselves in the fifth week of Lent.  For Jesus and for us, this means Jerusalem is in sight.  Some translations of Luke render the above verse, "...he set his face towards Jerusalem." Jesus knows what is ahead for him.  

The religious leaders in the Jerusalem temple have already said they want to kill him.  As long as he stays away from Jerusalem and in the countryside and small villages among his followers he is safe. This dynamic is even reflected in his coming and going in (during day) and out (at night) of Jerusalem the week before his execution. Jesus' life becomes more complicated.

In the same vein our Pilgrimage of Prepositions moves from simple prepositions to a compound one - "to-ward." We already know "to" indicates direction, but what in the world is "ward?"  

It seems that "-ward" when used as a suffix gets its meaning from an Old English word "weard" which means "turn."  Putting all of this together "toward" is much like the word "repent" - turning.  In an odd way, Jesus, by facing his dilemma, is practicing what he has been preaching - repentance. 

Sometimes repentance, which we usually understand as turning toward the light, requires turing toward our darkness and fear, facing it head on, in order to find our light.  As the old saying goes, "The path to resurrection always goes by way of the cross."

The "Passion" of Jesus is his and our story of the journey through darkness into light.  

Oops!  We just may have stumble upon our next preposition as our Pilgrimage continues...

"Around"

How often have I desired to gather your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing!  ~ Jesus, Luke 13:34


One evening while enjoying still another beautiful Florida sunset during that magical 30-40 minute time after the sun actually sets, the sky filled with breath taking color as if the sky was aflame. Then I turned around.

While I had been watching the western sky burn brilliantly the easter sky had become an envelope of pink and lavender hues that not only painted the sky and water, but also surrounded and caressed everything it touched, including me.  The air was literally filled with color - all around!

I think this may have been what Jesus was saying to the people of Jerusalem and to us in describing God's Presence as a mother hen gathering her brood.  

God, the One Eternal Presence is always around us, holding us, inviting us to snuggle.  Sometimes we know this without doubt.  Other times we may need to turn around in order to know that God is all around us, like the color of a sunset filling the air.

Our Lenten Pilgrimage of Prepositions continues...

"Through"

Christ has no body now on earth but yours,

no hands but yours,

no feet but yours,

yours are the eyes through which Christ's compassion

is to look out to the earth,

yours are the feet by which Christ is to go about doing good

and yours are the hands by which Christ is to bless us now.

~St Teresa of Avila

...our Lenten Pilgrimage of Prepositions continues.

"God has no hands but ours" is a common belief among many religious people.  Even though the quote above expresses the sentiment from a Christian perspective, similar beliefs can be found in most of the world's religions as people are called to do good works, to treat one another with compassion and equality, to recognize and respect human dignity for all, and in general to live what we believe and practice what we preach.  By whatever tradition or name we know the Divine Presence, most spiritual people sense the Presence working "through" us.

We Christians, even though many accept the above concept intellectually, are reluctant to fully embrace the full impact of such a theology.  For example, in our trinitarian theology, even though we say God is three in one, we like to keep the the three persons of the Trinity separated when it comes to our own incarnate nature.  So, many Christians have no trouble saying and believing that the Holy Spirit embodies us, or that we are "filled with the Spirit."  Most of us don't hesitate to say we are created in God's image, or the resurrected Christ is alive in us, or that we encounter Christ in "the least" of humanity.  However, many have great anxiety with God living through us.

The framers of the Doctrine of the Trinity went to great length to use language (mostly Greek philosophical and metaphysical language) as they wrestled with the multiplicity yet singularity of God.  The language they eventually decided on presented God as one substance, essence, and nature that we experience through three persons or persona who share the one nature. Unfortunately they stopped with only three when in the biblical tradition there are numerous, perhaps endless, personifications and representations of the multiplicity of God.  But that's another blog or perhaps what all of these blogs are about.  

Christians without knowledge of these original intricacies have lost the nuances of the Trinity and have basically divided one God into three Gods.  And so when talking of the Trinity we say "God, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit" as if God were a fourth entity.  A more accurate phrasing would be, "God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit."  Each and all are God.   

