Giving and Getting

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Acts of the Apostles, balance, Ephesians, getting, give, giving, receive, St. Paul, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

This morning, Paul was preparing to leave Ephesus, never to return after being with and teaching the people for three years. He is speaking to the presbyters into whose hands he is entrusting the whole people. (Acts 20: 28-38) It is their responsibility now to hold the Ephesians steady in the truth that he has imparted to them about the teachings of Jesus. And what is his last word to them? A simple sentence that may sound familiar to you: It is more blessed to give than to receive.

If I tried, perhaps I could spend the day with that adage in mind and at the end of the day, looking back, I might be able to see the balance of giving and getting in my actions, words and thoughts. A formidable task perhaps but one well worth the effort, it seems.

Impromptu Supper

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disciples, feed people, gift of love, give, Jesus, loaves and fishes, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

Today is the day when that formidable gospel appears. It’s a great miracle story – but has a twist that makes me groan and look inside myself every time. If I hear the words “feeding of the 5,000” I know I can’t just sail along to the end where everyone gets relaxed on the green grass and fed from 5 loaves and 2 fish until they’re more than satisfied. Jesus is interesting in this text from MK 6:34-44.

When the disciples come and suggest to Jesus that he send the people away after a rather long session of teaching so they can find food somewhere (and perhaps so they themselves can do the same), Jesus comes back with a challenge. “Give them some food yourselves,” he says. Imagine their surprise! How could he even think that was possible? They must have felt silly walking around asking everyone to contribute their meager meal to the huge crowd but they did what he asked. The results were not at all helpful: 5 loaves and 2 fish – for 5,000 people (men only!) but again they did what he asked, having them sit down in groups while Jesus said the blessing over the food and then distributing what became more than enough for everyone.

There’s so much to wonder about. Where did they get the baskets for distribution and collection of leftovers? How did that whole process of distribution start. “He broke the loaves…and divided the fish…” It reminds me of a family vacation where my father took my friend fishing and she came back with one very small fish that she joyfully cooked and distributed among the half-dozen people in attendance – a tiny but wonderful appetizer to the meal. A gift of love.

It doesn’t really matter, I guess, what is given as long as we do willingly what we believe we are being called to do. It is our “Yes” – spoken or not – that counts. God takes care of the rest.

Friends of God

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Ancient Songs Sung Anew, examination of conscience, friends, give, heart, Lynn Bauman, presence, promise, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

The book Ancient Songs Sung Anew by Lynn Bauman names Psalm 15 as “Friends of God.” You may recognize it as the one that asks, “Who can ascend the mountain of the Lord?” and then proceeds to talk about a clean heart, etc. It’s what we might call an examination of conscience but I prefer, these days, to tweak the vocabulary a bit and call it an examination of consciousness. Bauman’s translation seems to me today to be  helpful as applied to our present-day world. See if you don’t agree.

O God, who of us may approach the summit of your mountain strong? Who may come invited to your presence there? Only those who live their lives devoid of blame, who do what’s right, and from whose hearts truth is the only word; whose mouths are free from hateful words and hands from wrong, who treat their neighbors as their own, their kind; who do not give a place of honor to the evil one, but only to the friends of God. Whose promise is as good as any word they ever give, even in the face of loss or gain. They give and give, and ever give again, without hope of getting in return, and never take a bribe or speak against the innocent. All these shall come at last to you, all these, secure and overcomers, all! All these are ever yours; they’re proven true as your own friends.

 

 

 

 

 

 

“Little Theresa”

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Christ's sufferings, contemplation, fire, give, give always, inspiration, little flower, love, love for God, St. Therese of Lisieux, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

Today Christians the world over celebrate an unlikely “celebrity” of the Church. For someone reading a sketch of her life for the first time – just the facts – St. Therese of Lisieux would appear to be no one special, although tragic maybe, because she only lived until the age of 24 years, having contracted tuberculosis at a young age. What one learns, however, in studying her own writings and the evidence in other sources, is that she is one of the most popular saints in the history of Christianity. How is this possible for someone who entered a cloistered Carmelite community at the age of 15 years and lived a daily routine of prayer and household tasks until her death nine years later?

Clearly, the only answer can be love, a great fire that fueled kindness to her sisters in religion, attentiveness to prayer, outreach in letters to soldiers and all to whom she wrote to inspire them with confidence in God’s protection and care. Her love for God and all others in God permeated her young life with mystical visions and contemplation on the sufferings of Christ to whom she was united from early childhood. She desired only to serve God in little, ordinary ways, which she did in the convent where she was not easily accepted.

A lesson for us is the way that Therese approached life and all of her daily tasks. She simply opened her eyes to what was in front of her and saw God in every person and every moment. She did not fret over what was not done, or done perfectly. She just offered everything without concern. Those of us who are so concerned with outcomes would do well to reflect today on the following quote from the one who is fondly called “Little Theresa.”

To the right and to the left, I throw to my little birds the good grain that God places in my hands. And then I let things take their course! I busy myself with it no more. Sometimes, it’s just as though I had thrown nothing; at other times, it does some good. But God tells me: “Give, give always, without being concerned with the results.”

