Which Is Better?

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Ascension, Christian, I am with you always, Jesus, Scripture, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

For Christians the world over, there have been frequent musings over the centuries about what it would have been like to have lived when Jesus walked the earth, to have recognized and spent time with him (if we did, in fact, recognize him). Would we have embraced his message? Would it have been enough to have been in his presence? Or are we the gifted ones, living in a time when communication is worldwide, when Christians populate the world in great numbers and faith is strong in many places of worship and pilgrimage? Is it more valuable to have the testimony of the Scriptures, as well as works of scholars, mystics and monks who impart their knowledge and experience with a passion that is carried through time and caught by those of open heart?

Today we celebrate the great feast of The Ascension of Christ into heaven. His work on the earth plane was completed and he passed on to those willing to follow him the task of spreading God’s love throughout the world. That task is now ours. We can know him in our desire, in our sharing of his message, in the love we impart to the companions we have been given. We have many messages from Scripture, left to us by those who listened to the words of Jesus when he was here. Today, may we be comforted and strengthened by the promise given as he left the earth:

Know that I am with you always, until the end of the age.

Call to Discipleship

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Acts of the Apostles, Christian, Lydia, mission, St. Paul, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

In the short space of five verses, there were two separate but linked stories in today’s first reading from the Acts of the Apostles (16: 11-15). I felt as if I were part of each one by moving imaginally back in time and space to join these early brothers and sisters in their travels and the wonder of their experiences.

1. Paul and his companions set out on an ambitious voyage around the Greek Islands. I could see them walking down to their boat with supplies strapped on their backs as if they were not only sailing but also hiking from place to place at each destination: first to Troas in Turkey, next at Samothrace, an island in the Aegean Sea, stopping in Neapolis and on to Philippi – finally a familiar name…and as I took a breath, wondering where all their energy came from and realizing it had to be the passion for the mission and that the trip must have taken not one but many days, found myself with them “outside the city gate along the river looking for a place of prayer” on the Sabbath.
2. Enter Lydia, woman that many people immediately recognize as a “dealer in purple cloth.” She was among the women who had already gathered when the apostles arrived and “the Lord opened her heart to pay attention to what Paul was saying.” It’s easy, considering the scene, to catch the mood of the day in the participants and to feel the joy of recognition in Lydia who, with her household, was baptized that very day. Tradition tells us that Lydia was the first Christian convert on the European continent and that her conversion was a call to a ministry of hospitality, inviting Paul, Silas and the other workers for Christ stay at her home.

It is rare for me to be able to image such scenes in such a visceral way. I’m grateful for the opportunity and the grace that puts me in touch with my ancestors in faith. I would recommend the adventure to anyone!

Truly Our Sister

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Christian, divine mystery, favored one of God, Mary, Mary of Nazareth, mother, Scripture, Sister Elizabeth Johnson CSJ, spirit, The Assumption, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, Theotokos

Today Christians throughout the world celebrate one of the major feasts of Mary, the mother of Jesus. Known as “The Assumption” it is one of those tenets of Christianity which is not proven by Scripture but is rather “taken on faith.” That Mary was “taken into heaven, body and soul” seemed a logical conclusion to the life of the one that the Council of Ephesus in the year 431 had called Theotokos (God-bearer), the mother of Christ who was believed to have been “conceived without sin.”

Women throughout Christian history, especially mothers, have prayed to Mary as their “go to person” in needs of every kind and is held in high esteem as well by people of other faith traditions around the world. She is claimed as a mother by faithful men, perhaps especially in wartime or postwar peace, who carry their rosaries in their pockets, praying in foxholes or on the bus to work, asking her intercession and her care.

In 2004 theologian Sister Elizabeth Johnson, CSJ, added a marvelous resource for our consideration of this “favored one of God” with the publication of her exquisite text, Truly Our Sister: A Theology of Mary in the Communion of Saints. Doctor Johnson studies Mary from the contexts of Scripture, archeology, history of the Church and the Tradition of Christianity. What emerges is a fresh face, a real woman of her times who calls us by her fidelity to do the work of God in the world as she did in her lifetime and continues to do by inspiring and leading us on. The opening paragraph of the final chapter holds a hint of what can be found and celebrated in this book and on this day dedicated to Mother Mary.

