The week ends with a movement away from talking of plants and things...to talking about what we are intended to be.
But what about you? What about me?
unlike the animals and the trees, it is not enough for us to be what our nature intends. It is not enough for us to be individual people. For us, holiness is more than humanity. If we are never anything but people,...we will not be saints and we will not be able to offer to God the worship of our imitation, which is sanctity.
It is true to say that for me sanctity consists in being myself and for you sanctity consists of being your self and that, in the last analysis, your sanctity will never be mine and mine will never be yours, except in the communism of charity and grace.
We are not merely a category. We are individuals. We are beloved as a category in creation but we are made holy as we emerge in life as the beloved of God - each of us as we are gifted. In the last sentence of this quote, I was really struck by how our sanctity - as individuals - can and does and will be magnified as we come together in the communal acts of charity and grace. For when these attributes are blended into one moving force - one body, its gift of life is magnified and the whole creation is seen with new eyes that care beyond my own care and bless beyond my own blessing and share beyond my own ability to share. Humanity is blessed as each of us - within our own sanctity - join in the celebration of our life-giving power in God's creation.
Connection: Does this sound odd or what - be a part of the communism of charity and grace.
Lord of the Community, grace us with your presence and encourage us to join with one another as we offer up our gifted lives to bring new life to our world through your grace and wisdom. Amen.
Friday, May 30, 2008
Thursday, May 29, 2008
Thursday 29 May 2008
More images from nature to bring home the special character of God's creation.
The forms and individual characters of living and growing things, of inanimate beings, of animals and flowers and all nature, constitute their holiness in the sight of God
Their inscape is their sanctity. It is the imprint of God's wisdom and God's reality in them.
the special clumsy beauty of this particular colt on this April day in this field under these clouds is a holiness consecrated to God by God's own creative wisdom and it declares the glory of God.
What an image of hopefulness. What is right before us at this moment...the people walking by...the students studying...those doing their jobs - all this - is sacred and demonstrates the vastness of God's creativity. It is not easy to see things in such a light. With our filters running and our biases pressing us, there are few things we let ourselves see with eyes that pick up on the glory of God. I suppose we all wait for something holy to enter our lives. Maybe we even attempt to enter something we consider a holy time or a holy place. And yet, this grand area of the ordinary and everyday life in which we now sit or stand or walk within...is bursting with the holy. I would say that too often, we are looking so hard we miss so much and then we are left with a false impression of what holy is.
Lord of Life, as we move through this day we need to have eyes that pay attention to the holiness of the moment and the way the holy shines through what may be considered nothing more than a passing ordinary event - no grand insights...no special experiences - just the ordinary wonder of now. Amen.
The forms and individual characters of living and growing things, of inanimate beings, of animals and flowers and all nature, constitute their holiness in the sight of God
Their inscape is their sanctity. It is the imprint of God's wisdom and God's reality in them.
the special clumsy beauty of this particular colt on this April day in this field under these clouds is a holiness consecrated to God by God's own creative wisdom and it declares the glory of God.
What an image of hopefulness. What is right before us at this moment...the people walking by...the students studying...those doing their jobs - all this - is sacred and demonstrates the vastness of God's creativity. It is not easy to see things in such a light. With our filters running and our biases pressing us, there are few things we let ourselves see with eyes that pick up on the glory of God. I suppose we all wait for something holy to enter our lives. Maybe we even attempt to enter something we consider a holy time or a holy place. And yet, this grand area of the ordinary and everyday life in which we now sit or stand or walk within...is bursting with the holy. I would say that too often, we are looking so hard we miss so much and then we are left with a false impression of what holy is.
Lord of Life, as we move through this day we need to have eyes that pay attention to the holiness of the moment and the way the holy shines through what may be considered nothing more than a passing ordinary event - no grand insights...no special experiences - just the ordinary wonder of now. Amen.
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
Wednesday 28 May 2008
More from Thomas Merton in the chapter "Things in Their Identity."
