A Broken Record

Tags

feed people, Jubilee Year of Mercy, love, Lump, merciful living, mercy, Pope Francis, Rob Bell, Sts. Peter and Paul, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

I finished up what I might call “a triduum of mercy” yesterday: three presentations of essentially the same material to different audiences, prompted by the fact that we are halfway through the Jubilee Year of Mercy proclaimed by Pope Francis last December. Yesterday I was reflecting with a group of high school teachers at the school where I began my own professional ministry 45 (!) years ago. I was heartened by each of these experiences because of the willingness of the participants to enter deeply into the process with me. I learned that their appropriation of the expansive nature of the quality of mercy was an integral part of their daily living and was understood as a movement of reciprocity with God, individual persons and the world. It went far beyond a plea to God to “have mercy on us” in forgiving our sin to an abiding certainty of relationship, illustrated in a brief video that ended our time together yesterday. The DVD Lump by Rob Bell, a story of a father’s love for his son, concludes with the following statements:

There is nothing you could ever do that could make me love you less. There is nothing you could ever do that could make God love you less. Nothing. Nothing…

I know I have come to sound like a broken record that keeps repeating the centrality of the message of love that is reciprocal and unstinting but it appears again today in the readings for this feast of Sts. Peter and Paul. Jesus continues to ask Peter (and us) “Do you love me?” and then, receiving an affirmative response, directs him (and us) to feed people – to love people because of his (and our) love for God, keeping the energy of love flowing around the world and down through the ages. This, as I see it, is our task. This is merciful living, Godlike loving. This is the way to live.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Be Merciful

Tags

compassion, giving back, joy, Jubilee Year of Mercy, Leviticus, mercy, Peace, Pope Francis, Sabbath, serenity, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, Trinity, wellspring

Within the next 48 hours, I will spend time reflecting with about 100 people on the topic of mercy. In his short time as pontiff of the Roman Catholic Church, Pope Francis has electrified the world with his bold statements and writings on many topics and has manifested in his person and actions the love that runs as a theme through all that he proclaims. On December 8th of last year, Francis proclaimed a Jubilee Year of Mercy. The biblical understanding of sabbath stated that every seven years the land should lie fallow (resting the soil from the depletion caused by the crops)  and after seven such cycles, the 50th year – jubilee – when people would also rest, “giving back” during which land was to be returned to original owner and captives were to be set free, the underlying intent being to restore right relationships and ensure that everyone had the means to live a productive life.

Although a complicated concept from the Book of Leviticus that bears some study to comprehend, the remains of the practice of jubilee in most cases – far beyond Jewish law – is the sense of restoring right relationships: with God, among people and with the earth. It is in this sense that Pope Francis speaks of Mercy, a concept that has lost a sense of fullness in our time and culture and needs to be restored. Here is a portion of his proclamation:

We need constantly to contemplate the mystery of mercy. It is a wellspring of joy, serenity and peace. Mercy: the word reveals the very mystery of the Most Holy Trinity. Mercy: the ultimate and supreme act by which God comes to meet us. Mercy: the fundamental law that dwells in the heart of every person who looks sincerely into the eyes of his brothers and sisters on the path of life. Mercy: the bridge that connects God and humans, opening our hearts to the hope of being loved forever despite our sinfulness.

We are at the halfway point in this jubilee year, past time to begin interiorizing the words – the deeds – contained in the above paragraph. One small act of compassion would be a good start (or conscious continuation) for our “mission of mercy” – something we would do or say to someone in need, even perhaps if that someone were ourselves.

Wisdom in Stonington, Maine

Tags

beatitudes, Cynthia Bourgeault, fierce bonding love, harmony, heart-centered living, Jubilee Year of Mercy, Maine, prayer, silence, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, Wisdom Schools

Once again today, I arise to the feeling that I live a life of privilege. I arrived last evening with two friends at Stonington, Maine where we will spend the entire week at a gathering of “Wisdom seekers” in the company of our teacher, Cynthia Bourgeault, in the place that she calls home. Part of the island community of Deer Isle, it was incorporated as a town in 1897 and has gradually become the number one port in Maine for the value of its fisheries, primarily lobsters.

I am sitting this morning in a sweet little cottage room in an eleven-unit motel, family-owned for generations. The hospitality is as lovely as the room itself and I have already downed my first cup of in-room coffee (with real half-and-half added). The harbor is across the street and each of the two large venues where we will meet are two minutes away from here. I hear that the best coffee in Maine is just down the street and there is a deck at the water’s edge owned by the motel for sitting in the peace of the ocean to drink it all in.

We gathered in the Town Hall last night to greetings and hugs from friends with whom we have shared past Wisdom Schools and others from across the country whose experiences of Cynthia and her teaching have been elsewhere. It was clear that we all share a desire for the depth of wisdom and unity consciousness. Of special note for me was our closing prayer. Into the silence we chanted in harmony a petition prompted by one of the Beatitudes from today’s gospel (MT 5: 1-12) Lord, as you will, Lord as you know, have mercy; have mercy.

In this Jubilee Year of Mercy proclaimed by Pope Francis, I am often struck as I was yesterday by the breadth of a term that is sometimes reduced to something like pity. As I have most likely said here before, at its deepest level mercy can be understood as a fierce bonding love that impels us to become God’s presence in the world. That last clause is my own conclusion of what such a love can generate, but how else would such a grace be reciprocated?

As we gather for prayer, for consideration of the themes of heart-centered living, for the conversations that will undoubtedly be deep and meaningful, we offer our presence here for the good of the world – for people everywhere, for all living creatures and in gratitude for the on-going care of the One who motivates us all. I invite your solidarity in prayer and intention with us.