All?

The conference worship service was on the beach in the cool of early morning, looking out across white sand and the Gulf of Mexico underneath cloudless blue sky.  One theme of the conference was "All God has is ours."  It was a perfect setting in the sense that perfect is whole and not without blemish. There were a couple of blemishes including a distant beeping of a service vehicle in reverse. But even that seemed to blend into the wholeness.

When it was time to observe the sacrament of communion, we were invited to walk forward and take bread and wine to remind us of our bond in Christ. The Celebrant broke the loaf of bread and lifted it into the air saying, "All are welcome at this table." At that very moment as if choreographed, a dove (well at least a seagull) descended to accept the invitation and partake of holy food. That's when the Celebrant, instinctively and quickly pulled the bread away saying, "No! Not you!" There was laughter, some I suspect to hide the awkwardness of missed opportunity.

This reminded me that most of the time when we say "all" we really don't mean it. Do we really believe "all men [sic] are created equal?" Do all people have the same rights, opportunities, and resources to live with dignity? Are all people really welcome in our places of worship? Does our version of "God" really love all people? What does it mean to claim that the Divine Presence is in all, through all?

The seagull also reminds us of the missed opportunities we have every day to actually practice the "all" inclusiveness many of us espouse. How many times do we look through people around us, especially those working in positions of service, making our lives more convenient and privileged. When do we stop to take in the wonder and beauty of the planet that sustains the diversity of life surrounding us? Do we even notice the amazing creativity and imagination that surrounds us in the infrastructure and technology that makes our modern lifestyle possible?

How big is your "all?" To whom or what are you and I saying, "No! Not you!"  

ROI

"The last will be first and the first will be last."
~ Jesus

Now that a "businessman" occupies the  U.S. presidency we seem to hear the term "return on investment" (ROI) more often in relation to governmental policy both domestic and international. The first question to be asked about just about anything is "What do I (we) get out of it?" - America First! Consideration of how decisions affect others and the overall common good of global society and humanity is usually subsequent, if even considered at all.

ROI is probably a good thing when investing money in the stock market. But even then investments go far beyond their dividends for investors. The companies and ventures invested in affect people and environment in myriad ways. Too many investment portfolios grow at the expense of human dignity, peace between nations, and care for our planet.
 
Religion also has its ROI.  How many religions have "heavenly reward" and "personal salvation" as ultimate goals? Even when something bad happens in our lives we quip, "What did I (we, they) do to deserve that?" as if a watchful god is running a cosmic ticker tape on everything we do, say, or think.

However, within most religions, and usually at their foundational core, are prophets and teachers who tell us that self worth is always found in mutual relationship with others and creation. By investing in other people, regardless of what they can do for us, we experience true ROI. Caring for our planet by using and developing resources wisely is true investment, yielding future returns for which we are not beneficiary.

Wanting to be first while insisting on immediate and personal ROI is contrary to true spiritual wisdom of the ages. Real ROI is long term, selfless, and beneficial to the common good of all.

A Prayer of Small and Great Things

As we go about our daily lives filled with small things, great things swirl about us.

While millions of people struggle in the aftermath of devastation on the coast of Texas, wondering why, where, when, and how their lives will ever find any sense of equilibrium...

As threats and missiles fly across oceans with no regard for their consequences to the world...

When hundreds of thousands of people with dreams of meaning and purpose for their lives discover their fate is held in the hands of capricious, cowardly men who have no respect of basic human dignity and freedom...

As millions more watch seas, skies, and screens in anxiety while fight or flight hormones churn within, many flee, many stay, many have no choice.

In the midst of these great things may we go about the small things of our day - digging out, drying up, saying prayers, getting ready for the worst and hoping for the best.

Regardless of whether we are coming out, headed in, or in the middle of greater storms, may our small things be undergirded with wisdom, respect, courage, compassion, love, and hope so that the great things of our future--those things of which we have influence--will bring the same hope to the world.

Eclipse

Like millions of other people I watched the solar eclipse on Monday. I was fortunate enough to be in the path of the total eclipse in western North Carolina. The day began at 2:30 a.m. for me and three friends because we had a three hour drive to the path of totality and wanted to beat the heavy traffic that had been predicted.

Before we got in the car we all paused from our mountain top viewpoint and gazed with wonder at the clear night sky. The Milky Way, which most of us don't see too often, seemed so far away and yet we were looking at our own celestial home, our own galaxy, from within it.

