Music to Greet the Dawn

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awake, dawn, hymn, King David, music, psalm 57, sacred song, sing, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, voice

Psalm 57 gives me pause this morning – specifically verses 8 and 9. As soon as I read: Awake, O my soul; awake lyre and harp, I am ready with the next line: I will wake the dawn! I have this image of King David standing on his balcony watching the light come and singing out God’s praise as loud and melodiously as anyone ever could, perhaps accompanying himself on the lyre.

I remember the first time I read that the psalm (which actually means sacred song or hymn) was always to be sung in liturgical rituals. I was so gratified because we Roman Catholics seemed to have lost touch with that practice (at least in my corner of the world) and what a difference it makes to our worship!

That thought got me started thinking about singing in general and how humans got started making music. Was it the example of the birds? The sound of water rushing over rocks in a stream or the waves lapping at the shore? The rain dripping on a stone that gave a rhythm to the sound? Or maybe the wind whistling through the trees sometimes? Speaking of that, who first put (or found) holes in a hollow reed and called it a flute?

I’m sure musicians know the answers to these questions and more but, for my part, I’m just glad it all happened since I can’t imagine the world without music – from the greatest compositions to the simplest children’s songs. And here’s a reminder of a response to people who say they can’t sing: “God gave you that voice. Your responsibility is to give it back!” I encourage us all to listen to some music today and praise God by singing along.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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The Perfect Gift

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calling, distinguish, God, judge, King David, King Solomon, plea, servant, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, understanding heart, wisdom

Early in his tenure as king, Solomon had a dream where God said to him, “Ask something of me and I will give it to you.” (1KGS 3:4) Solomon’s response is striking because it sounded as if he could have had anything in the world. He began by praising his father, David who had been a great ruler and the beloved servant of God. Then he talked about his own inexperience because he was young, and his lack of knowledge about how to act as king over such a vast populace. How amazing his wisdom at such an age! How astounding the sentence that followed. “Give your servant, therefore,” he said, “an understanding heart to judge your people and to distinguish between right and wrong.” In return for the selflessness of Solomon’s request God gave him not only what he asked for but also many things he did not seek: the riches and glory that might have been the request of a lesser man.

Solomon is a good example, not only for young people learning to navigate in the world, but for all of us who still wonder occasionally what it is God is calling us to do. I hope I am never too old or too “settled” to direct a plea to God for wisdom in great moments as well as in the everyday situations of life. An understanding heart is always at the top of my list of perfect gifts and I pray that it is as renewable as it is necessary.

 

 

 

 

 

O Flower of Jesse’s Stem, Come!

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Christmas, come, Jesse, King David, life, metaphor, O Antiphons, prayer, psalm 139, root, steadfastness, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

Plants are amazing metaphors, I think, for the seasons of our lives. I have only two green plants in my bedroom now and although I smile at them and greet them as I come and go, I am sometimes rather inattentive. Happily, I know they are both always willing to forgive me. One is a Christmas cactus that is not a great indicator of the coming feast as it tends to flower at Thanksgiving – or sometimes whenever the inclination to burst forth gets hold of it. This year, however, it seems to have heard the Advent cry of “Come!” and, although with only one bud, is right on schedule to flower around – if not on – the actual feast of Christmas. I am always surprised at the budding and never mind whether or not it skips a year or comes unexpectedly because it is strong and requires very little care. Steadfastness is its gift to me.

Then there is my prayer plant, Maranta by name, that seems fragile and strong by turns. The reason for the designation as a prayer plant is simply because each night her leaves lift from whatever angle they sit at during the day and come together into a vertical image of prayer reaching to heaven. It is a small miracle each morning (if I awake early enough) to observe her faithful keeping of vigil, knowing that as I slept God was not forgotten. She has been through many seasons since she was given to me as a single leaf from the “mother plant.” Sometimes I have feared for her life but she has always rebounded from dry seasons or cold to flower again. At last count I had given gifts of her shoots to eight people and hope that her progeny will see many more generations. I count on her fidelity and example of how to navigate life.

