Do I Measure Up?

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Friends of God, give, Lynn Bauman, promise, psalm 15, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, truth

Lynn Bauman, in his translation of the Psalms, characterizes Psalm 15, the psalm for today, as “Friends of God.” Who wouldn’t want to be in this circle? Here are some of the criteria listed in response to the initial questions to God about: Who may approach the summit of your mountain strong? Who may come invited to your presence there? Listen to a few of the requisite behaviors:

1. Those who live their lives devoid of blame, who do what is right, and from whose hearts truth is the only word;

2. Those who treat their neighbors as their own, their kind;

3. Those whose promise is as good as any word they ever give, even in the face of loss or gain;

4. Those who give and give and ever give again without hope of getting in return…

I think I have some climbing to do before reaching the summit of that holy mountain but the good news, as I see it, is that God is standing up there, maybe with a megaphone (depending upon the distance between us) cheering us on with lots of enthusiasm…so we’ll all get there…together!

The Will To Be Honest

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expectation, honesty, humility, intention, Matthew, Philippians, promise, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

Say what you mean and mean what you say. That seems to be an adage that has gone out of favor these days. It’s easy to agree with what is being asked if your opinion is requested, especially if disagreement would meet with disapproval or argument. But what happens if that conversation is followed by expectation of performance? I’m speaking about situations like that of the gospel reading today. (MT 21:28-32)

The father had two sons. He told the first one to go and work in his vineyard. The son refused but later went as he had been asked. When the father gave the same directive to his second son, this one agreed to go but did not fulfill that promise to his father. Jesus uses this parable to illustrate belief/non-belief in “the way of righteousness.” Having read the preceding text (PHIL 2:6-11) from Paul’s letter to the Philippians, I was drawn also to the qualities of honesty and humility in speech and performance found there and as they relate to the gospel.

If I am asked to do something, the hope is that I will be honest in my reply and the fulfillment or denial of the request. Sometimes it takes humility – emptying ourselves of our own will – to do what is asked of us as well as to be honest about our intention to do or not do it. Even more frequent perhaps is the case in which we are simply asked our opinion on something controversial. If you know you disagree with the majority, are you willing to state an honest opinion? When might that be difficult for you? Why?

Ponder This

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enlighten, Ephesians, Genesis, Mark, perseverance, promise, St. Paul, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

With the promise of God in Genesis 8:22, that “As long as the earth lasts, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter and day and night shall not cease,” hope returned to the world. With Paul’s prayer in his letter to the Ephesians (1:17-18), “May the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ enlighten the eyes of our hearts that we may know what is the hope to which we are called,” the promise was solidified. Through the willingness of Jesus to lay hands -not once but twice – on a blind man to assure his healing (MK 8:22-26), we can trust in God’s perseverance on our behalf.

What more can we ask as this new day dawns?

Friends of God

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Ancient Songs Sung Anew, examination of conscience, friends, give, heart, Lynn Bauman, presence, promise, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

The book Ancient Songs Sung Anew by Lynn Bauman names Psalm 15 as “Friends of God.” You may recognize it as the one that asks, “Who can ascend the mountain of the Lord?” and then proceeds to talk about a clean heart, etc. It’s what we might call an examination of conscience but I prefer, these days, to tweak the vocabulary a bit and call it an examination of consciousness. Bauman’s translation seems to me today to be  helpful as applied to our present-day world. See if you don’t agree.

O God, who of us may approach the summit of your mountain strong? Who may come invited to your presence there? Only those who live their lives devoid of blame, who do what’s right, and from whose hearts truth is the only word; whose mouths are free from hateful words and hands from wrong, who treat their neighbors as their own, their kind; who do not give a place of honor to the evil one, but only to the friends of God. Whose promise is as good as any word they ever give, even in the face of loss or gain. They give and give, and ever give again, without hope of getting in return, and never take a bribe or speak against the innocent. All these shall come at last to you, all these, secure and overcomers, all! All these are ever yours; they’re proven true as your own friends.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Clinging to Hope

