Oh, My Friend, My Friend Indeed

i am writing this post early on saturday morning, though it won't post until the following tuesday. my usual posting day.  yesterday my wife and i celebrated our 44th wedding anniversary.  we are spending a few days staying in a condiminium in the mountains, and tomorrow we will go to spend a few days at the beach.  as i sat here this morning, i thought about how wonderful it is to have a partner who is my best friend.  like all friends, we don't always see eye to eye, we become angry with one another occasionally, there are hurt feelings from time to time, but, like true friends, the friendship continues.  we overlook one another's shortcomings, we learn to deal in love with those annoying quirks and habits, and we know that our lives are so much happier together than they would be apart.  we have learned to be patient with one another and to treat each other with kindness.  we increasingly seek the other's well being along with each one's own well being.  isn't that what love is about?  i think of crossman's words, "but, oh my friend, my friend indeed, who for my need his life did spend," and i wonder if those words don't apply to our day-to-day relationships with others as much as they apply to the ministry and death of jesus.

as i sit her ruminating, i think, too, of the current political campaign.  it seems that more and more the republican side has turned to a narrow path that denies the worth of women, that marginalizes all but the rich and powerful, that blames those who suffer for their own suffering.  a republican county judge in texas has warned people to arm themselves to prepare for the coming civil war that will ensue should president obama be re-elected.  a republican senate candidate has suggested that women who say they have become pregnant as a result of rape may not really have been raped, because he believes that in cases of "legitimate rape" the female body will naturally abort the pregnancy without any medical procedure.  i pray every day that, afer this election,  justice and mercy wil walk together once more in our country, that we will once more look to the common good, and that the needs of our people will be more important than increasing the wealth and power of the few at the top of our economy.

before beginning this post this morning, i read "how to become open to life" in zenhabits.net, one of my favorite blogs.  i was inspired by leo's comments on judging less while accepting more, letting go of the need to set goals that restrict our openness to the opportunities life presents us, and releasing ourselves from the need to control.  if you don't follow leo's blog, i encourage you to do so.

my prayer for each of us this morning is that we treasure the friendships we develop over a lifetime, that we work to bring the kingdom of God to fruition in our daily lives, and that we open ourselves to a life of acceptance and openness.  shalom

Unresting, Unchanging, and Silent as Light

this morning as i sit to write, i am thinking of change.  our lives are in a constant state of change.  loved ones die, jobs end, friends move, children grow up.  our fortunes increase and decrease.  there is but one permanent fixture in our lives and that is the unending quality of love.  the longer i live, the more i come to see that to embrace love is to enter into a stream that flows forever.  God is that ever-flowing stream, the source of love.  as we come to love more fully and deeply, to love God with our whole hearts and our neighbor as ourselves, we participate with God in the one thing that is permanent.

a part of attaching ourselves to the love that is greater than ourselves is learning to appreciate the gift of each moment.  no moment ever repeats itself, each moment is fleeting, never to be experienced again.  one of the changes i pray for in my life each day is to have the mindfulness to offer each moment to God in thanksgiving for the gift of that moment.  some days i have more success in doing that than others.  some days i rush through my life, jumping from activity to another, striving to finish each task as quickly as possible so i can move on to the next one.  how much i miss when i give in to the impulse to live so mindlessly!

my prayer for each of us this day is that we will slow down and relish each breath, each passing second, remembering the great gift of love that is ours to take and to share.  shalom.

Pure Unbounded Love Thou Art

this morning i've experienced something that is very rare in my life: a quiet morning mostly to myself.  first thing this morning, my wife and i went for a short walk with our dog, parker, came home and ate breakfast, then she decided to take a short nap because she didn't get enough sleep the night before.  i've taken care of a few chores, but mostly i've spent time thinking about a few of the blessings in my life.

first, i'm grateful that i have a wonderful wife with whom to share my life.  we love to work together, to travel together, to eat together, and we find that when we're doing something together, we take pleasure in sharing activities that one or both of us doesn't particularly like because we are together.

second, i'm grateful for my children and their spouses.  both children are kind, generous people who are happy with themselves, their work, and their partners.  they are thoughtful and helpful and a joy to be with, and the same can be said of their mates.

third, i'm grateful for many good friends--friends with whom we can share our lives, friends we can count on whenever we need them, friends that we can confide in when we need to talk frankly without being judged.  some are friends from work, others are friends from church, but all are part of our family who will be there for us no matter what.

finally, i'm grateful that there is a stream of Love which never ends that carries me along life's ups and downs.  that Love reminds me constantly to look for ways to make the lives of others more enjoyable, to be there for those who may need my help, and to always pray for good to come to those i encounter along the way.

my prayer for each of us today is that we pause to give thanks for those in our lives who love us and to give thanks for our own ability to participate in unending Love.  shalom.

