The Human Jesus

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acceptance, Brother Curtis Almquist, developmental issues, gratitude, growth, human, humanity, imagination, Jesus, limitations, Messiah, mission, reflection, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, understanding, visualizing

Like many people, I receive a few “thought for the day” quotes in my e-mail each morning. Most often I delete them without too much reflection but occasionally there is something that makes me sit up and take notice. Perhaps because of the Wednesday and Friday gospels this week that focused on the miraculous feeding and healing powers of Jesus, I was led to reflect on his humanity today by Brother Curtis Almquist of the Episcopal Society of St. John the Evangelist in a short post entitled Growth. Here’s what he wrote.

I don’t think Jesus asked to be the Messiah any more than any of us asked for the deck of cards that was handed to us in our birth. But Jesus grew into the acceptance of his humanity, his gifts, his limitations, his mission, and his unfinished business, facing the same developmental issues that we all do in growing up.

Even though in theory I totally buy into Paul’s declaration to the Philippians that Jesus “emptied himself of godliness” and “became like us in all things but sin,” it’s rather stunning to think of Jesus having limitations, let alone “developmental issues.” I must admit, however, to a tiny sensation of relief and gratitude somewhere inside me as I begin to conjecture just what that might mean. I think it will take some time because there are no words that will clarify the sensation. It will take imagination, visualizing Jesus in life situations – in his youth, as a young adult and during his ministry – asking him questions about what he is experiencing in the situations in which he finds himself and then listening for answers.

Trusting that this process is not just a “flight of fancy” but rather a journey into the “imaginal” world may lead to a deepening of understanding and appreciation of Jesus as “fully human.” Why not give it a try?

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Reality Check

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expected, gratitude, life, list, tasks, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, unexpected

In case anyone is wondering about my progress of yesterday, I thought it only fair to report. Since I had made a list of tasks that would “choke a horse,” I need also to explain that my process is to write down every possible thing that I ought to do so that I won’t forget anything – and that I never can check off everything in one day. My list this time had 18 items on it – some more labor-intensive than others. I succeeded in attending to 5 of them. (No laughing please!) I had neglected to add meditation time, blogging time and meal time at home as well as just sitting for a bit watching TV together. And then there was a short space of time for reading, answering the phone and checking messages (no more of that than necessary!). We also have a retreatant here who always comes for the first week of the year and with whom I am privileged to “check in” at least once or twice during her stay. Yesterday that took what I thought would be my last two waking hours. But then we weren’t expecting the skunk who got stuck in our basement at 10:10PM…

What I realized once again this morning is that life goes on as it should, offering the expected and the unexpected and it is our duty to cooperate as we are able, offering our efforts in gratitude for being alive.

Inner and Outer Light

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believe, conscious living, fan the flames, gratitude, imagination, inner fire, light, light worker, meditation, possibility, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, the spiritual center

Sometimes I “talk big” and really mean what I say but find at the end of the day that I haven’t come close to accomplishing what I had decided at the beginning I would be able to achieve. Such was the interim between this moment and what I wrote on Friday about diving in with vigor and making a new start. Events intervene and change the pattern of our days sometimes so all we can do is our best – sometimes starting over the next day. The key is not to get either discouraged or lazy so that nothing ever gets done. This morning I’m ready to try again. Here’s why.

1. Yesterday morning six of us sat around a blazing fire in the living room of the Sophia House considering three themes for reflection in this new year. Our wonderfully creative tech person at Sophia, Mary Pat, walked with us on a non-stressful – peaceful even – path, stopping at directional points of inner and outer light, conscious living and gratitude. Our sharing was simple and then grew as did the fire’s warmth so that, in the end, we had a sense of that fire as an ongoing potential for this year’s journey.
2. Last evening my three Sisters and I sat in our own living room and had what turned into a long, lively exchange of ideas about moving forward with the fulfillment of certain of our proposed projects at the Spiritual Center. It was another experience of how the inner fire in each of us was caught in the circle because of all of us together.
3. This morning lying in my bed after waking I began to consider my day and to wonder what might be accomplished. Suddenly a wave of light seemed to burst within me – not a tidal wave but a flicker of determination that seemed to say, “Fan the flame. Go within to catch the spirit of those light workers who can help you in this realm and beyond. Use your imagination. Get up! Believe in possibility!” Needless to say I did not go back to sleep.
4. As I sat with my coffee to relate these events and their effect on me, a strong wind began to blow through the tallest of the trees outside my window, cheering me on. It’s still waving at me – so I need to move to my meditation mat to solidify purpose and begin the day. Blessings abound!

Full of Grace

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2018, grace, gratitude, John, New Year, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

Although it’s almost sunset, I feel a call to say something today in response to the line in today’s reading from John’s gospel that proclaims: “From his fullness we have all received…grace following on grace.”

