The First Day of Summer

• Strawberry Social on Saturday June 27th at 2-4pm with a 50/50 Raffle to benefit North Quabbin Animal Control.
• Summer Death Cafe on July 11th at 4pm (no rsvp needed).
• Discussion Circle is on the last Sunday of June after Church. These discussions are here to to inspire, teach, guide, and challenge us–all are welcome to join us (we often explore sacred passages, poetry, and other words to inspire us toward freshness, surprise, and wonder).
• Village Fair and 5K is on August 15th this year (third Saturday of August); mark your calendars. Please message Charlotte to register for the Race.

Visit our Calendar of Events to explore our upcoming dates and times

All are Welcome. If you are uncomfortable with the word God, please feel welcome to insert your own word for the divine or Mystery in your life (Universe/Grace/Spirit/Divine).

These Reflections are written to be read aloud, please forgive any writing errors. You can find the recording HERE later on Sunday morning.

SUNDAY REFLECTION:

It’s the first day of summer.  It’s Father’s Day.  It’s a nice time to reflect on gardens.  I love all the gardens.  We have messy gardens.  We have tidy gardens.  We have gardens to attract bees and butterflies.  We have gardens to feed one another.  We have wildlife gardens.  We have cultivated gardens.  So many beautiful gardens.  

The Garden.  

It’s all so beautiful and then we were led to overthink it all.  We lost sight of it is Good (original Goodness) for separation: what is good and what is bad.  We started overthinking.  If I’m good, then does that mean he’s bad?  If she’s good, then I must be bad.  If my garden is good, then their garden must be bad/wrong.  What’s good?  What’s bad?  

Then…we (pretty much immediately) started pointing fingers before anyone else can point at us first.  

Maybe this all starts at the poor tree.  This discord. This pointing fingers. She made me do it.  The snake said it was a good idea.  

Covering up (quite literally).  Hiding ourselves from one another.  Hiding our differences from one another, as if suddenly one was good and one was bad.  Hiding to avoid judgement.  Hiding to avoid punishment.  Hiding from God…as if that’s even possible.  

I do love how Jesus turns this around.  Instead of “hiding”, go and pray in secret.  Don’t hide from God.  Go into secret to be more fully with God.  Worry less about other people and more about Love and loving Grace.   

So, in comes good and bad, this way or that way, this side or the other side.  Riding right along with it: hiding, shame, guilt, and fear.  Judge first.  Point fingers first.  

Division, discord, separation.  Separation not just from God, but from one another.  We’re no long feeling quite as safe or comfortable with one another.  We’ve lost: trust and faith.  There is a fabulous poem by Scott Cairns called “The Entrance of Sin” that I recommend to anyone who loves different ways of looking at the Stories (be sure to read it a few times, it grows).  

It was all so good and then we overthink it all.  We took it all apart to see the pieces and to try figure out how it all works—we’re like the kid with the radio who took it apart to figure out how sound from far away came out of it.  Then we lost some pieces and broke a few along the way.  Of course it seems hard to put it back together and make it whole.  Of course we ate what was forbidden.  

It’s what we do after.  It’s what we do now.  

It’s still so good, and yet we still overthink it all.  We still take it all apart and argue over every piece and part.  We still lose pieces.  We are still breaking things, and one another, in our desperation to be “right” about it all.  Or at least to not be the one who is wrong!  The either, or when perhaps the both, and is the Mystery and the Grace.  

And…we’re still so tempted.    

Good.  Bad.  Judgement.  Fear becomes anger.  Anger becomes hate.  Hate becomes violence.  

Maybe the best advice we can take to heart is to leave the judgement part to God.  To not try to figure out what God thinks or what God wants so much—which usually ends up being us putting our wants and thoughts onto God.  Maybe, listen to Jesus and invite everyone in to the Table and to practice Love.  Even, and especially, when it is most hard.  Even, and especially, when we start to seem so very different from one another.  

Jesus brings us back together.  Jesus is the bridge and wholeness.  Maybe wholeness is holiness.  Jesus leads us away from hate, anger, violence, separation, punishment, and retribution.  Back to wholeness.  

Jesus taught us a Way.  

The Way of Love.  The Way of Christians. 

First century Christians came together, not just for individual healing, but for a healing of the whole.  Of all people.  They shared resources and responsibilities.  Women and men worked together.  In these first books (remember that sin is “missing the mark”), “sin” was not sharing with the group. “Sin” was lying to one another to protect one’s own and one’s own stuff. “Sin” was hoarding for one’s self.  “Sin” was greed.  “Sin” was worrying about one’s selfish needs over the needs and good of the whole group.  

“Sin” was separating one’s self from the health of the community.  Not trusting enough to fully commit to the whole community with all heart, all soul, and…all resources.  “Sin” was holding back…of the tangible stuff and of trust in something greater than one’s self.  

That’s the first century Christian Way of Jesus.  BIG PAUSE.  Because when we care only for ourselves, things fall apart.  

Jesus brought a return from separation toward healing, community, and love.  

Perhaps our greatest work, and one begun by the work of Jesus, is to come back to the Original Goodness. Where all is good…including us.  All of us.  This is the healing.  This is the weaving back together.  We seek out to tend to one another.  We worry less about just ourselves.  We give away and share all that we are and all that we have.  

We immerse ourselves in tenderness and connectedness.  Kindness.  Even when it’s different and uncomfortable.  

Imbalance comes in as judgement and separation, as if part of it is good and another part is bad.  As if someone else is bad and that makes us…good.  Or vice versa.  

The imbalance is the separation of the whole.  Separating the world and one another into this or that, good or bad.  The balance is both, and…we are both, and.  It is both, and. Perfectly, imperfect.  

Perhaps the practice might be that before we judge, we take the time to and walk in another’s shoes for just a mile or two.  As we hope others might walk in ours before we are judged and condemned to the corners of isolation and separation because we don’t quite fit, don’t quite conform, or don’t quite make sense to others.  Maybe if we opened our hearts, just a bit more, we’d understand more, and love more.  We’d not make the mistake of casting aside to keep only what fits comfortably.  We’d not make the mistake of neglecting all who are loved and beloved.  

It is both good, and bad. 

It is both bad, and good. 

The work is to gather and heal the broken pieces and ripped places.  

It is both a burden, and a blessing.  

It is both a blessing, and a burden.  

We don’t have to continue the division and separation into what is good or what is bad.  Worse, who is good or who is bad.  We don’t have to argue over who is right or who is wrong.  We truly can come together.  

We just have to love.  That’s it.  Just love.  We must come back together into whole holiness. One Beloved Community. And, perhaps, one day, a Beloved World.