Searching for the Truth

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John, love, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, truth, truth will set us free

I was just reading an article from the news about the absolute blockage in the Senate. I feel it’s my duty to keep up at least a little with the governance in my country. Today it is as if there is absolutely no “give” as the 50/50 split seems impossible to overcome. Then I look down at today’s readings and see that John’s gospel sets a very high standard for decision-making. Jesus says, “if you remain in my word, you will truly be my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

How does a person find “the truth” today? Life is so complicated and there are so many voices giving so many messages. What about this one: “Love and do what you will.” That certainly presupposes good faith on all sides. But can we trust that everyone is acting out of that kind of mindset? How do you decide? So many questions…Where does your answer lie?

What to Say…?

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Martin Luther King Jr., possible, Sr. Thea Bowman, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, truth, with God everything is possible

On Sunday – the day before yesterday – I wanted very much to write something of value about Thea Bowman, but I failed. The night before I had participated in a zoom call prayer service honoring her memory and in preparation for Martin Luther King Day, a time for parades and the singing of such songs as “We shall overcome…someday.” I watched a video of Sister Thea’s address to the Conference of Catholic Bishops who were appropriately edified by the truth she spoke months before her death in 1989. I watched Doctor King’s address the day before he died when he assured the world that he had “been to the mountain” and was not afraid of what might happen to him as he continued to tell the truth of what was needed for the defeat of racism. I watched the news in disbelief and saw again and again the angry mob – different moments but the same hatred – breaching the Capitol building walls in Washington, D.C. on January 6th, feeling helpless and wondering how we could have sunk to such a state of chaos.

I could find nothing to write on either day as I considered the danger facing President-elect Biden and what should be deep joy for Kamala Harris as the first woman Vice-President. It seems that we are placing all of our hopes for “fixing” the country on them. Perhaps by tomorrow I will again find a hope without the fear for them and stand – on shaky legs but at least standing – to attend the Inauguration of those two honorable people.

I was drinking my coffee as I wrote the above and, because I think anything can speak, I noticed that I put my coffee mug on the small journal already sitting on my side table, so I picked it (the mug) up again to reveal the message on the flower-strewn cover. It says, “With God all things are possible.” I rest my case and offer my prayer to join with yours for our country and the world on this day and tomorrow.

Do I Measure Up?

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Friends of God, give, Lynn Bauman, promise, psalm 15, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, truth

Lynn Bauman, in his translation of the Psalms, characterizes Psalm 15, the psalm for today, as “Friends of God.” Who wouldn’t want to be in this circle? Here are some of the criteria listed in response to the initial questions to God about: Who may approach the summit of your mountain strong? Who may come invited to your presence there? Listen to a few of the requisite behaviors:

1. Those who live their lives devoid of blame, who do what is right, and from whose hearts truth is the only word;

2. Those who treat their neighbors as their own, their kind;

3. Those whose promise is as good as any word they ever give, even in the face of loss or gain;

4. Those who give and give and ever give again without hope of getting in return…

I think I have some climbing to do before reaching the summit of that holy mountain but the good news, as I see it, is that God is standing up there, maybe with a megaphone (depending upon the distance between us) cheering us on with lots of enthusiasm…so we’ll all get there…together!

Wisdom of the Elders

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community, kindness, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, truth, wisdom

Yesterday I received an email message from a friend who suggested I share a favorite text here as it seems more meaningful now than ever. I agreed with her. When I read it again this morning, I decided to send it in two parts in order not to miss the significance of any of it. Thus, what you will find below are some challenging questions and thoughts to keep you reflecting until tomorrow.

A Message from the Hopi Elders, (1)

You have been telling the people that this is the Eleventh Hour. Now you must go back and tell the people that this is The Hour. Here are the things that must be considered: Where are you living? What are you doing? What are your relationships? Are you in right relation?

Where is your water? Know your garden. It is time to speak your Truth. Create your community. Be good to each other. And do not look outside yourself for the leader. This could be a good time…

As you think on these words, perhaps it will be useful to write down your thoughts so you remember then what today brought to you…

Pay Attention!

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attention, discernment, Isaiah, law of the Lord, meditate, psalm 1, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, truth, wisdom

Today it seems that we are once more being called to attend to messages that offer us clear directives for good living in a succinct and understandable way. I use the plural “messages” but in the end I see all three readings as constitutive of an overarching theme.

Isaiah (48: 17-19) proclaims God’s willingness to teach us what is for our good if we would hearken to God’s commandments. (The rewards are all nature images – beautiful and worth your time to read.) Next, Psalm 1 tells us that if we meditate on and delight in the law of the Lord, we will prosper (again – interestingly – with nature images).

What this says to me is that we’re called to a consistent and steadfast attention to discernment of what is for our good and what is not, if we are to learn wisdom. It doesn’t help to observe the practices of others and thereby judge them. Truth is the measure of what we learn in the silence of our hearts. After the advice of Isaiah and the psalmist, we hear Jesus speak in rather stark language about this. Listen to what he says.

“To what shall I compare this generation? It’s like children who sit in marketplaces and call to one another, ‘We played for you but you did not dance, we sang a dirge but you did not mourn.’ For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they said, ‘He is possessed by a demon.’ The Son of Man came eating and drinking and they said, ‘Look, he is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners.’ But wisdom is vindicated by her works.”

What do you make of all this?

