Category Archives: Here and Now

​Our journey this year through the lens of “Here and Now” has taken us in many directions.  As we conclude the series, we must remember that here-and-now living brings us into a deep rest.  We live from the rest of … Continue reading →

​When we are  present to life here and now, we become engaged with life itself.  Communion, celebration, and compassion connect us to life in the present moment in ways that are life-giving to us and to others.  We see this … Continue reading →

Being reconciled to one another in Christ here and now, we can move to establish community.  It is community based on grace, nothing else.  We do not have to be alike.  We do not have agree.  Our community is not … Continue reading →

​When our life in the present moment brings us to the point of seeing that everything belongs, it also reveals that God has given us a ministry–the ministry of reconciliation (2 Corinthians 5:18).  From that moment on, we know why … Continue reading →

​When we live in the present moment with the fullness of our true personhood in play, we experience inclusion and offer it to others.  We are included in everything, and everything is included in us.  As Richard Rohr has put … Continue reading →

​Living here-and-now makes all of life formative, and it evokes the emergence of our true personhood.  By not being tethered by the past (e.g.”What I should have been or might have been”) and by not being pulled into the future … Continue reading →

​There are other positive things we could note about living here and now.  But it would be a mistake to think that the blessings of present-moment living are limited to them.  We must include suffering as a portal for our … Continue reading →

​David Steindl-Rast introduced me to gratitude as a sign that we are living in the present moment. He wrote, “Our eyes are opened to the surprise character of the world around us the moment we wake up from taking things … Continue reading →

​In last week’s post, I wrote about the importance of simplicity in present-moment living.  Such simplicity is the means for another quality of here-and-now living: freedom. It is the freedom that arises when we are available to life here and … Continue reading →

​Nearly forty years ago, Richard Foster introduced me to simplicity as an essential discipline in the spiritual life. [1]  His own witness about simplicity has been exemplary, but he has also pointed me (and so many others) to additional witnesses … Continue reading →

​The courage born of living in the present moment is not only what we usually think of as strength, standing up to opposition, and the will will to take risks.  It is also living so as to encourage others.  The … Continue reading →

​Life is a gift.  But like every gift, it comes wrapped.  We can think of this as the immediate impression which each moment provides.  And as with some gifts, what we see first (i.e. the wrapping paper, bow, etc) is … Continue reading →

​Living in the here-and-now gives us the opportunity to experience Presence.  When we are preoccupied with what has happened, or with what might happen, we risk missing what IS happening. Recent studies have shown that the notion we can multitask … Continue reading →

​Having laid our foundation for here-and-now living in Scripture and tradition, the rest of this series will be more topical in nature.  And I can think of no better segway than to look at the pace of grace. Living in … Continue reading →

​I choose to end our look at tradition (e.g. people and movements) with William Barber II and Liz Theoharis, the two co-leaders of the renewed Poor People’s Campaign.  They represent a growing grassroots movement for reform that is rooted in … Continue reading →

​I cannot write about here-and-now living without mentioning Henri Nouwen.  Although he did not introduce me to the idea, he has added significant content and perspective to it. Nearly all his books speak about living in the present moment.  But … Continue reading →

​I deliberately write about Rosa Parks today, to point through her to the power of here-and-now living, and that with respect to nonviolent resistance to injustice and racism.  Her decision not to give up her seat on the Montgomery city … Continue reading →

​When I think of Dorothy Day, I immediately connect her life and work to Jesus’ words, “as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me” (Matthew 25:40).  … Continue reading →

​We are fortunate to have the journals, letters, writings, and recordings of Thomas Merton.  Even a cursory walk through them confirms Merton’s intention to live in the here-and-now.  Today, I illustrate his commitment in these ways. First, he embraced the … Continue reading →

​We come to Jean-Pierre de Caussade about halfway in this series, but he was actually the first person through whom I learned about here-and-now living.  His book, ‘The Sacrament of the Present Moment’ gave me the opportunity to ponder what … Continue reading →

​In moving to look at Francis and Clare, we travel past about 800 years of Christian history–years that have numerous insights with respect to present-moment living.  But the best we can do in a blog series is to take some … Continue reading →

​The remaining posts in this series will be through the lens of the Christian tradition.  Upcoming posts will make selected and brief “whistle stops” in Christian history to illustrate how people have sought to live in the present moment. We … Continue reading →

​Before changing gears in this series, I want to highlight the belief in here-and-now living found in Native American religions.  As with the other religions we have looked at, there are variations between and among tribes.  But we can see … Continue reading →

​Islam’s recognition of present-moment living flows from the sense of God’s comprehensive presence.  It shares this perception with other religions, but I write of it here because it is a major emphasis in Islam. The Quran describes it this way: … Continue reading →

