Yes, And. . . Sunday Morning Podcast July 26, 2020

Our parables today will remind us that though we may be the sower of seeds, and we are also the soil that receives the seeds, it is not we who are in charge of the way things go. We are only in charge of our own personal behavior and response.  Perhaps a little more leaning on the everlasting arms would do us all good.

Two men who died recently on the same day, C.T. Vivian and John Lewis, were two that leaned upon the everlasting arms in their private lives, and gave generously of themselves to the public. They have much to teach us about what it means to be a person of faith. And they, along with Dag Hammarskjold, Paul the Apostle, and Jesus are our rabbis this morning, showing us the way to Yes, and. . .

“Anchor the eternity of love in your own soul and embed this planet with goodness. Lean toward the whispers of your own heart, discover the universal truth, and follow its dictates. Release the need to hate, to harbor division, and the enticement of revenge. Release all bitterness. Hold only love, only peace in your heart, knowing that the battle of good to overcome evil is already won. Choose confrontation wisely, but when it is your time don’t be afraid to stand up, speak up, and speak out against injustice. And if you follow your truth down the road to peace and the affirmation of love, if you shine like a beacon for all to see, then the poetry of all the great dreamers and philosophers is yours to manifest in a nation, a world community, and a Beloved Community that is finally at peace with itself.”

— John Lewis, Across That Bridge, A Vision for change and the Future of America

Sowing Seed, Sunday Morning Podcast, July 19, 2020

We have three different short little parables to look at today, all concerned with seed and its sowing. They are simple parables, deceptively simple, for within them are deep truths we are asked to absorb. And sometimes, those very simple truths can be very challenging. We would rather go to more complicated scriptures.  Ah, Jesus, he lays things out so simply so we can use our simple minds to try and understand very big ideas about the nature of the kingdom of God. And the kingdom of God is what we are a part of bringing into existence with many others, inside our faith and outside it. But we have to do our part. And our part includes learning from Jesus the essential elements of that very real kingdom. 

“Let nothing disturb you. Let nothing frighten you. All things pass. God does not change. Patience achieves everything. Whoever has God lacks nothing. God alone suffices.
Christ has no body now on earth but yours; no hands, not fee on Earth but yours.
Yours are the eyes through which the compassion of Christ looks out on the world. Yours are the feet with which He is to go about doing good. Yours are the hands with which He is to bless His people.
Christ has no body now on Earth but yours.”

— St. Teresa of Avila

Come to Me, Sunday Morning Podcast, July 12, 2020

Imagine what it must be like for the great spirit to have put together all the miracles of this universe, every intricate creature, every storm, every tree, every breath, every musical note. And what joy there must have been in this work, what creativity, what artistry, what immense energy. You can see this any way you wish, through the lens of science or philosophy or evolution, it does not matter. The point is this world and all that is in it in its original form was not created by us. All the raw materials that we use to make what we make and do what we do, and think ourselves so clever, were not our original design. And here we are all invited to work alongside the spirit of the creator to do marvelous things, to dream a wonderful vision. And then, the divine spirit must watch as person by person by person we turn away to do what we want to do. Sometimes the sorrow of the divine spirit, seems so great, one would wonder how it continues on….so disappointed, so let down. 
 
God needs us to come and participate in creation, is desirous our company, invites us to be co-creators, to be co celebrants, to join in the feast, to be companions in The Great Work. Do you not feel sometimes somewhat sorrowful at all the times you have told God you were busy? I do. 

“I bless the night that nourished my heart
To set the ghosts of longing free
Into the flow and figure of dream
That went to harvest from the dark
Bread for the hunger no one sees.

All that is eternal in me
Welcomes the wonder of this day,
The field of brightness it creates
Offering time for each thing
To arise and illuminate.

I place on the altar of dawn:
The quiet loyalty of breath,
The tent of thought where I shelter,
Waves of desire I am shore to
And all beauty drawn to the eye.

May my mind come alive today
To the invisible geography
That invites me to new frontiers,
To break the dead shell of yesterdays,
To risk being disturbed and changed.

May I have the courage today
To live the life that I would love,
To postpone my dream no longer
But do at last what I came here for
And waste my heart on fear no more.”

