01/02/07 week of Epiphany 4

Collect

Almighty and everlasting God, you govern all things both in heaven and on earth: Mercifully hear the supplications of your people, and in our time grant us your peace; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
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Today's Scripture http://www.satucket.com/lectionary/

Ps (70)71 * 74; Isaiah 55:1-13; Gal 5:1-15; Mark 8:27-9:1
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From Forward Day by Day: http://www.forwardmovement.org/todaysreading.cfm

Everyone who thirsts, come to the waters...

It's important to stay hydrated. I know this to be a fact: I passed out in church last summer from dehydration, right there in front of God and everyone. Two nurses in the parish crept up to the altar and hauled me out, while the deacon finished distributing communion. But I wasn't aware of being thirsty before I fainted. I learned that this is common.


According to Isaiah, nobody has to get thirsty. There's plenty of water for everyone--a vivid metaphor for an audience in a dry country like Israel. Jesus used it also, when he spoke to the Samaritan woman at the well. She, the practical sort, assumed he was talking about simple H2O. But he was talking about the overall care of God for everyone, the concern for human need of all kinds, spiritual and material.


So I won't just sit there and allow myself to shrink inside, so dull with thirst I'm no longer even aware of my need. I'll drink often, of prayer and scripture and meditation and corporate worship, get used to being well nourished, so I feel it immediately if I go too long without it.
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Today we remember: http://satucket.com/lectionary/Calendar.htm

ST BRIDGET OF KILDARE

Psalm 138 or 1; 1 Corinthians 1:26-31; Matthew 6:25-33

Everliving God, we rejoice today in the fellowship of your blessed servant Brigid, and we give you thanks for her life of devoted service. Inspire us with life and light, and give us perseverance to serve you all our days; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who with you and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns, one God, world without end.

"The Giveaway" (from The Love Leters of Phyllis McGinley, New York, Viking Press, 1957)

St. Brigid's Headstone
Saint Bridget was
A problem child.
Although a lass
Demure and mild,
And one who strove
To please her dad,
Saint Bridget drove
The family mad.
For here's the fault in Bridget lay:
She would give everything away.

To any soul
Whose luck was out
She'd give her bowl
Of stirabout;
She'd give her shawl,
Divide her purse
With one or all.
And what was worse,
When she ran out of things to give
She'd borrow from a relative.

Her father's gold,
Her grandsire's dinner,
She'd hand to cold
and hungry sinner;
Give wine, give meat,
No matter whose;
Take from her feet
The very shoes,
And when her shoes had gone to others,
Fetch forth her sister's and her mother's.

She could not quit.
She had to share;
Gave bit by bit
The silverware,
The barnyard geese,
The parlor rug,
Her little
niece's christening mug,
Even her bed to those in want,
And then the mattress of her aunt.

An easy touch
For poor and lowly,
She gave so much
And grew so holy
That when she died
Of years and fame,
The countryside
Put on her name,
And still the Isles of Erin fidget
With generous girls named Bride or Bridget.

Well, one must love her.
Nonetheless,
In thinking of her
Givingness,
There's no denial
She must have been
A sort of trial
Unto her kin.
The moral, too, seems rather quaint.
Who had the patience of a saint,
From evidence presented here?
Saint Bridget? Or her near and dear?
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Today in the Anglican Cycle of Prayer we pray for the Diocese of Mandalay (Myanmar)
http://www.anglicancommunion.org/acp/index.cfm
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Carmelite.com: Reflections http://www.carmelite.com/spirituality/reflection.php

In my Little Way there are only very ordinary things.

St. Therese of the Child Jesus
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Reading from the Desert Christians http://www.cin.org/dsrtftin.html

On Humility:

As abba Macarius was returning to his cell from the marsh carrying palm-leaves, the devil met him with a sharp sickle and would have struck him but he could not. He cried out, "Great is the violence I suffer from you, Macarius, for when I want to hurt you, I cannot. But whatever you do, I do and more also. You fast now and then, but I am never refreshed by any food; you often keep vigil, but I never fall asleep. Only in one thing are you better than I am and I acknowledge that." Macarius said to him, "What is that?" and he replied, "It is because of your humility alone that I cannot overcome you."