As hoped for, our drive was clear sailing and uneventful. Along the way we passed many full motel parking lots. We arrived early at our destination of Cherokee/Bryson City in time to see both little mountain communities awaken to their big day as "totality" destinations.  Cars and campers were already gathering in roped off fields and parks. At breakfast in a local diner everybody was talking about "the blackout." By 10 a.m. the streets and sidewalks were becoming crowded. 

My friends and I had been invited to join one of their son's family at his in-law's place. It sits on a hillside between Cherokee and Bryson City with a clear view of the sky and overlooks a beautiful Blue Ridge vista - the perfect spot.

We spent the morning napping in the shade, tossing bean bags into corn holes, talking, and snacking on smoked chicken, slaw, and beans. Around 12:45 we passed out the "eclipse glasses" moved our chairs up the hillside and positioned ourselves for the show.

And what a show it was! As the moon slowly covered our star from "pacman" stage to tiny sliver the air turned cool and still. It stayed nearly full light up to the final tiny spot of sun and then we couldn't see it through our glasses.

The glasses came off to a chorus of "oooh's" and "ahaaa's" followed by moments of awe-filled silence. I won't even attempt to describe what I saw. Words sometimes fail. It was simply a minute and thirty-odd seconds of wonder and amazement in which I was reminded in a dramatic way of the complexity and fragility of our place in the immensity of the universe.

It is a miracle that any of it exist at all, much more that we have the opportunity to experience it. 

Our Way of Life

"Nothing ever goes away until it has taught us what we need to know." ~ Pema Chödrön

Prophets come proclaiming Truth that threatens the "way of life" we worship. So we kill them. Then we domesticate and twist their Truth into our way of life. We deify them, and eventually build monuments that worship our way of life.

Demagogues come proclaiming lies that stroke our fears and feed our pride in the "way of life" we worship. Lies are twisted into truth. Believing that others, and not them, threaten our way of life, we go to war and die for them. We eventually build monuments to them and worship our way of life.

Whether through Prophet or Demagogue we end up at monuments of cold stone worshiping our way of life. Until we we learn and know at the core of our being that the problem lies in our way of life, the cycle will continue.

We seem to be living in a time that begs for the cycle to be broken. It is time to create a way of life that works for everyone!

When will we ever learn?

Post Script:
I took a walk after posting this and feel the need to say:  In no way am I creating a false equivalency between prophets and demagogues. If there is equivalency, it is in the way we receive and act upon their proclamations. The "way of life that works for everyone" is the Truth of the prophet and mystic which is justice, kindness, peace, and Love.
  

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Death

…our years come to an end like a sigh.

The days of our life are seventy years,

   or perhaps eighty, if we are strong...
they are soon gone, and we fly away...

~ Psalm 90

I'm thinking about death today.  I went to bed last night after reading about singer Glen Campbell dying.  I awoke to news that a dear friend of many years died early this morning. Another friend died recently. And of course, thousands of lives end every minute of every day on our planet.

When someone I know dies, the first question that usually comes to mind is: "Where are they now?"
Where is the energy, the laughter, the tears, the hopes, the dreams, the imagination, the love that was unique to one person? Where is all that made up that one life? Having been in the presence of death several times, I have witnessed the "sigh" of the psalmist. One second a person is here and the next moment who knows where.

We have our religious beliefs, rituals and myths of afterlife that make the mysteries of death tangible, as good ritual and myth does. However, thinking beyond pearly gates, gold streets and crossing rivers we come to a place of finality that begs the question "Is that all there is?"

One of our daughters once announced to my wife that she "didn't want to go to heaven."  This threw Peg into a moment of existential angst until she simply ask, "Why?" Our daughter's reply was telling, "It just sounds awfully boring!"

In the end we simply don't know what comes after "the end."  It may very well be a new beginning, a new adventure beyond our imagination. Perhaps "the sigh" is actually a gasp of surprise. One thing is sure, every person that lives will one day know.

In the mean time, what we have are "the days of our lives" to fill with laughter, tears, hopes, dreams, imagination, and love.

Nothing's New

What has been is what will be, and what has been done is what will be done; there is nothing new under the sun. ~ Ecclesiastes 1:9 

The longer I live and more I read the Bible and other sacred texts, the more I realize that Jesus and other mystic visionaries of the ages are mostly telling us to stop our frantic grasping for God in order to experience the Eternal Sacred already present, here and now. In this sense, Jesus comes not to change anything, but to reveal everything as already Holy.

