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Tag Archives: sharing

Check Your Hearing

02 Tuesday Mar 2021

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compassionate, Ezekiel, listen, open our hearts, pay attention, sharing, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, understanding

There it is again: Ez 18:31 – today as the verse before the gospel. “…make for yourselves a new heart and a new spirit,” he says. We just heard (and I wrote) those words four days ago for your consideration. When I see things repeated that quickly in the lectionary, I always take note. So today I say: Pay attention if you didn’t before! We are likely at a crossroad—or on the verge of something. We are being called maybe to a new moment of maturity. It seems as if it’s a call to creativity. Soon everything may be allowed to go back to the way things were…but is that even possible? Might we have learned something about suffering? Perhaps about death that comes “like a thief in the night,” as the Scriptures say? Are we called to be more compassionate now because we share in the loss of a half a million people? Can we enter into the sadness of one another without getting swallowed up by their grief? Rather are we called to a posture of sharing—understanding, perhaps, like never before?

So much has changed. Are we ready to open our hearts just an inch? Can you hear the beating of the heart of someone new today? Perhaps it is your ears that must be engaged. Think about it.

Lunch with the Psalms

16 Wednesday Oct 2019

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John Michael Talbot, Lynn Bauman, psalm 62, psalms, sharing, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

Yesterday we were blessed with two new people at our monthly session of “Lunch with the Psalms.” In the half-decade we have been meeting, there has rarely been any food eaten during our time together. At its inception I envisioned a short noontime meeting when workers in our downtown area could, in fact, bring their lunch and eat while we reflected on the lectionary psalm of the day. As it happens, most people find it difficult to eat and talk at the same time! Our “food” is the nourishment we get from the sharing – at first from the reading of the psalm and then from our exploration of its richness.

There are many English translations of the Psalms in the Bible and we often refer to different ones to enhance our appreciation of a verse. This morning I read the first verse of Psalm 62 from the New American (Roman Catholic) translation and found myself immediately hearing a peaceful melody from John Michael Talbot in my head. “Only in God is my soul at rest; from God is my hope, my salvation…God alone is my rock and my salvation, my stronghold: I shall not be disturbed at all…” In another version which he calls “the Psalms as Poetry,” Lynn Bauman (Episcopal priest) entitles Psalm 62 “Waiting in Silence.” It begins as follows. “Alone my soul awaits you in the silence, Lord, by you and only you I am restored. You are for me my solid ground, foundation firm on which I stand. Can I be shaken or seized?”

Two expressions of the same sentiment: one may engage us more than the other. This is the beauty of language and a gift of those who study ancient texts and bring them to life for us, touching us in deeper places than our heads. It is the heart that reverberates with the sounds. Speak aloud the verses above. Even better, sing them to enter into the experience of the closeness and care of such a loving God. Reach deep into the words to find what they express…

Blessings on your day!

Simple and Straightforward

22 Thursday Aug 2019

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civility, ethical reasoning, feelings, Fred Rogers, live together, Mr. Rogers, self-worth, sharing, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, tolerance

Brian Johnson had his son, Emerson, on his optimize.me video blog today to share a message about Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood. Fred Rogers, as most people know, was a great influence for positive thinking for children over 33 years on his television series, Mr Rogers’ Neighborhood, and since then in his books.

So I took a bit of a divergent path into his biography to see what I didn’t know (see “Fred Rogers” on the internet) and found that much of what he taught to children could be helpful for adults today as well. The article I read about him emphasized not only the child’s developing psyche but also “feelings, sense of moral and ethical reasoning, civility, tolerance, sharing and self-worth,” topics that we all might want to spend some time pondering these days…

Brian and Emerson were talking about a Mr. Rogers’ song called “It’s You I Like.” It goes like this:

It’s you I like. It’s not the things you wear/ It’s not the way you do your hair/But it’s you I like. The way you are right now/The way down deep inside you/Not the things that hide you/Not your toys/They’re just beside you./But it’s you I like. Every part of you/Your skin, your eyes, your feelings whether old or new. I hope that you’ll remember/Even when you’re feeling blue/That it’s you I like/It’s you yourself/It’s you/It’s you I like.

Maybe you don’t know the tune but is there someone with whom you might share those lyrics or some similar sentiment today? Why not take a lesson from the children or the man who taught them – and us – so much about how to live together in this world? After all, there’s always someone who might need to hear the words, “It’s you I like; it’s you!”

