Go Deep

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authority, Jesus, John, Lazarus, Martha, Mary, Psalm 30, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, voice

Today’s gospel – the very long story of Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead – (JN 11: 1-45) offers several themes worthy of reflection. It’s easy to give it a cursory reading because we know the story from the moment Jesus got the word from Martha and Mary that Lazarus was ill, through the delays, the strange behavior of Jesus (not rushing to the home of the sick man, his dear friend), theological conversation about the end times when all will be raised, to the cinematic moment when Lazarus emerges from the tomb still bound in burial bands, when Jesus gives the order to untie him and let him go and John concludes that many people came to believe in Jesus from that day. (Whew! Try to diagram that sentence, if you will.)

What I noticed today more clearly than ever before when reading this story was the authority in the voice of Jesus at every turn. Clearly, he had come to understand his mission – the reason he had come into the world – and perhaps how Lazarus could illustrate something that Jesus knew about God’s willingness to save us all.

I’m still ruminating on the themes…so I urge you to read the text aloud, stop at each juncture and wait listening (as Psalm 130 urges us today) for deeper understanding of what Jesus was saying and doing to ready us for the events that await us in the remaining days of Lent.

Annunciation

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Anunciation, devotion, divine design, divine grace, Mary, Tangel, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

Have you ever wondered about the encounter of Mary and the angel who brought her the news that she was to be the mother of Jesus? I know that we have the gospel passages that help us put the pieces together but we don’t have much to go on – especially because there were no witnesses to the event except Mary herself. The fact that it is one of the foundational tenets of Christianity and has been celebrated in art for centuries and written about and debated in theological circles for nearly two millennia should be convincing enough for us. But how was it for Mary really? Did she see an angel with her human eyes? Was it a being of light or a human form? Did she hear the message as if spoken from human lips or was the message transmitted by telepathy? Was she really as quick to answer as the gospel tells us or did she hesitate longer than just that one question: “How can this be since I do not know man?” (or closer to our language “I have not had intimate relations with a man.”)

Some of us have deeper devotion to Mary than others of us so we may conjecture different scenarios. Some of us probably never spend any time with the scene at all. Today, I suggest that we do spend some time in what some call “the imaginal realm.” Go to a place in your inner self where you can reconstruct the event of Mary coming to know that she was to carry the child that would become Jesus the Christ.

Then put yourself in the equation.

I suggest this last practice after having read the reflection from Franciscan Media this morning. It just carries the experience toward us to a place that perhaps we have never gone. See what happens, if you will.

Sometimes spiritual writers are accused of putting Mary on a pedestal and thereby, discouraging ordinary humans from imitating her. Perhaps such an observation is misguided. God did put Mary on a a pedestal and has put all human beings on a pedestal. We have scarcely begun to realize the magnificence of divine grace, the wonder of God’s freely given love. The marvel of Mary—even in the midst of her ordinary life—is God’s shout to us to wake up to the marvelous creatures that we all are by divine design. (www.franciscanmedia.org)

Two Choices

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avoidance, Blessed Mother, Jonah, Mary, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, trust

If ever there was a “wild and crazy” juxtaposition in the Scripture readings from the U.S.Bishops’ Conference, it is today. To be honest, however, there are two different sets of readings: one from the “regular” lectionary calendar and one from the calendar of feasts. Today we honor the Blessed Mother Mary, mother of Jesus, as she is remembered in the prayer dedicated to her. It is the feast of the Most Holy Rosary. (Lots to learn on the internet about the provenance and development of that devotion.)

In the daily lectionary readings we have the very familiar story of Jonah and the whale (JON 1 &2) where Jonah tries everything to get out of completing the mission he has been given by God and ends up in the belly of the whale. It’s a cautionary tale, to be sure, and the moral is the futility of dismissing God’s uncomfortable directives. (To be fair to God, Jonah was saved by being harbored for a time in the belly of the whale and spewed out in the end after which he gave in to the mission he had been given…but that comes in a later chapter.)

