Dance Into Hope

Rejoice in hope, be patient in suffering, persevere in prayer.

Romans 12:12

Perhaps Paul might have written this sentence backwards.

Perseverance in prayer will nurture your joy and hope and patience.

The sentence is a circle rather than a line.  Much of scripture, and in fact the spiritual life itself, does not conform to our chronological, linear perceptions.

God is timeless.

The attributes and graces of God are also timeless.

Hope, the uplifting of the heart in love with Christ, moves through our veins like cool water.

Hope is refreshing, especially when we are surrounded by words and actions that try to make us seem silly or naïve when we are hopeful.

But we follow a Savior who was walking Hope.  Crowds came toward Him with their secret knowing, hoping for an answer to their suffering and He gave them abundant life!

We have a choice when confronted with such Love.  We can retreat to the places from which we have come and which are familiar to us, OR

We can leap into new life, today, and dance into hope.

As Annie Dillard says:

“How we spend our days, is, of course, how we spend our lives.”

This is the day the Lord has made-this day, this moment, is filled with light and hope.

Whatever is trying to darken your spirit now-turn away and spend your life’s energy on light.

Blessings, Debra

And He continued by questioning them, “But who do you say that I am?”

Mark 8

This question addressed to Jesus’ intimate followers, is a question for each of us to ponder.  If we have a relationship with Jesus, then we must have an image or a sense of His identity.

“But who do you say that I am?”

Do we say who Jesus is?  Can we even begin to utter or describe to ourselves, let alone someone else, who Jesus is for us?

When I was praying through the Ignatian exercises, this question emerged.  This is no question with a qualifying, perhaps or maybe.  This question sears into the heart of the Christ relationship and requires a response.

And the response?  After much spluttering and silence, I was able to make this answer-

“You are the One I love.”

“But who do you say that I am?”

Whatever the answer we make, including no answer, we will have set our feet upon a new pathway.

My answer has required more prayer and more diligent discernment of the pathway of love.

Love is an act of the will.  It is new behavior.  It is an orientation toward the Beloved like magnetic north.  Wherever I am my compass points north and my heart yearns to make my feet go that direction.

Doesn’t always mean I follow my desires, but I certainly do feel them!

“But who do you say that I am?”

Each of us will answer this question in our own way, from our own hearts.  And the answer will change from year to year.

Engage with the question.

Imagine that Jesus is with you right now, looking upon you, and saying to you in His own beautiful way:

“But who do you say that I am?”

Dark Night

Oh, night that guided me, Oh, night more lovely than the dawn,
Oh, night that joined Beloved with lover, Lover transformed in the Beloved!

-From Dark Night of the Soul

St. John of the Cross

This July, Theology and Spirit decided to read Dark Night of the Soul by Gerald May.   It is an exploration of the concept of the dark night and what it might mean for us today.

As a spiritual director I have often heard this phrase bandied about, most often in connection with depression or a difficult passage in life.  While these times may definitely be dark, and we may feel lost as we move through them, the dark night of the soul is something else.

The word used in John’s manuscript is la noche oscura, which translates literally as the night obscure.  The classic understanding of dark night is God working with the soul in mystery or obscurely.

Gerald May describes the divine work of the dark night in this way:

It is the secret way in which God not only liberates us from our attachments and idolatries, but also brings us to the realization of our true nature.  The night is the means by which we find our heart’s desire, our freedom for love.

As we have so often on this blog, we return to the theme of freedom.

God is consistent and steadfast.  We are called to freedom.

Like a skilled surgeon, God uses the dark night to remove those things that inhibit our experience of freedom.  Some of our attachments need to be released at a very deep level.

What we gain from the dark night is soul clarity.

Blessings,

Debra

 



Full Text of The Dark Night of the Soul by St. John of the Cross

The Electric Word

The voice of the Lord is over the waters;

the God of glory thunders, the Lord, over mighty waters.

 Psalm 29

The sound of thunder is literally electric.  As the heated air expands rapidly, deep explosive sounds pour forth.  If you’ve been outside as one of these storms approach you can both see, hear and feel the power that is being unleashed in sky and earth.

Thunder and lightening and storms are dramatic moments, which cause us to sit up and take notice.  We can experience fear and awe and wonder.  A thunderstorm is not to be taken lightly.

It is no wonder, then, that the Psalmist compares God’s voice to the sound of thunder.  Anyone who has heard the call of God, experienced the beauty of God, known the saving power of God, knows what it is like to be caught up in a divine storm of both light, sound, and complete re-orientation.

