Isaiah’s Punch

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abstinence, fasting, homeless, hunger, Isaiah, Lent, oppressed, poor, response, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

In a contest of people who “tell it like it is,” the Prophet Isaiah would always (it seems to me) win hands down! The words “fast and abstinence” had great meaning when I was a child who always knew that there were rules about eating during Lent. We understood that our two smaller meals – usually breakfast and lunch – could not equal, or at least not be larger when put together, than our main meal and we worked hard at making sure of that. And there was also the question of dessert…when to have it and when to pass it up. This was serious business and whether we knew Isaiah or not, we knew that God meant business.

I doubt we ever heard the scathing criticism in Chapter 58 of Isaiah’s prophecy that we read today. He speaks for God in his estimation of the people’s fasting, saying: Lo, on your fast day you carry out your own pursuits and drive all your laborers. Yes, your fast ends in quarreling and fighting, striking with wicked claw. …Is this the manner of fasting I wish? Had we been truly awake when we heard the next part, we might have wondered if God was speaking to us or if it was some mean taskmaster! But listen and see if you can find yourself in this kind of attitude and action. Did we ever wonder whether the practice of controlling our eating had anything to do with our consciousness during the rest the rest of our day?

This, rather, is the fasting that I wish: releasing those bound unjustly, untying the thongs of the yoke; setting free the oppressed, breaking every yoke; sharing your bread with the hungry, sheltering the oppressed and the homeless, clothing the naked when you see them, and not turning your back on your own…

Things seem much more dire now when there are so many hungry and poor people in our midst, more homeless and oppressed people…What do we do for them? Do we notice? How do we help? How is it that our light can shine in response to such great need? All God asks is our best. What is that for you?

Mardi Gras

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abstention, Ash Wednesday, fasting, Lent, Mardi Gras, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, transformation

New Orleans is a great city to visit. The best thing about it, in my opinion, is the music. My best memory of the only time I visited “The Big Easy” is sitting on the curb in the French Quarter (because there was no possibility of squeezing one more person inside) listening to the best jazz music possible where the instruments themselves speak a language of life in all its joys and trials. I wouldn’t want to be there today, however, as it is Mardi Gras (“Fat Tuesday”) and a million guests are expected in the French Quarter for today’s celebrations.

I did some “surfing” this morning to see if I could find anything about the real meaning of this day when revelers follow the dictum of “eat, drink and be merry…” but there isn’t much attention given to the “morning after” where the revelry ends and the meaning lies.

Tomorrow is Ash Wednesday, the beginning of the season of Lent, when Christians traditionally turn their attention to fasting and prayer, good deeds and sacrifice in order to reflect on the sufferings of Jesus in the lead-up to Easter. These days the strictures of the season have been relaxed. Rules of “fasting and abstention” from meat apply only to two days instead of every Friday and meal size restriction isn’t generally talked about any more. Giving up candy for Lent doesn’t seem as relevant; doing good deeds has become more the norm. Maturity seems to hold sway these days in our Lenten living.

The goal of any Lenten practice should not end with the celebration of Easter. Transformation is (and always has been) the goal. We pray and reflect more deeply during this season to follow the example of Jesus, loving more universally, living more honestly and giving more generously of ourselves.

Would that these weeks of practice would be so powerful that we would never “go back” but always move to deeper and broader living in God. It is possible. Why not make that the goal this year?

Go Deeper

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connection, discipline, fasting, Isaiah, Lent, mass shooting, reconciliation, relationship, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, transformation, turning your back

In the wake of another mass shooting in a high school yesterday where all reports were of a system that was prepared for such an incident, it seems futile to talk about all the security measures that were in place. How was a single gunman able to kill 17 people? Will we ever be able to stop such things from happening by shoring up our defenses? Are we not called for something more transformative? Isaiah thinks so.

Some of us are still entering Lent with hopes of transformation resulting from the simple disciplines like giving up our favorite foods or fasting from criticism of our co-workers (not a bad start!). How do we react to this morning’s challenge of Isaiah who asks: “Do you call this a fast, a day acceptable to the Lord?” When is the last time we participated in an effort to “set free the oppressed?” We’re pretty good at sharing our bread with the hungry but how many times do we open our homes to the oppressed and the homeless? That could be pretty dangerous, right?

