Watch and Pray

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awakening, be watchful, consciousness, peaceful transition, prayer, resolution, solution, Taizé, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

I have been sitting for quite awhile this morning, trying not to try…to say anything of merit but just to wait. A song comes to me from Taize, a chant that simply says “Stay with me. Remain here with me. Watch and pray.” I hear it over and over in my head and then I realize it is my prayer for the day. As Americans we are not generally very good at waiting for things to happen. And truly, things are always happening. In the spring the energies of the earth “wake up” and bring us the beauty and renewed life of the land. That is much more pleasing than the moment we are in now when nature is resting and death is the order of the day – a stark reality in human terms this year.

We cannot avoid the reality that is ours now. Neither can we waste the moment that is upon us. We wait for resolution of our political situation. It looks like nothing will happen for at least the next two months…but that is not true. Much is happening in preparation for the inauguration of a new political team. Watch the news. It will happen and we can only hope it will happen peacefully. So pray for a peaceful transition.

We are watching incremental growth in the death toll every day. And still people refuse to do the simple things that will stem the tide of this horrific loss. We wait for a simple solution and a vaccine is coming but why wait? Wear a mask, keep your distance and wash your hands. Is that so difficult?

And pray for an awakening of consciousness. There are so many ways in which we are unconscious. We think it is the duty of others to fix things. I ask myself today what is my ability and my responsibility to my community, my nation and the world. What more can I do than watch and pray? Am I even consistent in those two activities? Is that enough?

The Heart of a Shepherd

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alert, be watchful, gentle, intentions, leader, sacred heart of Jesus, sheep, shepherd, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, unconditional love

It’s interesting to me that on this feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, the readings lead us to the relationship between a shepherd and his/her sheep. It makes sense, however, if we consider the care that a dedicated shepherd shows to the sheep. What might that mean?

1. A good shepherd leads the sheep rather than herding them from behind.
2. A shepherd is careful to watch the sheep and protect them from eating poisonous plants or encountering dangerous predators.
3. In most cases, shepherds lead their sheep each day to fresh grazing areas of good forage and bring them back to the same area each night.
4. When one sheep decides to go somewhere, others follow so the shepherd must be alert to the “intentions” and actions of the sheep.
5. Sheep have excellent peripheral vision, being able even to see what is behind them without even turning their heads, but they cannot see what is right under their noses, so need the guidance of a shepherd.
6. The relationship of shepherd to sheep is generally a gentle one and caring. To quote Jesus: “I know mine and mine know me.” (Wikipedia)

It’s easy to see why the image of “the Good Shepherd” is fitting for this feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, the symbol of unconditional love. If we, then, are the sheep of that Good Shepherd, how blessed are we to be so cared for!

“Coming To”

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Advent, be alert, be watchful, come to, Corinthians, grace, Jesus, Latin, Mark, Paul, preparation, prepare, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, wake up

Today is the first day of the season of Advent, a time of preparation for the great feast of Christmas when we celebrate the incarnation – the birth in flesh – of Jesus, the Christ. Paul is quite encouraging this morning in his greeting to the Corinthians as he writes (in part), Grace to you and peace! You are not lacking in any spiritual gift as you wait for the revelation of Jesus Christ…He will keep you firm to the end…God is faithful. (1Cor 1:3-9) Paul had already met Christ in a flash of insight, a personal revelation that turned his life around. If it could happen to him, a former persecutor of Christians, it could probably happen to anyone although he was also convinced that Christ was coming back soon for the whole world. Accordingly, he could be speaking to us today.

Jesus was a bit more challenging in his words. “Be watchful! Be alert!” he says. “You do not know when the time will come. May he not come suddenly and find you sleeping.” (MK 13:33-37) Jesus was telling a story about a master who went on a trip and left his servants in charge. In all similar parables, servants were strongly advised to be ready to greet the master upon his return. Just as in the first instance, we could be the audience for this message.

In the first reading, Paul is confident of a good outcome because of God’s fidelity. In the gospel the challenge of fidelity is ours. I learned in my youth as a Girl Scout to be prepared and I have always loved this season as a chance to settle into the quiet of winter and reflect on what it might mean each year to welcome Jesus more deeply into my life. This morning as I thought about the word – Advent – that characterizes this time of waiting and preparation as well as the stance of expectation, I played with the Latin – one of my favorite subjects in high school because of my stellar teacher, Sister Thomas Aquinas. The preposition ad gives the verb “to come” a nuance that focuses us on the arrival, i.e; to come to = to arrive. What I experienced this morning was another sense of to come to which was what Jesus was talking about this morning. “Wake up!” he was saying. “Recognize what’s going on here! Prepare your heart because I’m already here. It’s time to notice your potential for transformation. It’s time to come to!“