Thank a Librarian

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Bethlehem, Christ, librarian, St. Jerome, teachers, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

Today my Church celebrates St. Jerome who is the patron of librarians. I always knew he was the person who first translated the Bible into Latin but was astonished by a few facts that I learned as I checked on his birth date. I knew he lived quite early in the days of Christianity and found that his life span was from 345 to 420. What astonished me was that in order to do such a monumental work as the translation to Latin, he studied Latin, Greek, Hebrew and Chaldaic  – this over 1,000 years before the invention of the printing press! He did this by studying in his birthplace, Dalmatia (in the former Yugoslavia), Rome and Germany – where all the best teachers were. After this preparation he traveled all over Palestine, “marking each spot of Christ’s life with an outpouring of devotion” and spent five years in the desert of Calcis in prayer, penance and study. He finally settled in Bethlehem, where he lived in the cave believed to be the birthplace of Christ. This biography would be remarkable even in today’s world, but think what it must have entailed to accomplish what he did as well as the difficulty of travel in the century in which he lived!

We often hear or see the adage, “If you can read this, thank a teacher.” Today I would add thanks to librarians who dedicate themselves to facilitating our search for knowledge every day and to Jerome, tireless disciple of the Word of God, who gave himself totally to opening access to the Scriptures to so many people in the Western world in his day and in ours.

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Guiding and Protecting

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angel, feast day, Gabriel, generous God, Guardian Angel, Michael, Raphael, spirit guide, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

My memories of very early childhood are rare so sometimes I’m not sure how I learned things that I already knew as I look back at life in kindergarten. I’m fairly certain that the first prayer I could recite was: Angel of God, my guardian dear, to whom God’s love commits me here, ever this day be at my side to light and guard, to rule and guide. I’m not sure I knew the meaning of all those words but I was surely aware that, in addition to my parents, God had assigned someone very special to take care of me.

Today the world is full of images, statues, literature and workshops that depict or teach about spirit guides, beings existing in realms other than ours, helping us along our spiritual path. The Judeo-Christian Scriptures and Tradition, where my early images came from, also speak of three Archangels (Michael, Gabriel and Raphael) who figure significantly in the stories of “salvation history.” Today we celebrate a feast in their honor on our Church calendar.

Whatever one intuits or believes about the spirit world, it is comforting to trust that we are protected as we negotiate the challenges and rejoice in the loveliness of the earth. It’s just one more way to celebrate the kindness and magnanimity of our generous God.

The Attitude of Christ

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attitude, Christ, compassion, example of jesus, love, Philippians, St. Paul, sympathy, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

St. Paul’s letter to the Philippians contains (2:1-11) a summary of the willingness of Jesus to surrender everything – by letting go of “godliness” to become human – in order to teach us how to become like God, surrendering everything that does not spring from love. It is a foundational text for those desiring to “put on the mind of Christ.” Paul begins by exhorting the people of Philippi to do just that with an impassioned plea that is just as appropriately addressed to us. My suggestion is that you read it aloud – with all the passion of the “Disciple to the Gentiles” – to get the full effect :

Brothers and sisters, if there is any encouragement in Christ, any consolation in love, any participation in the Spirit, any compassion and sympathy, complete my joy by being of the same mind, with the same love, united in heart, thinking one thing! Have in you the same attitude that was in Christ Jesus.

Following the example of Jesus, then, means working ever more consciously toward unity of mind and heart, thinking and loving without judgment, surrendering ego to become our truest selves. It’s a big order but one that will lead us directly into the heart of God.

 

 

Time Passages

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calling to God, life, practice love, psalm 90, surrender, thank God, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, wisdom of heart

There it is again! Psalm 90 appears again today with it’s plea that God will “teach us to number our days aright that we may gain wisdom of heart.” Having already commented recently on this line, I need not repeat myself, but the thought does give me pause. I have heard myself say often lately, “I can’t believe it’s been 40 years since…” or “How could I have lived here for 30 years already!” And last year I often shocked myself with the thought, “I’m 65 years old!” It just popped up in my consciousness at various times for no reason, stunning me with the reality of it. Life seems to be passing at an increasingly rapid rate – all the more reason for awareness of the passage so I won’t miss the lessons.

