The Cry of Ramah

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babies, justice, The Holy Innocents, The King of Peace, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

At our house we’ve recently received a number of birth notifications and Christmas cards from families and friends that feature pictures of beautiful children. We have remarked that the newborns seem quite alert – even in their first weeks of life. There is a quality in their eyes that seems to hold a question or a knowing of something deeper than just “here I am.” We wonder how they will navigate the world that they have been born into, a much different place from when I arrived.

Today is the feast of The Holy Innocents, those children under 2 years of age who were massacred by Herod, an insecure despot, upon hearing of the birth of “the newborn king of the Jews.” I am saddened when I see images of mothers with their babies on their backs or entire families fleeing for their lives from countries – especially now in Central America – where violence is the order of the day. Has nothing changed since “the King of Peace” has come to us? Can we find new or more efficacious ways to welcome the stranger? What is the light we can shine on the atrocities happening at our borders and even in our own cities? Can we not hear the cries for justice?

Hope for the World

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babies, baby boomers, climate change, family, Fiona Mitchell, gratitude, Meg Wheatley, next generation, Olympics, planet, sports, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, Turning To One Another, winning, world community

Last night again I stayed up late watching amazing young people engage in sports. And again I was heartened to hear them tell not only of their joy at winning medals but also of their gratitude for the support of their teams, their coaches and all others who have supported them in their efforts. They also spoke of the privilege of representing their country at the Olympics – just being there, in such a “world community” as indescribable. In the face of all the negative events swirling around us daily in the news and in our neighborhoods, it is helpful to experience the worldwide cooperation that is evident in the contests in Rio.

While speaking of climate change and the devastation of earth that is part of the “downside” of life in our world these days, Meg Wheatley quoted a 22-year old college student in England who reminded me of the common spirit of the athletes when she spoke about our responsibility to the environment. This young woman, Fiona Mitchell, says:

I’d love to be able to just get on with my life and just enjoy it and do the things I want to do…And it’s really annoying that you can’t get on with your life because the planet is being destroyed. But I, personally, can’t just ignore it, because it’s a part of me. It’s  part of all of us, you know. I think a lot of people don’t see the connections between things, the connections that run through everything. We have to take care of everything, because it’s all part of the same thing. (Turning to One Another, p. 109)

In all of this, I think too of my extended family, gathered this weekend for a 60th birthday celebration of one of the “old folks” – my generation. It’s always a profound joy to see “the kids” (now in their 20s and 30s) who have morphed into such amazing and interesting adults, having also chosen wonderful partners for their life-walk. Whether I am present or just vicariously living these events by telephone, I am moved to hope for the world, just as I have been this week at the Olympics and in England by Fiona Mitchell. The next generations have much to do to keep the world turning (as, by the way, so do those of us “baby boomers” still walking around) but perhaps with our support wonderful things lie in store for the beautiful babies being born right now. May we all hold this intention and determination in our hearts as we open ourselves to a new day and week.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Little Ones

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babies, childlike, children, God, Jesus, Matthew, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

Babies and small children are so enticing, aren’t they? They’re fun to watch and the smaller they are, the more miraculous they seem. Just looking at them and holding them engenders a sense of awe and wonder in me for the beauty and complexity of the human being while at the same time seeing total simplicity and dependence on others as a way of being in the world. Would that this sense of wonder would be in me each time I meet a person of any age, but circumstances change. Life takes over, independence dawns and we are off and running into the maze of cultural conditioning and peer pressure. There is work to be done and relationships to be developed, choices to make and confusions to be negotiated. I occasionally wish I were a young child again – usually when change and technology seem to be speeding me along to a place or places where I find everything hard to understand.

This morning in Matthew’s gospel (11:25) we hear Jesus praising God for what God has revealed to the “childlike” rather than to the clever and learned ones. I don’t think he’s talking about the secrets of the universe – scientifically speaking – or infused knowledge or anything like that. I think he wants people to be able to strip away all the accretions that living in this world bonds to us and remember who we really are: magnificent creations brought here to manifest the love of God and become that love so that everyone we encounter will be reminded of the One who brought us here. I hope I see a lot of children today who still take delight in the small things and can play for hours crawling in and out of a box or sleeping beside their dog or smiling at the adult trying so hard to get them to smile. If I am awake those moments will surely remind me to stop and give praise as Jesus did for the wonder of us, God’s children.