Light in the Darkness…If

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afflicted, guide, hungry, Isaiah, light, plenty, strength, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

I have been delighting in a website called Tinybeans which keeps me up to date with the growth and progress of a friend’s baby. Today was the saga of his introduction to carrots and it didn’t go well. John made it perfectly clear that he was not going to eat those orange things, regardless of the efforts of both his parents to encourage it. It is fascinating to see how babies react to tastes. (I, for one, found carrots in the top three vegetables and still do!) At this point, John does not have language to refuse – only facial clues – no matter how his parents coax him. Later on, perhaps, they will cajole or demand compliance when encouraging acceptable behavior, or will make “deals” with him in the traditional “if/then” process: “If you eat your vegetables, then you can have dessert…” but for now, he wins.

It may be stretch, but John made me think of this morning’s reading from the prophet Isaiah. (58: 9b ->). The stakes are much higher in what Isaiah is proposing, however, and the promises are quite tempting. Listen to yourself reading it aloud:

Thus says the Lord: If you remove from your midst oppression, false accusation and malicious speech, if you bestow your bread on the hungry and satisfy the afflicted, then light shall rise for you in the darkness and the gloom shall become for you like midday. Then the Lord will guide you always and give you plenty even on the parched land. He will renew your strength, and you shall be like a watered garden, like a spring whose water never fails.

Can you feel the light rising in you? If not, try turning off all the lights in the room you’re in and stand in the dark for a moment or two. Then turn all the lights on at once and see what you can see. And thank God for all the promises you have been given.

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What’s Your Name?

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hungry, Isaiah, light, malicious speech, oppression, renew, reward, solidarity of purpose, spirit name, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

There’re a great line from the book of the Prophet Isaiah today. In my opinion, it names the sort of person we all ought to aspire to become. First Isaiah offers a description and then speaks the name. Listen:

Thus says the Lord: If you remove from your midst oppression, false accusations and malicious speech; if you bestow your bread on the hungry and satisfy the afflicted; then light shall rise for you in the darkness, and the gloom shall become for you like midday; then the Lord will guide you always and give you plenty even on the parched land. He will renew your strength, and you shall be like a watered garden, like a spring whose water never fails. The ancient ruins shall be rebuilt for your sake, and the foundations from ages past you shall raise. (IS 58: 9-14)

That sounds like a pretty big reward for doing what we should all be working toward in our lives. And for that, Isaiah says, “Repairer of the breach,” they shall call you.” It sounds to me like naming ceremonies in many indigenous cultures when individuals are given their “Spirit name” which “tells something about the person, their personality, their mission in this life.” (manataka.org) Similarly, Christians often choose a name during their Confirmation ritual that speaks of a saint of the Church or honors the sponsor who witnesses to their willingness to act in a sacred manner in life.

What is your “spirit name?” If you could choose one today, what would it be? For myself, I am rather partial to “Repairer of the Breach.” Perhaps in solidarity of purpose, we could all add that one to names we already own. It could look something like this: “Lois Ann Barton, CSJ, RB” (Congregation of Saint Joseph, Repairer of the Breach.) A good and necessary reminder to carry forward, don’t you think?

Black Friday

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balance, Black Friday, frenzy, gift-giving, hungry, materialism, mindfulness, No Kid Hungry, opportunity, Santa Claus, service, Thanksgiving, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

Santa Claus arrived with a flourish yesterday at the culmination of the Thanksgiving Day parade in NY City. He was quite animated, bouncing and waving in all directions to announce that the run-up to Christmas had begun. Although Hallmark movies had been filling the airwaves with Christmas carols since sometime in October, now it’s official and very serious. The internet is awash with advertisements for all kinds of amazing discounts on products and services. I heard on the national news last night that even airline ticket prices are slashed “for a limited time.” What began as a day-long opportunity for deep price reductions on the day after Thanksgiving has been running for a week already, but is still named, ironically, Black Friday.

I recognize the value of shopping for gifts when prices are reduced but the frenzy that has been happening already in cities and towns across our country, especially last night and in the early hours of this morning, is a growing concern in a country of great wealth where at least 1 in 7 people (1 in 5 children) lack proper access to food during any given year. (Feeding America) Clay Dunn, chief communications officer at the nonprofit No Kid Hungry reminds us that often the issue for poor families is making difficult choices like whether to buy food or pay the electric bill.

