“You are going to feel like hell if you never write the stuff that is tugging on the sleeves of your heart — your stories, visions, memories, visions and songs. Your truth, your version of things, your own voice. That is really all you have to offer us. And that’s also why you were born.”
Anne Lamott
“You are going to feel like hell if you never write the stuff that is tugging on the sleeves of your heart — your stories, visions, memories, visions and songs. Your truth, your version of things, your own voice. That is really all you have to offer us. And that’s also why you were born.”
Anne Lamott
Lovely afternoon. Serene front porch repose, Dusk coming soon. Claims of truth tested, put to rest. Vigilance drowses. Welcome reprieve, from smoke’s deception. Truth, that is the question.
Mother Robin intrudes, gathering worms in verdant grass. Hungry mouths await, Mother Robin persists. How can this be? It is half-past three. Truth is certain, The early bird gets the worm.
An enigma too profound, Truth is certain. Obsessed with promptness, what am I to do? Deny my mother’s plea? “Don’t be late, you know, The early bird gets the worm.” If you delay, you will pay. Truth is certain.
The early bird gets the worm. How can this be? It is half-past three. There are worms at half-past three! Mother Robin knows, the worms reside, in early morn’s light, at noon day bright, at half-past three, and day’s last light.
She is not belated nor sedated. Her call is clear, mouths to feed. Truth is certain. The early bird gets the worm, in early morn’s light, at noon day bright, at half-past three, and day’s last light.
Careless in God’s care, Mother Robin is free. Mother Robin to be. She is not belated nor sedated. What about me ? Truth is certain. The early bird gets the worm.
Shall I distain my Mother’s plea? Alas, truth is certain. Noon begets bare shelves, No TP for me. Can it be, Mother Robin Is more valuable than me? I think not. Truth is certain.
I use the iPhone Notes app religiously ( no pun intended). Most often I save quotes, quips, etc from daily readings. I save them, hoping to eventually post about them or share later. Mostly they stay hidden on my iPhone. There is no intended theme or thread, but they may give some insight into the drumbeat in my head.
Music “Deep calls unto deep,” the Psalmist says (42:7). The sound of God echoes within us, because we are made in His image. The frequency of the voice of God calls forth a sympathetic sound within us. The Church teaches that bells are “icons of the voice of God.” In our prayers, it is possible to become lost in the words. It is important to remember to sing – and to do so often. Fr Stephen Freeman
No such thing as life without struggle I know that there is no such thing as life without struggle. There is no one, not anyone, who escapes the soul-wrenching experiences that stretch the mind but threaten to calcify the spirit. There is no one who has not known what it is to lose in the game of life, to feel defeat, to know humiliation, to be left standing naked and alone before the cold and staring eyes of a world that does not grieve for your grief. Joan Chittistier – Scarred by Struggle – Transformed by Hope
Root of all sin ..the root of all sin—the beginning of the knowledge of good and evil—is entertaining a lie about who God is. If our mental picture of God is skewed, our relationship with God, with ourselves, and with others will be skewed as well. Conversely, the root of all healing and growth in life is found in being rooted and grounded in the truth of who God is, and this truth is decisively disclosed in the One who is “the way, and the truth, and the life” (John 14: 6). Greg Boyd – Repenting of Religion
Holy discontent Holy discontent is that sense of soul that says, “There must be more of God than what I presently know.” It is the size of the gap between the story the Bible tells and the story your life is telling. Holy discontent is the distance between the truth one knows and the reality one experiences. Holy discontent is the beginning of the movement from spiritual milk to spiritual meat; from infancy in Christ to mature faith. J D Walt
Grace Pete Alwinson has a great definition of grace. “Grace is doing good for someone when there is no compelling reason to do so and every reason not to.” That’s it! That is the grace God has given to us.
Immigrants Immigrants are far more patriotic and far more deeply invested in “American” values such as reverence for our founding institutions, than either side of the political spectrum believes. As the Cato Institute showed in a 2019 study, for example, three out of four naturalized citizens say that they are “very proud” of being American; among natural-born citizens, the figure is notably lower. Conversely, 69 percent of native-born Americans say that they are “ashamed” of some aspects of America; among immigrants, just 39 percent agree.
