Three Little Words

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Corinthians, goodness, grace, Matthew, psalm 34, taste, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, worry

As I read the lectionary texts for today, I thought that the following lines – one from each reading although not in sequential order – created a fine message for a Saturday. Or any day.

1. My grace is sufficient for you. (2 COR)
2. Do not worry about your life. (MT 6)
3. Taste and see the goodness of the Lord.
    (PS 34)

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Sowing Seeds

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attitude, cheerful giver, Corinthians, generous spirit, giving, sower, St. Paul, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

It’s always interesting to see how the lectionary readings develop themes and contrast examples to modern times. Take for example today’s lesson about being a “cheerful giver.” (God loves a cheerful giver, we are told.) We may think about our capital campaigns, other fundraising activities, or the passing of the plate in church services. Paul’s second letter to the Corinthians (9: 6-11) speaks of supplying seed to the sower and bread to the poor…A simpler time, same message. The important thing – also the same – is the attitude with which we give.

When Paul says that those who sow sparingly will reap sparingly, he isn’t talking about seed any more, thus the reference to being cheerful in the giving. I am reminded by that of a poetic quote on a card that I received a very long time ago. It said, in part, ” Give it away, give it all away. Give life away. All…all is gift.” I see the gospel sower walking through a field made ready for seed. Smelling the newly turned soil and feeling the breeze and the warmth of the sun, I join that one with a full complement of seeds in my shoulder bag, reaching in and flinging the seed to the winds, enjoying the freedom of knowing that the harvest to come will help so many more people than myself – most especially the poor in our midst.

It’s that attitude that creates a generous spirit, I think. Letting go becomes the motivation. Bounty in God is the result.

Nobody’s Perfect!

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Ancient Songs Sung Anew, chosen, Corinthians, God's grace, humility, Isaiah, Luke, Psalm 138, St. Paul, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

Beginning with the Prophet Isaiah today, we have laments in every age about our imperfections. He starts us off by describing a vision of God seated on “a high and lofty throne” with angels all around and proclaims, “Woe is me, I am doomed! For I am a man of unclean lips!” What follows is testimony to God’s willingness to choose him – even in his weakness – and to cure him. (IS 6:1-8) Similarly in the second reading, St. Paul acknowledges that he was not fit to be called an apostle because he had been diligent in persecuting Christians. “By the grace of God,” however, he acknowledges that “I am what I am and God’s grace has not been ineffective.” (1COR 15: 1-11). Finally we have Simon Peter doubting the effectiveness of the directive Jesus gives to the fishermen who have been all night at their task and caught nothing. Perhaps his saving grace was that although he expressed his doubt about going back out “into deep water” and lowering the nets again, he said to Jesus, “but at your command I will lower the nets.” You know the story (LK 5: 1-11). The nets were almost breaking with all the fish! Peter’s response: to fall at the knees of Jesus and say, “Depart from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man.” In each of these cases, the imperfect servant comes to know a sort of greatness in humility.

The lesson in each of these readings is captured in Psalm 138, tucked in the center of it all. “Your right hand saves me…your kindness, O Lord, endures forever…” Lynn Bauman’s translation of this psalm gives a beautiful expression of encouragement to us, letting us know that in spite of our human frailty God is just waiting to give us what we need.

For when I spoke your sacred name, your word of answer swiftly came as source of all the strength I know within. O peoples of this earth, know this, you too can hear this voice and speak the name. You too can know the music of this song revealing God’s beauty in fullest splendor. For though God is high beyond this earth, as swift as wind God stoops to hold the lowly close, the proud afar…(Ancient Songs Sung Anew, p.354)

Living In Love

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believe, Corinthians, endure, hope, kind, love, patient, St. Paul, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, truth

After arriving home about mid-day on Thursday, I was off again the next evening to conduct a 24-hour retreat. Some would call that very poor scheduling but, as it turned out, it was a lovely way to re-enter from the “time-out-of-time” that was Peru. The topic, Living In Love, could have been easily predicted; it is February after all when all the Valentine candy and flowers can hardly be avoided.

We covered a lot of ground and pondered weighty questions in our time together. We watched the roaring fire that kept the frigid air from overtaking our reflections. We talked about food on our breaks (everyone but me an aficionado of organic prep!) and had done the bedroom laundry by mid-afternoon, re-making the beds with as easy a rhythm as on a Saturday at home. Our day was punctuated with readings from Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians, chapters 12 & 13, and I smiled just now to find his words echoing again in today’s lectionary.