The Power of Prayer

13 Thursday Dec 2018

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community, immigration, power of prayer, prayer, sharing, spirit, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

I expected only people I knew to attend our event last evening. (See yesterday’s post). By the time I arrived at the Church I had shed most of my expectations and knew that no matter what happened I had done my best and all that remained was to let go of outcome. As it happened, in the 35 attendees there were several people new to me and in the end the power of the prayer was evident in the conversations that ensued. 

Success in such an event is measured not in “compliments to the chef” but rather in the comments that follow. The feeling of community and the power of the prayer itself, especially perhaps in the music, was evidence to me and all that we had achieved the desired outcome. We left the church, totally aware that we had not solved the issues of immigration, but feeling lighter in spirit because we had shared a common concern and willingness to engage in prayer together. That in itself is surely enough.

The Light of Hope

03 Saturday Nov 2018

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communion, Cynthia Bourgeault, hope, light, mystical hope, prayer, presence, present, sharing, silence, spirit, spiritual life, the body of hope, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, wisdom

thelightofhopeToday I am privileged to spend the morning in reflection with seven people considering the topic of hope. Self-selected and always seeking to deepen their spiritual lives, these people are all known to me although not to one another. I never know exactly what will transpire at these brief encounters (just 3 hours of prayer, silence and sharing) but I am never disappointed. That is not to say that I do not have a carefully crafted agenda, but once I have prepared, I let go and see where the Spirit will take us. I smile when I think of that truth because it has not always been that way. Needing success eventually gives way to simply being present and trusting the willingness of the participants to hear something of merit and to offer their wisdom to the group.

Today I am certain such wisdom will shine throughout our time together as we speak of what Cynthia Bourgeault calls “mystical hope.” Cynthia describes one of the characteristics of such hope as follows. “It has something to do with presence – not a future good outcome, but the immediate experience of being met, held in communion, by something intimately at hand.”

I trust that will be true not only in the topical presentation but at the heart of our gathering itself. Why not join us in Spirit for this event? Your prayer, your silence and/or your good wishes – even after the event – could add to the power of presence in what Cynthia calls “the body of hope!” We welcome all comers!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Little Less Than the Angels

20 Saturday Oct 2018

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angels, gratitude, music, psalm 8, sharing, Thanksgiving, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

aangelharp.jpgThe psalmist is “waxing eloquent” this morning. As Psalm 8 rings in my inner sight, I recall the beautiful blue sky and sunshine of yesterday afternoon as I drove and sang with the accompaniment of longtime liturgical musicians whose music always stirs me to praise. This weekend was well begun last evening (see yesterday’s post) with a sellout crowd for our communal “walk down memory lane.” I look forward to a full day of enthusiastic sharing in words toward a hopeful future and feelings of gratitude for what we have been given throughout our history from our roots in 17th century France to worldwide service in love of God and neighbor.

Who are we, the psalmist asks God, that you should care for us? You have made us little less than the angels…and today we will revel in thanksgiving!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Coming Together

28 Wednesday Feb 2018

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connection, consciousness, gathering, heart, life, love, loving, meeting, Oscar Wilde, sharing, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

akindnessYesterday I had two meetings back-to-back. The first was a small gathering, only four of seven who try to gather monthly for a “shot in the arm” of wisdom practices that keep us conscious in a way that nothing else seems able to do. We always miss but are very aware of our connection with our “absent brethren.” I went from there to a virtual committee meeting; just our voices were together through the miracle of a phone conference. Again we were four, together in the ethers in an effort to create a process that we hope will enable deeper sharing among members of a much larger group. I could see the faces in my mind as each of us spoke and allowed ideas to germinate in the sharing.

This morning I think how blessed I am to count these experiences as part of my life’s “work.” Extraneous, perhaps, or at least tangential to what I am being paid for, these occurrences of connection create the foundation of everything else that I am able and privileged to do. It’s all about love, you see, which is clearly illustrated for me today in a quote from Oscar Wilde that seems worthy of sharing.

Keep love in your heart. A life without it is like a sunless garden when the flowers are dead. The consciousness of loving and being loved brings a warmth and richness to life that nothing else can bring.

