Yr. D, Wk.14: The Sabbath and Knowing When "It's Not Done Yet"

Marilyn led worship. She shared with us how an adjustment to her window opened up a new view that, for a moment, brought to mind past, present, and future for her (see photo). We shared recent experiences: sleeping in a twin bed took us back to childhood; an elderly loved one has become again like a little child in size or outlook; a return visit to a state park brought to mind all the growth since the last time.

Yr. D theme: Living into the Journey with God Class: Marilyn, Nuno, first year; Christine, third year; Mariel, Gene, fourth year; Scott and Susan, co - mentors. Absent: Gene had to leave immediately.

After responses to The Sabbath printed in "comments" below, additional thoughts emerged from our discussion. Mariel sees a kind of "Martha and Mary" dynamic when she considers the introduction by Susannah Heschel to the book by her father Rabbi Abraham Joshus Heschel. We were struck by the "tenderness" of the sabbath day in the Heschel family. When we considered Nuno's question about whether the Sabbath can be celebrated on another day, we reached a consensus answer in the affirmative, especially since medical workers and others who serve us may not have the Sabbath day off. Nuno brought out the conversation that the St. James Bible Study group had about the difference between joining a live stream of communion versus seeing the recording later. Is worship "like watching a play?"

Theological ReflectionNuno shared a story that involved a bus tour and an interaction that was interrupted when the bus had to leave. We loved the story, and focused on Nuno's decision at that moment not to comply because he felt this isn't done yet.

We found a metaphor that many of us could buy into, the experience of an artist (painter, poet, cook) continuing their nearly-finished work.

• What is life like there? Totally engrossing… trouble making decisions, lots of possibilities… testing, trial and error… you have a vision of working towards something…it’s intuitive, but not certain… you have to trust your gut
• What is a distortion of goodness there? Failure to commit, failure to keep going, feeling like it has to be perfect gets in the way of continuing … you lose that total engrossment
• What crisis could cause people there to see the distortion? risk if you spoil the whole thing…
• How could there be reorientation towards wholeness, and bring the world closer to fulfillment of that wholeness? Accepting what’s already beautiful in it… faith that others will see the beauty in it…

When we looked into our tradition, we found a lot of resonance with the idea of a work of creation that isn't done yet. In fact, that seems to be the central story of God's relationship to us: Epiphany… Jesus waited 3 days to raise Lazarus (divine timing)… Israel’s wandering in the desert 40 years made them a people instead of just a collection of tribes… Moses being raised by Pharaoh gaining wisdom, culture … Jesus calls Matthew who is a tax collector, and seems like a bad choice… King David wants to build a temple and is dissuaded… Heschel says creation is unfolding and we can’t see where it’s going… Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane … Season of Advent.

We reached some insights, too: You may discover a beauty that is different from what you expected… If you don’t understand,put it on the shelf until you do.. You have to trust, keep going… Like a TR! This turned out to be a meta-TR.

Susan accepted the challenge to create this week's collect, as she has a lot of experience with drafting and re-drafting visual art. A picture of one of Susan's studies is included here.

Collect

God who lovingly made all from nothing, who at the end of each day paused to see its goodness, You allow your creation to unfold and flower in its own time and its many voices to speak in harmony. As we--creatures made in your own image-- act, let us remember to pause and hear the voices of all your creatures and the things of the world speak in their own time and pace. Amen

Yr. D, Wk.13: Frontiers and the Fullness of Time

Susan led worship with a collect and readings from Advent 3, including the Magnificat. In answer to her question, we shared holiday plans. Most of us are staying home; Nuno will see family. Mariel shrugged that "every day is Christmas," a celebration of life and rebirth. We recognized the retreat of our friend Pete, hoping he'll be able to rejoin us another year. We added Marilyn to our prayers, along with Nuno and Gene, both affected by the losses of loved ones in the past year.

Yr. D theme: Living into the Journey with God Class: Marilyn, Nuno, first year; Christine, third year; Mariel, Gene, fourth year; Scott and Susan, co - mentors. Absent: Marilyn. Pete has resigned.

Scott proposed that this week's discussion of the readings might all stem from a single word taken from the title of 3rd Year's chapter, "frontier." Placing that word at the center of a grid, we piled on content from our chapters that related directly, then associated those new items with others, until we'd filled the squares:

Theological Reflection (TR) Scott asked the group to reflect this week on the Magnificat from our worship. When Scott reminded everyone of the context, Mariel was struck by the way Mary's song seems to be about past, present, and future all at once. Others showed interest, and that became our focus.

Nuno reminded us of what he said in an earlier week about time being represented in Spanish as a volume or quantity, not a length to measure. We explored the image of time as a space that we inhabit where past and present are all "present" together. Our exploration brought to mind the phrase "in the fullness of time" ("Dare I say, pregnancy?" Mariel asked), and these other pieces from our tradition:

Moses on top of the mountain – they couldn’t wait for him to come down! The God of Abraham and Isaac is a god of the living, not the dead, said Jesus. Alpha and Omega at the same time. Hymn: The Day Thou Gavest… The Day that never ends… Two different ideas of time – masculine (Psalm 90 – number our days) and feminine (Magnificat)

Coincidentally, Rabbi Heschel's book The Sabbath, assigned for our next meeting, explores this same idea, that time in Judaism is an "architecture" that we inhabit.

Gene volunteered to compose a collect to bring the threads of our conversation together:

Collect for Judging the Right TimeHeavenly Father, who in the fullness of time sent your son, born of Mary, to redeem us; we ask your guidance as we seek to understand and trust your will even when we cannot see beyond our own limits of time as we are brought into your eternal kingdom; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Yr. D, Wk.12: Knowing and Noticing

Worship was led by Mariel. Then she asked us, "Since Advent signals the end of the calendar year and the beginning of the liturgical year, in what area of your life have you recently sensed the closing of one chapter and opening of a new chapter?" Some answers were cause for celebration tinged with trepidation: retirement, new career, new house. Other answers, regarding relationships, raised concerns for us to keep in our prayers.

From our discussions of the readings on line, Scott drew some questions for clarification regarding appropriate learning and distinctions between feminist and humanist. Mariel and Gene opened up Ford's image of "knowing" an apple, which he compares to the much more complex ways of knowing God. The conversation moved to the importance of what's not said in a text: little said about women behind the scenes in Israel's origin stories and in the early history of the "Latin rite church." Nuno said that the relationship with God matters more than academic analysis. Mariel and Gene were reminded of that apple: a scientific study of it is one way to know it.

Yr. D theme: Living into the Journey with God Class: Marilyn, Nuno, first year; Pete, second year; Christine, third year; Mariel, Gene, fourth year; Scott and Susan, co - mentors. Absent: Pete

Theological Reflection

We all bought into the anecdote that Gene brought for our TR, concerning a woman with children who begged for cash at the entrance to a store. Gene tried not to notice -- until Scripture from Matthew popped into his head. 

As we explored the situation, we were drawn this time to the struggle with conscience, the little lies and rationalizations. We agreed: the more we struggled, the deeper in guilt we sank. A metaphor emerged: paleolithic tar pits.

What is life like when you're a dinosaur in a land of tar pits? Free… inviting … pretty.. you know the pit's there, you're unconcerned most of the time (the way we rarely concern ourselves with poverty we know is grinding lives). The distortion or sin is carelessness… distractedness… fear of interacting with someone in the tarpit. The crisis or judgement comes when you fall in. The more you struggle the deeper in you get, the worse you feel. Reorientation or redemption? Ducky the little dinosaur (from the film Land Before Time) pulls you out; someone tells you to stop flailing; you grab a branch. You could die and become a monument and a wonder to later generations, which is redemptive in that it gives your life meaning.

We connected our little parable to other sources. From tradition, we thought how often Jonah "fell in" as he evaded God's call; Paul’s “I do the very thing I hate and cannot do the thing I want”; the redemptive deaths of the martyrs; Israel's repeated rejections of the prophets, and, from the other angle, God's seemingly futile trust in His people; Job. Several movies came to mind: Land Before Time, Groundhog Day, Scrooged, Never Ending Story.

We offered insights from stepping back to look at our entire reflection: This does happen a lot, in our personal lives, in our church history. There IS hope in these stories and images; there is paying attention and caring… the gift is in the giving… St. Francis: In giving we receive, and now the opposite, in not giving we suffer… Gene on five levels of sin – and the need for outside help to get you unstuck. Helper and Helpee both need to be flexible – the gifts may not come as we think they will… grace needed on both ends….

