Friday, December 24, 2010

A Christmas Blessing from Peggy

Just as a mother with her own life
Protects her child, her only child, from harm,
So within yourself let grow
A boundless love for all creatures.

Let your love flow outward through the universe.
To its height, its depth, its broad extent,
A limitless love, without hatred or enmity.

Then as you stand or walk,
Sit or lie down,
As long as you are awake,
Strive for this with a one-pointed mind;
Your life will bring heaven to earth.

From God Makes the Rivers to Flow, by Eknath Easwaran

As Meister Eckhart would say, let your soul be Bethlehem for the birth of Christ love and "Your life will bring heaven to earth". Happy Holidays with love and gratitude to all of you! Peggy

© Peggy Beatty 2010

Wednesday, December 22, 2010

Be Still!

In the 15th century a small town in Russia was experiencing a very high incidence of violence, creating an atmosphere of fear and stress among the people, including the local monastery, where the monks could no longer concentrate on their prayers. Andrei Rublev, an icon painter, was called to paint something that helped the monks to remain calm and prayerful in the midst of all the restlessness. Rublev produced a depiction of the three angels visiting Abraham described in the book of Genesis. The angels are seated around the table hospitality, with the angel in the center pointing two fingers at the chalice on the table and leaning toward the angel on the left, who is offering a blessing. The third figure points to an opening through which the viewer is invited to join the three at the table, to enter into the flow of hospitality and spiritual comfort. When the monks prayed with this icon, now known as the Trinity icon, they were drawn into the loving intimacy and safety of that circle of hospitality and they were no longer afraid.

The spirit of God dances within and around us unceasingly. God is with us. This is the message of Christmas - the birth of the baby Jesus. We can "birth" the realization of God's presence any time. We are immersed in God's love and grace every single moment of our lives. All we have to do is recognize this and pause long enough to enter into the safe and loving flow of the Creator's care. Fear not! I bring you glad tidings of a great joy! God is with you! Jesus shows the way - Stop. Listen. You are standing on holy ground. Enter and find peace.

The task of prayer is not to make something happen, but to become aware of what God is already doing so that we can respond to it and participate in it. Be Still! And know that I AM.

© Peggy Beatty 2011

Thursday, December 2, 2010

Dabar* - an Advent Reflection

Prepare your gift deep within
In stillness bring it forth
Loose all your notions
Of what may be
And wait
Open
Open
Open
For the subtle pouring
of The Word,
Dabar*
Into your vessel

Then when you rise
It will trail behind you
Through the holes in your colander
Like pollen on bee’s feet
From this flower to that one
Sticky manna of
Peace

Peggy Advent 2010

*The word dabar means "word" or "talk" in Hebrew, in other words, self expression. In the Hebrew Bible, dabar is used in reference to the "Divine Word", and, importantly, in an active sense as a "word event", or prophetic words. In Christianity, the Old Testament concept of "word event" represented by dabar carries over as revelation, significantly in the incarnation of Jesus. But beyond that, dabar or self expression is God's message to humanity through Jesus, a message of love, compassion, and forgiveness as these attributes characterize the true nature of humanity, made in the image of God. More than a mere sound, dabar refers to self-expression: people in action as emissaries of the divine. The Septuagint, the oldest translation of the Hebrew Bible into Greek uses the terms Rhema and Logos as equivalents for dabar. Other terms for dabar: creative energy, creative expression, message of truth

© Peggy Beatty 2010