Month: June 2026

          Go and learn what this means,
          “I desire mercy, not sacrifice.”
                       —Matthew 9.13

Jesus quotes Hosea 6.6
(twice, in fact):

God doesn’t want animal sacrifices,
but our hearts,

isn’t interested in our religion,
but in our relationships.

God doesn’t care what we believe,
God cares how we treat people.

Jesus says: choose the religion of Being in Love
over the religion of Being Right.

__________________
Steve Garnaas-Holmes
Unfolding Light
www.unfoldinglight.net
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Give up your wish
to be a spiritual whiz.
Even the greatest sage
must learn ignorance,
must go out again
and practice not knowing,
address a stone,
innocent of all but the word:
Who are you?
True wisdom is not knowing,
but attending.

__________________
Steve Garnaas-Holmes
Unfolding Light
www.unfoldinglight.net
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          “Why does your teacher
          eat with tax collectors and sinners?”
                       —Matthew 9.11

There is one table.
All our divisions are a lie.
All our hierarchies are a delusion.
We are all different, and equal.
There is no greater or lesser,
no more or less worthy,
no superior or inferior,
no better or worse.
Not in God’s eyes.
There is no ladder, no pyramid.
Only a circle, where last is first
and first is last.

Our hard work
is to repent of our evil hierarchies,
to be done with comparing,
creating insiders and outsiders.
We do it by coming to the one table,
sitting with our companion sinners,
our beloved siblings, all.
They’re all here, friend, at the table.
Sit with them,
as God sits with you.

__________________
Steve Garnaas-Holmes
Unfolding Light
www.unfoldinglight.net
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Greeting the four directions

I bow to What Is;
          with attentiveness I bow.

Greeting the East, I bow to all I receive:
          the breath of life, the gift of Creation,
          the grace of God, the love of others,
          the gift of all whose lives and labors benefit me.
With joy and gratitude I bow.

Greeting the South, I bow to all that is within me:
          body, mind and spirit,
          my unconscious and my microbiome,
          the divine light, steadfast and warm.
With wonder and reverence, I bow.

Greeting the West, I bow to all that flows from me:
          my work, my gifts, my talents and energies,
          my love and prayers,
          peace flowing from me to those I love,
          to all who struggle, to the whole world,
          peace flowing out from me to the universe.
With love and courage, I bow.

Greeting the North, I bow to my death,
          to my limits, my powerlessness,
          my not knowing, and to my end.
With humility and good humor, I bow.

Again to the four directions:
          To what is Yes: my Yes. I bow.
          To what is No: my No. I bow.
          That I may discern with wisdom, I bow.
I bow to What Is.

Let this day begin.

__________________
Steve Garnaas-Holmes
Unfolding Light
www.unfoldinglight.net
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          As Jesus was walking along,
          he saw a man called Matthew
          sitting at the tax-collection station,
          and he said to him, “Follow me.”
          And he got up and followed him.
                       —Matthew 9.9

The voice of freedom or justice,
the song of beauty or healing,
the call of the Beloved, is not a shout.
It’s merely the hum of life
that begs your harmony.

You’re going about your life, plain as always,
when something ineffable, moving
in a different direction, tugs at you,
like the aroma of bread baking:
an urge, a subtle leaning, an invitation.
Your presence is requested.
Learn to stop and attend.

Perhaps in a moment of stillness,
maybe in a rush of trying so hard—
a compass needle wobbles.
Stop and attend.

You are not especially wise or gifted;
your faith is no stronger than anyone else’s.
Don’t question why you are chosen;
the only way to know is to follow.
It may be a life-changing endeavor,
or a moment’s simple act of love. Follow.

Never stop listening.

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