A Surprising Prayer

The page of the calendar announces that All Saints Day is near.  In many churches the day will be remembered this upcoming Sunday with an appropriate moment of celebration and remembrance.  When I gave leadership to churches as a pastor and preacher, All Saints Sunday was regarded as one of the very special celebration days in the life of the church.  It always seemed a bit strange in a church which had resurrection at its core that it was mentioned only once a year on Easter and, then again, by some on All Saints Sunday.     

All Saints Sunday is one of those moments which reminds of that the veil between heaven and earth, here and there, is a very thin one.  We affirm the communion of the Saints through recitation of a creed, but run from it as if being chased by ghosts.  Strange as it may seem to some, the further I have moved from the weekly routine of the church into the non liturgical cycles of the creation, the awareness of the thinness of the veil has grown greater.  While I do not see the spirits of the saints hovering around me, there is a sense in which I sense that I am never completely alone.     

When a hand tool abandoned by someone from an earlier time shows itself slightly buried in the dirt, or when I consider the stories the tall sprawling pecan trees have watched unfold over the last hundred years, or when I think about those families who have walked and worked this land before me, I find myself walking in a spirit of awareness never really afforded me through the liturgy of the church.  A few weeks ago while attempting some unfamiliar mechanical work on my tractor, I heard myself praying, "Lord, send the spirit of my father to watch over me as I do this."   I remember my father as a mechanic which I am not.  A prayer which I could not have been prayed years ago seemed to come forth in such a natural manner that it surprised even me.  

Still Speaking

Every day is filled with the possibility that God will speak to us, or reveal Himself to us in some way.  It is strange that so many times we live with no expectations of such happening.  We get lulled into a world view which affirms that while God did reveal Himself in the Biblical story, such can no longer be expected.  Times have changed.  The kind of manifestations of God in the world were necessary in a  primitive culture which ours is not.  Such is the thinking of so many in our day.    

Even though it is the thinking of many people in our day, even those who never miss an opportunity to get in the church building when the doors are opened, there are many around us who speak of a different kind of relationship with our Creator God.  Maybe it is not necessary for everyone to see things in the same way.  And, maybe it has to do with expectations.    

Those who have no expectation of God making Himself known in their daily life may be going through their lives with eyes and ears closed to the presence and the sounds of the divine all around them.  It is easy to remember Jesus saying, "Let anyone with ears to hear listen.!"  (Mark 4:9)  Of course, we have no special ears other than those inner ears that are open to divine possibilities in every moment.  What Jesus is saying is that those who live with such expectations will find those expectations becoming reality.  

Swimming to Escape

Somewhere around 200-300 AD spiritual seekers started moving from the civilized areas into the desert regions as a way of responding to what God was doing in their lives.  As they appear on the pages of history, they collectively bear the name of Desert Fathers.  Anthony was one of the first to lead the way.  Thomas Merton, an author of our day, wrote in his book, "The Wisdom of the Desert Father,"  "In those days men had become keenly conscious of the strictly individual character of ‘salvation.’ Society — which meant pagan society, limited by the horizons and prospects of life ‘in this world’ — was regarded by them as a shipwreck from which each single individual man had to swim for his life."     

The image of society being a "shipwreck from which each...had to swim for his life"  is a powerful and thought provoking image.  We are likely to think that these ancient seekers of God went to the desert as a way of being able to focus on their spiritual lives without any distractions when they were actually went to escape what seemed the have the potential to destroy them. Theirs was indeed a different view of the culture in which they lived before their escape to the desert.    

Not too many of us can escape as did these Desert Fathers, and most likely, few of us have any desire to go somewhere and live in a primitive self sustaining way the rest of our days.  Even though going to the desert may not be in our future, the Desert Fathers remind us of the power culture can have over us.  Many of them went to the desert when Christianity became legitimized instead of persecuted.  Being a Christian became easier and in some ways more dangerous.  Not much has changed since those days.  We may not be swimming for our lives, but it would do us well to be aware of the powerful influences which can corrode even the strongest faith.

