Through Stained Glass: Advent Word a Day 18 & 19 -- Spirit and Name

Spiri & Name  

The word for the Wednesday of the third week of Advent is Spirit.

I think it comes from Mary’s Magnificat. The part where she sings, “My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior…”

Know what I love about this line?

It’s a statement of reflection. She names her source of joy and hope.

Here’s what I mean.

After this line comes this one, “for he has looked with favor on the lowly state of his servant. Surely, from now on all generations will call me blessed, for the Mighty One has done great things for me, and holy is his name…”

God … has … done … great things.

Okay, Mary keeps going.

"He has shown strength with his arm; he has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts. He has brought down the powerful from their thrones and lifted up the lowly; he has filled the hungry with good things and sent the rich away empty. He has come to the aid of his child Israel, in remembrance of his mercy, according to the promise he made to our ancestors, to Abraham and to his descendants forever."

Mary sings about what God has done and, thus, what she knows will be because of the Holy One. So, despite her current reality, the circumstances surrounding her, and the uncertainty, her soul magnifies God, and her spirit rejoices because she knows God is one of liberation. She has heard the stories, and she is preparing for the same thing!

In her song, Mary highlights a few major notes. First, the Herods of history were defeated. For Mary, God's promises alone are enough to accept her role. She understands that, even amid an oppressive empire [redundant], God's past actions serve as proof for her to trust and follow the Holy One into what lies ahead. She also acknowledges, “Yes, I know there are hungry people, and conditions may worsen. But God appears in unexpected and unimaginable ways to provide.”

Mary also does what the prophets and prophetesses did before her. She sings of God’s promises, yes, to comfort those who hear her song – but also to remind God of God’s words. Now, this may seem strange to some. Here’s what I mean – go back and listen to Jeremiah and the other prophets argue with God not to forget what God promised to the people. Even if the promises are unrealized, or appear to be unkept, we remember what God has done for our ancestors in Scripture and for us, and we rejoice knowing it won’t always be this way.

Who are the people in your life who help you remember God’s promise? Who are the people who gave you the faith to name your hopes and fears, and the comfort in God’s with-ness?

My Grandfather's highlights from Isaiah.

Included in today’s post is a photo of a Bald Eagle I snapped along the banks of the Kickapoo Creek. Immediately, I thought of my Grandpa Quine and how his deep faith still comforts me. For the sake of time, I won’t go into why – but take me out for coffee, and I’ll gladly tell you – but through the struggles and celebrations of life, at the end of his life, he proclaimed “To God be the glory.”

One of the last times I visited with him, I asked what his favorite passage from the Bible was. He smirked and said, “Grandson, there are many.” And then he quoted Isaiah 40.31. Of course, he kept going! I smiled.

Indeed, God has done great things – and my spirit rejoices in God who rescues with Love.

What is causing your spirit to rejoice these days? Name them. And if you can’t, that’s okay too. Maybe take time to name those who have lifted your spirits when you needed it most. Maybe name a season when you remember Love lifted your spirits and remember your unshakable goodness. 

Hang in there, friends. Advent is giving way to Love. I can feel it in my soul. Can you?

Through Stained Glass: Advent Word a Day 16 -- Found

Found

          

   The sun found me lost in thought. My mind was restless, scattered, bouncing from one distraction to another. I reach for my phone, then turn to the computer to check emails, go back to the phone, and then I remember I did that thing today I put on my list, so I can scratch it off and get a hit of dopamine. What else on this list can I cross off? Better check my phone and see if I found anything worth writing about for today’s word. I wonder what tomorrow’s word is. Better log on to Facebook, but I won’t get caught up in the noise. 

Noise. My furnace isn’t running as much as it has over the past two days. It’s kind of nice to have this silence—unless, heaven forbid, it’s broken or something. I mean, if it is broken, at least it’s not below zero temperatures. What a great perspective. Wait. What’s tomorrow’s word? Tomorrow is Tuesday of the third week of Advent. It’s also Center day. Wait. Wasn’t I supposed to meet Andy at Hope on Fifth to give them the artwork the students created and the $670 raised from this project? Let me check my phone real quick.

