Month: December 2013

Dearly Beloved,
Grace and Peace to you.
         
         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.
                           —Matthew 11.5

         Strengthen the weak hands,
                  and make firm the feeble knees.
         Say to those who are of a fearful heart,
                  “Be strong, do not fear! Here is your God.
         The Holy One is coming in triumph,
                  with unassailable justice.
                           —Isaiah 35.3-4

Isaiah promises a world in which “sorrow and sighing will flee away.” For those who know grief or despair, who suffer oppression or abuse, who face injustice or violence— dare they hope for such a day? And if they do, what could give them that hope?

Maybe it will be you. You be the one. God has sent you, a messenger, to prepare a way. Every choice you make, ask yourself, does this give hope to the poor or make life better for the powerless? Live your life in such a way that each moment is an act of encouragement for the poor and outcast, for those who wait. In all that you do, be a light in their darkness. God’s grace is in you to do this.

         
         
Deep Blessings,
Pastor Steve

__________________
Steve Garnaas-Holmes
Unfolding Light
www.unfoldinglight.net

To subscribe to Unfolding Light by daily e-mail write to me at unfoldinglight8(at)hotmail.com

Dearly Beloved,
Grace and Peace to you.
         
         
          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.
                  —Matthew 11.4-5

Healing works its grace within you, unseen.
Justice unfolds in this world, unknown.
Whatever happens, so does healing.
The Beloved is continually mending, mending.

Trust this mystery.
Hear and see with this confidence.

With this mind
you will know
the drawing near
of the Tender One.

         
         
Deep Blessings,
Pastor Steve

__________________
Steve Garnaas-Holmes
Unfolding Light
www.unfoldinglight.net

To subscribe to Unfolding Light by daily e-mail write to me at unfoldinglight8(at)hotmail.com

My soul magnifies you, O Lord…          
         Your praise is already alive deep within me.

and my spirit rejoices in you, my Savior…
         My heart reaches out to you, who reach out to me.

for you have looked with favor on the lowliness of your servant.
         You see not my status but my belovedness.

Surely, from now on all generations will call me blessed.
         It is not arrogant but faithful to receive your blessing.

O Mighty One, you have done great things for me.
         May I always be attentive to your grace.

Holy is your name.
         May I keep you always at the center of my life.

From generation to generation you have shown mercy
to those who are in awe of you.
         I hold in my heart the loving things you have done for us.

You have shown strength with your arm.
         You have already disarmed the powers.

You have scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts.
         I am no better than a thief, no less than a saint.

You have brought down the powerful from their thrones.
         The powers of this world are an illusion.

You have lifted up the lowly…
         Those who appear lowly are full of your power and glory.
         
You have filled the hungry with good things…
         You bless those whose blessings are unseen.

You have sent the rich away empty.   
         I am prepared to lose as well as to gain for your sake.     

You have helped your servant Israel, in remembrance of your mercy…
         Beloved, your grace changes everything.

according to the promise you made to our ancestors,
to Abraham and Sarah and their descendants forever.
          I will be a part of your new Creation, this world of justice and mercy.

         
         

__________________
Steve Garnaas-Holmes
Unfolding Light
www.unfoldinglight.net

To subscribe to Unfolding Light by daily e-mail write to me at unfoldinglight8(at)hotmail.com

Dearly Beloved,
Grace and Peace to you.

         “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.”
                  —Matthew 11.4-5

Jesus, you healed the blind.
You opened the eyes of those who could not see
the miracles of God’s grace all around them.
Remove the scales that cover my eyes,
the cataracts of fear that keep me from seeing
God’s presence so near.
Teach me to see in the dark,
to trust what I can’t yet see,
to hear the promise,
to sense the movement of God,
to know God’s new day dawning over me.
Help me to see justice and mercy where it emerges,
to see glory in the ordinary,
and hope in the gloom.
Help me to see with the eyes of faith.

         
         
Deep Blessings,
Pastor Steve

__________________
Steve Garnaas-Holmes
Unfolding Light
www.unfoldinglight.net

To subscribe to Unfolding Light by daily e-mail write to me at unfoldinglight8(at)hotmail.com

Dearly Beloved,
Grace and Peace to you.
         
         
         The Holy Spirit will come upon you,
                  and the power of the Most High will overshadow you;
         therefore the child to be born will be holy.
                           —Luke 1.35

         Mary said, “My soul magnifies the Lord,
                  and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
         for God has looked on me with favor in my lowliness.
                           —Luke 1.46, 48

God does not see human illusions of status,
or measure success, righteousness or worthiness.
God sees you as a soul, perfect and beloved.
God sees you from the inside out.

God regards you with favor.
Not judgment, not disappointment.
God has no desire to evaluate you,
but only to dwell in you
and perfect you in love.

Ponder this; dwell on it a while
Enter into this mystery.
Give it time and silence to grow in you.
Like an unborn child in its mother,
God is in you, wholly present,
without desire to be elsewhere,
you and God sources of infinite joy
for each other.

         
Deep Blessings,
Pastor Steve

__________________
Steve Garnaas-Holmes
Unfolding Light
www.unfoldinglight.net

To subscribe to Unfolding Light by daily e-mail write to unfoldinglight8(at)hotmail.com

Dearly Beloved,
Grace and Peace to you.
         
         
         The wolf shall live with the lamb,
         and a little child shall lead them.
                  —Isaiah 11.6

The coming of Christ is about more than a lovely holiday. It’s about the transformation of the world. In his ministry, and in the cross, Jesus showed us the way to the lion and lamb living together. Nelson Mandela, who died yesterday, was living proof that it can be done. The work is hard; the sacrifice is great; the peace is fragile. But it is possible. The vision and the promise endure. So we await Jesus’ birth in Bethlehem and the final coming of Christ to transform human history—and they are met as Christ is born in our own hearts. The world we envision is already within us.

