What Can We Do?

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believe, faith, I am the way, John, life, perseverance, show, surrender, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, through, truth, work in us

Today’s gospel picks up yesterday’s conversation (JN 14), known as the “farewell discourse.” Moving on from the extraordinary verse where Jesus says, “I am the way, the truth and the life,” Jesus is speaking now about his unity with God. “If you know me, then you will know my Father,” he says. “From now on you do know him and have seen him.” It is an enthusiastic Philip, I think, who jumps in saying,  “Master, show us the Father and that will be enough for us!”

Poor Philip. We are still struggling to understand the depth of what Jesus was saying. Poor Jesus, whose frustration after all that he had tried to impart to these disciples was evident in his response. (“Have I been with you for so long a time and still you do not know me, Philip?”) The great thing about Jesus is that he never gives up on them. He tries again by talking about what they have seen: the works that Jesus reminds them are evidence that the Father functions in the world through him. Then he delivers another astounding line that could be overlooked if we are reading quickly or thinking that the words of this chapter only apply to first century followers of Jesus.

Here’s what he said. See if you can comprehend the meaning and then accept that it is possible for us. “Whoever believes in me will do the works that I do, and will do greater ones than these.” Stop here. Repeat that sentence aloud. How might it possibly be believed?

In this case, I believe possibility resides in surrender. We will only be successful if we recognize that we are not the doer and allow God to work in us in everything we do. My guess is that it takes a very long time to come to clarity on this point, after which our knowing needs to travel from our minds into our hearts in order for God to truly take over. This is the work of a lifetime and calls for extreme faith and great perseverance. The key to all of it, it seems, lies in our  trust – of God and of ourselves.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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The Slow Work of God

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anxiety, believe, forming, grace, hurry, impatient, incomplete, instability, mature, slow work of God, suspense, Teilhard de Chardin, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, trust, universe

This morning, pondering a meeting I attended yesterday of the Long-Range Planning Board of my religious community and a subsequent conversation with one of our “younger members” I was reminded of a valuable quote from Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, a theologian and paleontologist who had much to say about the universe and its workings, including those of humans who seem always in a hurry to get things done. It is always good for me to return to his wise advice. I share it today in hopes that we might draw from it some consolation in our troubled times.

Above all, trust in the slow work of God. We are quite naturally impatient in everything to reach the end without delay. We should like to skip the intermediate stages. We are impatient of being on the way to something unknown, something new. And yet, it is the law of all progress that it is made by passing through some stages of instability – and that it may take a very long time.

And so I think it is with you; your ideas mature gradually – let them grow, let them shape themselves, without undue haste. Don’t try to force them on, as though you could be today what time (that is to say, grace and circumstances acting on your good will) will make of you tomorrow. Only God could say what this new spirit gradually forming within you will be. Give Our Lord the benefit of believing that his hand is leading you, and accept the anxiety of feeling yourself in suspense and incomplete.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hard To Believe

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believe, big love, Corinthians, doing, Great Commandment, John, love, loving, loving God, received, remind, St. Paul, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, whole heart

From the first clause of the first sentence of the first lectionary reading this morning (1COR 15:1-8), I sat up straight as it felt like an important message was coming. Here’s what Paul said to the Corinthians – and us. I am reminding you, brothers and sisters, of the Gospel I preached to you, which you indeed received and in which you also stand. My thoughts went like this: “So, it seems even those first Christians had to be reminded, even with the witness of Paul’s fiery preaching, what they’d already been told! That makes me feel better!” Then I think, “But…I’ve had 2,000 years of reminders and lots of evidence…” I then considered how well I have received the Gospel and whether I stand straight and tall in it each day…

As if that wasn’t enough, the gospel followed with Jesus saying, Amen, amen I say to you, whoever believes in me will do the works that I do, and will do greater ones than these…(JN 14:12) Now there is a very difficult piece of news! How could I possibly do what Jesus did? And more besides??? Well…(besides the fact that I’ve been on earth twice as long as Jesus was) my mind goes to the Great Commandment of loving God with my whole heart, mind and strength…Maybe I ought to flex my spiritual muscles a bit more vigorously and often and remember to do the same as I love my neighbor as myself – my “other self.” It seems to me it isn’t a question of doing more in that loving, but rather of loving with more of myself – not missing chances to be loving or leaving someone out of my view.

