Transfiguration

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faithfulness, James, Jesus, John, learning, Peter, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, transfiguration

Today is a significant day for many people in religious communities, including mine. It is the anniversary of “vow day” when we pledged our lives to God. Akin to the marriage ceremony, it was the beginning of a lifetime of learning. It is called the Feast of the Transfiguration because the gospel for today recounts the story of Jesus taking three of his closest followers up a mountain to pray. That was not an uncommon event but something significant happened on that particular climb. Peter, James and John had a vision that day of Jesus, transformed into a being of light—his true identity. This was likely early in their following of Jesus and after it, because of the experience, they were ready to set up tents and stay on that mountain forever. Jesus had no intention, however, of allowing that to happen. It was a beginning, not an end.

And so it is with us. Although we had come to know in some way that our relationship with God was to be the motivating force of our life and we said so publicly on this day, it was not a day of completion. Rather, it was just the beginning of what has been the journey toward the light we had seen then. Today calls us (and by extension all of you reading this) to reflect on our movement toward the light of God, the light that we are growing into on our earthly journey. We celebrate the ups and downs, the ins and outs and the faithfulness of God in whom it began and whose presence calls us ever forward in grace. And on we go.

Our “Faith Quotient”

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doubt, faith, John, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, Thomas the apostle

Today Christians celebrate the Apostle Thomas. It’s a comforting remembrance for me. When we think of the saints, the list includes theologians and martyrs and people of all manner of greatness. Thomas was one of “The Twelve,” those chosen members of the inner circle of Jesus, the ones who walked with him for the three years of his public ministry, saw the expressions of his power and the depth of his love for people—all kinds of people, especially the most needy. They listened to him preach and saw him go away by himself to pray. They were his closest companions and in the end, most of them died in the service of his mission.

Thomas stands out in one gospel passage. After all that they had experienced with him, they were nevertheless frightened after Christ’s resurrection (as I presume I would have been if I had been there) when he appeared in that “Upper Room” to let them know he was still with them. Thomas was missing from that visitation and therefore had to be told of the event. Clearly, Thomas could be seen as a concrete thinker, willing (able?) to believe only what he could see and hear and touch. And so he became, for all time, the one who is remembered as “doubting Thomas.” He wanted to see Jesus, touch him and feel his wounds to know he was truly the one who had companioned them.

We know the whole story concisely reported in John’s gospel (20: 24-29). I do not believe that Jesus came back to shame Thomas in the midst of his companions. It must have been very hard for Thomas but my hope is that the others were relieved for him, that having seen what he asked for, he could then believe what the others had already experienced. But it seems that this event is for us as well as for Thomas.

Christ asks Thomas a question which I’m sure caused Thomas a lot of deep reflection. (“Have you come to believe because you have seen me?”) Then we are addressed, we who have not seen the Lord “in the flesh.” It is not a question, but rather a hope, a promise—and likely for some a challenge. When you hear the words, “Blessed are those who have not seen yet have believed,” are you a “doubting Thomas” sometimes? Am I?

Mary in June?

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Blessed Mother, coronavirus, Genesis, good old days, John, Mary, May, prejudice, solutions, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

Everything seems so up-ended, disordered, chaotic…even as I turned first to the USCCB website this morning for the liturgical readings of the day. “It is June, is it not?” I asked myself, as I looked at the liturgical calendar and saw the heading: “Memorial of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of the Church.” Most “good Catholics” of at least “middle age” have been aware since childhood of the dedication of May as “the Month of Mary, our Mother.” We grew up with Marian hymns and May Crownings, flowers and May Devotions with special attention to the rosary and awareness of a twinning of sorts of Memorial Day as May 30 and the feast of Mary as Queen of Heaven on the 31st.

I admit my age when I say these things so please don’t think I have returned to the “good old days” before all calendars became rather fluid to accommodate work schedules/weekends and other updates seen more sensible to the majority of people, at least in the USA. It’s just that I could always count on celebrating May first as my own mother’s birthday and the 31st as that of our Blessed Mother Mary. Silly me, to hold to a calendar when the world is in chaos all around me.