And so, back to the original question of this blog - How do we so easily accept the Spirt and Son in our lives and have so much trouble admitting that God the Eternal Presence, lives through each and every one of us?  Aren't they one (or three) in the same?

God lives "through" us! 

These little prepositions are powerful, and often times unsettling, things!   The Pilgrimage goes on...

      

"In"

...our Lenten Pilgrimage of Prepositions continues .

"To" and "from" are both prepositions often used to express directional action, indicating destination or origin.  Both also invite the question "where?"  which in turn leads us to prepositions of place like - in, on, at, by, over, under, etc.  The most common of these is probably "in."

When asked where are you?  Our response will often be something like, "I'm in (name your city, state, or country),"  or "I'm in town," or "in my car."  We describe emotional and relational states as "in love," "in a relationship," "in touch," etc.  Descriptions of life circumstances include, "in trouble," "in the soup," "in a dark place," "in a good place," "in control," etc.  We always seem to be "in" something.

Let me suggest that perhaps the ultimate "in" is what we call time and space.  Our lives take place in a continuum of thoughts and events that succeed from one to another through past, present, and future.  The continuum we call "time."  The dimension in which thoughts and events occur we call "space."  We are ultimately and always in time and space, both of which are considered boundless or infinite or eternal. Eternity is therefore not a time or place in the future but rather the time and place where we always are.  We live in eternity.

The names we give this eternal existence are most often the Divine Names of our religious and spiritual traditions.  Even scientific language becomes ethereal when speaking of ultimate reality, using words like "mystery" and even "faith" or "trust" when speaking of ultimate matters.

Regardless of the language we use to speak of the infinite and eternal the fact is we are "in" it!

The Apostle Paul when speaking to a group of people in ancient Athens quotes one of their own poets and says: "In God we live and move and have our being."





   

"From"

In the previous blog I mused a bit on the preposition "to" in the Lenten phrase "Ashes to ashes, dust to dust."  Soon after posting those thoughts I realized there is another preposition in the phrase.  This is the often assumed if unspoken "from."  If "to" implies the journey and experience of life as we know it, then "from" invites us to consider the origin of this life.

In the biblical story of creation the name given to newly created humankind is "Adam" which literally means "from the earth."  Adam is not a personal name for an individual, but rather a descriptive name for the whole species.  Humanity comes from the earth.  

The chemical composition of a human body contains the same elements that make up the planet and atmosphere we call "earth."   We are mostly water (hydrogen and oxygen approximately 75%) and mineral (carbon approximately 19% ), with smaller amounts and traces of another dozen or so gases and minerals.  

Too often we think of earth as the ground beneath our feet when in actuality earth is the land and all that lies beneath, the rivers, lakes and oceans that cover a majority of its surface, as well as above in the thin layer of life supporting gasses we call atmosphere. From the earth means we are all of this. We are dirt, water and air.  We are body and spirit.  We are bread, water, and breath.

Even our thoughts and imagination come from the earth.  Consider these words from Pierre Teilhard de Chardin's Human Phenomenan:  

"To think we mush eat...Sometimes we need bread; sometimes wine, sometimes the infusion of a chemical element or hormone; sometimes the stimulus of color; sometimes the magic of sound passing through our ears as a vibration and emerging in our brain in the form of an inspiration…so many different thoughts come out of the same piece of bread! Just like the letters of an alphabet, which can produce incoherence as well as the most beautiful poem ever heard, the same calories seem to be as indifferent as they are necessary to the spiritual values they nourish.”

We are Adam.  We are Human. We are "from the earth."

So, now we have "to" and "from," but beyond both lies "where."   

Next week our Lenten Pilgrimage of Prepositions continues.