Mary, Friend of God and Prophet

Assembled together, the individual biblical portraits of Mary of Nazareth form a mosaic image of a woman of Spirit. Honed by the historical background of Galilean Judaism and interpreted by women’s sensibilities, the mosaic delivers a glimpse of an actual woman, a first-century member of an oppressed peasant society, whose walk with the Spirit at a pivotal moment in salvation history made a unique contribution to the good of the world. Within the overarching picture of God’s redeeming action in Christ, each tessera adds a different aspect to the church’s memory of her life. Our final task is to weave this living memory into that of the great company of friends of God and prophets which is the communion of saints. In the process, we need to keep doing our God work, understanding that female imagery rightly belongs in our discourse about the divine mystery: the living God herself is our mother of infinite mercy. And we need to keep doing our anthropology work, shucking off gender definitions of the feminine that confine women to subordinate roles. With our flanks thus continually safeguarded, we step back from a close focus on the Marian mosaic to espy the sweeping vista of which it is a part. (p.305)

 

 

 

 

 

Contemplation in Action

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aquired contemplation, Christian, life, Order of Preachers, prayer, presence of God, st. dominic, study, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

Today Christians celebrate the feast of St. Dominic, the founder of the Order of Preachers, commonly known as the Dominicans. Dominic, born toward the end of the 12th century, was trained in the arts and theology and expected to spend his priestly life as a contemplative monk. That all changed when he took a trip to France to accompany his bishop. There he encountered the Albigensian heresy and began with a small group of companions to preach the gospel that was in direct contrast to the heretical teachings of the Albigensians. He and his fellow preachers gradually became a community, thus in 1215 becoming known as the religious Order of Preachers.

The website franciscanmedia.com says the following as a summary of the way “ordinary Christians” ought to live. “Dominic’s ideal, and that of his Order, was to organically link a life with God, study, and prayer in all forms, with a ministry of salvation to people by the word of God. The effective combining of contemplation and activity is the vocation of truck driver Smith as well as theologian Aquinas. Acquired contemplation is the tranquil abiding in the presence of God, and is an integral part of any full human life. It must be the wellspring of all Christian activity.”

Christians today are finding the same truth essential as they search for deeper connection with their faith. While Church practice is still central to their lives, more is seen as a necessary component and can take the form of Scripture study groups, soup kitchen and other volunteer service organizations – anything that connects God to their everyday existence and to the greater unity of the world.

My prayer today will include reflection on how, where and when I am the presence of God and God’s word to those I meet each day. Won’t you join me?

 

 

 

 

 

Keep Searching!

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Christian, faith, ignite, Jesus, know, Luke, St. Luke, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, understand, Wisdom Schools

Today is the feast of St. Luke, known to be the writer not only of the third Gospel but also of the Acts of the Apostles, the story of the early days and spread of Christianity. There is a line in the commentary from Franciscan Media that caused me to pause and think about this man whose version of the “Good News” has been variously subtitled the gospel: of mercy, of universal salvation, of the poor, of absolute renunciation, of prayer and the Holy Spirit, and of joy. The commentary said that as a companion to Paul, Luke traveled to many places and consequently had time to seek information and interview persons who had known Jesus.

I have an image of Luke walking around Philippi, Jerusalem or Caesarea listening intently for the name of Jesus and when he heard it – maybe in a tavern or outside the synagogue or even on the street – walking up to people, getting right up close and urgently questioning them for what Jesus was like, what he talked about, how they came to know him…asking anything that would feed his hunger for the spark that led that speaker to follow Jesus, so that he might really come to know him as well.

It’s a bit like people in our day, even us perhaps. Even if we were “born into” a Christian community it isn’t enough to just count on documents that give us information about what it means to be Christian (or whatever faith tradition we are raised in). We need to seek out people and experiences that lead us to the deeper streams of our faith, the mysteries that can’t be explained or taught but rather caught in order to ignite a longing for more, a determination to understand “by heart” what has been told to us, so that the words we read and hear will sing and ring with a truth that sustains us. Who are those people for you? What experiences have fed you in the past? Can you find something new or rewarding to enliven faith?

In wisdom schools we sometimes sing a chant that is based on the gospel parable of The Pearl of Great Price. The words have been floating through my consciousness as I write these thoughts today. Those words are: To find the pearl beyond compare, Oh, dig right here, within your soul. Perhaps a silent trip to our inner self is just what we need today to get a glimpse of that precious pearl.

 

 

 

 

 

A Teachable Moment

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Benedictine, Christ, Christian, crucifix, fullness of life, joy, Jubilee, overcome, presence of God, Roman Catholic Church, sign, spiritual journey, St. Boniface, Teilhard de Chardin, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, the way of the cross, weight of the cross

I keep trying to ignore my first thought for today’s post. It comes from the reflection I just read on the life of St. Boniface whose feast the Roman Catholic Church celebrates today. Boniface was an English Benedictine monk who gave up being elected abbot to devote his life to the conversion of the Germanic tribes in the 8th century. It was not an easy task, http://www.franciscanmedia.org reports. I had determined to abandon that topic for something more upbeat or light-hearted when I read the line of the commentary following the biographical information. It said: “Boniface bears out the Christian rule: to follow Christ is to follow the way of the cross.”