The old men used to say, "When we do not experience warfare, we ought so much the more to humiliate ourselves. For God seeing our weakness, protects us; when we glorify ourselves, he withdraws his protection and we are lost."
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Daily Meditation (Henri Nouwen) http://www.henrinouwen.org/home/free_eletters/

Solidarity in Weakness

Joy is hidden in compassion. The word compassion literally means "to suffer with." It seems quite unlikely that suffering with another person would bring joy. Yet being with a person in pain, offering simple presence to someone in despair, sharing with a friend times of confusion and uncertainty ... such experiences can bring us deep joy. Not happiness, not excitement, not great satisfaction, but the quiet joy of being there for someone else and living in deep solidarity with our brothers and sisters in this human family. Often this is a solidarity in weakness, in brokenness, in woundedness, but it leads us to the center of joy, which is sharing our humanity with others.
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Weekly Reflection (Henri Nouwen) http://www.henrinouwen.org/home/free_eletters/


On the Journey To Aging Gracefully
written by ANDREA SHAPPELL
I turned fifty last month, "over the hill" as many cards declared. In the months leading up to my birthday, I was puzzled by the thought of turning fifty: How could this have happened? I do not feel like I am fifty. Gradually, with reflection on the experiences of my life and all the learning that has come from those experiences, my focus turned to the wisdom that has come from fifty years of living. Yes, I am "over the hill" of trying to earn love instead of accepting the grace of unconditional love; "over the hill" of worrying so much about what everyone else thinks of me instead of delighting in being me; "over the hill" of trying to save the world, learning that "being with" is more important than doing.

My aching knees, greying hair and need for reading glasses cannot be denied as parts of the aging process. They are proof that I have grown up, but now I desire to grow down, to grow deeper, into greater communion with God and with the people in my life. Most of life's lessons, like those mentioned above, come to me over and over again, each time in a deeper, more meaningful way. The one that is most prominent for me at fifty is that relationships are the key to a fruitful life. I look forward to learning more about life and love, fruitfulness and joy, as I continue on the journey "over the hill" towards sixty.


ANDREA SMITH SHAPPELL is the Director of Summer Service Learning Programs at the Center for Social Concerns of the University of Notre Dame and she serves on the U.S. Board of the Nouwen Society. Andrea and her husband, Brian, have three children, teenagers to young adults.
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From the Principles of the Third Society of St. Francis:

The Object

(1) Jesus said, Very truly, I tell you, unless a grain of wheat falls
into the earth and dies, it remains just a single grain; but if it dies,
it bears much fruit. Those who love their life lose it, and those who
hate their life in this world will keep it for eternal life. Whoever
serves Me must follow Me, and where I am, there will my servant be also.
Whoever serves Me, the Father will honour. John 12.24-26.

Lord, without You our labour is wasted, but with You all who are weak
can find strength: pour Your Spirit on the Society of St Francis; give
Your labourers a pure intention, patient faith, sufficient success on
earth, and joy of serving You in heaven, through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen
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Richard Rohr's Daily Reflection
http://cacradicalgrace.org/getconnected/getconnected_index.html

"Faith Is Faith Is Faith"

Knowledge of God cannot be proven, processed, reasoned, justified or legitimated. This God-knowing and God-energy always risks being misunderstood (as God also risks) and risks being misinterpreted (as God puts up with) and even risks being not appreciated (as God also feels). To live in faith - which is to live with God - one has to risk looking and feeling like nothing - nothing that can be possessed, bargained for, developed, controlled, sold, bought, measured, merited, applauded, or even rightly communicated. Faith, finally, is beyond the world of power, function and purpose. I must say it or I would deny the entire history of faith from Abraham to Jesus to Francis of Assisi to our own Donny Flowers and Erwin Wolke: Faith is beyond any reasonable and objective process that even good people can devise. There is no community program or structure, no matter how perfect or how much we own it or invest in it, that will ever make biblical faith unnecessary. Faith is faith is faith. And God can only be known by faith (see Romans 3-5). I wonder why religious people so easily forget that? Faith is finally to stand in nothingness, with nothing to prove and nothing to protect, knowing itself in an ever-alive charity that urges us to surrender, to let go, to give away, to hand over, to forgive, to walk across, to take no offense, to trust another, to lose oneself - while being quite sure that we are going to find ourselves afterward. A consumer-oriented, functional and materialistic age finds faith almost impossible. We want religion, but we surely do not want faith. Because if faith is nothing, the faithful person is a nobody. In our shallow culture, trust is called naïveté. Forgiveness always looks like being soft and conceding to the enemy - even speaking the truth will now win you any votes of look patriotic on the evening news. Faith is nothing in this age and culture. Faith always has been nothing.

