A Familiar Voice

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Good Shepherd, I love you., love, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, virtual hugs

Every once in awhile now, if I need a happy moment before I go to bed, I watch video clips of babies who are listening to their parents speak — or really croon to them. If the adults are not urging their babies to say “Mama” or “Daddy,” the desire of each is to hear their child say “I love you” in response to hearing the words from the parents themselves. These are very young children – generally probably from 3 to 9 months old. When anything remotely akin to the sounds of those three most precious words come out of the baby’s mouth, the stunned joy of the adult is priceless. It’s a beautiful exchange and clearly can be seen as a conscious effort on the part of the baby. (You probably have to see it to get the full effect of such an exchange.)

“I love you.” How we long to be the recipient of such a phrase! Sometimes it is our actions that can transmit that reality and sometimes someone we love only has to say our name for us to get the message. Sometimes it only takes a look and, in some cases, love is an energy that flows from a person to an entire group gathered. That’s the “trademark” of a person who understands that love is a consistent practice, sometimes hard-won but never failing. Think of people you know like this. What comes to my mind is the love on Pope St. John XXIII’s face and the tears in his eyes on the day that the Second Vatican Council began. I can see my father’s pure gaze as he saw me emerge from the crowd once at the airport. I clearly see my mother in the depths of Alzheimer’s disease, smiling as I waited for the best greeting in the world each time I saw her: “I love you, Honey! I love you best…” (which she said often to anyone that came to visit her).

In John’s gospel this morning we hear Jesus say that “he calls his own sheep by name and they recognize his voice.” Unconditional love: that’s the way sheep know the one who loves them best, as do those babies, as do we. Often, as now, we long for their voice, their touch – the totality of their presence to us. I’ll wager that we can, if we try, sense what it feels like in this season when we need to count on virtual hugs. If you sit very still and try very hard (or not at all) can you hear the voice of God calling you with those words that mean the most? That look that tells you all you need to know? May it be so on this Sunday.

Of Children and Sheep

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children, Good Shepherd, humility, kingdom of heaven, Matthew, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

As I read this morning’s gospel, I must have been giving it less that 100% of my attention because suddenly I said to myself, “Wait a minute! I thought Jesus was talking about little children, not sheep.” And so he was. The text from Matthew 18 began with a question from the disciples to Jesus about who was greatest in the Kingdom of heaven. (I think the disciples were overly concerned about that issue – as are people living now, although more about who is greatest on earth.) Jesus was very clear in his answer. (see vs. 1-5. Hint: it’s the little children).

Abruptly, however, or so it seems, Jesus starts talking about a shepherd with 100 sheep who leaves the 99 to find the one who wanders off and gets lost. (vs.10-14) I’ve always loved that section and actually all the texts about real shepherds whose job isn’t the easiest in the world. Think about it! Sheep generally are pretty similar in their looks. One would need to really get to know them deeply in order to distinguish them one from another…but I digress. The last line pulls it all together. Jesus says, “In just the same way (as with the sheep), it is not the will of your Heavenly Father that one of these little ones be lost.”

So what is the lesson here. I think it’s one of those texts where multiple meanings are possible and all are worth considering. It could be a call to care for children – and how timely is that message right now? It could be a reminder of the importance of humility…or the fact that the less fortunate need our attention. It could be providing us with a hint about the need to never give up on anyone. There are lots of ways to interpret it. What do you say about it all?

A New Look

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Ancient Songs Sung Anew, Good Shepherd, guidance, inner pilgrimage, journey, Lynn Bauman, Psalm 23, Scripture, Stephen Mitchell, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

When we are very familiar with something, be it a place we inhabit or a text from Scripture, we can slide over the experience with only half a mind and miss the significance. Take Psalm 23, the great Shepherd Psalm, for example. Many of us fall back on that text when asked to recite something from Scripture because it is the one that jumps most easily to our lips, so occasionally it helps when praying to adapt the translation in order to  wake us up to new depth.

I am not a fan of changing words just to be trendy and sometimes updating takes the reverence out of a traditional text for me. Not so with Stephen Mitchell’s interpretation of the Psalms or Lynn Bauman’s translation and commentary (which I use frequently in the morning). Two suggestions in Bauman’s notes gave me pause this morning. You might use them as you reflect on your favorite translation.

