The Bigger Picture

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Ancient Songs Sung Anew, blessedness, consciousness, humility, Lynn Bauman, psalm 2, psalms, service, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

The relevance of the Psalms is timeless as the issues raised and the relationships considered apply to antiquity as well as to world situations in our own day. Following on yesterday’s post, we have Psalm 2 today that moves us from the individual to the universal and puts God squarely in the midst of world events and the clashes of nation with nation. At present the question of who will rule the world and how is filled with tension and dangerous rhetoric seems to escalate with each passing day.

In the midst of such a situation, the psalmist calls for the rulers of nations to turn to God for guidance. I found an interesting twist in Lynn Bauman’s translation of the last verses of the psalm which seems to me to relate directly to the situation at the southern border of the United States of America.

So listen well, you rulers of the peoples, be wise, pay heed to what you hear. Learn service to the God of earth and heaven, in humility and awe draw close, come near. Instead of fury, anger, fear and wrath, know blessedness. Learn to trust and live as a refugee in God. (Ancient Songs Sung Anew, p. 3)

How might living with that consciousness change things on the world stage?

Water on Stone

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anger, beatitudes, blessedness, dignity, drops of water, eye for an eye, happiness, Holly Near, human life, Matthew, mosaic law, Pope John Paul II, reform, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, violence

Chapter 5 of Matthew’s gospel is very challenging. Most of us know – or at least know of – the Beatitudes in which Jesus tells of the happiness (blessedness) of those who practice and/or endure justice and meekness and long-suffering, etc.(MT 5:38-42). The chapter doesn’t stop there, however. As Jesus lays out a new way of living – the fulfillment and next step in the evolution of the Mosaic Law, perhaps, he speaks of letting our light shine for the good of the world and then there is that most uncomfortable teaching that goes beyond anything his listeners could have expected. (MT 5:38-42) “You have heard that it was said, An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. But I say to you, offer no resistance to one who is evil. When someone strikes you on your right cheek, turn the other one to him as well.”

Interestingly, what caught my eye this morning when I first opened the USCCB (Catholic bishops) website was the topic of capital punishment. It is one of the tenets of Catholicism that I applaud wholeheartedly. This was the explanatory paragraph that I read:

The dignity of human life must never be taken away, even in the case of someone who has done great evil. Modern society has the means of protecting itself, without definitively denying criminals the chance to reform. (Pope Saint John Paul II, Evangelium Vitae, 1995)

As we watch the frequent news reports of horrific violence in our country and around the world, these are hard sayings to accept. Reacting to violence with violence, however, is never a solution. I feel led today to examine my own heart, seeking to root out any vestiges of violence – bursts of anger and even thoughts of “tit-for-tat” – that might add to the negative energy in the world. Offering what I find as an antidote to my own failures in conscious loving might become my strength when the next challenge to my ego comes along. I’m reminded of Holly Near’s song lyrics from long ago that asked, “Can we be like drops of water falling on the stone, splashing, breaking, dispersing in air, weaker than the stone by far but be aware that, as time goes by, the rock will wear away.”

May it be so in us!

 

 

 

 

 

Wisdom Seekers

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awareness, blessedness, chaos, compassion, generosity of heart, held by God, light of mercy, listen, psalm 112, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, wisdom

Having just come from three days in the company of a dozen people who are seeking to open their hearts more deeply to God in the study of wisdom, I was taken by this morning’s psalm. The title given in an alternative translation for Psalm 112: 1-6 is The Seeker of Wisdom and the message is clear.

Hallelujah! I speak in praise of all the truly blessed upon the earth. They stand in awe, aware of God, and listen carefully to every breath and word God utters. They grow and spread across the land; their children’s generations are also full of blessedness. Their houses fill with wealth and good and all relationships of theirs are just and fair. In all the dark and bitter places of their lives the light remains and brightly burns with mercy and compassion, for these they balance with righteous laws. They share their wealth with generosity of heart. In the times of chaos they are firm and planted deep, for they are held by you in full remembrance.

May we all continue in blessedness because of our willingness to “listen carefully to every breath and word God utters” and to know, in times of chaos, that we are held by God. In this way the light of mercy and compassion will guide us faithfully and we will become that light to all we meet.