Every Day A New Beginning

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destination, kindness of strangers, lost, psalm 96, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, travel, wondrous deeds

As I sit looking out at a totally sunlit blue sky having eaten a healthy breakfast, I am reminded of the resilience of the human spirit. I can now smile in spite of my challenging yesterday that began with a long day of travel to be with my sister who was having hip surgery in Boston. The day included some rain and traffic (not so bad), two hours of being lost in Boston in the dark (very frustrating), no shuttles from motel to hospital (ended at 6PM), etc…

This morning, as psalm 96 urges me to “Sing to the Lord a new song!” it seems quite possible as I remember the kindness of strangers from yesterday, especially the surgical nurse who answered my call intended to tell my sister I was near but lost. Maryanne Cole picked up my call, knew exactly who I was and where in the process my sister was (successfully out of surgery and in recovery), and kept me on the phone for the better part of an hour zigzagging me through the maze of Boston streets to my destination. There were several other actors in this adventure: my housemates, people on the street who got me closer to my destination, motel personnel and all the staff at the hospital, including Maryanne, who stayed and celebrated my arrival with hugs and cheers.

I’m off now to see my sister who has already been up walking with the physical therapist. Truly, “the Lord has done wondrous deeds!”

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Kick-Start

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compromise, excuses, God, gratitude, inertia, intention, Lynn Bauman, meditation, praise, psalm 96, refreshed, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

Sometimes it’s just the vocabulary of a line or two that snaps us open to possibility. Occasionally there is a convergence of small events that sparks a new knowing. Let me give this morning’s example. 

In the semi-darkness of the kitchen as I poured my coffee, Sister Paula mentioned yesterday’s blog and the essential nature of what Dave Peters had written about intention that I had quoted. Ten minutes later, settled in my chair looking out at a tree stripped of any sign of life and then back at a blank computer screen, I picked up and read Lynn Bauman’s enthusiastic translation of today’s lectionary psalm. 

Come sing to God, O earth, sing out this song anew. And bless God’s holy name in praise, for day by day we are renewed, restored, refreshed again by glory’s light. Proclaim good news among the nations of the earth, tell all the peoples everywhere God’s work, God’s ways, the wonders that God does…This is your God, bring all you have and offer it in honor of that sacred name. (Ps 96: 1-3, 8)

At that moment I recognized that I had been moving on “automatic pilot,” slipping deeper and deeper into a place of inertia. I didn’t need to search for explanations, blaming the weather or the political climate or anything external. I just knew that the discipline of intention had somehow leaked out of me and left me in that state. As I resumed reading the psalm something in me began to lift and let me know that today needs to be different.

O, heavens rejoice with fullest joy. O, earth express your deepest praise. O, oceans roar in satisfaction and delight, and lands from sea to sea join in. You trees on earth and mighty forests deep, shout out to welcome God’s return. For God has come to us as fairest judge to settle all our wrongs with right. (vs. 11-13)

No compromises today will be tolerated. No excuses will be good enough to give in. I’m due on my meditation mat right now, then to the shower and soon to work, all with determination and deep gratitude.

The Eve of the Eve

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bless, compassionate, Hearts on Fire, Jesuit John Morris, New Year's, praise, psalm 96, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

I come late to this task this morning. Perhaps it was the cold that kept me sleeping until the shocking hour of just before eight o’clock! The temperature continues to hover around zero degrees and warnings of frostbite because of wind still make the national news. I feel rather stuck here in my chair with the only thought being that of the impending turn of the calendar. Today is not the last day of the year; that reality dawns with tomorrow but seems all around me now in shadow. Psalm 96 calls me to praise but I feel like a person on a diving board who isn’t sure of how to swim in the water that awaits me.

There seems to be nothing to do but to throw the responsibility for it all back to God and pray in the words of Jesuit John Morris hoping that will suffice as remote preparation for the coming new year.

Mighty God, Father of all, Compassionate God, Mother of all, bless every person I have met, every face I have seen, every voice I have heard, especially those most dear; bless every city, town and street that I have known, bless every sight I have seen, every sound I have heard, every object I have touched. In some mysterious way these have all fashioned my life; all that I am, I have received. Great God, bless the world. (Hearts on Fire, p.152)

 

 

 

 

 

Sunday Morning

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Ancient Songs Sung Anew, awakening, beauty, God's love, honoring, Mary, psalm 96, sing, song of praise, strength, taize, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

Psalm 96 greets me this morning, encouraging me to sing, a prodding that will not be difficult to follow as I wake both to memories of yesterday and events of the day to come.

