Remember

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Abraham, Ancient Songs Sung Anew, God, God is still speaking, Psalm 105, remember, Sarah, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, wisdom

This morning we are called by Psalm 105 to remember our heritage as “children of the Blessed One” as we stand in gratitude for those who have come before us, all the way back to Abraham and Sarah. Verse 5 from the Ancient Songs Sung Anew translation is especially evocative, saying:

Remember, remember everything you can recall, remember every work and wonder, remember every word God speaks to you in wisdom…

There is a large rainbow banner hung high above the door of the Church that houses the office of the Sophia Center proclaiming in large, bold letters that God is still speaking. Are you able to dig deep and be silent enough to hear the messages of wisdom and truth being spoken in your heart this very day?

Looking Back; Going Forward

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Abraham, faith, Isaac, leave home, leave the nest, religious order, Sarah, Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, trust in God

I’ve been doing a lot of remembering lately, not unusual for one who has reached a milestone in life like 50 years as a member of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet. I smile as I think of the three women who are celebrating 80 years in our religious order – all of whom “have their wits about them” and I wonder about the flow of their memories at age 98 and 99 years.

The first lectionary reading today is about the death of Sarah at age 127 years and Abraham’s concern about a wife for his son, Isaac, so that his family line should continue as God had promised him. Abraham had a lot to look back on at this juncture. The Scriptures say that he was already 75 years of age when he was called to leave his home and establish his family in a new place that God would show him, a move that would begin his life and that of his descendants anew. God promised that they would be a people uniquely (or particularly, in some translations) God’s own. Abraham kept that covenant with God and although his life was blessed, it wasn’t always easy.

This morning, in addition to those women who left their homes for the convent in the 1930s, not knowing how their lives would unfold but feeling God calling them, I think of my own mother and her mother before her. Actually, all four of my grandparents left Ireland at an early age to seek a better life in the United States of America. Having no idea what was in store for them, they trusted God to lead them. My mother was 46 years of age, having lived in the circle of her extended family in the same town all her life, when my father’s work necessitated a move to a new place that seemed like the end of the world for her. It was 8 hours away, if the trains ran on schedule, a rare thing in 1960. It took commitment and a love that would admit of no compromise to follow my father, who was himself in that same position of loss and unknowing, and it was their faith in God that led the way. As it turns out, we were the first in a majority of family members to “leave the nest” and who now are located all across the country and beyond.

This reverie brings me to the conclusion that whether our lives are lived in relative familiarity of all kinds or are disrupted by choice or necessity, it takes courage and a willingness to choose each day and what it holds for our growth. My mother’s pain at leaving her sisters and friends became the seedbed for her growth as a person in ways that never would have happened had she not leaned into the new opportunities and challenges afforded her in the second half of her life. Even should we ourselves not be the prime mover in change – rather like Sarah or my mother, moving as a spouse, or my siblings and myself as the new generation whose roots have been set on both coasts of the USA – we are all affected by change. I believe that our willingness to embrace it will always be the measure of the blessing change brings.

 

 

 

 

 

 

What’s Your Name?

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Abraham, Abram, Confirmation, Genesis, inhabit, name, Sarah, Sarai, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

In this morning’s first lectionary reading from the Book of Genesis, chapter 17, we have a continuation of God’s conversation with Abram, now known as Abraham, about his wife Sarai, now to be called Sarah because she was to be blessed with a child in her old age – surely a direct result of God’s favor. Those seem hardly noticeable changes, but changes nevertheless. We add or change our names also at certain junctures for different reasons, most commonly in marriage (now often by hyphenation rather than leaving a birth name connection behind) and religiously in the Christian sacrament of Confirmation where our new, additional name should honor a person or signify a character of holiness that we wish to achieve.

I was always happy with my name in one sense; I was always the only Lois in my class at school and it was rare to meet someone else so named. That was easier than trying to figure out which Mary or Maureen or Michael was the subject of conversation. It was only in my high school Math class that I jumped every once in awhile, thinking I had been called on, when the truth was that the teacher was talking about the “lowest common denominator.” (Say that phrase aloud quickly and you may see what I mean.)

