Isaiah’s Punch

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abstinence, fasting, homeless, hunger, Isaiah, Lent, oppressed, poor, response, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

In a contest of people who “tell it like it is,” the Prophet Isaiah would always (it seems to me) win hands down! The words “fast and abstinence” had great meaning when I was a child who always knew that there were rules about eating during Lent. We understood that our two smaller meals – usually breakfast and lunch – could not equal, or at least not be larger when put together, than our main meal and we worked hard at making sure of that. And there was also the question of dessert…when to have it and when to pass it up. This was serious business and whether we knew Isaiah or not, we knew that God meant business.

I doubt we ever heard the scathing criticism in Chapter 58 of Isaiah’s prophecy that we read today. He speaks for God in his estimation of the people’s fasting, saying: Lo, on your fast day you carry out your own pursuits and drive all your laborers. Yes, your fast ends in quarreling and fighting, striking with wicked claw. …Is this the manner of fasting I wish? Had we been truly awake when we heard the next part, we might have wondered if God was speaking to us or if it was some mean taskmaster! But listen and see if you can find yourself in this kind of attitude and action. Did we ever wonder whether the practice of controlling our eating had anything to do with our consciousness during the rest the rest of our day?

This, rather, is the fasting that I wish: releasing those bound unjustly, untying the thongs of the yoke; setting free the oppressed, breaking every yoke; sharing your bread with the hungry, sheltering the oppressed and the homeless, clothing the naked when you see them, and not turning your back on your own…

Things seem much more dire now when there are so many hungry and poor people in our midst, more homeless and oppressed people…What do we do for them? Do we notice? How do we help? How is it that our light can shine in response to such great need? All God asks is our best. What is that for you?

Listen Up!

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Blessed Frederic Ozanam, experience, faith, listen, prove, question, response, saint of the day, saints, St. Vincent de Paul, St. Vincent de Paul Society, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

Every once in awhile I am pleasantly surprised by what I find as I begin my routine of blogging. My first stop is always the US Catholic Bishops’ website (www.usccb.org) which provides me with the lectionary readings for the day. Next I check Fr. Don Miller’s information about the holy person whose designated feast the Roman Catholic Church celebrates on that particular day (www.franciscanmedia.org). I do check into the thoughts floating in my own mind as well but always like to have some backup in case of “brain freeze.” And as most of you know, my “backup” stretches to many other sources as well.

This morning I was interested to find a “saint of the day” – the second in a week – whose story I had never heard. This man on the way to canonization, Blessed Frederic Ozanam, is credited with the founding of the St. Vincent de Paul Society in 1833. Although he was a stranger to me, his organization is not. My sister has a very active “chapter” of this society in her parish and she herself has become very involved in the Thrift Store that is integral to the work of the society for the benefit of the poor. This  work can be found in many countries in the world and is extraordinary in its reach.

God speaks in many ways at different times and it is always important to be attentive to when a word might be meant specifically for you – or me. It happened for Frederic Ozanam during a session of his book club one day. The club was a very diverse group of people including agnostics and atheists in addition to Christians. As he was speaking about Christianity’s role in civilization, someone said to Ozanam, “Let us be frank, Mr. Ozanam; let us also be very particular. What do you do besides talk to prove the faith you claim is in you?” In this question lay the seed of response that became the Society dedicated to justice and aid to the underprivileged under the patronage of St. Vincent de Paul, great champion of the poor.

What Ozanam’s life would have become if that question had not been asked or if he had not taken its meaning to heart will never be known. Was it the directness of the question? the readiness of Ozanam’s spirit? his experience of life up to that point? Who knows? What is important is that he responded in a way that has changed lives over the past two centuries. A good example for all of us.

