Queueing-up for the New Year

Mystery hushes us. It blasts away incessant mind-chatter. It chokes words into silence.

We stand at the edge of the canyon; or by the side of the sea; or at the foot of a mountain. Quiet. Awe.

Vows exchanged by glistening eyes, clammy hands and trembling voices.

Hearing, It's cancer.

The birth of a healthy new child.

Holding-onto a dear friend as they breath their last.

And now we queue-up to a new year. We hear a whisper pleading with us: Take off your shoes, This is holy ground. 

Will we remove them? Will we listen? Do we believe?

Hearing the Holy--Together

I've been reading the Christmas story again and watching as God weaves Heaven-realities into earth-longing.  Such a wonder.  And this mysterious coming of God to be among us is accomplished by people, not individuals.

There are Zechariah and Elizabeth, Joseph and Mary, the shepherds and the wise men.  Each of these individuals is experiencing holy wonders in partnership with another .  Even the two unlikely mothers--Elizabeth and Mary--are permitted time together to savor the truths of God's wrecking/remaking of their worlds.  No one is left to experience the divine on their own.  Not just Mary will bare a child.

When you hear from God, who hears with you?  Who is there to confirm your sensing of what the Holy One is up to in your life?  We are not intended to hear or perceive holy stuff in a vacuum.  Yet,  we often teach spiritual formation as a solo act.  I propose to you that we need someone else around who can affirm when glory comes our way.

Do you live in expectation of holy intervention?  Do you live in a bright place where God can speak to you--or dream through you as God wishes?  With whom can you share these epiphanies?  Who can affirm them?  Who is the Joseph to your Mary, or the Elizabeth to your Zechariah?  We are not intended to do this Jesus thing alone.  To whom would you turn if you heard from an angel today?

We need others to help us decipher holy messages. God is broadcasting in our direction.

Forgiveness: A Holy Pain

A friend sent me this post by Michael Hidalgo.  It speaks of the pain of forgiveness--not only for Christ, but for his followers.  It seemed a good way to end a six month drought of posting here, and an appropriate topic for this Holy Week.


May we do our suffering well and in a redemptive way.

Click here to read. 

Thank you Michael Hidalgo.

May Christ's grace keep us.