Troubled Times

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9/11, care, end of the world, evil, good, grief, hope, Hurricane Harvey, Hurricane Irma, love, new beginning, pray, psalm 62, refuge, response, safety, Sept. 11, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

There are moments – days – when I sit not knowing what to say here. The words nine and eleven, when taken together, can conjure up only one thing for most, if not all, people in the United States. We were shaken to our core in 2001 with images of planes crashing into buildings and those buildings crumbling like structures in a bad movie. Messages of love on cell phones and lines of people waiting to give blood to the wounded showed us the other side of the tragedy. Remembrance of the outpouring of care for those most affected has helped assuage the grief of those days following the 9/11 attacks but it is like other days in our history that have left indelible scars in our hearts.

As I write this, Hurricane Irma is barreling through the state of Florida, continuing a path of destruction that has already devastated Puerto Rico and the Caribbean Islands. Following on unbelievable scenes of flooding from Hurricane Harvey in Texas and what is predicted for storms to come, people wonder if we are witnessing the end of the world as we have known it.

If asked, I would answer that perhaps this is the case and in the way that I perceive it, an end would be a good thing if it portends a new beginning founded on the kind of behaviors that are not the cause of but rather the response to hatred/prejudice and disaster. Think of those images of first responders on 9/11 or the reports this week of people like the man in Houston that opened his furniture store to 600 people as a refuge from the storm, or the donations that are pouring in from everywhere…In a new order, I would hope for the scales of good and evil tipped toward the good, such that all people would see the benefit and embrace the future in love.

Pollyanna, you call me? Perhaps, but this hope is founded in possibility. It must be believed to be achieved. Until such time as all people see the value of love as a guide for life, I will pray and hope and try to do my part to better the world. I am bolstered in my faith by the testimony of people who have come through disaster with their faith intact or stronger and by the words of Psalm 62 this morning, which calls for patient but constant effort toward peace of heart in the following words:

Alone my soul awaits you in the silence, Lord, for you alone are my whole hope and prayer. You only are my saving rock, a stronghold safe, unshaken sure, my safety, honor and my refuge firm. (vs. 6-8)

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Abundant Blessings

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beatitudes, blessings, care, christians, closeness, comfort, commitment, communion, enduring, faithful, happy, harmony, Matthew, mercy, Pope Francis, protect, renounce, see God, spiritual communion, tenderness, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, unity, Wisdom network

The weekend just past was for me a time of great blessings. On Friday we welcomed a group of people – mostly new to us – who came for a workshop offered by our friend, Brigitte, here at our home. I met one of our guests, Patty, at the bus station. Patty lives in Manhattan and as we fell into easy conversation, I began to see our small town through her big city eyes. She was very interested in everything. From all reports, everyone at the workshop came and/or left very happy at all they found here. I was on the road, however, by 9:00 Saturday morning.

Saturday was full of joy in Syracuse (80 miles north) at the golden jubilee celebration of one of my companions in community for the past 50 years. By mid-afternoon I was back in the car for a glorious 2 1/2 hour ride to our Motherhouse near Albany where the energy was high. I arrived mid-stream of the annual Commitment Weekend for our lay Associates. I was happy to participate for the first commitment of four women, one of whom is a treasured member of our growing “Wisdom network.” I would think that anyone driving along the New York State Thruway during the weekend would have felt the intensity of loving, spiritual communion reaching from West to East!

Today’s lectionary readings include the gospel from Matthew, chapter 5 where Jesus preaches what we call the Beatitudes, often seen as the rule of life for Christians. Sister Mary Ellen chose this gospel reading for her jubilee celebration on Saturday as a text that has guided her living, but then she spoke of a new set of blessings given by Pope Francis as he celebrated the feast of All Saints last November in Sweden. He said on that occasion that the Beatitudes of Jesus given during the Sermon on the Mount are “the identity card” for the saints but then added that “new situations require new energy and new commitment,” and offered a new set of Beatitudes for modern Christians. Perhaps one or another or all of these will touch your heart and become a way of life and blessing for you.

– Blessed are those who remain faithful while enduring evils inflicted on them by others and forgive them from their heart.

– Blessed are those who look into the eyes of the abandoned and marginalized and show them their closeness.

– Blessed are those who see God in every person and strive to make others also discover him.