It occurs to me that our little band of seekers yesterday was a model of what Paul saw as a way to practice love and grow in love in simple yet essential ways. Here is the crux of the lesson that we took home. You will, of course, recognize it. But read it slowly, perhaps aloud, letting it seep into you and, maybe for the umpteenth time, find a home.

Love is patient, love is kind. It is not jealous, it is not pompous, it is not inflated, it is not rude. It does not seek its own interests, it is not quick-tempered. It does not brood over injury, it does not rejoice over wrong-doing but rejoices with the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails. (1COR 13)

Paul’s Legacy

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bears, believes, Corinthians, endures, faith, hope, hopes, kind, love, patient, quiet, St. Paul, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

St. Paul is “waxing eloquent” today in what may be his most famous and frequently quoted text of all: 1 COR 12:31-13:13. It is heard it so often at weddings that I sometimes wonder if we don’t just get as far as “Love is patient, love is kind…” and then let the words slide across our consciousness without really penetrating too deeply. Perhaps that’s too harsh a judgment on such an important moment, but I have often heard that “what is seldom is wonderful” and sometimes I know that I perk up and listen better to unfamiliar readings.

On this ordinary Wednesday morning in the middle of September, when all is quiet around me and nothing is stirring outside – even the birds are silent! – I hear Paul once again and am deeply touched by each phrase. May it be so with you also.

Brothers and sisters: Strive eagerly for the greatest spiritual gifts. But I shall show you a still more excellent way. If I speak in human and angelic tongues but do not have love, I am a resounding gong or a clashing cymbal. And if I have the gift of prophecy and comprehend all mysteries and all knowledge, if I have faith so as to move mountains, but I do not have love, I am nothing. If I give away everything I own, and if I hand my body over to be burned but do not have love, I gain nothing.

(Before you go on reading, stop for awhile and consider how monumental are those propositions…)

Love is patient, love is kind. Love is not jealous, love is not pompous, it is not inflated, it is not rude, it does not seek its own interests, it is not quick-tempered, it does not brood over injury, it does not rejoice over wrong-doing but rejoices in the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

Love never fails. If there are prophecies, they will be brought to nothing; if tongues, they will cease; if knowledge, it will be brought to nothing. For we know partially and we prophesy partially, but when the perfect comes, the partial will pass away. When I was a child, I used to talk as a child, think as a child, reason as a child; when I became a man, I put aside childish things. At present we see indistinctly, as in a mirror, but then, face to face. At present I know partially; then I shall know fully, as I am fully known. So faith, hope and love remain, these three; but the greatest of these is love.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Giving Is Receiving

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alms, Corinthians, generosity, psalm 112, share wealth, St. Lawrence, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

All of the lectionary readings today are about generosity. On this feast of St. Lawrence, we hear about this young deacon in Rome the very early days of Christianity (c. 225 – 258). Legend tells us that Lawrence was charged with giving alms to the poor and when the pope was put to death and Lawrence knew that he would suffer the same fate for his faith, he gave all the money on hand to the poor and then sold the sacred vessels of the Church to add to what was available. In the first reading from 2 Corinthians 9, Paul says that whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully…for God loves a cheerful giver. Psalm 112 reminds us that those who are gracious and lend to those in need shall be blessed. Finally, in the gospel Jesus says, Unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains just a grain of wheat; but if it dies, it produces much fruit.

With the image of St. Lawrence hurrying around to all the poor, distributing funds from the Church to all those he could reach, and a farmer lavishly flinging seed to assure a great crop, I can feel the desire rising in me for a world wherein we share all of the wealth that is stored “just in case” instead of building bigger barns to house it all. And with that thought comes a wondering about what it is of myself that I only share when I am confident of a return or when it is easy to give of my time or talent for someone who might need a lift. Do I allow myself the recognition of the paradox that has always proven to be true: that in giving we know a freedom never available to one whose fists are closed tight against a possible loss?

 

 

 

 

 

 

Giving Or Getting?

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Acts of the Apostles, afflicted, Corinthians, demand, esteem, Jesus, Matthew, Paul, perplexed, persecuted, power, serve, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, zeal, Zebedee

Today’s lectionary readings seem to point out two basic attitudes to life. I often smile when I read the text from 2 Corinthians (4:7-15) where Paul reminds me of the play when the “Unsinkable Molly Brown” sings (as the Titanic is sinking), “I ain’t down yet!” Paul says, “We are afflicted in every way, but not constrained; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted but not abandoned, struck down, but not destroyed…” He is so full of zeal for the mission of Jesus that nothing can stop him. I am always amazed when I read of his travels in The Acts of the Apostles, knowing that a trip in his day has absolutely no comparison to mine. What took Paul months on the sea or overland might cost me a few hours on a plane. Paul’s attitude was that of a consummate optimist; he was willing to suffer anything for what he knew of Christ and wanted to share.

