We Need The Light

It's Easter Vigil. For Christianity, this is supposed to be the holiest night of the year. It's definitely a night of waiting.

Life is full of waiting, and these days are filled with waiting, and uneasy anticipation for many. Every day we learn some new stupid human trick pulled by the leader of the free world. We come closer to adding war with Iran. We hear a new puppet is about to run for president. We hear that New Orleans is no closer to being rebuilt than the days following the great flood. We wait while our personal mysteries unravel and reveal themselves. We wait for answers. We pack our minds with ideas and guidance and knowledge in hope that it will lead us, to a job, a new life, the love of our life, an answer.

But answers don't necessarily come, because we're not necessarily entitled to them just because we want them.

Many people may think I'm a spiritless person simply because I question the existence of an omnipotent creator, or force. That's entirely false. I believe in the spirit of human connectedness, and in each of us to reach his or her potential as a human being, which includes becoming a loving, giving, forgiving person. I believe that we each possess an inner flame, a light that we're bound to protect, because it's that light that directs us in thought and action. When I don't know where to turn or what to do, I look inward, and try to discern what right action is, what's fair, what feels right, what my passion is.

I believe the Easter season is largely about that, even though I no longer hold to the Lenten calendar or any of the rest of the church calendar. I do believe that at one time, maybe nearly two thousand years ago, the rituals and mysteries of the church held some symbolic meaning that actually helped people to make good decisions and be better people. I also believe that's been over for a really long time, and that now the church, and most organized religions regardless of faith are about controlling other people and harnessing their power, their money, their influence. Even the most personal of "religions" -- religion from the Latin, re ligare, to bind up, to join -- has made as its goal the groupthink, rather than the re ligare of self, to bind ourselves closer to our purpose and to putting our best foot forward for humanity.

That's the job of our inner light.

This song is still about relying on that heavenly light, but if you listen closely, it does speak about the need for a guiding love. We all have that capacity, for human love, imperfect human love that still endures and makes every effort to heal and to soothe and to contribute to the future. What if, those who believe could combine that power they feel from their God's love with that of their own, sort of a new matching gift program? Would we still be raging at war? Would we let despots take our tax dollars and ruin our kids' futures? Maybe not.

Entering into this week, it's a solemn time. I am hoping that the understandable anxiety and sadness that my X's family is feeling can be balanced with their own effort to reflect and act on the light, and that of those who want to console them.

Something I have to look forward to in a few weeks is a stop in Ohio by Doyle Lawson and Quicksilver. They'll be playing the OJ Work Auditorium on Saturday, April 21. This is one band whose praises I can't really sing enough. They are the heart of both classical and gospel bluegrass. If you hope over to the link, you'll hear the fun standards of their more popular music. But this song I'm presenting is from their Gospel side, and I present it both because it talks about the light and to honor all the people I love and care about who do believe. I am not the kind of person to raise my beliefs above some others. But I hope this season brings others an opportunity to think and examine their relationship with religion and whether it in fact serves any purpose toward guiding them through the human work of human relationships. Personally, I've found that to be my job, although I certainly have brought insights from different teachings over the years and am still working on how it all goes together.

Wishing all my readers deep peace, clarity, and awareness now and throughout the rest of the year.

MM

We Need the Light