There are certainly many organizations (including the two mentioned above) that strive to make us aware of the needs and give us the opportunity to be part of the solution to this and other issues of poverty in our country. I simply call our attention to the image of extreme materialism – leading sometimes to violence engendered by a crowd mentality – that manifests on this day, all in service to the “season of gift-giving.”

My prayer for all of us today is one of mindfulness and hope for a return to balance. With that intention, I plan to stay home today and consider my giving and getting that will hopefully lead to a simple, peaceful season of Advent that culminates in a meaningful celebration of Christmas.

 

 

 

 

 

The Message: Clear and Direct

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America, beatitudes, books, Christian Scriptures, clothe, false accusation, Hebrew Scriptures, hungry, Isaiah, Lectionary, light, malicious speech, oppressed, oppression, share, shelter, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

I carried a satchel full of books with me this week, texts that we have considered already and others that will inspire our conversation over the next two days. I always feel comfortable in the company of books; just having them in the room with me is sometimes enough. This morning, however, as I read the lectionary texts for today, I was again reminded of the timelessness of the Hebrew and Christian Scriptures. The messages fairly jump off the page in their similarity (Isaiah and Matthew’s Beatitudes) and appropriateness for this moment in the history of the United States of America. The messages of how we are to become light in this world are unmistakable. We should all read them aloud and often. The prophet Isaiah says this:

Share your bread with the hungry, shelter the oppressed and the homeless; clothe the naked when you see them and do not turn your back on your own. Then your light shall break forth like the dawn and your wound shall quickly be healed…If you remove from your midst oppression, false accusation and malicious speech; if you bestow your bread on the hungry and satisfy the afflicted, then light shall rise for you from the darkness and the gloom shall become for you like midday. (IS 58: 7-10)

How can we miss the import of these words? What is our willingness quotient and how might we respond? The message is more urgent than ever now. How can we ignore it?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Proclaim a Fast

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abstinence, Ash Wednesday, consciousness, fasting, food, fundamental human right, hungry, Isaiah, Lent, Lenten journey, oppessed, Roman Catholic Church, sharing, Sisters of St. Joseph, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, unjust

My mind is racing already after reading the lectionary texts today. I don’t know if I can settle on one topic emerging from the message of Isaiah. Perhaps it isn’t always necessary to be able to wrap my words up into a tight, cohesive package. I may just strive this morning for coherence and leave cohesion by the wayside. We’ll see how it goes.

Here is what Isaiah shouts today in God’s name on the topic of fasting that definitely reverberates down through the ages. Would that today you might fast so as to make your voice heard on high!…This is the fasting that I wish: releasing those bound unjustly, untying the thongs of the yoke; setting free the oppressed, breaking every yoke; sharing your bread with the hungry, sheltering the oppressed and the homeless; clothing the naked when you see them and not turning your back on your own. Then your light shall break forth like the dawn and your wound shall quickly be healed. (IS 58:1-9A)

On Wednesday (Ash Wednesday, still an official day of fast and abstinence in the Roman Catholic Church – one of only two in Lent these days) I was so aware of my eating. Running through my mind was the rule that “two small meals equal the one main meal” and “no meat at any meal.” The challenge was not finding what I could eat to fit that description but in the second part of the stricture of no eating between meals. The issue was consciousness. Happily, I was on the road working about 80 miles away from home because when I’m home the challenge is always to notice when I pick up a cracker or a grape walking through the kitchen if I feel hungry – or even if not. But there was the moment on Wednesday when I stopped to fill my car’s gas tank at a station with a convenience store attached. I had to remind myself not to go in and pick up a candy bar or a small bag of potato chips, “just in case…” Food is so accessible in my life; I need to be more responsible to that fact.

