Author: Steve

Dearly Beloved, 
Grace and Peace to you.
 
 
Holy One,
Intimate Presence,
Perfect Love,
 
you are with me now
in my waking, in my awareness,
in my breath.
 
You are present in this day,
and will be present in all things,
each moment, each occurrence.
 
I do not ask that you shield me
but that you be with me,
and that I be present to you.
 
You will be in the secret beauties,
in the puzzles and frustrations,
in the empty boring passages.
 
You will be in light and shadow,
pleasure and pain, answer and
question, invitation and rebuff.
 
You will be in my safety and in my risk,
in my triumphs and defeats,
in my breath and in my flesh.
 
Your Holy Presence will be in strangers,
in voices and silences,
clarity and mystery.
 
You will be looking gently upon me
with blessing, deep into my eyes,
and looking out through my eyes.
 
I pray that I may be mindful of your presence,
and listen for your voice,
and act in harmony with your grace.
 
I pray as I live, in the power of your Spirit,
in the mystery of your creating,
and in the company of your Christ.   Amen.
 
 
 
Deep Blessings,
Pastor Steve
 
 
_____________________________ 
Copyright © Steve Garnaas-Holmes
Unfolding Light
www.unfoldinglight.net
 
 
 

Dearly Beloved,
Grace and Peace to you.

But when you are invited, go and sit down at the lowest place, so that when your host comes, he may say to you, “Friend, move up higher.” … When you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind. And you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you, for you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.”
— from Luke 14. 10-14

Forget false modesty,
or a clever set-up for a public compliment:
this is about losing yourself.
You can go through life asking what’s in it for you—
seeking thanks, payback, recognition—
and be disappointed—in this ungrateful world,
and, face it— in yourself.
Or you can forget yourself,
and look for ways to give, unrewarded,
because giving is wondrous,
and be constantly surprised.
Find the joy in unreturnable favors,
thankless jobs, unrewarded gifts, wasted blessings.
Stop trying to manage your return
like an anxious shopkeeper,
and give everything away.
Then everything becomes a gift.
Once it becomes a joy to you to see the needy receive,
all of life is an invitation to a banquet.
Always, the head table is in the servant’s quarters.

Deep Blessings,
Pastor Steve

_______________________________
Copyright © Steve Garnaas-Holmes
unfoldinglight@hotmail.com

Dearly Beloved,
Grace and Peace to you.

Thus says the Lord: What wrong did your ancestors find in me that they went far from me, and went after worthless things, and became worthless themselves? They did not say, “Where is the Lord who brought us up from the land of Egypt?” … My people have changed their glory for something that does not profit…. My people have committed two evils: they have forsaken me, the fountain of living water, and dug out cisterns for themselves, cracked cisterns that can hold no water. Is Israel a servant, a slave by birth? Why then has he become plunder?
—Jeremiah 2. 5-6, 11, 13-14

The God of the Old Testament is often portrayed as vindictive, judgmental, and often in a foul mood. It’s said that the New Testament God is the loving who cares for us, while the Old Testament version is just mad that we broke the rules. But God is no more angry at us than we are at a child who runs into a busy street. It’s not the rules, but our lives, that God is so passionate about.

God only loves us, and is anguished that we endanger ourselves. God gives us life and sets us free, and ardently calls us to turn away from attachments that enslave us and diminish us. God wants clear, flowing, life-giving water for us, not brackish tank water. God wants freedom for us, not attachment and addiction. What appears as God’s anger is really God’s devoted passion for us to change in order to be fully alive and fully free.

Be mindful of the One who is your life, your breath, your energy, and your freedom. Recently, how have you sought “life” in accomplishment, in security, in what other people think of you? And how have you sought life in the Holy One? How have you given yourself over to things that enslave you? How might God be wanting to set you free?

God is the fountain of life within you. Abandon the leaky pits you dig that hold fetid water, and turn to the Life-Giving One. God is your freedom. Trust that God desires that you be fully alive and free. Let go of your attachments, and receive from the Beloved life that is undiminished.

When it seems like God is shouting at you, don’t worry that God is mad at you. It might be that you’ve run out into the street, and God really really wants you to be OK. Turn around and listen.

Deep Blessings,
Pastor Steve

_______________________________
Copyright © Steve Garnaas-Holmes
unfoldinglight@hotmail.com

Dearly Beloved,
Grace and Peace to you.

We had a big yard sale. Some people were happy to find an item they were looking for, some enjoyed bargaining, some just wanted to feel like they’d made a steal. Some people haggled over every little dime (generally, more well-dressed folks). (I can just imagine their prayer lives.) We let go of a lot of things for pretty cheap. After all, the reason we did this was not to make money, but to get rid of stuff. Toward the end we gave a lot away. Man, it feels great.

What is it that makes your life rich? Probably what you give away, not what you hang onto. More likely things like faith, hope and love. Things like relationships, awareness, attitudes, possibilities. Things like joy, generosity, courage, gratitude. In fact, most of what enriches our lives are the kinds of things that are renewed the more we give them away—like forgiveness, attentiveness, trust, blessing. It’s sharing, not possessing, that enriches our lives. It’s true of our talents and abilities. It’s often true even of our possessions. The more we let go of, the more ready we are to receive what is given to us.