When "the preacher" of Ecclesiastes says, there is nothing new under the sun, this is another reminder that whatever we are presently experiencing has already been experienced by others somewhere and sometime in human history, and will be experienced again. A long view of history shows us that with each cycle of experience adaptions are made creating an illusion that things are getting better or worse when in fact they are simply more or less sophisticated.

The human challenge is not so much to break the cycles of history as to be fully aware of them in order to not get swept away by them. In doing so we begin to experience the Divine Eternal Presence calling us into authentic relationships within Creation in our time and place. 

We look to the past for guidance from those who have already experienced the challenges and celebrations of life. By living with integrity now we offer hope to future generations when they face similar experiences.

Again, "the preacher" says, 

What gain have the workers from their toil? I have seen the business that God has given to everyone to be busy with. God has made everything suitable for its time; moreover, God has put a sense of past and future into their minds, yet they cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end. I know that there is nothing better for them than to be happy and enjoy themselves as long as they live; moreover, it is God’s gift that all should eat and drink and take pleasure in all their toil. I know that whatever God does endures for ever; nothing can be added to it, nor anything taken from it; God has done this, so that all should stand in awe before God. That which is, already has been; that which is to be, already is; and God seeks out what has gone by. 

~Ecclesiastes 3:9-15

Life is Holy

This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.

~ Psalm 118:24 (bold underline is mine)

If we weren't blind as bats, we might see that life itself is sacramental.

~ Frederick Buechner

For the past two weeks I've been privileged to experience a combination of continuing education and vacation that is sometimes called "sabbath." One of the graces of time away from a normal daily and weekly routine is to ease into a more natural rhythm of hours and days. Several days into this sabbath time the hour of the day and day of the week became less apparent, as well as my need to know. This blog is even a day later than usual.

Somehow this awakens me to a timeless awareness that each moment, each hour, each day is holy, sacred, and inspired. So, why then, do most spiritual and religious traditions have "holy days" and "sacred places" set aside for the practice of faith?  Perhaps to remind us that all days are special? 

Somewhere along the way in my life as a pastor I picked up a couple of liturgical phrases that I regularly use when celebrating the sacrament of the Lord's Supper - "Because this bread is holy, all bread is holy. Because this wine is holy, all wine is holy." 

In non-religious life most people "work for the weekend." As a Christian pastor I have a tendency to live and work from Sunday to Sunday. Clergy of other faiths do so with their holy days.  On the surface it may appear that we do this because that's how many people and cultures view religion as ritual practiced apart from the rest of life.  

How would our world change if we began to see and experience any old Wednesday morning as if it was just as vibrant as a weekend and as holy as the highest holy day of any religious tradition?

  

Rocks, Trees, Mountains, and Lakes

I'm spending a few days experiencing One Eternal Presence with colleagues at our annual Colorado Pastor's Retreat. Here are a few black and white images from some hikes we've taken.

I've Heard It All

"Thought, ideology, and philosophy - this can live forever."

~ Iraqui translator for western media and military

In a recent interview with an Iraqui translator for western media and military about the retaking of the city of Mosul the translator expressed fear that his, and his family's, life would never be safe. Regardless of who wins, loses, or controls territory, the seeds of fear, hatred, and violence once sown can have deep, long-lasting roots.  

We are experiencing this same dynamic in numerous ways in the world today. The Holocaust didn't end antisemitism. The American Civil War of the 1860's or Civil Rights Act of the 1960's didn't end racism. The Watergate scandal didn't end political corruption. How many times in recent days have you said or heard, "I thought we had gotten over that?"

I can't help but remember a song from the musical Shenendoah as the father, Charlie Anderson, struggles with his sons wanting to fight in the "civil" war.  Please take a minute to listen.

Yes, we've heard it all before, but that doesn't mean our struggles are over. The eternal tension of our own capacity for love and fear is always with us. Our hope lies in spreading seeds of love, even when weeds of fear are all around us.

The 5th of July - What now?

It's the 5th of July and the question looms - What now?  How do we embrace and live the Liberty, Freedom and Justice espoused in our declaration of independence that turns out to be a call into interdependence?  

Last Sunday, July 2, in my sermon I reflected on the shared values found in the teaching and modeling of Jesus and the words and symbolism of the Statue of Liberty.  The Gospel reading was from Matthew and is Jesus speaking to his and John's disciples. The Liberty reading was the poem "The New Colossus" by Emma Lazarus, which is found on a bronze plaque inside the statue's pedestal.  

As a way, forward in response to "What now?" I offer the readings below, without commentary, for your own reflection.

