The Narrow Gate

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contemplation, journey, Matthew, study, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

The problem sometimes in reading the gospels is their familiarity. We have heard them so often and they are so familiar that we stop digging in for the deep meaning and let them go with just a passing glance. Having spent the last little while with the Gospel of Matthew, I’m beginning to think that I ought to take it for at least a year of serious study. I wonder what I would glean from picking apart each line and even each word that sits waiting for new interpretation. I’m not considering rewriting the gospel, but what spin from my experiences might gift a little newness to the rich passages that are waiting before me? Take today’s reading from chapter 7 for instance.

“Do unto others what you would have them do unto you…”(Pretty simple to interpret, right?) But then: “Enter through the narrow gate for the gate is wide that leads to destruction. How narrow the gate and constricted the road that leads to life. And those who find it are few.“

So I start thinking about roads that I have traveled that were narrow and/or difficult to navigate. The first one that comes to mind is the road that leads up the mountain Haleakala in Hawai’i. The goal is to see the sunrise at the top of that winding road that has to be traversed in the pre-dawn dark. If you have not had the experience, think of the most winding road you have ever traveled and then cast a shadow over it. You will get the challenge! So why attempt that narrow road that winds up and up…(at 3:30 AM!)? For the sun that comes slowly, and when it is fully over the top of the mountain, is all you can see without your sunglasses…so you quickly put them on and then you can hardly breathe at the sight.

You had thought all along that you were alone atop the mountain but as the sun washes over the peaks you see that you were in great company! There are small groups of people populating the peaks…sitting quietly or snapping photos as they wait with you for the glory of full sun. And then everyone turns this way and that to smile and offer a “Good morning!” across the peaks. The camaraderie is inexplicable; it cannot be described but only felt. It is a good feeling – a feeling of unity that can never be achieved on a wide road to anywhere. The effort of climbing to the top, the waiting in the cold morning, and the surprise of those who experience it with you remain.

So what is the take away from that experience? You would have to be there to know. But being there, you could never refuse a narrow road again—whether it be on a mission of mercy, a community ritual, a brief encounter on the street…Never again…

This may take longer than I thought…Are you game? Do you have people with whom to share? Give it a try. What have you to lose? Blessings on the journey!

What’s In Your Eye?

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Jesus, judging others, love one another, Matthew, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

It’s hard to miss the meaning of the reading from Matthew (7:1-5) when Jesus is heard talking about judgment. His image of having a wooden beam in one’s eye and not noticing it is outlandish hyperbole by anyone’s reckoning. But it does capture our attention, which is the obvious purpose of Jesus, I suspect. The question at hand might rather be whether or not I notice the specks in my own eye. That seems to me the more difficult test. I can easily rub my eye and (perhaps) get rid of a speck—or grab some eye wash and blot it out. It may be too easy to find such a remedy. I still don’t want to think of a wooden beam…so how do I stop judging?

Whatever it takes to wake up the vagaries of your mind is the essential question here. What might you suggest to help others accept people without judging them? Do you judge yourself? If so, might that be a first step in changing your judgements of others? Instead of judging yourself or anyone else, why not try to just love without judging? You know: “Love the sinner, not the sin.” Then pray for the possibility to forgive—yourself and everyone else. It will be difficult but certainly worth the effort.

Where Is Your Heart

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heart, Jesus, Matthew, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, treasure

Today Matthew is still recounting a part of the famous message of Jesus from the Mount of the Beatitudes, one of the most peaceful places I have ever visited. Jesus is preaching about the danger of storing up earthly treasures and he makes a statement that engenders my question this morning about “treasure.” He suggests that we not be concerned with material goods and such, but rather go deeper, finding more precious things. He says simply and directly, “Where your treasure is, there also will your heart be.” And so I ask myself today: “Lois, where is your heart?”

The Lord’s Prayer

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Matthew, The Lord's Prayer, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

I know the Lord’s Prayer (“Our Father”) in two languages and can recite it without a thought. Unfortunately, that is sometimes precisely how I say it—without a thought. I rarely stop to consider what the words mean. Sometimes that is a comfort, telling me that the message is deeply ingrained in my heart and I am changed in the saying of it. Sometimes, however, my thoughts are somewhere else and I am moving as if on a treadmill, going nowhere and in danger of falling off/losing my place with every step.

This morning’s gospel (Mt 6:7-15)) has Jesus teaching his closest friends how to best approach God: simply—not babbling with lots of words. There’s no need for that after all, because God already knows what we need. We might ask “why bother then?”

This morning my answer is simple: the recitation wakes me up to what I’m doing/saying and I have that good feeling of connection in my heart. What’s your reason/experience?

Matthew’s Challenges

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disciples, love, love your enemies, Matthew, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

Every time I read chapter five of Matthew’s gospel, I feel more and more challenged! The Beatitudes are enough but then there are so many other things added on…. One could spend a lifetime simply in that one chapter! Just take one little section like: I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you…. Yikes! I try but have been very short of success in that endeavor, especially as that statement is followed up with questions like: If you love those who love you, what recompense will you have? Difficult questions…challenging statements…. Love can certainly get complicated if your desire is to listen to the way of the disciples…. Are you still willing to go along?

Word Placement

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love one another, Matthew, reconciliation, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

I have always loved words and sometimes complex sentences cause us to pause to figure out which of the parts of speech is the subject, which is the object of the verb, etc. (Does that take you back to your youth as it does me?)

