Full circle

Dearly Beloved,

Grace and Peace to you.

“You will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you will name him Jesus. He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give to him the throne of his ancestor David. He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end."
— Luke 1. 31-33

As we approach Holy Week we stumble upon one of those quirks of a literalistic interpretation of scripture: today, March 25, is exactly nine months before December 25, and therefore celebrated in the Roman tradition as the day of the Annunciation, when Gabriel announced the coming of the miraculous child to Mary. Never mind that the Bible says nothing of when Jesus was born; let's take it as it is.

This week Jesus' life comes full circle, and we see the fulfillment of Gabriel's promise: not that Jesus came to die, but that he came to love. Now we see Jesus on the cross, his throne, reigning in love, his compassion supreme over all forces, even the greatest powers of evil and violence, even the power of death itself. None of these puny forces can stand up to his gentleness; even the most crushing blows evil can think of do not budge Jesus in the least, or begin to dent his tender forgiveness. It's as if Caesar is trying to stomp on a little flower, and it won't even bend. Love is invincible. Christ's forgiveness is absolute. He reigns forever, and of his realm of healing, forgiveness and grace there will be no end.

As you stand here and contemplate the cross, under the reign of the Son of the Most High, I wonder if the promise comes full circle again? I wonder if I hear the voice of Gabriel. Is such sovereign compassion conceived in you today?



Deep Blessings,
Pastor Steve


_______________________________
Copyright © Steve Garnaas-Holmes
unfoldinglight(at)hotmail.com

What Mary said yes to

.

That God was up to something
That nothing is impossible with God
That what stirs in us is of cosmic importance
That the Source of the Universe favors you
That your ordinary life deeply matters
That you have no way of measuring the value of your life
That God has desires for you that you cannot grasp

Being part of an energy you do not fully understand
Accepting your gifts as holy
Not having control
The beyond within
Love that gives by demanding from us
Being changed
Risk
Giving yourself to something
without knowing how it will turn out
Being misunderstood, judged, powerless and rejected
The power and wisdom of those who are
misunderstood, judged, powerless and rejected
Glory in all things
Loving God by loving a person
Saying yes

Blessing
Mystery
The long haul



Deep Blessings,
Pastor Steve


_______________________________
Copyright © 2009
Steve Garnaas-Holmes
unfoldinglight(at)hotmail.com

Something coming

.

In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a virgin whose name was Mary. And he said, "Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you." But she was much perplexed by his words and pondered what sort of greeting this might be. The angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And now, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son.”
— from Luke 1. 26-31

Unless our plans include immaculate conception,
God’s grace in our lives often comes as an interruption.

In lives in which we do not revere our souls
the first miracle is that God favors us.

God comes to us not as a stranger,
a neighbor, or a condescending authority,
but as our Infinite Lover.

We stand before God not as strangers
or slaves or defendants,
but as Beloved.

And God will have us.

God’s love flowers within us
in ways we cannot control.

It will become our master.

You might as well plan for miracles,
or at least keep your options open.



Deep Blessings,
Pastor Steve


_______________________________
Copyright © 2009
Steve Garnaas-Holmes
unfoldinglight(at)hotmail.com

Invocation

.
.
She lives a beckoning.
Her hands beseech
in drawing water, pounding grain.

An invitation dwells within
the practiced grace of tending to the elders,
the invocations and priestly gestures
of washing pots, of cooking soup,
the welcome of a small dirt floor made clean.

She lays her eyes like hands on things
and consecrates them: cups and stones,
and children, and their tears;
her noticing, her calling to the holy.
She knows no saintliness beyond the plain
embrace of all that is, the feel of walking,
the sacredness of how we’re given, pure,
so confidently to each other here.

She does not question the roughness of her life,
but uses it to scrub her wisdom’s tabletop;
and yet with every breath she begs a question.
Her undemanding silence is a bidding,
her simply being, her vocation here:
to make intimate spaces for eternity to dwell.

The great round pot sits, washed and empty.
And there, beside the broom, as yet unseen,
dear Gabriel smiles at her and draws a breath.



_______________________________
Copyright © 2009
Steve Garnaas-Holmes
unfoldinglight(at)hotmail.com