Who Is Your God?

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God's grace, kind, kindness, merciful, O bless the Lord my soul, Psalm 103, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

Psalm 103 is very clear about the God we believe in. God’s “reputation” has often been sullied by those who choose to subjugate others—by power hungry leaders and those who rule “with an iron hand.” Think for a moment of how you would best describe the God that you know. Then listen to the psalmist who speaks this morning…

Bless the Lord, O my soul..The Lord is kind and merciful. God pardons all your iniquities and heals all your ills. God redeems your life from destruction and crowns you with kindness and compassion…Not according to our sins does the Lord deal with us, nor does our God requite us according to our crimes…For as the heavens are high above the earth, so surpassing is God’s kindness…

Sit for awhile with those words and see if you can agree with the psalmist. Consider the blessings in your life and the difficult times that you have endured. Be specific in naming events and people whose actions toward you represent God’s grace in your life. Dig deep…Can you agree that “the Lord is kind and merciful” and therefore pray: “Bless the Lord, my soul!”

A Happy Ending

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compassion, forgiveness, Joseph, kindness, Psalm 105, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

Today’s readings are full of distress. The story of Joseph whose brothers threw him in a cistern and left him to die, the servants and son of the landowner who were killed by the tenants left in charge when the landowner went on a journey (definitely a cautionary tale) and even the psalm (105) that recounts Joseph’s story…If we focus on the behaviors of all the characters, we can learn about conversion – at least of Joseph’s brothers – and consider the warning given by Jesus to the tenants if we still need some push to do the right thing!

What I always focus on when I read these stories, however, is the amazing compassion Joseph exhibits when his brothers stand before him. He is so moved by fraternal love that he is impelled to forgive all that has been done to him by those very people whose jealousy caused him such pain. It puts one in mind of Jesus on the cross and prepares us for what is to come over the next month in our reflections. How ready are we to forgive those who have been less than kind to us and, perhaps, to ourselves if we have failed to be kind? Are there people in my life from whom I hold back a welcome – even if only in my heart where only I can see the failure?

I am reminded of a now familiar adage that says, “In a world where you can be anything…be kind.” Perhaps that is the best thought for today.

A Prayer of the Heart

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harmony, healing, heart, hurt, impatience, Joyce Rupp, kindness, openness, Prayer Seeds, rigidity, strife, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

As I ponder this season of Advent which is different from any other in any year that I have ever known, a familiar quote by Henry Van Dyke comes to me that begins: “Time is too slow for those who wait, too swift for those who fear…” It reminds me that time is a construct that we cannot control or manage. We have to take it as it comes and live it. How to do that is the challenge of the day for me. Looking for some help in meeting it, I open Joyce Rupp’s Prayer Seeds and find a prayer that is reminiscent of the Prayer of St. Francis but with a bit of a different slant…It suffices for me today.

All Encompassing Heart, where there is impatience, let me bring kindness. Where there is strife, let me bring harmony. Where there is hurt, let me bring healing. Where there is rigidity, let me bring openness. Where there is judgment, let me bring understanding.

O Wide and Spacious Love, turn me toward your unconditional acceptance. I seek to be a vessel of your great love. Let me carry your love into all parts of my life and pour it forth willingly and generously.

All Saints

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All Saints Day, blessed, compassion, fidelity, goodness, holy, kindness, love, saints, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

Today we join with people all over the world in solemn celebration of those we call “saint.” It is one of those days when each of the several lectionary readings begs for attention as they all echo the wondrous history of holy men and women, known and unknown, whose stories tell of the power and love of God. These are the “canonized” saints – the ones recognized by our Churches from the earliest days of Christianity. Should we choose, we could go all the way back in the Hebrew Scriptures to find names like Abraham and Moses, Ruth and Isaiah. Always there have been those who have served the God whose kindness and compassion have endured forever.

Today we understand as well the value of those heroes of love and fidelity whose names may be lost but whose service to God and humanity remains as a light in centuries of love and good works. Listen, if you will, to words that speak of such goodness and call us to emulate people we know on this universal day of celebration. Create your own litany of those you call “saint” and consider how you may sit in their company.

1. (RV 7:2-4, 9-14): Then one of the elders spoke up and said to me, “Who are these wearing white robes, and where did they come from?”…”These are the ones who have survived the time of great distress; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.”
2. (PS 24) Who can ascend the mountain of the Lord? or who may stand in his holy place? One whose hands are sinless, whose heart is clean, who desires not what is vain. They shall receive a blessing from the Lord…
3. (1 JN 3:1-3) Beloved: See what love the Father has bestowed on us that we may be called the children of God. Yet so we are.
4. (MT 11:28) Alleluia! Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened and I will give you rest, says the Lord.
5. (MT 5: 1-12A) Blessed are…Rejoice and be glad for your reward will be great in heaven.

Paul as Cheerleader

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compassionate, Ephesians, imitators of God, kindness, St. Paul, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

I often think of a truth that I heard long ago from someone far back in memory and I bless the person who brought it to me like so many gifts from forgotten sources – the angels given to us for guidance in life…This gift, like a 100-watt light bulb, revealed that it is not at the beginning of life that we are expected to be perfect. Rather we are here to learn and wake up as we go so that by the end of life we might have come to understand what it was we were here to be and do. That was a big relief to me since I had early taken to heart the adage: “Be perfect as your Heavenly Father is perfect,” and imagined that there was a time frame (like “today!”) appended to it.

