Edward Hays ~ Author, Artist & Storyteller
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The Art of Tangibilitating

11/12/2014

3 Comments

 

The Art of Tangibilitating


Dear old and new friends,

     Perhaps the most famous of all black preachers was Father Divine who preached the art of tangibilitating in the 1930’s in Harlem. During those difficult years of the Great Depression, Father Divine would thunder at the crowds attending his services, “You got to learn to tangibilitate!” (What a wonderfully melodic word; let it ripple playfully off your tongue, “tan-gi-bi-li-late”). He challenged his faithful to transform their gratitude into substantial expressionism, and that they indeed did as they came forward singing to place their gifts at Father Divine’s feet. This call to give concrete thanks wasn’t limited to just a single offertory collection, as in the ritual in white churches, but a gathering of gifts came numerous times in black worship as it was the central drama in their act of worship.

     Let Father Divine inspire us to tangibilitate our gratitude to God daily as our central prayer and worship. Along with or instead of verbal prayers, let us be creative in finding physical gifts or actions to say thanks to the Great Gift Giver. When we give thanks to others (and to God invisible in them) let us strive to “show” our gratitude by tangibilitating it instead of simply speaking it. Some gifts have such deep implications they can call for repeated thanksgivings. In some black churches it was customary after the people had given the ushers their donations that their gifts were immediately counted. If the total collected wasn’t sufficient to meet the present needs of the church, this fact was announced and the ushers took up other collections until the amount needed was achieved. If your parish is having troubles making ends meet, as most are today, consider suggesting to your pastor he introduce in your church the ritual of Black churches with “on-going” collections. Which reminds me of a story.

     In a poor Jewish village in Russia lived a tailor’s son named Adam eager to marry the beautiful young Rebecca, but he lacked the money to pay for a wedding. Three village men decided to take of a collection from their fellow villagers so this unfortunate Adam could marry. They went house to house where each family gave what they could, but the amount collected fell short of paying for a wedding. The leader of the three, Samuel, said, “Let us go up to Jacob’s house and ask him to donate to our cause.” The second of the three, Abram, negatively shook his head, “You’re crazy! Jacob is a heartless miser!” Levi, the third villager, said, “What do we have to loose, let us go up to Jacob’s house.”

     Now Jacob lived on top of a hill at the edge of the village in a large house. After the three had climbed up the hill, Samuel knocked on Jacob’s door. Finally it very slowly opened a crack as Jacob asked, “Why are you bothering me? What do you want?” Samuel expressed the sad plight of poor Adam the tailor’s son who wanted to marry the beautiful Rebecca but lacked the money for the marriage. When he finish Jacob said, “Everyone has problems but I’ll go and see if I can find anything to contribute.” After a long while the door opened just wide enough for Jacob’s hand to reach out with a single penny, “This is all I could find! That tailor’s son must work harder if he wants to get married.” Samuel replied, “O thank you, Jacob, for your most generous contribution, may the God of Israel bless you.”

     “What a waste of time that was,” said Abram as they trudged sadly down the hill. Then they heard Jacob calling loudly, “Please come back. I just found more money for that poor Adam.” So they returned, but once again were given only a single penny. Samuel thanked Jacob profusely and asked God’s blessings on him for his generosity.

     Again the three men began descending the hill, and Levi said, “You’re right Abram, he is just an old tightwad penny pincher!” Samuel replied, “Levi, let us not judge Jacob; judgment is reserved only for God!”  Not long after that they heard Jacob loudly calling them to come back. “I don’t know about you two men,” said Abram, “but I’m not wasting my time just for another penny.” Samuel however begged them to go back up to Jacob’s house.

     As they approach his house Jacob came running to meet them, “Rejoice with me, I remembered where I had hidden a bag of money. I’m giving it all to that young couple, Adam and Rebecca, so they can be wed in the magnificent style of the Tsars!”
3 Comments

I Confess

9/3/2014

 

I Confess


Dear old and new friends,

    I want to go to confession to you my friends/readers of these Haystack reflections about my blog reflection of two weeks ago on seeing the Kingdom—God’s abiding Presence—all around us. If you haven’t read it, you can do so by going back to Holy Hunger on August 20th. In it I wrote that Jesus proclaimed, “Open your eyes. The Kingdom of God—the dynamic loving Presence of the Divine One—is right in front of you, here in your midst.”

    Today I confess that in preparing to write it, and after two weeks of seriously attempting to consciously live it, I failed to see/feel it! So I imagine you also may have tried and failed, so let us ask a question: Was Jesus the Prophet wrong about his momentous and often repeated announcement that God’s Kingdom was here in our midst? Or perhaps was it here only briefly two millenniums ago while he walked the roads of Palestine?

    Or is the problem perhaps our “expectant eye aliment” that causes us to expect the Divine Presence to appear and feel “churchy” instead of secular or ordinary? Regardless, I propose that you join me on the adventure as an explorer of that Sacred Reality proclaimed by Jesus. As an explorer of the cleverly concealed Mystery hidden in the worldly I suggest a couple of spiritual tools or practices that I find helpful. First, with blind belief, strive to reverence all you encounter since that which you’re seeking is imperceptibly right in front of you! Handle everything—pan or pen, the computer or cup—with the same holy reverence as you would the sacred consecrated vessels of the altar.

