Shock Treatment

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depth, face shine, give me a sign, glorify God, light, lightning, longing, Matthew, Passion, psalm 119, sadness, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, yearning

There are several references to light in today’s lectionary readings. Psalm 119 is both indirect and direct, calling on God to “let your face shine upon me,” while also saying to God that “the revelation of your words sheds light.” Jesus speaks very directly, telling his hearers (MT 6) “You are the light of the world” and then commanding them to “let your light shine before others” – not for personal gain, however, but to glorify God, the source of light.

I am occasionally not so fond of light shining on me – like this morning after less than 6 hours of sleep when the sun was already up over the mountain and calling me to open my eyes at 5:20AM. There was no way to hide from that light; covering my face under even a sheet in the sudden summery heat would have been suffocating. Facing the day seemed the more sane option.

One line in the Psalm response (119:131) was like a bolt of lightning ten minutes later and made my grudging start to the day worthwhile. I was not reading from any alternate, poetic or modern translation – just the USCCB* version – but the light of that line was clearly shocking me awake.  Just after the verse about God’s words shedding light, the psalm said this: I gasp with open mouth in my yearning for your commands. That’s a far cry from “Teach me, O Lord, your statutes…”

Yearning is defined as “a feeling of intense longing for something” with synonyms such as longing, craving, hankering, urge, ache…To yearn, the dictionary says, stresses the depth and passion of a desire, sometimes accompanied by sadness. The psalmist was obviously craving the light of God, love being the motivating force but the weight of the world perhaps dimming the path toward that light. It seems to me that a sense of distance from God crashed into the psalmist’s desire like a punch in the stomach that caused such a gasp of yearning. I can just hear the follow-on to that cry to God: Tell me what you want! or Where are You? I’m overcome with longing and searching. Just give me a sign! I’m guessing that just the experience of that gasping in the yearning would have awakened a new depth in relationship with God. And who would not be willing to experience that?

*United States Conference of Catholic Bishops

 

 

 

 

 

 

Whose Law?

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commands, law, laws, psalm 119, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, wisdom, wisdom's gift, wise

Sometime during my career as a high school French teacher it occurred to me that my name means laws in French. (The plural of la loi is les lois.) That seems rather obvious and not an earth-shattering revelation but I guess the word must have come up in the singular if used at all in class; for some reason it never dawned on me. When it did, it made me consider how it fit my personality. Although I have continued to be a law-abiding citizen, I have tried to be a bit less strident in taking stands on complicated issues.

And then there is God’s law. This morning’s psalm response (Ps. 119: 97-102) was one of those where each verse is quite brief so that the refrain is repeated many times in quick succession. It began with the following: Lord, I love your commands. How I love your law, O Lord! It is my meditation all the day. Lord, I love your commands. The refrain repeats five more times around the verses in what seemed to me like staccato rhythm. It gave me pause, first because usually the only people I hear speak of loving law are lawyers, but secondly because it seems there is a wide gap sometimes in the law of the world and the law of God. Human laws are not always made these days (it seems) for the good of the whole but rather skewed away from “the common folk.” God’s law of universal love is quite different. To be fair there are many wonderful people who work tirelessly to narrow the gap between the two but it is often a thankless task.

Today I pray that people will come to a better understanding of the words of the psalmist, seen here in a contemporary translation. This is the way I choose to live the law in identification with my name!