– Blessed are those who protect and care for our common home.

– Blessed are those who renounce their own comfort in order to help others.

– Blessed are those who pray and work for full communion between Christians.

“All these are messengers of God’s mercy and tenderness,” Pope Francis said. I would suggest just one change to his writing. I would suggest that we not stop at praying for Christian unity but rather pray and work for the unity of all people on earth, living in harmony in this, our common home.

Have a blessed day!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Purpose and Meaning

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affected, care, forgotten, global results, goals, hurt, Joan Chittister, meaning, productive, profit, purpose, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, touched, why, Wisdom Distilled Daily, wise woman

Joan Chittister  gave me a paragraph to ponder this morning from her book, Wisdom Distilled from the Daily. I thought it was worth sharing, not necessarily for others to agree but simply to measure the reflections of this wise woman against my own to see if there is resonance there. I offer it today in that spirit.

Purpose has something to do with being productive and setting goals and knowing what needs to be done and doing it. It is easy to have purpose. To write seven letters today, to wax that floor, to finish this legal brief, to make out those reports, to complete this degree, that’s purpose. Meaning, on the other hand, depends on my asking myself who will care and who will profit and who will be touched and who will be forgotten or hurt or affected by my doing those things. Purpose determines what I will do with this part of my life. Meaning demands to know why I’m doing it and with what global results. (p. 102)

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Derby

Tags

accomplishment, care, connection, dreams, fidelity, Good Shepherd, humans and animals, joy, Kentucky Derby, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, thrill of victory

This may sound a bit crass to some who expect a reflection on the Good Shepherd today, but I just read an article about yesterday’s annual Kentucky Derby and made a connection that I want to share. It’s not about sheep, obviously, but rather horses and the fact that even really rich people can share dreams that start in childhood.

It seems that the two owners of the winner, Always Dreaming, grew up in Brooklyn and came to love horses and horse racing when their fathers brought them to the track as young boys. The one being interviewed, Anthony Bonomo, spoke of his neighborhood and the fact that after the race he had 267 messages on his phone from those folks he had known all his life. He said they would have to have a meal at a big restaurant in Brooklyn to share the joy of all those people whose support they cherish. He recounted – before the race – how their beloved horse would run the race, responding exactly as planned to the jockey’s body commands that were so familiar. It happened just as he predicted, even to the 2 1/2 lengths of the lead at the finish line.

This is the first time I have considered that, for owners, this race is not just about competition or money that most of them certainly don’t need. Rather, in addition to the thrill of the game, it is love for the animal itself that resounds in the joy of accomplishment. I understand in a very small way this “thrill of victory,” having gone on a few family outings to the race track and seeing the beautiful animals pass by on their way to the starting gate. I would choose the winner by looks and by their names rather than their statistical promise and rarely picked a winner so it was good that I was not rich enough to bet on them! Riding a horse in the hills around Taos, New Mexico, is also a great memory for me. There is no fear, even on narrow trails, as the horse knows where to walk and can read the simple cues from the rider’s knees and gentle pulls on the reigns.

This reverie may seem far-fetched – and I will stop here – but having experienced the connection between humans and their animals gives me a peaceful feeling that is always the result of such a relationship. Cats and dogs and even gerbils, I guess, can teach us a little of what Jesus was talking about today – about care given and fidelity received. And I, for one, am happy to have known that joy.

Reminding God

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care, confidence, failure, God, goodness, humble heart, lost, love, path, permission, psalm 25, surrender, teach, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, trust, wandering

Psalm 25 is clearly one in which we can see that the psalmist has an ongoing relationship with God. This morning, in an alternative translation of the psalm, I got the notion that God needed reminding of the responsibility of mutuality in that relationship. The lectionary only gives verses 4-8 for our consideration but I want to introduce the text with verse one because it made me smile (as in a parent saying to children who are acting up in some way: “Don’t make me come up there…”). The psalmist begins by reminding God: To you I surrender up my soul, O God. In you I place my deepest trust. May I not regret this wanton act of love; may it never be defeated by some foe.

Perhaps I’m misinterpreting the tone of the psalmist. It may be desire rather than expectation that is being expressed, but I rather like the thought that one might have the confidence that gives permission for such presumption in relationship with God. However you interpret the following verses, the prayer seems a good one for today.

