The Way of Mary: Joy

 

Good Monday morning, good Advent pilgrims on The Way of Mary. Today is the 7th Day of the O Antiphons. O Emmanuel: O Emmanuel, our King and Giver of Law:come to save us, Lord our God!

Sr. Joan Chittister has some wonderful thoughts and prayers on the Antiphon:

"Jesus Emmanuel has already come. It is not a matter now of Christ’s being where we are; it is a matter of our being in the consciousness of where Christ is in life and where He is not as well. Where is Christ for you? Is there a place in your life that you know down deep is not in the spirit of Christ at all?" https://www.eriebenedictines.org/

I love that meditation the most, I think. Christ has already come. We are celebrating the coming of Christ, the fact that Christ has come and is with us in the newborn child named Jesus, first of his name, breaker of chains, maker of miracles, challenger of tradition, son of Mary and Joseph, Palestinians from the House of David, born in Bethlehem, who lived in Nazareth.

Emmanuel means God with us. Think about that for a minute. It really does help to put things into better perspective.

Christmas is about being in the consciousness of where Christ is in life and where he is not.

The question of Christmas is not what to buy for whom or what you might get for Christmas. The question of Christmas is where Christ is and where Christ is not in your life.

And note, please, that now, we are talking about Christ, not Jesus, per se. We are talking about the spirit of the Resurrected Jesus, which is The Messiah, the Christ.

Game changer.

So, as I walk The Way of Mary, the word for me, today, is JOY.

I found this quote from Brene Brown in her book, The Gifts of Imperfection:

“Twinkle lights are the perfect metaphor for joy. Joy is not a constant. It comes to us in moments. . . . A joyful life is not a floodlight of joy. That would eventually become unbearable. I believe a joyful life is made up of joyful moments gracefully strung together by trust, gratitude, inspiration, and faith.

Because true joy—biblical joy—does not sweep tensions under the rug. It tolerates doubt and sadness; fear and loss. It is a celebration of God’s presence with us, even—especially—in the darkest of days.”

One of the places on that string of twinkle lights where I find joy is my friend and colleague, Stephen E Moore, who is one of my absolute favorite church nerds. He’s brilliant with a wicked sense of wit and humor. This morning, noting that the liturgical calendar for today is empty, Stephen set out to fix that, reporting a long list of events to be celebrated on this day.

Like? Well, like today is Festivus – the Seinfeld holiday for the non-religious, it is touted as "a Festivus for the rest of us."

But, here’s my favorite. Stephen writes, “The 23rd of December is "Christmas Adam." It is so called because, according to the Hebrew Bible's Book of Genesis, the first two humans were Adam and Eve. The 24th of December is called "Christmas Eve" because "eve" is a variant of a Middle English noun meaning a period before a holiday, event, or occasion.

Genesis makes it clear that Adam (2:7) was created before Eve (2:21-22). Therefore it is correctly said that "Adam came before Eve." If Christmas Eve is 24 December then Christmas Adam must occur on the eve of the eve of Christmas Day. It is the proper moniker for the day before Christmas Eve. The absence of this term from encyclopaedias and dictionaries should not be at all dispiriting nor dissuasive of its proper use. Today (23 December) is a fitting day on which to wish someone "Happy Christmas Adam," then tomorrow "Happy Christmas Eve," and then December 25th "Happy Christmas Day."

Those who disagree may look forward to a weighty lump of lignite coal in their stocking -- filthy, high residue, polluting, sulphurous, and ashy -- on the night after Christmas Adam, which is Christmas Eve.

I. Love. This. I think it’s hilarious.

You can’t see it, but my little heart strings are twinkling with joy. I think this festival of “Christmas Adam” ought to be lifted up and celebrated just for the joy that silliness brings to the adult heart, hardened as it has been over the years, after carrying the weight of so many burdens and healing as often as it needs to, from heartbreak.

In this new addition to the Book of Occasional Services, we would, of course, need to include the biblical passages which set right the order of the creation – Adam first, then Eve, which also provides a special nod to soothe the fragile male ego. That reading would be followed by The Quaker Version of “Silent Night” which, of course, contains no notes and is, in fact, silent.

We might light a few candles during the silence. Episcopalians love to light candles, in proper left to right order. Of course.

Our Christmas Adam Service should also include a rendition of “Hark, the herald angels sing,” during which everyone is required to tilt our heads back and look up while we sing the “Glory to the newborn king” part. My friend, Rosemary says she does this every year. “Can’t help it,” she says.

Neither can I prevent the giggle of joy that dances in my throat at the mere thought of a whole congregation looking like a gathering of the characters in A Charlie Brown Christmas.

Except, of course, it would be the Christmas Adam Service. Which, of course, demands, the playing of “Linus and Lucy” by Vince Guaraldi (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x6zypc_LhnM)

Christ has already come. So, to answer Sr. Joan’s question, “Where is Christ for you?” I look for the small moments of joy, especially those in unexpected or forgotten places.

