Still Waiting

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Advent, Incarnation, power, pray, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, waiting, weakness

While I know that Advent is the season of preparation, of waiting: for Christmas, for the “coming of the Lord,” I’ve never encountered so many iterations of the same question to those whose are doing the waiting. My assumption always was that everyone knew the answer to the question, What are you waiting for? but this year people seem to asking for much more specificity in their seeking. This morning, in a great posting from Emmanuel Monastery sent to me by a friend, I read the following expansion with leading questions:

1. “What am I waiting for this Advent?” How will you recognize its coming?
2. We pray, “come in your power.” What would that look like for you?
3. We pray, “come in your weakness.” What would that look like for you?

The author invites us to go deeper in our pondering. Are you willing to consider both power and weakness in light of the Incarnation of Christ into the world?

Waiting…Again!

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change, sadness, surrender, tension, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, waiting

“Blessed are all who wait for the Lord!” (Psalm refrain for today’s liturgy)

Recently I echoed in this blog the question of one of our Sisters who asked repeatedly: What are we waiting for? I was surprised when I put that question to myself just now and was greeted by several responses. The big things like: I’m waiting for the pandemic to cease, for a vaccine that stems the tide of deaths, for an end to racial violence in our country. I’m waiting as well for January 20th, Inauguration Day in our country when a sense of stability might return to us…slowly but surely. In a more personal way, I’m waiting for someone to hug me—safely. I’m waiting to go to a celebratory liturgy in a real—not virtual—church, and the privilege of travel to meet my cousin Molly’s new twin girls, born this past week.

I could go on…but each of us has our thoughts on that subject. The tension, sadness or frustration that can arise when contemplating this kind of thinking comes partially, I think, from the helplessness we feel because of our inability to change the situations. We are unable to change any of the things mentioned and many more. In our country, as in many places in today’s world, we are not schooled to patience. It is not in our make-up any more to wait because waiting implies surrender and that is not the American way.

What would it cost you today to surrender to “what is” and allow God to work with your helplessness? Might you get to a place of willingness? A place where you let go of your plans and move toward something deeper? lighter?

While We Wait

Tags

Christmas, Jesus, love one another, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, wait, waiting, what are we waiting for

Several years ago I created a retreat day called “While We Wait” for parish directors of religious education. I wanted to focus participants on attitudes and activities that moved them forward in their preparation for Christmas. I was happy with the process of the day and repeated it in a similar form in different situations in ensuing years. I was especially partial to the alliterative title of the retreat. (Old teachers of language never die; they just morph into something else!) Aside from the double alliteration, I was partial to the title because it suggested a process, a way to get to Christmas that was deep and meaningful.

Yesterday I received a text from the CSJ Leadership Team, part of their monthly missive, For the Life of the World that keeps us focused on our mission. I found the message from Sister Sally Harper, one of our five Congregational Leadership Team members, very helpful and wanted to share the question about waiting that Sally raised and expanded upon in several ways. Instead of my reflection on how we wait, Sally asked the basic and underlying question that seems so fundamental but maybe sometimes is just taken for granted. She wanted to know: What are we waiting for?

Of course we know that we are waiting for the celebration, as Sally says, of God “up close and personal” in the person of Jesus, Emmanuel, God with us, the “Word Made Flesh” but that, as she notes, happened more than 2,000 years ago, so she repeats her question: What are we waiting for? It’s a question that each of us can and perhaps should answer for ourselves so I would suggest that before you read on, you take some time to answer the question in your own way…When you’re ready, Sally says:

Jesus calls us to incarnate God’s love in our daily lives just like he did: “Love one another as I have loved you.” (Sally leaves the work of how to do that to each of us.)

Thanks to Sally for this reminder of how simple, yet not always easy, it is to “wait” for the coming of Jesus.

Do It Now!

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Advent, Eckhart Tolle, possibility, present moment, St. Paul, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, waiting

It appears that I was correct when I “woke up” (read: “was shaken out of my lethargy”) yesterday about the possibility, the inevitability of never going back. I should have known when I read Eckhart Tolle’s Present Moment Reminder earlier this morning. He said this:

Give up waiting as a state of mind. When you catch yourself slipping into waiting, snap out of it. Come into the present moment. Just be and enjoy being.