 

 

 

 

 

Just Love

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charity, give, love, Love Poems from God, retreat, St. Francis of Assisi, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

After all my preparation and the very meaningful retreat day yesterday for a wonderful group of welcoming parishioners, I have little to say today. I yield to St. Francis of Assisi for a poem that seems a perfect postscript for me and a meaningful thought for all of us.

God came to my house and asked for charity. And I fell on my knees and cried, “Beloved, what may I give?” “Just love,” He said. “Just love.” (Love Poems from God, p. 33) 

 

 

 

 

 

Wise Words from Eleanor

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A Deep Breath of Life, Alan Cohen, Eleanor Roosevelt, give, happiness, routine, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

I feel as if today is the day to take a deep breath and “get back to business.” Routine is a thing of the past these days but there are things that can be routinized like prayer, sleep patterns, and food intake. Since those activities are often disrupted at holiday time, it takes a bit of effort to get back to normal. A quote from Eleanor Roosevelt in Alan Cohen’s daily reflection (A Deep Breath of Life) will help, I think. Maybe it will offer you an opportunity as well.

Do whatever comes your way to do as well as you can. Think as little as possible about yourself and as much as possible about other people…put a good deal of thought into the happiness that you are able to give.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Do You Really Know?

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community, conscious loving, give, grow, Joan Chittister, listening, love, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, Wisdom Distilled from the Daily

I feel myself sounding like a broken record sometimes lately but the prompts are everywhere. Today it was Joan Chittister, in her book Wisdom Distilled From the Daily, who took up the importance of listening to one another – really, deeply listening. She says the following in Chapter Two, Listening: The Key to Spiritual Growth.

Not to listen then, is not to grow. but more than that, to be unable to listen is to be unable to give as well. It is easy to know what is good for someone else. It is difficult to listen to them and let them define themselves…It takes a lot of listening to hear the needs of those around us before they even speak them. But there is no good human community without it. Listening and love are clearly of a piece. (pp. 18-19)

It is that last sentence that brings the crux of the issue to light. The lesson there calls me to assume nothing about another person unless s/he has revealed the pertinent information to me. A good exercise would be to think of persons whom I know well and ask myself questions about their likes and dislikes to see if I can answer for certain (things like foods, types of music, exercise choices – even colors…simple things) and then ask them for their answers. This would be most interesting, I think, if asking those with whom we share life on a regular basis, especially people that we love. We might be surprised about how people have grown and changed without our even noticing. Just a thought…another practice of conscious loving, this one closer to home.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Job’s TQ (Trust Quotient)

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Blessed be the name of the Lord, Book of Job, challenges, destruction, distress, give, loss, suffering, take, thank God, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, trust in God, unwavering faith

When I read the text of the first reading from the Book of Job this morning (JB 1:6-22) I thought – as  usual – that it sounds like the synopsis of a bad movie. Satan, vying with God, bets that Job won’t be as faithful as he has been if bad things happen to disturb his idyllic life of favor as God’s friend. God disagrees. After he hears all the terrible destruction that his servants come one after another to tell him about, we hear the familiar line that “I came into the world naked and will leave it naked. The Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away. Blessed be the name of the Lord.” Of course Job doesn’t say these words as declarative, emotionless sentences. He does wail and rend his garments…and this is only the first chapter of his test.

While it is clear to me that God does not bargain with evil, even on a sure bet, the Book of Job does make me think. I am always edified in conversations with people who have lost virtually everything in life or who have had horrendous experiences, when they make similar statements to Job’s, attesting to their ongoing faith in God. I wonder sometimes what I would be able to endure of suffering – I who often profess to have lived “a charmed life.” There have been challenges, to be sure, but my supports have been such that I never have cause to complain.

Today I shall think about Job and about all the people I have known who have met and survived incredible distress in unwavering faith – especially those like our Sisters in Japan who survived the atomic bombs of World War II, the man from Aleppo whose whole world was destroyed in seconds – including the loss of his four children and his wife, or all the people I have spoken of during this year who have been victims of weather events, who say when standing in the rubble of their town, “I thank God to be alive.” I don’t think we ever know the strength of our faith until it is tested, but I am urged by these thoughts to practice, in whatever ways I can, for a time when I might feel severely shaken and need to place my trust totally in the God who loves me more than I can imagine.

 

 

 

 

 

 

A Good Plan

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advice, condemning, forgive, gifts, give, judged, Luke, merciful, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

I have been since Friday (unexpectedly) AWIS – away without internet service – but am back this morning with perhaps the best plan for living before me in the Gospel of Luke. I can do no better than to repeat it here.

Jesus said to his disciples, “Be merciful just as your heavenly Father is merciful. Stop judging and you will not be judged. Stop condemning and you will not be condemned. Forgive and you will be forgiven. Give and gifts will be given to you; a good measure, packed together, shaken down, and overflowing will be poured into your lap. For the measure with which you measure will in turn be measured out to you.” (LK 6:36-38)

That’s five distinct pieces of advice. Even considering one of them today would be a start. Perhaps choosing the one I would most wish to ignore would be a good plan.