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Between the Night and First Light
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Between the Night and First Light
Between the Night and First Light 2560 1920 Nicole
It is in this darkest night of the year that God pierced time and space entering the utter darkness of the world, to be the light of, and to, all creation. This light who guides us “more surely that the noonday” to where Jesus is already waiting. To be one with us, with me, with you, – and only here, in the darkness that the beloved is joined with love, Lover transformed in the Beloved! All of us have known our fair share of darkness. And when, at our darkest moments we cannot bear to even be seen by anyone else, the pain and fear of it so profound, that our, that my soul is best ready to commune with Jesus at the very center. It is precisely this state of senselessness of the soul (a suspension, not the eradication of senses) that exposes the inner being to the rapture, complete abandon to Jesus’ healing, transforming embrace. It is in the darkness that our internal compass is a reality because that compass is the Christ, through whom all things were made, our true Mother who bore the world, gave birth to everything – this Christ, who ordered the boundaries of the waters, the edges of cascading cliffs, the expanses of fields in which we attempt to cultivate our corn – Christ, the Way, Truth, and Life, IS the Light. The Christ, Emmanuel, God-with-us, came into this world in the most vulnerable state: a naked, unequivocally dependent infant, an itty bitty of a baby whose birth we celebrate this dark night. God-with-us was born to a vulnerable teenaged young woman who also experienced the reality of every aspect of motherhood. Abandoned senses – that space between the darkest of the darkest, longest night and the first light of a new day – senses suspended, the Christ born in the most vulnerable state to one of the most vulnerable people in her time-space, in whom God, the Creator of everything, this Christ, through whom all things were made, the Mother who bore the world, gave birth to everything – this Christ, who ordered the boundaries of the waters, the edges of cascading cliffs – our internal compass – IS the Light Who guides us into transformation! This light who guides us “more surely that the noonday” to where Jesus is already waiting. To be one with us, with me, with you, – and only here, in the darkness that the beloved is joined with the love, Lover transformed in the Beloved! Together, let us be present to the night, this longest night let us be present to the night. Be vulnerable. Suspended senses. Steeped in the profound Peace of this night. Steady in the Hope of the new day. Nurtured by a joy that is a reality beyond sensing. Provoked to Trust a God who trusted a young woman to carry, give birth to, and raise the Mother to all Creation. Ready, in the darkness, to be joined with Love, to be transformed in the Beloved. Pay attention to that space between the darkness of the Night and the First Light of the new day. Be changed. Be transformed. read more
Members of Trust
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Members of Trust
Members of Trust 2560 1920 Nicole
#tbh, is a social media tag that stands for, “to be honest,” to share an opinion. Teens began using it to say something nice about their friends, or a way of talking to others whom they don’t know well, or to exchange complements and “likes.” “#tbh you’re pretty,” etc. Or, “to be heard” to show an opinion was heard. It’s no longer a trend, but it’s usually a false generosity intended to illicit an in-kind response. An I’ll-promote-your-post-if-you-say-something-nice-about-me. “You’re pretty,” “you’re nice,” “your outfit is en pointe.” Ahaz tagged his response to Isaiah #tbh when he said, “I’ll not ask God anything because I won’t put God to the test.” It was a false humility, and it revealed his fear – and, ultimately, his profound lack of trust in the God of Israel. So God told Ahaz through Isaiah that all whom he feared will be irrelevant in the end, but Ahaz will not experience that peace because he didn’t really trust God anyway. Conversely, Joseph, Matthew tells us, was a righteous person. When he found out that the young woman to whom he was betrothed was now pregnant – when they hadn’t yet the opportunity to consummate – he was respectful, desiring to treat Mary with regard and break up with her in private. But when the angel of God met with him and told him who the baby growing in Mary’s belly actually is – the one that had been promised to the people of Israel for eons – Joseph trusted God. At the risk of humiliation before his peers, and the possibility of punishment for Mary, Joseph remained faithful to the covenant he began with Mary. It was easier to believe this angel’s message because the promise of a messiah and the manner in which this messiah will come wasn’t made just to him. The promise was to the community, to the nation that God called to God’s self thousands of years earlier. It was repeated in their rituals, read to their children, and their children’s children. It was a collective trust the people of Israel maintained together. So when some lacked faith, others had faith for them. We trust because we witness the life of Jesus, the one through whom all things were created and in whom the God who Created all things is pleased to dwell – the witness of the life of Jesus in each other. My father who believed that time-space in which he would see Jesus face-to-face, and his trust imprinted my 11-year-old soul. Y’all live out that trust in community, a membership covenant, a commitment to encourage each other in that faith through your prayers, your presence, your gifts, your service, and your witness, so that together we may grow stronger in expressing God’s love for all creation. We trust, because together, we are members of Trust read more
