Nov. 18 Reflection: Holy Moments
Dear Holy Covenant Family,
Where do you find the holy?
I’ve been asking myself this question as I ponder our Scripture lesson for Sunday: Matthew 6:25-34. As we get caught up in our busy lives-worrying, planning, controlling-Jesus breaks in and says: Consider the lilies. Consider the lilies. God is surely present in these spectacular flowers. Be in the here and the now, he exhorts us. Look for the divine in the daily. Open your eyes to God in your midst, in all you do, and experience the holy power of the present.
This is not an easy task. When I find myself over-planning or worrying too much about the future, I listen to a song by one of my favorite folk singers, Carrie Newcomer, called “Holy As a Day is Spent”. A Quaker and committed activist based in Bloomington, Indiana, Carrie has a gentle yet strong way of reminding us how each moment of our lives is of God and for God. The lyrics are below, and I hope they will help you settle into God’s goodness in the here and now, in the lilies and birds and grass, laundry and dishes and leaves.
Holy as a Day is Spent
Holy is the dish and drain
The soap and sink, the cup and plate
And the warm wool socks, and the cold white tile
Showerheads and good dry towels
And frying eggs sound like psalms
With a bit of salt measured in my palm
It’s all a part of a sacrament
As holy as a day is spent
Holy is the busy street
And cars that boom with passion’s beat
And the check out girl, Counting change
And the hands that shook my hands today
Hymns of geese fly overhead
And stretch their wings like their parents did
Blessed be the dog
That runs in her sleep
The catch that wild and elusive thing
Holy is a familiar room and the quiet moments in the afternoon
And folding sheets like folding hands
To pray as only laundry can
I’m letting go of all I fear
Like autumn leaves of earth and air
For summer came and summer went
As holy as a day is spent
Holy is the place I stand
To give whatever small good I can
The empty page, the open book
Redemption everywhere I look
Unknowingly we slow our pace
In the shade of unexpected grace
With grateful smiles and sad lament
As holy as a day is spent
And morning light sings “providence”
As holy as a day is spent
– Carrie Newcomer 2001
Here’s the Carrie Newcomer website, where you can listen to the song.
Here’s hoping each moment is sacramental….
Grace and Peace,
Kate