We saw these applications of our insights to our lives going forward:

• We can ask for the outside help (and that’s prayer, and / or others)
• We can strive to BE the outside help who offers someone the branch
• Nuno’s experience with wide range of needy people and results
• Openness to Scripture – know your scripture and listen to it when it comes to mind, as this passage did for Gene:
  Give to him who begs from you, and do not refuse him who would borrow from you (Mt 5.42).

A few days later, Christine composed a collect:

Collect when StuckGracious father, As Jonah, who abandoned you and became stuck in the belly of a whale, rejoiced in your grace and guiding light. Give to us hope, light, and courage through our struggles when we falter or become stuck in the throws of our own concerns. Move us to turn to you and to your Word our living compass, so that we do not overlook our neighbors in need, and help us all rejoice in our gift as helper or helpee; through your son our Savior Jesus Christ who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit now and forever. Amen

Yr. D, Wk. 11: Lenses & Maps, With or Without

Susan led us in a Litany of Thanksgiving from the Book of Common Prayer. Her on-boarding question was, what did you eat on Thanksgiving? One had the traditional full meal, one had a frozen dinner, and the rest of us had a variety in between. Whatever we consumed, we felt thankful for the time we had with others, and alone.

Yr. D theme: Living into the Journey with God Class: Marilyn, Nuno, first year; Pete, second year; Christine, third year; Mariel, Gene, fourth year; Scott and Susan, co - mentors. Absent: None.

The postings in the "Comments" section below covered the readings very well, but Nuno's comment that he was interested to read Deuteronomy through the "lens of centralizing authority" set a theme for the rest of our reading discussion. He found Deuteronomy to be a kind of Utopian vision, a community "without blemish." Marilyn liked the thought that Deuteronomy's "reinterpretation" of the Law and Moses was another step in a "journey" for God's people, a theme that also came up later in our TR and Marilyn's collect. Mariel and Peter enlarged on Mariel's comment that, in interpreting scripture, we are "wrestling with the past, chale=lenged by our own assumptions, being alert to deeper resonances." Pete was struck by the way Mark emphasizes the down-to-earth humanity of Jesus and the foolishness of the disciples. From reading about the birth of Islam, Christine made clear that Mohammed was reinterpreting Hebrew and Christian scripture to the problems of the chaotic society on the Arabian peninsula ca. 600 CE.

Scott, from reading comments that the textbooks devote a lot of print debating authorship, asked how important the question of authorship is to our understanding of scripture? Gene told about analysis of the Book of Mormon that undercut claims that Joseph Smith relayed text of ancient authorship. Nuno feels that the witness to Christ gives authority to the gospels, whoever the author may have been. Pete agreed, and opined that who wrote a text is less important than how the intended audience was supposed to take it.

Theological Reflection (TR) Christine related her story of undertaking a day's drive to Orlando many summers ago, without air-conditioning, cellphone, or map, only a promise that she couldn't miss her destination, a hotel with a giant swan on the roof. There were many points of interest in the story, but we gravitated to the initial situation, a journey undertaken without maps.

The more we explored that image, the more we saw that a "journey without maps" seems to be preferred in Scripture. Abraham leaves his ancestral home with no plan, just a promise; Hebrews wander 40 years; Jesus tells his disciples to take nothing with them, to be wise as serpents, innocent as doves; Paul's missions seem largely improvised. Of course, our culture offers the example to "Follow the yellow brick road," and lots of road movies. Nuno remembered encounters with homeless men who enjoyed the "hobo lifestyle" with its sense of adventure and trust in others.

We explored the categories of creation, sin, judgement, and redemption:

• What is life like there? Adventure… precarious… challenging… disconnected from home… new…
• What is a distortion of goodness there? Paralysis by doubt… fearful to go… directions unclear or wrong…
• What crisis could cause people there to see the distortion? Getting lost – not finding the landmark, not finding the people, sundown/darkness no place to go,
• How could there be reorientation towards wholeness, and bring the world closer to fulfillment of that wholeness? Ask for help… take a moment to just enjoy the view: the good stuff comes when you reorient yourself, when you see the good…

Some insights emerged: You have to be responsive to the others, and to the circumstances – good not to be too prescribed “Uncharted territory” economy, medical crisis, world-wide political crisis, and responsibilities to the world/nation/community – in teaching/business – a church that cannot meet, a world that can’t connect – is connected by the problems --

During the days that followed our meeting, Marilyn enjoyed the challenge of wrapping up our feelings and insights in a collect. The theme of "light in darkness" is so appropriate to this season of Advent! Here it is:

Collect for those who Travel without Maps Oh Glorious God, our Heavenly Father, your Word is a beacon to orient our feet, a bright light unto our path. In a most wonderful way it reveals our deep need for Your Unfailing Love, and at the most unexpectedly perfect moments, we are humbled by Your Gracious Guidance. May we walk daily with The Living Word, conducting our lives in faith and with gratitude, so that we may illumine the path for others. May the glow of Immortal Hope light up, not only our personal paths, but also our faces, to encourage others and to show that the Light of the World dwells within us. We ask this through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Yr. D, Wk.10: Re-Framing the Story

Nuno led us in a service from the prayer book of New Zealand's Anglican church. He drew our attention to the way Maori imagery makes familiar phrases new to our ears -- an example of a re-framing of content that became a theme of the evening.

After giving some thought to Nuno's emailed question, we named our favorite pies and gave the word "pecan" our favored pronunciation. We did not reach consensus.

Yr. D theme: Living into the Journey with God Class: Marilyn, Nuno, first year; Pete, second year; Christine, third year; Mariel, Gene, fourth year; Scott and Susan, co - mentors. Absent: Gene.

Our thoughts about this week's readings were expressed eloquently in comments posted before the meeting (see below). Looking back over the discussion, I see the theme of re-framing there, too, as the different authors are providing certain frames for looking at our traditions. For example,

• Nuno writes that Collins looks at Leviticus and Deuteronomy through a narrow frame of scholarly questions and speculations about authorship; Nuno sees them through the frame of salvation theology.
• Marilyn's picture of the Hebrew Scriptures was opened up by one phrase, "perpetual priesthood."
• Pete, looking through the frame of his father's Marine values, is troubled by the vilification of authorities in Matthew.
• Christine credited a website with helping her to read the history as "an evolution in our understanding of God." She was interested in the layers of challenge attributable to differences in language, as, for instance, the subtle differences between "origin" and "nature" when the Church tried to define the doctrine of Trinity.
• Through Mariel we can see that Ford presents an array of frames for looking at salvation. It seems that we're not going to get just one answer from him.

Theological Reflection Mariel brought us material for a TR from the action source. Recently, her older brother added new information to a bit of family lore, an incident early in her childhood. Speculating about the brother's thoughts and feelings, we almost lost sight of Mariel's experience.

Christine brought us back on track with a metaphor borrowed from her own experience in art restoration. She told us how restoration of the frame, even removing the frame entirely, revealed new things in the picture.

The metaphor brought to mind important pieces of our tradition. Jesus reframes the law; the different Gospels each reframe Jesus in each book; re-discovery of the Law reframes Josiah's reign; Job's story changes when he says, "I had heard about You ...but never had seen You face to face." Jesus reframes Kingship, Baptism, fighting, leadership. Joseph reframes his own story when he reveals his identity to his brothers.

Insights: Forgiveness is a kind of reframing as we discard one frame to expose the fuller picture; thinking of the original story, we see validation that confession is good for the soul; we take care to recognize how memory can filter out details.

Pete volunteered to write a collect to pull together strands of our TR into something we can act on:

Collect for ReorientationOh, heavenly Father, with your wisdom and serenity, when we face turmoil and crises, especially when loved ones are at stake, please aid us in reorienting ourselves towards wholeness with your will and divine plan; please guide us to forgive others and repent for our own transgressions, so that we may become true servants to you; through Jesus Christ, our Lord, and the Holy Spirit.

Yr. D, Wk. 9: Boxes Unopened

Christine led us in the Order for Worship at Evening from the Book of Common Prayer (BCP). Her question for on-boarding was about favorite TV shows or songs that we turn to for comfort. We variously named The Waltons, Star Trek, Ken Follett's historical Pillar novels, Dave Matthews' "Bar Tender," When Harry Met Sally, Joni Mitchell's album Blue, and E.T., re-discovered watching with one's child.

