June 25, 2017

I believe there is holiness in every person.  
I believe there is a Holy Spirit within, and available to, every person; a Spirit which is fluent in every language, understands every culture, remembers every grace and wound, and understands us better than we understand ourselves.  This Spirit will, if asked – and often unasked – guide us, comfort us, and heal us.  The Holy Spirit will forgive us, help us forgive ourselves and others, and help us grow – in part by lovingly but irresistibly requiring that we examine our assumptions and take responsibility for our choices, our laziness, and any mistreatment of others.
And when people share with each other, in word or in deed, their experience of the Holy Spirit, the magic grows.

June 18, 2017

Hindus, Muslims, Jews, countless indigenous people – and we here today: when we seek to understand and connect with the Holy Spirit, Allah – God however named – are we talking about the same spirit?  Is there some spiritual call center, some switchboard, telling various divine spirits, “It’s for you”?

I think not.

I believe that there is one holy spirit, like a vast, inexhaustible lake of the purest water, the water of Life.  I believe that spirit is available to all of humanity through a mystical delivery system.  That system can deliver the water - the spirit - of Life in its pure form, a nourishing if sometimes jolting blend of love and commitment to seeking truth. 

To make those spiritual messages more comfortable, influenced by the people around us, our experiences, and our judgments, we put filters in that spiritual delivery system and we add things to the pure spiritual nourishment it provides.  But it turns out that the fruit of the proverbial tree is not the knowledge of good and evil.  It is not the knowledge of right and wrong.  It is the perception of the knowledge of good and evil.  It is the perception of right and wrong.  Therefore, we should hold our perceptions humbly and examine them often.  

Holy spirit, please help me discern the filters I place on your messages.  Help me see what I add to your messages.  Help me perceive your presence and guidance in their purest form, such that I may look someone who perceives me as his enemy straight in the eye and say, “I love you, even if you want to kill me.”