"To"

Abraham answered, "Let me take it upon myself to speak to the Lord, I who am but dust and ashes. ~ Genesis 18:27

Ashes to ashes, dust to dust.
~ from the Anglican Book of Common Prayer burial service

We are stardust. We are golden. And we've got to get ourselves back to the garden. ~ Joni Mitchell

Incarnation is already redemption...Christmas is already Easter because in becoming a human being, God already shows that it's good to be human, to be flesh.   ~ Richard Rohr

Today is Ash Wednesday, the day in the Christian Tradition when we are ritually reminded of human mortality and frailty by having ashes placed on our foreheads in the shape of a cross.   Liturgically, we listen to, read, and recite biblical passages about sinfulness and the need for penitence and redemption.

But what if the ashen cross reminds us, as Richard Rohr says, that "Incarnation is already redemption?" What if our salvation is in finally discovering who we really and already are.  

And, who are we?  According to one blunt description I recently read on the internet: "We are ghosts driving a meat covered skeleton made of stardust riding a rock floating through space."  The humbling imagery of Ash Wednesday is even more blunt:  We are dirt - we live - then we are dirt again. Dust to dust.

However, between the "dust" of birth and death is a tiny preposition expressing motion toward a particular destination.  In the "to" we are amazing creatures with intelligence, imagination, desires, emotions, hopes, dreams, and so much more!  The "to" is awareness of the mystery and wonder of it all, mystery and wonder that infuses all of creation and especially humans, eternal mystery and wonder that many of us call God. But not a God over and apart from creation, rather, God with us, in us, and through us.

Ash Wednesday is a day to contemplate mortality in order to remember immortality.  The awesome (in the true sense of the word) "to" we call life is our destination, now and always!

As on recent past Ash Wednesdays, I invite those of you in the Clearwater area to join in a different kind of observance that captures some of my thought above.  If you can, please join us!  If not, then wherever you may be, I encourage you to, in some way whether attending a formal service, sitting in silence somewhere or going for a walk, take a few moments today and reflect on your immortality - your "to".

 “Stardust to Dust

--a Deep Time Creation Liturgy

for Ash Wednesday”

Wednesday, Feb. 10, 6:30-8:30 p.m.

Trinity Clearwater Presbyterian Church sanctuary

A multi-sensory, multi-media, contemplative liturgy of humanity and the cosmos through a guided, self-paced station to station pilgrimage that connects the miracle of creation with the wonder of life, seeking new dimensions & understandings of our presence and responsibility in God’s creation.

You may begin the pilgrimage anytime within the designated times.

Believe It or Not?

Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands, and put my finger in the mark of the nails and my hand in his side, I will not believe. ~ Thomas, John 20:25

Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe. ~ Jesus, John 20:29

Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. ~ Hebrews 11:1

"I'll believe it when I see it."

The absurdity of this statement really hit home early this morning.  You see, I've been hoping to see the current alignment of 5 planets in the early morning sky.  Unfortunately I'm learning that here in "sunny" Florida this time of year early mornings have a tendency to be cloudy or foggy, evolving into clearer skies later in the day.  This was the case again today.

As I gazed into a cloudy horizon I couldn't see the planets but I knew they were there and believed they were aligned just as scientists and friends who have see them say so.  I couldn't see the alignment but I believed it was there.  If I saw it, belief would have become null because then I would have known it.

I wonder how much of of our understanding of beliefs (whatever those may be) is distorted because what we really want is verifiable knowledge?   Then, if we don't have proof we don't believe it.  This is belief leading to knowledge, and this kind of belief could be just another word for hope.

I could also say, "I know the planets are there and aligned," but only through the stories or testimony of others whom I trust.  This kind of knowing is what I think of as "faith."  Faith is knowing something is true (but not necessarily factual), even when you don't have verifiable proof, because you trust your source of information.   Faith is belief that grows from trust.

Without going too far down this rabbit hole, because it only leads us to absurd questions about the sound of trees falling in the woods and God creating rocks too big for God to move, for me it all comes down to belief becoming faith built on trust. This leads me to the question: Could "trust" be just another world for love.

