Valley Rise Up: In Christ We All Sing

"Everything that is, is holy." It seems likely that Thomas Merton and James Agee borrowed this same language from an old William Blake poem: "everything that lives is holy." It might well be the heart of Jesus' teaching, or Moses', or Mohammad's too. "Everything that is, is holy." When the gravity of evening news falls heavy, when the despots of the world spew hate, we cannot (we will not) take the bait. Because we know. Because we pray. Because we love. "Everything that is, is holy." We meet their cynicism with expansive love, 'agape,' the kind of love that resists and transforms and blesses. We meet their hopelessness with gratitude and restless joy. Look to the sun rising over the hills. Cherish the pelicans gliding just a wing's length above the sea. And celebrate the many marchers gathering on the mall to fight for justice and kindness. There is holiness in the world. In the summer's warm wind, in the beggar's plea for grace. It's everywhere you turn. Watch closely. Surrender fear. And cast your lot with all those who say YES!

WELCOME to VALLEY RISE UP: a blog exploring faith and wonder, ethics and passion. If you find something helpful here, anything helpful here, I hope you'll take it along and make it work for you. More than anything else, I see myself as a spiritual guide and mentor for seekers and believers. In a beautiful and befuddling world, faith offers courage, resilience and tenderness. At least it does for me. On the side, I love to read and write poetry, and I've written a number of hymns and songs as well. In VALLEY RISE UP, I try to keep the conversation alive, exploring grace, peacemaking, human yearning and hope.

A Song of Joyous Resistance

Deep valley gonna rise up
Big mountain gonna fall
Deep valley gonna rise up
Big mountain gonna fall
Deep valley gonna rise up
Big mountain gonna fall
Gonna be level ground, by & by!

Swords pounded into ploughshares
Bombs into bread and wine
Swords pounded into ploughshares
Bombs into bread and wine
Swords pounded into ploughshares
Bombs into bread and wine
Global feast, blessed peace, by & by!

Dry bones are gonna dance, dance
Captives be runnin' free
Dry bones are gonna dance, dance
Captives be runnin' free
Dry bones are gonna dance, dance
Captives be runnin' free
Sea to sea, dancin' free, by & by!

Tune: Lattimer (Spiritual)

"If the inner life is great," said Meister Eckhart 800 years ago, "the outer life will never be puny." Eckhart and others talk about two dimensions in prayer: the horizontal (connecting us in lovingkindness to others) and the vertical (uniting us in love with the Source of all that is and will be). The two intersect in stillness, in reflection, in meditation, in prayer. And this kind of practice is cultivated, tended like a garden, through daily experience and circles of support. There are so many ways into a practice of prayer. For some of us, silence is the key; for others, it's movement, yoga, tai chi, qi gong. The key seems to be discipline, and steady practice. It's a wild and noisy world out there, so find a place and time to step aside and pray. And do it often.

THOMAS MERTON'S PRAYER

MY LORD GOD, I have no idea where I am going. I do not see the road ahead of me. I cannot know for certain where it will end. Nor do I really know myself, and the fact that I think I am following your will does not mean that I am actually doing so. But I believe that the desire to please you does in fact please you. And I hope I have that desire in all that I am doing. I hope that I will never do anything apart from that desire. And I know that if I do this you will lead me by the right road, though I may know nothing about it. Therefore I will trust you always though I may seem to be lost and in the shadow of death. I will not fear, for you are ever with me, and you will never leave me to face my perils alone.

Saturday, September 18, 2010

In Christ We All Sing