You could miss them, because they tend to twinkle ever so briefly and sometimes, in the darkness of the moment, can seem fragile and frail.

You’ll know because a small giggle of joy will dance in the back of your throat when you tilt your head back as you did when you were a child singing your favorite Christmas hymn.

I hope something good happens to you today.

 

Bom dia. (Oh, and Happy Christmas Adam!)

 

Photo credit:

Jamilia Jean Photography and Designs

Advent IV: Holiness Happens

 

Advent IV - 12.20.24 - Year C
The Episcopal Church of St. John the Baptist
Milton, DE

Well, that went fast, didn’t it? Here we are, the the fourth Sunday in Advent and three days from Christmas. I believe this is my third time to be with you, but who’s counting, right? If I’m lucky, it won’t be the last.

 

If you’ve learned anything about me, it’s that I’m a storyteller. I love the Gospel stories and I love the stories of our lives that reflect the ancient stories of Good News – and the way the people of today reflect the ancient characters in the Gospel stories.

The Nativity stories in this cycle are just chock-full of stories inside of stories that simply tell themselves and, in so doing, strengthen our faith.

I especially love Luke’s story of The Visitation which gives us the beautiful song of Mary we know as “The Magnificat”. Scholars tell us that this song affords Mary the most words said by any woman in any piece of scripture anywhere. It’s also easily recognizable and cherished by many Christians as part of the Christmas story.

There’s a children’s Christian education program called “Godly Play,” which is based on the Montessori approach to teaching children. As the scriptural story is introduced, the teacher often says, “You may have heard this story before, but you have changed since the last time you heard this story. I wonder if the way you’ve changed, changes the way you will hear this story.”

 

What I hear this year in the story of the Visitation and the Magnificat is that there are so many stories within that story. The story looks to me like the word equivalent of one of those Russian Nesting Dolls where one doll fits into another and then another fits into yet another until you get to the baby.

Now, I'm really excited to get to all the stories in the stories, but before I begin, let me address something that always dances in the mind of at least one or two people in a congregation like this. Someone always wants to dismiss this story because of The Virgin Birth – which they consider so much hocus-pocus or poppycock. 

 

I love what author and Presbyterian minister, Frederick Buechner says about that:

“ . . . .many Christians have made it an article of faith that it was the Holy Spirit rather than Joseph who got Mary pregnant. If you believe God was somehow in Christ, it shouldn't make much difference to you how he got there. If you don't believe, it should make less difference still. In either case, life is complicated enough without confusing theology and gynecology.

In one sense anyway, the doctrine of the virgin birth is demonstrably true. Whereas the villains of history can always be seen as the products of heredity and environment, the saints always seem to arrive under their own steam. Evil evolves. Holiness happens.”

Evil evolves. Holiness happens. With all of the changes this past year has brought, that phrase strikes me in a deep place of understanding. Evil evolves. Holiness happens.

The story of the Visitation of Mary and Elizabeth and the Magnificat that Mary sings is one of those moments when “holiness happens”. 

It has a great deal to do with the word “blessed” – which is the word Elizabeth uses to greet Mary: “Blessed are you among women.”

Hold that thought because I’m going to come back to it in just a minute.  Or, two. 

I say that this is one of those moments when ‘holiness happens’ because on the surface of the story it may look like only Mary and only Elizabeth are present in this story. 

But, if you open the Nesting Doll of this story, you’ll find other women present, as well, all having to do with Mary having been greeted by Elizabeth as “Blessed”.

The first is the Song of Miriam - the sister of Moses - a biblical song of praise that celebrates the Israelites' deliverance from the Egyptians as the Red Sea parted for their escape. Miriam song begins, "Sing to the Lord, for he has triumphed gloriously; horse and rider he has thrown into the sea"

The next is the story of Hannah. I’m sure Mary knew both songs of Miriam and Hannah. Indeed, she may have even learned it from her mother Anne, who learned it from her mother, who may have sung the song around the house as she went about her work, as ancient mothers often did. 

Found in the second book of Samuel (2:1-10), Hannah gives thanks to God for the birth of her son Samuel. It is very similar to Psalm 113. In Judaism, the song of Hannah is regarded as the prime role model for how to pray and is read on the first day of Rosh Hashanah. It begins:

 “My heart rejoices in the Lord; my strength is exalted in the Lord. I smile at my enemies, because I rejoice in your salvation.”

But, there is yet another story in this story – the song of Deborah which we find in the fourth book of Judges (4:4-5) – her song is in Judges 5.  Deborah is described as a prophet, a judge and a warrior – a mother of Israel. Her story comes at a turning point in the history of Israel as the people cross over to reclaim Canaan. It is a time of violence and war when men and women are called to battle to save the nation of Israel.

