Author: Steve

Dearly Beloved,
Grace and Peace to you.

Beth and I spent a couple of days last week down in New Jersey helping with wedding plans for Dan and his fiancee, Jill. While we were there we spent a day and half at the beach at Ocean City. (The town was founded, by the way, by four Methodist ministers, as a church camp.) It’s not my idea of being out in nature, crammed in like roasting coffee beans with umbrellas fringe to fringe like that. I think there were more people on that beach than in all of Montana where I grew up.

Of course I knew how to find peace and beauty there: I went to the beach at 6 in the morning for the sunrise, when there were only about nine people and a party of dolphins, and at midnight, when there was nobody there but stars. But I also found peace and beauty in the middle of the day, in the mad clutter of the crowd. I swam in the ocean, and even though it was spangled with shouting bathers and jet skis and para-sailers and whatnot, it was still the ocean. I could still float in it and let it hold me. I was with the dolphins, too. I was a part of Creation, and the people were, no less than the invisible fish an the diving birds and the waves in their line dance from Portugal.

And I could sit and pray. As cluttered as my view of the ocean was, I didn’t see any greater fraction of it than I usually do: even on a mountain looking over the Pacific I only see a tiny bit. So I looked at the tiny bit between the beach umbrellas, and it was the sea. Each little bit is a part of the whole. I watched the people, the splendor of God unfolding in each of them. I looked at all the different bodies, knowing that we are all one body. I took in the colors of the umbrellas—such color!—and the glory of people at play, and knew the delight of God. Even in the noise I could be quiet and listen for God. Even in the crowd’s chatter and the life guards’ whistles and the throb of speed boats and the drone of the planes dragging advertising banners, there was a deep Silence welling up in everything like an ocean, embracing us all like the sun, loving every bit of this crazy scene.

The Sanctuary is everywhere, always hidden. The Silence is never broken; all our noise is only on its surface. The Holy Presence is always here. The glory is undiminishable. You can be at peace on the mountain top or the boardwalk, the quiet room or the busy street. The sacred place is within you; go there and find it all round you.

Deep Blessings,
Pastor Steve

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

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

Dearly Beloved,
Grace and Peace to you.

Then the priests brought the ark of the covenant of the Lord to its place, in the inner sanctuary of the house, in the most holy place, underneath the wings of the cherubim. … And when the priests came out of the holy place, a cloud filled the house of the Lord, so that the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud; for the glory of the Lord filled the house of the Lord. Then Solomon said, “The Lord has said that he would dwell in thick darkness.”
—1 Kings 8. 6, 10-12

When darkness descends on you,
the unknown enfolds you,
the unseen holds you close,

when you look about for light
and see only shadow,
a way that can’t be found:

know that you have entered
the holy of holies,
the presence of God.

In the darkest regions,
the shady neighborhoods,
places under a pall of gloom

where mercy and justice are hidden:
God is not absent, but cloaked,
and holds her beloved even closer.

Bright mystery, holy darkness,
strip us of knowing too much.

Glory so thick you absorb all light,
bless us, who cannot see.

Deep Blessings,
Pastor Steve

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

To subscribe to Unfolding Light by daily e-mail, write to unfoldinglight5 (at) hotmail.com

Dearly Beloved,
Grace and Peace to you.
         
         
Instead of waking up and thinking, “Now, what do I have to do today?” try this: “I wonder what is God doing today?”

Don’t dwell on your obligations, what you have to do, what you can’t do. Set aside what you have to face, what you have to endure. Ignore your thoughts about what you want, what you wish would happen, what you’re afraid might happen. Stop trying to predict or prescribe a day that either you or God ought to match. Never mind all these restrictions.

Instead start by wondering, being open. Focus on God’s presence. Be open to what God is already doing, hidden and easily mistaken for nothing at all. Be open to how God might use you in whatever God is doing. You are free. Be ready to be available to God. Be curious how you might show loving kindness today. As you awake prepare to spend your day awakening, becoming more mindful of the grace flowing within and around you.

God enters the day, and chooses to bring you along. I wonder what will unfold?