We tend to make excuses about the impossibility of interpreting the Scriptures literally. Culture has changed so much…life is so different now, and, to be honest, those claims have some validity. Can we find ways, though, to practice such large-heartedness in the culture that is ours now?

Here is the line that is closest to my heart. I hear so often about families whose members don’t even speak to one another. Isaiah finishes his litany of how we ought to work toward transformation with the call of not turning your back on your own. How might I, who have been blessed with a nuclear and extended family that are bound together by care and history of connection, find a way to interpret that dictum of Isaiah as part of Lenten practice? Believing that we are all brothers and sisters, perhaps my task is to examine the wider sphere of my relationships and work to repair any rift or misunderstanding that I can find, even if it has been long buried. Perhaps in working toward this kind of reconciliation, I might join in the necessary effort toward forgiveness that hangs heavy on our hearts today.

 

 

 

 

 

Even Now…

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A Sleep of Prisoners, Christopher Fry, divine heart, fasting, holy season, Joel, Lent, love, renewal, repentance, soul, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, Valentine's Day

As the curtain opens on another season of Lent and we gear up for repentance and renewal, the prophet Joel is way out ahead of us announcing God’s invitation. “Even now,” God says…”Even now,” the poet Christopher Fry writes in the play, A Sleep of Prisoners, “when wrong comes up to face us till we take the longest stride of soul we ever took…”

I am so captivated by those two words that seem to offer so much hope in a dark time. Even now…I begin reflecting on the world situation to find what needs to be redeemed by the poet’s words but I’m quickly thrown back to the personal as Joel continues. “Rend your hearts,” he says, “not your garments.” It’s a necessary course correction that has been needing attention for some time. Winter can be such a lazy season if we are not careful. We can slip into a listless, sluggish round of tasks that lulls us into the mediocre land of February, the “after-the-holidays” let-down that is not our best moment.

Then Joel comes along calling for a fast. “Blow the trumpet in Zion!” he commands. In other words: “Wake up! Get busy! There’s a lot to do before the flowers bloom.” It’s up to us to hear the word of God and act on it. Oh, and coincidentally, today is Valentine’s Day – just another reminder of the kind of God we have who longs for our love even as a greater love is pouring from the divine heart into our own!

So let us be about this holy season – starting now…yes, even now.

 

 

 

 

 

Getting to the Heart of Things

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deeper, fast from the heart, fasting, glory, God, heart, Isaiah, lesson, light, Lord, reward, sharing, sheltering, spiritual lives, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, vindication

Today it’s Isaiah whose message rings loudly in my ears with the same focus: go deeper! Get to the heart of things. He’s talking about fasting and the dissatisfaction of the people with God’s response – or lack thereof – to their practice. They want their reward. But God is more concerned with the lack of depth in their spiritual lives because, even while they fast, they mistreat their laborers and fight among themselves. They just don’t get it. So once again they – and we – get a lesson on what it means to “fast from the heart.” It’s a truly moving and inspired passage. (Is 58:1-9a) Read it aloud, if you will, with gusto!

This, rather, is the fasting that I wish: releasing those bound unjustly, untying the thongs of the yoke, setting free the oppressed, breaking every yoke, sharing your bread with the hungry, sheltering the oppressed and the homeless, clothing the naked when you see them and not turning your back on your own. Then your light shall break forth like the dawn, and your wound shall quickly be healed; your vindication shall go before you and the glory of the Lord shall be your rear guard. Then you shall call and the Lord will answer; you shall cry for help and God will say: Here I am!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Food, Eating, Hunger

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fasting, food as a human right, gratitude, healthy, hunger, miracle, modern medicine, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

Today I suspect my thoughts will frequently turn to hunger. The Sisters of St. Joseph, Albany Province, have been focusing on “food as a human right” for some time, being mindful of those who have little or no food and working at both systemic and local solutions to this problem. In my life there is never a problem in finding food; if I don’t have it, I have the means to purchase it – both availability in nearby grocery stores and the money and transportation needed to access it. I am preparing, however, for a routine colonoscopy tomorrow – not a pleasant thought, but an experience I have come to value for several reasons that allows me to put a positive spin on what lies ahead in the next 36 hours – a retreat of sorts…My reflections are listed below:

1. I live in a place where “the miracle of modern medicine” is a constant and access to healthcare a privilege I enjoy.
2. I consider it a responsibility to keep my body as healthy as I can and welcome the opportunity to eliminate toxins and be reminded to begin again to eat in a healthy and mindful way.
3. I live with Sisters whose support includes the willingness to see to my needs (and I to theirs), particularly tomorrow for one of them in accompanying me and spending several hours in the hospital with me.
4. The reality of physical hunger which I may only assuage with liquids or (happily!) jello leads me to reflect and join in solidarity with those who regularly experience a  lack of food.
5. Moving to the spiritual level of interpretation, I will need to trust my physician (as I have for many years and still do) to perform the procedure flawlessly and my body to cooperate.
6. Lastly, I hope to remain conscious of and pray for all those who hunger for a better life both physically and spiritually, for belonging, for love and/or for a sense of God in their lives. All of this, then, becomes an opportunity for gratitude.

Proclaim a Fast

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abstinence, Ash Wednesday, consciousness, fasting, food, fundamental human right, hungry, Isaiah, Lent, Lenten journey, oppessed, Roman Catholic Church, sharing, Sisters of St. Joseph, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, unjust

My mind is racing already after reading the lectionary texts today. I don’t know if I can settle on one topic emerging from the message of Isaiah. Perhaps it isn’t always necessary to be able to wrap my words up into a tight, cohesive package. I may just strive this morning for coherence and leave cohesion by the wayside. We’ll see how it goes.

Here is what Isaiah shouts today in God’s name on the topic of fasting that definitely reverberates down through the ages. Would that today you might fast so as to make your voice heard on high!…This is the fasting that I wish: releasing those bound unjustly, untying the thongs of the yoke; setting free the oppressed, breaking every yoke; sharing your bread with the hungry, sheltering the oppressed and the homeless; clothing the naked when you see them and not turning your back on your own. Then your light shall break forth like the dawn and your wound shall quickly be healed. (IS 58:1-9A)

On Wednesday (Ash Wednesday, still an official day of fast and abstinence in the Roman Catholic Church – one of only two in Lent these days) I was so aware of my eating. Running through my mind was the rule that “two small meals equal the one main meal” and “no meat at any meal.” The challenge was not finding what I could eat to fit that description but in the second part of the stricture of no eating between meals. The issue was consciousness. Happily, I was on the road working about 80 miles away from home because when I’m home the challenge is always to notice when I pick up a cracker or a grape walking through the kitchen if I feel hungry – or even if not. But there was the moment on Wednesday when I stopped to fill my car’s gas tank at a station with a convenience store attached. I had to remind myself not to go in and pick up a candy bar or a small bag of potato chips, “just in case…” Food is so accessible in my life; I need to be more responsible to that fact.

Yesterday I read an article in the semi-annual publication of our province of Sisters of St. Joseph. Our Social Justice Coordinator was writing about a collaboration between two organizations uniting to fight hunger. One, Great Nations Eat, is using the technology of media like TV, radio, or even billboards and internet like Twitter, Instagram and Facebook to raise consciousness. “We put a man on the moon. Feeding our people shouldn’t be rocket science” and “America can’t be great on an empty stomach” are two of their slogans aimed at making people think. The other organization, Share Our Strength, is similarly motivated to call on Americans to unite in the effort to fight hunger. “It [hunger] affects the life of one in six Americans. That doesn’t happen in any other developed nation. It shouldn’t happen here,” says founder and CEO, Billy Shore. “Ending hunger is possible. It will take public awareness and political outreach to build the necessary national will…”

So it isn’t just about eating or not eating; it’s more about consciousness that setting free the oppressed and unbinding the yoke of others in our midst or in our world can start with feeding the hungry. Here recent images on the news of emaciated children in war-torn places in the Middle East come to mind. It’s all connected and we are all responsible. My province of the Sisters of St. Joseph has committed us to address this issue in the following ways: 1. to promote and to advocate for the recognition and realization that food is a fundamental human right, and 2. to be part of developing and implementing a comprehensive strategy to end hunger on the local, national and international levels. That is a big order and it is clear that we do not assume we can do it alone. Even small steps, tiny actions are important. On yesterday’s local news, for example, there was a report of elementary school children from Owego, NY – a rural area – collecting cans of soup last week in the run-up to the Super Bowl game to donate to homeless people served by the Tioga County rural outreach organization directed by one of our Sisters. These children gave Sister Mary 524 cans of soup and learned a great lesson of caring at the same time.