The women I met and interacted with yesterday were so kind, so respectful that I found myself immediately comfortable in their presence and awed by their faith in the power of prayer and the love of Mary, the mother of Jesus, whose intercession with God was a consistent strength in their lives. We had five hours together sharing information and experiences, both serious and lighthearted, and one of the best by-products for me was introducing my own mother to them and feeling her spirit fit in such a wonderful community. And then there was the bonus of driving home along a highway where the trees were brilliantly colored, singing their own song of praise. What a surprise! We are so accustomed to the peak weekend of autumn’s glory being earlier now in October that finding this brilliance just a little north of here was an unexpected delight at this late date. I just had to sing in accompaniment!

Today there will be occasion for our spirits to sing again as we welcome our newest candidate to our religious community for a conversation about what is closest to our hearts. This evening I will join in a prayer service in the style of Taizé with chant and Scripture and shared silence, a fitting conclusion to this Sabbath. What could be better, I ask myself, as I return to the words that prompted this reflection on Psalm 96.

Singing is a form of honoring someone. It is also a form of awakening. In this case both humanity at large and creation as a whole are being brought to wakefulness…Beauty attracts us and God is the ultimate Beauty of the universe. We are invited into that beauty, attracted close and closer, being touched and changed by it. What is there of beauty, reflecting the divine glory, that attracts you? (Ancient Songs Sung Anew, p. 244)

 

 

 

 

 

With Full Voice

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A Song Welcoming the Holy One, communication, Creator, Earth, holy name, liturgy, living God, Lynn Bauman, power, praise, psalm 96, psalms, singing, splendor, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, universe, wonders

The suggestion of a commentary on Psalm 96, subtitled by author Lynn Bauman A Song Welcoming the Holy One, is that readers experiment with singing rather than saying it because singing is a “vehicle for communication with God.” While this is the rightful presentation of psalms in liturgy, I don’t often think of it as a mode of private prayer. I just tried it – in the privacy of my own room, of course – and the result was less than stellar. I have to admit, however, that I didn’t prepare; I just sang it “cold” without thought of the meaning, phrasing, timing or cadence. (Hmmm…that sounds as if I have some idea of musicality. Don’t be fooled!) My attempt was quite timid, but I must say it had the potential to open the words to me in a more vibrant way than if I had spoken the text. Perhaps I’ll give it another try. Should you be moved to join me from afar, here are the words I was tentatively offering as morning praise to the Creator of the universe.

Come, sing to God, O earth, sing out this song anew. And bless God’s holy name in praise, for day to day we are renewed, restored, refreshed again by glory’s light. Proclaim good news among the nations of the earth, tell all the peoples everywhere God’s work, God’s ways, the wonders that God does. For you can never add the holy One to any list of gods who are but idols made, projections of our thoughts and needs, creations of our hands. For it is the living God we know and praise who made us all and put in place the canopy of stars and space and filled the earth. O, the beauty of your presence, God! O, the splendor and the power in which you dwell! 

What Are You Wearing?

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body of Christ, Corinthians, diversity, dress, holy attire, judge, psalm 96, St. Paul, Sunday best, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, worship

Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians contains lines that are quite familiar to most Christians, some recognizable even by a few words, like “Love is patient…” or today’s section, “There are many gifts, but the same spirit…” Paul is talking about spiritual gifts and the value of diversity for the benefit of the community (1COR 12:4-11). My attention was diverted from reflection on that topic, however, by a line in the psalm that preceded Paul’s words. It sounds rather silly but may make sense in the end. Let’s see.

The line in Psalm 96 says: “Worship the Lord in holy attire.” It’s a praise psalm with all sorts of images and imperatives for the ways we ought to worship God but that line reminded me of how we always got dressed up on Sundays to go to Church. Some of us still do and others complain about the “attire” – generally of young people – who appear in all sorts of what their elders consider as totally improper dress. I always say to those who offer that opinion that “at least they’re here.”

My point that arose from the line in the psalm juxtaposed with Paul’s words is not about what’s right or wrong but rather how we judge people by the clothes they wear. Teens are judged by the brand of their jeans (now best if they look like they’ve been through a paper shredder), adults by the name on their exercise outfits, women celebrities by the peepholes in their gowns and the rest of us by any number of regional or other fads that appear and disappear somehow that is beyond my comprehension. Paul doesn’t speak of the ability to intuit what is correct attire; he’s more interested in spiritual gifts. What he does add to this stream of thought, however, is that diversity is a good thing and we need it to broaden the consciousness of the community.

So hurrah for those unfazed by fads, people who wear what they wear either to be comfortable or to make a statement. Blessings on those who wear what they wear with dignity even if their lot is necessity and their clothes are well-worn and not of their choosing. May we never judge by what we see but always look deeper for “the manifestation of the Spirit…given for some benefit” and may we always celebrate the diversity of all the members in the body of Christ.

