Author: Steve

           O God, how long shall I cry for help,
              and you will not listen?
           Or cry to you “Violence!”
              and you will not save?
           Destruction and violence are before me;
                 strife and contention arise.

           …. There is still a vision for the appointed time;
              it speaks of the end, and does not lie.
           If it seems to tarry, wait for it;
              it will surely come, it will not delay.
                                 —Habakkuk 1.2-3, 2.3


Give us trust, O Love,
amid the great tribulations we bring upon ourselves,
and those yet to come,
that your hands hold this mess,
that even as we cry out in fear or despair
this swirling gloom
is the dark chaos of your Creation,
secure in your arms,
blessed and destined for light and glory.

How long, O God, will we cry out?
Long, for the creation is a great unfolding,
the birthing and dying of stars a great span,
and the story is long, beyond our lifetimes.
But it is the story of Love, and Love prevails,
working its grace since before the dawn of human cruelty.

Even in the thickest shadows
we learn to face the dark
and say with trust and hope:
and yet… and yet…

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

           Look, half of my possessions, Lord, I give to the poor;
           and if I have defrauded anyone of anything,
           I pay back four times as much.
                           —Luke 19.8

In the Greek Zacchaeus doesn’t say he will give
but that he does.
Is this a sudden change or has he done this all along?
Either way it’s clear:
radical generosity is possible.
From a poor widow or a rich taxman,
whether it’s a new move or an old habit,
whether it’s hard or easy,
radical generosity is to be expected.
The only thing holding you back
is if you don’t want to.

If, as you suspect may be true of Zacchaeus,
something needs to happen to you
to make you want to—
it already has.
Your move.

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

Spirit, pray in me,
mindful of your presence,
awake to your grace,
aware of your beauty,
attentive to your leading,
listening keenly
inwardly and in others
where you reveal yourself.
Pray in me,
my openness,
my joy,
my love.

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

           I will pour out my spirit on all flesh.
                           —Joel 2.28

The people you love
are not just there by quirk.
They are God’s love breathed upon you.
All those you meet are vessels of the Spirit.
Everything that exists—the trees, the mountains—
all are emanations of the Spirit of Love.
Nothing, no one, not even your enemies,
are devoid of that Spirit.
It may be denied, silenced, opposed, defied—
but it is still there.
Sit by the pond and behold its holiness.
Listen to the stranger and hear the divine breath.
Be still, and let the Spirit pour over you.

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

           Two people went up to the temple to pray,
           one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector.
                           —Luke 18.10

They are not two people. Never are.
They are both me.
Sure of my worthiness, sure of my unworthiness.
Believing the illusion of deserving.
But only the trusting one,
open to what can only be a gift,
receives what is always offered
without deserving.
The other earns their little wage
and goes home still wanting.

           Generous One, I trust your grace.
           I open my hands to your gift,
           my heart to your dependable miracle.

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

I rush efficiently through the airport of life,
my tickets in hand, my bags secure.
     I am not where I am,
     but far from where I am going.

But life is not an airport.

In quiet moments here with you
     I sit still, not meaning to be elsewhere.
I do not need a suitcase, stuffed;
     I have everything I need.
I do not need identification;
     I am who you know me to be.
I do not need to know my destination;
     it is me; it is you.
I am not in a hurry.
     I am here.
I do not need to go;
     I am where I belong.
I am in you.
     I will stay here as long as I choose.
     Thank you for being here with me.

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

My sorrows are not my own,
but threads that bind me
to all others.
My joys are not for me alone,
but meant to overflow into the world.
My gratitude is your voice in me,
opening me to the miracle of this life.
My loneliness is shared with every other person
floating through the world as a sea drop
thinking we are single drops.
My doubts and questions are the longing you give me
for you and for others, the hope that weaves us.
My wonder is the light given off
from being part of one living gift.
All of it is holy, all of it is blessed.
You fill me with beauty,
surround me with mystery,
and provide for me with grace;
and this you do for all your beloved people.
When I look inward I meet them there,
and you,
waiting for me.

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

           But who can detect their errors?
           Clear me from hidden faults.
                           —Psalm 19.12

God of love,
I wound you in ways I can’t imagine.
I defile myself in ways I can’t see.
I hurt others in ways I never notice.

I confess my ignorance,
I confess I am oblivious.
I pray for humility to know
I sin beyond my knowing.
I ask forgiveness for those sins I know nothing about.

As much as I sin so much more than I know,
so also you forgive me
more than I know,
you forgive me, you love me
more than I can imagine.
May my gratitude exceed my understanding.

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

           In those days they shall no longer say:
                      “The parents have eaten sour grapes,
                                 and the children’s teeth are set on edge.”
           But all shall die for their own sins.
                           —Jeremiah 31.29-30

This was a step forward, that kids not be punished
for their parents’ sins.
But sometimes parents eat sour grapes
and it’s the kids who wince.
We all live with trauma inflicted on us as children,
some very slight, and some profound.
The parents sinned, and the kids suffered.
(If anything the cross reminds us
that the innocent suffer from other people’s sins.)
Remember this when you judge,
when you deal with people who hurt others,
those who seem to have no excuse to be so cruel.
They may be carrying around deep wounds
inflicted on them when they were small and powerless,
and none of the power they have now
is power over those wounds.
They may need reprimanding; they may need a short leash.
But they surely need healing.
We all do.

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

           All scripture is inspired by God
           and is useful for teaching, for reproof, for correction,
           and for training in righteousness,
           so that everyone who belongs to God
           may be proficient, equipped for every good work.
                           —2 Timothy 3.16-17

This does not say all scripture is infallible,
or dictated by God.
It says those who wrote did so breathing the Holy Spirit.
They may have written something true and profound
(“you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God”)
or not (“ I wish they would castrate themselves”)—
but either way, they were in the grip of something holy,
something living, something beyond them.
And that’s how we read scripture,
with the Holy Spirit breathing in us,
seeking, listening, discerning.
Whether or not we agree or understand,
we are caught up in the breathing of God,
seeking how best to allow God to equip us,
not to be right, but to be inspired (in-spirited) to love.
Proficient in every good work of justice and mercy.
Breathe in…. Breathe out…. Read….
Then go and love.

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