Reflection for December 28, 2011

2012

It doesn’t matter how educated, moneyed, or smart you are: When your child’s footprints end at the river’s edge, when the one you love has gone into the woods with a bleak outlook and a loaded gun, when the chaplain is walking toward you with bad news in her mouth, then only the clichés are true, a nd you will repeat them, unashamed. Your life will swing suddenly and cruelly in a new direction, and if you are really wise – and it’s surprising and wondrous how many people have this wisdom in them – you will know enough to look around for love. It will be there, standing right on the hinge, holding out its arms. And if you are wise, you will fall against it and be held.

Here If You Need Me

Kate Braestrup

If only is like hindsight. A useless exercise. . . Who knows? . . . As for God, I frankly admit I find it easier to live with the age-old questions about suffering than with the many easy or pious explanations offered from time to time. Some of which seem to verge on blasphemy. . . . The one thing we should never say . . . is, “It is the will of God.” We simply don’t know enough to say that. . . . [When a tragedy occurs] I am convinced that God’s is the first heart to break. . . . Life is sweet. Beyond the pain, life continues to be sweet. The basics are there. Beauty, food, and friendship, reservoirs of love and understanding.

Winter Solstice

Rosamunde Pilcher

Reflection for December 21, 2011

O Antiphon, O Rising Sun

Wednesday, December 21 — Winter Solstice

(Northern Hemisphere)

Reflection for December 14, 2011

Isaiah 46: 25: In the Lord shall be the vindication and the glory of all the descendents of Israel.

THE INCARNATION

Now that the time had come when it would be good

To ransom the bride serving under the hard yoke

Of that law which Moses had given her,

The Father, with tender love, spoke in this way:

Now You see Son, that your bride was made in Your image,

And so far as she is like You, she will suit you well;

Yet she is different in her flesh which Your simple being does not have.

In perfect love, this law holds:

That the lover become like the one he loves;

For the greater their likeness the greater their delight.

Surely your bride’s delight would greatly increase

Were she to see You like her, in her own flesh.

My will is Yours, the Son replied,

and My glory is that Your will be mine.

This is fitting, Father, what You, the Most High, say;

For in this way, Your goodness will be the more seen.

Your great power will be seen and Your justice and wisdom.

I will go and tell the world

Spreading the word of Your beauty and sweetness

And of Your sovereignty.

I will go and seek My bride and take upon Myself

Her weariness and labors in which she suffers so;

And that she may have life, I will die for her,

And, lifting her out of that deep, I will restore her to You.

St. John of the Cross

Reflection for December 7, 2011

… the angel Gabriel was sent to a town in Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin. …The virgin’s name was Mary. And he came to her and said, “Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you.” But she was perplexed by his words and pondered what sort of greeting this might be. The angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God.” Luke 1: 26-28.

…

This air, which, by life’s law,

My lung must draw and draw

Now but to breathe its praise,

Minds me in many ways

Of her who not only

Gave God’s infinity

Dwindled to infancy

Welcome in womb and breast,

Birth, milk and the rest

But mothers each new grace

That does now reach our race –

Mary Immaculate,

Merely a woman, yet

Whose presence, power is

Great as no goddess’s

Was deemed, dreamed; who

This one work has to do –

Let all God’s glory through,

God’s glory which would go

Through her and from her flow

Off, and no way but so.

Gerard Manley Hopkins

Reflection for November 30, 2011

Jesus said to his disciples: "Be watchful! Be alert!"

We are called to consciousness, especially in this

dark time of year, to enter into a great mystery.

As fellow pilgrims, we accompany one another

on this journey called Advent. Paradoxically,

Christ is with us, yet is to come again. This isn't

simply an ancient event. It can happen now.

So we begin, nourished by scripture,

sensing the Light, moving toward

a holy birth and the renewal of hope.

Reflection for November 23, 2011

When you have eaten and are satisfied,

praise the Lord for the good land

you have been given.

-Deuteronomy 8:10

... it is only kindness that makes sense anymore,

only kindness that ties your shoes

and sends you out into the day to mail letters

and purchase bread,

only kindness that raises its head

from the crowd of the world to say

It is I you have been looking for,

and then goes with you everywhere

like a shadow or a friend.

--from Naomi Shibab Nye's poem, Kindness

At this meditation on the eve of Thanksgiving

let us ponder and give thanks for occasions

of kindness given and received this past year.

Reflection for November 16, 2011

Enough

Enough. These few words are enough.

If not these words, this breath.

If not this breath, this sitting here.

This opening to the life

We have refused

Again and again

Until now.

Until now.

