BlogGuide

Order of Posts: Blog posts are always arranged from oldest to newest. To start at the beginning, navigate to the oldest post.

How to listen
: Click on an episode to hear the associated audio file. Right-click and select "Open in a new Window" to play the episode while reading the associated devotional. We will soon add instructions for subscribing to this podcast using iTunes.

Comments: Please take a moment to let us know your thoughts about this blog and the Lenten Reflections.

Friday, March 25, 2011

Episode 26: April 3 - In Face of the Mystery

“The Lord is in his holy temple,
Let all the earth keep silence.”                                 (Habakkuk 2:20)
Silence indeed!
For God is silent.
Ear cannot hear,
eye cannot see,
sense cannot feel
what is there.
What is there?

The universe surrounds me
like the dark of night.
It is not empty
yet it does not speak.
There is a presence
that cannot be seen.
At the heart of the universe,
in the pulsing of life,
is a mystery
deep as the night
silent as the sky.

In the delicate unfolding
of a flower.
In the far-flung galaxies
of the universe.
In the closeness of two lovers
or a mother and her child.
In life.
And in death.
There is a mystery
deep
silent.

Eye cannot penetrate the darkness
to see what is there.
Ear cannot hear the distant music.
It is the very darkness itself
the eye is trying to see.
It is the very silence itself
the ear is trying to hear.
It is the dark, silent mystery
which has given us birth.

That which is.
but cannot be seen,
has caused all to be,
having no being.
Unseen,
unspeaking,
yet there.

And life is lived,
unless lived in the shallows,
in the face of that
mystery.
For the mystery within
resonates
with the mystery beyond.

Looking at that
which cannot be seen,
listening to that
which cannot be heard,
brought into being by that
which is beyond being,
seeking to know that
which cannot be known,
I face the vast deep
mystery
and say, “yes!”

Episode 25: April 2 - Light Has Come

It has happened!
The light has come!
“The people who walked in darkness
have seen a great light.”                                               (Isaiah 9:2)

Why has it come?
Are we to stare at it?

Have you ever looked
at the sun?
Or even a light bulb?
It hurts your eyes.
May even blind you.
You’re not supposed to stare
at the light.

The light shines.
But not on itself.

The light has come
so you can see
yourself
your neighbor
the world
everything
and God
in a whole new light

In other words:
If you see the light of Jesus
you’re going to start seeing
a lot more than
Jesus.

That’s why the light has come.
Do you see?

Episode 24: Apri 1 - Here's The Key

Jesus said
—and demonstrated with his life—
that the key to penetrating the Mystery is
love.

We are talking about living
in the face of the deep unknown.
And Jesus said the key to that is love.

We are asking what the mystery is,
and how we are to be related to it. 
And Jesus says the answer is love.

We are talking about understanding life,
about living life with a sense of meaning. 
Jesus said the key to that is love.

Jesus did it. 
Jesus loved. 
And loving, Jesus lived in such intimacy
with the mystery
that John could say
whoever has seen Jesus, has seen the face
of the mystery. 
Whoever has understood Jesus,
understands the mystery.
Maybe not everything, but
all you really need to know
for now.

What do you see when you look at Jesus?

Episode 23: March 31 - How Do We See Jesus?

Of course
what John meant by
“we have seen Jesus” was
we actually saw him.
We walked with him
      talked with him
            ate with him.
He was real.  O.K.?
Not an abstract idea,
myth, legend or someone’s speculations.
A concrete human being of
real live flesh and blood.  We saw him.

Of course
what John also meant was
we (and this time he includes
all of his readers, most of whom
--like us--
had not seen Jesus in the flesh)
WE have seen Jesus with
the eyes of understanding.

When we look at Jesus,
when we “see” Jesus
we have a new understanding of the Mystery
before which
and in which
we live out our lives.

Do we now have full understanding of all
the mystery of the unseen God?
No, but
in some important ways
the Mystery
--that which is beyond seeing—
has become visible to us.

Episode 22: March 30 - Jesus Said "Yes"

God is a Mystery.
Unseen Spirit.

Jesus said yes to
the Mystery.
Jesus dared to name the Mystery
“Father.”
And even on occasion
was brash enough to call the Mystery
“Daddy.”
Yes.
That word “Abba”
—which translators fear to touch
because it is too intimate—
is the equivalent of daddy or da-da.

Is that what it’s supposed to be like?
To feel as intimate and safe with God
as a baby snuggled in daddy’s or mommy’s arms?
Was that what Jesus had?
Was that Jesus’ secret?

So intimate was Jesus
with the mystery
that John could say
whoever has seen Jesus
has seen the face of the
Unseen Mystery.

I’ll ask it again:
What do you see when you look at Jesus?

Episode 21: March 29 - Who Has Seen God?

“No one has ever seen God.”
Yes, John, we heard you.
Did you hear the rest?
What?
No one has ever seen God,
but we have seen Jesus.
And Jesus said,
“Whoever has seen me has seen the Father.”                 (John 14:9)
Is that the answer?
Look and see.

God is one big unseen mystery.
So what are you going to do?  Quit?
Or continue the journey—
stay with the struggle—to make some sense
of it all.

“Turn your eyes upon Jesus’
says an old song.
Is that the answer?
Well, look
and see what you see
when you look
at Jesus.

What do you see when you look at Jesus?

Episode 20: March 28 - Has Anyone Seen God?

There’s this problem
in our search for God.
“No one has ever seen God.”                                        (John 1:18)
In case you missed that in John’s Gospel:
Its repeated in the First Letter of John.
“No one has ever seen God.”                                      (1 John 4:12)

Dust and breath/matter and spirit.
We know intimately the dust and matter part.
How do we get hold of the breath and spirit?

We need to capture it in something:
      a box, a building.
      a book, a creed.
Then we’ll know we have it right!
Or will we?  Who decides?

“Our ancestors worshiped on this mountain, but you say … people must worship in Jerusalem," said the woman.                                                                         (John 4:20)
Jesus answered, “Neither on this mountain
nor in Jerusalem.                                                           (John 4:21)
God is spirit, and those who worship
must worship in spirit and truth."                                    (John 4:24)

Don’t you see, Jesus?
That’s exactly our problem.
We can’t see spirit.  We can’t get hold of truth.
We need something more concrete.
Like those tablets of stone
you gave to Moses.
Yeah, that was a great idea.

I don’t know about this spirit stuff.
I just can’t see it.