City of the Heart

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adore, Ancient Songs Sung Anew, city of God, heart, holy name, Kingdom, Peace, Psalm 122, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

Today I looked to my favorite translation of the Psalms for inspiration.* Sometimes it only takes a word and sometimes more is demanded in order to find in print or in my own mind or heart something worthwhile to say.

Psalm 122 speaks of Jerusalem as the seat of God’s kingdom. Unfortunately, this “city of peace” has been and remains a city of tension and a seat of struggle – sometimes open warfare – rather than a place that all people of faith can happily call their own. This morning, however, I found a second alternate translation that made it possible to see Jerusalem as a place for us all, as “an interior reality” where commentary names it “a reality of the heart that …has the opportunity to extend itself throughout the physical and temporal world.”

Why not try this? Consider your heart as the “City of God” and read the following with that consciousness. You are the city of God, the pulsing heart, the center of this place of peace. Read it aloud.

With joy I arose and went into your house when called to the worship of your name. I entered and now stand singing with all those gathered to worship and adore you. Your holy name becomes for us a blessed city, a place of peace that draws us deeper in where people of every tongue and race rise up before the presence of your face to know and love the God of peace as one. So in this hallowed space and ground, your judgment and your rule of love, becomes for us a kingdom. And may that kingdom come, your peace be done over all the the earth, we pray. Within the inner walls of heart and soul, and on the outer towers of human being, may peace descend, and be for everyone a fortress and a keep where nothing evil enters in. And this we pray now for the good of all, for all who are your house, your dwelling place forever. (*Ancient Songs Sung Anew, p. 318)

A Saint’s Life

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apostles, Gospel, Jesus, Kingdom, St. James, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

Today is the feast of St. James, one of the original twelve companions called by Jesus. The “Saint of the Day” of franciscanmedia.com tells us that James was known to be less than a perfect image of what we might imagine a saint to be. One of the two brothers that wished to claim the seats on either side of Jesus in the kingdom of heaven, James and his brother, John, were often called “Sons of Thunder” by those who knew them. But personality is not what gets one a high place in the afterlife, it seems. What’s really important lies elsewhere.

The way the Gospels treat the apostles is a good reminder of what holiness is about. There is very little about their virtues as static possessions, entitling them to heavenly reward. Rather, the great emphasis is on the Kingdom, on God’s giving them the power to proclaim the Good News. As far as their personal lives are concerned, there is much about Jesus’ purifying them of narrowness, pettiness, fickleness.

No Ordinary Time

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breath, changed, Kingdom, resolutions, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, vessels of the Divine

It’s difficult to feel that there is much to say after the time of anticipation before Christmas, the days of Advent and especially that last meaningful week of the O Antiphons. The shopping frenzy has died down a bit “out there” but now there are the gift returns and the shockingly low after-Christmas prices on what wasn’t already purchased. For those of us more inner-focused there is the question of how we are changed by the Christ-event, aka the birth of Jesus into our world. Is there any shift in our perception of things, any deeper willingness on our part to cooperate with grace? Do we understand any more clearly that the Incarnation is about us as much as it was about Jesus?

Today – when all the gifts have been opened and thanks have been expressed, when phone calls have assured those close in heart but far away in miles that they are loved  – we ought to take a breath and recognize that no day is “just an ordinary day” but rather one more chance to recognize the extraordinary possibility that is ours in living. My friend, Jan Phillips, wrote a book about that, called No Ordinary Time, – subtitled The rise of spiritual intelligence and evolutionary creativity (Whew!). On the back cover of the book is a quote from the introduction that says something about what I’m trying to get at this morning. Take a look:

We are the vessels of the Divine, agents of Supreme Intelligence, neural cells of our home planet, and it is our job now to call God home, to tend the kingdom that is all around us, and to create stories and cultures of hope and compassion.

Today I will think on these things and see where it all leads me in the days to come. Maybe next Friday won’t be the day for new resolutions for 2016. Maybe every day will become that day.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Entitlement

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election, Gentiles, hubris, humility, Jesus, Kingdom, Matthew, money, politician, rulers, servant, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, Zebedee

We’re at the beginning in our country of a political election cycle that is unusual in the number of people who have declared their candidacy for President of the United States. There are, at last count, 17 people who have entered the race. This number will be winnowed shortly as televised debates and state primaries are held – and then there is the question of money. It is impossible to win an election here these days (even to lesser positions in state and local elections) unless you have what has come to be known as a substantial “war chest” – in other words, a lot of money. One comes to wonder about the motivation of candidates; is their overarching desire for power or service? It’s never as simple as that, of course, but it’s necessary to listen deeply to not only the messages but also the actions of candidates throughout their lives in making decisions about the values they hold and their fitness for office. The witness of key people in the life of a candidate can also give a sense of who the person has been in life re: authenticity and humility – two qualities harder to determine as “the race heats up.”

The mother of the sons of Zebedee was a politician – direct and to the point. In today’s gospel (MT 20:20-28) she approaches Jesus wanting to ask him something. She obviously has not been listening very well to his preaching about humility and service because when Jesus asks her what she wants she replies: “Command that these two sons of mine sit, one at your right and the other at your left, in your Kingdom.” Jesus assures her that she has no idea what she’s asking; his “kingdom” is not about worldly power first of all. He turns to her sons (who should have been mortified at the request, I think) and asks if they “can drink the cup” that he is going to drink. They have no idea either of what he’s talking about but, feeling the sense of entitlement that they have obviously grown up with, they respond, “We can.” The other apostles are predictably indignant at this display of hubris and Jesus delivers a wonderful cautionary speech that could be instructive today for all of those seeking public office (or leadership position of any kind) and for all of us. He tells them:

You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and the great ones make their authority felt. But it shall not be so among you. Rather, whoever wishes to be great among you shall be your servant; whoever wishes to be first among you shall be your slave. Just so, the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many.