Around the Curve

We cannot see beyond the curve in the road.  What lies out of sight is unknown to us.  We cannot know if there is danger ahead, something like a rock slide which will surely push us over the edge, or more of the flower lined road which is in the rear view mirror.   Life does  not give us peeks around the curves, around the bends, the twisting roads that run before us.  And, most assuredly, those unseen places filled with whatever, are out there for us to reach and pass through.    

Since we cannot see beyond the curve in the road, it is a good thing to know the One who sees not only where we are and where we have been, but where we are going as well.  What we sometimes discover as the journey unfolds is that where we are going is nothing like where we thought we were going.  In those moments it is good to know our Father God has not only seen what is ahead, but has also been preparing us along the way for the unseen and unexpected.  It is not a road map that we carry with us to make this journey, but something all together different.  What God gives to us to take along the way is something called faith.      

Faith enables us to go around the curve.  Without it many of us would stop and cautiously peer around the edge, or maybe there would be such fear, we would simply stop and turn around and go the way we have come.  But, alas, turning around is mostly not the option.  Life is about going ahead.  It can only be lived in one direction.  And, so we must go because going forward speaks of the way He created us.  Around the curve we go.  Maybe we do not go with boldness or without fear, but we go.  We go simply because it is the way forward and more importantly because God can be trusted to get us beyond and through whatever unexpected danger lurks ahead in our journey.  His plan is to bring us Home and somewhere along the way, we can count on reaching that place where He has called us to be and dwell forever.  

The Light of the First Day

 In the beginning

     on the first day

       there was a light

        light of all lights

shined on that day.

Every moment it shines

     inside and outside

       never dimmed

         though at times

it seems invisible.

  

Still always it shines

    sometimes obscured 

      by the darkness

        of loss and grief

but even then prevailing.

In the ending,

    on the last day

      of time spent here

       dimmed for a moment

then brilliant like eternity.  

       

  

The Inextinguishable Light

Many of us have heard it said that there is some good in the worst of us.  As life unfolds and we find ourselves in the presence of folks who seem evil to the core, it become a tenet about life that is greatly doubted.  Horrible evil deeds are perpetuated upon the innocent.  As we look into the eyes of some, it seems that goodness has never been present.  Yet, despite all that our experience might tell us, what the folks say about good being present in the worst of us remains true.   

It remains true not because of the family name we bear, the DNA which courses through our veins, or because we have become sophisticated enough to control the evil desires which surge within us.  It remains true because of our connection to the Creator whose essence is goodness.  The first chapter of Genesis speaks of the creation of humankind as something which was "very good."  (Genesis 1:31)  Add to this that the Word also speaks, saying, "Then God said, "Let us make humankind in our image, according to our likeness...in the image of God He created them..."  (Genesis 1:26-27)    

Though we are conceived in the darkness of the womb, there is even there a light that points to the essence of the Holy One.  John, the Apostle, wrote, "All things came into being through Him...What has come into being in Him was life, and the life was the light of all people.  The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it."  (John 1:3-6)  Even as that light shines in the darkness of the womb, so does it shine midst the darkness we often choose to walk,  No matter how dark seems the confines which hold the soul, the light of the Creator still shines and thougt unseen, it remains the inextinguishable Light.  

The Light Within

When it is that we begin to lose sight of the Light of life within us is hard to know.  Some might say we are born with a sense of that loss and that the Light within us is never really seen.  Others would declare that this Light which points to the essence of the Creator God is seen in the fresh new face of any infant who comes forth from the womb of conception.  Surely, reality is that we are born with the hand print, the image of the Creator, upon us and that the Light of Creation is never overcome, only diminished and obscured by our bouts the with the darkness.    

The gospel writer John speaks of this inextinguishable light as he writes in the early verses, "...without Him not one thing came into being, in Him was the light of all people.  The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it."  (John 1:4-5)  And then a little further into his writing, he remembered Jesus saying, "I am the Light of the World.  Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life."  All of these words speak of who we are, how we have been created, and something essential about our going forward from conception all the way to eternity.     