Lead me out upon the path of highest truth that I may learn your wisdom, Lord my God, my saving help day after day. Remember all you’ve ever been to us; from ancient times till now we’ve known your constant care. Remember me, O God, and forget the times when in my youth I failed you. In your great goodness put all this behind, and show the path again to me, even when I’m lost and wandering far away. For you are ever just and fair, you guide all those of humble heart and teach the gentle ones your ways.

 

 

 

 

 

Help!

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care, dance with God, draw near to God, help, psalm 55, resistance, support, The Letter of James, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, worries

There are times in life when we each need help. Asking for what we need is more difficult for some of us than for others. There are many reasons why this could be true in life but I’m coming to learn that resisting help is something we need to come to grips with and let go. Most of us are willing to give help; it’s just receiving assistance from someone else that takes more humility than some of us can muster. It might come easier to us if we considered that when we allow others to help us we are giving them the opportunity to be generous. However we overcome our overactive sense of independence, we need to do it – else how can we ever break down the walls of separation that keep us apart?

This concept also applies to our relationship with God (the most important word here being relationship). There are two lines in today’s readings that emphasize our part in seeking help from God. We can’t just go along assuming God will take care of everything to our liking. That may be the case, but put yourself in God’s place. How would you feel if your spouse or child or very good friend never asked for your help but always assumed you would take care of everything? Where is the relatedness in that? Where is the exchange, the gratitude – the love expressed? The Letter of James advises us to draw near to God and he will draw near to you. That reminds me of the synergy of the couples on Dancing with the Stars last night. If they were just thinking of their own steps, the dance was choppy and stagnant. Last night each of the five remaining couples were brilliantly connected, dancing as one. Don’t we owe God that kind of relationship? The psalmist gives the same kind of advice with a vivid verb in the refrain of Psalm 55, saying: Throw your cares on the Lord, and he will support you. Again I see the dancers, especially one couple in a contemporary dance, where the lifts were extraordinary and the partners so in sync that there wasn’t even an inkling that he would drop her.

Why not try a dance with God today – letting God lead but responding in kind? It might be good preparation for seeking the help of a fellow seeker/traveler on the earth.

The Prophet, the Poet and the Pope

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baby, care, compassion, forgiveness, Isaiah, Jesus, love, mercy, mother, motherly tenderness, Pope Francis, Psalm 145, tenderness, The Lord is kind and merciful, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

As I sit in my rocking chair this morning before dawn, I hear inside me the refrain from Psalm 145, often sung in our Liturgy of the Word: The Lord is kind and merciful; the Lord is kind and merciful. Isaiah has already prepared me for the sense of peace that washes over me as I rock to the tune. He asks, Can a mother forget her infant, be without tenderness for the child of her womb? (IS 49:15) I picture my mother rocking my brother to sleep while crooning such tender words, just as Isaiah has conjectured the care of God for each of us. The Lord is kind and merciful… One translation of verses 17-18 of the psalm praises God saying: You open your arms of love to us and the longing of each soul is deeply satisfied. Your paths run straight to every creature ever made. Your compassion fills up everything you do. I marvel at the sheer poetry of the psalmist’s message and again I hear: The Lord is kind and merciful…

Pope Francis reminds us that Jesus images perfectly these qualities of God’s mercy and kindness and calls us often to do the same. In a general audience on March 27, 2013 he said it this way: What does being a Christian mean? What does following Jesus on his journey to Calvary on his way to the cross and the resurrection mean?…He spoke to all without distinction: the great and the lowly, the rich young man and the poor widow, the powerful and the weak; he brought God’s mercy and forgiveness; he healed, he comforted, he understood; he gave hope; he brought all to the presence of God who cares for every man and every woman, just as a good father and a good mother care for each of their children. God does not wait for us to go to him but it is God who moves toward us, without calculation, without quantification. That is what God is like.