Matthew 10:40-42; 11:1-6, 28-30

‘Whoever welcomes you welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me. Whoever welcomes a prophet in the name of a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward; and whoever welcomes a righteous person in the name of a righteous person will receive the reward of the righteous; and whoever gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones in the name of a disciple—truly I tell you, none of these will lose their reward.’

Now when Jesus had finished instructing his twelve disciples, he went on from there to teach and proclaim his message in their cities.
 When John heard in prison what the Messiah was doing, he sent word by his disciples and said to him, ‘Are you the one who is to come, or are we to wait for another?’ Jesus answered them, ‘Go and tell John what you hear and see: the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor have good news brought to them. And blessed is anyone who takes no offence at me.’

‘Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.’


The New Colossus 
BY EMMA LAZARUS

Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame, 
With conquering limbs astride from land to land; 
Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand 
A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame 
Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name 
Mother of Exiles. From her beacon-hand 
Glows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes command 
The air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame. 
“Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp!” cries she 
With silent lips. “Give me your tired, your poor, 
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, 
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore. 
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me, 
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!”

Bona Fide?

It takes some restraint to try and keep this blog non-political even though the contents often have political dimension, since the very nature of One Eternal Presence is that all things are interconnected. Sometimes this interconnectedness is more obvious than others.

In light of the recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling on immigration that speaks of certain immigrants needing a "bona fide relationship" within the United States in order to gain entry, I looked up "bona fide" and found the following definition: genuine; real; sincerely, without intention to deceive.

Many experts in law have already pointed out the legal quagmire this phrase creates. It begs the question: What is a "'genuine; real; sincerely, without intention to deceive' relationship?" 

How we answer this question is at the core of who we are as human beings. As a Christian I can't help but hear the words of Paul and Jesus when they were faced with the same question in their time.  

Paul said to the Romans and the Philippians:   
- Let love be genuine; hate what is evil, hold fast to what is good; love one another with mutual affection; outdo one another in showing honour. Do not lag in zeal, be ardent in spirit, serve the Lord. Rejoice in hope, be patient in suffering, persevere in prayer. Contribute to the needs of the saints; extend hospitality to strangers. Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. Live in harmony with one another; do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly; do not claim to be wiser than you are. Do not repay anyone evil for evil, but take thought for what is noble in the sight of all. If it is possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. - whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is pleasing, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.

Jesus said:
 But I say to you that listen, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you. If anyone strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also; and from anyone who takes away your coat do not withhold even your shirt. Give to everyone who begs from you; and if anyone takes away your goods, do not ask for them again. Do to others as you would have them do to you.

So, perhaps in the end, "is it bona fide?" is not only a good question but the ultimate question - one we should be asking not only of immigrants but of our leaders and ourselves.

All, Each, Other, Self = God

"To love another person is to see the face of God."
~ Les Miserables, the musical

We are all, each, someone else's other.  

We are all, each, someone else's self.

I'm convinced more and more that the central teaching of Jesus and so many other sages, prophets, and visionaries "to love the other as we love our self" is the only way to truly know and love the Eternal Presence we call "God."  In doing so we discover that we are "the light of the world" and "the salt of the earth." Jesus teaches us to be fully human and in the process we discover our divine nature.

Author John Philip Newell shares the following story in his book A New Harmony: The Spirit, the Earth, and the Human Soul:

One day as we sat in the Lal Bagh Gardens, we were approached by an elderly Indian gentleman. He greeted us kindly and entered into conversation. After a few pleasantries, in which I learned that he was a retired banker, he said with a gentle sideways wagging of his head, “I have one question for you. Who are you?” I sensed that he was not asking me what my name was, but, wanting to feel my way into the conversation, I said, “My name is John Philip.” To which he replied, still kindly nodding his head from side to side, “I was not asking you what your name was. I was asking who are you?” So I said to him, “I come from the same One you come from.” This pleased him well enough that he proceeded with our discussion, in which he expounded for me the heart of Hindu wisdom. He spoke of the Self within all selves and of true self-knowledge as consisting of an awareness that our selves are rooted in the One who is at the heart of all life. He then said, with an even more emphatic wagging of his head, “I must be going now, but I have one final thing to say to you. You are God. And until you realize you are God, you will not be wise, you will not be happy, and you will not be free. Namaste.”

What if God were one of us?    Namaste!

SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT:

I recently did an interview about my book "Hidden In His Own Story..." with Ron Way of "Author Talk." 

Listen to the interview here!