Looks like there will be a new reminder on my mirror or the door leading from my bedroom to my every day: REMEMBER LOVE – BIG LOVE – TODAY!

The Whole World

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believe, centering prayer, conscious work, Cynthia Bourgeault, family, Hymn of the Universe, light, meditation, monastic liturgy, omega point, Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, silence, sustain, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, unity

This is a week in which I am blessed once again to be in the presence of Cynthia Bourgeault, revered spiritual teacher, and 35 of her students – new as well as seasoned, at a Wisdom event at Glastonbury Abbey in Hingham Massachusetts. We will study Pierre Teilhard de Chardin’s work in addition to participating in centering prayer meditation, conscious work and monastic liturgy. The silence here is pervasive and calming on this, our first full day together.

Teilhard, a brilliant paleontologist and theologian, who was unacceptable to religious hierarchy in the early 20th century, speaks eloquently today to a world concerned with the workings of the entire cosmos and our movement toward the “omega point” when all will be one. I thought the following quote was a good one for this beginning day, as it starts with a consideration of those closest to us and moves to the whole human race (where his concern does not stop…but more of that later).

One by one, Lord, I see and I love all those whom you have given me to sustain and charm my life. One by one also I number all those who make up that other beloved family which has gradually surrounded me, its unity fashioned out of the most disparate elements, with affinities of the heart, of scientific research and of thought. And again one by one – more vaguely it is true, yet all inclusively – I call before me the whole vast anonymous army of living humanity; those who surround me and support me though I do not know them; those who come, and those who go; above all, those who in office, laboratory and factory, through their vision of truth or despite their error, truly believe in the progress of earthly reality and who today will take up again their impassioned pursuit of the light.  (Hymn of the Universe) 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

To Whom Shall We Go?

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believe, bread of life, difficulty, eternal life, Jesus, John, sweetness and light, the cost fo discipleship, the Holy One of God, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, twelve apostles

It is often true that when people begin to wake up to God’s presence in their lives all is “sweetness and light” – as is also the case in human relationships. As we proceed along this path, however, there are times when it seems to be more than we bargained for and feels too difficult to continue. God may be asking too much of us or we feel less able than we thought we were to meet the relational demands. This is the case in this morning’s gospel (JN 6:60-69) after the “Bread of Life” discourse, one of what scholars call the “hard sayings” of Jesus. Many people returned to their former way of life after that, no longer following Jesus.

The end of this section of the gospel always speaks to me on an emotional level as well as intellectually. Jesus asks his twelve closest followers, “Do you also want to leave?” Jesus, being fully human, must have been feeling defeated by the loss of those who had misunderstood him or comprehended that they were being called to more than they thought. He was being true to his mission and needed to be honest about the cost of discipleship. The answer of the Twelve always urges me to answer similarly. They reassure him by saying, “Master, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. We have come to believe and are convinced that you are the Holy One of God.”

The Will to Forgive

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ask, believe, forgiveness, habits, I know I can do it, intention, Jesus, Mark, possibility, prayer, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

Yesterday, I spoke of knowing the depth of possibility when asking God for something, i.e. deciding on the right question. Today that message is reiterated in the last few verses of a long, busy gospel. In Mark 11:24, Jesus says, “Therefore I tell you, all that you ask for in prayer, believe that you will receive it and it shall be yours.” My interest in that assurance is the following line, however. “When you stand to pray,” Jesus says, “forgive anyone against whom you have a grievance…”

Sometimes it’s very difficult to forgive a person especially if we have been deeply hurt. This morning I’m reminded, however, of the efficacy of repeated, intentional prayer. It really works to say things like Lord, please help me to forgive (this particular hurt from this particular person) because I’m having a hard time and with your help, I know I can do it. That kind of simple statement repeated consistently can pattern into us (in time) the willingness to be healed of the hurt and then to forgive the offender. People say it takes 29 days to form or change a habit. Perhaps that would be enough for us to become hospitable to forgiveness. It’s definitely worth a try. The caveat, though, is that we really – really – have to mean what we say, so the intention must be re-spoken each time we stand (or sit or kneel) to pray.

