Love Letters

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God, hold you in my heart, Jesus, Paul, Philippians, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

It must’ve been difficult for Paul – such a passionate man – to be an itinerant preacher in days when travel took a long time and communication was an arduous task, with letters being the only option. I think of all the people Paul met, influenced in ways that changed their lives and then left to spread the gospel somewhere else. We can hear the cost of that pattern in the greeting to the Philippians this morning as he writes his feelings and encouragement to them after his departure. (PHIL 1:1-11)

I give thanks to my God at every remembrance of you, praying always with joy in my every prayer for all of you…I am confident of this, that the one who began a good work in you will continue to complete it until the day of Christ Jesus. It is right that I should think this way about all of you because I hold you in my heart…For God is my witness, how I long for all of you with the affection of Christ Jesus. And this is my prayer, that your love may increase ever more and more in knowledge and every kind of perception, to discern what is of value…

As I copy Paul’s words I feel their power. He seems to have grasped the lesson of love in its highest form which is deeply personal and yet detached from ego. By that I mean the ability to love for the sake of the beloved rather than for ourselves – a way of loving that does not cling to the other to fulfill our needs but which helps us to become a fully mature human person while doing the same for the other. This is the love that would allow Paul to leave Philippi because his mission was to spread the gospel rather than settling into life in one place.

We live in a time of great mobility in our country. People in younger generations often do not live and work in the same community where they were born as did our ancestors. I think of my mother who was devastated when my father was transferred for work to Syracuse, New York from Newton, Massachusetts in 1960. She had lived in the same square mile for her first 45 years; Syracuse seemed like the end of the world to her. Her love for my father and her children, her recognition of the necessity of the move and her ability to go out of herself for others allowed her to embrace the move (after some months of distress!). She blossomed in Syracuse and then in New Haven, Connecticut and Florida, leaving behind loved ones each time that they moved, but able to hold people in her heart as she responded to the letting go of their physical presence.

I sit in gratitude this morning (every morning, really) for my mother. I think, too, of all those who have taught me such lessons of the heart. Moreover I wish to be able always in matters of the heart to achieve what Paul desired for the Philippians: an increase in love and in the ability to discern what is of value for my own good and that of the people I love.

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Real Life

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Afghanistan, armor of God, consciousness, Ephesians, Jesus, justice, Luke, Peace, pray, psalm 144, St. Catherine of Siena, struggle, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, triumph of light over darkness

Yesterday I spoke to someone whose son was part of the last group of combat forces leaving Afghanistan to return home to the United States. Later, as I was preparing for upcoming November events, I spent time with St. Catherine of Siena whose short life included much suffering for her faith as well as a crusade to lead the Pope back to Rome, ending what is known as the Avignon Captivity. This, in the year 1377, by a woman of age 30! Lastly, I read a long article about the struggle for conscious attention, not only in prayer but throughout all daily events and activities.

All of this comes to mind as I contemplate the messages of Scripture this morning. Psalm 144 proclaims: Blessed be the Lord, my Rock, who trains my hands for battle, my fingers for war. Paul is preaching about spiritual struggle with his advice about putting on “the armor of God, that you may be able to resist…and hold your ground.” (EPH 6:10-20). Jesus to is refusing to turn away from his journey toward Jerusalem (LK 13:31-35), lamenting the fate of those who have tried to speak for God there and been mistreated and/or stoned to death. His own mission is clear and he intends to carry it to the end.

I would rather not allow these thoughts of war and physical destruction to invade my morning, sitting as I do in my peaceful home in rural upstate New York, but history and the events of today call me to consciousness. My task, I believe, is to return to Paul’s exhortation where he calls me to “pray at every opportunity in the Spirit…for all the Holy Ones and for me… so that I may have the courage to speak as I must.” Whether like Mike in Afghanistan fighting for the life of the people, Jesus in Jerusalem facing his destiny or Paul and Catherine of Siena in their travels to proclaim the message of the gospel, I must recognize that my role in the building of “God’s house” is not separate but integral to the family of humanity. Wherever my life intersects with others, that is the place where I must stand firm in the conscious struggle for justice, peace and the triumph of light over darkness.

