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Tag Archives: sacrifice

The Tax Collector

21 Monday Sep 2020

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inner light, Jesus, Matthew, mercy, sacrifice, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

Jesus had a unique way of choosing his disciples. There were no interviews, no ‘vetting” to be sure of the character of the person being considered. Jesus just approached a person, said “Follow me!” and it was up to the person called to get up from whatever s/he was doing and go. Most, it seems, were fishermen – honest workers with simple lives. One wonders about Matthew, the tax collector. Was he maybe chosen as a test for the rest of the band of followers or for the larger population that knew him as “a sinner,” because of his profession, a challenge of magnanimity, perhaps?

Clearly, Jesus had a point in mind when he encountered Matthew. When people grumbled and looked askance at Matthew in the company of Jesus, they were likely surprised at the reason Jesus gave for his choice. “Those who are well do not need a physician,” he said, “but the sick do. Go and learn the meaning of the words, ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ I did not come to call the righteous but sinners.”

This should be a comfort to all of us who are not yet perfect. Jesus was clearly able to see the inner light in Matthew rather than only what was considered necessary for his work. The proof that he was ready to step up to a deeper calling can be seen in his willingness and ability to leave the life he was living to respond to the light he saw in Jesus that was reflected somehow in his own person. A good lesson for us when we want to judge someone whose inner light is not clearly visible to us in our day-to-day life.

Doing Our Best for the Most

22 Friday May 2020

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freedom, Memorial Day, precautions, sacrifice, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

Lately I often have to look at the date at the top of my phone screen to see the day and the date because nothing is routine right now. I also keep the calendar where I write and can see an entire month spread out before me. No surprises that way. It is my “safety net” and keeps me somewhat up to date.

Speaking of dates, however, it surprised me to realize that Memorial Day is this coming Monday at the end of this weekend, rather than the next! It seems so early and it is true that it is as early as it possibly can be since the next Monday begins June. (Not rocket science, you may say!) I wondered why there was so much distressful conversation about “social distancing” already in the lead-up to the holiday. Pictures of crowded beaches give me a sinking feeling and I wonder what the infection numbers will show next week and beyond…

I’m disappointed at the need of people to disregard the precautions that we must take to be safe, but our difficulty with the concept of such restriction and lack of freedom of choice is understandable for those of us privileged to live in the United States of America. We have been founded on the notion of freedom as essential to life in all manner of things. I feel the pull myself when I receive coupon in the mail for sales at my favorite store and realize it would put me at risk to go there. I miss meetings with my Wisdom Practice Circle (soon to be by Zoom) or my book study group (already by Zoom – but not quite the same). I’m getting used to the internet life that we are left with but will never be satisfied with virtual meetings over handshakes and hugs.

All of that having been said, I hope we can reflect on what Memorial Day is about and think of the sacrifices of all those who died to keep us safe. Might we not be able to find ways to live for the same reason?

Changing Times, Changing Challenges…

19 Tuesday Nov 2019

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challenges, Eleazar, faithful, Maccabees, sacrifice, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

It’s easy sometimes to dismiss some of the archaic practices of Old Testament times that are recounted in Scripture. Today, for example there is the story in the Second Book of Maccabees (2 MC 6:18-31) about Eleazar, one of the foremost scribes who chose to be tortured to death rather than eat pork, a meat forbidden by religious law. Some people told him to bring to the unlawful ritual “meat of his own providing, such as he could legitimately eat, and to pretend to be eating some of the meat of the sacrifice prescribed by the king” so as to escape the death penalty. Eleazar refused, saying he would remain “loyal to the holy laws given by God.”

Eating meat sacrificed to foreign gods seems in our day, perhaps, to be a ridiculous pretense for the death penalty but we might pause and consider how we might somehow be called to defend our faith with our life and whether we are strong enough to do so. That is not a new idea. Most of us began asking that question of ourselves and/or being asked it by our religion teachers in elementary school. (“If you were asked to reject God or your religion under pain of death, would you be able to remain faithful?”) It was easier to answer “YES!” as a child who was never in danger of death.