____________________

Weather Report

Open,
as the weather reads the forecast for you,
and finds much that is not written.

         
Deep Blessings,
Pastor Steve

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

         
         
         
Creator of the Universe,
Loving Mystery, Womb of Silence,

you have brought me out of the narrows
into a broad and spacious place.

I will not return to confinement,
but remain here in your generous freedom.

I guard the silence at the center;
I hold the moment empty and open.

I breathe in,
and make sanctuary in my body for you.

I make room in my thoughts
for you to enter and be at peace.

I offer openings in my day,
where you may rest.

I create space in my living
for you alone.

I enter the holy of holies
where you make of this moment

the void of Creation,
the gift of Sabbath.

Amen.

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

Dearly Beloved,
Grace and Peace to you.
         
         
         I am the living bread that came down from heaven.
         Whoever eats of this bread will live forever;
         and the bread that I will give
         for the life of the world is my flesh…
         Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood
         abide in me, and I in them.
                  —John 6. 51, 56

Don’t just have an opinion about him.
Eat him up, all he is.

Feast on compassion.
Let tender courage nourish you.
Let his passionate presence,
God made real on the sidewalk,
satisfy your deepest hunger.
Taste sweet forgiveness, ripe delight.
Chew on his challenge to your mind,
your habits, your chewy, chewy fears.
Get a mouthful of his tangy mindfulness,
his fierce resolve to wrestle with raw life;
let it strengthen you,
and build the muscles of your soul.
Drink deep of his love poured out for you,
tears wept for you, blood flowing.
Consume his very flesh, his piercing eyes,
his warm hands on your head,
his embrace when you tremble.
Take in his body, this whole body
of heaven’s lovers, all of us, to the dregs.
Take him into yourself, digest him wholly,
let him become part of you,
muscle and sinew and cell.
Swallow the whole experience
of being so healed, so loved, so saved.

Don’t just believe in him.
Be filled with him.
Get drunk on him.
Be satisfied.

You are what you eat.

         
         
Deep Blessings,
Pastor Steve

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

Beloved,
Having a great time. Seeing stuff.
All good—grace in everything, even the bad stuff.
All beautiful. The little shops, sunlight on the bricks,
people under the bridges. Jesus, I love them.
Pay attention.

Love, God

_________________

Weather Report

A perfect day today,
as some kind of gift saturates
even the difficult, banal and tragic.
Drought or monsoon possible;
chance of compassionate presence
100%.

         
         

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

Dearly Beloved,
Grace and Peace to you.
         
         
         No one can come to me
         unless drawn by the Mother who sent me;
         and I will raise that person up on the last day.
         It is written in the prophets,
         “And they shall all be taught by God.’
         Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father
         comes to me.
                  —John 6. 44-45

What draws you?
What is so deeply compellingly true you can’t resist it?
Follow it.
What gives you life,
refreshes your soul,
draws you into a delight beyond yourself?
Fall for it.
What asks your soul of you?
Answer it.

Don’t expect some white-robed prophet,
and watch out for those tricky feelings.
Never mind the theologians
who’ve decided what you should believe.
Where does it hurt?
How does it heal?
Speak of that.

Forget religion.
Let the birds of your beliefs
settle in the tree that is there.
Who forgives you so hugely
you feel newborn?
If you die for love,
what raises you up again?
Was there a gift there?
Did someone give it?

That’s the One.

We are drawn to God
by whoever bears the fragrance of grace,
whoever speaks our name of Beloved.

Toss the autograph you got as a kid.
Don’t be scared by the people walking around
referring to a picture on a “wanted” poster.
Love is a shape-shifter.

Who is drawing you?
Each moment, each breath:
who is drawing you?

         
         
Deep Blessings,
Pastor Steve

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

         after Ephesians 4.24 – 5.2

Holy One, Beloved,
by your grace in me,
I shuck off the little desires I wear,
to clothe myself in your deep desires for me.
I release the self I have tried to create
so that you may create me in your image.
May I shed all falsehood
and speak truth to my neighbors.
May all my words be building blocks, not weapons,
gifts of grace for those who long to hear.
May even my anger be loving truth, not bitterness.
May my delight be not in getting, but in sharing.
With you living in me may I be kind,
tenderhearted and forgiving,
as you have forgiven me.
Life-Giver, Heavenly Lover, Flame of my Heart,
I am your beloved child.
May I be your perfect imitation.
May I live in love, as fully as you love me.
I offer myself, as Christ,
a fragrant gift to you.

