Today is Friday, an absolutely glorious summer day so far. I would like nothing more than to join the team of those working outside, making ready to greet our weekend guests later this afternoon. But I have been grounded. I was also supposed to be cooking this weekend for the retreat group but I have been relieved also from that work. I thought I would be able-bodied by now after flirting with a cold all week, doing everything one is expected to do in order to avoid what can be devastating to one’s schedule, not to mention the egoic need for usefulness! So now, I yield since I cannot speak (laryngitis), can hardly swallow (sore throat) and have the energy of a three-toed sloth! This is a strange viral onslaught, unlike anything I have ever experienced, and I am not happy it has chosen me.
There are lessons here. I know I did everything possible to avoid this situation, so why do I feel a need to make amends for my inability to help? There is no value in lament here so I will finish this sentence, sit on my mat and remember that I need to practice becoming not a perfect human doing, but rather a somewhat imperfect (as most, if not all of us, are) human being. And I will give thanks for the folks who are out there doing the work.
People often ask me these days if I am retired. I’m no longer shocked at the question, especially since I am now 70 years old (an amazing statistic that still surprises me sometimes!). I have been blessed thus far with good health and am grateful for meaningful and creative work that continues to present itself.
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…
I’m thinking this morning about something I heard last night while watching the Olympic men’s synchronized diving competition. One of the commentators mentioned that the dive just completed had taken 2.7 seconds to execute. Yes, that dive from a height of 30 meters that included at least two – or probably three – somersaults and maybe a twist before reaching and knifing through the water head first in a vertical position that caused very little splash took less than three seconds. Oh, and it was done by two men whose movements mirrored one another nearly – if not totally – perfectly.
The Sophia Center for Spirituality 