Clay Work

Tags

Divine Potter, jeremiah, potter, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, work in progress

The first lectionary reading for today is quite familiar to me, more from liturgical music than from the text of Jeremiah the prophet (18: 1-6). We sing: “Like clay in the hand of the potter, so are we to you, O God…” (That may not be an exact rendition, but I know I have the tune right!) Most familiar to most younger churchgoers of the 1970s is Carey Landry’s song, Abba, Father, attesting that “You (God) are the Potter, we are the clay: the work of your hands…”

Watching a potter at the wheel can be fascinating but I have learned (only from watching, of course) that it is not as smooth or easy as it seems. And, having endured workshops where the goal was creating something out of quick-drying clay, I know that it is more difficult for most of us than we would care to admit. So I have to give God a lot of credit today for the willingness to form us all—especially uniquely—into the works of art that we become once we let go of the hard edges and rigidity of thought that keep us as “works in process.” While God may feel a need to re-form us on occasion, I am ever grateful for the patience that stops the Creator from smashing us in frustration and I trust implicitly that “the kindness of the Lord endures forever,” no matter how long it takes for us to allow the creation.

Sabbath Morning

Tags

growth, jeremiah, psalm 1, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, trees

There are lots of familiar images in the readings for today. In reading both the text from Jeremiah and the psalm it’s easy for me to see a tree planted near water “stretching out its roots to the stream” (JER) and “yielding its fruit in due season” (Psalm 1) because a river runs through the back of our property and we are blessed with many trees that will be leafing out within a couple of months. There are some spring days when we worry about the river overflowing its banks but rushing water or damage to the trees is rare. It is miraculous to me to walk around in the spring and observe the growth that has taken place – without any fanfare, silently and imperceptibly over the winter.

Both Jeremiah and the psalmist are comparing us to these trees. Of course there are broken branches in some cases – usually from winter wind – but mostly we can count on the strength of the roots and the trunks of the trees to persevere and grow. It gives me hope to consider this comparison, especially when I am not feeling very effective or prolific in projects or when the strictures of winter seem too harsh. All I need to do is look up from my typing and see the tree outside my window standing tall and silent against the morning sky. Two bluejays have just landed in its branches without any assistance from the tree itself.

So it is with my life (and yours). A readiness to offer space for another is enough as we wait for a later recognition of the growth that manifests even just because of the waiting.

The New Covenant

Tags

heart, jeremiah, Jubilee, knowing, love, pledge, sing, song, St. Joseph, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

Our most cherished annual gathering, to honor St. Joseph (feast day 3/19) and those Sisters celebrating a jubilee in religious life (40, 50, 60, 70, 75 years this time), was held yesterday. The liturgy was glorious and we “sang our hearts out!” As I thought of that turn of phrase this morning I felt more deeply the truth of our covenant with God as expressed in today’s first lectionary reading from Jeremiah 31:31-34.

Speaking on behalf of God, Jeremiah says, “The days are coming when I will make a new covenant…” We sang – with accompanying gestures, tracing a heart over our inner, physical, beating hearts: My song will be for You forever, You the music in my heart! Jeremiah continues: “I will place my law within them and write it upon their hearts.” Our song proclaimed: I will pledge my love forever; I will call your name out loud. I will reach my hand out to you and I know you’ll reach for me.

The new covenant is sealed in love, is lived in love. There need be no fear of abandonment in this way of relating. It is as certain as the steady beating of our hearts. There can be no greater knowing, no greater blessing than this! Praise God!

 

 

 

 

 

A Cry Heard in Ramah

Tags

children, Herod, jeremiah, massacre, Matthew, parents, prophecy, Ramah, sorrow, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, violence

Today is not a happy remembrance in the calendar of Church feasts. It is the commemoration of “the Holy Innocents,” the victims of Herod’s massacre of all the baby boys under two years old. Herod was determined to eliminate the possibility that someone – a “new-born” king (Jesus) – would usurp his power. Since he had no idea of where that child might be found, his rage prompted the terrible deed that left so many mothers bereft. It was a fruitless gesture, as violence always is, because Jesus and his parents were well on their way to Egypt when the massacre occurred.

