A Prayer for Today

Julian of Norwich believed God and Christ to be courteous.  I woke from a dream this morning where there was a copper pipe in the middle of a room.  At the top of this upright pipe was a bowl.  Water flowed into the bowl and people were coming to gently wash their hands and faces.  Although no water was being spilled, I  wondered if the constantly flowing water was wasteful.  Then I realized that the water had been changed to a flame.  I then understood that the source of fire and water are the same and cannot be controlled.     

 

Courteous God, 

be the foundation of my being. 

May I sit in your true rest, 

stand in you in sure strength, 

and be rooted in you in endless love?

Reveal yourself more to me 

so that I may know my true nature better 

and act as I truly am.    

 

All Will Be Well 

compiled by Richard Chilson   

 

  

photograph: Mountain View, Spring 2019

Wellness, part 2

All shall be well, and
All manner of thing shall be well
When the tongues of flame are in-folded
Into the crowned knot of fire
And the fire and rose are one.

T.S. Elliot, "Four Quartets (Little Gidding)"
as quoted in Julian's Gospel 
Veronica Mary Rolf
photograph: San Leandro, June 2018    

  

Wellness

Julian's revelation of "All shall be well, and all shall be well, and all manner things shall be well"  does sound simplistic. However,  I have come to believe this encouragement takes a great deal of courage to live into. It is both an invitation to live fully in trust, and a prayer that we can lean on. It is a reminder that the love and light of the living Christ cannot be extinguished, regardless of what we try to do to it.  

Julian was born in Norwich in 1342.  It has been helpful for me to be reminded that this time in England was mostly miserable. Famine, plague, war, and fear ruled, and much  of that despair, including the stench of dead, decaying, burned, and  beheaded bodies would pass right by her window. Yet, she learned to trust that what was also being revealed to her was eternal Divine Love. As illogical as it seemed, and yes, she struggled with it, she learned to trust the truth and depth of this statement.  She came to understand that "when God 'looks' at humanity, God 'sees' Jesus Christ (Veronica Mary Rolf, An Explorer's Guide to Julian of Norwich, p. 134)."  Jesus' blood is our own. We are that loved. 

It is pretty easy to despair.  Sin and evil can still be found in great plenitude, and there seems to be much work to be done, and undone.  Yet, trusting that all will be well can give us strength for whatever earthly and mundane task God gives us.  God does not need us to strive to be great or heroic. God needs us to believe that the way to divine wholeness and unity can be found.  It is always being revealed if we learn to look. 

So let us rejoice even further 

that we dwell within God. 

For our spirits are made to be  

God's resting place, 

and our spirits' rest is in God who is unmade. 

   

All Will Be Well 

compiled by Richard Chilson 
photograph:  the humble geranium. Mountain View, March 2019

  

 

The Real Work

I so loved receiving this poem by Wendell Berry this morning.  Carl Jung said that the he felt he did his best work in the last twenty years of his life.  I take courage.   

   

The Real Work

 

It may be that when we no longer know what to do
we have come to our real work,

 

and that when we no longer know which way to go
we have come to our real journey.

 

The mind that is not baffled is not employed.

 

The impeded stream is the one that sings.

Panhala 

Rebuilding

"Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread, 

and your labor for that which does not satisfy?"  

Isaiah 55:2   

   

San Francisco Theological Seminary has been sending some very thoughtful devotions this Lenten season.  I share part of this morning's reading.  I find it a beautiful reminder of why we exist.  Please let your soul shine today; I shall try to do the same.  My gratitude to Rev. Yolanda Norton for her sharing this morning.

  

"God’s presence should remind us of our missions in life. We are meant to do more than survive, we are meant to thrive. In our thriving we should draw people to the table. We should feed them physically and spiritually; we should listen to them and hear God’s presence in their voice. It is difficult work to step outside of ourselves in times of crisis. It is challenging not only to see something meaningful, but more importantly to create something meaningful after despair. Yet this is the holy and prophetic task. 
 The prophet’s words remind me of the Rev. Dr Katie Geneva Cannon. She often said, “do the work your soul must have.”    

