Archive for November, 2005
11.27.05
Posted in Faith Growth, Quotes at 1:40 pm by Sherri Rene'
“In A Grief Observed, C. S. Lewis tells the story of an experience that his wife, Joy, once had:
Long ago, before we were married, [Joy] was haunted all one morning as she went about her work with the obscure sense of God (so to speak) “at her elbow,” demanding her attention. And of course, not being a perfected saint, she had the feeling that it would be a question, as it usually is, of some unrepented sin or tedious duty. At last she gave in - I know how one puts it off - and faced Him. But the message was “I want to give you something,” and instantly she entered into joy.
Left to our own devices, we all tend to “put God off,” not realizing that God “wants to give us something.” We have inherited the ancient tendency to forsake God, the mysterious “fountain of living waters” that we can neither posess nor control, and put our trust instead in “broken cisterns that can hold not water” (Jer 2:13).
… “We all may need to be reminded - perhaps rather strongly sometimes - that our Lord is, paradoxically, both a jealous and an extravagant Lover.”
— from “Unfailing Treasure: Lost and Found” by Debora Smith Douglas, Weavings, Volume XX, Nov/Dec 2005
I have said these things to you so that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be complete. (John 15:11, NRSV)
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11.23.05
Posted in Time, Spiritual Practices at 10:11 am by Sherri Rene'
With Einstein we see a theory of time based in the concept of relativity. Time is relative to our ‘frame of reference’. Thus two observers of the same event in two different frames of reference will experience the event differently. This is a mathematically verifiable phenomenon. Scientists have actually placed highly accurate clocks on jets on flown them all around in order to verify the calculation. Amazingly it worked! (Now why can’t I ever get a job like that?) As Einstein says, “time is not absolutely defined”; it is dependent upon your frame of reference.
While ‘frame of reference’ is important to physicists, the concept of frame of reference is also useful to look at in the context of spirituality. One aspect of your spiritual frame of reference is your relationship with time. The story of Mary and Martha provides a good framework from which to explore this concept.
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11.22.05
Posted in Time at 9:18 pm by Sherri Rene'
“I have come to believe that the true mystics of the quotidian are not those who comtemplate holiness in isolation, reaching godlike illumination in serene silence, but those who manage to find God in a life filled with noise, the demands of other people and relentless daily duties that can consume the self.” Kathleen Norris, The Quotidian Mysteries: Laundry, Liturgy, and ‘Women’s Work’”
I am a single mother of a son and a daughter who are both adults now. During their junior high and senior high years, we rushed from activity to activity. My son was a swimmer and my daughter played soccer and basketball. In addition to sports, both were involved in numerous other activities at school and church. There were practices, meets, games, and of course, homework.
We were always on the run – dinner was often in the car on the way to some activity. Time was the enemy.
I noticed a phenomenon that developed during their junior high years. About the time I was turning in for the night, one or both would come into my bedroom, sit down and begin to talk. These conversations were definitely not run of the mill. They generally were serious and reflective in nature. This was the point that they brought up their concerns, fears and questions about life in general. This was the time for the heavy duty stuff of life.
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Posted in Discernment at 10:10 am by Sherri Rene'
This clumsy living that moves lumbering
as if in ropes through what is not done
reminds us of the awkward way the swan walks.
And to die, which is a letting go
of the ground we stand on and cling to every day,
is like the swan when he nervously lets himself down
into the water, which receives him gaily
and which flows joyfully under
and after him, wave after wave,
while the swan, unmoving and marvelously calm,
is pleased to be carried, each minute more fully grown,
more like a king, composed, farther and farther on.
-Rainer Maria Rilke (tr. Robert Bly)
“You are like Rilke’s Swan in his awkward waddling across the ground; the swan doesn’t cure his awkwardness by beating himself on the back, by moving faster, or by trying to organize himself better. He does it by moving toward the elemental water, where he belongs. It is the simple contact with the water that gives him grace and presence. You only have to touch the elemental waters in your own life, and it will transform everything. But you have to let yourself down into those waters from the ground on which you stand, and that can be hard. Particularly if you think you might drown…. Let go of all this effort, and let yourself down, however awkwardly, into the waters of [your] work” -David Whyte, Crossing the Unknown Sea: Work as a Pilgrimage of Identity
Rilke’s The Swan is one of my favorites! I find myself returning to sit with it every couple of months or so. It serves as a good plumb line.
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11.14.05
Posted in Prayer, Quotes at 7:33 pm by Sherri Rene'
O Lord God,
I have no idea where I am going,
I do not see the road ahead of me,
I cannot know for certain where it will end.
Nor do I really know myself,
and the fact that I think
I am following your will
does not mean that I am actually doing so.
But I believe
that the desire to please you does in fact please you,
and I hope I have that desire
in all that I am doing.
I hope that I will never do anything
apart from that desire to please you.
And I know that if I do this
you will lead me by the right road,
though I may know nothing about it.
Therefore I will trust you always
though I may seem to be lost
and in the shadow of death.
I will not fear,
for you are ever with me,
and you will never leave me
to make my journey alone.