My heart and mind are centered on your will. O, how I love to walk in your ways. For as I ponder these my wisdom grows. They make me wise beyond my years. I’m wiser now than many teachers and all the teachings that this world can give, because I hold to wisdom’s gift. I’m stronger than my many foes or fears of them. As you yourself instructed, I’ll turn my feet away from every evil on this path through life. You are the teacher and the teaching, Lord.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Synchronicity

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Carl Jung, Cynthia Bourgeault, John, Luke, psalm 119, Revelation, spirit, synchronicity, the Kingdom of God is among you, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, understanding, wisdom, Wisdom Schools

Years ago I learned the term synchronicity that describes a concept developed by psychologist Carl Jung to describe an “acausal connecting principle in which events, both large and small, in the external world might align to the experience of the individual, perhaps mirroring or echoing personal concerns or thoughts.” (Merriam Webster)

Today I am off to North Carolina where a grand experiment will take place. People from all over this country and beyond will gather for a “mega wisdom school” with Cynthia Bourgeault. There will be over 200 people spending a week together to delve the Wisdom tradition of Christianity, presented by Cynthia and shepherded through the different practices by a number of “interns” who have participated in numerous but smaller events during the past decade. Being part of the planning and execution for this event has been a great privilege and, at some moments, overwhelming. The opportunity to gather with those who have shared some part of this inner journey with me will be a great joy.

So why should I be surprised when today’s first reading begins: In Wisdom is a spirit intelligent, holy, unique, manifold, subtle, agile, clear, unstained, certain, not baneful, loving the good, keen, unhampered, beneficent, kindly, firm, secure, tranquil, all-powerful, all-seeing and pervading all spirits…(WIS 7:22) And, as if that were not enough to calm any nervousness in me as I make final preparations for departure, Psalm 119 adds: The revelation of your words sheds light, giving understanding to the simple (vs. 130). The gospel acclamation proclaims, I am the vine, you are the branches, says the Lord: whoever remains in me bears much fruit (JN 15:5) and in the gospel I hear Jesus attest that The coming of the Kingdom of God cannot be observed…for behold, the Kingdom of God is among you. (LK 17:20)

It’s clear to me, if I believe Professor Jung, that today must be the start of something great. As I look up from my computer screen I see a sky painted pink with the promise of light breaking through and I am grateful for all the messages of this and every morning. I have no idea what the week will hold of miracles but will report as I am able as the week unfolds. Blessings and beauty be yours today and all days!

 

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.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Creation Sings!

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autumn, creation, glory of God, natural world, psalm 119, psalm 139, psalm 8, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

I occasionally mention my three favorite psalms (8, 19, 139) that all speak in some way of the grandeur of creation. I find it fitting that today, when we are at the peak of autumn beauty in the Northeast USA, Psalm 19 appears in the daily readings to wake me up (just in case I am missing the splendid show!). Perhaps even those not lucky enough to experience the brilliance of color in trees and the clarity of the chilly night sky full of stars can give thanks today for our natural world. There are oceans, mountains, deserts, birds and animals to observe and be amazed at – because of diversity as well as complexity. Whatever our experience of today, may it evoke a sense of what the Psalmist felt in singing the following:

The heavens declare the glory of God and the firmament proclaims God’s handiwork. Day pours out the word to day and night to night imparts knowledge. Not a word nor a discourse whose voice is not heard. Through all the world their voice resounds and to the ends of the world their message. God has pitched a tent there for the sun, which comes forth like a groom from his bridal chamber and, like a giant, joyfully runs its course. At one end of the heavens it comes forth, and its course is to their other end; nothing escapes its heat.

Let Your Light Shine

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conviction of the companionship of God, darkness, dawn, ignited, lamp, lamp unto my feet, light, light pf God, Mark, Nantucket, psalm 119, see, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

On these winter days, the first thing I do upon rising is turn on a light so I am able to safely navigate around my room and downstairs to retrieve my first cup of coffee. This week, during the huge storm that battered the east coast of the USA, one of the more stunning pieces of news concerned the island of Nantucket, just off the coast of Massachusetts. The report that “the whole island went dark” was stunning – as if it disappeared into the ocean, totally invisible and immobilized until generators, flashlights and candles were called into service. I had an actual visceral reaction to that total darkness and understood in a new way why we use the word as a metaphor for deeper ways of the inability to see. “Stumbling around in the dark” is difficult for those accustomed to the ubiquity of electric and other lights, but stumble we do if caught off-guard or in unfamiliar terrain.

