What the Moon Teaches Me About Faith

The moon is always there, whether I see it or not. It can be hidden by trees, a forest, a gray cloud covered sky, or be on the other side of the planet. It is there, I know it. And not because someone told me about it, I saw it before and I will see it again.

Full moon is hiding.

But I still know it is there.

Obscure in a tree.

Half a moon shining in the sky is better than a full moon hidden. Half a moon in a clear sky can brighten up quite a bit of real estate. It is beautiful itself. A hidden moon can only be imagined.

The moon is an egg.

Still shining bright light to all.

Leaning to one side.

The moon creates no light of it's own, none whatsoever. It is a dark, cold place. But when it gets in the right position, it can reflect an incredible amount of light from the true light, and relfect that to an entire world.

Bullfrogs beckon night.

Fireflies light around lake.

Prayer ascends like moon.

When they say medium saucepan
they mean medium saucepan and
I thought it was a medium saucepan
but it must have been a smaller saucepan
because when I stepped away for exactly
no more than possibly 59 seconds
to get my patient puppy her kibble
the contents of that pan were everywhere
on the stove
in the air
whistling
evaporating faster than the smoke detector
could almost detect.
So what if there's a mess in the kitchen
on the stove
in my life?
The cold sandwich still sufficed
and the puppy loved her kibble
that did not require
a medium saucepan.

Hither and thither
here and there
searching for drama
going somewhere.

Instead of remaining
at home in the heart
without the drama
a place apart.

Contriving to do more
leads only to striving
the joy of being
rests in our abiding.

Intentionally waiting
for nothing to happen
the world laughs out loud
at our contemplative passion.

Hither and thither
here we go
pretending activty
will make us grow.

When sitting in silence
sitting alone
we soon realize
we've already grown.

How
can I be in the now
when my schedule won't allow?
Maybe tomorrow I'll figure out how
I say to myself with a frown.
But tomorrow doesn't bring
a smile or any wow thing
just the next now.
"Silly Grandpa" says the baby with a smile.
"Why not now?
I'll show you how."

I believe in one Life, one Being,
one great compassionate Spirit,
infinite and eternal
manifested in various forms
here and now.
I believe the present moment
offers just what I need
for peace and happiness.
No matter the situation or
circumstance, I can choose inner peace right now.
By consciously choosing peace,
intentional prayer, and
expanding my heart to others,
that peace can be shared with the world.
On behalf of all and for all
I accept peace now.

So you have those scars
those gaping wounds
ripped across your soul
memories of knives surgically mending your being.
Put them away.
Here, throw this over them.
Only you and I will know they are there.
Only you and I can
be aware
of the hurt that was removed from your heart.
Only you and I need to know the tears
you shed
of pain and joy
of seeing the suffering go away.
Only you can take this badge to cover them
smile
move on and say
it is okay
I am still whole.

At six o'clock this morning
in the darkness before dawn
my chocolate lab ran through
the chocolate lake my back yard woods has become
chasing some sort of animals
deer or ducks
I did not determine
but by the thrashing and splashing I heard
I knew a commotion was consumated
and Lady could not deny her involvment
with all the eons of mud she tracked back
into our house
when after our baths
we both stood there
naked taking it all in.

Jesus is especially lovely to me tonight. Gazing at the many icons of him hanging in my chapel, he looks a little different. Maybe it's because for much of the last 6 months I didn't know what to think of him.

I've been a Christian, well since baptism, but cognitively since 10 years old. An evangelical since my teen years. And an Orthodox Christian. And now a Catholic Christian. And somewhat a Taoist/Buddhist. I may be polytheistic: a Christian God, the Father, the Son, the Holy Spirit, a Protestant God, an Orthodox God, a conservative Catholic God and a progressive Catholic God, an Eckhart Tolle Being God, and a non theistic Buddhist/Taoist reality. They all are appealing.

You may think I'm confused, I don't think I am. The darker the unknowing becomes, the more I know, because I know what God is not. Which makes me closer to what God really is. God is expanding to me like the universe is expanding, become greater all the time.

So I don't always know what to believe about Jesus, which one? The evangelical one coming back as judge? The one in the icon? The lover of humanity? The incarnate transcendent one?

But yesterday someone told me I shouldn't believe he is God, "just drop the God thing" and you've got it all right.

Except that image of him is the closest thing I've seen of God. Love, compassion, incarnation. If that is not deity, than what is?

He looks especially lovely tonight.