be still

Psalm 46:1-2, 10 – God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth should change, though the mountains shake in the heart of the sea. Be still and know that I am God.

Be still. Be still and know. Be still and know I am with you in the chaos, in the fear, in changing times and in the joy and serendipity of this moment.

Breathe in, breathe out. Breathe in your peace, breathe out patience in this time. Breathe in your love, breathe out compassion for others. With each breath, let me fall more into your likeness.

Help me linger in your presence, to revel in the beauty of this moment, to feel the here and now.

Breathe in, breathe out. Be still and know this is the moment.

Not the past, not the future. But here. Right now.

Breathe.

search me and know me

Psalm 139:23-24  Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my thoughts.
 See if there is any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.

We long for intimacy, for someone to know us so well they can anticipate our every move and finish our sentences.  And when they see our dark sides and still love us, it’s even better.  But in human relationships, we curate what others see.  There is always something left hidden.

With the Divine Creator, everything about us is already known because we were knit together in God’s image.  There is no escaping God’s delight in us.  But as much as we want God to care for us and watch over us, do we really want God in all our thoughts and actions?

When we are at our best, we reflect the Divine into the world.  We accept our role in creating the Peaceable Kingdom.  We like ourselves and believe we are worthy of love. But too often, we like hiding the shadows, doing what we want to do.  We like being anonymous in the crowd, thinking our actions don’t really matter.  And would we always be proud if God knew what we were going to say before we said it?  Probably not.

We all struggle with the darkness in us and around us.  When darkness surrounds us, it’s easy to feel alone and disconnected from God.  It’s hard to know which way to go, so instead of moving forward, we sit and lament.  Luckily, God has excellent night vision, and even when it’s too dark for us to see, the Light is there, waiting to offer comfort and guidance – a search light for our soul – getting us back on the way everlasting.

make me know your ways

Psalm 25:4-7 — Make me to know your ways, O LORD; teach me your paths.  Lead me in your truth, and teach me, for you are the God of my salvation; for you I wait all day long.  Be mindful of your mercy, O LORD, and of your steadfast love, for they have been from of old.  Do not remember the sins of my youth or my transgressions; according to your steadfast love remember me, for your goodness’ sake, O LORD!

We have a rescue dog named Skippy from our local shelter.  He’s a 95-pound lab mix that loves to take long walks.  He’s a very happy dog, until you want to take a different route.  Sometimes, he crouches down in the street and becomes an unmovable weight.  I pull on the leash, but he looks away and ignores me.  As we both try to exert our will, it’s never quite clear who will win the standoff.

Too often, we are like Skippy.  We do what is right and expected of us most of the time, but put us in a certain situation, and we just have to have our own way.  Maybe it’s our sullen and rude teenager who sets us off.  Maybe we didn’t get enough sleep or are hungry.  Maybe we are under the influence of drugs or alcohol and it changes our outlook.  We can stay on the path most of the time without a problem, until we are faced with something that challenges us.  And then, all bets are off.  We pull away from God’s path, we resist what we know is right, and we forge a path on our own to prove that we are strong enough to resist God’s guiding hand.

Thankfully, God never seems to let go of that invisible tether.  We may test the length of the rope and we may pull and twist and growl.  We may go off exploring new places and get into some trouble along the way.  We may willfully disobey.  But God is patient, full of a steadfast love that we only wish we could have for others.  Teach me your paths, O God.  Make me know your ways.  Lead me in truth and teach me, for you are the God of my salvation.  May it be so.

don’t worry, be happy

Psalm 37:1-5 – Do not fret because of the wicked; do not be envious of wrongdoers, for they will soon fade like the grass, and wither like the green herb.  Trust in the LORD, and do good; so you will live in the land, and enjoy security.  Take delight in the LORD, and he will give you the desires of your heart.  Commit your way to the LORD; trust in him, and he will act.

Don’t worry, be happy.  Easier said than done.  Too often we fret over the wicked bullies.  Why do they do the things they do? How do they get away with such evil things?  What did we do to deserve this?  How do we stop their wave of destruction?  Sometimes it feels like there is a cosmic game of wack-a-mole at play in our world.  One source of evil pops up, and we try to wack it down, but another one pops up.  The more we wack, the more they pop.  It’s exhausting and unending.  And wickedness don’t seem to fade like grass, but take over like kudzu.  It’s everywhere, and almost impossible to uproot.

The psalmist points us another way.  Trust God and do good.  Take delight, and God will give you the desires of your heart.  This isn’t to say that evil doesn’t exist, but that we don’t need to be part of it and give it our energy.  Fretting over why someone is so mean and destructive does not make them less mean.  It just saps our energy for goodness and light.  When we become God’s light in the world, and shine in the midst of darkness, the light overcomes the darkness.  And as we shine, we light a path for others to escape the darkness and add to the light.

So make your own little corner of the world the best it can be.  Be kind to everyone you meet, and treat them as you would want to be treated.  Live this day with joy, embracing the abundance of life!  Be the change you desire in the world.  Evil will always be around you, and there are times you have to confront evil.  But worrying about evil is wasted energy and detracts us from our mission.  Trust in God, commit to the holy path.  Skip and be joyful as you go!  Evil will wither and run out of energy if we don’t feed it.  Take delight and gain the desires of your heart.

storming the gates

Psalm 118:19-24 – Open to me the gates of righteousness, that I may enter through them and give thanks to the LORD.  This is the gate of the LORD; the righteous shall enter through it.  I thank you that you have answered me and have become my salvation.  The stone that the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone.   This is the Lord’s doing; it is marvelous in our eyes.  This is the day that the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.

Hosanna, Hosanna!  This is the day that the Lord has made!  Let us rejoice and be glad in it, indeed.  The somber season of Lent is coming to a close, as we enter Jerusalem with shouts and acclamation.  We have seen the miracles Jesus has done and we are ready to storm the gates of righteousness to take our place in this new kingdom.  We have been disenfranchised long enough.  We are poor, outcast, sick and undesirable.  We don’t get to carry the keys to the kingdom, but this is our chance.  Jesus is headed to Jerusalem.  We should go with him!

What I love about Palm/Passion Sunday is the juxtaposition of emotions.  We open with waving palms and songs of joy and expectation.  Our Savior is coming!  He’s storming the gates of righteousness!  We are rebuilding the temple to be what God intended.  The promise is about to come true!

And too often, we are tempted to stay in this spot, waving our branches, waiting for Jesus, without considering the rest of the week.  We want to miss the day in the temple, where Jesus upsets the carts and makes a mess.   We sit at the Last Supper, failing to take in what he is saying about his body and blood as a living sacrifice of love.  Somehow, the trial surprises us, and before we know it, we’ve denied we even knew him, and he’s dying there on the cross.  Our world is spinning out of control.

But we can’t get to Easter unless we pass though the full range of emotions today.  Jesus is at the gate, ready to change to world.  He’s just not going to do it in the ways we were expecting.   Will we go with him on this journey or stay outside with our branches?