Speak, Lord!

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Abraham, Joseph, listen, love, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

I woke up this morning at 5:55 a.m. Five, you may know, is the number of change. I don’t know much about numerology but that strikes me this morning as something that deserves attention, given that the number was repeated three times. For days we have been considering the stories of Abraham and his descendants. It seems that in the entire story there is nothing but love and forgiveness. Fears of reprisals are pushed aside. Joseph has all the evidence he needs to convince him that if he (and we) stay in touch with God and try to respect and accept that the people who are given to us are in our lives for a reason, clues will be given along the way and we will be pleasing to God. All we need to do is to stay awake and offer love as a response to every day in every way that is presented to us.

Therein lies the rub…

Still On Hiatus

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discernment, listen, live, love, prayer, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

As I sit in the quiet on another glorious, sunny morning (May is definitely the best month of the year!) I find myself still undecided about the future of my blogging effort. Here is my status this morning, a clue to put in my bag of evidence or a piece of the puzzle, you might say.

We Sisters of St. Joseph have a Community Day or Weekend each year. It’s a sort of homecoming when we all—or as many as possible of us—gather to sing and pray and reflect on some aspect of our life together. And we celebrate (rather boisterously at times) our connection with one another. We have been deprived of this privilege last year and this one because of Covid 19. Last year we did nothing and we felt the lack. This year we decided on a “virtual” event as we have become somewhat adept at gathering in this way and have found that, while not perfect, it is somewhat satisfactory.

Today is our chosen day and I have been asked to participate in the opening prayer. Much of the prayer is taken from our Constitution and my part includes the following:

WE LOVE FREELY. WE LIVE SIMPLY. WE LISTEN ATTENTIVELY.

That sounds exactly like how I should be proceeding in the discernment of what comes next. So, be advised that I am still here, still aware that you are with me on this journey of life and willing to wait for what comes next. Some of you have already given me your suggestions about what you see as a way to move forward with what is important to say in a blog now and why. I am grateful for your support. Stay tuned…

Check Your Hearing

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compassionate, Ezekiel, listen, open our hearts, pay attention, sharing, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, understanding

There it is again: Ez 18:31 – today as the verse before the gospel. “…make for yourselves a new heart and a new spirit,” he says. We just heard (and I wrote) those words four days ago for your consideration. When I see things repeated that quickly in the lectionary, I always take note. So today I say: Pay attention if you didn’t before! We are likely at a crossroad—or on the verge of something. We are being called maybe to a new moment of maturity. It seems as if it’s a call to creativity. Soon everything may be allowed to go back to the way things were…but is that even possible? Might we have learned something about suffering? Perhaps about death that comes “like a thief in the night,” as the Scriptures say? Are we called to be more compassionate now because we share in the loss of a half a million people? Can we enter into the sadness of one another without getting swallowed up by their grief? Rather are we called to a posture of sharing—understanding, perhaps, like never before?

So much has changed. Are we ready to open our hearts just an inch? Can you hear the beating of the heart of someone new today? Perhaps it is your ears that must be engaged. Think about it.

Take Heed!

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harden not your hearts, hear God's voice, Hebrews, listen, pay attention, Psalm 95, St. Mark, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

The readings from today’s lectionary read like a cautionary tale. . . It might be written as “Wake up!” or “Pay attention!” or even “Can you not hear me when I’m talking to you?” The repetition makes me wonder what was wrong with those people!

1. First reading: The Holy Spirit says: Oh, that today you would hear God’s voice, “Harden not your hearts…in the day of testing in the desert when your ancestors tested and tried me…Take care, brothers and sisters, that none of you may have an evil and unfaithful heart…” (Heb. 3:7-14)
2. Psalm response: I said: “This people’s heart goes astray, they do not know my ways. Therefore I swore in my anger: “They shall never enter into my rest!” (PS. 95)
3. Gospel: The story of a leper made clean by Christ who told the man not to tell people what had happened but only to go, to show the priest and offer the prescribed donation for the healing. The man went immediately and did the exact opposite: to publicize what had happened so that Jesus could no longer enter a town openly to do his mission. (MK. 1: 40-45)

I say this is a cautionary tale whose theme might be: If today you hear God’s voice… “What was wrong with those people?” I asked. I might have said instead: “What is wrong with our world today?” We know the rules, the laws, the best behavior. We see what has happened in our country when people live only out of their own greed and headstrong actions. Do we stand apart from the crowd, complaining about “those people” or do we speak from what we know to be God’s voice in us?

