Are We Pharisees or Disciples?

I read in the news this morning how the Methodist Church is instituting a ban against LGBTs, making it a punishable act for any minister to marry a same-gender couple.  They are also saying there is no place for homosexual ministers within the Church.  On reading this, my first reaction was one of anger and indignation... which eventually gave way to a very deep sadness.  Are they truly going to judge others solely on the basis of their sexuality?

Jesus did not judge.  He loved and accepted people for who they were.

I shake my head in sorrow and disbelief at what organized Christian religion is becoming.  How does one preach words of love from the pulpit while living a message of non-acceptance... even hatred?  How sad it is that church leaders... those who have dedicated their lives to follow Jesus... to live the Gospel... are more like the Pharisees than Disciples.

 “To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everyone else, Jesus told this parable: Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector.  The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other people—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.’

 “But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’

 “I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.” (Luke 18:9-14)

How much easier it is to foster hate than love!  Instead of standing strong in living and encouraging others in the two commandments set forth by Jesus, they resort to making their own laws... and sow the seeds of hatred.

I am a Christian.  I am also part Jewish, Buddhist, Muslim, Hindu, Ba-Hai, etc.  All religions are part of who I am but the one I follow is Jesus.  We are all one family, sharing the one father, God.  Every human being... every living, breathing thing... is related.  We all have God’s DNA within us.  We are all brothers and sisters regardless of our differences.  We may not agree with one another and that’s okay but it is not up to us to judge them.

One day I voiced my annoyance concerning my brother to Mom.  Concerned about a possible rift, she asked, “Why don’t you love your brother?”

“Oh, Mom!” I responded.  “I do love my brother.  It’s just that sometimes I don’t like him very much.”  She nodded her head in understanding.

The thing is, Jesus doesn’t tell us we are to like one another.  His commandment is that we love one another.  That doesn’t mean we have to agree with all they say and do.  How boring that would be!  But... we are called to love and acceptance.

One thing about human nature... a thing we often forget... is that, often what we dislike in another, we dislike in ourselves.  It is the reflection of that part of ourselves we wish wasn’t there and try to ignore.  So what so we do?  We point to the other... lash out at the one who is different... hoping no one sees the differences within us.  When we can accept and love ourselves as God’s children, we will accept and love others as part of our family of ONE.  We are all perfect in the eyes of God.  Our idea of perfection is not the same as God’s.  Who are we to judge others?

As one who was raised Methodist and converted to Catholicism, I have an interest in both denominations.  I am ashamed of the actions of those who have strayed so far away from Jesus’ teachings.  Why is church membership dwindling?  Why are many... especially the youth... not attending?  Because of the hypocrisy... the negativity... the duplicity. 

Are we lost in the darkness?  If we are, it is only because we are blind to the presence of the light... for it illuminates our way. 

Regardless of a church’s man made laws, each individual person will have to come to terms with who they, themselves, are.  That’s where they have to stand... and stand strong.

We are family!
Connie

It's Almost Here!

I love Spring!  I love seeing the trees budding in that beautiful yellow-green... the same color I get when I mix cerulean blue with cadmium yellow light.  It’s no wonder it’s my favorite green!  I love watching the light reflecting off each upturned baby leaf... a raised open hand waiting to receive.  There is something about a warm spring day after winter’s cold that we, too, stand with faces and hands upturned to the warmth of the sun.

I am filled with a peace and calmness, losing myself in the smells and sounds of earth’s re-awakening.  There is peace in my soul, a song in my heart and I sing as one with all.  As I sit here soaking up the sun’s warmth, I can hear the grass and fluttering leaves speak in whispers with the breeze.  Budding blossoms and flowers fill my senses as I drink in their beauty through both eyes and nose.  I am filled to overflowing.

Sometimes I think about painting all I see, hear and feel... and I have often tried... but there is no way I could possibly capture it all.  It is much better, I think, to simply sit here and absorb it all until I am one with the earth and all its gifts.

We humans have a tendency to forget that the earth doesn’t need us... we need the earth and its many gifts.  We have been appointed as its caretakers and protectors and every once in a while it’s important... imperative... we take the time to reconnect and be appreciative of all we receive.