Who’s on First?

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Ephesians, first will be last last will be first, Jesus, kingdom of God, lady luck, Luke, partiality, salvation, Scripture, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

Reversal of fortunes by winning the lottery is less than “one in a million” and it’s clear from many stories of instant millionaires that money really isn’t everything. People who spend their lives climbing over people to reach the top of whatever ladder they’re on are sometimes similarly disillusioned to find that it’s “lonely at the top.”

As we move toward the end of the liturgical year in the Scripture readings, the questions put to Jesus are more frequently focused on who will “make it” in the kingdom of God. Jesus is clear about the universality of salvation when he says that “people will come from the east and the west and from the north and the south and will recline at table in the Kingdom of God.” But it’s the next line (LK 13:30) that should make us think. It’s familiar but not always easy to hear. “For behold, some are last who will be first and some who are first will be last.” It’s an interesting sense of reversal if we consider Paul’s words this morning as well. He’s talking about masters not bullying their slaves and says that “each will be requited from the Lord for whatever good he does, whether slave or free…both they and you have a Master in heaven and with him there is no partiality.” (EPH 6:9)

So what’s the point? It sounds to me as if we can be confident of God’s grace regardless of our life circumstances but we need to remember that we have a part to play in the story. It isn’t enough to sit back and wait for “Lady Luck” to take care of our every need. Neither can we work so fast and hard to beat out everyone to the finish line that we leave everyone else in our dust. Once again the emerging wisdom comes from the “heart of the matter.” We are all equals in the kingdom of God – here and now as well as in whatever will later come to be. And love is the prize that is only achieved as we work – and play – together.

What’s in a Name?

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apostles, called by name, Luke, names, Paul, Scripture, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, Timothy

Today’s gospel from Luke (6:12-16) tells a different story from the more familiar one of the call of the apostles in Matthew & Mark while Jesus was walking on the beach and saw those who were destined to be his close followers. In Luke’s account, Jesus has been up on a mountain all night praying, discerning the needs, one could say, and who could best fulfill the call to go on mission and preach the message of God’s love. When he came down and gathered all of his disciples (students or learners) together, he called the 12 by name out of that group to be those “apostles.”

Today is my sister’s birthday, the feast of saints Simon and Jude, two of those twelve leaders. Except for the circumstance that my uncle Paul was killed in World War II shortly before her birth, Paula might have been named Judith – although we already had a close cousin by that name. Urban legend has it that this 8 year-old cousin, Judy, who said she would not come to visit if my mother named me Valerie as she was proposing to do, suggested “Lois” as a substitute. Consequently I grew up with lots of teasing about Superman but also as the only Lois in all my classes at school. Unlike Paul(a) or Jud(ith), Lois wasn’t a noted saint of the Church (a must for Catholics baptized back then) so my middle name became Ann – a fine choice, the grandmother of Jesus! It wasn’t until much later that I found Lois in the Scriptures, mentioned in one of Paul’s letters of encouragement to his younger companion, Timothy. It seems she was, ironically, Timothy’s grandmother.

Whether or not we are content with the name given us at birth or baptism, it is a good thing to reflect on being “called by name”. Why were you given the name that you carry? What is the etymology? Is there a person of significance for whom you are named? (I’m wondering these days whether I should reflect on grandmotherly characteristics…) When someone we love says our name, doesn’t it have a slightly different sound? What would it sound like if you heard God call your name? Sometimes we just need to grow into what’s been given to us and as we become the person we know ourselves to be in God’s sight, we recognize the unique and beautiful sound each time our name is called.