Having spent two days back and forth from motel to hospital to motel again as well as today at my sister’s home, I have seen – in its fullness – grace in abundance. I have already spoken of the great gift of the surgical nurse of Friday (see 12/29 post) but she was followed by a stream of parking lot attendants, hospitality persons, meal servers, cab drivers, nurses (hospital & home visiting), physical therapists, etc. and I can honestly that each one was part of a grace-filled experience that could otherwise have been fraught with worry and tension.

As we leave 2018 behind, I hope that each of us is able to look back to some event or circumstance during the year that evokes gratitude for what we might describe as a full measure of grace!

Taking Time

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anxiety, experiences, future, gratitude, Jesus, John, live in the present moment, past, present, St. John the Evangelist, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, time

Today Christians mark the feast of St. John, “Apostle and Evangelist.” There is much commentary about this companion of Jesus, the one known as “the beloved disciple” who was at his side at the Last Supper and the Crucifixion and figures prominently in the Resurrection narratives. His own gospel passage of the Resurrection is read at services today (JN 20: 1-8) and seems a bit out of place for two days after the feast of the birth of Jesus. Because of this telescoped view of the beginning and end of the life of Jesus, I was brought to a consideration of the concept of time.

We know, of course, the beginnings and ends of things that have happened in the past. We live as well as we can the present time in which we live. Because of present events we may be looking toward the future with expectation or anxiety, but ultimately it makes the most sense to live in the moment we are in. As many wise people have said in different ways, the present is the only moment we are sure of, the only one in which we are confident that we can change or choose. An internet post from a site called exactlywhatistime.com was quite prolific in its definitions that began by saying the following.

Time is something we deal with every day, and something that everyone thinks they understand. However, a compact and robust definition of time has proved to be remarkably tricky and elusive.

Before I get too bungled up in philosophical wanderings, let me suggest that the best way for me to look at time is the one that will allow me to look kindly on the past from which I have learned lessons in living well, the present in which I garner deeper understanding and gratitude each day and the future to which I look with hope for ever better applications of what I have learned.

I am still left wondering, however, about the juxtaposition of gospel passages from Christmas to Resurrection events this week. Are we meant, do you suppose, to live everything in the present, to contain all experiences at this moment? A question for physicists perhaps…What do you think?

Dawning Light

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give thanks, grace, gratitude, intention, joy, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

I’m aware again today of the power of intention and the necessity of determination as well. I was awake, you see, at 4:45am but determined to take advantage of the 90 minutes still available to me for the rest that early morning sleep affords. With that in mind I did my best to let go of my mind’s busyness and today it worked! When I heard my alarm at 6:15 I was grateful and recognized a welcome “start-up” line floating through my consciousness. It was as if Kahlil Gibran had come himself to invite me to the day. To wake at dawn, he said, with a winged heart and give thanks for another day of loving. (from The Prophet, On Love). 

With that gift, I was propelled out of bed and companioned at every step on the staircase to the kitchen with a “thank you” that just kept rolling effortlessly along. Thank you for this day, thank you for my feet that uphold me, for my Sisters still asleep and for the quiet, for the potential in this day at the office, for a clear sky…thank you, God, for everything I see and for the gift of sight…That may strike readers as simplistic and unrealistic but underneath that gushing waterfall of words is a deep knowing of the pain and suffering that exists in the world. The grace of today is that the suffering does not blot out the joy and gratitude for the life, the love. 

It is somewhat like the experience that we see and hear reflected in the reports of the Bush family as they take their father/grandfather through the ceremonies of the next two days. The loss of this man to each of them and all of them – and to the country – is immeasurable. To allow his rest from the labors of his life and to celebrate what will remain in memory is the reward for letting him go into light.

May we each find reason to give thanks this day.

Kick-Start

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compromise, excuses, God, gratitude, inertia, intention, Lynn Bauman, meditation, praise, psalm 96, refreshed, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

Sometimes it’s just the vocabulary of a line or two that snaps us open to possibility. Occasionally there is a convergence of small events that sparks a new knowing. Let me give this morning’s example. 

In the semi-darkness of the kitchen as I poured my coffee, Sister Paula mentioned yesterday’s blog and the essential nature of what Dave Peters had written about intention that I had quoted. Ten minutes later, settled in my chair looking out at a tree stripped of any sign of life and then back at a blank computer screen, I picked up and read Lynn Bauman’s enthusiastic translation of today’s lectionary psalm. 

Come sing to God, O earth, sing out this song anew. And bless God’s holy name in praise, for day by day we are renewed, restored, refreshed again by glory’s light. Proclaim good news among the nations of the earth, tell all the peoples everywhere God’s work, God’s ways, the wonders that God does…This is your God, bring all you have and offer it in honor of that sacred name. (Ps 96: 1-3, 8)

At that moment I recognized that I had been moving on “automatic pilot,” slipping deeper and deeper into a place of inertia. I didn’t need to search for explanations, blaming the weather or the political climate or anything external. I just knew that the discipline of intention had somehow leaked out of me and left me in that state. As I resumed reading the psalm something in me began to lift and let me know that today needs to be different.