Faith, hope, and love abide, these three; and the greatest of these is love. ~ Paul, 1 Corinthians 13:13

By the way, even though I didn't get to see the planet alignment, I did see this (clouds are good for something - believe it!):

   

Embrace the Mundane

It's just another day

Slipping into stockings, stepping into shoes

Dipping in the pocket of her raincoat

It's just another day   ~ Paul McCartney, "Another Day"

If you're holding heaven, then spread it around

There's hungry hands reaching up here from the ground

Move over and share the high ground where you stood
So heavenly minded, you're no earthly good    ~ Johnny Cash, "No Earthly Good"

Earlier this week I heard a podcast interview (The Right Kind Of Crazy) with Adam Steltzner a NASA engineer who helped develop and land the Mars Rover.  One of the things Stelzner shared was the importance of embracing the mundane of one's work and life.  Even landing a rover on Mars is not all adrenalin and cheers.  Actually the process took (and continues to take) years of day to day tedious work by many people.  

Our culture of got-to-have-it-now information and entertainment creates the illusion that we should be doing or being something exciting and extraordinary all the time.  The Internet even allows us to enter this illusion by allowing us to continuously share our "exciting" lives with others via Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, etc.

The truth is the majority of our lives are mundane.  However I want to suggest that instead of mundane being ho-hum and boring, we recapture the word's original sense, meaning "of this world, earthly," as opposed to other-worldly and heavenly.   Actually by embracing the mundane and becoming aware of each and every moment of our lives is an amazing thing.  Just "being here" and being aware of being here is truly wonder-filled and miraculous.

So, the next time you think your life is ho-hum or boring, think of it as mundane - grounded in an amazing process of existence and awareness that is extraordinarily ordinary.  Maybe this is what the Psalmist says with, "This is the day the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it." 

Have a mundane day! 

   

  

  

We Know What We Know

"The truth you believe in and cling to makes you unavailable to hear
anything new."   ~ Pema Chodron

Within recent days three celebrity performing artists have died.  It has been interesting to read, watch, and hear on social and traditional media the many different tributes to David Bowie, Alan Rickman, and Glen Frey. There have been memories of first albums, concerts and movies. People have shared stories of how one of these people influenced, and in some cases changed, their lives.

What I find curious about this is not that these people's lives have had profound influence others, but not necessarily on me.  I'm familiar with David Bowie's major hits, but never intentionally listened to his music.  I've seen a number of films Alan Rickman was in and enjoyed his acting abilities.  I'm much more familiar with the music of The Eagles, but could not have told you the name of any individual member of the band, until Glen Frey's death.

All of this leads me to reflect on just how limited each of our perspectives of life are, how the sphere of our knowledge, experiences, interests, and influence is much smaller than we imagine, Perhaps living  in an age of instant connectivity and information has created an illusion that we are more informed, connected, and involved in the world than we really are, even with and perhaps especially those closest to us.

One of my seminary professors use to say, "We know more than we know we know,"  However, the opposite is probably truer, "We don't know nearly as much as we think we know."

Paul Simon put it this way in his song "The Boxer,"  "A man hears what he wants to hear and disregards the rest."

For now, I think I'll stop my rambling and go listen to some David Bowie music and see what all the fuss is about.

Right Now

Right now,
In the morning dark lights of cars and trucks flicker for a second as they pass the tiny portion of highway visible in the distance, red lights south, white lights north.
My love sits across the room.
The dog sleeps on the sofa.
Coffee aroma fills the air.
A manatee lumbers somewhere in the dark waters outside the window.
Someone is sleeping.
Someone is awaking.
The sun shines brightly on the other side of the earth.
A sunset inspires wonder.
A sunrise brings anticipation.
Millions upon millions make daily journeys into and out of cities.
Lovers embrace.
Lovers quarrel.
Births.
Deaths.
Happiness.
Sorrow.
The refrigerator motor runs.
Darkness has turned to soft morning light.
Dusk has faded to black.
The air is filled with travelers, reading, drinking, eating, chatting.
Astronauts circle the globe.
The earth hurls through space.
You read these random words.
Red and white lights arrive at their destinations.
Right now becomes "then."
"When" becomes right now
flickering by,
filled with everything, everywhere.
Right now is "all" we have.
Savor it.

Perfectionism

I ask not only on behalf of these, but also on behalf of those who will believe in me through their word, that they may all be one. As you, God, are in me and I am in you, may they also be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me. The glory that you have given me I have given them, so that they may be one, as we are one, I in them and you in me, that they may become completely one, so that the world may know that you have sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.  ~ Jesus, John 17:20-23


Today is the Feast Day of Epiphany in the Christian tradition, especially the Eastern Christian tradition.  It is the day marked by the story of the Magi seeing and following a bright star to the Christ Child, Jesus.

Here is how Merriam Webster defines epiphany:

1. 1capitalized :  January 6 observed as a church festival in commemoration of the coming of the Magi as the first manifestation of Christ to the Gentiles or in the Eastern Church in commemoration of the baptism of Christ
2. 2:  an appearance or manifestation especially of a divine being
3. 3a (1) :  a usually sudden manifestation or perception of the essential nature or meaning of something (2) :  an intuitive grasp of reality through something (as an event) usually simple and striking (3) :  an illuminating discovery, realization, or disclosureb :  a revealing scene or moment

How appropriate it is that on the Day of Epiphany I have had something of an epiphany concerning the scripture passage quoted above.  For quite a while now I have struggled for a phrase or word to describe how I have come to experience God, the Divine Presence.  The title of this blog, "One Eternal Presence," is one of the phrases I use, reflecting an awareness of Divinity that infuses all of creation. Some might call this pantheism or panenthesim, however even these beliefs and words contain a form of "theos" the Greek word for God that is contained in just about every word or phrase used to describe belief or disbelief (atheism) about God. It also connotes a God over and apart from creation and humanity.

Toward the end of Jesus' final discourse with his disciples in the Gospel of John (chapters 13-17), Jesus prays for his disciples and in that prayer includes "those who will believe in me through their word."  In other words, "you and me." Then, he says the amazing words above.

The epiphany for me in this passage is "that they may become completely one" - with God!  "The Greek phrase is "teleioo eis heis," with the key word being "teleioo" which means to make perfect or complete.

So, all of this is to say I may have found my phrase or word! (at least for now) Instead of a monotheist, or pantheist, or atheist, or any other kind of "theist," I've discovered I'm a "teleiooist," a "perfectionist" not in the sense of "rightness" but of "completeness."  God is perfect, complete, and we are part of that perfection and completeness!

The exciting thing about such an epiphany, as with all epiphanies, is that this is not the final word on God, but rather a threshold into a whole new way of perceiving, thinking about, experiencing, and exploring the Divine that is and always will be One Eternal (Perfect) Presence.

Have a great Day of Epiphany! 
     

A New Year Dawning

As one year ends and another begins, I offer for your reflection two of my favorite poems by the late Irish poet, philosopher John O'Donohue.

For a New Beginning

In out-of-the-way places of the heart,
Where your thoughts never think to wander,
This beginning has been quietly forming,
Waiting until you were ready to emerge.

For a long time it has watched your desire,
Feeling the emptiness growing inside you,
Noticing how you willed yourself on,
Still unable to leave what you had outgrown.

It watched you play with the seduction of safety
And the gray promises that sameness whispered,
Heard the waves of turmoil rise and relent,
Wondered would you always live like this.

Then the delight, when your courage kindled,
And out you stepped onto new ground,
Your eyes young again with energy and dream,
A path of plenitude opening before you.

Though your destination is not yet clear
You can trust the promise of this opening;
Unfurl yourself into the grace of beginning
That is at one with your life’s desire.

Awaken your spirit to adventure;
Hold nothing back, learn to find ease in risk;
Soon you will be home in a new rhythm,
For your soul senses the world that awaits you.

Blessing for a New Year (Beannacht)

Follow this link to hear the late John O'Donohue read "Beannacht."

Both poems are from To Bless the Space Between Us: A Book of Blessings, by John O’Donohue

Love

The fourth and final Word of Advent is "Love."

The expectation of Hope, the wholeness of Peace, and the belonging of Joy all lead to a profound and pure sense that each of us is inseparable from one another, from the Divine, and from all creation. Far from a sentimental, romantic, or physical attraction, the Love of Advent is the glue that binds humanity and holds the universe together.

