Election Day

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acceptance, election, Election Day, justice, Luke, messages, Philippians, privilege, psalm 22, responsibility, St. Paul, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, vote, vows

I’m getting really good (at least in my own eyes) at finding  synchronistic meaning in the morning Scripture readings with the events of life. Today is Election Day in the United States and although it is a mid-term election year, it could be historic even though we are not electing a President this time. The balance of power in the Congress is at stake and there is also a huge increase in the number of women standing for election this year. Taking the readings in reverse order, I see clear messages for us today.

1. In the gospel of Luke (14:15-24) we hear of a man who gave a great dinner to which many were invited. When the time came and the dinner was ready, those who had been invited made excuses for their inability to come. As a result, the poor, the blind and the lame ate well that day. I often think of the shameful statistics of our participation in the election process in the United States. We have a privilege denied to citizens of many countries in the world and we often fail to exercise it. We complain about our “leaders” but do nothing to change the election results. We stay home from the polls in great numbers because we are lazy or frustrated with the government when the way to change things is simply to show up! One bright spot this year is that the largest number of citizens voting in this election cycle is purported to be the youngest citizens eligible (18-30 year olds). If true, that could be a sign of change to come. The message to us for today: GET OUT AND VOTE!
2. Psalm 22 calls us to praise the Lord in the Assembly of the people. It’s about doing justice and fulfilling “the vows we have made” – one might say, as citizens of this country, to educate ourselves about what is going on politically and how we can effect changes in what not longer works. It seems from events of this past year that we should be listening to the youngest cohort of eligible voters so that the words of Scripture may be true of us. Let the coming generation…proclaim to a people yet to be born the justice that [God] has shown.
3. When all is said and done today, our hope is for acceptance of the result without rancor. That is the beauty of a democratic process. Whether or not our preferred candidates are elected, we travel on together, remembering the urging of Paul’s letter to the Philippians (2:5-11) to: [H]ave among yourselves the same attitude that is also yours in Christ Jesus who..emptied himself.. Our elections are not about winning our argument or making sure that our agenda is pushed through but rather seeking those who will do their best for the country and letting go of our own egoic choices.

You may find my interpretations far-fetched and I would perhaps agree but the messages are clear to me this morning as I have stated them. We are called to take responsibility for the privilege of voting as informed citizens and to accept the result whether or not it is our desired outcome, having done our part to participate in the democratic process.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Breathing Baptism

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Acts of the Apostles, back to business, baptism, Isaiah, psalm 29, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, vows

Today is one of those times when it seems impossible to choose a topic for consideration, not because I find nothing as a possible focus but because there is too much to feel and then try to say! I was immediately distracted by the headline about the Golden Globes award ceremony held last night and I took precious time to read the report in the Washington Post. It sounded as if the purpose of everyone wearing black and the tone of acceptance speeches were purposeful and not crass but meaningful. As I left there for the USCCB website and found that we are celebrating the feast of Baptism, traditionally held in my experience on the Sunday after the Epiphany, I was surprised but somehow it felt sensible.

On my trek for coffee this morning I had been feeling an urgency that said, “Time to get back to business” – a need for routine, I might say. The whole Christmas season has felt like a time-out-of-time. Day after day I have found myself (and heard others) asking “What day is today?” as if “normal” had disappeared in favor of living by the weather. That’s a good example too because last night I read weather predictions for the week as a warming trend and today it has shifted back to a continuing deep freeze.

Back to the USCCB website. There are four choices for a first reading and two possible psalm responses for this feast! How is one supposed to choose between Isaiah and the Acts of the Apostles or Psalm 29 over Isaiah 12? (Isaiah seems always to have a lot to say!) Every one of the readings has merit for today as a call to consider the concept of baptism, a call that is offered and must be accepted each day and deepened as we wake up to the needs of the world.

I was baptized when I was three weeks old. No one took pictures so I have no evidence of the event. I learned later that there was an indelible mark on my soul, a stamp of “Christian” that was meant never to be erased. It got renewed at special times along the way by other sacraments, religious vows and anniversaries as well as by the opportunity to participate in many baptismal celebrations for other people and hear the words that accompany the ritual actions.

Today it all comes together as I am awash in reminders. “I have grasped you by the hand,” says the Lord to Isaiah, and later, “Seek the Lord while he may be found,” Isaiah shouts to us. Then there is Peter telling the people in the house of Cornelius that “God shows no partiality” as he tells them the stories of Jesus and how “God was with him.” John’s letter tells us that we become God’s children by loving one another and the psalmist calls us to “give to God the glory!” In conclusion I am treated once again to Mark’s version of the baptism of Jesus in all its cinematic imagery and I feel as if there is no place to go from here. I want only to sit and ponder the effects of God’s promises and the responsibility I have to live my baptism.

I just looked at the time. It’s 7:53am and I am due to leave the house by 8:30. I just need a few more minutes before I can move, before I am settled enough to “Go with God,” as my friend, Barbara, says to me often as I leave her. It is enough. Amen.

 

 

 

 

 

 

No Matter Where

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community, history, make a difference, presence, psalm 116, religious communities, Sisters of St. Joseph, St. Louis, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, travel, vows

I just thought of a line of “pop philosophy” (“pop” = popular) that sounds silly but contains a great truth. It says, Wherever you go, there you are.” This morning I’m in St. Louis, Missouri, the place from which our religious congregation has radiated out over the whole country including Hawaii and further to Japan, Peru and Chile. I laugh to say that it took me a long time to get here from New York because of weather delays. The entire trip took 10 hours, quite a lot different from the journey of the first Sisters coming from France who spent 2 months of travel to arrive here in 1836! I had my usual love affair with the skies along the way, marveling that nothing but the grace of God and jet propulsion was keeping our very weighty conveyance (to say nothing of ourselves) in the air. There is so much beauty, so much clarity that is visible from six miles up – even in the darkness!

Psalm 116 flooded me with gratitude for the possibilities afforded me by the age I live in and the community of which I am a part. As I read: How shall I make a return to the Lord for all the good God has done for me?…My vows to the Lord I will pay in the presence of all His people. I was keenly aware of all the history in this place and the ministry done by the Sisters of St. Joseph here and elsewhere over the past 180 years. I am part of that history. Whether I am in this “parlor” in St. Louis or my bedroom in Windsor, New York typing my thoughts, I am the same, a cog in the wheel. Sometimes though, I am more aware of the “bigger picture” as today when I will sit with ten other Sisters designing ways for the larger body of us to create a future that will include smaller numbers of us but will have the same spirit and engagement with the world.

Today, then, I ask God’s blessing on all Sisters of St. Joseph and other religious communities of women and men whose vows call them to prayer and ministry for God’s sake in the world. Secondly, I recognize the blessing of all people in whatever state of life who have vowed to make a difference for the good. May we all be blessed to know the ways that our presence (wherever we find ourselves) is valuable to our world and to our God.