 

 

 

 

 

Troubled Times

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9/11, care, end of the world, evil, good, grief, hope, Hurricane Harvey, Hurricane Irma, love, new beginning, pray, psalm 62, refuge, response, safety, Sept. 11, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

There are moments – days – when I sit not knowing what to say here. The words nine and eleven, when taken together, can conjure up only one thing for most, if not all, people in the United States. We were shaken to our core in 2001 with images of planes crashing into buildings and those buildings crumbling like structures in a bad movie. Messages of love on cell phones and lines of people waiting to give blood to the wounded showed us the other side of the tragedy. Remembrance of the outpouring of care for those most affected has helped assuage the grief of those days following the 9/11 attacks but it is like other days in our history that have left indelible scars in our hearts.

As I write this, Hurricane Irma is barreling through the state of Florida, continuing a path of destruction that has already devastated Puerto Rico and the Caribbean Islands. Following on unbelievable scenes of flooding from Hurricane Harvey in Texas and what is predicted for storms to come, people wonder if we are witnessing the end of the world as we have known it.

If asked, I would answer that perhaps this is the case and in the way that I perceive it, an end would be a good thing if it portends a new beginning founded on the kind of behaviors that are not the cause of but rather the response to hatred/prejudice and disaster. Think of those images of first responders on 9/11 or the reports this week of people like the man in Houston that opened his furniture store to 600 people as a refuge from the storm, or the donations that are pouring in from everywhere…In a new order, I would hope for the scales of good and evil tipped toward the good, such that all people would see the benefit and embrace the future in love.

Pollyanna, you call me? Perhaps, but this hope is founded in possibility. It must be believed to be achieved. Until such time as all people see the value of love as a guide for life, I will pray and hope and try to do my part to better the world. I am bolstered in my faith by the testimony of people who have come through disaster with their faith intact or stronger and by the words of Psalm 62 this morning, which calls for patient but constant effort toward peace of heart in the following words:

Alone my soul awaits you in the silence, Lord, for you alone are my whole hope and prayer. You only are my saving rock, a stronghold safe, unshaken sure, my safety, honor and my refuge firm. (vs. 6-8)

 

 

 

 

 

 

What Do You Say?

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Ahaz, angel of the Lord, aquiescence, Elizabeth, Isaiah, Luke, Mary, reaction, response, sign from God, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, trusted

Today’s readings got me thinking about reaction vs. response and about the difficult job of those messengers in the Bible who spoke for God. First there is Isaiah, human prophet, whose job was to warn people about coming destruction and then in the gospel “an angel of the Lord’ whose message was quite a bit more unbelievable – at least from my vantage point.

Nobody wants to hear bad news but if there seems to be a way out that involves God, it seems sensible to take the advice of the one bringing that message. I’m always surprised at what seems to be hubris on the part of Ahaz (but I would need to put it in context of the whole situation to be sure). When Isaiah tells Ahaz to ask for a sign from God, the king says, I will not ask; I will not tempt the Lord! Isaiah is clearly frustrated as he retorts, Is it enough for you to weary people; must you also weary my God? (IS 7: 10-14) In the end, he gives Ahaz the message anyway.

Then there’s Mary, whom we celebrate today as the one who heard the message that she was to be the mother of God in Jesus. I often think that the Scriptures are a bit like literary cliff notes: those wonderful summaries that high school and college students used to use (still do?) instead of reading the whole text of a book. I can’t imagine the conversation that Mary had with the angel being as brief as it appears in the gospel of Luke (1:26-38). Think about it. Some sort of presence appeared and gave this teenager the news that the Hebrew people had been awaiting for centuries. In the first place she must’ve been startled – but the angel sounded really kind, telling her not to be afraid, that God was favoring her, that her kinswoman, Elizabeth, was also the recipient of God’s favor…Still, it had to be a scary moment and she was clearly confused because she was a virgin so the only question that is recorded from her side of the conversation was about how this could possibly happen to her. Simple answer: God will take care of the details – so she said “Yes.”

The comparison is stark: a prophet’s message to a king who refuses to bow to the message and a young girl whose response to an unimaginable moment of God’s favor is wholehearted acquiescence because God is the center of her life. What does it call for? The first word that comes to me is humility and a close second is willingness.

