Category: Light

Courage, Generosity, Light

Running Toward the Light

Rev Kathy

img_4567

Running toward the light is no easy thing. It’s an imperative for our better angels. It’s what we do when we are inching closer to the person we aspire to be. I have to admit that it’s far easier for me to dwell in a darker place,  place that is darker because of the despondency that sometimes assails me, a place that is darker because of my tendency to criticize others, to avoid those who do not hold my views, to exclude and disregard.

But the outrageous act would be to rush to embrace others, to welcome relationships and to say, “Here I am. I care for you. I invite you into my life.” I am so inspired by the words Steven Charleston.

Go ahead and be outrageous, as wild as you want to be, in your generosity, in your compassion, freewheeling in your mercy, without limits in your kindness, totally out of control in loving those around you, breaking all constraints of who is in and who is out, ignoring prohibitions about not associating with “those” people, running amok in joy for every living creature, helping all that you can, flat out happy, flat out forgiving, no turning back, no excuses, running toward the light, inviting others to do the same!

~ Steven Charleston, Choctaw elder, author, retired Episcopal bishop of Alaska, and adjunct Professor of Native American Ministries, Saint Paul School of Theology.

I plan to be more outrageous in the days ahead. It would be a God thing, I think, to be “flat out happy, flat out forgiving.” It would be living wilder than I’ve ever been, freewheeling and unfettered by my own intolerance. It would, indeed, be running toward the light, God’s light.

Darkness, Light

Supernatural

Rev Kathy
img_4551
Light Pillars. Photo by Timothy Joseph Elzinga.

A northern Ontario man was surprised to wake up in the middle of the night, 1:30 am, to see beams of brightly colored lights shooting up into the sky. Timothy Joseph Elzinga came out onto the street in the freezing weather to watch the lights as they changed between yellow, red, green, and blue. The phenomenon is called light pillars.

Light pillars appear when either natural or artificial light bounces off ice crystals floating close to the ground. In this case, the air was so cold that ice crystals were forming in the air, reflecting the city’s street and business lights. “It was very bright in person, like nothing I’ve ever seen. It almost seemed supernatural.”

You are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should show forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.

– 1 Peter 2:9

I am not a person who likes darkness. Darkness is disconcerting to me. In fact, I like to be sure the lights are on in whatever room I happen to be.

Although I love the writing of Barbara Brown Taylor, I literally suffered through her book, Learning to Walk in the Dark. She embarks on a journey to understand darkness, which takes her deeply into unlit caves and other dark places. She learns to eat and cross the street as a blind person, discovering the mysterious ways of “dark emotions.” She rereads scripture to see all the times God shows up at night. She eloquently describes a spirituality of the nighttime, teaching us how to find God even in darkness, and giving us a way to let darkness teach us what we need to know.

Still, the book did not dispel my dread of the darkness. It is true, though, that to get to the light, it is imperative that we walk through the darkness. Without a doubt, life offers periods of darkness to every person. And when we walk through dark times and finally make it to the light, we will have strengthened our spirituality.

So we travel on with faith and courage, grateful that time and time again, God calls us “out of darkness into his marvelous light.” And that reality is supernatural.

Beauty of Nature, God's Faithfulness, Light

Morning by Morning

Rev Kathy

image

“Morning by morning new mercies I see.”

What a beautiful thought from the hymn, “Great Is Thy Faithfulness.” The hymn, one of my favorites, is filled with comforting images that describe the faithfulness of God. The words were written in 1923 by Thomas Obediah Chisholm, and the hymn continues to bless to this day.

A few weeks ago, I experienced a long night of fearfulness. In the early hours of the morning, I found myself still wide awake. Unable to sleep, my mind turned to concerns and worries that I could not shake. From out of nowhere, this hymn came to mind and I began singing silently in the night. A sense of comfort and protection swept over me, and I was again reminded of the deep comfort that this hymn brings. These words stilled my soul and sustained me until the light of morning.

“Great is Thy faithfulness,” O God my Father,
There is no shadow of turning with Thee;
Thou changest not, Thy compassions, they fail not
As Thou hast been Thou forever wilt be.

“Great is Thy faithfulness!” “Great is Thy faithfulness!”
Morning by morning new mercies I see;
All I have needed Thy hand hath provided—
“Great is Thy faithfulness,” Lord, unto me!

Summer and winter, and springtime and harvest,
Sun, moon and stars in their courses above,
Join with all nature in manifold witness
To Thy great faithfulness, mercy and love.

Pardon for sin and a peace that endureth,
Thine own dear presence to cheer and to guide;
Strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow,
Blessings all mine, with ten thousand beside!

