You can sign up for all today’s events. You are not being asked to be a by-stander or observer. You are a participant already. If you think that religion, or life in general, is about joining, you are mistaken. There is really nothing to join, but something to recognize and live as a participant. We all are already in the eternal flow of divine Life, and integral part in being, and that means being “in” the flow, not “watching” the flow.
As spring is showing us all about renewal and growth, so I am wondering how we can live up to everything Life has to offer. Signing up to everything that is being offered is a good start. The best event will not happen to us if we are not signed up. We are called to act with modesty and distinguishing affection to participate, to engage with the mightiest project ever started “the establishment of Christ’s kingdom on the earth” (Ret. 94), to join in into “Love’s divine adventure to be all-in-all” (My. 158) It is a real possibility to navigate your day, Life is calling – Love is calling. Look at these
Spring is inviting us to perceive rhythms and to chime in. We pray daily that “Thy will be done in earth as it is in heaven”, and this spring is a good time to actually mean it. To follow God’s will means to sign up for whatever God is calling you to do today. You might be called to help out a neighbor, friend or stranger, to think a thought you never thought before, to be flexible and courageous, to learn a new skill or improve an old one or to say more often than not: “Yes.” In the Bible this affirmative response is even proactive: “Here am I; send me.” (Isa. 6:8)
I am sharing with you a poem by Peter Henniker-Heaton, who is sharing with us in a unique way what humility and a sincere commitment to Life can look like. How can Love’s full program be replicated in your life? What might a long jump look like? Can we prepare to crawl under barbed wire – literally or mentally? Can we be an active, involved citizen? Can we stop to “pick and choose” when God is calling us to put our name down “for all today’s events”? Can we participate in all the activities that Life is presenting to us?
Full Program
My name is down for all today’s events,
the hurdles and the sprints.
I’ll not stick at
the hundred meters flat,
the half-mile dash;
I’ll take the long jump and the high,
throw my last ounce of effort in
to hurl the discus and the javelin,
to pitch the hammer and put the shot.
I will not pick and choose,
I’ll not refuse
the hot team-friendship of the relay-race
or the long distance lonelier steeple-chase.
I’ll not complain
of frost or sun or rain;
I’ll not first ask
precisely what’s the task.
Whether I’m in the lead or in the ruck,
I am prepared to crawl
under barbed wire,
to vault a rail
or scale
a ten-foot wall.
Whether I’m first or last,
I’ll not fall out until the post is passed.
victor ludorum or an also-ran,
I will come in.
My name is down for all today’s events.(Peter Henniker-Heaton)
