The sun has set and the Vesper Lights flicker and glow
Thank you Lord for another day
Thank you for my sweetheart
Thank you for good friends and conversations
Thank you for your Spirit’s presence with dear ones who mourn
Thank you for the beauty and wonder of your Creation
Now as my eyelids grow heavy
I lift this humble prayer to you
Dona Nobis Pacem
Grant Us Peace
A wee prayer from the heart of your Padre…
One of the beautiful songs that we sing at Cursillo is “Surely the Presence Of The Lord Is In This Place.” Every time we sing this song it brings tears to my eyes. The first time I sang this song was at Episcopal Camp Beckwith near Fairhope, Alabama. That was also the first time that I met Denise. Beckwith has always been a special place for us and that is why we decided to get married in the beautiful chapel overlooking Weeks Bay where we first shared Communion together and prayed together.
As I think about all of the places I have lived and deployed to I also think about the presence of the Lord being there. Even on wartime deployments the Lord has always been present. Present at a Christmas Eve service in Southwest Asia. Present at Easter Vigil and Easter Sunday worship in Uzbekistan. Present in the many bases where I served (in the US and abroad).
As Denise and I take our almost daily walks (with masks on, of course!) we are reminded that the Lord is present with us in these difficult times. The cactus flower blooming revealed to me the beauty of the Spirit’s in the midst of the wilderness.
Thomas Merton wrote about this in his book New Seeds of Contemplation. Our souls rise up from our earth like Jacob waking from his dream and exclaiming: “Truly God is in this place and I knew it not!” God becomes the only reality, in Whom all other reality takes it’s proper place—and falls into insignificance. (p. 226)
During these challenging times may we all see that truly the presence of the Lord is with us. Holding each one of you dear readers in my heart and in my prayers.
The sun has set and the Vesper Lights flicker and glow
A long but productive day
Meetings and ministry
Connecting with dear people
An evening chilling with my sweetheart
A time for reflection and prayer
Now as my eyelids grow heavy
I lift this humble prayer to you
Dona Nobis Pacem
Grant Us Peace
A wee prayer from the heart of your Padre…
The longer we live in this limbo where COVID-19 has placed us the more we are challenged to live our lives in a way that offers hope to a world in crisis. We are called to offer hope where so many see only despair. We are called to offer light where others see only darkness. We are called to offer love where others see only hatred. We are called, in the words of Isaiah 58:12, to be repairers of the breach where others only want to build walls and armed fortresses.
The toxicity which I see far too often in the 24 hour news cycle and on social media can be overwhelming and depressing. However we are called to be bearers of the light. We are called to live differently than the world. We are called to be agents of mutual understanding and cooperation. In the words of St Francis of Assisi, we are called to be instruments of God’s peace in a broken world.
Thomas Merton, in a 1962 letter to Catherine de Hueck Doherty about living in the turbulent and difficult times they were experiencing. His words from 1962 are timeless and certainly apply to us in this day and age. How can we build for a future for us, for our children, and our children’s children? By building bridges instead of walls and reaching out in peace instead of with weapons of destruction.
I think what I need to learn is an almost infinite tolerance and compassion because negative thought gets nowhere. I am beginning to think that in our time we will correct almost nothing, and get almost nowhere: but if we can just prepare a compassionate and receptive soil for the future, we will have done a great work. I feel at least that this is the turn my own life ought to take. (The Hidden Ground of Love, p. 20)
That is my prayer for my own life and that is my prayer for you, dear reader. May we be instruments of peace and may we live out the call of Micah 6:8 by Doing Justice, Loving Kindness/Mercy, and Walking Humbly with God and with one another.
When we are able to take a walk we often follow the same route to avoid the crowds around the lake and in town. Even though the route is the same, we are surprised by what the Spirit offers to us. Every day we see something different. This hummingbird was in full color on Tuesday morning. That is how the Spirit works as I study scripture and the lectionary. Even though the readings are the same every three years, something new always shimmers for me as I study, pray, reflect, and prepare. The lectionary readings are just as relevant now as they were the last time I studied them in preparation for preaching. Why is that? The answer for me is because it is the Spirit who leads and guides me.
The Spirit does indeed move in amazing ways when you stand still long enough and quiet your mind and heart. In these Be Still moments I am amazed at how the Spirit speaks, even when all I hear is silence. There have been plenty of times in my life when there has been so much external and internal “noise” that I couldn’t even hear myself think, let alone hear God’s gentle whisper.
