Sweet Words from Maine

Ripples

Heron on the Taunton River, Sullivan, Maine

This little heron presents us with a visual metaphor. We often feel helpless and vulnerable in the chaotic, confusing sea of geopolitical messes, pandemic crises, inconceivable violence, and moral decline in our world, but this awkward appearing bird emanating ripples from the center of its personal microcosm as it carefully and quietly searches for its dinner speaks a truth to us.

Our personal impact on the small world around us, even in the more mundane moments, is powerful. Words, attitudes, efforts, and behaviors can diminish or encourage those who seek our approval. Similarly, we remember kindnesses, affirmations, encouragements, gentle exhortations and commendations, but we also hang onto negativity directed at us. We nurse snide remarks, verbal abuse, being ignored, and gossipy character assassinations. Apologies may be made and forgiveness sought, but words and actions can’t be retrieved and may evolve into resentments.

As approval seekers, we self-evaluate by others’ criteria. Our minds are bombarded and molded daily by a wide variety of conflicting and confusing cultural, subliminal messages as well as by overt, intentional persuasions of family, friends, teachers, writers, musicians, social media, news casters, religious leaders, and politicians, all of whom have opinions and points of view!

Popular music frequently mirrors real life stories and insights into “our ripple effect.” In her song “I’m everything I am/ Because you loved me”, Celine Dion reinforced the great importance of encouraging, supporting, and loving those about us. Ray Boltz’s “Thank you for giving” broadens that kind of power to a much wider circle than we might imagine. The setting of his song is heaven where he is walking with his friend. People unknown to his friend approach and thank his friend for how he had influenced their lives as he lived out the graces of the Gospel. “One by one they came/Far as the eyes could see/Each life somehow touched/ By your generosity/Little things that you had done/ Sacrifices made/Unnoticed on the earth/In heaven now proclaimed.” Each came with the same message; “Thank you for giving to the Lord/I am a life that was changed/Thank you for giving to the Lord/I am so glad you gave.”

There is no better motivator for grace than the Gospel. There is no better mirror than Scripture where we can ascertain who we truly are–broken but valuable before Holy God, who in extreme love offers us redemption despite our faults, evil desires, and bad behaviors. Scripture reveals that wisdom for this earthly life begins by revering God, that His principles guide our journeys, that Jesus is the light of the World, and that we should walk as he did and be imitators of God, who gives us His righteousness through faith and empowers us to be gracious and to live a life of love and generosity.

If those ideas become more than theory, if they become a reality, some pretty nice “ripples” will be generated even when one isn’t trying!

Of Lilacs and Remembrances

Lilacs in a Vibert Vase, Sullivan, Maine

^“Look, the winter is past, and the rains are over and gone/ The flowers are springing up, the season of singing birds has come, and the cooing of turtledoves fills the air… “Lilacs are exuberantly purple and perfumed, and cherry trees fragrant with blossoms….”(Song of Songs 2:11-12, NLT2; 2:13 MSG)

In late May, beautiful purple and white lilac blossoms renew Maine’s countryside with color and fragrance after having been draped for months in winter starkness and long spring drabness. They bloom everywhere.

“Lilacs in dooryards/Holding quiet conversations with an early moon/ Lilacs watching a deserted house/Settling sideways into the grass of an old road/ Lilacs, wind-beaten, staggering under a lopsided shock of bloom/Above a cellar dug into a hill. You are everywhere.” (excerpt from “Lilacs” by Amy Lowell)

These late May blooms are not only lovely, aromatic forerunners of summer but are also happy reminders of my Mother, who loved lilacs not only for their beauty and fragrance but because her Father did! On Memorial Day, she would place a bouquet on his grave.

Memorial Day began as Decoration Day, a day commemorating Civil War soldiers who had died in the war. Currently, it is designated a national holiday day set aside to remember all veteran women and men, living or dead, with patriotic parades, memorial services of gratitude and commemorations, and flags decorating graves.

