Always A Solution

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creativity, Jesus, loaves and fishes, openness, possibility, problem solving, solution, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

The gospels are replete with stories that teach a lesson. Sometimes I just have to smile at what looks like a “throw-away sentence” but is really a clue to the way Jesus functioned and a lesson that he was offering to his followers. Today, for example, we have one of the “feeding of the 5,000” stories—the one that Jesus uses to challenge the creativity of his followers by asking a question. “Where shall we buy bread for all these people?” he asked Philip. We get a clue to his purpose as the gospel then says, “He asked this only to test him, for he already had in mind what he was going to do.” (I would have hated to be in Philip’s shoes as creativity is not my best gift…and I’m not fond of being tested like that.) Philip couldn’t get his mind around a possible answer to the question so it was a good thing that there were others more creative in the band. Andrew’s answer of 5 barley loaves and 2 small fish from a boy in the crowd was clearly not a solution but it got the miracle going.

Sometimes we don’t have to have the solution to a problem all by ourselves; it’s good to have companions who can add to the solution. I have always been amazed at what can happen if a group comes together with a willingness to help and an openness to possibilities—even if some of the suggestions seem impossible, because sometimes that’s all that’s needed to get the creative juices of the group flowing. Jesus knew that and he trusted the group he had gathered. It’s up to us to do the same, letting go of wanting to be in charge but willing to add what we can to a solution. We may not be able to feed 5,000 people in the end but if the love generated in the group takes over, it can be a beautiful thing to see what God can create in us.

Finding an Answer

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disappointment, mission, purpose, rejoice, solution, St. John Neumann, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

There are days when each of us questions our place in “the grand scheme of things.” It usually happens when we feel that something we have tried seems to fail (although we should not be too hasty to judge!). Sometimes it’s just because we have been working too hard or not working enough but feel we are just “worn out” from trying. Sometimes (like today) there is no sunshine and it is very cold outside. What do you do on a day like that? There are always answers; it’s just a question of finding one…

Today is the feast of St. John Neumann, a bishop who lived only 49 years. Born in Bohemia, he wanted to become a priest but, I read today, “his local diocese had a surfeit of priests.” Instead of wringing his hands or finding something else to do, he traveled to America and was accepted in a seminary in New York. He was ordained in 1836 and worked among various immigrant populations because of his gift for languages. He became a naturalized citizen and eventually became the fourth bishop of Philadelphia. Among his accomplishments were the establishment of the first network of parochial schools in the country, the founding of a congregation of teaching Sisters, the construction of a cathedral, and the introduction of the still popular Forty Hours Devotion in American parishes. He died on January 5, 1860 and was canonized by Pope Paul VI in 1977.

Noting that his life was changed by his solution to a disappointment early on, we might not be as energetic or creative but we would do well to attend to his advice today as we wait for the sun to shine, knowing that whatever is ours to do or become, it is worth the effort. He said the following: Everyone who breathes…has a mission, has a work. We are not sent into this world for nothing; we are not born at random…God sees every one of us; God creates every soul…for a purpose. As Christ has His work, we too have ours; as He rejoiced to do His work, we must rejoice in ours also.”

Watch and Pray

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awakening, be watchful, consciousness, peaceful transition, prayer, resolution, solution, Taizé, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

I have been sitting for quite awhile this morning, trying not to try…to say anything of merit but just to wait. A song comes to me from Taize, a chant that simply says “Stay with me. Remain here with me. Watch and pray.” I hear it over and over in my head and then I realize it is my prayer for the day. As Americans we are not generally very good at waiting for things to happen. And truly, things are always happening. In the spring the energies of the earth “wake up” and bring us the beauty and renewed life of the land. That is much more pleasing than the moment we are in now when nature is resting and death is the order of the day – a stark reality in human terms this year.

We cannot avoid the reality that is ours now. Neither can we waste the moment that is upon us. We wait for resolution of our political situation. It looks like nothing will happen for at least the next two months…but that is not true. Much is happening in preparation for the inauguration of a new political team. Watch the news. It will happen and we can only hope it will happen peacefully. So pray for a peaceful transition.

We are watching incremental growth in the death toll every day. And still people refuse to do the simple things that will stem the tide of this horrific loss. We wait for a simple solution and a vaccine is coming but why wait? Wear a mask, keep your distance and wash your hands. Is that so difficult?

And pray for an awakening of consciousness. There are so many ways in which we are unconscious. We think it is the duty of others to fix things. I ask myself today what is my ability and my responsibility to my community, my nation and the world. What more can I do than watch and pray? Am I even consistent in those two activities? Is that enough?

Who’s Complaining?

