Come O Wisdom

This week at the prison, I suggested that the men prepare themselves for Pentecost by thinking about what gift they would like to receive from the Holy Spirit at this time in their lives. I was surprised at how many of them said they wanted understanding, wisdom, or knowledge. It was as if they were channeling St. Paul, who said, “May the God of our Lord Jesus Christ…give you a Spirit of wisdom and revelation resulting in knowledge of him. May the eyes of your hearts be enlightened that you may know what is the hope that belongs to God’s call…and what is the surpassing greatness of his power for us who believe….” (Eph 1:17-19).

I think that many of the inmates have a growing sense that God is working in their lives and want a better understanding of what God asks of them, how God works in the world, and how they can grasp God’s love and forgiveness. The hope that belongs to God’s call is a lifeline to them—the hope that they can trust in God’s power and have fullness of life and peace. Can’t we all say the same thing?

Like us, the inmates also seem to want wisdom so they can understand both themselves and the people they are living with and thus be better equipped to respond to behaviors that flow from fear, woundedness, and ego defenses (e.g., acting out, denial, displaced aggression, and avoidance). To pray for a spirit of wisdom and understanding seems particularly important at this time in our society when the divisions between groups of people are so prevalent and entrenched.

We have a week or so to prepare ourselves for our celebration of Pentecost. May we all pray that the Spirit will gift us and our world with the wisdom and understanding we need to let God’s healing and love flow unimpeded in our lives.

Christ Enfleshed

The Feast of the Ascension makes me think of the following story:

A little boy who was frightened one night during a thunderstorm called out from his room, “Daddy, I’m scared!” His father, not wanting to get out of bed, answered, “Don't worry, son. God loves you and will take care of you.” After a moment of silence, the little boy replied, "I know God loves me, but right now, I need somebody who has skin on!"

After Christ, in the form of the risen Jesus, returned to his Father, his disciples had to make the transition from having Emmanuel with them to having Emmanuel in them. Many people are eager to see the face of Jesus in everything from a toasted cheese sandwich to the flames that recently engulfed the Notre Dame Cathedral, because we want a God with “skin on.” However, Christ is enfleshed when we follow the prompting of the Holy Spirit to be present to each other as Jesus was present to his disciples—through conversation, eating together, serving one another, and responding compassionately to the physical and spiritual needs of those in distress.

It is difficult for us to accept that Christ dwells in us—that we are now Christ’s voice, hands, and feet. We feel too common, too ordinary. We lose sight of the fact that it is in Christ that we live and move and have our being (Acts 17:28) and that we have been invited to share in the life of the Trinity, for Jesus said, “Those who love me will keep my word, and my Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our dwelling with them” (Jn 14:23). We who have both skin on and Christ within have abundant life to share.

From Your Lips to My Heart

Henri Nouwen said, “Jesus was all ear.” Gospel stories about Jesus indicate that he gave his full attention to whatever person was before him; thus he was able to read people’s hearts, intuit what was troubling them, and discern their particular need for healing.

It is difficult for us to give that level of attention to the people we encounter. Without even realizing it, we are formulating an answer as others are talking, which prevents us from being fully present to them. Listening requires being comfortable with silence after someone speaks, so we can absorb and reflect on what was said before we respond. We are lucky if we have someone in our lives who can model being all ear for us.

My Uncle Barney was such a person for me. He was a shy bachelor farmer who lived alone for many years after my grandmother died. When I visited him, we sat in his cool, musty living room, and after one of us made a comment, two or three minutes would pass before a response was made. The long stretches of silence didn’t make me anxious; on the contrary, I found it very restful to be with him, and I discovered that talking is not a necessary aspect of being present to someone.

We live in a noisy world. When we are able to quiet ourselves through prayer, time in nature, and the creation of art, we can give others a gift they seldom receive—we can listen to them so that what they say doesn’t go out our other ear but into our heart.

An Ancient Remedy for Modern Problems

Benedictine communities have been in existence for more than 1500 years. To exist that long requires a blend of firm principles and the flexibility to respond to the needs of the times. St. Benedict set the principles in place in his Rule:

• Listen with the ear of your heart

• Welcome guests as you would Christ

• Live simply

• Set aside time each day for prayer, work, meals with others,           leisure/contemplation, and sleep

• Be obedient to the voice of God and to one another

• Put down roots in one community

• Distribute goods according to need

• Take special care of the sick, children, guests, and the poor

• Cultivate humility

• Regard all utensils and goods as sacred vessels of the altar

• Refrain from grumbling, gossiping, and idleness

As we attempt to live by these principles, we also need to respond to the needs of our times so we can be of service to others. Given our principles, Benedictines can particularly speak to the following situations we face in the 21st century:

• Isolation resulting from overuse of technology and working long hours. Humans are flesh and blood, not images on a screen. We have a God who became incarnate. Communicating solely through electronic devices does not satisfy our need for connection, and working too much creates stress and disease. Benedictines show that it is possible and desirable to live with each other and pursue balance.