Dashes and Commas

...more on Religion and Spirituality

Experience is what actually happens in life while belief is reflection on the happening. Unfortunately too many of us spend more time reflecting and thinking about what happened and will happen rather than giving full attention to what is happening right now. We seem to be in a constant state of coming from and going to while, for the most part, oblivious to where we are. 

How many times have you been driving, walking, or going in some fashion only to realize that you've gone from point A to point C and can't remember B? Now think about this same dynamic in larger frames of time. What about yesterday, last week, or last year? Do you ever find yourself asking, "Where did the time go?" 

Because of my current location in Florida, where a lot of older people live, I've held a lot of funerals in the past couple of years. Occasionally a family requests that someone read a poem about this dynamic in our lives. It's called "The Dash" and is about the dash between a person's Born and Died dates. You can read it here.

The Christian religion even does this with Jesus albeit with a comma instead of a dash. The foundational creed of Christianity, "The Apostles Creed" reads, "...was born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate..." Jesus's whole life experience is a comma. What a Christian is asked to "believe" is all about the past and the future. Ironically, the comma, or life of Jesus, is about living and loving in the present, which he calls "the Kingdom at hand."

Religion loves dashes and commas, Spirituality prefers run on sentences. 

Spiritual But Not Religious

"Religion is believing in someone else's experience. Spirituality is having your own experience."
~ Deepak Chopra


More and more people these days are identifying themselves as "spiritual but not religious." There is also much discussion and consternation within religious circles as to what this really means. The quote above captures, better than I've seen, the essence of this disconnect between spirituality and religion.

Religions, especially those we label as "organized" or "institutional," survive by turning the experiences of others, usually from thousands or hundreds of years ago, into doctrines and beliefs. These doctrines and beliefs then become the basis for morality that governs our actions that in turn create experiences that, not so surprisingly, reinforce those beliefs and doctrines.

Spirituality, on the other hand comes from experiencing relationships with creation through other people, nature, and imagination that spurs morality based on values rather than belief and doctrine.

Another way to say this is:

With Spirituality

Comes Morality

Morality is doing what is right,

Regardless of what you are told

Religion is doing what you are told,

Regardless of what is right

Spiritual people are not God-less

We just happen to honour the

"GOD"  in all of us.

Divinity is in you, as it is in me  

~ source unknown

There is much more to ponder about this whole "spiritual but not religious" movement in the world today.  However, these thoughts may give us some hand holds and anchors to grasp as we grapple with the Mystery.

Chri-ster-cost

As the Day of Pentecost approaches it occurs to me that we Christians keep celebrating the same holiday (singular) over and over. Christmas, Easter, Pentecost, and all in between seem to have the same theme. In some form or fashion the various stories tell of the Presence of God dramatically invading humanity.

Ironically we celebrate these holy days as events in the past with longing that God will show up again. We say things like "If it could only be (insert holiday) everyday." Now don't get me wrong. I enjoy celebrating holidays, but what about just a regular old Thursday?   Perhaps the real purpose of the holiday(s) is to remind us that the Divine is always with us in common things like mangers, tombs, wind, fire, language, bread, wine, - in short - everything!  Every day really is Christmas, Easter and Pentecost!  Happy, Merry Chri-ster-cost!  

 

Freedom

During our years as residents of Washington, DC Peg and I spent a lot of time visiting the various monuments and memorials in the city, especially the iconic ones at the western end of the National Mall. At first it was just us and then mostly taking friends who were visiting.

Early on we decided that it should be required of every public servant in DC, elected or appointed, to visit these monuments and memorials on a regular basis and read their walls.  From George Washington, to Thomas Jefferson, to Abraham Lincoln, to Franklin (and Eleanor) Roosevelt, to Martin Luther King, Jr., to the war memorials of WW1, WW2, Korea, and Viet Nam the words, names, and images remind us of who we are and aspire to be as individuals, communities, a nation, and humanity.

Yes, all of these people were human and had foibles and flaws. Some of them were slave owners, some descendants of slaves, some rich, some poor. Those remembered in the war memorials came from all walks of life. The common thread that seems to run through all of the poetic words and imagery is freedom.

One place where this freedom is elegantly expressed is a wall of the FDR Memorial commemorating his hope for the world - four fundamental freedoms that he said people "everywhere in the world" should enjoy:

Freedom of speech

Freedom of worship

Freedom from want

Freedom from fear 

As we approach Memorial Day weekend in a time when we seem to have lost our way, perhaps this is a good time to again reflect on who we are and aspire to be.