The website of the US Bishops Conference has a video presentation for today that rivals the brevity of these exchanges and challenges our response. When I clicked on it, I was surprised that the only message was written across the screen on three frames – no talking, just one sentence about Mary and a question for us.

When the angel came to visit Mary, she trusted God to work in her life and through her actions. How do we respond to God’s work in our lives?

Trust the Process

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engagement, Hebrews, internal shift, Mark, realization, Reign of God, response, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, worry

Some time ago, I came somehow to a deep conviction that worry is a waste of time. I say “somehow” because the realization came without effort from me. It was as if I had awakened from dreaming about someone and the person was standing in front of me. I hadn’t called or texted the person with an invitation. I hadn’t sent a plane ticket or a check for travel. The person had just appeared in the flesh, totally touchable and present. I have often tried not to worry about things: getting good grades, arriving to events on time, being well enough prepared for presentations, and the self-talk usually assuaged the nervousness somewhat at least. In the big issues: personal relationships and world poverty – not so much.

The moment of realization was like one of those lamps that lights up without a switch; it just has to be touched for the light to illumine the darkness. It’s not that I am not aware of things to be concerned about. I might say that I am even more engaged than before but my engagement is different now. I recognize what is before me (or happening in the larger world), I assess what my response needs to be and then I act accordingly. Don’t get me wrong; I am not inured to violence or terrible tragedy. I simply have a better grasp on what I can do about things and go about doing that, leaving the rest to God. It has truly been a gift in my life – the foundation of which is probably my practice of centering prayer.

I am grateful for this internal shift which is verified in the lectionary readings for today. The Letter to the Hebrews (10: 32-39) is reminding readers of times of suffering when they had endured and urges them not to “throw away your confidence” but rather to continue on and ultimately to receive what God has promised. In the gospel (MK 4), Jesus makes the comparison of the Reign of God to a farmer who scatters seed, sleeps and rises night and day, watching the seed sprout “he knows not how.” Of its own accord the land yields fruit. As is often the case for me, the psalm speaks the loudest message of how we are to work without forcing a result.

Put all your trust in God, on earth accomplish good; it will provide for you its richest food. Make God, as Lord and master, your delight and the desires of your whole heart God will fulfill. Give up your life to God and for the good of all, commit it to the One who acts for you, for God can take and make it shine with light, and bring you back to right-relationship in full. Grow still, be quiet, and wait patiently within, and in that silence put your trust in God…(PS 37: 3-7) Ancient Songs Sung Anew

Learning to Flow

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A Deep Breath of Life, Alan Cohen, balance, big picture, change, control, fight, flow, God, hospitality, power, present, psalm 98, reaction, response, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, universe

It’s clear to everyone in the United States of America – and beyond – that things will be changing for us very soon. It’s difficult to be sure of what form those changes will take but change there will undoubtedly be. I’ve spoken before about possible reactions and responses to change. This morning I was again thrust into that reflection by the final verses of Psalm 98, presented in a lyrical way by the following translation.

Let every river lift its hands to clap in time, while hills and valleys join in song to offer hospitality to the Holy One, who comes to right our every wrong. This God will weigh the worth of everything that was, and is, and shall ever be, so mercy can be known in full and justice here be balanced with compassion. (vs. 9-10)

This sense of all things conspiring to offer hospitality to God reminded me of the difference between reaction and response. Turning to Alan Cohen for more insight I read this:

When you come up against a situation that you cannot control, trust that the universe is working on your behalf. When we fight what is, we lose our power. The sage capitalizes on the energy at hand and makes it work on his behalf. Cohen then adds a plea to God, saying: Help me to remember that You are present in all situations, guiding me home even when I cannot see how. (A Deep Breath of Life)

It seems to me that these two messages – one from millennia ago and one from the present age – give the same message. No matter what our feelings about the year that has just begun, we would all do better to stay in the present rather than conjecturing what will or will not unfold. It is God who has the “big picture” and it is ours to take our rightful place in relationship to God, yielding to what is – contributing our best selves to every situation while giving God every opportunity to be our guide on the way forward.