What is within us that points to the light of God, the essence of God, can never be extinguished.  No darkness can overcome it.  Our sin and disobedience may distort our vision of who we are.  It may bring us to a point of forgetfulness, but no amount of sin and no amount of spiritual amnesia has the power to take away the light of life which God has put within us from the very beginning.  We may forget that we belong to God and that we are made in His image, but it is not a forgetfulness that afflicts the mind and the Spirit of the Creator who loves us, cares for us, and who more than anything else desires to bring us home to Himself.  

Light in Darkness

When the darkness is so deep it seems too pervasive to ever escape, the reality of the inner Light which was present in the moment of creation still shines.  "The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it."  (John 1:5)  In the moment of our conception that Light shines forth in the deep darkness of the womb.  In a place where life is formed and there is absolute and total darkness, there comes a light which is never diminished.  Never diminished may seem like an impossible stretch for us in some moments which come to us, but it remains unalterably true.    

As we begin to move away from the shining of that initial eternal and creating Light shining upon us, we lose sight of how it is the source of all that is life giving and life sustaining.  Circumstances filled with darkness, the deep darkness of sin and disobedience, and even the deeper darkness of death itself does not have the inherent power to overcome this Light which we have come to know as the Light of the World.  "...the darkness did not overcome it (the Light)."  (John 1:5)  Impossible as it seems we lose sight of the Light of our beginning, but it never ceases to shine within us.    

When some pass into the moment of death and through some great mystery are enabled to return to this thing we know as life, there is in so many cases a reporting of a great light.  It is spoken of as a light which is overpoweringly transcendent.  It is as if somehow we finally step out of the shadows which have plagued us, keeping us from seeing and experiencing completely the Light for which our soul has searched and sought since the moment of our beginning.  Instead of death overcoming us, death opens the door finally so that every vestige of the darkness is removed from our living, enabling us to live with the eternal glory of God's light wrapped all around us.  Thanks be to God!

Holy Dirt

When I was a boy with nothing on my mind but being a boy, I spent a lot of time getting dirty.  Back then there were no organized games at the rec department to keep children occupied so a good imagination went a long way.  I had one.  I could come up with a thousand things to do in play and all of them seemed to involve bringing dirt in the house at the end of the day.  When the bath water went down the drain, it was no longer clear, but a gray color which would leave a dark ring around the tub.    

My mother was a stickler for being clean.  She would check behind my ears, the back of my hands, and most assuredly make certain there were no dirt rings around my neck.  Someone must have forgotten to tell her about Psalm 24:1 which says, "The earth is the Lord's and all that is in it..."   She must not have known that verse, or she would not have been so concerned about her son bringing all that holy stuff in the house.    

Memories come from strange places.   As I came in the house the other evening from a day of digging around in the dirt and working on a tractor, I had enough dirt on me to bring to mind those early years as a boy.  And while washing the day's dirt off is still a good idea, it did not happen without remembering my mother and thinking about the fact that dirt, even though it is dirty, is still most holy.  Dirt passed through the hands of the Creator.  Ask any farmer around here who is harvesting crops in this season and you will know that dirt is life giving.  And ask any boy who has his mind on being a boy and he will tell you that dirt is not something to be avoided.  Actually, any of us should know these obvious truths for "The earth is the Lord's and all that is in it..."   which, of course, includes an overabundance of holy dirt.

Different and the Same

For over four thousand days now I have had a front porch view of  creation.  Make no mistake.  It is the same front porch.  Maybe a bit weathered from the years, but still the same porch.  It opens up to the same road, the same pasture where cows graze, the same hay fields, the same pecan trees, and the same everything.  Even though everything remains the same, everything is different.  Amazing as it might sound, not one of those four thousand plus days has presented the same view of creation.    Every day has been a gift from the Creator and everyone of them has been unique and one of a kind.     

