Angelic Assistance

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archangels, communication, God's protection, guidance, healing, St. Gabriel, St. Michael, St. Raphael, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

Do you believe in angels? Most people are appalled at the question! How could we live without those beings whose presence in Scripture is so clearly significant and who have been with us since we first learned to pray? (“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.“) People of faith, regardless of religious practice, look to spirits who (for most of us) are not seen in this dense realm but who are always active for our good. The major world religious traditions have a well-developed “angelology” (theology of angels). You can read all about it on the internet! (Just look for “choirs of angels.”)

Today is the feast of three of the most familiar “archangels” in the Judeo-Christian tradition. Michael, the defender of Israel against all enemies leads God’s armies to a final victory in the Book of Revelation and has been celebrated in the Christian West since the fifth century as our greatest help in times of trouble. Gabriel, present in the Hebrew Scriptures in Daniel’s visions, is best known to Christians in the story of the Annunciation to Mary that she is to be the mother of the long-awaited Messiah. Raphael, the third member of this triumvirate, is chronicled only in the Old Testament story of Tobit, but this angelic guide provides evidence of monumental intervention for the good of Tobit’s family – a story not to be missed!

The website www.franciscanmedia.org has a paragraph for the “Saint of the Day” that is, for me, a succinct summary of today’s importance to people of faith.

“Each of the archangels performs a different mission in Scripture. Michael protects; Gabriel announces: Raphael guides. Earlier belief that inexplicable events were due to the actions of spiritual beings has given away to a scientific world-view and a different sense of cause and effect. Yet believers still experience God’s protection, communication, and guidance in ways that defy description. We cannot dismiss angels too lightly.”

History Chooses You

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faith, history chooses you, John Lewis, Meg Wheatley, Pema Chodron, perseverance, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

Sometimes in the very early morning, when there is no light yet outside and I have either no thoughts or too many to know what to say, I come across the briefest of familiar statements that causes everything to coalesce. As I opened to the Book of Job today for the first lectionary reading, I had an image of Rep. John Lewis walking over the Edmund Pettus Bridge toward certain danger on “Bloody Sunday.” (I was remembering the documentary movie from last night about John Lewis, about race in America, about voting and “Good Trouble.”) I had just read a quote by Pema Chodron that said, “How did I get so lucky to have my heart awakened to others and their suffering?” in a short reflection entitled “History Chooses You.” (Meg Wheatley, Perseverance, p.19) In my mind’s eye, I could see 15-year-old John Lewis preaching to the chickens he was feeding as part of his morning chores…You see how a morning like this can speed up…

Slowly the message was taking shape. The faith of Job that he could not lay aside, no matter the tribulation that befell him, the courage of John Lewis and all the great people who “could not not do” the actions that changed the laws, and are still overcoming racial injustice in our country, were sustained by the inner light that told them, “History chooses you.” Faith in God, the solidarity of like-minded companions, the conviction of the need for change become so strong that the call cannot be ignored. God is always there, “making a way where there is no way.”

Is it our moment now to stand up and do what is necessary, trusting in ourselves and in the God who loves and leads us through it all? We may not be called to great things but in the spirit of Mother Theresa of Calcutta we ought to be at least equal to the task of doing “small things with great love.” for the life of the world. Are you ready to see, feel, know that light in you?

The Will To Be Honest

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expectation, honesty, humility, intention, Matthew, Philippians, promise, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

Say what you mean and mean what you say. That seems to be an adage that has gone out of favor these days. It’s easy to agree with what is being asked if your opinion is requested, especially if disagreement would meet with disapproval or argument. But what happens if that conversation is followed by expectation of performance? I’m speaking about situations like that of the gospel reading today. (MT 21:28-32)

The father had two sons. He told the first one to go and work in his vineyard. The son refused but later went as he had been asked. When the father gave the same directive to his second son, this one agreed to go but did not fulfill that promise to his father. Jesus uses this parable to illustrate belief/non-belief in “the way of righteousness.” Having read the preceding text (PHIL 2:6-11) from Paul’s letter to the Philippians, I was drawn also to the qualities of honesty and humility in speech and performance found there and as they relate to the gospel.

If I am asked to do something, the hope is that I will be honest in my reply and the fulfillment or denial of the request. Sometimes it takes humility – emptying ourselves of our own will – to do what is asked of us as well as to be honest about our intention to do or not do it. Even more frequent perhaps is the case in which we are simply asked our opinion on something controversial. If you know you disagree with the majority, are you willing to state an honest opinion? When might that be difficult for you? Why?

Seesaw

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joy, kindness, pity, psalm 90, refuge, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

The psalm from today’s lectionary readings (PS 90) reads like a letter to God from someone who understands well the lifetime of earth’s inhabitants. And actually, if read in its entirety, it seems like a seesaw, each end going up and down in turn…

The psalm refrain, repeated every 2 or 3 verses, offers hope to readers, reminding us that in every age, O Lord, you have been our refuge…while peppered throughout the verses are pleadings for God’s favor as it seems we have yet to learn God’s ways. We hear: Teach us to number our days aright that we may gain wisdom of heart. And then, surprisingly, I think, something that speaks clearly to our present situation, Return, O Lord! How long? Have pity on your servants! But then again, the hope…

Fill us at daybreak with your kindness, that we may shout with joy and gladness all our days. And may the gracious care of the Lord our God be ours; prosper the work of our hands for us! We breathe in our trust…in every age.

Deep Questions

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Jesus, questions, rock, role, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

7:00AM: I am sitting in our living room where all is quiet. In the silence a song begins to play in my mind, once again from the St. Louis Jesuits. Over and over, just the refrain. Over and over I hear: Only in God will my soul be at rest…from him comes my hope, my salvation. He alone is my rock of safety, my strength, my glory, my God. “Why those words?” I ask and then another question: “What is my role here now?”

