Tags
courage, feel, live, meet people, never too late, see, sunrise, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, time, timing
This morning when I woke the sky was still in the process of lighting up. According to my phone, I still had at least 25 minutes before the alarm would sound to wake me. I settled down to wait or doze…but something in me said ten minutes later that it was time for my day to begin. How fortunate an impetus! When I opened my eyes and looked out my windows in both directions – east and south – I was treated to a lovely wash of color, soft in pinkish-orange light, that lasted less than two minutes before fading into the monochrome glimmer that spells d-a-y. What a gift of perfect timing! Something not to be missed, I thought.
I’ve had several conversations already this week about the speed of the summer and how time seems to be passing too quickly. This morning convinced me once again that time is a precious commodity not to be squandered. Deciding to explore a bit, I typed “quotes about time” into the subject line on my phone. I read some familiar things, but there was a quote that seemed the perfect start for this day. It was from Eric Roth, from his screenplay for The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. See what you think.
“For what it’s worth: it’s never too late, or in my case, too early to be whoever you want to be. There is no time limit, stop whenever you want. You can change or stay the same, there are no rules to this thing. We can make the best or the worst of it. I hope you make the best of it. And I hope you see things that startle you. I hope you feel things you never felt before. I hope you meet people with a different point of view. I hope you live a life you’re proud of. If you find that you’re not, I hope you have the courage to start all over again.”
What could be a more perfect “thought for the day?” Let’s live it!
The daily Scriptures continue to surprise me. Just when I think I have the important messages memorized, a verse shows up saying something I don’t remember ever hearing before. This morning it’s from Ezekiel. I’ve been confident for as long as I remember, knowing that God said “I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you…” but this morning the verse before the gospel stuns me with: “Cast away from you all the crimes that you have committed, says the Lord, and make for yourselves a new heart and a new spirit.” (EZ 18:31) That sounds like the retort of Jesus when the disciples tell him the huge crowd that’s been following him needs food and he says, “Give them something to eat yourselves.”
As is often the case, I woke up today with song lyrics in my head. This time it was a familiar text from Paul’s letter to the Corinthians, chosen by countless people for a wedding reading. You know it too, I’ll wager. Love is patient, love is kind, love is ready to forgive, sings Jeannie Cotter with David Haas ready to jump in as the lyrics veer off a bit from Paul. The last line of the chorus summarizes the message beautifully, however, when both sing that in love we choose to live. 
We all have our own perspectives on things and sometimes there is not only difference in how we see things, but downright opposition to the views of others. I’m always reminded of this when the “Who do people say that I am?” question shows up in the Scriptures. (Today in MK 8.) That’s the easy question though because the answer can include lots of hearsay, e.g. “Elijah or one of the prophets” (reincarnated?) or John the Baptist (more tricky since they lived at the same time). The riskier question comes next when Jesus asks the question that calls for a response of personal conviction: “Who do you say I am?” No one rushes to that answer and Peter seems the only one to finally get up the courage to speak his mind, or more probably, what he knows in his heart: “You are the Christ.”
As I read today’s lectionary texts, I am struck once again with the necessity of living every moment to the fullest without grasping at the past or the future – which I no longer have or do not yet have (and maybe never will, who knows?). This is not a new theme but as I write I am hearing in my head some lines of a song by Greg Greenway, a wonderful musician and poet. The refrain goes like this: This is the light I carry. Tonight is a celebration. Have no complaints, sinners and saints, under the bright constellations…The hymnal’s wide open at the Church of What Is; let’s sing!
It has become my practice every morning to consider each day a clean slate for my living. Of course there are on-going concerns or projects and I have my lists of “unfinished business” from the previous day (or week or month…) but my intention is to look at everything from the perspective of this day and leave yesterday to the history books. Even more important does that intention become on Sundays for two reasons. It is, after all, the first day of the week, the beginning of a new cycle of events. Additionally it is for Christians the Lord’s Day, the day of Resurrection, thereby giving impetus to thoughts of God and my own sense of hope for myself and the world.