These Broken Parts (Reprise)

I have many topics to write about and yet today this previous post is inspiring me in my life of broken parts.

Proposed Antiphon: Push Towards The Light!

Today a little person
Was trying to re-make her bed
She thought she must have been doing it wrong all week
Because the sheets wouldn’t lie flat
And tended to come off

But really her bed
Was made this week with sheets that weren’t quite right
They were an odd size
Big enough
Workable
But not perfect
And she thought it was her fault
I laughed and explained the problem to her

And thought
That life is like that
Funny but functional
Wrong but workable
Makeshift and marvelous
And that we are forever filling the cracks
And jumping the gaps
And thinking we must be doing something wrong
When in fact, we are doing marvelously
With what we have
Which is enough
Which is workable
Which is a blessing

Perfect is some other world
Not the one we live in
No, we are surrounded by
Appendices of errata
Panda’s thumbs and horse’s toes
Scars and defects
Duct tape and bailing wire

See, in a perfect world
Where everything works well
You would already be at the goal
And that’s not what we’re about
We’re about the next thing
The thing you can barely imagine from here

The thing that you can make if you cobble together
These broken parts
With the contents of the junk drawer
And some duct tape
And bailing wire
And whatever else happens to be lying around

And when we get close to that barely imagined thing
We’ll mostly make it work
But not perfectly
Because we are already busy
Working on the next thing
The thing you can barely imagine from there

And I think God meant us to be this way
Always a little broken
Always working on that next thing
That we can barely imagine from here

These Broken Parts

Today a little person
Was trying to re-make her bed
She thought she must have been doing it wrong all week
Because the sheets wouldn’t lie flat
And tended to come off

But really her bed
Was made this week with sheets that weren’t quite right
They were an odd size
Big enough
Workable
But not perfect
And she thought it was her fault
I laughed and explained the problem to her

And thought
That life is like that
Funny but functional
Wrong but workable
Makeshift and marvelous
And that we are forever filling the cracks
And jumping the gaps
And thinking we must be doing something wrong
When in fact, we are doing marvelously
With what we have
Which is enough
Which is workable
Which is a blessing

Perfect is some other world
Not the one we live in
No, we are surrounded by
Appendices of errata
Panda’s thumbs and horse’s toes
Scars and defects
Duct tape and bailing wire

See, in a perfect world
Where everything works well
You would already be at the goal
And that’s not what we’re about
We’re about the next thing
The thing you can barely imagine from here

The thing that you can make if you cobble together
These broken parts
With the contents of the junk drawer
And some duct tape
And bailing wire
And whatever else happens to be lying around

And when we get close to that barely imagined thing
We’ll mostly make it work
But not perfectly
Because we are already busy
Working on the next thing
The thing you can barely imagine from there

And I think God meant us to be this way
Always a little broken
Always working on that next thing
That we can barely imagine from here

Christianity is a Verb

I am the vine and you are the branches.

If you abide in me, and keep my commandments, my Father who lives in heaven will come and make his dwelling place in your heart, and I with him, and you will bear much fruit.
And my commandment is that you should love another as I have loved you. You are my friends if you keep this commandment. Go and bear fruit, my friends. If you keep my commandments, the fruit you bear will not be like that which rots or withers, or fades away, but which will last, and will grow – that will bear seeds that will grow in turn and lead to more fruit.
So bear much fruit, and do not despair if you are persecuted, because before you were persecuted, so was I, and when you are persecuted you lay up treasure in heaven. Show mercy and do justice, and love one another. The commandment is not hard. -And if you do you shall live in me, and I in you. And you shall have everlasting life and great reward in heaven.

All My Love,
Your Brother.

An All-Encompassing Love

Sometime about half a century ago, a mathematician proved that for any mathematical system, there will be some problems that cannot be solved, which can be solved by other mathematical systems.

Isn't that remarkable? By extension, any one way of thinking will have areas it cannot address well - that require other approaches.

And further; the world is not comprehensible to any one way of thinking.

And any one theology will similarly have certain flaws that only others can address.

And I wonder if this is not another reason for the strange plurality of the Godhead, and the very different character of its elements: Spirit, God and Son. Because perhaps the one solution to our often troubled world requires more than one approach:

A creative force; our parent who calls us to be and grow.

A redemptive force; our friend and brother who challenges us to be true and intervenes with and for us, who shares our humanity.

A supportive force; a spirit that whispers in our ear and fills our hearts with love, guiding us back to God

No one approach could suffice, and perhaps no two was yet enough. To truly love the world in the all encompassing way, three were needed.

And if God IS love, perhaps it is useful to consider the Trinity in terms of love;

Parental Love,
Fraternal Love,
....and Passion

Filled with the threefold love of God, may we be wise in our own lives to see when new approaches are needed, hear when others point out our blindness, and act in God's will.