from "Image and Likeness: The Restoration of the Divine Image"
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From John E. Rotelle, O.S.A., Tradition Day by Day: Readings from Church Writers. Augustinian Press. Villanova, PA, 1994.
http://www.artsci.villanova.edu/dsteelman/tradition/sources.html

Keep God's word

Those who love me will keep my word, and my Father will love them and we will come to them. There is another passage of scripture which reads: those who fear God will do good, but of those who love something more is said: They will keep God's word. Where is God's word to be kept? Obviously in the heart, as the prophet says: I have hidden your words in my heart, so that I may not sin against you.

Keep God's word in this way. Let it enter into your very being, let it take possession of your desires and your whole way of life. Feed on goodness and your soul will delight in its richness. Remember to eat your bread, or your heart will wither away. Fill your soul with richness and strength.

If you keep the word of God in this way, it will also keep you. The Son will come to you with the Father. The great Prophet who will build the new Jerusalem will come, the one who makes all things new. This coming will fulfill what is written: As we have borne the likeness of the earthly man, we shall also bear the likeness of the heavenly man. Just as Adam's sin spread through the whole human race and took hold of all, so Christ who created and redeemed all will glorify all, once he has taken possession of all.

Bernard of Clairvaux, (1090 - 1153), abbot of Clairvaux, was a Benedictine monk whose writings show an intimate knowledge of scripture and mysticism.
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Today's reading from the Rule of St. Benedict http://www.osb.org/rb/

Chapter 7: On Humility

The fourth degree of humility
is that he hold fast to patience with a silent mind
when in this obedience he meets with difficulties
and contradictions
and even any kind of injustice,
enduring all without growing weary or running away.
For the Scripture says,
"The one who perseveres to the end,
is the one who shall be saved" (Matt. 10:22);
and again
"Let your heart take courage, and wait for the Lord" (Ps. 26:14)!

And to show how those who are faithful
ought to endure all things, however contrary, for the Lord,
the Scripture says in the person of the suffering,
"For Your sake we are put to death all the day long;
we are considered as sheep marked for slaughter" (Ps. 43:22; Rom. 8:36).
Then, secure in their hope of a divine recompense,
they go on with joy to declare,
"But in all these trials we conquer,
through Him who has granted us His love" (Rom. 8:37).
Again, in another place the Scripture says,
"You have tested us, O God;
You have tried us a silver is tried, by fire;
You have brought us into a snare;
You have laid afflictions on our back" (Matt. 5:39-41).
And to show that we ought to be under a Superior,
it goes on to say,
"You have set men over our heads" (Ps. 65:12).

Moreover, by their patience
those faithful ones fulfill the Lord's command
in adversities and injuries:
when struck on one cheek, they offer the other;
when deprived of their tunic, they surrender also their cloak;
when forced to go a mile, they go two;
with the Apostle Paul they bear with false brethren (2 Cor. 11:26)
and bless those who curse them (1 Cor. 4:12).

Commentary: http://www.eriebenedictines.org/Pages/INSPIRATION/insights.html

One thing about Benedict of Nursia: he is not is a romantic. It is so easy to say, "Let God be the center of your life; do God's will; see God's will in the will of others for you." It is outrageous to say, even under the best of conditions, that it will be easy. We cling to our own ways like snails to sea walls, inching along through life, hiding within ourselves, unconscious even of the nourishing power of the sea that is seeking to sweep us into wider worlds.

And all of that when the words that control us are good for us. What about when they are not? Benedict admits the situation. There are times when the words of those over us will not be good for us.

The fourth step on the spiritual ladder, Benedict says, is the ability to persevere, even in the face of downright contradiction because it is more right to be open to the Word of God through others and have our enterprises fail sometimes than to be our own guide and have things turn out right.

It is more right to be able to deal with the difficult things of life and grow from them than it is to have things work out well all the time and learn nothing from them at all.