We need a course correction. Each one of us must ask how we are living up to our call. If today you hear God’s voice, harden not your heart.

Baptized With Water

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Baptism of the Lord, Chris Anderson, Light When It Comes, listen, psalm 29, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, voice of the Lord, water

I was blessed in my youth to live in Massachusetts, only 40 miles from the ocean beach where my family vacationed for a week each summer. My father used to say that if he had to work all year to have that one week at the beach, it would be worth it, and so it was. Those years left an indelible mark on my soul; just standing at the edge of that vast Atlantic seashore was—and is—a powerful experience. It is not as frequent an experience for me now, although I still live within a six-hour drive from the beach. Each time I have the privilege of return I hope for big waves so that I might see if I can withstand their power and remain upright as I meet them face to face. As well, I long for a moment of calm when, standing waist high in the water, I plunge in a surface dive as deep as I can and then let go to wherever the dive takes me. I belong then to the water, the waves, for a moment of surrender.

Today Christians celebrate the liturgy of the Baptism of the Lord. One commentator notes that Jesus didn’t need to be baptized, but allowed it to “recharge with his love and his light all rivers and all waters and all places and peoples forevermore.” I liked that thought (Chris Anderson, Light When It Comes). It reminded me of how my dives in the ocean cleanse me. Sometimes, however, as I sit in Church or elsewhere considering the ritual that celebrates the sacrament, I wish for more. I want someone to shout: The voice of the Lord is over the waters, the Lord over vast waters. The voice of the Lord is mighty; the voice of the Lord is majestic! (PS 29) I want to hear that voice, the voice of the Father thundering: “THIS IS MY BELOVED SON, LISTEN TO HIM.“

Listening Lessons

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deeper listening, hear, Jesus, listen, parables, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

Jesus often spoke in what we know as “parables,” stories meant to illustrate a moral or spiritual lesson. He often emphasized the importance of what he was saying with the dictum: “Whoever has ears to hear ought to hear.” I used to wonder why he didn’t just say something like: “Pay attention, everybody!” or just “Listen!” It’s a little strange to seek out people who have ears, since everyone has them. Sometimes though, if someone is talking to me while I’m doing something else I miss what the speaker is saying. That might necessitate the addition of “to hear” as in “Whoever has ears to hear…” which might then turn my head toward the speaker.

It’s likely that Jesus was signaling a deeper listening, one that would take more reflection because the meaning might be veiled somehow. In that case listeners would need to go beyond the reach of their ordinary minds. Then perhaps it would take the kind of listening that Jesus required for those who were following a different way of being/living. If it was a really important point that he wanted his followers to understand, leaving the other people gathered in the dark until they “saw the light,” his disciples would then perk up and open the ears of their hearts.

When do you listen with the ears of your heart? How is that different for you? Might you hear God any better in the silence?

Tiny Whispers

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Elijah, hear, Kings, listen, mountain, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, voice of God, whisper

Today we’re again reminded that God can be a surprise, appearing where and when we least expect a such a gift. (See 1 KGS 19:9A, 11-13A) The prophet Elijah is taking shelter on Horeb, “the mountain of God.” (Mountains often figure in these stories for some reason: their opportunity for solitude? the successful challenge of the climb? nearness to heaven? or…perhaps none of the above.) Elijah hears the voice of God saying, “Go outside and stand on the mountain before the Lord; the Lord will be passing by.” As we probably have heard, many loud and visually cataclysmic events followed then that he could not have missed: wind, earthquake, fire…but God was not in any of those happenings. It was “a tiny whispering sound” that Elijah heard and recognized as God’s voice.

How could he have heard God in that tiny moment? I think the only answer can be: practice. Elijah was one of the major prophets and obviously one who was practiced in listening. That was his job: being alert for God’s messages to the people. As such he was probably aware of any small shift in conditions inside and out. Maybe his emotions were stirred. Maybe he had a felt sense in his body…I don’t know.

