“There is time to learn God’s hopes and dreams and to be the hands and hearts that carry them out. There is time to nurture tender seeds, not knowing what they will become but loving them for their strange, brightly colored stems and their ability to carry your heart into wonder. There is time to make a greenhouse for God’s new life.”
“I don’t remember another major life-shift after that until the Covid 19 epidemic came along and changed all of our lives so radically. I still can’t believe we went from worshiping together in relative safety (though we were worried about the common cup and sanitizing our hands) to worshiping remotely via Zoom in about 48 hours. But we did.”
“For people of color, especially for black African Americans, the terror of the hate crime is built into the very fabric of one’s days. It’s not a new thing; it’s ongoing, a constant awareness — a fact of life over which one has little control.”
“Jesus breathed on them and said, “receive Holy Spirit.” Breath quickens blood, quickens soul, moves our spirits in exaltation and our bodies in dance. Wind moves the clouds in patterns across the sky: Ruach, Creator’s companion — breath of God, Word of God.”
“We are all beloved servants of God, heirs to the kin-dom of divine love. But we are in a world that does not see this. We ourselves are apt to put belief in societal constructs, family affiliations, and clan-like organizations ahead of neighbor to neighbor caring. Unlearning all that can be dangerous and intimidating.”
“The essence of the Eucharist is the celebration of Christ’s willingness to commune with us. We focus on that awareness and allow it to inform us. We learn through the lens of love that Christ is in God and we are in Christ and Christ is in us.”
“I light a candle and chant a favorite hymn. The sadness and anxiety that has lodged itself in my soul shakes loose and flows out of me with the music. I go for a walk, breathing deeply, acknowledging the springtime that is spreading through the world. In this moment I remember that I am not in charge; I am only your helper. The sticky pull of the world’s suffering eases a little. Living or dying, I give you my heart and my complete trust, O God.”
“So where do I find the voice of the good Shepherd? It’s in my very bones. I recognize the voice because it feels like the essence of me, a “me” not encompassed by the ego mind but as large as the Soul.”
“Fasting from this sacrament, I wonder if there is anything in this time of social distancing that could possibly be as powerful in linking me with my fellow parishioners as the sacrament of Eucharist is. Would there be anything even half as powerful?”
“Instead I have to listen with the ears of my heart. My belief comes straight out of that part of me in which Christ dwells already, and has dwelt since before the beginning of time. It comes from my heart, the true center of my person, the seat of my Soul. My Soul knows.”