Month: December 2024

             There will be signs in the sun, the moon, and the stars,
             and on the earth distress among nations….
             Then they will see ‘the Truly Human One coming in a cloud’
             with power and great glory….
             Stand up and raise your heads,
             because your redemption is drawing near
                         —Luke 21.25, 27, 28

With Jesus we practice double vision:
to see the signs of the times,
the gathering clouds, the tyranny looming,
the ruin of our climate,
the collapse of what sustains us—
and at the same time the irruption of grace,
the glory of God with us in the human realm.
To dare to bear sorrow and hope together.
To know the horror of end times
and still trust the power of kindness.
To see the signs of a troubled future,
and remain loving in the present.

Help us, Holy One, to see the darkness clearly,
even as we shine the light.

__________________
Steve Garnaas-Holmes
Unfolding Light
www.unfoldinglight.net
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           Prepare the way of the Holy One,
           make straight the paths of God.
                         —Luke 3.4

Mary, waiting for her child, is powerless, patient,
dependent on a greater movement—
not uncertain, but also not in control.
Like waiting for the sunrise.
Waiting for God to appear in a new way.

Yet waiting like Mary is not passive,
but preparing, being transformed.

The “way” of God is not elsewhere,
some road God needs to enter the world.
God enters by the unlikeliest path,
through the least accessible means.
The Mystery will enter as Mystery wills.
So maybe to “prepare” is not so much waiting
for God to appear as changing how we see,
becoming ready to see God in new ways.

And God enters the world through us.
So waiting with Mary, we are waiting
as God transforms within us.

We are the way God is preparing.

How are you preparing yourself
to be the way God enters the world?

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