Remain

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connection, flowering, fruit, Jesus, John, remain, steadfast, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, vine, wine

In my neighborhood we’re just beginning to see the flowering of trees that we hope will later produce much fruit. In the southwestern part of our state vintners are hoping for just the right mix of sun and rain that will assure an abundance of grapes this year. Driving in wine country is a breathtaking experience of seeing acres and acres first of the perfectly pruned “naked” vines secured in row after row and later those same vines in full leaf. It’s then time to walk the fields in order to see the fruit hidden among the leaves and experience the fragrance of the ripening grapes. (Oh yes, and then there is the wine tasting…)

From observing nature in this and many other ways, we come to better understand the frequent references of Jesus to life and growth in the Spirit. Often, for me, there is a word (usually a verb) that deepens the meaning of the message. Today that word is “remain.” In what scholars have come to call the “final discourse” of Jesus in John’s gospel (ch. 14-17), there are many beautiful sentiments, none more vivid or familiar, perhaps, than “the vine and the branches.” Jesus says, Remain in me, as I remain in you. Just as a branch cannot bear fruit on its own unless it remains on the vine, so neither can you unless you remain in me. As I read those two sentences, the verb remain, repeated four times, reverberates in me as a clear call to fidelity. The essential truth is that if the connection of the branch to the vine is severed, life is irrevocably cut off. But the responsibility for connection is not all on us! The effort of remaining steadfast in all of life’s circumstances is made worthy of any struggle because of the promise that Christ also remains in us. Knowing this, I am willing for the pruning as much as for the ripening and trust that all will come to fruition in the fullness of time.

 

 

Old Wineskins

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change, civil rights movement, common humanity, dignity. acceptance, hatred, injustice, letting go, Mark, racism, respect, Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., shift of consciousness, technology, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, tolerance, wine

In the first few moments after I read today’s gospel (MK 2:18-22) several different thoughts have arisen in my mind. Jesus is talking about not pouring new wine into old wineskins because in that case the wine will burst the skins and both skin and wine will be ruined. I was first reminded of a conversation yesterday about the speedy rate of change in the world and the fact that children born now will have little or no experience of a world where a telephone was available only in a building or a small enclosure on the street. (Stop here to insert your own favorite example of something that has become or is fast becoming obsolete…) My favorite statement of the rate of change in the 20th century is “Kitty Hawk to the moon in 66 years.” Last night on Downton Abbey several more examples of change were obvious. The fight over letting go of the village hospital in a merger with a larger facility of greater capacity, the success of a woman as owner and editor of a newspaper and magazine, the wedding of two servants of the manor having a wedding of their own choosing rather than acceding to the plan of “Lady Mary” were obvious examples of difficult moments of some trying to hold on to what no longer served while others saw the necessity of acceding to the future. The signs of changing times were everywhere.

A monumental shift of consciousness in our country in the 20th century was brought to light by Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. I need not, nor could I in this format, do justice to the development of what led to an explosion in the civil rights movement in the 1960s. Although we still struggle with racism in our country, we can never plead ignorance of the issues because of the courageous actions of so many people who spoke out and spent their lives to overcome this injustice. Today, as we celebrate the memory of Dr. King, may we pray that hatred be overcome with tolerance and tolerance give way to respect for the dignity of all others. Swiftly on the heels of respect may we find acceptance in our hearts and even love for all people who share our common humanity. Wherever we find ourselves on this continuum may we never try to stop the advent of a new day and may God’s blessing be upon us all!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Wine Tasting

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Christianity, church practice, community, congregation, Jesus, Luke, religious life, reverence, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, universal understanding, wine

A recent conversation came to mind when I read this morning’s gospel (LK 5:33-39). It concerned my gratitude at having entered the convent in the tumultuous days of the 1960s. It was difficult because of the rate at which things were changing in the world and in our Church but was early enough for me to catch the spirit of the “old ways” so that I understood what had grounded the lives of the older members of our religious community. At the same time, I was able to see the value of what was emerging as a new way of being in the Church that was necessary for us to embrace if we were to survive as a Congregation. My experience stood me in good stead when I was part of the team charged with the formation of new members to our community in the 1980s. I was able to help those of the “new era” who had little understanding of the by-gone culture of religious life that was still clinging to us when they got frustrated with some of the customs and the slow pace of change. Reverence was the order of the day, I felt, on both sides of the equation.

I think that’s what Jesus was talking about today when he spoke of trying to sew new cloth on old garments or pouring new wine into old wineskins. It doesn’t work. The end of the reading, however, is a caution to anyone who just throws out all the old. Jesus says, “The old is good.” Even though we don’t live the same way that the Sisters of St. Joseph who came from France in 1836 (or even in 1966!) lived, we stand on the shoulders of those women whose vision and insight allowed them to cast off what was no longer useful while continuing to reverence what was at the core of the tradition.

It’s the same with Christianity, I think. Sometimes we get so sidetracked in church practice and rubrics that we forget the things that Jesus said and did to keep us on the right path toward God. If we can hold on to reverence – of people and traditions – we can usually overcome differences in our devotional lives and move forward by taking the long view back to Jesus. Perhaps today is a good day to have a glass of that “good wine” and be grateful, while at the same time looking forward to the incredible spiritual insights that are moving us toward universal understanding in our day.