If the soil is not tilled, seeds not planted and plants not watered or tended, there will be no harvest but if everyone takes care of their own little piece, we will continue to receive all the life-giving gifts our earth has to offer. 

I am grateful for all I receive from nature... both life sustaining and soul sustaining food.  The least I can do is show my appreciation by doing my part.

Love, Light and Joy to you all as you enjoy this transition from death to life... Winter to Spring! 
Remember... We need the earth.  It doesn’t need us.

Connie

Everything Blooms in Spring!

There’s a few feet of snow... temperatures plummet to below freezing... and my cousin, Sally, is busy planting seeds and potting plants.  Plants delivered in the snow are being given new life in the warmth of her greenhouse.  It’s not easy work and many hands are needed but there are no words to express how seeing the first tiny bud makes one feel.

I look at my azaleas in full bloom, the tiny buds appearing on the crepe myrtle and the abundance of beautiful wild flowers in our yards and along our roads.  There is new birth and beauty everywhere I look!  Mother nature is springing forth after her long winter’s sleep with new growth celebrated by the profusion of colorful blossoms and bright shades of green!

Isn’t it interesting how a tiny flower can contain so much beauty and be so powerful as to lift our souls.  We become aware that this simple beauty enters and fills us until we, too, bloom forth with smiles of happiness and joy!  There’s an extra spring in our step and we exude the simple joy of experiencing our oneness with all of nature and mankind.

In our gardens it’s time to prune the old dead branches, make room for new growth.  The same is true of ourselves.  The message given us by mother nature is not an easy one.  We are told, like the flowers, to allow our inner beauty to grow and blossom... to put aside... let go... of all that is old and dead.  Perhaps we haven’t done that for a while.  Perhaps we’ve held onto memories and thoughts which no longer serve us... keeping our growth smothered... struggling to bloom in spite of the weeds we’ve allowed to continue growing.

We need to prune ourselves right along with our trees and bushes.  The woodbine is impossible to pull for its roots twine around the roots of my azaleas and jasmine bushes.  It must be cut back as close to the ground as possible or it will smother my bushes and the bees, birds and I would be deprived of their beauty.

I have a weed much like that woodbine within myself.  It’s a part of me I don’t like and it grows without my noticing.  Sometimes I have to consciously look for it so I can keep cutting it back.   There are other weeds as well but most are not so hardy and stubborn as this one.

Isn’t is interesting, too, that the season of Lent coincides with the new birth of Spring?   A reminder that, as we tend to mother nature’s garden, we also must tend to the garden within ourselves.

We are an integral part of God’s garden.   In this wonderful season of Spring, may we all rise from our winter’s sleep and grow and bloom as God intends for us to grow and bloom!   Open your arms wide to the warmth of the sun.  Dance in the rain.  Grow!!

Love, Light and Joy to all!
Connie

Some Dreams are Prophetic Messages

I am one who keeps pen and paper near my bed so that when something important “comes through” I can get up and write it down.  I can’t tell you how many times I told myself  I’d remember it in the morning and, unwilling to get up, rolled over and gone back to sleep.  Needless to say, I never remembered it in the morning.   

However, I do admire people who remember their dreams so when a friend wanted to share a dream she had with me I was all ears.  

“I am walking through the woods.  It is a wild wood, thick with branches and the path barely visible.  A shining, golden long haired dog walks in front of me, leading the way.  The path lights up beneath its feet and becomes clear with each step it takes.  The dog leads me to a door, stops, stands aside and speaks to me,  ‘You are to walk through the door.’ ”

When my friend told me of her dream I saw it as clearly as she had and was reminded of something I’d recently seen on Facebook about these last few days of February.  It had stayed with me because I was certainly experiencing some of the symptoms:

This morning during my prayer I heard that in the next few days we would be walking on that path and would soon find that door in front of us.  

I saw, in my meditation, no opening of a door because the door itself suddenly was not there.  It appeared as an open doorway through which I saw a blinding light with intermittent waves of soft glowing colors.  I stood in awe in that doorway as the Light called to me... pulled me into itself.  In stepping over the threshold, I fell into it... was enveloped in it... lifted by it... filled with it.  I am one with it.  The Light is the Christ.