Deborah’s song recalls the heroine Yael who kills Sisera, a general hellbent on destroying Israel. Yael offered him milk and kindness and hospitality and then, when he becomes drowsy with satisfaction, drives a peg through his skull and kills him. For this, Deborah sings the praises of Yael and says she is “blessed among women.”

 

I know, right? Who knew such violence was in scripture? But wait! There’s more.  There’s another nesting doll to be uncovered. Yael is not the only woman thus invited into this holy moment. 

Perhaps you may have heard the story of Judith, another strong woman in the stories of our faith during the time of the Assyrian attempted take over of Israel. In the 13^th chapter of the Apocryphal Book of Judith, Judith is praised in similar language for killing Holofernes: 

"O daughter, you are blessed by the Most High God above all other women on earth; and blessed be the Lord God, who created the heavens and the earth, who has guided you to cut off the head of the leader of our enemies."

So, there is a multitude of women present in the Magnificat. Mary and Elizabeth are joined by Miriam and Hannah, Deborah and Yael and Judith. All of these women are in that sacred space with Elizabeth and Mary. All of them are “blessed among women” because Mary carries within her womb the embodiment and the redemption of all of their stories. 

The promised redemption and salvation of God are themes in every song of each woman which now becomes incarnate in the babe in Mary’s womb. No wonder John the Baptist leaps in utero when Elizabeth greets Mary.

To understand this, to understand how ‘holiness happens’, you have to know something about the word “blessed”. That story is the final nesting doll in the nesting egg of stories about the Magnificat.

 

Several years ago, I was curious about the word “blessed” so I looked it up in the Old Oxford English Dictionary. I grew even more curious as I discovered that the root of the word ‘bless’ is ‘blood’. 

I mentioned this to my spiritual director at that time, Martin Smith, who was, also at that time, a brother in the Anglican Order of the Society of St. John the Evangelist in Cambridge, MA where I attended seminary. You may know them as “The Cowley Fathers”. 

Martin explained to me that most of our words in the English language came to us from St. Gregory who founded a monastery where the monks wrote down most of his sermons.  Prior to that, not many sermons were written down. Gregory’s favorite preaching topic was the stories of Jacob. He especially loved preaching on the story of Jacob’s wrestling with an angel.

Gregory said that, when Jacob and the angel began to wrestle, in that moment, time stood still. It’s a holy moment, Gregory said, when the past and the future fold into the present and become one.  In that moment, Gregory preached that the blood of the cross splashed on Jacob and he was “blooded”. 

Jacob, Gregory said, was ‘blooded’. 

When the monks wrote down the sermon, they wrote in the script of their day, of course. To eyes that came to read that sermon later in time, their letter ‘d’ looked like an ‘s’. Thus, ‘blooded’ becomes ‘blessed’. 

Jacob was blessed.

When you open the nesting egg of the story of the Magnificat and begin to hear the echoes of all the other women who are singing with Mary in that holy moment – all those warrior women who fought for the freedom of their country which did not fully grant it to them – you begin to understand the blessedness of Mary, and why Elizabeth greets her as “Blessed among women.”

You begin to understand that in the holy moment when Mary wrestled with the words of an angel – as Jacob before her had wrestled with an angel – and had to suspend logic and reason, the past and the future folded into the present and the blood that had been shed in the past and the blood that will be shed on the cross has splattered on Mary. 

St. Gregory would have said that Mary is blooded – or blessed.  

You also begin to understand why Mary spoke about the “strong arm of God” and “casting the down the mighty” and “lifting up the lowly”. Perhaps you can understand why she sang about “filling the hungry with good things” and sending “the rich away empty”. 

And, you begin to understand just how much of an influence Mary had upon her son, Jesus as well as his cousin John who leapt in her womb when he heard Elizabeth say to Mary, “Blessed are you among women!” 

 

In his first sermon in the Temple, Jesus says,

“The Spirit of the Lord is on me, He has sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim release to the captives, recovering of sight to the blind, to deliver those who are crushed, and to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.”

Do you hear it? Can you hear the echo’s of the songs of all the other women in the genealogy of the line of Jesus? Perhaps you can hear it more clearly in his second sermon, known as The Beatitudes. Jesus says, nine times, “Blessed are you . . . “

Blessed are the poor in spirit. Blessed are those who weep and mourn. Blessed are the merciful and pure in spirit.

In two days, we will be celebrating the Nativity of Jesus. We will be asked to participate in a story that defies logic and strains reason. 

 

And for one night, one Holy night, we will be asked to suspend logic and reason and belief and participate in a story that requires an act of faith.   We will be asked not just to receive Jesus, but also to conceive Jesus in our hearts and souls and minds.

We will be asked to participate in a miracle.  Like Mary, we will be asked to say YES to God, even though people may judge us unkindly. 

Fear not! We will not be alone.  We will be surrounded by Mary and Elizabeth, Miriam and Hannah, and Deborah, Judith and Yael, as well as the four women mentioned in Matthew’s genealogy: Tamar and Rahab, Ruth and Bathsheba and a whole host of holy women and men, the saints of old, who arrived into a holy moment on their own steam.