This violence is replicated in our time whenever war and senseless killing happens around the world. I see in my mind’s eye faces of Syrian children in the bombed-out buildings in Aleppo. Closer to home are the images of Sandy Hook just five years ago this month. Although murder is always difficult to endure, the tragedy always seems more horrific when innocent children are killed almost before their lives have begun.

I am praying for parents today, especially for mothers who have lost a child for any reason or no reason at all. For those whose children die because of senseless violence, drug abuse, war, starvation, traffic or other accidents, suicide…so many causes that leave a gaping hole in the hearts of those left behind.

The poignant message of today’s gospel, which Matthew (MT 2:18) saw as
the fulfillment of Jeremiah’s prophecy, calls for our prayer for the sorrowing today. We cannot ignore the pain of his words that speak to the cry heard in our own day around the world: “A voice was heard in Ramah, sobbing and loud lamentation; Rachel weeping for her children, and she would not be consoled, since they were no more.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edge Walking

Tags

anger, balance, comforted, despair, edge, enthusiasm, jeremiah, Las Vegas, life, Meg Wheatley, mourning, overwhelmed, perseverance, persevere, perspective, prayer, presence, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, tired, violence, weeping

On days like today when we have been once again faced with senseless, unspeakable violence, this time on a scale not seen before in our history, it is difficult to even begin to speak of it. My first thought this morning was of a line from Scripture: A voice is heard in Ramah, mourning and great weeping, Rachel weeping for her children and refusing to be comforted, because they are no more. (JER 31:15) As we turn in prayer toward the people of Las Vegas – for that seems the only thing to do as the tally of dead and wounded continues to rise – we must lament, as individuals and as a nation. And in the face of the distress in this dawning day, I turn to Meg Wheatley for a way to persevere.

Presence, she writes, is the only way to walk the edge of chaos. We have to be as nimble and awake as a high-wire artist, sensitive to the slightest shift of wind, of circumstances, emotions. We may find this high-wire exhausting at first, but there comes a time when we rejoice in our skillfulness. We learn to know this edge, to keep our balance, and even dance a bit at incalculable heights.

Walking the edge never stops being dangerous. At any moment, when we’re tired, overwhelmed, fed-up, sick, we can forget where we are and get ourselves in trouble. We can lapse into despair or anger. Or we can get so caught up in our own enthusiasm and passion that we lose any sense of perspective or timing, alienate friends, and crash in an exhausted mess.

The edge is where life happens. But let’s notice where we are and not lose our balance. (Perseverance, p.131)

 

 

 

 

 

 

At Last

Tags

curiousity, daily routine, Divine Potter, energy, God's love, God's work, gratitude, homecoming, jeremiah, potter, purpose, shaped, Sisters of St. Joseph, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, travels

My “homecoming” this past Sunday was truly refreshing. Being able to sleep for a continuous 12 hours (!) and then walk outside around our land in the morning breathing the good country air and catching up with my housemates on the events I missed while I was away felt very, very good. It only lasted for 48 hours, however, as on Tuesday afternoon I was back in the car on my way to Albany to help with a CSJ Community retreat. Today is Thursday and although working and praying with the Sisters is a special privilege I am happy to be heading home again late this afternoon. This time I plan to stay awhile.

I was reflecting on all my travels during July as I read the message about the potter and the clay from the prophet Jeremiah this morning (JER 18: 1-6). Verse 6 has God saying through Jeremiah: Like clay in the hand of the potter, so are you in my hand. I feel a bit like that clay today, having been shaped by all the various places I have been, the different but related experiences I have had, the conversations that have moved me, the energy that has been shared…I have come to see that every day can add to the shaping of my being if I am awake to the possibility of God’s work in me. It will take awhile to let this extraordinary month settle in its entirety, but what I know now is that nothing happens by chance and everything has its purpose. The most prominent sense that remains with me is gratitude which I intend to carry into the daily routine that will restore a sense of place and familiarity of experience in the days ahead.