Brigid enjoying the snow!

Yes, Andy says to be there at 5. It’s only 4:15 p.m. I’ll add ‘attend the meeting at Hope’ to my to-do list – more dopamine! Did I post about the Center last week? Is it too late to share one about how tomorrow’s the last gathering for the semester and 2025? Goodness, time flies. But does it? How is it already December 15th? Next week is Christmas. That doesn’t seem possible. Know what else didn’t seem possible? The Bills were victorious over the Patriots after trailing by 21 points, but Josh Allen found a way to lead them to victory. There was a funny meme about that I should send to my brother. I think it was on Facebook. Oh, right, tomorrow’s word.

What time is it? Oh, good. Plenty of time. It’s 4:20. Tomorrow’s word is... wait, did Tecumseh bark to go out? Yeah, he’s barking. Alright, let him out. Then what were you going to do? I wonder if Zack found a song for today’s word. I wonder what he might come up with for tomorrow’s word, which is… 

Yes, Tecumseh. I hear you, and I’m coming. Give me a minute, buddy. I’ve got to find my phone. Why do you need your phone to let him out? Let him out, then come back and finish whatever you were going to do. How much time do you have before you need to leave? It’s not even 4:30. Plenty of time.

That’s when the sun found me. It had already set, casting a gentle glow across the darkening December sky, but I didn’t see it outside my window. If I’m honest, I’m not sure I would have noticed it if I hadn’t stepped away from my desk and stopped searching for my phone. And look what I found—a shade of yellow you can’t see on the beach or even in July in the Midwest. I swear, the untouched snow holds the light the way a child clutches her teddy bear as she heads off to bed.

After grabbing my camera, with half-tied boots and no coat, I found myself outside. I remembered how this season's light highlights the golden tones in the Dogs' cream-colored coats. Truly a golden hour if there ever was one. I felt my cheeks reddening from warmth, not from the sun, but from the joy of playing and smiling a bit. Between photos, I breathed in this most ordinary of moments, allowing the slow fade of the setting sun on this winter day, and its traces of pink light be a balm to my weary eyes.

Serotonin in the simplicity of accidentally paying attention.

The sun found me when I didn’t even know I needed to be seen—a mystical moment on an ordinary Monday and all before 4:47.

Through Stained Glass: Advent Word a Day 15 -- Least

Least

"Then stirs the feeling infinite, so felt in solitude, where we are least alone." Lord Byron

 

I’ve thought about this word all day.

 

Least.

 

The word is inspired by this line from the primary Gospel lesson for the third Sunday of Advent:

"Truly I tell you, among those born of women no one has arisen greater than John the Baptist, yet the least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.”

 

There’s that “upside-down” perspective of Jesus. Those with the least power are greater than the prophet who called people like me “brood of vipers.” The story of God focuses on the unlikely, often underestimated group pushing forward through the wilderness. The thing about God is that, despite the claims of the powerful with their predictions and reports about this or that, the Holy One offers a path opposite to the direction of the world and its oppressive, dehumanizing, and destructive systems.

 

The story of God is not one of least resistance. Rather, the way of God. Perhaps that’s why there are so many occasions in the Bible where servants and the like are told, “Do not be afraid,” because the ways of justice and peace are brutal. I guess that’s why I like hearing the stories we listen to during Advent. They are full of tales of our ancestors who went against the status quo, proclaiming that love will rescue us.

 

I understand. It’s difficult to accept, especially considering everything happening in the world. But you’re not alone in questioning. John the Baptist sent his disciples to ask Jesus, “Are you the one to come, or should we wait for another?” I believe his cousin needed reassurance that Jesus genuinely is the one who will offer salvation and new life amidst the empire’s systems of violence and fear. At the very last, John needed some comfort that his prison sentence wasn’t in vain -- not for himself, but for his community. [He uses the plural form of the verb meaning “to look or wait for” (prosdokomen). This indicates that he is just one person in a community of people waiting for Christ to come.]