Love is not something we have, hold or give as much as it is participation in and relationship with the Life Force of all creation. The intensity is greater in some relationships than in others, hence the mystery of love between humans and for animals, nature, music, art.

Through the ages, as humanity has searched for meaning and purpose, we always seem to come around to that "crazy little thing called love."  It is the at the core of most religion.  Christian scriptures say that without love we are nothing but "clanging cymbals," and that God IS Love. Hebrew scriptures say that the first and foremost rule of life is to love God, others, and self with our whole being.  Love is the basis for the five pillars of Islam.

Love is what we discover in pure vulnerability with ourselves, each other, and with God or whatever our concept of the the Divine may be.  The Words of Advent - Hope, Peace, Joy, and Love - bring us to such a place of vulnerability.  We call this place "Christmas."

Here is my Advent / Christmas offering for you - one of the best expressions I know of Love as vulnerability, "The Rose" by Amanda McBroom.

Merry Christmas!

Amanda McBroom sings "The Rose"

Some say love, it is a river
That drowns the tender reed
Some say love, it is a razor
That leaves your soul to bleed
Some say love, it is a hunger
An endless aching need
I say love, it is a flower
And you, its only seed

It’s the heart that fears the breaking
That never learns to dance
It’s the dream, afraid of waking
That never takes the chance
It’s the one who won’t be taken
Who cannot seem to give
And the soul, afraid of dying
That never learns to live

When the night has been too lonely
And the road has been too long
And you think that love is only for the lucky and the strong
Just remember in the winter
Far beneath the bitter snow
Lies the seed
That with the sun’s love, in the spring
Becomes the rose

Joy

The third Word of Advent is "Joy."   

Like the other words of Advent, joy has a much deeper meaning than our popular understanding.  Most of us have a tendency to equate joy with happiness.  Even though the two are often experienced together and one usually leads to the other, joy and happiness are not the same.

I have come to think of joy as a state of being or a perspective on life, while happiness is a fleeting experience of pleasure. Joy is the source of happiness. However, one can be joyful even in sadness. Joy is the deep gladness that we are alive, that we participate in and affect this amazing, wonderful experience we call life. 

Joy is the wellspring of laughter, tears, smiles, and frowns.  Joy is the immense sense of belonging when hiking canyons, climbing mountains, standing on the seashore, or looking across vast plains. Joy is knowing the One Eternal Presence is with us, in us, and around us.  Joy is light in darkness.

This is how Advent Angels sing of "great joy" among us, and the Psalmist says, "Weeping may linger for the night, but joy comes with the morning. 

 

Peace

Continuing to explore the words of Advent "Hope, Peace, Joy, and Love," we consider the second word of Advent - "Peace."

Ask most people to define "peace" and we use words like "calm, serene, and tranquil;" or phrases like "lack of conflict" or "absence of war."   Peace is all of this, yet much more.

The Peace of Advent is grounded in a biblical understanding of completeness, wholeness, and harmony.  The Hebrew word for peace is "shalom" which is used to describe the wholeness of body, mind and spirit; covenant relationship between two people, or nations, or with God; prosperity or success; and the end of military battle.  The Greek work "eirene" takes on all of these meanings with Christ as the model for and source of peace, hence the title "Prince of Peace."

In this biblical sense the Peace of Advent is not passive or theoretical, but active and practical.  It is also both inward and outward. We can be peaceful in the midst of conflict, as well as a peace maker between conflicting parties.  However, in order to bring peace to those around us we must have peace (wholeness and harmony) within us.

The Peace of Advent, the same sung by angels to shepherds, is not so much an invitation into tranquil rest as it is a call to action within ourselves and with others.  Just like the popular hymn says, "Let there be peace on earth, and let it begin in me."

May the Peace of Advent be with you!

Hope

Last Thursday (Thanksgiving Day) was the unofficial beginning of the “holiday season.”  Over the next six weeks or so there will be many parties, dinners, musical programs, family gatherings, and public celebrations.