• Racism and intolerance that leads to violence. Many people in our world seem to be incapable of tolerating persons of different races or religions. The Benedictine practice of hospitality—welcoming all guests as Christ regardless of their socioeconomic status, race, sexual orientation, religion, or culture—affirms the value of all humans and leads to peaceful coexistence.

• Overconsumption and destruction of the earth. We are destroying our own habitat by fouling our water, air, oceans, and soil with carbon, chemicals, and plastic. In 2012, the top 0.6% of the world’s population held 39.3% of the world’s wealth. The Benedictine practices of living simply and distributing goods according to need provide a model for protecting the earth and ensuring that all people’s basic needs are met.

Although St. Benedict's Rule was written more than 1500 years ago, the principles it outlines can help us meet our modern challenges. However, we must summon the will and the faithfulness to apply these Benedictine practices in our lives today and share them with others.

Life in Miniature

I recently visited the National Museum of Toys and Miniature in Kansas City, Missouri. Although I enjoyed revisiting the toys I played with as a child (Spirograph! Mouse Trap! Operation!), what really astounded me was the intricacy of the miniature pieces. Many items had to be viewed under a microscope, such as fleas dressed in human clothing, the painting of a panda bear on a grain of rice, and the Lord’s Prayer inscribed on a piece of ivory the size of my thumbnail. I particularly enjoyed a tableau of a clock shop with a watchmaker’s bench that included many of the tools I remember my father using.

It gives me faith in humankind to know that there are people in the world who have the patience to craft such tiny pieces of art. Technology has had the effect of shortening our attention span, but we are still capable of becoming absorbed in the painstaking act of creation. When we create, our breathing slows and we learn something of God’s timing, in which our gifts and experiences unfold in a contemplative space that permits integration and a sense of contentment.

Teilhard de Chardin said, “Above all, trust in the slow work of God.” Letting ourselves be captivated by the tiny and intricate aspects of our world can help us put on the mind of Christ, which includes slowing down and appreciating every little bit of creation.

Circle Dance

All of us are a part of a number of circles. Two of my circles are prison ministry with the Sisters of Charity of Leavenworth (SCLs) and editing work for WiRED, a nonprofit organization that facilitates health education in developing countries. Recently these circles came together when the SCLs gave a grant to WiRED for a program to teach essential facts about pregnancy, maternal health, and the birth process to women in an impoverished region of Kenya. Because, through me, the SCL and WiRED circles came together, the SCLs and I are now connected to a new circle of women in Africa.

I read somewhere that God dwells in the space that exists between people. This is how the body of Christ grows: circles beget circles, and the space where God exists expands in greater and greater rings of wholeness and connection. We just have to be willing to touch each other and enter into community instead of floating in our own self-contained (and lonely) bubbles.

Honoring God's Wisdom

This month Mount St. Scholastica is hosting a 10-day institute for female Benedictine novices, and I was asked to make a presentation on journaling. Although I have little experience in presenting to groups (other than to inmates in the state prison) and have never worked with PowerPoint, I agreed to prepare this talk. Why?

The Rule of St. Benedict says, “Obedience is a blessing to be shown by all, not only to the abbot [prioress] but also to one another as brothers [sisters], since we know that it is by this way of obedience that we go to God” (Chapter 71:1). Based on St. Paul’s explanation of the gifts of the spirit in his first letter to the Corinthians, I believe that acknowledging and utilizing our gifts is another way to show obedience.

Paul takes pains to explain that God gives people different gifts, such as teaching, preaching, healing, prophecy, and administration. As we undergo schooling and begin working, our gifts generally become clear; we may have a facility for math, mechanics, writing, music, farming, or child care, for example. Sometimes we’d rather not use our gifts—they may seem boring or lack status in society or don’t lead to wealth or just entail a lot of effort and hard work. To be obedient to our gifts, however, leads us to God.

I suspect I may have the gift of helping people grow spiritually by writing, organizing, and presenting information to them in a creative way. If that’s the case, I need to show obedience to that gift by accepting invitations to make presentations and retreats (within reason!). God has given us all gifts; to be faithful in using them is one way to honor the wisdom of God.

Living in the Light

This morning, the gray, sullen blanket of clouds that have been weighing us down in Atchison for the past week finally lifted, and the sun has burst upon us. The leaves of the plant in my window sill were literally glowing, and I could feel its joy in undertaking photosynthesis.

According to Wikipedia, “Photosynthesis is a process used by plants and other organisms to convert light energy into chemical energy that can later be released to fuel the organisms' activities.” It occurs to me that humans engage in a spiritual photosynthesis, for we take the light of Christ and convert it into energy that fuels our activities of loving and serving each other.

At times we experience “power surges” when, like my plant, we glow with the light we absorb from Christ. Paul experienced this glow after he was literally knocked off his horse by Christ’s light on the road to Damascus. That light fueled his fervent preaching and writing for the remainder of his earthly life.

Jesus told us plainly, “I am the light of the world.” Like the light from the sun, this spiritual light is freely available to us; we just need to develop the personal infrastructure (primarily, time set aside for prayer and other forms of contemplation) to plug into it. Then, along with Gerard Manley Hopkins, we can proclaim, “The world is charged with the grandeur of God. It will flame out, like shining from shook foil….”

