Good Pope John

Tags

Gospel, Pope John XXIII, Saint John XXIII, Second Vatican Council, serve, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, understand

Today we honor the life of the one remembered as “Good” Pope John, now called “Saint John XXIII.” Pope Francis made official in April of 2014 what Christians (and others) around the world knew for decades. Most vivid in my memory were the videos of the day in October of 1963 when the Second Vatican Council was inaugurated. Carried in procession in the midst of throngs of Catholics and others from the worldwide gathering, Pope John oozed humility and love. His head slightly bowed as he waved to those gathered, tears were in his eyes at the momentous beginning of what was to be a Council that rocked the world and changed the trajectory of the Roman Catholic Church for good.

Less than a year from that day, John XXIII died, leaving a final message of hope, not only for his beloved Church, but for the entire world. We would do well to reflect on it today and re-energize our efforts toward his vision.

Now more than ever, he said, certainly more than in past centuries, our intention is to serve people as such and not only Catholics.; to defend above all and everywhere the rights of the human person…It is not the Gospel that changes; it is we who begin to understand it better...The moment has arrived when we must recognize the signs of the times, seize the opportunity and look abroad. (June 3, 1963)

One More Wake-up Call

Tags

creation, defense, Genesis, hear, Herod, Jesus, Mark Divine, Noah, Pharisees, see, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, understand, voice

The lectionary readings for today are a little scary. In the first (from Genesis 6&7) God is lamenting that he created humans at all because of how wicked they have become. The only solution, God thinks, is destruction of all humans. animals and birds. “For I am sorry that I made them,” God says. Thank heaven that Noah showed up as the one shining creation, enough to save the world because “he did what God commanded him.”

In the gospel the disciples misinterpret a warning from Jesus to watch out for the leaven of Herod and the Pharisees. Because he used the word “leaven” to describe their wickedness, the disciples thought that Jesus was upset because they had forgotten to bring enough bread for all of them to eat. (MK 8:14-21) When Jesus realized their conclusion, he reacted with what sounds like uncharacteristic vehemence and frustration in a torrent of questions: Do you not yet understand or comprehend? Are your hearts hardened? Do you have eyes and not see, ears and not hear? Do you still not understand?

Most of the time I do not consider God to depend on our strength or weakness, wickedness or upright behavior, perceptiveness or lack of understanding. I consider God (and Jesus while he lived among us) to be all knowing and loving, forgiving us everything. These readings have not changed my opinion but they do seem to have the effect this morning of making me want us to do better. It isn’t enough today for me to wring my hands at the political climate in our country and the world. And how many more “active shooters” will it take before I add my voice – not just in my home but to my Congressional representatives – about gun control? What is the purpose of reading these texts every morning if I simply put them aside and go on with my day? I don’t think it’s just up to me to save the world but if I’m not willing to make a little noise in God’s defense, how can I expect anything to change?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Coin Toss

Tags

opposing views, perspective, snowstorm, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, two sides, understand

We’re bracing for a storm here in the Northeast. It’s no surprise. In addition to the reports coming in from all across the country to our west, the traditionalists just say, “We always have one doozy of a storm in March – usually in the middle – before the surrender to spring.” I learned early in my life that “March comes in like a lion and goes out like a lamb.” It’s predicted that we will have 8 to 15 inches of snow, more than my town has had this whole winter season!

For me, as for school-age children, this prediction is like the promise of vacation even if just for a day. For some people who are “first responders” or health care workers or others whose work makes it necessary for them to be at their jobs, tomorrow might be dangerous and for homeless people, even more so. This thought reminds me that there are usually two sides to everything: coins, arguments, even world views – although that last is always much more complicated than the flip of a coin.

Today I will make it my practice to look for the other side of every argument, just to broaden my perspective on things. It will be difficult as I approach the big issues: immigration and gun control, for example. For those I will try at least to recognize the reasons others hold opposing views from mine. If all else fails, I will pray to understand the people holding those views. On second thought, maybe that’s the place to start in efforts at understanding rather than a place to end up. Wish me luck – or join me, if you dare!

