"Acts of God" (Sunday, May 5, 2013)

Acts of God

The mighty works of God thunder across the universe

and shake the very foundation of the world.

Yet, in the earthly whirling of our days,

it is usually the still, small voice we need to hear. 

The voice that tells us, softly,

that all our works are not in vain.

That reminds us, gently,

when we stray from the paths of righteousness.

The voice that tells us to open our eyes to the truth

when we would rather  keep them locked shut.

That opens our mouths to speak

when we would remain silent in the face of evil.

When we are truly in God, and God in us,

then we hear that voice, whatever the surrounding clamor.

It is the gentleness that guides us

and binds us in God’s holy ways.

A soft squeezing of the shoulder at times;

a rough shaking of our souls when we need it.

God gives us what we need

when we are quiet enough to ask for it.

In a loving presence

that is often but a whisper:

A mere whisper that shakes the universe

with its power and glory.

jbs

1/11/13          5/5/13

Walking together in love (Sunday, April 28, 2013)

Walking together in love

The ways of the world
can entice and enthrall;
but just as certainly,
can be a bitter gall.

The ways of the world
can gladden our hearts,
but just as surely
keep us apart
from the will of God,
and life in God’s expanding universe.

There is a heaven deep inside our souls
which we make manifest on this earthly plane.
There is the joy of God pounding in our hearts,
transcending all our differences,
erasing all our pain.

The ways of the world never lead 
directly to Heaven’s gate; but the love of God
can transform this Earth, and make it whole and holy. 
God’s love can take the most passionate love
and make it chaste and wholesome;
but without love, the most severe abstinence
is nothing other than an arid wasteland
from which all signs of real life have fled.

So, walk in this world;
live here, and love the creatures that you meet.
But keep your eyes and heart fixed on that which is Divine. 
In the midst of every encounter, every soul you touch, 
there lie encoded the deepest secrets
of that which is eternal and forever true.

jbs
2/25/05     5/22/05     4/28/13

A Prayer for Earth Day (Sunday, April 21, 2013)

A Prayer for Earth Day

Our Mother, Holy Wisdom, draws one breath
and even we who are miles away
are warmed by the glory of Her inspiration.
Our Mother, Holy Wisdom, reaches out
and even we locked-up against ourselves
are immersed in the blessing of Her embrace. 

This Earth is Her body,
and we, children of the Earth,
are Her children.

It really is as simple as that. 

Let us honor our Holy Mother
by loving our bodies made in Her image,
by loving one another as she has loved us,
by loving this Earth, our beautiful and eternal home.

Amen.

"Borderlands" (Sunday, April 14, 2013)

Meditation for Sunday, April 14, 2013

Borderlands

Perhaps it is that which we keep hidden in fear
that is our true light; 
perhaps it is the one we fear the most
who is our truest, deepest friend.

Wake the old lion, and let him out of the cage;
uncover your light from under that bushel. 
God is trying to tell you something
in every aspect of the life you hide,
in every fear that you apprehend.

Life is not lived on the surface of things:
Swimming in familiar, stagnant waters;
the truest discoveries are made around 
the borders; on the edge; at those 
magnificent boundaries where our souls explode.

I’ll meet you at the border, then, my friends,
out on the edge of our imaginations; 
in the dark essence of these lives we lead. 
There may we yet burst forth as new light 
to one another, and light the way, perhaps,
for other struggling pilgrims who’ll come after us.  
Who knows what truly heavenly discoveries
may come to us there in that sacred borderland
we once derided as worthless?

jbs
2/3/03     2/16/03     4/14/13

Easter Prayer 2013 (Sunday, March 31, 2013)

Easter Prayer 2013

The good news of the Resurrection calls us to rejoice:

Love did not die on Calvary,

and it does not die in the face of the countless crucifixions

innocent men and women suffer daily

at the hands of a broken and fallen world.

Wherever the hungry are fed, love is alive.

Wherever the naked are clothed, love is alive.

Wherever the sorrowing are comforted, love is alive.

Wherever children are taught, love is alive.

Wherever the broken are healed, love is alive.

Love lives in me.

Love lives in you.

Love lives in our neighbors, and in men and women of goodwill and good hearts the world over.

By the grace of love and the miracle of new life,

we are set free.

Blessed be God forever.

Blessed be the Spirit of Life, who holds us in everlasting arms.

Blessed be the Spirit of Life, who lives within our hearts,

and transcends all distinctions among us, and all barriers between us,

and transforms our little lives

into reflections of Divine Glory.

Amen.

Based on Mary Ann Niedzielski, alt. 

Atop the Holy Mountain (Sunday, March 24, 2013)

Atop the Holy Mountain

It was supposed to be lonely at the top of the great hill,
no one else around, only me,
sitting alone at the top of my isolated pinnacle.
But when I got there after this long, arduous trek,
I found not some narrow painful desolate peak
but an awesome wide plateau, level and expansive,
crowded with scores and hundreds,
maybe thousands, of other living souls.

There’s plenty of room at the top of God’s Mountain
for everyone who wants to find a place there
(and someday, we hope and pray,
it may be all of us).
But even now, in these days before dawn
there are plenty of souls to keep us company,
and share ideas and thoughts,
and celebrate the time we share together
in this most amazing place.

And from that magnificent perspective, we all look out
over the vast expanse below and all around:
the breathtaking vistas of a world well-tended,
of a world more glorious than words can tell,
of a world that reflects back the Spirit’s beneficence, truth, and beauty.
While all share together the splendid lookout at the top
(for all have earned it by their climbing)
each one knows that the particular view ones sees
is one-of-a-kind, never-to-be-repeated,
unique in all the world.

So, we strive to make it to the top of God’s  mountain,
each climbing carefully by our own pathway,
not to be alone after all, but to join with others;
the important thing when up there
is to know not simply our own perspective on the glory
but to feel the warmth, sense the breathing,
and hear the rapturous gasping of all of those
with whom we share this planetary garden.

jbs
12/19/98       3/3/02       3/24/13

The steps we take

 Each step is a story; 

each moment a symbol,
deeper lessons learning;
not to be catalogued,

but lived to the full;
not endlessly analyzed,

but allowed to dance
deep within our souls.

We meet and greet others
as they pass with artful delicacy;

it is a lovely dance of elegance and beauty
we do, when we cherish the other living spirits
with whom we share this sacred path.
Now back to back, now face to face,
smiling, greeting, a soft touch in passing, perhaps:
We are alone and strong and free,
but interdependent, too;

joined with every other pilgrim
with whom we share this holy ground.

Knowing this, we become at last like spirits,
blissful sparks of hope and love made real;
our hurt and pain diffused in the holy ether,
no less real, but held now in stronger hands than ours.
Our joy now cosmic, our song divine;
as we approach the center, together,
free at last to the lessons
that our lives’ stories will gladly learn and teach.

jbs
3/19/02        11/30/03        10/19/08       3/3/13