Week of January 6
By Susan L.
During the holiday season I find myself striving to create, and reflecting on, precious memories.
I remember an old neighbor and family friend, Ann, who always collected newspaper clippings to share with her friends and relatives. The photos or articles would be about a place you had visited with her once, some topic she knew interested you, or a reference to someone we both had known; always some link that had reminded her of the uniqueness of one of her loved ones. When Ann prepared to move from the home of her adult life, she had to sort through a room full of papers, and on my next visit to her, Ann presented me with a pile of clippings that went back to my elementary school years. As I looked through thirty years of clippings, I realized she had been saving these mementos of my life. We sat together relishing long-forgotten moments and I remember being suffused with a sense of simple, joyful wellbeing.
I remember a scene from Homer's Iliad, my favorite book. Although not the only theme of this epic, Achilles is forced to learn to deal with Agamemnon, an incompetent authority figure and somehow this theme resonated with me as I grew up. At the end of this poem, Priam, the king of Troy, comes to Achilles to ransom the body of his son and says:
"Honor then the gods, Achilles, and take pity upon me
Remembering your father, yet I am still more pitiful;
I have gone through what no other mortal on earth has gone through;
I put my lips to the hands of the man who has killed my children."
(XXIV. 503-6)
The two men then remember and weep together. I can not read this passage without joining in their weeping.
Finally, I remember a scene from my favorite modern author, E.M. Forster. In Howards End, Margaret strives to save the soul of Mr. Wilcox:
It did not seem so difficult. ... She would only point out the salvation that was latent in his own soul, and in the soul of every man. Only connect! That was the whole of her sermon. ... Live in fragments no longer.
(from Chapter 22)
Although not an easy task, Mr. Wilcox, like the others mentioned above, does learn to connect. There is a web of love that surrounds us, whether we are aware or not. This is the solace of the Christmas story: connections forged through pain, suffering, grief and finally love and joy.
Dear God,
Thank you for your loving connection to us through the gift of life and the sacrifice of your son. Help us create in those around us the awareness of a loving presence. Amen
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Week of January 13
By Diane S.
Thou hast turned for me my mourning into dancing: thou hast put off my sackcloth, and girded me with gladness; to the end that my glory may sing praise to thee, and not be silent. O Lord, my God, I will give thanks unto thee forever Psalm 30: 11-12 (KJV)
Gratitude, according to Henry Ward Beecher, is "the fairest blossom which springs from the soul." The word is derived from the Latin gratus, meaning pleasing or agreeable. It implies that a gift has been freely given, an offering of something beautiful, joyful, or harmonious for which thankfulness is in order. It also suggests an amiable relationship between the giver and the recipient: an attitude of appreciation, respect, and often tenderness as well.
Gratitude does not always appear in such glowing colors, though. Sometimes it is just a cover for darkness. For example, a heavy-laden gratitude can trudge wearily around in endless circles, trying in vain to please the critic who is always demanding thankfulness in return for services rendered. Or a defeated gratitude can limp along in misery, its clothes torn to shreds by its own painful barbs of anxiety, guilt, and despair, endeavoring to be thankful but unable to quite accomplish it. By contrast, a patronizing gratitude can sashay about in elegant gowns of the finest silk and satin, eager to make a good impression, but its disingenuous compliments mask its real sentiments of boredom or disdain. A devious gratitude can tiptoe quietly in, dressed in ordinary garb and seemingly whispering the truth in kindness, yet its whole feeling springs not out of thankfulness but rather out of a desire for attention or control. Or a light-hearted gratitude can dance happily about, wrapped in cloud-like gauze, well meaning but superficial, as in thankfulness tossed out upon request only to dissipate the next day.
Real gratitude cannot coexist with anger or guilt, or walk the path of hypocrisy, lies, and deceit. It is neither wispy nor worn. It is full of warmth and vitality, yet straightforward, simple, and serene. It does not keep company with entitlement, greed, or envy, but is content with the blessings it receives, treating all as unmerited gifts and never yearning for more or better ones. Like happiness, it appears spontaneously and cannot be demanded or produced at will. It can only be tended and encouraged, as one would care for a little potted plant, and eventually it will bloom effortlessly.