On a virtual tour of Nuno's new home, he showed us many boxes to unpack. Those boxes would turn up again at the end of the evening.

Our comments on the blog were a rich discussion of the materials that we had read in Exodus, Powell's overview of the Gospels, "The Imperial Church" chapter of the history book, and Ford's introduction to theologians' various ways of looking at Jesus.

Yr. D theme: Living into the Journey with God Class: Marilyn, Nuno, first year; Pete, second year; Christine, third year; Mariel, Gene, fourth year; Scott and Susan, co - mentors. Absent: None.

Theological Reflection

Scott told how, seeing photos of his parents and grandparents, he suddenly realized that he had no one to pass them down to. He had felt a sense that he was betraying their memories when he imagined mementoes trashed or packed in a box.

As we explored connections to the story, we focused on boxes that follow us from home to home, never opened. We imagined how the need to locate some particular item might make us confront those unopened boxes, and how wholeness could be restored: Unpack the box; put time and space aside for the effort; drag in someone close who has perspective; realize that it has meaning only for yourself, and ask if it’s a net positive or net negative; give the object as a gift, along with its story.

We offered relevant stories from our tradition: The gifts of the Magi… Sirach’s “let us now praise famous men" once celebrated, now forgotten … the rich young man who “had many possessions” … golden calf … Deuteronomy discovered in the temple basement during Josiah’s time… Prodigal son took his share and left, and realized that it wasn’t the wealth but coming back … other gospels and books discarded as the Church set the canon.

Looking through the culture's movies and books, we remembered the last image in Raiders of the Lost Ark

We reached these insights:

• It’s hard to see pictures of our elders in their youth when they’re gone now.
• Our artifacts are all in reach.
• Memories - you can lose them and find them again
• When we grieve for the loss of others, we grieve for ourselves
• Placing a value on things (tangibles, memories) requires a lot of self-analysis: You have to understand your own motivation. Is this a standard that would apply to other people? There’s a process of appraisal. What do I want to keep?
• This mirrors the process of the TR itself – to start with the personal and draw back to see the significance for others

We shared ideas for collecting all of our discussion into a collect that follows this familiar form:

1. There is an address to God and to his character or actions in the world on our behalf (relating to the situation at hand).
2. There is a request.
3. There is an invocation and doxology, to include the Trinity.
4. And there is The Amen.

When Scott had enough material to make a collect, we ended the meeting.

Collect for Unpacking BoxesPrecious Lord, Judge Eternal, while You urge detachment from earthly possessions, You celebrate the recovery of a single gold coin: give us strength to open unexamined boxes in our lives, discernment to elevate what is valuable, and the will to let go whatever detains us from entering Your kingdom; through Jesus and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Yr. D, Wk.8: Faith in Jeopardy?

Gene led us in worship from New Zealand's prayer book. Prior to our meeting, Gene emailed us, "In honor of Alex Trebek, the answer to tonight's question is Something that made me see God's work in action or that renewed my faith this week." Our answers included rewarding engagements with people of different faith or different politics; good news and kindness from doctors, nurses, and a veterinarian; an emotional ah-ha moment with students; and a realization during a walk on a trail where "all the leaves are brown / and the sky is gray" that time -- even when waiting for something else -- is a gift.

Appropos of nature: Prior to the meeting, Marilyn sent Scott an acronym from an old religious book, God of Out Doors (G.O.D.), her answer to his question last week about Thomas a Kempis's admonition to look inwardly, not at the world outside.

Yr. D theme: Living into the Journey with God Class: Marilyn, Nuno, first year; Pete, second year; Christine, third year; Mariel, Gene, fourth year; Scott and Susan, co - mentors. Absent:

All four years read an essay in the Reading and Reflection Guide (RRG) that explains EfM's process of "theological reflection" in terms of this year's theme of "the journey." Members responded with interest and appreciation. More than once, we heard veterans of the program say that they appreciate the process better for having read this chapter.

For homework, we'd kept eyes open for stimulating examples and thoughts from the four sources, as outlined on p. 67. These, and other responses to the readings, are preserved in the comments below.

Prior to the meeting, Christine shared this link to Bishop Wright speaking with Dr. Judy Fentress-Williams, a scholar who contributed to the book of feminist / intersectional perspectives on the Hebrew Scriptures that Year One reads.

Next week, Scott will bring something from the "action" source for our first TR, and Christine will lead worship. Remember to add comments about readings for Week 9 to the blog post.

Yr. D, Wk.7: Looking Back

Marilyn included a reading from Thomas a Kempis in the liturgy for worship, a passage recommending inward vision, away from distractions of the world outside. She posed an on-boarding question, "What do you expect to do differently when COVID recedes?" Answers often involved family, hugging, and travel. Christine is considering a special ministry for families with loved ones isolated by medical conditions. Susan vowed to value little things that we used to take for granted. Pete said he'll never wear a mask again!

In our prayers, we're thinking of Gene in the loss of a close friend, of Nuno's father-in-law in the hospital, and please add my sister Kim, whose husband Bert died suddenly Wednesday.

Yr. D theme: Living into the Journey with God Class: Marilyn, Nuno, first year; Pete, second year; Christine, third year; Mariel, Gene, fourth year; Scott and Susan, co - mentors. Absent: None.

To the comments already posted about the readings, we answered a question about "key learning" or takeaways from the first unit of readings and practice with EfM:

• Mariel realizes in looking back over the past weeks and years of EfM that she is learning to listen, realizing that "it's very difficult to hear all the layers" in what people say. About the theme of conversion, Mariel opined that it seems most often to be, not a blinding light on the road to Damascus, but a process perceived in retrospect.
• Gene has a new awareness of the Trinity. More than an intellectural doctrine, the Trinity is a description of the ways we experience faith.
• Nuno's key learning concerned that word theosis, participation in the life of God, so apparent in the stories of the patriarchs. "We respond to Him first."
• For Pete, the two greatest commandments have more resonance for him as he looks back on the readings in Ford about theology. Nuno reminded us of Fr. Roger's image for those commandments, the cross itself, its vertical piece expressing love of God, its horizontal piece embracing love of neighbor,
• Christine reads the history of numerous shapers of Church history wondering about their inward thinking. More than that, she sees in the martyrs an inward strength. In discussion of what martyrdom really means, Christine remembered the Columbine student who stood up when the teenaged shooter challenged anyone to dare to own their faith in Jesus.
• Marilyn responds to the idea of living into the God journey.

We heard the final installments of our spiritual autobiographies from Pete, Christine, and Gene.

Members asked for prayers, for themselves and for loved ones. For our final blessing, Marilyn read her own poem about what it's like to have our hand in God's hand.

Yr. D, Wk. 6: Where the Heart Is

Worship was led by Christine. We responded to her question, emailed in advance, about the "heart home" that we think of, even though we may have lived in many different homes in our lives. Places ranged from the Pacific Ocean, to Cincinnati, to Athens GA. Marietta itself is where some hearts are, a place where you can sit on a front porch and listen to the crickets at night. For others, it's where family came from, places made sacred by relationships and memories.

Yr. D theme: Living into the Journey with God Class: Marilyn, Nuno, first year; Pete, second year; Christine, third year; Mariel, Gene, fourth year; Scott and Susan, co - mentors. Absent: Pete.

We had already written extensive comments about the readings (see below), but we responded to the question in the Reading and Response Guide about any "conversions" in our readings. Christine saw conversion in the early church's history, as the growing institutional nature of the church pushed Christendom in new directions, and the push-and-pull of church culture v. Roman authority. Mariel saw peope being "weaned away" from inadequate religion towards God-centered institutions. Nuno said that the one-time-ah-ha kind of conversion was never his experience, nor what the patriarchs display. "There's a give and take," he said, as we see when we share our spiritual autobiographies. Marilyn agreed: "It's not 'one and done.'"

We caught up with Gene and Christine on "political conversion" before moving on to "religious conversions" in our lives. Next week, we'll still hear from Pete. These are too personal to share here, but I hope we all took some notes. We're looking for threads that run through the different stories.

Yr. D, Wk. 5: Habits, Faith, and One Fresh Cucumber

Worship was provided by Pete.

