As Lent approaches, I am watching the slow miracle of orchids opening on my windowsill. Fleshy green leaves brush the chilled glass as a third flower opens from the line of buds. Amid other mementos on the sill, deep crimson stipples the white petals and a golden throat opens. Its radiance stuns me awake. Outside, I know Spring is stirring.
Later in the day, I am having lunch with my friend Maybelle. A question pops out of my mouth and she laughs: “You know me too well!” And the radiance happens again. Lightness threads past and future as our stories weave a timeless web. We are both energized by the flow of our conversation and we name the mystery of it as we turn to leave.
On this Transfiguration Sunday, the biblical story* is familiar. Three sleepy disciples go away with Jesus to pray. Suddenly, a dazzling light shines and they see Jesus talking with Moses and Elijah about “his exodus.” Past and future join hands in resurrection light, and then the vision fades.
Without thinking, Peter blurts out his way of keeping ahold of the memory: “Lord, it’s good that we were here. We’ll build three memorials so we don’t forget.” And I think of my windowsill, full of such memorials, sundry objects designed to recall moments of joy, even though I cannot now recall specific stories.
Later, I clear the windowsill, leaving only the slow-blooming orchid as a reminder not to sleepwalk through my days. May Lent once again be a time to clear space for the momentary miracles of wholeness and presence.
–Marjory Zoet Bankson, Seekers Church
Editor of InwardOutward.org
To ponder…
- When do you find yourself “falling asleep” or cluttered with mementos?
- Where have you been conscious of a radiant timeless dimension?
- What practice might you adopt for this Lenten season?
