I have this image right now in my mind of a juggler spinning a plate at the end of a stick he holds. And then he spins another one simultaneously, and then another and another until I cannot imagine anymore how many. If the plates had consciousness some would probably believe how good they were being able to spin so vibrantly on top of a stick. But the more perceptive ones would know that they are spinning so impressively because of the juggler.
In yesterday’s gospel on the branches, I imagine what if the branches also had consciousness. Some would believe and maybe even preen at how great they are to be so full of leaves and flowers, heavy with fruits and bristling with twigs where birds build their nests. But the intuitive ones will know that they are able to do all those because of the life juices flowing through them from the trunk.
I imagine myself to be the plate, who is the juggler in my life? I imagine myself to be a branch, who is the trunk to which I am attached. Plates, branches and I. Down deep inside we are made of the same particles that throb and vibrate. I know that we are kept in existence by one and the same juggler. And the sap that flows through us all and make us alive is the power and energy of love. The Spirit is the abiding presence of our Source in our lives as revealed by the Son when he walked this earth with us.