Pete's on-boarding question, emailed in advance, was to tell of a single thing we do differently now than before the pandemic -- aside from the obvious mask-wearing and social distancing. We proceeded by invitation until everyone had spoken. Our answers included long walks or hikes with long periods of silence; regimen or rule of life including morning and evening prayers, psalms, and poetry; gratitude for those who deliver our groceries at curbside and who perform myriad other services; and networking with others who need support and prayer.

Yr. D theme: Living into the Journey with God Class: Marilyn, Nuno, first year; Pete, second year; Christine, third year; Mariel, Gene, fourth year; Scott and Susan, co - mentors. Absent:

We discussed the readings, looking for some common threads. Prior to the meeting, members had shared responses to their different readings in comments (below), often responding to each other with questions and affirmations.

• Christine elaborated her comment that reading MacCulloch on Jesus and Paul was like a ride at Disney, and Mariel agreed: there are so many points of entry to the topics of his chapters, reading him can be overwhelming, like rounding a corner and seeing a surprising vista.
• Trust emerged as a theme. Gene translated Ford's message in a phrase beloved by lawyers, "Trust the process," explaining, "Jump in with trust (faith or love) first; expect understanding later." Pete gave us an adage, "If you want to be good at something, put 10,000 hours into it." Mariel called the time invested in the relationship with God a "sunk cost" that will firm up your commitment.
• Marilyn and Nuno both had focused on creativity as the main thing that makes us "the image of" God. Gene said we need room in our lives for God to grow.

We proceeded with spiritual autobiographies. As we listened, we took notes, looking for themes that emerged, so we'll leave specifics out, here, except for a reminder of a graceful experience involving one fresh cucumber. 

 

Yr. D, Wk.4: Lenses on the Past and Intellectual Conversions

Mariel led worship with prayers for evening from St. Augustine's Prayer Book (2014). She had asked us to think of someone we'd had the urge to pray for: how did it work out? We all had examples: friends in rage, unemployed, aged, or ill; praying for them or mailing a letter made a difference in us.

Yr. D theme: Living into the Journey with God Class: Marilyn, Nuno, first year; Pete, second year; Christine, third year; Mariel, Gene, fourth year; Scott and Susan, co - mentors. Absent:Christine, Gene.

When Marilyn brought up the "lenses" through which we view Scripture and the past, Scott saw that same idea in all the comments on the blog. Marilyn raised the "standpoint" theory from her reading; Mariel discussed the way we look at the past, as some dismiss the benighted past and others see the past as pristine. All of our readings present, instead of a definite answer, a spectrum of positions. The exception seems to be slavery: No matter what, it's wrong. Discussion followed, including an Atlantic article about a slave in modern America. 

We caught up with "Affective" conversions in the lives of Pete, Marilyn, and Nuno. Then we heard of "Intellectual" conversions in the recent past of the members. Scott's story involved his writing the blogpost The Privilege is Mine. 

Next week we need to hear from Christine and Gene. Worship will be led by Pete.

Yr. D, Wk.3: Continuity with the Past

Gene led us in Compline. We came on board answering the question, "What was the best thing that happened to you all week?" Answers included projects, reunions, recovery, a new job offer, and hopes for a happy and healthy quarantine.

We learned that Elizabeth Gray regretfully will put off EfM for another time, her schedule permitting.

Yr. D theme: Living into the Journey with God Class: Marilyn, Nuno, first year; Pete, second year; Christine, third year; Mariel, Gene, fourth year; Scott and Susan, co - mentors. Absent: none.

The class's responses to their readings (see "comments" below) were essays, edifying in themselves! Scott followed up with some questions from the RRG about how the readings may have related to our personal lives, our current world, our heritage, or our beliefs and values. 

One theme that emerged is a continuity of ancient past to present. Christine drew inspiration from a continuity she found from ancient history to art and spirituality of today. Marilyn felt awe at the effort to make sense of an often chaotic world. Gene recognized the EfM program in theologian Ford's introduction, and saw how one can keep the past as a reference without "clinging" to it. "The past has relevance to modern issues." That's one of the main thrusts of Collins's book, said Susan and Pete, in which the author combs the Bible for insights on hot-button moral issues. Mariel was refreshed by the notion that the feeling of being overwhelmed has positive aspects, too, leading us to theology. 

Our series of spiritual autobiographies kicked off with 2-3 minute reflections on specific events of our latest 15 years that qualify as "affective" conversions. Those remain private. We ran out of time before we could hear from Pete, Marilyn, and Nuno: we'll hear them next week, along with everyone's stories of their experiences of some kind of "intellectual" conversion, i.e., acceptance of a truth.

Yr. D, Wk.2: Theosis - Living into the Journey with God

Scott led opening worship, adapting the Yom Kippur service's credal statement (the "Shema") and prayers at the closing of the gate ("N'ilah"). 

We came on board answering the question, "What gates have you opened or closed in the past week or two?"

We enlarged upon some threads in the comments that follow this posting.

Yr. D theme: Living into the Journey with God Class: Marilyn, Elizabeth Gray, Nuno, first year; Pete, second year; Christine, third year; Mariel, Gene, fourth year; Scott and Susan, co - mentors. Absent: none.

Looking at the images of travel that we compiled last week, along with the R.E.S.P.E.C.T. recommendations at the end of the R.R.G., we brainstormed travel-appropriate "rules for the road."

We're all in the same boat, a fact that imposes a kind of discipline:
• Keep a tight ship: no leaks of personal information.
• Pack well: be prepared, meet your responsibilities to the class.
• Life vests: You may be struggling with the material, but that’s okay, and we’ll keep you afloat.
• All hands on deck: listen, cooperate, keep the craft moving forward. Sometimes you have to trust the captain.
• The destination may be all we share, initially: for the good of the journey, be sensitive, and celebrate our differences.
• Don’t rock the boat: this is no place for partisan politics, ideological competition, or personal problem-solving.
• The sounds of the lapping water, the flapping sails, the singing wind: Listen to hear more than what you expect to hear or want to hear. Silence is part of the experience.
• We’re not on this journey just for ourselves: We may have undertaken the journey for ourselves, but others are integral to the itinerary. We don’t vote people off this vessel.
• Be open to adventure: Sometimes we don’t know what we think until we articulate it or hear it from someone else; trust to ambiguity; respect difference

The travel theme brought about some other insights. Nuno observed that speakers of different languages have different ways to perceive time. English words for time imply distance, while words for time in Spanish suggest volume. At the end you may become more of a family. Enlarge our “circle of trust” to let others in.

Yr. D, Wk.1: Introductions

We will be using this blog for asynchronous discussion. Please make part of your routine to be a stop by this site to add your thoughts to the discussion, and to read others' thoughts.

Yr. D theme: Living into the Journey with God Class: Marilyn, Elizabeth Gray, Nuno, first year; Pete, second year; Christine, third year; Mariel, Gene, fourth year; Scott and Susan, co - mentors. Absent:

Today's agenda:

1. On-boarding and introductions (5-7 minutes)
2. Worship. Order for evening, BCP p. 109 (5 minutes)
3. Ice-breaker (10 minutes)
4. Reading in Opening and Unit One of EfM's Reading and Reflection Guide (the RRG) (10-15 min.)
5. Metaphor of travel and norms for the group: small groups, then all.(5 minutes; 15 minutes)
6. Readings for next week; respond on this website; look over others' responses before we meet.
7. Closing prayer, for travelers, adapted from the BCP p.831
   

 Notes from the meeting:

We all arrived in time for introductions, worship, and the ice-breaker "two truths and a lie."   There was little to say about the reading assignment, and we put off the heavy work of that chapter for next week.

We did, however, enjoy working in breakout rooms to find images for "travel." These will help us to formulate norms in the "world" of travel.

EfM Class Creates Collects: Prayer Close to Poetry

In my personal blog, I write about prayer that comes close to being poetry.  Here's a portion:

Forming a prayer that comes close to being a poem is something that my adult class at St. James Episcopal Church does each week. We follow the curriculum "Education for Ministry" (EfM) devised by the School of Theology at the University of the South, Sewanee. Each week we apply our readings from Scripture, history, and theology to a story or artifact brought to us by someone in the class. We end by collaborating on a collect, intended to "collect" all our thoughts into one unified prayer, often one sentence. We wrestle with the problem of finding the words that are both true to what has emerged from our discussions, and beautiful.

See the rest of my article here.

Yr. C, Wk.36: Farewells

Scott wondered if anyone this week has had a time free of thinking about the pandemic. Some of us mentioned yard work, reviewing 10 years' paperwork and feeling re-inspired. Mariel said, "I think about it once in the morning, not again." Matt's always aware, but never worried.

Yr. C theme: Living as Spiritually Mature Christians Class: Matt, Pete, first year; Christine, second year; Mariel, Gene, third year; Erica, fourth year; Scott and Susan, co - mentors. Absent: none.

We answered questions of reflection in the Reading and Reflection Guide about the year in EfM, recording the session for possible use in a video to help with recruitment for next year.
Scott displayed Erica's diploma. "They even spelled my name right!" she exclaimed. We signed a virtual card of congratulations to our graduate:

We will all miss you and I still think you should consider becoming a mentor. I will especially miss all of your TRs. I will never forget the sick child at Disney. Susan

Erica, congratulations on completing 4 years of EfM! Good luck with your future theological reflections. We’ll miss your humor and insights. Mariel

Congrats, Erica! The last three years have been wonderful, and I wish you luck with your future vocation! Gene

Congratulations Erica! It has been so lovely growing in the word with you! you are a delight and an inspiration! wishing you joy as you continue on your journey. Christine

Dear Erica, I was so lucky to sit by you in EFM this year! Thank you for the times when I could listen to an opinion or thought you had that made me go "Yeah, I really feel the same way too." Congrats! Matthew

Congratulations, Erica! Well done. You appear to me to be a very serene person, with a ton of spirituality. I hope those good qualities rub off on me. Best wishes for your future and I hope our paths cross again. Pete

Erica, I've enjoyed your sly sense of humor, nudging us into different ways of looking. So often I refer to your ideas, and your TRs, and your gifts to us. Our group dynamics have indeed been wonderful this year, and I think it's largely your calming influence, and your patience to listen while men (mostly) interrupt you. We are so proud of you, and we will miss you! Scott

From Erica: Thank you, everyone, I will miss all of you and EfM so much next year.

Susan displayed a sample of the Collection of Collects that the mentors will prepare for everyone to send out in a month or so.
We spoke the Litany of Farewell in the RRG, adding our favorite collects at the end. Before we adjourned for the year, we took a last class picture:

Yr. C, Wk.35: Love for Love's Sake, and Dry Toast for Dinner

Christine provided prayers for our opening, and a question: what books do you plan to read this summer? Answers varied. Then Gene quipped, "I'll start 30 and finish three."

Our thoughts about the readings are posted as "comments" below. What emerged in discussion was a theme of love for love's sake. In Song of Songs, it's a man and woman, their mutual love, without reference to property or procreation. Erica, reading the anonymous 14th century classic The Cloud of Unknowing described its goal as teaching us to reach God without words, for no purpose other than the relationship itself.

Christine described Revelation as a "seven layer stress dream."

Mariel opined that MacCulloch has missed the way our devices and social media have altered communication, knowledge, relationships -- everything. When Scott felt that all this distance learning is achieving old ends by flashy new means, Mariel pushed back: "We're transitioning from applying new form to old ones; we can't imagine yet what's coming."

Yr. C theme: Living as Spiritually Mature Christians Class: Matt, Pete, first year; Christine, second year; Mariel, Gene, third year; Erica, fourth year; Scott and Susan, co - mentors. Absent: none.

Theological Reflection

Gene read to us a story about a lax parish priest and a visit from his disapproving Bishop. Something between a parable and a joke, the story interested us most where the priest's housekeeper complained that she'd wanted to cook lavish meals fit for a Bishop, but had been told to serve little more than dry toast and black tea.

Instantly we found many connections in our own experiences, in tradition, and in the culture. While these piled up, we shared positions and insights:

• Diet has become an idol.
• Fasting has different meanings now as a discipline
• If you are what you eat, then it can reflect all the good and all the bad.
• Food can be a bridge between cultures; and it can divide and alienate.
• Our different relationships with food for reasons that can be physical, psychological, emotional – as, “Comfort” food -- even though the food is just a physical thing.
• Incarnation, spiritual connection through matter
• What does eucharist mean over the internet – is that real participation? Recent online services have raised that question.

After class, Scott and Susan realized that we stopped short of truly narrowing down our focus. Suppose we had explored just the moment when the Bishop expects a feast, and receives instead the plate of dry toast with black tea: that's already a "metaphor," objective and universal. Without a sharp focus, finding a goal for a collect was therefore elusive.

Still, Christine's chosen prayer for the closing touched on the themes of worshiping God for the sake of it, and of being turned away empty:

Heavenly Lord, your name is glorious and wonderful. Everyone on earth and heaven sing about your wondrous works. You are the king of all, and we worship you, our Lord. We gather in your presence in the unity of our faith to ask that you bless us. Without your power and grace, we can do nothing. We pray that your glory continues to fill and radiate within our lives so that we can be your ambassadors to the world. Let none of us leave here today empty-handed. Go with us into the world as we serve you. Amen

Next Meeting: Scott sent a copy of all the year's original collects, and has asked everyone to select their favorite, and a backup. We'll share these collects as part of the worship service printed in chapter 36. We've been asked to think of our own answers to the reflective questions raised in chapter 36.

Yr. C, Wk. 34: What Would Jesus Drive?

Yr. C, Wk.34: What Would Jesus Drive? Scott began this latest Zoom meeting with An Order for Evening.

For a "coming on board" question, Scott took lines from Psalm 26 appointed for the day about the "house" where the glory of God resides. As we're stuck at home these days, Scott asked all to share on screen a place in the home where they find the holiness, or peace, or awareness of God. Answers varied: a walk out of the home, in nature; a gift from a formidable but kind boss; photos of family, and an elegant album that has become a visual archive; a treadmill where a guy can be lost in himself; and nooks in the home where we go inside ourselves. "Meditation has become like exercise for me," Erica said. "Now I feel bad if I don't do it."

Yr. C theme: Living as Spiritually Mature Christians Class: Matt, Pete, first year; Christine, second year; Mariel, Gene, third year; Erica, fourth year; Scott and Susan, co - mentors. Absent: none.

Our detailed comments about the readings are printed in the "comments" to this blogpost.

Theological Reflection

Susan told of wrangling with neighbors and Animal Control over the fate of a late neighbor's cat. We focused on the chaos of the scene. For Matt, this mix of personalities, motives, regulations, and potentially fatal consequence (for the cat) brought to mind the experience of trying to merge with heavy Atlanta traffic. We bought into the metaphor right away.

In the tradition, we saw Jesus finding "a lane" among opposing parties in his community: Pharisees, Sadducees, Zealots, and the Romans.

How would Jesus drive? Each answer suggested a different angle on the nature of Jesus and his teaching for us.

• Would Jesus just take MARTA?
• Would Jesus drive an old car, something modest?
• Would Jesus drive a pickup, carrying lots of people in the back?
• With the Pharisees and Romans, he was master of going between the lines: would he weave between lanes on a motorcycle?
• Matt said, "If he plays the 'trinity' card, he could drive in the HOV lane."
• Mariel tied the metaphor to the original story, suggesting that Jesus would drive a Catillac.

At 8:30, we were running out of gas. Susan assured us that EfM always gets "punchy" near the end. We adjourned without a collect, letting our jokes about traffic be our meditation.

Scott closed with a collect from Compline.

Next Meeting: Christine will lead worship, and Gene will bring a source for theological reflection.

Yr. C, Wk.33: Apocalypse Then, Protestantism Now, Howard, and John

Erica shared a prayer by Howard Thurman, professor to Martin Luther King, Jr., and elegant theologian. She has been reading from his wonderfully concise and incisive Jesus and the Disinherited.

Erica's question for "coming on board" was "Where have you found peace" in the past week, and "how have you struggled?" Answers to the first part included homely activities, meditation, and immersion in art, physical activity, and work; the second part brought some emotional responses. Gene volunteered that he takes his theme for the day from whatever plays on the radio when he arrives at work. This day, the song was "I Can't Get No Satisfaction!" Scott volunteered that he finds peace in donning his mask and efficiently shopping at Publix.

Members of the class enlarged upon comments about their readings that they posted on the blog.

Yr. C theme: Living as Spiritually Mature Christians Class: Matt, Pete, first year; Christine, second year; Mariel, Gene, third year; Erica, fourth year; Scott and Susan, co - mentors. Absent: Matt.

Theological Reflection

Mariel read to us a chapter from a novel by Robert Harris. While we found interest in the descriptions of waking up in total darkness hearing the sounds of an unfamiliar place, and in the tradition of the "first sleep," we chose to focus on a moment when the protagonist decides to overlook what he has discovered in his survey of a deceased priest's library.

Our discussion brought us to an image of an individual averting their eyes from a situation of possible exploitation in the park.

Collect for Empathy
Lord, creator and sustainer: you asked questions that probed the hearts of the people you met, Will you sell your possessions and follow me? Can you surrender your authority to be newborn? Do you wish to be healed? Train our imaginations so to empathize with those we meet, that we, too, may ask the questions that lead to safety, growth, and health. Amen

Erica's final prayer came from a Buddhist sutra, praying for "no deception... no wish for another's harm.. to protect others as a mother would do...."

Next Meeting: Scott will lead worship; Susan will provide a source for the Theological refection.

Yr. C, Wk. 32: Faith and "Enchantment"

Gene screen-shared an evening prayer service for our worship.

Prior to the meeting, members shared their thoughts about the readings in the "comments" section of this blogpost. [See below.] Scott asked some follow-up questions.

Then we focused on an object brought to us by Pete: A plastic bottle labeled "Holy Water" with certification that Jesus blessed the water in Conyers, GA, around 20 years ago.

Yr. C theme: Living as Spiritually Mature Christians Class: Matt, Pete, first year; Christine, second year; Mariel, Gene, third year; Erica, fourth year; Scott and Susan, co - mentors. Absent: Christine.

Theological Reflection

Our first reactions to the plastic bottle labeled "Holy Water" ranged from amusement to indignation, that anyone would make a commodity of holy water, and that anyone would be so foolish as to buy it. We saw a connection to the "enchantment" MacCulloch decried in his history, a credulous kind of Christianity that was sentimental, bordering on a belief in magic. When Pete admitted that his own father had purchased the bottle, we tried to see this object as its designer and any customers might see it.

As we explored the culture and the tradition, we wondered how firm the barrier is between ordinary bread and consecrated bread, ordinary water and the water of baptism. We remembered early Anglican bishop Hooker's response to the doctrine of transubstantiation, that God's presence at the Eucharist is what matters, not how God is present.

Because Scott volunteered that this issue is one near and dear to his heart from literature by Flannery O'Connor and Graham Greene, he was commissioned to compose the collect.

Collect for Consecration
Almighty Father and Creator, by the power of your Holy Spirit, you exalted humble Mary to be vessel of your birth, you make yourself present in the ordinary bread at your altar, and you promise that a spring of living water wells up in each of us to eternal life: now consecrate our senses that we may perceive in our neighbors, our selves, and in all your creation, your power to make instruments of your grace. Amen

Gene blessed us with a final prayer.

Next Meeting: Erica will lead worship, and Mariel will provide a source for our Theological Reflection.

Yr. C, Wk. 31: Wisdom, Enlightenment, and That Lovin' Feelin'

For our worship, Scott screen-shared a selection from Daily Devotions, "In the Early Evening," the Book of Common Prayer p.139, including the collect for Tuesday in Holy Week, April 7, p. 220.

Scott asked that everyone from now on post responses to readings before we meet. Taking some time to do that, and time again to read everyone else's comments, will allow us  more of our hour of Zoom for worship and reflection. Henceforth, Scott will post a blank blog on Saturday for the next week's meeting for everyone to add their comments about their reading.

Yr. C theme: Living as Spiritually Mature Christians Class: Matt, Pete, first year; Christine, second year; Mariel, Gene, third year; Erica, fourth year; Scott and Susan, co - mentors. Absent: Christine.

In our discussion...

• Matt volunteered that God's character in the Book of Job is dynamic, as if God is influenced by Job's words. In Job, Matt and Pete agreed, it's as if Job puts God on trial.
• Pete was fascinated by the three so-called friends who cannot accept that Job is suffering for nothing, as they tell Job, "You must have done something wrong." In the end, when God wants to punish them for their wrong-headedness, Job asks forgiveness for them.
• Later, Pete saw the friends' simplistic view represented in Proverbs, where goodness is always rewarded and badness is always punished. Matt and Pete saw a range of views of God in the three "wisdom" books of Job, Proverbs, and Ecclesiastes.
• Mariel, reporting from MacCulloch, picked up on the motif of a trial in a section on the Enlightenment called "God in the Dock," i.e., on trial. She read from a popularly circulated manuscript "The Three Impostors" -- what we'd call today a viral meme -- that mocked religious faith.
• Gene, responding to the same chapter, ran through intellectual highlights of the Enlightenment: Spinoza and Deism (a Creator God neutral or disinterested in our lives), Rousseau (humanity born good but distorted by insitutions), the rise of Nationalism, and an attitude towards gender not so enlightened. Mariel and Susan added that a literalistic view of Scripture arose as a reaction to both the earlier allegorical interpretations and challenges of scientific materialism.
• Erica drew from the remarks that she had already posted on our blog. She wondered if the book Our Neighbor's Faith aims at a target audience from a generation older than hers, who, in her experience, harbor mistrust of Jews, and perhaps also of other faiths. Her favorite chapter so far gave her a wider introduction to Hinduism than she has had before.

Theological Reflection Matt shared a photo from Instagram that had received a lot of local "likes," a close-up of a hand-written sign seen in the Marietta Square. The anonymous sign-maker observed that the whole world is staying home to protect the weak and the needy, and concluded, "Nothing in the whole history of mankind ever felt more like love than this." Mariel suggested that we respond to this as a "position."

After negative initial responses, we did our best to enter into the sign-writer's way of looking at Creation. We intuited a view focused on finding what's good in the Here and Now (without awareness, apparently, of Elsewhere and Other Times).

When we contemplated Sin and Judgment, we intuited that the sign-maker would feel rage against the sin of not conforming to the sign-maker's idea of "sheltering in place." For this, we drew on our own recent experiences in grocery stores and on social media.

What emerged as we looked for "redemption" in this world view was an attitude shift to balance subjective feeling with objective fact, and to widen the frame of reference to include history and the Christian tradition.

Our opinion of the sign-maker seemed to soften as we found many times in our own lives when we had approached others from a doctrinaire position. For one example, a mother's doctrine about corporal punishment changed with the experience of rearing chidren and of seeing those grown children with children of their own. Judgmental thoughts were suspended at a recent visit to see parents crowding MUST Ministries to find food for their families. Another admitted, "Every time I've ever said I'll never, eventually I do."

As we looked through cultural analogs and those in our tradition, we found examples of both naive Pollyannas and courageous, self-sacrificing saints. We found that the Pharisees fit the bill for their hope that doctrinaire conformity would lead God's people out of enslavement to the Romans to restoration, as promised in scripture. (Here, they echoed the sentiments of Proverbs.)

What was so bad about the Pharisees? While the Pharisees loved the law, Jesus loved the people for whom the law was created; while the Pharisees insisted on the letter of the law, Jesus acted on the spirit of the law. The Pharisees, someone said, had "lost that lovin' feelin'." Our theological reflection brought us to a new appreciation for the ways diverse circumstances lead to diverse approaches to serving God and our community.

When Mariel read this prayer, Susan said that we'd already found the perfect collect:

In the Morning, BCP p. 461
This is another day, O Lord. I know not what it will bring forth, but make me ready, Lord, for whatever it may be. If I am to stand up, help me to stand bravely. If I am to sit still, help me to sit quietly. If I am to lie low, help me to do it patiently. And if I am to do nothing, let me do it gallantly. Make these words more than words, and give the Spirit of Jesus. Amen

Christine composed a collect based on wisdom literature and Job:

O God of wisdom, we are an imperfect people, through Your love you gave us Job as an example whose eyes you opened to your greatness. Help us to see as Job did through our own trials so that we too may see your greatness loving all those in our midst and serving You. Amen

Scott concluded with the final collect from Compline.

Next Meeting: Gene will lead worship via Zoom, and Pete will provide a source for our TR.

Yr. C, Wk. 30: Vocation and the Plague

For the second week in a row, we met via the Zoom app.

Mariel screen-shared a liturgy of readings and prayers with apposite images.

Yr. C theme: Living as Spiritually Mature Christians Class: Matt, Pete, first year; Christine, second year; Mariel, Gene, third year; Erica, fourth year; Scott and Susan, co - mentors. Absent: none.