 

Know what else I love about this question? It’s how Jesus responds – and he doesn’t give a theological declaration. Doctrine and dogma were the least and farthest things on Jesus’s mind. Instead, Jesus gives a call to action – of course, he did. Jesus answered them,

"Go and tell John what you hear and see: the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, those with a skin disease are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor have good news brought to them.”

 

Jesus says that it’s the least, last, and left out—those pushed to society’s margins—that the good news comes to not only in words but through embodied love. It’s an experience, not just a sermon. It’s like what professor Karri Alldredge says about this when they write, “Those most vulnerable in society—like John in prison—receive the gospel not only through words but through actions and community relationships. Caring for those who are most vulnerable, oppressed, and ostracized is a sign of living out the good news, just as Jesus did throughout his ministry.” The good news as experience—woah.

 

What I hear in all this is a question I least expected: Am I … are WE … the ones who will join God in bringing forth the world Mary sang about in her Magnificat?

 

Maybe we don’t feel very confident in ourselves. Or like we can actually do this work. Yet, isn’t that the irony or paradox or whatever the word is regarding God’s reign of love? It shows up in the least likely of places … in the least likely of people.

 

Least.

Through Stained Glass: Advent Word A Day 12 -- Blessed

 Blessed

 

What is opening you up to the presence of God in your life right now?

  I love that the first lesson Jesus teaches in Matthew is about being blessed. And it isn’t about a future moment but right now. It isn’t “Blessed will be” but “blessed are…”

Barbara Brown Taylor says it this way, ““Blessed are the poor in spirit”—not because of something that will happen to them later but because of what their poverty opens up in them right now. “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness”—not because God is going to fill them up later but because their appetites are so fine-tuned right now….”

  God draws near to those who are mourning, hungering, and celebrating. Of course, this doesn’t mean we shouldn’t work to liberate systems that oppress people. We absolutely must do that work. It also means that whatever we are enduring “may need blessing as much as they need fixing, since the blessing is already right there.”

  The blessings Jesus offer in the beatitudes remind me that the task of the blessing – to be called blessed – is to simultaneously look outward and honor the reality of what is happening, while looking inward to name the inner experience and resources within. It doesn’t avoid the reality of whatever season we are in, and it summons forth the presence of the Spirit and that She is up to.

  I’m certain that doesn’t make any sense.

  In my experience, when I face heartache and grief, and prayer becomes a lament or mourning, knowing that God joins me in my suffering allows me to handle the pain differently. It doesn’t lessen the hurt, and the wounds remain tender, but the added meaning makes them easier to bear.

  I’m unsure how this resonates with you all. I hope it doesn’t come across as dismissive to anyone experiencing deep suffering. Over time, I've seen that in our pain, God approaches us gently, aiming to bring healing. God provides us with what we need to be part of Her healing presence in each other's lives.

What I love most about being blessed is that God's blessings are available to all of us. While we have tried to turn faith into a formula for achieving perfection and have equated faithfulness with health, wealth, and success, God’s focus is on our wholeness. It is in accepting our wounds that we receive God’s blessing.

Our lives are a blessing. Isn’t that how our story begins? An original blessing that declares we are unshakably good. Ours is a story of blessing—and God’s mercy, ensuring everyone knows they are blessed. This mercy is made real when the hungry are fed, those who are pushed down are lifted up, gatherings include those who have been pushed out, the privileged relinquish their power, and all the things that cause people pain are lifted and broken down. 

What does that look like in real time? To offer a blessing, as JOD says, “is a sacred act that honors the visible and invisible, a "circle of light" woven around someone to protect, heal, and strengthen them, bridging the human heart to the divine by recognizing the sacred in daily life and moments of transition, acting as a window to deeper spiritual reality.”