At Christmas, we will enter that time and space when time stands still and holiness happens.

 

And when we do, we, too, will be blessed among women and men. 

 

Amen

 

Amen.

 

The Way of Mary: Sovereign

 

Good Sunday morning, good Advent people of The Way of Mary. This morning I am deeply grateful for and rejoicing in the simple and wonder-full gift it is to sleep in one's own bed, cuddled up in one's own favorite blankets, with one's head resting on one's very own pillow.

It was very cold last night - the temperatures dipped into the teens - and my thoughts were with all those who slept on cots in a church gymnasium or re-purposed factory last night, and counted themselves grateful for the vague familiarity of at least having someplace - somewhere out of the freezing cold - to sleep instead of cuddled up against a heating grate around the corner of a city building, away from the easy gaze of The City's Finest Women and Men in Blue who would shoo them away from the shoppers and partiers and holiday revelers who would not wish to have their Christmas festivities dampened by such a sight.

To add insult to injury, last night was The Longest Night - the night of the Winter Solstice - when the amount of darkness is greater than the amount of light. That will soon change as we await the coming of the Incarnation of The Light.

Winter can be such a cruel season. It is a painfully necessary season, of course, especially in the North and East, bringing the remembrance that all things must die - all things have an ending that isn't necessarily happy or timely - before something new can begin.

The cruelty for those who have lost their homes, due to harsh circumstances of life or their own folly, is that, for them, The Season of Winter never seems to end. They cry out for rescue and release, for a Benevolent King who will come to rescue them and liberate them from their misery and suffering.

Today is Day VI (6) of the O Antiphons. I like the modern translation from the Benedictine Sisters of Erie, PA: "O Ruler of Nations and their desire, the cornerstone making both one: Come and save the human race, which you fashioned from clay."

I especially like this meditation from Sr. Joan Chittister, OSB: "We are not the beginning and the end of the universe. We are part of a vision of humankind, seen in Jesus, and yet to be achieved in us, a vision of global sharing, universal peace, and individual security."

I've been thinking about the "gift of sharing". That is different from buying gifts for someone. It's knowing someone is in need and you have more than you need and giving it to them - even anonymously.

This year, my church held its "Annual Winter Coat Drive." And, every year, I open my coat closet and take inventory. Sometimes, I can't imagine giving up one of my coats. The sacrifice of style combined with a sense of plenty seems too high a cost for the sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving that I have more than one coat from which to choose and might choose, instead, to share it with an anonymous someone who doesn't have any.

My solution was to purchase a new coat and donate that. Which is a practice not to be disparaged or disdained. But, it always leaves me, personally, feeling vaguely unsatisfied.

So, this year, after very careful thought and prayer, chose to donate my very fine LL Bean car coat and my London Fog raincoat with the zippered, removable lining.

I've had both for about 30 years. They were both in excellent condition, especially for having been to the dry cleaners last Spring. Not even a button missing or a stain anywhere.

"Gently used". That was the request. Well, "new or gently used". Those coats were neither. Oh, the stories they could tell about the places they had been, the stories of people's lives they had heard, the scenes from human dramas played out, unscripted and in real-time, wherein lay their real value.

It was time for them to go. It was time for me to let them go and wrap themselves around someone else's shoulders. It was time for them to find new purpose, new life, in someone else's life.

It was time for them to become the answer to the prayer of the 6th O Antiphon, best summed up in the prayer of Sr. Joan: "We are not the beginning and the end of the universe. We are part of a vision of humankind, seen in Jesus, and yet to be achieved in us, a vision of global sharing, universal peace, and individual security."

It was time for me to let go of my clinging to a God who is Sovereign of Scarcity and worship the God who is Sovereign of Abundance.

And so, it came to pass. It seems foolish to admit that I can not say that I have not thought of those two coats and wondered where they found a home. I can tell you that I have prayed for their new owners, that they felt the energy contained in each coat - the love, the care, the warmth, the memories.

I have prayed that whatever extra those coats contain may serve to warm their new owners twice and bring them hope that, in this world that can seem more harsh and cruel than we care to see, much less admit, there is still a God who works through the simple clay of human form to bring about the vision of Jesus.

The word I am carrying in my heart today as I walk The Way of Mary is Sovereign. How is it that I live my life like a child of the Sovereign of the Universe? How am I faithful to the rules of the Ruler of Nations? How do I live in the midst of the One who is the Alpha and the Omega, to be present in The Reality of The Now and live into the vision God has for The Future?

I hope something good happens to you today.

Bom dia.

https://www.eriebenedictines.org/

The Way of Mary: Radiance!

 Good Saturday morning, good Advent pilgrims on The Way of Mary. The snow has finally stopped and it is sunny but C.O.L.D. here in Bawston (presently 26 degrees). The local news is reporting that there are 70 delays and 80 cancellations at Logan Airport, but my airline is reporting my flight "on time".