  Rev. Yolanda M. Norton 

SFTS Assistant Professor of Old Testament    

    

Lauds

During the spring full moon, the neighborhood mockingbird is seldom quiet.  

Perched at the top of the tallest tree, he sings to a Beloved that is not yet seen.  

He warbles, chirps, and cries, practicing scales, pitches, even whistles -  all he has ever heard. 

He is David dancing; his body cannot be stilled.   

In darkness he announces what birds and the Beloved understand.  

He boasts of a fine home, food (surely even mockingbirds eat; they cannot live by song alone) and water. 

 He may also be singing of neighborhood cats - there are a few, but tells 
his love to be they will be kept safe. 

He sings of children not yet born. 

He is a psalmist in his temple-tree, singing his song of songs. 

Mother Wisdom has readied all.  

  

   

My beloved speaks and says to me: 

Arise, my love, my fair one, 

and come away; 

for now the winter is past, 

the rain is over and gone. 

The flowers appear on the earth; 

the time of singing has come. 

  

Song of Songs 2:10-12   

say, March 2019     

     

In Season

"By contrast, the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. There is no law against such things (Galatians 5:22). "  

I was grateful to see this short piece of scripture in my emails this morning . I have always found in thought-provoking that Paul does not say fruits, but rather fruit. There is no choosing what sweetness we think might best serve our nutritional needs of the day. There is no picking the gift of love without filling our harvest baskets with the rest.  This is how we are called to live, and this path is how we can "work for the good of all (6:10)," wherever our journey leads.   

   

"Imagine these together, working for the healing of the world."  

All Will be Well,  compiled by Richard Chilson 

    

    

Words of the Day

In my Lenten travels with Julian of Norwich, two words continue to surface: contrition and courteous.  Contrition is a state of remorse.  This state, while not neccesarily a pleasant place to be, is essential to healthy relationships, as is courtesy. Julian believed God and Christ to be courteous. Both ever present, but coming to us only when invited.  There are some beautiful paintings inspired by the passage from Revelations 3:20:  "Behold! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me."   Most modern translations do not include the word behold, but it, too, is a beautiful word implying much more than the passing glance we too often utilize as we move through our lives.  When we behold something, gazing at it tenderly, we are indeed opening the door to God's ever present love. 

   

Yesterday found me in Pleasant Hill at a day long meeting.  During the lunch break, I felt the need to clear my head and heart. The sunshine beckoned, and I took a walk.  I was surprised to come across a street called Julian Way, and I felt the need to explore. It turned out to be a street filled with large contemporary houses that held little interest for me. Feeling some disappointment, I turned around to return to the meeting.  I then noticed a beautiful rosemary bush glistening in the sun.  It was filled with blossoms, pollen, and honey bees.  Such an encouraging sight to behold.  Julian Way did hold a gift for me. 

Julian lived in a troublesome time that included the plague, The Hundred Years War, and the burning of those considered heretics.  Here I find strength, as we, too, must find our way in our own troubling times of discord, violence, ignorance, and destruction. Times that call for contrition, even when so little of it can be found.  Julian learned to trust her visions of Divine Love even in the midst of all that seemed so wrong.  We, too, are called to do the same. How else can healing be ushered in?   

  

I leave you with a prayer from All Will Be Well compiled by Richard Chilson.  I have been sitting with it for a couple of days now, grateful for the Lenten call to linger.  

Courteous Lord Jesus, 

help us to acknowledge and accept 

all our failings, sins, and weaknesses, 

trusting that you use them to our good 

and through them draw us closer to you. 

May our contrition make us clean, 

may our compassion make us ready, 

and may our longing for you make us worthy. 

At all times, preserve us in the knowledge 

that your peace and love abide always in us, 

living and working, even when we have 

no feeling of peace or love.  

   

  

Spring

The first wisteria sighting always surprises me. During the winter I grow accustomed to bare branches. Yesterday was chilly, and by the end of the walk I was ready to go home. I turned a last familiar corner, and there this blossom was. The first. Last night I had a dream of some beautiful women whose dresses were composed of one color and white (one was red and white, another blue and white, etc.) The patterns were very geometrical and orderly; the dresses were well made. I thought, "How will they ever accept change when the patterns begin to break apart?" A man in the dream nonchantly said, "Love will take care of that." 
     
    

The Sound of Yoga

"You are moving more smoothly," 

said my yoga teacher after  

I have been in her class for close 

to a year.  I no longer believe that  

smoothly will readily return to me. 

  

Yet, lately, when I stand in 

the parking lot under the moon, 

I hear a choir of frogs by a creek 

that I did not know was there.  

Sometimes geese fly over, 

loudly sounding to one another 

as they navigate the night.  

  

None are calling to me, of course.  

I am not that needed, 

but I pray anyway, 

amazed 

that such bodies can be.   

  

   

say 

March, 2019  

One has to actually see a frog before 

taking its picture.  

   

 

A Prayer from Julian

In the book, An Explorer's Guide to Julian of Norwich, Veronica Mary Rolf includes a small glossary of Julian's terms (yesterday I mentioned "evencristens" or fellow Christians).  I am so intrigued by this language Julian created so she could write what she was experiencing - a language that was completely God centered.  Language is something that continually changes.  Furthermore, language is situational. Words that are spoken at our workplace may be different that the words we speak at home. Sometimes the language we hear spoken on our streets seems coarse and even disturbing.  A beautiful Lenten practice could be to think about our own personal language.  What is it that we talk about?  Are we letting our soul speak?  Do we need some new words?   What words are in your glossary?    

  

In this prayer Julian uses the noun "worshippe," meaning honor, good reputation, renown.  May our lives help give God a good reputation!  True, God may not need it, but humanity certainly does.   

  

God of thy goodness, give me thyself. 

For thou art enough to me, 

and I may ask nothing that is less  

that may be full worshippe to thee.

And if I ask anything that is less, 

ever will I be wanting. 

But only in thee do I have all. 

 

    

The Divine City

My reading place tends to get cluttered, but I am slowly clearing it as I prepare for Lent.  During the next forty or so days, I will be journeying with Julian of Norwich.  I know very little about her, but Veronica Mary Rolf's book, "An Explorer's Guide to Julian of Norwich" is both a very good read and quite informative.  Julian (and no one knows if that was really her name) lived in the 14th century, and I just am not ready to take on what we know as "Middle English."  I need a translator; a scholar I am not.  Therefore, I am grateful for those who are, and I am also grateful for a friend who recommended Rolf's book.  I have already been surprised to learn that Julian, who also was not a scholar, had to learn her own language in order to write her reflections.  She had a beautiful  name for fellow Christians: "even cristens."  In that short phrase, I hear her echoing Jesus: "That they may all be one, (John 17:21)."  In this time when churches appear to be so fractured, I yearn for such connection.   

 

This journey started when I found a small book of devotions on my bookshelf entitled, "All Will Be Well" compiled by Richard Chilson.  This book is from the library of a good friend who passed a few years ago.  Somehow that led me to a book entitled "Hazlenuts from Julian Norwich Meditations on Divne Love" by Ellyn Sanna.    

On this day of beads, dancing, and king cake, I hope to get the renewal of my passport paperwork completed.  That a new passport is needed in this time of my life seems fitting, but I am reminded that God has no such requirements. The journey to and in the Divine City of love, is open to all. 

Blessings on your journey.       

 

At the exact point where your soul 

is connected with your flesh and senses,

at that same point, 

God built the Divine City, 

the Divine Home, 

a resting spot God never leaves.

