Feeding the Hungry

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enough, feeding, food, handout, Jesus, John the Baptist, loaves and fishes, Matthew, metanoia, needs of the world, peaceable kingdom, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

There is a line from Matthew’s gospel in the story called variously “the loaves and the fishes” or “the feeding of the five thousand” (CH 14) that always goes straight to my heart. It appears today and catches me as usual. It is late in a day that began with Jesus trying to escape the crowds to grieve the death of John the Baptist. Failing that, Jesus responds to the needs in what has turned into a long and likely tiring session of healing people. The narrative picks up with the apostles saying to Jesus that he ought to send the people away because it’s late and there’s no availability of food to buy in the deserted place where they are. They will need to go to one of the villages nearby to buy food. There is no need for them to go away, Jesus says. Give them something to eat yourselves. The gospel continues with the miracle of feeding the whole crowd on five loaves and two small fish.

How often the needs of the world seem that impossible to fulfill! And it is true that we cannot achieve such a goal alone. It will take a monumental – miraculous even – metanoia (conversion) to get our world on track toward the “peaceable kingdom” where all are fed and cared for. My question for today, however, is this: how shall we be until that possibility comes into view? Whom and how am I being asked to feed today? Am I awake to the people who need a kind word or a sandwich to help them through the day? Is it enough that I go through the day mindful of those for whom I have promised to pray? There wasn’t much to go on when Jesus started that “handout” but the result, worked through his helpers, fed them all.

Can we believe that what we have to give is enough?

 

 

 

 

 

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The Lion and the Lamb

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dead of winter, hope, Isaiah, judgment, life, Peace, peaceable kingdom, prayer, presence, signs, silence, strength, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, tree, vision

Today we have one of Isaiah’s more familiar, even famous, visions. It is his powerful vision of “the day of the Lord,” describing what has come to be known as The Peaceable Kingdom. (IS 11:1-10) There are so many vivid images, some that we see on Christmas cards, some we recognize from observation of the world around us.

I believe I have spoken here of the hibiscus bush (tree?) that was moved in our yard a couple of years ago. It seemed very clear that it did not survive the transition. The surge of hope that ran through me on the day I discovered not only leaves on one of the branches but also buds seemed excessive but for me it was a clear sign that life is in some ways an inside job and occasionally we have to trust what we cannot see.

Waiting for peace in our country and world seems as futile and far away right now as the possibility of cows and bears being neighbors or babies playing by a cobra’s den. It’s clear that while waiting (patience) is important, there is more to be expected of us. How peaceable is my approach to others? Do I jump to judgment in whatever I read? Are rumors ever my “stock in trade” or do I know how to be in silence – to dwell occasionally with oppositional thought until the walls in my mind or at least in my heart are dissolved like smoke? Do I ever connect myself energetically with people in other countries around the world where people seem so strange to me? What power does the word “enemy” have in my life?

Today I look out at the tallest of trees across the yard. She stands stripped of all her fair-weather clothing and each branch – even to the tiniest of shoots – is exposed. In the “dead of winter” I know that life remains in that tree, that she is shoring up her strength to be ready for the spring when she will bloom again. Where is my willingness to be like that tree today, able to stand strong, stripped perhaps of easy answers and solutions but willing to offer my strength of honest purpose, my prayer and presence to move my world just a step closer to the realization of Isaiah’s dream?

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Peaceable Kingdom

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Advent, counsel, courage, fear of the Lord, Holy Spirit, Isaiah, knowledge, living in the present, natural response, peaceable kingdom, right judgment, strength, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, understanding, wisdom, without judgment

Today’s first reading from the Prophet Isaiah conjures up images of lions and lambs – or all kinds of animals – in a country scene, usually a forest glade, on Christmas cards. The text speaks of the time when there shall be no harm or ruin on all [God’s] holy mountain for the earth shall be filled with knowledge of the Lord. This is the same reading that gives Christian denominations a way to speak of the Holy Spirit as it enumerates the gifts the Spirit bestows: wisdom, understanding, counsel (right judgment), knowledge, strength (courage) and fear of the Lord (wonder and awe in God’s presence).* (IS 11:1-10) Interestingly, the reading speaks of a child as the center and motivating force of this peaceful existence and the gospel (LK 10:21-24) praises God for having revealed the “secrets” of the kingdom of heaven to the childlike rather than to the (perhaps purportedly) wise and learned.

Why all this as the chosen readings for the early days of Advent? Perhaps to call us to adjust the lens through which we look at the world. Little children do not usually live in fear but rather (until they are taught otherwise) move toward new experiences and encounters with people/animals, etc. The childlike are usually less self-conscious and less needy of approval, thus delight is a natural response to things. In other words, they (all of the above) open themselves to reality without judgment and are generally able to let go of bad experiences by living in the present moment. Of course, my generalizations here are broad and subject to claims of being wildly naïve. My point is only that I think we would do well to consider more willingness to accept difference instead of fearing it wherever we find it and to live each day with a positive attitude, using those spiritual gifts enumerated above as our guide. It can’t hurt and it might help to hasten the peaceable kingdom so lacking in the world of today.

*The words in parentheses are translations of Spirit-gifts in modern usage in some Christian denominations and the gift of reverence is a welcome addition to the other six.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Home Again

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compassion, peaceable kingdom, receptivity, Thanksgiving, The Hidden Ground of Love, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, Thomas Merton, tolerance, wisdom

Even though we in the United States are gearing up today and tomorrow for Thanksgiving, the most traveled holiday in our country, I feel a sense of grounding this morning as I sit in my chair, in my own room, looking out at the view that is so familiar to me as I await the dawn. I am settling in to “home” after an inexplicable season (10 days!) of what seems like time out of time spent in seeking wisdom with a miraculous “horde” of 240 people, an event that gave a glimpse of what could be seen as “the peaceable kingdom.” As I breathe into this day with its familiar round of activities, I am heartened by a word from Thomas Merton that calms my soul while it fuels my intention. He says the following:

I think what I need to learn is an almost infinite tolerance and compassion because negative thought gets nowhere. I am beginning to think that in our time we will correct almost nothing, and get almost nowhere: but if we can just prepare a compassionate and receptive soil for the future, we will have done a great work. I feel at least that this is the turn my own life ought to take. (The Hidden Ground of Love, 20)