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