Category: Reflections

Dearly Beloved,
Grace and Peace to you.
         
         
         The wolf shall live with the lamb,
         and a little child shall lead them.
                  —Isaiah 11.6

The coming of Christ is about more than a lovely holiday. It’s about the transformation of the world. In his ministry, and in the cross, Jesus showed us the way to the lion and lamb living together. Nelson Mandela, who died yesterday, was living proof that it can be done. The work is hard; the sacrifice is great; the peace is fragile. But it is possible. The vision and the promise endure. So we await Jesus’ birth in Bethlehem and the final coming of Christ to transform human history—and they are met as Christ is born in our own hearts. The world we envision is already within us.

Pray for peace in the world. Pray for the healing of your own fear, and the removal of all your enmity, prejudice and division. Pray for the courage to extend grace and reconciliation to the lambs to whom you are a wolf, and the wolves to whom you are a lamb. Give thanks for the people like Mandela who shine the light of peace and justice on our path, and pray to be one of them. Welcome into your heart the little child who will lead us to the new world.
         
         
Deep Blessings,
Pastor Steve

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

To subscribe to Unfolding Light by daily e-mail write to me at unfoldinglight8(at)hotmail.com

Dearly Beloved,
Grace and Peace to you.
         
         
         Prepare the way of the Lord, make a straight path for God.
         Bear fruit worthy of repentance.
         Even now the ax is lying at the root of the trees;
         every tree that does not bear good fruit
         is cut down and thrown into the fire.
                  —Matthew 3. 3, 8, 10

I go out into our thick blackberry patch in the fall with clippers and cut down every spent cane that won’t bear next year, every broken stalk, every dead stem. That’s how we get more fruit next year. John’s imagery isn’t about the fires of hell; it’s about new growth, and the little deaths that are a part of repentance.

Besides what you want to get for Christmas, what do you need to let go of? What needs to be pruned? What needs to die? Pray for the courage to let go, and hope in the new life that awaits beneath what you can see.

         
         
Deep Blessings,
Pastor Steve

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

To subscribe to Unfolding Light by daily e-mail write to me at unfoldinglight8(at)hotmail.com

Dearly Beloved,
Grace and Peace to you.
         
         
         A shoot shall come out from the stump of Jesse,
         and a branch shall grow out of his roots.
         The wolf shall live with the lamb,
         and a little child shall lead them.
         They will not hurt or destroy on all my holy mountain.
                  —Isaiah 11. 1, 6, 9

          Hail the heaven-born Prince of Peace!
          Hail the Sun of Righteousness!
          Light and life to all be brings,
          risen with healing in his wings.
                  —Charles Wesley, “Hark! the Herald Angels Sing”
         

Christ comes not to judge, not to condemn, not to leave anyone behind, but to heal: to heal souls and bodies; to restore relationships, families, communities and nations; to heal the wound between us and God. He comes to remove what impedes our love, to set us free from what imprisons our compassion, to restore our capacity to bless. He comes to make us whole.

What needs to be healed in your life? In your relationships? In your world? Open your heart to the deep, transforming, miraculous healing that Christ brings. The tender child, born among us and within you, brings infinite grace. Awaken your heart to the promise of healing. The Holy Child is coming.

         
Deep Blessings,
Pastor Steve

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

To subscribe to Unfolding Light by daily e-mail write to me at unfoldinglight8(at)hotmail.com

Dearly Beloved,
Grace and Peace to you.
         
         
         The voice of one crying out in the wilderness,
         “Prepare the way of the Lord,
                  make straight a path for the Holy One:”
         … Bear fruit worthy of repentance.
                  —Matthew 3.3, 8

The ancient examen, or examination of consciousness, is a simple, two-part prayer of discernment, reviewing a recent time period (a day, an hour, week, whatever).

         • When did I feel closest to God or most in harmony with life?
         
Give thanks for the “consolations:” those moments when you felt the gift of life, and the presence or grace of God. Be mindful that the grace in those moments, and the God who granted it, are still with you.

