Pay Attention!

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attention, discernment, Isaiah, law of the Lord, meditate, psalm 1, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, truth, wisdom

Today it seems that we are once more being called to attend to messages that offer us clear directives for good living in a succinct and understandable way. I use the plural “messages” but in the end I see all three readings as constitutive of an overarching theme.

Isaiah (48: 17-19) proclaims God’s willingness to teach us what is for our good if we would hearken to God’s commandments. (The rewards are all nature images – beautiful and worth your time to read.) Next, Psalm 1 tells us that if we meditate on and delight in the law of the Lord, we will prosper (again – interestingly – with nature images).

What this says to me is that we’re called to a consistent and steadfast attention to discernment of what is for our good and what is not, if we are to learn wisdom. It doesn’t help to observe the practices of others and thereby judge them. Truth is the measure of what we learn in the silence of our hearts. After the advice of Isaiah and the psalmist, we hear Jesus speak in rather stark language about this. Listen to what he says.

“To what shall I compare this generation? It’s like children who sit in marketplaces and call to one another, ‘We played for you but you did not dance, we sang a dirge but you did not mourn.’ For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they said, ‘He is possessed by a demon.’ The Son of Man came eating and drinking and they said, ‘Look, he is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners.’ But wisdom is vindicated by her works.”

What do you make of all this?

A Dwelling Place

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Ancient Songs Sung Anew, dwelling place, God, Holy One, invitation, meditate, Peter, prayer, psalm, temple, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

The first lectionary text this morning (1PT 1:10-16) ended with a call to be holy with the simple statement “Be holy for I, the Lord, am holy.” Succinctly put, right? Then, in a commentary on today’s psalm I read a paragraph that seemed to follow and enhance the message of Peter, drawing us into a possible way of entering more deeply into relationship with this “Holy One.” See what you think.

Perhaps one of the things that we learn…is that human beings need to offer an invitation to God and interior space for God to be. Have you ever sensed that you could offer a place inside of your being as a dwelling place for the divine, or that your whole being could be God’s “temple” as it is often put in the tradition?…In a time of prayer, meditate upon this possibility and what it means for you. (Ancient Songs Sung Anew, p.248)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Light Up the World!

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Advent, candle, Christ, Desert Fathers and Mothers, flame, hearts, light, meditate, monastics, Sophia House, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

Paris, – lighting candles in notre dame cathedral… Calgary, Alberta Canada. Photographer Carlos Amat, http://www.carlosamat.ca

Last night I attended a lovely evening of reflection with a small study group held at Sophia House, our “satellite office” in Endicott, NY. The presenter forgot her matches so I foraged around the house and in the adjacent building and found nothing that could help us light the candle that was to be the centerpiece of our prayer table. Sensing the importance of the symbol, I was grateful to meet up with the janitor who led me to his office where he had not one but three long-nosed lighters. He gifted me with one which now will stay in my office for just such events.

As we travel through this season of Advent, lighting a new candle each week in church and/or at home, praying for the light of Christ to burn in our hearts, I am often reminded of a familiar story from those first monastics, the Desert Fathers and Mothers who understood our responsibility to become that light for the world that we say we desire.

Abba Lot went to see Abba Joseph and said to him, “Abba, as far as I can, I say my little office, I fast a little, I pray and meditate, I live in peace, and as far as I can, I purify my thoughts. What else can I do?” The old man stood up and stretched his hands toward heaven. His fingers became like ten lamps of fire and he said to him, “If you will, you can become all flame!”

So as we prepare for Christmas, in the midst of all that we do, why not have as our intention to increase our desire for God so that we do, indeed, become all flame?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

No Babbling!

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babble, Matthew, meditate, pray, prayer, praying, The Lord's Prayer, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

Today’s gospel from Matthew (6:7-15) is the familiar passage wherein Jesus teaches his listeners how to pray – for many of us the most familiar of our common Christian prayers, the Lord’s Prayer. My reflection this morning came from the initial instruction of Jesus that began the chosen text. The translation says, “In praying, do not babble like the pagans who think they will be heard because of their many words…” I smiled at the descriptive verb and then thought that when we say that prayer in common, babbling is sometimes exactly what it sounds like. If someone were to yell “STOP” at a certain phrase, shocking everyone into consciousness, I wonder if I would always know what comes next.

Perhaps I exaggerate but I have often suggested, as it has been suggested to me, to use the Lord’s Prayer as a personal meditation or an examination of conscience, not just rattling off the long-ago memorized phrases but spending time with each one, allowing it to seep into my heart and seeing what arises as question or reflection on what I hear. As a few examples:

“Our Father” – Whom do I include in my family as related through the parentage of God? Why are some excluded?

“Thy kingdom come on earth as it is in heaven” – How do I perceive ‘God’s reign’ and how am I contributing to that reality now? 

“Give us this day our daily bread” – Who is hungry and for what? Can I help?

Perhaps today I might do this practice differently, taking a phrase each hour and seeing what happens. I wonder how far I will get before the activities of the day take over and I forget my intention. No matter…I trust God will stay listening all day and even into my tomorrows.