Non-violence At the center of nonviolence stands the principle of love. The nonviolent resister would contend that in the struggle for human dignity, the oppressed people of the world must not succumb to the temptation of becoming bitter or indulging in hate campaigns. To retaliate in kind would do nothing but intensify the existence of hate in the universe. Along the way of life, someone must have sense enough and morality enough to cut off the chain of hate. This can only be done by projecting the ethic of love to the center of our lives. MLK
Speak out Speak out, Hildegard says. And when you do, when you recognize that inner voice as the voice of God and say what it has taught you, the sickness in your heart will melt away. The fatigue you have lived with for so long that you did not even notice how weary you were will lift. Your voice will ring out with such clarity and beauty that you will not be able to stop singing. To speak your truth, Hildegard teaches us, is to praise God. via Richard Rohr
Ill health of religion It is customary to blame secular science and anti-religious philosophy for the eclipse of religion in modern society. It would be more honest to blame religion for its own defeats. Religion declined not because it was refuted, but because it became irrelevant, dull, oppressive, insipid. When faith is completely replaced by creed, worship by discipline, love by habit; when faith becomes an heirloom rather than a living fountain; when religion speaks only in the name of authority rather than with the voice of compassion—its message becomes meaningless. Michael Spencer
When All is well How easy it is to not notice that we are unloving when our religious activities are going so well! Our religious noise drowns out the cry of God’s heart. Greg Boyd – Repenting of Religion
While theological study continues to be an immense gift to the world, one can easily get trapped inside of endless discussions about abstract ideas with little emphasis on experience or practice. In contrast, mystics honor the experience of the essential mystery and unknowability of God and invite us to do the same. The more you know, the more you know you don’t know!
The above quote from Richard Rohr’s daily email, prompted me in a couple of ways. First, it reminded me of a post I wrote in 2006. In that post I reflected on my ambition to become a mystic. Mystic…one who recognizes the presence of God in the mundane. A person who can sense the power and presence of God at work; who has the ability to see the real hand and power and presence of God. Someone who is so connected to the spiritual world that it changes how they live in the physical world. (Josh Graves)
An ambition fueled by Brother Lawrence, with his dramatic expressions of seeking and living in the presence of God were almost overwhelming. I walk before God simply, in faith, with humility, and with love. I apply myself diligently to do nothing and think nothing which may displease Him. (Brother Lawrence) Hidden in the crevasses of my mind, that ambition has run in the background of my life over the years. Rohr’s words opened a forgotten storage box of faded notes.
I though about disenchantment. As I have written before: Living in a disenchanted age is the most significant challenge we face in seeking a relationship with God In our disenchanted age, reliance on human ability, reason and scientific laws for purpose and meaning and answers to the problems of modernity rejects the transcendent as irrelevant. Accordingly mystics are persona non grata.
Pandemic, social and political upheaval have exposed our our arrogant self-sufficiency. Faced with inexplicable and uncontrollable forces, Superman has encountered kryptonite. In desperation, we cry out to Moloch and prepare appeasing sacrifices. Christianity, assimilated and subjugated into irrelevance fails to provide transcendent hope.
In the vacuum of our disenchanted, secular despair, the mystic’s voice is most needed to remind us of the power and presence of God at work; and open our eyes to see the real hand and power and presence of God.
Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.
I am regularly encouraged and enlightened by the writings of Fr Stephen Freeman on his blog “Glory to God for all Things”. Writing from an Orthodox tradition, he provides some challenging insights and perspectives. The following excerpt from today’s post is no exception. He deepen my understanding of envy, creating dissonance in my soul. Perhaps you will find it worthwhile also.
The Scriptures describe covetousness as “idolatry” (Col. 3:5). As such, covetousness is little more than desire turned in the wrong direction. Envy is much darker. Envy is the pleasure we take in the calamity that others suffer. It is the heart that says, “He got what was coming to him,” or that longs to see terrible consequences come to pass. Of all the passions, it is the darkest. It is able to look at suffering and smile. It was envy that crucified Christ (Matt. 27:18).
Because envy is a passion, it does not have a natural end. It cannot be brought to a completion or satisfied – for it is insatiable. Our natural desires, such as hunger, sex, thirst, etc., can all be satisfied because they have a proper end. It is the passions, not desires, that wreak havoc on the world.
There is …a very dangerous iconoclasm that resides within us all in the envy that infects our hearts. When Christ taught the love of enemy and to forgive those who hate us, He invites us to abandon the envy sown by the evil one. There is a deep fear by many, whenever His teachings in this matter are brought to a specific case. We fear that if our enemies are not resisted in every possible way, they will win. I once heard it said that to be a pacifist does not mean the end of violence, but that you will end up on a cross. That is, in fact, the case. Christ’s death on the Cross does not take place in order to destroy crosses. His Cross destroys death and does so by being a Cross, voluntarily taken up out of love.