David Whyte

Music by:

Johnny Alston,

Lost Valley

Between Two Worlds

Reflection for November 9, 2011

Reflection for November 2, 2011

Dia De Los Muertos

To be of the Earth is to know

the restlessness of being a seed

the darkness of being planted

the struggle towards the light

the pain of growth into the light

the joy of bursting and bearing fruit

the love of being food for someone

the scattering of your seeds

the decay of the seasons

the mystery of death

and the miracle of birth.

Reflection for October 26, 2011

Rules for the Unruly

The path is not straight.

Mistakes need not be fatal.

People are more important than achievements or possessions.

Be gentle with your parents.

Never stop doing what you care the most about.

Learn to use a semicolon.

You will find love.

Marion Winik

Reflection for October 19, 2011

It seems to me that if a little flower could speak, it would simply tell what God has done for it without trying to hide its blessings. It would not say, under the pretext of false humility, that it is not beautiful or without perfume, that the sun has taken away its splendor and the storm has broken its stem when it knows that all this is untrue. The flower about to tell her story rejoices at having to publish the totally gratuitous gifts of Jesus. She knows that nothing in herself was capable of attracting the divine glances, and God's mercy alone brought about everything that is good to her.

St. Therese of Lisieux

Reflection for October 12, 2011

Ours is a shape-shifting God,

a shit disturber,

insisting that we take

another look

anytime we refuse

to see the truth

or imagine that we

have things figured out.

This Holy One invites us

to find the light and love

in the darkest places

and holds us always

in the heart of healing.

Nancy Gibbs Richard

Reflection for October 5, 2011

JVR

The poem is translated by M. Aryanpoor as:

Human beings are members of a whole,

In creation of one essence and soul.

If one member is afflicted with pain,

Other members uneasy will remain.

Saadi

Reflection for September 28, 2011

Meditation

Sitting in Stillness

Listening within

Waking up

Staying awake

Being here right now

With the presence of the Divine

Getting more aware of the Essence within

Feeling the deep connection to all that is

Letting go and letting God

“All is like it is and is not”

And all is well.

Om /Amen

Namaste,

H.G.

Words to the sculpture:

She is sitting in the presence of the Sacred

She is a fountain and when there is no water

She is a container for roses, flowers and love.

Reflection for September 21, 2011

Choose Life,

only that and always,

and at whatever risk.

To let Life leak out,

to let it wear away by the mere passage of time,

to withhold giving it and spreading it,

is to choose

nothing.

Sr. Helen Kelley

Prisms Yearbook 1974, CND/NDNU

Music: Aran Boat Song, Traditional;

Four Seasons, Vivaldi: Winter–Largo, Summer–Presto

Reflection for September 14, 2011

I’ve decided that poetry is best considered as a science. So, just as hydrogen and oxygen are bound together to create water, the force that binds them can be compared to poetry. Poetry is an invisible energy that exists between everything, holding it together, giving it meaning. The job of every human being is to search for the poetry hidden within the midst of things. So, this brings us to the role of poets in society. Some people write poetry, and some people live poetry. The person who lives poetry is the greater of the two.

The Bread of Angels: A Journey to Love and Faith, by Stephanie Saldana

My note: Are there other words besides “poetry” which would fit? What do you think? Judy D.

Reflection for September 7, 2011

JVR

Mary, render whole our grief

In peace

Replenish our earthly time

In place

Receive our quiet lament

In prayer

Reveal our love of life

Reflection for August 31, 2011

My Life in Art

What makes up the painting of my life? The painters have been many and varied.

It started with the background color laid down by those who came long before me.

Outlines were drawn in by my parents. Bright colors were added by good friends and family in strokes broad and delicate.

Shadows and dark areas came from others.

To discomfort, sadness, loss, gain joy, and beauty I owe depth and texture.

Some came along and added stunning contrasts, others soothing neutral tones.

A Larger Hand seemed to have provided the overall composition.

I am not a passive canvas, but an active participant in this my life. At times I have been able to take a heavy dark line and transform it into a lighter, more balanced detail and other times have unnecessarily darkened a detail.

This work in progress has been made possible by many who have contributed in ways large and small. I thank them all.

Reflection for August 24, 2011

Reflection for August 17, 2011

To be alive

in this beautiful, self-organizing universe –

to participate in the dance of life

with senses to perceive it,

lungs that breathe it,

organs that draw nourishment from it –

is a wonder beyond words.

Joanna Macy

Reflection for August 10, 2011

Restless for Peace

JVR

Grieving woman,

Color falls with you,

Attracting birds of peace.

Reflection for August 3, 2011

Primary Wonder

Days pass when I forget the mystery.