No two created beings are exactly alike. And their individuality is no imperfection. On the contrary, the perfection of each created thing is not merely in its conformity to an abstract type but in its own individual identity with itself. This particular tree will give glory to God by spreading out its roots in the earth and raising its branches into the air and the light in a way that no other tree before or after it ever will do.
The gift of one's identity is quite sacred. I may be a part of a certain "group" of people because of my race, ethnicity, nation of origin, etc., and yet I am the only one of me. That is the beauty of God's claim on each of us in baptism. We are each the beloved one....all beloved. And yet, there is such a diversity of texture and appearance and gifts that comes within each one of us. Like this image of the tree that is like no other before or after it, each of us must fill our own shoes - no other shoes. Each one of us sends down our roots and blows with the wind quite differently. Part of that is because we are all different and unique. Part of that is that the wind/spirit blows on each of us differently because we are all in different places. The Spirit takes what is so individual and it is able to create from this blessing of our uniqueness - a body that is one.
Connection: Today there will be no one like you to add to the beauty of this day.
Come, Creating God and let your power for life sustain us as we find our way through this life. Be our strength as our gifts unfold and our unique personalities help to shape the communities in which we live. Amen.
No two created beings are exactly alike. And their individuality is no imperfection. On the contrary, the perfection of each created thing is not merely in its conformity to an abstract type but in its own individual identity with itself. This particular tree will give glory to God by spreading out its roots in the earth and raising its branches into the air and the light in a way that no other tree before or after it ever will do.
The gift of one's identity is quite sacred. I may be a part of a certain "group" of people because of my race, ethnicity, nation of origin, etc., and yet I am the only one of me. That is the beauty of God's claim on each of us in baptism. We are each the beloved one....all beloved. And yet, there is such a diversity of texture and appearance and gifts that comes within each one of us. Like this image of the tree that is like no other before or after it, each of us must fill our own shoes - no other shoes. Each one of us sends down our roots and blows with the wind quite differently. Part of that is because we are all different and unique. Part of that is that the wind/spirit blows on each of us differently because we are all in different places. The Spirit takes what is so individual and it is able to create from this blessing of our uniqueness - a body that is one.
Connection: Today there will be no one like you to add to the beauty of this day.
Come, Creating God and let your power for life sustain us as we find our way through this life. Be our strength as our gifts unfold and our unique personalities help to shape the communities in which we live. Amen.
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
Friday 30 May 2008
The week ends with a movement away from talking of plants and things...to talking about us
Tuesday 27 May 2008
Today we move into a chapter in "New Seeds of Contemplation" call "Things in Their Identity" - by Thomas Merton.
A tree gives glory to God by being a tree. For in being what God means it to be it is obeying God. It "consents," so to speak, to God's creative love. It is expressing an idea which is in God and which is not distinct from the essence of God, and therefore a tree imitates God by being a tree.
The more a tree is like itself, the more it is like God. If it tried to be like something else which it was never intended to be, it would be less like God and therefore it would give God less glory.
For all of us it would be good to be able to honor the intended being of that which is other. I would think that we would then be more aware of what each part of creation has to bring to the whole. Llike the different trees in our front yard, they are so different from one another and yet that is what they are intended to be...and because of that, they each are a greater gift to the yard and those who notice them. I suppose we need to expand this notion to our humanity. No one is asked to be something other than human. To try to be more would cause us to miss who we are as individuals. WE are not even asked to be like other humans. We are to be the one God creates in us. I know that brings many folks problems as we try to look and compare and grade and evaluate one another. Then again, there is meant to be peace in knowing that each of us is a beloved one of God and we are invited to be that gift of life that is me...and you. When we are open to the wonder of our being, we are open to the beauty that becomes a vital part to the wider community of God's creation.
Connection: Yes, we are each different. Yes, that doesn't always please us. Yes, we can resist being who we are...but then, everyone will miss out on the gift of creation each of us is.
Lord of Creation, we often attempt to be more than the life we have been given. When we resist being ourselves, we often spin off center and lose track of the gift of life you created in each of us. We then become anxious and unable to live like the lilies of the field and the birds of the air - free and beloved. Amen.