God never departs from our souls; 

the Divine Essence lives there with eternal joy. 

God finds in you 

the most comfortable home, 

an endless dwelling place.       

  

Hazlenuts from Julian of Norwich

Ellyn Sanna 

The Journey of Lent

A beautiful reminder as we begin the Lenten season.  We ask, "What foolishness, what unnecessary pain am I holding on to?"  On Ash Wednesday, we may think we are accepting ashes and dust, but what we are really being offered are wings. 

Do not cling...

Let me be bigger than your 

Heart can hold. 

Rise with me to a larger vision.      

  

"Easter Morning" from Watching for the Kingfisher Poems and Prayers by Ann Lewin    

    

Staying Power

On my walk yesterday morning, I found myself pondering again the recent decision that the United Methodist General Conference made concerning gay marriage.  The vote surprised me for a couple of reasons.  First, it pointed out to me how little I pay attention to such things. Secondly, it reminded me of how insular my life can be.  Thirdly, I was reminded with sorrow how hurtful church can be.  Here I must add a disclaimer: I am part of a faith community that I deeply love.  I love it for what it does well, and I also love the tattered places where we seem barely to hang on.  I love hearing the prayers of the people even as I wonder why our prayers are so orderly. Yet, I treasure the opportunity of hearing  the joys and the struggles because I sense people growing, maybe in fits and starts, but growing nonetheless in faith and love. Surely this is what church should be: a place where love is broadened, and where preconceived notions of right and wrong are released. Only then can there be room for people to learn to live into who God is calling them to be.  There is tremendous vulnerability in this new growth, and we must be careful how we tend to that vulnerability.    

 

As I walked, I thought of all of this.  Also as I walked, I waved hello to the man who works at our local gas station as he swept the driveway.  A young cyclist stopped at the crosswalk greeted me, and I asked him how he was doing.  He laughed and replied that he was chilly.  Then, as I crossed the parking lot, a neighbor came up from behind me and we  walked together for a minute or so.  She had her yoga mat with her, and we talked about our classes, and then she walked on.  These were very brief interactions, but I realized afterwards that not only was each person unique, each left me with a sense of deep gratitude for the way that we humans continue to be knitted together in this life.  Psalm 139:13  speaks of being knitted together in our mother's womb as a private historical birth event.  I believe this knitting is ongoing and it is communal.  We are still being created together in the womb of life, and we are being connected in surprising patterns.   In John 15 we hear Jesus describing this deep connection as staying on the vine.  He reminds us that branches cannot live unless they stay connected. This is how we abide in love.       

 

March 6 is Ash Wednesday, and as far as I can see, it can't come a moment too soon.  Earlier this week, I drove past a sign in front of church that encouraged people to stop by and receive what I call "ashes to go."  There probably is value about the surprise factor of being offered the ashes in middle of your journey to work or school.  Sometimes, you don't even have to get out of your car.  However, if at all possible, let us take the time to be in community. Let's pause, get out of our busyness, and sit down and pray and sing together while we  acknowledge the impermanence of our lives and yes, even our churches.  We Christians owe the world our collective prayers of repentance, humility, and hope.   We of the San Lorenzo Community Church will be gathering on Wednesday at 7:00 in our Fireside Room for our Ash Wednesday service.  You would be most welcomed!  

  "And among these people, if they are faithful to their own calling, to their own vocation, and to their own message from God, communication on the deepest level is possible. And the deeper level of communication is not communication, but communion. It is wordless. It is beyond words, and it is beyond speech and beyond concept."  

Thomas Merton, as quoted in "On the Brink of Everything"  Parker J. Palmer 

    

   

The attached photograph was taken a few days ago between storms.  What I appreciated about this plant was its tenacity.  It was quite windy that day, and  it seemed impossible that the blossoms could continue to hang on.  I was curious how the photograph would turn out.  It seems the iPhone is pretty tenacious as well.