Do you want your life to be about getting or giving? Why not let go of everything? Let your life be a yard sale. When life haggles with you, let things go. Let go of everything. Let it go. Trust that no matter what you give away, you will thrive. “Be content with what you have; for God has said, ‘I will never leave you or forsake you’” (Heb. 13.5).

Live today as if you know that it is not what you have but what you give that makes your life rich.

Deep Blessings,
Pastor Steve

_______________________________
Copyright © Steve Garnaas-Holmes
unfoldinglight@hotmail.com

Dearly Beloved,
Grace and Peace to you.

The sun spills up over the rim of the world
and pours out between the trees,
floods the hillside and soon the bottom land.

Colors warm and ripen,
light pools in open places,
and your eyes awaken.

See? It’s that easy.

Open your hands.

____________________
Weather Report

All will be given,
increasing through the day,
with patches of abundance and generosity.
Fifty percent chance of receptiveness.

Deep Blessings,
Pastor Steve

_______________________________
Copyright © Steve Garnaas-Holmes
unfoldinglight@hotmail.com

Dearly Beloved,
Grace and Peace to you.

A woman was there who had been crippled by a spirit for eighteen years. She was bent over and could not straighten up at all. When Jesus saw her, he called her forward and said to her, “Woman, you are set free from your infirmity.” Then he put his hands on her, and immediately she straightened up and praised God.
— Luke 13.10-17

Take a moment to be with yourself. Breathe gently. Be mindful of God’s presence.

In stillness, ponder: What is bent over in you? What is unable to stand tall? What unseen gifts, what unacknowledged beauty, what strength waits to be released? What part of you is put down… left out… repressed… in exile? In what ways have you become accustomed to looking down?… being unable?… expecting nothing?…

Imagine Jesus looking at you… seeing you, truly seeing you… Imagine him calling your name. He beckons you to come to him. To leave your accustomed place, your place of hiding, to leave the familiar comfort of your despair….

Imagine him laying his hands on you, his power flowing through you, light from him filling you. Imagine that bent over part of you rising, straightening, standing tall.

You know that there will be criticism, misunderstanding, resentment— but he protects you from it all. He defends your wellness, your liberation, your worthiness. He calls you “Daughter of Abraham,” a title both honorific and endearing, and a sign of your inclusion in a holy community.

Your blessing may not unfold as suddenly as this woman’s, or as clearly. But blessing is yours. There is something in you—perhaps not what you expect— that Christ desires to raise up. Let it happen.

And praise God.

Deep Blessings,
Pastor Steve

_______________________________
Copyright © Steve Garnaas-Holmes
unfoldinglight@hotmail.com

At dawn the night
loses all its grip;
neither the room nor the street
even remembers
how dark you were, how blind.

Come into a clearing,
light poured into it,
pressed down, spilling over.
Feel a gate open inside you.

Something like scales fell from his eyes

You were worried about
all the wrong things,
what you would owe,
what you would look like,
which lane to shoot.
The best dangers passed by you
unnoticed.

We crossed on dry ground

Come back to those
who knew you at your worst
and see if they don’t still
love you.

Once we broke all the dishes,
we tasted the food.

Behold, I am doing…

You can’t imagine how deeply
you hurt her, how deeply
she forgave you without
your knowing.

Thou hast loosed my bonds

_______________________________
Copyright © Steve Garnaas-Holmes
unfoldinglight@hotmail.com

Dearly Beloved,
Grace and Peace to you.

On a Sabbath Jesus was teaching in one of the synagogues, and a woman was there who had been crippled by a spirit for eighteen years. She was bent over and could not straighten up at all. When Jesus saw her, he called her forward and said to her, “Woman, you are set free from your infirmity.” Then he put his hands on her, and immediately she straightened up and praised God. Indignant because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath, the synagogue ruler said to the people, “There are six days for work. So come and be healed on those days, not on the Sabbath.” The LORD answered him, “You hypocrites! Doesn’t each of you on the Sabbath untie his ox or donkey from the stall and lead it out to give it water? Then should not this woman, a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan has kept bound for eighteen long years, be set free on the Sabbath day from what bound her?” When he said this, all his opponents were humiliated, but the people were delighted with all the wonderful things he was doing.
— Luke 13.10-17

There are two religions in the world. They are mutually exclusive. Everybody from all traditions, all practices, all religions and all non-religions—Presbyterians and Buddhists, Mormons and atheists, Jews and crystal-worshipers, all choose one or the other. One is the religion of Being Right. You follow rules, believe certain things, and behave certain ways in order to get some kind of assurance of belonging and safety. If you don’t get it right—believe the wrong stuff, or say the wrong incantation, or live the wrong way—you lose. There are ways to redeem yourself, but you have to get them right, too.