         • When did I feel most out of touch or out of harmony with God or life?

Embrace also the “desolations:” the sorrow, warning, loss or other response arising from those moments when you felt out of harmony, when you felt life drain from you. Be mindful that God was with you then and is now. The inner discord you feel is the Spirit nudging you back toward the path of Life. Within you is an innate desire to be in harmony with God. Dwell with that longing; it is your repentance. Follow it: it is the path of the Holy One. Let it guide you. It is the light that will lead you through the darkness to God.

         
         
Deep Blessings,
Pastor Steve

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

To subscribe to Unfolding Light by daily e-mail write to me at unfoldinglight8(at)hotmail.com

Dearly Beloved,
Grace and Peace to you.

         In the beginning…the earth was a formless void
         and darkness covered the face of the deep.
         God breathed deeply over the face of the waters.
         Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light.
                   —Genesis 1.1-3
         
         By the tender mercies of our God,
         the dawn will rise upon us from above,
         to give light to those who dwell in darkness and in the shadow of death,
         and to guide our feet into the ways of peace.
                    — Luke 1.78-79

         It is now the moment for you to wake from sleep.
         For salvation is nearer to us now than when we became believers;
         the night is far gone, the day is near.
         Let us then lay aside the works of darkness and put on the armor of light.
                  — Romans 13.11-12

In the darkness, in the chaos, God whispers.
The light of new creation rises slowly.
The dawn of a new world blossoms, rising silently
throughout the universe, and within you.
Your soul is the color of the sky before the dawn.
God is coming in a new way.
Open yourself.
Let the light unfold in you.

         
         
Deep Blessings,
Pastor Steve

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

To subscribe to Unfolding Light by daily e-mail write to me at unfoldinglight8(at)hotmail.com

God, I thank you.        
For this day, freshly created, I thank you.
For the sun, faithfully burning,
for gravity that keeps on working,
for the earth that holds me so securely
and feeds me so abundantly, I thank you.
                  
For all my ancestors,
who saved my life millions of times,
for all the love that has shaped and blessed me,
fort hose who bless me without my ever knowing
for this body, this whole universe of miracles
that live inside me, I thank you.

For every moment, the unfolding of your grace,
for every day, a gift beyond measure,
for every person, a work of your love, I thank you.

For all my troubles, in which you meet me,
for grief and pain, which keep my heart alive,
for all loss and abasement, that move me closer to you,
I thank you, for they, too, are gifts.

May my heart be alive with gratitude,
with your deep, deep “yes,”
with your new-making hope,
with trust that everything is a gift
because you are in it,
everything is a gift,
and I thank you.

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

To subscribe to Unfolding Light by daily e-mail
write to me at unfoldinglight8(at)hotmail.com.

Dearly Beloved,
Grace and Peace to you.
         
         
My denomination has conducted a church trial in which a pastor is being defrocked for conducting his gay son’s wedding. I’ve stated elsewhere my biblical and theological understanding of Christian teaching on sexual relationships. Setting aside that issue for a moment, what interests me is the way of proceeding the two parties in the conflict have chosen—particularly the power dynamics involved in a church trial.

One party has acted to divide: to judge, condemn, remove and exclude the other, separating themselves from him, and separating him from his calling and his community, treating him as an alien, taking things away, creating an exile, a refugee. … The image that comes to mind is a pair of scissors.

The other party has joined: honoring a son’s request, blessing a relationship of faithful covenantal love, creating a family, standing in solidarity with those who suffer. … I imagine a needle and thread.

One party has exercised power, remaining secure within a dominant structure, imposing conformity, making demands, punishing, and condemning and putting others down, for the sake of rectitude. No one in that party has risked or given anything, surrendered in any way, or chosen a course that required courage. … A hammer.

The other party has exercised powerlessness, choosing exposure and risk, enduring retribution, suffering, and paying a price to bless and lift others up, for the sake of love. He has not asked for anything, condemned anyone, or coerced anyone. He is completely vulnerable. … A chalice.