O, heavens rejoice with fullest joy. O, earth express your deepest praise. O, oceans roar in satisfaction and delight, and lands from sea to sea join in. You trees on earth and mighty forests deep, shout out to welcome God’s return. For God has come to us as fairest judge to settle all our wrongs with right. (vs. 11-13)

No compromises today will be tolerated. No excuses will be good enough to give in. I’m due on my meditation mat right now, then to the shower and soon to work, all with determination and deep gratitude.

Giving Thanks

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gratitude, mindful, music, St. Cecilia, thanks, Thanksgiving, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

I awoke in the dark before 6:00am this morning and pulled up blankets that had been displaced in the night, grateful for the warmth they afforded. When I opened my eyes again at 8:02 (!) it was to blazing sun and clear blue skies and I gave thanks. I have just finished drinking a large mug of coffee while sitting in the comfortable chair that embraces me and I smile in gratitude. I have already begun a litany in my head of graces I have received, people I have loved and still love, companions on the journey all. For meaningful work and co-workers, for childhood friends and family, for religious community and Church congregations, I give thanks. 

Today is the feast of St. Cecilia, patron of musicians, and she seems the perfect soulmate for the celebration of Thanksgiving Day. I cannot imagine a life without music and give thanks for all the great musicians who have lifted my spirits – and my body in dance – with their talent and creativity.

Already there is a turkey waiting to be cooked and a table ready to be decorated, a special grace to be written with an acknowledgment of those who still do not have what we have to be shared. We are so very blessed and are aware that that giving back is the best manifestation of gratitude. We are called to spread the light of love and do so gratefully on this day.

May we all be mindful of what is most important in life as we share ourselves on this feast. Happy Thanksgiving!

 

Little Less Than the Angels

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angels, gratitude, music, psalm 8, sharing, Thanksgiving, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

The psalmist is “waxing eloquent” this morning. As Psalm 8 rings in my inner sight, I recall the beautiful blue sky and sunshine of yesterday afternoon as I drove and sang with the accompaniment of longtime liturgical musicians whose music always stirs me to praise. This weekend was well begun last evening (see yesterday’s post) with a sellout crowd for our communal “walk down memory lane.” I look forward to a full day of enthusiastic sharing in words toward a hopeful future and feelings of gratitude for what we have been given throughout our history from our roots in 17th century France to worldwide service in love of God and neighbor.

Who are we, the psalmist asks God, that you should care for us? You have made us little less than the angels…and today we will revel in thanksgiving!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pope Saint John XXIII

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gratitude, holiness, humility, humor, Job, Pope John XXIII, saint, Second Vatican Council, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

Today we celebrate Pope John XXIII, canonized (some would add “finally!”) by Pope Francis in 2014. The website franciscanmedia.org opens today’s reflection with a wonderful sentence: “A shy, retiring man with a wonderful sense of humor, Cardinal Angelo Roncalli became our beloved Pope St. John XXIII.” It is well known that he was elected by the College of Cardinals as a stop-gap pope to give them time to “get the politics ironed out for a more permanent candidate.” The Holy Spirit had other plans, however, as John XXIII rocked the Church by calling the Second Vatican Council, an aggiornamento (updating) that changed the face of Roman Catholicism for all time.

We remember Pope John for that cataclysmic event (1962-1965) as if he had never done anything in his life before, but here are a few of his credentials that should have alerted people to his fitness for the “job” of Pope even before the Council.

He was the eldest son of a farm family, simple and not interested in the limelight but rather proud of his down-to-earth roots. Having served as a stretcher bearer in World War I, he experienced war firsthand. After ordination to the priesthood he became a canon lawyer, secretary to his bishop, history teacher in the seminary and publisher of the diocesan newspaper in Rome. Subsequently, he was Italy’s national director for the Society for the Propagation of the Faith while also teaching in the seminary. He served as a papal diplomat in Bulgaria, Turkey and France. During World War II he became acquainted with Orthodox Church leaders and with the help of Germany’s ambassador to Turkey, helped save an estimated 24,000 Jewish people. As a cardinal, he was the Patriarch of Venice and a residential bishop, finally being elected Pope in his 78th year. As pope, He worked with political and religious leaders around the world and was deeply involved in efforts to resolve the Cuban missile crisis. He enlarged the membership of the College of Cardinals, making it more international, and wrote important encyclical letters to the world, most famously about the Church: Mater et magistra (Mother and Teacher) and the world: Pacem in terris (Peace on Earth).

It could be said that all of those credentials, so wonderfully documented at www.franciscanmedia.org, are overshadowed by his holiness and humility. Although it is useless to quantify such qualities, we would do well to think on these things and pray in gratitude for this saintly friend of God who served his Church and the world so well.