May we all be – each and every day – like clay in the hand of the Divine Potter, willing to enter into all the shaping experiences with a recognition of God’s great love and a curiosity about the final shape of us that will emerge in the end.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Big and Little

Tags

communion of purpose, jeremiah, poor, Pope Francis, Sisters of St. Joseph, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, tugboats, wicked

Jeremiah is talking this morning (ch. 20) about plotting and destruction on every side and how God rescues the poor from the wicked and powerful. I’m reading this as I sit in St. Louis watching two small tugboats slowly making their way on the “Mighty Mississippi” toward a very large barge that I know they will be able to push. (I learned that in elementary school!) Today I think of the fact that the process only works (and there it goes! Both are gliding now along the water toward the port) if both the large and small entities are working in communion of purpose, doing what they are fit to do and not what the other is called to accomplish. Today I am grateful for “power people” who understand that concept – Pope Francis for one, and the Sisters of St. Joseph whose leadership team has called eight of us together from around the U.S. and Peru to gather in service to the whole, creating opportunities for communication and understanding of one another that will lead to deeper unity – the only way that any organization can flourish. Today I pray for our government and countries around the world, that leaders called to power will not exercise “power over” but will come to understand this other manner of power so that, little by little, the world will be transformed.

This New Day

Tags

candidates, Catholic Church, Ezekiel, jeremiah, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, wake up

Once again this Sunday there are two sets of readings to choose from as candidates for reception into the Catholic Church are called to reflection on conversion of heart. All those participating in the liturgical ritual are asked to join in this reflection as we have come to know that conversion is an on-going process in our lives. Those parish communities which do not have converts hear the prophet Jeremiah delivering God’s message that promises “I will place my law within them and write it on their hearts…” while those that are preparing to welcome new members will hear Ezekiel speaking God’s word that “I will put my spirit in you that you may live.”

These are welcome words for all of us on days when we realize that we need a new infusion of energy in our days. Whether we have just come through a long period of struggle or have just had an unusually “bad day” for some reason, it is comforting to know that God is standing ready to massage our heart and revive our spirit, enabling us to “wake up” to a new day – every day.

 

Willing Witnesses

Tags

faith, jeremiah, John the Baptist, repentance, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

The coincidence of threats to the prophet Jeremiah’s life in the first reading for this morning with the beheading of John the Baptist in the gospel – both because of their preaching about repentance – made me wonder two things:

1. How willing am I to listen to what is hard to hear about myself or about persons or causes that are dear to me, especially if the person speaking is not someone dear to me (but who may have great powers of observation)?

2. How willing am I to stand up for what I believe, especially about my faith and image of God, when I know that others within earshot are opposed to my belief?

That’s it for today!

We Are the Clay

Tags

clay, God, jeremiah, jesuits, potter, St. Ignatius of Loyola, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, The Spiritual Exercises

Today is the feast of St. Ignatius of Loyola  (1491-1556) who was on his way to military fame and fortune when a cannonball shattered his leg. During his convalescence, because choices were few, he read a life of Christ and the saints and was deeply touched. His life story is worth a read as he became a tireless servant of God who founded the Society of Jesus – the Jesuits – and wrote The Spiritual Exercises which forms the basis of spiritual practice for innumerable people – lay and religious alike – in today’s world. Ignatius was a proponent of finding God in all things and his motto was “For the greater glory of God.”

Today’s first reading from the prophet Jeremiah (18: 1-6) might have been written for Ignatius, as well as for each of us. It is the story of God’s instruction to Jeremiah to go to the potter’s house. As Jeremiah did so and watched the potter form and reform the clay, God says to/through him, “Can I not do to you, house of Israel, as this potter has done? Indeed, like clay in the hand of the potter, so are you in my hand.” I have great admiration for people who work with clay, having once tried it myself with less than stellar result. Keeping the clay moist, turning the wheel endlessly while forming the object, feeling everything to be just right…not as easy as it looks to the watcher. And then there is the firing in the kiln. Cracks often ruin the piece so the potter must begin again. That reflection makes me grateful to God that he never gave up when I got dry or when my cracks appeared. And being the clay is a daunting process as well. Trying to remain malleable in times of great turmoil (having a leg shattered by a cannonball!) or the small times of distress, willing to go through the fire of testing to come out well-formed and whole…is the work of a lifetime. The key is in surrendering to the hand of the potter and trusting in the skill that the potter possesses for our benefit. Ah, but the beauty of a well-tooled vessel! Who can ignore the invitation to become that?