And then there are red poppies! Historical reminders, symbols, and perspectives are so important. Wynne McLaughlin reportedly said, “Maybe history wouldn’t have to repeat itself if we listened once in awhile.” In 1915, John McCrae, a Canadian Army Lieutenant wrote the poem “In Flanders Fields” to honor the memory of his fallen comrades who fought the sad, bloody battles of WW1 through the poppy fields of France and to hold future generations responsible for keeping the world free from tyranny: “In Flanders fields the poppies blow/Between the crosses, row on row/ … We are the dead. Short days ago/We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow… Take up our quarrel with the foe: To you from failing hands we throw/The torch; be yours to hold it high/If ye break faith with us who die/We shall not sleep, though poppies grow/In Flanders fields.” (Excerpts from In Flanders Fields)

Similarly, Scripture calls us to this wisdom of remembrance. It exhorts us to never lose sight of the character and works and words and presence of God because He knows what is best for us. Jeremiah recognized our strange reluctance to seek the moral guidelines which bring us peace: “Thus says the Lord: “Stand by the roads, and look, and ask for the ancient paths, where the good way is; and walk in it, and find rest for your souls…” (Jeremiah 6:16) Isaiah urged Israel to “Remember the former things of old; for I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like me.” (Isaiah 46:9) The Psalmist reminds us “…to forget not all (God’s) benefits” and then lists some: forgiveness, redemption, healing, righteousness and justice; God is merciful, gracious, compassionate, and patient and abounds in love; He is sovereign but gentle with us because He remembers we are dust. (Psalm 103)

If we are to remember God, then we must seek knowledge of Him. Creation speaks to us of God’s nature. (Romans 1:20) The Scriptures tell us who God is (2 Timothy 3:16-17) Christ showed us the character image of God.^{. “}For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.” (Colossians 1:19-20) And through the Communion symbols of broken bread and poured out wine, Christ opened his heart of grace and mercy to his disciples as he drew them close to his cross and called them to a regular remembrance of his redemptive action for all. “Do this in remembrance of me,” he said. (1 Corinthians 11:24-25)

But there is a very happy and blessed contrast to God’s remembrances. God forgets! In His gracious ways, in His detailed knowledge and understanding, and in His compassion for us who live in this fragile, dusty, mortal state, God is gentle and patient and loving and willing to “forget” our sins. When we come to Him by faith, “as far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us”. (Psalm 103) He promises to remember them “no more.” (Isaiah 43:25) (Hebrews 10:17) That is the confidence of faith.

Life and Art…

Does art imitate life or does life imitate art? Apparently, whether life merely influences artistic expression or whether art influences our perception and behaviors were questions debated by Aristotle and Plato!

We all are imitators and influencers. We formulate our own life views from the ideas, behaviors, and artistic expressions of the people and the culture we know and then model it to others. Written words may change the course of one’s life as one acquires a personal world view. Fashions reflect the way we feel about ourselves whether mod, goth, hip, cool, professional, or wealthy and fashionable, but they also contribute to one’s sense of self respect and to performance. Violence, drug use, and immorality in tv programs, movies, theatrical performances, or video games may have their origins in personal experiences but also affect attitudes and life styles of those who view these activities.

Creativity is a characteristic of God. He spoke into being all that is good in this vast and mysterious cosmos which displays His ” invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature.” (Genesis 1)(Romans 1:20) If we are created in God’s image, our creativity must be meant to be more than self expression of an emotion, an idea, or a perception. Its derivation is good. So, shouldn’t a poet’s poetry, a photographer’s lighting, a painter’s shades and tones, a musician’s notes and lyrics, a dancer’s steps, and the inking of words point us toward a greater wonder or truth?

Scripture does that. Humanity’s good, bad and ugly behaviors are on display through historical records, revelations, stories, parables, teachings, and exhortations. It reveals life as it is, who we are, and who God is. It directs us to God through redemptive faith. It teaches a universal moral code which gives definition to right and wrong, encourages discernment, holds parents responsible for modelling and teaching moral values, and exhorts us to guard our mind by considering what is good, true, honorable, pure, commendable, and worthy of praise . (Philippians 4:8) Scripture encourages believers to learn from one another, to consider the faith of the Saints, to imitate the character of God, to walk as Jesus did, to joyfully live out the Gospel with mercy, grace, love, kindness, forgiveness, and an enduring peace filled spirit. Scripture is powerful and changes lives when revered.