Pray for peace in the world. Pray for the healing of your own fear, and the removal of all your enmity, prejudice and division. Pray for the courage to extend grace and reconciliation to the lambs to whom you are a wolf, and the wolves to whom you are a lamb. Give thanks for the people like Mandela who shine the light of peace and justice on our path, and pray to be one of them. Welcome into your heart the little child who will lead us to the new world.
         
         
Deep Blessings,
Pastor Steve

__________________
Steve Garnaas-Holmes
Unfolding Light
www.unfoldinglight.net

To subscribe to Unfolding Light by daily e-mail write to me at unfoldinglight8(at)hotmail.com

Dearly Beloved,
Grace and Peace to you.
         
         
         Prepare the way of the Lord, make a straight path for God.
         Bear fruit worthy of repentance.
         Even now the ax is lying at the root of the trees;
         every tree that does not bear good fruit
         is cut down and thrown into the fire.
                  —Matthew 3. 3, 8, 10

I go out into our thick blackberry patch in the fall with clippers and cut down every spent cane that won’t bear next year, every broken stalk, every dead stem. That’s how we get more fruit next year. John’s imagery isn’t about the fires of hell; it’s about new growth, and the little deaths that are a part of repentance.

Besides what you want to get for Christmas, what do you need to let go of? What needs to be pruned? What needs to die? Pray for the courage to let go, and hope in the new life that awaits beneath what you can see.

         
         
Deep Blessings,
Pastor Steve

__________________
Steve Garnaas-Holmes
Unfolding Light
www.unfoldinglight.net

To subscribe to Unfolding Light by daily e-mail write to me at unfoldinglight8(at)hotmail.com

Dearly Beloved,
Grace and Peace to you.
         
         
         A shoot shall come out from the stump of Jesse,
         and a branch shall grow out of his roots.
         The wolf shall live with the lamb,
         and a little child shall lead them.
         They will not hurt or destroy on all my holy mountain.
                  —Isaiah 11. 1, 6, 9

          Hail the heaven-born Prince of Peace!
          Hail the Sun of Righteousness!
          Light and life to all be brings,
          risen with healing in his wings.
                  —Charles Wesley, “Hark! the Herald Angels Sing”
         

Christ comes not to judge, not to condemn, not to leave anyone behind, but to heal: to heal souls and bodies; to restore relationships, families, communities and nations; to heal the wound between us and God. He comes to remove what impedes our love, to set us free from what imprisons our compassion, to restore our capacity to bless. He comes to make us whole.

What needs to be healed in your life? In your relationships? In your world? Open your heart to the deep, transforming, miraculous healing that Christ brings. The tender child, born among us and within you, brings infinite grace. Awaken your heart to the promise of healing. The Holy Child is coming.

         
Deep Blessings,
Pastor Steve

__________________
Steve Garnaas-Holmes
Unfolding Light
www.unfoldinglight.net

To subscribe to Unfolding Light by daily e-mail write to me at unfoldinglight8(at)hotmail.com

Dearly Beloved,
Grace and Peace to you.
         
         
         The voice of one crying out in the wilderness,
         “Prepare the way of the Lord,
                  make straight a path for the Holy One:”
         … Bear fruit worthy of repentance.
                  —Matthew 3.3, 8

The ancient examen, or examination of consciousness, is a simple, two-part prayer of discernment, reviewing a recent time period (a day, an hour, week, whatever).

         • When did I feel closest to God or most in harmony with life?
         
Give thanks for the “consolations:” those moments when you felt the gift of life, and the presence or grace of God. Be mindful that the grace in those moments, and the God who granted it, are still with you.

         • When did I feel most out of touch or out of harmony with God or life?

Embrace also the “desolations:” the sorrow, warning, loss or other response arising from those moments when you felt out of harmony, when you felt life drain from you. Be mindful that God was with you then and is now. The inner discord you feel is the Spirit nudging you back toward the path of Life. Within you is an innate desire to be in harmony with God. Dwell with that longing; it is your repentance. Follow it: it is the path of the Holy One. Let it guide you. It is the light that will lead you through the darkness to God.

         
         
Deep Blessings,
Pastor Steve

__________________
Steve Garnaas-Holmes
Unfolding Light
www.unfoldinglight.net

To subscribe to Unfolding Light by daily e-mail write to me at unfoldinglight8(at)hotmail.com

Dearly Beloved,
Grace and Peace to you.

         In the beginning…the earth was a formless void
         and darkness covered the face of the deep.
         God breathed deeply over the face of the waters.
         Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light.
                   —Genesis 1.1-3
         
         By the tender mercies of our God,
         the dawn will rise upon us from above,
         to give light to those who dwell in darkness and in the shadow of death,
         and to guide our feet into the ways of peace.
                    — Luke 1.78-79

         It is now the moment for you to wake from sleep.
         For salvation is nearer to us now than when we became believers;
         the night is far gone, the day is near.
         Let us then lay aside the works of darkness and put on the armor of light.
                  — Romans 13.11-12

In the darkness, in the chaos, God whispers.
The light of new creation rises slowly.
The dawn of a new world blossoms, rising silently
throughout the universe, and within you.
Your soul is the color of the sky before the dawn.
God is coming in a new way.
Open yourself.
Let the light unfold in you.

         
         
Deep Blessings,
Pastor Steve

__________________
Steve Garnaas-Holmes
Unfolding Light
www.unfoldinglight.net

To subscribe to Unfolding Light by daily e-mail write to me at unfoldinglight8(at)hotmail.com