— A Morning Offering, John Donohue, To Bless the Space Between Us

Guard Your Heart, Sunday Morning Podcast, July 5, 2020

To help us all with the challenges we have been going through, and the uncertainty that surrounds us, it may be helpful to bring our thinking back to Jesus’s foundational teaching by exploring a collection of his most memorable parables. You may remember these stories from your youth. Or you may have heard them referenced in common culture. Either way, you will know they have a child like quality to them that seems to reflect the lightness of summer. But don’t be fooled into thinking they are easy teachings, for embedded within them are the foundational tools for building the kingdom of heaven here on earth. And that’s what we are about, is it not? Building the kingdom of heaven here on earth.

 As Jesus knew well, we like stories, and we learn well from narrative. So, I hope you enjoy our little wander through the parables this summer. But remember, too, to spend time resting as much as you are able, being outside when you can, or near a window, somewhere you can observe the magnificence of this world that has been gifted to you – leaf by leaf, blade of grass by blade of grass, bird by bird – each a miracle in their own right, as are you.  We begin the summer series with the Parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector.

“Who made the world?
Who made the swan, and the black bear?
Who made the grasshopper?
This grasshopper, I mean -
the one who has flung herself out of the grass,
the one who is eating sugar out of my hand,
who is moving her jaws back and forth instead of up and down -
who is gazing around with her enormous and complicated eyes.
Now she lifts her pale forearms and thoroughly washes her face.
Now she snaps her wings open, and floats away.
I don’t know exactly what a prayer is.
I do know how to pay attention, how to fall down
into the grass, how to kneel down in the grass,
how to be idle and blessed, how to stroll through the fields,
which is what I have been doing all day.
Tell me, what else should I have done?
Doesn’t everything die at last, and too soon?
Tell me, what is it you plan to do
with your one wild and precious life?”

— The Summer Day, Mary Oliver

Awareness of Separation, Sunday Morning Podcast, June 28, 2020

Today, we consider the simple practice of awareness, which has the power to initiate transformation. We cannot shift how we live if we are not aware of how we live. We are living through a time that is demanding that we shift and change our worldview - how we perceive ourselves, how we perceive others, what the very nature of being human is all about. 

In our Christian tradition, this is part of our sacrament of communion: awareness. When Jesus gathered his disciples for dinner before his trial and arrest, he asked them to remember him in their daily lives. He was asking them to stay awake, to be aware, to look around and see if things could be done differently. He was asking them to work towards the arrival of the kingdom of God, not in some far away place, but in the here and now.  So, gather up a drink and something to eat as your own elements of communion and if you wish you can follow along in the order of service provided below.

Our podcast today covers Jeff Gibb's controversial film 'Planet of the Humans', the new normal - as proposed by the Latin American Council for Peace and Research, The Examin - the prayer of awareness, and the work and thought of Gregory Baum, the Canadian theologian and author of the Massey Lectures, Compassion and Solidarity, the Church for Others.

“What lifts the heron learning on the air
I praise without a name. A crouch, a flare,
A long stroke through the cumulus of trees,
A shaped thought at the sky – then gone. O rare!
Saint Francis, being happiest on his knees,
Would have cried Father! Cry anything you please,
But praise. By any name or none. Bur praise
The white original burst that lights
The heron on his two soft kissing kites.
When saints praise heaven lit by doves and rays,
I sit by pond scums till the air recites
It’s heron back. And doubt all else. But praise”

— John Ciardi, as quoted in Seven Sacred Pauses, by Macrina Wiederkehr

Fearfully and Wonderfully Made, Sunday Morning Podcast, June 21st, 2020

It is time to deeply absorb the knowledge that we are all fearfully and wonderful made. Everyone. Not just some people. And in coming to understand this, we will know that we must treat all people as sacred, as we do ourselves. “To sin is to refuse to love, to reject communion and fellowship for in humanity, each person, is the living temple of God, we meet God in our encounter with others,” wrote Gustavo Gutierrez, one of the founders of liberation theology. The time has come for us to embrace this truth and live our lives from it. To truly absorb this understanding of our very nature, will result in a great shift in human consciousness.

Momentous changes in the course of human evolution – which have been with us all along – are all very well to read about in history or science books or in our case, the Bible, but quite another to live through day by day.
 
So, here is a collection of thoughts from various spiritual thinkers and dreamers that remind us that though the movements of change that need to take place are enormous, our part in them is small, consistent, and though not always easy, doable for everyone. We spend time with St. Therese of Liseau, Blaise Pascal, Boarding Homes Ministries, and have a brief look at liberation and feminist theology. It is a rich little podcast this morning, with reflective music for contemplation. Every blessing for the journey. 

