Letting Go of the Charade

You can't keep going like this.

Sooner or later something will have to give.

Go on, try and keep ignoring the voice deep within you.  It won't work; you can't keep this up.

Don't be too hard on yourself.  You've given the "supposed-to" life your best effort; you tried living it in front of others and in some ways began to believe it yourself. 

The charade is over and you know it.  There's only one thing left to do.

Let it go.

But don't worry, it was never your life anyway.

Good News of Great Joy

By the tender mercy of our God
the dawn from on high has broken upon us.

God has given light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.

Behold I bring you good news of great joy: for to you is born in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.

Authority rests upon his shoulder, and he is named:

Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.


(Luke 1:78-79; 2:10-11; Isaiah 9:6)

Holy Night

O holy night! The stars are brightly shining,

It is the night of our dear Saviour's birth.

Long lay the world in sin and error pining,

'Til He appear'd and the soul felt its worth.

A thrill of hope the weary world rejoices,

For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn.

Fall on your knees! O hear the angel voices!

O night divine, O night when Christ was born;

O night divine, O night, O night Divine.

Led by the light of Faith serenely beaming,

With glowing hearts by His cradle we stand.

So led by light of a star sweetly gleaming,

Here come the wise men from Orient land.

The King of Kings lay thus in lowly manger;

In all our trials born to be our friend.

He knows our need, to our weakness is no stranger,

Behold your King! Before Him lowly bend!

Behold your King, Before Him lowly bend!

Truly He taught us to love one another;

His law is love and His gospel is peace.

Chains shall He break for the slave is our brother;

And in His name all oppression shall cease.

Sweet hymns of joy in grateful chorus raise we,

Let all within us praise His holy name.

Christ is the Lord! O praise His Name forever,

His power and glory evermore proclaim.

His power and glory evermore proclaim.

4th Sunday of Advent

The Lord will give you a sign.  The young woman will be with child and shall bear a son, and shall name him Immanuel (God is with us).

Isaiah 7:14

Tired Old Constructs

When we learn to "live with" the constructs around us our creativity is sent to the back burner.  Our true self is overshadowed by the lesser self.  We can function this way for a while; we may even be productive.  But please don't be deceived...productivity does not equal life.

This is dangerous.  If you believe it you will pursue productivity over your calling every time, and in so doing your formation will come from the parameters around you and not from the God-breathed life within you.

And after a while?  You will find those parameters begin to fit like chains.  Continue on the imprisoned path long enough and you will find your world, your life, will get smaller; no room left for even your breath.

Instead of taking your cues from the constructs around you, begin listening to the voice deep within you.  Vocalize it, share it, act upon it.  There will be moments the art within you does not work with the constructs around you.

Don't worry.  Don't be afraid.

While this is a place of death it is not the death of your true self.  It is the place where the old order must pass away to make room for what is bursting forth.  This is a divine shedding of the old self; the warn out container discarded, and a new wineskin awaits.

Wild & Chaotic Creativity

"Tohu va Vohu" - wild and chaotic - is how the Hebrew Bible describes the world in the first moments of creation (Genesis 1:2).  Unlike other creation myths where chaos dies and order triumphs, Genesis leaves chaos intact.  This is the source of both suffering and creativity.  A completely ordered world would be like a paint-by-number landscape: everything is scripted and nothing new can happen.  Actual creation is like a Jackson Pollock painting where chance and chaos are part of the creative process.  Only in a world of "tohu va vohu" is there the possibility for new life, great art, innovative science, and ever-expanding wisdom.  If God is an artist, God is closer to Jackson Pollock than paint-by-number.

                                                - Rabbi Rami

Wholeness

Lord, I am fragmented.
Please make me whole.
Lord, there are parts of me that I don’t like and there are parts that I do.
Yet I am the sum of them.
Please make me whole.
Lord, I have gifts of creativity, emotion and logic;
Integrate my being, and make me whole, dear Lord.
Lord, I am spirit, soul and body and some of it is broken.

Dear, dear Lord: I cry to you to make me whole.
Mend me and integrate me afresh.
Things have got corrupted: re-program me, O Lord,
That I might be the human being you always wanted me to be.

Dear Lord, I am spirit, soul and body and I am not in balance.
Tune me so that I might harmonize with your Holy Spirit,
that he might lead me in all truth.
Help me hear the music of heaven, the songs of the angels;
The whisper of your command,
And grant me strength in soul and body to obey.

And dear Lord, I am one, just one, of your church on earth.
You called it your Body: you called it your Temple, with us as living stones.
Grant that I might be truly a part, truly a living stone
with a function, with a purpose,
giving and receiving
loving and caring
being loved and cared for
doing your will.

My Lord, I offer you all of me.
Make me beautiful,
make me whole, O Lord, I pray.

Michale Fulljames and Michael Harper, Prayers for Healing