Simple But Not Easy

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disagreement, God's love, Patricia Livingston, praying, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

In these turbulent times, we are often challenged to love those people we consider unloveable. I’m always happy when I read suggestions that cast a light on a simple practice that might help to alleviate the difficulty. Here’s what I read this morning that is simple – if not easy – to help me climb out of my negative mindset.

A friend told me that when she tries to love someone with whom she vehemently disagrees, the only thing that works is praying: “Dear God, let this person somehow experience your love.” Picturing them held in God’s love lessens her intense negativity. (Patricia Livingston in Living Faith – Daily Catholic Devotions for 10/12/20).

It can’t hurt. It might help.

Pure Joy

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benefit, generosity, praying, psalm 19, sacred music, singing, stable, The Missionaries of the Heart of Jesus, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, unity

It’s always interesting to me when one word jumps out from a page and starts me on a road of reflection. This morning that word was an adjective from Psalm 19 in an alternate translation. The word was stable. (When bolded it really does give the impression of what it means.) I’m fairly certain that I hooked onto that word because everything seems unstable right now: the weather, the political scene and many of the institutions – religious and secular – that seem to be failing around the world. We need something to hold onto and I believe it can only come from a deep, interior place. Here is what the psalmist said in speaking to God:

The stable patterns of your ways give joy and fill the heart with good, bringing light to eyes that now can see. Pure light, pure truth, pure justice, God, they’re like a cleansing wind that passes through our souls, assessing all.

Last evening I had an experience of this “purity,” this stability. I went to a benefit concert for the work of The Missionaries of the Heart of Jesus who travel to Haiti on a regular basis to help improve conditions in the lives of the people there. The concert was organized by and featured the extraordinary talents of the parish musicians and choir of St. James Church in Johnson City, NY. I am always comfortable there as I had known many of these people as students when I was teaching high school, two of whom are Jan DeAngelo, music director for the parish and Patricia Foley, leader of the contemporary choir, the group presenting the concert.

From the first pure note of the a cappella solo, Pat led the crowded church into a truly holy event, traveling through time and venues where sacred and secular are one. Violins, horns, guitars and drums melded perfectly with the artistic prowess of Jan’s piano – and the voices…well, the blend was, to coin a word, heavenly. And the best part of all was that the audience was encouraged to sing along at every turn – and we did! From John Denver’s All This Joy to the stirring religious anthem, How Great Thou Art, the evening was suffused with the light of generosity and willingness and the truth that our singing and praying was perhaps as beneficial for Haitians as the overflowing bucket of donations at the back of the Church.

My gratitude is great, just for knowing such talented, generous people who offer their gifts on a regular basis for the praise of God and the good of community, bringing light to eyes that come to see from a place of unity.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Older And Wiser

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Ancient Songs Sung Anew, experiences, grace, growth, hand of God, hear, instruction, listen, path of life, praying, psalm 119, teaching, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, voice, wisdom

I doubt I will ever read Psalm 119 from beginning to end in one sitting. It’s the longest one, 176 verses in all. Each section begins with a letter of the Hebrew alphabet in succession, rather like our singsong game of “A, B, C, D…” where we learned to expand and fill in with words like “A my name is Alice, my husband’s name is Al, we come from Alaska and we sell Artichokes.” (Next person) “B my name is Bertha…”  (Goodness! It’s been a long time since I thought of that! What a wonder that my mental rolodex flipped it out without hesitation!)

The Scriptural path through Psalm 119 is more serious business than our childhood game, of course. Commentary states that “[E]ach segment might be read as a separate voice from different individuals praying out of their various perspectives. It could also be understood as one individual experiencing all the various perspectives that one knows along the path of life.” This explanation rings true for my reflection this morning in reading the verses that are quoted in today’s lectionary. I thought of how much simpler it is (although not always so easy!) as I get older to recognize the hand of God in my experiences, difficult though they may be, and to accept things as growth points rather than failures. Here’s the gift that verses 65 to 68 gave me, with a postscript of verses 72 & 73 to bring the lesson to conclusion.