Here’s the example from today’s lectionary that gave me pause. From Matthew’s gospel (5:20-26) we read: “Therefore, if you bring your gift to the altar and there recall that your brother has anything against you, leave your gift there at the altar, go first and be reconciled with your brother…”

It doesn’t say: “if you have anything against your brother…” In other words, your brother is the subject of the clause, not you. But then the emphasis shifts and you become the subject (the “do-er”), the one who has to initiate the reconciliation. It calls for a deeper self-reflection because it doesn’t seem fair. Rather the gospel writer seems to be blaming me for what my brother has against me…making me dig deeper to examine why my brother has a quarrel with me and placing the responsibility for reconciliation on me…not always pleasant, right?

To avoid that kind of distress, we might do better to live always by the adage, “Love one another as I have loved you,” where the subject is clearly understood as you, the person spoken to, and the meaning is clear in the direct address.

Let Your Light Shine

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Jesus, light, Matthew, shine, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

Today’s gospel reading presents a monumental challenge to us. (Mt. 5: 13-16) It begins with a compliment that one could consider as a “hook” (as in: “Be careful not to get hooked into something you can’t do”) but when we hear Jesus say: “You are the salt of the earth!”, it’s hard not to get puffed up and think we can do anything. It’s the same when we hear: “You are the light of the world!” The difficulty comes with reading the second part of each of those declarations of Jesus. Look back and see if you don’t feel deflated occasionally when you’re having a bad day and you hear about salt losing its taste or light set under a bushel basket unable to be seen…

I suggest we look at both of the full statements as the words of a cheerleader instead. “Come on!” Jesus says. “You can do it! Shine! You are such a brilliant light! Just keep going! Keep trying! Be the light you want to see in the world! Shine! Shine! Shine!”

Subject/Object

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Ezekiel, loving heart, Matthew, reconciliation, relationship, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

I remember when I first heard – I mean really heard these lines in Matthew’s gospel: “If you bring your gift to the altar, and there recall that your brother has anything against you, leave your gift there at the altar, go first and be reconciled with your brother and then come and offer your gift.” (Mt 5: 20-26) It seemed a bit backward to me—not that I might have something against my brother but rather that I was being blamed for wrongdoing. It made me look deeper at my willingness to own up to my failings in relationship.

Today I need to entertain another step on the way to maturity. Not only do we have Matthew’s advice quoted above, but the gospel acclamation adds another layer to the need for truth telling. It says: “Cast away from you all the crimes you have committed, says the Lord, and make for yourselves a new heart and a new spirit.” (Ez 18:31) It’s as if we’re called before a God who is not willing to do all the work in telling us what we’ve done that we ought to regret in our relationships but that we ought to be conscious enough and honest enough to “say it like it is.” For those of us who are used to the Scripture that says, “I will take away from you your stony hearts and give you a new (or “natural”) heart, this is a new moment. Still believing the truth of that generous promise from God about new hearts, it now seems incumbent on us that we work with God to create those new, natural, loving hearts that beat more clearly than ever before.

No Babbling!

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Lent, Matthew, Our Father, prayer, The Lord's Prayer, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

I find myself sometimes in conversation—more often as I get older—saying to whoever seems to be listening: “I’m babbling, so I’ll stop now…” I smiled, therefore, when I saw the gospel reading for today from Matthew 6. Listen:

Jesus said to his disciples: In praying, do not babble like the pagans who think that they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them. Your Father knows what you need before you ask him.

What follows is The Lord’s Prayer, a great example of how to be concise yet meaningful. No wonder it is prayed by people all over the world who are of all Christian denominations. Today may be a good day to take apart the prayer and reflect on each of the thoughts, to go deeper in considering what they might mean for your life now. A lovely reflection for a Tuesday at the beginning of Lent, don’t you think? Think of how many people in the world are saying this prayer today. Why not join in virtually to that great throng?

Shepherd and King of the Universe

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basic needs, caring, Christ the King, Ezekiel, love, Matthew, Psalm 23, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

Today Christians celebrate the feast of Christ the King. Americans don’t experience the reality of kings in our world too much any more. We find them more on the Hallmark channel on television. We modern types are more used to “Captains of Industry” and celebrities who have a lot of money. Thus, it is a bit difficult to conjecture Jesus the Christ as what he is now being called as “King of the Universe.” I was struck in today’s lectionary readings by the addition of the universe to that title. I don’t recall that designation – even though it was somehow assumed. Perhaps it’s because we have become conquerers not only of our entire world but of outer space as well…(Perhaps the title has been like that all along and I just didn’t notice).

Here’s the great question though. What kind of king is Christ? “Like a shepherd,” the prophet Ezekiel says, “I will look after and tend my sheep, giving them rest.” (34:11-17) And the psalmist chimes in with that well-known, comforting Psalm 23, saying to us: “There is nothing I shall want. He leads me, guides me, refreshes my soul.” And if that is not enough, Jesus himself gives the invitation when speaking to his disciples – to us. You can find it in the gospel of Matthew, chapter 25. Listen today as if you were in the presence of Jesus, the Shepherd King, who is telling you what is expected of you.

...For I was hungry and you gave me food. I was thirsty and you gave me drink, a stranger and you welcomed me, naked and you clothed me, ill and you cared for me, in prison and you visited me…Whatever you did for these least brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.

Nothing monumental, just the right thing: caring for each other in the basic needs of life. In other words: Take care of each other. Love as I have loved you. That’s the kind of king we have – and today we’re asked again to become like him.