Meditation, Prayer

Practice, practice, practice

Leave a comment

Make me an instrument of Thy peace;

I took up the violin at fourteen when a friend found a forgotten instrument and a bow in his grandmother’s attic. Twenty-five dollars for new strings and a sound post, mineral oil and some polishing got the violin in working order. I bought a beginners music book, took up the violin and bow, and began learning how to play.

Anyone who plays violin (or lives with someone learning to play) soon learns that producing a pleasant tone, even just a single note, isn’t easy and doesn’t happen quickly. Drawing the bow across the string with just the right tension requires practice and an ear to know when the note sounds right. It isn’t something that can be learned in theory: it’s a practical learning, requiring time and intentional devotion. The difference between music and noise is playing, listening, playing, listening, playing, and so on. Every day builds on the every other day. Bringing a Bach Sonata to life through the violin’s four strings takes only a few minutes, but it’s years in the making. There is no shortcut.

When I pray to be an instrument of God’s peace, I’m asking for years of devotion and work because I don’t know how. Becoming an instrument of peace requires actively playing my part, listening for God’s voice, playing my part, listening to my neighbor, playing my part. When God grants peace through who I am and what I do, it may seem like a gift from out of the blue. More likely, it was years in the making. No shortcut, but the work of a lifetime. Yesterday, today, and tomorrow.

Biblical Reflection, Meditation, Prayer

Prayer of Saint Francis: Lord

2 Comments

 

Lord,

Make me an instrument of Thy Peace; where there is hatred, let me sow love; where there is injury, pardon; where there is doubt, faith; where there is despair, hope; where there is darkness, light; and where there is sadness, joy. O Divine Master, Grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled, as to console; to be understood, as to understand; to be loved, as to love. For it is in giving that we receive; it is in pardoning that we are pardoned; and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life. Amen.

(This prayer is attributed to Saint Francis. He was born in 1181 or 1182 into a wealthy family in Assisi, Umbria. He grew up in comfort, turned into a rowdy youth, and eventually looked for glory on the battlefield. His life plan altered when he encountered God. In prayer, he heard God tell him to rebuild the church. He devoted himself to a life of prayer, poverty and service. He is the founder of the Order of Friars Minor (OFM), usually called the Franciscans. He died in 1226 after a life of prayer, poverty, and service. His life, work, and words have inspired countless numbers of people.)

 

Lord

I don’t use this term much outside of A Song of Ice and Fire and Lord of the Rings conversations. It’s an antique word that evokes images of knights, castles, queens, and serfs. Outside British royalty, real or fictional, the only Lord I’ve heard of recently is Lord Voldemort – not a great credit to the title.

The only other place I use Lord is in prayer. Lord Jesus, Gracious Lord, Lord God. When I say and pray Lord, I’m admitting and accepting that someone else is in charge. I am serving someone other than myself. I am not the ruler of the universe, just a servant in the kingdom that is this creation. Sometimes I am at peace with this, and sometimes I’m not.

Jesus says that “no one can serve two masters,” that I “cannot serve God and wealth”(Mt.6:23) The underlying assumption is that I am serving someone or something. It might be money or fame; it could be a worthy cause or a particular country. Knowingly or not, I serve something or someone. I suspect this is true. If it is, then I’d better choose my Lord carefully…

Biblical Reflection, Lent2015

The Value of Change

4 Comments

 

[Now all the tax collectors and sinners were coming near to listen to him. And the Pharisees and the scribes were grumbling and saying, “This fellow welcomes sinners and eats with them.” So he told them this parable: “Which one of you, having a hundred sheep and losing one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness and go after the one that is lost until he finds it? When he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders and rejoices. And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep that was lost.’ Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.”]

“Or what woman having ten silver coins, if she loses one of them, does not light a lamp, sweep the house, and search carefully until she finds it? When she has found it, she calls together her friends and neighbors, saying, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found the coin that I had lost.’ Just so, I tell you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.” Luke 15:1-10, NRSV

One silver coin out of ten, so small and worth so much. The woman careless to lose this small silver fortune. Would I call together friends and neighbors if I’d lost and found something so valuable? Would you?

I wonder what the pharisees and scribes thought of this coin parable, standing in the company of tax collectors and assorted sinners. Losing, seeking, and finding the silver coin wouldn’t be something to tell friends and neighbors – at least have the sense to keep quiet about the whole thing. Such a silly story for a rabbi to tell.