This morning’s readings offer two references to light to which we ought to pay attention. The gospel acclamation from psalm 119 says, “A lamp to my feet is your word, a light to my path. Alleluia!” Having a flashlight or torch to help avoid tree roots and rocky crevices in the dark woods is a relief. Even more important is the conviction of the companionship of God as we walk in those tricky and treacherous environs. The second reference (MK 4:21) is a question that calls us to responsibility to that light. Jesus asks his disciples, “Is a lamp brought in to be placed under a bushel basket or under a bed, and not to be placed on a lampstand?” The easy answer would be “Of course not” if he were really talking about a lamp, but he is obviously hoping that they catch his deeper meaning.

There are so many ways each day to be mindful of the light of God in our midst: my bedroom light switch, the candle that accompanies my morning meditation, the light in the eyes of the happy people I’ll meet today…As I’ve been writing, the dawn has come, slowly but deliberately to light up New York state. So my question to myself today is this: what is the light that God has ignited inside me that I need to uncover and offer to the world?

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!”

The Law of the Lord

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blessed, communal heart, happy, heartbeat of God, Jesus, John, love, love is the answer, love one another, psalm 119, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

This morning’s psalm (119) is punctuated with the refrain: Blessed are they who follow the law of the Lord! One of the common translations of “blessed” is “happy” which author Greg Laurie says is “self-contained, that is, not dependent on circumstances of our life…regardless of what is happening externally, we can be truly happily internally.”  The first reading for this morning from the Second Letter of John tells us quite succinctly the definition of that law that will make us happy. He says that it’s nothing new “but the one we have had from the beginning: let us love one another.” That’s it; that’s the whole thing. It’s what Jesus says and Paul says and what John is a specialist of saying in his letters. To the best of our ability, independent of the circumstances of our lives, it is the core of what will make us truly happy in the deepest chamber of our personal and communal heart. It is where we will hear the heartbeat of God assuring us that love really is the answer.

Torah of the Heart

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covenant, freedom, joy, Lord, love, psalm 119, Torah, trust, truth, worship

Once again this morning it is the psalmist who speaks to my heart. I return to that longest psalm (119) for my morning praise (vs. 41-47).

For the sake of the covenant we keep between us, Lord, let your love descend and hold me fast. Allow my mouth to utter words of truth, this Torah of the heart, which I shall trust and keep forever. Then in freedom I will walk upon your path and know these precepts are yours alone. I’ll bind them to my heart with deepest joy for I love and worship all you love, my Lord.

May these words bring comfort, peace and well-being for all who seek the God of love today.

The Longest Psalm

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art, believe, deep reflection, Hebrew, illusions, lunch with the psalms, psalm 119, self-deception, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

During our weekly “Lunch with the Psalms” group yesterday the first topic was the length of psalm 119, part of which was the selection of the day in the Scripture readings. The text contained eight sequential verses. Today, however, there are eight more verses from different sections but they seem to work as a unified whole. See what you think.

Save me from the choice of self-deception. Let all your words become for me a living grace that I might hear your inner word, your deep instruction. Lord, your words and ways are firmly stretched across the heavens. As you yourself instructed, I’ll turn my feet away from every evil on this path through life, and gain your understanding of what is real or mere illusion.

The entire psalm is quite extraordinary, with 22 stanzas each containing 8 verses (176 verses in all – the longest psalm). Each of the stanzas begins with one of the 22 letters of the Hebrew alphabet (in sequence), which gives its name to the stanza. Scholars think that the psalm was intended as a manual of pious thoughts, especially for the instruction of the young, and that the structure used as a memory aid in retaining the language.

I am awed by what could have been a stilted attempt to fit the thoughts to the structure but which became a work of art, offering the opportunity for deep reflection  and transformation at every turn. As I read again the selection for this morning, I see the unlimited possibility for spiritual growth offered by the cry of the psalmist in the very first line. If that is our motivation, the rest can become our practice, taking us to the ultimate realization of truth.