This is the degree of humility that calls for emotional stability, for holding on when things do not go our way, for withstanding the storms of life rather than having to flail and flail against the wind and, as a result, lose the opportunity to control ourselves when there is nothing else in life that we can control.

To bear bad things, evil things, well is for Benedict a mark of humility, a mark of Christian maturity. It is a dour and difficult notion for the modern Christian to accept. The goal of the twentieth century is to cure all diseases, order all inefficiency, topple all obstacles, end all stress, and prescribe immediate panaceas. We wait for nothing and put up with little and abide less and react with fury at irritations. We are a people without patience. We do not tolerate process. We cannot stomach delay. Persist. Persevere. Endure, Benedict says. It is good for the soul to temper it. God does not come on hoofbeats of mercury through streets of gold. God is in the dregs of our lives. That's why it takes humility to find God where God is not expected to be.
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Why St. Francis Belongs on the Birdbath by Friar Jack Wintz, O.F.M.

Since his death nearly eight centuries ago, St. Francis of Assisi has been the subject of some of the world’s most admired works of art. His image is also found quite often in what we call the popular arts: in the form of greeting cards, plastic statues, medallions and plaques. These forms of art often get mixed reviews.

People at times poke fun at some of the more sentimental or sappy images of Francis holding a rabbit or with birds flying around his head. And there are always those who like to belittle admirers of the saint when they place his statue in flower gardens or on a birdbath.

In most cases, I beg to differ with this point of view. With the feast of St. Francis once again approaching us (October 4), I would like to share with you some reflections on this topic that I put into writing a few years ago:

The man behind the birdbath
Excerpt from Lights: Revelations of God’s Goodness

Perhaps the most popular sculptured image of Francis is that of the ragged little man standing on a birdbath. This figure, which has become so universal, could be discovered as easily in a Methodist’s backyard or a Buddhist prayer garden as at a Franciscan retreat center.

To those who grumble that this birdbath art is too lowbrow and sentimental, I say “Lighten up! Francis belongs to the popular arts as much as with the fine arts—and he certainly belongs to the birds.” To set Francis on a birdbath or in a flower garden or to depict him with birds circling around his head is just a popular way of saying: “This man had a special link with all of God’s creatures, and it’s just like him to be standing there among them.”

Francis was in awe of the swallow and cricket and rabbit. “Where the modern cynic see something ‘buglike’ in everything that exists,” observed German writer-philosopher Max Scheler, “St. Francis saw even in a bug the sacredness of life.”

Another reason Francis should keep his place on the birdbath or amid the daffodils in that his being there helps us see, as Francis himself did, that the world of nature and the world of God are one. Francis did not fall into the trap of dualism, which creates an artificial wall between the natural world and the supernatural, the secular and the sacred. For Francis, every creature was sacred. The world he lived in was not something wicked to be rejected but a sacred ladder leading to its Creator.

Francis would say that the birds coming to the birdbath are holy. Water is holy. Bugs are holy. Why shouldn’t Francis be there in the garden where he can be pelted by rain or sleet or kissed by the sun and wind or a passing butterfly?

In 1992 the Catholic Bishops of the United States published a statement on the environment entitled Renewing the Earth. In it, they praised St. Francis and emphasized: “Safeguarding creation requires us to live responsibly in it, rather than managing creation as though we are outside it.” We should see ourselves, they added, as stewards within creation, not as separate from it. Francis was ahead of his time, He saw himself, as do today’s ecologists, as part of the ecosystem, not as some proud master over and above it.

Francis addressed creatures as “brother” and “sister”—as equals, not subjects to be dominated. And that’s why the humble figure of Francis standing at the birdbath or among the plants and shrubs is so right for our day. He truly saw himself as a simple servant and steward of creation—little brother to the birds and the fish and the lowly ivy. St. Francis reminds us that we are a part of our environment and are called to love and protect it.

Patron saint of ecology. In 1979 Pope John Paul II proclaimed Francis of Assisi the patron of ecology. The pope cited him for being “an example of genuine and deep respect for the integrity of creation….St. Francis,” he added, “invited all creation—animals, plants, natural forces, even Brother Sun and Sister Moon—to give honor and praise to the Lord.”