I Am Holy

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God, holiness, I am the Lord, Leviticus, Moses, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, we are all one

Leviticus has never been my favorite book of the Bible. I am beginning to wonder if that’s because I never gave it a chance. Today’s first lectionary reading (www.usccb.org) is LV 19: 1-2, 11-18. The two introductory verses are a call from God through Moses about holiness. It’s easy for me to read those two verses and say something like, “Okay, that’s easy. It’s an often repeated theme” and then read the rest, i.e. the explicit content of the message, while allowing my mind to start a list of tasks for the day.

While I could probably guess most of what follows and be done with it, today I paid more attention and saw something old yet new to my consciousness. The key was in verse two which is not only God’s command for people to “be holy” but also gives the reason why they should make that the basis of all their actions: “for I, the Lord, your God, am holy.”

After that instruction, everything talks about things we should not do or be with or to other people: stealing, slandering, cheating, cursing, judging unjustly, hating & holding grudges. The reason, however, for all these strictures, is simply repeated at the end of each paragraph: “I am the Lord.”

My conclusion, then, about all of this is clear. What we do to others, we do to God. This leads me to a place that is fast becoming the most essential truth for me: We are all one – really and truly, all one. It means you are me and I am you and the reason and reality is because God is God.

The words on the page don’t seem revolutionary because I have heard them all before. In my heart, however, and hopefully in my life, I know them to be true in a new way that cannot (at least by me at this moment) be explained in any other way. And so I leave us all with what is.

Jubilee

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celebration, gratitude, Jubilee, kindness, Leviticus, mercy, milestone, religious community, Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

One of my favorite biblical concepts comes from the Book of Leviticus where the practice of “Jubilee” is defined. It speaks of a time – every 50 years – when slaves are freed, land that has been taken is given back to the rightful owners and all remember the kindness and mercy of God. Even the land is given consideration as the fields are allowed to lie fallow, so that they can rest and be restored. All of this was done not only in reparation on a human level but to heal relationship with God. The resulting celebration was one of great rejoicing.

Adaptations of this ancient custom are many depending on culture and religious practice, the most common of which being wedding anniversaries of 25, 50 and nowadays occasionally 75-year celebrations of marriage. In my religious community, we celebrate on the Saturday closest to the feast of St. Joseph, our patron saint whose feast is March 19th. Thus, today there are 25 Sisters celebrating anniversaries in increments spanning from 50 to 80 (yes, 80) years in religious life. In an amazing burst of longevity, we have 3 Sisters who are 98 years old who will be present with us in our chapel this morning in Latham, New York.

I am one of five on the younger end of the celebratory group, celebrating 50 years of God’s grace. It is, as was mentioned above, not just a day but a whole year of recognition, of reflection on how we have lived our lives so far, and a time to make a determination of how we want to proceed in the adventure of growing older physically and stronger spiritually. It is a time of great gratitude for the blessings of our lives and a recommitment to God and the community that has enabled our growth to maturity.

I invite everyone who has come to a milestone moment of any kind in life to join us today in remembering what brought you to that moment and to give thanks. And if, in this year, you celebrate a special birthday or anniversary of some kind, please remember us and join us in our prayer of gratitude today.

 

 

 

 

 

New Neighbors?

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beatitudes, boundaries, Leviticus, love, love your neighbor as yourself, Matthew, Moses, neighbors, persecute, politics, pray, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

My first thought after reading the lectionary texts for today was that the fifth chapter of Matthew’s gospel is worth a whole life of reflection. It isn’t only the part that we know as the Beatitudes that teaches us how to live; the whole chapter is full of deeply meaningful concepts. It is clear from this preaching of Jesus that he did, indeed, come not to destroy the Mosaic Law but to fulfill it. When we read, “You have heard it said…” it’s clear that Jesus is specifying what was right action in earlier times and that he was urging his listeners to more, to go beyond what was an earlier norm to a deeper way of living. The example is clear today.

In the reading from Leviticus, God is speaking to Moses about the way to be holy. God talks about correct behavior toward brothers and sisters, fellow citizens and “any of your people,” concluding with the statement: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. I am the Lord. (LV 19: 1-2, 17-18) In the gospel, Jesus echoes God’s message about the neighbor with the understanding that God’s conversation with Moses was about behaviors among the tribes of Israel only, since the way of living back then was to conquer enemies who threatened others’ way of life. Jesus expanded the concept of neighbor in his day, however, by saying: You have heard that it was said, “You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.” But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your heavenly father…(MT 5:38-48).

We’re still having trouble with that one, it seems. Sometimes it’s even hard to love those who love us if they disagree with our politics or some other cherished belief. How can we possibly expand our hearts to people who are altogether different from us? Jesus is certainly pushing the boundaries. As I was writing the previous paragraph I had a new thought. If Jesus was talking about an expansion of consciousness from the time of Moses to his era, shouldn’t we – who live as far away from Jesus in time as he did from Moses – be even further along in seeing everyone as a beloved neighbor than Jesus expected the people of his time to be? We could say the world is more complex today and there are more people to admit into our “neighborhood” so we can’t be expected to love them all. Look at all the horrific things that are going on! How can we love “those people?” Going back to the gospel I repeat the one sentence that I see as a beginning answer to it all. (See above) When Jesus tells the people to love their enemies, he adds: Pray for those who persecute you. No one is persecuting me personally but there is a lot of persecution in our world. If I were to pray for those I consider enemies of the USA or of Christianity or of any other way I define myself in the world, how would it change me? I guess there’s only one way to find out!