Don’t demonize or deify either party: both parties have acted in faith and made mistakes. And set aside the sexual issue. Look at these two ways of using power. This is what the way of the cross looks like. Which way of using power do you believe God calls you to: coercion or powerlessness, uniting or dividing, judging or blessing? Which one reminds you of Jesus? Which one seems like it will heal the world? How might that look in your own life?

You cannot serve two masters—the Religion of Being Right and the Religion of Being in Love. It will be one or the other. Choose the way of the cross.
         
         
Deep Blessings,
Pastor Steve

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

To subscribe to Unfolding Light by daily e-mail write to me at unfoldinglight8(at)hotmail.com

         

         
God of love,
I Pray for the peace of Christ:
in the face of fear, to trust,
in the face of violence, to be gentle,
in the face of sorrow to be healing,
in all things to offer blessing.

Christ, grant me your peace:
with those who are rejected to stand in unity,
for those who are afraid to offer my hand,
beside the outcast to sojourn in longing,
to those who are cursed to offer blessing.

Spirit of compassion,
be the grace and strength in me
to risk for the sake of justice,
to suffer for the sake of healing,
to give of myself for the sake of love,
to offer blessing, to offer blessing.

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

To subscribe to Unfolding Light by daily e-mail write to me at unfoldinglight8(at)hotmail.com

Dearly Beloved,
Grace and Peace to you.
         
         
Fifty years ago today John F. kennedy was assassinated. “In an instant the world was changed,” or so we say. But don’t be fooled. Few things change the world in an instant. Violence, no matter how dramatic, doesn’t change anything. The world is already full of it, and more of it is just more of it. What actually changes the world is when the violence stops. It’s when the wounds and fears that drive our violence are healed. It’s when people who are bitter or afraid are reconciled. It’s forgiveness, kindness and nonviolence. What changes the world is the slow, quiet, gradual work of mending the human soul.

The Reign of Christ that we celebrate this Sunday is not the imposition of somebody’s political, economic or military will. It is the Imperial Rule of God’s grace, founded on the self-giving love of Jesus. That’s what changes the world.
And it’s not over. God’s Reign of mercy and justice is still unfolding. Every moment we are being changed.

For fifty years people have wondered if Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone, or was part of a conspiracy. Well, no one acts alone. All of us are part of a web of relationships, hopes and forces. We all choose our conspiracy. Jesus initiated a conspiracy to take over the world with love. He did not act alone. There is already a great cloud of witnesses. All of us in our own small, gradual ways are changing the world with prayer, with gentleness, with awareness, with reverence for all beings. Each of us is a single thread in the mending of the world. You are part of the great divine conspiracy to change the world with love.

Don’t be distracted by the instant flashes. Keep your eyes on the long road, rest your hand in the hand of your companions, and stay your heart in God. The Holy One is not done creating this world.
         
         
Deep Blessings,
Pastor Steve

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

To subscribe to Unfolding Light by daily e-mail write to me at unfoldinglight8(at)hotmail.com

         
         

I kneel before you, Sovereign,
your rough-hewn throne,
         your crown of thorns.

Power above all others,
authority and might,
         your crown of thorns.

Your abject poverty,
your suffering our suffering:
         your crown of thorns.

Your imperial judgment
of condemnation and violence:
         your crown of thorns.

Champion of the poor,
vindicator of the lowly,
         your crown of thorns.

You conquer my pain, my sin,
my death, my shadow:
         your crown of thorns.

My sacrifice, my victim,
my masterpiece, my savior—
         your crown of thorns.

Ruler of the Universe,
your robe is all Creation,
         your crown of thorns.

I bow to your majesty,
Prince of Peace,
         your crown of thorns.

I seek no glory
but to bear your name, your love,
         your crown of thorns.

         
         

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

To subscribe to Unfolding Light by daily e-mail write to me at unfoldinglight8(at)hotmail.com