I know this path of yours as grace, your every act a teaching. And so I come to understand. In each hard word I learn discernment and know your mind. Before these deep afflictions it was I who turned aside and went astray, but now I’ve learned to follow hard your word and ways. So good are you, you bring forth good, instruct me in the pattern of this deeper wisdom…That I might learn to hear your inner word, your deep instruction; and listen to the voice that speaks like silver and like gold to me, as richest treasure. (Ancient Songs Sung Anew)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Found In Translation

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debts, fidelity, forgive, hallowed, love, Luke, Matthew, Peace, praying, Sermon on the Mount, spiritual path, The Lord's Prayer, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, trespasses

The gospel in today’s lectionary is probably the most commonly known prayer in Christianity: The Lord’s Prayer, also known as The Our Father. The text is found in two of the four canonical gospels, Matthew (6:9-13) and Luke (11:2-4). Most of us know it as it comes from Matthew’s version, appearing in the middle of the Sermon on the Mount. Reading Luke this morning made me think that his version might have been easier to learn for children who had trouble memorizing prayers; it’s very succinct and yet seems to cover all the requisite items for our living. It comes in Luke’s gospel as the response of Jesus when he himself was praying and one of his disciples asked him to teach them to pray. Luke reports him telling them: “When you pray, say: Father, hallowed (holy) be your name, your kingdom come. Give us each day our daily bread and forgive our sins for we ourselves forgive everyone in debt to us, and do not subject us to the final test.” Period – the end.

On second thought, although the words may be easier to learn than those of Matthew, there is a tiny word that changes things for those trying to practice what they pray. In Matthew we hear: “Forgive us our debts (trespasses) as we forgive…” Does it mean: “to the extent that (or in the way that) we forgive others?” Luke seems to think that our forgiveness of others is a foregone conclusion – something already done – by using the word “for” meaning “because” in that same sentence.

As I get mired in these semantics, I remember that translation is not an exact science and everything I’m writing could be challenged by scholars of Aramaic and Greek and Latin… My point is only and always to delve into what can bring us closer to God on our spiritual path and what can motivate us to treat others as Christ would have us love them. So let us say our prayers and get about the day’s work in peace and the promise of fidelity, to the best of our ability today.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Back to Ordinary

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healing, holidays, Jesus, Mark, Ordinary Time, praying, preaching, surprise, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, work

This morning as I checked to be sure I was reading the correct lectionary selections for this date I noticed the heading: Wednesday of the First Week in Ordinary Time. Not really meaning ordinary in the “ordinary” way, I know that I should be thinking of it as ordinal/counting time. It struck me as the former, however, as it seems that way. Holidays are over, routines have returned and, whether or not we are happy about it, life goes on as it always does. We may have done a year-end inventory – financial or spiritual. We may be grieving large or small losses or celebrating gains as individuals, but on a macro level, the world is still turning.

Jesus is busy in the beginning of Mark’s gospel. (Mark’s writing always reminds me of the saying, “Just the facts, Ma’am” as there is little embellishment in this shortest gospel.) Today in just eleven verses of chapter one (29-39), Jesus finishes his worship in the synagogue, heals Simon’s mother-in-law, has a meal – served by the former invalid, cures “many” including those possessed by demons, spends some time before dawn the next day in the desert praying and then leaves to preach and heal in the nearby villages. That’s quite an agenda!

Some of us are lucky enough to have variety in our work but, seen in another way, sometimes a routine job is more comforting. At least in that way we know what the day will look like. Here’s a nod to the Christmas story that we’ve just left, however. Our God is a God of surprises. If the long-awaited Messiah could be born as a baby of what were reputed to be poor, insignificant parents in the eyes of the world, we ought to be looking deeper than our “ordinary” circumstances for the extraordinary work of God. Life does, in fact, go on and it is ours to stay awake to the little miracles inherent in the everyday.

 

 

 

 

 

Just Like Us

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21st century America, busy life, gratitude, healing, human being, Jesus, Letter to the Hebrews, Mark, miracles, pain, Paul, praying, suffered, tested, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, witness of Jesus

There’s a line in the reading from the Letter to the Hebrews this morning that stopped me. “Because he himself was tested through what he suffered,” it says, “he is able to help those who are being tested.” For those who have difficulty seeing Jesus as a really, fully, human being, “tested” in everyday life as he went about his ministry, this is a good line to ponder. It also should help as we try to do our best in supporting others, knowing their pain because of our own in similar circumstances. 

Identifying with Jesus in our lives is also given a boost by the gospel today (MK 1:29-39). Within 10 verses, Jesus heals Peter’s mother-in-law, works through the evening casting out demons and healing a “whole town gathered at the door,” rises before dawn to find a deserted place to pray, then moves on to nearby villages when summoned by his disciples to start the whole process all over again that day. Oh, yes – and he preached there too. It sounds like the rhythm of life in 21st century America.

Today I’ll have some time in my car to think about this stream of events and to offer gratitude to God for the witness of Jesus as he was able to maintain a stance of love and patience even when he was bone tired and wanted the world to go away.

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.