 

 

 

 

 

One More Time, Please!

Tags

compassionate, deep message, Jesus, language, Mark, misunderstanding, teacher, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, understand

Sometimes it doesn’t pay to be a concrete thinker. Simile, metaphor, analogy and other figures of speech can trip you up if you think people are talking on one level and they are really somewhere else. When Jesus spoke this morning about “the leaven of the Pharisees and Herod” (Mk 8:14-21), the disciples were worried because they only had one loaf of bread with them in their boat. Not exactly his point. The flurry of questions that followed (seven in all) reveal how frustrated Jesus became with their misunderstanding.

I have sympathy for everyone in this scene. Jesus was unlike anyone the people had ever known. They were simple (not to say stupid) people who were drawn to the light emanating from the person of Jesus but his language spoke a deeper message than even their rabbis offered! It wasn’t their fault! But it must’ve been very hard for Jesus as well, to speak their language when he was trying to make them understand by using examples from their lives – farming, fishing, baking, etc.

There are so many moments in my life now when I can stop in the midst of a frustrating situation and hear Jesus saying, “Do you still not understand?” You would think I would have learned certain patterns by now, certain behaviors that work (or don’t) in certain situations…but I still catch myself wondering how I could be so dense! I guess the progress can be seen in the fact that I actually do catch myself and see the lesson on occasion! It’s those moments that hold the possibility of self-forgiveness and gratitude for so compassionate a teacher as Jesus who will keep on teaching regardless of how many times he needs to explain!

 

 

 

 

 

Breathing Lessons

Tags

breath, breathe, compassion, Jesus, Mark, metaphor, parables, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, understand

Jesus is out and about again this morning preaching in parables – this time Mark’s version of the sower and the seed (MK 4:1-20). I wonder if it was a whole crowd of blank looks staring back at him and then later the questions from “the Twelve” that frustrated him enough to have him ask, “Do you not understand this parable? Then how will you understand any of the parables?”

It all must have been so clear to Jesus and he probably thought that the agricultural metaphor he was using would be easily understood. Aren’t we like that sometimes? We use examples from our experience that we think are self-explanatory, expecting that our hearers will understand what we’re talking about but we might as well be speaking a foreign language if their experience is different from ours. I find it comforting to think that even the disciples were mystified by the parables. Even more am I happy to see the compassion of Jesus this morning who didn’t walk away saying something like, “Oh, never mind! What was I thinking using a figure of speech that I thought would make it easier for you! Why do I even try?” Rather, I’ll wager he took a deep breath to fill his lungs with compassion and then explained the whole scenario to them.

I will try to remember this lesson, forgiving myself for frustration when I am not understood and trying to find the right words when trying to help others understand me, reminding myself always to “just breathe!”

 

 

 

 

 

Keep Searching!

Tags

Christian, faith, ignite, Jesus, know, Luke, St. Luke, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, understand, Wisdom Schools

Today is the feast of St. Luke, known to be the writer not only of the third Gospel but also of the Acts of the Apostles, the story of the early days and spread of Christianity. There is a line in the commentary from Franciscan Media that caused me to pause and think about this man whose version of the “Good News” has been variously subtitled the gospel: of mercy, of universal salvation, of the poor, of absolute renunciation, of prayer and the Holy Spirit, and of joy. The commentary said that as a companion to Paul, Luke traveled to many places and consequently had time to seek information and interview persons who had known Jesus.

I have an image of Luke walking around Philippi, Jerusalem or Caesarea listening intently for the name of Jesus and when he heard it – maybe in a tavern or outside the synagogue or even on the street – walking up to people, getting right up close and urgently questioning them for what Jesus was like, what he talked about, how they came to know him…asking anything that would feed his hunger for the spark that led that speaker to follow Jesus, so that he might really come to know him as well.

It’s a bit like people in our day, even us perhaps. Even if we were “born into” a Christian community it isn’t enough to just count on documents that give us information about what it means to be Christian (or whatever faith tradition we are raised in). We need to seek out people and experiences that lead us to the deeper streams of our faith, the mysteries that can’t be explained or taught but rather caught in order to ignite a longing for more, a determination to understand “by heart” what has been told to us, so that the words we read and hear will sing and ring with a truth that sustains us. Who are those people for you? What experiences have fed you in the past? Can you find something new or rewarding to enliven faith?

