Circles of Hope

Tags

Black Elk, circles, Exodus, family, happiness, holy, hoop of the world, hope, In A Sacred Manner I Live, Jesus, love, Oglala Sioux, sacred, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, wedding

I come late today to this task because I sat with my coffee this morning recounting the story of the wedding reception I attended last evening. I have great hopes for this couple in their mid-twenties who have known each other since their first school dance in 7th grade and have grown in love until, at 1:00 yesterday afternoon, they joined in the sanctuary of the church with tears of joy (both of them!) that this moment had finally come. At the dinner reception I was reminded of the importance of family and friends in the lives of such a couple. Touching toasts to the groom and the bride, spoken by two brothers and two sisters, were concluded by two friends and followed by a beautiful  blessing by the father of the groom. As I heard the hopes for long life and “the blessing of children,” I was aware of the circle of life in this gathered community widening and being strengthened by this new family unit. There is no lack of wisdom in the elders who surround this couple and lots of companionship for the days to come.

I found fitting advice in the readings of today where I heard God warning us not to “oppress the alien, for you were once foreigners in a strange land.” (EX 22:20) and Jesus commanding us to “love our neighbors as ourselves.”

Unable to stop here in this reflection, I am pulled back into something I read during the past week from a book called In A Sacred Manner I Live. It is the line from Exodus, I think, that urges me to share a vision of Black Elk, holy man of the Oglala Sioux (when he was nine years old), that I would wish for our world and see as possible if we hold in our hearts the love generated at moments like those I experienced yesterday. Please indulge me and pray with me for such widening circles.

And a Voice said: “All over the universe they have finished a day of happiness. And looking down I saw that the whole wide circle of the day was beautiful and green, with all fruits growing and all things kind and happy. Then a Voice said: “Behold this day, for it is yours to make. Now you shall stand upon the center of the earth to see…”

Then I was standing on the highest mountain of them all, and round about beneath me was the whole hoop of the world. And while I stood there I saw more than I can tell and I understood more than I saw, for I was seeing in a sacred manner the shapes of all things in the spirit, and the shape of all shapes as they must live together like one being. And I saw that the sacred hoop of my people was one of many hoops that made one circle, wide as daylight and as starlight, and in the center grew one mighty flowering tree to shelter all the children of one mother and one father. And I saw that it was holy.

May it be so. Amen.

 

 

 

 

 

Everyday Trust

Tags

Jesus, live a full life, Luke, Pope Francis, rhetoric, security, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, travel, trust, wedding

I’m thinking this morning about what a crucial role trust plays in our living and what it is that moves us to trust a person or an institution. There is so much information and rhetoric available to us today that sometimes it’s difficult to trust, yet the alternative is a very small life.

This reflection started with the first line of this morning’s gospel: When a large crowd gathered, with people from one town after another journeying to Jesus, he spoke in a parable. (LK 8:4) This was not just a neighborhood gathering. People probably walked a long way, or mounted their donkeys or put the children in a cart and took their lunch to follow the road to Jesus. Last night I had dinner with people from Virginia and Pennsylvania and the conversation moved to the Pope’s visit scheduled next week to Washington, DC and Philadelphia. The major topics were security and the traffic problems that will occur because of millions of people traveling to those cities. What is it – what was it – that causes people such a great inconvenience just to see and hear a message from such a leader? There are so many factors at play but I believe that our trust comes from deep within us where the longing of our souls and the congruence of the message within our hearts allows us to catch the integrity and authenticity of the person speaking.

Today I will attend the wedding of a young woman whom I first met when she was two months old, carried to a Church meeting by her mother. She has been well nurtured in her family and has come gradually to trust herself and her choices. Today marks one of the greatest moments of trust that she will face as she vows her fidelity for life to the young man she has chosen to marry.

Each day we face small and great decisions in our lives. We need to trust God, ourselves and often other people (I think of this frequently when driving) in order to live a full life. I will continue to ponder my trust quotient today, looking especially at what blocks me from trusting, seeking to connect with my highest, deepest self to know where truth abides. It’s a good “tune up” exercise and I invite you to join me in the endeavor.