I use the iPhone Notes app religiously ( no pun intended). Most often I save quotes, quips, etc from daily readings. I save them, hoping to eventually post about them or share later. Mostly they stay hidden on my iPhone. There is no intended theme or thread, but they may give some insight into the drumbeat in my head.
Other Opinions “Every man should periodically be compelled to listen to opinions which are infuriating to him. To hear nothing but what is pleasing to one is to make a pillow of the mind.” – St. John Ervine
Why New Testament Worship Is More like a Potluck than a Production Who knew? Worship is a potluck and everybody brings a dish. Picking up an earlier analogy, worship is a team sport and everybody plays. When you come together, each of you has a hymn, or a word of instruction, a revelation, a tongue or an interpretation. Somewhere along the way the situation got flipped. These days it’s more like, “When you come together, each of you take a seat and focus your attention on the gifted leaders who are up front leading the worship service.” JDWalt
“Nones” The growing number of “nones” represent not the collapse of Christianity, but the inadequacy of secularized Christianity. Fr Stephen Freeman
Intentions …the stuff of social and economic life—cooperation, creativity, innovation—requires both risk and trust. For our institutions to function well, we must believe that the people working or learning alongside us are generally decent (until shown otherwise). If wariness and suspicion are our default attitudes, and if each of us knows that one misunderstood word or action might be used against us even if it was motivated by the best of intentions, then we won’t need a virus to keep us socially distanced. Emily Yoffe
Zero Tolerance Over the past thirty years, America has become a hyper-punitive society, and our zero-tolerance mindset has led to an addiction to punishment. This has resulted in mass incarceration, causing the destruction of millions of lives and of entire communities. But many of the same people who abhor the excesses of our criminal justice system applaud this new form of social ruin. Emily Yoffe
Sense of Worth To some extent, we get our sense of worth from attaching worth or detracting worth from others, based on what we see. We position ourselves as judges of others rather than simply as lovers of others. Greg Boyd – Repenting of Religion
God’s Essence Love is God’s essence. Nowhere else does Scripture express God’s essence in this way. Scripture says God is just and merciful, but it does not say that God is justice itself or mercy itself. It does say that God is love, not just a lover. Love is God’s very essence. Everything else is a manifestation of this essence to us, a relationship between this essence and us. This is the absolute; everything else is relative to it. Peter Kreeft (Repenting of Religion)
God’s Sovereignty God’s sovereignty relieves me of a great responsibility—the responsibility of assuming the role of God. No matter what I do, say, or think, no matter if I succeed or fail, no matter if I do it right or wrong, God is still in charge, things are under his control, and in the end, “every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth” (Philippians 2:10). Steve Brown
Good & Evil There is no absolute good, for decent institutions always contain flaws, and evolve in a laborious process of trial and error. But evil—the disregard for the values of human life and individual freedom—is often clear and present. Where it is appropriate, we should not be afraid to use the term. Gary Kasparov
Horseshoe Theory As horseshoe theory predicts, the extremes are often united in their opposition to the foundations of a free society. Much as they dislike each other, their real enemy is the moderate majority that, should it stand up for its values, can relegate them to the fringes, where they belong.
Yep! In an age of insanity, the sane seem like oddballs.
Nothing quenches the flame of rebellion more than the cold water of victory.
Everyone’s a dog on a mission to catch a car, but no one knows how to drive.
Victimhood and rebellion have a symbiotic relationship, after all. Why rebel if you haven’t been victimized?
The primary problem today is …that they want to define happiness for others and turn that definition into an orthodoxy. But don’t you dare say they’re not on the side of freethinking and free speech. And don’t even think of suggesting they’re not the rebels they think they are. We’re not The Man, you are! Jonah Goldberg
Christian Nationalism Christian nationalism is idolatry/apostasy. While Moses, the true prophet, is with God on Mt. Sinai, people clamor for a visible god. Aaron, the priest, makes the Golden Calf, a Yhwh substitute; that’s the god who led them out of Egypt & will lead them into the Promised Land. Miroslav Volf
Virtual mob Largely driven by social media, that virtual embodiment of the mob, there has been a rush to expand the range of unacceptable opinion. A misplaced word won’t result in the KGB knocking on your door at midnight. But Twitter never sleeps.
Sometimes if you just step back and take the long view, things look a lot better.