What I do know and am more aware of as I reflect on this familiar text is that there’s a lot of noise in the world today – much of it negative and loud. It doesn’t feel to me that there is much mountain climbing to achieve solace and hear the voice of God. There are lots of zoom calls though and some are helpful. I meet with one group that I think might approximate Elijah’s ability to hear God in the midst of babble. Sometimes it’s hard not to try to fill the silence when no one is speaking. I’m learning, however, that this is the experience that I need to value the most because everyone is silently listening for the word of God to come through. And it is usually not a bombastic declaration. Most often the word is spoken in little more than a tiny whisper. And we are all trying to hear…Do you know what I mean?

A Tiny Whispering Sound

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Elijah, God, hear, listen, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, whisper

Today we have what is probably the story of the greatest challenge a prophet ever had. It came to Elijah when things were looking quite bleak and he knew his days of serving God as prophet were likely at an end. It is a story of discernment, of knowing the voice of God when you hear it, and Elijah did not fail. I think it is, for us, a reminder that it isn’t always easy to hear God’s voice among all the competing messages from inside us and out, but is also an assurance that if we do our best, we will be rewarded every time. Read 1KGS 19 for the full story but here is the crux of the message, a message of mutual love, to be sure.

At the mountain of God, Horeb, Elijah came to a cave, where he took shelter. But the word of the Lord came to him, “Go outside and stand on the mountain before the Lord; the Lord will be passing by. A strong and heavy wind was rending the mountain and crushing rocks before the Lord — but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake — but the Lord was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake there was fire — but the Lord was not in the fire. After the fire there was a tiny whispering sound. When he heard this, Elijah hid his face in his cloak and went and stood at the entrance to the cave. A voice said to him, “Elijah, why are you here?”

If God chooses to whisper to us by name today, “Why are you here?” may we each hear and have a ready answer.

From Day to Day

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COVID19, day night, listen, pay attention, psalm 19, routine, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, time

I met Sister Paula in the kitchen awhile ago and we began musing on this “time out of time” that we are experiencing now. It started simply enough with both of us looking back to the weather systems of our childhood. I am certain (well, not really…) that “April showers bring May flowers” was a true statement then. Now, just past the middle of April, it’s snowing and yet it threatens the daffodils and forsythia and all the already-flowering trees that have been blooming for weeks but will undoubtedly be gone soon if this weather continues.

We moved on to talk about the virus that is taking the lives of so many people. The division in our country and the world about how to deal with it is monumental. This week the divide is about economy vs. possible infection rates. Eventually our question came round to levels of consciousness that play into how to proceed.

Our cat was waiting in my bedroom for my return and, because I was still drinking coffee when I came upstairs, I agreed to share my seat with her for awhile. That made it impossible, of course, to create a blog post. As I sat with her on my lap and did nothing, I thought about what I ought to do today. It’s Saturday but now that doesn’t seem to mean as much as it did two months ago. The routine of the days has become quite different. Some would call it restrictive while others name it full of opportunity. I prefer the latter, having the leisure of sitting quietly with the cat, watching at least one of the many online offerings of conferences by spiritual leaders and/or old movies that I never take the time for, making phone calls…

As I sit here, Psalm 19 runs through my consciousness: Day pours out the word to day and night to night imparts knowledge…Through all the earth their voice resounds and to the ends of the world their message.

It strikes me that these are not empty days; rather we make of them what we will, or simply experience them as they pass. I wonder if my ability to discern will deepen – in the days, during the nights or both. It seems that it’s time now – more than ever – to pay attention, especially to the subtle voices speaking all around and in us.

Divine Music

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Daniel Ladinsky, Hafiz, listen, Love Poems from God, music, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

Who are we for the world? I just opened Daniel Ladinsky’s book, Love Poems from God, for a quick word for the day. Here is what I saw – just this brief message from the mystic, Hafiz. Put yourself into its picture, let yourself go and see if you are willing to act on it today.

I am a hole in a flute that the Christ’s breath moves through — listen to this music.

(And if you are brave and sing it, you might want to add a dance…)