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blame, complain, coping, coronavirus, solution, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

The first line of the first reading in today’s lectionary texts could have been written about us in our present predicament, i.e. Covid-19, the coronavirus. From the Hebrew Scriptures we read: With their patience worn out by the journey, the people complained against God and Moses. (NM 21:48)

When things aren’t going our way, especially if the distress continues for a long time, people usually begin to look around for someone to blame for the trouble. In the Bible passage today, the guilty party is clear. Moses is at fault; he brought them into the desert. He could complain also, however, since he was just doing what God directed.

We’ve now been in this situation for six months – throughout the spring and our summer vacations. Who is the culprit in our predicament? Some say nations in faraway lands. Some blame the president of the United States. Then there are the people who refuse to wear a mask, or those who want to party in large groups. There’s enough blame this time to go around. The big question, however, is not how the virus began and grew to pandemic strength, but rather how we are responding to the situation now at hand.

It’s tricky because ultimately we are fighting something that is invisible and we aren’t good at seeing what cannot be seen. We have to look deep inside ourselves for coping mechanisms that will help rather than harm. Pointing fingers is no remedy. We need to be about silencing complaint and be doing what we are instructed that will help to mitigate the disease until such time as a safe and effective vaccine is found and made available.

Pointing fingers and complaining never did solve anything. It just escalates the problem. It has been said that those who are not part of the solution are usually part of the problem. It’s time to stop complaining and find out how we can help. It may include some uncomfortable or inconvenient practices but it surely beats wandering in the desert for 40 years!

And Again…

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caretakers, creation, environment, foraging, Genesis, save the planet, solution, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

As I read the second half of the first chapter of Genesis this morning about the creation of all the sea creatures, the birds, the “creeping things” and wild animals, I saw in my mind’s eye the vivid red of cardinals and woodpeckers on our deck vying with the squirrels for the “breakfast” seed before it disappeared under the snow that had just begun to fall. Next I was reminded of the polar bears cited on yesterday’s news, sad that a state of emergency was declared as at least 52 of them were spotted in residential areas on a remote archipelago in the Arctic Ocean north of Russia. It seems that rising global temperatures have contributed to a reduction in the size of polar bears’ sea-ice habitats, forcing them onto land for longer periods of time. (Time.com) There are pictures of these beautiful creatures foraging in garbage dumps for food, a sad commentary on the lack of care and concern that science tells us is the result of human disregard of warnings about the environment.

As I wrote that last, I was jolted into recognition that humans have also been reduced to the same kind of foraging for food – and livelihood – as they actually live on the edges of garbage dumps (see La Chureca in Managua, Nicaragua).

How does all this square with the conclusion that God looked at everything he had made, and found it very good? How have we lived our responsibility as caretakers of creation? Is it too late to “save the planet?” Perhaps on this day when many of us are housebound because of extreme weather conditions, we might take some time to consider the best way to participate in a solution to what has become a major crisis in our day. May our efforts be blessed!

Hot!

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asylum, cool, heartache, hot, Peace, protest, solution, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, tragedy

Today across our country temperatures will reach extremely high levels. It will be dangerous to be out under the blazing sun. Within the hours from 8:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. we will see a rise from 68 to 84 (F) degrees.

During those same hours, thousands of people across the country will gather to protest the government’s treatment of immigrant families- especially children who have come to our southern border seeking asylum, albeit illegally. “Temperatures” are sure to rise in those gatherings as well.

For those of us who are not able or choose not to join the crowds, I can only hope that cool heads prevail and no further heartache is released within our borders. Ours will be the responsibility of praying for peace and a swift, comprehensive solution to this tragedy.

May peace reign in our hearts since as one nation we are called to that peace!

It’s Just That Simple

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assumptions, cure, Kings, lesson, Naaman, simpler, solution, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

There’s a great lesson in today’s first reading (2 KGS 5:1-15) about Naaman, the Syrian army commander who was “highly esteemed and respected” by his master, the king of Aram. At issue was the fact that Naaman was a leper and that his wife’s Israeli slave girl suggested that he could be cured by Elisha, the prophet in Samaria. The king of Aram was all for the idea and sent Naaman with all sorts of expensive gifts to the king of Israel with a letter containing the request that Naaman be cured.

Two assumptions were made in the story that could have derailed the process.

1. The king of Israel assumed that the king of Aram was asking him (not the prophet Elisha) for the actual cure and that his motive was to instigate a “quarrel” (ostensibly a political challenge) so he became enraged.
2. When told what he had to do to be cured (to wash seven times in the Jordan River), Naaman became enraged because he assumed that the task was too simple and that the water in his own country should have been just as healing as that in Israel.