Calling All the Children Home

In the gospel reading for this coming Sunday, which is Mother’s Day, Jesus tells us, “My sheep hear my voice.” Interestingly, the first voice we come to know, in the womb, is that of our mother. As children, we can always pick out our mother’s voice calling us when we are in a crowd or outside playing, and when our mother uses our middle name, we know we’re in trouble.

Furthermore, like the shepherd described by Jesus, when one of her children is lost or in danger, a mother entrusts the care of her other kids to a family member or friend and goes to be with the one who is in crisis. Mothers, like shepherds, also try to help us make good choices and guide us on the right path.

In a world in which few of us have encounters with shepherds and sheep, our mothers may be the best representation of Jesus as shepherd. Jesus knows us and loves us in the same way that our mother knows us and loves us; recognizing this can help us have a closer relationship with Jesus the good shepherd. Just as Mary, our universal mother, leads us to Jesus, so do our earthly mothers. May they be blessed with the strength, wisdom, and patience that all shepherds need.

The Gift of Stability

An important aspect of wisdom is the humility that comes with understanding that other other forms of life have their own wisdom that we need to acknowledge and respect. Humans came along relatively late in the history of the universe, and it shows in the crude way we often go about solving problems. For example, when we needed a source of energy, we created internal combustion—basically, heating things up and smashing them together—which is a very inefficient process. Nature, on the other hand, uses natural sources of energy such as wind to get from place to place efficiently.

Janine Benyus, a naturalist who studies the lessons that the plants and animals can teach humans, notes that ecosystems have three stages. The first species are weeds, which put all their energy into seeds and little into roots, because next year those seeds are going to blow away and seed other fields (think of the gyrovagues that St. Benedict describes in his Rule). Next come perennial plants that put down roots but are rather weak and tempera-mental (sarabaites). Finally, we get a mature forest that will last hundreds of years (cenobites). Instead of going from open field to open field, Benyus notes that the mature forest/person learns to “live in one place, recycle everything, and develop symbiotic relationships. The forest learns to adapt, because it’s not going anywhere…it makes the most of limited resources and develops cooperative relationships.”

Benedictines have been practicing stability, simplicity, and the development of cooperative relationships (with other people and with God) for more than 1500 years. These skills are going to be in great demand in the coming years as humans come to grips with being a large population in a crowded world with limited resources. We need to continue to learn from our much older and wiser plant and animal cousins in creation and give the human family hope by showing that the practice of stability, simplicity, and community is not only possible but fruitful and a source of peace for ourselves and the world.

Affirming God's Goodness

Upon doing lectio with the psalms day after day, it becomes impossible not to notice how often God is referred to as good and loving. “Taste and see the goodness of the Lord.” “Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever.” “For you, Lord, are good, and ready to forgive.” “For the Lord is good; his loving kindness is everlasting.” Why is it important for us to affirm God’s goodness so often?

Mohandas Gandhi observed, “Our thoughts become our words, our words become our actions, our actions become our character, and our character becomes our destiny.” If we think that God is good and loving, we will express that thought in words; our words will lead us to act in trusting, peaceful, and generous ways; these actions help us create a trusting, peaceful, and generous character; and thus our destiny becomes the coming of God’s kingdom on earth.

The artist Milton Glaser said, “If you perceive the universe as being a universe of abundance, then it will be. If you think of the universe as one of scarcity, then it will be.” God gives us enormous freedom to shape the world we live in. It is important for us to pay attention to our thoughts, because often we are unconscious of where they lead us—and then we blame God for the problems we ourselves have created. What we read and watch has a powerful effect on what we think, so we need to choose the media we consume carefully, for it will help shape our world. Personally, I prefer to live in a world that flows out of God’s love and goodness, and I’m grateful that the Psalms have endured through the ages to help us create such a world.

God Wants Me to Do What?

God is constantly asking people to do difficult things, as we are reminded on this feast of St. Joseph the Worker. Joseph was given a particularly challenging set of tasks: marry your betrothed even though she is pregnant with a child you didn’t father; flee to a foreign land to protect the child; model for your exceptional foster son how to listen to and obey the God of your ancestors.

We can only imagine how Joseph felt about these requests. Scripture tells us that he was “troubled” upon learning Mary was pregnant and had determined to pursue divorce quietly as an honorable course of action, only to accede to God’s request that he take Mary and the child into his home. Did Joseph feel resentful? Aggrieved? Betrayed? Embarrassed? Played for a fool? Whatever his emotions, he trusted God, which led him to obey.

When we make the choice to love God and love one another, we can anticipate being asked to do difficult things, because love requires shedding the self that is fearful and desires superiority. Joseph was able to change his idea of what it means to be upright and overcome his mistrust of Mary because love enabled him to do what God asked of him. Thus Joseph became a key partner in God’s plan to become incarnate in Jesus.

Like Joseph, we don’t know exactly what our obedience to God and to one another will lead to, except that it will bring new life both to us and to the world. Yes, we are asked to do difficult things. But as Mary Oliver asks us to consider, “Listen—are you breathing just a little, and calling it a life?”