While I would not dispute the teaching that suffering is part of life and that Jesus is a model of how to accept and bear one’s suffering as a transformational practice, I take issue with the inference in the above statement that the cross is the entire or desired way of life for the Christian. The often quoted line of Teilhard de Chardin provides a needed balance for me. “Joy,” he said, ” is the most infallible sign of the presence of God.”

So why am I still talking about this? As it happens, I had an experience two days ago that moved me to a deeper place. It’s one of those analogies that seems far-fetched and maybe irreverent, but it helps me so I beg the indulgence of those who do not see it so.

On Saturday I participated in a very joyous Eucharistic liturgy for the family and friends of one of my “jubilee companions.” There are only five of us who entered the convent together 50 years ago so we plan to be present, if possible, at each of these individual celebrations. My participation in this event included the task of carrying the cross in the entrance procession at the beginning of the liturgy. I had never before performed that particular task at our Motherhouse and was surprised at the weight of the heavy metal, 5-foot crucifix when I lifted it. To hold it high processing down the very long aisle to the altar was no small task. At the same time we were singing joyfully: Let us bring the gifts that differ and in splendid varied ways, sing a new Church into being, one in faith and love and praise.

What struck me in that moment was very symbolic (perhaps only to me). Feeling the weight of the cross at the same time as the joy of such a communal gathering was a powerful image of possibility in the Christian life. Although our lives can be fraught with difficulty at times, we needn’t be overcome. The joy that comes from the spiritual journey in community, modeled in the life of Christ with his companions and the Spirit that remains with us, can and must enliven faith and engage our hearts in love. These realities are not separate but constitute a unified whole that is, in fact, the way to the fullness of life.

Our Life Is Love

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Christian, Cynthia Bourgeault, forgiving, helping, hospitality, Isaac Penington, life, love, Marcelle Martin, Our Life Is Love, Paulette Meier, Peace, Pendle Hill, prayer, Quakers, retreat, shining through you, spiritual path, tenderness, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

Late yesterday I arrived home from my 5-day retreat at Pendle Hill, near Philadelphia, a gloriously peaceful place saturated with the beauty of nature and the prayer of Quakers since 1930. The theme developed over the days for the 60 participants – many Quakers and those others of us from several different Christian traditions – was Our Life Is Love. I went to the retreat because it was being led by Cynthia Bourgeault who has for over a decade been a bright light on my spiritual path. Cynthia was being assisted (I thought) by two women: a composer of chant-songs, Paulette Meier, and a teacher of the Quaker tradition, Marcelle Martin. Contrary to my impression from the retreat flyer, these three women presented a seamless experience of the beauty and depth of Quakerism that can also be found at the heart of mainstream Christianity. It was a priceless gift of camaraderie, shared prayer and hospitality that I will treasure going forward.

I woke up singing Paulette’s musical rendition of the quote from Isaac Penington, one of the founders of Quakerism, that begins Marcelle’s book, Our Life Is Love, a chronicle of ten elements of the Quaker spiritual journey. Here is what he said and what we sang.

Our life is love, and peace, and tenderness; and bearing with one another, and forgiving one another, and not laying accusations against one another; but praying for one another, and helping one another up with a tender hand…So mind Truth…[and] be a good savor in places where ye live, the meek, innocent, tender, righteous life reigning in you, governing over you, and shining through you, in the eyes of all with whom you converse. (Isaac Penington, 1667)

Streaming Thoughts

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Alleluia, Christian, daffodils, displacement, faith, Happy Easter, Holy Week, Palm Sunday, refugees, resurrection, Risen Christ, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, violence

So here I am, back as promised, to wish you a Happy Easter. It’s a little late in the day but I didn’t want to miss the opportunity to say that throughout the past week I was creating blog posts in my mind that, unfortunately, only made it a couple of times to print. Now we are in a different season altogether. It’s a sunny 65 degrees (F) here in upstate New York and the daffodils have come bursting to flower – very different from the cloudy, cold touring weather of two days ago. Holy Week is over, for which most people are grateful. It’s hard to think of all that violence and pain, after all. Much nicer to sing “Alleluia!” and rejoice in the Risen Christ.