Just Beyond The Trees

The first and only time I saw the Grand Canyon was a world view shifting day.  Like so many people who have never been to the Grand Canyon I had a view of it from photos and movies, most of which give us a wide, panoramic, and aerial perspectives. Naively, I expected to see the canyon before I got to it, much like approaching a mountain range.

We parked our car at the visitor's center and immediately followed signs to a trail to see the canyon. To my surprise we walked on a tree lined path for a while thinking, "Where is it?" Finally we came to an opening and there it was only a few feet away.  To call it "Grand" is the ultimate understatement.

At times when the path of my life has seemed narrow and confined, lined with trees of doubt, uncertainty, and hopelessness, I remember this experience. I look for even the smallest opening to step through. Sometimes it is just another tree lined path, but then again there have been broad vistas of opportunity and potential, some even "Grand."

We never know what is just ahead. We never know what may be only a few feet away. We never know what our next encounter holds. It may very well be the beginning a new and Grand adventure.    

Making Stuff Up

I don't know about you, but I'm feeling a bit bewildered these days. As many people are saying these days, "You just can't make this stuff up!" But this is exactly what too many people keep doing - making stuff up.

It seems as though with each new day there is another truthless twist in the entangled world of national and global "politicsreligioneconomicsracescienceeducationsecuritysafetywar." We are living in amazingly bizarre times. 

Perhaps it seems bizarre partly because we have lived for so long with false assumptions of independence, individuality, and autonomy. As these illusions and assumptions disappear we discover that we truly are connected with and dependent on each other and our environment. However, ensconced worldviews do not crumble easily and often crash violently, creating chaos and suspicion.  

At the same time we are also learning that living with integrity in a truly global community requires honesty, sharing, compassion, forgiveness, justice, and above all love. But isn't this what our world spiritual traditions have been telling us for eons?  We really are One Human Family within One Creation. Now that's something you can't make up!

OEP In Everyday Life

Sometimes things just work out. Last Saturday after a church picnic Peg got home before me because I was helping take a few things back to the church. By the time I got to the church she was on the other end of my cell phone, "Come home as soon as you can. There is water standing in the house." Whoa!

It was worse than I thought. There was about and inch of water in one bathroom and water pooled in the carpet of the adjoining room. I was soon on my way back to the church to borrow a wet vac while Peg looked for a plumber.

Before I could get out of the church parking lot on my way back Peg called again, "Get here fast. The plumbers are here!" What?

I pulled up to the house to find an open white panel van and two men already putting a "snake" in the main drain clean-out. Peg was in the driveway smiling.

"What the ....?" I said.

She cut me off with, "I'm just good!"

She had called the first plumber number in the professional services classifieds of our local weekly newspaper.  The owner/dispatcher said, "We have a crew in your area that just finished a job." Peg went outside to find a clean-out and they arrived before she could find it.

I won't tell you how much it cost but will say that for a Saturday afternoon emergency plumber call it was amazingly affordable.

The end of this story is yet to be told as I spent the last two evenings taking out musty carpet and wood vinyl flooring, but as we have said several times, "If it had to happen, we couldn't have asked for a better scenario." We were also fortunate that the water came from the clothes washer and not other sources.

As a post-script, I'm reminded (and also remind you) there are people in parts of our country who have several feet of flood water in their homes with most if not all of their possessions and possibly homes destroyed. So I think I'll just visit this website right now and make a donation. I encourage you to do the same.

It's all part of participating in the One Eternal Presence!  

The Past-Future

"The past is not dead. It's not even past."

~ William Faulkner

Sometimes in order to see our way forward we need only look back. Remember back only five years in your life, your community's life, the nation's or the world's. What were the circumstances, issues, hopes and dreams only five years ago? How have things changed?  Is your current condition surprising or expected? Is life as bad or good as you anticipated? What were some of the dynamics that brought you to this point in life? Now do the same exercise using 10, 20, or more years.

My guess is when most of us do this we discover our lives, and the world, have a general trajectory determined by decisions and choices based on past experiences in order to maintain a sameness, or stability, to the present. Any real change usually comes from a significant departure from this dynamic often brought on by major events like births, deaths, illnesses, moves, accidents, etc. In the case of nations these change makers are elections, wars, treaties, agreements, laws; all of which are influenced by more personal dynamics.

For me, several simple axioms of life come from such contemplation. First is the old adage that if you keep doing the same thing you'll get the same results. Or the more negative version is the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over while expecting different results.

Second is Ebenezer Scrooge's question to the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come in A Christmas Carol, "Men's [sic] courses will foreshadow certain ends, to which, if persevered in, they must lead," said Scrooge. "But if the courses be departed from, the ends will change. Say it is thus with what you show me." 

The final axiom is the simple but overarching aspect of time, "this too shall pass." 

So, want to know what's in your and our futures? Take a look at the past. It will give you some clues.

The First and Last Words

"Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God."
~Luke 1:30

“…they shall name him Emmanuel, which means, ‘God is with us.’”
~ Matthew 1:23

According to the gospel stories about the resurrection of Jesus, the day of and those following the resurrection were days of fear, doubt, amazement, surprise, joy, and hope.  I don't know about you, but this sounds like a pretty typical week for me. Our lives are always somewhere in the mix of thought and emotion that fluctuate and vacillate from fear to hope.

Holding all of this together is an overarching, abiding Presence within the entire story of Creation and Life. Our religions and philosophies have numerous names for this One Eternal Presence. By whatever name we call the Presence our hope lies in knowing its essence is Love.     

I have written in another OEP that the first words of Christmas are "Fear not!" If this is true, then perhaps the final words of Easter are "Love each other!"

“I give you a new commandment, that you love one another.”
~ John 13:34

“I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
~Matthew 28:20

Holy Week

As is often the case, Christian Holy Week and Jewish Passover coincide.  Both of these seasons are times to reflect on the dynamics of oppression and liberation in our lives and the world. The Passover journey is from slavery through wilderness to promised land; while the Christian path goes through crucifixion to resurrection. Both are pilgrimages from hopelessness to hope. Both are also about living within and overcoming imperial powers of fear and violence.

Holy week begins with crowds shouting an emphatic Hebrew phrase, "Hosanna!" which means "Save us, now!" Within what we have traditionally perceived as a celebratory procession is a cry for liberation. In the Gospel of Matthew even the children shout in the temple, "Save us, now!"

There are many voices in many languages in the world today shouting "Save us, now!" Forces of imperial fear and violence are being unleashed by the Pharaohs and Caesars of our day in the names of patriotism, peace, security, and religion.

People of faith and hope are again called to remember the path to home and new life goes through wilderness and crucifixion. For people of comfort and privilege this means letting go of that comfort and privilege in order to be with the enslaved, oppressed, and hopeless of the world. We are called to not only hear the cries of "Save us, now!" but to also shout "Hosanna!" for those who have no voice.

The pilgrimage to promised land and resurrection are never easy. Maybe this is why we need to be reminded year after year.

Source or Resource?

"...indeed God is not far from each one of us. For “In God we live and move and have our being.”  

~ Acts 17:27-28 

"Water is not only a resource but a source of life." I recently heard this phrase on a radio program. So, what is the difference between a source and a resource? In the dictionary I find that source means "beginning, origin."  The prefix "re" means "again, subsequent." In the case of water (food and air as well) it is essential for life.  Water can also be used for other things like cleaning, travel, recreation, industry, but it's primary purpose is a source of life. And, within every resource we will always find its source.  

I'm wondering if perhaps we too often treat our sources of life as resources and in doing so forget that not only things like water, food and air, but also creation itself is the Source of all Life as we know it. If this is true, then the opportunity and challenge for you and me are to begin to ask a simple question of everything and everyone we encounter: where or what is the Source of Life in this encounter?

It's Our Job!

“In the beginning when God created the heavens and the earth…God said…'let there be…and there was'...

…‘Let us make humankind in our image, according to our likeness; and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the wild animals of the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth.’ 

…it was very good!”      ~ Genesis 1

The first story of the Hebrew and Christian Bible says the entire universe, with particular emphasis on Earth, is created by and from God. I say "from" in order to point out that the mode of creating is speech that emanates from God. All that exists (yes this includes you and me) is the expression of Divinity.

According to this story the primary reason for the creation of humanity is to care for Creation, which is in a sense also caring for and loving God. And what is the "first commandment?" Love God with all our heart, mind, and soul.

Another "first" in the Protestant Christian tradition is the first question and answer of the Catechism:

What is the chief [purpose] of [humanity]? 
The chief [purpose] of [humanity] is to love God and enjoy God forever.

Now, substitute "Creation" for "God."

It is our purpose. It is our job to care for the only home we have!

A Spring Welcome!

We are into the second day of Spring and I'm reminded of a past OEP blog.  Here's a slightly new rendition:

The year’s at the spring, 

And day’s at the morn;

Morning’s at seven; 

The hill-side’s dew-pearled;

The lark’s on the wing;

The snail’s on the thorn;

God’s in His [sic] heaven-

All’s right with the world!

