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Dean Ornish tells of ordering pasta and vegetables with tomato sauce. The sauce tasted different from usual. It exploded with wonderful taste in his mouth, but he could not identify it. "I had no category in which to put it, so I was able to experience it directly," he comments. Finally, Ornish realized it was hickory sauce. It was the same hickory sauce he had enjoyed many times, but it was, this time, a different experience for him. (Rachel Naomi Remen, Kitchen Table Wisdom, “Foreword”)
Ornish reminds us that we all need surprises that counter our expectations, expectations shaped by past experience. Experiencing the same act or event in a new way can vivify us. These surprises allow us to see the Infinite Potentiality and Magnificent Variety for us to celebrate.
We can experience the old in new ways and undergo what we have never before been open to experience. The key is “open.” Being open allows us to be inviting of the new, the fresh, the never before. Without openness, which is evidence of our desire and faith, the Universe will not unfold the new for us. Spirit responds to our desire to receive, for that is the nature of Creation.
Rachel Naomi Remen reminds us, "Life is not a possession." When we realize our lack of control over life and that God is the Infinite Spirit infusing each moment with inspiration, we will posture ourselves for surprises and moments that defy our neat compartmentalization, linear logic, and typical anticipations.
Advent is the season to exercise faith that the best is to come and that God clothes the ordinary with Amazing Grace. Advent is time to prepare for surprises. Advent is a call to know our earthly pilgrimage can be clad with the help and blessing of God in ways we have yet to imagine. Yes, Spirit is always longing to lead us beyond the horizons of the already-imagined into the not-yet-imagined.
We do not need to seek exotic experiences or travel to novel places to experience newness. Opening our hearts and minds beyond the contours of the past allows Spirit to move in fresh, novel ways within the lives we now live and where we live.
TODAY'S AFFIRMATION
I am open to be surprised by God.
OneLife Ministries is a pastoral outreach and nurture ministry of the First United Methodist Church, Fort Meade, FL. For Spiritual Direction, Pastoral Counseling, spiritual formation workshops, Christian meditation retreats, or more information about OneLife, write Rev. Dr. Brian K. Wilcox at briankwilcox@comcast.net.
Brian's book of mystical love poetry, An Ache for Union, can be ordered through major bookdealers.
Open Hearts, Open Minds, Open Doors
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