Give It A Try

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Abraham, conversation, Genesis, God, interchange, love of God, relationship with God, Sodom, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, trust

I love the image of God in today’s first reading from Genesis (18: 16-33). It’s a true anthropomorphic characterization that I think we ought to consider. God is thinking and expressing concerns about relationship with Abraham and to find out what He/God ought to do relative to the wickedness of the inhabitants of Sodom. (“Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do?…I must go down there to see whether or not their actions fully correspond to the cry against them that comes to me. I mean to find out.“)

Following that musing is the famous bargaining conversation that God had with Abraham. (“If there were 50…30…or 20…or even ten innocent people in the city, would you not destroy the city for the sake of the ten?”) God agrees all along the way of that conversation. It’s such a wonderfully human interchange – sounding somewhat like a child to parent or even a bargaining of equals.

How wonderful it would be if we were that confident in “having God’s ear” and talking with that kind of confidence with God. I’m not actually talking about begging for a good outcome, necessarily, but rather just the manner of conversation that God and Abraham actually had with each other. If love and trust are the virtues that we share with our God, shouldn’t we be able to find that kind of confidence? It’s my bet that God would be as happy as we would with that comfortable interchange. Why not begin the conversation and listen for God’s response?

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What’s In A Name?

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Ancient Songs Sung Anew, God's name, knowledge, Lynn Bauman, name, personal, psalm 100, relationship, relationship with God, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

Psalm 100 is brief but clear and direct in how we are to be in relationship with God. The psalmist calls to us to “know that the Lord is God” and assures us that we are “the sheep of God’s flock.” We are instructed to sing joyfully, serving the Lord, giving praise and thanksgiving to the One who is good, kind and faithful to all generations. Very succinct and all-encompassing advice, we might say.

One phrase deserves special notice, I think, for our everyday lives. It not only says “Give thanks to God” but follows that clause with “bless God’s name.” Having just come from a retreat where we were introduced to the Sufi practice of chanting the 99 names of God, I was reminded of my effort to learn the names of all those on retreat. There were only 16 of us so it was obviously much easier than learning all the names of God, and since we were in silence throughout the retreat one could argue that it wasn’t as essential as in most other situations. For me, however, knowing someone’s name implies at least a beginning of relationship and is important, no matter the situation. How might this also be true with regard to our relationship with God? In his commentary on Psalm 100, Lynn Bauman seems to agree as he writes the following:

If you do not know someone’s name, what is your relationship like? When you both know the name and the person behind the name in a personal way, how does the relationship change? Pause and reflect on your own knowledge of the name of God. (Ancient Songs Sung Anew, p. 252)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A Deeper Side

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called, Confessions, defender of the faith, fundamental rigorism, loved, Peace, relationship with God, St. Augustine, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

Today we speak of St. Augustine, the son of St. Monica for whose conversion she spent her life praying. (See yesterday’s post) Sometimes conversion is such a turnaround that one can only call the about-face a “fierce” change. (See www.franciscanmedia.org – saint of the day) Augustine became a rigorous defender of the faith at a time of decadence which gave him a reputation for “fundamental rigorism.” Such was my impression in my younger days. I was surprised somewhat later to find a more gentle, beautifully expressed side of the man as he wrote of his relationship with God. Here is my favorite example of such a deep and meaningful encounter.

Late have I loved you, Beauty so ancient yet new; late have I loved you. Lo, you were within, but I outside, seeking there for you, and upon the shapely things you have made I rushed headlong, I, misshapen. You were with me but I was not with you. They held me back far from you, those things which would have no being were they not in you. You called, shouted, broke through my deafness; you flared, blazed, banished my blindness; you lavished your fragrance, I gasped, and now I pant for you; I tasted you, now I hunger and thirst; you touched me, and now I burn for your peace. (Confessions, x.27)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Have Mercy On Me, O God!

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acceptance, acknowledgment, contrition, David and Bathsheba, evil, forgiveness, grace, guilt, just, personal sin, Pope Francis, psalm 51, recognition, relationship with God, repentance, Samuel, sinfulness, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, Year of Mercy

Yesterday I was having a conversation about sin – not sins but sin, as in “the sin of the world” or “social sin.” It’s much easier to look at it that way, not so difficult then to exclude myself from the topic rather than talking about my personal sin and guilt. Today, however, I could not avoid such a “close encounter” in the face of the story about David and Bathsheba. (2 SM 11:1-17) David’s actions of adultery and the subsequent plotting the death of Uriah when his attempts to hide Bathsheba’s pregnancy from her husband had failed sound like a modern movie plot! This from God’s chosen one, the king of Israel, the one whose reign was to last forever through his descendants!

Most of us know our own sinfulness and try to hide our shadow side from others for fear that we would be abandoned if anyone “really knew me.” David’s story gives us opportunity for a different way to proceed. It comes in a series of steps: recognition, acknowledgment, contrition, repentance, forgiveness and finally acceptance – all of which come in his relationship with God. His waking up to the seriousness of his sin came at the death of the child born of his liaison with Bathsheba but that recognition was so deeply felt not only by the loss but also because of his great love for God and the knowledge that he had severely damaged that covenant. Thus, his sorrow matched his guilt as he sang, “I have done such evil in your sight that you are just in your sentence…Let me hear the sounds of joy and gladness; the bones you have crushed shall rejoice. Turn away your face from my sins and blot out all my guilt!” (PS 51) It is because of the depth of relationship that David could come to trust God’s forgiveness. Still cognizant of the enormity of what he had done, David was then able to accept himself and let go of his guilt to live into God’s welcoming embrace. I am confident that we are called to the same willingness in the face of our sin.

Serendipitously as I was pondering all this, my eye fell on a quote that seems apt for both this reflection and this “Year of Mercy.” Pope Francis writes that the Church is commissioned to announce the mercy of God, the beating heart of the gospel, which in its own way must penetrate the heart and mind of every person. Having received the grace and ability to acknowledge our own sins, may we be moved to extend such mercy to our companions and, yes, to our broken world.

…and the Complex Son!

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dignity, relationship with God, responsibility, St. Augustine, St. Monica, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

Yesterday I spoke of St. Monica, whose steadfast attention and prayer is generally seen as the impetus for the conversion of her son who became St. Augustine. A brilliant character, Augustine did everything with rigor – wild living no less than the intensity of religious fundamentalism after his conversion. One commentator speaks of him this way: “Augustine is still acclaimed and condemned in our day. He is a prophet for today, trumpeting the need to scrap escapisms and stand face-to-face with personal responsibility and dignity.”

Wherever one stands – whether critic or supporter of Augustine’s teaching – it must be acknowledged that in his writings that speak of his relationship with God, his sincerity and love are profound. Here is my favorite:

Late have I loved you, O Beauty ever ancient, ever new; late have I loved you! You were within me and I outside…You called, you shouted, and you broke through my deafness. You flashed, you shone, and you dispelled my blindness. You breathed your fragrance on me; I drew in breath and now I pant for you. I have tasted you, now I hunger and thirst for more. You touched me, and now I burn for your peace.