​We looked at living here and now in the Old Testament, but that does not exhaust what Judaism teaches about it.  We gain additional insights from the word ‘aschav.’ Aschav is not in the Bible.  The earliest find of the … Continue reading →

​I have decided to write a post about Taoism because it not only extends our realization of how longstanding the belief in here-and-now living is, but through Taoism we see such living through the lens of a Far Eastern religion. The … Continue reading →

Hinduism is thought by some to be the oldest religion in the world. [1]. Buddhism grew out of Hinduism, so even though they have their differences, it is possible to speak of similarities as well.  One similarity is their emphasis … Continue reading →

It is easy to forget that there was what we might call “religion before the religions.” Scholars are not agreed whether Zoroastrianism or Hinduism is the oldest world religion, but they are generally agreed that no matter which was actually … Continue reading →

​Since I professed faith in Jesus Christ in 1963, my favorite Bible verse has been 2 Corinthians 5:17–“If anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; see, the new has come. ” [1] In … Continue reading →

Jesus created a ripple effect for here-and-now living that continues to the end of the New Testament.  Today I offer only a scratch-the-surface illustration through a few mountain-peak passages where living in the now is emphasized… Paul: “And now faith, … Continue reading →

​If all we had to go on was the Sermon on the Mount, we could reconstruct much of the Gospel, especially its view of how to live well.  Running through it is the thread of here-and-now living. It begins in … Continue reading →

​Jesus said, “The Kingdom of God is at hand” (Matthew 3:2).  It was another way of describing here-and-now living.  But the words “at hand” provide us with two additional insights about living in the present moment. First, life is near. … Continue reading →

Jesus said two things that, when put together, show that he wanted us to live in the present moment.  First, he told us not to worry about tomorrow (Matthew 6:34).  That was his way of saying, “Don’t try to live … Continue reading →

​I agree with Henri Nouwen that Jesus is the Gospel. [1]  He is the Good News.  This applies to every aspect of life and to every article of belief. “The Word became flesh and dwelt among us, full of grace … Continue reading →

​Moving from the Old Testament into the New Testament, the linkage word is, ‘Behold’–or more simply, ‘Look.’  It is what the angel told Joseph to do relative to the unexpected announcement that Mary was going to have a baby (Matthew … Continue reading →

​There is much more in the Old Testament that can help us live in the present moment, but we must move on if this series is to be contained within our yearlong time frame.  One final look at here-and-now living … Continue reading →

​We near the end of our brief exploration of the Hebrew Scriptures by pointing to the prophets as longstanding examples of those who saw and proclaimed the here-and-now life.  Beginning with Moses in Exodus 3, and running through the biblical … Continue reading →

​For many people, the 23rd psalm is the high-water mark in the Old Testament.  Its esteem is warranted for many reasons.  But one is that it roots life in the present moment.  The verbs are present tense.  David’s experience of … Continue reading →

​We have explored the basic contours of here-and-now living to recognize that each moment comes as a choice.  The present moment leaves it up to us as to how will live it.  An old saying captures this reality, “God votes … Continue reading →

​Sabbath-keeping is a sign we are living a here-and-now life.  But to see this, we must not view the Sabbath as one day in seven separated and isolated from the other six. Jesus pointed to the right view of sabbath … Continue reading →

The Covenant is the all-encompassing word to describe how our relationship with God is processed in the daily round of ordinary living.  The Law is meticulously detailed, to say nothing of the midrash which expounded upon it in even greater … Continue reading →

​In Moses’ encounter with God at the burning bush, we get the greatest revelation into the here-and -now life.  It is the name of God given to Moses: I AM (Exodus 3:14).  While likely referring to the aspect of God’s … Continue reading →

From Genesis 12 onward, the Story moves from a universal view to one told through the life experience of one people: Israel.  Some years ago, Eugene Peterson noted that Israel is the name given to both a people and a … Continue reading →

​In the first eleven chapters of Genesis there are four genealogies.  This is another indication that God is here-and-now, and calls us to be so too. Each name in these lists sends the message, “Every person and every period in … Continue reading →

​In the first creation story (Genesis 1:2–2:4), we get our first look at here-and-now living.  Each “day” of creation is a way of paying attention to a particular phase of creation before we see it as-a-whole. [1]  It is as … Continue reading →

​As we will see, the Bible provides many invitations to live in the here-and now.  But in 2 Corinthians 6:2, Paul gathers them all up in one exclamation, “Now is the day of salvation!”  Before we journey through the particulars, … Continue reading →

​Greetings as 2019 gets under way! Today begins my 2019 theme on Oboedire, “Here and Now.”  New posts will appear each Wednesday.  Here’s the introduction… Many of you know that I am a Christian, formed substantially within the Wesleyan tradition. … Continue reading →