So, be a blessing. Be blessed. Stay blessed.

 You are blessed. You are a blessing. You are the beloved.

 

 

Through Stained Glass: Advent Word a Day -- Tell

 Tell

 

You know what I love about Advent?

 

It’s a time between time and a space outside of space. The season of Advent invites us to consider our lives, listen to them, and then tell the truth about them. When we tell the truth about our lives, we open ourselves to transformation.

 

The stories of Advent, the candlelight slowly growing, the landscapes of wild places, the poetry of the prophets—all invite us to dream of something new. For John the Baptist, there’s no better place than the wilderness, where you’re on the farthest edge of empires’ expectations and the burdens of the religious.

 

Out there, beyond the sights and sounds of the city, along the earthy-smelling banks of the Jordan, with mud between their toes and a taste of the river’s wild flavor, their imaginations open wide for something, anything to be different than back home.

 

John tells them something is going to happen; the One who is coming will upend what they think they know. John invites them to unlearn that which no longer serves them; to allow the fire of wisdom to burn away stale beliefs; to join the dance of the Divine. To … you guessed it … to see beyond the mind.

 

He’s telling them to “Put down the weight of your aloneness and ease into the conversation.” (David Whyte) The conversation is Love itself – the Word that’s been since before the beginning – the Word that wraps healing and wholeness around us. John tells them not to try too hard; to set aside those things they think they need because, more than likely, it’s all chaff.

 

He tells them to be ready because something new is about to be born.

 

So, can you do me a favor, please? Can you take 3-5 minutes and live a little on the edge by sharing what new thing you wish to bring forth? Don’t think about those things that hold you back, okay? Your beliefs and traditions are sacred – but remember, so are your dreams and awakening. No need to spend time as an insider to your beliefs, like a ‘dues-paying member’ of a country club, guarding the agreement you signed upon joining. Imagine John telling you to loosen your thoughts a bit, awaken from a potential sleepwalking state, and let the Spirit help you see beyond your mind.

 

Can you do that for me? Good. Thank you.

 

Sometimes telling the truth about our lives is challenging – it may leave us a little dazzled, like a striking bolt of lightning. And yet, Advent is the perfect time to bear witness to the longings and dreams we carry around inside us.

 

Advent is a way of life. We pay close attention to these texts because they remind us how expecting Jesus' birth calls us to live and witness to the Living God, who feels everything we do and promises to come alongside us, especially when saying ‘Behold!’ is hardest.

 

So, tell me, beloved, “What is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?” (Mary Oliver)

Through Stained Glass: Advent Word a Day -- Baptize

Baptize

It’s more God’s mercy than judgment. 

John the Baptist said, “I baptize you with water for repentance, but the one who is coming after me is more powerful than I, and I am not worthy to carry his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.”

 

JtB said this before he baptized Jesus.

 

John baptized Jesus in the Jordan, and then this happened: “And a voice from the heavens said, 'This is my Son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased."

 

Beloved. Yes. And so much more.

 

The age-old theological question is, “If Jesus was perfect, then why did he need to be baptized?”

 

What is it that Padraig O’Tuama says? Mu – meaning – un-ask that question. It isn’t about that – what we ask to distract ourselves from the ‘Yes’ God says to our lives … right now. Jesus is baptized to enter into the fullness of our human experience. 

 

Okay. Let’s stop. Let me explain.

 

Jesus was perfect – but not in the way we usually think of perfect. In the 21st century, we understand perfect like a pitcher throwing a perfect game: nine innings without any batter reaching base for any reason — no blemishes or mistakes. I remember competing in a solo band contest where our performance was judged on a somewhat subjective scale. Did I do this right or that properly depending on how the judge was feeling at 6:07 p.m. on a Friday after a long day of teaching?

 

Perhaps this teacher would say, “I’m only human.” And they aren’t wrong. And yet, they aren’t right. Because to be human transcends being right or|and wrong.