~ Robert Browning, Pipa Passes

"...And God said, 'It is good.  It is very good!'...The heavens are telling the glory of God; and the firmament proclaims God's handiwork... do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, or about your body, what you will wear... Look at the birds of the air; they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet God feeds them... neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God..." 

~ Genesis, Psalms, Matthew, Romans

I first heard and learned the words of Robert Browning's Pipa Passes as lyrics of a musical arrangement sung by a children's church choir I was in. I remember walking along by myself to school on a cool, crisp, sunny, blue skied spring morning.  Wearing a new pair of Keds, my lunch sack in one hand, books in the other, and a ball glove hanging from my belt, I passed through a meadow still damp with morning dew and filled with wild flowers. I sang those words at the top of my voice and knew the Universe was listening. 

Now I know that "all's right with the world" not because everything is always right but because the Universe that heard my boy soprano solo is whole and complete, which is a biblical understanding of "good."  This also gives deeper dimension to the liturgical exchange I first heard at a church youth gathering: "God is Good!" - "All the time!" - "All the time!" - "God is Good!"  I've also come to understand and experience that the "heaven" God is in surrounds and fills us right here, right now.

One of our old church hymns says, "There's a wideness in God's mercy..."  It's true - regardless of what is going on in the world or our particular lives, the seasons, the sunrise, the hillside, the dew, the lark, the snail the thorn, and even stormy skies are always witness to and reminder of One Eternal Presence.

Fragile Anticipation

I got a phone call the other day to tell me that a friend died by taking his own life. Since then a profound sadness has at times enveloped me, but mostly it lies just below the surface of my going about daily life. I know that in time the sadness will submerge and subside, some settling deep within as a part of who I am, and some residing as fond memories and stories. I know all of this because there have been other "phone calls" in my life from and about other friends and family.

With each sadness always comes a deep sigh of appreciation and gratitude - appreciation of the fragility of life and gratitude for the perseverance within the gift of life. Each and every breath we take is a mysterious, invisible source of life.  But, as the cliche goes the next could be our last. Yet even the tense of my verb "could" assumes there will be another breath, and another, each filled with fragile anticipation. When, by whatever means it comes, even the final breath anticipates, "What's next?" 

      

Mother God

Long before God was imagined as a  tribal warrior or sovereign king, the primordial understanding of Divine was a fertile, female giver of life. Even as the male image of a Father God has become dominate in modern religions, Mother God persists in language and imagery that ranges from Mother Earth, to God's Womb, to Mother Hen, to Spirit Sophia, to Mother Mary, and more.

Today, March 8, is International Women's Day, a day to recognize, contemplate, and celebrate the central role of women in human history and human hope for the future. Today is a day for each of us to reflect on the life giving, Divine, feminine within, around, and through all creation, not just one day but every day.

I hope all women will embrace their life-giving Divinity. I hope all men can recognize and honor the Divine Feminine that gives and nourish their lives, and all life.

Greater Love

This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you. ~ Jesus, John 15:12-14

More often than not the bold portion of the above quote is used in reference to someone dying for another person or cause, and usually in the line of military or civic duty. These are occasions and times for appropriate and solemn recognition of profound, personal sacrifice which should be held with respect and dignity. However, a close look at these words of Jesus, in their context, shows them to be among the most misunderstood and improperly used sayings of Jesus.

Within its context what does it mean to "lay down" one's life?  The Greek verb translated here as "lay down" is Tithemi which has a variety of meaning.  Here is how the Thayer and Smith Greek lexicon defines it:

1. to set, put, place
   1. to place or lay
   2. to put down, lay down
      1. to bend down
      2. to lay off or aside, to wear or carry no longer
      3. to lay by, lay aside money
   3. to set on (serve) something to eat or drink
   4. to set forth, something to be explained by discourse
2. to make
   1. to make (or set) for one's self or for one's use
3. to set, fix establish
1. to set forth
2. to establish, ordain

Conspicuously absent from these definitions is "dying." Quite the contrary, to lay down one's life for a friend is an act of commitment to intentionally love that person as we are loved by Jesus. In this sense to "give" one's life is to give the substance and energy of daily living in service and love of others.

Today as Christians around the world stand on the threshold of Lent and celebrate Ash Wednesday, perhaps reading and hearing Jesus' words in this way can give us some fresh ways to think about what we are really called to lay down, or "give up" when we follow Jesus. Laying down our lives in greater love is about how we choose to live each and every day.