“When every heart joins every heart and together yearns for liberty,
That’s when we’ll be free.
When every hand joins every hand and together molds our destiny,
That’s when we’ll be free.

Any hour any day, the time soon will come when men will live in dignity,
That’s when we’ll be free,
When every man joins in our song and together singing harmony,
That’s when we’ll be free.”

— Hymn of Freedom, Music: Oscar Peterson, Lyrics: Harriette Hamilton

Change the Story, Change the World

Humanity is rising and resisting the old story of separation, and embracing the new story of the collective, the desire to include everyone, because everyone is part of the divine family and there are no exceptions, and certainly no hierarchical form of governance based on something so seemingly random as the colour of one’s skin. But we are a long way off from realizing this dream, and there is much work to be done to break down old thinking, old prejudices, old fears, binary ways of being that like to divide and conquer. 

Christianity itself is deeply compromised by racism, white washing a Mediterranean Jewish man into an Italian/Swedish composite that removed his naturally dark skin to present something somehow deemed more appealing. We have prostituted our faith in such deep and irretrievable ways, it is no wonder that Christendom has collapsed upon itself, and we are weakened. But to be humbled is the beginning of renewal.

So, let us be humbled. Let us be quieted, let us be still, and let us leave behind all that Christendom claimed as truth and retreat to that singular figure who represented all that we have come to disregard. Let us return to the bosom of our faith, which is neither doctrine nor tradition nor history nor memory but to the one with whom it all began. 

“Three officers stood silent
while a fourth killed a helpless man, slowly.
Centurions at the crucifixion.

To kill, all we have to do is stand silent.
The killing is already going on.
All we have to do is stand by. Stay silent.

Don’t raise your voice.
Don’t protest.
Don’t question what happens.

Don’t object when the Emperor desecrates the holy place.
Don’t defy the secret police.
Don’t cry out. Don’t disrupt.

That’s all you have to do to abet the killing. Stay silent.
The killing will go on, just fine.
Thank you for your cooperation.

Unless you would like your own cross
to bear. Unless you would stand with the man
with the crown of thorns.

Unless you wish to take your faith that seriously
in these serious times.
Unless in you the Holy Spirit is already crying out.

Unless in this kingdom of death you would be resurrected.
Unless you have already died and your life is hidden in Christ.
Unless in you life is stronger than death, love is stronger than fear.”

— Unfolding Light, Steve Garnaas-Holmes

Turn, Turn, Turn, Sunday Morning Podcast, May 17, 2020

Uncertainty is often seen as challenging, and certainly it is not an easy place to reside. But when there is a disruption in our usual routines, the assumptions upon which all our thinking and activities are based, is laid bare. Those assumptions are the hidden under pinnings of our worldview and guide us in the choosing of partners, the way we vote, spend our money, raise our families, and die.  All the activities of our lives are based on what we assume to be true and what we hold valuable. 

In times of uncertainty, when we don’t know all the answers – and we can’t know them anyway – it gives us a chance, as German writer and critical thinker Rainer Maria Rilke would instruct, to ‘live into the questions.’ And I suppose that is what we are trying to do when we gather together in Sabbath time, to explore the world of thought and spirituality as we live the questions.  Hoping that you find here, in our podcast, or extra resources, that which helps you explore your deepest questions.

“O gather up the brokenness
And bring it to me now
The fragrance of those promises
You never dared to vow
The splinters that you carry
The cross you left behind
Come healing of the body
Come healing of the mind

And let the heavens hear it
The penitential hymn
Come healing of the spirit
Come healing of the limb
Behold the gates of mercy
In arbitrary space
And none of us deserving
The cruelty or the grace

O solitude of longing
Where love has been confined
Come healing of the body
Come healing of the mind”

— Leonard Cohen, Come Healing

You Can Change the World, Sunday Morning Mother's Day Podcast, May 10, 2020

It is good to be reminded that everyone we encounter is fighting a great battle, something we can’t see and can’t understand. Somehow knowing that, gives us courage for our internal battle – to be good, to find our best selves, to see that everything and everyone does not bear the mark of commercial branding, but of its creator, which is a mystery we cannot unravel. And so, it follows that if everyone is fighting a great battle, they require our respect and our compassion as an accompaniment for their journey. 
 