I don’t wonder so much about what the tax collectors and sinners thought of these two lost and found parables. They know they are the lost sheep and the lost coin. But something else must have dawned on everyone there: the lost coin and the wayward sheep were so precious and valuable that a woman and a shepherd risked reputation and life to bring them home.  Jesus claims the angels in heaven break out the cake and party hats to celebrate such a homecoming.

Why? Because the lost aren’t strangers or outsiders; they are the sheep of my flock and the same silver as I am. Perhaps I can only discover and accept such a big, holy truth when it’s wrapped in a parable.

Biblical Reflection, Lent2015

Lost

2 Comments

They say if you get lost in the wild, stay where you are. Wandering around makes it harder to find you, and is likely to land you farther from home rather than closer. But it’s so hard to stay put, lost and doing nothing. Wait anyway. The one who comes loves you and will bring you home.

You may wonder why anyone would come to the rescue when there are ninety-nine who never went astray. Simply put, it’s not a numbers game: the shepherd loves you and wants to bring you home.

And another thing: no matter how many didn’t get lost, home isn’t really home without you. Home comes with you as much as it awaits you.

Now all the tax collectors and sinners were coming near to listen to him. And the Pharisees and the scribes were grumbling and saying, “This fellow welcomes sinners and eats with them.” So he told them this parable: “Which one of you, having a hundred sheep and losing one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness and go after the one that is lost until he finds it? When he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders and rejoices. And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep that was lost.’ Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.” 

Luke 15:1-10, NRSV

Biblical Reflection, Lent2015

Seeds and Soil

Leave a comment

The Parable of the Sower, Mark 4:1-9 (NRSV)

Again he began to teach beside the sea. Such a very large crowd gathered around him that he got into a boat on the sea and sat there, while the whole crowd was beside the sea on the land. He began to teach them many things in parables, and in his teaching he said to them: “Listen! A sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seed fell on the path, and the birds came and ate it up. Other seed fell on rocky ground, where it did not have much soil, and it sprang up quickly, since it had no depth of soil. And when the sun rose, it was scorched; and since it had no root, it withered away. Other seed fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked it, and it yielded no grain. Other seed fell into good soil and brought forth grain, growing up and increasing and yielding thirty and sixty and a hundredfold.” And he said, “Let anyone with ears to hear listen!”

Daffodil shoots started coming up hours after a few inches of the garden bed emerged from snow and ice. Through a four inch snowfall and freezing cold, they continue to grow and green. There are seven or eight green clumps in that small edge of the bed, even though I only planted four or five bulbs in its whole length a couple years back. Who knows how many others will grow when the rest of bed surfaces? Last year, they filled the bed – beauty in yellow visiting this small piece of soil, yielding so much more than was sown.

It was a different story three years ago, with just a few dozen green leaves and a stray flower or two pushing through a bed lost to grass and weeds before I called this place home. I took a spade to them one August, hoping to find a few bulbs to fill in a bare spot in the garden. I found hundreds; the bulbs were good but the soil wasn’t. All that potential slept within those bulbs until they found good soil.

I couldn’t throw out those hundreds of bulbs, so I planted them in every available spot in my yard – under the lilacs, off the walkway, on the banking – and at the town library. Another hundred or so I gave away. Every Spring, those bulbs that couldn’t grow in poor soil bloom all over my yard; they grow and multiply to grace the library beds; they edge the yards of friends and strangers alike. There must be thousands of them by now. For some digging, soil preparation, and generosity, I’ve had the honor to see the abundance of God.

I think the same is true of me and everyone else. We have been given seeds, talents and gifts that will grow in beauty, honoring God and blessing the world. But they can’t grow just anywhere, and we have to be willing to do some digging and rearranging. What we’ve been given is more than good seed, it’s unearned and beautiful abundance. As Jesus tells us, “let anyone who has ears to hear listen!”

Biblical Reflection, Lent2015

Role Change

2 Comments

The Parable of the Sower, Mark 4:1-9 (NRSV)

Again he began to teach beside the sea. Such a very large crowd gathered around him that he got into a boat on the sea and sat there, while the whole crowd was beside the sea on the land. He began to teach them many things in parables, and in his teaching he said to them: “Listen! A sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seed fell on the path, and the birds came and ate it up. Other seed fell on rocky ground, where it did not have much soil, and it sprang up quickly, since it had no depth of soil. And when the sun rose, it was scorched; and since it had no root, it withered away. Other seed fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked it, and it yielded no grain. Other seed fell into good soil and brought forth grain, growing up and increasing and yielding thirty and sixty and a hundredfold.” And he said, “Let anyone with ears to hear listen!” 

