Choice Words

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Ancient Songs Sung Anew, grow still, Lord, Lynn Bauman, master, psalm 37, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, trust, wait for the Lord

The responsorial Psalm in the lectionary for today (PS 37) is a long one but of the few verses chosen for the liturgy, I was drawn to the first which said, Commit to the Lord your way; trust in him and he will act. I didn’t want to leave it there so I turned to my favorite translation and read the whole Psalm of 41 verses. The sentiments were the same and there are many beautiful encouragements for those of us who wish for the more poetic urging. Here are my favorite lines.

Make God, as Lord and Master, your delight and the desires of your heart God will fulfill. Give up your life to God and for the good of all, commit to the One who acts for you…Grow still, be quiet, and wait patiently within, and in that silence put your trust in God. (4-7, Ancient Songs Sung Anew – Lynn Bauman)

Not only does that confirm the value to myself that relationship with God will bring but includes as well “the good of all,” to which we are surely called. May your day be blessed in the peace and blessing of these thoughts.

Gatherings Large and Small

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courage, fear, psalm 27, salvation, stouthearted, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, unifying light, wait for the Lord, womens march

In the past 48 hours we have seen in person, on television, the internet or in newspapers a number of very large gatherings of committed people. Some participants simply support the democratic process of the transfer of political power in the United States but the majority were present on Friday and yesterday to raise their voices for or against our new president. We remain a deeply divided country in this way.

Yesterday I was privileged to spend my time with eleven women committed to their spiritual growth, regardless of their political leanings. They chose to come to our event at Genesis Retreat and Conference Center in Westfield, Massachusetts where our exploration centered around “The Wisdom Way of Knowing.” Our goal was consciousness and how we can move toward unity of heart and practice.

I was reminded of this experience by today’s the first reading and the gospel where Jesus repeated Isaiah’s words that the people who walked in darkness have seen a great light. And between those two voices Paul chimed in with words to the Corinthians with his usual vigor: I urge you that there be no divisions among you! But it is in Psalm 27 that I clearly saw a method of movement toward this unifying light. The psalmist declares:

The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom should I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life; of whom should I be afraid? One thing I ask of the Lord; this I seek, to dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life. Wait for the Lord with courage. Be stouthearted and wait for the Lord.

With these thoughts I begin this new season of our collective life in these United States in the hope that we will move forward with respect and determination to be of good will and openness to all that we encounter. May God bless us all!

Darkness and Light

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bounty, courage, darkness, fear, grace, home, Isaiah, light, love, presence, psalm 27, sacred place, salvation, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, wait for the Lord

For the first time in over a week, I awoke this morning in darkness. It was 5:50AM and although it was only the light on my phone that allowed me that information, sleep had already fled and it seemed I was being called to pay attention. So here I am awash in thoughts of light and darkness, blindness and sight. Isaiah 29 promises today that out of gloom and darkness, the eyes of the blind shall see while Psalm 27 hurls into the dark a declaration in answer to – perhaps – our own question: The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom should I fear? The psalmist goes on in confidence attesting to the belief that he shall see the bounty of the Lord in the land of the living and urging us to wait for the Lord with courage; be stouthearted and wait for the Lord. Matthew’s Jesus cures two blind men and I begin to wonder why he warned them (sternly, the story says) to see that no one knows about this – a directive that they totally ignore. Perhaps there is some deep value here about holding things in our hearts.

So what is it that I am to see today and how will I come to know the happening? I needn’t work to produce the dawn; it comes of its own accord (as it now has while I’ve been writing). I couldn’t make it happen anyway. All I can do, it seems, is notice: see it and know a truth about the ways of time and light. Sensing all that, I turn back to a lovely translation of Psalm 27 that matches the desire that woke me and moves me forward today.

There’s only this one thing I ask of you, one thing for which I care, that your own dwelling place becomes a home for me; each day, each night, I shelter there. For in that place I see the brilliance and the beauty of your face; all this, enough for me, is temple, mountain, highest ground, and there I come to seek and know your grace, your love. For in these troubled times I come to you to find a place to hide away, your light a tent that covers all. Your presence is the highest pinnacle of rock on which to stand, beyond this storm. For there you raise my head and lift my eyes to you above my enemies round about and unafraid. And in this sacred place I give my being back to you… (Ps. 27:4-8a – with apologies to Lynn Bauman for my formatting)