Today the antiphon calling the Christ to come to us speaks of Jesse, father of the great King David, of whose line – 28 generations later – came Jesus. Although I cannot go back very far to name my ancestors, I know that in every cell I have been formed for this life I now lead. As the beautiful psalm 139 says, I know that God has “knit me in my mother’s womb” and made me for praise in this life. Let us all give thanks for what God has planted in us and ask to be faithful nurturers as we pray:

O Flower of Jesse’s Stem, sign of God’s love for all people, come! Take root in us and bring us to flower in our time!

 

 

 

 

 

Strong Roots

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blessing, Jesse, Jesus, King David, lift your mind, Magnificat, Maranta, Messiah, miraculous, O Antiphons, prayer plant, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, worship

There are days when, if I stop to think about it, the capacities of the internet for understanding what I’m looking for are quite astounding. I had little hope of finding the answer to the rightful name of my “prayer plant” when I went searching this morning, but there it was, almost immediately – the name with a picture so I would know it was the one I was looking for: Maranta leuconeura. There was even a short video to illustrate the miraculous nature and reason why this plant got its “nickname.” Every night while I’m sleeping my friend, Maranta, is deep in prayer. All her leaves are raised to a vertical position, just as some of us raise our arms to heaven in worship, singing. In the morning, if I rise before dawn, I catch her in her concluding prayer and am reminded that it is now my turn to lift my mind and heart to God during the day as she lowers her arms. (A caution: The video never captures the fullness of her stretch as I do.)

It was so surprising when I found the description of my plant; I had never searched before, thinking the name I had was just made up by someone who didn’t know the real name and coined what seemed appropriate because of function. I learned how extraordinary my Maranta was when I read that these plants are rarely grown inside! She has been with me in my bedroom for at least a decade, a gift of one leaf on a stem in a tiny earthen pot for my birthday one year. I have thought several times that her days were numbered but I learned today that this is a seasonal happening. The best thing of all (next to the consistent prayer life that I have been taught) is her willingness to share herself. I have separated and given away shoots over the years, gifts of prayer for birthdays and other special events to at least seven people, with little or no distress to the main plant.

The miraculous nature of this plant is certainly worthy of a place in this blog but why today? Of course (she says, assuming everyone would know!), it’s because of the O Antiphons. At Vespers (the evening prayer of the Church liturgy) on each of the seven days before the celebration of Christmas, a different prophetic title attributed to Christ introduces the Magnificat, Mary’s song of praise. Today we remember the lineage of Jesus. Jesse was the father of King David. The prophets had foretold that the Messiah would be of the house and family of David and born in Bethlehem. Thus, today’s antiphon this evening will be: O Root of Jesse, standing as a sign among the people, to you the nations will make their prayer: Come and deliver us, and delay no longer. So in addition to considering my family lineage and our religious lineage, I think about the strong roots of my Maranta and how she has grown and been transplanted in different homes – perhaps to some I don’t even know – as those I have gifted pass on the gift. From a tiny root has come great beauty and instruction in prayer. What a blessing!

Forgiveness of Sin

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cries of freedom, distress, forgive, forgiveness, Jesus, King David, Nathan, Pharisee, Pope Francis, psalm 32, Samuel, shelter, sinfulness, sinner, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, your sins are forgiven

When we think of King David, it is natural to focus on his greatness, his love of God and his importance in the history of the Hebrew people, even though we know his failings. Today, however, we hear the prophet Nathan speaking for God, recounting all the favors God has done for David and then listing all of David’s egregious transgressions (2 SM 12: 7-13). Most stunning is the question: “Why have you rejected the Lord and done evil in his sight?” If David had been ignoring the seriousness of his sins or trying to rationalize his actions, that question must have shocked him into recognition of the depth of his sinfulness, because immediately he responded to Nathan, “I have sinned against the Lord.” His deep remorse is difficult to grasp from that simple sentence, but God knew his heart. Nathan answered for God saying, “The Lord on his part has forgiven your sin; you shall not die.”

In the gospel, it is Jesus who points out the sinful behavior of Simon the Pharisee who has invited him to dinner (LK 7:36 – 8:3). When a woman known to be a sinner approached Jesus, weeping and anointing his feet with ointment, Simon judged not only her but also the legitimacy of Jesus as prophet because he should not be allowing the touch of such a woman. When Jesus points out Simon’s lack of hospitality to him and compares it to how generous the woman has been with her love, everyone at the table is surprised when he then says, “Your sins are forgiven.” Again we have a simple sentence that holds so much meaning! Her life was undoubtedly changed forever.

