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Weekly Meditations

Reflections on starting journeys: themes from baptismal scripture

By jacksonnhccPosted on Posted in Home, Weekly MeditationsTagged , , , , , , , , , , ,

If you can’t fly, then run,
if you can’t run, then walk,
if you can’t walk, then crawl,
but by all means keep moving.
– Martin Luther King Jr.

BELOVED IS WHERE WE BEGIN  — Jan Richardson

If you would enter / into the wilderness,
do not begin / without a blessing.

Do not leave
without hearing / who you are:
Beloved, named by the One
who has traveled this path / before you.

Do not go  / without letting it echo
in your ears, / and if you find
it is hard / to let it into your heart,
do not despair. / That is what
this journey is for.

I cannot promise / this blessing will free you
from danger, from fear,
from hungeror thirst,
from the scorching of sun or the fall of the night.

But I can tell you that on this path there will be help.

I can tell you that on this way there will be rest.

I can tell you that you will know
the strange graces that come to our aid
only on a road  / such as this,
that fly to meet us
bearing comfort and strength,
that come alongside us / for no other cause
than to lean themselves / toward our ear
and with their / curious insistence / whisper our name:

Beloved.
Beloved.
Beloved.

SONGS about STARTING a JOURNEY

Are you in earnest? Seize this very minute,
Whatever you can do, or dream you can—begin it;
Boldness has genius, power, magic in it;
Only engage,—and then the mind grows heated;
Begin!—and then the work will be completed.
—Goethe

It’s just as well, my pitcher shattered
I’m free of all that hauling water!
The burden on my head is gone….
A single well, Kabira
And water-bearers many!
Pots of every shape and size
But the water always One.
— ‘Bhala Hua Meri Gagri Phooti’ –song of Kabir.
translated by Rabindranath Tagore 1915, 55-56

Blessing the Baptism — Jan Richardson

As if we could call you
anything other than
beloved
and blessed

drenched as we are
in our love for you

washed as we are
by our delight in you

born anew as we are
by the grace that flows
from the heart of the one
who bore you to us.

STARTING a JOURNEY

A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.– Lao Tzu

To dare is to lose one’s footing momentarily. To not dare is to lose oneself. – Søren Kierkegaard

The only impossible journey is the one you never begin. – Tony Robbins

The key to realizing a dream is to focus not on success but significance, and then even the small steps and little victories along your path will take on greater meaning. – Oprah Winfrey

 We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act but a habit. – Aristotle

Don’t judge each day by the harvest you reap, but by the seeds that you plant. – Robert Louis Stevenson

Tell me, O Swan, your ancient tale.
From what land do you come, O Swan ?
to what shore will you fly ?
Where would you take your rest, O Swan, and what do you seek ?
Even this morning, O Swan, awake, arise follow me !
There is a land where no doubt nor sorrow have rule: where the terror of Death is no more.
There the woods of spring are a-bloom, and the fragrant scent “He is I” is born on the wind:
There the bee of the heart is deeply immersed and desires no other joy.
 — Poems of Kabir, translated by Rabindranath Tagore 1915, 55-56

COMMENTARY on BAPTISM

So I hope in this baptismal life ahead of you that when you encounter water – this most common of substances which surrounds land and comprises our bodies…I hope when you drink it in; when you dive deep in a pool of it; when you wade in a stream of it; that even when you wash dishes with it; I hope that you are reminded of the promise of life eternal: a promise that life with God is as close to you as water and bread and wine and human bodies.  Because to be Christian is to know that the eternal is always contained in the present. — Nadia Bolz-Weber

Water figures in many of Jyoti’s paintings, as too in biblical imagery: the waters that were ‘the face of the deep’ before creation; the waters of the flood, over which the rainbow shone, sign of God’s covenant of peace with all creation; the waters of the Red Sea parting to liberate the fleeing slaves, the ‘children of Israel’; the ‘water of life’ with which Jesus identified himself, both with the alienated woman at the well and during debate in the temple; the waters of baptism – that of Jesus and of those who accept his way. — Jyoti Sahi Art Ashram

Jesus has become part with the waters. His character is innately like that of water. … water seeks out the lowest place. Or, as [St] Francis says in his Hymn to Creation, the waters are humble – they offer life to others and for others – and in themselves are clear, like light. — Jyoti Sahi Art Ashram

Reflections on being lost and being where you belong

By jacksonnhccPosted on Posted in Adult, Calendar, Weekly MeditationsTagged , , , , ,

All that is gold does not glitter,
Not all those who wander are lost;
The old that is strong does not wither,
Deep roots are not reached by the frost.
— JRR Tolkien

Here every bird and fish knew its course. Every tree had its own place upon this earth. Only man had lost his way. ― Margaret Craven

We’re not lost. We’re just headed somewhere different.
― Emily X.R. Pan

We all seek for lost things within us. ― Toba Beta

Remember your name. Do not lose hope —what you seek will be found. ― Neil Gaiman

SONGS about BEING LOST and BEING WHERE YOU BELONG:

BLESSING — Jan Richardson

You hardly knew
how hungry you were
to be gathered in,
to receive the welcome
that invited you to enter
entirely…
Tentative steps
became settling in…
You began to breathe again…
You learned to sing.