- from Pax Christi
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11.12.05
Posted in Time, Sermons/Homolies at 10:49 pm by Sherri Rene'
Then let the servant Church arise,
A caring Church that longs to be
A partner in Christ’s sacrifice,
And clothed in Christ’s humanity.
(LBW Hymn #433 vs. 3)
In pondering the words to the above hymn, I was struck by the phrase ‘clothed in Christ’s humanity’. What does it mean to be ‘clothed in Christ’s humanity’?
We live in a culture in which the norm is busyness. The cultural messages that we receive push and prod us to move at a dizzying pace. We have cell phones, PDA’s, laptops, and the like. We are connected at all times – just not necessarily connected to the people and things immediately around us!
Our relationship to time is complex at best and chaotic at worst. We exist within a continuous series of moments of time. Unfortunately, however, we are often racing through these moments at maximum speeds – speeds that serve as an amnesiac for the present moment. The present moment is the only time that we live within and quite often we find ourselves disconnected and unavailable in the present.
“Time talks. It speaks more plainly than words. The message it conveys comes through loud and clear. Because it is manipulated less consciously, it is subject to less distortion than the spoken language. It can shout the truth where words lie.”
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Posted in Prayer, Quotes at 10:23 pm by Sherri Rene'
Be at Peace.
Do not fear the changes of life,
Rather look forward to them with full hope as they arise.
God, whose very own you are,
Will deliver you from out of them.
He has kept you hitherto,
And He will lead you safely through all things;
And when you cannot stand it,
God will bury you in His arms.
Do not fear what may happen tomorrow;
The same everlasting Father who cares for you today
Will take care of you then and every day.
He will either shield you from suffering
Or will give you unfailing strength to bear it.
Be at peace
And put aside all anxious thoughts and imaginations.
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11.10.05
Posted in Time at 8:49 pm by Sherri Rene'
“Our busy schedules … [have] diminished our capacity to marvel … in the passage of time as an expression of God’s love for us.” – The Quotidian Mysteries: Laundry, Liturgy, and “Women’s” Work, Kathleen Norris
TIME ‘as an expression of God’s love for us’ — it is certainly difficult to see time in a loving context. Time is an entity that we frequently battle, chafing against the time imposed constraints that pop up unbidden to hinder our progress. How do we always end up with more items ‘To-Do’ on our lists than time available ‘To-Do’ them in?
Instead of ‘an expression of love’, isn’t TIME the enemy? A formidable foe which we daily endeavor to subdue by squeezing the maximum amount of activity into our schedules. Our To-do lists, organizers, and PDA’s are the weapons we use to slice and dice time in our valiant attempts to bend it to our will.
TIME a scarce resource. Fleeting, ephemeral - steadily moving forward second by second, hour by hour. No container can hold it nor any barrier block it, as time continues its steady, relentless march into the future transforming each moment into history and leaving the present in the past.
‘Marveling’ in TIME as an expression of God’s love for us - surely, a cruel, cosmic joke, right? who really has time for ‘marveling’ these days? We’re just too darn busy…
… … Oh wait, that’s the problem that Kathleen is pointing out to us, isn’t it?
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11.07.05
Posted in Spiritual Practices, Sermons/Homolies at 6:53 am by Sherri Rene'
It was the feast of Hanukah, the Feast of Lights.
Jesus was walking in the Temple.
Some Jews approached him saying:
“If you are the Messiah, tell us plainly.”
Jesus answered:
“I did tell you, but you do not believe.
I did miracles, but you do not believe….
You are not my sheep.
My sheep hear my voice.
I know them and they follow me
I give them eternal life
They will never perish
No one will snatch them out of my hand.” (Paraphrase of John 10:22-28)
The setting for this gospel message is Hanukkah, the Feast of Lights.
Light….. Illumination …. Revelation.
Yet,… at this Feast of Lights, we see a group of questioners who are still in the metaphorical darkness … questioning Jesus, but, ironically as Jesus points out, maintaining their self-imposed darkness.
A darkness imposed by asking, while not really wanting to hear.
A darkness imposed by seeking, while not looking to find.
A darkness imposed by knocking, while leaning against the door to prevent its opening.
A darkness imposed by allowing the shouting voices of the world to drown out the voice of the Shepherd.
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11.06.05
Posted in Worship at 9:41 am by Sherri Rene'
Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight and the sin that clings so closely, and let us run with perseverance the race that is set before for us. (Heb 12:1, NRSV)
I am grateful to be a member of a liturgical church, with its’ liturgical calendar that marks the seasons and feasts of the church. Today we remember the saints, those glorious giants of the faith in our lives who have gone on to their heavenly home. Individuals whose lives provided glimpses of God and God’s grace in our lives. Today I especially remember those who have been instrumental in my faith growth, and my heart fills with a special gratitude when I remember the gifts that they bestowed upon me.
Linda who walked through the dark days of my divorce with me, who carried my hope in trust for me, who always reminded me that I was God’s beloved, who encouraged me to hang in there and trust that it would get easier, who was only as far away as a phone call and who listened, really listened – cared, really cared. Linda - God with skin and bones on. Linda who had walked my path and was willing to serve as a guide on my painful journey. Linda who chose to share her deep, beautiful faith with me. Linda who claimed to be sharing only what she had first been given and whose only request of me was that I do the same once I was able.
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