In truth, we are “works of art!” Whether our image is one of lost, restless, wandering sheep or molded pottery or children of God or a “tapestry”, we are working through the choices and meaning and purposes of our lives in the context of created beings:

“Our lives are but fine weavings, that God and we prepare/ each life becomes a fabric planned/ and fashioned in His care…..We may not always see/just how the weavings intertwine/ but we must follow the Master’s hand and trust His design/ For He can view the pattern/ upon the upper side while we must look from underneath/ and trust in Him to guide….The dark threads are as needed/in the Weaver’s skillful hand/as the threads of gold and silver/ in the pattern He has planned.” (Excerpts from the “Master Weaver”)

“Art” is part of who we are and are becoming. As individual people, we have our own distinctive songs, color palettes, and dance moves, but in whatever way our lives are expressed, our giftedness is a tool for good and should honor the One from whom all good and perfect gifts come.

Nature’s Song

Sunrise, Lubec Narrows, West Quoddy Head, Lubec, Maine

Watching the moon quietly rise down river and the sun set in glorious splendor up river while listening to evening songs of twittering kingfishers, tweeting eagles, a rippling tide, and gentle breezes whispering through the pines as heron quietly fish and fog silently threatens, I am reminded of an old hymn : “Let all things their Creator bless, And worship Him in humbleness…” and am awed by a perfection which once was, by a design which knits all nature together, and by an imagination and creativity and power so mighty that this beautiful but broken and scarred world remains on course while spinning out time through an incomprehensibly vast cosmos.

Some of us consider nature to be our worship space because connecting with creation brings a temporary peace and relief which we have not discovered in houses of worship. We have become disillusioned with “organized religion” because of the imperfections, the hypocrisy, and the lack of love and grace of people professing “faith”, which for many is no more than tradition, ritual, rules, and self righteous entitlement in a do-good, feel-good religious system. However, religion predicated upon people and human philosophies and empowered by self will always be limited, prideful, and disappointing.

A morning walk, a mountain hike, an ocean view, a shady forest, or the “milky way” can become a spiritual event because God speaks through the complexities and secrets of His creation. However, we tend to miss creation’s evidences and implications because other voices have led us to disbelieve the divine origins of our universe. So, if we desire to know God, we must let Him tell us who He is and who we are.

Thankfully, He has spoken clearly through the voice of Scripture, which exposes us to the truth about ourselves, narrates historical events of His interactions with humanity, speaks to His purposes and plans and desires to be with and for us, and tells us of Christ, whose life, teachings, purposes, and identity have been carefully preserved by eye witnesses and whose redemptive actions are the most crucial evidence of God’s involvement with us. Peter recognized Jesus as the Messiah. Thomas confessed him as God. The Apostle Paul said that the glory of God is seen in the face of Jesus , that he is God’s love gift and “God’s wisdom” to us, and that he is our “redemption” and hope. The author of Hebrews says that Christ ” is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature…”

Nature may give us a sense of the transcendent, but Christ is God’s solution for our spiritual brokenness. He brings peace and wholeness. Through him, God has lavished His love and righteousness on needy humanity. Faith founded on Christ brings a quiet spirit and meaning to life. As another old hymn says it: “My faith has found a resting place, not in device nor creed. I trust the ever-living One, His wounds for me shall plead… “

Nature’s songs may tell us of God’s character and power, but Christ shows us the greatness, the intimacy, the need, and the purposes of divine love. If one is interested in God, one must as a minimum investigate Christ’s credibility, his words, and his life’s purposes.

_{(Romans 1:19-20) (Psalm 8) (Hebrews 4:12) (Romans 3:23) (Hebrews 1:1) (Matthew 16:13-16) (John 20:28)(1Corinthians 1:30) (2 Corinthians 4:6) (Roman’s 5:8) (Hebrews 1:1-3)}

Nature’s Song

_{(Romans 1:19-20) (Psalm 8) (Hebrews 4:12) (Romans 3:23) (Hebrews 1:1) (Matthew 16:13-16) (John 20:28)(1Corinthians 1:30) (2 Corinthians 4:6) (Roman’s 5:8) (Hebrews 1:1-3)}

Spring ‘s Hope

Spring is glorious in Maine. Flowering shrubs and trees beautify formal landscapes and gardens. Wild cherry and crab apple blossoms line roadsides, blueberry blossoms flood fields, and apple orchards show off their pinks and whites. The smells of fresh beauty are everywhere. But the farmer’s mind quickly turns to thoughts of the harvest heralded by these wonders. A good spring blooming could mean a grand harvest, but it isn’t a promise. What appears to be a great opportunity may lose it potential or even end in a disaster because of limited growing time, too much or too little rain, mildew, freezes, infestations, and poor pollination.

