Just Ask…

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advice, Barbara Brown Taylor, Esther, help, Learning to Walk in the Dark, Matthew, Psalm 138, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, weakness

Why is it that we are so hesitant to ask for help? That was a topic of conversation at our book study last night. We were considering the work of Barbara Brown Taylor, a book called Learning to Walk in the Dark, and again this morning the topic popped up in the lectionary readings: the Book of Esther, Psalm 138 and the more familiar text from MT 7 that tells us to ask, seek and knock — all in the same sentence.

It may have something to do with the “rugged individualism” of our country’s pioneering history or the overly competitive spirit that we see in sports teams from school children to professional teams. Somehow we have learned that asking for help springs from a weakness that we should fear. That is truly unfortunate, especially because there is hardly anything most of us would rather do than be of service to one another.

When is the last time you asked the advice of a friend or sought help to complete a project that was too onerous for one person? And even if you could do it yourself, why not ask for help just to forge a deeper relationship? Walking in the dark is a much more meaningful (and safe!) thing to do if you’re holding the hand of a friend. Try it. I guarantee it will lighten your load.

Holy Innocents

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asylum, help, Herod, Matthew, migrants, refugees, suffering, The Holy Innocents, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

Today Christians mark the massacre of all boy babies in Bethlehem under the age of two years by King Herod. The story is told in Matthew’s gospel (2: 1-18). Herod was afraid of losing the power of his kingdom when he heard of the birth of Jesus from the astrologers from the East who came seeking “the newborn King.” His solution was the massacre, certain that Jesus would be among the slain children.

I cannot help seeing in my mind pictures of the southern border of the United States where in our day families are seeking asylum from the dangers in their own countries. The situation is dire, reminiscent of Matthew’s report that “a voice was heard in Ramah, sobbing and loud lamentation; Rachel weeping for her children.” (MT 2:18)

Let us pray for these “holy innocents” today and continue to call our government officials to right the wrong that has been done to them and their families. Each of us must ask ourselves: “What is one thing I can do in this crisis that will alleviate the suffering?” and then do it. We cannot all go to the border to work among the refugees, but we can and must do something to make our voices be heard. Let us not wait but rather act for those who have no means to help themselves.

Audacity

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convictions, courage, God's willingness, healing, hear, help, Jesus, leper, Luke, prayers, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

Every once in awhile we find someone in the Scriptures who isn’t afraid to take a risk in his/her approach to Jesus. The leper in today’s gospel is such a person. Upon seeing Jesus “in one of the towns where Jesus was,” this man took the dramatic step of prostrating himself before Jesus saying, “If you want to, you can make me clean.”

I have this image of the encounter. Jesus is either chatting with someone on a street corner or shopping for something that he or someone else needed. There is no crowd around; it’s early in the gospel of Luke (5:12-16) and the man was able to go right up to where Jesus was and, recognizing him somehow, declare his request without hesitation. Whether Jesus was taken aback or happy that the person in front of him was so direct and sure of him, his answer was just as straightforward. “Of course I want to (my favorite translation says), be clean!” And so it happened. Jesus stretched out his hand, touched the man and the leprosy left him immediately – just like that!

When I am feeling timid about the reasonableness of my prayers, I would do well to remember this man and summon up the courage of my convictions, remembering God’s willingness to hear me and help me. Confidence will win every time!

Why Not Ask for Help?

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fear, God, help, Jesus, John, psalm 46, refuge, strength, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, trust

There is such a strong message in the lectionary readings today of the necessity of trust – and reasons to do so even when our patience is wearing thin. It is the psalm that shakes me awake right at the beginning, declaring: God is our refuge and our strength, an ever present help in distress. Therefore, we fear not, though the earth be shaken and mountains plunge into the depths of the sea. (Ps. 46:2-3)

What follows in the gospel is the reminder to never give up. It’s the story of the man who was ill for a long time – waiting 38 years at the healing pool of Bethesda for help. (JN 5:1-16) I always have trouble with that gospel passage because it seems to me unconscionable that there is no one who notices this man who needs help. I try to see that there might be more to the story when Jesus arrives and asks him “Do you want to be well?” That makes me wonder if something more than his physical infirmity is keeping him from the pool. Maybe he just needs to admit his need for help or to trust the help that is available to him. It’s interesting that he doesn’t answer Jesus with a resounding “YES!” as do all the others in the gospels to whom Jesus puts that question. What he does say is that there is no one to help him. So Jesus does.

The message I see here is that God is always at the ready – no matter what – if we don’t give up and if we are willing to speak our needs. The example (38 years!) seems extreme but perhaps some of us need all that time to wake up and/or give in totally.

Then there’s the second half of the story that opens up several more questions, but that’s a conversation for another day…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Stepping Up

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A Deep Breath of Life, Alan Cohen, damage, distress, generosity, help, heroes, heroic efforts, Hurricane Harvey, light, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, unexpected heaven

Last night as I checked into the news of the day and saw the devastation that took the entire half-hour of the NBC Nightly News, I knew I ought to focus my words this morning on the terrible event that has been Hurricane Harvey. Ironically, Alan Cohen provided the words – from his book published in 1996! (Finding that publication date answered my question of why his entry for today in A Deep Breath of Life didn’t include the 9/11 attacks.) In his mention of  Hurricane Iniki in Hawaii in 1992, the San Francisco earthquake of 1989 and even the 1969 Woodstock Music Festival in 1969 (because of the unexpected “invasion” of 500,000 people overnight in this small town), Cohen does not focus on the damage and distress but rather on the heroic efforts of so many people during and after those events. While not diminishing the unexpected devastation of people’s lives, he says the following:

Many heroes who would otherwise have remained anonymous came to the fore…No event is entirely negative. Sometimes a hell can set the stage for an unexpected heaven.