It took the Sunday lectionary readings from the U.S. Catholic bishops to recognize how late it is. Did you know how soon the season of Advent is upon us? With all the consternation about the danger of traveling for Thanksgiving, have you even thought about readiness? Internal readiness, I mean…

St. Paul reminds the Thessalonians today that “You, brothers and sisters, are not in darkness…for all of you are children of the light. Therefore, let us not sleep as the rest do, but let us stay alert and sober.” It’s as if he is saying, “There has been enough hand-wringing and lamenting about the state of our country and the world. It’s up to each one of us to take charge of our situation because the healing will come from the inside.” It is true that we are in a season of distress, the like of which most of us have never seen before, but if we wait, let it be in a state of active waiting. Give up passivity and step into possibility and trust. Love as you have never loved before – not just for your own well-being but also for that of those who walk with you. Be here now and love the opportunity to BE!

Preparations

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compassion, encouragement, new understanding, Philippians, preparation, St. Paul, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, waiting

We were just talking in our kitchen about by-gone days at the convent where, on the vigil of Easter (that’s today), there was major cleaning going on in every corner of the house. The weather spirits seem to know that we should renew that practice – although some of us have been working at it for weeks now. The sun is out and is tricking us into believing that it’s warm outside. The truth is that at present the temperature is just above 25F degrees. That makes it difficult to even consider flinging open the windows to start the cleaning. But it seems that cleaning will, in fact, be the order of the day.

While we wait for the great feast of Easter, hoping for a present day resurrection, it will be fitting to do so in quiet, in reverence for this opportunity of grace. How have we thus far become accustomed to inaction or to differently active days? Has our quotient of generosity, even in our thinking, been stretched toward our neighbors? Are we yet aware of the magnitude of the global — one might say “cosmic”– shift that we are experiencing?

As we wipe away cobwebs in high corners or climb to reach dust on ceiling fans will we go at the same time deep inside ourselves so as not to waste the opportunities that are hidden there? As we polish furniture or (even better) mirrors, will we look at our image to see if we have changed at all over the last month? As we recall Paul’s words to the Philippians who said that Jesus “did not deem equality with God something to be grasped at, but rather emptied himself…,” we might back up a few verses to see the advice that Paul gave just before that comment about how Jesus considered his fate. Perhaps it’s just the thing for a day of clearing and readying ourselves for a different kind of Easter celebration. Paul said:

In the name of the encouragement you owe me in Christ, in the name of the solace that love can give, of fellowship in spirit, compassion, and pity, I beg you: make my joy complete by your unanimity, possessing the one love, united in spirit and ideals. Never act out of rivalry or conceit: rather let all parties think humbly of others as superior to themselves, each of you looking to others’ interests rather than your own. (PHIL 2:1-4)

As the sun rises to new heights, may we do the same so that we may shine at the end of this day in new understanding of our place and role in this unique and precious moment of time.

While We Wait…

Tags

Advent, Christmas miracle, expectation, kingdom of God, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, waiting

I’ll be on the road today before the sun is up, long before I reach my destination. I’m reminded of an old description of how some people used to describe a visit to their doctor as “Hurry up and wait!” Not at all the same meaning however…

I hope to be in my car and on the road to the Dominican Retreat and Conference Center in Schenectady, N.Y. where “While We Wait” is the title of the Advent retreat day I’ll be leading. We’ll be talking about expectation and how it feels if we truly get into the spirit of Advent and make our waiting for the in-breaking of the Christmas miracle truly worth our effort during this brief, 24-day season. We do it every year but how does it change us? How does the coming of Jesus make us closer to a Christ-like example of what Jesus came to teach? What should we be living of his message as we celebrate his incarnation? Here are a few reminders that he left us.

The reign of God is in your midst…The kingdom of God is within you…Love one another as I have loved you…Love your neighbor as yourself…

That should be enough for now.

On Alert!

Tags

Advent, Christmas, feasts, Jesus, new life, reflective moment, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, waiting

The waiting has begun. Today is the first (Sun)day of Advent and there is no doubt that we are in a new season, even as the calendar says we have yet to arrive at the first day of winter, still three weeks away. Christian tradition interestingly calls this day a new beginning even though it is the beginning only of preparation for the major feast of Christmas. The feeling this morning here in New York State is one of expectation – but not so happy. We’re expecting a strong storm, a significant dump of snow. It’s been happening all over the country, coming east and promising all kinds of havoc in travel and cancellations of all kinds of events.