First Thoughts

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evergreens, leaves, morning, psalm 1, seasons, sunrise, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

Everything is stillness this morning as I sit to ponder Psalm 1:1-6. Light is coming to the sky; there are apertures in the cloud cover, just barely lighter than the gray. There is no movement of branches, no stirring in the kitchen or on the road. I wonder if it is a holiday for surely Monday morning traffic should be buzzing by now. I cannot yet see the bronzing trees on the hill or the gold of the not-yet-harvested cornfield behind the house. I know in my bones the passing of the “fruitful” season of apples and take a deep breath as I read of the trees planted “by running streams” that “yield their fruit in due season.” Their leaves are mostly gone – for now – as we prepare for the hibernation of bear and earth and, if we can manage it occasionally, ourselves.

I am feeling the rhythm of the seasons this morning, grateful to live in a region where they are all wildly different in unique beauty. In the same way, I have the certainty of the psalmist who compares people to evergreen trees whose “leaves” never fade, the ones who delight in the law of the Lord. And now the clouds are pink, a car just sped by and a song bird has offered a lovely welcome to the day. It is time for me to move along, surprised that I have been sitting for 45 minutes as the world continued its silent turning. I think of my relatives in Australia as they experience the turning and all those people in between and I give thanks for this day, this life, this amazing mystery…

The Work Place of Love

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centering prayers, love, Matthew, seven sacred pauses, spirit, temple, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

Yesterday I spent five hours with 19 delightful people in Cazenovia, New York, exploring the practice of Centering Prayer. I knew from the responses to my introductory question about prayer practices that the day would be a blessing. Everyone spoke in some way of being in God’s presence as foundational to their prayer lives in addition to praying those traditional prayers that had grounded them since childhood. From the lighthearted teasing of Jim, our only male participant, to the delicious desserts lovingly created by Kelli, our host, which punctuated the information sharing, the insightful questions and the deep silence of the three periods of prayer, it was no wonder there was such a feeling of love in the room! I was reminded of all that by a passage I read this morning from Macrina Wiederkehr’s book, Seven Sacred Pauses which said:

Your work is for the benefit of the whole world. When your spirit mingles with Spirit, you are transformed into a temple of God. Go deep into your temple. This is your real work place. Dwell there in silence that you may absorb the wonderful gifts of inspiration that wait for you in the darkness of your unknowing. In your contacts with people each day, you will be blessed if you remember that your work is your love poured out.

Together we spent the day, deep in the love of God and one another, making real the  love of God and love of neighbor which Jesus defines in the gospel today (MT 22:34-40) as the greatest commandment on which the whole law depends. May all of our “work” today be such a gift and blessing to all we encounter.

Praying the News

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God, kigdom, Peace, pray, pray for peace, Psalm 122, race, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, violence

The news this morning is of violence in many quarters – very sad and wasteful in many stories of young life. It makes waking up a difficult task, as I turn to three ways to read Psalm 122. But there I find again the call to peace as the psalmist says:

I arose and went into your house when called to the worship of your name…Your holy name, O God, becomes for us a blessed city, a place of peace that draws us deeper in…Where people of every tongue and race rise up before the presence of your face to know and love the God of peace as one. So in this hallowed space and ground, your judgment and your rule of love becomes for us a kingdom. And may that kingdom come, your peace be done over all the earth, we pray. Within the inner walls of heart and soul, and on the outer towers of human being may peace descend and be for everyone a fortress and a keep where nothing evil enters in. And this we pray now for the good of all…

This is, it seems, the only answer – our duty and our hope – to pray for peace and become in our lives the peace we pray for in the world. And in that confidence, to find our rest in God.

