100905 - Larry Unplugged

Well, it’s Labour Day weekend, and we’re kind of in between summer and not summer – we’re back, but we’re still in holiday mode, we’re here, but we’re not really fully into our fall start up yet. So I thought I’d do something a bit different today, not really knowing who might be here, or whether you’d all be gone for one last kick at the cottage.
 
When I first got the idea for today’s sermon time I jokingly called it “What I Did On My Summer Vacation” – because really, that’s what this is. I’m going to play a few songs for you. You may remember back in June when I first came back from my retreat week that I shared a song with you and told you how that song broke a 4-year dry spell for writing. I’d like to start today by playing you that song again – and this time I promise I’ll make it all the way through!

To Be A Leaf
Your mystery cannot be seen it lies between the stuff of dreams and wakefulness
And I believe that I am free to simply greet your presence with my thankfulness
And I’m wondering why my skin is green when I can see those other trees of varied hues
And as I breathe community I sense this tree’s connecting me to all of You

Chorus
I know, that I can never know the answers
I know, what it is to be a leaf
Winds blow, and I sing and dance and shake with laughter
Rootedness meets breeze
I know that it’s enough to be a leaf

From time to time I lose the sight of my delight in all the life surrounding me
From roots below my power flows and branches grow and draw me home, it’s grounding me

Repeat Chorus
And now I see a lonely twig bereft of leaves reminding me there comes a time
When my green will brown and drifting down I’ll kiss the ground without a sound – complete my rhyme

Repeat Chorus

Your mystery cannot be seen it lies between the stuff of dreams and wakefulness…

I really like that song.  I like that it speaks of the utter mystery of God – “Your mystery cannot be seen, it lies between the stuff of dreams and wakefulness.” – and it speaks of the utter joy of being one with God. When it comes to God, and faith, and Spirit, we really can’t ever know the answers. All we can do is open ourselves in wonder to the experience. 
 
There’s a trick though – a catch. It’s very obvious, but also very challenging for us in this day and age. The trick is that in order to open ourselves and try to listen to God and experience God we have to slow down, get quiet, unplug. A few years ago it was all the rage for rock bands to do an unplugged album. This was when they’d trade in their huge amplified electric guitars for acoustic guitars and they’d sit in a circle on stools and get all authentic and folksy.
 
Think about what they were doing. They were trying to find something fresh and new inside what they were already doing, but they didn’t chuck out what they were all about, they just stripped it down, simplified it, took away all the clutter, and got to the core of it. They literally unplugged themselves. Well, that’s the key to the spiritual life as well. We shouldn’t think about trying to become some new super-holy person who does all sorts of weird and wonderful things to become one with the universe. We have to be ourselves – but we need to be less cluttered about ourselves or we won’t be able to hear God or feel Spirit.
 
So what I began to do in June was to rediscover the importance of unplugging myself. It’s kind of like fasting – only fasting isn’t just about denying yourself something, it’s actually about trading. You’re supposed to fast from one thing in order to create space and opportunity to feast on something else. Fasting and feasting. So I relearned to fast from clutter and busyness and feast on carving out quiet time for being present to Presence. Or you could say, I unplugged so I could plug in!
 
And this summer as I unplugged from busyness I made time and I got really intentional about plugging in to Presence – God’s presence. And as I did, wouldn’t you know it, God showed up! Well, actually, God was always present – I showed up! And one morning in July as I sat on my deck doing the YHWH breath prayer that I showed you a couple of weeks ago, drinking coffee, and writing in my journal, out popped the chorus of this next song. It’s called “You Are”. It’s just me trying to put into words how I was feeling about being in communion with God that morning. (my family calls this the “a-tion” song – you’ll see why in a minute)

You Are
Here is the situation, the insinuation I hear
You’ve got a reputation, in this generation, I fear
And I have come to this realization, a new revelation is due
So I am making this declaration, that my transformation is proof
That you are Something More than words describe
Beyond, between, and in these words is life

Chorus
You’re as fresh as morning, you are my delight
You are present here in every heartbeat, every song, and every rhyme
You’re as real as sunshine, you are in the rain
Falling on the wonders of creation singing praises to your name
You’re as close as breathing, you are in the air
You’re as close as galaxies and universes spinning way out there
I can feel you loving, you are love itself
I can feel you deep inside in ways I’ll never understand myself
So fresh, so real, so close, I feel you are
So fresh, so real, so close, I feel,     You are…

Worship and adulation, and pure inspiration, I know
In prayer and contemplation, and in meditation, I grow
And I believe all this consternation about incarnation would fade
If they could feel the exhilaration that soul resonation conveys
‘Cause you are Something More than words describe
Beyond, between, and in these words is life

Repeat Chorus

It’s amazing what you can tune-in to when you unplug and plug in. And a really cool thing that happens is that instead of needing to learn all sorts of new prayer formats and spiritual practices (although, they’re really fun to learn…) what happens is you just begin to live more tuned-in. It sounds a bit hokey, or cliché to someone who’s never experienced it, but when you learn to make space to be present to Presence life is just better – the air is fresher, the wind feels better, food tastes better, your activities are more pleasurable, your attitude is more positive, your whole being feels more grounded, and rooted, and strong, and right.
 
And that’s where this third song – that’s three over the summer after years of nothing – that’s where this song came from. I was simply noticing that I’m noticing more. And then I kind of let myself get carried away in it all. In fact, I was in such a good mood when I wrote it I even included some lala’s! (Cynthia and I discussed years ago that the reason I never had a hit song was because all hit songs have three things in common – they repeat a lot, they say lalala, and they use the word “baby”. This song has two out of three – so if you think of a place I could throw in a “baby” I could have a hit!)

Noticing
I’m noticing the sun at rise, the clouds aglow in gold and white
I’m noticing the light is shining through
I’m noticing the birds in flight, they flutter in and out of sight
I’m noticing my mind is soaring too
And I’m noticing the breeze that blows the trees that grow the leaves that flow in tune
Well I’m noticing that very thing’s inspiring the songs I sing of you

Chorus
And I’m noticing my faith reborn
Refreshed, refound, renewed, restored
And with every breath I feel it more, and more, and more, and more
And more, and more, and more, and more
I’m noticing I’m noticing more

I’m noticing that when I find a moment of my precious time
I’m noticing I’m trying to notice you
I’m noticing to my delight that you are present every rhyme
I’m noticing that I’m more present too
And I’m noticing the sound I hear resounding clear is found in ears that groove
And I’m noticing that very thing’s inspiring the songs I sing of you

Repeat Chorus

So, that’s what I did on my summer vacation. I didn’t really go anywhere or do anything spectacular or memorable – it was just a summer of Larry Unplugged. I highly recommend you try it some time. It just may be the best gift you ever give yourself! Just unplug, and plug in. Something More is waiting for you!
Amen.