Our text this week was "A Mature Theology of Vocation" in EfM's Reading and Reflection Guide. Pete, Erica, and Mariel all posted thoughtful comments to the blog before the meeting (see previous blog post).

• Christine started us off, telling us that her idea of vocation has opened up to include caring for the elderly, something that had not occurred to her until eldercare necessarily became a part of her life. Now she thinks that may be a ministry for her.
• Scott admitted that the questions intended for discernment --

  Desires: What do you long or yearn for?
  Imperatives: What should, ought, or must you do? (RRG 154)

  -- no longer gnaw at him as during the first half of his life. Around fifty, he found peace with the idea that what he was already doing -- writing, music, art, all in the service of church and school -- was what he had always been preparing to do. At 61, he's not so concerned with "vocation" as formerly.
• Susan agreed, and quipped, "I'm okay now with being a slacker."
• Mariel can't remember ever having a feeling of "calling" in her life or professional career, but feels that she has learned to be open to possibilities. In her comments posted before the meeting, Mariel wrote that praying the Psalter and using the Book of Common Prayer daily are two ways that she plans to keep structure in her life when retirement moves her away from the structure of a daily job.
• Christine cited the essay's expression of peoples' doubts that the "bits and pieces" of life can all fit together (RRG 152). For Christine, an artist who has worked with collage, looking retrospectively for a pattern among bits and pieces seems an intriguing challenge.
• Erica had written before our meeting about those "bits and pieces" and anxiety about seeing "the big picture." She told how a Buddhist sage was bemused when she asked about "calling" in this sense, telling her, essentially, if you want to be monk, then, okay, you're a monk. Erica also brought up her fascination with the Roman Catholic idea that one is "called" to marriage as to priesthood, an idea that resurfaced again and again during our meeting.
• Matt, too, saw his vocation clearly in retrospect. So much of his life was spent in the Church, working with youth. He found confirmation in the Book of Common Prayer, in the catechism, where "the people" are listed first as the ministers of God.
• Gene remembered back to graduation from college, when he had on his desk two stacks: applications to seminaries, and applications to law schools. Though he chose law school, the feeling of vocation has never left, and now he wonders if his calling is being realized now, "just being here" for friends with acute needs at this time.
• Pete continues to wrestle with the question he asked a few weeks ago, "Is it enough to be a good person?" As he wrote prior to this meeting, his participation in EfM is opening him up to the idea of a communal aspect integral to Christian vocation.

Theological Reflection

Erica introduced us to a poem by Mary Karr, published in 1993, "Etchings from the Plague Years." The speaker in the poem lifts her eyes from "the valley" of an art history textbook open to a medieval image of plague victims, to see a "frail" young man on her subway car apparently suffering serious illness. He becomes for her an image of "everyone [she has] ever loved." When he gets off at her stop, she thinks the imperative: "Offer him your hand. Help him climb the stair."

In our reflection on the poem, we found a great deal of energy at the nexus of Medieval plague, the poet's personal memories, and the moment present in that subway car. We shared personal stories when past or future became present in an instant: seeing the toddler son in the grown-up groom at the wedding; the young daughter dancing happily to the altar on Ash Wednesday to receive the reminder "to dust you shall return."

We found cultural analogs in the interweaving of prequels with sequels in the Star Wars series; a phrase from Raymond Chandler's The Big Sleep about the texture of men's flesh in the beautiful flower of the orchid; the mingling of past and present, life and death, in Our Town; and, in the death-haunted comedy Harold and Maude (1970), how the young man Harold learns from octogenarian Maude that love doesn't stay fixed to one object, but embraces all of life.

Perhaps cued by the poem's opening line about images of death printed "in the valley" of the open textbook, we thought of the valley of dry bones (Ezekiel 37.1-14), text assigned in the lectionary for the Sunday worship two days before our meeting. In that story, the tragedy of the past and the promise of the future are both glimpsed in the present, tied to a call for action.

We reached some insights. Susan saw the sacredness of small things. Gene observed, "She goes beyond just helping one boy to others in her past ('everyone I’ve ever loved') to every person in God’s kingdom…. A communal thing." Mariel related the TR to the evening's discussion of vocation: "Is teaching her vocation? In the end, she’s roped into doing something."

[Mariel's phrase later reminded Scott that the Greek word for "church," ekklesia, means literally, a "calling out" (same as "vocation"); or, as Mariel and the theologian Ronald Rolheiser both reimagined it, this "calling" is like "being roped into" action, as illustrated by the parable of the Good Samaritan. See "Spirituality Needs Community," Scott's blogpost about Rolheiser's book The Holy Longing.]

Collect for a Call to Action
Eternal God, when Your hand set Ezekiel in a desolate valley to proclaim hope, dry bones rose to new life; may we, like Ezekiel, look up from our personal valleys to act as Your hand and voice to those who need comfort. Amen

Mariel concluded with a prayer.

Next Meeting: Scott will lead worship via Zoom, and Matt will provide a source for our TR.

Yr. C, Wk. 30: "A Mature Theology of Vocation" - Comments

We are all reading pp. 150-156 in the Reading and Reflection Guide (RRG) and sharing our thoughts using the "leave a comment" link below. When you are ready to submit your thought, please use the "Name / URL" field.

In our comments about this short essay, let's address the questions at the end of the reading:

• describe a connection and a distinction between vocation and ministry
• identify one to three issues concerning vocation and /or ministry that concern you at this time
• reflect on one of those issues and what avenues of action are open to you at the micro-, meso-, and macro- levels (personal, work, nation/globe)

Please review the previous blogpost for a rundown on our first meeting as "ZfM" (thanks for the acronym, Matt!): Our TR was very good, and the collect we drafted picks up just about every strand.

Yr. C, Wk. 29: ZfM, the first week

We met via the Zoom app. Prior to the meeting, all years posted reactions to the Bonhoeffer book as "comments" on this blog (see previous post).

Pete led a selected a timely worship liturgy celebrating Love and Family, shared with us on the screen. We particularly remembered in our prayers Gene, bereaved of his mother, and Christine, closing down a business. Matt could not join us this time.

Still, we re-connected, shared experiences, reflected seriously on the TR, and laughed a lot.

Yr. C theme: Living as Spiritually Mature Christians Class: Matt, Pete, first year; Christine, second year; Mariel, Gene, third year; Erica, fourth year; Scott and Susan, co - mentors. Absent: Gene, Christine, Matt.

Theological Reflection

“Coming on board” with our experiences of the outbreak of Covid-19 and the necessary “social distancing,” we isolated several shared strands to our separate stories:

• "Will life ever return to normal?"
• We took so much for granted before, assuming wrongly that everything will keep going “on autopilot.”
• "I’m so used to being anxious, that having a real cause for anxiety has been a relief!"
• Small things – the closing of a favorite restaurant, down-scaling of the farmer’s market – bring home the dire global picture.
• Feeling parallels between Bonhoeffer’s time, watching Hitler’s rise with incredulity: “You have to love Bonhoeffer for his convictions.”

Our feelings coalesced into a few observations:

• The world has probably been out of control all along, but now we see it and experience it.
• There’s "no exit" – title of Jean-Paul Sartre’s play about people quarantined in hell.
• It’s like being stuck on a cruise ship, an artificial happy place loaded with luxuries and distractions; in an instant, the illusion disappears.

Exploring that last image through theological categories of creation, sin, judgment, and redemption, we found a particularly resonant analog in the story of Jonah, who prophesied against the hedonistic luxury of the city Nineveh, but the Ninevans buckled down to change their lives in time to avert destruction.

Collect for a Time of Upheaval
Almighty and merciful God, when You through Jonah warned Nineveh that the great city would fall to nothing in just forty days, the citizens repented, fasted, and averted catastrophe; May we, shocked by sudden awareness of our precarious condition, see with new clarity the beauty and value in routines we have taken for granted, and abjure the fruitless anxieties that have distracted us from You. Amen

Pete concluded with a prayer.

Next Meeting: We will again post comments to a short article that I'll post Sunday morning. Mariel will lead worship via Zoom, and Erica will bring a source for our TR.

Yr. C, Wk. 29: Bonhoeffer's LIFE TOGETHER while we Live Apart

This week, we'll use the "Post a comment" link at the end of this article to post our thoughts. To submit the comment, use the "name/URL" button, and give only your first name. If you're using a Google or Facebook sign in, you're making trouble for yourself!