Lots of people are asking questions like that these days, I think. Over 200,000 people have died in our country over the past six months. Why would that question not rise up at some point? So I go to the lectionary readings for a clue and find more questions than answers.

1. (ECCL 3:1-11): There is an appointed time for everything, and a time for everything under heaven…
2. PS 144: Blessed is the Lord, my rock, my mercy and my fortress, my stronghold, my salvation, my shield in whom I trust…
3. (LK 0:18-22): Once when Jesus was praying, he asked them (his disciples) “Who do the crowds say that I am?”…”Who do you say that I am?”

Questions and answers – oblique though they may be – then more questions…As I read again the three readings for the day, the gospel acclamation catches my eye and everything comes together in this one short statement: The Son of Man came to serve. (MK 10:45) And so it is with me.

A Saint for Today

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believe, change, growth, live, St. John Henry Newman, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

John Henry Newman (1801-1890) is one of the bright lights of Christian theology and is remembered especially for his writings on the lived experience of believers as it relates to theology. His name is familiar to many as the patron of ministry centers on university campuses in the United States, both public and private, exemplifying the motto he chose on becoming a cardinal: Cor ad cor loquitur (“Heart speaks to heart.”) Here are a few of Newman’s briefest, most salient quotes, worthy of our attention today.

1. To live is to change, and to be perfect is to have changed often.
2. Growth is the only evidence of life.
3. Fear not that thy life shall come to an end, but rather fear that it shall never have a beginning.
4. We can believe what we choose. We are answerable for what we choose to believe.

Tour de Force

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Ancient Songs Sung Anew, deep instruction, living grace, psalm 119, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

Reading Psalm 119 seems sometimes like a circumnavigation of the world. This – the longest psalm – is a masterpiece consisting of 176 verses divided into 22 stanzas, one stanza for each letter of the Hebrew alphabet. Within each stanza, each of the 8 verses begins (in Hebrew) with that letter! The text of this psalm exhibits the love for God’s word and for the divine law.

Sometimes one or two verses are enough for a day of pondering, like today where the translation from Ancient Songs Sung Anew proclaims: Save me from the choice of self-deception. Let all your words become for me a living grace, that I might learn to hear your inner word, your deep instruction. (vs. 29, 72)

So many meaningful messages in those two short verses: self-deception, living grace, inner word, deep instruction. Those are mine…What have you heard today?

Only In God

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Ancient Songs Sung Anew, await, hope, prayer, refuge, saving rock, silence, soul, stronghold, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

I was led this morning to Psalm 62 by an e-mail from a friend. It speaks to the state of mind where I choose to place my hope these days.

Alone my soul awaits you in the silence, Lord; by you and only you am I restored. You are for me my solid ground, foundation firm on which I stand…for you are my whole hope and prayer. You only are my saving rock, a stronghold safe, unshaken, sure, my safety, honor and my refuge firm...(Ancient Songs Sung Anew, p.154)

For additional reflection, if you prefer music, visit John Foley of the Saint Louis Jesuits at YouTube for the song Only In God.

The Tax Collector

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inner light, Jesus, Matthew, mercy, sacrifice, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

Jesus had a unique way of choosing his disciples. There were no interviews, no ‘vetting” to be sure of the character of the person being considered. Jesus just approached a person, said “Follow me!” and it was up to the person called to get up from whatever s/he was doing and go. Most, it seems, were fishermen – honest workers with simple lives. One wonders about Matthew, the tax collector. Was he maybe chosen as a test for the rest of the band of followers or for the larger population that knew him as “a sinner,” because of his profession, a challenge of magnanimity, perhaps?

Clearly, Jesus had a point in mind when he encountered Matthew. When people grumbled and looked askance at Matthew in the company of Jesus, they were likely surprised at the reason Jesus gave for his choice. “Those who are well do not need a physician,” he said, “but the sick do. Go and learn the meaning of the words, ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ I did not come to call the righteous but sinners.”

This should be a comfort to all of us who are not yet perfect. Jesus was clearly able to see the inner light in Matthew rather than only what was considered necessary for his work. The proof that he was ready to step up to a deeper calling can be seen in his willingness and ability to leave the life he was living to respond to the light he saw in Jesus that was reflected somehow in his own person. A good lesson for us when we want to judge someone whose inner light is not clearly visible to us in our day-to-day life.

Seek!

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Acts of the Apostles, Isaiah, presence of God, seek the Lord, St. Paul, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

The first line of the first reading in today’s lectionary texts (IS 55:6) begins with a very active imperative: “Seek the Lord while he may be found!” It’s as if the train is coming and we might miss it if we don’t hurry. Perhaps for you it may be reminiscent of the childhood game “Hide and Seek.” Looking everywhere to find our hidden playmates could sometimes take eons of time – but we rarely gave up and always celebrated the find! Are we willing to spend that kind of time and effort to recognize the presence of God today?.

Roc O’Connor of the Saint Louis Jesuits created a song with the perfect sense of urgency for this Scripture reading. Both the music and the vocals stir us and motivate us to “Seek the Lord while he may be found! Call to him while he is still near!” When I listen to that song I always feel compelled to sing, or drum with my hands on my knees for effect or get up and run out of the room searching…(Sorry…It’s a really good song!)

The ironic thing is that we don’t need to do any of those things once we realize as St. Paul did that “God is not far from any one of us. For in him we live and move and have our being.” (ACTS 17:28) All we need to do is quiet down and listen, or look around and see. God is waiting, wanting to be found.