Go and sit down at the lowest place.
                           —Luke 14.10

Wisdom speaks not only to an individual at a party,
but to the human species included in Creation.
Humans have assigned ourselves the place of honor,
the crown of Creation, the pinnacle of evolution;
but we are superfluous, a parasite,
contributing nothing to the food chain.
The world was fine and beautiful without us,
praising God in beauty of movement, song and form,
playing, dancing, loving young ones,
communities performing their symphony of harmony—
and they will still after we are gone.
Wisdom invites us to take the lowest place
at the table of Creation, supporting from beneath,
where feet are washed, and fallen crumbs cherished.
What if we were to serve, not conquer? Bless, not rob?
What might it be like for humanity
to be a doorkeeper in the house of God?
What might we find in the lowest place,
closest to the Creator?

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

They’re building a neighborhood next door,
clearing land, moving earth,
extending the street, erecting houses.
I finish my morning prayers on the porch
before they arrive with their crashing and beeping.
But, Hark! The loader’s back-up beep
sounds exactly the same note as my singing bowl.
Of course.
Because I, too, am building a neighborhood—
not of buildings but of prayer:
a place beyond time and space
where souls may find shelter and belonging.
I am clearing ground, uprooting things,
the uneven made level and the crooked made straight.
I am laying foundations, offering space,
making of my heart a welcome home,
so all of us, friend and stranger,
near and far, human and not, are neighbors.
The builders’ work is in this little cul-de-sac,
but mine fills the whole world.

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

Pinch them off,
the faded lovelies,
to make room and energy for more.

The gifts, the successes,
the magic moments,
let them go.

The marigolds of life
will persist.
Glory unfolds infinitely.

Give thanks,
trust deeply,
and deadhead your victories.

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

           When you are invited to a banquet,
           do not sit at the place of honor,
           but go and sit down at the lowest place.
                           —Luke 14.8, 10

In the banquet of life
I seek a place of entitlement,
but the Teacher says, “No,
everything is a gift, beyond your deserving.”

I seek honor among others,
but the Savior says, “No,
do not trade your Belovedness
for anyone’s opinion.”

I seek mastery, the feeling
that I have gotten somewhere,
but the sage says, “No,
begin again. Always a beginner.”

In gratitude, humility and wisdom
is the highest honor.
Either you have it
or you want others to think you do.

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

Beloved,

I notice birds here thinking of migrating. Big change. I believe you too have something new coming on. You may dread it, or can’t wait, or don’t know it’s coming. But I see it. I just want you to know I’ve already gone that way, flown the whole route. Listen: you’re going to make it. We’re going to make it, just fine. Trust me and, when it’s time, fly. I’ll be with you.

Love, God


_____________
Weather Report

Unchanged,
as storms rage, calm prevails,
and temperatures fluctuate,
with scattered flooding, drought
and other unstable external conditions—
while, still, as always,
at the center,
the steadfast Presence
remains unchanging.

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

She moves among the nasturtiums,
a needle going in and out, in and out,
sewing me to this garden.
(How many angels can dance on the tip
of a hummingbird’s tongue?)
She dips her head in for only a moment,
then backs away,
and pauses after each blossom
and gives a tiny chirp, just a chip, just a ch—
(is it “Ahh?,” or “Thank you?,” or “Amen?”).
Then moves to another blossom, and
another moment, and another, and another.
She works every blossom in the garden,
one by one, sip after tiniest sip.
For her it is not patience, not acceptance,
but simply breakfast.

Our souls are not fed by great feasts
but a thousand tiny prayers.

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

           The leader of the synagogue, indignant because Jesus had cured on the sabbath, kept saying to the crowd, “There are six days on which work ought to be done; come on those days and be cured, and not on the sabbath day.” But the Beloved answered him and said, “You hypocrites! Does not each of you on the sabbath untie your ox or your donkey from the manger, and lead it away to give it water? And ought not this woman, a daughter of Abraham whom Satan bound for eighteen long years, be set free from this bondage on the sabbath day?”
                           —Luke 13.14-16

Watch what Jesus does:
He notices what hurts, and goes there.
He offers healing, unconditionally.
He heals not only a spine but a life.
He calls a woman supposedly cursed with illness
     a “daughter of Abraham”—worthy, named, and belonging.
He values people over principles.
He opposes a status quo that justifies suffering.
He confronts those in power who use it for harm
     (again, noticing the wound and going to it).
He doesn’t break God’s law: he interprets it more deeply:
     as a law of liberation, not requirement or prohibition.
He invites us to see Sabbath, and God’s law, and all of life in a new way.
He gives us permission—and a theology—
     to live lives of love in the face of oppression,
     regardless of rigid systems, and despite resistance,
     to offer mercy and healing and love.

“He teaches with authority!”

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

           There appeared a woman with a spirit
           that had crippled her for eighteen years.
           She was bent over
           and was quite unable to stand up straight.
                           —Luke 13.11

What is bent over in you?
What is pushed over, put down,
made weak, or silenced?
What beauty is hidden,
what capacity stilled?
What in you is bound up,
distorted, facing downward?
How have you given up hope?
How have you been told that you can’t?
That you deserve it?
That this is not the time for healing?

Let the bent over woman in you come forward.
Let Jesus lay a healing hand on her.
Don’t expect instant change, but know this:
the spirit that distorts you
is not as strong as love.

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

          There appeared a woman with a spirit
          that had crippled her for eighteen years.
          She was bent over
          and was quite unable to stand up straight. 
                  —Luke 13.11

Bowing, in a posture of subservience,
as if unequal, inferior.

Facing the floor, not the horizon,
the dirt, not the future.

Unable to look eye to eye,
intimately, on the level.

Familiar with pain,
her constant companion.

Unable to stand tall, take a stand,
look up, raise a hand.

Unable to embrace, to dance,
to work, to contribute.

Yet worthy, beloved,
gifted, wise and strong.

Not helpless, but patient,
trusting, accepting, and at peace.

Grace reshaped her spine
to match her heart.

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

           There appeared a woman with a spirit
           that had crippled her for eighteen years.
           She was bent over and was quite unable to stand up straight.
           When Jesus saw her, he called her over and said,
           “Woman, you are set free from your ailment.”
                           —Luke 13.11-12

You are not bad. You are just bent.
You don’t need to be judged or punished.
You need to be healed. To be set free.

Because you are bent
you will miss the mark.
What feels straight to you will be crooked.
Your self image is distorted.

But that doesn’t mean you’re evil. Just bent.
You didn’t bend yourself.
The power that distorts you is not your own.
Nor is the power that heals you.

What you have to do is open yourself
to the grace that lets you re-align,
the love that raises you up,
not once, but every breath.

Fear will bend you down.
Love will raise you up.
Keep choosing love.
The gentle hand is on your back even now.

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