 

Defining the Commission

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apostles, called by name, disciples, healer, invitation from God, Jesus, Kingdom, Matthew, new path, next step, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

Yesterday I reflected on the words of Jesus to the disciples when he told them to pray for more people to help in the work of the kingdom. Today he goes a step further (MT 10:1-7). He actually summons the Twelve and sends them out giving them “authority over unclean spirits to drive them out, and to cure every disease and every illness.” Matthew is very specific about the seriousness of this call. There is a shift in their title as with the summons they are now called the Twelve Apostles. (disciple = student/learner; apostle = missionary) The authority Jesus gave them was also very impressive. Not only were they able to heal disease; power over unclean spirits was also part of their charge. Secondly, Matthew called them by name. I can imagine them standing waiting and listening for their names to be called. I seems they should have been ready jump up and respond with “PRESENT!” or “HERE!” which implies readiness to step up and into the task.

I think about times when I have been called by name: graduation from high school and college, when presenting myself for religious profession, etc. There are life-changing moments when we have to be ready to take the next step, to set out on a new path. Even when we are at a meeting where the roll is called there is an understanding that all called are equal to the task at hand. Each day we are called by God in invitation. If I am listening (not always just when my alarm rings in the morning) I will hear God saying to me specifically: “Lois, wake up! It’s time to be about the work of the Kingdom.” Then it is my job to have a ready response of “I am present!”

Take Nothing But God

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believe, depending on God, disciples, Jesus, Kingdom, Matthew, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, with God everything is possible

As I began to read this morning’s text from the gospel of Matthew (10:7-15), I thought how much easier it must’ve been in the those days to rely on the kindness of strangers. On the other hand, travel was pretty dangerous back then as well. Jesus is instructing the twelve as he sends them out on mission. He tells them to proclaim that “the Kingdom of God is at hand” while they go around healing, driving out demons (whatever that might mean) and even raising the dead. I would presume that if the disciples accomplished those things, people would probably believe that the Kingdom had indeed arrived and would be willing to listen to the message they brought.

It seems to me that the greatest challenge of believing would be on the part of the disciples in this case. First of all, they were told to “hit the road” with no shoes, no second outfit of clothes, no walking stick, no luggage and no money! How far we’ve come from that moment when most people agreed, as Jesus said, that “the laborer deserves his keep.” Then, on top of that challenge there was the need for a healthy dose of confidence if they were to do all those things that Jesus told them they were to do. I can imagine myself when I left my formation house in Albany to teach high school in Binghamton believing that I could convert all the students to a love of French in addition to a life of devotion to God. (It was a Catholic school.) Some? Yes, of course. But that’s not exactly what was on the mind of 14 to 18 year-olds, even in the pre-Internet, facebook and Twitter days. Yet even that would have seemed a lot simpler than raising the dead.

So today, when I feel overwhelmed by the enormity of the task of changing the world – or even just my participation in its transformation – I am grateful for those disciples of Jesus who went out anyway, no matter how inadequate they felt, depending on God more than themselves to get the job done. That’s what it’s all about anyway. I’m totally convinced that on my own I can do nothing but with God, everything, yes, everything is possible if we gather together and believe.

 

 

Living in the House of the Lord

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Advent, God, Gospel of Matthew, Isaiah, Jesus, Kingdom, Lord, Psalm 23, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

The readings this morning are indicative of the two aspects of the Kingdom of God, namely the “here and now” and the “not yet”. The first reading from Isaiah the prophet (ch. 25) speaks of the future when, on the Lord’s holy mountain, all will eat rich food and drink good wine and no one will be hungry or thirsty any more. Jesus brings that vision into reality when, in Matthew 15, he takes pity on the crowds that have been following him because nobody has been thinking about eating and now it’s getting late and they’re out in a desert somewhere with no place to buy food. In one of the most familiar stories of the gospels, a few loaves and fishes become more than enough for everyone.

So is everything taken care of then? Was the miracle of Jesus that day enough to satisfy Isaiah’s vision? Not likely if we look at the statistics from around the world, or more to the point, around our own country where food pantries are hard-pressed to serve all their clients and the lines at soup kitchens get longer every day.

The psalm refrain for this morning is instructive, I believe. Psalm 23, the Good Shepherd psalm, is punctuated after each verse with the words:

I shall live in the house of the Lord all the days of my life.

Trusting that God’s promise is true for our ultimate destiny in the Kingdom to come but understanding that we are co-creators of that Kingdom in our day, we must follow the example of Jesus in two ways. First, we must wake up (a familiar theme in this Advent season) to the needs of those who hunger for food for their bodies or souls. Secondly, we must be willing to put ourselves out to answer the question that the apostles put to Jesus: Where would we get enough food for all these people? Living in the house of the Lord posts a challenge that calls us to mindfulness at every tick of the clock, in every encounter of our day. It seems a good day, then, to keep the psalm refrain as a companion all day, pondering how I perceive “the house of the Lord” and how I might take up residence there each day.