Today I am thankful for Isaiah, the psalmist and Pope Francis for bringing me to a place of peace, a remembrance of motherly tenderness and an assurance of God’s all-giving and forgiving mercy. What more can I ask of this day but to spread the word that, indeed, the Lord is kind and merciful.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A Dwelling Place

Tags

birdfeeding, birds, care, God, Lord, loving care, psalm 84, sparrow, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

Lately I’ve been watching the birds on our deck; we sometimes have breakfast together. This is the season of big bags of birdseed in the kitchen and suet cakes hanging on a pole outside – necessary in the winter and safer for us to offer the birds who haven’t migrated because the bears are hibernating now. It’s amazing to notice the varieties of coloration, size and shape of our visitors, especially the different woodpeckers who hack away at the suet with a vehemence that would surely give me a headache. Clearly the word is out there that this is the best place to get a good meal because they grace us with their presence every day. From the tiniest finch and titmouse to the graceful flocks of mourning doves they know they’ll find a welcome here.

I smile this morning at Psalm 84, one of my favorites, in part because of the birds. How lovely is your dwelling place, O Lord! My soul yearns and pines for the courts of the Lord…Even the sparrow finds a home and the swallow a nest in which she puts her young…Blessed are they who dwell in your house! Continually they praise You. Even in the winter when berries and other delicacies are hard to find, when the trees are stripped of their leaves and the wind makes flying a challenge, the birds find crevices and bird houses and the dried grasses for shelter. Such is the care offered the birds by humans and their land. So tender and loving is the care of our God for us.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Not Yet?

Tags

adversity, care, certainty, faith, Jesus, Mark, Sea of Galilee, strong faith, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, traumatic moments

Sometimes the gospel stories are so familiar I have to really pay attention not to miss little words that add some new thought to the meaning. For instance, this morning in Mark’s account of the storm at sea (MK 4:35-41), at the beginning of the narrative where Jesus says he wants to cross to the other side, it says that he got in the boat “just as he was.” It sounds to me that he was living out of his advice when he sent the Twelve out in ministry saying to them, “Take nothing for the journey.” That’s pretty risky especially if you don’t bring a lunch or have a reservation at a decent hotel. It also speaks to the necessity of readiness in all circumstances for the disciples to do what Jesus asks – in this case getting in a boat as evening is coming on, crossing the Sea of Galilee for a purpose they obviously know nothing about, when they probably thought they were finished working for the day. Those thoughts are not new to me.

This morning, however, there were two other little phrases that got me thinking in somewhat new ways. When the disciples thought they were going to die and woke Jesus up, they didn’t just say – as we sometimes hear, “Save us for we are perishing!” They asked him, “Do you not care that we are perishing?” That’s a whole different situation that points up the reason for the response of Jesus whose questions to them (after he deals with the wind) are: “Why are you terrified? Do you not yet have faith?” To be fair to the disciples we might argue that this is rather early in Mark’s account so we don’t know how long the disciples have been following Jesus; this exchange might have been the end of the “honeymoon phase” of their relationship.

These little phrases made me think about how I respond to traumatic moments either in my life or in the world. It’s easy to believe when one isn’t challenged by adversity, but, at the most terrifying moments, do I ever think that God doesn’t care about what’s happening? or worse, about me? My answer to that is usually a quick, definitive: “Of course I believe God cares!” It behooves me, however, to look deeply at how glib my answer is – out of habit – going to the root of my distress to be certain that my faith is as strong as I think it is. May we all be blessed today with a new certainty and a willingness to persevere in faith no matter what the outer circumstances of life and living.

A Reminder

Tags

adoration, care, God's presence, holiness, inner light, justice, praise, psalm 96, sacred name, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, welcome God, worship, yield to love

This morning there is little evidence that it is, in fact, morning. Just ten minutes before 7:00 there is yet no light in the sky…It takes the psalmist to wake me to the reality of another day, reminding me to welcome God, the inner light that guides our every step. Two poetic translations of Psalm 96:5-10 lift me up to meet whatever waits to greet me. I offer them as recognition and a call to morning praise from all on earth to God.

Yield to Love, O families of the earth, yield to Love glory and strength! Yield to Love and learn of justice; make of yourselves an offering and be guided by Love! Bow down in adoration and holiness; for worthy is the Beloved to be praised over all the earth!

O, the beauty of your presence, God! O, the splendor and power in which you dwell! Come close, all families of the earth, and make your voice of praise be heard. This is your God, bring all you have and offer it in honor of that sacred name. Let all that’s holy be the beauty in which you worship God. Come close, draw near in awe, then tell the truth to everyone; God is the sovereign over all who governs you and earth with equal justice, equal care.