And given that this is Mother’s Day weekend, I would like us to consider applying this thought exercise to the person or persons who have offered the great gift of nurture to us, as we reflect on a grounding principle of practicing compassion: we are not privileged with knowing the motives behind other people's actions. That  privilege belongs to god alone. 

“You can change the world,
One tear drop at a time,
One heart mended,
One hand held,
One dream come alive.

Answering unasked prayers,
Reaching out with hope,
Just stretch out an open hand,
Give with a grateful heart,
And you’ll see, the miracle
The miracle will start. ”

— You Can Change the World, Candice Bist

Rise and Resist, Sunday Morning Podcast, May 3, 2020

Well, zoom seems to be the new way of getting about these days, and this last week, we were involved in two zoom conferences across Canada, offering presentations at both of them. The virtual conference focused on the Eco-Commoning Project brought us the staggering vision of imagining communities of faith as radical Changemakers and Innovators, leaders in shifting the social, political, economic and spiritual mindset from an individualistic-capitalist system of thought to a relational or eco-commons way-of-life. I seem to recall that the commons was Jesus’ home rink – remember where he gathered people? . . .In the meadows, down by the beach, on the front steps of people’s homes. . . And his call to arms was to rise and resist anything and anybody that was not part of the communion way of life, the way of relational, eco- commons, the way of sharing. 

Our podcast this week focuses on sharing, though not what one would think of as the ordinary kind. Rather it explores the larger landscape of sharing as we connect with others at a deep level, where a shift of worldview is required. 

“Sometimes as an antidote
To fear of death,
I eat the stars.
Those nights, lying on my back,
I suck them from the quenching dark
Til they are all, all inside me,
Pepper hot and sharp.
Sometimes, instead, I stir myself
Into a universe still young,
Still warm as blood:
No outer space, just space,
The light of all the not yet stars
Drifting like a bright mist,
And all of us, and everything
Already there
But unconstrained by form.
And sometime it’s enough
To lie down here on earth
Beside our long ancestral bones:
To walk across the cobble fields
Of our discarded skulls,
Each like a treasure, like a chrysalis,
Thinking: whatever left these husks
Flew off on bright wings.”

— Antidotes to Fear of Death, by Rebecca Elson

Be Amazed, Sunday Morning Podcast, April 26, 2020

We are called to stand steady and be amazed at all that we do not know, all that we cannot control, all that may yet unfold. Amazement is such a welcome place to rest. You can bake bread and be amazed to see how the yeast rises. You can watch someone you have known a very long-time sleep and wonder at their existence. You can watch the snowstorm and be amazed at its beauty, no matter the date on the calendar. You can read about people who have died who you never knew, and be amazed at your own connection to them, and the tears they draw from you that you did not know you possessed. 

We are in a time of waiting. But there is waiting in terror and there is waiting in amazement. 

 Choose amazement. Choose to align yourself with divine thought, which is your noblest self. Choose to stand and be amazed. 

“The natural world is subject as well as object. The natural world is the maternal source of our being as earthlings and life-giving nourishment of our physical, emotional, aesthetic, moral and religious existence. The natural world is the larger sacred community to which we belong. To be alienated from this community is to become destitute in all that makes us human. To damage this community is to diminish our own existence.”

— Thomas Berry, The Dream of the Earth

Let It Be, Sunday Morning Podcast, April 19, 2020

The invisible workings of the spiritual world create the world we see. Do not ever be fooled into thinking otherwise. It was Jesus' great strength - and it is the strength of all spiritual leaders as well - that he never for one moment believed that what he saw with his eyes contained the wholeness of things. This Sunday morning I will explore a bit of that thought through the eyes of Mary, Jesus’ mother, who stood at the foot of the cross while her son suffered and died, through the eyes of Mary McCartney, the mother of Paul McCartney, who died early, but left behind a strong impression on her son, allowing him to chase after his dreams and realize them, and through the gifts of insight given to the 15th century anchoress Julian of Norwich as she recorded them in her written work, Revelations of Divine Love. 

“I may make all things well;

I can make all things well,

and I will make all things well,

and I shall make all things well;

and you shall see for yourself

that all manner of things shall be well.”

— Jullian of Norwich, 13th Showing