Raise Your Light!

The sun rises, the sun sets
The moon waxes and wanes

The green life rises and leafs out

Fauns and children are born and grow

Old people hold hands, walking into the sunset

Rain waters the earth
Blue skies catch our breath

Birds sing
Fish splash
Squirrels leap
Chipmunks search the undergrowth for seeds

Woodpeckers knock, while skunks hunt for grubs below
Tiny sparks of life burrow in the earth and dance in the air

People help each other
People they know
And people they do not know

They set up funds, institutions, and ways of life to see to the care and shelter of others
For people they will never meet, for those who will come long after they have gone

Others have labored, and we have entered into their labors

Good is not the exception
We live in a very blessed world

We do not light a single lamp in the darkness
But add our light to the constellations lighting the sky

We do not sing alone in a vile place
But join the celestial chorus

There are those who do not hear
Who turn away
Who see the dark first, who struggle to pick out any good
Who cannot see how very blessed we are
Who cannot imagine the world of sharing that we really live in
And we must sing to them
And raise our light, our hearts

There is enough grace,

enough good,

… enough God for all of us

Raise your light!

Dreaming of the Father

I dreampt that I was a father,
An adoptive father,
Posessed of a particular race,
A race different than my usual;
And that I had seven adopted children,
Of all different races,
At first I was suprised,
That I had adopted so many children, and that I had dared to adopt children of other races;
But then I saw what a joy and wonder it was;
and how full of love we were;
I saw that it was good in a profound way;
And very, very right.

Happy Dreams
LE

Outrageous Easter

In my dream we were planning the funeral of a good friend, someone we loved a lot.

We were just getting started, gathering around a large table.

Family and friends were there, and around the table there were several who did not feel wlecome, or worthy to sit, and we were encouraging them to do so.

There was room for all.

And once we settled, and had started discussing, we realized a funny man was behind us...
...painting huge Easter eggs on the picture window that was there.

Even funnier, he didn't paint from his imagination, which you might think he would with such a simple subject. Instead, he had a friend who was arranging and holding large colorful Easter eggs so that he could paint them 'from life', draping fabric about them, and positioning them just so.

We talked about the two of them, and thought they were just a bit crazy.

But upon waking, I am not so sure.

In your times of mourning may you find moments of outrageous Easter.

LE

Care of the Dead

We honor and care for our departed in many ways.

Some of what we do is profoundly practical;

-collection of bodies by families and health workers;

-cleaning, preservation, and clothing or wrapping of bodies so they can be neatly managed;

-documenting and displaying of bodies so that those who had dealings with the departed can know that they are truly dead;

-final disposition of bodies that prevent them from becoming food for hazardous beasts or disease-spreading vermin.

And these are practical, sensible steps that humans execute to properly manage the dead in almost every culture, and which we have done since the days of the Neanderthals.

These tasks have also a 'ritual feel' to them, a depth. I think that few can care for the dead without being moved. Like children, or the very ill, the dead cannot care for themselves. They will not complain. They have no words, arguments, or expression any more. What filled them and gave them life is gone.

So we care for them. Sometimes we can express things to the dead we could not, cannot, to the living.

The dead do not judge.

The dead do not get angry.

The dead wait on us, and on God.

So we care for their mortal shell;

We place pictures, reminders, and little offerings;

...Where they died,
...Where they are buried,
...At memorials,
...In our workplaces,
...In our homes,
...In our lives

The dead cannot use these things.

The dead don't need flowers or sea shells,
Pebbles or crosses,
Candles or pictures

But we do.

We living, need to remember;

This one was, and is no more
This one lived
This one loved and was loved

This was one of us.


-for Boomer, and all our loved ones

What Is A Miracle?

What is a miracle?
Does it have to be supernatural,
Or will 'unlikely' do?
Is whatever God does a miracle?

What about a rescue worker's efforts?
The emergancy room doctor?
The stranger who helps when you are lost?
Or the person who listens and helps when you are upset?

Perhaps miracles are like blessings, like sacraments - outward and visible signs of inward and spiritual grace;

And perhaps we walk in the midst of miracles of life, miracles of light, every day. Little ones and big ones.

Recently I was at a weekend celebration, and one of the guests of honor was worried that there would not be enough beer, although it seemed to me that few people there were beer drinkers. So a little beer was bought.

Over the course of the weekend, it seemed to me that whenever I looked, there was more beer, some varieties I didn't recognize.

...I sampled some, and it was good. We ended up bringing a healthy amount back from the weekend.

There was more than enough.

...Probably, probably people at the celebration bought and brought the overabundance. No supernatural power need be invoked. But the image of that beer stuck with me.

A silly miracle, I suppose.

But it occurs to me that it *was* a wedding celebration; 50 years of wedded bliss in this case.

And again, is it less of a miracle if it has a practical explanation?

Isn't the miracle the spiritual part of the event? The blessing of it happening, no matter if in Cana almost 2000 years ago, or last week?