On Thursday I was struck by two competing images that had a significant effect on my reflection about what was going on in the life of Jesus and friends as it related to the here and now. I was at a park known for its vast expanse of spring flowers – acres and acres of color in different configurations with hundreds – maybe thousands – of people exclaiming about the beauty and creativity of what was before them. Everyone was so uplifted; I thought of the crowds on Palm Sunday as Jesus entered Jerusalem to their shouts of praise. As I was leaving, the throng pouring through the gates made me think of a stream of refugees as I could hear many languages and see a diversity of  faces, all beautiful faces, moving toward an exit – toward home (?).

It would be a stretch to try to draw a direct line from one of those images to the other. I guess my thoughts were all background to the reality that life – although a series of moments – is also a wholeness where wild rejoicing and violence sometimes intertwine and where situations can change abruptly, leaving us to look for solutions which are sometimes very hard to find – or even impossible.

Even as we celebrate the Resurrection of Christ, we know that there are hordes of people suffering from violence, being forced from their homelands and refused, in some cases, a safe place of refuge. How are we to reconcile this reality with the core of Christian faith? How can we rise when our brothers and sisters are still held down?

I remember a poem from long ago that began: Easter people everywhere, shining Jesus love…” That seems the only answer to my question right now. I need to be listening for what I can do to alleviate the pain of displacement that is so vast in our world. And while I’m listening, I need to be radiating love to all those who need to know that resurrection is possible – not in a simplistic way (There are no simplistic soluntions in this complex world) but in the only way we can proceed: in hope and love and trust and willingness. And in solidarity – never separating ourselves from those who need us and count on us to transmit our reasons for hope to them.

I wonder what I would have written if I had started on Thursday and been successful at posting then – and on Friday and yesterday. Would today’s words have wiped away the recognitions that appear above? Is it ever that way for us? Can we ever let go of the reality of yesterday in order to let in today? But how do we hold both? Ah, therein lies the rub…and it will take more than today to settle on a response. Maybe that is a task for the Fifty Days of Easter…

 

 

 

 

 

 

Be Not Indifferent, but Different

Tags

Christian, communion, compassion, Fr. Michael Crosby, Good Samaritan, justice, kindness, Luke, merciful, mercy, Peace, Pope Francis, Sisters of St. Joseph, spirituality, Year of Mercy

Yesterday I spent the day with the majority of the Sisters of St. Joseph in the Albany Province listening to and interacting with Fr. Michael Crosby, a Capuchin Franciscan friar, who has become over the past several decades a strong voice for justice and spirituality not only in our Church but for the world. As we move toward the conclusion of the “Year of Mercy” we could not have a better companion and beacon of light to help us understand the nuances in the Scriptures and in our lives for the practice of mercy. Steeped in the gospels, Father Mike used especially the example of the Good Samaritan and broke it open in ways that were new and challenging. In addition, he presented us with the text of last week’s general audience of Pope Francis (10/12/16) which focused hearers on the corporal and spiritual works of mercy. For those of us who are sometimes overwhelmed by conditions in the world that seem beyond our power to change, the following words of Pope Francis gave a challenge but also the possibility of a way forward.

[Jesus] taught his disciples: “Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.”  (Luke 6:36) It is a commitment that challenges the conscience and action of every Christian. In fact, it is not enough to experience God’s mercy in one’s life; it is necessary that whoever receives it becomes also a sign and instrument of it for others. Moreover, mercy is not reserved only for particular moments, but it embraces the whole of our daily existence.

How then can we be witnesses of mercy? We do not think that it has to do with making great efforts or superhuman gestures. No, it is not like this. The Lord indicates to us a much simpler way, made up of little gestures, which, however, in His eyes, have great value… (emphasis mine)

The point is, is seems, to become ever more conscious of others and their needs, never allowing indifference to be our mode of operating but practicing kindness that will fund the well of compassion building in the world. In this hope, in this communion, is our peace.

 

 

Trinity Sunday

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Christian, Father, Holy Spirit, light, spirit, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, Trinity Sunday, trust

Today the Christian Church celebrates Trinity Sunday, contemplating our belief in the fullness of a Trinitarian God and the continued presence of the Spirit in our midst. I received a gift – my favorite kind – of a book yesterday in which the giver noted a prayer that is perfect for this morning. I offer it (in part) in praise of the Trinity.

Come, Spirit, Spirit of the Father and the Son. Come, Spirit, Spirit of love, Spirit of peace, of confidence, of strength and holy joy…Come, father of the poor, bulwark of the distressed. Come, light of eternal truth, love poured into our hearts…Come then, each new day, more each day. Move us, change us. We put our trust in you…We thank you, life-giver, Holy Spirit that dwells in us, for willing to be the seal of the living God, that seal that marks us your own. Abide with us, Holy Spirit. And change us. Come!