first light

a prairie primrose,

having captured last night's moon,

lights my morning path.

the day after

This morning I wonder what it was like for those disciples long ago on the day after Pentecost. Did the tongues of fire now burn within them? Could the rushing wind still be heard, roaring in the chambers of their hearts? Or, was there something of a letdown, that subdued space which sometimes follows experiences of wild, creative abandon and deep seeing?

Often we seek the inspired moment, the experience of being blown on powerful winds of the spirit and led to deepened insight and understanding. We seek the high. Such moments are precious and rare. And usually they find us and surprise us more than they are sought or found by us. We can practice openness to them, but cannot manufacture or create them.

When I think of those disciples on the day after Pentecost, I remember that one of the great challenges on the spiritual journey is to willingly step into the day that appears quite ordinary, the relationship that feels rather dry, or the experience that seems mundane or predictable, and to do so with the awareness that, even here, one might get blown and burned.

mon Dieu! tres magnifique!

This is worth a listen whether you are a fan of opera or not. Beauty and gifts of the Spirit are always something incredible to behold . . .

A rare encore at The Met

the bound and unbound word

adapted from a meditation given at Shalom Mennonite Church
Sunday, May 9, 2010
Reading: John 14:23-29


The Word of God.
The Word of the Lord.

What comes to your mind when you hear these terms?

When I hear them used in contemporary Christian circles
it seems that they are most often used to refer to
the Bible, to the written text of Scripture.

In our Mennonite hymnal there is a small section of
hymns collected under the heading, "Word of God."
Most of these hymns in some way reflect a focus
on the biblical texts.

When some Christians are gathered in worship,
a reading from the Bible
is immediately followed by the response:

(Leader) The Word of the Lord,
(Congregation) thanks be to God.

For other Christians I know,
"the Word of the Lord" not only refers to scripture,
it quite literally is scripture.
According to these sisters and brothers in faith,
The Bible is the definitive Word of God
for all people, for all time.

Such usage of these terms is interesting
given the fact that when you look in the Bible
for references to the Word of the Lord and
the Word of God, you will find many
and most are not references to sacred texts
or written words.

In the Hebrew texts, God's word is a central theme.
At the very beginning of all things it is God's word
and speech that calls forth the elements of creation.
God speaks the word of the Law to Moses on the mountain.
God's word makes promises to Sara and Abraham and others.
The prophets speak the word of God that is spoken to them.

God's word is in the raging whirlwind of Job,
and in the silent stillness heard by Elijah.

In the central proclamation of the Hebrew Bible,
we find reference to God's word:

Hear, O Israel:
The Lord is our God, the Lord alone.
You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart,
and with all your soul, and with all your might.
Keep these words that I am commanding you today
in your heart. (Deuteronomy 6:4-6)

And then, later in that same book
there is the beautiful verse:

The word is very near to you;
it is in your mouth
and in your heart
for you to observe. (Deuteronomy 30:14)

The writers of the New Testament texts
refer to Jesus' preaching and teaching as "the word."
The gospel message that Jesus proclaims
in word and in action is called "the word of God."
And, as we can see especially in the gospel
and letters of John, as the tradition developed,
Jesus himself became known as the Word:

In the beginning was the Word
and the Word was with God,
and the Word was God.
He was in the beginning with God.
All things came into being through him,
and without him not one thing came into being.
What has come into being in him was life,
and the life was the light of all people. (John 1:1-4)

The people of Old and New Testament times
would have found it difficult to understand
the notion of God's own Word being bound
and contained between the covers of a book,
or held in any kind of entirety on the parchment of a scroll.

According to the texts themselves,
the Word has much more to do with
the Presence of the living God in every moment.
This is a God who speaks and acts
in the here and now.

The Word of God
is written in hearts,
it is spoken by mouths,
and lived into life
for us to observe
and understand.

Perhaps you have seen the more recent
ad campaigns for the United Church of Christ.
It focuses on the message:
"God is still speaking."

Amen to that.
God is still speaking.

We listen best together,
because our senses are "tuned" differently.
We each listen differently with our lives
as unique children of God.
I need you to help me listen to
and discern what is the voice of God
and what is not.

So, we listen together to the Word of God
that is written in our own being,
that speaks through the lives of others -
the neighbors and strangers we meet each day -
that speaks through the natural world,
and that speaks through the story, the poetry,
the prophecy and the proverbs of Scripture.

One way of thinking about our relationship to the Bible
would be to say that we study scripture,
and enter into a living conversation with the texts,
so that we might be better oriented
and more awake to the Word of God
speaking to us this moment and the next.

The Word of God is indeed very near,
it is in our mouths
and in our hearts
and in this life
for us to observe
and follow.


For a wonderful story of hearing the Word of God
amidst the ordinary flow of life see:
http://www.mennoweekly.org/2010/4/5/gift-life/?print=1

somewhere South, the earth bleeds out

It really is difficult to comprehend,
from the plains of Kansas,
what it's like for 50,000 gallons of oil to bleed out
and up from the ocean floor today.

So, I look at the field of wheat and
try to imagine gummed-up beach sand.

I see the red-tail hawk overhead and
try to picture the gull, with oil soaked feathers,
unable to fly.

I see the white clouds coasting above the prairie and
try to see the thick smoke of oil fires
hanging over the Gulf.

I see the farmer planting corn and
try to understand the hope of the fisherman
whose boat blackens in the harbor.

today, in one room

today, in one room,

birth and death came together -

as they always do