Unfolding Light

Crowds shift this way and that—
     schools of fish, mumurations of birds;
politicians scurry, thrust and parry—
     some noble, some selfish;
armies move; empires briefly burn;
     history changes costumes;
movements spasm; ages turn;
     some try to steer the flood.
But the soul stands steadfast,
     a rock unmoved by tides,
a tree of life that seasons visit and depart,
     whose grace endures, unfaltering.
Though we may claim or fear to belong
     to a hundred other empires,
we each stem from that tree alone,
     and in that life are one, and are at peace.
Return, then, child of God, to your deepest root,
     draw life and hope there, light and mercy.
Our longest tale may end in woe or glory,
     but we will shine with grace from now till then,
and surely in our shining
     light the way.

__________________
Steve Garnaas-Holmes
Unfolding Light      
www.unfoldinglight.net
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            The bridegroom was delayed….
                         —Matthew 25.5

I will vote today,
but nothing will change yet.

The bridegroom of justice
will not come tomorrow or next year
or possibly in my lifetime.

We are fighting for our grandchildren.
The lamps of quick results will go out soon.

Think of those of old who did not give up
for our sake, not their own.

We stock up on the oil of patience,
endurance and persistence.

The Spirit flowing through us
is the oil for the long haul.

__________________
Steve Garnaas-Holmes
Unfolding Light      
www.unfoldinglight.net
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        Ten bridesmaids took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom.
        When the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with them;
        but the wise took flasks of oil with their lamps….
                  —Matthew 25.2-4

Looking for the holy,
some people will be in the dark.
I hope you don’t send them away.
Don’t worry about your oil.
You are the light of the world.
Long into the night
you can share your light.

__________________
Steve Garnaas-Holmes
Unfolding Light
www.unfoldinglight.net
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God, we praise you for all those subtle saints
who have blessed our lives:
for the parents who endured many a midnight for us,
for the grandma who was often flustered and confused
but never stopped loving us,
for the coach who let us fail over and over
till we got it right—praise!
For the neighbor who never knew what to say
but was a deep, appreciative listener,
for the guy who never had it together
but who stumbled with such good humor—praise!
For the enemy who forgave us,
and the woman who always got our name wrong
but kept praying for us—praise!
For the odd old fellow who never fit in
and lived a rumpled, loving life—praise!
For the widow, so brokenhearted, who showed us
grief is bad weather one can live through—praise!
For all those who never managed to succeed
but who showed us how to be faithful,
who without triumph or miracles
taught us greatness of heart—praise!
For the regular people in whom your light shone
whether they knew it or not—praise!
For all the second string saints,
hobbled, broken, and flawed,
into whom you poured your grace to overflowing,
praise!

__________________
Steve Garnaas-Holmes
Unfolding Light
www.unfoldinglight.net
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The Emperor sits on his throne,
lofty above the ground,
untouched.

The rest live low in the earth,
related, woven, held,
the minerals of life seeping in.

His only power is fear,
his master selfishness.
He only rules what he sees—

a tiny little world, really.
Yours opens, extends,
includes, exceeds.

When the whole world
is such a paradise
you don’t need a throne, do you?

__________________
Steve Garnaas-Holmes
Unfolding Light
www.unfoldinglight.net
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Wisdom is trusting grace.

We do foolish things because we’re afraid,
(mostly of things that don’t matter)
or greedy (mostly for what we already have).
We’re desperate: we fear what others think,
or we seek success or revenge—
so we do hurtful things.

We’ve forgotten we are God’s Beloved
and that we are given all we need.

When we trust God’s grace
we don’t do desperate, foolish things.
Wisdom is trusting God’s grace.

__________________
Steve Garnaas-Holmes
Unfolding Light
www.unfoldinglight.net
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These benedictions rise from certainty
born of bewilderment,
the confidence that life prevails
above its final falling—
that life endures not only death
but even life, its hunger and its mourning—
and arises from the giving of one’s life.
This blessing falls from lips
who’ve drunk of passion
and survived, and arises
from a heart that trusts the dark.
All wombs are dark and fragile things,
and breathing—falling, rising—sings
of life unknown by stones
and other unmoved things.
For stones in all their strength
can only sit or roll or fall;
but, daring to be tender,
life alone can rise and grow.
Blessing falls, like snow and rain,
like sunlight’s bright surprises;
but life itself starts dark and low;
and always life arises.

__________________
Steve Garnaas-Holmes
Unfolding Light      
www.unfoldinglight.net
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As the kids prepare their Halloween costumes
I pray for the grace to shed my masks,
to resist the temptation to appear
other than as I am.
I pray for the faith to leave my costume,
to resist the urge to disguise myself
as having it all together.
I don’t need to frighten away what I am frightened of,
or impress who I am impressed by.
I don’t need to seem more powerful or beautiful.
I am free.
God grant me the peace,
even when surrounded by monsters,
to be me.

__________________
Steve Garnaas-Holmes
Unfolding Light
www.unfoldinglight.net
Listen to the audio recording:

What did the meadow say to the sun
that made it lavish such light on it?
What offering did the ocean make
to convince the rivers to pour themselves into it?
What could you possibly have offered God
that you receive such love and delight?

The offering is purely God’s;
ours the awe and gratitude.

__________________
Steve Garnaas-Holmes
Unfolding Light
www.unfoldinglight.net
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There are divers and drifters,
spinners and twirlers.
There are early adventurers
and late hangers-on.
Some fall in full color,
some wait ’till they’re brown.
Some spread out their arms
and fly on the breeze,
some curl up and drop
at the foot of their trees.
Some seem to fall upward,
and over the hill.
Each falls as it must, or it will.
There are swingers and swayers
and swoopers and dancers.
But there are none,
there are none
who are whiners,
complainers
that this is not
as it should be
or who want it undone.

__________________
Steve Garnaas-Holmes
Unfolding Light      
www.unfoldinglight.net
Listen to the audio recording: