Sacred Contracts

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Abram, contract, covenant, Genesis, Psalm 105, sacrifice, spiritual agreement, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

The lectionary readings today speak loudly of covenants. The best and most dramatic story is from Genesis where God directs Abram to prepare a series of animals and birds for sacrifice and then sends a fire to “seal the deal.” (GEN 15: 1-12, 17-18)

I learned long ago that with reference to God and humans, a covenant is a contract between God and people. This morning I wanted something more sacred and found a short paragraph on the internet that satisfied me. It explained it as follows:

There are some fundamental differences between a covenant and a contract. While a contract is legally binding, a covenant is a spiritual agreement. A contract is an agreement between parties while a covenant is a pledge. A contract exchanges one good for another, while a covenant is giving oneself to the other.

How comforting is is to know – as Psalm 105 reminds us today – that “the Lord remembers his covenant forever.” My question to myself today is: Am I willing to do the same, always remembering my covenant with God?

Holy Land

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Abram, Genesis, listening, Lot, Peace, separate, surrender, the Holy Land, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, willingness

Occasionally – not often but once in awhile – when I read the lectionary texts from the Bible I long for “the old days” – a simpler time. This morning’s reading from Genesis (GN 13:2, 5-18) has Abram and Lot in conversation about their many possessions and how the land can’t support both of them; their herdsmen were quarreling. So Abram simply says to Lot, “We’re kinsmen; we don’t want any strife between our herdsmen or ourselves. Let’s separate. If you want to go left, I’ll go right and vice versa.” So Lot went east and Abram stayed in Canaan – just like that.

Would that things could be settled today in like manner. But no, the strife in “the Holy Land” goes on and on with no peace on the horizon. How are we to interpret God’s promises in these complex times? Certainly not with contentious rhetoric or weapons. How can God break through to the hearts of all parties in a way that will bring peace to the Middle East? Only, it seems, by listening more deeply to the hearts of one another and allowing love for God and for the land to be the impetus for reconciliation. It will take great leaders and great willingness to surrender on the part of everyone in order to see the truth that all are one in God and that there is enough for everyone’s need. May it be true in our day. May peace come to reign once again, I pray.

Pentecost

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beauty, Genesis, language, lovingkindness, Pentecost, Spirit of God, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, upper room

As I sit waiting on this very special feast of the coming of the Spirit of God into us, I smile into a “letting go” stance because it’s as if I am back in the upper room with the disciples of Christ who have no idea of what is about to happen. Who could have imagined the whoosh of the Spirit that came upon them that day? Suddenly they comprehended so much of God’s message to the world and were able to speak to everyone in a language that could be understood. What was that language? Were they really “speaking in tongues” as we have come to understand that phrase? If so, that is all well and good but I wonder about another (perhaps concomitant) way that they might have been understood.

This weekend we are exploring “the original blueprint” of creation in a step by step journey back to the beginnings of the universe. Our presenter has shared in a complex but understandable theoretical presentation that before anything else the universe emitted two sounds that can be translated as lovingkindness and beauty.

In the book of Genesis (11:1) we read today that “The whole world spoke the same language, using the same words” until things got complicated and people began to gather into tribes in order to “make a name for themselves.” What if, before that happened – before they even had language, perhaps – they were operating in a manner based on the sounds of the universe where lovingkindness was the way and beauty the expression.

Just a theory – one more way to look at how the Spirit of God comes in order that we might heal the earth in service to one another. Today it certainly makes good sense to me. I will attempt to walk this day on the path of lovingkindness and be aware of the beauty in all that I experience.

God’s World and Work

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Ancient Songs Sung Anew, creation, Creator, divine, Genesis, Lynn Bauman, psalm 93, sacred presence, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

There are great images of God as Creator in today’s lectionary psalm. Reminiscent of the first two chapters of Genesis, Lynn Bauman’s translation of Psalm 93* addresses God and ties the Creator to the creation in a beautifully lyrical manner. Listen:

O sovereign Lord, O ruler over all, you wear beauty as a cloak, and bind yourself in power as with a belt. Immersed in strength you take the world and make it firm so we can never move it…And in its youth you covered earth with waters deep; its voice, the pounding waves was speaking loud…Your sacred presence touches everything, and holiness becomes your house for evermore. (vs. 1,2,4,6B)

In the commentary that follows, Bauman notes: “It is quite natural for our conception of God to be shaped by images we receive in the creation.” His question that follows is quite apt for this Spring season of beauty in the Northeast of the United States but could be fitting for any location of the globe in some way, I believe. He asks: “What images taken from nature speak to you most forcefully of the divine?”

I’m already one half-hour into my answer and I’m glad the question wasn’t asked in a way that asked for only one simple response! I will surely be finding new answers as I look around me all day long!

*Ancient Songs Sung Anew: the Psalms as Poetry

Ponder This

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enlighten, Ephesians, Genesis, Mark, perseverance, promise, St. Paul, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

With the promise of God in Genesis 8:22, that “As long as the earth lasts, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter and day and night shall not cease,” hope returned to the world. With Paul’s prayer in his letter to the Ephesians (1:17-18), “May the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ enlighten the eyes of our hearts that we may know what is the hope to which we are called,” the promise was solidified. Through the willingness of Jesus to lay hands -not once but twice – on a blind man to assure his healing (MK 8:22-26), we can trust in God’s perseverance on our behalf.

What more can we ask as this new day dawns?

One More Wake-up Call

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creation, defense, Genesis, hear, Herod, Jesus, Mark Divine, Noah, Pharisees, see, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, understand, voice

The lectionary readings for today are a little scary. In the first (from Genesis 6&7) God is lamenting that he created humans at all because of how wicked they have become. The only solution, God thinks, is destruction of all humans. animals and birds. “For I am sorry that I made them,” God says. Thank heaven that Noah showed up as the one shining creation, enough to save the world because “he did what God commanded him.”

In the gospel the disciples misinterpret a warning from Jesus to watch out for the leaven of Herod and the Pharisees. Because he used the word “leaven” to describe their wickedness, the disciples thought that Jesus was upset because they had forgotten to bring enough bread for all of them to eat. (MK 8:14-21) When Jesus realized their conclusion, he reacted with what sounds like uncharacteristic vehemence and frustration in a torrent of questions: Do you not yet understand or comprehend? Are your hearts hardened? Do you have eyes and not see, ears and not hear? Do you still not understand?

Most of the time I do not consider God to depend on our strength or weakness, wickedness or upright behavior, perceptiveness or lack of understanding. I consider God (and Jesus while he lived among us) to be all knowing and loving, forgiving us everything. These readings have not changed my opinion but they do seem to have the effect this morning of making me want us to do better. It isn’t enough today for me to wring my hands at the political climate in our country and the world. And how many more “active shooters” will it take before I add my voice – not just in my home but to my Congressional representatives – about gun control? What is the purpose of reading these texts every morning if I simply put them aside and go on with my day? I don’t think it’s just up to me to save the world but if I’m not willing to make a little noise in God’s defense, how can I expect anything to change?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

By Breath

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breath, Christine Valters Paintner, Genesis, psalm 104, pulse, rhythm, Sara Thomsen, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, Wisdom of the Body

I woke up this morning with song lyrics running through my body/mind and found them as well in the lectionary readings for today from chapter 2 of the Book of Genesis and Psalm 104. The Scriptures say, “The Lord God blew into [our] nostrils the breath of life and so [we] became living being[s].” And then: “if you take away their breath, they perish…” Sara Thomsen is still singing to me: By breath, by blood, by body, by spirit, we are all one…

The song is likely a result of my preparation for our book club meeting today where the first of two chapters for our consideration is entitled “Breath: The Gateway to the Body.” The Scripture readings just add serendipity to the theme. Or is there more to be said?

In the book, Wisdom of the Body by Christine Valters Paintner, chapter two spends itself on all sorts of reasons to pay attention to our breath. One paragraph that I find quite beautiful and worth this day in reflection is from page 34. It is my gift to you and God’s gift to us all for today.

Pause just a moment before reading further to notice your breath without trying to change it. Track your breathing for a few moments, bringing a sense of wonder to this primal rhythm that sustains your life even when you aren’t paying attention, such as while you are sleeping, eating, or in deep conversation with a dear friend. The breath, like the heartbeat, is the ancient rhythm and pulse of life. The breath is like an old and loyal friend with whom you are becoming reacquainted.

And Again…

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caretakers, creation, environment, foraging, Genesis, save the planet, solution, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

As I read the second half of the first chapter of Genesis this morning about the creation of all the sea creatures, the birds, the “creeping things” and wild animals, I saw in my mind’s eye the vivid red of cardinals and woodpeckers on our deck vying with the squirrels for the “breakfast” seed before it disappeared under the snow that had just begun to fall. Next I was reminded of the polar bears cited on yesterday’s news, sad that a state of emergency was declared as at least 52 of them were spotted in residential areas on a remote archipelago in the Arctic Ocean north of Russia. It seems that rising global temperatures have contributed to a reduction in the size of polar bears’ sea-ice habitats, forcing them onto land for longer periods of time. (Time.com) There are pictures of these beautiful creatures foraging in garbage dumps for food, a sad commentary on the lack of care and concern that science tells us is the result of human disregard of warnings about the environment.

As I wrote that last, I was jolted into recognition that humans have also been reduced to the same kind of foraging for food – and livelihood – as they actually live on the edges of garbage dumps (see La Chureca in Managua, Nicaragua).

How does all this square with the conclusion that God looked at everything he had made, and found it very good? How have we lived our responsibility as caretakers of creation? Is it too late to “save the planet?” Perhaps on this day when many of us are housebound because of extreme weather conditions, we might take some time to consider the best way to participate in a solution to what has become a major crisis in our day. May our efforts be blessed!

Beginning Again

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attention, beginning, Easter Vigil, Genesis, God's gifts, prayer, spirit, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

I was surprised this morning as I clicked on the usccb website to find that the first reading for this “ordinary” Monday was the beginning of the Book of Genesis (1:1-19). I expect that text at the Easter Vigil when the Church is all dark and a powerful voice (if we’re lucky) booms out: “IN THE BEGINNING…” and we wait for each day of creation, able to visualize the appearance of light and sky and dry land and vegetation and stars…and everything that we know about our universe. It is a glorious experience each year! I don’t remember ever seeing that text on an ordinary day – and actually, this morning it only goes as far as day four. Happily that included the sun, moon and stars, some of my favorites of God’s gifts.

I wonder what message I can take on this day when I will be working at home rather than at my office. What will I create today? Certainly nothing so vast as the universe! Will it be the day that I take another slip of my prayer plant to start it growing in someone else’s life? Maybe I’m just supposed to listen today to see what the world brings to me. Might I just walk more lightly or eat more consciously or read some amazing sentence that takes my breath away?

Certainly this is a day to pay attention and the best next thing to do to assure I put myself in the place of most opportunity is to go to my prayer mat and open myself to the Spirit “brooding over the waters…”

Greeting the Day

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consciousness, Genesis, gift, John Philip Newell, love one another, made new, new day, Peace, Praying With the Earth, reflection, renewed, soul, strengthened, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

Late yesterday just after I had arrived at the party marking the 85th birthday of my friend, Florence, the skies opened and gave a torrential drink of water to the parched earth. Just before I left an hour later to return to the retreat I was hosting at home, the rain stopped. Sometimes things just happen that way. Had I been home without a group of people wrapping up an afternoon of deep reflection, I would have loved to go outside and let myself be washed by the cooling water falling from the sky, as I symbolically felt the sensation of having all things being made new. I opted instead for the reasonable option of staying dry.

Today is Sunday, the start not only of a new day, but a new week of life. I know my calendar holds information about many events this week and so good intentions must be made. I will need to be very focused to use my time well as the week unfolds. Right now, however, I wish only to breathe into the moment in which I find myself as I join with John Philip Newell to bless the day at hand.

For the gift of this new day, for waking again from the dreams of the night, for our bodies strengthened and our minds renewed, thanks be to you, O God. You are the stillness of the night. You are the genesis of the morning. You are the moistness of new conception. Let there be peace in the human soul, let there be wakings to new consciousness, let there be tears of love. In the life of the world this day and in our own hearts let there be fresh tears of love. (Praying with the Earth – A Prayerbook for Peace)