In the midst of the holiday season we Christians observe Advent, four weeks before Christmas that remind us of the fullness of our human experience.  One way we do this is by centering on four words (one for each week): Hope, Peace, Joy, and Love.  Hope comes first because without hope we can't experience the others. Unfortunately for many people the word "hope" has become confused with "wish."

Here's how I see the difference. On the one hand, to wish is to have a strong desire for something to occur that has an equal, if not strong, probability of not happening. Hope, on the other hand, is a state of mind, an attitude or perspective of assurance that the world is as we expect it to be.  One could even say that wish is a verb - something we do, while hope is a noun - something we have.

In a theological, spiritual sense Hope is the assurance that Divine Goodness (meaning wholeness and fullness) is at the foundation and core of Creation.  At first glance, in light of all the pain and suffering in the world, this may seem rather glib or pollyannaish.  And, if we think in terms of "hope" as "wish" it is.  However, coming to a place and perspective that within each and every person and all of creation there is a Divine Spark (however dim or bright it may be) we begin to sense the essence of true Hope.  Wishing comes and goes.  Hope stays.

Advent is a season to reclaim Divine Hope in our lives.

Happy Thanksgivng!

Wherever you are and whoever you are with, I hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving Day and weekend!

Give thanks with a grateful heart!

Happy Thanksgiving!

What's In Your - - - Obit?

What's in your wallet?
~ a credit card commercial


Several years ago I got the idea for a fun group (or individual) exercise from one of author Robert Fulghum's books.  It goes like this - ask everyone to bring out their wallets and/or purses and basically go on a scavenger hunt using a list of things like a band aid, expired drivers licence, grocery list, etc.  Make it your own fun list.  It is always interesting and often surprising (sometimes embarrassing) to see what people carry around with them.  It also gives a little insight into who we are.

Recently I heard an interview with another author, Austin Kleon, who shared his regular practice of reading obituaries to remind him that "living" is the real purpose of life.  Years ago I also regularly read obituaries to remind me of the impermanence of life.  There is also that funny line attributed to several people from Mark Twain to Henny Youngman, "I read the obits everyday to make sure I'm not in them."

Bringing these two things together with the quote above raises the question, "What's in your obituary?"  How do you want to be remembered?  Who will read it?  Who will write it?

How about writing it yourself? That's right. Take a few minutes and write your own obituary.  Tell those closest to you, your family, your friends, your work colleagues, your neighbors - tell the world how you want to be remembered. Write it down.  Ponder it.  Then share it, not by letting others read it, but by - living it!  Give whoever will eventually write your actual obituary enough good material to work with.

(Camera zooms in to close-up of Samuel L. Jackson)             "What's in your obit?"

Veterans Day

Veterans Day (and others like it) always sends me into a turbulent spiral of conflicting emotions.  To put it plainly, I want to honor people who have served, while at the same time resist sentimental glorification of war and militarism that parades as patriotism in today's world.

My observance of Veterans Day has for the past forty-something years been simple - a phone call to my brother Tom Walton to simply say thank you, without any elaboration.

This morning I am painfully lamenting that I can't make that phone call today.

And so I observe the day by sharing what I said about my brother's military service and patriotism at his funeral this past July.   

___________________________________

"Tom was a worker.  I think he had his first job when he was 6 years old.  At least that’s the way it seemed to me.  He was always cutting grass, bagging groceries, stocking shelves, or working the butcher counter.  He was a true worker.  He put his all into anything he did.

This is one of the main things that made him the patriot he was.

Tom loved and served his country with the same honor and trust he lived the rest of his life.  He loved his fellow military veterans in a bond that only those who have been there have and know - a bond forged in the abyss of war.

I’m going to say something here that may offend some of you, but many of you will know deep inside the truth of it.

Regardless of ideology, nationality, creed, or pledge - War is the tragic flaw of humanity and it not only takes life, it ruins it for many who survive.

My brother, patriot that he was, was also a living testimony that 13 months, perhaps a single day, or even a particular moment in war will change a young man’s (or woman’s) life forever. 

Tom lived with the demons of Viet Nam. But in spite of his war demons, Tom was a patriot.  And his patriotism was forged in places many have been but most of us don’t really want to go.

