Outrage

Outrage

“We have lost, I think, our proper sense of outrage, and what God does is often outrageous for no matter how much we think we know how God will act, God frequently acts in other incomprehensible and outrageous ways.” Br. James Koester, Society of Saint John the Evangelist daily email SSJE

Ann's azaleas

 What is outrageous! The flowers and flowering plants and bushes and trees that appear in sequence in spring, the crocuses, camellias, redbuds, forsythia, daffodils, tulips, Bradford pears, climbing wisteria, azaleas, roses, lilies, irises, magnolias, hydrangeas, geraniums, and finally the crape myrtle that last the summer. Is there more? What about the yellow and red and orange autumn leaves on a crisp fall day? What about the secret waterfall that only you and a few friends and family know about? What about floating the Buffalo River? What about the view from Petit Jean Mountain or Mount Magazine?  What about Two Rivers Trail along the Arkansas River?

I am just starting and talking about a small part of Arkansas, but I know each of you has many more outrageous spectacles to share.

I don’t know about you, but Outrageous meets me at every turn. When we look for her, we only have words of gratitude. Outrageous are our family members and friends who still love us even after getting to know us better. Even more so is the outrageous love of God. This is love that God gives us in so more ways than we cannot understand, knowledge too deep for words. As we try to stay connected to God and listen, we get little nudges, “not right, yes this is right.” Whenever I go again those gut feelings, I end up in a bad place. 

I look back on my life and see that I have been so cared for even when I went down wrong paths. This is outrageous. This is the outrageous love of God, to stick with us in our one step forward and two steps back. We cannot comprehend it. We can only try in our feeble way to model it.

Joanna  joannaseibert.com

Blessing

Blessing

“The Lord spoke to Moses, saying: Speak to Aaron and his sons, saying, Thus you shall bless the Israelites: You shall say to them,

The Lord bless you and keep you;

the Lord make his face to shine upon you, and be gracious to you;

the Lord lift up his countenance upon you, and give you peace.

 So they shall put my name on the Israelites, and I will bless them.” Numbers 6:22-27

Jeremy Thomas Unsplash

This passage from Numbers is a frequent benediction in so many congregations.  This morning for some reason I stop and listen to the words. We are giving God human characteristics. Using human terms and feelings for God, as you know, is a big word with rolling syllabuses called anthropomorphism. Sometimes this is our only way to express what we would like to say about God. It has its traps, but it can on occasion give us the tiniest glimpses of the magnitude of the love and care we receive from God. How wonderful to pray that God’s face will be directed to us and even more so, God’s face will shine on us and we will receive God’s Grace. We are asking God to look directly at us, look us right in the eye and give us peace. We are indeed asking for a connection, a blessing, an ancient blessing that was given to the Hebrews and now to us many centuries later.

I love knowing that the ancient Hebrews were just people like us, asking for a blessing, a relationship, calling on God to look directly at us and to bring us peace.

What is the face of God? Is it the horizon, the stars, the oceans, the forests, the moon as far as we can see? Is it the solar system, the planets Mars and Jupiter, or is it a multitude of solar systems and beyond? We are full circle back to the word solar which pertains to the sun, a brightness that shines above all others for us.  Yet, we know that the brightness of our sun pales in face of the love of our God which shines on sunny and dark days and nights .

Joanna joannaseibert.com

St. Francis: Hoeing, Gandhi: Dying

St. Francis: Hoeing, Gandhi: Dying

“Saint Francis, hoeing his garden, was asked what he would do if he knew the world would end tomorrow. ‘Continue hoeing my garden,’ said the saint.” Suzanne Guthrie, Synthesis Today, Quote for June 15, 2018, attributed to St. Francis.

my office window

I have heard this phrase attributed to St. Francis often and wondered what I would do as well if I knew I was about to die. I have made writing every day a discipline for over a year. Would I keep on writing? Writing has become one of my best spiritual practices. As I look outside to trees and birds and sky from the floor to ceiling window in my office and my fingers hit the keyboard, I feel a peace that I hope is God’s presence.

 I know I would spend much of the day with my family, actually as much as possible. I might entice my grandchildren to watch a movie with me and then just secretly watch them. I would want to be with my husband as much as possible. I would want to make certain my family and friends knew how much I loved them by my action and words. I would like to have a meal with my family and friends. I would look at old pictures to keep memories with me. I stay surrounded at my desk by family pictures and icons and remembrances of days of joy.  I would ask for prayers from the good pray-ers I know, especially the women in Daughters of the King. I would also spend time in prayer at a sacred space.

Of course, if everyone else knew the world was coming to an end, this would be interesting to see how our paths might cross!

So, what does all this mean?

“Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever,” is attributed to Mahatma Gandhi.

I try to carry these two quotes by Gandhi and St. Francis with me each day and share them with spiritual friends as well. The quotes are a good daily benchmark as to whether we are doing the practices that bring us closer to God. Gandhi’s quote is a paradox, an anchor metaphor for our life which is a constant ambiguous paradox. Each day I try to spend more of my time doing the things I learn by meditating on these quotes which help me realize what are my best connections to God and myself and my neighbor and my family and friends. Of course, often the connections lead me to other places, and I pray to stay open to these new adventures.

Joanna  joannseibert.com