Who Are We?

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Ancient Songs Sung Anew, caregivers, creation, earthly concerns, global warming, mortal, psalm 85, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

Psalm 8 is a lyrical reminder of our place in creation, calling us again today to our duty and privilege as “caretakers” of all God has made. In one lovely but haunting translation that calls us to recognize “the book of beauty that God’s fingers wrote,” the psalmist asks: “Who are we to stand before all this and see?” The answer comes as gently as the question that has been asked.

We are mortal beings set in this world, below the splendor of transcendent space…You placed us here and gave the earth into our care. You bid us cherish all this that’s ours, all the beasts and creatures of the wild. The birds of air, the fish of sea, the plants and everything that lives and moves are we here to know and love…*

My question as the images of all these creations pass before my inner eye is one of evaluation, knowing the effects of global warming and destruction of habitats causing the increased extinction of entire species. How well have we cared? Who are we in the role we have been given? Who are we?

*Ancient Songs Sung Anew, p.16)

Deeper Meanings

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be not afraid, burdens, experience, healing, Isaiah, Luke, participate, psalm 85, Scripture, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, yoke

One could say I’m rather stuck on a theme carried over from last week’s messages as I see and hear short but powerful texts from Scripture. It’s the power of words that makes me stop and say to no one in particular in the ethers of my bedroom, “I don’t think I’ve ever heard that before!” At other times it’s the tenor of the entire cluster of readings that wakes me up to the obvious, reminding me of something I have most likely known for decades. Both experiences speak this morning.

1. Throughout today’s texts (IS 35: 1-10, PS 85: 10-14 and LK 5:17-26) there is a consistent feeling of promise. God is working on physical wholeness and psycho-spiritual healing for all creation – not just humanity, and the urging not to be afraid is palpable. Assurances abound that God will do this!
2. In the “never heard it before” category is the gospel acclamation that says, “Behold the king will come, the Lord of the earth, and he himself will lift the yoke of our capacity.” I learned long ago that when Jesus told the people to take his yoke upon them, he was speaking metaphorically of the burdens that they carried, those he shared with us being lighter than those demanded by the laws of the religious leadership. Not so long ago I heard capacity defined not just as “the maximum amount that something can contain” like water in a bottle or pain the body. Rather another nuance was added, i.e., “the ability or power to do, experience or understand something.” For me, that moved the definition from one of passivity to active participation. This morning I am aware, therefore, that not only are my burdens light because I do not carry them alone but, in addition, I have the offer of laying them down totally if I am willing to work on expanding my capacity for living fully.

Transition

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division, inauguration, justice, kindness, Peace, protest, psalm 85, reconciliation, salvation, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, transition, truth

Transition ceremonies for the inauguration of a new president of the United States have already begun.  The early morning news is reporting the use of pepper spray by police to quell what seemed to portend a violent protest. Today begins in trepidation and – for me – sadness that we are in such a position of fear of disruption and disrespect from within our own country as well as from foreign terrorists. I have not been enamored of every president who has been elected during my life but I learned early on to respect the office. “How have we come to this?” I ask myself. The only answer I am able to offer myself is: “It’s not that simple.”

There’s no sense in wringing our hands and longing for “the old days.” I find it ironic that the refrain for lectionary psalm for the morning, Psalm 85, announces that kindness and truth shall meet. The verses 11-14 that appear tell us that justice and peace shall kiss. Truth shall spring out of the earth and justice shall look down from heaven, promising also that the Lord himself will give his benefits; our land shall yield its increase. Justice shall walk before him, and salvation, along the way of his steps.

It seems impossible even to conjecture how that might happen here and now for us, in this “winter of our discontent.” There is so much division in the country; what will heal us? “Well, nothing but every person’s recognition and responsible participation,” I hear as I read the gospel acclamation: God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. Call me Pollyanna if you will; I know that unity in this “land of opportunity” seems a far distant goal at the moment. What I believe, however, is that if I work toward reconciliation inside myself as well as in all the situations and with all the people in my life, by acting with love as the impetus and prayer for unity as the guiding principle of each day, I will have done my part. And I trust that I will continue to find like-minded people willing to do the same. In that way we will undoubtedly, someday, reach “critical mass” and see the renewal of justice and peace.

May God bless our efforts and our country today and in the days to come!

