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balance, eyes, guide, hear, hearts, Jesus, Luke, Matthew, news, pray, Proverbs, psalm 119, The Sophia Center for Spirituality
Sometimes it’s difficult to know what to say in this complex and over-stimulating world in which we now live. This morning as I was considering the lectionary readings one by one I kept getting interrupted with news flashes. It went something like this:
“All the ways of a man may be right in his own eyes, but it is the Lord who proves hearts.” (PRV 21:2) -> -> Major problems with New Yorker’s second Kavanaugh accuser…
“Guide me, Lord, in the way of your commands.” (PS 119:35) -> -> How today’s multi-cultural couples are making their wedding ceremonies uniquely their own.
“Blessed are those who hear the word of the Lord and keep it.” (LK 11:28) -> -> U.N to caution against populism as world leaders convene for the annual summit.
“Jesus said to them in reply, ‘My mother and my brothers are those who hear the word of God and act on it.'” -> -> Former priest extradited to face child sexual abuse charges blamed cancer, prosecutors say.
I’m not saying there is any direct connection between the Scripture quotes and the specific news headlines. My point is to remind myself that no matter how bad or disturbing or confusing, or even wonderful (should that also be the case) the news is, it needs to be balanced with the basic premise of Scripture, repeated in several ways this morning, and that we need to look deeply into our hearts and minds to assess what we see and hear happening in the world. When it gets to be “all too much,” there’s that other piece of advice that comes to mind, i.e. “Go into your inner room, close the door and pray…” (MT 6:6)
Everything is so still this morning. It reminds me of the line in Paul’s Letter to the Romans where he says that “all creation is on tiptoe, waiting for the children of God to come into their own.” That image is my favorite translation because it is so visual but also because it implies for me an intense use of both ears and eyes. We won’t see it if we have our eyes closed and we won’t hear it if we’re not really listening. Even if all of our five outer senses are engaged, there needs to be an interior readiness for the in-breaking of God’s presence. I’ve come to the conclusion that it is an incremental thing, sparked either by our own silence or by a communal encounter of recognition. Deeper than silence, the stillness becomes palpable and we know something that we didn’t know before – indescribable but deeply true. Again it is John Philip Newell whose prayer suffices for this morning.
Last Sunday, as I listened to a dramatic reading of the entire gospel of Mark, I was struck by the number of exorcisms Jesus performed. In the different ways that “evil spirits” manifested in people, Jesus commanded those “spirits” to “come out!” and the people were healed. I’m wondering this morning if all the synoptics were similarly engaged in reporting such events. My attention was a caught because today’s gospel from Luke (11:14-23) begins with Jesus “driving out a demon that was mute, and when the demon had gone out, the mute man spoke and the crowds were amazed.”
Today is the feast of Teresa of Avila. Because it is Sunday, always a “first class feast,” we don’t hear about Teresa this year. I find it difficult to let it go by, however, without some mention of this woman who is one of only four women thus far in the history of the Roman Catholic Church to achieve the title of “Doctor of the Church.” Sister Teresa was a mystic, but also very active, tireless in her work of reforming the Carmelite order of nuns in the 1500’s in the most rigorous – some thought too extreme – way. Her writings were extensive and her spiritual practice was constant, although for many years she suffered many physical illnesses and a deprivation of any spiritual consolation. She never despaired, even in the face of investigation by the Inquisition, and her writings are considered one of the great treasures of Christian mysticism.
This morning I found a quote in Thomas Merton’s Book of Hours that I hope to remember as the day progresses. It is in his Wednesday reflections at dusk, so I thought that if I kept it in my heart and consciousness all day, maybe I could say the same as life unfolds and I arrive at evening. It’s a new way to pay attention to the events of the day, a “holy expectation” perhaps – at least worth a try. Here is what he says:
Today Christians celebrate the feast of the Ascension, remembering the day when Christ left the earth after commissioning his apostles to “go into the whole world and tell the good news.” The gospels vary in their descriptions of the event and the book following these accounts, the Acts of the Apostles, opens with its own variation of the fact that “he was lifted up” and disappeared from their sight. It’s one of those events that I think “you had to be there” because it seems like something that has to be seen to be believed. Yet, for over 2,000 years, people the world over have heard and believed and followed the instructions that Jesus gave at that time. That is, perhaps, the best testimony to the truth of what Jesus was all about here on earth – the fact that those he commissioned did what he asked so effectively that the message has endured through all this time.
I don’t often think about the biblical Book of Proverbs but this morning I was reacquainted with how pithy and sensible – and sometimes wry or ironic – they are. Here are a couple from chapter 21 that appear this morning and are worth more than a passing glance.
