Category: Reflections

Dearly Beloved,
Grace and Peace to you.
         
         
Lent is a season of repentance, marked by the traditional practices of prayer, fasting and almsgiving. As a form of fasting, people often went without rich foods during Lent, so on the day before Ash Wednesday, the beginning of Lent, they would use up all their milk, butter and eggs by making “fat” foods,” like pancakes. Hence today is sometimes known as “Fat Tuesday” or “Pancake Day.”

We often pick something to “give up” for Lent. I don’t plan to give up milk and eggs. But I do intend to fast, and to do without sweets, snacks and unnecessary food, and to avoid eating in a hurry or standing up or while doing something else. The point is not to deprive myself, or make my life uncomfortable. The point is to be mindful. How much do I eat without needing to, just out of habit or “because it’s there?” How much do I eat without even thinking, without enjoying, without appreciating? By eating mindfully during Lent I don’t expect to be miserable. I expect to enjoy my food even more.

The reason for repentance is God’s judgment. If you think God’s judgment is condemnation and punishment, then I suppose Lent should be pure misery. But God’s judgment is simply the loving truth about us. So Lent is a time to become more mindful, to see ourselves more clearly, to and to realign ourselves with God’s love. Fasting is a practice that helps us expose and transcend our usual desires and attachments, and focus beyond ourselves and our immediate wants. But fasting goes along with prayer and almsgiving. Fasting without mindfulness and generosity is not a real fast. The point is not to improve self-discipline, but to deepen our love.

So besides “giving up” something, observe Lent by committing to a deeper practice of prayer or sharing. While I’m fasting, I’ll be writing letters on behalf of the poor through Bread for the World, and on behalf of prisoners of conscience through Amnesty International. The point of Lent is to move beyond our self-contained-ness and become more fully connected with God and others in love. Choose a way to observe Lent that helps you become more mindful, and more in harmony with God’s love for you and for others. You will likely experience in it a rebirth that will prepare you well for the miracle of Easter. And you’ll enjoy those Easter eggs all the more.
         
         
Deep Blessings,
Pastor Steve

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

Dearly Beloved,
Grace and Peace to you.
         
         

“God,
I have stumbled again,” I prayed.
“Can you forgive me?”
         
And God said,
“Beloved,
“if you had any idea what I know
         
that you do not
         
of your burdens—
how my back aches from them,
and my legs are weak—
         
you wouldn’t need to ask.”

         
         
         
         
Deep Blessings,
Pastor Steve

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

Dearly Beloved,
Grace and Peace to you.
         
         

We don’t go
behind the curtain
that is this world,
in front of which
things are what they say
and as they appear,
a bird is a bird, a flower a flower,
but behind which,
really,
the smallest flower is the sun,
and a bird is a prayer,
the language of your deepest longings,
something in you that has traveled far
and returned,
someone smaller than the wind
but free in it,
hope with a sense of geography,
a song that lays eggs,
a gesture of praise with children,
your death, singing above you,
branch to branch….

We don’t go because
just as easily as we could become
the graceful swan
we could also become pure flame

and disappear

or the wren outside your window
looking in.

         
         
Deep Blessings,
Pastor Steve

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

Dearly Beloved,
Grace and Peace to you.
         
         

The trees are not waiting, as I am, for spring.

The snowmelt falling without guile
into the brook, why should it be mindful
of dark Atlantic currents, clouds rising and
sweeping within weeks along the steppes?
It’s only dropping with its pure plop
into this black water spinning under the cedars.

The trees are not waiting for spring
or even a sunny day.
They are not patient. They do not know.
They stand, as I am, knee deep in snow
with their little buds in their hands,
attentive to the press of bird or breeze,
or none, upon their limbs
and sing one note at a time
in their vast, unfolding song of praise.

         
         
Deep Blessings,
Pastor Steve

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

Dearly Beloved,
Grace and Peace to you.
         
         
May the blessings of March be yours:

the fierceness of its changes
brace your heart;

the strength of its winds
give you confidence;

the melting of snow
give courage to your repentance
and your forgiveness.

May the possibility of spring
haunt you.

May all that is frozen, hard and hidden
begin secretly to soften
and come to light.

May green living things,
tender, still and strong,
beneath what is seen,
begin silently to stir and rise.

Crocuses, dear, prepare
to pierce your heart.

         
         
Deep Blessings,
Pastor Steve

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

Dearly Beloved,
Grace and Peace to you.
         
         
He led them up a high mountain by themselves. And he was transfigured before them, and his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became dazzling white. Suddenly there appeared to them Moses and Elijah, talking with him. Then Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good for us to be here; if you wish, I will make three dwellings here, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” While he was still speaking, suddenly a bright cloud overshadowed them, and from the cloud a voice said, “This is my Son, the Beloved; with him I am well pleased; listen to him!”
         — Matthew 17. 1-5

A mountain top, a man shining with light, the appearance of great leaders long dead, a bright cloud, a voice from heaven—let’s face it: there’s just no explaining the Transfiguration. Peter tries to contain it—and we join him—trying to put it in a box, make it fit, make it “mean something.“ But it doesn’t.

Sure, it’s a vision of the Risen Christ appearing in glory, and an image of Jesus as the light of the world and the completion of the Law and the Prophets, and so on. But really, it’s about this one thing: mystery. There’s power, and there’s glory, and there’s the story of the journey to freedom with Moses and the revelation of the Truth by Ezekiel. But mostly there’s just mystery. This is where the philosophers can only say, “Hm,” and the theologians, “Oh;” while the saints cry, “Ooh!” and “Aah!