In 1 Peter 3:13-22, advice is given to the first century Christians who faced persecution (torture and death) for following Jesus. Do not fear what they fear, and do not be intimidated, but in your hearts sanctify Christ as Lord. Always be ready to make your defense to anyone who demands from you an accounting for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and reverence. (1 Peter 3:14b-16a)
When I read these words I immediately thought of the Rev, Dr Martin Luther King, Jr. and the non-violent response to injustice while working towards Civil Rights for People of Color in the 60’s. He learned this way of protesting from Mahatma Gandhi who used this method to gain Freedom for the people of India from the British Empire. Gandhi also saw how quickly protest could turn violent and deeply damage the cause.
What gave Dr King the courage to do what he did for the cause of Civil Rights? I wondered that as Denise and I visited Selma, Alabama where we began the trail to Montgomery on the route which the marchers began on Sunday, March 7th, 1965 in what would become known as “Bloody Sunday.” The outright inhumanity in the actions of Law Enforcement and the white mob was horrifying. Reading accounts of that and seeing memorials is hard enough. But to actually live through it? Wow!
Denise tells a story about a man she met at a dinner put on by the non-profit she was the director of, “The Quest for Social Justice” in Mobile. They hosted “bridges” dinners in an effort to bring people of diverse backgrounds, races, and ideologies together over dinner and have guided discussions about certain issues of the day. This particular evening the topic was racial profiling. A quiet man at the table spoke up. His name was Jerry Pogue. Jerry was a quiet and unassuming giant of a man. He was asked if he had ever been racially profiled by law enforcement.
Jerry began his story, “Well, I’ve been arrested nine times but it was always for something I did.” He went on to explain that he had been a field organizer for Dr King and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. On several occasions, police had to take him to the ER to be “patched up” before being taken to jail. The folks at the table (Denise was at the table and in awe) asked him why he never fought back against such brutality. He told them that Dr King had taught that they NEVER should fight back. The consequence of that would be further violence as they lost the moral high ground. Besides, Jerry said, my Daddy was a preacher and I knew that if I fought back I’d be put into solitary confinement. If I was in solitary, I couldn’t reach out to the people in jail who needed me to tell them about Jesus as my Daddy would have done. Dr Jerry Pogue’s Obituary
In my heart and mind, the only way I could see anyone doing that would be if they were being guided by something bigger than themselves. I see a glimpse of that in the Gospel reading for today from John 14:15-21.
If you love me, you will keep my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, to be with you forever. This is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him or knows him. You know him because he abides with you, and he will be in you. (John 14:15-17a)
The commandments which Jesus taught were the fulfillment of all of the Law and the Prophets which are the undergirding of the Jewish faith. How did he fulfill them? It actually boiled down to two laws.
He said to him [the lawyer], “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the greatest and first commandment. And a second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.”
(Matthew 22:37-40)
The Spirit and the law of love are essential to being a Christ follower today just as it was in the first century. While we haven’t always done a very good job of following that law (especially the ‘love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you” part in Matthew 5:44!) the Spirit will guide us along that path if we listen for that guidance.
In this time of so much division, fear, and hatred, those who follow Jesus MUST be the difference. Jesus promised not to leave us orphaned (John 14:18a). Today, dear reader, we must hold onto that promise and walk where the Spirit guides us, even if it is into the Valley of the Shadows. Just as Jerry Pogue knew in his own life and work: Even though we walk through the Valley of the Shadows we will fear no evil for God is with us.
The clouds this evening as we came back from a quick trip to church were amazing. I had stopped by to sign a Pastoral Letter to the congregation giving them an update on what the Session and I were doing to care for them and keep them safe. We are now entering the third month of Shelter-in-Place and Virtual Church. While this has been a great experiment in being the church beyond the walls, it is still unsettling. During times like this, we all need the assurance of the Spirit’s presence and sustenance as we walk through this particular Valley of Shadows and Uncertainty.
One of the daily blessings which we have received is the opportunity to simply Be Still and Breathe in the blessing of God. This particular blessing is to simply Be Still and be in awe of the wonder of God’s creation. On some days it is our winged friends, on other days it is our four-legged friends. Today it was the simple awe and majesty of our mountains and the incredible cloud formations wrapping the mountains and our mountain town like a quilt.