Agency

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agent of revelation, believe, Father, Jesus, Nicodemus, our role, Philip, put on the mind of Christ, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, understand, unity

In this morning’s gospel Jesus is having one of those frustrating conversations with his disciple, Philip. He is talking about things that seem beyond rational comprehension however. “If you know me, you will also know my Father. From now on you do know him and have seen him.” I can see why that would be a hard concept to grasp but when Philip says to Jesus, “Show us the Father,” Jesus gets frustrated: “Have I been with you for so long a time and still you do not know me?…Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me?…The Father who dwells in me is doing his works…” Poor Philip.

If even we, with 2,000 years of living in the light of Christ, still have trouble understanding the depth of the words and teachings of Jesus, how can we blame Philip for his confusion? The difficulty, of course, is like that of Nicodemus when he was trying to understand the concept of being born again on a literal, physical level. This morning Jesus is speaking about unity, about his role as an agent of revelation for the God in whom he “lived and moved and had his being” – so at one with God that God shone through his every word and deed. But the most amazing thing about this morning’s passage is that Jesus is trying to get Philip to understand that our role in life is also one of agency for God in the same way! “Whoever believes in me,” Jesus says later in the passage,” will do the works that I do, and will do greater ones than these…” And how will we do this? It seems to me that it will only be possible if we follow the dictum of Paul to put on the mind of Christ, in love, compassion and surrender to the best of who we are becoming. Now there’s a mighty challenge to try on for size!

Of Wind and Water

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apostles, believe, calm, do not be afraid, enough, fear, I'm here, Jesus, John, terror, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, walk on water

Today the gospel is John’s (brief) account of the storm at sea (JN  6:16-21). One might call it “bare bones” as there are simply the facts that as the disciples were rowing, the wind came up, followed by the appearance of Jesus walking toward them on the water who said, It is I; Do not be afraid – at which point everything calmed again and they rowed on. English teachers might call that a good synopsis as it contains little narration of the heart of the event which seems to me to be the terror  that was most certainly felt by the apostles. The crux of it all, however, were the words of Jesus when he told them not to be afraid. I find it interesting that he didn’t say, “I’ll save you!” or “It’ll be okay!” He simply said, “I’m here” as if (hopefully) his presence would be enough to take away their fear. We might ask ourselves if we can believe deeply enough in that presence in our lives that, when we are faced with our fears, we can rely on God to assure us, “I am here” and to know that for whatever we face, that is enough.

Believing Is Seeing

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Advent, believe, believing, blindness, bounty of the Lord, desire, expect, Lord, Matthew, Messiah, miracle, seeing, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

We often hear the sentence, “Seeing is believing.” In the readings for today, however, it is just the opposite. From the psalmist we hear, “I believe that I shall see the bounty of the Lord in the land of the living” and calls others to courage and stoutheartedness in waiting for his vision to be realized in the coming of the Messiah. (Ps. 27) In Matthew’s gospel, Jesus encounters two blind men who ask him to heal them of their blindness. (MT 9) His question to them is interesting and instructive. He asks, “Do you believe that I can do this?” In other words, if you want to see, you’d better believe it’s within the realm of possibility to have it happen.

I have a friend who has preached positive thinking for many years. Her trademark trio of verbs is: desire, believe, expect. As we wait during this season of Advent for the “bounty of the Lord” we might choose to consider what it is that we want to see happen in our lives. What blindness might we wish to overcome that is possible because we believe in Jesus and in ourselves?

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.