1. Imagine that this psalm does not refer to the world outside you, but speaks to an interior space or place within your own being. As you do, mark the shifts in relationship between yourself as a “sheep” needing guidance, and God as shepherd guiding you. Note also the changing landscapes of the soul as you are led through this inner pilgrimage.
2. Which part of this journey holds the most significance and poignancy for you at this moment in time? Meditate on those words throughout the day. Ask yourself…”How do I need the care and guidance of the Shepherd at this time in my life?” (Ancient Songs Sung Anew, p.55)

Of Work and Workers

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acceptance, attitude, character, dignity, fulfillment, Good Shepherd, happiness, John, love, pay, rich inner life, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, work, workers

There’s a passage in the “Good Shepherd” gospel from today’s lectionary (JN 10: 12-13) that has me thinking about the power of intention. It says the following: “A hired man, who is not a shepherd and whose sheep are not his own, sees a wolf coming and leaves the sheep and runs away and the wolf catches and scatters them. This is because he works for pay and has no concern for the sheep.”

I have always been blessed with fulfilling work that I have, therefore, done motivated by love – of the people I encounter and the work itself. In that way, I understand the shepherd who “knows” his sheep, able to tell one from another and willing to do whatever it takes to keep them safe. But I am thinking this morning about people who work in jobs that are onerous, yet necessary to allow even a subsistence lifestyle. I presume it would take a very strong will to be able to be happy in such a situation. It would necessitate digging deep to find a purpose for getting up in the morning. It has been said that “Happiness is an inside job.” Thus, there must be something deeper than the work itself to motivate the worker.

As I write, I recognize that this truth is universal and is definitely an aspect of one’s character and attitude. Think about the clerks in a store that you frequent. Two people who are paid the same salary may be quite different in the way they greet you or work the checkout counter. It’s the same for heads of large corporations. So while I would like to see a more equitable pay scale and better conditions for workers, I come to the conclusion that if one has a rich inner life anything can be a blessing if it moves us toward acceptance and even love.

Let us pray today for an appreciation of the dignity of work and all workers as we examine our own attitudes toward what is our own work in the world. Let our intention be the building up of community in whatever we do and what we achieve, not for our own glory but for the good of all and the praise of God.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sheep

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care, Christ the King, Ezekiel, Good Shepherd, homelessness, humanity, hunger, illness, justice, love, Matthew, Psalm 23, sheep, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

I just spent about a half hour reading on the internet about sheep. I never got past the basic information about things like their color (some are very dark brown while most are white), life expectancy (10 – 12 years), amazing peripheral vision (270-320 degrees) which allows them to see behind them, two sets of teeth, excellent hearing and scent glands in front of their eyes and between their toes!!

As I read of their history and the places where they are found (mostly now in Australia, New Zealand, south and central South America and the British Isles) and of their habits, I realized how little I know of these members of the animal kingdom. Much of what I know is from shopping for sweaters, from a few movies about sheep farmers and – of course – from Scripture.

Today, the “Solemnity of Christ the King” offers Scripture texts that use sheep as a metaphor to speak of the kind of king we envision as the “Lord of Heaven and Earth.” The gospel (MT 25) describes a king who rules not with an iron hand but one who “separates the sheep from the goats” at the end of time with the law of love. The measure of this kind of justice is care for the neighbor: feeding, clothing, sheltering and visiting the sick and imprisoned. The surprise is the revelation that when we think our love of neighbor is just simple human charity and do it naturally, God sees it as “superhuman,” a godly act. Or maybe there is no difference…

Of the most universally recognized Scripture passages, those that describe God in the role of shepherd – today in Ezekiel 34 and Psalm 23 – are most familiar. Thus, it was not Jesus that first conjectured God’s action in this way; it had been part of the tradition for centuries before his time. Throughout all the tumult of the history of the “chosen people” (among whom we now count ourselves) the thread of God as shepherd has been the model for ruler and servant as well. And we, as God’s flock, can be assured that we will be cared for as those in the charge of a “good” shepherd are. Whether we stay close in the sheepfold or wander off, we can be sure we will always be under the eye of the One who comes searching for us until we are found.

Why, then, would we not care for one another as we ourselves are always cared for? “God is God and we are not,” we might answer. “There is so much hunger and homelessness and illness in the world; how can we solve it all?” “You aren’t the only sheep in the flock. Stay with the flock and just do your part,” I hear God saying to us. “Follow my lead and don’t feel like you have to do it all. Just do your part, and leave the rest to me.” Put that way, it might just be a question of exercising our humanity after all…

 

 

 

 

 

The Derby

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accomplishment, care, connection, dreams, fidelity, Good Shepherd, humans and animals, joy, Kentucky Derby, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, thrill of victory

This may sound a bit crass to some who expect a reflection on the Good Shepherd today, but I just read an article about yesterday’s annual Kentucky Derby and made a connection that I want to share. It’s not about sheep, obviously, but rather horses and the fact that even really rich people can share dreams that start in childhood.

