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Tag Archives: strangers

No Longer Strangers

21 Sunday Apr 2019

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Alleluia, Bill Redfield, chanting, common experience, Easter, morning prayer, movement prayer, presence, silence, strangers, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, virtual retreat

“Today is a day for a new hymn!”

That’s a line from a long ago poem that I read somewhere and liked the sentiment enough to pen my own feeble attempt at poetry as response. A lot of life has passed since then. I have changed, of course, as there is no life without that reality, but the quote seems apt for this Easter morning. One could say that it might fit each day if we were paying attention.

The run-up to the Easter feast has been more than just a calendar notation this year, to be sure. I was more or less able to be present to a “virtual retreat” all week, a genius idea and amazingly successful creation of my friend and colleague, Bill Redfield. There were morning prayer services each day that included silence, chanting, movement prayer to stirring music and short readings, in addition to a reflective session for the evening. There was a “conference” for the day with probing questions as well. All of this had been recorded ahead of time and added to the whole each day on the internet, enabling participants to come to prayer as their schedule allowed, knowing that there were others around the country and the world who were adding to the communal consciousness. It was a different, quite effective way of participation.

The most amazing part of this experience, however, came at 4:00 EDT every afternoon when as many of us as were able clicked onto a ZOOM call where Bill introduced a topic and then sent us to a virtual “breakout room” to share with one or two other participants. The common experience was instant comfort and generally deep sharing with people who will never again be strangers to us. In 15-20 minutes each time we touched into deep topics and feelings about the Holy Week and Easter experience from a Wisdom perspective. There were only 30 to 50 people each day – of the many more participants – whose schedules allowed this miracle, but the sharing was extraordinary and seemed to shout that each of the days was a time for “a new hymn.” The technology is there and as a person who sits on the fringe of the technological age it was a glorious turn-around that I fully embraced.

Last night I worshiped in a church where I sat in the midst of over 100 people I could not name and a few cherished friends but the experience of my retreat created in me the recognition that in that prayer together there were no strangers because of the enthusiasm of our corporate prayer. We were all there for the same purpose and offered our energy and our voices to the conviction that Jesus had risen not only 2000 years ago in a place far away but also in Endicott, NY in our very present experience. If we stay awake, we might just continue to live into that presence each day with our sisters and brothers near and far.

So I shout “Alleluia!” to a world brought closer kinder this Easter Day. Blessings to all!

On the Road Again

26 Wednesday Sep 2018

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hospitality, Jesus, journey, kindness, Luke, strangers, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, welfare, Word of God

Stanford professor Michel Serres hikes the Dish on a regular basis.Sometimes I wonder what it would be like to go back in time and live in a simpler world with fewer people, a world where Jesus could say to his chosen Twelve: “Take nothing for the journey, neither walking stick, nor sack, nor food, nor money, and let no one take a second tunic.” (One would probably want the power and authority Jesus gave to them over demons and to cure diseases, however, to keep them safe along the way as they preached the word of God.) (LK 9:1-6) When I left home yesterday to come to a meeting 135 miles away, I made sure I had my driver’s license, money, credit card in case of emergency, cell phone, and the food that one of the sisters had bought me at the grocery store for my lunch. Oh, yes, and the car that would get me here in about two and a half hours! Times have certainly changed! The world turns faster, the culture much more complicated – virtually nothing is the same!

I wonder, though, about the kindness of strangers. When Jesus was giving instructions to the apostles that day he obviously wasn’t worried about their welfare. “Whatever house you enter,” he said, “stay there and leave from there.” There was a caveat about what to do if they were not welcomed in a place, but basically they could trust traveling like that.

We certainly can’t wish ourselves back to that simpler time (which also included violence on the road and robbers, etc…) but it’s a good opportunity to think about how we treat strangers. Do we trust them only if they look like us? Do we judge them by appearance before we even hear them speak? And what if they don’t speak our language? Hospitality and welcome seem sometimes to have been replaced by mistrust and ignorance. Just a smile would go a long way to making someone comfortable.

I’ll remember that today on my trip home…

 

 

 

 

 

 

Golden Moments

24 Friday Mar 2017

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Alan Cohen, blessing, daily interactions, Golden Moments, heart of God, hello, Jubilee, love, power, strangers, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, tone, triumps

ahelloStill basking in the glow of last weekend’s beautiful golden jubilee celebration that I experienced with so many kind words and gestures, I was immediately interested in Alan Cohen’s daily reflection for this date because the title was actually “Golden Moments.” After a personal anecdote, he continued with what is surely a worthy way to look at life. (I especially like his concluding sentence.) See if you agree.

It is not through world-shaking triumphs that we build our life, but in the common daily interactions. The tone of our voice can win or lose a business deal, and a thoughtful hello can change a stranger’s attitude. We never really know how far a little blessing will go. Go beyond the norm of expected kindness by even a little bit, and you will become a miracle-worker.

Never underestimate the power of a kind word or act. Even if your gift does not seem to be received, your heart will soar. Love is always received in the heart of God, where we all live.

From Thought to Action

15 Saturday Nov 2014

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awareness, centering prayer, consciousness, don't give up, fidelity, Jesus, John, Luke, rosary, spiritual practice, strangers, Thanksgiving

rosaryEach of the two Scripture readings begins this morning with a thought worthy of a day’s reflection. One speaks of action while the other calls us to consciousness in spiritual practice. In the first (3 JN 5), John is complementary to his readers, saying: “Beloved, you are faithful in all you do for the brothers and sisters, especially for strangers.” My question to myself is: How often do I consider fidelity to strangers in the same way as I do to my brother, sister and sister-in-law? Admittedly, John could be calling “brothers and sisters” all members of the Christian community gathered to listen to him. Nevertheless, the inference is clearly a call to take more notice of strangers than is my common practice.

In the gospel, Jesus is giving a lesson “about the necessity for them to pray always without becoming weary.” (LK 18:1) He’s talking about the widow who keeps bothering a judge for a just decision. He finally gives in because of her persistence. It’s not the parable that attracted me this morning but the necessity of not giving up when we don’t feel like stoking the fires of our spiritual lives. Keeping the habit of prayer can stand us in good stead when things are weighing us down. I was talking two days ago with someone who has recently taken up again the practice of saying the rosary after a long absence. Just holding his father’s rosary is comfort and the consistency of the prayer, the repetition, brings him a peace that buoys him up when little else seems to help. For me, centering prayer is the daily anchor that holds me steady.

Putting these two thoughts together gives me a practice of awareness – one leading to the other: praying for the strangers in my midst and then “noticing” them in whatever way I am called – from smiling as we pass to committing to some work for justice. What a good lead-up to Thanksgiving!

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