What is true about the creation is also true of the people who are encountered each day.  Not a single one of them is the same as the other.  And while I am not the expert on twins, it is my belief that even identical twins are perceived and seen as different by those who really spend time with them.   The one thing all the different things and people have in common is the imprint of the holy creator.  Nothing which has come into being has come into being apart from the holy hands of our Creator God.  As the gospel writer John said, "All things came into being through Him..."  (John 1:3)      

When we begin to realize we live on holy ground, holy ground which is all around us, under us, behind us, and before us and when we also realize that everyone around us bears the distinctive markings of the essence of God, then we are likely to live differently in this world and among its people.  Everything is different.  Everyone is different, and yet, both everything and everyone are the same.  The common denominator is the Creator.  

The Walking Stick

Two old guys sat across from each other while waiting for their name to be called by the nurse in charge of who enters the door to the inner sanctum of wholeness.  One was in a wheelchair and the other hobbled along with a cane.  "Been thinking about a cane," said the one in the chair.  "This one works well, take it for a spin," the other said.  And he did.  Up from the chair and around the room with a burst of energy that brought smiles to all who watched.  "Reckon I ought to get me one," he said as he passed the cane back to its owner.     

For the briefest of moments there was no sickness in the room.  It was just two old guys being bound together by a wooden stick and a brotherhood neither volunteered to join.  And although there was no applause for the show from the others in the waiting chairs against their will, everyone had a smile and for the first time eyes met in a quiet acknowledgment of presence.  For a moment it was not the illness which made the entrapped participants members of the community, but a walking stick and a man who dared to defy the weakness of his body.    

It was the kind of room which Jesus would have sought out were He still walking among us.  But, wait.  Better it is to say it was the kind of room where Jesus had entered ahead of those who gathered there to wait.  Better to say He was as present as the old guy who danced with the walking stick.  He did no miracles today like He did in some of the gospel stories, unless of course, you count the way sufferers reached out to care for one another in a way that only those who claim membership in the community of the suffering can really understand.  

The Afternoon Song

From far above he sang

     the song birds sing, 

       lustily he belted it out

         while down below

I listened in my darkness.

Listening and wishing 

      I had such a song, 

        alas, there was none,

          only self pity

and not much more.

Hearing the unspoken, 

    high above he spoke, 

      "Have you no food?"

          "I have plenty,

the pantry is full."

"Have you no roof?"

    "Of course, I do.'

        "Are you not loved?"

            "More than deserved,"

came forth from within.

"Are you not His?"

    "You mean the Creator's?"

        "Is there another

            who loves you

provides and cares?"

Without another note, 

      he flew out of sight,

        his message lingered

          turning self pity

into the deepest gratitude.  

Blessings from Gray Skies

It was the three o'clock in the morning thunder which announced the impending rain.  The frequent flashes through the shuttered window was the exclamation point.  What was announced in the darkness fell from the gray skies throughout most of the day.  For some rain is an unwanted disruption.  It sends folks running from one place to another fighting windblown umbrellas as they go.  Most folks would rather it rain on someone else since it is viewed as such an inconvenience.    

Out here on the farm the rain has spoken a different message all day.  While I have heard the Words within the rain today, it is also true that there have been too many times when I tried to wish it away.  But, today it has fallen gently upon the creation to renew it.  And, I have been able to watch.  I have been able to listen.  It seemed to call those of us who watch the rain fall to receive its renewing power.  Like the thirsty dirt all around us, there is within us that inner thirst which can only be quenched by being still and waiting.    

Rain helps us be still.  It is a disrupter of our obsession with staying busy and getting it done in a hurry.  As we listen to the rain fall and feel the soaking of our skin, we are reminded to put aside what speaks of our routine for a moment of being still and listening to the Voice of the Renewing One who is constantly seeking the ear of our heart.  The rain not only blesses the earth, but it also blesses the thirsty ones like you and me who need an awareness of the Creator's presence washing over us.  