Jesus interprets the story for his disciples and followers…the seed is the word, the good news Jesus offers the world. The part about seed falling on the path refers to the ones who lose the word immediately. The rocky ground is about those who get the good news at first, but only in a shallow sense. When difficulties arise, the word dies within them. The thorns are the the burdens of the world; for some, they are too much, choking out the good seed. But some of the seeds find good soil – people who hear the word, take it into themselves, and live out of its goodness. Faith and grace are multiplied beyond all expectations. (Mark 4:10-20)

It’s a great interpretation, in general and for this particular time, place, and company. So far, sowing the word is what Jesus does; the disciples listen and receive. But not forever. Two chapters from this parable, Jesus will send his followers out into the world, changing who they are in the parable from fertile ground to sower.

I love this parable, but my fondness for it can blind me, keeping it boxed up in one tidy little understanding. I do my best to be fertile soil, to let what is given take root and grow through my thoughts and actions. It’s amazing what can grow. And it’s not just me. I’ve seen so much abundance in the lives of others. From little seeds great crops grow.

Here’s my question about this parable: am I meant to remain the soil? Jesus didn’t let his disciples stay soil. When they were ready, he sent them out to sow, scattering far and wide the good news, two by two. This world needs sowers just as surely as it needs soil. When the time comes, will I let go of fertile soil to become the sower of holy seeds?

Biblical Reflection, Lent2015, Meditation

The Story of the Persistent Widow

2 Comments

Then Jesus told them a parable about their need to pray always and not to lose heart. He said, “In a certain city there was a judge who neither feared God nor had respect for people. In that city there was a widow who kept coming to him and saying, ‘Grant me justice against my opponent.’ For a while he refused; but later he said to himself, ‘Though I have no fear of God and no respect for anyone, yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will grant her justice, so that she may not wear me out by continually coming.’” And the Lord said, ‘ Listen to what the unjust judge says. And will not God grant justice to his chosen ones who cry to him day and night? Will he delay in helping them? I tell you, he will quickly grant justice to them. And yet, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?” Luke 18:1-8, NRSV

To be honest, parables have never made much sense to me. Even after they are explained, I still do not completely grasp the message. Yet, there is something about this parable of the persistent widow and unjust judge that grabs me…something I understand.

I picture Jesus sitting in a circle with his disciples telling the story of a widow asking a judge for what was rightly hers. The judge did not give the widow the time of day. He did not care about those most vulnerable or about what God thought. Day in and day out the judge went to work, and day in and day out, the widow showed up advocating for her rights. Finally, when the judge could not listen to her another minute longer, he granted what was due her.

Then the Master said, “Do you hear what that judge, as corrupt as he is, is saying? So what makes you think God won’t step in and work justice for his chosen people, who continue to cry out for help? Won’t he stick up for them? I assure you, he will. He will not drag his feet.”  The Message (Eugene Peterson)

How I admire the widow! I struggle to find my voice; she consistently spoke up for herself despite her situation. I give up at times when things get too difficult; she remained steadfast and refused to quit. I question my feelings and beliefs; she never changed her mind or thought herself unworthy. She persisted in her action and held on to hope. And in the end, an unlikely judge was just.

“But how much of that kind of persistent faith will the Son of Man find on earth when he returns?” The Message

I am grateful for Jesus’ words this Lent. He reminds me what is important: incessant prayer, eternal hope and persistent faith. When I find myself getting discouraged or feeling a bit hopeless and unworthy, I will think of the widow and remember that our God of justice hears me and stands up for me. If such unlikely characters as the judge and the widow could take action, why can’t I?

Offered by Heidi Marcotte, mission adventurer and truth seeker.

Biblical Reflection, Lent2015, Meditation

Justice by annoyance

2 Comments

Parable of the Widow and the Unjust Judge Luke 18:1-8 (NRSV)

Then Jesus told them a parable about their need to pray always and not to lose heart. He said, “In a certain city there was a judge who neither feared God nor had respect for people. In that city there was a widow who kept coming to him and saying, ‘Grant me justice against my opponent.’ For a while he refused; but later he said to himself, ‘Though I have no fear of God and no respect for anyone, yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will grant her justice, so that she may not wear me out by continually coming.’” And the Lord said, ‘ Listen to what the unjust judge says. And will not God grant justice to his chosen ones who cry to him day and night? Will he delay in helping them? I tell you, he will quickly grant justice to them. And yet, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?”