    Touching commonplace things with a holy reverence awakens our inner-eyes to see God’s Presence in all earthly things. Along with a sense of reverence I also find it a great help to recite silently “Holy, Holy, Holy” when taking my first sip of morning coffee or when turning my car’s ignition key to start the engine. Also useful is silently exclaiming “O my God!” when you encounter creation, be it a wondrous sunset or an insignificant weed. Another spiritual tool is the ancient Oriental practice of making a slight bow of your head to recognize the invisible Divine in those you meet, upon entering a house or as you begin some difficult task. The secret power in all of these is found in the story of a man visiting New York City who asked someone how you get to Carnegie Hall and was told, “Practice, practice, practice!”

    Finally, and most importantly, if you continue to fail or rarely see the Indwelling of the Divine in your world, instead of feeling a failure be exceedingly grateful! Yes, give thanks, for if day in and day out you were always consciously aware of that Divine Mystery you’d never get off your knees in adoration!

A Mystical Mini Prayer

11/27/2013

 
Picture

A Mystical Mini Prayer


 Most prayers are too long, heavily loaded with words.
So simply pray, “Thank you.”

Say it to your hungry appetite just before eating.
Say it to a glass of fresh water you’re about to drink.
Say it to your body after a good bowel movement.
Say it to your armchair when sinking into her supple embrace.
Say it to the sun for a splendorous bright day.
Say it to the hot water of your shower or tub.
Say it to the coffee in your cup for its invigorating zest.
Say it to whatever you’ve lost upon finding it.
Say it as a toast when raising a glass to a dear friend.
Say it in restaurants or stores to the stranger who serves you.
Say it to those you love and those you find difficult to love.
And yes, say it even to pain and to suffering you might not understand.

But of this mini prayer—beware!
 Usually, it’s so thoughtlessly robotic.
So before you say/pray it,
go to the filling station and
fill up its two holy words to overflowing
with sincere love and gratefulness.
Saints are made by praying it night and day.

Treasure this pint-size prayer
mystically hiding this awesome truth:
“Everything in life,
absolutely everything,
is gift, gift, gift!”

Thursday is Thanksgiving,
as every day should be.

To all friends who visit the Haystack,
“Thank you!”

Thanksvision

11/20/2012

 

Thanksvision

Thursday is Thanksgiving, but the window for gratitude is short-lived since the Christmas gift-buying season begins the same day. Eager to cash in on holiday specials, we are focused on what we are going to get rather than on being thankful for what we have. Don’t let trivia activities prevent you from engaging fully in this annual Fiesta of Giving Thanks. A practical suggestion for a good Thanksgiving is to make a list or a litany of the gifts that enrich your life.

These are difficult and thankless times for the millions without jobs, on food stamps and struggling to just make ends meet. Even those among us who are in better financial condition often find little in life for which to be grateful. If your gratitude list is short, consider adding the gifts of family and friends. Next add to it your servants—and don’t object by saying only the very rich can afford servants. The average American home has a score of servants who work to make life more comfortable and to do the unpleasant tasks: a stove for cooking, a refrigerator, washing machine, toaster, radio, television, telephone…and don’t forget the simple doorbell. Consider thanking these docile servants who serve you day and night, usually without a single word of gratitude.

I have left to the last the most important reason for gratitude—the invisible gifts. Yet to be really thankful for these requires a special vision. Eyesight naturally diminishes as we age, so it is paradoxical that older people are the experts of this needed, exceptional vision. The eyes of the youthful are attracted to externals like physical beauty and consumer possessions, and so when seeing an elderly couple enjoying themselves are bewildered about what they can find attractive in one another.

One of my favorite authors, Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, said “One sees clearly only with the heart. Anything essential is invisible to the eyes.” Heart-seeing is a skill of the elderly who find great attractiveness in indispensable fidelity that’s invisible to the eye. They are also fabulously wealthy because of loving companionships that are impossible to purchase at any price and by the invisible wealth of many memories shared.

This Thanksgiving, get drunk on 100 Proof Gratitude for your many essential gifts that can be seen only by your heart.

Unending Thank You

7/25/2012

 

Unending Thank You

Do you desire to express gratitude
for every gift you’ve been given,
as your mother taught you to do?

Even when sunrise to sunset you’re given
ten thousand-plus wondrous gifts
for eyes, ears, nose and taste?

Perhaps begin The Order of Endless Gratitude,
vowed to pray both day and night
in continual thanks to the Divine Gift Giver?

No need for any new religious order
of monks or nuns—their time’s past.

Instead recycle yourself backwards
to those pristine pre-monastic days
when Jesus’ disciples, “were joyful
always, prayed continually, and gave
thanks whatever happens.”

You’ve got work to do, I understand,
and family duties daily to perform;
you can’t be a spinning prayer wheel
gyrating prayers from dawn to dust.

Yet in your heart her voice echoes,
“For each gift, always say thank you.”
Your mother, your greatest teacher,
lovingly channeled divine instructions
on how in your life to find happiness.

“Joy is the simplest form of gratitude,”
said Protestant theologian Karl Barth.
There it is! The impossible made easy.

So smile—that outward sign of joy--
on good days or bad, in health or sickness.
Let a smile’s hidden chemistry convert
that external sign into an interior reality,
and fill you up with joy and happiness.


    Edward Hays


    Picture
    Haysian haphazard thoughts on the
    invisible and visible mysteries of life.

    Picture

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