Unexpected Revelations: 1 February 2009

Dear Friends,

There is so much I have come to dislike about winter…especially now that it’s the middle of the season and it’s feeling way too long. Oh sure, that first snowfall of the year still “looks” so pretty but… There have been too many days when traveling was either difficult or downright hazardous due to snow, there has been freezing rain making the roads more like ice skating rinks rather than safe passageways, and we’ve endured some days of bitter cold along with dangerous wind chills, not to mention a good share of cloudy days too. The beauty of nature appears hidden from sight – no flowers in bloom, no green grass, no leaves on the trees, no butterflies fluttering around, no wide variety of songbirds gracing our yards and feeders, etc. – all the fascinating sights and sounds of nature that delight both eye and soul.

As I write this morning, I cannot even see out the window; it’s covered with frost again! But wait! After staring at this heavily frosted window, I suddenly see something my brain didn’t register at first glance: a delicately intricate pattern displayed at the bottom left corner. Amazing! What could have gone unnoticed in a mass of sameness captured my attention and awe. Indeed the sacred is revealed often in most extraordinary and unexpected ways and places.

Jesus is teaching in the synagogue on the Sabbath and is met by an unclean spirit occupying the body of a man who boldly announces: “I know who you are – the Holy One of God!” (Mark 1:21-28) Among those gathered in the synagogue, perhaps an ordinary group of people – a mass of sameness if you will, this revelation of Jesus’ true identity by the unclean spirit comes from a most unexpected place. True to so many such revelations of who Jesus is in the gospel of Mark, there is an element of “don’t tell”, of secrecy. Why all the drama, suspense and secrecy? Could it be each of us is being invited to experience our own revelation – to discover anew who God is and how God breaks into and moves within the fabric of our often ordinary lives? Might it be we are being encouraged more and more toward embracing the Sacred all around us through acceptance and faith and belief in God’s constant presence and deep and abiding Love?

Amid the busyness and sometimes sameness of our days, may we search for, notice and ponder the signs and nuances God uses to speak to us in most unexpected ways. Even an annoying frost-covered window has something wonderful to reveal...

Peace on the Journey.