Spring Turns To Summer

Meditation – Erich Balling, Canon Musician

As we leave spring and begin a new and fresh season of summer, we have much to be thankful for and new things to discover. One of those is the beauty of God’s creation and how it translates into our own lives. The Reverend Nancy Roth is one of my favorite contemporary authors.  Nancy is an Episcopal priest, educator and spiritual director. She has a unique interest in using our hymnal as a guide to a greater understanding of God.

Nancy writes:

Some of the happiest people I know are those who realize that the common things of earth are holy, “charged with the grandeur of God” The earth is but one of the veils through which we glimpse the Lord of life.

In our time, humanity is becoming more and more disconnected from nature. For many of us, the greater part of our lives is spent indoors, often in artificial environments where even the “climate” is controlled. And as the pace of life becomes faster and faster, we have less and less time to notice the common things of earth, let alone to include in our work the task of tending them. I think that part of the discontent we feel has to do with our longing to re-connect with our earthly home. A simple thing such as stepping outdoors or looking out the window can become an act of worship to our Creator.

The labor that brings us into direct contact with the things of the earth – from preparing food to shoveling snow or planting a garden – can become a sacrament, an outward and visible sign of our worship of the God whose holiness is embedded in all things.

No longer taking the world around us for granted will be like awakening from sleep. And our souls will be set ablaze, filled with new zest to serve the God who gave us such a sacred home.

"Keep Awake"

This week, at our Noonday Eucharist we read from the Gospel of Matthew (Matthew 24:42-47) which reminded us to “keep awake”. I found this to be a timely reminder as we now enter into our long and “Common Season” of Pentecost. After this past Sunday’s glorious and enlivening celebration I am  still burning with the fire of the Spirit, and encourage by the words of our Presiding Bishop Michael Curry. But, without the intentionality of a season such as advent, with our call to live into waiting; or lent, where we turn and repent; I know it is up to me to pattern my life around our call to keep awake as we live into the Jesus movement. 

With this reminder I am finding myself looking ahead to our long, common season wondering what practices I might draw upon so that I can “stay awake”, and keep the fire from our Pentecost celebration a flame. Drawing on the words and message of Michael Curry I am encouraged to see how I might live into the Jesus Movement, and share this message of love, joy, peace, and hope with the world around me. In times of chaos and confusion in our world the practice of sharing this movement that speaks to inclusion and acceptance is certainly one that fans my own flame. When I connect with others and have the opportunity to invite them into this radical and wonderful movement the Spirit is enlivened within my soul, because I am reminded of what the Jesus movement means to me, and why it is important in my own life. 

As we enter into the season of Pentecost and “ordinary time”, I invite you to reflect on what spiritual practices enliven you and fan your own flame. There are many ways for us to commune with the Holy and “keep awake”, from Scripture studies to meditation, saying the daily offices (in your BCP) to spending time in nature, or even practicing evangelism. Whatever practice feeds your soul this is the perfect time to find it. So, experiment, dabble, and have fun finding your fan for the flame, your caffeine for your faith, and your white hot why for the Jesus Movement.   

This Discovery of Ourselves: Death and Resurrection

"Death is an egoectomy."  This is a quote from a seven day silent retreat in Centering Prayer I participated in last fall at Saint Mary's Retreat Center in Sewanee.  The theme of the retreat was "The Gift of Life" and focused on awareness of death and dying - life and living.

What is your reaction to the quote? Death is an egoectomy (the removal of ego, the unseating of it from the driver's seat of your life)?  What are your first thoughts and emotions?  First reactions to death and any kind of ectomy are typically not pleasant.  Regarding death, a humorous quote from Woody Allen you may be familiar with is "I do not fear death; I just do not want to be there when it happens."  Regarding ego, when the ego in the driver's seat we are on a detour to the spiritual path.  Dr. Phil might ask "How is that working for you?"  At some point most of us come to the realization that the answer is "not so good."

I am now 68 and my physical death is probably nearer now than ever before. I do expect to live much longer, but a motivation for me to attend the silent retreat was to deepen my awareness and understanding of living and dying.  During the retreat I became aware of a process of completing my life.  We began the retreat with a reading of John 12:24-25 and a quote from Thomas Merton "This discovery of ourselves is always a losing of ourselves - a death and resurrection. Your life is hidden with Christ in God...it cannot be an escape...it must be a fulfillment...the courage to face myself exactly as I am....therefore the discovery of myself is always a losing of myself...a death and resurrection..."

Reflections on this scripture and insights from Thomas Merton during the silent retreat deepened my awareness of living and dying as an ongoing process.  David Steindl-Rast refers to this as living in the "double realm." He is now in his 90's.  He indicated in a recent interview that living in the double realm is a longing for connection with God, for our deepest self in relationship to God, with others, and all of creation. He said, "Our deepest human longing, is for "be" longing...for belonging to our true selves, for belonging to all others...and that doesn't only mean human beings, but all other animals [and] plants. It's belonging to the whole universe and most of all experiencing God in us...We long for that...the realization that God is in us and we are in God... That longing gives us charge."

Near the end of the silent retreat we were given a quote from Thomas Keating "Trust in God and "be" there as much as you can..." I caught a glimpse of this during the silent retreat. After many years of intentional contemplation I know that the ego does not drop dead on command. Yet, if considered with loving kindness it can become an important part of an awakened heart in each of us.

For more on how to undergo an ego egoectomy with humor you can google "the egoectomy procedure in ten not so easy steps."


Gary Stewart

Hear Gary Stewart on Sunday, May 22 at the Forum at 10:00am at Christ Church Cathedral.