         
         
Deep Blessings,
Pastor Steve

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

Dearly Beloved,
Grace and Peace to you.

Olympic athletes do impossible things with mind-boggling grace. One of the American gymnasts said to another before her routine, “Do normal.” What for most of us is unimaginably exceptional is for them just normal. Olympic athletes win medals without even doing their personal best; they look relaxed setting world records; they look smooth even on sticks instead of feet…. We hear it a lot: they make it look easy. Except for the weightlifters. They do not make it look easy.

Of course none of it is easy. They train; they discipline themselves; they decide that the pain is worth the gain. As they improve they’re awkward and incapable and they fail a lot. We just don’t see that part. We see the finished performance, not the effort it takes to get there.

We all make things look easy that are not easy for everybody: speaking in public, or being self-confident, being happy, believing in God, trusting others, walking into a church. Sometimes it’s even basic skills like walking, saying a sentence, following a conversation, not being afraid of everybody, not being violent. Some people make surviving abuse or enduring poverty or experiencing hate or discrimination look easy. But it’s not always easy. We notice the performance but we don’t always see the practice, the pain, the sacrifices, the effort, the failures, the doubts, the difficulty.

Be gentle with everyone you meet. You have no idea what struggles they endure to do what may seem easy. You have no clue what discipline, what pain they may have to accept to survive, to appear “normal.”

You can’t know everyone’s struggle, but you can honor it. You can’t see everyone’s pain but you can be gentle. You can think highly of everyone even if they’ve learned to make how they live look easy. You can be forgiving; you can be encouraging and not judging; you can give people room to fail and improve; you can free people from your own expectations and projections. You can be so loving, in fact, that though it’s apparently hard for others for you it’s just normal. It won’t be easy, but with discipline you can do it. Be so loving that you make it look easy.

Deep Blessings,

Pastor Steve

__________________

Steve Garnaas-Holmes
Unfolding Light
www.unfoldinglight.net

Dearly Beloved,
Grace and Peace to you.
         
         
There’s life on Mars! Well, not exactly. On Monday NASA just successfully landed another rover on Mars. Its name is Curiosity. It worked through a grueling, complicated landing procedure worthy of the most insane Olympic gymnast, and it’s already begun poking around. There isn’t exactly life on Mars, but there is curiosity, and that’s definitely the stuff of life.

Curiosity is not only the heart of science; it’s also the heart of spirituality: to deepen and expand our awareness, to see the world and ourselves clearly and to say Yes to what is. We are curious about God, to know God more deeply; we are curious about the world, how it is and how we belong in it; we are curious about ourselves and how we work and who we are and what God creates us to be.

If we are truly curious we are open to whatever we may find. We work continually to identify and overcome our political, religious, psychological and emotional prejudices in order to see more clearly. We accept that we will have to change our assumptions and beliefs. We look at God, and don’t turn away just because it’s too mysterious to comprehend. Sometimes we come to see God in a new way. We look at our sin and don’t turn off the lights when we see stuff we’re ashamed of. We look at the world, and don’t back away from the beauty or the evil or the suffering or the wonder. We explore our human life together, and we don’t close our eyes to reality. We are curious about each moment, curious to see what is, not just what we expect or want.

For those who live in fear, “belief” can mean defiantly clinging to a cherished notion regardless of the evidence. But my belief is that God is in everything, and that everything is evidence of grace. I seek to be open to what is—whatever I find— trusting that God is creating a wonderful world, trusting that God will be there and that truth will be full of grace. I seek to live in the full depth of curiosity, which is unceasing wonder and love.

Meanwhile, there is life on Mars—a little of my life, a bit of our human character. Go, Curiosity!
         
         
Deep Blessings,
Pastor Steve

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