There was darkness all around. Not a sound, but that of waves gently breaking, making their way across the sand and rocks, back and forth, to and from. Not a sight, until the sun began its approach, gradually awakening the sky, before peeking up over the horizon.
Then what a sight. Silhouette or shadow? May be solo, but not alone. Freely flying, but in a line, parallel, heart of purpose and direction. Gliding, steady, peaceful, true in its presence… in its likeness… Silhouette.
“I saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord God almighty and the Lamb. The city had no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gave it light, and its lamp was the Lamb.” – Rev 21:22-23
Recall an experience of bumping into someone that you know, in a place and at a time that you normally wouldn’t expect to see them? Initially, you might be surprised for good or less, or perhaps it might take a few moments to fully recognize the person. Maybe some memories of them come to mind.
Next, imagine that you kept encountering that same person over the course of several weeks. What would you think? What would you feel?
Now envision being one of Jesus’ disciples and having the experience of Jesus’ appearing to you, here and there, in the time between his Resurrection and Ascension. How would you react or respond after the profound experience of his crucifixion, his Resurrection, and being in the environment of belief and disbelief created by it all?
Would you be devoted to trying to see a pattern to Jesus’ appearances to try to predict when you might see him next? Would you commit yourself to trying to figure out the reasons why he was appearing? How hard would you work to come to some sort of knowledge about these occurrences? In what ways would you characterize your approach?
Focusing more closely on Jesus and his third appearance at the Sea of Tiberias (John 21), how determined would your mind be, and how open would your heart be, to the presence of Jesus who is in the form of the person on the shore, unknown and at a distance? How about to yourself or the person on the shore, thought of as being known? Would you cast the net again? What would you discover?
Simon Peter said to them, “I am going fishing.” They said to him, “We also will come with you.” So they went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing. When it was already dawn, Jesus was standing on the shore; but the disciples did not realize that it was Jesus. Jesus said to them, “Children, have you caught anything to eat?” They answered him, “No.” So he said to them, “Cast the net over the right side of the boat and you will find something.” So they cast it, and were not able to pull it in because of the number of fish. So the disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, “It is the Lord.” When Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he tucked in his garment, for he was lightly clad, and jumped into the sea. – Jn 21:3-7
In what ways do you allow Jesus to be present to you in the unexpected? In what ways do you invite Jesus to help you to be present, to hold situations up to the light, to receive God’s wisdom so that you can embody the thoughts and feelings needed not only to embrace the moment, but also to receive and recognize the grace it holds, and how to share it?
Sometimes, there are so many questions, and it can seem like so much work. Yet, as April turns to May and the Feast of St. Joseph The Worker arrives, so also does the opportunity to experience not only the light of longer days, but also renewal through the touch of Grace—peace, light, hope, and inspiration—that continues to blossom with the Easter season, and beyond.
How does grace touch and move your heart? And how is it reflected in your work?
Tomorrow, March 20, 2022, is the vernal equinox, giving those of us in the Northern Hemisphere an even split between day and night and marking the beginning of spring. It’s not often we experience such balance in a day. In fact, it only happens twice a year on the vernal and autumnal equinoxes, and given the pace of life, the light of these days likely slips by without much notice.
The thing that’s interesting though, is as with many happenings in the natural world around us, there’s a message or lesson they hold. The vernal equinox can serve as a concrete example to not only bring equity and balance to heart and mind, but also perhaps to provide an experience we can all relate to, no matter where we are, and in doing so, on some level, restore a sense of harmony.
Take some time to absorb what is often the background as we go about each day—nature. Bring it to the forefront. Next, as you look around, consider your life. Where do you find balance and harmony? In what ways do you experience the Lord as kind and merciful in the hours of both the day and night? How are you inspired?
Bless the Lord, my soul; all my being, bless his holy name! Bless the Lord, my soul; and do not forget all his gifts, Who pardons all your sins, and heals all your ills, Who redeems your life from the pit, and crowns you with mercy and compassion, Who fills your days with good things, so your youth is renewed like the eagle’s. The Lord does righteous deeds, brings justice to all the oppressed. He made known his ways to Moses, to the Israelites his deeds. Merciful and gracious is the Lord, slow to anger, abounding in mercy. He will not always accuse, and nurses no lasting anger; He has not dealt with us as our sins merit, nor requited us as our wrongs deserve. – Psalm 103: 1-10
Looking out the window, branches all around. Open arms holding up the snow, or the snow resting on open arms? Both clinging to each other, or one melting into the other? Does it really matter? Still, looking out the window. Still, branches upon branches. Some sturdier than others, some swaying more than others. Does it really matter? More looking out the window, at those branches and that snow. Through it all, they just keep gently staying. Perhaps, that’s all that really matters.
