Sometimes as if a gentle breeze
a lambent hand
presses on me:
“Come.”

Sometimes as if a scent of lilies
a quiet song
comes to me:
“Listen.”

There is no piety
in this leaning in me
more than a child’s hunger:
“Yes.”

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

May 7, 2021

A long line of pilgrims makes its way
toward the gathering place,
rich and poor, young and old, many kinds.
At the rear, a wounded one—
face ruined, legs mangled,
deeply disfigured— comes alone,
whom no one pities, no one guides.
They fill the hall,
the experts and the initiated,
the seekers and the curious,
until not a seat is left.
Finally the officials and the powerful
come and take their places at the front.
There is no more room.
Then the wounded one,
quiet, joyful, bringing up the rear,
enters and comes to the front
and begins to speak
to all who would learn from their master.

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

May 6, 2021

         The circumcised believers who had come with Peter
         were astounded that the gift of the Holy Spirit
         had been poured out even on the Gentiles.
                   —Acts 10.45

O Spirit, loosen my heart
to stop being so surprised
when you color outside my lines,
when you bless those I curse,
you embrace those I exclude,
you empower those I put down.
Starched with expectations
I’m least able to catch your wind;
cemented by certainty
the pious are least likely to catch fire.

Still, this is what you do best,
to make the incombustible
burst into glory.

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

May 5, 2021

“As God has loved me, so I have loved you.”
         God, your love for Jesus—all its depth and fullness—
         flows to me, to all of us.

“Abide in my love.”
         Not beside Jesus, but inside him,
         his love flowing through me.

“I have said these things to you
so that my joy may be in you,
and that your joy may be complete.”
         Not in fear or obligation, but in joy,
         complete joy.

“This is my commandment,
that you love one another as I have loved you.”
         Not with a similar love but the very same love,
         your love, flowing through me, through all of us.

“No one has greater love than this,
to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.”
         To live for the sake of others, in joy.

“You did not choose me but I chose you.”
         Not my will, but yours.

“I appointed you to go and bear fruit, fruit that will last.”
         Your love, flowing through me.

“God will give you whatever you ask in my name.”
         Only to receive your love,
         and to pass it on.

“I am giving you these commands so that you may love one another.”
         Your love, flowing through me.

         Breath Prayer: Your love … in me

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

May 4, 2021

This morning do I dare
enter into that mystery
we call prayer
that’s not a thing
but a place
endowed with emptiness,
a fertile openness
where no lights glow,
no jewels glisten,
but only I sit and sit
and listen, and do not
know, but know,
a happening where
nothing happens,
sanctified by
its purity of absence,
spaciousness of the silence
whispered tenderly,
unfollowed by
anything to say
but only the rest
of the day?

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

May 3, 2021

         The Spirit said to Philip,
         “Go over to this chariot and join it.”
                   —Acts 8.29

Someone is seeking.
         Walk alongside them.

Someone is wondering.
         How can they learn
         unless you wonder with them?

The sheep led to slaughter, who is that?
         Look around you.
         They suffer every day.

Someone is eager to understand.
         Be prepared to say what you know.

Someone is making their way through the wilderness.
         Here is everything you need.
         What is to prevent you from bathing them
         in the infinite, flowing grace of God?

Those you touch may not return the favor.
         Whatever tasks are completed
         there is always more rejoicing to do.

You will find yourself swept away to new places.
         Let the Spirit take you,
         full of joy and good news.

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

April 30, 2021

         Abide in me
                   —John 15.5

Living Christ, I live in you.
You are my breath, breathing in me.
You are my bones and I am your flesh,
you my nerve, and I your muscle.

Living Christ, community of the whole,
Body of the One,
I belong to you.
My life is gathered into you,
all my actions happen inside you.

I see the world through your eyes,
love the world through your broken, joyous heart.
I am the fingers of your hand.

In confidence and humility
I abide in you,
held in your peace,
loving with your love,
rejoicing with your joy.

Breath prayer: Abiding … in you

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

April 29, 2021

         God is love.
                   —1 John 4.8

God is not just a loving being—
some nice guy in heaven—
God is love itself;
God is being itself.
Love is God.
The energy of loving,
the act of loving,
the happening of love,
that is God.
When you love someone,
that is God happening.

Loving creates being,
creates the world,

sustains everything, infuses everything,
vibrates in everything.
God loving someone
calls them into being.
Their being (our being)
is the emanation of love,
outpouring of God,
unfolding of Loveliness.

Beloved, faith is not thinking
the right things about God.
It’s receiving love,
radiating loveliness,
and spreading love.
It is that alone that we practice.

Praise to the Holy Trinity:
the Lover, and the Beloved,
and the Loving that flows between.

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

April 28, 2021

         I am the vine, you are the branches.
                   —John 15.5

O Christ, Holy Vine,
we live in you.
Your blood flows through us.
Your fruit ripens in us.
All your beloved the world over
are one with us in you.
We belong to them,
for we belong to you,
and your infinite life.
May we never sever ourselves
but by the sap of your love in us
flourish and blossom and bear fruit.
Amen.

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

April 27, 2021

For the empty wall, the blank time,
the long line, the useless meeting,
the dreary chore—oh, worst of all,
the boring worship service—
Beloved, I ask your blessing.
I do not ask to be entertained,
but reminded always of your unseen presence,
your deep, lovely silence,
your comfortable arms holding me close to you,
in all that is boring,
in deep peace in all that is mundane.
I seek your holy stillness,
nothing more than
the thrill of your Spirit
breathing in and out of me.
Amen.

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

April 26, 2021