The other religion is the religion of Being in Love. You love the gift of this life and the One who gives it, and so you live in love. You give and receive, you serve people, you set people free, you forgive and trust that you are forgiven— not in order to get something right, but because love and joy well up and overflow in you.

If you practice the Religion Being Right, sooner or later you hurt someone in order to Be Right. If you practice the Religion of Being in Love, sooner or later you break a rule in order to love someone. We are always choosing one or the other. Out of fear, we chose being Right. But in love we choose love.

All the power in the world is in love. The “power” of those who are right, who coerce and control and manipulate, is an illusion. It is certainly destructive (the ruler has the power to really hurt this poor woman) but it does not have the only real power, the power to give life. (The ruler couldn’t have healed her if he tried for all six days in a row.) That comes from love alone.

Each moment today, you are choosing between love and control, between following rules and being set free, between controlling and serving, between between going along with what you’ve always thought and opening yourself to something new. Jesus doesn’t choose for you, but he sets you free to choose. I can’t tell you which to choose. But I can tell you the joy of love.

Deep Blessings,
Pastor Steve

_______________________________
Copyright © Steve Garnaas-Holmes
unfoldinglight@hotmail.com

Dearly Beloved,
Grace and Peace to you.

He said to the crowd: “When you see a cloud rising in the west, immediately you say, ‘It’s going to rain,’ and it does. And when the south wind blows, you say, ‘It’s going to be hot,’ and it is. Hypocrites! You know how to interpret the appearance of the earth and the sky. How is it that you don’t know how to pay attention to the present moment?”
        —Luke 12. 54-56

In this 500-channel, multi-sensory, hyperactive world, what do you give your attention to? Do you follow your favorite team? Watch the weather? Track the stock market? Keep tabs on movie stars? Or are these things you ignore for other matters?

Do you fasten your attention on fear and anxiety, or do you keep your eyes peeled for grace? Is your radar tuned to people’s judgments, or do you attend to the love of God within you? Do you fill your consciousness with past mistakes, fears of the future, things you regret or dread or the way you wish things were—especially the way you wish things were— or do you pay attention to the present moment?

What do you see? What is true in you and around you right now? What is happening this moment? How is your breathing? Start there. Stay there. Don’t distract yourself with stuff you don’t need to fret about. Pay attention to the present moment, without analyzing, assuming, judging or wishing. It’s not that you shouldn’t hope, or treasure a vision for yourself and the world. It’s just that you begin with the present moment, without judgment or preconception. Rather than trying to manipulate your reality into what you want, be available to the grace that is hidden in what is. Simply be present. You’ll be surprised how lovely it is.

____________________
Weather Report

This, not something else,
as the jet stream of eternity
unfolds each moment,
clearing as the day passes.

Deep Blessings,
Pastor Steve
_______________________________
Copyright © Steve Garnaas-Holmes
unfoldinglight@hotmail.com

Dearly Beloved,
Grace and Peace to you.

When you see a cloud rising in the west, you immediately say, “It is going to rain”; and so it happens. And when you see the south wind blowing, you say, “There will be scorching heat”; and it happens. You hypocrites! You know how to interpret the appearance of earth and sky, but why do you not know how to pay attention to the present moment?
—Luke 12.56

Most versions translate the last phrase as “interpret the present time,” but that sounds too much like understanding mysterious signs, like reading chicken entrails. Luke’s Greek verb means something closer to “check out,” or even “confirm,” and his word for time is kairos: the decisive instant, the present moment. Jesus’ saying is not about predicting the future or even analyzing current events; it’s about being present. It’s not about assenting to doctrines or end-of-the-world scenarios; it’s about paying attention.

It’s also about paying attention to what we pay attention to. We watch the weather, or the stock market, or how well our team is doing– but do we pay attention to what is going on right now, in this moment, in ourselves, in our souls, in those around us, and in the world? Do we shed our assumptions, our dogmas and our axes to grind and just pay attention?

These words follow Jesus’ teaching about how our self-differentiation will evoke other people’s anxiety, and hence their opposition. The antidote to this conflict is not to fight back, nor to break off relationships, but to be even more mindful of what is, to pay attention to the nugget at the heart of things (and of ourselves) that is True.

There is a garden deep in our heart, a place where we are simply who we are, where we are most authentically ourselves, where we are least influenced by other people’s opinions and fears and yet most freely self-reflective and open. It is a garden where the person God creates us to be grows like a fruit-bearing vine, free of the weeds of other people’s anxious projections onto us. It is in this place of Truth where Christ meets us, and invites us, by his own steady presence, to remain.

This true self is not something we can create; it is a gift. To pay attention to the present moment and to attend to What Is in us and to choose to be our God-given selves in this deeply rooted way is an interior experience of the Realm of Grace, the “Kingdom of God.” The more we practice this presence, the more fully we can resist the world’s anxieties and its fear-based divisions, and proclaim the Realm of God. When we are faithful to our true selves in God, we participate in the healing of the world.

Deep Blessings,
Pastor Steve

_______________________________
Copyright © Steve Garnaas-Holmes
unfoldinglight@hotmail.com