In wisdom schools we sometimes sing a chant that is based on the gospel parable of The Pearl of Great Price. The words have been floating through my consciousness as I write these thoughts today. Those words are: To find the pearl beyond compare, Oh, dig right here, within your soul. Perhaps a silent trip to our inner self is just what we need today to get a glimpse of that precious pearl.

 

 

 

 

 

An Answer from Francis

Tags

change, console, environment, eternal life, faith, giving, joy, love, nature, pardon, Peace, St. Francis of Assisi, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, understand

Yesterday afternoon I was in a gathering where we were discussing change using a number of quotes on the subject. It was fascinating to hear the different reactions to the various quotes depending on our interpretations of how the words were used in the sentences, or how a little word like “all” could challenge someone who is uncomfortable with such determinism. It was a great, stretching conversation that pointed up the need to really listen to the voices of others who differed according to culture and life experiences. etc. when interpreting what was being said.

It’s only 7:00AM and there are all sorts of vehicles – mostly big trucks – outside on our road with a large team working hard to get the road paved before the weather turns cold. They have already done days of preparation for this final process; they’re not just patching or putting down a thin coat this time. This will be an “extreme makeover” that is very welcome! But today is also the feast of St. Francis, the “little man of Assisi,” who was the champion of all things natural, i.e. those found in nature. Thinking of him makes me long for dirt roads and good walking shoes (or strong bare feet!) rather than all sorts of manufactured materials that are not good for the environment.

So while I think of our road I’m also thrown back to the vision of flooding in Houston, a city that has so much concrete in roads, building sites and parking lots that the rain had nowhere to go so that at least some of it might sink into the earth. I’m certainly not blaming the infrastructure for the 50+ inches of rain sitting in and flowing through the neighborhoods, but it was at least a mention on the news as a factor adding to the destruction and might be something to consider as cities continue to grow.

In an interview on NBC news following the devastating attack in Las Vegas this weekend, a man who was shot three times in his leg spoke of his experience. He said that two women, seeing his inability to stand, pulled him to a place of cover and then commanded two men to move him further into a truck where 7 others were already waiting to be taken to a hospital. He said, “I didn’t know any of those people. No one was looking at anyone in any particular way, judging anything. Everyone just kept helping, doing what they could for anyone they encountered.” We are our best in the worst situations, it seems.

What does all this mean? How do the thoughts fit together? Maybe they don’t really but I’m willing to entertain the possibility that there is a thread here, albeit a thin one. Or maybe it is as elemental as the opening line of the Prayer of St. Francis which says, “Lord, make me an instrument of your peace.” On second thought, maybe that whole prayer is perfect for today as we try to move forward from violence and appreciate what is natural in our world. For those who don’t know it by heart let me print it here as our offering for peace and healing. Please join with me in praying it aloud.

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace. Where there is hatred, let me sow love. Where there is injury, pardon; where there is doubt, faith; where there is despair, hope; where there is darkness, light; where there is sadness, joy. O Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console; to be understood as to understand; to be loved as to love. For it is in giving that we receive, it is in pardoning that we are pardoned, and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life. Amen.

 

 

 

 

 

 

What Did Jesus Do?

Tags

acceptance, hear, Hearts on Fire, image, imitate Christ, impressed, Jesuit, John the Baptist, looking, meet, miracles, Pedro Arrupe, taught, teach, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, understand, welcome, willingness

Today takes it’s cue somewhat from yesterday’s entry. In the book of Jesuit prayers entitled Hearts on Fire, there is a prayer written by Pedro Arrupe, who was the beloved Superior General (world leader) of the Society of Jesus for 18 years (1965-1983) -a long term of office for anyone! His prayer gives a clue of how to bring the Scriptures alive in our daily journey, helping us to take our cue from Christ’s interaction with all sorts of people as he opened himself to all who crossed his path.