Hard Questions

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love, Peace, power, self-control, speaking truth to power, St. Paul, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, Timothy, truth

Again today, just one line from St. Paul. In his second letter to Timothy, Paul said the following: For God did not give us a spirit of cowardice but rather of power and love and self-control. (2 TIM 1:7) We would do well to reflect on these qualities in these difficult days when darkness seems to toy with the waning light of day, when violence seems to compromise peace in the world and when leadership in our institutions sometimes seems to fail instead of leading us. Where in ourselves can we find the strength to speak truth to power, to stay the course of peace in times of conflict? And how will we be the love of God to all we meet, regardless of return or reward?

Inner Peace

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inner peace, Jesus, peace of heart, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, truth

Surely my most important insight today (amazing at 6:33AM) will be something that I have known for a long time but now makes more sense and came from a familiar verse from John’s gospel this morning. Jesus is getting ready for his final “goodbye” to his friends and leaves them with this message: Peace I leave with you, my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give it to you. Do not let your hearts be troubled or afraid.

What is clearer than ever for me this morning is that Jesus is talking about inner peace – peace of heart, we would call it, so that no matter what’s going on outside of us, the inside can remain hopeful and loving and kind because God remains steadfast in us. Disturbing events in the world around us are real but cannot shake our knowing of that truth.

I feel as if I have taken a further step into the deep waters of truth that will allow me more peace in the everyday recognition of troubling events. If I can remember to live from my heart where peace abides in God, I can face external events with equanimity. Perhaps it sounds strange to say that this is a new knowing for me. I certainly should be familiar with this teaching by now in my life, shouldn’t I? Well, of course! I have known those words of Jesus for decades but the world has become more complex, more challenging so I needed wider eyes and clearer recognition of the great gift of inner peace where we can meet each other and become that peace. Are you there as well?

Nothing Left…but Everything

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Christ is risen, clearer, hope, hope for the resurrection, Mary Magdalene, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, transformation, trust, truth, waiting

Last night I went to bed worrying that the torrents of rain would surely mean our rivers overflowing their banks by morning. I went to sleep – surprisingly – to a roll of thunder (did I dream that?) and the cacophony of wind and water against glass and roof shingles. I thought the uneasiness would keep me awake, watchful – maybe like Mary Magdalene at the tomb of Jesus. But no, I could not claim that kind of fidelity. I went to sleep.

This morning is a bit of a surprise. I have not solicited information about water damage in our village or beyond but the rainstorm has worn itself out, having cleansed everything sooner than expected. One could say that all earth’s tears have been shed and now we have only to wait in hope for resurrection. I am sitting in the same stillness as the tree across the yard, waiting…feeling spent and not ready to move forward with the day. Jesus remains in the tomb.

What will it take for me to recognize the transformation that is resurrection? Can it be done in me by nightfall? What will I know tomorrow (“the great feast of Easter”) that will be testament to this process of Holy Week? Will I be clearer of purpose? More dedicated to mission? A slight breeze ripples through my bedroom curtain and is mirrored by the tree outside. Can I take that as a sign, a conviction that tonight’s ritual will let me know that Christ is risen once again in my heart and in the world?

I recognize that now it is up to me to answer my own questions, to be the catalyst of my own truth and trust. Each of us must know that and come to stand ready for what is to come in the light of Christ’s return.

Living In Love

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believe, Corinthians, endure, hope, kind, love, patient, St. Paul, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, truth

After arriving home about mid-day on Thursday, I was off again the next evening to conduct a 24-hour retreat. Some would call that very poor scheduling but, as it turned out, it was a lovely way to re-enter from the “time-out-of-time” that was Peru. The topic, Living In Love, could have been easily predicted; it is February after all when all the Valentine candy and flowers can hardly be avoided.

We covered a lot of ground and pondered weighty questions in our time together. We watched the roaring fire that kept the frigid air from overtaking our reflections. We talked about food on our breaks (everyone but me an aficionado of organic prep!) and had done the bedroom laundry by mid-afternoon, re-making the beds with as easy a rhythm as on a Saturday at home. Our day was punctuated with readings from Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians, chapters 12 & 13, and I smiled just now to find his words echoing again in today’s lectionary.

It occurs to me that our little band of seekers yesterday was a model of what Paul saw as a way to practice love and grow in love in simple yet essential ways. Here is the crux of the lesson that we took home. You will, of course, recognize it. But read it slowly, perhaps aloud, letting it seep into you and, maybe for the umpteenth time, find a home.

Love is patient, love is kind. It is not jealous, it is not pompous, it is not inflated, it is not rude. It does not seek its own interests, it is not quick-tempered. It does not brood over injury, it does not rejoice over wrong-doing but rejoices with the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails. (1COR 13)

Love Is (Still and Always) the Answer

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heart, love, love God, love your neighbor as yourself, Mark, mind, Moses, neighbor, soul, strength, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, truth

From the mouth of Moses to the gospel of Mark the Scriptures repeat the same message about how we are to live. We hear it today, not in a long diatribe but rather a brief directive about love. When asked what is the first and greatest commandment, we can all likely reply – at least with the short form of “Love God and love your neighbor as yourself.” The deep impact of what that effort calls out from us, however, is in the almost staccato list of capacities that follows. We are to love God with all our heart, with all our soul, with all our mind and with all our strength. In other words: Give it all you’ve got!

What occurred to me as I typed those last two sentences was that if we are to give ourselves so completely in loving God, what can be left for our neighbor whom we are supposed to love as ourselves? But that, it seems, is the mystery, the wonderful truth of this life of loving. In the love of God, everything gets transformed so that there is always enough love to go around – for ourselves and the neighbors everywhere who have become our other selves. Love begets love wherever it is found. That’s just the way it is. And it’s up to us to prove it.