Annie Dillard writes, "Does anyone have the foggiest idea of what sort of power we so blithely invoke? Or, as I suspect, does no one believe a word of it? The churches are children playing on the floor with their chemistry sets, mixing up a batch of TNT to kill a Sunday morning. It is madness to wear ladies' straw hats and velvet hats to church; we should all be wearing crash helmets. Ushers should issue life preservers and signal flares; they should lash us to our pews."

Dillard’s contemporary spin on the Psalmists description of the power of the Word reminds us how often we float into the scriptures on a raft of complacency when we are being invited to radical conversion.  We seek comfort, when we are offered redemption.  We hope for enough grace to get through the week ahead, when we are being given grace poured forth and running over. 

Let’s listen to that powerful voice thundering forth into our hearts.  Let’s throw off caution and put on the mantle of trust in the Living God.

A Desire for God

“O God, you are my God, I seek you,

   my soul thirsts for you;” (Psalm 63:1)

 This week I am including an MP3 file as the reflection for Psalm 63.

The Psalm is a passionate request for deeper communion with God.

The words themselves speak of an intense longing for the Beloved.

All of us, I believe have known this longing.  Sometimes, it comes out of loneliness and despair.  Sometimes it emerges in the midst of great rejoicing and gratitude.  But always, it expresses an elemental truth about human beings which is the desire to connect with the Other.

All it takes is a willingness to make some space-space in our day, space in our lives-space in our hearts.

So make a little space today and listen to the meditation.
PSALM 63

Truth and Beauty

Finally, beloved, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is pleasing, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. Keep on doing the things that you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, and the God of peace will be with you. (Phil 4:8-9)

Paul writes to the Philippians at a time when they needed to hear a ‘word’ of instruction about ‘right thinking.’  Paul knows, as do we, that our actions proceed from our thinking.  Orienting our thinking toward the truth and beauty of God’s vision inspires actions that are worthy of the faith that is in us.

Some of our actions find their way into our speech.  Our discourse, both secular and religious, has taken a turn toward the negative.  We are not hesitant to criticize each other, or to assume the harshest motivations for behaviors we may not understand.  We don’t take time to understand one another because that would involve opening to the heart of the other. 

Paul proposes a different kind of interaction to the small church in Philippi and to us.  Think on whatever is true, whatever is pleasing.  In other words those old hallmarks of philosophy and poetry, which are here presented as Christian virtues.   These virtues emphasize hope and serve as counterpoints to the despair that appears to be a strong theme in modern secular discourse. 

Paul is not talking about MY truth or MY beauty, but the truth that comes from a beloved community who are in the body of Christ.  Together we can discern truth and beauty in each other, in the community and in the world.

What would our discourse sound like if we left alone these negative, critical postures and stood together in a posture of love and consideration?

I believe that discourse would be a hymn to the Living Lord; with a beat no one could resist moving to.  We would sing and we would dance.  We would care for one another and we would love each other, without a requirement of perfection.  The people would be free, and the children would not have to wonder why the adults were so angry.

  

Learning From Christ

For I have set you an example, that you also should do as I have done to you.

John 13:15

It often happens that as I read scripture I am stopped suddenly by one image or phrase.  Verse 15 in John’s 13^th chapter had that effect on me this morning. 
The setting is familiar—the disciples are gathered and Jesus is teaching through example.  He is washing their dusty, and probably tired, feet.  He is serving them and showing them both the beauty and necessity of service.

But this one sentence-you should do as I have done to you-sums up the whole Christian life.

Thomas a Kempis wrote a book about this way of following Jesus called The Imitation of Christ.

If we wish to be truly enlightened and free from all blindness of heart let our chief effort, therefore, be to study the life of Jesus Christ.

It is natural for us to imitate or desire to be like those we admire, and those we love.  Human beings learn through watching and practicing the behaviors of others.

Because we are social creatures; we are community creatures.  We flourish most when we allow the scriptures and sacraments and members of the Body of Christ to teach us about Christ.

In order to learn, though, we have to be teachable.  We have to be willing to listen humbly and generously to others.

It is hard to learn when you are sure of your own knowledge.

So as we walk toward the Cross and Resurrection this week, let’s suspend all that we think we know about this journey and let God teach us anew.  God’s saving love will reach even the darkest corners of our sorrow, and make them shine with Resurrection light!