After my rant and a closer look inside, I find it ironic but also telling that the readings for today seem correct. From the Hebrew Scriptures (GN 3:9-15, 20) we hear the conversation in the Garden of Eden between God and Adam after he and Eve have eaten the forbidden fruit. It is all about excuses and blaming and judgment. (Eve has joined the conversation midway through). More striking is the gospel recounting (JN 19: 25-34) of the Crucifixion of Jesus.

Our country is burning with looting and mourning, frustration and pain over racism and pandemic. The coronavirus is not a punishment from God, nor is the sin of racism. We need to look deeply at the situations and ask ourselves how we might now contribute to solutions rather than adding to the chaos. What have we done to stem the tide of infection? Are wearing a mask in public and washing our hands at home too onerous strictures? More deeply yet, we need to look at reasons for prejudice against our brothers and sisters who do not look like us or talk like us or celebrate life like us. Do we know the hearts of others rather than just their skin? What have we done to welcome difference into our lives and love it in the name of the God who created us all?

I am talking to myself here as much as to anyone else and I need this day to look at my own life and do more than wish that it could be different for all of us. I have no more words. I rely on your prayer as I offer mine to you. May God help us all.

We Are the Gift

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accept, gift, Jesus, John, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

In what I think is the most stark passage in John’s gospel (17:20-26), today we read what is clearly a pleading of Jesus to God. He’s asking that unity may be manifest on earth. It’s a very personal passage in which Jesus talks about his relationship with God and his desire for his followers and – by extension – the entire world to know the love that exists in God and for us all. The most powerful line for me today is what we language teachers call “direct address.” (There’s no doubt about the ask or to whom the request is made.) He says: Father, they are your gift to me.

Think about that for a minute. Pretend you are listening in on the conversation and you hear Jesus saying, “Father, they are your gift to me.” He’s talking about us – not only the holy ones among us, not the intellectuals or the gifted artists, but all of us. We are the gifts God has given to Christ who has walked the same path that we have. His 33-year sojourn on earth was not virtual or imaginal; he actually lived a totally human life. Now he’s asking for all of us to accept being God’s gift to him. I’m fairly certain that God was willing to give Christ what he asked for. The question is whether or not we are willing to acquiesce to what is required of us in becoming a gift of God to the world.

We just have to agree…to say yes.

And Again!

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discipleship, follow Jesus, James, Jesus, John, Peter, sheep, shepherd, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, transfiguration

AGAIN WITH THE SHEEP! The gospel acclamation this morning is a short verse surrounded before and after with “ALLELUIA, ALLELUIA.” I actually think the word “alleluia” should always be written in all upper case letters and followed by an exclamation point. Otherwise it’s hard to get the enthusiastic meaning…but I digress. The verse itself reminds us once again that “my sheep hear my voice; I know them and they follow me.”

I started to wonder why Jesus spent so much time talking about sheep as a metaphor, so I did some searching on the internet. In addition to what is quite evident, e.g. that their “undercoat” is soft and generally a good market product, here’s what I found.

A sheep is a meek animal, usually very quiet and gentle, holding itself aloof from the world. In a herd, all the sheep tend to listen to the leaders and show esteem to them…

I read lots more but that was the gist of what I found to be necessary. It helped me to understand why Jesus chose to reference them—in addition, of course, to the fact that shepherding was a very common occupation in that era and area. If I were Jesus, I probably would have loved all my followers to be like sheep. I’m sure it would have made his life simpler, his mission easier to achieve. But we know it wasn’t like that for him, and, in reality, he sometimes goaded them into accomplishing amazing things (some after he was gone from this realm). Take for example the feeding of the 5,000 or the vision he showed to Peter, James and John on the mount of Transfiguration…Some of what he presented as lessons took some serious reflection after the fact!

All in all, discipleship is always complicated. It seems that the description of sheep (see above) even fits Jesus somewhat and could be all rolled into a definition of what love is like, so maybe he was trying to teach by example. Jesus needed his followers to exhibit those qualities, but life is never just like that. Often we are, as the disciples were, called to more complicated situations that necessitated stepping out of the “simple life’ that had been theirs before Jesus arrived on the scene. They floundered sometimes in those situations, as do we, but in the end they stepped up for what was needed to further the mission of Jesus.