The reading for the Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary is the story in Luke’s gospel of the Annunciation of Mary’s call to be the mother of Jesus. There seems to be no hesitation in her affirmative response to this incredible message brought to her by an angel. (traditionally translated as: “Be it done unto me according to your word.”) The gospels are like shorthand, I think, and there are places where I would wish for a more complete description of the stated event. It seems unfair to have such a brief conversation (LK 1: 28-38) for such an important event. One translation (J.B. Phillips) that seems to speak more of who Mary is has always been my favorite. Mary says, “I belong to the Lord body and soul. Let it happen as you say.”

While Jonah was busy sleeping in the hold of a sinking ship, trying to avoid God, Mary was practicing the love that directed her entire young life and enabled a consistent response to something she didn’t really understand but was willing to trust. A telling juxtaposition…and something upon which to reflect when we are faced with a difficult assignment from God.

The Stuff of Legend

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Blessed Mother, Holy Family, Jesus, Joseph, Mary, St. Anne, St. Joachim, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

A legend, the dictionary says, is “a traditional story sometimes popularly regarded as historical but unauthenticated.” Today’s feast in Christianity celebrates the parents of Mary, mother of Jesus, even though we know nothing factual about them except the fact that they existed. Even their names (Anne and Joachim) come from a legendary source written more than a century after Jesus died. “The heroism and holiness of these people, however,” (says franciscanmedia.com) “is inferred from the whole family atmosphere around Mary in the Scriptures. Whether we rely on the legends about Mary’s childhood or make guesses from the information in the Bible, we see in her a fulfillment of many generations of prayerful persons, herself steeped in the religious traditions of her people.”

I smile as I think of St. Anne, whose name I carry (Lois ANN) and have cherished as grandmother throughout my life, imagining what she must have been like. I see her caring for and teaching Mary the small tasks of the household and showering her with love as my own mother did with me. There is comfort and joy and no harm at all, I think, in this kind of imagining and so I will go about this day reflecting on this spiritual grandmother of mine whose life gave birth and much more to the one we call Blessed.

The Company of Women

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companions, Elizabeth, full of grace, Luke, Mary, motherhood, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, Visitation of Mary, women

I am grateful today for all the wonderful women in my life who have played a part in my development and have nurtured me from before my birth until today. Why? Today’s gospel recounts that rich and meaningful story of Mary and Elizabeth, both pregnant with their first child. Elizabeth, the barren, aging one, has longed for motherhood and finally knows it is coming to her. Mary, her teenage relative, comes to visit in turmoil. She, with child when hardly more than a child herself, wonders how this has all happened and needs the solace of an elder woman who will, perhaps, help her to understand. Wonder of wonders, Elizabeth recognizes what is happening in Mary because of the gifted one she herself is carrying!

The story of the Visitation (LK 1:39-56) could be seen as a model for woman-to-woman relationships in all manner of situations. Sharing the fears and joyful expectations of motherhood, the trials and accomplishments of growing children, the prayer and struggles of women at work when challenges come – women need companions in these complex times. Younger women need older, wiser women for wisdom and elders need the young to help them accept the realities of aging.

Whether in a corporate office of a large company or in the kitchen chatting over paring vegetables, women need each other to help them feel whole. I love this gospel because if she had not had Elizabeth whose openhearted welcome greeted her, where would Mary have found the strength to manage what faced her? “Full of grace” herself, Mary recognized the one who recognized her with loving acceptance. And both were blessed.

I will spend this day, both physically and virtually, in the company of the women who sit in my memory and my reality and I will give thanks for the richness that is mine because of them.

