Antony of Egypt

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Antony of Egypt, humility, mercy, pray, righteousness, spirituality, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

Today is the feast of one of the great Desert Fathers, a man living an amazingly long life (251-356), whose legacy is greatly revered by those seeking a depth of spirituality. At the same time, Antony’s words are often quite matter-of-fact and “down-to-earth” and occasionally sound even humorous in our day (although most likely unintentionally). Here are three examples.

A brother said to Abba Antony, “Pray for me.” The old man said to him, “I will have no mercy upon you, nor will God have any, if you yourself do not make an effort and if you do not pray to God.”

Abba Antony said, “I saw the snares that the enemy spread out over the world and I said groaning, “What can get through from such snares?” Then I heard a voice saying to me, “Humility.”

Abba Pambo asked Abba Antony, “What ought I to do?” and the old man said to him, “Do not trust your own righteousness, do not worry about the past, but control your tongue and your stomach.”

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Take A Good Look

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blame, difference, faults, fear, Hearts on Fire, innocence, join, Prayer of Reconciliation, righteousness, separation, spirit, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, together

In the little book of Jesuit prayers entitled Hearts on Fire, I opened this morning at random to one called “Prayer of Reconciliation.” I was interested in what the prayer said about the mental process that can quickly lead to blame in our dealing with others as well as our judgment of their motivations. When we come from a place of difference or separation it becomes easy to denigrate the other while shoring up a skewed sense of our own innocence or righteousness. We would do well to carry a small mirror with us (if only a virtual one) to look into our own eyes and see the love that is God’s Spirit looking back at us before we judge another.

Lord Christ, help us to see what it is that joins us together, not what separates us. For when we see only what it is that makes us different, we too often become aware of what is wrong with others. We see only their faults and weaknesses, interpreting their actions as flowing from malice or hatred rather than fear. Even when confronted with evil, Lord, you forgave and sacrificed yourself rather than sought revenge. Teach us to do the same by the power of your Spirit. (William Breault, S.J.)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Judge Not…

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Acts of the Apostles, compassion, conversion, ignore, judging others, love, politics, righteousness, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

I almost disregarded the first reading from today’s lectionary (ACTS 9:1-20) – not because it held nothing worthy of comment but because it seemed so familiar. I know the story of Paul’s conversion and know that it appears in the liturgical calendar more than once a year. I decided, however, to read it again for a possible point of inspiration and, of course, I was not disappointed.

What struck me this morning was the response of Ananias when he was told in a vision to go and get Paul from the house on Straight Street and lay hands on him so that Paul would regain his sight. Ananias was not pleased to have been given this task for two reasons. He had heard from others about the evil Paul had perpetrated against the people of Jerusalem and, secondly, in Damascus Paul had authority from the chief priests to imprison the followers of Jesus. It was unthinkable to him that the Lord would choose Paul as an instrument for spreading the news of Christ. Good arguments, to be sure, but in the end, at the final command, “Go,” he went.

So I’m thinking about how difficult it is sometimes to follow the laws that Christ has set before us, laws of love and compassion and generosity to those we think do not deserve to be helped. It would sometimes be easier to ignore the grumpy people, the lazy ones or those whose politics do not mirror our own. Surrender of our own sense of righteousness is rarely easy. Sometimes, however, in the surrender we find small – or great – miracles. After all, it was Ananias who became the instrument of Saul’s cure. As soon as he laid hands on Paul, announcing he was sent by the Lord, the scales fell from Paul’s eyes and he was baptized.

What might happen if we determined to welcome all those above-mentioned people whom we would rather avoid? What might we learn from engagement in their lives? How much larger might our own lives become because of the merits of diversity we would gain? And what if we resisted judging people because others had told us what they were like rather than seeing them for ourselves? Let us think on these things…

 

 

 

 

 

Escaping Destruction

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Amos, dangers, devotion, faith, gentleness, love, Luke, patience, power, riches, righteousness, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, Timothy

Today’s Scripture readings are filled with warnings about the dangers of riches and power. From the first (the prophet Amos) to the last (Luke’s gospel) we hear chilling words about those who seek worldly wealth and power and the consequences of being unaware of the needs of others. It is only in the reading from the first letter to Timothy (6: 11-16) that I find some advice for escaping the pitfalls recounted in these texts. It is the first sentence that calls out to our best selves where he names us people of God and tells us to pursue righteousness, devotion, faith, love, patience and gentleness. That’s a big order but certain to keep us on the right path. As I think of those words, I see the central two (faith and love) strengthened by the practice of the first two (righteousness and devotion) and flowering in the last two (patience and gentleness). That may sound a bit contrived but it seems to work for me as a plan so today, I’ll think on that pattern and hope for the best!

 

 

 

 

 

Looking for Light

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blindness, Bridge of Spies, children of light, Cold War, enemy, Ephesians, goodness, James Donovan, no one is perfect, prodigal son, relationship, righteousness, Russian spy, search for truth, St. Paul, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, truth

Again this Sunday there are two sets of lectionary readings from which to choose a theme, depending on whether a parish has catechumens or candidates who are being initiated into the Roman Catholic faith. Both gospel texts are good stories – one the Prodigal Son parable and the other about the man born blind where everyone is concerned to find out whose sin caused the blindness. Even the Hebrew Scripture weighs in with the story of how David was chosen as king. Looking at all of this I can only conclude – as I often do – that it’s all about relationship and the search for truth. Oh, yes, and the fact that nobody is perfect.

