Who Is Your God?

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God's grace, kind, kindness, merciful, O bless the Lord my soul, Psalm 103, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

Psalm 103 is very clear about the God we believe in. God’s “reputation” has often been sullied by those who choose to subjugate others—by power hungry leaders and those who rule “with an iron hand.” Think for a moment of how you would best describe the God that you know. Then listen to the psalmist who speaks this morning…

Bless the Lord, O my soul..The Lord is kind and merciful. God pardons all your iniquities and heals all your ills. God redeems your life from destruction and crowns you with kindness and compassion…Not according to our sins does the Lord deal with us, nor does our God requite us according to our crimes…For as the heavens are high above the earth, so surpassing is God’s kindness…

Sit for awhile with those words and see if you can agree with the psalmist. Consider the blessings in your life and the difficult times that you have endured. Be specific in naming events and people whose actions toward you represent God’s grace in your life. Dig deep…Can you agree that “the Lord is kind and merciful” and therefore pray: “Bless the Lord, my soul!”

Merciful God

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Ancient Songs Sung Anew, Psalm 103, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, the touch of God

Psalm 103 is one of those comforting reminders of the ways in which God cares for us more even than we could ask or imagine. I feel the effect of the psalmist’s words this morning as I read the familiar lines: For as the heavens are high above the earth, so surpassing is God’s kindness…as far as the east is from the west, so far has he put our transgressions from us…(vs. 11-12)

Reading different translations sometimes adds a new depth of meaning to these long-standing sentiments. Today I read an alternate verse 10 and my imagination soars with the words: For as the heavens reach infinitely beyond all space and time, we swim in mercy as in an endless sea. (Ancient Songs Sung Anew, p. 258) I am immediately transported to a beach at Cape Cod, Massachusetts where the waves beckon as I walk into the water before the plunge that takes me deep in the rocking motion that I love. As I let myself go, I trust that I will arise from the experience refreshed and grateful, cleansed and renewed.

Today looks like it would be a great beach day…if only the beach were nearer and other tasks were not closer at hand. But it is enough to have felt that touch of God from where I sit, readying me for whatever comes my way today, strengthened in the presence of the God who loves me beyond all imagining.

Kind and Merciful

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Ancient Songs Sung Anew, fierce bonding love, kindness, Lynn Bauman, merciful, Psalm 103, swim in mercy, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, universe

What a great God is ours! Today Psalm 103 assures us of this fact with the refrain: The Lord is kind and merciful. We are told that God crowns us with mercy and compassion and that (in one translation) we swim in mercy as in an endless sea.* That understanding includes the concept of mercy as a fierce bonding love** and assures us that we are constantly blessed with that kind of love from the One who created the universe and all that is in it.

Who could ask for anything more?

*Ancient Songs Sung Anew: The Psalms as Poetry by Lynn Bauman

**Old Age: Journey into Simplicity by Helen Luke

Bless the Lord!

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barakah, bless you, children, divine Source, grace, love, mercy, power, Psalm 103, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

I was startled by concepts in an alternate translation of Psalm 103 this morning. The first line was not so different from the lectionary reading but it made me feel the guilelessness of a child who might blurt it out: O God, I bless you with my whole heart and soul! Verse four caught me, however – again like a child now prancing with delight: I wear your love and mercy like a crown! The entire translation was delightful but the attending notes afforded me what I was looking for that opened up a new perspective in my relationship with God.

“The word barakah”, I read, “is Hebrew for blessing.” (No surprise there.) “It means something more in Hebrew than it does in English, a power and grace that flows from one being and place to another through the universe from its divine Source. Interestingly, it flows both ways, from the divine Source to ourselves, and from ourselves back to the Source, Apparently we are catalysts in the flow of blessing.”

Two questions of note follow: How is it possible to be a blessing, or one of the conduits through which it flows? and more to the point of my wondering, How is it possible to bless God? I’m used to asking for God’s blessing on others but can blessing the Divine, the Almighty One be efficacious in the same powerful, gracious way as blessing other beings? How does the understanding (or at least the acceptance) of that flow of blessing alter my view on things or the way in which I wear that crown of love and mercy that is God’s gift to me?

