Where can I go from your spirit?
Or where can I flee from your presence?
If I ascend to heaven, you are there;
if I make my bed in Sheol, you are there.
If I take the wings of the morning
and settle at the farthest limits of the sea,
even there your hand shall lead me,
and your right hand shall hold me fast.
If I say, ‘Surely the darkness shall cover me,
and the light around me become night’,
even the darkness is not dark to you;
the night is as bright as the day,
for darkness is as light to you.
Psalm 139:7-12
A strange thing has happened to me this Lenten season. On several occasions, when referencing Palm Sunday, I’ve stopped to wonder if it is called Palm Sunday or Psalm Sunday. We know that Spirit communicates with us in many ways—some of which are surprising.
In an episode of “Rumpole of the Bailey” that I viewed recently, Rumpole recited a breathtaking poem that begins with the line: “It is a beauteous evening, calm and free.” Due to the remarkable convenience of my smart phone, I quickly found this sonnet:
IT IS A BEAUTEOUS EVENING, CALM AND FREE
By William Wordsworth 1770-1850
Written in 1802, referencing a walk on the beach with his ten-year old daughter.
It is a beauteous evening, calm and free,
The holy time is quiet as a Nun
Breathless with adoration; the broad sun
Is sinking down in its tranquility;
The gentleness of heaven broods o'er the Sea;
Listen! the mighty Being is awake,
And doth with his eternal motion make
A sound like thunder—everlastingly.
Dear child! dear Girl! that walkest with me here,
If thou appear untouched by solemn thought,
Thy nature is not therefore less divine:
Thou liest in Abraham's bosom all the year;
And worshipp'st at the Temple's inner shrine,
God being with thee when we know it not.
God is with us, God is within us. Even in the most trying of times. This is the message of Palm Sunday. This is the lesson told of Jesus when he willingly entered Jerusalem knowing full well what lay ahead of him.
We all experience times when we walk into pain, loss and suffering. It may be the death of a loved one, facing challenging medical treatments, or leaving behind a beloved home. Yet we walk through these times, and beyond them, allowing ourselves to be strengthened and sweetened by so doing.
This Palm Sunday at Unity Spiritual Community, we have planned a Psalm Service of music and meditation, one that allows us to open our hearts to the infilling of Spirit, and to enter Holy Week uplifted and renewed by sharing a time of deep meditation.
In closing, I’d like to share a couple of excerpts from “I Am There” by James Dillet Freeman:
Even if you deny Me, I am there.
Even when you feel most alone, I am there.
Even in your fears, I am there.
Even in your pain, I am there.”
“I am the love that is the law's fulfilling. I am assurance.
I am peace. I am oneness. I am the law that you can live by.
I am the love that you can cling to. I am your assurance.
I am your peace. I am ONE with you. I am.”
Whether couched in the ancient Hebrew teachings found in the Psalms of David, expressed in the more recent writings found in English literature, or shared in the poetry of Unity’s own beloved James Dillet Freeman, the message is the same. It is the message of Palm Sunday—that we never walk alone. The Spirit of God goes with us now and forevermore.
Namaste,
Rev. Carla
Or where can I flee from your presence?
If I ascend to heaven, you are there;
if I make my bed in Sheol, you are there.
If I take the wings of the morning
and settle at the farthest limits of the sea,
even there your hand shall lead me,
and your right hand shall hold me fast.
If I say, ‘Surely the darkness shall cover me,
and the light around me become night’,
even the darkness is not dark to you;
the night is as bright as the day,
for darkness is as light to you.
Psalm 139:7-12
A strange thing has happened to me this Lenten season. On several occasions, when referencing Palm Sunday, I’ve stopped to wonder if it is called Palm Sunday or Psalm Sunday. We know that Spirit communicates with us in many ways—some of which are surprising.
In an episode of “Rumpole of the Bailey” that I viewed recently, Rumpole recited a breathtaking poem that begins with the line: “It is a beauteous evening, calm and free.” Due to the remarkable convenience of my smart phone, I quickly found this sonnet:
IT IS A BEAUTEOUS EVENING, CALM AND FREE
By William Wordsworth 1770-1850
Written in 1802, referencing a walk on the beach with his ten-year old daughter.
It is a beauteous evening, calm and free,
The holy time is quiet as a Nun
Breathless with adoration; the broad sun
Is sinking down in its tranquility;
The gentleness of heaven broods o'er the Sea;
Listen! the mighty Being is awake,
And doth with his eternal motion make
A sound like thunder—everlastingly.
Dear child! dear Girl! that walkest with me here,
If thou appear untouched by solemn thought,
Thy nature is not therefore less divine:
Thou liest in Abraham's bosom all the year;
And worshipp'st at the Temple's inner shrine,
God being with thee when we know it not.
God is with us, God is within us. Even in the most trying of times. This is the message of Palm Sunday. This is the lesson told of Jesus when he willingly entered Jerusalem knowing full well what lay ahead of him.
We all experience times when we walk into pain, loss and suffering. It may be the death of a loved one, facing challenging medical treatments, or leaving behind a beloved home. Yet we walk through these times, and beyond them, allowing ourselves to be strengthened and sweetened by so doing.
This Palm Sunday at Unity Spiritual Community, we have planned a Psalm Service of music and meditation, one that allows us to open our hearts to the infilling of Spirit, and to enter Holy Week uplifted and renewed by sharing a time of deep meditation.
In closing, I’d like to share a couple of excerpts from “I Am There” by James Dillet Freeman:
I AM THERE
“When you need Me, I am there.Even if you deny Me, I am there.
Even when you feel most alone, I am there.
Even in your fears, I am there.
Even in your pain, I am there.”
“I am the love that is the law's fulfilling. I am assurance.
I am peace. I am oneness. I am the law that you can live by.
I am the love that you can cling to. I am your assurance.
I am your peace. I am ONE with you. I am.”
Whether couched in the ancient Hebrew teachings found in the Psalms of David, expressed in the more recent writings found in English literature, or shared in the poetry of Unity’s own beloved James Dillet Freeman, the message is the same. It is the message of Palm Sunday—that we never walk alone. The Spirit of God goes with us now and forevermore.
Namaste,
Rev. Carla