Wednesday, October 15, 2014

"The trees of the wood sing for joy"


I am just back from a walk in the woods with Riley, my dog.  The leaves are beginning to fall off the trees and the crunch under our feet screams of ending.  This coming week Psalm 96 is one of the lectionary readings.  I seldom write about the psalms, but this one has really touched me.  Some of that is because of some reflections written by Stephanie Mar Smith in a Feasting of the Word preaching resource.

"The fields exult and the trees of the forest shout for joy." 

Stephanie writes: "Witness may be viewed as not only a pointing beyond ourselves but as being and becoming ourselves."  How are we witnessing to the the beauty and joy that God has showed us in our lives?  How are we a symbol of the power and wonder of our loving God? 

One of the many ways we are able to be that witness is to show up.  Yes, the simple act of being present in our lives and the lives of others is sacred ground.  We are changed by breathing in and breathing out.  We are changed by witnessing the breath of others.  We are changed.  

While on retreat this summer I was given a book, Psalms For praying, In invitation to Wholeness,  by Nan C. Merrill.  I offer up the following from this book.  

Psalm 96

O sing to the Cosmos a new song;
sing to the Beloved, all the earth!
Sing to the Creator, and bless the Name
above all names; 
sing praises to the Glorious One
from day to day. 
Declare the splendor of the Radiant One
to all nations, 
the marvelous works of Love
to all peoples!
For great is the Beloved, and greatly 
to be praised; 
reverence Love above all else.
For where your thoughts are, 
reveals that which you treasure;
seek only the true Treasure. 
Truth and integrity live with Love;
strength and beauty dwell 
with the Beloved. 

Yield to Love, O families of the earth, 
yield to Love glory and strength!
Yield to Love and learn of justice;
make of yourselves an offering
and be guided by Love!
Bow down in adoration and holiness; 
for worthy is the Beloved to be
 praised in all the earth!

The Creator of the Cosmos reigns! 
Yes, the world has been created, 
gift to all generations; 
let truth and justice give birth 
to peace and harmony!
Let the heavens be glad, and let 
the earth rejoice;
let the seas roar, and all 
that fills them; 
let the fields exult, and 
everything in them! 
Then shall the trees of the wood 
sing for joy
before the coming of the Beloved, 
who reigns in glory!
For  through Love will come truth 
and justice, 
offering all the people gifts
of new life.  


We each have this day. We have the blessing of new life.  It really is through Love that truth and justice are made manifest.  When we come to know each other, really know each other, we are more forgiving, of ourselves and those around us.  On this day, your work is to show up, pay attention, and be the person God thinks you are.  Good Luck!!!



Tuesday, October 7, 2014

Musings on God, community and change.

Blessing

"That the holy
will haunt you. 
That the terrain of your days
will give way to  God.
Each moment. Each step. 
Each circling and turning. 
Every breath an opening
tearing the veil. " 
Jan Richardson


Listening to God, praying for guidance to be the instrument needed in the world is always a fascinating adventure.  Of course some days, it can feel like no one is listening, or perhaps you are on the wrong channel, tuned in at a bad time, or maybe just this whole praying - God thing is a waste of time.  Could it be that in those very times we are unable to be in the present, when we are searching, that we are unable to see what is right in front of us?   What could we receive if we were really open?

Recently, I wrote to my congregation referring to our church and the property as the base camp.  It seemed odd at first, perhaps oversimplified or childish, but the metaphor works.  When people say they are going to church, there is most often a physical destination inferred.  Yet, as Jesus travels preaching and teaching, I am struck over and over again, at the lack of structure.  Jesus over and over again went to where the people were.  As leaders in the church it is also important to be reminded that Jesus over and over again went off by himself to pray.  Of course, I am always slightly amused by the reality that he is always followed.  But Jesus goes off by himself to pray, most often to a mountain or a garden.  Hummm

What could a base camp mean?  A place we leave from.  A place we are restored in body, mind and spirit.  A place we gather to learn and grow.  A place we hold and hear each other, a place we laugh and play together.  A place we know is always there, and yet we always know we leave only to return.  Hunnnn

Recently I looked up the definition of community.  The following is what I found:

~a group of people living in the same place or having a particular characteristic in common.