All this makes me understand a bit what it’s like for God, of whom the psalmist says, “A thousand years in your sight are as yesterday now that it is past…” I certainly can’t slow it down. It doesn’t make sense to try. It seems then that the only response is to surrender to it, make the best of every day and thank God for the opportunities that appear at every moment to practice love.

What’s It Time For?

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death, Ecclesiastes, funeral, heart of God, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, time, timeless

This morning’s first reading (ECCL 3:1-11) which tells us that there is a time for everything and then gives pairs of opposites as examples (“a time to be born and a time to die”) is used most frequently at funerals. We hear it or sing it or even read it ourselves at those often difficult or bittersweet moments and feel grief or comfort depending on the circumstances of the death. There is great wisdom in this reading, however, which is worth some deeper reflection. I once spent a whole week’s retreat trying to befriend time instead of grasping at it, feeling as if I never had enough to do what I thought was necessary or significant or rewarding. While I’m still often “short on time” I think I’ve learned the futility of attempts at control and see this reading as the best approach. Trusting that God “has made everything appropriate to its time” allows me to let go more often, to observe events and to focus rather on the truth that God has also “put the timeless into [our] hearts” so that every event, every thought, every prayer, every breath can – with conscious attention and intention – lead us beyond time, straight into the heart of God.

As The World Turns

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darkness into light, Ecclesiastes, fatigue, gladness, joy, kindness of God, life, psalm 90, seasons, sleep, sun, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, wisdom of heart, workday

*NOTE: Once again this morning, internet access has been spotty, thus the late entry here. I will be leading a retreat this weekend and am not sure how it will be for tomorrow and Sunday in the location where the retreat is being held. Stay tuned!

I’ve had a number of conversations this week with individuals speaking of “seasonal fatigue” around the shift from summer to autumn. One person said, “I’ve been sleeping nine or ten hours a night and still feel a bit tired during the day!” I told her, a recent retiree, to go right on sleeping that much and be grateful that she can, until the fatigue recedes. We continued the conversation with discussion of the rhythms of nature that were disrupted by the shift from an agrarian to an industrial society and inventions that allowed the prolongation of light to our days by artificial means. This is old news for us, of course, but there seems to be more recognition of the disruption as life speeds up and our workdays get longer or more intense. I am personally more aware this year of the movements of nature, day to day, as I mow different kinds of grass each month or see flowers and leaves shift week to week in their life cycle.

The readings this morning, Ecclesiastes (1:2-11) and Psalm 90, remind me of that flow. From Ecclesiastes: The sun rises and the sun goes down; then it presses on to the place where it rises…What has been, that will be; what is done that will be done. Nothing is new under the sun.

This is all fine when we’re talking about nature – and it would behoove us to remember it as we try to control everything in our lives. But we are also in the throes of deep distress over world events, seeing worse happenings every day. Is there nothing we can do in the face of it? Psalm 90 responds: Teach us to number our days aright, that we may gain wisdom of heart. The psalmist continues, crying out to God, Fill us at daybreak with your kindness, that we may shout for joy and gladness all our days.

Perhaps the key is in recognizing that the kindness of God is already in our midst and that our shouts of joy and gladness will arise from the realization that we must become that joy and gladness in the world in a manner that will transform the darkness into light.

The Longest Psalm

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art, believe, deep reflection, Hebrew, illusions, lunch with the psalms, psalm 119, self-deception, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

During our weekly “Lunch with the Psalms” group yesterday the first topic was the length of psalm 119, part of which was the selection of the day in the Scripture readings. The text contained eight sequential verses. Today, however, there are eight more verses from different sections but they seem to work as a unified whole. See what you think.