People everywhere will be marking important feasts toward the end of December – some central to their religious practice and some cultural events. Whether Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, Diwali, the Chinese New Year or the Winter Solstice, it’s a time for consideration of what we are about as we move into a new season of life. As I sit here this morning my brain and my body are alert for the first sign of snow and/or ice tapping on my window. It’s like a time of pregnancy when everything strains toward a new life and all that such an event will mean to change things. Yes, that’s exactly what it’s like…what it is actually for those of us who now begin the intense season of Advent – this “New Year’s Day” in the Christian Church.

How will this season of Advent – a brief 24 days this year – ready us for a deeper understanding of what the birth of Jesus into the world can mean? When all the festivities of the Christmas season are over, will we be different? Kinder, perhaps? More tolerant and even loving? Where will the emphasis of our “new beginning,” the recognition of our “New Year’s resolutions” be written in our hearts? Today is the day to begin this searching, the reflective moment for stopping to look deeply for possibilities. The snow will blanket us in silence and slow our active lives.

May you know the gifts of Advent that find their fulfillment at Christmas and beyond.

Still Waiting

Tags

apostles, Ascension, by heart, salvation history, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, upper room, waiting, words of Jesus

I’m thinking again today about that upper room that housed the apostles in their time of waiting after the Ascension, the departure of Christ from physical presence on the earth. (See blog post of 5/30.) I don’t know that I have ever considered it in such a visceral way but I have so many questions now that will only be answered in my imaginings. Where else could I go for information? There is so little specificity in most of the gospel stories that it’s difficult to get a good sense of what happened in what was only meagerly presented. I’m not interested in theological treatises for answers.

Here’s what I mean. If I consider the “upper room” as the same or similar to what was mentioned at the time of the Last Supper, I see a long table as the focal point of the room. What happens then if the apostles want to sleep during their nine days of waiting? And how did they pass the time up there? I trust that prayer was their major occupation but when did they eat? And where did they get food? Should the gospel writers be talking about upper rooms instead of one room?

This may sound like silliness and I don’t mean to be irreverent but sometimes – for some of us who are concrete thinkers – it’s helpful to know all we can about the events of our “salvation history.” As I type that sentence I hear the often repeated adage: “Just take it on faith.” In reality, I guess that is what we’re always called to do. There are lots of places to go for the research of scholars through the ages who have written theological tracts and spiritual writers who have delved into the words of Jesus. Ultimately, however, it is a question of letting go of the need for certainly about facts and giving ourselves over to the acceptance of the love that we have come to know “by heart.”

Today is a good day to take a break and place myself in the silence of that upper room for awhile, waiting with the others for the outpouring of the Spirit that will surely come when we have made ourselves ready – perhaps in a week’s time…or maybe even today! And then who will I be? What will the fire of God ignite in me? I guess I’ll wait and expect/accept whatever comes…in God’s time, not mine.

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.

Wait in Silence, Listening

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Ancient Songs Sung Anew, hear, hearing, heart, listen, listening, mercy, mindfulness, Psalm 130, sacred art, silence, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, voice, waiting

Last winter we decided to offer a series on Mindfulness at the Sophia Center because it seemed that this concept was being talked about in many circles and there were many ways to go about presenting it. We decided on five sessions during which we would explain and then offer examples of a different “mindfulness practice” each week. The topics were diverse: chanting from several traditions, Buddhist meditation practices, centering prayer, etc. and each of them touched somehow on a more quiet approach to life. The series was one of the best-attended efforts of the year so we have decided to continue our exploration of mindfulness. For a number of reasons we chose the topic Hearing With the Heart for this year’s series. It is our hope that we will come to understand more deeply the concept and practice of contemplative listening and contemplative dialogue as we explore hearing and speaking out of spacious silence.

I am the first presenter and have found it quite difficult to organize my thoughts on the subject of “Listening as a Sacred Art” because – ironically – there is so much to say! It seems that in our fast-paced world we have (more or less) lost the capacity to listen well. Take a look at most of the commercials on television or consider that now studies show a 5-second attention span in our youth. (I actually heard that in a report this week!)

I’m running out of preparation time for my presentation so I smiled when I read this morning’s lectionary selection of Psalm 130. I am now thinking it is a perfect lead-in to the entire event. See if you agree.

My whole being waits for you, my God, listening in your presence. I long to hear your voice again, speaking. So like a watchman who anticipates the crack of dawn, my heart waits for the first-light of your word. Listen, listen, wait in silence listening for the One from whom all mercy flows…(Ancient Songs Sung Anew, p. 334)