Yesterday I read an article in the semi-annual publication of our province of Sisters of St. Joseph. Our Social Justice Coordinator was writing about a collaboration between two organizations uniting to fight hunger. One, Great Nations Eat, is using the technology of media like TV, radio, or even billboards and internet like Twitter, Instagram and Facebook to raise consciousness. “We put a man on the moon. Feeding our people shouldn’t be rocket science” and “America can’t be great on an empty stomach” are two of their slogans aimed at making people think. The other organization, Share Our Strength, is similarly motivated to call on Americans to unite in the effort to fight hunger. “It [hunger] affects the life of one in six Americans. That doesn’t happen in any other developed nation. It shouldn’t happen here,” says founder and CEO, Billy Shore. “Ending hunger is possible. It will take public awareness and political outreach to build the necessary national will…”

So it isn’t just about eating or not eating; it’s more about consciousness that setting free the oppressed and unbinding the yoke of others in our midst or in our world can start with feeding the hungry. Here recent images on the news of emaciated children in war-torn places in the Middle East come to mind. It’s all connected and we are all responsible. My province of the Sisters of St. Joseph has committed us to address this issue in the following ways: 1. to promote and to advocate for the recognition and realization that food is a fundamental human right, and 2. to be part of developing and implementing a comprehensive strategy to end hunger on the local, national and international levels. That is a big order and it is clear that we do not assume we can do it alone. Even small steps, tiny actions are important. On yesterday’s local news, for example, there was a report of elementary school children from Owego, NY – a rural area – collecting cans of soup last week in the run-up to the Super Bowl game to donate to homeless people served by the Tioga County rural outreach organization directed by one of our Sisters. These children gave Sister Mary 524 cans of soup and learned a great lesson of caring at the same time.

Enough! We all have our own work to do to respond to God’s call through Isaiah. Who will you notice on your Lenten journey who needs your help? How will you recognize his/her hunger? What will you do to feed it? And what about me? What will I do next time? It’s about each of us and all of us. May we walk together into a brighter, more caring future.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Cosmic Dance

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conscious work, glory, healing, hungry, Kanuga, poor, Psalm 95, refugees, sharing, synergy, terror victims, The Elm Dance, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

I can’t be sure yet but I think the rain has stopped. Yesterday it seemed as if we were destined to begin building an ark for 250 people and however many animals came swimming down the paths here at Kanuga. But it was a day when it seemed no one was bothered by the rain. We were buoyed up by the synergy of our sharing, especially as we came together in a magical event that replaced our “conscious work” period of cleaning up the grounds of leaves and sticks and other remnants of autumn.

We gathered in the gym, first in our “small groups” of 20 people each and then in 3 concentric circles to learn and then dance The Elm Dance for the healing of the world. All nervousness about “doing it right” vanished quickly in the first go-round when the groups realized how simple the steps were and how easy it was to stay together as they moved. Especially beautiful were the moments of moving toward the center of the circle where joined hands let go into the sky, waving like the branches of beautiful trees and coming back together in the movement out again to continue circling. Later sharing provided ample evidence of connecting with the plight of refugees and victims of terror, the poor and hungry of the world and the ravaged places of Earth herself in ways that were deep and meaningful.

The rain continued to accompany us through the day and night where strains of our closing chant for the evening resonated everywhere as witness that every cell of this body sings, “Glory!” I have no doubt that the best advice any of the participants here could give for this new day comes from the gospel verse for this morning: If today you hear God’s voice, harden not your hearts. (Ps. 95:8)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

How Hungry?

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bread alone, eternal life, going deeper, hungry, Jesus, loaves and fishes, Matthew, reflection, Scriptures, spiritual life, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, Word of God

The gospel acclamation gives a clue to the message of Jesus this morning, saying: One does not live by bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of God (MT 4:4). The day after they had eaten their fill from the miraculous multiplication of the loaves and fishes, the crowd could not find Jesus so, knowing that many boats had crossed the Sea of Galilee (not a very far distance) they, themselves, got into boats and found him in Capernaum. When they asked how he got there he didn’t answer but rather said to them, You are looking for me not because you saw signs but because you ate the loaves and were filled. Do not work for food that perishes but for the food that endures for eternal life. (JN 6).

It’s interesting to follow the 6th chapter of John’s gospel. First we have the miracle when great compassion for the hungry crowds has Jesus creating a meal for 5,000 (plus women and children) out of 5 loaves and 2 fishes. The next day when they come back for more he seems to be remonstrating with them in what he says (quoted above). Maybe he’s just tired of being pursued and looking for a little respite at home. It does sound like he slipped away purposely the night before. I think, however, that he is just pushing them to go a little deeper. It is important to give people the necessities of life before trying to evangelize – missionaries know that – but once people have been fed and provided for on a physical level, it’s time to “go for the gold” in living a spiritual life.