 

 

 

 

 

Good Examples

08 Thursday Feb 2018

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Black History Month, conversation, healing, Jesus, language, Mark, opinion, prejudice, public service, sharing, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

aconversationLast night I watched a special program – part of a series, I believe – celebrating Black History Month. It was Robin Roberts interviewing Valerie Jarrett, Senior Advisor to President Barack Obama for the full eight years of his presidency. It was more like a living room conversation with about 100 friends sitting around the perimeter asking the occasional question or adding an opinion. And Valerie Jarrett was so fine! It was a delight to experience two such vibrant women speaking clearly about the privilege of public service, the challenges of life in any situation and their desire to be a force for good for the next generations of Americans. What I found most helpful was the fact that they did not need to preach about those topics. Both were just strong women with no need for abrasiveness or negativity to make a point. They simply shared their experiences and ideas and the tenor of the conversation caused truth to shine through.

I thought back to that event this morning when I read today’s rather brief and stark gospel from Mark (7:24-30) about the Syrophoenician-born Greek woman who challenged Jesus at what appeared to be not his finest hour. The text tells us that Jesus “entered a house and wanted no one to know about it, but he could not escape notice.” He must not have had anyone with him because it seems the woman just slipped in unannounced and unimpeded to beg his intercession in curing her daughter. He was clearly not in a mood to deal with this foreigner – a woman, no less – at that very moment but even his uncharacteristic, unkind reply could not dissuade her. After being called “a dog” she retorted that “even the dogs under the table eat the children’s scraps.”

We know the story. Her chutzpah got her what she wanted; her daughter was healed. Unwilling or unable to see Jesus in such a bad mood, I’m always left wondering if perhaps he is testing her for some purpose…But then I decide to allow Jesus at least one day of grumpiness! The point is that the woman didn’t need to rant and rave about how unfair he was being or walk off in a huff questioning his integrity. She just saw her chance and took it, saying what was true in the same challenging metaphoric language that he had used.

So here’s to women (and men) who don’t use prejudice against them as a weapon but rather take the high road in situations that could be volatile or destructive, turning them to lessons of right action. They shine like the sunlight on the strong, shimmering tree outside my window, covered this morning in the icy remnants of yesterday’s storm, now transformed into light.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Not Knowing, Encore

30 Wednesday Aug 2017

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anxiety, compassion, death, devastation, distress, Louisiana, Rainer Maria Rilke, sadness, sharing, Texas, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

People are rescued from flood waters from Hurricane Harvey on an air boat in DickinsonThat place of “not-knowing” that I spoke of yesterday still holds me today as I think of the storm called Harvey that just won’t quit. How do people recover from that kind of devastation – both environmental and human? Even here, at almost the farthest northern point in our country away from those swirling waters and broken lives, I feel viscerally the distress and death. Physical death, the death of dreams, of possessions – all must reside inside any of us who have even seen the images on television and more likely if we know people living in Texas – and today in Louisiana. I have rarely felt the draw of depression on such a scale.

Slogging through the images in my mind I try to focus on the concomitant pictures of and interviews with those who have come with their boats or their bodies, strong enough to contribute to the rescue of so many stranded inhabitants of the flood zones. And then I read a small snatch of something Rilke wrote that seems like a far-fetched thought to bring to the present conversation but is all I have to offer to my sadness.

You mustn’t be frightened, he writes, if a sadness rises in front of you, larger than you have ever seen; if an anxiety, like light and cloud-shadows, moves over your hands and over everything you do. You must realize that something is happening to you, that life has not forgotten you, that it holds you in its hand and will not let you fall.

Perhaps that sadness and anxiety is leading to a deeper ability to be compassionate, a deeper willingness for unity – knowing that we are all connected and owe each other our sharing in that pain of loss. I don’t know and so here I can only sit offering my “not-knowing.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

Getting to the Heart of Things

03 Friday Mar 2017

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deeper, fast from the heart, fasting, glory, God, heart, Isaiah, lesson, light, Lord, reward, sharing, sheltering, spiritual lives, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, vindication

ahomelessToday it’s Isaiah whose message rings loudly in my ears with the same focus: go deeper! Get to the heart of things. He’s talking about fasting and the dissatisfaction of the people with God’s response – or lack thereof – to their practice. They want their reward. But God is more concerned with the lack of depth in their spiritual lives because, even while they fast, they mistreat their laborers and fight among themselves. They just don’t get it. So once again they – and we – get a lesson on what it means to “fast from the heart.” It’s a truly moving and inspired passage. (Is 58:1-9a) Read it aloud, if you will, with gusto!

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. Then your light shall break forth like the dawn, and your wound shall quickly be healed; your vindication shall go before you and the glory of the Lord shall be your rear guard. Then you shall call and the Lord will answer; you shall cry for help and God will say: Here I am!

 

 

 

 

 

 

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