Enough! We all have our own work to do to respond to God’s call through Isaiah. Who will you notice on your Lenten journey who needs your help? How will you recognize his/her hunger? What will you do to feed it? And what about me? What will I do next time? It’s about each of us and all of us. May we walk together into a brighter, more caring future.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Why Fast?

Tags

dieting, discipline, eat consciously, fasting, hunger, Jesus, Lent, Mark, mindfulness, portion control, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

So many thoughts are competing in my head this morning  from one small part of today’s gospel! In response to a question about why the disciples of Jesus do not fast like followers of others, Jesus talks about fasting being inappropriate for wedding guests while the bridegroom is still with them. He doesn’t stop  there, however, and it’s the addendum that has me thinking. Mark 2:20 says: “But the days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast on that day.” Here’s what happened to me.

First I flashed all the commercials about NutriSystems and Medifast and Jenny Craig designed to help people in the US lose weight, often to be more attractive. Then I thought that before long Lent will be here and some of us find that a good euphemism for dieting – giving us just a little more oomph for self-control. Don’t get me wrong. I’m not speaking of how much people weigh. I am very sensitive to reasons for weight gain both physical and psychological. I’m talking about people like me who find it hard to eat just one cookie when there are a dozen to be had who hardly try to leave the rest for later. Fasting as a discipline has generally disappeared from our spiritual lexicon. A stronger and more emotional arising (at least today) was of the Province focus of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Albany, i.e. “food as a human right” which speaks of our efforts to join with others to see that all are fed. A corollary to that topic is our concern about genetically modified foods…and so on it goes. I could spend the day in this reflection.

What I might do instead is: 1. to give thanks for the great blessing of having enough to eat; 2. to eat consciously, not on my way to the next event or while multi-tasking in some other way; 3. to be aware of portion control; 4. to wait to eat until I am hungry, really hungry, so that I might recognize what many people know as an everyday companion; 5. to give some time to educating myself more about issues of hunger in our country and around the world. All of these things can be done today, but not only today. The important thing will be mindfulness of the intention: consciousness that it is ours to live the lessons of “the bridegroom” here and now.

Why Fast?

Tags

Chapters, disciples, fasting, Isaiah, Jesus, Lent, perseverance, spiritual practice, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

On Wednesday of this week I was at a gathering of women, some with ashes on their foreheads. It was a discussion group sitting around a table where a lovely tray of cookies with a few pieces of chocolate in the center was being passed. One of the women who had just come from noon Mass said, as the plate came to her, “I gave up cookies for Lent so I’ll have to take a chocolate.” The room erupted in laughter. Clearly all of these women had lived long enough to have heard many sermons on the meaning of true fasting so realized that giving up candy (or cookies!) for Lent was not meant as a strategy for losing weight or something that could be endured for 40 days to be rewarded at the end by an entire bag of Hershey’s Bliss.

Both Isaiah and Jesus speak of meaningful fasting today. Isaiah is concerned (Ch. 58:1-9) with integrity of life rather than desire of a reward for fasting. As the people complain that God hasn’t noticed their fast, God points out their behavior while they fast. “On your fast day you carry out your own pursuits, and drive all your laborers. Yes, your fast ends in quarreling and fighting…” God is not interested in that sort of fast but rather one that will result in actions for justice: releasing those bound unjustly, sharing bread with the hungry, sheltering the oppressed and the homeless, clothing the naked, etc.

The disciples of John ask Jesus virtually the same question (MT 9:14-15) as Isaiah’s audience is asking but with a twist. While everyone is looking for a reward for their fasting, people are noticing that the disciples of Jesus aren’t fasting at all! It puts one in mind of a small child asking at 7:30PM, “Why do I have to go to bed now when the others can stay up later?” Probably a long explanation about the benefits of sleep is pointless in that situation; perhaps that’s the reason that Jesus simply says, “The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast.”

Did the disciples learn the deeper meaning of what Jesus was trying to say about life: integrity of belief and action, perseverance and the need for spiritual practice in order to achieve the goal? Have we internalized the purpose for Lent: fasting and/or other practice as a vehicle for awareness and attention to right action in life?

The bridegroom is still with us (Do we not perceive him?) so there is still time…