The Voice

John the Baptist was a voice crying in the desert: Make straight the paths of the Lord, for He comes!  That would be a sobering message, if we thought it true in our own lives.  Was John seen in his own day as a crazed maniac, or as a herald of the coming Messiah? 

What if someone today told us that Jesus is coming back to this earth?  I think I know what the reaction might be.  None of us wants to be known as the disciple of a nutcase---but John's message is this:  One is coming after me, whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. 

He must increase; I must decrease.

If we listen to the message, we will know for sure who John is; he is not pointing to himself, as a Jim Jones, for example.  He is not saying, "Follow me; do what I tell you."  He is saying instead, "look for one coming after me.  Prepare your heart to receive the Lord."

John defined himself as "a voice crying in the wilderness."  He never claimed to have the word of truth, but only asked those who listened to him to cleanse their spirits to receive the Word coming after him.  The fullness of truth was about to come, but John himself was not the Word---his role was to herald, or to point to the Word, which every man/woman had to receive in and for themselves.

But how shall we receive the Word of Truth coming from God Himself if we are not looking for, expecting, awaiting it?  If we believe the world continues today as it did for thousands of years, and that nothing is different, we care nothing about turning our hearts, listening, waiting for, the Word of God to arrive in our own lives.

I think John's message is as relevant today as it was 2000 years ago----prepare ye the way of the Lord, for He comes.  If we think of our lives as a time of preparing to receive the Gift of God that He is about to send us---maybe today--it's easier to get rid of the junk.

This Christmas season, I see so much less emphasis on gifts and more on the people in our lives.  Maybe the Lord is about to arrive after all!

With God in a P.O.W. Camp

This excerpt from the book named above, by Lt. Commander Ralph Gaither, appeared recently in our paper.  I wanted to pass it on because I cannot get it out of my mind.  Let us all remember those behind bars for any reason:

I wanted a Christmas tree (in my prison cell).
...That Christmas tree came to mean to me just the opposite of all I was experiencing.  The green of it envisioned freedom, and light, and family, and America.  And the season the tree represents spoke of God.

I dreamed of a Christmas tree, and the melancholy knowledge that I should be at home settled over me in a pall.  I prayed.

Then one afternoon after washing my dishes, I turned to take the one step back into my cell.  I looked down and on the threshold of my door was a tiny leaf blown by the wind.  I picked it up with my toes and carried it inside...I carefully took the leaf from between my toes and looked at it for a long time.  I held it to my nose.  The perfume of freedom raced up my nostrils and infused my mind with its power.  I fondled the leaf.  It was real.  I held it in my hand.

God had not forgotten me.  I set the leaf on the little ledge by the window.  Its greeness stood out in stark contrast to the dull, gray bars.

Tears rolled down my cheeks.  God had given me a Christmas tree.

Thy Kingdom Come....

Where?  How about here?  and here? and here----
that is, wherever we are right now, right here:

in my body,
in my mind,
in my spirit,
in my house,
in my friends,
in my relationships,
in my work,
in my prayer
in my hopes and dreams
in the words I speak
in what I do today....

Thy kingdom come; Thy will be done.

Mary and Martha; Peter and John

Reading the story of the sisters Mary and Martha in the Gospels usually promotes an almost instinctive reaction, at least among the women I know---the reaction that Mary, indeed, "should have been" helping Martha get dinner on the table.

The problem with our human instinct/ reaction to this story is that it is just wrong, and when multiplied over and over throughout the ages, keeps causing the same kinds of angst that Martha voiced to Jesus:  tell her to help me!

There is a classic book on the spiritual life called Abandonment to Divine Providence, written by Jean Pierre de Caussade in the 18th century.  I was reminded of it recently by reading about Flannery O'Conner, who seemed to live out in her life the message of de Caussade.  She did not really want to return home to live with her mother on a pig farm in Milledgeville, Georgia, the backwoods/redneck area of the country, but her lupus eventually gave her no choice, and she accepted her physical and geographical conditions with humor and grace.  She gave herself entirely to her writing, editing and re-editing in order to present to God her very best, then leaving it up to Him what He chose to do with it.  She once said, "I write because I do it well," accepting from God the gift He gave her and accepting the fact that the gift was hers to hone as well as she could.