Life mirrors those possibilities. Our early bloom is susceptible to blight. Our actions and inactions have consequences. We will reap what we sow. We are time-limited people and our outcomes are subject to interferences and disruptions.

Jesus knew that all life, his included, is fragile, brief, and threatened by evil. Because his redemptive message of forgiveness and transformation is life saving, he approached his ministry with focus, vigorous intention, and urgency as he brought God’s kingdom to lost, needy people. On one occasion, he appointed seventy-two followers to precede him and to prepare people for upcoming visits; he urged them on with the metaphor that “The harvest is plentiful…” (Luke 10:1-2)

Millions of people world wide have responded to and continue to receive Jesus’ redemptive message of forgiveness and of restoration to a relationship with God through faith. They are part of that “plentiful” harvest which was sowed in an isolated, remote corner of the world by a few disciples. That image powerfully testifies to the vital need for Jesus in life and also confirms another ancient truth. Moses repeatedly reminded Israel to keep alive the memory of God’s empowering presence by telling succeeding generations about His wonders and how He cared for those who followed Him by faith. That thoughtful advice still holds. Whether lived or spoken, the values, the attitudes, the truths we model and teach today will bare future fruit even in generations which we may never live to see.

God’s grand plan holds an amazing eternal hope, but it is couched in gravity. When the people of Judah realized that they had ignored God and that the moment for their salvation from enemies had passed because God had not intervened and rescued them, the prophet Jeremiah recorded their lament: “The harvest is past, the summer is ended, and we are not saved.” (Jeremiah 8:20) We face the same challenge today because distractions take us from the awareness that we need God and that there is an urgency about knowing and investigating Jesus’ intervention for our salvation which with grace and gratitude can grow into the sowing and reaping of God’s love, peace, humility, sensitivity, mercy, compassion and righteousness for generations to come.(Matthew 5:3-12) What better harvest could there be?

The Heron Walk

A Great Blue Heron taking its evening stroll, Sullivan, Maine

The Great Blue Heron arrived at dusk. It was fascinating to watch its delicate, unrushed, almost elegant walk as it lifted its long, thin legs before gently and quietly placing its feet between long pauses of listening and peering intently into the cold water.

This heron’s intentional hesitancy was a reminder of the immediacy in the ancient but ever contemporary admonition to be circumspect, to be wise, to make the best use of time and opportunity, to not be fools, and to “walk in wisdom…redeeming the time.” (Ephesians 5:15-16) (Colossians 4:5) That wisdom is vital and applicable to any race or creed because one misstep can be life changing. Although we can never relive even a single second, the Psalmist counseled “to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom.” (Psalm 90:12; 39:4-5). He recognized that if we consider life’s brevity, we should be motivated to seek its purpose.

Despite the choices we make or those imposed upon us, or our circumstances, or our personalities, interests and abilities, we all struggle to find pleasure, peace, meaning, and purpose. We are also vulnerable to the the shrill, disruptive, and sometimes rebellious voices of our culture or are distracted by the more soothing words of our intellectual, celebrity, and religious heroes whose wisdom isn’t always wise but is filled with half truths which reinforce what we want to believe. We want to believe that meaning lies within ourselves and our ability to make the most of ourselves, that we are self empowered, that freedom means being free to do what we want to do, that right or wrong is relative to the situation, and that there is no absolute moral framework by which to live.

