Summer Solstice

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courage, Divine Light, invigorate, Macrina Wiederkehr, rejuvenate, seven sacred pauses, solstice, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

Today, at 11:54 am, Google tells me, we in the northern hemisphere will mark – and perhaps celebrate – that moment that we call the summer solstice. It is the moment when the earth is bowing most graciously toward the sun, lyrically speaking, giving us our longest day of the year. I am always amazed when I begin to read all of the scientific research about the angle of tilt and how it has changed over billions of years, etc. to recognize the fact that all this continues to happen regularly – one might say “in spite of us.” So here is what might be a prayer in gratitude and desire for the blessing of earth’s relationship to the sun as we mark at 11:54 this miracle of our universe.

Beautiful reflection of divine light, shine on me at this noonday hour. Rejuvenate and invigorate me. Renew my commitment to the tasks of this day. Lead me to my courage. Warm what has grown cold in me. Energize all that has become lethargic. Enliven my growing moments. In the middle of this day help me to stand before my life with all who have gone before me, I pray. (seven sacred pauses by Macrina Wiederkehr, p. 105)

Summer Solstice

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celebrating good, embrace life, energy, seasons, solstice, summer, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

I got out of bed this morning at the exact moment of the summer solstice: 6:07 AM! Had I known, I would likely have stood before my bedroom window and bowed, at least, in honor of the great light that brings so many benefits to our days – including the energy that often gets me out of bed. I am aware of the turning of our world today and the ability of scientists through the ages to discover things like the exact moment when the sun is at its highest in the Northern Hemisphere. I’m thinking as well of my cousins in Australia for whom the winter solstice has just happened as they mark the darkest part of the year.

How magnificent is the world we live in, not simply because of the regularity of seasons or the mirroring that can be perceived from north to south and south to north. I wait with such expectation each year for the leafing out of trees and the taste of corn on the cob, the flowering of forsythia and arrival of the hummingbirds. To  be fair, I must admit that the quiet arrival of the first snowfall also dazzles me. There is, of course, a downside to consider: the devastating fires and drought, for example, happening with or without human intervention, wreaking havoc in the lives of farmers and others who rely on good weather for their livelihood.

The question that arises for me in all this is whether or not I am willing to embrace life in all its moments, celebrating the good and enduring the difficult, while continuing to believe in possibility and learning the lessons life teaches – every day in every way. It can be more than a bit of a challenge sometimes, but today, welcoming summer, I say “Yes!”

 

 

 

 

 

 

Gratitude bears much fruit

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dream, Great Spirit, Handsome Lake, heaven, hope, John, mystic, prophetic, rebirth, salvation, Seneca Indian, solstice, strawberry moon, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

When I arrived at work yesterday, our administrative assistant (the genius behind the blog pictures) met me with a wonderful story about the Strawberry Moon. I suggested she take over the blog for a day so here is “the rest of the story.” (Thanks to Mary Pat!)

The news media were full of reports Monday about the rare occurrence of the Strawberry Moon on the same day as the Summer Solstice. How rare is it? The next time the two will be paired is in the year 2062. What the media neglected to delve into, however, is the spiritual importance of this full moon.

Among the Seneca Indians (and other Iroquois nations) the rising of the Strawberry Moon heralds a sacred time. The strawberry is the first fresh fruit to be harvested after the long winter. To the Senecas, the fruit represents rebirth and hope. They believe you will eat strawberries when you die because they line the path to heaven.

During this time, women and children are given the task of harvesting wild strawberries in special bark baskets. On the day of the full Strawberry Moon, the berries are pressed into a juice mixed with a little maple syrup and water. The entire village gathers for a festival that includes food, dancing and singing. The focus of the day is a ceremony in which the strawberry juice is shared with all. Before each person drinks of the juice, they express gratitude to the Great Spirit for all blessings received and surviving the winter. The juice was also thought to have invigorating healing properties because of its heart shape.

Centuries ago the great Seneca warrior, Handsome Lake, entered into deep depression and drunkenness after the collapse of his culture following the American Revolution. Years later, one night Handsome Lake had several revelations in a prophetic dream that were inspired by the life cycle of the strawberry. From this dream he created a new moral code to strengthen his culture that included abandoning behaviors such as promiscuity and insobriety, confessing one’s sins and striving for salvation. His “Old Way” is still embraced as the “golden rule” today.

In this morning’s gospel acclamation (John 15: 4A, 5B) the Lord promises “whoever remains in me will bear much fruit.” Inspired by the Senecas’ ritual of the Strawberry Moon, you might rephrase that to whoever lives a life filled with gratitude to the Great Spirit will bear much fruit.

Change of Season

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Hafiz, love, party, planets, solstice, spring, strawberry moon, Sufi, summer, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, thunderstorm

I get confused sometimes about the summer solstice. Is it the 20th or the 21st of June? Added to that this year was the title “Strawberry Moon” which I had never heard before. It turns out that I basically missed the whole (very rare) event as there was some cloud cover last night and it took me until this morning to read that the June moon got its name simply because it’s the season of strawberries in the USA. What I did not miss at 2:00AM, however, was a wild thunder and lightning event, with heavy rain drenching our bit of earth very quickly and moving on. I was awake just long enough to close my windows and to recognize the power of natural forces before I sank back into the oblivion of sleep. Maybe the storm actually lasted longer than I did in observing it…

Not drawn to the Scripture readings this morning, I opened The Gift: Poems by Hafiz, the Great Sufi Master. These are the poems I found on two successive pages. (My apologies to Hafiz and his translator, Daniel Ladinsky, for typing them here in prose form.)

SOME OF THE PLANETS ARE HOSTING The ear becomes alert when music says, “I am over here.” The eye goes on duty, becomes viable, when beauty whistles and points to her dress on the ground. God has sent out ten thousand messengers  announcing a great bash tonight some of the planets are hosting where the lead singer is God, Himself. But most of those courtiers have become drunk, got waylaid, disoriented to the hilt with such exalted news, and can no longer remember the time and the place. What does that have to do with you? Plenty. Hafiz will fill you in later if need be.

WHAT IS THE ROOT? What is the root of all these words? One thing: love. But a love so deep and sweet it needed to express itself with scents, sounds, colors that never before existed.

I guess I should try to pay more attention to this day. I wouldn’t want to miss another big bash!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

O Radiant Dawn, Come!

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dawn, faithfulness forever, God, Hanukkah, light, Luke, O Antiphons, Romans, Samuel, solstice, sunrise, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

All of today’s Scripture selections point to God’s faithfulness forever – to King David (2 Samuel 7), proclaimed in the psalm (89), fulfilled in Christ (Romans 16 & Luke 1). How fitting it is, then, that the O Antiphon for December 21st (the Winter Solstice) shouts out the following plea:

O Radiant Dawn, splendor of eternal light, sun of justice: Come! Shine on those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death.

Just as the sun rises each morning, whether we see it or not, as long as the earth endures, we have the promise of God to be with us in good times and bad. Our Jewish sisters and brothers have been celebrating the great Festival of Lights and today the earth joins in with the turning of the season toward more light. Even if our world seems dreary going forward, we can count on more minutes of light each day. So it is as we move toward the great feast of the Incarnation. We turn to the East and welcome the dawn. Soon, and very soon, the dawning of God’s light will break upon our hearts with the knowledge that this promise is forever.