The Present Moment - A Bonus Pilgr-image Reflection

This week, the following blessing has been working on me.  It is from To Bless the Space Between Us by John O’Donohue.  I have read it a bunch of times personally and have shared it in two other places this week.

For Presence by John O’Donohue
Awaken to the mystery of being here
and enter the quiet immensity of your own presence.
Have joy and peace in the temple of your senses.
Receive encouragement when new frontiers beckon.
Respond to the call of your gift and the courage to follow its path.
Let the flame of anger free you of all falsity.
May warmth of heart keep your presence aflame.
May anxiety never linger about you.
May your outer dignity mirror an inner dignity of soul.
Take time to celebrate the quiet miracles that seek no attention.
Be consoled in the secret symmetry of your soul.
May you experience each day as a sacred gift woven around the heart of wonder.
O'Donohue, John. To Bless the Space Between Us (pp. 42-43). The Crown Publishing Group. Kindle Edition.

I read it while I was also reflecting on the next part of the Sermon on the Mount for this coming Sunday (Matthew 5:17-20) which includes some pretty tough words from Jesus about how this stuff really matters:  (I bolded a few of the lines for emphasis)

Therefore, whoever breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches others to do the same, will be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.

My default lens for reading these is with an eye toward the “eternal” but what if these bold-ed sentences were spoken with an eye toward the fulfillment of the Kingdom of heaven here on earth.  So in that case, when someone lives these things out and teaches others to do the same, they’re going to be recognized as one doing good work (being a “mensch” in Jewish terminology) but if they live the opposite and teach others similarly, then they’re going to be seen for who they are?  This doesn’t take away an eternal side of it, but it deepens and broadens it.

It was as I was reflecting on this that I remembered O’Donohue’s blessing and it deeply spoke to my heart and what I kept hearing within was “God cares about the present.  God cares about the present.”  The everyday matters - the ordinary and the extraordinary, the joy and the sorrow, the hope and the fear, and everything in between.

So, the last 48 hours or so, I’ve been trying to stay connected to the present and remember how God cares for everything of the present moment and not just the eternal.  So, here are the 30 images that celebrate some of those present moments and then the descriptions:

• A tunnel of trees through which Scout and I walked

• Reading about wonder and poetry as I ran on the treadmill

• A spiderweb that I saw from a distance as I sat in just the right place at just the right moment

• My office phone from which I prayed with people dealing with major things

• Walking past the church my wife serves while going to meet with one of our church folks

• A zoom Bible study with several dear faithful women in the congregation

• Carpooling with my wife

• The table where a member and I sat and wrestled with the challenges of understanding Jesus’ words

• The cowboy hat he is letting me borrow for Sunday

• A beautiful cross that will be in our sanctuary that I finally heard the beautiful story behind it.

• My recording setup as I finalized my sermon for Sunday

• Our Green Team gathering to work on ways we can better care for God’s Creation.

• Likely the final magnolia bloom on our backyard tree, whose name is Maggie

• The hospital where I visited one of our members who has new challenges coming into his life and with whom I prayed Psalm 121

• The logo of a UCC church whose “motto” is wonderful. - Love Louder!

• The papers and people from our Open and Affirming Team as we work with the process for how we understand what it means that “we embrace all” as a congregation

• The amazing person I work with every few weeks as we support each other in ministry and with whom I shared O’Donohue’s words

• The chapel of the downtown congregation where my clergy circle met

• Two flowers that were beautifully illuminated by the sun and dotted with morning dew

• The back of our van filled with recycles collected in Ft Thomas being taken to the Recycle and Reuse Hub

• The couch where several different people sat this week as we talked through and prayed through challenges in their lives and big decisions coming up

• Some of the hygiene items collected by our congregation going to Brighton Center for those who need them

• Two pieces of art in the same downtown church - Dinosaurs and then a beautiful representation of eternity and the golden ratio in what was named “a prayerful labyrinth”

• Thursday morning’s sunrise

• The flowers in our pollinator garden which has been officially recognized as a pollinator habitat by the Cincinnati Zoo

• Another spiderweb that was illuminated just perfectly this morning

• Finally, a self-portrait on a bridge that has meant so much to me over the years and upon which I saw a pattern of light I had never seen before.

God cares for all of this and everything in between and around.

I am grateful to have been able to experience much of what this blessing offers, especially the last line and let that be my blessing to you …

May you experience each day as a sacred gift woven around the heart of wonder.

O’Donohue’s beautiful and wise words once again...