Teach me your way of looking at people: as you glanced at Peter after his denial, as you penetrated the heart of the rich young man and the hearts of your disciples. I would like to meet you as you really are, since your image changes with whom you come into contact.

Remember John the Baptist’s first meeting with you? And the centurion’s feeling of unworthiness? And the amazement of all those who saw miracles and other wonders? How you impressed your disciples, the rabble in the Garden of Olives, Pilate and his wife and the centurion at the foot of the cross…

I would like to hear and be impressed by your manner of speaking, listening, for example, to your discourse in the synagogue in Capharnaum (Capernaum), or the Sermon on the Mount where your audience felt you “taught as one who has authority.” (p.89-90)

What would it be like to imitate Christ’s words and actions in all our encounters? Would we come to better understand how to love our neighbors (whoever they might be) as ourselves? Perhaps a visit to all the above examples in the life of Jesus would give us some clues to the requisite qualities of welcome, willingness and acceptance necessary to him in the different situations and personalities he met on his way.

 

 

 

 

 

A Harvest of Perseverance

Tags

fertile soil, generous heart, harvest, hear, keep the word, Matthew, perseverance, share, soil, sowing seed, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, understand

Yesterday someone brought us four large summer squash from their abundance and the vegetable farm down the road had many boxes ready to ship from their crop as well. That’s pretty common around here in the summer. Even if you only have one summer squash plant, you are bound to share in the end as the yield is always heavy. On the other hand, I was trying earlier in the week to plant two small pots of flowers and I encountered lots of stones (not uncommon on our land) and all sorts of ants and other bugs. I’m still not sure if they will survive.

This morning’s gospel is the one about the sower sowing seed in four different kinds of soil: the path (i.e. the road), rocky ground, soil among thorns and rich soil – all indicators of how we hear the word of God. It harks back to yesterday when I talked about open eyes and ears open to hear the word of God. All four kinds of “soil” hear the word this morning but it is only the rich soil that hears and understands the word which yields a good harvest. (MT 13:18-23) Implied is the importance of listening deeply but there’s another additive, found in the acclamation that precedes this gospel. It says: “Blessed are those who have kept the word with a generous heart and yield a harvest through perseverance.” That says to me that even if you have the best soil in the world it’s likely you will need to pay attention to all sorts of conditions so you’ll water the crop sufficiently and fertilize if need be. Sometimes it seems as if something I plant will never grow. I kept a plant of mistaken identity for six years because it kept putting out a leaf or two every year. When we transplanted it finally, it flourished into a large hibiscus rather than the hydrangea that was ordered! Clearly, perseverance does pay eventually!

Agency

Tags

agent of revelation, believe, Father, Jesus, Nicodemus, our role, Philip, put on the mind of Christ, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, understand, unity

In this morning’s gospel Jesus is having one of those frustrating conversations with his disciple, Philip. He is talking about things that seem beyond rational comprehension however. “If you know me, you will also know my Father. From now on you do know him and have seen him.” I can see why that would be a hard concept to grasp but when Philip says to Jesus, “Show us the Father,” Jesus gets frustrated: “Have I been with you for so long a time and still you do not know me?…Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me?…The Father who dwells in me is doing his works…” Poor Philip.

If even we, with 2,000 years of living in the light of Christ, still have trouble understanding the depth of the words and teachings of Jesus, how can we blame Philip for his confusion? The difficulty, of course, is like that of Nicodemus when he was trying to understand the concept of being born again on a literal, physical level. This morning Jesus is speaking about unity, about his role as an agent of revelation for the God in whom he “lived and moved and had his being” – so at one with God that God shone through his every word and deed. But the most amazing thing about this morning’s passage is that Jesus is trying to get Philip to understand that our role in life is also one of agency for God in the same way! “Whoever believes in me,” Jesus says later in the passage,” will do the works that I do, and will do greater ones than these…” And how will we do this? It seems to me that it will only be possible if we follow the dictum of Paul to put on the mind of Christ, in love, compassion and surrender to the best of who we are becoming. Now there’s a mighty challenge to try on for size!