But the deal with this blessing
is that it will not leave you alone,
will not let you linger…
this blessing
will ask you to leave,
not because it has tired of you
but because it desires for you
to become the sanctuary
that you have found…

I Want to Thank the Wind Blows — Alli Warren 
Sound of the rain so I knowthere’s constraintsound of  the trainso I know commercehas not come to a standstillnow they raise the barriernow they set it back in place What coats the bottomof  the surface of  the soundwhen the swifts come inwhen the clerks come homewho will bathe the childrenwho will bake the bread when the luff is tightwhen the mainsheetstarts the boat underway whatever you do don’tlet the tongue slipfrom its moorings what’s that song?love lift us up where we belong I ate the pilland the pill was real

I Belong Here —  Ray Gonzalez 
There is no act of forgiveness,only the redeeming light onthe shoulders dancing intall weeds, cigarettes goneand the girls slapping free. The tortilla cart burns againstthe wall because Jesus calledmy brother who was acquiredby whistling gangs of menunder the hanging arch. There can be no night withoutthe wind on shoulders exhaustedby games and messages my brotherlost between the darkness andthe bridge into Juarez, Mexico, where no crows caw becausethe buildings are torn andflashlights are narrow intheir beaming stumble,my thoughts the last oneson this side of the river, my sudden happiness hiddenin celestial light without beingappalled at what I see, my earsto the ground listening to weedsoverrun by boys who can’t spelland are waiting for me withoutknowing pilgrims are on the border. Whatever kills them spares methe journey to beg for purityamong unspoken Spanisheveryone fears in their greed.The group doesn’t know it iswhat the river stones teach,though I can’t speak of them because faith is prehistoric andmy brother is pursued by duststorms that erase his footprintsacross the back roads where heloses his language of need.

ON BEING LOST

Lost is a lovely place to find yourself. ― Michael Faudet

Maybe family were the people who came looking for you when you were lost. ― Vikki Wakefield

I’m not sure this is a world I belong in anymore. I’m not sure that I want to wake up. ― Gayle Forman

In this world, it is too common for people to search for someone to lose themselves in. But I am already lost. I will look for someone to find myself in. ― C. JoyBell C

If you feel lost, disappointed, hesitant, or weak, return to yourself, to who you are, here and now and when you get there, you will discover yourself, like a lotus flower in full bloom, even in a muddy pond, beautiful and strong. ― Masaru Emoto

Some beautiful paths can’t be discovered without getting lost. ― Erol Ozan 

Getting lost is just another way of saying ‘going exploring. ― Justina Chen Headley

I realise now that I wanted to disappear. To get so lost that nobody ever found me. To go so far away that I’d never be able to make my way home again. ― Jessica Warman

I Think it is lost…..but nothing is ever lost nor can be lost .
The body sluggish, aged, cold, the ember left from earlier fires
shall duly flame again. ― Walt Whitman 

First I lost my heart. Then I lost my mind. ― Jennifer Salvato Doktorski

Slowly, with many lost days, I come back to life. ― Suzanne Collins

Sometimes I feel like I don’t belong anywhere, & it’s gonna take so long for me to get to somewhere, Sometimes I feel so heavy hearted, but I can’t explain cuz I’m so guarded. But that’s a lonely road to travel, and a heavy load to bear. And it’s a long, long way to heaven but I gotta get there
Can you send an angel
Can you send me an angel…to guide me?
― Alicia Keys

APPLY WITHIN — Suzy Kassem 

You once told me
You wanted to find
Yourself in the world –
And I told you to
First apply within,
To discover the world
within you.

You once told me
You wanted to save
The world from all its wars –
And I told you to
First save yourself
From the world,
And all the wars
You put yourself
Through.

Advent Daily Devotional: BIRTHDAY of CHRIST: Day 28-Sat, Dec 25-Christmas Day

By jacksonnhccPosted on Posted in Advent & Christmas, Home, Weekly MeditationsTagged , , , , , , ,

… It was no messenger or angel but his presence that saved them; in his love and in his pity he redeemed them. — Isaiah 63:9

Every generous act of giving, with every perfect gift, is from above, coming down from the Father of lights. — James 1:17

The Lord is God, and he has given us light. — Psalm 118:27

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Light the final, fifth candle. Doing so, welcome Emmanuel—God with Us— into the world and into your life.