There are many ways to nurture gratitude, but all of them involve becoming more attentive to the breadth and depth of our everyday experiences, whatever they may be. If every encounter is automatically prejudged, categorized, and quickly processed, then it is no wonder our days are not overflowing with thanksgiving. But if we focus on the richness of the present moment and all the positive elements it contains, then our lives will be imbued with new vitality, beauty, and meaning, and feelings of gratitude will flourish.
Even when we are faced with distressing events like the death of loved ones, when the enormity of our loss threatens to block our ability to see anything good in the situation, we can still be thankful for many things: joyful memories of their time with us; the legacy they left and the contributions they made to the world; their release from suffering; the wisdom, courage, and care of those who tended them; the opportunity for closer communication with our friends and family; the comforting words and gestures they offer us; the soothing and healing qualities of music, art, literature, and nature in such times of need; a heightened awareness of the meaning of life and a renewed commitment to live more intentionally; the energy, will, and faith to transform a tragedy into forgiveness, compassion, and encouragement of others similarly afflicted, to name only a few.
On the other hand, when life offers us warm relationships and joyful experiences, the risk is more that we take these gifts for granted. Our feelings of thankfulness can acquire depth and fullness if we attend more consciously to these moments of grace in all their manifold aspects. For example, when listening to music, we might think of the brilliance of the composition; the artistry and technique of the performers; the beauty of their instruments; as well as our own capacity to hear and respond with our intellect, imagination, and feeling. We can also appreciate the way the music unites us with our fellow listeners, reflects the historical period and culture that inspired it, lends depth to other art forms, and connects us with the sounds of the natural world. And that is only the beginning!
There really is no end to the blessings we receive. They rain down on us continually, night and day. We have only to attend to them, appreciate their value, and out of that fullness of heart, express our deepest, most sincere gratitude.
While we dare not close our eyes and ears to the injustice, suffering, and violence that continually command our attention, help us to open ourselves to the beauty, truth, and goodness that live in their midst. May we live in the knowledge that all life is a miracle and every day holds the possibility for joy and enchantment. Then out of gratitude for the blessings that you so freely and abundantly bestow upon us, may we find ways to enrich the lives of others
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Week of January 20
By David M.
The word of Yahweh was addressed to me as follows, "Son of man, are you ready to judge? Are you ready to judge the blood-stained city? Confront her with all her loathsome practices! In you people take bribes for shedding blood; you lend for profit and charge interest, you profit from your fellow by extortion and have forgotten about me - declares the Lord Yahweh. Now I shall clap my hands at your acts of banditry and the blood that flows in you. In you, the princes are like a roaring lion tearing the prey. They have eaten the people, seized wealth and jewels and widowed many inside of her; shedding blood and killing people to steal their possessions. The people of the country have taken to extortion and banditry; they have oppressed the poor and needy and ill-treated the settler in a way that is unjustifiable. Hence I have vented my fury on them; I have put an end to them in the fire of my rage. I have made their conduct recoil on their own heads - declares the Lord Yahweh." (Ezekiel 22:1-2,12-13,25,27b,29,31, NJB)
I am sure by now that anyone living in the Western world knows about the mess in the US economy which exists from the so-called sub-prime mortgage crisis. The housing market has crashed. Large investment banks have been writing off billions of dollars in losses due to worthless debt instruments they hold. Foreclosures have skyrocketed. The Federal Reserve Bank has been lowering interest rates, despite rising commodity prices, in order to ensure liquidity in the financial markets and allow those holding adjustable mortgages to preserve a lower rate of interest when their anniversary date comes due. Congress has passed legislation to supposedly freeze the rates on some of these consumer loans, despite this being a violation of the free market system we operate under. Day after day the pundits seem to revise their predictions of when and how this will all end. It seems the cockroaches have not all come out of the cupboards yet.
