email: whitpresby@charterinternet.com
Spiritual readings "Greetings from Whittier Presbyterian Church"
July 2007
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Sue Monk Kidd on “soul.” |
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Parker Palmer definition of ‘soul” |
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12-step program for the USA. |
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Catherine of Sienna, “Celestial Food” |
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Women re-telling the story of Mary & Martha |
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Desmond Tutu on God’s huge love. |
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Teresa of Avila on varieties of prayer. |
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Sue Monk Kidd on forgiveness. |
Some of you maybe familiar with the writing of Sue Monk Kidd, a novelist with considerable background of, in her words, “years of study of contemplative spirituality and the monastic life.” From her novel “The Mermaid Chair” Penguin Books, 2005, here is a reflection upon ‘soul.’
“Soul. The word rebounded to me, and I wondered, as I often had, what is was exactly. People talked about it all the time, but did anybody actually know? Sometimes I’d pictured it like a pilot light burning inside a person—a drop of fire from the invisible inferno people called God. Or a squashy substance, like a piece of clay or dental mold, which collected the sum of a person’s experiences—a million indentations of happiness, desperation, fear, all the small piercings of beauty we’ve ever known.”
I like both of her attempts at definition of something that defies definition. Do you have any definitions of 'soul' that fit you best? I'd like to hear them.
Grace & peace
Geoff
Thanks to everyone who responded with their own comments upon the concept of soul, and what it is or might be. Here is one of my recent favorite comments about the nature of the human soul. It comes from Parker Palmer’s “A Hidden Wholeness; The Journey Toward an Undivided Life” Jossey-Bass, A John Wiley Imprint, 2004
“Like a wild animal, the soul is tough, resilient, resourceful, savvy, and self-sufficient: it knows how to survive in hard places….Yet despite its toughness, the soul is also shy. Just like a wild animal, it seeks safety in the dense underbrush, especially when other people are around. If we want to see a wild animal, we know that the last thing we should do is go crashing through the woods yelling for it to come out. But if we will walk quietly into the woods, sit patiently at the base of a tree, breathe with the earth and fade into our surroundings, the wild creature we seek might put in an appearance.”
May you find yourself in such a place today that your soul can make an appearance, and be respected. Then find a way to nurture that shy wild soul.
Grace & peace
Geoff
I read an editorial in “Christian Century” magazine reflecting on our national political situation that I felt worth passing on to you. It comes from the June 26, 2007 edition.
“However the war plays out, the U.S. needs to engage in something like a 12-step program, which would include: admitting that it is not all-powerful in the world; undertaking a searching and fearless moral inventory of its character; acknowledging what it has done wrong in the world, and seeking insofar as it can to make amends. Such a turnaround may not be likely, but then neither was the collapse of communism.
Since 9/11 Americans have been vulnerable to a politics of fear. A number of presidential candidates are only too eager to play on these fears as they try to present themselves as tough on terrorism. Christians should nave something to bring to this discussion, since they know that there is no absolute safety or security and that it is dangerous to attempt to establish absolute security, that we cannot put ultimate faith in technology, the military or government leaders, that there are worse fates than death, such as the loss of our souls; that we should regard all peoples, even our enemies, as children of God with whom we should engage; and that we need to work together with others to try to resolve the problems of poverty, disease, hunger and environmental degradation.”
If you want to read the whole editorial go here: http://christiancentury.org/article.lasso?id=3442
As our nation struggles with our identity and behavior, here is a good perspective to consider as we move forward. Self examination and repentance are important spiritual practices and they would serve our nation well.
May you find God’s grace and comfort as you examine yourself and repent for those things that you know get in the way of God working through you.
Grace & peace
Geoff
Our church subscribes to a journal entitled “Call to Worship” which is published by the Office of Theology and Worship of the Presbyterian Church (USA). It deals with Reformed liturgy and music, offering worship aids and helpful reflections on the worship life of the church. This quote is used at the beginning of the introduction to Vol. 40.4, 2007. It either is or comes from prayer 12 of Catherine of Sienna.
“You, eternal Father, are the table that offers us as food
the Lamb, your only-begotten Son.