Knowing that O'Conner had read de Caussade drove me to return to this book I had read about 40 years ago; I remembered loving it at the time.  On beginning to re-read, I find myself once again loving its simple and almost "homely" approach to the spiritual life as abandoning oneself to the conditions of life just as it presents itself moment by moment. 

I now realize that both Mary and Martha were doing in the moment what they had been inspired to do by the Presence of Jesus.  "He must be hungry," thought Martha; "I can do something about that---and I can do it well!"  She must have thought with pleasure about how satisfying it would be to feed Jesus and whoever was trailing along in His company.  Her talent and inspiration moved her into the kitchen.

Mary, on the other hand, who had no talent or inspiration in the kitchen, probably welcomed the chance to become for the moment a listener, sitting at the feet of one she loved beyond all measure to soak up some wisdom and inspiration. 

Martha's frustration came in the midst of the preparations, when she forgot her original inspiration and became burdened by Mary's seeming inactivity.  She took her eyes off her own motivation and began to grumble that Mary was not motivated to be in the kitchen with her.

We all tend to make judgments about what other people are doing---we all think that others should be doing what we think is important at the moment.  But de Caussade reminds us that the most important thing to do is only what God has given us in the circumstances of our lives.  We cannot look at or control what others are doing; we can only joyfully attend to God's plan for us in this moment.  Even in our own lives, we cannot wish to be doing something else right now, other than what we should be doing. 

I always resented the time I had to spend in the kitchen as less important than my other, more creative, and therefore for me, more enjoyable, pursuits---reading, thinking, gardening, painting, etc.  Slowly, gradually, I am learning that if it is time to put a meal on the table and if I am the only one in the house to do it, that that is the most important thing for me to do at that moment.  I cannot grumble about it; in submitting to "the will of God," I will (and am) find(ing) joy in the moment.

In My Utmost for His Highest, Oswald Chambers says this:  We have to keep letting go, and slowly and surely the great full life of God will invade us in every part, and men will take knowledge of us that we have been with Jesus.  I think that at the end of the day, if Martha had been able to "let go" of what her sister was doing, the glow on both of their faces might have told "men" that both of the women had "been with Jesus" that day.

After the Resurrection, Jesus appeared to the disciples on the shore of Galilee and revealed to Peter at that time the kind of death he was to undergo for the sake of his Lord.  Immediately, Peter looked over at John and said, "but what about him, Lord?"  Jesus' answer to Peter was, "If I want [John] to stay here until I come back, what business is that of yours?"  In his Gospel, John is quick to point out that Jesus did not say that John would remain here until the Lord returns, but only if I want him to remain here....

In other words, what other people are doing is not our concern if only we ourselves are doing what we are "told" to do by the will of God in our lives and in our inspirations.  Mary said to the servants at Cana:  Do whatever He tells you.  And what He told them to do was not what He was later to tell His disciples to do---go into the whole world, baptizing.....and teaching....

deCaussade points out that Jesus, Mary, and Joseph all had objectively different roles to fulfill, and that each one "achieved sanctity" by perfectly fulfilling the role he/she had been given by the providence of God.  That's probably worth thinking about.

Flannery O'Conner: The Realist

I have recently re-discovered Flannery O'Conner, the Southern novelist who died in 1964, just as Vatican II was making its way into the modern world.  As a long time fan of her novels, I have just begun reading her letters, edited by Sally Fitzgerald, in A Habit of Being.

O'Conner makes me laugh out loud, think deeply, and groan at the truth of her insight into our culture, particularly the culture of the South, in which she was so deeply immersed and which she portrays so well in her short stories and novels.

In O'Conner, the deepest truth is enfleshed in the coarsest realities of life; the heroes are often the villians and the crazies.  The "normal" people are those most in need of salvation.  She turns the world upside down, with a purpose.  I think she is a modern saint, although she would (and did) bristle at the very idea.