A tree gives glory to God by being a tree. For in being what God means it to be it is obeying God. It "consents," so to speak, to God's creative love. It is expressing an idea which is in God and which is not distinct from the essence of God, and therefore a tree imitates God by being a tree.
The more a tree is like itself, the more it is like God. If it tried to be like something else which it was never intended to be, it would be less like God and therefore it would give God less glory.
For all of us it would be good to be able to honor the intended being of that which is other. I would think that we would then be more aware of what each part of creation has to bring to the whole. Llike the different trees in our front yard, they are so different from one another and yet that is what they are intended to be...and because of that, they each are a greater gift to the yard and those who notice them. I suppose we need to expand this notion to our humanity. No one is asked to be something other than human. To try to be more would cause us to miss who we are as individuals. WE are not even asked to be like other humans. We are to be the one God creates in us. I know that brings many folks problems as we try to look and compare and grade and evaluate one another. Then again, there is meant to be peace in knowing that each of us is a beloved one of God and we are invited to be that gift of life that is me...and you. When we are open to the wonder of our being, we are open to the beauty that becomes a vital part to the wider community of God's creation.
Connection: Yes, we are each different. Yes, that doesn't always please us. Yes, we can resist being who we are...but then, everyone will miss out on the gift of creation each of us is.
Lord of Creation, we often attempt to be more than the life we have been given. When we resist being ourselves, we often spin off center and lose track of the gift of life you created in each of us. We then become anxious and unable to live like the lilies of the field and the birds of the air - free and beloved. Amen.
Friday, May 23, 2008
Friday 23 May 2008
I think this is a good piece to bring us to the end of this week. Again from Merton and again about saints.
The eyes of the saint make all beauty holy and the hands of the saint consecrate everything they touch to the glory of God, and the saint is never offended by anything and judges no person's sin because the saint does not know sin. The saint knows the mercy of God. The saint knows that her/his mission on earth is to bring that mercy to all people.
Why doesn't the saint judge or become offended at that which others do or what happens around them... "because the saint does not know sin." Really!?! But it goes on and makes even a more creative statement that simply sets me back on my heels. "The saint knows the mercy of God." That is our agenda...that is our knowledge...that is what leads us...that is what shapes our vision and the path set out before us...that is simply powerful! And what are we to do in our lives? Some are always wondering or asking what God's will is to be in their life. Well, to bring the mercy of God to all people seems like it is all that needs to be said. What a life that would be! What a way to shape this day - to bring God's mercy to all people. I dog-eared that page so that I will stumble on it again and her that wonderful call to life.
Connection: Well...bring on the mercy....bring it on to all!
Blessed are you, O God Most High, for your mercy carries us into this day and invites us to live within your image as we move through the day and meet and greet those who will be a part of the life we are shaping in your presence. Praise to you, O God. Amen.
The eyes of the saint make all beauty holy and the hands of the saint consecrate everything they touch to the glory of God, and the saint is never offended by anything and judges no person's sin because the saint does not know sin. The saint knows the mercy of God. The saint knows that her/his mission on earth is to bring that mercy to all people.
Why doesn't the saint judge or become offended at that which others do or what happens around them... "because the saint does not know sin." Really!?! But it goes on and makes even a more creative statement that simply sets me back on my heels. "The saint knows the mercy of God." That is our agenda...that is our knowledge...that is what leads us...that is what shapes our vision and the path set out before us...that is simply powerful! And what are we to do in our lives? Some are always wondering or asking what God's will is to be in their life. Well, to bring the mercy of God to all people seems like it is all that needs to be said. What a life that would be! What a way to shape this day - to bring God's mercy to all people. I dog-eared that page so that I will stumble on it again and her that wonderful call to life.
Connection: Well...bring on the mercy....bring it on to all!
Blessed are you, O God Most High, for your mercy carries us into this day and invites us to live within your image as we move through the day and meet and greet those who will be a part of the life we are shaping in your presence. Praise to you, O God. Amen.
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