Just One Question

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Spirit of God, St. Paul, temple, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, within

St. Paul is generally very direct in his preaching and never more than in his words to the people of Corinth. If I were in his audience today I can’t imagine sleeping through what must have been a shocking question (likely delivered with vehemence) that would make anyone sit up straight and take notice. Think about it.

Do you not know that you are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? (1COR 3:16)

 

 

 

 

 

 

A Dwelling Place

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Ancient Songs Sung Anew, dwelling place, God, Holy One, invitation, meditate, Peter, prayer, psalm, temple, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

The first lectionary text this morning (1PT 1:10-16) ended with a call to be holy with the simple statement “Be holy for I, the Lord, am holy.” Succinctly put, right? Then, in a commentary on today’s psalm I read a paragraph that seemed to follow and enhance the message of Peter, drawing us into a possible way of entering more deeply into relationship with this “Holy One.” See what you think.

Perhaps one of the things that we learn…is that human beings need to offer an invitation to God and interior space for God to be. Have you ever sensed that you could offer a place inside of your being as a dwelling place for the divine, or that your whole being could be God’s “temple” as it is often put in the tradition?…In a time of prayer, meditate upon this possibility and what it means for you. (Ancient Songs Sung Anew, p.248)

 

 

 

 

 

 

A Timely Reminder

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A Deep Breath of Life, Alan Cohen, build, building trust, future, harmony, kingdom of heaven, love, nurture, spiritual life, Tagore, temple, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, truth

Since our Sophia Center Advisory Board meeting on Tuesday, I have been drawn back several times to thoughts of our future and about the best ways to help people engage in consideration of their spiritual lives. It seems less important these days to dream of large events with nationally known speakers – my fondest hope at our inception. What we have experienced as more useful is the value of deep conversation and building trust in the small groups that find meaning in the exchange of ideas. (Not that I’ve given up hope of major events, of course…) We will continue to seek input for programs and events, of course, and welcome any suggestions.

I was encouraged by the advice of Alan Cohen this morning (A Deep Breath of Life) who expanded on an adage of Tagore: While God waits for His temple to be built of love, men bring stones. Cohen offers the following thoughts.

What is it that you must build? Because we are spiritual beings, we must nurture our thoughts and attitudes above all else. If we think in harmony with truth, the outer forms will take care of themselves. “Seek ye first the kingdom of heaven, and all else shall be added unto you.”

So on we go…

 

 

 

 

 

The Work Place of Love

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centering prayers, love, Matthew, seven sacred pauses, spirit, temple, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

Yesterday I spent five hours with 19 delightful people in Cazenovia, New York, exploring the practice of Centering Prayer. I knew from the responses to my introductory question about prayer practices that the day would be a blessing. Everyone spoke in some way of being in God’s presence as foundational to their prayer lives in addition to praying those traditional prayers that had grounded them since childhood. From the lighthearted teasing of Jim, our only male participant, to the delicious desserts lovingly created by Kelli, our host, which punctuated the information sharing, the insightful questions and the deep silence of the three periods of prayer, it was no wonder there was such a feeling of love in the room! I was reminded of all that by a passage I read this morning from Macrina Wiederkehr’s book, Seven Sacred Pauses which said:

Your work is for the benefit of the whole world. When your spirit mingles with Spirit, you are transformed into a temple of God. Go deep into your temple. This is your real work place. Dwell there in silence that you may absorb the wonderful gifts of inspiration that wait for you in the darkness of your unknowing. In your contacts with people each day, you will be blessed if you remember that your work is your love poured out.

Together we spent the day, deep in the love of God and one another, making real the  love of God and love of neighbor which Jesus defines in the gospel today (MT 22:34-40) as the greatest commandment on which the whole law depends. May all of our “work” today be such a gift and blessing to all we encounter.

Assessments

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assessment, career, Jesus, lawyer, Matthew, temple, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, truth

One of my daily practices is reading the obituaries in our local paper. This morning I found one about a man whose children I taught in high school in the 1970s. He was a small, seemingly nervous but very polite man, and was always happy to greet me over the years when I encountered him at his parish church where he was frequently involved in the liturgy. I held a great fondness for him and took him for a shopkeeper or a tradesman of some kind – one who would have treated every customer with kindness and generosity. I was surprised to learn from his obituary that he was a patent attorney, a rather distinguished one at that, whose demeanor did not fit my image of someone in that career for some reason. The issue was not one of intelligence or competency, but just the personality traits that are necessary for a lawyer’s life.

This morning’s gospel (MT 13: 54-58) has Jesus being scrutinized by the people from his “native place’ who were astonished at his wisdom as he taught in the synagogue. Their comments were quite derogatory (not just surprised as are mine). “Where did this man get such wisdom and mighty deeds?” they asked. “Is he not the carpenter’s son?…Are not his sisters all with us? Where did he get all this?” And they took offense at him.

These two examples set me to thinking how easily we assign people to boxes without really knowing them at all. My assessment was a positive one but totally off the mark. I don’t think it made any difference in the way I treated Mr. B, but I can’t be sure since, with a sister who had a successful career as a lawyer, I am in some ways pro-prejudiced (although not always) toward people in that profession. In the case of Jesus, the people in his hometown took Jesus for an arrogant man, going above his station to preach to them. They were quite put out with him so they couldn’t get the benefit of what he was saying. So once more we have a lesson in not judging at face value but rather digging deeper for the truth that lies at the heart of people and things.