 

 

 

 

 

Be Merciful

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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.

Practicing Law

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holy, judge, judging people, justice, Justice Antonin Scalia, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Leviticus, Matthew, mosaic law, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

The stories on the news since Saturday about the unexpected death of Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia have been a lesson to me. Knowing only that Scalia was seen as one of the most conservative judges on the court, I failed to see this longest serving member as the brilliant scholar and interpreter of the law that he was. More interesting to me was the report of his close relationship with Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, whose comment to the press about Scalia was that they were “best buddies.” They disagreed on everything about the law, it is said, but were able to discuss everything and remain deeply committed to their relationship. High praise from many quarters across the political spectrum helped me to see the unfortunate consequences of labels like “conservative” and “liberal.”

I felt somewhat the same when reading the lectionary texts for today. Matthew 25 is the familiar chapter about the sheep and the goats, i.e. the law of love for neighbor. It was the reading from Leviticus (19: 1-18), however, that brought the lesson to my consciousness. Leviticus is about the Mosaic Law, a book that I have tended to skip over, determining it “dry” or not applicable to life in 21st century America. I was surprised at the tone and the examples of the directives that I read this morning that were each followed by the declarative, “I am the Lord” – God’s reminder of who is in charge of making the laws. Two sections drew my attention the most after the command to “be holy, for I, the Lord, your God, am holy.” Take a look:

You shall not defraud or rob your neighbor. You shall not withhold overnight wages of  your day laborer. You shall not curse the deaf or put a stumbling block in front of the blind, but you shall fear your God. (much warmer and relational than the specific dimensions of the temple building…)

(This one’s for Justice Scalia.) You shall not act dishonestly in rendering judgment. Show neither partiality to the weak nor deference to the mighty, but judge your fellow men justly. You shall not go about spreading slander among your kin; nor shall you stand by idly when your neighbor’s life is at stake.

Reading these relational statements from Leviticus makes me see that perhaps even the tiniest or seemingly banal tenets of the Mosaic Law might hold some meaning if I took it upon myself to look deeply and not judge this book by the proverbial “cover.” Today, then, I will resolve to pay more attention to any tendency in me toward judgment without evidence, and I will pray in gratitude for men like Justice Scalia who clearly lived a life of integrity in service to God and to the law.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A Plan for Holiness

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Corinthians, eye for an eye, Jesus, Leviticus, love your neighbor, Matthew, St. Paul, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

In this morning’s first reading from Leviticus 19 God’s message to Moses for the “whole Israelite people” is a clear imperative. “Be holy,” God says, “for I, the Lord your God, am holy.” God goes on to explain how this holiness is to be achieved, summarizing at the end of the passage with a line familiar to many of us: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” As if to put an exclamation point on that command, there’s a “P.S.” God adds for emphasis, “I AM THE LORD.” In other words, “This is a direct command to which you’d better pay attention!”

It seems as if they didn’t get the message very well as it is a constant throughout Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians and in Matthew’s 5th chapter as well. Paul asks the people, “Do you not know that you are a temple of God [and that] the temple of God is holy?” He goes on to talk about us all belonging to each other, and “you to Christ and Christ to God”. How is this belonging possible unless we recognize our relationship to one another?

When Jesus came he said he wasn’t here to abolish the Mosaic law (Leviticus) but rather to fulfill it. Throughout the Hebrew Scriptures, God’s covenant with Israel was broadened and strengthened with each age as people learned more about this God whom they served. In Jesus, they saw the fulfillment of that covenant. No longer were they only to love those who loved them. Jesus said some startling things that even now are hard for us to accept. “You have heard it said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth’, but I say to you, offer no resistance to one who is evil.” OR “You have heard it said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy’ but I say to you, love your enemies and do good to those who persecute you.” Pretty strong stuff, yes? What Jesus was trying to teach us is that we need to go beyond our comfort zones because all people are children of God. It was easier to just stay in our own environment (hometown, ethnic group, religious community) when there were no automobiles. Still before the airplane, it was easier for us to engage only in our own state, province or country. Now we are citizens of the world! We can hardly go a day without encountering in person individuals who were born on the other side of the world – or through the media learning about ways of life radically different from our own. It seems much more difficult to be holy in our time. But the questions Jesus asks this morning are meant to resound in our hearts, not our heads.

If you love only those who love you, what recompense will you have? If you greet your brothers [and sisters] only, what is unusual about that?

With those questions ringing in my heart, I will need to go through the day observing what and whom I exclude from my circle of acceptance, whether near or far. Then I will need to ask myself “Do I really want to be holy?”