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Mary Oliver, that wise and amazing American poet, published more than 30 volumes of poetry in her life. Ask the interwebs and you can find thousands of quotes attributed to her. Among them are these "Instructions for living a life: Pay attention. Be astonished. Tell about it." [1]
Four short phrases hold so much.
Instructions for living a life. She doesn’t say what kind of life, but we can imagine she meant the very best, fullest, most holy and wise kind of life. From her poetry, we can glean it to be a life in tune with the eternal rhythms of creation and its creator. A life of integrity, where carefully-considered values and actions align.
And then she tell us how to live that life.
Pay attention.
Notice things. Notice people. Notice nature.
For many of us that means slow down. Breathe more deeply.
Use our senses. Hearing. Sight. Smell. Taste. Feel.
Notice our internal life, our feelings. Cultivate curiosity.
Suspend thinking and analyzing and judging, and pay attention.
Be astonished.
Wonder at the details. Despair at the injustices.
Nod hello to sadness, anger, fear, joy, sorrow, excitement, love, compassion, hunger, fatigue.
Marvel at the intricate delicacy of a tiny wax flower or the feathers of a butterfly wing. Smell dry grass, dew on lavender, perfume of damp leaves. Listen for bird song, squirrels chittering, wind rustling trees. Sip and chew with intention, sweet, salty, crunchy, spicy, bitter, smooth. Touch and notice textures: baby skin, cool water, gritty sand, soft fur.
What creator thought of these bajillions of details and dimensions that fill this AMAZING world with symphonies for our senses?
Tell about it.
Once we have noticed and marveled at the world around us, make its wonders known. Good news is meant to be shared! How can we keep such delight and amazement to ourselves?
A couple of weeks ago I took a walk with my friend Joseph and his toddler son T. We walked about 100 yards in 25 minutes because T, who is much closer to the ground than us adults, found one thing after another to notice and astonish him. Rocks. Sticks. Squirrels. Geese. Water. Leaves. Trees. Dogs. Many dogs. Running. Sand. Puddle. The words tumbled out in delight at each thing. And we had to stop and examine each one with great curiosity.
Pay attention. Be astonished. Tell about it.
Today’s scripture readings provide lessons for living holy and faithful lives.
Proverbs frames a teaching about Holy Wisdom as a capable wife. Holy Wisdom is the personification of God’s own wisdom, or the spirit that inspires us to live lives that reflect God’s desires for how we treat one another. Living a wise life includes being trustworthy, kind, resourceful, hard-working, dignified, kind, treating family and strangers with respect.
James calls followers of Jesus to wisdom, understanding, gentleness, mercy, peace, and a willingness to yield - as in letting go of having our own way. “A harvest of righteousness is sown in peace for those who make peace.”
Jesus rounds out the teachings on how to live our lives with a lesson in humility. He tells the disciples they can quit worrying about who is the greatest or most important among them. Instead, choose humility. Remember that all creation, all people, began as the same star dust, enlivened by the breath of God. The antidote to pride and self-importance is to welcome and celebrate the voices and perspectives of those with the least power in society.
To live a holy, wise, and humble life:
Pay attention. Be astonished. Tell about it.
Which brings us to AMAZING Sunday.
We are celebrating this Sunday. Every Sunday is a celebration of God’s faithfulness to us, of forgiveness, and especially of community. Today we are celebrating coming together again to begin our fall activities. Starting with choir! AMAZING choir and AMAZING organ music. AMAZING flowers and AMAZING altar guild. AMAZING ushers, acolytes, readers, prayer leaders, eucharistic ministers.
Trinity is an AMAZING community of people who care for one another. AMAZING Community lunch potluck cookers, AMAZING prayer warriors, AMAZING Wardens and sexton who have worked to get our new assistive listening system online this week. AMAZING coffee hour volunteers and office volunteers.
AMAZING Vestry and diocesan convention delegates and staff.
AMAZING worship space. AMAZING gardens. AMAZING history of caring for our neighbors in this place.
AMAZING and beautiful children of God that I see here, joining us online, and outside our doors. AMAZING neighbors and ministry partners.
AMAZING is the beautiful and unique image of God reflected in every person, in every creature, in every blade of grass and raindrop. AMAZING orcas and eagles, salmon and otters. AMAZING Salish Sea and Tahoma. AMAZING Douglas fir, red cedar, red columbine, and Oregon grape.
AMAZING all-knowing Creator. AMAZING gifts of salvation and healing, forgiveness and grace. AMAZING communion of God’s people gathered to share a meal of hope and promise.
Everyone got an AMAZING sticker when you came into church. Does anyone need a sticker?
I invite you to borrow a marker from the back table and write one or more AMAZING things you notice on your sticker. Things you notice and find astonishing or wonderful. And then tell about it: wear your sticker when you come to coffee hour. While we are there in community, we can be noticing what others find amazing.
AMAZING Sunday does not end with coffee hour.
Part of noticing, being astonished, and telling about those AMAZING things is humility of recognizing that we are all part of God’s creation. Equally amazing in God’s eyes - no matter our level of education, age, physical abilities, income, housing status, our gender or the gender of who we love, whether we walk on two legs, hop or swim, reach for the sky with arms or branches. Every bit of God’s creation is holy and beloved of God - and we are called to humbly cherish it all as deeply as God loves us.
Noticing all the diversity of creation is an entry point to curiosity and wonder. We let our lives reflect our astonishment by telling about it, by calling attention to it and to the injustices of our society that marginalize and minimize the lives of women of color, LGBTQIA+ siblings, waterways, trees, children and teenagers, and the future of our planet. It is our baptismal promise to seek peace and work for justice for all people and creation. We have good news to tell the world: God creates us to be our unique and amazing selves, and to humbly continue Jesus’ work of healing all people and creation.
In the words of the AMAZING Mary Oliver:
Pay attention. Be astonished. Tell about it.
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[1] Mary Oliver quote as found in "10 quotes from Mary Oliver, the Patron Saint of Paying Attention" by Jenna Barnett, published September 12, 2022, https://sojo.net/articles/culture-opinion/10-quotes-mary-oliver-patron-saint-paying-attention, accessed September 22, 2024.
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