Saturday

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24/7, balance, housework, justice, landscape of the soul, mercy, Peace, psalm 85, Sabbath, salvation, Saturday, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, truth, work week

This morning for some reason I was thrown back into thoughts of “Saturday in the convent,” my early days in the novitiate when Saturday was the day for housework. It made (and probably still makes) sense for people who worked a “regular work week” to consider Saturday that way. Now, in our country, there seems to be little that is “regular.” A recent addition to our shorthand is 24/7, a concept that sometimes seems less than advisable or even possible. Grocery stores, pharmacies and fast-food restaurants are open 24 hours a day, seven days a week – necessary perhaps because there are three shifts now in many businesses. People are always “on the go” and even “Sabbath” – that concept of a holy rest day – has become a thing of the past. For me there’s still something in the feeling of waking up on Saturday that seems possible, some sense of putting things aright that comes from cleaning house and straightening things out. Whether it’s paying bills or washing windows, the inner renewal that is a by-product of such activities sometimes sets us on a more balanced course for the week to come.

Psalm 85 was obviously written about bigger things but feels right to repeat here, just as a call to the daily tasks of this Saturday. Here are two ways it is said as a starter for those of us who can only take one step at a time but long to see the big picture fulfilled.

I will hear what God proclaims: the Lord – for he proclaims peace. Near indeed is his salvation to those who fear him, glory dwelling in our land. Kindness and truth shall meet; justice and peace shall kiss. Truth shall spring out of the earth, and justice shall look down from heaven. The Lord himself will give his benefits; our land shall yield its increase. Justice shall walk before him, and salvation along the way of his steps.   

To every one who turns their face toward you, you come so close and glory floods the landscape of the soul. And in the secret places of the heart your mercy and your truth shall meet at last in full embrace, and right-relationship and peace kiss one another there. So truth is finally born in full; it springs from earth full grown, and heaven reaches out restoring balances to all. And from that marriage, prosperity unmeasured fills the lands, and yields a harvest of unimagined good, and makes the path of justice smooth between all peoples everywhere, for everything in you knows perfect peace.

 

 

 

 

 

Everybody Means Everybody

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blessing, grateful heart, life, light, love, love your enemies, Macrina Wiederkehr, Matthew, psalm 85, seven sacred pauses, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

Although the gospel passage itself would have been sufficient for reflection this morning with Jesus saying to his disciples, “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you…” (MT 5: 43-48) I continued to feel a tug from my nightstand. As I pulled Seven Sacred Pauses by Macrina Wiederkehr which fell open to a page in the section called “The Blessing Hour,” I knew the rightness of the message for today. I offer her words of blessing, hoping that they will bring additional attention to the words of Jesus, so crucial to each of us at this moment in our country and our world.

May your work this day be your love made visible. May you breathe upon the wounds of those with whom you work. May you open yourself to God’s breathing. May you honor the flame of love that burns inside you. May your voice this day be a voice of encouragement. May your life be an answer to someone’s prayer. May you own a grateful heart. May you have enough joy to give you hope, enough pain to make you wise. May there be no room in your heart for hatred. May you be free from violent thoughts. When you look into the window of your soul may you see the face of God. May the lamp of your life shine upon all you meet this day.   (p. 85)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Embrace of Reconciliation

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exile, glory, mercy, perfect peace, psalm 85, return, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, truth, turn toward God

Psalm 85 is seen by some scholars as a hymn based on the experience of return from exile and is expressive perhaps of what can happen to us first personally and then corporately when we turn toward God as the center of life. This is beautifully expressed in all three translations that I read this morning. Here is my favorite.

To everyone who turns their face towards you, you come so close and glory floods the landscape of the soul. And in the secret places of the heart your mercy and your truth shall meet at last in full embrace, and right-relationship and peace kiss one another there. So truth is finally born in full; it springs from earth full grown, and heaven reaches out restoring balances to all. And from that marriage, prosperity unmeasured fills the lands and yields a harvest of unimagined good, and makes the path of justice smooth between all peoples everywhere, for everything in you knows perfect peace. (vs. 9-14)

May it be so in our world in our time!

Use Your Imagination!

