A Look of Holiness

What does holiness look like? Many writers on the general topic of spirituality talk about "thin spaces" where eternal realities and temporal limitations almost touch one another. Those places where silence and attentiveness bring us face to face with what is sacred in our existence tease us into contemplation about what else may be there "on the other side."

My friend Carl posted this week on Facebook these photos of the Monastery of the Holy Spirit in Conyers, Georgia. In May of this year he made life promises there as a lay Cistercian.  (read about it here) With him were Father Luke (100 years old!) and Father Anthony, whose promises long ago have led them into a life of simplicity, prayer and community.  The photo of the MOHS sanctuary strikes me as a place that is "thin" for many, not only the monks who reside there but the thousands of other seekers who come to be welcomed by a community of hospitality that ushers them lovingly into such thin spaces.

 

Many also find thin spaces in the world, outside of the walls of sanctuaries and temples. Talk to my friends who have spent time on Crystal Lake in Michigan and you will hear sacred stories of community, connection and Christ.  In both places, the sacred experience is tied to more than just physical beauty or the way the world is hushed by chanting or the lapping of waves on the shore.  Holiness may look like the loving eyes of Father Luke who has prayed with countless pilgrims or it may look like the genuine grin of a young camp counselor who finally makes a 3rd grader laugh out loud on the last day of his first experience of sleep-away camp.  What does holiness look like for you today?

For the beauty of the earth, for the wonder of each hour ... we approach this summer in search of thin spaces and rejoicing in the love we find there.

Children's Choir Singing For the Beauty of the Earth

I Pray Shalom for You

Six months ago when I was just starting as the new pastor here at UniPlace Christian Church in Champaign one of our elders read a beautiful prayer to me from this book.  I asked for a copy of the prayer, and not long after received the book itself as a gift from her.  Today as I was reading through I came across the prayer again.  It remains my favorite in this book:

I Pray Shalom for You

I pray shalom for you --

That you wake each day eager to meet whatever comes,

That you look in the mirror and are pleased with what you see,

That you accept with courage any limitations on your abilities,

That you accept with humility, but develop creatively, your special talents,

That you know which things take priority,

That you are not stressed by having to set some things aside,

That what you do illuminates who you are,

      and that you find joy in all you do.

I pray shalom for you --

That your face is turned towards God,

That you are secure in the forgiveness of Christ,

That your life is infused with the presence of the Holy Spirit,

That your whole being is daily transformed and integrated into oneness with Christ,

     and hence wholeness and wellness,

That in having died to self you are alive to your true self,

That love is your prime motivation.

I pray shalom for you --

That you have a soul-friend to walk life's journey with you,

That you are surrounded by a community of support,

That you are a builder of community,

That you are able to transform difficult or destructive relationships through love,

That you may live in a society of justice, peace and harmony,

But if not, that you may be able to absorb whatever suffering comes your way

     And transform it, for yourself and for society.

I pray shalom for you --

That the beauty of God's creation entrhalls you,

That your love and way of life enhance that beauty and do not deplete

     the resources of the earth,

That the rhythm of your life may be in harmony

     with the rhythm of others' lives and of all creation,

     to be part of God's plan of restoration and renewal

I pray shalom for you --

That your faith may grow,

That you be filled with love,

And that hope never dies.

-- Isobel de Gruchy, South Africa

The Devil Made Me Buy This Dress

This week during sermon prep time I came across this YouTube clip of an old Flip Wilson sketch.  I was wrestling through a passage of Paul's letter to the Romans and reflecting on the contrast Paul makes between living "according to the flesh" and living with the indwelling of the Spirit.  I had forgotten how funny Flip Wilson was, and how accurately he could sum up our human struggles in 3 minutes.

Everyone's favorite character (from Flip's many personas), Geraldine, describes why she ends up in the predicament Paul describes, saying, ^"15I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate," and " ²¹So I find it to be a law that when I want to do what is good, evil lies close at hand."  [from Romans 7]

While Geraldine draws a vivid picture of a personified force of evil (the De-vil!), Paul has a more nuanced and complicated understanding of this human struggle to will and DO what we know is right.  To live according to the indwelling of God's Spirit is a life-long process of re-orienting our thinking from an individualistic concern for what is pleasing to "our own flesh"to what is driven by God's desire for us to live in community with regard for all. Materialism, greed, selfishness ... they are all symptoms of a deeper problem, what Paul called living according to the flesh. The antidote Paul prescribes is the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.  A week ago we filled the sanctuary with red and welcomed the Spirit's presence on Pentecost.  Now to remember that the Spirit came to dwell in our hearts, not just decorate our sanctuaries!

Life Before Death

One of the great people I met during my time in Atlanta was the writer, my friend, Carl McColman.   Carl keeps several wonderful blogs  (find one here) in addition to keeping up with publication deadlines for books he has in the pipeline, leading spiritual retreats, caring for his family and living into a life of simple holiness as a Lay Cistercian at the Monastery of the Holy Spirit.  An attribute I appreciate deeply about Carl is his ability to maintain "a non-anxious presence" with others in times of pain and difficulty.  He has taught me much about fearlessness in the face of death.  I don't mean just death in terms of our mortal bodies, but death in all its forms -- death of a dream, a way of being in the world, a false identity we have clung to in the past.

To follow Christ means to step into each day ready to die a little.  Some days, to die a lot.