We will each, in being guided along our own path, come to our own doorway.  In walking through that door, I promise you... You too will become one with the Light.  You too will know the Christ in yourself and recognize the Christ in others.

Together we walk in the Light of the Christ.

I am reminded of Paul Ferrini’s book, I Am the Door and in my mind, clearly hear Jesus’ voice saying He is, indeed, the door. (John 10:9)

With Love, Light and Joy,
Connie

Awakening

Some things simply come to me and I feel drawn to write them down.  This is one of them... brought on by a dream I had of a particular painting... and I am sharing it here with you.  You don’t have to think as I do or believe as I do but you might find it interesting.


I believe the spiritual journey is not so much a journey as it is an awakening... akin to how we might wake from a very deep sleep... allowing our senses to make the transition from a dream-like state to a gradual awareness of sound, atmosphere, etc.  When this gradual transition is made, it is then we might open our eyes... or even close them again until we are ready to keep them open.  Then is the struggle to separate ourselves from the warmth of our blanket cocoon.

There are times that which I experience is much like the state between sleep and wakefulness.  And when I do, I have a great sense of awareness that what I have experienced is very much a part of my continual awakening.  

I do not travel from place to place.  There are no particular stages or steps to my awakening.  So it cannot be considered a journey... though I often thought of it that way.  No, I am realizing that the things I am becoming more aware of... the “growth spurts” as I call them... are parts of myself I have always had... but did not know.  It’s as if they were always a part of me from before the beginning of time... but lay dormant...  waiting patiently to be awakened.

Are they discoveries along the way, as I’ve often referred to them?  Or is it more like finding a long lost prize possession and rejoicing in its finding?  

Not so very long ago I did an oil painting I called, “The Awakening”.  The painting depicts a nude female figure rising out of the fire and ascending into the air along with the fire’s smoke.  As she ascends, her physical body becomes less and less detailed.  It can still be seen but indistinctly through the also rising smoke.  Her awakening is depicted as an inner, spiritual one.

The thing is, awakenings are not total or permanent.  They cannot be isolated and categorized.  One cannot say a simple introduction to an awakening constitutes the whole picture.  No.  Just as when we awaken from a sound sleep to the real world, it is a gradual process... so gradual that it will take us our entire lifetimes to reach complete wakefulness.

The Awakening

Love, Light and Joy to you!

Rev. Connie

Christmas is a Time

For many, Christmas is a time of both great joy and great sorrow.  The joy and the love we feel in celebrating with family and loved ones is intermingled with sadness for the loved ones we have lost... the ones who can no longer be physically or mentally present.  However, they can be and usually are with us.

Yes, I can hear you say, "Yes, Connie, I know they are in our hearts."  I smile at that because I know their presence is more than that.

Mom's favorite holiday was Christmas and she prepared for it all year, finding and buying just the right gift for just the right person.  She radiated joy at both the giving and the receiving... especially the giving.

Mom has been gone for two years now but when I sit in the silence I can see her in her chair surrounded by friends and family, her face glowing with love and happiness.  She was the essence of Christmas... experienced by all who came into her presence.

I believe there are times when the veil between heaven and earth is very thin... times when loved ones who have moved on might drop in for a visit.  Christmas is one of those times.  It is a time of great love and it is love which unites us all... both living and dead.

Take a few moments this day to sit in the silence, bring your loved one to mind along with a wonderful memory and invite them to come and join you.  You will know of their presence.  You might even see them in your mind's eye... however briefly... but you will know because you will experience the gifts of love and peace they bring with them.

May the sadness of loss be overcome with the joy of knowing the peace that loving brings!

God bless you all and Merry Christmas!
Rev. Connie

The Ways Within

I told you I am working on a book,  Hopefully I will soon be able to make some cohesive sense out of all the excerpts I've written.  I imagine this will be part of it as well but I felt I wanted to share it with you here.