I still say an enthusiastic “YES” when I think about the question but am not so sure I am equal to the possibility. Perhaps I need to go joyfully toward all the events of my daily life – the beautiful and the difficult – welcoming everything with equal vigor – just in case there might come a day when something more challenging than I have yet encountered stares me in the face and requires my “Yes” in a way that draws me beyond what I can now imagine. What might that be I cannot say, but I can think about it in more realistic terms and maybe I should start right now…

Sacred Contracts

26 Wednesday Jun 2019

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Abram, contract, covenant, Genesis, Psalm 105, sacrifice, spiritual agreement, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

The lectionary readings today speak loudly of covenants. The best and most dramatic story is from Genesis where God directs Abram to prepare a series of animals and birds for sacrifice and then sends a fire to “seal the deal.” (GEN 15: 1-12, 17-18)

I learned long ago that with reference to God and humans, a covenant is a contract between God and people. This morning I wanted something more sacred and found a short paragraph on the internet that satisfied me. It explained it as follows:

There are some fundamental differences between a covenant and a contract. While a contract is legally binding, a covenant is a spiritual agreement. A contract is an agreement between parties while a covenant is a pledge. A contract exchanges one good for another, while a covenant is giving oneself to the other.

How comforting is is to know – as Psalm 105 reminds us today – that “the Lord remembers his covenant forever.” My question to myself today is: Am I willing to do the same, always remembering my covenant with God?

The Tax Collector

21 Friday Sep 2018

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Ancient Songs Sung Anew, cleansing, conversion, Divine Light, follow me, Jesus, light, Matthew, mercy, profit, psalm 19, sacrifice, sinners, St. Matthew, tax collector, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, truth, wisdom

ataxcollectorWe know only two things about St. Matthew whose feast we celebrate today. First, we know him as a tax collector and secondly that he responded to the call of Jesus who approached him with the command: “Follow me,” and later was credited with the Gospel that bears his name. In the time of Jesus, tax collectors were not beloved members of society. It seems that, once again, Jesus was trying to make an important point by calling Matthew to be a disciple – a call that Matthew was unlikely to accept in the unquestioning way that he did. He was making some money, after all, and his job was likely secure. But Matthew got up from his customs post and seems to have never questioned the motives of Jesus or his own response. Clearly, others questioned however! “Why does the teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?” they boldly said – not thinking of any transgressions they themselves might have committed. Jesus was clear in his response to these queries. “I desire mercy, not sacrifice. I did not come to call the righteous but sinners.”

Something in Matthew knew what Jesus was about and prompted him to say yes to the invitation. I found verses in Psalm 19, later than the lectionary verses from today and in a different translation, whose monetary metaphor seems in accord with the desire – known or unknown – of Matthew’s heart at the moment he was called to be a disciple. See what you think.

Pure light, pure truth, pure justice, God, they’re like a cleansing wind that passes through our souls, assessing all. Your presence is more valuable to us than gold, far sweeter to the tongue than honey in the comb. For it is you and you alone who teaches us, O great instructor of the soul, and in this school of wisdom, you’re the profit, true, and wisdom, the reward. (Ancient Songs Sung Anew, p.45)

May our desire for conversion deepen daily and our recognition of that to which we are called become clearer in each encounter with the divine light stirring in our hearts.

 

 

 

 

The Quality of Mercy

20 Friday Jul 2018

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Matthew, mercy, patience, Pope Francis, sacrifice, St. Peter, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

amercyOften when I open the USCCB website where I find the lectionary readings for the day there is a line that jumps out from the page and calls for my attention. Today I didn’t have to look too deeply as it was already italicized. The sentence from chapter 12 of Matthew’s gospel has God saying, “I desire mercy, not sacrifice.” I thought immediately of Pope Francis and the focus early in his pontificate which has continued unabated. He even wrote a more than one book about mercy so it’s very easy to quote  him on the subject. Here is something from his homily in 2013 on Divine Mercy Sunday that reminds us of the fact that even the closest friends of Jesus needed mercy for their failings – and they got it!