On the other hand, I grew up with lots of references to being Superman’s girlfriend, Lois Lane, which wasn’t so bad, I guess, but would have been better if I really had access to the favors of such a hero. More concerning was the question of my “patron saint.” All Catholic children had to have a name derived from that of a recognized saint of the Church so my patron, I was told, had to be St. Louis (King Louis IX of France) or St. Louise de Marillac, founder of the Daughters of Charity, a religious community of nuns in the 16th century. Since my name was not Louis or Louise, I chose always to remind people that my middle name was Ann – mother of Mary, grandmother of Jesus, which was okay but not easily evident and required explanation. Imagine my joy and surprise when I began to read the Bible and realized that the second Letter of Paul to Timothy spoke of Timothy’s “mother Eunice and grandmother Lois.” What a relief!

All of this babble is only half of the point I wish to make this morning. My first thought was to focus on the importance of our names and whether or not we “inhabit” them. It took me a long time to feel comfortable with “Lois” although when spoken by someone who loved me it always sounded better. As I have grown into and accepted more and more the person whose name is Lois, I am more content. I do wonder about the son that was born to Abraham and Sarah in fulfillment of God’s promise, however. How would you feel if your name meant “he laughs” which was Abraham’s reaction to God’s prediction. Unless Isaac could turn the meaning around and become a happy-go-lucky person (quite hard work if we believe the chronicles of his life), I think he must’ve struggled a bit!

What about you? Do you know the genesis of your name? Is it special to you? Have you grown into it gradually or always been comfortable? Do you have a special, secret name by which you hear God or special people call you? What name would you choose if you were given the opportunity, and why? Today I plan to listen for God saying my name in the silence. Hearing that call could be more precious than gold.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Keeping Promises

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Abraham, asking, big picture, centurion, eternal love, faith, Genesis, God's presence, God's time, healing, Jesus, Matthew, miracle, prayer, promises, Sarah, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

We often hear the adage, “Be careful what you ask for.” Sometimes our desires are fulfilled in ways that are surprising and sometimes – especially if it is from God that we are asking – we can’t possibly see how the answer fits the question because we are not privy to all the workings of the universe. In those times, we need to trust.

Today’s readings give two examples of God’s promises being fulfilled. Earlier in the Book of Genesis God had promised that Abraham would have descendants as numerous as the sands of the seashore. As he and Sarah got older it seemed impossible that this would happen since she had not been able to bear children. In order to take matters into their own hands, Sarah told Abraham to have sexual relations with her servant in order to have an heir. When she did and had a son, Sarah wasn’t so happy about it. Today (GEN 18:1-15) we hear the prediction of God’s messengers that Sarah and Abraham would have a son within the year. Abraham was 99 years old at the time and Sarah long past childbearing age. So her response to this news was a burst of incredulous laughter but a year later, she had the promised son. A miracle indeed, if late in coming. We can only wonder how that fulfillment affected her faith in God.

In the gospel today (MT 8:5-17) Jesus encountered the centurion whose servant was deathly ill; he asked Jesus to heal the man. Jesus was ready to follow him to his house when the centurion said he did not need to do so. He was aware that the power of Jesus was so great that he would simply need to speak a word and the healing would take place. Jesus was quite impressed with the man’s faith and the request was granted immediately.

When I pray these days I try to leave the decision-making to God regarding the result of the prayer, saying things like, “God, please be kind to this person” or “God, please take care of this situation.” I don’t think it’s effective to muzzle God into a specific outcome because, as I’ve already said, I don’t see the “big picture” and can only speak from my own perspective. I think my job in prayer is to let God know of my concern for what is going on, to speak my desire for God’s presence in the situation and then let God take care of the rest. When it seems to me that God isn’t acting, (or really that God isn’t acting as I would if I were God) I try to think about Sarah and remember that God’s time is not my time and God’s eternal love is incomprehensible.