            Godself is the holy source of love and light. Yet each person bears that light on behalf of the One who lived among humans, died as a human, and returned beyond death itself to meet you where you are on your own journey. Across centuries, your spiritual ancestors have taught that your hands and feet, your heart and mind, your acts and words embody and reflect the life of Christ.

            In this imperfect, impermanent way, you carry holy light within you. Perhaps, by itself, your light is small in scale. Yet it changes the darkness and creates a point of focus and transformation. Then your singular light connects with others, multiplying its energy and effect.           

            The final candle you light on Christmas Day is an echo of the first and eternal light from which all other lights take their meaning and power. Thus God’s gift of love, reborn into the world, renewed in your heart, reawakened in your community, changes the world one light and one life at a time: beginning with you. Let it burn! — Rev Gail

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Agape doesn’t love somebody because they’re worthy.
Agape makes them worthy by the strength and power of its love.
Agape doesn’t love somebody because they’re beautiful.
Agape loves in such a way that it makes them beautiful.
— Rob Bell

… the light is all. — Ralph Waldo Emerson

Advent Daily Devotional: WEEK of LOVE: Day 27-Fri, Dec 24-Christmas Eve

By jacksonnhccPosted on Posted in Advent & Christmas, Home, Weekly MeditationsTagged , , ,

For you, O Lord, are good and forgiving,
abounding in steadfast love to all who call on you.
— Psalm 86:5

Bless the Lord, light and darkness; sing praise to him
and highly exalt him forever. — Prayer of Azariah 1:48

______________________________________

On the eve of holy love’s renewed arrival in the world, you prepare yourself. How do you get ready to welcome love at the door of your heart? Will you answer when it knocks on the threshold of your life? Will you hold up your own light in greeting? Or withdraw and wait for the One at the door to pass you by, hiding your light?

How could you possibly prepare for such an experience as holy agape love’s renewed arrival in the world and in your life? Perhaps simply by listening. Waiting. And setting aside any sense that you can do enough, or be enough, to earn such love and grace. You don’t have to be perfect. You don’t have to pass a test or prove yourself.

 Ideally, you have chosen an ethical path, because you a follower of agape love’s Way. Optimally, you have lived out what you believe. And yet … humans always fall short. Can you ever deserve holy love’s presence? Not really. It’s a gift.

Part of the gift of grace is that holy love simply shows up. Even when it’s not reasonable. Not rational. Even when you cannot possibly deserve it or earn it.

Yet a gift is meaningless unless the one to whom it is offered says yes to receiving it. Will you say yes?

Amazingly, wonderfully, holy agape love chooses you, simply because you are a beloved child of God. This holy love accepts you and embraces you, just as you are. At the same time, this love believes in all you might yet become.

Are you ready? Probably not. Yet love is coming anyway. — Rev Gail

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Love is friendship that has caught fire.
It is quiet understanding, mutual confidence,
sharing and forgiving. It is loyalty through good and bad times.
It settles for less than perfection and
makes allowances for human weaknesses.— Ann Landers

At times our own light goes out and
is rekindled by a spark from another person.
Each of us has cause to think with deep gratitude
of those who have lighted the flame within us.
— Albert Schweitzer

Advent Daily Devotional: WEEK of LOVE: Day 26-Thurs, Dec 23

By jacksonnhccPosted on Posted in Advent & Christmas, Home, Weekly MeditationsTagged , ,

Steadfast love and faithfulness will meet; righteousness and peace will kiss each other. — Psalm 85:10

… and you shall come here, and I will light in your heart the lamp of understanding. — 2 Esdras 14:25

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As you kindle the four primary candles that dance a circle around the final unlit candle—the long-awaited Christ candle—you are creating a network of light. You are preparing the way for the coming of ultimate light.

Agape, mentioned at the beginning of this week, is a holy love to which humans aspire, but which humans cannot actually attain.  Its nature is so inclusive and comprehensive, so absolutely gracious and abundantly overflowing, humans as individuals and even as communities seek to model that ideal. Yet over and over, humans also miss the mark.

Should you be discouraged because agape is a form of love you might admire, and yet not be able to fully reach, to holistically practice? Alone or in community?

What Jesus’ lesson of the Beatitudes taught his followers was that while you cannot touch Godself, or fully love Godself, you can choose to love what God loves. And God loves all people and all of creation.

Thus, to strive toward agape, you are invited to have compassion for and connection with the recipients of holy love: humanity, all living beings and elements of creation, as well as the fullness of creation itself. If such an aspiration overwhelms you, then take it step by step. Choose one cause or corner of creation, one stranger or one neighbor, one part of your local community, where you can act on the principles of love for others and creation, as a reflection of your love for Godself.

One light at a time, the world is changed. One life at a time, love moves through the world.

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The best love is the kind that awakens the soul;
that makes us reach for more,
that plants the fire in our hearts
and brings peace to our minds.
— Nicholas Sparks

We cannot hold a torch to light another’s path
without brightening our own. – Ben Sweetland

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