How true is the thought, “morning by morning new mercies I see.” I am moved by the words of Bishop Steven Charleston who writes of the new beginning of every first light, how we are set free by the new light on more mornings than we can count. These are his words.

Here is the hand of morning, coming so quietly to part the curtain, letting in the first light, welcoming the wide-eyed day into the sleepy corners of our lives. A new beginning is the miracle that awaits each one of us. We are the people of new beginnings, each one of us, brought here by more mornings than we can count, fresh chances from an older life, a turn of events, a change of mind, an unexpected friend, how many different mornings have we seen? You and I are made of morning, set free by the new light, forever being welcomed into a life that is just beginning.

Life does bring dark nights, times that challenge our hearts and assault our spirits. But there is great comfort in knowing that the morning dawns, every time, bringing new hope and fresh beginnings. God is faithful to be present with us in the deep watches of hard nights. God also is the creator of new mornings and new mercies.

 

Beauty of Nature, Hope, Inspiration, Light

When the Moon Is New

Rev Kathy

image

A new moon holds a hint of promise to me. It’s a sign of hope, an event that will lead to something fuller. It marks starting over, the beginning of something that will fully bloom into something more magnificent. New moon refers to the first visible crescent of the moon.

Some religious groups, such as the New Israelites of Peru, keep the new moon as a Sabbath of rest. No work may be done from dusk until dusk, and religious services run for 11 hours, although a large number of the devoted worshippers spend 24 hours within the gates of the temples, sleeping and singing praises throughout the night.

In many faith traditions, the new moon is viewed as a special time. For me, the beauty of a new moon is breathtaking. Though my faith does not commemorate the new moon in any special way, I am often moved to offer praise to the God who created it. And praising God is always a good thing.

When the moon is new . . . It’s a time of wonder, a promise of hope, a new beginning, and a very appropriate time to praise the One who created the moon and the stars as gifts for us.

Faith, healing, Hope, Light

Life Goes On

Rev Kathy

image

Life goes on. It is a common saying that holds so much truth. When circumstances tempt us to give up, we are always reminded that life goes on. I have learned so many times through disappointment, grief and fear, that life does go on. We live another day. We have another chance. We rest on the reality that dawn comes after every long night . . . every night, without fail.

How comforting it is for us to believe in another day and another chance! At the end of any grueling day, the night descends upon us with its healing. And then the brightness of a new dawn fills us with fresh hope and the will to greet another day. It is all a blessing from a faithful God who walks beside us through life, whatever comes, whatever hardship we face.

I love the words of Rachel Carson.

Those who contemplate the beauty of the earth find reserves of strength that will endure as long as life lasts. There is something infinitely healing in the repeated refrains of nature — the assurance that dawn comes after night, and spring after winter.

― Rachel Carson, “Silent Spring”

And so my friends, do not lose heart. Yes, life can be difficult. The world can seem to be a bitter place. But we were made for these times. There are many people these days who are deeply and properly bewildered. They are concerned about the state of affairs in our world. Ours is a time of almost daily righteous rage over the latest degradations of what matters most to civilized, visionary people. Yet, we move forward without giving up. We do not lose heart.

Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.  (2 Corinthians 4:16-18 New International Version)

Life goes on!

Faith, Hope, Light

Lead, Kindly Light

Rev Kathy

image

Sometimes we walk in darkness, unable to see the way ahead. In such times, we usually take small steps, one at a time, one after another, hoping we will again find the light. Darkness can be frightening, causing us to despair, causing us to doubt the future.

I have always been a student of hymns, knowing that the words and music of hymns bring me deep comfort. A comforting hymn that speaks to a dark time in life is “Lead, Kindly Light.”

Lead, Kindly Light, amidst the encircling gloom,
Lead Thou me on!
The night is dark, and I am far from home,
Lead Thou me on!
Keep Thou my feet; I do not ask to see
The distant scene; one step enough for me.

So many hymns have their stories of giving strength, and “Lead, Kindly Light” has many of them. One is about the largest mining disaster in the Durham coalfield in England in 1909, when 168 men and boys lost their lives as the result of two underground explosions. Incredibly, there were still men alive underground. A group of 34 men and boys had found a pocket of clean air. They sat in almost total darkness, when one of them began humming the hymn “Lead Kindly Light.” In no time at all. the rest of the miners joined in the singing . . .

“Lead kindly light amidst the encircling gloom, lead thou me on, The night is dark, and I am far away from home. . .”

After fourteen hours, thirty men were rescued.

Our stories do not always have happy endings. At times, the darkness continues longer than we can bear it. But in those times, we can still take one step at a time until the light comes again. We can take each step in hope and in the confidence that we will again walk in the light. We can count on it!