There’s a lot of “wiggle room” in that recognition: a lot less guilt for mistakes and even for the occasional tantrum! It’s our effort that God is looking for, I believe. And that’s why I appreciate some of St. Paul’s best advice, as in his letters to the burgeoning Christian communities. Today, for example, Paul calls us brothers and sisters and urges us down through the ages to “be kind to one another, compassionate, forgiving one another as God has forgiven you in Christ. Be imitators of God, as beloved children, and live in love, as Christ loved us…” (EPH 4) Paul is sometimes very directive in his words to an audience but sometimes (as in the above quote) he is like a kind cheerleader, remembering his own lessons earlier in life, and motivating us to remember who and whose we are.

Right Timing

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creativity, kindness, reflection, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, transformation, wonder of creation

I’m always amazed at the transformation in the natural world that happens in the autumn here in the Northeast United States. Somehow, absent a catastrophic event like a hurricane, the “peak” weekend for the splendor of the colorful foliage – the weekend for “leaf peeking” is around Columbus Day (now being named by increasing numbers of people as “Indigenous Peoples Day”). It seems to make little difference whether or not there is good evidence for the timing but this year was a late blooming yet eventually spectacular event precisely on the central date of October 12th. Now it’s up to us to allow the leaves to fall, remembering the beauty of the miracle of transformation that has just happened.

In another example of synchronicity, today’s lectionary readings offer a commentary on this beautiful happening with Psalm 8. It begins: O Lord, our Lord, how glorious is your name over all the earth! Next is a reflection that could and should move us to wonder. The psalmist puts us directly in the midst of the miracle by a statement and then a question.

When I behold your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and stars which you set in place – Who are we that you should be mindful of us, that you should care for us? Yet you have made us little less than the angels and crowned us with glory and honor…

Let us give thanks for the kindness and creativity of our God and revel – perhaps through video and photos – in the wonders that we continue to see in the turning of the seasons throughout the year.

Seesaw

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joy, kindness, pity, psalm 90, refuge, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

The psalm from today’s lectionary readings (PS 90) reads like a letter to God from someone who understands well the lifetime of earth’s inhabitants. And actually, if read in its entirety, it seems like a seesaw, each end going up and down in turn…

The psalm refrain, repeated every 2 or 3 verses, offers hope to readers, reminding us that in every age, O Lord, you have been our refuge…while peppered throughout the verses are pleadings for God’s favor as it seems we have yet to learn God’s ways. We hear: Teach us to number our days aright that we may gain wisdom of heart. And then, surprisingly, I think, something that speaks clearly to our present situation, Return, O Lord! How long? Have pity on your servants! But then again, the hope…

Fill us at daybreak with your kindness, that we may shout with joy and gladness all our days. And may the gracious care of the Lord our God be ours; prosper the work of our hands for us! We breathe in our trust…in every age.

Look in the Mirror

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judging others, kindness, Luke, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

Luke’s gospel (LK 6:39-42) reminded me this morning of a saying on a coffee mug that I’ve also seen on a T-shirt. It says, “In a world where you can be anything, be kind.” Luke is a bit more direct and is asking a question so I would expect a more forceful delivery. I can hear him challenging us, wanting to know: “Why do you notice the splinter in your brother’s eye, but do not perceive the wooden beam in your own?”

Hero of Happiness

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compassion, Dalai Lama, kind, kindness, living saint, love, responsibility, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

Today is the birthday of the Dalai Lama, the revered world leader of Tibetan Buddhism. He is 85 years old today. It has been my privilege—along with large crowds of others—to be in his presence twice in my life. In spite of all the pain and struggle in his life, one cannot fail to notice the buoyancy and deep love that emanates from this holy world leader, affecting all in his path. I am grateful to live in a time that allows people of all nations and religions access to such a saint, such a down-to-earth model of how to live. It is my joy and privilege to share some of his “quotable quotes” in celebration of his birthday. We would do well to reflect on his words and follow his example today. (Remember to smile.)

♥ Be kind whenever possible. It is always possible.

♥ When you arise in the morning, think of what a precious privilege it is to be alive—to breathe, to think, to enjoy, to love.

♥ Love and compassion are necessities, not luxuries. Without them humanity cannot survive.

♥ Today, more than ever before, life must be characterized by a sense of Universal responsibility, not only nation to nation and human to human, but also human to other forms of life.

♥ If you want others to be happy, practice compassion. If you want to be happy, practice compassion.

♥ My religion is very simple. My religion is kindness.

♥ If you think you are too small to make a difference, try sleeping with a mosquito.

Wisdom of the Elders

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community, kindness, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, truth, wisdom

Yesterday I received an email message from a friend who suggested I share a favorite text here as it seems more meaningful now than ever. I agreed with her. When I read it again this morning, I decided to send it in two parts in order not to miss the significance of any of it. Thus, what you will find below are some challenging questions and thoughts to keep you reflecting until tomorrow.

A Message from the Hopi Elders, (1)

You have been telling the people that this is the Eleventh Hour. Now you must go back and tell the people that this is The Hour. Here are the things that must be considered: Where are you living? What are you doing? What are your relationships? Are you in right relation?

Where is your water? Know your garden. It is time to speak your Truth. Create your community. Be good to each other. And do not look outside yourself for the leader. This could be a good time…

As you think on these words, perhaps it will be useful to write down your thoughts so you remember then what today brought to you…