Whoever Would Be Great Among You

for me, one of the most troubling beliefs of orthodox christianity is that of the "atonement."  the belief that God required jesus to be put to death to atone for the sins of all humanity seems incompatible with the loving God that i worship.  a few mornings ago, as i contemplated jesus' ministry and execution, i seemed to be led to a new understanding of its meaning.  when jesus began his ministry, he was aware that his teaching would arouse strong opposition from the rich and powerful.  as he befriended the poor, the powerless, the unclean, those who were seen as traitors to the jewish people, and those who were regarded as infidels, the elite at the opposite end of the social spectrum believed this radical teacher posed a threat to the established order.  jesus' teaching that one could only become great by becoming a servant was contrary to the very foundation of the jewish system that had reached an accomodation with the roman conquerors.

jesus knew that his challenge to this system when he taught that gentiles as well as jews could participate in the kingdom of God, when he taught that women were to be regarded as men's equals, and when he taught that the intentions of the heart were more important than outward signs of religiosity would bring him into direct conflict with the religious leaders who had much to lose if jesus' teachings took hold among the population of palestine.  from the beginning of his ministry, jesus saw where his teachings would lead him, and the religious establishment began plotting against him as soon as they saw his influence spreading among the people.

 jesus' death was not a necessary blood sacrifice so that all people could be forgiven, but it was an indication to his followers that there were more important considerations than the preservation of one's life, since life is fleeting.  he taught that we are like blades of grass that wither and die, but the good we do lives on after us, sending out ripples of love through each life that we touch.  jesus didn't atone for our sins, he gave us an example of the power one life can have if it is lived in love and service.  his brief ministry made him immortal and the good he did continues to influence our lives, making us great by making us servants.

my prayer for each of us this day is that we remember how and why jesus lived and died and that we live the abundant life that he calls us to.  shalom.

Right Here, Right Now

i haven't written much about riding my bike lately, probably because i don't get to ride every day as i did last summer.  with my early morning practice schedule, it's been too hot most mornings to ride after i get home from practicing.  when i have gotten to ride, as i did this morning, i've tried to simply enjoy the ride--no stories in my head, no planning or wrestling with decisions, just riding, breathing, looking, feeling.  now, from time to time, i've caught myself drifting away from the ride and thinking about the day's activities that are ahead or some other out-of-the-moment distraction, but when that's happened, i've called myself back to the joy of the ride.

how often as i go through the day i find myself missing the experience of the never-to-return moment as i anticipate some future moment that may never come!  when i realize that's happening, i'm trying to stop and say a silent "thank you" to God for the present moment and the activity in which i'm engaged, while pushing aside the mental distraction that keeps me from enjoying the present.  today was an especially hectic day, and i raced through it, thinking constantly that i must finish the present activity so i have time to get on to the next one.  now at the end of the day as i sit and write, i realize that my constant pushing to get to the future kept me from enjoying the day as i might have, and i'm grateful to have stopped to think about the acitivity of writing these words.  finally, i've stopped long enough to relish the moment and the activity that fills it, a sensation i haven't experienced since my early morning bike ride that seems so long ago.  (since my post won't publish until early tomorrow morning, the day i'm describing is "yesterday," obviously.)

as i looked back through last week's post, i realized that much of what i wrote last week was repeated in today's hectic schedule.  like last week, i came to the end of  the day, and everything was ok.  i'm still working on learning the lesson of letting go of the need to control the day and master it.  i'm getting better little by little at taking time to stop and reflect on how to go with the day so that future is not pressing down on me, keeping me from enjoying the present.  instead of waiting until the end of the day to reflect, i'll try to pause throughout the next hectic day to remind myself that the day was given for my enjoyment, not for me to control.

my prayer for myself and for you is that we'll let go of stories about the future and relish the present, giving thanks for the opportunity to experience the here and now without anticipating a future that may never take place.  shalom.