 

It isn’t very clear. I know. But hang in there.

 

We misunderstand the definition of perfection as it is presented in the Bible. In Matthew 5:48, Jesus gives us this instruction: Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

 

Be. Perfect.

 

Simple enough. Right?

 

It actually is, and here’s why: perfection in this context is wholeness. A letting go of ego desires and an acceptance of the Divine presence in our lives – this is wholeness. I’ve heard it said that only God is perfect. But we can participate in God’s perfect mercy, God’s all-inclusive and impartial love. As St. Bonaventure said, “Christ is the one whose center is everywhere and whose circumference is nowhere.”

 

Here's the thing about this – if God is Wholeness, and we belong to this Wholeness – then at our core – is Wholeness. I love what Fr. Richard Rohr says about this:

This is the Wholeness that holds you. You can’t figure this Wholeness out rationally, nor can you control it. All you can do is fall into this Wholeness that holds you when you stop excluding, even the dark parts of yourself.

 

So – wholeness is – then – an acceptance of all of who you are – all your parts. Integrating those parts, we are told to keep separate from ourselves. Or to put it another way, the acceptance of our humanity.

 

I’m not interested in the conversation about the ‘why’ of Jesus’s baptism. I am interested in the idea that, by being baptized, Jesus enters into the human story in its fullness.

 

To even ask why Jesus needs to be baptized presupposes a flawed or imperfect identity.

 

Oof-duh.

 

Jesus enters those waters the same way God entered the waters way back in the poem of Genesis 1 – to say ‘Yes’ to creation … to our very humanity.

 

Here’s the deal, friends: we can’t start this journey into the interpersonal, intrapersonal, and transpersonal on a negative note. Why? Because God didn’t and doesn’t. If we seek God out of fear, guilt, or shame (which is often the legacy of original sin), we won’t get very far. Starting negative results in staying negative. We need to begin positively—through a wonderful experience, something greater than life, something that dives into the depths of our own being. That’s what the word baptism means, “to be dipped into.”

 

Baptism by the Holy Spirit – we are drawn into – equipped | gifted – with the very essence from which we come from: Divinity.

 

Jesus isn’t just baptized in the Jordan, but into this life—our life—being human. Then, the Dove descended into Jesus, and afterward, Jesus was sent into the wilderness. Everything about Jesus' baptism—what John was proclaiming—centers on the relationality of the Divine to creation, to us.

 

Let me let Fr. Rohr summarize what I’m getting at:

 

The common manifestation of this ever-recurring pattern might simply be called perfectionism. The word itself is taken from a single passage in Matthew 5:48, where Jesus tells us to “be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect.” Of course, perfection as such is a divine or mathematical concept and has never been a human one. Jesus offers it as guidance for how we can love our enemies, of which he has just spoken (5:43–47). He is surely saying that we cannot obey this humanly impossible commandment by willpower, but only by surrendering to the Divine Perfection that can and will flow through us. In other words, we cannot be perfect of ourselves—but God can. Yet we used this one passage to give people the exact opposite impression—that they could indeed be perfect in themselves!

 

As much as we want to make baptism about us – believer vs. infant, etc. – it’s always been about God. God’s mercy, not God’s judgment.

 

Imperfection is wholeness.

 

And to think God created us this way – to be human, ourselves. Once we set aside the ego’s desire to pursue some perceived perfection, we will wade into our wholeness.

 

Whenever I try to accomplish a test of perfection handed to me by those other than the Divine, I can’t help but think of this line from Merton:

"Dance in the sun, you tepid idiot. Wake up and dance in the clarity of perfect contradiction.”

 

I may not be perfect by Webster’s definition – but I can be completely myself in this moment, integrated and whole … just as God intended.

 

So, remember your baptism, be thankful, and take time to wake up and dance in the clarity of our contradiction. After all … isn’t that proof of God’s mercy?