Swimming in Mercy

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bless, Divine Presence, encounters, grace, mercy, moment, Psalm 103, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, today, willingness

Today is a day that calls for living in the moment…but is also prompting me to remember the consistent goodness of God: past, present and future. The grass couldn’t be greener, the sun is full up and drying the dew, the promise of the meteorologists is for a perfect late spring day. The psalmist sings: Each day I bless you, God of all; never will I forget the good that you have meant to me. (PS 103:2) I think of the graced conversations of yesterday – each one giving me something to think about or thank God for, so that the feelings and sensations of such a blessed day remain. While holding it all lightly, willing for the encounters to be like deposits in my spiritual bank account, I look toward today with a willingness to accept whatever befalls me. It is my hope to remember all day long that wonderful reality – also called to mind by Psalm 103 – that we swim in mercy as in an endless sea.

May all of us be awake to the divine presence in every moment of today!

 

 

 

 

 

Bless You!

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ancestral clearing, Ancient Songs Sung Anew, barakah, blessing, creation, divine Source, God bless you, grace, Jewish, John Newton, Muslim, power, Psalm 103, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

Psalm 103 calls for blessing not only for us but from us and from all of creation. We are to bless the Lord as the Lord blesses us. In addition, we ought to be sending out blessings to all people not just in God’s name but in our own. “God bless you” has been a familiar phrase throughout my life but what has sounded like shorthand for that (“Bless you!”) has recently gained new significance for me.

John Newton (www.healthbeyondbelief.com), on his webcasts for ancestral clearing, ends his conversations with people who call in by saying, “Bless you” and many respond, sometimes in addition to “Thank you, John,” with “Bless you!” I thought perhaps that John was just being sensitive to all the ways callers might name their “higher power” rather than God – as is clearly true in his conversations. This morning, however, in a commentary on Psalm 103, I was suddenly brought to a fuller awareness of the power of that phrase of blessing, as parents who bless their children as they send them off to school have known for generations. I’m grateful for that inspirational moment (a gift of Pentecost, perhaps?) and offer two paragraphs in hopes that some of you may share in my experience.*

The word barakah is Hebrew for blessing. It means something more in Hebrew than it does in English, a power and grace that flows from one being and place to another through the universe from its divine Source. Interestingly it flows both ways, from the divine Source to ourselves and from ourselves back to the Source. Apparently we are catalysts in the flow of blessing.

The subject of blessing is much neglected in  modern theological and spiritual thought. It does, however, continue to have a strong role in both contemporary Jewish and Muslim thinking. In both traditions blessing is a power that flows and is available to human beings. The source of this energy is transcendent and is not subject to the normal laws of cause and effect. It can flow backwards in time, for example, or appear instantly across great distances in time and space. It is as though the universe is a body with barakah (blessing) flowing through its veins. Envision this if you can, and open yourself to its flow. (Ancient Songs Sung Anew, p.260)

*A visit to John Newton’s website may be in order for your further information and inspiration.

Bless you all today!

 

 

 

 

 

The Words We Use

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Ancient Songs Sung Anew, bless, honor, language, Lord, love, mercy, New American Bible, Psalm 103, Scriptures, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, words

I always marvel at the way good writers can convince readers of their stated purpose or evoke emotional response just by a turn of phrase. I am also well aware of the fact that each of us is affected differently by language, given our personality, culture and life experience. That’s why I sometimes use alternate translations from the Scriptures. Today is a good example for me because I find myself responding with joy to verses in Psalm 103 from both the lectionary translation and from Ancient Songs Sung Anew: the Psalms As Poetry. A sampling of lines from each may lean you toward a favorite or may allow each to touch you in a way that expands your appreciation – or you may find a translation that suits you better than both. Take a look and see what you think.

NAB (New American Bible): Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all my being bless his holy name! Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits. He pardons all your iniquities; he heals all your ills…For as the heavens are high above the earth, so surpassing is his kindness to those who fear him. As far as the east is from the west, so far has he put our transgressions from us.

ASSA: (Ancient Songs Sung Anew): God, I bless you with my whole heart and soul. In honor I invoke your name. Each day I bless you, God of all; never will I forget the good that you have meant to me…I wear your love and mercy like a crown…For as the heavens reach infinitely beyond all space and time, we swim in mercy as in an endless sea… For like a parent who tenderly loves a child, so deep in love are you with those who honor you.

 

 

 

 

 

From Indifference to Mercy

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conversion of hearts, heart of God, Holy Year of Mercy, indifference, love for others, mercy, Pope Francis, Psalm 103, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

This morning Psalm 103 reminds me once again that Pope Francis has called this year “A Year of Mercy.” Perhaps by coincidence – but maybe not – I found the Pope’s New Year’s message last evening and was struck by a section entitled, “From Indifference to Mercy: the Conversion of Hearts.” Here’s a bit of what he said.