Now it’s our turn.

More Sheep

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consciousness, coronavirus, Jesus, John, sheep, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

I love the extension of the image of sheep and shepherd from Sunday into the week. It’s as if Jesus was laying out some future plans for the world while he was still in this realm. Actually there is a very inclusive line in this morning’s gospel (JN 10: 11-18) that is very timely for our world right now.

“I have other sheep that do not belong to this fold,” he says. “These also I must lead, and they will hear my voice, and there will be one flock, one shepherd.”

While I’m not envisioning any kind of syncretism here, I would wish there to be some unity of vision among us in response to the coronavirus. (I realize this is huge stretch from topic to topic but it connected in my mind and heart at least tangentially.) So why is it so difficult to understand that we need to protect ourselves and others from what is clearly invisible? It’s not about religion or cultural practice but of a desire to assure the health, not only of ourselves and the people in our own country but also of all nations. It’s about survival on a broad scale and we are as responsible for it as everyone else in the world – and especially for those most vulnerable.

As states begin to open up to “normal life” again, I wonder whether we are destined to keep repeating our short sightedness. Will we wake up to a higher consciousness that calls us to care not only for ourselves and our loved ones but also for other “flocks” different from ourselves? What can I do to work toward that oneness of mind and care of our planet? What about you?

Doubting Thomas

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doubt, faith, humility, Jesus, John, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, Thomas

Throughout our lives there are probably a lot of things that we don’t understand and have been told we must then “take it on faith.” Things that we have been told about but have not experienced for ourselves generally fall into this category. That’s probably why I have great compassion for the Apostle Thomas who was not with “the others” when Jesus appeared in the upper room on Easter night (and which we read on this day in JN 20: 18-31).

Thomas sounds like a concrete thinker – someone who needed to see with his own eyes in order to believe something. When the others told him about the appearance of Jesus, he was quite clear about his feelings. “Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands,” he said, “and put my finger into the nail marks and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.” I can fully understand those sentiments; I mean, it isn’t every day that someone comes back from the dead, or even from a dreadful disease!

I can also feel with Thomas when Jesus appeared again and Thomas was there. The whole scene must have been crushing for Thomas, at least on the level of his ego. I have to believe that Jesus was exuding so much love, when he invited Thomas to do what he said he would need to do in order to believe, that Thomas was not awash in shame but suffused with the love coming toward him from Jesus.

I am amazed when I think that I have never doubted my faith in God. What a gift! That comes in large part from my family and life experiences of people whose faith has been a strong example to me. When I am sometimes convinced, however, that I am right about something, especially something important, I would do well to stop and consider the humility of Thomas as well as the words of Jesus at the conclusion of this lesson: Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.

All Kinds of Food

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COVID19, generosity, hunger, Jesus, John, love of God, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

Some of those reading these blog posts will likely be familiar with my fondness for today’s gospel from John, chapter 21. I’ve often called it “breakfast on the beach,” a catchy title, I think, that today means more than usual to me. When it shows up in the lectionary readings I’m always quick to highlight the humanity of Jesus, shown by his willingness to do a very simple, loving service to his friends, i.e. cooking them breakfast. I rarely focus on the earlier part of the gospel where the apostles are tired and likely disappointed because they have worked all night and caught no fish. With a quick directive from Jesus to cast their nets on the other side of the boat, Jesus saves them from their fatigue and probably significant hunger while at the same time re-igniting their trust that he is really — physically –present to them. It is, as we learn later in the chapter, about more than just the food.

We have been virtually quarantined in our house now for about a month. A few trips to our village post office with mask and gloves and a plastic window between me and the postal worker, as well as a couple of bank deposits from the drive-up window, have been the totality of my outings and more than any of my housemates. We take turns more now planning and cooking our meals as we are all home all the time.