An Old Church Bulletin

An old church bulletin cover showed up in the mail a few days ago.  It was one my mother had put back and like a gift from heaven, it showed up again.  Actually, the point of origin was a bit less celestial, but it makes a nice image of my mother who had a way of saving stuff which provided still another blessing when it came around again.  On that old Vidalia bulletin were the words, "Some people learn how to sing in the shower.  And there are no doubt some who learn in classrooms. Possibly, there are some who are born knowing how to sing.  My earliest singing lessons took place in the back seat of a '55 Plymouth.  As my mother drove, she sang.  My sister and I chimed in from the back seat.  We learned 'Amazing Grace' and  'The Old Rugged Cross' and 'In the Garden' and a hundred others from someone who never had any music lessons."    

Memories are indeed precious.  And precious, too, is the opportunity to join in with the people of God as these old hymns are lifted up as gifts sent toward heaven.  Virtual worship has proven to be a good thing during these last days when so much uncertainty has swirled in the air, but one of the things missing in that scenario is the moment of singing with a church full of folks.  There is something inherently powerful in that moment.    

Not only is it a powerful thing to sing these hymns with others, but  is is such a blessing of the heart.  Many a time some song we sang together lifted a troubled spirit, or encouraged a struggling soul, or filled a heart with unrestrained praise for God.  There are things which we may miss from our corporate worship experience, but none speak to the faith imparted to us by others and  imbedded in our hearts like that moment when the hymn is announced and the church rises up to sing. 

Words

Words have a way of hanging around and fulfilling their purpose long after they have faded in the air, torn from the page, or faded away where memory can no longer bring them back to the present moment.   This I know from my encounter with words over the years.  Some words are remembered as if they were sent forth as life yesterday while others only come to mind by some jogging of the memory such as might happen with an underlining in a book, or the rediscovery of some note laid aside long years ago.  It is also something learned from years of preaching.    

Preaching is about words.  So often it is about too many words.  Those who honor the preacher by listening are hit with so many words in the air that they end up hardly being heard.  Many things are remembered about years of preaching, but the most amazing memories are of those who pause to speak of how a word spoken in a sermon had a profound impact on the way life was being lived.  And what is even more amazing is the way the words spoke to a hungry heart in a way never imagined when the words were being crafted in the sermon.    

God is surely in the process of taking words offered and using them for purposes beyond the purposes of the preacher or the writer of spiritual stuff.  From time to time someone speaks of how a word written in the midst of these notes has gone further than I could have imagined.  When I hear such a word, I am not only encouraged, but also filled with gratitude to God for continuing to use the feeble and imperfect efforts of this preacher who seeks to somehow make a difference for the sake of the One who called so long ago.  

The Tall Hourglass

 Watching now

        the dropping 

            sands of hope

                one at a time

    the emptying tall hourglass

                   slowly now

            suddenly gone

       nothing left

no sand, no hope.

Where did it go

       life's dreams

         the heart's hopes

           life giving things

gone now in the tall hourglass

                 still watching

            what might be

         surely more

than just emptiness.

Waiting now

       nothing left

           but waiting

             and still hoping

seeing the tall empty hourglass  

              now in holy hands 

            knowing that care

      and life giving hope

is not far, but close.

The Slip Clutch

During the last several days I have been struggling with a bush hog.  For those who might be scratching their heads or searching some internet site for animal identification, my bush hog is a glorified six foot wide rotary mower which is pulled behind the tractor.  As the name would indicate it is a bit tougher than a lawn mower as it not only cuts grass, but heavy brush growing along the edge of the fence line.  The problem was friction pads which needed replacing in the slip clutch.     

Life has really changed for this old worn out preacher.  A few years ago I had never sat on a tractor, had never heard of a slip clutch, and certainly could not have imagined breaking one down in an effort to get it running again.  The road forward take us to strange and surprising places.  The farm has not only changed my daily activities, but it has also changed the way I see the world as well as the way I experience the presence of the holy in my life.  As one who has always turned to the Sacred Book for a Word from God, listening for that same voice in the creation has become an unexpected and surprising source of divine revelation.  And in the same way, as I see strange folks walking along the way with me, I find myself often thinking, "The essence of God is in that one."    