Let us…remember Peter: three times he denied Jesus, precisely when he should have been closest to him; and when he hits bottom he meets the gaze of Jesus who patiently, wordlessly, says to him, “Peter, don’t be afraid of your weakness, trust in Me.” Peter understands, he feels the loving gaze of Jesus and he weeps. How beautiful this gaze of Jesus – how much tenderness is there! Brothers and sisters, let us never lose trust in the patience and mercy of God!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Commitment

16 Monday Jul 2018

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action, covenant, inaction, psalm 50, relationship, sacrifice, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

asacrificeToday’s lectionary includes verses from Psalm 50 in which the psalmist expresses God’s desire for us to “step up” in our response to life, suggesting that our sacrificial offerings (bulls and goats – or for us checks and cash) are not enough. God says, “Why do you recite my statutes and profess my covenant with your mouth though you hate discipline and cast my words behind you?”

We could take offense at this and use more words to defend our actions or inactions. If I am honest and look in the mirror, I must admit to that kind of behavior at least some of the time. But then I hear verse 14 wherein God seems in need of relationship with us. “No! But this is what I want from you. Offer me grateful heart. Fulfill the vows that you have made.” It’s as if God is asking from us what each of us wants from others: the willingness to say what we mean and mean what we say – and then to live into what that means.

How can I refuse?

 

 

 

 

 

What Kind of Sacrifice?

10 Saturday Mar 2018

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compassion, contrite, conversion, God, Hosea, Lent, Lord, love, mercy, penance, psalm 51, reform, sacrifice, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

aspringrainSometimes I think we can get carried away doing penance during Lent. I must admit that for many years I refused to talk about the need for repentance because I thought life held enough challenge and people I knew needed nothing more to feed their poor self-esteem. I have now come, I hope, to a healthier place where admission of imperfection lives in concert with a willingness to reform. This is the message that stands out to me in the lectionary readings for today, clarifying God’s desire for us and urging us on from the very first words.

Come, let us return to the Lord, Hosea calls out. Let us know, let us strive to know the Lord; as certain as the dawn is his coming…He will come to us like the rain, like spring rain that waters the earth…Speaking for God, Hosea then announces: For it is love I desire, not sacrifice, and knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings. (HOS 6:1-6)

The psalmist picks up the theme saying: Have mercy on me, O God, in your goodness; in the greatness of your compassion wipe put my offense…My sacrifice, O God, is a contrite spirit; a heart contrite and humbled, O God, you will not spurn. (PS 51)

These texts have taken up a peaceful place in my being and allow me to be confident in God’s compassionate acceptance of my honest efforts at conversion.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Good Example

21 Thursday Sep 2017

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compassion, good deeds, imperfections, Jesus, lessons, Matthew, mercy, mistakes, Pharisees, Pope Francis, sacrifice, sin, sinner, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

ahumblepopeI remember the day, early in his papacy, that Pope Francis said, “I am a sinner” in public. The quote, as we say now, “went viral.” It’s rare to have a public figure admit during an interview or a widely attended speech that s/he has imperfections. We all know that none of us is perfect but admitting it to the world – especially using the word sin to describe our actions – is not a common practice. At first I was dismayed about his admission because I think that religious people tend to focus more on sin than on giftedness and good deeds. I grabbed onto Barbra Streisand’s line that “there are no mistakes, just lessons to be learned” and used it to talk about sin from that perspective. I still think we either overplay our imperfections sometimes or try to hide them by prevaricating (i.e. “skirting around the truth or delaying giving an answer, especially to avoid telling the whole truth”) but being able to follow the Pope’s example can be very freeing. If we are honest enough to offer our true selves to others we may find that we are accepted in spite of ourselves because nobody else is perfect either!

