Holy One, Root of Being,
         you are not distant, but within me.
You are the core of my self;
         you are the stem and I am the flower.
You are the love from which I radiate.
         You are heart and nerve, and I am your flesh.
You know my pain; you walk each step;
         you understand my mistakes from the inside.
You are the treasure within me
         I have not yest discovered.
You are Presence itself: here, in this moment
         and at the bottom of the sea:
happy, I am within you;
         depressed, I am still in your heart.
I can’t hide from you, who live in my unconscious.
         My awareness is the tip of your iceberg.
I flow from you like light from a flame;
         you create me in each breath.
I do not understand this mystery
         I simply celebrate your grace.
I open my eyes to see;
         I open my heart to receive you.
My life is praise. I sing
         with humility, gratitude and joy.
 

   —January 11, 2018

         “Samuel! Samuel”!
               —1 Samuel 3.4

God,
so many voices call to me.
I turn so many ways.
They are not you.

Help me hear your true voice,
the clear, calm voice
at the center of every cry,
the quiet, steady voice
that knows my name,
the mystery that speaks
in ways only my deepest heart hears.

Help me hear the silence
within the noise
and turn to listen.

Speak, Holy One,
for I am listening.
 

   —January 10, 2018

         “I saw you under the fig tree”
               —John 1.48

Dear One,
the Beloved has seen you, unseen,
and fallen in love at first sight.

Drunk already with your loveliness,
they see in you what you can’t.
The rose has no idea.

They watch for you when you’re not looking,
plan as one consumed
how to happen upon you.

Your name drips from your Lover’s lips
like wine they are still tasting,
as if the first kiss has already been granted.

The Smitten One sees your life together,
but ever the humble suitor,
waits for you to ask.

Perhaps a musician from the orchestra
has told you what makes the music so sweet:
the longing is within you.
 

   —January 9, 2018

Spirit breathes in you.
Does not take life from you,
doesn’t judge or measure,
simply gives you breath.

No matter your journey or struggles,
no matter your pride or shame,
the imaginary account you keep,
your wounds and the gaping holes in you—
Spirit breathes in you.
Each breath is God’s unfolding in you.

You may never hear the Voice,
or be sure you are following rightly,
never feel the Feeling,
or have whatever it takes to do
whatever you think you have to do;
you still breathe.
Spirit is still in you, making life.

Even when you die
it might take Spirit a long time
to draw that breath out of you.

   —December 8, 2018

         Just as he was coming up out of the water,
                  he saw the heavens torn apart
                  and the Spirit descending like a dove on him.
         And a voice came from heaven,
                  “You are my Son, the Beloved;
                  with you I am well pleased.”
                        —Mark 1.10-11

Beloved,
offspring of the delight of God,
spawn of light,
Bathe yourself in this grace.
You are God’s, in whom God delights.
Oh, yes, you’re screwed up.
You’re more screwed up than you think.
But you are God’s,
and God’s delight.
Immerse yourself
in the river water of this womb.
Go into the deep.
Let this be your balm, your healing,
your salvation.
Your only sin is your inability to trust this
in your bones.
Soak in it. Practice believing it.
Walk through this new year in faith,
dripping with heaven.
 

   —December 5, 2018

         Magi from the East came to Jerusalem, asking,
         “Where is the child who has been born king of the Jews?
         For we observed his star at its rising,
         and have come to pay him homage.”
         When King Herod heard this, he was frightened.
               —Matthew 2.1-3

Herod is afraid.
This is the root of his strutting, his meanness,
his cruelty to children, the poor and wayfarers,
his disdain of anyone who doesn’t adore him.
He is afraid. This is the well of his bluster,
the spring of his violence and hatred.
In his fear he will insult his critics,
threaten his neighbors and and assault the weak.
In desperate fear he will strain for every illusion
of his grandeur, his excellence, his power.
He is most afraid of light,
so he will sow darkness and veil the truth.
He is most afraid of love,
so he will grow a calloused heart,
and tremble at true gentleness.
He is most afraid of grace,
so he will send his army to slaughter.
But he has already lost. This is why he is afraid.
He is no match for love and light and grace.
His evil has already failed.
His victims are already resurrected.
We are not afraid.
 

   —December 4, 2018

         “Where is the child who has been born king of the Jews?
         For we observed his star at its rising,
         and have come to pay him homage.”
                  —Matthew 2.2

Seers
who seek the divine Presence,
who look at earth and sky
and see what we miss,
who have traversed
dark woods and foreign deserts,
passed impassable mountains,
crossed uncrossable streams:
Do not stop. Keep seeking.
Among your treasures
treasure and do not give away
your wonder.

         •

Conscious Ones,
who choose what others ignore,
who endure the scorn of cynical men,
who know whom to ask, or not,
who bring light into darkness,
and the dark into the light:
Where in the city of me
is the Divine Child,
who rules even you?
Don’t be afraid to love.
Bow to the Small One,
the Tender One.
Attain your greatest height
on you knees.

         •

Wise Ones,
who find your way,
a new way there and a new way home,
who know in your giving
what you have been given:
Do not betray the Child.
Even under the fist of power
do not surrender the fragile gift.
Another way will be given to you.
Even in the shadow of doom
do not give up on joy.
 

   —January 3, 2018

         Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth,
         for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away.
                        —Revelation 21.1

         Then you will see and be radiant.
                          — Isaiah 60.5

I enter this new year with hope.
Yes, there is reason to be discouraged.
Of course we wish for the overthrow
of evil, greed and violence.
But our hope is not wishing:
hope is confidence
that God’s future is already present.
The light shines in the darkness
and the darkness can’t overcome it.
The spirt of love can’t be snuffed out
by politicians and their hubris;
the life force can’t be stopped
by corporations and their kept legislators.
God is alive and at work in this world.
Smart, thoughtful, compassionate, courageous people
are rising up, find ing their voice, taking their place.
We have seen tyranny and cruelty before,
but we will never see the darkness win out.
Love always has more to say.
God is creating, always creating, and if we look
we will see signs of it all around us,
and its light will fill us and we will be radiant,
ourselves signs of the very hope that sustains us.
Yes, I have hope—joy and delight, even—
for God is here, and God’s world is still becoming.
 

   —January 2, 2018

My hope and prayer and confidence
is that in this new year:
God will be lovingly present for you,
and you will more and more deeply trust
God’s delight in you.
Christ will lead you every step of the new year.
The Spirit’s gifts will unfold in you in new ways.
I rejoice that in this new year
beauty will surround you; grace will enfold you;
love will embrace and uphold you;
joy will bless you, and hope sustain you.
May you receive healing and wisdom;
may your creativity flower and your courage grow;
and in your hands may justice and mercy flourish.
I rejoice that these gifts await you in the hew year,
and pray that you receive them with delight.
I give thanks for the gift of sharing together
the journey of this new year.
God bless us all.
 

   —January 1, 2018

         This child is destined
                  for the falling and the rising of many in Israel,
         and to be a sign that will be opposed
                  so that the inner thoughts of many will be revealed.
                           — Luke 2.34-35

Not “the rise and fall,”
like empires that come and go,
but “falling and rising.”
Death and resurrection.

Not an idol worshiped
but a sign opposed.
Not an inspiring thought
but my own revealed.

God, transform my inner thoughts
and give me courage,
accompanied by the divine child
to die and be raised,

to enter this path of hard choices
with love and grace,
to enter this new year
ready to become a new person.
 

   —December 29, 2017