Mercy is the heart of God. It must also be the heart of the members of the one great family of his children: a heart which beats all the more strongly wherever human dignity – as a reflection of the face of God and his creatures – is in play. Jesus tells us that love for others – foreigners, the sick, prisoners, the homeless, even our enemies – is the yardstick by which God will judge our actions. Our eternal destiny depends on this.

We know too much of our world to be indifferent to those in need. When we pray, “Lord, have mercy,” we ought to hear ourselves asking and perhaps hear as well God saying back, “You too, you have mercy!” We can hardly avoid that call because we can no longer separate ourselves since the faces of those in need of our mercy rise up to meet us at every turn. As the psalmist might say today, we swim in mercy as in an endless sea (vs. 10), so great is God’s care for us. How can we fail to act in like manner?

 

The Power of Words

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Jesus, language, Luke, prophesy, Psalm 103, psalm 119, Revelation, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, words

All three readings for this morning speak of words. The Book of Revelation (10:8-11) and the Psalm (119, vs. 103) create strong visual images. The first is of “a voice from heaven” to John that commands him to swallow a scroll (!) after which he is to prophesy – apparently about what he has eaten which, by the way, soured his stomach. The psalmist sings of the word of God which is “sweeter than honey to the mouth.” In the gospel (LK 19:45-48), Jesus has some harsh words for those selling things in the temple saying that they have turned the temple from a house of prayer into a den of thieves. It seems that “every day he was teaching in the temple area while the chief priests, the scribes and the leaders of the people” were trying unsuccessfully to silence him – actually by putting him to death. The reason for the failure of this project, according to Luke is that “all the people were hanging on his words.”

There is so much here to contemplate! Language is the most fundamental method of communication and even the way we “deliver the message” can change it entirely. People with the gift of oratory can woo us into compliance – sometimes without our knowing it. Tone of voice can make us cower and sometimes those messages received can do even more damage than “souring” our stomachs. When there is a sign language interpreter at church the ritual becomes more profound for me if I listen and watch at the same time. In singing I find that my words of praise or longing touch me deeply as I hope they are touching God. Words have power for great good or devastating destruction.

All of this leads me to spend the day watching and listening to the words that inform my day, assuring that what comes out of my mouth adds to the building up rather than the tearing down of my personal “universe.” Let my first task be to wish you “Good morning!”

Who’s the Prodigal?

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heal, joy, kind, Lord, merciful, mercy, parable, pardon, prodigal son, Psalm 103, responsibility, selfishness, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

Today’s gospel is one of the most familiar of the Christian Scriptures. Named the  parable of the Prodigal Son it has, over the past few decades, been the subject of much study and deeper interpretation. For instance, one of the more memorable moments for me on the subject was that in conversation about the older son a friend said, “All along the father was thinking that he stayed out of love, but in the end it seemed that his real, deep-down motivation was duty or obligation – which saddened and shocked the father when it became obvious.” That has given me a lot to think about from time to time. More recently I have heard the parable called “The Prodigal Father” and, after considerable confusion, I decided to look up the definition of “prodigal” to try to settle my mind and the interpretation. What I found was two basic definitions.

1. Wasteful, extravagant, spendthrift, reckless, imprudent…

2. Generous, lavish, liberal, unstinting, unsparing…

I find it interesting that the two are closely related and that it is possible that the father’s prodigality with his sons was the basis for the younger son’s action with only a tip of the scales toward selfishness and a lack of a sense of responsibility – or youthful immaturity – that turned the whole thing bad. I think of that as I read Psalm 103 this morning. The refrain sings, “The Lord is kind and merciful” – something that must’ve spurred the son to return to such a father. Continuing the analogy, the verse holds out hope and describes what actually happened when the son came home. Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits. He pardons all your iniquities and heals all your ills. He redeems your life from destruction, he crowns you with kindness and compassion. The son was ready to throw himself on his father’s good nature, aware that he would at least be treated with a measure of mercy. Clearly, the father’s joy at his return was unexpected. It would be a wonderful thing if we could remember that moment as well as the words of the psalm when we are asking God for forgiveness.

There is one more thing, however, that the psalm teaches and that I was alluding to when I mentioned youthful immaturity and a sense of responsibility.  There is an imperative that precedes the listing of the ways in which we are forgiven – something we must remember. We must be willing to recognize God’s goodness to us and not forget God’s faithfulness. God is always there to forgive our imprudent or reckless behavior but a “thank you” is always in order for the generous, lavish “welcome home” that we are given.