Annunciation

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Ancient Songs Sung Anew, Annunciation, David Haas, Mary, Psalm 40, readiness, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

How does one know when God is speaking? Today the Roman Catholic liturgical calendar celebrates the willingness of Mary to acquiesce to God’s choice of her to be the mother of Jesus the Christ. In reading a commentary on Psalm 40, chosen for today’s feast, I read the following:

In this psalm we hear about the sense of waiting for God to act, and in the end God does so in a marvelous way for which the psalmist gives thanks. There is, however, another side to the experience which is also present in this psalm, the divine perspective. Does God act arbitrarily (only when God sees fit for some private reason), or is the divine act in response dependent upon the human condition? Sacred teaching speaks about “readiness.” When the heart is ready God acts swiftly, without delay or hesitation. God willingly gives the divine Self to an open and empty heart. This is the key. (Ancient Songs Sung Anew, p. 101)

Clearly this state of heart does not come without preparation. I can imagine Mary sitting in silence (or doing her daily chores with full attention) from early childhood, praying not just for herself but for her loved ones to be filled with love and the desire for God. My best guess of her prayer would approximate the lovely gospel acclamation of David Haas, Come now, O Word of God (because music lifts me beyond the capacity of the spoken word). Listen:

Fill our minds that we may hear Your wisdom. Touch our lips that we may speak Your truth. Hold our hearts that we may always follow You. Come now, O Word of God. (music on youtube)

Almost There

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Christ, Emmanuel, enlighten, hope, Joseph, journey of faith, King of the Nations, Mary, O Antiphons, radiant dawn, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

Although away from the internet for two days, I have been very present to the O Antiphons. My favorite (except for the last but easily twinned with it) is the fifth, translated variously as “Rising Sun,” “Morning Star” or “Dayspring.” I prefer my own rendition (which I did not invent but heard somewhere along my journey of faith). As I wait today for the light to come, signaling a new day, my heart hopes for the sun to break forth over the mountain across the river. Such a powerful symbol of returning light can awaken me to a new day as nothing else can and so is best described as “Radiant Dawn.”

O Radiant Dawn, splendor of light eternal and sun of righteousness, come and enlighten those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death.

The sixth antiphon, wherein Christ is called “King of the Nations,” breaks all the definitional laws of how the world sees a ruler. Coming as a helpless baby to a poor family, living as a carpenter’s apprentice and then an itinerant preacher and lover of all certainly topples all notions of kingship. Isaiah describes his reign as follows: He shall judge between the nations and shall arbitrate for many peoples. They shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they train for war again. (IS 2:4) Is this not the king we long for? The one we know to bring us to a new “radiant dawn?”

O King of the nations, and their desire, the cornerstone making both one: Come and save the human race, which you fashioned from clay.

This is the one we call Emmanuel, God with us. I will save consideration of this Great Light until tomorrow when the birthing begins and the promise is ready to be revealed.

The Flowering Root

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Come O God, God's plan, Isaiah, Jesus, Joseph, King David, Mary, Micah, O Antiphons, Root of Jesse, sign, synchronicity, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, worship

The O Antiphon for today comes from a prophecy in chapter 11 of the Book of Isaiah in the Hebrew Scriptures which says: “A shoot shall sprout from the stump of Jesse, and from his roots a bud shall blossom.” (Vs. 1) “And on that day, the root of Jesse, set up as a signal for the nations, the Gentiles shall seek out, for his dwelling shall be glorious.” (Vs. 10) One would have to know that Jesse was the father of King David and that the prophet Micah, in chapter 5 of his prophecy, had written that the Messiah would be born “of the house and lineage of David and be born in David’s city, Bethlehem.” And one more thing leads to Jesus being recognized as Messiah. Although they lived in Nazareth, Mary and Joseph were required to travel to Bethlehem, as members of the lineage of Jesse, to enroll there in the census at the end of Mary’s pregnancy.

We can look at many important happenings of our lives as “synchronicity” (meaningful coincidences). Some people would describe the above circumstances as such. Believers the world over would have another explanation, however. They would call it “God’s plan.” Today’s O Antiphon cries out in that belief.

O Root of Jesse (or Flower of Jesse’s stem), you have been raised up as a sign for all peoples; kings stand silent in your presence; the nations bow down in worship before you. Come, let nothing keep you from coming to our aid.