Thank goodness for the servants and the prophet who talked sense to the angry ones and facilitated the cure, the lesson being a familiar one: “Never assume…or jump to conclusions because the solution might be simpler than you could ever imagine.

 

 

 

 

 

The Great Divide

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attitude, closed, compromise, criticism, furloughed, government shutdown, hopelessness, lifting up, negativity, non-essential, sadness, solution, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

Our federal government is in shutdown mode today. It’s difficult to comprehend what a sweeping statement that is. It does not mean that just the senators and representatives are not working. It isn’t like a holiday when the banks and post offices are closed. All “non-essential” federal employees are “furloughed” and won’t be paid until the situation changes. This affects entities like the military, the Centers for Disease Control, security at airports…just to name a few. Not being paid until the situation changes is as much a psychological issue for some as it is the physical lack of a paycheck. As I read what is termed “non-essential” I feel a sense of sadness and the hopelessness that comes of the inability in any relationship to reach a compromise. It’s difficult enough for two people who don’t agree on something and cannot seem to find a way through the impasse, let alone 100 senators and 435 representatives! At this moment in our history, this “shutdown” is emblematic of the divide in beliefs and the inability or unwillingness of people to listen deeply so as to hear and find ways to solutions.

What do we do now? Call me crazy but I think “solution” starts with attitude and the willingness to give up criticism as a way of social interaction. What is the content of our everyday speech? Do we find ways of lifting people up rather than finding their faults or just ignoring them altogether? Negativity is insidious and rampant now. Perhaps our efforts to turn things around will have farther reaching effects than we realize. And why not start by praying for our senators and representatives…and even the President…for a swift and amicable compromise?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Where Is Your Heart?

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law, love, love your neighbor as yourself, my voice, practice, Romans, shouting from the rooftops, solution, St. Paul, Texas shootings, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, theory, victims, violence

Our first real frost today has its effect on arthritic limbs even for those of us who feel it only in tiny places (one finger perhaps). It seems an appropriate metaphor for our  state of heart after seeing the 26 faces of those killed in church on Sunday in a small town in Texas, victims from 17 months to 77 years old. “Frozen with shock,” disbelief and overwhelming sadness at this latest outrageous act, I read again today from Paul’s letter to the Romans. Whatever other commandments there may be are summed up, Paul says, in this saying, namely, You shall love your neighbor as yourself. Love does no evil to the neighbor; hence, love is the fulfillment of the law. (ROM 13:10)

This is a time when “shouting from the rooftops” to get the attention of the masses seems the only recourse. Theory must move to practice in the face of such tragedy that seems to be escalating too rapidly to ignore any longer. What am I called to do to add my voice to a solution? It is not enough now to lament the violence. What is possible right now to me? To you? To us, in fulfillment of the law?

 

 

 

 

 

Post- Pentecost Musings

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Corinthians, different gifts, Holy Spirit, James, Paul, Pentecost, same spirit, solution, Spirit of God, spiritual practice, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

Although very conscious of the vigil and feast of Pentecost for the past few days, I was unable to comment on my thoughts in a blog post. On Saturday while driving to Massachusetts for a family wedding on my favorite highway – splendid in the environmental beauty and never crowded with other travelers – I was suddenly aware of the resolution of an issue that had been noodling around in my heart for a week. It wasn’t as if I resolved it myself but, clearly, it had become a peaceful solution inside me. The Spirit of God was working, surely, for my benefit. Conversations at the wedding and in the evaluative sessions that followed in the aftermath (some would say “afterglow”) convinced me of the blessing of our extended family, no matter distance, diversity or individual character traits. We are bound by our DNA, our history and the lovely young people who are carrying us on to the future. Love was flowing everywhere. The foundation of connection that was passed down to us by our parents remains with “the cousins” and has been well-received by the now two generations that follow. Regardless of the varieties of belief or spiritual practice in this new time, Paul’s words from this morning were manifest in our family and in our conversations yesterday. “There are different gifts,” he says, “but the same spirit…To each individual the manifestation of the Spirit is given for some benefit.” (1COR 12) We are, I think, a microcosm of Paul’s vision of the macrocosm.

As it was yesterday, the wind is blowing wildly this morning, moving me back to my “regular life.” As I think about the group – 11 of us – that will join this afternoon to deepen spiritual practice together, I am reminded of those who huddled long ago in that upper room waiting for the Spirit that came in that “mighty wind” and hope that we might touch into such a power in our midst. I will take the words of James with me. In his letter he says, “Who among you is wise and understanding? Let him show his works by a good life in the humility that comes from wisdom.” (JAS 3:3-18).

The Church calendar says that we have re-entered Ordinary Time but I am convinced that, with God’s Spirit, our Advocate, as our guide, this time of spring into summer will be anything but ordinary!