Looking Back and Forward

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2016, assessment, deepening, global community, God's wonders, Helen Daly, New Year's, new year's resolutions, proclaim, psalm 96, sing out, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, understanding, Wisdom School

Today’s title for this blog post should surprise nobody. Today is, after all, the last day of the year, a day on which we regularly review the year just ending, perhaps with an eye toward things we want to remember and what we would like to forget. Making an honest assessment is not always the easiest activity of the year but is a good way to spend at least a little time before moving on to what we hope to accomplish or become in 2016.

The first lines of Psalm 96 became my impetus for reflection: Come, sing to God, O earth, sing out this song anew, and bless God’s holy name in praise, for day to day we are renewed, restored, refreshed again by glory’s light. Proclaim good news among the nations of the earth, tell all the peoples everywhere God’s work, God’s ways, the wonders that God does. (vs. 1-3) I can’t help but be amazed every day, not only by the number of people who have visited and read these blog posts (I have access to a statistics page) but also the places from which the visitors come. This year alone we’ve had 7,699 views (or more while I’ve been writing now!) by people from 77 countries all around the world! This is such a miracle to me and I am grateful for the privilege of this connection. I also feel responsible for this and all the activities that we offer at The Sophia Center for Spirituality in Binghamton and Endicott, New York, hoping that those who visit us (either in person or virtually through technology) are nourished in their spiritual life by their contact with us. I have met amazing people through this work as well as in our Wisdom Schools (see http://www.wisdomswork.com for explanation and information) and have grown immensely myself in these encounters.

My gratitude for the work I do now is in large part due to the generous grant from the estate of my dear friend, Helen Daly, who grasped the potential of the study of the Wisdom tradition of Christianity in which we had been engaged for seven years at the time of her death. My sense of responsibility to that gift now calls me to extend the opportunity to join the work we are doing to all who have benefited from it thus far. You may have noted the addition of a “Donate” button on this blog page. There is also now a donations page on our website, http://www.thesophiacenterforspirituality.org where you will find a more detailed explanation of our reasoning and our hopes for the coming year. If you have never visited our website, today might be a good day to see a more global (or in one way a more local) sense of who we are. All that we do and hope that people support harks back to those words of the psalm, for it is truly God’s work, God’s ways, the wonders that God does that is my purpose in writing.

May 2016 see a deepening of understanding for each of us so that God’s ways become more and more the ways of the world and may our appreciation of the wonders that God does guide us in all that we do and become in this new year.

A Reminder

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adoration, care, God's presence, holiness, inner light, justice, praise, psalm 96, sacred name, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, welcome God, worship, yield to love

This morning there is little evidence that it is, in fact, morning. Just ten minutes before 7:00 there is yet no light in the sky…It takes the psalmist to wake me to the reality of another day, reminding me to welcome God, the inner light that guides our every step. Two poetic translations of Psalm 96:5-10 lift me up to meet whatever waits to greet me. I offer them as recognition and a call to morning praise from all on earth to God.

Yield to Love, O families of the earth, yield to Love glory and strength! Yield to Love and learn of justice; make of yourselves an offering and be guided by Love! Bow down in adoration and holiness; for worthy is the Beloved to be praised over all the earth!

O, the beauty of your presence, God! O, the splendor and power in which you dwell! Come close, all families of the earth, and make your voice of praise be heard. This is your God, bring all you have and offer it in honor of that sacred name. Let all that’s holy be the beauty in which you worship God. Come close, draw near in awe, then tell the truth to everyone; God is the sovereign over all who governs you and earth with equal justice, equal care.

 

 

Name That Tune

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carols, chanting, Christmas, epiphany, psalm 96, sing to the Lord, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

The Christmas carols have disappeared from radio stations and MUZAK locations around the country, although Church calendars tell us that we still have a long way to go in the Christmas season. On January 10th I’m doing a short presentation on the topic of chanting so I’m beginning to think about breath and tone and vibration and mode – as well as lyrics. And again we wait, in the midst of this week between December 25 and January 1, for something “new” to dawn in us, most likely some resolution that we hope will last longer than a few weeks.

Psalm 96 is a good place to pause for reflection this morning. The psalmist urges us: Sing to the Lord a new song! Sing to the Lord, all you lands. Sing to the Lord; bless God’s name!

If I were to create a new song to the Lord for this coming year, I wonder what title I would give it. Would it be a complex song, one that would necessitate some exercise so I’d have enough breath for each line? Would I foresee a major or minor key in its expression? And what would be its highest note? Do I have any idea of the lyrics at this time or will I have to spend some time in prayer to form my intentions for deep living out of the gift of the year to come? I’ll have about three hours of travel time in my car today – a good opportunity perhaps to tune up and begin to rehearse…