(Please, Jesus or St. Peter, or Pinocchio or Tinkerbell or whoever is in charge of the cosmos today, may that to be so.)

I'm scheduled to preach tomorrow so, taking every precaution, I've sent my sermon to Ms. Conroy and I've written the Canon and the Sr. Warden of the church about the possibility (please, not probability but possibility) of a delay or (gasp!) cancellation.

We have a Plan B and Plan C approved and in place, but hopefully (fingers, toes, arms, legs, and eyes crossed) I'll make it home on time or close to it and be there with those good people in Milton at 9:30 AM for a 10:00 AM mass.

In the Northern Hemisphere, today is the winter solstice, the shortest day of the year, and the longest night. It's officially the first day of winter and one of the oldest-known holidays in human history.

Anthropologists believe that solstice celebrations go back at least 30,000 years before humans even began farming on a large scale. Many of the most ancient stone structures made by human beings were designed to pinpoint the precise date of the solstice. The stone circles of Stonehenge were arranged to receive the first rays of the midwinter sun.

Some ancient peoples believed that because daylight was waning, it might go away forever, so they lit huge bonfires to tempt the sun to come back. The tradition of decorating our houses and our trees with lights at this time of year is passed down from those ancient bonfires.

In ancient Egypt and Syria, people celebrated the winter solstice as the sun's birthday. In ancient Rome, the winter solstice was celebrated with the festival of Saturnalia, during which all business transactions and even wars were suspended, and slaves were waited upon by their masters.

Today is also Day V of the O Antiphons. The Meditative Word for today is Radiance.

"O Rising Dawn, Radiance of the Light eternal and Sun of Justice: Come, and enlighten those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death." (Jeremiah 23:5; Zechariah 3:8; 6:12, Habakkuk 3:4; Wisdom 7:26; Hebrews 1:3, Malachi 4:2)

It is good to say this O Antiphon before and after saying The Magnificat (which we'll hear in church tomorrow)

THE MAGNIFICAT:
My soul doth magnify the Lord.
And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Savior.
Because He hath regarded the humility of His handmaid:
For behold from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed.
Because He that is mighty hath done great things to me; and holy is His name.
And His mercy is from generation unto generations, to them that fear Him.
He hath shown might in His arm: He hath scattered the proud in the conceit of their heart.
He hath put down the mighty from their seat, and hath exalted the humble.
He hath filled the hungry with good things; and the rich He hath sent empty away.
He hath received Israel His servant, being mindful of His mercy:
As He spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and to His seed for ever.
Glory be the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost,
As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, forever and ever, Amen.

Here's a little meditation and prayer from Sr. Joan Chittister, OSB

"The celebration of the God of Growth in our lives—those moments of insight in which life comes newly alive in me—helps us to recognize those moments of insight in which life comes newly alive and I begin to see differently, to live differently, to function differently. A new friend, a new work, or a new idea are all "radiant dawns" in life that can enable me to become more than I ever dreamed I could."

And, here's a wee prayer, just for today: O Dayspring, Sun of Justice, bright eternal light, one who shows the way, the one who sets us free even in darkness and death. Come, disperse the gloomy clouds of night.

Off we go, then, into this first day of Winter.

I hope something good happens to you today.

Bom dia!

The Way of Mary: Keys

Good Friday morning, good Advent pilgrims who walk The Way of Mary. I'm in Boston for the day. Well, I arrived last night and will leave Saturday afternoon.

It's snowing. It's cold. I had forgotten what it was like to wake up to snow. It's great to look out the window and see it blowing 'round. It's supposed to Really snow between 3-8 PM and then settle down so driving to Logan will be easy peasy and no flight delays. At least, that's my mantra.

Today is the fourth day of the O Antiphons - O Key of David
(O Clavis David)

O Key of David and scepter of the House of Israel;
you open and no one can shut;
you shut and no one can open:
Come and lead the prisoners from the prison house,
those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death.

Sr. Joan as a wonderful meditation on this Antiphon. She writes:
"We are called to the kind of Christian commitment that opens doors and breaks down barriers between people, that brings unity to a divided world. Try to unlock one door that is keeping someone locked out of your heart."

She prays: "O Key of David, rod and staff of the house of Israel, one who opens and no one closes, the one who closes and no one opens. Come lead prisoners caught in darkness."

Today also begins the journey to the longest night of the year. On the 21st, the earth will begin to rotate differently on its axis, and the days will begin to get longer. Scientists have lots of explanations and theories that sound really impressive, but no one knows how this happens exactly. It just does, at the same time every year.

And so begins our journey deeper into the mystery that is at the center of the universe which we call "The Incarnation."

Many churches will be holding lovely, quiet services tonight that are called "Longest Night" or "Blue Christmas". Maybe your church has already had such a service.