This has been my parable of choice lately, keeping me hopeful and diligent as I work to keep my local library open. The board of selectmen reduced a thriving town service to a decertified, eighteen hour a week ghost of the library’s former self. No matter that it’s a necessity to townspeople of all ages and a resource for surrounding towns. No matter that hundreds get a head start on learning at every story hour, are guided through their first research projects, apply for jobs on the computers, borrow books and movies, and prepare for high school equivalency tests. It doesn’t seem to affect the selectmen directly and it will be years before test scores dip because the library isn’t adequately funded.

Library supporters attend the weekly selectmen’s meetings. They speak up, telling the town leaders why the library is important – and why crippling it does the town an injustice. No yelling or name calling, just a steady, constant plea for restoring a vital service to the town. The selectmen are sick of hearing about it – when a thirteen year old spoke, they didn’t bother to thank her for her time and interest in town services. Rude behavior if not outright unjust action.

Yet, it’s working. There’s a long way to go, but some movement in the right direction. Not because of a change of heart or a sudden epiphany – it’s just something the town officials are sick of hearing about. With enough patience, justice and common sense will prevail.

It makes me wonder about the unjust judge. Does he really have no fear of God or respect for anyone, or is he just looking for an excuse to do the right thing? Perhaps the same can be said about my town leaders. I have faith that it is so.

Uncategorized

Little Prophet, Big City

2 Comments

The word of the Lord came a second time to Jonah, saying, “Get up, go to Nineveh, that great city, and proclaim to it the message that I tell you.” So Jonah set out and went to Nineveh…Now Nineveh was an exceedingly large city, a three days’ walk across. Jonah began to go into the city, going a day’s walk. And he cried out, “Forty days more, and Nineveh shall be overthrown!” And the people believed God; they proclaimed a fast, and everyone, great and small, put on sackcloth…

When news reached the king of Nineveh, he rose from his throne, removed his robe, covered himself with sackcloth, and sat in ashes. Then he made a proclamation in Nineveh: “By the decree of the king and his nobles: No human being or animal, no herd or flock, shall taste anything. They shall not feed, nor shall they drink water…they shall cry mightily to God. All shall turn from their evil ways and from the violence that is in their hands. Who knows? God may relent and change his mind; he may turn from his fierce anger, so that we do not perish.”

When God saw what they did, how they turned from their evil ways, God changed his mind…but this was very displeasing to Jonah, and he became angry. He prayed to the Lord and said, “O Lord! Is not this what I said while I was still in my own country? That is why I fled to Tarshish at the beginning; for I knew that you are a gracious God and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love, and ready to relent from punishing. And now, O Lord, pleas take my life from me, for it is better for me to die than to live.” And the Lord said, “Is it right for you to be angry?” Then Jonah went out of the city…and made a booth for himself there…waiting to see what would become of the city. The Lord appointed a bush, and made it come up over Jonah, to give shade over his head, to save him from his discomfort; so Jonah was very happy about the bush. But when dawn came up the next day, God appointed a worm that attacked the bush, so that it withered. When the sun rose, God prepared a sultry east wind, and the sun beat down on the head of Jonah so that he was faint and asked that he might die. He said, “It is better for me to die than ti live.”

But God said to Jonah, “Is it right for you to be angry about the bush?” And he said, “Yes, angry enough to die.” Then the Lord said, “You are concerned about the bush, for which you did not labor and which you did not grow; it came into being in a night and perished in a night. And should I not be concerned about Nineveh, that great city, in which there are more than a hundred and twenty thousand persons who do not know their right hand from their left, and also many animals?”  (Jonah 3-4, excerpts, NRSV)

The fish had barely spit him up when he started complaining about his lot in life. And what is he angry about? God’s mercy toward a city full of people. He’d rather die in the desert outside the city than rejoice for the thousands of people and animals who thought better of their ways and promised to change. He’s more concerned with the shrub. Jonah: a rescued prophet with little compassion and an amazing lack of perspective.

I think God was trying hard not to laugh at Jonah and his tantrum. Like a mother, God gives a bigger view of reality than Jonah wishes to have, perhaps hoping that Jonah will find mercy in his heart without the help of another three day fish retreat.

Of course, it’s easy for me to see the humor in this, sitting on my sofa, typing on my laptop. I have nothing at stake. But I suspect this story is sacred because it’s a lot harder to laugh and let go of pettiness when it’s my little self throwing the fit…

Moving into God’s presence through words