Called and Gifted

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Ephesians, God in the heart of everything, humility, inner peace, love ourselves, patience, Paul, Peace, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, universal call to holiness, virtues

Paul is at it again this morning in his preaching to the Ephesians urging them on “to live in a manner worthy of the call you have received, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another through love, striving to preserve the bond of peace…”

I find it interesting that, in speaking of “call” (vocation) to the people of Ephesus, Paul doesn’t talk about being a good merchant or preacher, a good sheep herder or high priest. He speaks rather of the universal call to holiness that is achieved by each of us  in developing the essential virtues listed above. In our turbulent, hectic world there is little more important than work toward inner and worldwide peace, the achievement of which will come only when we learn to love ourselves and each other as we are, seeing God at the heart of everything. First we need to believe that it can be done.

I suggest we start with patience…

Be Your Note!

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Ephesians, faithfulness, gratefulness, harmony, love, Paul, praise God, psalm 33, rejoice, song praise, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

It seems that Paul and the Psalmist are working together this morning to communicate the wonder of God’s gifts and the necessity of praising God for them. Paul (EPH 3:14-21) speaks his own prayer for the community at Ephesus where he asks God that you may be strengthened…in your inner self, so that rooted and grounded in love you may comprehend…the breadth and length and height and depth…and be filled with all the fullness of God. He urges their own prayer with the confidence that God is able to accomplish far more than we can ask or imagine.

This message is echoed by PS 33: 1-5 as we are challenged to Rejoice, O all who live in love and harmony, in right relationship! How good the music made by those whose hearts are turned to God! Take up your instruments of song; take harp, guitar, the violin, horn and drum; give praise a voice, a song to sing! And new, fresh melodies will rise and ring in praise of One who gives us skill in song. Add your just and truth-filled words and say, God’s faithfulness shall be the subject of our praise. For on this earth, and above all else, you cherish justice, you honor peace. You  love it when true kindness reaches out to all.

With Paul’s reminder of God’s willingness to hear our prayer and the virtual orchestra of praise suggested by the psalmist I resolve to carry joy as companion through this day, determined to be the note that God chooses to play through me in harmony with all I meet.

Walking the Walk

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center, dream, God, labyrinth, Luke, reflection, spiritual life, spiritual path, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, trust in God, walk the walk, walk together, walking

This morning as Luke (Ch. 12) continues to continues to talk about servants and their readiness to serve, I want to offer a footnote to my reflection of yesterday about walking through life aware of how the walk is going (See “Stay Awake” from yesterday’s blog post). During the day yesterday my mind kept coming back to the theme of the blog and to the experience I had the evening before of walking a labyrinth. We (the Sophia Center for Spirituality) began on Monday to offer a series called “Spiritual Sampler” on Monday nights and the first of these offerings was a labyrinth walk. A labyrinth, as some of you know, is not a maze where you can get hopelessly lost but rather a unicursal or one-branch path that leads to the center. For centuries, labyrinths have been symbolic of walking a spiritual path where, in the center, God may be found.

Until I was quite sure that the description of “unicursal” was true, I was hesitant to walk a labyrinth. Over the last several years, however, I have come to relish the opportunity for this quiet, slow, reflective time that is always meaningful and sometimes surprising. As I made my intention at the entrance to the labyrinth, all I asked was to be in God’s presence, walking consciously toward God. During the next half hour of silence I was conscious of putting one foot in front of the other on the path that twisted and turned, sometimes coming close to the center and sometimes moving farther away, but always with the hope of achieving that goal. I thought how clearly like life that was. On occasion I was aware of the four others walking with me and pushed away the occasional sense of disappointment that there weren’t more companions. That brought to mind the wondering of whether or not the whole project of establishing a spirituality center -just a year old this month – would be “successful” in the long run. As I continued to walk and attempted to let go of such useless thoughts for one who purports to trust God, I heard from inside, “This is your dream; now you need to walk the walk.” Soon after that I reached the center where the sense of relief and strength was palpable.

The walk back out was long and winding again, but I felt a new confidence in remembering what I have known for much of my ministerial life: that numbers have little to do with meaning in the spiritual life and that God is with me at every step of the path. Our short conversation at the completion of the exercise convinced me that our time had been truly blessed and that each day, each moment is precious as we walk together in God’s sight.