It's a time for those for whom Christmas is decidedly not "the most wonderful time of the year." They've lost someone. Or, perhaps, are losing someone. Or, they've lost a job or a home or a friend or a marriage. Even if the loss was for a good reason, and something better is about to happen, it may not feel so good "right this very minute".

Change is change. A loss is a loss. Grief is grief. Even the Israelites, newly freed from bondage in Egypt, longed for the pomegranates in their liberation.

Dealing with loss is hard anytime but especially this time of year of anticipation and expectation. It's hard to find the energy for that when you're grieving.

And, the thing about grief is that it can break your heart, shattering it into little pieces, following an event that everyone knows and there are people in your life who care.

It can also feel like death by a thousand paper cuts. You are aware that something is off - your energy level, your ability to focus and pay attention, your enthusiasm - and then, a memory will surface and you just can't anymore.

We have a saying in Hospice: "Pain touches pain." And, when that happens, the pain is amplified.

If that's where you are, fear not. You are not alone. And, there is a strange but very real kind of solace in that.

I love the quote from Ted Lasso: "I promise you there is something worse out there than being sad, and that's being alone and being sad."

If you find yourself feeling sad, even if you can't think of a good reason to be sad, give yourself a present and call a friend. Call someone you haven't spoken with in a long time. Call your mother. Call her anyway.

Oh, you'll get through "The Longest Night" alone. It would be so much better if you made the effort to me with someone. Who knows, that someone may need you more than you need them.

I'm off to explore Back Bay, Boston in the snow. I've got on my Uggs, my sweater, my Iona shawl, my gloves, my Scottish tweed hat, and my long Eddie Bauer down coat. It's been a long while but you don't ever forget a cold, New England day.

I hope something good happens to you today.

Bom dia.

The Way of Mary: Roots

Good Thursday morning, good Advent pilgrims on the Way of Mary. Today is December 19th, the third day of the glorious O Antiphons: O Radix Jesse or The Tree of Jesse

"O Flower of Jesse’s Stem, you have been raised up as a sign for all peoples; kings stand silent in your presence; the nations bow down in worship before you. Come, let nothing keep you from coming to our aid." (Isaiah 11:1-4; 45:23; 52:13; Luke 1:32-33)

When I was a child, I remember being told a legend of the poinsettia by an Italian neighbor that she had learned in her home country as a young girl. Legend has it that a girl named Sophia was sad because she was too poor to buy any flowers to present to baby Jesus on Christmas Eve. But as she walked sadly to the church that night, an angel appeared and told her to pick some of the weeds by the side of the road. When Sophia brought her weeds into the church and placed them by the manger, they were changed into beautiful scarlet flowers—poinsettias, to be exact.

She said that a poinsettia was a symbol of The Root of Jesse and the way God blesses our simple acts of generosity - to do whatever we can do to praise God - from generation to generation. And, that's why there are always lots of poinsettias around the Nativity Scene at Christmas.

I'm sure she made that up - or someone in her family did - but I can't look at a poinsettia without thinking of Sophia and Jesse.

That's not a bad thing, actually. But I was thinking about that as I considered Sr. Joan Chittister's meditation for today:

"It takes generations to build the Christ vision in the world, just as it took generations after Jesse to prepare for the coming of the Christ. It is our task to root ideas now that will bring the next generation to wholeness."

And then, this story from my own "family tree" came back to haunt me:

I was driving our youngest daughter home from Jr. high school. I was tired and crabby and the last thing I wanted was to go home and cook supper. So, I tried to get some ideas from her, a fool’s errand if there ever was one.

“So, I’ve had a really tough day, sweetheart. I’m really exhausted. What would you like for supper? Chinese? Italian? McDonalds? Wendy’s? KFC?”

“I don’t know, Mom,” she said in her bored teen way, “Whatever.”

“So, there’s a KFC up ahead. We could do fried chicken and mashed potatoes, and . .. “

“Ewwww,” she said, “it’s so greasy.”

“Okaaaay . . . how about McDonalds?”

“No, I had McDonalds last Tuesday.”

“Wendy’s, then?”

“Same stuff, different package.”

If any of you have had a teen you know where this conversation is headed.

Trying not to show my exasperation, and aware that I was going to have to downshift my VW Bug because a stoplight was coming up pretty fast, I said, “So, just tell me.”

At that point, I was in a long line at the stoplight. I could see a panhandler weaving his way from car to car, asking for spare change. He was filthy and disheveled and clearly in an altered state of conscience.

I could feel my grip on the steering wheel tightening as he got closer to my car. He tried to make eye contact with me but I stared straight ahead. Mercifully, he walked right by.

After I had taken my foot off the brake and slowly shifted my foot to the gas pedal and shifted my car into gear, our youngest daughter said, “So, Mom, why didn’t you give that many some spare change?”

“Well, because I don’t have any,” I said.