The Ways Within

There is a way within myself.  The path I see in my mind is merely the inner way turned to what I outwardly know... what my outer vision sees... or has seen.  In my meditation I can sit by a stream with my back resting against the broad trunk of a favorite tree.  I can become lost in the peaceful sounds around me as I become one with all.  This, I have physically known and experienced... a place where I have always found peace and comfort.

The road within... the one I see with my inner eye... is not nearly so comfortable.  There have been deep chasms and, with a great fear of falling into nothingness, I struggled to hold onto the cliff-like walls... resting on narrow rock projections offering little more than a toe hold.  Fearing the unknown, I climbed carefully down from one ledge to another... always striving to stay within the light from above.  I knew I had to overcome my fears, let go and allow myself to fall into the threatening darkness.

I summoned my courage, took that leap of faith, let go and fell into that dark, bottomless abyss.  I lost sight of the light from above and was swallowed up in the blackness.  There was nothing left for me to do but surrender to my fate.  It was at that time of complete surrender I saw it... a tiny light coming from the depths... growing larger and brighter as I continued to fall toward it.  My speed seemed to slow as I came nearer and nearer and eventually fell into it.  I felt myself lifted, supported and held by this great Light and it was here I knew true love and absolute peace.  I never wanted to leave.

Though I have come to always see and experience this light... knowing it is always there... my inner journeys are very seldom alike.  The traveling takes different forms and often demands much of me but I find each to be an awesome experience.  Each has something to teach me and I come away from each with a deeper understanding of God in me.

As scientists believe there is a crystal at the very center of the earth, so I came to know of the crystal located within my own center.  For me, it was at the very bottom of a volcano which I saw as being deep within myself.  My journey consisted of navigating rivers of hot molten lava giving off flames of fire.  The rivers flowed between large rocks and boulders, each flowing in a different direction.  My attention was on jumping from rock to rock... often having to cross the fiery rivers.

On reaching my center I stood on a rock and watched the rose-colored crystal give forth and pump that lava throughout my body.  Those rivers carried the fire of God’s love and their purpose was to fill me with it.

The Heart of God

Past the flame

of volcanic fire,

into the depths

of the holy pyre.

O’er hot coals

and embers’ glow,

it’s ever deeper

I dare go

until I too

melt and flow,

become as one

with my soul.

Ever deeper

I do go.

There I see

the lava flow

through my veins

hot and red

as blood would be

if I bled.

Further still

I must go

until the source

I come to know.

Ah, I have found

what feeds the flame,

pushes lava

through my veins.

It lies here

deep within

But how do I describe?

How do I begin

to tell you of

this heart I see?

It’s the source of all

the love in me.

I took each journey many times until they became a part of me.  Once that happened, I would find myself on another... each one a progression in my knowledge of God and myself... God and me.  I hadn’t thought to write about them until experiencing my most recent inner journey.  I was told then that I must share.

One night, as Mary and I were having a phone conversation, I had a very strong feeling of being drawn into myself.  I couldn’t explain it and I couldn’t describe it... though I searched for words, wanting to share it with her.  “There is a deep awareness of ‘something’ within me,” I told her.  “I say ‘something’ because it has no name or definition.  It simply IS.”

The next day I found myself being drawn ever more deeply into myself.  It was not a slow journey, but one which took me directly to my center.  There, I was much surprised at what I saw!  My previous journeys had always taken me to my center...  where I recognized the God presence... but stopped there as if it were a dead end and I could go no further.  Neither did I want to go further.  I had no desire to experience more than that totality of God.  But this was different...

This journey didn’t have a final finding.  As I was drawn more deeply inward...  I wasn’t aware of steps I had to take or encounters along the way... I was simply lifted as air and pulled toward my center.  On arrival, I stood before the gateway to the universe.  It opened and I saw myself flying among the planets and the stars.

I was overcome with awe and found myself asking, “What does this mean?”  The answer I received was this:

Going inward we find God, yes, but we do not find God in a confining space... or only as a crystal or light in the core of our being.  We find God in the unbounded expansiveness which sets our souls free to fly... an expansiveness large enough to hold everything in Love... all people, all things. all of creation... and it's all within our selves!  It is the Christ.


God bless!
Connie