Fall Invites Us to Embrace the Rhythms of the Earth
This fall, I’ve been thinking about the cycle of the seasons – their reliable rhythm – regardless of what else is going on in the world. This has led me to reflect on Celtic Christianity’s embrace of the earth, of all its parts, of the totality of God’s creation – and our experience of it. This stream of Christianity finds the Holy in all parts of life – in ordinary tasks, in creatures, in nature, in everyday life.
Here are a few short readings to guide our reflection (from Celtic Praise: A Book of Celtic Devotion, Daily Prayers and Blessings, by Robert Van de Weyer):
Grains of Sand (p. 12)
How many grains of sand on the beach?
How many blades of grass in the meadow?
How many drops of dew on the tree?
If you could count all these,
You could count the number of God’s blessings.
Do not even try to count.
Just trust, and enjoy, and give thanks.
A Summer Morning (p. 19)
A summer morning;
My eyes are open.
The sun is bright:
I see clouds scudding by,
Birds in the air,
Flowers in the meadow,
Bees in the flowers,
Cows eating grass.
A summer morning;
My eyes are closed.
The sun is warm:
I hear birds singing,
Bees buzzing,
Cows munching
I feel wind on my cheek,
Smell flowers beneath me.
All my senses are alive.
Thank God for beauty.
Rising in the Morning (p. 52)
When you rise in the morning, what fills your head?
Are you thinking of food and drink, the pleasures ahead?
Are you planning the work you must do, the labor ahead?
Are you fearful of snares and dangers, the evils ahead?
Are you hopeful of all you’ll achieve, the successes ahead?
Let all those worldly thoughts swirl in your mind;
Then let them flush away, like dirt in a river.
Empty your head;
Let your brain be at peace.
Quietly, calmly, serenely
Offer the day to God.
Book Review
Bo’s Cafe
by John Lynch, Bill Thrall, and Bruce McNicol
Tell all the truth but tell it slant —
Success in Circuit lies
Too bright for our infirm Delight
The Truth’s superb surprise
As Lightning to the Children eased
With explanation kind
The Truth must dazzle gradually
Or every man be blind —
–Emily Dickinson
I still haven’t found what I am looking for.
–Bono
Going through my library, a few weeks ago—looking for my next read, Soul had me returning to and blowing the dust off of Bo’s Café, a novel by John Lynch, Bill Thrall, and Bruce McNicol (all from and at Trueface.org). It’s the story of a high-power executive who reluctantly assumes a path to truer self living.
Novels have not always been a go-to in my practice of reading. For the better course of my life (say, up until a decade ago), my approach in reading, as in spiritual formation, was “informational” in nature. A strong head type (by Corrine Ware’s standards), I held fiction as suspect—not knowing what was true and what was not true. It’s a sign, I believe, of some maturing–when we cross into other “types” of spirituality and into more formational approaches of encountering life and reality.
Reading novels are an adventure in encountering the truth, “slant,” as Dickinson puts it. (To be sure, novels are not the only channels of slant. In the time that novels ascended in my life, Nouwen’s journals also gained in meaning and value. And don’t get me started on my love and fascination with Hollywood and the notion of “reel theology”!)
Bo’s Cafe is not the only novel I’ve read which explores and unpacks the journey from false self to true self. Nor would I want to suggest that it’s the best. There’s Ian Cron’s Chasing Francis – which really caught my mind, heart, and soul at a time when I was struggling with the demons that surround a pastor’s pursuit of megachurch identity. There’s Michael O’Brien’s The Father’s Tale, an epic which draws imagery and inspiration from the Parable of the Prodigal Son. Certainly, the granddaddy of all these “pursuit-of-true-self” narratives is Susan Howatch’s “Starbridge” series of novels which weave together rich themes from psychology, Anglican church history, and theology—each, in their own way, playing with themes surrounding the journey from false self living to true self living.