The world in which we live certainly provides for us a lot of bumps and dark places, but it is also filled with the possibility of experiencing the divine presence in every moment and in everything.  Even as I could not see myself working on a slip clutch a few years ago, neither could I see myself coming to a place where what had always been viewed as sacred and profane was now holy.  Reflection seems to be saying that God is still working to bring me to a place of greater understanding as well as a new and deeper relationship with Him.  And, so like you, I wait and see with expectation as I look ahead.   

Blessings

Life is filled with the mundane, ordinary, and commonplace which are constantly moving us toward the revelation of something new in our life.  It is as if we are moving along on some gentle wave that goes along unnoticed until suddenly there is that moment of rising white water crashing just out from the shore.  We know this is the nature of life.  We know we should not be surprised when the new and different, sometimes difficult and hard, takes hold of us in such a way that escape is impossible.   

From older peers we have heard the message that life is both fragile and does not work according to what seems fair.  From the Word we have learned that the rain and the wind falls and beats on the just and the unjust.  And as we live in the midst of the unfolding creation around us, we discover that sunny days are followed by stormy ones.   Still midst it all we hold on to the truth that life is good.  We want to breathe this earth's air every day as long as days are given to us.    

No matter the nature of the difficulty, God has put us in the midst of a world where love touches our living.  The gift of being loved and loving is truly one of the great blessings of God given to us.  And, then, this same God who who gives us loving relationship gives to us a relationship with Him that is filled with love which comes from His own heart and which when received begins to take root in our own heart.  Finally, we are blessed beyond measure by holy grace given to us every single moment of our life from beginning to end and even beyond.  No matter how hard it may be to stand midst some of the stuff which crashes down upon us, none of it can take away or diminish the blessings of love and grace given to us as we journey toward home.  

Life is a Circle

It is said that life is a circle.  In a moment when my brain found the neutral position today, I gave some thought to this reality.  Looking around there is the farmer who plants the grass that makes the hay that feeds the cows that birth the calves that feeds the farmer.  And, so it goes.  To look around is to see many such circles of life.  Of course, the greatest and most obvious circle is the one that begins in the darkness of the womb and ends in the darkness of the tomb.   

But, of course there is more to this story than just the darkness.  In the early verses of John's gospel there is this Word about the Light that permeates everything that is created.  "All things came into being through Him...What has come into being in Him was life, and life was the light of all people.  The light shines in the darkness, the darkness did not overcome it."  (John 1:3-5)  This Light speaks of origins and endings and moment along the way.   

The good news in all of this is that the light which shined upon us and through us in the moment of our beginning will also be shining in even greater abundance when it seems that the darkness of the tomb has prevailed.  But, in reality it will only be like evening.  The darkness may seem to be coming, but in the twinkle of any eye great glorious brilliant resurrection light will burst forth to illuminate the way home.  "Soon and very soon..." says the old song.  The light that shined on us before the first darkness will shine again after the last one.  Life is indeed a circle.

Anamchara

It is not always easy talking honestly about the stuff stirring around on the inside.  While we may count ourselves as having many friends, we know that most are really mostly acquaintances.  It takes time and effort and and a willingness to risk vulnerability to develop friendship and we are often either too afraid or too busy to spend the kind of time necessary for developing real friendships.  One of the interesting things about the Celtic spiritual tradition is the way it encourages people to find a soul friend.  In the Celtic tradition such a friend is known as "anamchara."    

Such friendship is not of the common kind, but the kind that rarely comes along at all.  It may be experienced to some degree in the mentor relationship which we have with those who stand and serve as helpers to us along the way, but it really goes even beyond the boundaries of such a relationship.  It is not likely that there will be people lined up in our memory or our future who share with us in this way, but to count even such a few people in our life means that it has indeed been blessed.   

The person who becomes anamchara for us is someone who will be sought after, trusted with anything that stirs within us, and will always respond with love and compassion instead of judgment.  And, it may also be true that it is not a relationship which requires a mutuality of sharing.  Such friends are hard to find, not because they are not out there, but because we are afraid to seek them.  If we seek them, we may find one, and that might prove to be more frightening than we ever imagined it could be.