Ralph Waldo Emerson

Clearly…

In chapter 13, verse 34 of the Gospel according to John, Jesus says, “I give you a new commandment: love one another. As I have loved you, so you also should love one another.” And, throughout the Gospels, there are many examples of Jesus’ love shown through his words, actions, reactions, and responses. Yet, to love as Jesus loved, can be very challenging, and maybe even feel impossible at times.

However, in the First Letter to the Corinthians (15:45-49), St. Paul really puts the focus on the keys to unlocking the ability to love as Jesus did. In comparing the first Adam to the last Adam (Jesus), St. Paul puts a reminder out there to not get caught up in the things of the world. The things that are material or mainly have to do with personal gain, in the end, will be immaterial. Furthermore, like with Adam and Eve, these things have a way of distorting our vision and pulling us away from the spirit of God.

So, too, it is written, the first man, Adam, became a living being,
the last Adam a life-giving spirit.
But the spiritual was not first;
rather the natural and then the spiritual.
The first man was from the earth, earthly;
the second man, from heaven.
As was the earthly one, so also are the earthly,
and as is the heavenly one, so also are the heavenly.
Just as we have borne the image of the earthly one,
we shall also bear the image of the heavenly one. – 1 Corinthians 15:45-49

St. Paul is saying, remember the truth of who you are, and stay connected to it. There is no loving as Jesus did, without being able to embrace the grace of God in whose image we are created. There is no loving as Jesus did, without the spirit of God helping us to strip away the human inclination toward the world’s view of any situation or thing. It is only through the grace of God, that we can be authentic, operating in the image of God that we are, seeing beyond the haze to what really matters, and then proceeding to receive and respond to the world around us from the place that is eternal.

“To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson

At the Foot of the Mountain…

Driving through a countryside, a few years ago, on a quiet summer day, we started to come across farm after farm sprinkled with round bales of hay. Not seeing much activity, we continued the journey, enjoying being surrounded by the scenery and its peace.

Then, after some time, we came to a place where the farmland, still wide open and stretching far ahead, seemed to suddenly meet the mountains. It seemed both so out of place and so appropriate at the same time. A beautiful sight to behold and, having never traveled this road before, completely unexpected.

Taking in our surroundings, I started to wonder what it was like at the foot of that mountain that seemed so way off in the distance. What might be waiting there, or on the other side?

While I may have been tempted to stay where I was and speculate from afar, maybe even labeling what was there—obstacle or challenge… perfect match… gift unclaimed… perhaps, none, some, or all, of the above, it was the beauty that lies within, connecting to the beauty directly before my eyes, that drew me in, reaching into my soul, and calling to me… remember.

What lies behind us and what lies in front of us pales in comparison to what lies within us. – Ralph Waldo Emerson 

On the last and greatest day of the feast,
Jesus stood up and exclaimed,
“Let anyone who thirsts come to me and drink.
As Scripture says:

Rivers of living water will flow from within him who believes in me.”

He said this in reference to the Spirit
that those who came to believe in him were to receive.
There was, of course, no Spirit yet,
because Jesus had not yet been glorified. – John 7:37-39

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Gifts from Alpha to Omega…

Many of the tasks that come this time of year can be all encompassing. It can be tough trying to escape the frenzied pace and increased traffic volume, by both road and wire, created by the “shop until you drop” atmosphere that often rises to a peak and can easily over take one. A constant stream of advertisements, promotions, discounts, etc. seem to be blasted from just about every possible direction. Finding gifts, and if not gifts, even the words, that capture or convey one’s sentiment, can be challenging at any time of year, never mind what seems the busiest time of year. Perhaps because there is so much that can pull or push us to distraction. So much that can lead us to remain fixed on the questions of what, when, and how, rather than pondering that which begs our attention—why.

While there is nothing wrong with planning, strategizing, and taking steps to get a bargain, societal conditioning toward getting the best deal one can get and toward a mindset that more is better can lead one further and further away from the gift that is already there. Underneath the façade of all the hype synonymous with this time of year, deep down, there is a universal need… a need to cherish and to be cherished… a desire for Love; best served not from the wallet, but from the heart.

“The only gift is a portion of thyself. Thou must bleed for me. Therefore the poet brings his poem; the shepherd, his lamb; the farmer, corn; the miner, a gem; the sailor, coral and shells; the painter, his picture; the girl, a handkerchief of her own sewing…” – Ralph Waldo Emerson, Essays, Second Series: “Gifts”

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“I am the Alpha and the Omega, ” says the Lord God,
“the one who is and who was and who is to come, the almighty.”
– Revelation 1:8

A Walk in the Woods…

As we entered the woods, we were drawn from one path to another. The hustle and bustle of the everyday was left behind, replaced with sounds of a different… simpler… more pure kind. The further we walked, the more deeply in touch we became with our surroundings.

With each step, we traveled closer to the center, quietly, gently becoming part of a different world. We were surrounded by life, even in that which seemed at first glance to be without it. Layers of decaying leaves, fallen branches, and tree trunks, all returning to the earth, carrying nutrients from the past through the present and into the future. A reminder that when we remain in union with Creation, when we live and breathe Truth, all is One; there is no difference between life and death.

Though we travel the world over to find the beautiful, we must carry it within us, or we find it not. – Ralph Waldo Emerson

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