His the most exquisite of foods for us,
both in his teaching, which nourishes us in your will,
and in the sacrament that we receive in holy communion,
which feeds and strengthens us.
And the Holy Spirit in indeed a waiter for us,
who serves us charity for our neighbors.”
We are re-examining the worship practices of our congregation and this is a great reminder of some of the deeper meaning of the Eucharist, which we celebrate each month. May you find yourself today nourished by God in some way.
Grace & peace
Geoff
The Presbyterian Church publishes a periodical entitled “Church & Society,” which “covers a full range of social concerns for the church. In the Mar/Apr 1992 issue, they publish a re-writing by an ecumenical group of women in Aarhaus, Denmark of the story of Mary & Martha, my sermon text for this Sunday, from Luke 10:38-42.
“At Jesus’ rebuke, Martha “Tore her clothes and fell down at his feet and cried “Lord, who is going to take care of the children and do the work?” But Jesus answered: “Let the children remain among us. Later on we will do the work together. You forget that those men who have understood the outreach of my gospel have also understood that freedom at the cost of women is not Christian freedom.”
What a refreshing take on this ancient story. It applies modern values to the Bible in a way that I believe doesn’t violate the intention of the Gospel. That cannot always be said when modern values are overlaid on the Bible. May you have a wider vision of the Gospel in your life today.
Grace & peace
Geoff
Desmond Tutu is a former bishop of the Anglican Church in South Africa, a great leader in the anti-apartheid movement of a generation ago. In his book “God Has a Dream,” (New York, etc. Doubleday, 2004) he says this:
“Many of us can acknowledge that God cares about the world but can’t imagine that God would care about you or me individually. But our God marvelously, miraculously cares about each and every one of us. The Bible has this incredible image of you, of me, of all of us, each one, held as something precious, fragile in the palms of God’s hands. And that you and I exist only because God is forever blowing God’s breath into our being. And so God says to you, “I love you. You are precious in your fragility and your vulnerability. Your being is a gift. I breathe into you and hold you as something precious.”
Tutu touches upon one of the most amazing elements of our faith, and I find it most comforting. May you feel that comfort, that connection with the creator of all that is, as you face the challenges of your life today.
Grace & peace
Geoff
For the year 2008, I will be using a book for short daily devotional readings. Its called “Nearer to the Heart of God” compiled and edited by Bernard Bangley, Paraclete Press, 2005. In dipping into it ahead of time I found this excerpt from Teresa of Avila’s “The Life of Teresa of Jesus.”
“Do not spend all of your time in one method of prayer. There is a time for one thing and a time for another. The soul can become weary of eating the same food over and over again. There is a great variety of good that is wholesome and nutritious. If your spiritual palate becomes familiar with their various tastes, they will sustain the life of your soul, bringing many benefits.”
We’ve had the labyrinth at the church for two weeks now and it has been good for me to pray on the labyrinth, adding variety to my prayer life. Plus, I have seen deeper prayer and more emotion on the labyrinth this past week than in all the years we have had the labyrinth here. Teresa compares a spiritual life of varied practices to a balanced diet of a variety of foods. Not a bad analogy. May your spiritual diet find both the variety and the sustenance that you need.
Grace & peace
Geoff
I just finished another book by Sue Monk Kidd, a novelist with considerable background of, in her words, “years of study of contemplative spirituality and the monastic life.” My email of July 6 had a quote from another book of hers. This time the quote comes from her bestseller, “The Secret Life of Bees,” New York, Penguin Books, 2002.
“People, in general, would rather die than forgive. It’s THAT hard. If God said in plain language, “I’m giving you a choice, forgive or die,” a lot of people would go ahead and order their coffin.”
How difficult do YOU find it to forgive others? Forgiveness is not a virtue in Christianity alone. To my knowledge, forgiveness is a universally good value, one recommended by all religions. That fact points to the need humans have to be encouraged towards forgiveness. If this encouragement is universal, so must be the human desire for vengeance, which forgiveness is designed to subvert. We live in a culture where vengeance has been encouraged more than forgiveness, so when we forgive, we are going against the stream. Just because it is difficult does not mean we should no longer try to forgive our enemies. May God give you the strength to forgive when you are called to do so.
Grace & peace
Geoff
