Tags
awakening, Barbara Brown Taylor, experience, Learning to Walk in the Dark, lessons, living in the moment, meaning, new growth, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, Zoom
In a first step toward what might be movement back to the work of the Sophia Center – although that seems still very far away – Cheryl (my co-facilitator) and I are “zooming” today to plan what we hope will be the virtual re-gathering of our book study group to finish consideration of Barbara Brown Taylor’s book, Learning to Walk in the Dark (Is that not a perfect title for this moment in time?) which we left in mid-read in early March.
To prepare for our conversation this afternoon, I pulled the book from its resting place. Upon opening to the chapter where perhaps we left off (a very long month ago), I found a loose sheet with a poem entitled For Light by John O’Donohue. There is a parenthetical subtitle (A Blessing) and I found the first stanza very apt in describing just that. Here is what the poet said:
Light cannot see inside things.
That is what the dark is for:
Minding the interior,
Nurturing the draw of growth
Through places where death
In its own way turns into life.
It seems to me that this is what is happening at this “moment.” We cannot reach for the solace of others except virtually and not being able to touch physically is clearly a loss. Can we, however, learn lessons from this distancing? Does it become a benefit when, in the future, we will need to let go of a significant relationship? Are there times when we must “stand on our own two feet” and come through a danger or challenge that we thought we would never be able to achieve?
There are so many lessons offered to us now. We may not see them as blessings just yet but perhaps we are coming closer to the possibility of awakening to new meanings, new growth, new experiences of life. We may even name those openings “Blessings.”
Every once in awhile I am pleasantly surprised by what I find as I begin my routine of blogging. My first stop is always the US Catholic Bishops’ website (www.usccb.org) which provides me with the lectionary readings for the day. Next I check Fr. Don Miller’s information about the holy person whose designated feast the Roman Catholic Church celebrates on that particular day (www.franciscanmedia.org). I do check into the thoughts floating in my own mind as well but always like to have some backup in case of “brain freeze.” And as most of you know, my “backup” stretches to many other sources as well.
I just read my post from yesterday to refresh my memory of what I said or didn’t say about Epiphany. As it happens, I think that post turned out to be a bit of an example of the meaning of the word. As celebrated in Christianity, the Epiphany is the manifestation of Christ to the Gentiles represented by the Magi: a moment of great revelation. In a modern dictionary definition it is seen as “a sudden, intuitive perception of or insight into the reality or essential meaning of something, usually initiated by some simple, homely, or commonplace occurrence or experience.”
Quotes from Pendle Hill: Today’s quote comes from Alan Cohen in his book A Deep Breath of Life.
Reading Psalm 40 this morning led me to the dictionary for some definitions of the word perspective. After the basic ideas, there were some interesting and even funny examples of the word in context, like: From their different perspectives, the scientists and musician both agree on music’s emotional power, and It took me awhile to put the housewives’ rebellion into perspective. I remember when I first realized a very important truth about perspective in one of its definitions. Sitting directly across from someone in a group having a conversation, I recognized that it was totally impossible for that person to see what I could see (physically) because we do not have eyes in the back of our heads (although many Catholic children thought the nuns that taught them in school were exceptions to that rule!). Because we do not have 360 degree swivel ability, we can only see just so far around us without turning our heads.
Long ago when I was baptized the rule was that only saints’ names were acceptable for Roman Catholic babies. Because it was also understood that “the faithful” were to learn about the Bible from the clergy and not their own study (although we were to have a “family Bible” in our homes), not too many people were aware that Lois was mentioned by St. Paul in passing. Did you know she was the grandmother of Paul’s young companion, Timothy? Well, in 1948, Lois was a surprise name choice of my mother so my middle name became more important. It seems ironic now because the name my parents chose was Ann (not Anne, thank you very much!) whom legend says was the grandmother of Jesus, mother of his mother, Mary. So today, the feast of St. Ann (and her husband Joachim, a relatively recent addition to the Church calendar), seems to be about grandparents – mine and yours as well as those of Jesus and Timothy.
