Wednesday, July 25, 2012

the moment matters (a reflection on life in the wake of the recent tragedy in aurora, co.)

often we live our lives as if they will never end. because of that illusion we procrastinate, or allow resentments to linger, or tell our children “not now”, or leave something that needs to be said for “another day”. how many of us have stood in front of a casket looking at a deceased loved one while thinking to ourselves – “i wish i would have told them...” or “i wish i had done...”.

when my father died in 1996 i experienced such a moment. so many things never said, so many questions never asked, so many hugs never given. now i can talk to him when i visit the cemetery, but the gravestone cannot respond nor hug.

every moment of our lives is an opportunity to live, or to simply exist. every moment of our lives is a chance to deepen relationships and share of ourselves, or simply a time to get by. lost in the illusion of the timelessness of our lives on earth, the moments pass, as do the opportunities each moment presents to us.

 paul wrote, “the time is now”. he was speaking about the time to enter relationship with Jesus, to know God’s love, to experience salvation. and he was right; the time is now to love God, and also to love one another. now is the only time we have to do it, to say it, to experience the fullness of life that is only found in relationship with the Source of life, and with the people God has brought into our lives. all our concerns about jobs and money and education and success are dust in the wind. the only thing that lasts is love, and the only time to experience love is now.

so as paul wrote “don’t let the sun set on your anger”. now is the time to heal the wounds, to share your love, to talk and laugh and cry and hug those by whom your heart is made whole. most especially, now is the time to come to know God in Christ. the moment, this moment, matters. embrace it and live.

© 2012 Halley Low

Monday, April 2, 2012

expectations, not so great

it is good that we remember palm sunday. the day Jesus entered jerusalem riding on a humble work animal. it is good that we remember the crowds that lined the street leading to the gate of the city, hands waving, voices singing "hosanna", and hearts filled with so many expectations - the king has come, the romans be gone, we will return to the splendor of the days of solomon and once again be a proud nation. it is good we remember those crowds since we are so much like them, with our expectations, our hands waiting to be filled, our voices crying "Lord, Lord", and our hearts filled with so many wants we expect to be satisfied.

only a few days later, those crowds that welcomed Jesus as he rode into jerusalem, were now singing a different song, "crucify him", because they had been disappointed, as the king was not what they expected. after all the preacher men said their expectations are what the scriptures promised. again we are confronted with how much we are like the people in those crowds, how quickly we turn when our expectations aren't met, when we feel disappointed because it didn't go as we expected it should. how quick we are to change our song from "Lord, Lord" to "why God, why" in an accusatory tone, hearts filled with self-righteous indignation as to why our genie in the sky did not meet our expectations. after all that's what the preacher men said the scriptures promised!

God isn't the only one we turn on when our expectations aren't met. how many expectations we have of other people: our parents, our partners, our children, our teachers, our friends. a mother has a son, the apple of her eye. she expects him to become a doctor and provide her with the "good life". its a beautiful dream - her beautiful expectation, only he wants to follow a different, albeit less lucrative, career path and the apple turns out to be "rotten" and is cask off. on the other hand, a child expects her parents to meet, and exceed, all her expectations of what a perfect parent is suppose to be. how disappointed she is when her expectations are not fully met, when it turns out her parents aren't gods but just frail human beings like herself.

its so easy to turn on those who do not meet our expectations, we do it all the time and even feel "righteous" in our disappointment because we buy into the idea that God and other people exist to meet our expectations. it's interesting how we often do not live up to the expectations others have of us, but that doesn't bother us nearly so much, if at all. we shrug our shoulders and say "hey i don't exist to live up to your standard", all the while still expecting others to live up to ours.

that's the problem with expectations, they are projections of our desire, which may be good or bad but are not beholden on another person. expectations always set us up for disappointment, and where is the wisdom in doing that?

this is why God has no expectations of us. God knows us too well to have any expectations of us, and so sent us His Son to show us a better way, and give us the grace to follow it. if we lay aside our expectations we can be filled with His inspirations, then our lives will be transformed beyond our expectations.

© 2012 Halley Low

Sunday, March 11, 2012

prayer is an egg salad finger sandwich

prayer is an egg salad finger sandwich. huh??? well, think about it a moment. an egg salad finger sandwich is a delicious morsel that satisfies and yet leaves one wanting more. that’s the whole point of a good canapĂ©. it’s exactly the same with real prayer, something delicious that satisfies the need to connect with the One who calls us into being, yet leaves us wanting more – more conversation, where we listen more then we speak; more nourishment, where we enter more deeply into the mystery of communion.

now i’m talking about real prayer. not the laundry list of petitions for things wanted or dreams to be realized, with an occasional addendum of thanksgivings for things received or dreams manifested. nor am i speaking of prayer as a recitation of pretty words printed in a prayer book.

real prayer is about presence. real prayer is about surrendering to the Spirit and thereby developing a consciousness of God’s presence in the here and now, and in the always and everywhere . the more conscious we become of God’s presence in our lives at every moment, the more prayer facilitates personal growth and spiritual maturity. the more we come to realize God’s active and personal presence in our lives, the more we desire to live our lives in accordance with God’s will.

think about what Jesus taught on prayer in the gospels of matthew and luke. when his disciples inquired about how they should pray, Jesus responded “pray in this way” and gave us the guide to prayer that has become enshrined as “the Lord’s prayer”. the prayer differs somewhat between matthew and luke, which i think is testament to Jesus offering the prayer as a model for how to pray rather then a dictate as to what to say. nevertheless, in both cases Jesus begins the prayer with the word “Abba”.

Abba is an aramaic expression which is typically translated as “Father”, but as any bible scholar will tell you, Abba is an informal term of endearment more akin to “daddy” or “papa” or “baba”. the whole essence of prayer is summed up in that one word “Abba”, because prayer is the practice of being conscious of the One who is always present and loves you wholly, without reservation.

the experience of real prayer is like when you were a young child and climbed up onto your parent’s lap, embraced in caring arms, and you just rested securely in the knowledge that you were loved. that’s exactly what real prayer is, it’s about growing in the knowledge that you have a deep intimate relationship with God; climbing up onto God’s lap, resting in God’s hug, and knowing you are loved, to which you might respond with adoring eyes “I love you Abba”, and God lovingly replies “another canapĂ© my little one”.