From Carl this week, a call to take a deep breath each day and appreciate life:

Life “given to the Spirit” stands as a healthy corrective to the anxiety of mortality. And I’m not talking about life after death — but rather about life before death. From now until the moment of our final breath, we are all given a limited amount of life.-- Carl McColman

 Carl McColman giving a talk on Celtic spirituality at the Hill of Tara in Ireland.

Confession

During this season of Lent our weekly worship has been slightly different. One of those seasonal changes has been inclusion of a prayer of confession and assurance of pardon.

So guess who gets to come up with our corporate confession each week?  Yep.  Me.  Every Thursday our church secretary, Kim, prods me with statements like, "I need your confession."  These aren't words we Protestants use much, so it sounds a bit strange to me every time she says it.  But it has been a helpful devotional practice.  As I write or find a fitting prayer for us to share as a congregation, it is as much a personal prayer on my own behalf as one I hope will be meaningful and helpful for the rest of our church family.

Why does church tradition include this practice of verbalizing our sinfulness and proclaiming our fallen state?  Shouldn't we focus on happy thoughts and avoid this "negative thinking?"  In answer to this, I love the quote below from Frederick Buechner:

"What we hunger for perhaps more than anything else is to be known in our full humanness, and yet that is often just what we also fear more than anything else.  It is important to tell at least from time to time the secret of who we truly and fully are ... because otherwise we run the risk of losing track of who we truly and fully are and little by little come to accept instead the highly edited version which we put forth in hope that the world will find it more acceptable than the real thing.  It is important to tell our secrets too because it makes it easier ... for other people to tell us a secret or two of their own."

Here's to being fearless on Sundays as we tell the truth (before God and everyone) of who we truly and fully are.

Treasure Grace - Be Nice to YOU!

This week our Lenten reflections focus on treasuring grace.  When I am told to focus on grace, I am immediately reminded of others who need for me to show grace.  I seldom think about the grace I need to show to myself.  My young friend Kristin posted this sign on her blog many weeks back, and it made me stop and think.  What is it that distinguishes self-love from self-centeredness?  I think the answer is wrapped up in a deeper understanding of God's immeasurable grace. Does God really love me?  Do I? Why are we so hard on ourselves some days?

My daughter is training for a triathlon and has followed up learning to run (the last 2 months) with learning to swim (starting today).  Yes, she knew how to run before, but not how to run.  And yes, I enrolled her in swimming lessons as a child, but she doesn't yet know how to swim.  It is so easy when we are pushing ourselves into new territory to be down on ourselves.  To wonder why we aren't better at what we are trying to do.  To criticize our own efforts, feel defeated before we've half begun.  I am so incredibly proud of her attitude displayed on her blog.  What a brave woman ... just jumping right in to the deep end and trusting her body and her will to take her further than she knew she could go.

Be nice to yourself today.

God's Mercy Is Wider than Our Own

At Sunday Vespers this week Bernie Archer mentioned that while in England he had picked up a Faber Hymnal containing all the original verses of many Faber hymns which we sing today.  I was not nearly as familiar with Frederick Faber as Bernie obviously is, but his enthusiasm sent me on a journey to learn more.  

The hymn "There's a Wideness in God's Mercy" which appears in our Chalice Hymnal was originally titled "Come to Jesus."  Our hymnal has only four verses of the original 13, which is understandable given our modern tendency to sing only 2-3 verses of any hymn most Sundays. But in this case, it's too bad.  Because back in 1854 when Faber penned the lyrics he had much to say about grace, including these challenging words:

There is grace enough for thousands
Of new worlds as great as this;
There is room for fresh creations
In that upper home of bliss. 

For the love of God is broader
Than the measure of our mind;
And the heart of the Eternal
Is most wonderfully kind.

If our love were but more simple,
We should take Him at His word;
And our lives would be all sunshine
In the sweetness of our Lord.

But we make His love too narrow
By false limits of our own;
And we magnify His strictness
With a zeal He will not own.

Enjoy the performance above of the Birmingham Boy's Choir as they share a rendition of this Faber classic. I found it incredibly beautiful and the last verses are particularly touching. Truthfully, it makes me think of Bernie's sparkling, grace filled eyes passionately talking about the love of God at Elder's meetings.  In the picture to the right you can't see those eyes, because Bernie is laughing at something Jim Holiman said about the Great Trinitarian Controversy.

I love this church.

Astonished!

"Let me keep my mind on what matters, which is my work, which is mostly standing still and learning to be astonished." -- Mary Oliver

There is much to be said for just paying attention.  Some mornings I walk into our sanctuary to retrieve something and suddenly turn around to notice the sun coming through this window in a way that never fails to take me by surprise.  It is astonishing the beauty that surrounds us every moment.  A ray of sunlight, a pure note sung by our neighbor, an infant's smile, or light streaming through blue glass.  Allow yourself to be astonished today!

The Eyes Have It

Tues – Psalm 19:7-8

⁷The law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul;

the decrees of the Lord are sure, making wise the simple;

the precepts of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart;

the commandment of the Lord is clear, enlightening the eyes.

I freely admit I am a sucker for cute baby photos, especially ones that focus on the expression of wonder and interest in a young child's eyes. There is a certain kind of wisdom evident in the very young child.  The wisdom of attentiveness, curiosity, trust, and expectation.

Which commandment of the Lord is clear, enlightening the eyes??  Perhaps this one: "Unless you become like little children ..."