Our Choice Now

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A Sleep of Prisoners, action, Christopher Fry, exploration, God, peril, response, soul, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, wake, Word

This morning I woke with a line from Christopher Fry’s poem, A Sleep of Prisoners, in my head. It comes to me in moments of significance – often as the whole poem but sometimes just the part. I always look it up to make sure I’m not misquoting and in the version I clicked on today, the line was set off in bold. It says: Affairs are now soul size. The enterprise is exploration into God.

The past two days (if not the entire past year) have brought me to that conclusion and it is clear that our country is in peril. Our choice of response (not reaction) as we go forward will be crucial to our long-term future. Initial messages – in word and action – to the national elections run the gamut from violent and divisive to peaceful/prayerful and unitive. It is my hope that the populace will come to answer Fry’s final question in the poem for the good of the nation. He says: It takes so many thousand years to wake. But will you wake, for pity’s sake?

Finding Our Place

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act, blessing, compassionate distance, contribute, find yourself, gesture, human community, humans, own place, own time, response, responsibility, slogan, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, Thomas Merton, time, truth

Today’s blog title could be seen as a follow up (or maybe a precursor) to yesterday’s topic. It is the title of a quote from Thomas Merton that I thought worth repeating today. I hope you agree.

Humans have a responsibility to their own time, not as if they could seem to stand outside it and donate various spiritual and material benefits to it from a position of compassionate distance. Humans have a responsibility to find themselves where they are, in their own proper time and place, in the history to which they belong and to which they must inevitably contribute either their response or their evasions, either truth and act, or mere slogan and gesture.

May today be one of great blessing for the human community!

Which One Are You?

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answer, honest, in over my head, Jesus, Matthew, response, say yes, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, untruthful, vineyard, worker

Today’s gospel (MT 21:28-32) tells the parable of a man who had two sons whom he instructs to go to his vineyard to work. The first one says no but upon reflection does decide to go. The second says yes but doesn’t go. Jesus asks which one did the father’s will. They answer that it is the first son that has done so which is, of course, the right answer.

If I consider these two responses, I certainly hope that normally I fall into neither of these categories of behavior. I’d like to find myself in the middle – as saying “yes” and then doing it. If I am truthful, however, I would probably have to say I am, in a way, like both of the sons. I try to say yes whenever a situation warrants a yes, but sometimes I am too quick to do so and find myself “in over my head” and unable to complete or do a good job with whatever I have agreed to – or sometimes I agree to do something I just forget to do. I can’t say, however, that I have ever knowingly said yes to something that I have had no intention of doing. My issue is lack of reflection on my ability and/or desire to do what is asked of me. This is what I think was the case of the first son who said no but upon reflection, did acquiesce to the father’s request.

So the lesson for me today is to strive for generosity of response in all cases but to pause and consider before I give answer so that I can be confident of the outcome and honest in word and action.

Good Advice

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conversation, guard, mouth, psalm 114, response, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

Sorry for the hiatus, Friends. I’ve been engaged in caring for my sister whom I just brought home from a rehab facility after a total hip replacement and the mornings for the past two days slipped into afternoon and evening with little respite for reflection. I’m feeling quite privileged to be here helping. This morning the physical therapist is here and, in addition, progress is fantastic so I’m feeling more attentive to my own inner work.

So this morning there’s a sentence I couldn’t ignore. The lovely Psalm 114 about our prayer rising like incense to God also asks,

O Lord, set a watch before my mouth, a guard at the door of my lips.

Interestingly, I have over the past few weeks noticed myself attempting to slow my reactions/responses in conversation – letting the words coming at me sink in before I allow a retort. I don’t know why I’ve been given that grace but it’s reaffirmed with this morning’s stark approach to God. I would offer it to you for the day’s practice of conscious prayer.