He came and took her by the hand
and lifted her up.
Then the fever left her,
and she began to serve them.
—Mark 1.31

What is not well in you?
What hurts?
What is weak?

There is a presence there,
not a What: a Who,
with wisdom and gifts.

The Beloved has heard.
Knows what ails. 
Comes to you. 

Reaches out to the spirit
within your affliction.
Touches her.

Takes your broken hand.
Raises you up,
whole in your weakness.

In your brokenness you rise,
graced, your gifts set free,
and serve. 

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

February 3, 2021

Praise the Holy One, who is gracious,
who builds up the city,
who gathers the outcasts of Israel.
who heals the brokenhearted,
and binds up their wounds,
who gives to the animals their food,
and to the young ravens when they cry.
—Psalm 147.1-3, 9

Praise God the construction worker,
who builds up the city.
Praise God the social worker,
who heals the brokenhearted.
Praise God the nurse,
who binds up our wounds.
Praise God the migrant farm worker
who gives us our food,
the grocery worker,
who fills our table with goodness.
Praise the Holy One, the essential worker,
who is gracious!
Praise your God, O people!
Give thanks and praise!

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

February 2, 2021

I write these words
they come from somewhere
they go out I don’t know where

you read them
and they go in
you don’t know where

and they nudge some others
and they go out
you don’t know where

it’s happening a billion places
all the time endlessly
changing the world we don’t know how

the little bit of water in the stream
nudges the next and the next
and the ocean is filled

mind
the little bits
you nudge along

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

February 1, 2021

Earth sees us
struggling

not with malice
but Creation’s empathy

for all is one
in the ecology of God

The sea for a moment
grows sorrowful and kind
 
ocean combing the continent’s hair
sky weeping gently

forests murmuring their ancient chant
breeze whispering to us

There is a way
We will go with you

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

January 29, 2021

       The unclean spirit,
           convulsing him and crying with a loud voice,
           came out of him.
                                 —Mark 1.26

The demons don’t leave easily.
Reasons to hang on, with teeth.

The DT”s. Withdrawal.
Grief at the familiar’s grave.

Privilege aggrieved.
Riots. Insurrection.

“What have you to do with us?
Leave us alone. Don’t change things.”

God, give me the courage
to let you change me,

even if the demons shriek on their way out,
even if I am convulsed.

Though healing will be wrenching
let us be healed.

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

January 28, 2021

          The spirit cried out,
           “What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth?
           Have you come to destroy us?
           I know who you are, the Holy One of God.”
                                 —Mark 1.24

Yes, he has.
The forces of evil know
Jesus is out for nothing less
than a loving, healing assault
on the power of evil itself.
Every healing by Jesus is a cosmic act,
an insurrection against the Empire of fear and death.

Jesus looks into you,
hears the demons that steal your voice,
and sees in you the universe
and its longing for healing.
And that is what he heals.
He speaks to what is deep within,
a word that is a bit
of the mending of the world.

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

January 27, 2021

He taught them as one having authority,
and not as the scribes.
—Mark 1.27

The word of God is living and active,
sharper than any two-edged sword,
piercing until it divides soul from spirit,
joints from marrow;
it is able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.
—Hebrews 4.12

Let his word cut into you.
Not a proposition you should agree with,
not a doctrine to believe,
but a revelation that astounds
with authenticity that rings,
a seeing of your soul,
an opening that draws you in,
a pool you look deep into until you fall.
With love that overrules any authority on this earth,
let it take your breath away,
and give you new breath.
Let it uncover something in you.
Let it, with authority, ask of you.
Let it author a new story in you.

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

January 26, 2021

God, I am weary.
I am worn by my daily tasks,
burdened by all that is demanded of me,
tired of the world’s turbulence.
Even my faith, sometimes, is too tired
to get up and go.
There is so much to do.
Restore my energy.
Be my heartbeat, my breath,
the spark of my nerves.
Like a leaf carried on the river of your love,
bear me through this world
by your grace, not my effort.
May your love and hope and courage
rise in me like the sun,
and shine me through this day,
in the love and presence of your Spirit.
Amen.

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

January 25, 2021

           The word of God came to Jonah a second time, saying,
            “Get up, go to Nineveh, that great city,
             and proclaim to it the message that I tell you.”
                                      —Jonah 3.1-2

I bet your Sunday School teacher wasted that wonderful felt board to teach you some somber lesson about Jonah the prophet, without a single confetti of irony. Too bad. The story of Jonah is a farce—some of God’s best slapstick. Picture Jonah as one of the Three Stooges. Read it all at once (really—it’ll take ten minutes), with your sense of humor intact. Read it and laugh. Here’s some of what your Serious Sunday School teacher may have missed.

• Life is more of a comedy than a tragedy. Lighten up.
• As dangerous as God is, the greatest risk is in trying to be safe.
• Ever watch somebody on slippery ice trying hard not to fall down?
               God is gravity. It’s almost always funny when we try to resist it.
• The storms in our life are not a test. But they might be a question.
• Your best friends won’t throw you under the bus,
               but they will throw you overboard.
• In the middle of a raucous slapstick tale, Jonah, at the bottom of the sea,
               prays a beautiful prayer. Turns out the belly of a whale
               is a great place for contemplation. Seriously.
• When a big fish swallows you, don’t worry. Sooner or later it’ll barf.
• One thing that makes it hard for people to repent
               is that we expect them not to.
• When saints judge people they trade places with the sinners.
• Ever notice how often we’re mad because God isn’t?
• God loves everybody, even our enemies. And also much cattle.
• Nothing can overwhelm love, but even a worm can upset pride.
• It’s OK to read the Bible and laugh. Just remember:
• God always gets the last laugh. And it’s pretty funny.

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

January 22, 2021

  Jesus said to them, “Follow me
             and I will make you fish for people.”
             And immediately they left their nets and followed him.
                             —Mark 1.17-18

God, can I hear the call?
Do I listen?
Raise my head from my consuming tasks
to listen for another voice?
Do I recognize your voice when I hear it?

And when you call,
call me to service, to healing, to justice—
what do I need to leave behind to get up and follow?
What nets entangle me,
the familiar, the safe, the comfortable?
Will I let go of people’s kindness?
A sense of entitlement to peace and security?
Do I see the webs of injustice
that benefit me and hurt others,
entangling nets I have tended and mended—
can I let go?

Give me heart to let them go,
let them go,
let them go,
and get up
and follow you.

_______________
The Sea Today:

Beckoning,
pointing to a horizon
beyond, beyond…

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

January 21, 2021