The gospel (MT 20:20-28) shows us something different with which we are quite familiar in our “dog-eat-dog” culture. Enter: the mother of the sons of Zebedee, an over-zealous parent who has obviously not learned the disasters that can afflict spoiled children. She approaches Jesus with the wish – no, the demand – that her sons be at his right and left, the positions of power, when it comes to sitting in the kingdom that she presumes he will establish. Not only were she and her sons totally mistaken about the mission of Jesus but they then had to deal with the other ten apostles who were indignant about the way they put themselves forward. Getting all you can of power or esteem or money is a prevalent attitude in our time and culture but is definitely not the way those who seek a spiritual life view right living.

Jesus is clear in his assessment of this situation and in his response both to the Zebedee family and the other apostles, saying, “Whoever wishes to be great among you shall be your servant; whoever wishes to be first among you shall be your slave.” Paul got the message and maybe the Zebedees eventually did too, since it appears they remained in the company of Jesus whose closing remark in this text is a good lesson for all of us: “The Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve…”

 

 

 

 

 

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!

New Thoughts on Old Knees

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Autumn Equinox, awareness, body of Christ, Corinthians, insight, intuitions, one body, patterns, St. Paul, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, weather

There’s been a subtle but predictable shift in weather patterns over the past week here in upstate New York. Coming close to the Autumn Equinox usually brings warm days with cool nights – and sometimes, if we’re lucky, glorious blue skies and lovely fresh air. We have been that kind of lucky for the past two days but there has also been some heavy morning fog and muggy stickiness to deal with on other mornings. I’m starting to feel my age as my knees and some of my fingers begin to react to these conditions, singing to me as I type and then stand up from my morning tasks. I have been lucky to stave off these signs of aging for as long as I have and I am still grateful that they do not cause any real limitation even now.

As I read 1COR 12:12, this morning’s very familiar beginning of two often quoted chapters from St. Paul, I had the flash of a new insight, one more new way of looking at Paul’s words that as a body is one though it has many parts, and all the parts of the body, though many, are one body, so also Christ. I have always seen that as a great analogy of our diversity as well as our connections to one another. This morning, however, I was aware of my knees as a vehicle of awareness – a way to remember and pray for those people in the world who have trouble walking or who cannot walk at all. It’s difficult to ignore the small intuitions of the onset of arthritis but recognizing the solidarity that can flow from that recognition could be beneficial to others in the same or a more serious condition.

I’m always grateful for my legs and feet that serve me so well each day. This morning I am even more grateful for this new way to pay attention in a positive way to their speaking, for the good of the whole body of Christ.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Paul’s Advice

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a shadow of reality, advantages, balance, Corinthians, distress, earthly concerns, marriage, satisfaction, singleness, St. Paul, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, world

Today’s first reading (1 COR 7:25-31) can be difficult if we forget to contextualize it. In St. Paul’s era, when he says: So this is what I think because of the present distress, historians and exegetes tell us that he was talking about famine. That could certainly be the opening line in a text for today because of all the starving people in our world, but then Paul launches into a series of advisory comments on states of life (marriage vs. singleness) that can cause a measure of distress for some of us. He wraps his statements in a final assertion that it is a good thing for a person to remain as he [she] is. For the world in its present form is passing away. Again, I think his intuition of things could be applied to today when we look at the state of the world and the news of every day but I wanted something that would help me to be a little more comfortable with his words.

I found some assistance in a commentary from Bible.org where the author (who was not named) spoke first about always wanting in his youth to be a professional basketball player, thinking he would grow taller as he aged, but he never did. He also thought it would be good to be married but that never happened either. He commented on the advantages he had because of his single state in life. He then contextualizes Paul’s statements. He says that this world is passing away comes from a Greek expression meaning: this world is but a shadow of reality and speaks to each of the verses regarding marriage, afflictions, pleasure, etc. and says, in  summary, about “all earthly concerns” (7:31a): Use the world, enjoy the world, work in the world, buy and sell in the world, but do not let the world rule your life. …Enjoy your life, live it to the fullest, take advantage of every moment, but don’t indulge yourself so much that you lose your focus on what really matters.

May we all find balance and satisfaction in where we are and who we are in this world and look forward to what might be waiting for us in the next.