To Everything There Is a Season

this week has been a hectic week with many extra meetings and beginning to teach a summer school class, on top of my usual work at church and home. when such busy times occur, i find i have little time to call my own, and i become anxious and depressed. my typical reaction to these feelings is to tell myself that i shouldn't be feeling this way, but i've been trying instead to admit that i have such feelings and, rather than feeling guilty for having feelings that i "shouldn't" have, i've been trying to sort through them and figure why i have such a difficult time dealing with the stress of too much to do and too little time to do it.

as i've begun each day's meditation time, i've admitted these feelings in my prayers and asked God to help me in dealing with them in an honest way that doesn't become guilt-ridden. what i've taken away from these prayer times is a sense that i can let some things go, that for a brief period while i'm teaching my summer school class, it's ok to skip a german or italian study time if need be or to say to my wife, "we'll just have to postpone this chore for a day or two, because i need some time just to sit and be." it's been a relief not to feel the need to be super-husband, super-disciplined, super-always-at-other's-disposal.

my wife has been incredibly patient with me, since i was honest in saying, "there's too much on my plate. help me remove some of it." yesterday was incredibly hectic for both of us, and we returned home at the end of the day exhausted but happy because we had supported each other and laughed at the frantic pace we had shared as we raced through the day. how nice it was that, instead of being snippy with each other and feeling sorry for ourselves as we usually are after such a day, we could end the day in good spirits because we honestly admitted to one another that the day's schedule was demanding, but this pace only lasted for one day and we handled it together.

all through the day, my wife kept asking, "are you ok? is everything going to be alright?" her concern for me lifted my spirits and i could truthfully answer, "yes. we're going to come out at the other end of the day relieved that it's over and proud that we handled the demands on us well."

God has let me know that the time i'm given is sufficient to accomplish the things that need to be accomplished. i don't have to feel guilty that some non-essential tasks may be postponed for a less busy time. perhaps this is what Jesus meant when he said, "sufficient to the day is the evil thereof" (matthew 6:34). my prayer for each of us this day is that we examine our feelings honestly and without guilt and learn how to prioritize, completing those tasks that are truly important and setting aside the lower priority tasks without a sense of failure. may we understand that taking time to take care of our own needs is often one of those high priority tasks. shalom.

All Thy Works with Joy . . .

it is my custom while i'm temporarily filling in as organist/choirmaster at my church to go to the church around 6:00 in the morning to practice.  the first thing i do is to sit in one of the pews and spend 30 minutes in prayer and meditation.  the other morning, i happened to run my hand along the top of the pew in front of me.  it was remarkably smooth, and i began to think about all the life in the piece of beautiful oak that was seemingly inanimate.  i know, though, that this wood vibrates with the energy of creation.

as i contemplated the fact that every object is filled with god's creative energy, i thought of the history of this piece of wood.  decades, perhaps centuries ago, a small acorn fell to the ground and was nourished by organic matter from decaying plants and animals.  in this rich environment a tiny tree sprouted, and with continued nourishment from the soil and the rain, it flourished, finally becoming a huge tree.

at the right time, a forester came along and harvested the tree.  perhaps by that time the tree was two or three hundred years old, perhaps it was still healthy, or perhaps it was diseased or damaged by the ravages of a severe storm or by another tree falling against it.  whatever its condition, the tree was harvested and taken to a mill where it was sawed into lumber.

that lumber reached a craftsman, maybe in a church furniture factory or maybe in a small workshop, where is was shaped into parts of a pew.  other skilled workmen or machine operators finished the raw wood of the pew so that it glowed with a shiny finish that sealed it and enhanced the lovely grain.  someone loaded it onto a truck that transported to its present location.

countless worshippers have sat in that pew, looking to the chancel with its communion table and other furniture and to the cross on the wall in the central archway of the chancel.  what a miracle this pew is.  how many hands have gone into making it ready for its present function.  it all began with that tiny acorn and the right soil and moisture conditions that are the gifts of the end of life for countless organisms and the forces set in motion by a benevolent Creator.

i gave a prayer of thanksgiving for all those who had a part in creating something that i had never taken the time to think about until that day.  we are surrounded by such miracles, each pulsing with God's creative energy.  my prayer today is that we stop to think of, and give thanks for, the miracles of continuing creation in which we are blessed to participate.  shalom.