She reached into the shelf under my radio and dug out four quarters. “Here’s a dollar right here that you didn’t even know you had. So, if you gave it to him, you wouldn’t even have noticed that it was gone.”

Now, I was annoyed. “Did you see him? The man was drunk. Clearly. Intoxicated. If I gave him that money, he’d just spend it on booze.”

“Oh,” she said, “so I guess it turns out that the real difference between us and them is that we get to choose how to spend our money. We can choose to spend it on good, home-cooked food or we can spend it on junk fast food.”

“But,” she continued her sermon, feeding me words she had heard me preach, “If the poor want to spend their money on something we don’t think they should, they don’t get out money, but they do get our judgment.”

What was it Sr. Joan said? Something about: "It takes generations to build the Christ vision in the world."

From one generation to the next, by story and symbol, by word and deed, one act of random generosity at a time.

I hope something good happens to you today.

Bom dia

You can hear the sisters chant the O Antiphon of the day here https://www.eriebenedictines.org/...
 

The Way of Mary: Adonai

 

Good Wednesday morning, good Advent pilgrims of The Way of Mary. Today is the second day of the O Antiphons and the word is O Adonai. The words of the antiphon are:

"O Lord and Ruler the house of Israel, who appeared to Moses in the flame of the burning bush and gave him the law on Sinai: come, and redeem us with outstretched arms." (Exodus 3:1-8; 20:1-20; Deuteronomy 26:5-9)

Sr. Joan Chittister, who is a member of the Benedictine Sisters of Erie, PA, has a brief but lovely meditation on that antiphon:

"When we build a vision of life it is necessary to realize that Jesus must be the center of it—not our institutions, good as they may be; not our plans or personal talents, necessary as they are."

Her sisters suggest that saying The Lord's Prayer is a good way to meditate on the Second O Antiphon.

Here's another: Light a candle and read the story of the burning bush in Exodus 3, to remind you of the way God was revealed to Moses on Mount Sinai, and the way Moses was given the Ten Commandments, “in cloud and majesty and awe”. When and how does God appear to us today? When have you felt the nearer presence of God?

Today also happens to be the birthday of Charles Wesley, the Anglican priest who wanted to reform the Church of England to be centered more in justice but whose work (“method”), instead, started a movement today known as the denomination called Methodism.

Wesley published more than a staggering 4,400 hymns during his lifetime and left behind several thousand more. His hymns include "O for a Thousand Tongues to Sing," "Love Divine, All Loves Excelling," "Hark! the Herald Angels Sing," and "Come, O Thou Traveler Unknown."

"Come, O Thou Traveler Unknown" was originally published as "Wrestling Jacob," and is often considered Wesley's masterpiece. Wesley wrote:

Come, O Thou Traveler unknown,
Whom still I hold but cannot see;
My company before is gone,
And I am left alone with Thee;
With Thee all night I mean to stay,
And wrestle till the break of day.

Personally? I think that's a great meditation on The Second Antiphon. Here it is, set to a familiar tune: https://www.hymnal.net/en/hymn/h/560

I hope something good happens to you today.

Bom dia.

The Way of Mary: Wisdom

Good Tuesday morning, good Advent people who walk The Way of Mary. You would not believe the excitement in our house right now. Today . .. this very day . . .being the 17th day of the 12th and last month of December, is . . .. wait for it, wait for it . . . the first day of the O Antiphons.

I can't tell you how Ms. Conroy looks forward to this day, when the antiphons, said or sung at vespers, count down the last seven days before Christmas.

So, of course, the word for the day is: O Sapientia. O Wisdom.

I want to tell you about something I learned from a news article posted by my dear Facebook friend Janet Vetter, which shows that Mother Earth has wisdom and healing that we are just beginning to discover.

It's about the Black Fungus that is healing Chornobyl, Ukraine. (Note Chernobyl is the Russian spelling of that city. Chornobyl is the way the Ukrainians spell it and say it. Sort of like the Kyiv is Ukraninan and Kive is Russian. We say "Kyiv.")

Remember Chornobyl? The explosion of Reactor No. 4 at the Nuclear Power Plant near Pripyat, Ukraine, on April 26, 1986, stands as the worst nuclear disaster in history. The catastrophe created a 30-kilometer exclusion zone—a desolate area still unsafe for human habitation due to lingering high radiation levels decades later.

Shortly after the explosion, scientists discovered a black fungus growing on the walls inside Reactor No. 4. Inside the reactor. These fungi were actually flourishing where the radiation was most intense.

The fungi appear to “feed” on radiation, using it as an energy source much like plants use sunlight through photosynthesis. And now, almost 50 years later, the fungi are still growing, still thriving, eating up the radiation and turning it into energy.

The Black Fungus is healing the earth.

Just let that sink in for just a moment. The earth is healing itself from a deep wound that happened almost fifty years ago, inflicted upon it by its human creatures.

One of the definitions of the word 'Wisdom' is "the ability to see the world as God sees it."