It was clear at the beginning of this week that food supplies were becoming scarce in our house. Rather than anxiety-producing, that meant we needed to make and call in a list to Sister Paula’s sister, Joan, a widow who lives alone now and spends her days serving others wherever she sees a need. In the days before COVID-19, I would sometimes stop at Joanie’s house to drop off or pick up something for Paula. Inevitably, I would see Joan in someone’s driveway returning the neighbor’s trash barrels to their storage place after the morning trash pick-up. It is not her only neighborly service. Whether or not she knows the name or anything else about the person she sees in need of help, she never passes up a chance to be God’s envoy.

We are now fully stocked again for a week or two and in addition to the food we have received the love of God in the generosity of a cheery, willing woman we call “sister” to us and to all those who cross her path.

Healing Hands

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Acts of the Apostles, for the life of the world, gifts, Jesus, John, Peter, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

This is the season in which we read about all the miraculous happenings around the resurrected life of Jesus. Today there is a great moment we might miss because of being more attentive to the extraordinary outcome of the conversation.

Peter and John are on their way into the temple when they are accosted by a beggar who asks them for alms (ACTS 3: 1-10). It’s the next sentence that stopped me. Having heard the request for alms, “Peter looked intently at him, as did John and said, ‘Look at us.’ (Were they trying to tell him something? Did they want him to know they were just “regular guys?” Or were they ready to test themselves with the confidence that Jesus had in them?) Next Peter said, “I have neither silver nor gold but what I do have, I give to you.” (Was Peter sure of the power of his faith now? He was the one who had been so unwilling or unable to trust in the power of Jesus in the events before the Crucifixion. Was he able to believe now that he was ready to accept the power that flowed through him because of Jesus? Was he as surprised as the man whose hand he took and raised up and who was healed in the next moment – or did he now understand the gift that had been given to him for the life of the world?)

I go back to the beginning now and invite us all to look in a mirror today and say to ourselves: “Look at me.” Do I believe in the gifts I have been given for the life of the world? As I write this I think of the amazing woman, my physical therapist who, with her touch, freed my neck and shoulders so I could see again in my peripheral vision what had been out of my sight range for months – maybe years. And for the first time, I could actually feel the energy in her hands flowing in my body. Knowing her, I know that she is a gifted healer and that she attributes her gifts to the God who is the center of her life.

I may not have healed anyone physically but I need to ask myself what I have done to help someone in some way be lifted up “for the life of the world.” What is your gift – spiritual, physical or otherwise – that you name as given through the power of God in you?

Disturbing News

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appearances, coronavirus, innocent, John, masks, neighbor, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

This morning’s news was, of course, full of reports about the pandemic. Especially shocking this morning was the headline that there are more cases of infected people in New York State than in any country in the world. A more concerning story that I read, however, spoke of the growing suspicion of white Americans toward our black and brown brothers. (There was no mention of women in the articles I read.) The issue is the wearing of masks. We have been instructed by the government (CDC) to wear gloves and masks – any face-covering will have to do in places where there is no availability of surgical or industrial masks.

It seems that innocent people are being followed by police or employees in grocery stores or even asked to leave because they are wearing masks and are thereby suspect. A 53-year-old marketing consultant in Nashville recounted his need to carefully consider his visit to a Kroger grocery store, his first outing since the inception of the CDC guidelines advising Americans to cover their faces to slow the spread of the virus. He said, “Appearances matter so I have pink, lime green and Carolina blue face coverings so I don’t look menacing.” His is only one of many such stories in the news today.

As I read chapter 18 of John’s gospel, the section for today’s liturgy that tells of Jesus before the high priest, I thought of those stories from today. Answering the questions of Caiaphas about his disciples and his doctrine, Jesus said, “I have spoken publicly to the world. I have always taught in a synagogue and in secret I have said nothing…”

I have no words to say what this feels like to me, a white woman in a safe environment with enough to eat and many people concerned for my well-being. I can only redouble my efforts at acceptance and love for all people, praying that the fear that spawns such distrust will dissipate more quickly than the virus so that we all may experience the reality of “innocent until proven guilty” and trust will be the mark of our relationships toward all those who should be accorded the title of “neighbor.”