Tuesday, before our virtual meeting, let's all take a look at each other's comments. I'll invite everyone to log on for a Zoom meeting at 7:00. Our agenda will be check in, prayer, and theological reflection on our current moment.

Yr. C, Wk. 28: Bonhoeffer's LIFE TOGETHER, ch.1-2

Under quarantine, we sent our thoughts for posting here. On Monday, I'll post an article for week 29; please add your thoughts about the second half of Bonhoeffer using the "comment" button. Remember to use the "name/URL" box. Your first name is all you need to write there, without any passwords or addresses needed!:

PETE
My thoughts on Mr. Bonhoeffer’s 1st 54 pages of Life Together: 1st and foremost, a few weeks back, I had posed the question: “isn’t it enough to just be a good person”. Well Mr. Bonhoeffer has certainly set me straight! “The Christian cannot simply take for granted the privilege of living among other Christians”. He believed that Christian Life had to be lived, and not just a thought or philosophy.
• AMAZED: He was entirely committed. He laid out framework in the first two chapters of how to live in the Christian Community and how to schedule your day within the Christian Community and life.Starting the day with morning prayer within the Community along with Communion Work Noon time prayer & introspection Work Evening prayer within the Community coupled with asking for & giving forgiveness.
• BOTHERED: After doing some further research, I became aware that, such an obvious man of God, Mr. Bonhoeffer lost his life for his faith and convictions. A true martyr.
• CONFUSED: Maybe this is actually how life should be lived on many levels, but it seems (to me at least) his idea of communal Christian life is almost unachievable within my typical norms of life.
• DELIGHTED: Even though I often find myself in the looking glass of the emotional community, it was refreshing & awakening to find a good working definition of the distinct differences between the spiritual and emotional communities of Christianity.

MARIEL
Here are my reflections on the first two chapters of "Life Together":
• Amazed - Bonhoeffer recommends a full chapter reading of the Old Testament every morning and evening. (Not sure I could absorb a chapter of Leviticus first thing in the morning.)
• Bothered - He strongly advocates letting other have the freedom to be who they are in Christ, and not trying to dominate or coerce them, but Bonhoeffer's tone is frequently absolute and authoritarian. Seems a bit contradictory, although he is German, so...
• Confused - As fervent as he is, it's difficult for me to understand his opposition to human emotions. He writes so passionately about Christ and the love of God, and talks about how disillusionment can be a good thing - these are all emotions that drive us to transformation. Perhaps the translation of the word "emotion" from German to English doesn't quite convey his meaning.
• Delighted - Bonhoeffer's directive on the proper structure of the Christian community's day (early worship, work activities, midday meal, more activity, some quiet time, then evening worship and meal) reminded me of the Lutheran Bible camp I attended when I was a 6th grader. I really enjoyed the daily structure of worship in the morning and evening, having some alone time, and enjoying communal meals.

GENE
Although I cannot imagine what Bonhoeffer went through in Nazi Germany, his idea that just the chance to live in a Christian community is a gift of grace from God resonates this week with the church doors being shut. While I know we will get through this I'd rather see you all face to face!
• Amazed: I was amazed by his dedication and discipline, and although he briefly mentions those lonely Christians who have little contact.with other Christians and must rely solely on their own faith, he makes a compelling argument for being within a community of other Christians.
• Bothered: Well... he is a little particular as to what he likes and what he doesn't. Perhaps a bit authoritarian.. This crops up in a few places, some of which you all have already mentioned - one of the big ones is that I think he tries too hard to make a distinction between emotional love and spiritual love. But the most absurd example was the section on the music that should be sung - in unison, of course - and that efforts should be made to weed out vanities such as "the improvised second part" (???), bass and alto voices, horrid solo voices that drown out everything, the unmusical types and those who are not joining in due to being moody or nursing hurt feelings. As an "unmusical" type myself, I would think those sitting near me would be grateful that I only mumble along, off key and often on the wrong verse and on occasion the wrong hymn. Perhaps I need more discipline - or a second cup of coffee..
• Confused: Somewhere between we have to work and work is a prayer I got lost. This does not relate to my reality. .
• Delighted: The way he describes prayer at dinner (pg. 47) and what it is we are really giving thanks for.

CHRISTINE
The depth and intensity of Bonhoeffer’s passion for communicating and leading Christians into deeper understanding of Jesus & our faith is quite intense.
• He writes of mature & immature Christians complaining scripture reading often being too long recommends reading full chapters of OT in morning and NT at night..while complete immersion is an effective way of learning, “practice makes perfect”, it seems harsh to distinguish between immature and mature, he could just say “hey, do this, it will deepen your faith, understanding, passion..”
• the instruction on “how to read scripture in community” by not inserting self and also pointing out the experienced Christian and a beginner will become evident when they read, no pressure or anything ...
• the singing in community segment was also filled with detailed instruction ...he started off with such a wonderful notion of how “spoken words are inadequate to express what we want to say, that the object of our singing reaches far beyond human words.”...then somehow things change and all of a sudden we are talking about the “unmusical” (me) and “vanity and bad taste...asserting themselves in singing...” It became confusing and I think he may not like certain instruments or voice tone/quality...”musical excesses”...
• I did especially like the section on community praying, praying freely and the idea of community member supporting those who haven’t mastered praying aloud.
• So far I like the material, but I’d run a red pen through a lot of extra words, am I allowed to say that? As you all know already I am a person of few words, but in writing I like words , just not too many. It’s a bit ironic in this case.

Scott posted his own thoughts to his personal blog in an article he calls "Bonhoeffer's Virtual Monastery in a Time of Virus"

Yr. C, Wk. 27: Psalms, Hebrews, Puritans, and Practices of Faith

Scott, away at the strings concert at school, arrived late with birthday cake and a card for Susan. For the first part of the evening, Susan took notes.

Yr. C theme: Living as Spiritually Mature Christians Class: Matt, Pete, first year; Christine, second year; Mariel, Gene, third year; Erica, fourth year; Scott and Susan, co - mentors. Absent: Matt.

What Amazed Us
How all the groups coming from Europe interacted together (Gene). He loved the irony of the list of religious insults for non-Trinitarians that couldn't be said, while they still executed them.
What Bothered Us
It's boring to read in Sedgwick about these practices of faith (Erica). MacCulluch doesn't like emotion, as he favors saner, cooler Anglican worship over extrovert religion (Mariel).
What Confused Us
Song of Solomon seems out of place in the Hebrew Scriptures, with the voice of a woman featured prominently, so much sensuous detail (Pete). Pete was actually Amazed and also Delighted. Erica remembered how Collins really likes S of S.
What Delighted Us
Mariel was both delighted and disappointed by the story of Ann Hutchinson, who taught men as well as women, who stood for those called by grace against those who preached salvation by law. Mariel wondered why MacCulloch doesn't make the connection between Ann and Jesus? Like Ann, Jesus's detractors attacked his authority as being from the devil. Erica thought Ann might like Sedgwick's conclusion that the practices of faith can become idolatry when disconnected from faith. Mariel was interested in George Whitfield, namesake of Whitfield Academy.
Theological Reflection Gene returned to the memoir for Father Wade, an influential figure in his life. In the passage that Gene presented, Wade remembers being a seminarian flummoxed by rapid-fire questions from his Uncle Fred -- a big rough-hewn tobacco-chewing profane man. We focused on the moment when Uncle Fred fixed eyes on young Wade to express an insight from scripture that shook up the nephew's life.

We could all buy in to that moment. We found examples of that same kind of moment in culture, e.g., Luke Skywalker's witnessing Yoda's power. In tradition, we found the strongest analog in Job, a passage that we read aloud: "I had heard of Thee by report only, but now I see Thee face to face." Christine volunteered to consolidate the lines we drafted for a collect.

Collect
Eternal God, ruler over all, whose son defeated death: When Peter blustered and brandished his sword to thwart Your will, a word from Jesus stopped him: So, too, when we react according to our own selfish desires, let us hear Your life-giving word and respond in Your wisdom and love. Amen

Erica concluded the evening with two prayers by the author of next week's reading, Dietrich Bonhoeffer.

Next Meeting: While Covid 19 has imposed "social distancing" on our lives, we all feel comfortable meeting as usual. Susan will provide a St. Patrick's Day repast; Pete will lead worship. Erica volunteered to bring a source for the TR.