In today’s gospel (MT 9:9-13) we meet St. Matthew, as Jesus approaches him and says, “Follow me.” At this, the Pharisees were indignant because tax collectors (Matthew’s job) were described in the same breath as “sinners.” They asked the disciples why Jesus was associating with such people. I always wish that Jesus hadn’t jumped in to answer that question; I would just like to know what his disciples would have said. But Jesus heard the question and said, “Those who are well do not need a physician, but the sick do. Go and learn the meaning of the words, I desire mercy, not sacrifice. I did not come to call the righteous but sinners.”

Pope Francis talks a lot about mercy, sometimes in the same sentence with the word “sinner.” In that way – as in so many more – he seems so close to doing what Jesus did, in being who Jesus was, to teach us all the compassionate reach of God to all of us. Ought we then do the same for one another? For ourselves?

 

 

 

 

 

Saturday Morning in the Convent

29 Saturday Jul 2017

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community life, community sharing, confidence, convent, Exodus, horarium, Julie Andrews, Luke, Martha, Mary, meals, Moses, praise, prayer, psalm 50, recreation, sacrifice, Saturday, schedule, tasks, teaching, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, The Sound of Music

ajulieIn the “good old days” when I was young and eager – especially in the novitiate, but also in the convent at my first teaching assignment where I lived in a group of 21 Sisters – life was very structured and predictable. The “horarium” (schedule) of the days was built around times of prayer, teaching school, meals and community sharing time – known in the novitiate at least as “recreation,” a.k.a. the hour after supper when we relaxed and talked to one another while knitting or listening to music or some such simple activity before preparing schoolwork for the next day. Saturdays were set aside for cleaning and other charges (read: household tasks) or meetings and the occasional planning time for community celebration days.

Today is Saturday. Although nearly everything has changed about the rhythm of community life, it seems that the Saturday horarium is part of our DNA that has not disappeared. I woke up today feeling altogether unable to even make a list of necessary tasks, nevermind the possibility of achieving anything. Lying lazily in bed listening to the birds who’ve been up for hours, I heard Julie Andrews singing in my head: What will this day be like…I wonder…as she was getting up her gumption to take on a job as a nanny for the seven children of the widowed Captain Von Trapp.

Having seen The Sound of Music several times over the years, I have learned a lot about attitude – starting with the above-mentioned song about confidence. I was reminded of that in my short reverie this morning and so got up determined to face the day in a positive way. Downstairs I encountered two of my three housemates who had been up maybe longer than the birds – one having already accomplished preliminary tasks that would allow her to concentrate next on what is central to her major plan of the day and the other whose response to a needy phone call of yesterday had allowed her to formulate a plan much larger than the requesting person could have imagined. The most amazing thing about my encounters with all this news was just a smile, knowing that difference does not mean distress and that we are now free to live our commitments as we can and use our energy for the highest good of ourselves and all others.

I practically laughed aloud when I returned to do the one task that is not discriminated by the day of the week. (This blog is a discipline that marks my days, much as the horarium of yesteryear gave shape to everything.) It is all a question of listening to God speaking through whatever is in front of us. Each one of the readings told me that this morning. How can I not proceed in delight?!

  1. EX 24:3-8. When Moses came to the people and related the words and ordinances of the Lord, they all answered with one voice, “We will do everything that the Lord has told us.”
  2. PS 50:1-2, 14. God the Lord has spoken and summoned the earth, from the rising of the sun to its setting. From Zion, perfect in beauty, God shines forth…Offer to God praise as your sacrifice and fulfill your vows to the Most High…
  3. LK 10: 38-42. Jesus entered a village where a woman whose name was Martha welcomed him. She had a sister named Mary who sat beside the Lord at his feet listening to him speak. Martha, burdened with much serving, came to him and said, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me by myself to do the serving? Tell her to help me.” The Lord said to her in reply, “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and worried about many things. There is need of only one thing. Mary has chosen the better part and it will not be taken from her.”

Amazing, no? Happy Saturday to all!

 

 

 

 

 

 

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