-Peace and Love to you in the Trinitarian God of Jesus Christ, The Holy Spirit, and God our Parent,

LE

Joy

You are not yet so joyful as I mean you to be!

So Live-
And live in joy!
And share your joy and love with those you meet-

Be not dauted;
but daunt with love-

Let your heart expand;
Let your love flow;

And live in joy-
Mourn no more;
And regrets leave behind-

But share and give;
And love;
And live!

Let your blood flow;
And let your love grow-

And all you are;
And all you can be;
And all you are with;

Give
And Give;
And Give;
And Give!!!

Be not single and small
But Live
And Live;
And Live;
And Live!!!

For living is about giving;
And giving is about living;
And loving is about living;
And loving is avout giving;

So Give;
And Love;
And Love;
And Live!!!

Joy!

Living Into Our Call

We all have a vision, I think, of our 'best self';
The self we hope to be,
And perhaps are meant to be.

A self who is uniformly good,
A self who is uniformly kind,
A self who is uniformly fair,
A self who has a special kind of wisdom,
A self who walks with God.

Visualize that self.
See that parnership with the Almighty.
Call forth your faith;
And walk that path.

Acknowledge and put aside thoughts and deeds that do not belong to your best self.

Put on the white robe of faith and walk with the Lord. Be your best self when you greet people, when you work, when you are with family, when you dine, when things go well, and when they go wrong.

Reframe your thoughts, words, and deeds from the perspective of your best self, and as if you were already living the life you imagine that this faithful self lives. Don't just count your blessings; that is for beginners; SEE yourself as blessed.

Envision your body, glowing with love and light. You are God's hands here on earth - Reach out and create, heal and help.

And when you stumble, pick yourself back up, admit your mistake, put your robe of faith back on, and go back to work.

You ARE blessed, and you ARE needed, more than you know or imagine.

Inspired by this, and St Paul.

After Psalm 33

...
Praise and thank God for our many blessings, because we are truly blessed.
Thank God with music, with dance, and with art
Proclaim your love and praise God loudly, so all can hear and see - because God is good and God's every deed is done in faithfulness.

God loves Mercy and Justice; the world is full of the steadfast love of the Lord;
God spoke and the universe was created, and God's breath lives within all life. God knows the fish of the sea, and the stars of the sky, every one by its own name.

God is awesome; God stands before time and also after; God was concerned with the events of your life before your eldest ancestor crept from the sea, and lovingly contemplates the echo of your features in the descendants of generations to come.

There is nothing that is hidden from God, and each of us is in God's sight. God knows us from the inside out, in our most shameful secrets and our hidden joys.

Nations, leaders and movements plot and plan, and seek to own the world, but the world is in God's hands, and God frustrates their plans. God's direction is clear and unchanged. Judgment and time belong to God, and from God no wealth, no power, and no physical strength can save you.

Happy are the people who follow in God's footsteps, who enter into God's labors. God watches over the faithful, who find eternal life in his steadfast love, and manna in the midst of want.

We wait upon the love of God, who is our help and protector. In God we find our joy and in God's name renewal. O Lord, be with us and bless us, even as we hope in you.

Peace,
Locust Eater

It Moves Silently

Almost hidden, glinting faintly below the trees, under the bar-berry bush and the rabbits-foot fern, the still stream glistens, small wildflower-petals dotting its surface.

It moves silently through the marshy woods, its bed richly robed in the blackened leaves of last season, each leaf in turn covered with a fuzzy-looking blanket of light brown decay.

No noise makes the stream in this part of its journey, as its waters glide very slowly along. Nothing moves this quiet morning to stir its bed.

Each place in this world has its own peculiar beauty. Every spot is filled with Light. Each small place finds its own way to show forth the awe we share.

Take some time to worship in the silent manner of this stream.

May we may find many such moments of peace in our lives.

It's the kingdom of God that's near us

Jesus came down to a level place
And stood together with us
He said we should care about the human race
And about differences make no fuss

He said the poor would soon be blessed,
The rich would learn of want;
There would be love for the distressed,
There'd be no more wealth to flaunt.

And all this happened long ago.
It's been 2000 year.
And I think by now we all should know,
That the end may not be near.

It's the kingdom of God that's near us;
That's what the prophets say.
And we should be reaching out to it;
Every single day.

And how to walk with God?
How does God walk with you?
Just hear God's Word and do it.
That's all you need to do.

Where is God?

...
Where is God?

Is God in the orange-y sun that rose through the trees this morning?
Is God in the sparrow chirping from somewhere inside the juniper?
Is God in the smile I exchange with a stranger?
Is God in the snow that whirls off the railbed, as a train goes by?
Is God below the ice of the swamp, amongst the muck, sleeping turtles and cattail roots?

Yes, God is there.
Creation shines with God.