Members of Joy
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Members of Joy
Members of Joy 2560 1920 Nicole
Joy is an orientation, a disposition of awe and wonder. The joy foretold by Isaiah is not necessarily a conjuring of an elated feeling, mustering excitement about life when nothing in life seems to be going right, worth celebrating. The joy foretold by Isaiah is that those who did not have full use of their body – can now see, jump up and down, sing…. All will be made right. There will be joy because not even fools will make unhealthy, unproductive choices; and we will sing together – and everyone will be happy about the music choices! Jesus is why these things are being made right, even now. And because we are already made right with God, we are empowered to, and deployed to be a part of this right-making. The justice described in Isaiah happens because of reconciled relationships. In James, we know joy when we stop grumbling and judging each other. Joy happens when we do life together without malice – spiteful, bitter – in easy company. When the shepherds saw the star – effulgent – they stopped and were filled with joy (Mt2.10). As soon as Elizabeth’s baby heard the sound Mary’s voice, this young woman carrying the savior of the world inside her own womb, when Elizabeth’s baby heard that voice, he leapt for joy inside Elizabeth. The delight and wonder in a child who just got what she always wanted – effulgent! Joy. But when we try to manage each other, when I attempt to squash that divine spark (the soul that is made in God’s very image) of someone else, I do great harm. When you see me for who I am and affirm that, encourage it, everything is right and good – what joy! How much more so when we are oriented in this way with our children – all of our children: the ones born to us and the ones incorporated into us by way of baptism and membership vows. Will you walk with me through this week of Advent with a disposition of awe and wonder, an expectation of opening a new day as a child who exclaims, “just what I always wanted!” because we have each other, members of covenant? It is such a good feeling to know we’re alive! Together, members of joy! read more
Members of Peace
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Members of Peace
Members of Peace 2560 1920 Nicole
The fullness of God the Creator – of everything! was pleased to have all of God’s own being (fullness) dwell in this itty bitty of a baby whose birth we claim to Celebrate on December 25th. Still, “without justice and love, peace is an illusion.” #DomHelderCamara The project of God’s justice – making all things right, reconciling us to God and each other, AND all creation (whether things on earth or things in heaven) – this project of God’s justice is fueled, empowered, made personal, purely by Love: by making peace through Christ’s blood, shed on the cross. Then, God’s presence will be known, the people will consult God – and pay attention, and an industry of war will no longer be necessary: indiscriminately, across the board, the only commerce will be the facilitation of peace. Put on the armor of light – walk in the light of Jesus. Live with honor. What does that look like to live honorably? For one, it means living honestly – let your actions live out what you believe. What is it that you believe? We believe in Jesus Christ – the messiah, anointed Present. So if you say that you believe in Jesus Christ, to live honorably is to act on that, to live it. Awake! remember your baptism and, together, let us center on Jesus who dwells in me and in you – take time allowing the spirit of Jesus (in whom God is pleased to dwell) to speak; confess our frenzy and anxiety at the onset of Advent. Awaken, and remember. Together we are members of peace. Know peace; be an instrument of peace. read more
Anointed Abode
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Anointed Abode
Anointed Abode 2560 1920 Nicole
For whom do I create? Well, for everyone who listens to what comes from my mouth and views the art I’ve crafted. Ultimately, though, I know I do all of this because I believe in Jesus Christ, and the project of Kingdom building – a kin-dom of all creation, perfecting, becoming… Opening hearts, opening minds, opening doors. So why would I ever give potentate status to anyone other than Jesus? What convinces us that others’ opinions or disposition toward us should have unlimited power or influence over us? To say, “I believe in Jesus Christ,” ought to indicate that my life would display something of that belief. Christ, the Messiah, Redeemer – Anointed – is present, now. I believe this reality because I experience that nearness, the truth of Jesus’ voice and strength and love. And because if I don’t? where else can I go? everything about who am I will eventually fall apart. What does it mean, might it look like, that we live our belief together? Maybe it means not looking to other “successful” churches to find answers to our problem of dwindling numbers, but look to the Presence, the Jesus Christ we claim to believe in, praying together for God’s leading, praying that we can be the light of Jesus in this world. Perhaps if we pray like we had nowhere else to go, we might even pray ourselves into truly believing it. read more
