Dear Urban Abbey Members and Friends:
I found the meditation below by Steve Garnaas-Holmes to be very intriguing. This one of those writings that can (I think) be most useful by engaging it in a Lectio-style approach. I plan to go back to this and sit in quiet and see what ‘speaks’ to me. I love the imagery I get from this poem. One example for me is the phrase “I take mindfulness”. This is a reminder to me to try to live in the present, be fully engaged in what I’m doing now not worrying about the past moments or what will come in the future. This is especially important when I’m with someone – give that person my undivided listening and presence. There’s much more work to do with gratitude, trust, freedom, love, wonder, etc.
What does this poem say to you?
Shalom and blessings, George
_______________________________________
Dearly Beloved,
Grace and Peace to you.
Packing for the journey,
leaving much behind,
what shall I take with me?
I take mindfulness,
so that wherever I am
I may actually be there.
I take gratitude,
by which everything,
everything is a gift.
I take trust.
How much I can sow,
knowing the seeds will sprout!
I take freedom,
not from accountability,
but to live by my choices.
I take love,
my connection with all,
my only true power.
I take wonder.
There is always more.
It is all mystery, all grace.
I take courage
for all of life's yieldings
and steadfastness.
I take gentleness and kindness,
a way of being a blessing
that cannot be taken away.
I take an open heart,
open hands, open eyes.
All else I leave on the curb.
Find me on the road,
and find The One
—I do not go on my own—
by whom
I myself
am taken.
Deep Blessings,
Pastor Steve
______________________
Steve Garnaas-Holmes
Unfolding Light
www.unfoldinglight.net
Tuesday, June 21, 2011
Monday, June 20, 2011
God's Love
Dear Urban Abbey Members and Friends:
The meditation below by Fr. Don Talafous struck me as a marvelous affirmation of how God touches and is present for people of all religions. None of us has an ‘exclusive” relationship with God. We in our Urban Abbey, like Fr. Talafous, have been enriched by religious practices from other religions – I can recall one of our Community meetings where Raima Later led us in Hindu chant. There have been others.
I was also struck by Fr. Talafous’ response on the appropriateness of a Christian book for a Jewish friend. Early in our Urban Abbey’s history, we struggled with how to be open to all who come to the Abbey for refreshment, but yet retain our focus as a community deeply rooted in the Christian tradition and following Christ as our model for interaction in the world.
For me, the meditation has several messages. One is to be open to insights into spirituality and ways of becoming more in union with God offered by other religious traditions. A second message is to focus on the truths we share with fellow Christians and those from other religious traditions when we are in discussions. This will allow us to truly listen and understand others. We are not called to change our own beliefs, but to find those areas where we can work with others to advance God’s kingdom. A final message from this meditation is to remember our own faith tradition and honor it in our lives.
I invite you to share the insights this meditation has for you.
Shalom and many blessings, George
____________________
One problem a collection of reflections like this might have competing on the Internet with other Web sites of "spirituality" results from the inclusion of the Christian perspective. Books with wider public appeal do not betray or give preference to any such "narrow" perspective as the critics would call it. A friend asked me if a book of my reflections would be an appropriate gift for some Jewish friends. I had to say that I didn't think so. No effort is made here to exclude Jewish or Islamic or Hindu readers; in fact I am indebted to these faiths for insights. I believe with St. Paul that God has not left any part of the world without some witness to God's love for us. For Christians that witness shines out in Jesus Christ. But I don't think that we can say that it is only in Christ that God has revealed something about God's love for all human beings. On the other hand, to ignore Christ in the interest of a wider appeal would be turning our backs on what has formed and nourished us. Faithful Jews, it seems to me, must affirm that God has shown love for them by the care given the Chosen People and described in the Scriptures. Other religions affirm a similar message through entirely different images of God or of the power that cares for the world. It's hard to imagine -- impossible to believe -- that God does not make the divine love available to human beings wherever they are. – Fr. Don Talafous, St John’s Abbey
The meditation below by Fr. Don Talafous struck me as a marvelous affirmation of how God touches and is present for people of all religions. None of us has an ‘exclusive” relationship with God. We in our Urban Abbey, like Fr. Talafous, have been enriched by religious practices from other religions – I can recall one of our Community meetings where Raima Later led us in Hindu chant. There have been others.
I was also struck by Fr. Talafous’ response on the appropriateness of a Christian book for a Jewish friend. Early in our Urban Abbey’s history, we struggled with how to be open to all who come to the Abbey for refreshment, but yet retain our focus as a community deeply rooted in the Christian tradition and following Christ as our model for interaction in the world.
For me, the meditation has several messages. One is to be open to insights into spirituality and ways of becoming more in union with God offered by other religious traditions. A second message is to focus on the truths we share with fellow Christians and those from other religious traditions when we are in discussions. This will allow us to truly listen and understand others. We are not called to change our own beliefs, but to find those areas where we can work with others to advance God’s kingdom. A final message from this meditation is to remember our own faith tradition and honor it in our lives.
I invite you to share the insights this meditation has for you.
Shalom and many blessings, George
____________________
One problem a collection of reflections like this might have competing on the Internet with other Web sites of "spirituality" results from the inclusion of the Christian perspective. Books with wider public appeal do not betray or give preference to any such "narrow" perspective as the critics would call it. A friend asked me if a book of my reflections would be an appropriate gift for some Jewish friends. I had to say that I didn't think so. No effort is made here to exclude Jewish or Islamic or Hindu readers; in fact I am indebted to these faiths for insights. I believe with St. Paul that God has not left any part of the world without some witness to God's love for us. For Christians that witness shines out in Jesus Christ. But I don't think that we can say that it is only in Christ that God has revealed something about God's love for all human beings. On the other hand, to ignore Christ in the interest of a wider appeal would be turning our backs on what has formed and nourished us. Faithful Jews, it seems to me, must affirm that God has shown love for them by the care given the Chosen People and described in the Scriptures. Other religions affirm a similar message through entirely different images of God or of the power that cares for the world. It's hard to imagine -- impossible to believe -- that God does not make the divine love available to human beings wherever they are. – Fr. Don Talafous, St John’s Abbey
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