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English, French, grammar, imagination, justice, kindness, kiss, kiss and make up, message, Peace, personification of virtues, psalm 85, rules, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, truth, words

Although English was one of my favorite subjects in school I was never very enamored of grammar until I began teaching French. Now as I try every morning to write sentences that attend to case and tense while trying to avoid dangling participles, etc. I’m grateful for all the rules that have become (almost) second nature to me. This morning I was struck by Psalm 85 where the fanciful personification of virtues got me thinking.

Kindness and truth shall meet; justice and peace shall kiss. Truth shall spring out of the earth and justice shall look down from heaven.

What does Kindness look like, I wonder. A bespectacled grandmother, maybe, who stands tall when Truth enters the room because she knows the importance of engaging him at every turn. The partnering of Justice and Peace is essential for any success on the world stage and a peaceful kiss certainly goes a long way toward settling issues of justice between siblings. “Kiss and make up” has been advice for as long as I can remember. What would they look like at a world conference, these two hoped for conclusions? What colors would they wear? How would they style their hair?

Silly? Perhaps, but it seems that these words need amplification if the underlying virtues are to help us at all these days. What is true justice and how do we achieve it? It seems that we need to keep it close to peace in our hearts even to approach an understanding. What about the infusion of kindness into our truth-telling? It certainly would help when the message is a difficult one to swallow. Sometimes imagination is more useful than concrete, serious thinking. Maybe today is one of those times.

Prepare!

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Advent, apostles, devotion, Good News, holiness, Isaiah, Jesus, John the Baptist, Mark, Peter, prepare, prepare ye the way of the Lord, psalm 85, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

As the big commercial push of Black Friday, Cyber Monday, etc. recedes (after more than a week of each!), the urgency of preparation in a different way for Christmas emerges more strongly. Interestingly, the word prepare is the theme in every one of the readings for this morning, beginning in the Hebrew Scriptures with the foreshadowing message of the prophet Isaiah (40:1-5) centuries before the birth of Jesus. Psalm 85 echoes the prophetic words: Justice shall walk before him and prepare the way of his steps.” For those who recognized Jesus as the one spoken of by Isaiah, John the Baptist appears at the very beginning of Mark’s gospel as “a voice of one crying out in the desert” proclaiming the same theme: Prepare the way of the Lord!

By the time the gospel of Mark was written about 40 years after the Resurrection, belief in Jesus as the fulfillment of the prophecies had taken hold in many places in the known world. We have the letters of those apostles who became missionaries of the “good news” urging faithfulness to Christ and his message of God’s love. In those early years, their understanding of the prophecies and the words of Jesus had convinced the Christians that the end of the world as they knew it would be coming soon and Christ would appear to take them to their next life in the kingdom of heaven, a realm of peace and justice. The fact that we are still here does not negate the importance of the messages to the early Christians about preparing “as we await new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.” The second letter of Peter (3:8-14) asks us to reflect on a great question as we wait – maybe the perfect one for a Sunday in Advent:

What sort of persons ought you to be, conducting yourselves in holiness and devotion…?

One Breath at a Time

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justice, kindness, Peace, psalm 85, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, truth, violence, world

In the midst of reports that tell of escalating conflicts in the world and in the cities of our own nation, I read Psalm 85 this morning, the first line of which sings: I will hear what God proclaims – the Lord, for he proclaims peace. How so, I ask, when hot heads and ruthless behavior seem the order of the day? Once again the antidote to the violence seems to rise up from the inside, manifesting in qualities and practices that call to us from higher consciousness until they reach critical mass and tip the scales toward peace. The psalm continues:

Kindness and truth shall meet; justice and peace shall kiss. Truth shall spring out of the earth and justice shall look down from heaven.

So it is ours to act with kindness, making sure that our sense of justice is founded on truth and a desire for peace in all things with no “tit-for-tat” thinking that spawns violence or resentment. This is not an easy path to walk when “wrong comes up to face us everywhere, never to leave us until we take the longest stride of soul we ever took,” as Christopher Fry writes (A Sleep of Prisoners). It seems the only way to achieve this state is to start with the little things of every day. What does kindness demand of us? Surrender of our ego and wish to control, perhaps? Letting go of our every whim in service to others, certainly. Kindness and truth, justice and peace. Breathe it in and out as a mantra – allowing the abstractions to become real and concrete inside of us until they cannot be contained and so are offered to the world.