Everyone is busy in today’s lectionary readings. I smile as I think of long ago Saturdays in the convent when the primary activity was cleaning and making sure everything was done, readied for the week to come in our school work or wherever our ministry called us for love of the “dear neighbor.”
Abraham was front and center in the first reading, sitting at the entrance to his tent as if waiting for instructions about the day. When he saw three men standing nearby he sprang into action, ready to provide them with what is described as “a little food” for their journey. It became a group project as Abraham gave instructions first to Sarah—to make rolls —then to a servant who prepared the meat of a “tender, choice steer.” Abraham finished the job with curds and milk and then watched while they ate. There are lots of words that make it seem like there wasn’t much time to waste, words like “he ran,” hastened, “Quick!” and repetitions of the same. Abraham must have been aware that these three visitors were messengers from God because he was immediately on alert to do all that he (and his entourage) could do to serve the guests. And the news was startling, news that Sarah, in her old age, was to have a son. Unbelievable, at best! But the prediction came true, likely because of the hospitality shown to the guests.
The theme continues with people who are gifted with messages from God—first Mary, in the amazing news of her motherhood, impossible but true—sung by Mary in what we call the Magnificat, and for the humble centurion whose servant was paralyzed and suffering. Jesus was willing to come to his house to cure the man but because of his belief, Jesus made sure of the healing simply because of the man’s faith—no need to be in the presence of the needy one.
So how do we put this all together? Where are the connections and the willingness of the participants to surrender to the present moment and circumstances? Of what do they need to let go, suspending their beliefs when God steps in?
I leave that to your reflection and hope that the message becomes clear to you—for you—as you listen to God speaking to you and through you on this day.
Today begins the final countdown to our celebration of the Incarnation of Jesus at Christmas. It is, I think, as significant as it is unusual that today is both Gaudete Sunday – the call to Rejoice! – as well as the day when we begin to hear the O Antiphons, those short chants sung as refrains, at vespers, the evening prayer of the Church.
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.)
Today the Roman Catholic Church celebrates the feast of the Assumption of Mary, the Mother of Jesus, into heaven. It is one of many feasts observed by Catholics the world over – in both Eastern and Roman rite – and gives pride of place to the woman who said yes to the call of God to bring Christ to the world in the most significant way possible: by birth. In the renewal of the past half century, begun at the Second Vatican Council, we have come to appreciate Mary in perhaps more expansive ways. What I mean is that if we do indeed recognize her as a young woman (probably still a teenager) who lived in a small village in the Middle East, perhaps illiterate and certainly not privileged in any social way, her “yes” to God seems as extraordinary as it always has, but with one additional understanding that generations rarely if ever conceded – or even considered. This seemingly ordinary, humble young woman who cooperated with grace in an uncharacteristic way is the same girl who responded to the recognition by her kinswoman Elizabeth that she was carrying the Messiah with the following words:
The Sophia Center for Spirituality 