~synonyms: group, body, set, circle, clique, faction, gang, bunch

~a feeling of fellowship with others, as a result of sharing common attitudes, interests, and goals.

~a group of interdependent organisms of different species growing or living together in a specified habitat.

As leaders in the Episcopal Church, both lay and ordained, many of us spend a tremendous amount of time finding ways to keep the base camp up and running.  Ways to keep the lights on and the heat available.  This has been done for years.  My grandfather had a fishing cottage on a lake in Maine.  He loved it.  He would go with his son and his friends and it would be their get away.  The women went sometimes, but over all it was their fishing getaway.  One of my favorite pictures of him was taken the weekend he died.  He is in the back of a canoe, decked in his fishing gear, with a tremendous smile on his face. 

We keep the base camp going, we spend time dreaming and wondering about what it could be, who we could share it with,  we tell stories of times past.  One of the hard things about time passing is that things change.  The cost of keeping up these places is beyond our ancestors wildest imaginings.  My grandfather would be shocked and that is to put it mildly at the cost of things.  Of course he would also not believe that we store letters in things called clouds, but don't get me started.  

The feeling of fellowship, mission and call that was present in those early days when our ancestors built these buildings and created these communities is still present and alive.  The need for fellowship, mission and vocational ministry is one of the worlds deepest needs.   The community that we call The Episcopal Church is, like most mainline protestant traditions, trying to address the desperate need to redefine how that community can most effectively live out God's mission.  

The Episcopal Church has the Five Marks of Mission.  The Five marks of Mission, developed by the Anglican Consultative council and adopted by the General Convention in 2009 are ways that we can reflect and focus on who we are and what we are doing.  They are ways that we can be reminded what God continues to call us to do.  They are: 

~To Proclaim the Good News of the Kingdom
~To teach, baptize and nurture new believers
~To respond to human need by loving service
~To seek to transform unjust structures of society, to challenge violence of every kind and to pursue    peace and reconciliation.
~To strive to safeguard the integrity of creation and sustain and renew the life of the earth.  



How are we reflecting this call in our lives and in our communities?  I know that for myself, it is hard sometimes to remember that these really are what we are called to do.  Not because any of us don't think they are important.  But because it has become so hard to keep the home fires burning.  For many our communities have changed.  Small towns and communities in many places struggle with generational poverty, unemployment and addiction.  We have communities that have a proud and long history and that are struggling with all they have to be faithful to the past while knowing that the present is killing them.  There is a feeling of responsibility that cause many to feel like if we change the way we do things we are letting our ancestors down.  We could feel like we are letting ourselves down.  Will God be there in our midst? 

I hope to spend some time writing and reflecting on the these very questions.  Many of us have questions, and many wonder what the questions are.  I know that God is present in our midst.  Some feel like we are in a time of crisis.  One of the hardest things about crisis or chaos is that we do not  know what the outcome will be.  We cannot control where we are being led.  These are the very times that the Holy Spirit is most present.  

M. Scott Peck, MD, writes in the book, The Different Drum, Community Making and Peace: "there are only two ways out of chaos, One is into organization, but organization is never community, the only other way in into and through emptiness."   We are a church of structure.  We love our liturgy, our buildings and the role of clergy.  We love the structure.  But are we being called to look at this whole thing from a different perspective?  Has the wonderful and important parts of our structure stopped serving us?  Are we now being called to open wide the confines of the institution, and empty ourselves of our own barriers to the Holy Spirit?  


I'm sure change in easier for me than for many because my life has called me to emptiness many times.  The letting go of jobs, family, homes, and expectations of what life was going to look like has been painful and life affirming.  With each loss, came space for God's grace to move in my life in ways I could never have imagined.  Each change of community or life situation called me to dig deep in the faith department.  Each change required sacrifice on my part and others.  "Community making requires time as well as effort and sacrifice."  Peck reminds us that like any relationship that we care about, our communities require time and attention.  They require effort and sacrifice.  

So as we continue to look at how to best keep our base camps places of nourishment, renewal, and warmth, let us look at who we are being called to be.  How are we able to nourish each other and the world?   How is God able to use us today, in this time and place.  The memory of my grandfather is one of contentment and peace.  He was in a canoe, he was not in the camp.