Last evening we watched the movie, Bridge of Spies at home. A true story about an incident in the Cold War, it was quite engaging in many ways but especially as an indicator of the integrity of attorney James Donovan, chosen to defend a Russian spy. Everyone expected the trial and the spy’s execution to be a “slam-dunk” but Donovan was having none of that. I won’t go further with the plot but would recommend the movie and make one more comment that I see as reflective both of today’s text from the letter to the Ephesians and the theme of relationship mentioned above.

Paul exhorts his listeners to live as children of light, for light produces every kind of goodness and righteousness and truth. Throughout the movie Donovan treated the spy as a human being worthy of respect simply for the fact that he was a human being. Shining a different light on the word “enemy” by coming to know the man – even though he was admittedly guilty of being a spy – calls me to be careful of vilifying an entire population because of the actions of a government or a group of people. This is not as simple as I make it seem, especially when we are seriously threatened as we were by the Soviet Union (and they by us) in 1962. Paul calls us, however, to try to learn what is pleasing to the Lord. Take no part in the fruitless works of darkness. In doing so, we may find  relationship in places we could not imagine and outcomes better than we  ever thought possible – even as we still admit that no one is perfect!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Word from the Samurai

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awareness, benevolence, centering prayer, character, honesty, Jesus, kenotic, letting go, Meg Wheatley, perseverance, righteousness, Samurai, self-discipline, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, understanding

Yesterday I wrote about extremes – rigidity and/or laxity in regard to observance of law. This morning I read a passage from a Samurai warrior in 14th century Japan quoted in the book, Perseverance, by Meg Wheatley that seemed a good example of the rigid end of the spectrum of self-discipline. As I began to reflect on its meaning, however, I could see from a somewhat different perspective the kenotic way of life that Jesus came to teach us, the “letting go” that practitioners of centering prayer hope to achieve. If it seems extreme, take another look; see if there is not value in deep reflection on the meaning.

I have no parents: I make the heavens and earth my parents. I have no home: I make awareness my home. I have no divine power: I make honesty my divine power. I have no means: I make understanding my means. I have no magic secrets: I make character my magic secret. I have no miracles: I make right action my miracles. I have no friends: I make my mind my friend. I have no enemy: I make carelessness my enemy. I have no armor: I make benevolence and righteousness my armor. (Wheatley, p. 134)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Righteousness

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Abraham, complacent, God, holier-than-thou, hypocritical, Paul, pious, preachy, priggish, righteous, righteousness, Romans, sanctimonious, self righteous, smug, social justice, superior, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

Today in Paul’s Letter to the Romans we read about Abraham being justified not because of his good works (although that measure could have been used) but rather Abraham believed God and it was credited to him as righteousness, a more important measure. (ROM 4:1-8) The words righteous and righteousness have always made me squirm a little so this morning I looked them up and found that they were the adjective and noun describing the condition of acting in accord with divine or moral law, free from guilt or sin OR morally right or justifiable arising from an outraged sense of justice or morality, e.g. righteous indignation. That helped me because I sometimes think of people others call righteous as angry in their pursuit of social justice. With this definition in my pocket I can be more tolerant as I, too, sometimes feel my blood begin to boil at things happening in the world.

I went one step further in my search this morning, however, and found the root of my discomfort. When I put “self” in front of righteous, I found the following: characterized by a certainty, especially an unfounded one, that one is totally correct or morally superior. Synonyms abounded: sanctimonious, holier-than-thou, smug, priggish, complacent, pious, preachy, superior, hypocritical. My first thought was that we probably all can name someone like that and then I decided I might want to look in a mirror on occasion to be sure that my faith and my sense of righteousness lies in God and not in myself! Look deep, I said to me, because it may be an occasional arising that eludes your consciousness. Upon reflection, I think that recognition might just be the reason for the “squirminess” that calls for some attention today. Once again – not where I thought this practice of writing would take me but somewhere I need to go!

Of Hubris and Humility

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conflcit, cultivate peace, haughty, hearts, James, Jesus, life with God, Mark, Peace, psalm 54, righteousness, the first shall be last, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, war, wisdom

The readings today are all about attitudes that lead to wisdom and life with God. In the Book of Wisdom,((WIS 2:12,17-20) “the wicked” cannot bear the behavior of the “just one” so they plot to test his gentleness and patience in an effort to find fault enough to condemn him to death. The Psalmist prays to God to save his life from the haughty ones (PS 54:3-8) and in the gospel Jesus reproaches the disciples for their desire to be “the greatest” of his followers. He says to them: “If anyone wishes to be first, he shall be the last of all and the servant of all.” (MK 9:30-37)

It is, however, the message of James (JAS 3:16-4:3) that is the most helpful to me this morning. He puts two questions that speak directly to the issues of humility and haughtiness that lead to harmful actions. “Where do the wars and where do the conflicts among you come from? Is it not from your passions that make war within your members?” Both war and peace begin in the hearts of each of us; desire for more of what we do not have whether of possessions or status can be our undoing. James gives great advice for living into right action when he says: “Where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there is disorder and every foul practice. But the wisdom from above is first of all pure, then peaceable, gentle, compliant, full of mercy and good fruits, without inconstancy or insincerity. And the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace for those who cultivate peace.” What more do we need to learn?