My challenge (and yours dear reader) is to find God in the messiness of life. Our challenge is to hear the still, small voice of the Spirit in the wilderness. Our challenge is to follow Jesus as we walk through the wilderness.
Thomas Merton challenges me to seek God in the midst of Creation and be guided as we walk through the wilderness together. He wrote the following in his poem “Cables to the Ace”: My worship is a blue sky and ten thousand crickets in the deep wet hay of the field. My vow is the silence under the song. (Collected Poems, p. 400)
The sun has set and the Vesper Lights flicker and glow
It has been a long and eventful day
A time of fellowship
A time of worship preparation
A time of worship as a community of faith
A time to enjoy the wonders of God’s creation
A time to enjoy life with my sweetheart
Now as my eyelids grow heavy
I lift this humble prayer to you
Dona Nobis Pacem
Grant Us Peace
A wee prayer from the heart of your Padre…
There are plenty of mornings in this new COVID-19 reality where I think it is Groundhog’s Day (as in the movie with Bill Murray and Andie McDowell). What is going on around me… the routine is pretty standard… and we spend most of our time indoors working on virtual worship, virtual meetings, virtual fellowship, and the occasional virtual gatherings with friends.
I have to look at the calendar to remind myself what day it is. We also look at the calendar to see where we have to “be” each day. “Be” is not defined by location but is rather defined by the people we will meet with and the worship we will offer. The place is mostly from our Condo. Twice a week we head to the church to broadcast Midweek Worship and Sunday Evening Worship plus Sunday morning Fellowship.
Yes, the days do tend to run together. This week I will add another regular agenda item to my days. Tomorrow I begin my first class in the Doctor of Ministry degree track at my alma mater. On-line seminary… that wasn’t even conceivable when I was working on my Master of Divinity from 1983-1986.
The thing that brings life to Denise and to me comes when we walk (safely and socially distant with masks on) in the midst of God’s creation. We tend to either walk from our Condo to an open space and back or from the church property around the Golf Course or to the Lake.
Since this pandemic and shelter-in-place began, I have been hearing birdsong in a way I hadn’t before. We are starting to recognize the songs of our feathered neighbors along with the loud buzz of the hummingbirds now that they have returned.
It is in these moments of wonder and awe that I truly feel the Spirit speaking to me. This reflection drew me to Thomas Merton’s words in the book Thomas Merton: Book of Hours. These words were originally published in his book Conjectures of a Guilty Bystander (p. 131).
The most wonderful moment of the day is that when creation in its innocence asks permission to “be” once again, as it did on the first morning that it ever was.
May we find in each day that moment of wonder which reminds us that we aren’t living in some sort of weird Groundhog’s Day!
Each day as I watch the sun set I wonder…
I wonder about those who watch and wait and weep this night
I pray for those who walk with so many through the Valley of the Shadows
I pray for those who are alone, separated from family and friends
Those whose last breath will be taken alone
In the midst of this darkness I pray
I pray that the Spirit will strengthen, comfort, and sustain
In the night sky I see beauty
I see familiar constellations which have accompanied me around the globe
Orion has greeted me in Afghanistan… Uzbekistan… Grenada… Southwest Asia…
No matter where I wander or roam, Orion reminds me
Even in the midst of the darkness, God is with me
These words from Thomas Merton’s poem/prayer “Hagia Sophia” speak volumes to me:
The shadows fall. The stars appear. The birds begin to sleep.
Night embraces the silent half of the earth.
A vagrant, a destitute wanderer with dusty feet, finds his way down a new road.
A homeless God, lost in the night, without papers, without identification,
without even a number, a frail expendable exile
lies down in desolation under the sweet stars of the world and entrusts Himself to sleep. (Emblems of Fury, pp. 68-69)
In the midst of it all… may we walk with that homeless God underneath the canopy of stars… and in that moment may we find hope for the present and future!
The sun has set and the Vesper Lights flicker and glow
Thank you for the beauty of this day
Thank you for the opportunity to relax a bit
Thank you for connections with friends
Thank you for the opportunity to serve
Now as my eyelids grow heavy
I lift this humble prayer to you
Dona Nobis Pacem
Grant Us Peace
A wee prayer from the heart of your Padre…