Truly Our Sister

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Christian, divine mystery, favored one of God, Mary, Mary of Nazareth, mother, Scripture, Sister Elizabeth Johnson CSJ, spirit, The Assumption, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, Theotokos

Today Christians throughout the world celebrate one of the major feasts of Mary, the mother of Jesus. Known as “The Assumption” it is one of those tenets of Christianity which is not proven by Scripture but is rather “taken on faith.” That Mary was “taken into heaven, body and soul” seemed a logical conclusion to the life of the one that the Council of Ephesus in the year 431 had called Theotokos (God-bearer), the mother of Christ who was believed to have been “conceived without sin.”

Women throughout Christian history, especially mothers, have prayed to Mary as their “go to person” in needs of every kind and is held in high esteem as well by people of other faith traditions around the world. She is claimed as a mother by faithful men, perhaps especially in wartime or postwar peace, who carry their rosaries in their pockets, praying in foxholes or on the bus to work, asking her intercession and her care.

In 2004 theologian Sister Elizabeth Johnson, CSJ, added a marvelous resource for our consideration of this “favored one of God” with the publication of her exquisite text, Truly Our Sister: A Theology of Mary in the Communion of Saints. Doctor Johnson studies Mary from the contexts of Scripture, archeology, history of the Church and the Tradition of Christianity. What emerges is a fresh face, a real woman of her times who calls us by her fidelity to do the work of God in the world as she did in her lifetime and continues to do by inspiring and leading us on. The opening paragraph of the final chapter holds a hint of what can be found and celebrated in this book and on this day dedicated to Mother Mary.

Mary, Friend of God and Prophet

Assembled together, the individual biblical portraits of Mary of Nazareth form a mosaic image of a woman of Spirit. Honed by the historical background of Galilean Judaism and interpreted by women’s sensibilities, the mosaic delivers a glimpse of an actual woman, a first-century member of an oppressed peasant society, whose walk with the Spirit at a pivotal moment in salvation history made a unique contribution to the good of the world. Within the overarching picture of God’s redeeming action in Christ, each tessera adds a different aspect to the church’s memory of her life. Our final task is to weave this living memory into that of the great company of friends of God and prophets which is the communion of saints. In the process, we need to keep doing our God work, understanding that female imagery rightly belongs in our discourse about the divine mystery: the living God herself is our mother of infinite mercy. And we need to keep doing our anthropology work, shucking off gender definitions of the feminine that confine women to subordinate roles. With our flanks thus continually safeguarded, we step back from a close focus on the Marian mosaic to espy the sweeping vista of which it is a part. (p.305)

 

 

 

 

 

84

Tags

Anna, elderly, generosity, Jesus, Joseph, Mary, mother, perseverance, steadfast women, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, widow, women

In today’s gospel, Luke chronicles the day on which Jesus was taken to the temple by his parents “to present him to the Lord” as was prescribed by the religious law. For each of the characters the story holds great importance. As young parents, Joseph and Mary must have felt pride in addition to their love of their child, Jesus – especially when Simeon and Anna – two long-lived “residents” of the temple – recognized Jesus as “the long-awaited one.” For Mary, the elation must have been short-lived, however, when Anna spoke of the sword of sorrow that would pierce Mary’s motherly heart because of who Jesus was to become. I often see this as a great narrative to be expanded and staged, but today I was immediately focused on Anna.

The Scriptures describe Anna as having lived seven years with her husband and then as a widow to the age of 84. I am statistically one of the “younger” Sisters in my religious community and have the privilege of sharing life with many women in their 80s and 90s. (Next month Sister Frances, very special to our local community, will celebrate her 100th birthday!). I often comment on the fact that I have had six significant people in my life who are all the same age and are 15 years older than I am. At this moment, I realize today, the four that remain on earth are 84 years old. All six have been dedicated to God in one way or another: 3 religious Sisters, 2 married women and one who has lived “the single life.” While quite diverse, they have all taught me lessons of perseverance and generosity of life for which I will always be grateful.

Let us all praise those steadfast women in our lives and give thanks to God for their good example!