Edge Walking

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anger, balance, comforted, despair, edge, enthusiasm, jeremiah, Las Vegas, life, Meg Wheatley, mourning, overwhelmed, perseverance, persevere, perspective, prayer, presence, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, tired, violence, weeping

On days like today when we have been once again faced with senseless, unspeakable violence, this time on a scale not seen before in our history, it is difficult to even begin to speak of it. My first thought this morning was of a line from Scripture: A voice is heard in Ramah, mourning and great weeping, Rachel weeping for her children and refusing to be comforted, because they are no more. (JER 31:15) As we turn in prayer toward the people of Las Vegas – for that seems the only thing to do as the tally of dead and wounded continues to rise – we must lament, as individuals and as a nation. And in the face of the distress in this dawning day, I turn to Meg Wheatley for a way to persevere.

Presence, she writes, is the only way to walk the edge of chaos. We have to be as nimble and awake as a high-wire artist, sensitive to the slightest shift of wind, of circumstances, emotions. We may find this high-wire exhausting at first, but there comes a time when we rejoice in our skillfulness. We learn to know this edge, to keep our balance, and even dance a bit at incalculable heights.

Walking the edge never stops being dangerous. At any moment, when we’re tired, overwhelmed, fed-up, sick, we can forget where we are and get ourselves in trouble. We can lapse into despair or anger. Or we can get so caught up in our own enthusiasm and passion that we lose any sense of perspective or timing, alienate friends, and crash in an exhausted mess.

The edge is where life happens. But let’s notice where we are and not lose our balance. (Perseverance, p.131)

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Sorrowful Mother

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Blessed Mother, faith, grace, Hurricane Harvey, Mary, mother, mourning, Our Lady of Sorrows, pain, Syrian refugees, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, trust

Today our Church remembers Mary under the title of “Our Lady of Sorrows.” There are many feasts in our Church calendar honoring Mary but, this year especially, I find this one particularly poignant as images arise of present-day mothers. I see Syrian refugee mothers cradling their hungry and frightened toddlers, then a mother reaching out of a helicopter to fetch her child from the basket that has saved her little one as it saved her from the swirling waters of Hurricane Harvey, then a young mother at the side of her ten-year old child’s hospital bed, then a would-be mother mourning her miscarriage…

It is no wonder that mothers the world over (like my own) are known to have deep devotion to the Blessed Mother, herself unwed and a frightened teenager at the start, but one who trusted God’s grace to sustain her. In her faith she became strong enough to weather all the storms of motherhood, even to seeing her son executed in a horrible death. So many women can look to Mary to understand the pain of the various circumstances of their motherly lives.

Today I will pray for mothers young and old, happy and sad, fulfilled and unfulfilled, struggling or joyous (or both!) and ask God’s blessing on all who take on this role that they may find solace in the company of women and encouragement in the timeless witness of Mary, mother to all.

Joy in the Morning

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dancing, joy, Lectionary, lunch with the psalms, mourning, praise, psalm, Psalm 30, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

One of my favorite moments of the week is really a half hour. It happens every Tuesday noon at our weekly “Lunch with the Psalms” offering at the Sophia Center. As it has evolved, nobody brings a lunch. Rather we just “chew on” the psalm of the day from the lectionary for the Eucharist. We look at different translations, reading reflectively and comparing word choices, then considering the meaning and applications – sometimes for our world and sometimes for our personal lives. Sometimes we just bask in the language itself.

Yesterday there were only two of us present for this weekly feast but, as we often remember that “where two or three are gathered,” Christ says, “there I am in the midst of them,” it was delightful. Our consideration was Psalm 30 and in one of the alternate translations we chuckled at the part that sounded like a teenager addressing God but were caught in a different way with the vivid lines that expressed a more mature relationship. I decided it would be worth sharing the entire text here today, followed by the most evocative lines of commentary, in hopes that you might share our experience of God’s faithful servant,  the psalmist, in the vicissitudes of life and know again the constancy of God’s care.

It is you I praise, my God. You took me by the hand to lift me high up off the ground. You did not let my adversaries trample over me. O God, when I called out to you, you heard my cry for help and nursed me back to health again. I was dying and you revived me. It is you who saved my life when I was spiraling down. Let everyone who serves you praise the sacred name we know and now confess. If indeed you are ever angry, God, it flashes out for one brief moment and then is gone, but your kindness never fades even for an instant. It is life itself. Tears may wash me through the night, but when the morning breaks your joy awaits.

Once in great prosperity, with grace abounding, foolishly I said, “I will never be disturbed. I am as strong and sure as any mountain.” But suddenly, it was as if you were not there. It was as though your face had turned away. I found myself in deep despair. I called, I cried, I begged for pity, Lord. I argued with you. “God,” I said, “What good would it do you if I vanished into death? And would the dust that’s left when I am gone keep promise or speak your praise? Lord, listen, hear and help me now,” I pled and prayed.

Then suddenly, you turned my mourning into dancing, you stripped the rags of grief away and wrapped me round with your astounding joy. Now from my heart there pours unceasing song, a voice with music and with praise, that will sing on to you forever. (Psalm 30)

Question: The contrast between depression and despair and joy are great in this psalm. What is the experience of joy? Is it simply that the problems of life are resolved in your favor, or is there something more and deeper than this?