I was thinking how beneficial it has been for me to write this blog almost every day. Reflecting on the Scriptures in this way has sharpened my perception about the universal nature of the messages I find there and the application to daily life becomes clearer with each reflection. Then I find in out-of-the-way places “the word of God” which calls for a response from me. I have become more hungry for that word and believe now that I cannot live without it. It is indeed this food that endures for eternal life.

The Constancy of Change

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change, charity, hungry, injustice, Peace, poor, Pope Francis, reform, same, St. Basil, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

One of my favorite axioms from my “first life” as a high school French teacher is what in English is translated as: The more things change, the more they stay the same. I saw that quote as I was reading the biography of St. Basil the Great, generally considered to be the father of Eastern monasticism as well as a Doctor of the Church. Living early in the Christian era (329-379), he was known for both his theological brilliance and his care for the poor and downtrodden. It was in the commentary that the above quote appears, pointing up the work of Basil in dealing with the same problems of the Church today, such as “the need for reform, organization, fighting for the poor, maintaining balance and peace in misunderstanding.” It all reminded me of Pope Francis who continues to surprise the world with his statements and actions toward the same goals. I could hear Francis at his most urgent, uttering the words of Basil that concluded the commentary – words worthy of our reflection today.

The bread which you do not use is the bread of the hungry; the garment hanging in your wardrobe is the garment of him who is naked; the shoes that you do not wear are the shoes of the one who is barefoot; the money that you keep locked away is the money of the poor; the acts of charity that you do not perform are so many injustices that you commit.

 

Time Is Short

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beatitudes, Corinthians, Gentiles, hungry, Luke, Matthew, poor, Sermon on the Mount, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, wake up call

Chapter 6 of Luke’s gospel is the alternative reading of the famous Beatitudes in Matthew 5: the “Sermon on the Plain” rather than “the Sermon on the Mount” which is perhaps an indicator of the content as well as a location since Luke speaks in a more “down to earth” way – about the “poor” rather than the “poor in spirit” and the “hungry” rather than those who “hunger and thirst for justice.” Luke’s gospel was written for the Gentiles, not those for whom Matthew wrote. Matthew’s audience was the “chosen people, a royal priesthood…” those waiting for the Messiah who would restore “the throne of David.” Luke was concerned about everybody else.

As I think of our world today I’m unable to separate the poor in Africa from those in the United States – or people in war-torn countries from myself. Because we have the benefit of knowing about anything we can Google, it’s difficult to exclude anyone from our circle of concern. It would be easier to be ignorant (which doesn’t really mean “stupid” but simply “unknowing”). There would be less to worry about, fewer issues to be considered.

The reason my thoughts went this way this morning, I’m sure, is the last line from Paul’s message to the Corinthians (1Cor 7:31) where he predicts that “the world in its present form is passing away.” There are many implications – hopeful as well as dire – in that one line that cause me to reflect on my place and responsibility as a world citizen. It sounds like a “wake up call” to me. Prayer, concern, education and action are all words that come to mind. I’d better get busy…

 

Candlelight

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candle, hungry, Jesus, loaves and fishes, Mark, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

This morning, Mark tells his version of the loaves and the fishes (Ch 8:1-10). What stood out to me – besides the great compassion of Jesus for the people, many of whom had come “a great distance” to listen to him – was that the question Jesus asks is, “How many loaves do you have?” Initially, I thought maybe there were no fish in his telling of the miracle. Just before the distribution, Mark mentions that they also had “a few fish” but by then I had already begun to sing an old Joe Wise song whose refrain tells us:

If you share your bread with the hungry, if you bind up the wounds of the soul, then will your true love shine, then will your true love shine for all the world to see like a city on a hill, like a candle burning quiet in the night.

So it seems that it takes an inner willingness to share. Opening our hands is only a spontaneous movement if we have practiced it for awhile. Then the result is more than a good feeling or something for which we are praised, although people will, in fact, notice and perhaps be moved to imitate our generosity. We will not need a reward because we will understand what it is to act as God acts toward us, and our hearts will burn with the love that is as pure and brilliant as the light of a single candle in the dark.