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alive, beginnings, Celtic Treasure, Christ, Easter, faith, Holy Week, hope, Jesus, John Philip Newell, Lent, love, new life, promise, solace, sorrow, stay the course, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, turmoil

For so many people I have encountered in so many places recently, life seems to be a continual walk in the dark. For Christians who are following the path of Lent, walking with Jesus ever closer to the events of what we call Holy Week, the heaviness of these days can be an opportunity even as we find our energy sapped by news of a world in deep turmoil. Another school shooting yesterday, panic in Austin, Texas over serial bomb explosions, wildly destructive coastal storms and personal tragedies or disappointments leave us wondering when and how it will all end. Will Easter bring us solace and the promise of new life?

Today it is a prayer from John Philip Newell’s book, Celtic Treasure, that calls me to consciousness. May it be a reminder and an encouragement for us to “stay the course” in hope, clinging to the transformative power of faith and love.

You are within and among us, O Christ, as the one who is alive for ever. In the sorrows and sufferings of our lives you are with us as the one who holds the keys of new beginnings. There is no ending in the world, there is no fear in our lives, there is no despair in our hearts, that your living presence cannot unlock. You are within and among us, O Christ, as the one who is alive for ever. (p. 214)

 

 

 

 

 

 

A Covenant Forever

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Abraham, Christ, covenant, Emmanuel, family, Jesus, King David, Lord, love, promise, psalm 89, religious community, Scripture, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

Today all the Scripture readings highlight the God’s relationship with King David, his ancestors and his descendants – a secure, unbreakable covenant of unfailing love for all time. Although I have never borne children and cannot trace my ancestry back many generations, I feel the fullness of the concept of covenant in the family stories that I do know and in the larger “family” that I inhabit in my religious community and in the “family” of the eastern part of the USA. It is not an easy time for us; destruction and unrest seem the order of the day. Underneath it all, however, I have a hope that we will survive because of the promise that God made to Abraham, renewed in Christ and manifest in ways seen and unseen in all of us. As we anticipate the blossoming forth of Emmanuel this night we might reflect on the words of Psalm 89 from today’s liturgy.

Your love, O Lord, I will forever sing, your faithful friendship shall be the subject of my song. For I have come to know your love as fountainhead, it’s ceaseless source not here, but in your high abode. And you yourself have made this oath of faithfulness to us and all of David’s line, a covenant  proclaimed to all you chose, a promise made to us that never ends. The heavens are the witness, Lord, to what you say and do, your steadfast love to us is clear. (Ps. 89:1-5)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Complex Construction

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commands, decrees, deeper wisdom, good, law, ordinances, precepts, promise, psalm 119, statutes, trials, words

Today’s responsorial psalm is a selection of verses from Psalm 119, starting with verse 66. I knew that this psalm was the longest by far but was reminded of how complex it is by the footnote in my Bible which names it “an alphabetic psalm of didactic nature” and elaborates: “In the form of prayer it inculcates the excellence of keeping the divinely revealed law…there is a constant repetition of the main theme with numerous disconnected variations of it. The external form is based on an elaborately constructed scheme. The psalmist chose eight synonyms – law, statutes, commands, ordinances, decrees, precepts, words and promise – and in his strophes of eight verses apiece planned perhaps to use a different synonym in each verse. In the present form of the text, this plan is not perfectly carried out…but the psalm is the longest by far and each of the eight verses in the first strophe begins with the first letter of the Hebrew alphabet, each verse of the second strophe with the second letter and so on for all 22 letters of the alphabet. Hence, there are 176 verses in the psalm.” Below are a few of the verses from today (in alternate translation) that speak to the beauty of God’s law and the psalmist’s desire to know and follow.

So good are you, you bring forth good; instruct me in the pattern of this deeper wisdom…I’ve slowly come to know your perfect word, your ways, even in my deepest trials, for there your love is always present to console; this is your promise made. Your love shall come and I shall live according to its law, my soul’s delight…So I will not forget your precepts, Lord; by them you hold me up in life. All that I am is yours…I seek to be the image of your word.