My presumption is that we will see (or have already seen) the same kind of outpouring of generosity this week. I add my intention to Cohen’s today as he prays, Show me how to find the light in the darkness. Help me be a light to others. May it be so with us.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Surprise!

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A Deep Breath of Life, Alan Cohen, appearances, assist, attacking, centering prayer, deeper in wisdom, healing, help, higher vision, joy, jump to conclusions, miss, spiritual practice, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

One of the best outcomes of my practice of centering prayer is the certainty that I have become less judgmental of persons and situations than I was 11 years ago when I began the practice in earnest. There are definitely times when I still jump to conclusions but that happens less often than in my earlier life. This morning I was reminded of this gift – and of the fact that I still have a long way to go before claiming “perfection” in this area. It came from a humorous story in Alan Cohen’s book, A Deep Breath of Life, and was entitled “The Pig of God.” I hope you enjoy it and find the message as important as I do. You may have heard it before but it’s worth a second look (or a third or fourth…) so pay close attention.

As a man was driving around a dangerous hairpin mountain curve, a woman in a little red sports car tore around the bend from the opposite direction, cutting him off and forcing him to veer off the road. To add insult to injury, as the woman sped by, she yelled, “Pig!” Furious, the man shook his fist at her and shouted, “Sow!” He kept going around the curve, where he ran into a pig sitting on his side of the road.

Sometimes when it appears that life is attacking us, it is trying to help us. Those who challenge us bring us valuable life lessons that we might miss if we are caught up in feeling insulted or unappreciated. Imagine that everyone you meet is here to assist you to go deeper in your wisdom, healing and joy. Do not be fooled by appearances; use your higher vision until you find the gold.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Help!

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care, dance with God, draw near to God, help, psalm 55, resistance, support, The Letter of James, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, worries

There are times in life when we each need help. Asking for what we need is more difficult for some of us than for others. There are many reasons why this could be true in life but I’m coming to learn that resisting help is something we need to come to grips with and let go. Most of us are willing to give help; it’s just receiving assistance from someone else that takes more humility than some of us can muster. It might come easier to us if we considered that when we allow others to help us we are giving them the opportunity to be generous. However we overcome our overactive sense of independence, we need to do it – else how can we ever break down the walls of separation that keep us apart?

This concept also applies to our relationship with God (the most important word here being relationship). There are two lines in today’s readings that emphasize our part in seeking help from God. We can’t just go along assuming God will take care of everything to our liking. That may be the case, but put yourself in God’s place. How would you feel if your spouse or child or very good friend never asked for your help but always assumed you would take care of everything? Where is the relatedness in that? Where is the exchange, the gratitude – the love expressed? The Letter of James advises us to draw near to God and he will draw near to you. That reminds me of the synergy of the couples on Dancing with the Stars last night. If they were just thinking of their own steps, the dance was choppy and stagnant. Last night each of the five remaining couples were brilliantly connected, dancing as one. Don’t we owe God that kind of relationship? The psalmist gives the same kind of advice with a vivid verb in the refrain of Psalm 55, saying: Throw your cares on the Lord, and he will support you. Again I see the dancers, especially one couple in a contemporary dance, where the lifts were extraordinary and the partners so in sync that there wasn’t even an inkling that he would drop her.

Why not try a dance with God today – letting God lead but responding in kind? It might be good preparation for seeking the help of a fellow seeker/traveler on the earth.

O Key of David…Come!

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Ahaz, David, God, help, Isaiah, Lord, O Antiphons, philosophy, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

One of the most memorable moments in my college days (which were pretty straightforward since I was a novice in a religious community) was a breakthrough in understanding. Other novices and I were in the midst of an Introduction to Philosophy class taught by a very poor teacher. The novice director, having a sense of our struggle, gave an unheard of permission for the five of us to stay up after the night silence and study together. She knew that the brightest among us would be able to help. I don’t remember the content but I do recall the amazing moment when the light went on for me as a result of Sr. Susan Elizabeth finding the right key to open my mind to the content that had escaped me. I don’t imagine that we had complained to our novice director about the professor or the class; novices generally didn’t do that. Somehow, though, Sister Elizabeth Thomas always knew what was going on without our input. I count that night as an example of her wisdom in setting aside a rule for a greater good.

I love the first reading for this morning (Is. 7:10-14) as it points up how much God is willing to help us and I imagine it as a bit of a comedic dialogue. I have to quote the whole text to show the significance.

The Lord said to Ahaz, “Ask for a sign from the Lord, your God; let it be deep as the nether world or high as the sky!” But Ahaz answered, “I will not ask! I will not tempt the Lord!” Then Isaiah said, “Listen, O house of David! Is it not enough for you to weary men, must you also weary my God? The Lord himself will give you this sign: the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall name him Emmanuel.

All those exclamation points indicate an excited conversation. It’s as if someone has a great surprise to share and keeps saying, “Ask me what I know! Go ahead! Ask!” and I say, “Nah, not interested.” or “You’d better tell someone else; I’m not the person you should tell.” The frustration of the teller is, of course, that the information is great news for you! It may even be the key that opens the door to a whole new future for you!

All of the above may seem like a roundabout way to get to today’s O Antiphon, but it all works for me. O Key of David, opening the gates of God’s eternal kingdom: come and free the prisoners from darkness! Whatever our prison – be it of the mind or spirit – Christ is longing to come and free us from it. All we need do is ask. The door will then be open in invitation to live in the heart of Christ – the place from which all darkness turns to light.