Pope Francis surprised the world some time ago by declaring that he is a sinner; he knows and admits that this is a fact of his life. In a way, it seems, the Pope’s declaration has opened a way for all of us to admit the same. God’s forgiveness of David was immediate because, in spite of his sin, David loved God intensely. Jesus saw that same love in the woman who bathed his feet with her tears and welcomed her because of that love. We suffer in our sins because we cannot accept the possibility of God’s forgiveness and the reality that God is just waiting to hear us say, “Please forgive me.”

Psalm 32 proclaims that if we acknowledge our sin it will be taken away. As a result, the psalmist sings to God: You are my shelter; from distress you will preserve me; with glad cries of freedom you will ring me round. And what could be better than that! So let us run to God’s heart and feel the words we long to hear: “My Beloved, your sins are forgiven!”

My Rock

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face fears, God is my rock, God's strength, King David, Nan Merrill, open my heart, positive energy, psalm 18, Psalms for Praying, refuge, rock, rock-steady, sing praises, stone, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

Once, when I was going on a trip, a young friend asked me to bring her back a small stone. She sometimes makes jewelry out of natural elements. When I came back with several small stones, individually wrapped and marked with their town of origin, she reverently unwrapped and held each one, noting the energy in each. Although I had chosen each one somewhat deliberately, my choices were simply about size, shape and coloration. I still bring her stones but am somewhat more conscious about the choices; she has taught me that there is more about them than what can be seen.

The readings for this morning led me back to consideration of the qualities of rocks. Lately the readings from the Hebrew Scriptures have been about King David – both his celebrity and his sins. His saving grace, however, was that he always clung to the knowledge that God was faithful, even in his worst moments and most painful lessons. God was his “Rock” – a stronghold who gave him safety. He sang about that in Psalm 18, quoted this morning: God’s way is unerring, the promise of the Lord is fire-tried; he is a shield to all who take refuge in him. The Lord live! Blessed be my Rock!

David was very successful as a king, a warrior and a friend of God. Today Nan Merrill reminded me, in her translation of Psalm 18 (Psalms for Praying), of what I think David came to know of that “rock-steady” strength of God in him, that positive energy that transformed his sinfulness into humility and his willfulness into surrender. She writes it as follows:

The Most High lives; blessed be my Rock, and exalted be the Heart of my heart, the Loving One, who helped me face my fears and opened my heart to the poor; Who delivered me out of the darkness of ignorance. Yes, you did bring victory over my fears; You led me into harmony and wholeness. For this I will extol You, O my Beloved, among the nations, and sing praises to your Name.

What’s My Line?

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appearances, encounter, God looks into the heart, Jesse, judging others, King David, King Saul, lifelong companion, non-judgmental, occupation, relationship, Samuel, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

When I was young, early in the television “game show” era there was a program called “What’s my line?” where panelists who were blindfolded attempted to guess the occupation of the guest by asking questions that began by eliminating large categories of careers and then became more and more particularized until finally someone (usually) guessed the person’s work. The first reading for today (1 SM 16:1-13) brought this show to mind although it barely seems to have relevance except perhaps in the process of eliminating people for a job rather than the other way around.

God is looking for a replacement for King Saul and tells Samuel to go to the House of Jesse where he will find God’s anointed one. Jesse had seven sons whom he presented to Samuel who thought even as he saw Eliab, the first son to appear, that “surely the Lord’s anointed is here before Him.” But God said to Samuel, “Do not judge from his appearance or from his lofty stature, because I have rejected him. Not as man sees does God see, because he sees the appearance but God looks into the heart.” Samuel must’ve been getting nervous as one by one the seven were rejected by God. Thankfully, when he asked, “Are these all the sons you have?” the answer was yes and, as we know, the youngest, the sheepherder, became the great King David, God’s beloved, from whose line Jesus was born.

Just two days ago I spoke of clothing and how we often judge by appearance. Here it is again. The italicized sentence is good advice for us if we are trying to live a good and godly life. “Looking into the heart” can’t be done in a quick encounter, unless it leads to a deep and meaningful conversation. Usually it takes some time for a relationship to develop, for trust to become the basis for sharing. There are exceptions, times when God surprises us with unexpected people who appear on our path for the first time and who, from that first encounter (which includes that deep and meaningful first conversation), become life-long companions. Our job is to stay alert for the gifts of relationship, whether they seem to come instantaneously or grow incrementally. If we foreclose on possibility without exploration, we always lose.

