We thought it would be helpful to ease our way back into the discipline of reading and discussing. What we decided on was to read a poem every day.  On Monday, we’ll read and share about Monday’s poem and any others that had an impact on us during the week.  We’ll try this for a week or two and then decide.  So, feel free to drop in any time as the discussion will be new every time.

 

Steve Garness-Holmes, a retired Methodist pastor, writes a poem a day, usually based on the lectionary. There is usually one of his poems in LITS so you might be a little familiar with him. 

 

You can subscribe to Steve’s “Unfolding Light” at the bottom of his e-mail below.   

 

As always, we meet from noon to 1:00 on Mondays via Zoom.  Please contact Belinda (Belinda.ww@gmail.com) to receive an invite.

 

Blessings,

Belinda

​

From: Steve Garnaas-Holmes <unfoldinglight@gmail.com>
Date: October 2, 2023 at 6:04:41 AM EDT
To: Free LIst <unfoldinglight@freelists.org>
Subject: [unfoldinglight] — A confounding parable
Reply-To: unfoldinglight@gmail.com

 

Dearly Beloved,

Grace and Peace to you.
 

             The reason I speak to them in parables is that
          ‘seeing they do not perceive, and hearing they do not listen,
          nor do they understand.’
                     —Matthew 13.13

I rest the Bible in my lap.
Pick it up again, read again,
set the Bible down.
A moment. Then
I stumble through the parable
one more time.
Nothing comes.
This is not bad,
maybe even as it should be.

I go out into the woods.
I sit on an old stump and say,
“But what does this mean?”
and laugh at myself.
I sit longer, listening,
and then listening,
till at least I hear the air,
and something inside something
speaks silently to something
inside me.

Is it any different when I listen
to a neighbor?

I am learning to repent of my certainty,
to simply be mindful
that I don't know,
to keep listening for what I haven't heard.
To receive what is offered
without compulsion to master it,
to grasp, to understand.
Just listen and wonder.
Let the silences speak to each other.

Deep Blessings,
Pastor Steve
__________________
Steve Garnaas-Holmes
Unfolding Light
www.unfoldinglight.net

Listen to the audio recording.
•
October 2, 2023
•
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