Our Brother Martin

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accidental activist, compelled, dreams, history, I have a dream, injustice, Martin Luther King Jr., Meg Wheatley, passivity, perseverance, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

There is so much to say about Martin Luther King, Jr. He was a “wake-up call” to our nation like no other, shaking us to the roots of our passivity in the 1960’s, and he paid the ultimate price for his courage. His own words still stir me when I hear his clear, booming voice proclaiming: I have a dream today…

Meg Wheatley speaks of people like “Brother Martin” as “accidental activists” – those who are compelled to do what they do. “In every case,” she writes, “they saw an injustice or tragedy or possibility when others weren’t aware of a thing. They heard a thundering call that nobody else noticed…They offer us dreams of bold new futures that others will never see.” (Perseverance, p.19)

Such was the life and death of Dr. King. One wonders today as we remember  his actions on behalf of racial justice how we can still be so far from his vision of “one nation under God.” When hatred and bigotry seem on the rise and we wring our hands in despair about the divisions in our country, let us seriously consider that “if we’re not part of the solution, we are part of the problem” and resolve to do our part toward directional change. It begins in our minds but grows to fruition only as it reaches our hearts and we come to understand that history chooses all of us in some way for the good.

 

 

 

 

 

Incredible Things

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creativity, cure, history, incredible, Jesus, Luke, progress, reality show, reflection, repurposed, reverence, simple ways, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

I often wonder what the next “reality show” on television will be. Whether it’s “Texas Flippers” or the latest tiny house being built, the networks seem to be birthing new iterations of demolition and rebuilding every day. In contrast to the seeming lack of desire to save anything in a house that might be “repurposed: – e.g. kitchen cabinets that might be “dated” but still in good shape – there is one, albeit very different, show that was playing when I walked into the living room yesterday. I think it’s called “Barn Builders.”

The team of a half-dozen strong, bearded, Southern-speaking, friendly workers is led by a man named Mark, whose reverence for history is impossible to miss. There’s lots to learn from this show about how barns were built long ago, what woods and other materials were used and why anyone would be interested in them today. Each episode features either the careful deconstruction of a barn whose wood is to be repurposed or the renovation of a structure to its faded glory of long ago. Often the team uses the implements of the era when renovating – like the flat axe I saw yesterday. Time and energy ran out on that one though, as they were working on a 40-foot tree that was to become a strengthening beam in the renewed structure of an 1839 tavern. The chain saw came out and did the job in record time. All involved were not only grateful for time and effort saved but amazed at the creativity that has brought us so much progress over the last two centuries. Most important was the esteem for early farmers who had worked so hard to build their homes and their lives.

There were two prompts for the above reflection. First, what may seem a stretch but is really true, was the last line of this morning’s gospel after Jesus had cured a paralyzed man. They said, “We have seen incredible things today.” (LK 5:26) Secondly, there is the reverence for history that is evident not only in the actual project of the Barn Builders episode but also in the vignettes sprinkled throughout the hour where Mark tours other properties or gives brief lessons about historical building processes. The premise of this show truly does remind me that we continue to see incredible progress but also that we need to remember our history that is so rich in seemingly simple ways.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

No Matter Where

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community, history, make a difference, presence, psalm 116, religious communities, Sisters of St. Joseph, St. Louis, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, travel, vows

I just thought of a line of “pop philosophy” (“pop” = popular) that sounds silly but contains a great truth. It says, Wherever you go, there you are.” This morning I’m in St. Louis, Missouri, the place from which our religious congregation has radiated out over the whole country including Hawaii and further to Japan, Peru and Chile. I laugh to say that it took me a long time to get here from New York because of weather delays. The entire trip took 10 hours, quite a lot different from the journey of the first Sisters coming from France who spent 2 months of travel to arrive here in 1836! I had my usual love affair with the skies along the way, marveling that nothing but the grace of God and jet propulsion was keeping our very weighty conveyance (to say nothing of ourselves) in the air. There is so much beauty, so much clarity that is visible from six miles up – even in the darkness!

Psalm 116 flooded me with gratitude for the possibilities afforded me by the age I live in and the community of which I am a part. As I read: How shall I make a return to the Lord for all the good God has done for me?…My vows to the Lord I will pay in the presence of all His people. I was keenly aware of all the history in this place and the ministry done by the Sisters of St. Joseph here and elsewhere over the past 180 years. I am part of that history. Whether I am in this “parlor” in St. Louis or my bedroom in Windsor, New York typing my thoughts, I am the same, a cog in the wheel. Sometimes though, I am more aware of the “bigger picture” as today when I will sit with ten other Sisters designing ways for the larger body of us to create a future that will include smaller numbers of us but will have the same spirit and engagement with the world.

Today, then, I ask God’s blessing on all Sisters of St. Joseph and other religious communities of women and men whose vows call them to prayer and ministry for God’s sake in the world. Secondly, I recognize the blessing of all people in whatever state of life who have vowed to make a difference for the good. May we all be blessed to know the ways that our presence (wherever we find ourselves) is valuable to our world and to our God.