Save me from the choice of self-deception. Let all your words become for me a living grace that I might hear your inner word, your deep instruction. Lord, your words and ways are firmly stretched across the heavens. As you yourself instructed, I’ll turn my feet away from every evil on this path through life, and gain your understanding of what is real or mere illusion.

The entire psalm is quite extraordinary, with 22 stanzas each containing 8 verses (176 verses in all – the longest psalm). Each of the stanzas begins with one of the 22 letters of the Hebrew alphabet (in sequence), which gives its name to the stanza. Scholars think that the psalm was intended as a manual of pious thoughts, especially for the instruction of the young, and that the structure used as a memory aid in retaining the language.

I am awed by what could have been a stilted attempt to fit the thoughts to the structure but which became a work of art, offering the opportunity for deep reflection  and transformation at every turn. As I read again the selection for this morning, I see the unlimited possibility for spiritual growth offered by the cry of the psalmist in the very first line. If that is our motivation, the rest can become our practice, taking us to the ultimate realization of truth.

Life Lessons

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Jesus, Luke, Mary, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, unconditional love, universal love

Today Luke’s gospel snippet (8:19-21) sounds as harsh as it is brief, but Scripture scholars interpret it differently. It’s the scene that takes place when Jesus is preaching to a large crowd and someone tells him that his mother and brothers are outside wanting to see him. In reply he says, “My mother and my brothers are those who hear the word of God and act on it.”

My guess is that if it happened this way, Mary wouldn’t be at all offended by this remark because she understood her place in the mission and life of Jesus and what he was trying to teach about universal and unconditional love. For Mary, ego held no place in their relationship; her “yes” to God early on was lived out each day and she taught Jesus to be that kind of person too.

 

 

A Sticky Wicket

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kind word, panhandlers, Proverbs, psalm 15, smile, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

In both the first reading from Proverbs and the Psalm response this morning, I was confronted with references to the ever-present concern of God (and Jesus) for “my neighbor”. Proverbs told me to “refuse no one the good to which he has a claim,” saying not “‘Go and come again; tomorrow I will give,’ when you can give at once.” (PRV 3:27-28). Psalm 15 speaks of the one “who harms not his fellow man, nor takes up a reproach against his neighbor.”

As I considered these lines, the phrase “sticky wicket” came to mind. I actually had to go to a dictionary to be sure I was clear on the definition. I was somewhat surprised that what I found was exactly what I needed. A difficult or awkward situation; one requiring delicate treatment, it said. The difficulty came for me in the first reading when I thought of the panhandlers I drive or walk by sometimes (easier to ignore when I’m in my car). What should be my response to people who are obviously in need? What if I give money and they spend it unwisely? My judgment about such unfortunate people is where I get into trouble. My mind generally assumes all sorts of possibilities of why such people are as they are – all conditions brought on by their own weakness. Taking up a reproach against these neighbors of mine is easy. Deciding – on my better days – how to help them is not. Money is not always the answer. Maybe I should buy some gift certificates from a local restaurant or make some cards with the addresses of nearby food pantries. (These are just my first thoughts. There must be other attempts at a solution.)

One thing that is always possible is a smile and a kind word. Why would I be afraid to offer that, no matter the response?

Surprise!

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Matthew, The last will be first and the first last., The Sophia Center for Spirituality, vineyard, worker

All of the Scripture readings for this Sunday offer us points for pondering but certainly one of the best is found in that surprising gospel text from Matthew 16 about the workers in the vineyard who get a surprise at the end of the day. I speak, of course, of the ones who have been working all day, seeing more and more people added to the workforce as the day progresses. When those hired for the last hour are paid first and receive the wage agreed upon for the whole day, the early workers get excited, expecting more money. The surprise is that they get just what they agreed on – the same as the latecomers.

The line that is often quoted from this text says, “The last will be first and the first last.” Much more significant, I find, is the question from the landowner to those surprised and disappointed ones. He asks, “Are you envious because I am generous?”