Compared to these other specific options and novels in general, Bo’s Café suffers from a lack of depth and sophistication. Characters are “flat:” the good are good and the bad are bad. Its plot line is rather simplistic and predictable: a marriage struggles, a husband is angry, and a series of self-help practices only heighten frustration. It peaks with an experience of hitting bottom. But, not to fear, there’s a rather quick resolution – creating a sense of “they all lived happily ever after.” It leaves one with the question of whether the journey to true self can really be that “easy.”
For all these frustrations, though, Bo’sCafé does point to crucial elements in the spiritual formation journey to true self which should not be overlooked. This might be the basis, in fact, of my returning to it. There are affirmations….
- of the ways that pain and suffering can be a part of God’s work of transformation in our lives,
- of the importance of exploring what Thomas Keating called “afflictive emotions” (anger, guilt, shame,…) – which arise when this world’s ”emotional programs of happiness” are challenged and frustrated, and
- of the spiritual practices are “developing pause buttons,” as my wife Kathy calls them… and work to become more aware of what’s operating within and why.
- Finally, there’s the affirmation of community – genuine, hospitable, trustworthy community – that solicits our walking with others in real humility and transparency. (In it’s own way, Café echoes with meaningful themes that Carrie Newcomer shares in her composition, “Betty’s Diner.”)
Putting it all together in one’s mind and heart and soul, an ultimate question of the novel sounds: “What can I do — what can we do—to foster and cultivate “Bo’s Cafés” (real authentic communities) in our lives and in our world.?”
When it comes to “true self” novels and recommending one, I find the words of Bono coming to mind: “I still haven’t found what I’m looking for.” Indeed, isn’t that the truth for each of us in our own quest for true self? It shouldn’t surprise us, then, when a book draws near and seems to address a yearning but never fully satisfies.
And so, I leave you with a question or two:
- What media help you to experience the way, truth, and life “slant?”
- And, among the novels you’ve read, which would you recommend – for the ways it/they speak (realistically and faithfully) of our journeys back home to true God, true self, and true neighboring
Participation in authentic community and the engagement of realities surrounding “hitting the Wall,” as Hagberg calls it, figure prominently in this story of transformation.
Jim Reiter is a Hearts On Fire member, a retired UM elder, interim pastor, spiritual teacher. He resides in College Station, Texas.
Upcoming Events
Our next Recalibration LIVE! – Zoom Event
Retreat Leadership in the Wesleyan Spirit
with Rev. Sherry Bryant-Johnson
Saturday, November 15, 2025
- 1 pm – 3 pm Eastern
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When we think of John Wesley’s legacy, retreat ministry might not spring to mind. Yet his gospel of grace offers us a foundation for shaping times apart that usher retreatants into deep communion with God and authentic community with each other. In Retreat Leadership in the Wesleyan Spirit,we will explore a design model that guides retreatants to attend to the movements of grace (prevenient, justifying, sanctifying) as they practice the means of grace (searching the scriptures, prayer, abstinence, Christian conferencing and worship). In addition, we will engage in Christian conferencing to envision the healing possibilities of retreat ministry in our divided and distracted church.
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Save the Date for Our next Retreat!
Retreat 2027
Marilyn McEntyre, Presenter
Monday, July 19 – Thursday, 22 2027
Christ the King Passionist Retreat Center
Citrus Heights, California
www.christthekingretreatcenter.org
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Closing Thoughts
Musical Meditation
Click here to listen to some lovely Celtic harp meditative music.
A Prayer
(from Celtic Treasure: Daily Scriptures and Prayer, by John Philip Newell,
p. 214)
You are within us and among us, O Christ,
as the one who is alive for ever.
In the sorrows and sufferings of our lives, you are with us
as the one who holds the keys of new beginnings.
There is no ending in the world,
there is no fear in our lives,
there is no despair in our hearts,
that your living presence cannot unlock.
You are within us and among us, O Christ,
as the one who is alive for ever.