Shine like lights in the world as you hold on to the word of life. – Phil 2:15d,16a
According to the ancient Greek philosopher Plato, “No one is more hated than he who speaks the truth.” This certainly seems the case for Jesus in chapter 4, verses 21-30 of the Gospel according to Luke. In fact, Jesus expands upon this observation. Not only does the truth and those who speak it, tend to garner disdain or be less than popular, but this is kicked up a notch, often occurring with greater intensity and less receptivity, the closer to home one is.
In this passage, Jesus gives two examples for his fellow Nazoreans to ponder. First, there is the widow in Sidon. What is it that led Elijah to her and her son, saving them from a sure death during the great famine? Second, there is Naaman the Syrian, who was cleansed of leprosy. How is it that Elisha was sent to Naaman rather than one of his own people suffering from leprosy?
After taking great offense at Jesus’ words (“No prophet is accepted in his native place”) and examples, the crowd seeks to extinguish him. One can only wonder if anyone in the crowd was able to step back and further consider the situation and what had transpired. Were they able to remove themselves from the sting of the truth long enough to recognize that their anger was misdirected, and to move toward healing and greater peace?
In today’s volatile and often chaotic world, it can be easy to choose a side or make a judgment and cling to it. However, oftentimes, in doing so, it can also be easy to become rigid, and to lose sight and insight into what really matters. Not only that, but also to possibly overlook Grace, which is always revealing itself in ever-changing and evolving ways.
In chapter 4 of the Gospel according to Luke, Jesus was inviting the people of Nazareth toward greater faith and into a new way of being. He is calling us in the same way today, reminding us that we cannot receive God, who made the earth and all that inhabits it, if we are not willing to change and receive the grace of a still greater way.
For true life does not occur where the air is stale and stagnant, and where all cannot breathe, but rather where it is new, fresh, and flowing free.
Jesus began speaking in the synagogue, saying: “Today this Scripture passage is fulfilled in your hearing.” And all spoke highly of him and were amazed at the gracious words that came from his mouth. They also asked, “Isn’t this the son of Joseph?” He said to them, “Surely you will quote me this proverb, ‘Physician, cure yourself,’ and say, ‘Do here in your native place the things that we heard were done in Capernaum.’” And he said, “Amen, I say to you, no prophet is accepted in his own native place. Indeed, I tell you, there were many widows in Israel in the days of Elijah when the sky was closed for three and a half years and a severe famine spread over the entire land. It was to none of these that Elijah was sent, but only to a widow in Zarephath in the land of Sidon. Again, there were many lepers in Israel during the time of Elisha the prophet; yet not one of them was cleansed, but only Naaman the Syrian.” When the people in the synagogue heard this, they were all filled with fury. They rose up, drove him out of the town, and led him to the brow of the hill on which their town had been built, to hurl him down headlong. But Jesus passed through the midst of them and went away. – Luke 4:21-30
World’s breakneck pace, Stop that race. Put on the brakes. Hungry, greedy sharks, Stop the noise. Stop the thunder. Stop breeding misplaced hunger. We are broken, and run down. Lord, turn us around.
Step off that ladder. Come down from that pedestal. Look up from your work. Sister, help your brother, One and all, help each other. Stand up now, and be fed. Be true, and be led. Lord, bring us around.
Wisdom, seeking Wisdom? The time is right, as always. Be moved to higher ground. Turn it over, and then again. For although we are many, We are not. We are one. So, why not come together? Even better, be united. Lay down sides, Take up faith, not fate, And cry out loud, Lord, turn it around.
But as it is, there are many parts, yet one body. – 1 Cor 12:20
While the outside world has so much to offer, sometimes it can feel like too much, making the idea of hiding away in the seclusion of a hermitage or something similar of greater appeal than it might be otherwise. Today, January 15th, is the feast of St. Paul the Hermit who was born and lived in Egypt until he died around the age of 112. Referred to as the “First Hermit,” little information is known of him.
However, what seems of most importance is known. That is, how St. Paul the Hermit became a hermit and how humankind came to know about him. Originally, at the age of 15 and an orphan, he went into a cave seeking refuge during the persecution of Christians, in the year 250 A.D., by Roman Emperor Decius. His intention was to come out of hiding and return home once the persecutions ended.