Problems insoluble and problems offering

their own ignored solutions

jostle for my attention, they crowd its antechamber

along with a host of diversions, my courtiers, wearing

their colored clothes; caps and bells.

And then

once more the quiet mystery

is present to me, the throng's clamor

recedes: the mystery

that there is anything, anything at all,

let alone cosmos, joy, memory, everything,

rather than void: and that, O Lord,

Creator, Hallowed one, You still,

hour by hour sustain it.

--Denise Levertov

Reflection for July 27, 2011

Rev. Susan Chamberlin Smith of Trinity UCC of Deerfield, Ill

March, 2010 - Sermon

Which brings us to Jesus and the parable of fig tree, a parable which seems, at first glance, to be about a tree that does not produce. Like most of Jesus' parables, however, it isn't at all about what we see at first glance. This parable is about God's grace, not about the net worth of a fig tree.

First, a bit of background on fig trees. Fig trees are high maintenance plants. When producing, they produce two crops per year, but the variety most common in the Holy Land usually does not produce fruit until its third year. On top of that Hebrew law required another three years of fruiting before the fruit was "clean" for human use, which meant that a gardener had to tend the tree six years before a single fig could be eaten! In addition, fig trees require regular watering, and they deplete soil nutrients rapidly, thereby requiring constant fertilization. The canopy of the tree provides thick, dark shade under which nothing else, including grape vines, can grow. The wood of the tree is practically useless for any kind of carpentry... In short, a fig tree which is not producing figs is worse than useless, it is a resource-consuming nuisance. The fruit is its one and only reason for being, at least from a practical point of view.

So when the tree in the parable bears no fruit, it shouldn't surprise us that the vineyard owner in the parable says, "Cut it down! Why should we let it continue to occupy the ground to no purpose?" We can understand the frustration of the vineyard owner - all that waiting and still not a single fig to show for it. Fortunately for us, however, this is a story about the grace of God rather than the impatience of humanity. The gardener says, "aphes," "leave it alone" - the same word in Greek as "forgive" or "pardon."

This parable tells us that God is forgiving. Isaiah agrees, saying that God will" abundantly pardon," and Julian of Norwich, the 14th century mystic, proclaims that God has only one characteristic and that is love - a love so great that God really can't do anything except forgive our sins even before we commit them.

Reflection for July 20, 2011

it is time for me

to see the flaws

of myself

and stop

being alarmed

it is time for me

to halt my drive

for perfection

and to accept

my blemishes

it is time for me

to receive

slowly evolving growth

the kind that comes

in God's own good time

and pays no heed

to my panicky pushing

It is time for me

to embrace

my humanness

to love

my incompleteness

it is time for me

to cherish

the unwanted

to welcome

the unknown

to treasure

the unfulfilled

if I wait to be

perfect

before I love myself

I will always be

unsatisfied

and ungrateful

if I wait until

all the flaws, chips,

and cracks disappear

I will be the cup

that stands on the shelf

and is never used

---Joyce Rupp

"The Cup of our Lives"

Reflection for July 13, 2011

I said to the almond tree,
'Sister, speak to me of God.'
And the almond tree blossomed.

Nikos Kazantzakis

Greek Author, Poet and Playwright

Reflection for July 6, 2011

"Pure and complete sorrow is as impossible as pure and complete joy"

Leo Nikolaevich Tolstoy

JVR

Between the arms of a giant Hope

Who wouldn't give up,

Care gave down

Sweet roots

Lavishing time with promise

Jane Vogel-Riley

Reflection for June 29, 2011

Mother and God

Mother and God, to you we sing;

wide is your womb, warm is your wing.

In you we live, move, and are fed

sweet, flowing milk, life giving bread.

Mother and God, to you we bring

all broken hearts, all broken things.

Miriam Therese Winter

Is this not the fast that I choose:

to loose the bonds of injustice,

to undo the throngs of the yoke,

to let the oppressed go free,

and to break every yoke?

Is it not to share your bread with the hungry,

and to bring the homeless poor into your house;

when you see the naked, to cover them,

and not to hide yourself from your own kin?

Then your light shall break forth like the dawn,

and your healing shall spring up quickly;

your vindication shall go before you,

the glory of the Lord shall be your rear guard.

Then you shall call, and the Lord will answer;

you shall cry for help, and he will say, Here I am.

The Lord will guide you continually,

and satisfy your needs in parched places,

and make your bones strong;

and you shall be like a watered garden,

like a spring of water,

whose waters never fail.

Hebrew Scripture, Isaiah 58:6-9, 11

I have found powerful love among my sisters, I have shredded every veil

and still believe in them.

Alice Walker, Hard Times Require Furious Dancing