We follow a mystery. We are allured by wonder, led by inexplicable light, claimed by a grace that defies all logic and transcends all understanding. We let our minds, as tools of control, rest. We let our confidence in knowing what’s going on take a sabbath. Instead we gaze. We go to the place where we are in the dark, where the Voice that speaks us says, “Let there be light.” We seek the faith that is a willingness to be overwhelmed, and a trust that the unknown is benevolent. We stand in silent wonder until our hearts catch fire, until we ourselves are transfigured by astonished delight. When we die and stand before God in judgment on on our lives, the great cry of faith is not our beliefs, but the song of the saints, echoed by the angels, raised by all Creation. It is simply this, a cry close to the sound of “Yahweh,” the name of God: Wow.

Life is mystery. Faith is trust in it. Stop trying to explain it, Peter, and simply let it be. Be in awe. Be at a loss for words. Be amazed. Pay attention. Don’t miss it. Listen.

Wow. Amen.
         
         
Deep Blessings,
Pastor Steve

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

Dearly Beloved,
Grace and Peace to you.
         
         

When you meet a challenge,
a time of change or uncertainty,
a time of difficulty or sorrow,
a time of great hope or fear:
you can treat it as a loss or a threat,
and grapple with it
by the might of your anxiety
and the weight of your will.

Or you can accept it as an invitation
to deepen
your awareness,
your rootedness,
your prayer,
your trust,
your soul.

You can fight,
or you can deepen.

The bumps and crevasses
you struggle over
are only the wrinkles
in God’s hand.

         
         
Deep Blessings,
Pastor Steve

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

Dearly Beloved,
Grace and Peace to you.
         
         
Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?… Therefore do not worry, saying, “What will we eat?’ or “What will we drink?’ or “What will we wear?” … But strive first for the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.
         — Matthew 6. 25, 31, 33

Sadly, for millions life really is not much more than food, clothing, shelter and medical care. It certainly isn’t much without those things. It might sound like Jesus is telling the poor to tough it out and wait for the blessings of the afterlife instead of expecting worldly comforts in this life. Or maybe that if they live morally upright lives God will somehow reward them with material goods. But this teaching does not let us off the hook of God’s demands for justice. We might get away with that if “the Kingdom of God” were something private and individual. But “the kingdom of God” is a community.

Strive first for the community, not for yourself. Seek the community of God: a community of compassion, with just and merciful relationships. If we who have food and clothing (and power and privilege), share with those who do not, everyone will have enough. What prevents us from sharing more? What prevents us from taking risks in order to reshape economic systems of injustice? Our fear of not having enough. So it’s not the poor that Jesus is talking to, but us. If we cling to our riches and comforts, we will have only our materials goods, but not real Life. If we strive for the community of God, everyone— even we who have enough— will have enough.

         
         
Deep Blessings,
Pastor Steve

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

Dearly Beloved,
Grace and Peace to you.
         
         

Do not worry, saying, “What will we eat?’ or “What will we drink?’ or “What will we wear?’ For it is the Gentiles who strive for all these things; and indeed your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But strive first for the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.
        —Matthew 6. 31-33

Beneath all worry, whether petty or profound, is the fear that What Is is not enough, that there will not be enough grace. Worry is a symptom of living in a world of scarcity and fear, a world in which God is absent and blessing is scarce. But Jesus says in truth we live in a world of abundance and blessing, in which God is immanently present and generous. Jesus invites us into an alternative consciousness: as awareness that “what is” is God. Reality is not mere impersonal “existence;” it is an expression of God. The universe is the gift of a generous, faithfully present Lover. Whatever we experience, God is in it.

When we become mindful of God’s loving presence, when we enter the “kingdom of God,” the Realm of Grace, we find that in whatever we experience or fear, even in suffering and loss, God is with us, within us, pouring into our lives God’s infinite love. In all things there is infinite grace. It may come to us in ways other than those of our choosing, and we may indeed still experience pain, difficulty disappointment and grief. But not despair. Mindful of God’s loving presence, we receive abundant blessing and grace that is sufficient for any day, even the worst.

Do not worry; don’t send your mind on a wild goose chase into some other world looking for scarcity, deficiency and despair. Seek first an awareness of God’s gracious, loving presence in what is before you, and you will receive blessings beyond your asking.

         
         
Deep Blessings,
Pastor Steve

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

Dearly Beloved,
Grace and Peace to you.
         
         
Do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring worries of its own. Today’s trouble is enough for today.
         — Matthew 5.34

One of these cold wintry days, it’s suddenly warm and gentle. You can enjoy it, or you can spend the day worrying that it’s going to be cold again tomorrow, and let your worry chill you to the bone. When spend our energy in anxiety about the future, or regret about the past, making judgments about the way things are or ought to be, wishing things were otherwise, the that becomes our consciousness, our experience, our reality. If you spend a warm day thinking about how cold it’s going to be, then for you it’s actually a cold day.

When we worry, it’s because we believe things are not as they are supposed to be, or at least the way we want them to be. It’s negative consciousness. In thinking about the way things are not, we remove ourselves from the things themselves. We also fall into the temptation to control things, to make things the way we want them. When we desire to control things, it is another way of removing ourselves from them. Our “treasure” is our desire for control rather than what is around us. But Jesus invites us to accept what is as it is, without judgment, without control. Just be here. Be present to what is. Let it be.

Sure, we have hopes and desires, and we exercise judgment about our lives and the world. But even if we are struggling against great evil and injustice, we begin by shedding the illusory temptation to control reality. We can’t make things other than they are. We can’t turn stone into bread. This doesn’t mean we can’t change the world; in fact, it is the secret to doing so. Rather than giving ourselves over to what is not, we become present to what is, and in that presence we discover that part of what is is the potential for transformation, already present and powerful, just waiting for us.

When we become lovingly present, right here and now, accepting what is without judgment, we enter into the very power of Creation.
         
         
Deep Blessings,
Pastor Steve

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