Here is a sample of her letters, as delicious as any novel I've read:

I was once, five or six years ago, taken by some friends to have dinner with Mary McCarthy and her husband....She departed the Church at the age of 15 and is a Big Intellectual.  We went at eight and at one, I hadn't opened my mouth once there being nothing for me in such company to say.  The people who took me were Robert Lowell and his now wife....Having me there was like having a dog present who had been trained to say a few words but overcome with inadequacy had forgotten them.  Well, toward morning the conversaton turned on the Eucharist, which I, being the Catholic, was obviously supposed to defend.  Mrs. Broadwater said when she was a child and received the Host, she thought of it as the Holy Ghost, He being the "most portable" person of the Trinity; now she thought of it as a symbol and implied that it was a pretty good one.  I then said, in a very shaky voice, "Well, if it's a symbol, to hell with it."  That was all the defense I was capable of but I realize now that this is all I will ever be able to say about it, outside of a story, except that it is the center of existence for me; all the rest of life is expendable.

You see what I mean.

Wisdom Sets Her Table

The Spirit of Wisdom, in the Book of Proverbs portrayed as the Feminine Face of the Divine Presence, is subtle, gracious, welcoming, warm, and true.

She "delights in mankind," builds a house, prepares her meat and mixes her wine, sends out her maids and calls from the "highest point of the city:"

Come, eat my food and drink the wine I have mixed...

For through me your days will be many,

and years added to your life.

Folly is also portrayed as a woman who sits at the door of her house and cries out: Let all who are simple come in here! she says to those who lack judgment.  Stolen water is sweet; food eaten in secret is delicious!  But little do they know that the dead are there, that her guests are in the depths of the grave.

In the parable of the Wedding Banquet, Jesus portrays the king as setting the table and preparing a feast and sending out his servants to "those who had been invited," but they refused to come.  So he sends his servants to the street corners to invite "anyone you find,...both good and bad."  The only requirement for those who attend is that they allow themselves to be clothed with the "wedding garments" provided by the king himself.  Those who attend in their own clothes are thrown out into the darkness.

"But these are good clothes," I can just hear the thrown-out ones saying; "I got them from L.L.Bean/ Macy's/Goldman Sacs,"  little realizing how many of the dead have been buried in similar garments.

The Book of Sirach (found only in Catholic Bibles) is a study in the kind of food provided by Wisdom; if it is true that we are what we eat, then what we have eaten all our lives will become incarnate---made flesh in our bodies.  I love that the Book of Genesis portrays sin as "eating" from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil----that is, taking into our flesh, making incarnate in our own bodies---the fruit of experience. 

Wisdom, on the other hand, is a "tree of life to those who find her."  In cultivating her, you labor but little, and soon you will eat of her fruits (Sirach 6:20).  And those who eat of her fruits will wear "gladness and a festive crown;" they will be clothed from on high with "knowledge and full understanding."  For the Lord ... has poured her forth upon all his works, upon every living thing according to his bound; he has lavished her upon his friends (Sirach 1:8-9).

St. Seraphim said that everything we do in the spiritual life, whether prayer, fasting, good works, etc---all have the same aim and only that---to be clothed from above with the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Wisdom and Truth.  That sort of cuts through all recommended religious practice to the core of the spiritual life; we will all have different paths to obtaining wisdom, but to be clothed with wisdom, to eat from her table, is at the end to enjoy a feast and to be clothed with joy.

The Good Shepherd II

When Jesus said, I am the Good Shepherd (Jn. 10), the Jews hearing his words knew that he was referring to Ezekiel 34; they had studied the Scriptures since childhood and knew them intimately---Scripture was (and is) to them LIFE itself.  We are not as fortunate, so Jesus' words tend to fall into a vacuum for us; we have no context---even for the image of sheep and shepherd, much less any historical background to hear what Jesus is saying to us today.

If we read Ez. 34, our hearts should break at its truthfulness, even today:

Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel:  This is what the Sovereign [Yahweh] says:

Woe to the shepherds of Israel who only take care of themselves!  Should not shepherds take care of the flock?  You eat the curds, clothe yourselves with the wool and slaughter the choice animals, but you do not take care of the flock.  You have not strengthened the weak or healed the sick or bound up the injured.  You have not brought back the strays or searched for the lost.  You have ruled them harshly and brutally.  So they were scattered because there was no shepherd, and when they were scattered they became food for all the wild animals...They were scattered over the whole earth, and no one searched or looked for them....