Spiritual Abode
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Spiritual Abode
Spiritual Abode 2560 1920 Nicole
We are interconnected. We are accountable to God – together. Which means, we are accountable to each other, too. The whole earth is full of God’s glory. This holy God fills the land with plenty of what we need – exactly enough. But we are accountable to one another for its care. Men and women put their lives on the line, and have given their lives for the protection of this land. Your land. My land. But it is rebelling against us because of the disregard we’ve given it. Perhaps, as we remember and honor the veterans who have and who are even now in service to the protection of our freedoms in this land… consider what our responsibility is to the land – this land that was made for you and me. And we might see the reality, God’s glory, the reality of God’s presence even here, and see more clearly that material things “only collect rust or dust, and once we know that the only thing that counts is treasure in heaven, surely we [will] find a new way to live!” read more
Cosmic Abode
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Cosmic Abode
Cosmic Abode 2560 1920 Nicole
The result of living out of a mythology of self and without grace, the grace of dignity – the truth of who I am, who you are, as uniquely imaging God – the result of living for the myth and not living in the grace of knowing my true worth … is shame. If each of us understands of what our relationship with God consists, If each of us let go of the mask that we made identity – cobbled together as a façade – our entire sense of worth is no longer in question; and there is no longer shame. But we have to have faith. Believe that the end is present because God is timeless, and God is near. In fact, God is among us. And we are not alone. “Everything in God’s universe is present-tense. Divine love transcends time and place.” In the Eucharist, taking communion, we remember. Today we remember – remembering the saints, in communion. And together dwell in this Cosmic Abode of the communion of saints. read more
Disciple's Transformation
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Disciple’s Transformation
Disciple’s Transformation 2560 1920 Nicole
We are accountable to each other. God created us to be in community and to be unified – one with God and one with each other. Not identical, not doing ministry in the same way, but at one with who God made us to be and live out of that strength, leading and moving with dignity: knowing our worth, knowing the worth of those who lead and move and live beside us, with us. Transformation in the spiritual life is experiential and perpetual. It is a verb. An occurrence, and ongoing. It is not a one-and-done this side of glory. “As long as you do not have experience of this dying and becoming, you are only a troubled guest on this dark earth.” Johann Wolfgang von Goethe read more
Disciple's Faith
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Disciple’s Faith
Disciple’s Faith 2560 1920 Nicole
Sometimes faith is believing that you are enough, that I am enough – believing that God’s love is the only true standard – and that if I fall short in loving others (or even myself), God’s love has covered even that. Because, you know, grace. Faith gives us the courage to be vulnerable. God promised that this new covenant will mean that every bit of who God is and God’s intention for creation will already be writ large on their hearts. This hope is timeless. As it was for the Israelites, so it is for us. Faith is what got them through it all, and it is faith that moves us now. We can be fewer in number, decreasing in mobility and endurance – and permeate the community, disciple with nothing but who we are. And that is enough. Because God alone, is enough. read more
Disciple's Communion
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Disciple’s Communion
Disciple’s Communion 2560 1920 Nicole
It requires a fair amount of faith to live in unity, with a bond of peace. We must believe there is “one body and one Spirit, … called to the one hope … one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is above all and through all and in all.” It is communion; it is the disciple’s communion. It is active faith – not unthinking, holding to some literalism that creates a fissure between us – but genuine, ‘working out our faith’ (Phil2:12) working hard at it, with even a bit of fear and trembling. For this kind of faith we must be gentle with each other and with ourselves, patient, bearing with each other in Love. Because those who love are born of God and know God. Those who don’t love – and it is easy to love those who love you, but Jesus says, “love your enemies too!” (Lk6:35) those who don’t love, don’t know God. Period. Because God. Is. Love. read more
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