But, over the course of his time away from humankind, St. Paul found peace as well as a calling to remain in the desert living a solitary life of prayer as a hermit. So how did this information about St. Paul the Hermit come to be known? St. Anthony of Egypt is said to have come across St. Paul along his own journey toward Truth and self-discovery.
It’s interesting how St. Paul the Hermit was called to a life of seclusion, yet still, God called another, St. Anthony, to give witness to his life and death as holy. It’s also intriguing that St. Anthony was led to St. Paul the Hermit in the process of entertaining thoughts of himself as the most enduring hermit in existence… until he met St. Paul.
In the First Letter of St. Paul to the Corinthians, chapter 12, verses 4-11, St. Paul the Apostle writes about different kinds of spiritual gifts, different forms of service, and different workings that are dispersed to all, individually, but by the same God who creates them, and the same Spirit who brings them to fruition. With God, no one gift, or creation, is above the other, differentiation is by design, all are loved into existence, all are created for unity, and all are equally important.
So, while St. Paul the Hermit and St. Anthony of Egypt had similar callings and different paths, like us, humility is what leads them to a better place.
In everything, it is only through the grace of God that we can lay down human notions; truly understand, appreciate, take care of, and celebrate one another; and thus, partake in the unity—the heart of God– that is Creation.
“The heart’s affections are divided like the branches of the cedar tree; if the tree loses one strong branch, it will suffer but it does not die. It will pour all its vitality into the next branch so that it will grow and fill the empty place.” – Khalil Gibran
The cedar trees of Lebanon are known for characteristics such as their strength, beauty, and fragrance. They are also named in various Bible passages. In Psalm 29, they are referred to amid verses that describe the voice of God. However, in these verses, they are not described in terms of their beauty, fragrance, or formidable strength, but rather in terms that focus on and describe the strength of God’s voice.
The voice of the Lord is over the waters; the God of glory thunders, the Lord, over the mighty waters. The voice of the Lord is power; the voice of the Lord is splendor. The voice of the Lord cracks the cedars; the Lord splinters the cedars of Lebanon… – Psalm 29:3-5
What’s striking here though, is that the nature of God’s voice, or God’s will, is much more than the power to crack and splinter the magnificent cedar tree. Not only does God break through and penetrate the tree, or whatever it may be, but as described in the verse that follows,
Makes Lebanon leap like a calf, and Sirion like a young bull. – Psalm 29:6
God opens and escorts the way to joy and newness (or fullness) of life, making it possible for something greater and more meaningful to come to the surface. And in this process, although there may be suffering, there is not death, for what is born of God is eternal.
In this new year, on the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord, as God’s beloved, striving to listen to the voice of God in turbulent times, let us pray for the wisdom and strength to follow the example of Jesus, with a desire to be led by the grace of God, and to learn how to rise from the splinters of all that is broken.
When the kindness and generous love of God our savior appeared, not because of any righteous deeds we had done but because of his mercy, He saved us through the bath of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom he richly poured out on us through Jesus Christ our savior, so that we might be justified by his grace and become heirs in hope of eternal life. – Titus 3:4-7
“Blessed are you who believed that what was spoken to you by the Lord would be fulfilled.” – Luke 1:45
As the minutes of daylight continue to decline and the shortest day of the year in the Northern Hemisphere approaches, life in December 2021 does not seem anywhere close to normal. However, it is at these times that opportunity abounds, if only we can meet the challenge of seeking the wisdom of balance and the choices of Light that reside between the stark contrast of opposites. And, while at times, it can seem bigger than life, and the odds improbable, looking to Mary, the Queen of Peace, one can trust it’s not impossible to experience the quiet strength of peace in troubling times.
Mary chooses to embrace the spirit of God, surrender her will and be led by God (Luke 1:26-38). Joseph, her betrothed, makes a similar choice (Matthew 1:18-24). In the eyes of the world, these choices can seem unimaginable. Why would anyone say yes to a choice that is bound to bring such harsh scrutiny, create gossip and skepticism, possible death in those times, and disgrace? Perhaps that’s why it’s never wise to judge a book by its cover. Only God can ever really know the truth of all that’s happening, and only God can ever truly influence choices that are genuinely for the greater good, even when others cannot understand them.
Mary’s “yes” and Joseph’s “yes” are certainly pivotal moments. What led them to being able to discern such choices? How did they know what to do? Sitting with their “yes’s,” the inspiration that can be drawn from them is tremendous, but it is also just the beginning.
In reflecting on what happened in those moments and in all the ones that followed, what is it like to imagine that even though the road did not get any easier, Mary and Joseph made it through not because of their own determination, but because God was with them, and they were led by the light of God?
HopeThatFloats 
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