Having said all of that, I want to publicly say thank you to Tom’s brothers and sister of the American Legion, especially post 145 where he served with utmost pride.  You were truly a second (and maybe sometimes first) family to him.  God bless you."

___________________________________

Thank you, Tom, and all other veterans!  

My simple hope and prayer is that the human family can one day eliminate the need for Veteran's Day.  After all it did begin as Armistice Day of "the war to end all wars."

Mind-Body-Spirit

“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.” This is the greatest and first commandment. And a second is like it: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”    ~ Jesus

I'm trying to adjust to a new life rhythm.  You see, for the past twelve years my work week has been back-loaded with the lion's share of deadlines and meetings coming Wednesday afternoon and evening through Sunday.  Since moving to a new congregation this schedule has been flipped 180 degrees and now my week is front-loaded from Sunday to Wednesday morning.  The thing this change seems to have affected most is this blog space since from its beginning I have mostly written and posted it on Wednesday mornings.  All of this is to partly explain why you didn't see this post yesterday and why it has been coming to you sometimes later on Wednesdays. My muse has become confused as to when to appear!

Now, with that out of my system, this whole dynamic also has me thinking about life rhythms and how physical routines and activities affect our thoughts, imaginations, emotions, and spirit.  I'm reminded of the body-mind-soul connection and how Spirit traverses every aspect of our lives. 

Mindful and thus authentic spirituality requires attention to all areas of our being.  Most of us are pretty good at one or two while neglecting the other(s). Maybe while exercising we ruminate on negative thoughts of things in our lives.  Or perhaps we feed our minds with good reading or listening while consuming a bag of chips or a pint of ice cream.  We could be meditating every day while sleeping only 4-5 hours a night.  There are too many examples in our lives, so I won't belabor the point other than to repeat that body, mind, and spirit (heart, soul, and mind) are integrated, and care of our whole person is necessary if we are to care for one another.

Jesus reminds us in the quote above of the ancient Truth that in order to love and care for another we must first love and care for our whole selves.  It all goes together. 

So, whether it's Wednesday or Thursday, be kind to yourself and then to someone else!   

Spirit(s)!

This coming weekend we celebrate and commemorate two holidays: Halloween (All Hallows" Eve) and All Saints' Day (All Hallows' Day). At least one of these, Halloween, has evolved in the U.S. as another huge cultural event and "consumer holiday."  For all practical and economic purposes Halloween is just an extension of the ever lengthening "holiday season" that was once Christmas.  For me it conjures (a good Halloween word) an image of Santa sitting with a Jack-o-Lantern on one knee and the Easter Bunny on the other.  All we need do is give him an American flag backdrop and we can extend all the way into July!  Or why not make it a whole year by putting a hard hat on him and take it all the way to Labor Day?

Now, after a little fun cynicism, what is this all about?  The answer is straight and simple: Spirit(s)! There is something in the human spirit, which is really just and extension of The Spirit that needs to celebrate, commemorate, remember, and honor the wonder of our existence. No one should be surprised that most of the holidays (holy days) we celebrate have their roots in religion, either directly or grafted.  Even our so-called "secular" celebrations like July 4th, Labor Day, Veterans Day, etc are infused with religious language and imagery in order to give spiritual credence and validation to nationalism, consumerism, and militarism.  Ironically, even all of our human "isms" are, in their own rights, rooted in and driven by Spirit(s).  

There is something deep inside the human experience that yearns for meaning and purpose and the expression of the same. The dark side of these yearnings too often leads to "isms" that fuel fear, violence and war.   However every now and then this simmering yearning boils up and over and we have the overwhelming, uncontrollable urge to light fires, string lights, dance, sing, wear costumes, adorn domiciles, gather in communities, laugh together, cry together, remember the tenuous amalgam of life and death - all in order to experience and express an Eternal Connection to the utter wonder, awe and amazement of the existence of it all.

Happy Halloween / All Saints' Day!  And may the Spirit(s) boil up and over in your life in fun, reflective, and joyous celebration!