Sr. Joan Chittister offers a very brief meditation for today's O Antiphon - a way to find a path to wisdom. She says this:

"Try reading the newspaper today through the eyes of a God who was born in a stable, counted to be of no account, hounded by society from one place to another."

As I read this account of the Black Fungus of Chornobyl, I see God's wisdom in the world, healing the damage done by Her children who, even after left The Garden more than a few millennia ago, have not yet learned how to use the gift of wisdom.

I suppose it takes more than one bite of the Fruit of Knowledge to gain Wisdom.

Here's another way to meditate on the word wisdom: Try to recall the best and worst decisions you ever made. While we all like the way our best decisions work out, we probably gain the most wisdom from our biggest mistakes. Spend some time trying to understand how God has given you wisdom through your decisions - even the mistakes you've made.

You might want to add this prayer as part of your devotions today — O Wisdom, O Holy Word of God, you govern all creation with your strong yet tender care. Come and show your people the way to salvation. (Isaiah 11:2-3; Wisdom 8:1; Proverbs 9:1)

I hope something good happens to you today.

Bom dia.

OPS&BTW, here's that article: https://scienceadvance.com/this-black-fungus-might-be-healing-chernobyl/

The Way of Mary: Hospitality

 

Good Monday morning, good Advent pilgrims on The Way of Mary. The word that came to me during my morning meditation is 'hospitality'.

Yes, it is central to our understanding of The Way of Jesus, not as in "the hospitality industry" but as a theological concept of welcoming the stranger. Although, you sure wouldn't know it by the way some Christians want to treat those who immigrate to this country the way their ancestors did.

According to the Birth Narratives of Jesus, 'hospitality' was not afforded to Mary and Joseph as they searched for a place where they could lodge in Bethlehem. Every child who has ever acted in a "Christmas Pageant" knows the line of the Narrator, "Because there was no room for them at the Inn."

Today begins the Hispanic tradition of "Las Posadas" - The Inns" - a nine-day celebration from December 16-24, which reenacts the journey of Mary and Joseph to Bethlehem and their search for an inn. The holiday is celebrated in Mexico, parts of the United States - especially in areas where there are heavy concentrations of Hispanic people like Michigan - and other Latin American countries.

The nine-day celebration is important, as I understand it, because it is symbolic of the nine-month pregnancy of Mary.

It is painfully ironic - and I can't believe the irony is lost on many Hispanic people - that even while they are reenacting the inhospitable nature of those who denied shelter to Mary and Joseph, they are being threatened with "mass deportation".

And, the people for whom those violent, inhospitable words are hot on their lips, have already put up nativity scenes in their own homes and yards, including the figures of two brown-skinned Palestinian Jewish refugees, one of whom has just delivered a child she conceived out of wedlock, as well as three brown-skinned men from Persia, Arabia, and India.

Once Project 2025 is activated on January 20th by some of these same Christians, "DEI" - Diversity Equality and Inclusion - will be struck from all policies in all government agencies.

The irony is so painful it takes my breath away when it doesn't give me a pounding headache. I feel like John the Baptist screaming, "You brood of vipers!"

Never mind. There's nothing to be done but push back and protest when we can and remind "the powers that be" that, in fact, they did not win the popular vote with an "unprecedented and powerful mandate" but rather by 1.62 percent, the smallest in 24 years, when Bush won with 0.51 percent.

In the meantime, it is imperative for those of us who walk The Way of Mary to practice hospitality in every way we are able, small and large. It starts with recognizing the other and making a personal connection with them. Don't pass a stranger without looking them in the eye and saying "Hello," or "Good morning".

In the meantime, offer to volunteer a few hours a week in places that offer hospitality to the stranger and those in need: community shelters and soup kitchens, and community thrift shops - or donate food, clothing, bedding, personal hygiene supplies and/or money.

In the meantime, pay attention. Look around you. Smile. Be kind. Pick up trash that has been thoughtlessly thrown on the ground. Put away some of the shopping carts that are blocking parking spaces. Stop and help someone who needs a little help crossing the sidewalk or reaching that top shelf in the market.

And, yes, if someone is hustling money at the traffic light, give him or her a dollar bill. Yes, they might use it to score drugs or buy some cheap booze, but maybe they'll use it to buy a hot cup of coffee and something at Mickey Ds. Have you not ever wasted money on something frivolous or stupid? Allow them to exercise their autonomy and yes, have the freedom to make a few bad choices.

I mean, isn't that what God did with Adam and Eve in The Garden? God forgave us for that transgression over 2,000 years ago. Maybe if we could forgive ourselves, we might be able to forgive each other?

Forgiveness as an extension of hospitality. Just a thought.

Practice hospitality in however many ways - big or small - as a way of celebrating "Las Posadas". Hospitality is not only The Way of Jesus, it's part of The Way of Mary.

I hope something good happens to you today.

Bom dia.