It seems that the two owners of the winner, Always Dreaming, grew up in Brooklyn and came to love horses and horse racing when their fathers brought them to the track as young boys. The one being interviewed, Anthony Bonomo, spoke of his neighborhood and the fact that after the race he had 267 messages on his phone from those folks he had known all his life. He said they would have to have a meal at a big restaurant in Brooklyn to share the joy of all those people whose support they cherish. He recounted – before the race – how their beloved horse would run the race, responding exactly as planned to the jockey’s body commands that were so familiar. It happened just as he predicted, even to the 2 1/2 lengths of the lead at the finish line.

This is the first time I have considered that, for owners, this race is not just about competition or money that most of them certainly don’t need. Rather, in addition to the thrill of the game, it is love for the animal itself that resounds in the joy of accomplishment. I understand in a very small way this “thrill of victory,” having gone on a few family outings to the race track and seeing the beautiful animals pass by on their way to the starting gate. I would choose the winner by looks and by their names rather than their statistical promise and rarely picked a winner so it was good that I was not rich enough to bet on them! Riding a horse in the hills around Taos, New Mexico, is also a great memory for me. There is no fear, even on narrow trails, as the horse knows where to walk and can read the simple cues from the rider’s knees and gentle pulls on the reigns.

This reverie may seem far-fetched – and I will stop here – but having experienced the connection between humans and their animals gives me a peaceful feeling that is always the result of such a relationship. Cats and dogs and even gerbils, I guess, can teach us a little of what Jesus was talking about today – about care given and fidelity received. And I, for one, am happy to have known that joy.

Real Power

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comfort, destruction, Good Shepherd, Isaiah, meditation, power, real power, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

There is so much that I could learn from a serious study of the Book of the Prophet Isaiah. Perhaps in my retirement…if such a time should ever come! Today’s reflection is simple – yet complex – coming from chapter 40:1-11. Isaiah’s message begins with tenderness. Comfort, give comfort to my people says your God. Speak tenderly to Jerusalem…So begins what then sounds like destruction of all we know as life on this planet (All flesh is grass…withering…) in a show of force by a God that claims to come with power and rule by his strong arm. Immediately following on all of that comes, as conclusion, the promise that our God is rather like a shepherd. He feeds his flock; in his arms he gathers the lambs, carrying them in his bosom and leading the ewes with care.

What then is real power? Can we recognize it in the manifestations of God that stand in juxtaposition to the “power” of this world? Isaiah has much more to say about who God is and why but I would recommend these eleven verses as a worthy meditation for this feast of St. Nicholas.

 

 

 

 

 

The Voice of the Shepherd

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God's voice, Good Shepherd, Jesus, listening, longing, messages, psalm 42, sound recognition, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, voice

Last night I took a chance and left my bedroom window open. Because the day had actually been warm enough to make me believe that spring had finally arrived, I thought that the fresh air would be worth the gamble on my being warm enough all night. Not only did I win that bet with myself but I didn’t need my alarm to wake me up this morning because the birds were busy very early and there was one outside with a big voice that sounded like a repetitive wake-up call. As I settled in with my coffee, I said aloud, “I don’t know who you are but I appreciate your call to slide me back from dreamland to this day.”

There it is again: hearing a voice – this time not one I recognize, but I’d be happy to be introduced to the bird it belongs to. This theme of sound recognition has been with me since my Saturday retreat and keeps calling me to pay attention. It wasn’t surprising then as I turned to the Scriptures of the day and found Jesus speaking of himself as the shepherd whose sheep hear his voice and follow him because they recognize his voice.

Juxtaposed with that gospel this morning is Psalm 42, a psalm of great longing for God. As the deer longs for running streams, so my soul longs for you, O God! Athirst is my soul for God, the living God. When shall I go and behold the face of God? Even here in the great desire to see God’s face there is the undercurrent of listening. I imagine native peoples walking through the woods as quietly as possible, listening for running water that they might slake their thirst (and avoid confrontation with danger, of course!).

Today, then, I hope to dedicate myself to listening intently – but also in a relaxed mode, not forcing anything – so that I may hear messages hidden in everyday events and conversations, insights shared in my spiritual practices group this afternoon or tones of voice in our chanting that lift my heart…In other words, I hope to stay awake all day to the longing for God that rises not only from my visual world but also from the sound of God’s voice everywhere present within and without.

A Merton Moment

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brambles, cover more ground, Entering the Silence, Good Shepherd, stay found, take less time, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, Thomas Merton, thorns

I opened my copy of Thomas Merton: A Book of Hours this morning and read two things that made me smile. One was the heading for the second hour of the day. Take more time, cover less ground, it said. I will try to keep that in mind as I look at the list of tasks that I made last night…The second was a prayer from the book Entering the Silence that is a humble reminder with great images. I may have quoted it before but it bears repeating, I think.

Good Shepherd, You have a wild and crazy sheep in love with thorns and brambles. But please don’t get tired of looking for me! I know You won’t. You have found me. All I have to do is stay found.