As a result, we become easily conflicted and weirdly inconsistent as we resist the image, principles, and purposes for which we are designed and by which we are enabled to achieve what we actually want. Jesus succinctly and profoundly laid out the course to happiness by condensing the moral code into loving God with all one’s being and our neighbors as ourselves. This was given with a promise and a principle: when followed, one will live the best possible life. (Matthew 22:37-40) (Deuteronomy 6:1-3) Pleasure, hard work, wealth, relationships, and intellectual pursuits are unsatisfying and empty without God.

Obviously, we all fail at the ideal because we have trouble seeing beyond the world of our senses, have control issues, and are unforgiving and perverse. Even when we “believe”, our faith is defective. We regularly fail to meet the benchmarks of integrity, humility, love, compassion and forgiveness and constantly live in unwitting opposition to what God intends for us.

However, God has “redeemed” the days! Because of His compassionate, merciful understanding of human weaknesses, Christ has finished our struggle for goodness. He is the Way to redemption, forgiveness, righteousness, and restoration through the gift of faith. There is no guilt, shame or condemnation when living in this faith which goes beyond intellectual belief to a graciously empowered relationship and a “walk” of seeking the wisdom of God’s will that we believe and live the Gospel of mercy and grace. (Titus 3:5).(Galatians 2:16) (Romans 3:28)

Regardless of whether or not we are “people of faith”, this strange but beautiful heron speaks a cautionary tale: “Look carefully then how (we) walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil.” But even most importantly we should consider and live for the ultimate goal: Therefore (let us) not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. (Ephesians 5:15-17)

Doing the “Heron Walk”

Great Blue Heron on its evening stroll, Taunton River, Sullivan, Maine

This heron’s intentional hesitancy was a reminder of the immediacy in the ancient but ever contemporary admonition to be circumspect, to be wise, to make the best use of time and opportunity, to not be fools, and to “walk in wisdom…redeeming the time.” (Ephesians 5:15-16) (Colossians 4:5) That wisdom is vital and applicable to any race or creed because one misstep can be life changing. Although we can never relive even a single second, the Psalmist counseled “to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom.” (Psalm 90:12; 39:4-5). He recognized that if we consider life’s brevity, we should be motivated to seek its purpose.

The View of Everything

It is quite unlikely that this little gull’s brain was filled with philosophical or theological thoughts as it watched the rising sun drive away the darkness hiding Stonington Harbor and the thoroughfare. In contrast, human minds constantly deal with values and meaning and purposes even while enjoying a sunrise. C.S. Lewis once said: “I believe in Christianity as I believe that the sun has risen: not only because I see it, but because by it I see everything else.”

As we search for enlightened answers to questions about cause and reality, our observations, our experiences, and the considerations we give to what others say or have discovered create for us a view of “everything else,” an intellectual understanding which shapes our emotional and spiritual responses to our personal world. Lewis, a converted atheist, found answers in the person, life, teachings, and purposes of Christ, who became the framework for his world view. He saw life through the lens of Christianity.

Some say that we imagine religious answers because we long for reasons. The more compelling argument would be that we long for reasons because we were made for them, that we were created with the capacity for goodness, love, honesty, integrity, holiness, and joy, and that there is a transcendent quality and purpose and meaning behind them. Because of that, we curiously and constantly probe for answers which hold ultimate meaning.

Just as the rising sun pushes back the darkness, Christianity pushes us to consider our greatest possibilities because Christ shines a brighter and broader light on the workings of our universe. He makes sense of this world and its brokenness. His teachings speak to ultimate reason, truth, reality, and providence. John, the Apostle, spoke of Christ as “The true light, which gives light to everyone…”.(John 1:9) And Jesus said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” (John 8:12)

Belief in the person and redemptive work of Christ sets us on the path meant for us, a path of joyful expression of divine love and grace. He lifts us from our dusty limitations to the great, eternal story lying beyond and behind the cosmos and transports us from the kingdom of darkness where rebellion and lawlessness and guilt and shame and condemnation reign into the Kingdom of God where grace and love reside.

Tim Hughes ‘s song expresses it this way:

Light of the world
You stepped down into darkness
Opened my eyes, Let me see
Beauty that made this heart adore you
Hope of a life spent with you

The View of Everything

Tim Hughes ‘s song expresses it this way:

Light of the world
You stepped down into darkness
Opened my eyes, Let me see
Beauty that made this heart adore you
Hope of a life spent with you