God does get involved, I think, in the mundane things in our lives;

No, even more; God lives, I think, in the mundane, as well as the obviously transcendant.

Everything IS Illuminated.

A Different Feast

As the sun gazes warmly down
I look down the railbed;
A haze of moisture rises from the earth;
It's hot, and humid.
Making things a few thousand feet away faint and misty.
A freight-car on a siding is a misty, pinkish box.
The cattails sway beside me,
And I hear the train approaching in the distance,
It's horn sounds mournful.

And now the train is here and people are boarding.
I board last, and find a seat in an air-conditioned car,
And watch the ferns, rocks, forests and streams slide past my window,
The train gently rumbling along.

I'd much rather be out there,
With some silly kids,
Poking under rocks and spying on birds and bunnies,
Splashing in streams.
And getting bit by mosquitos.
Getting wet, sweaty, and muddy.

For me, that would be a feast.

Why Do You Teach Sunday School?

I teach Sunday School because:

Once upon a time, someone asked me to help.
I got over my fear of caring for other people's children.
It is needed.
I had good examples in the other parents.
I get to create a welcoming, safe, friendly, happy place for children in church.
I get to play with the *other* children.
I care about the place that the children are.
I get to hear children explain God.
I get to see quiet, shy children turn into outgoing, engaging little people.
I get to be an unnofficial God-parent, over and over and over.
I get to draw, color, stamp, paint, and make up silly crafts and lessons.
I am building memories that will last forever, both with the wee ones and with me.
I worry that sunday school will become rote following of pre-packaged lessons.
I think that coloring even a poorly drawn lesson from me is worth much much more to a little person than sitting in a long and confusing service.
I know that sometimes, the families come to church because the children want to color, paste, stamp whatever I have made up for them today.
I get to see the Bible and Prayerbook through a child's eyes - (and they need some healthy editing to be accessible to young ones).
I help build relationships and communities of faith.
I learn that everyone can bloom.

And because it's wonderful to see everyone bloom.


On a similar topic: Click Here

Keep Dancing in Your Heart

The other afternoon I saw the girl-fox;
Dancing along on her toes;
Both forward and shy at the same time.
Young, yet careworn.
A morsel of food in her mouth.

Guessing where her path might take her,
I moved to where I could see her again,
and she boldly came within twenty feet of me, and stopped,
wary, yet bold, watching me.

I hadn't intended to interfere with her, so I spoke gently to her, and stepped to one side.
She trotted back to where a curve would take her out of sight, and stopped, looking at me,
almost daring me to follow,
and then she went around the curve, not fast, not slow,
dancing on her toes.

I wasn't going to follow, either.
I was mindful of why a girl-fox might carry food,
Instead of eating it.
But then a yapping, fox-singing noise broke out;
The sound of young foxes greeting their mother.
So I walked to where the edge of the tall grass curved, and looked down the dirt road.

At first I saw nothing,
But then the girl-fox danced out,
Eyed me proudly, and sat.
And in a moment, two beautiful young foxes came to join her,
Playing around her,
Bouncing and pouncing.

They looked well fed and cared for,
And I understood the pride in the girl-fox's eyes.
She was care-worn from tending to her joy,
for spending her love on her children.

I asked God's blessing on her little family and headed off to my own little family,
Feeling just a bit less care-worn myself,
And somewhere inside,
dancing on my toes.

- - - - - - - - - -

And maybe this is a sign for me:
My work is very demanding
And not what I would choose
But it is what I am forced to do
What I must do for now
To care for my family
And perhaps I need to approach
My work with more joy
Because doing this work
Is caring for my family

Peace,
LE

Together

Together
We are together;
We do things together.
We want to be together.
Sometimes we do things apart,
Even things that our partners don’t understand or like,
But we like to do things together.
We eat together;
We pray together;
We are together.

We think differently about a lot of things;
We discuss, argue even, but at the end of the day;
We are together.
There is no physical chain that holds us;
There is no law that compels us;
There is no force that prevents us from leaving;
We can go separate ways if we like;
And sometimes we will go separate ways;
But we like being together;
And we will come back together;
We are together.

May God bless us with many relationships like this;
In our relationships with God;
In our relationships with each other;
And in our corporate relationships;
May we be always
Together

The Friend's Response

Dear Friend:

Thanks for asking me to table
It's so nice that we can share
Whenever the family's together
Please know that I am there.

In response to: Dear Friend...

Dear Friend...

Dear Friend

I miss talking to you the way we used to
I am sorry so many things end up in the way
Could you come over tonight
And share a little dinner with us?
We'd all love to spend a little time with you.
It will be chaos as usual, but
You know there's always a place for you
At the table.

I'm giving up being angry

I'm giving up being angry
I'm giving up yelling, I swear
I'm giving up all the grouching...

...You CUT your sister's HAIR!?!