So blessings on all of us whose desire is to be non-judgmental, who welcome people into our hearts and give them the opportunity to find God’s presence there.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A Covenant Forever

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Abraham, Christ, covenant, Emmanuel, family, Jesus, King David, Lord, love, promise, psalm 89, religious community, Scripture, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

Today all the Scripture readings highlight the God’s relationship with King David, his ancestors and his descendants – a secure, unbreakable covenant of unfailing love for all time. Although I have never borne children and cannot trace my ancestry back many generations, I feel the fullness of the concept of covenant in the family stories that I do know and in the larger “family” that I inhabit in my religious community and in the “family” of the eastern part of the USA. It is not an easy time for us; destruction and unrest seem the order of the day. Underneath it all, however, I have a hope that we will survive because of the promise that God made to Abraham, renewed in Christ and manifest in ways seen and unseen in all of us. As we anticipate the blossoming forth of Emmanuel this night we might reflect on the words of Psalm 89 from today’s liturgy.

Your love, O Lord, I will forever sing, your faithful friendship shall be the subject of my song. For I have come to know your love as fountainhead, it’s ceaseless source not here, but in your high abode. And you yourself have made this oath of faithfulness to us and all of David’s line, a covenant  proclaimed to all you chose, a promise made to us that never ends. The heavens are the witness, Lord, to what you say and do, your steadfast love to us is clear. (Ps. 89:1-5)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

O Root of Jesse, Come!

Tags

Christmas, genealogy, Jesse, Joseph, King David, Matthew, O Antiphons, Root of Jesse, Samuel, Son of David, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, tree of life

As we move forward in the history of God’s people and toward the celebration of Christmas, we encounter the person of Jesse in the O Antiphons. Jesse was a farmer and sheep breeder in Bethlehem who had eight sons, the youngest of whom was David, chosen by God as King of Israel. That the family of David would endure forever was an article of faith in monarchic circles (2 Samuel 7), supported by the fact that his dynasty had occupied the throne in unbroken succession for over four centuries. The genealogy of Jesus in chapter one of Matthew’s gospel shows the direct line from King David to Jesus through his legal father, Joseph. More than a statement of physical genealogy, then, Son of David is a Messianic title. When people referred to Jesus as Son of David (17 times in the New Testament), they were not only speaking of physical genealogy.  Rather, they meant that he was the long-awaited Deliverer, the fulfillment of the prophecies in the Hebrew Scriptures.

Our reflection for today may include gratitude for our own family genealogy as well the 2,000 years of Christian history initiated by Jesus and his genealogy, spanning 14 generations from Abraham to David and 14 from David to Jesus himself.

O Root of Jesse, You stand as ensign of mankind, before You kings shall keep silence and to You all nations shall have recourse. Come, save us, and do not delay.

O Root of Jesse, Tree of Life, you sprout from the royal line of King David. Yet you are the king of kings. All nations do you homage. Come, take root in us and bring us to flower.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

O Root of Jesse’s Stem…Come!

Tags

Alleluia, antiphon, God's love, Isaiah, Jesse, King David, Magnificat, Messiah, miracle, prophecy, roots, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

By Sr. Ansgar Holmberg, CSJ

Today’s “Alleluia” verse, which also appears in evening prayer as the antiphon to the Magnificat (Mary’s Song) says O Root of Jesse’s Stem, sign of God’s love for all his people, come to save us without delay! 

This is a reference to the verses in the prophet Isaiah which promise (IS 11: 1,10) that the Messiah Israel waited for would be a descendent of Jesse, father of the great King David. This was the lineage of Jesus. When a tree dies and is cut back, there sometimes remains a root that eventually puts out a tender branch. Although it seemed that the ancestral line of King David had disappeared, the prophecy was seen to be fulfilled in a very unexpected way.

For me, this lesson is often manifested in plants which seemingly have fulfilled their lifespan but in the spring put forth a new shoot, an unexpected miracle that reminds me of the creative power of life and the love of God.