For this is what the Sovereign [Yahweh] says: 

I myself will search for my sheep and look after them.  As a shepherd looks after his scattered flock when he is with them, so will I look after my sheep.  I will rescue them from all the places where they were scattered on a day of clouds and darkness....I will pasture them on the mountains of Israel, in the ravines and in all the settlements of the land.  I will tend them....there they will lie down in good grazing land, and there they will feed in a rich pasture...I myself will tend my sheep and have them lie down, declares the Sovereign [Yahweh].  I will search for the lost and bring back the strays.  I will bind up the injured and strengthen the weak....

If we do not know these words from Ezekiel, it is hard to know the heart of God, the Good Shepherd, who Himself will take on the task of "binding up" and "strengthening" the flock of Israel, His people--and not only of Israel, of course, but of all who belong to Him.

Last week, I met a young woman from Japan aboard a cruise ship.  She was very wise in the ancient healing arts of acupuncture and Oriental medicine/ herbs.  I sought out her wisdom about balance in my own body, since I had experienced cancer and was interested in whatever inbalance might be going on as a result.  In our conversation, she determined circulation problems, which I have known about all my life---but she also seemed to think I might suffer from stress and anxiety as a result.

When I told her that I spent time in prayer and meditation daily, her eyes opened wide.  She was amazed that I am not taking any medicine at all, given my medical history, and she was ready to attribute that to my habit of meditation, as well as to the fact that I spend a great deal of time gardening.  However, she told me that in Japan, there is no God.  "We believe in the spirit," she told me, "but not in God."  She believed that my practice of meditation strengthened the spirit in me, which in turn strengthened the body.

I do not discredit her belief in any way; I have a great deal of respect for Oriental wisdom and discernment, believing that our Western world still has much to learn from the East.  However, after I left her, I began to grieve in my spirit for all those who may never know/ experience the tender care of the Good Shepherd.  I, too, believe in the spirit she was talking about----and of course, the teaching of Buddhism is that we must all care for our "inner man."  But so many people will never get there----I know, because there was a time when I tried with everything in me to nourish the spirit in me:  I tried yoga, meditation, Unitarianism, questioning and listening to yogis, thinking positive thoughts, etc.  I have to say that all these efforts were in vain the moment I left that quiet space and deep breathing practice.  Unlike Buddhist monks and practioners, I did not have the luxury of remaining in nirvana, of shutting out the rest of the world.  I needed to be attentive to a household, a husband, and young children---though God knows I did not do a very good job of that either.  However, God Himself saw my search and sent someone to give me what I was looking for---a young 20-year old girl who was willing to share with me her own search and the answer she found.

It was only when she prayed for me to receive the Holy Spirit, the Spirit flowing from the heart of God through the ministry of His only Son, that I found the joy and peace that I could not give myself, but that only God could give to me.  At last, I began to learn that everything is "received," not "achieved."  He Himself is the Shepherd of the sheep; only He can make us lie down in green pastures. 

Sheep are dumb, even when it comes to finding their own food, and defending themselves against enemies.  In A Shepherd Looks at the 23rd Psalm, the author (now forgotten) applies every line of that psalm to the reality of sheep and shepherding; what a revelation of how much care we need and how little equipped we are to do for ourselves what needs to be done!

My heart breaks for those who do not know the Good Shepherd, not because I think they will not "go to heaven" or "be saved," not because I think they are evil or "lost," but only because I know from experience that everything they do for themselves must come from their own efforts---and I know how hard it is to maintain those efforts.  We are all weak, and in a sense, dumb, when it comes to knowing how to take care of our own spirits.  It is so good to be able to "cast your cares upon the Lord, for He cares for [us]."  It is so good to be able to truly say with Jehoshaphat, ...we have no power to face this vast army that is attacking us.  We do not know what to do, but our eyes are upon you (2 Chronicles 20: 12).

I have heard many times, "God helps those who help themselves," and I grant that saying is practical---we might even say "country"---wisdom.  However, it is not Biblical wisdom.  Biblical wisdom says that God helps those who cannot help themselves, those who seek, those who ask, those who knock---to them, the door is opened.