Category: Reflections

God of mercy, by whose grace
in all who suffer is Christ crucified,
we pray for those in danger today,
for all who know oppression, injustice or fear,
whose land is invaded,
or whose home is unsafe.
Be with them and shelter them in your love;
give them courage and hope;
enfold them in your grace.
Touch their wounds; heal their trauma.
May the strength of the earth be theirs,
the freedom of the sky, the peace of the trees.
We bear in our hearts all who are afraid.
May they bear our love in theirs, for we are one.
In the unity of your Holy Spirit
you hold us together as one humanity,
one world, one body, one hope.
May your Peace change the hearts
of those who misuse power.
May the Peace of Christ
be with us all.
Amen.__________________
Steve Garnaas-Holmes
Unfolding Light
www.unfoldinglight.net

            Then from the cloud came a voice that said,
           “This is my Beloved, my Chosen; listen to him!”
                           —Luke 9.35

Set aside what you believe. Listen to him.
What is he saying to you,
in this moment?
Let go of what you think:
what do you hear?
Become a calm meadow
and wait for the breeze of God
to whisper.
Wait for a small bird
to settle and sing.

Reading the texts,
saying your prayers,
silence your thoughts.
Shut out the preacher,
listen for a fainter voice,
from so deep within it’s from beyond,
purer than words,
the voice that wants you,
loves you,
creates you.

The voice may surprise you,
contradict or confuse,
but it will shine with light
from beyond all death.
Listen for the voice
that calls you from your tomb
into the light.

The breeze stirs,
the small trees bend.

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

           Peter said to Jesus,
           “Master, it is good for us to be here;
           let us make three dwellings,
           one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah”
           —not knowing what he said.
                           —Luke 9.33

Set down the camera.
You can’t capture the moment.
You can only be in it.

This world, yes, this one,
with the bloody wood on the horizon,
is a wonder of beauty and delight. Be in it.

To watch the elegant heron fly
you must let it fly.
Allow, and behold.

This heaven-spangled world,
riddled with the divine,
is always a beginning

which you are always leaving
without staying,
but ever in.

Waken now. Look. Listen.
This wonder,
be in it.

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

           Suddenly they saw two men,
           Moses and Elijah, talking to him.
           They appeared in glory
           and were speaking of his departure,
           which he was about to accomplish at Jerusalem.
                           —Luke 9.30-31

The Transfiguration is a resurrection appearance.
Jesus, having given himself to death,
appears already in resurrection light
as he turns his face toward the cross,
toward his “departure”—
which in the Greek text is “exodus.”

Yes, resurrection is a departure.
As Moses leads his people out of Egypt
Jesus leads us out of lives we know
into the unknown. We sometimes look back.

The bad feelings are easily surrendered,
the habits more wrenching to give up,
but the part of yourself you thought was you,
the self of yourself abandoned to God,
that is the sorrowful departure
at the dark heart of exodus,
the shadow hidden in the light of resurrection.

If you plan to be raised from the dead,
plan to say goodbye,
to feel the hand slip from your hand,
to walk into darkness with only this Light,
to waken among strangers who don’t recognize you,
you who have departed
and become someone new.

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

           While he was praying,
           the appearance of his face changed,
           and his clothes became dazzling white.
                           —Luke 9.29

Jesus, my sun,
let me see in your light.

Take me into your prayer,
into your heart, shining.

Radiance that was and that is to be,
surround me in your present.

Already risen as you face your death,
be my courage.

Light of Love, show my way,
sun that never dies.

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

Even on the darkest winter days
light reaches in,
gently entering my dimmest rooms:
neither hesitant nor brash,
simply offering itself
with no mind to all that is opaque,
all that distorts,
transfiguring the room.
and the air in the room.

I reach in toward that gentle light,
not anxious or forceful, that calmly glows
and changes everything.

“Let there be light” speaks in your darkness.
         Let it be.

Let it become you. Fill you.
         Ageless, it claims you.

Calm, unworried by what it falls on,
         it radiates peace.

Let it shine in you,
         a simple lamp by the window,

before you bear it
         out into the world
         that needs it so badly.

I stand among living beings
older than I
and without understanding
receive their wisdom.
Beneath their thousands of fingers
the wrists of trees reach up
out of the ground,
up out of the mystery,
the great singing silence.
They are my hands, too.
Snowmelt moves in me.

Everything
springs from everything
in this whole umbilical world.

The brook
and the little birds
bear us
toward what we shall be.

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

My Beloved,

I know you’re tired—
weary of the steps from here to there day after day,
weary of the struggles and losses,
and wary of the news. We’re all weary.
So take a moment.

Breathe in slowly. Hold it for a moment. Breathe out.
Remember when I rose from the dead and breathed into you?
It’s still there.
Remember what I said to you:

           I am in God, and you in me, and I in you.
           The one who trusts in me
           will also do the works that I do and, in fact,
           will do greater works than these.
                                  (John 14.20, 12)

Feel your heart beating. It’s my love,
flowing in you like a great river.
Remember what I said you you:

           The water that I will give
           will become in you a spring of water
           gushing up to eternal life.
                                 (John 4.14)

Beloved, I know sometimes you are tired of gushing.
So rest a moment. I wish for you Sabbath time,
time of rest, time to be Beloved, being without doing.
I am grateful for your presence, at work or at rest.
So rest. The river will still flow.
Remember what I said to you, and be at peace:

           Come to me, all you that are weary
           and are carrying heavy burdens,
           and I will give you rest.
           Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me;
           for I am gentle and humble in heart,
           and you will find rest for your souls.
           For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.
                           (Matthew 11.28-30)

Love,
Jesus

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

             Love your enemies
            and you will be children of the Most High,
            who is kind to the ungrateful and the wicked.
            Be merciful, just as God is merciful.
                           —Luke 6.35-36


God is Love, not payback.

The Merciful One
does not measure your kindness,
only your need for kindness.

The more sinful you are,
the more mercy you lack.
God completes you.

God is merciful.
God is mercy itself,
infinite, never withheld.

Let this be your mantra:
God is kind to the wicked.
God is kind to the wicked.
God is kind to the wicked.

Be a river of mercy
as your spring is mercy.

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