How did we get into this mess? One word - greed. Who has been greedy? The large investment bankers? Yes. Mortgage companies? Yes. Homebuilders? Yes. Average everyday American consumers? Yes. The last entry will rankle some folks. Surely this is a problem created on Wall Street by millionaire bigshots with no conscience, right? Yes and no. While it is true that the degree of risk ignorance and the creativeness with which this latest in a long list of financial fiascoes was conjured up may be in some ways unprecedented, it is really no different than any other of the manias which have gripped societies going all the way back to 1929 or the Tulip Craze in Holland in 1637. Everyone was happy. The bankers got big salaries and bonuses. The banks raked in profits. The mortgage companies were rolling in cash. The homebuilders were never busier. And fat-cat consumers got all they wanted. Big houses at low interest rates, and since we all know that real estate values never decline, why worry? I can either sell to the next guy or refinance if need be. Except...what if real estate values don't really go up forever ad infinitum; what if some folks can't really afford the mortgage plus mortgages insurance plus two car payments they took out; what if folks start canceling orders for new houses; what if the delinquency rate on our loan portfolio goes up much higher than we planned for? Oops.
We now live in an immediate gratification society. Does anyone out there remember Christmas clubs and lay-away plans? Gone with the wind. Plastic has replaced all that. Buy now, pay later has replaced E pluribus unum as the national motto. "Refinance and cash out" became a way of life. We want it all, right now, not next year.
Read again above the word of the Lord which he spoke through his prophet Ezekiel. The setting has changed. It is not 586 BC Jerusalem but 2008 America. But the behaviors which offended God are the same: extortion, dishonesty, usury, oppression, the destroying of lives. God said back then that he would not stand for it. Jerusalem fell and the people were taken into exile. Most likely the greed today will not be met with physical exile but rather a financial exile, one out of which many will not recover for years and years. And in our consumerist society, the loss of your credit rating is as much an exile as being taken bodily to Babylon. Their conduct is surely recoiling on their own heads.
Lord God, mercy! We read that there is nothing really new under the sun, yet time and time again we forget it. We forget that the ends do not justify the means. We have been greedy, going along with the way of the world instead of denying ourselves as your Son Jesus did. Put the words of your prophet John on our lips, "Repent, the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand!" We need your grace, your guidance, and your forgiveness to do this. We cannot do it alone. Have mercy upon us. Amen.
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Week of January 27
Nancy E.
I tell you, if these were silent
the very stones would cry out.
Luke 19:4
I often make routine particular ways of doing things I enjoy without thinking of the reason why I do what I do. When we travel, I always plan stops to chapels, churches, and cathedrals located in the places we visit. I feel a real compulsion to do this but have never really thought about why this is so.
As part of my planning for the trip I search out places of worship in guidebooks, historical reference volumes, and on the Internet. I take notes regarding why each particular place is of interest to me, historic information, architectural design of the structure, and so forth.
Upon arriving at my destination and entering these places of worship, I refer to my notes to help me reflect upon what I see. Frequently there are printed materials located at the entrance of the building that provide additional information or, perhaps, a verger to take me on a tour. Sometimes a worship service is available or an organist is practicing - if so, these make my visit really special.
After checking everything out, I sit awhile, ponder about what I have experienced, think about the people who made the building of the house of worship possible -- those who provided the funds as well as craftsmen and artisans. And, I offer a prayer of thanks to God for making it possible for me to be able to visit the structure.
One house of worship I visited during our recent Scandinavian trip was St. Knud's Church in Odense, Denmark. It is a Gothic church - thin pillars rising upward and light streaming in from big windows. At the entrance to the church, I picked up a leaflet expecting it to tell me more about St. Knud's, one of the most beautiful churches in Denmark.
The leaflet did just that. It provided the history of the church from 1086; it contained a diagram explaining the carved altarpiece; and listed the church leaders buried in the crypt. But, the pamphlet did much more. It provided me with an epiphany - an "aha!" moment. I found printed in that brochure the reason for my compulsion to visit houses of worship while traveling.
"To visit a church is to be included in a living tradition of prayer, sermon and worship. That is why a church visit, for a busy tourist, is an invitation to experience something far beyond yet another museum. This sacred place offers a possibility of seeing and exploring, as well as of experiencing a moment of silence and reflection."
Yes, that is why I find it so meaningful to include houses of worship when I explore new places. Reflections in a house of worship remind me that God is for all people and that God travels with me.
Thank you, God, for always being with me. Continue to lead me into places where I can find you in quiet reflection and beauty. Help me to provide ways to welcome those who visit Abiding Presence in ways that provide a meaningful experience for their visit. Amen
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