A Stag Leap of Faith3/31/2020 Tuesday of the 5th Week of Lent
The first thing I felt this morning was that the poetic muse who has been playing with me these past months had abandoned me since I have not felt any inspiration for weeks. As if on cue, I was enchanted by this morning's interplay of light and shadow. With the world suffering the way it is, I was reticent to exult in the beauty before me. And then.... Stag Leap If the world were not the way it is these days, this day I’d gladly sing Your praise. Watching waves washing white foam forming frothing, peaked cap sizing playful sea, I see. How can this be, when the world is ill, bedeviled by disease and despair? Once upon a time they say you cast out demons, bursting Beelzebul’s bubble. Can you not cast out this demon? How many pleas and thanks do you need before your heart is moved to pity for this world, before you weep as you did for your friend, Lazarus? And as it was then, so it is now. There is a stench that fills the air that must be masked. Disease, death and decay are always that way and the weary, wary world wonders why and where and how are you? If the world were not as ill as it is these days, this day I’d easily sing Your praise. Seeing sky’s scrimshaw, clouds crowding sun, a light curtain alighting, a mischievous morning, my heart leaps like a stag trusting Christ, stag like, death destroying casting out demons But while we wait for his Eastering, stone rolling, unbinding, we must go stag. (In Medieval times, the white stag was a symbol for Christ.)
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HerStory3/30/2020 Monday of the Fifth Week of Lent
Today’s Gospel of the woman caught in adultery was the Gospel for the 5th Sunday of Lent last year. I’m sharing with you what I wrote at that time. I think it’s worth reading again. I’m expecting this week’s reflections to pretty much the same as last year. One reason is that I think they’re pretty good The other is that I’m putting together an on-line retreat for Holy Week which will begin on Palm Sunday. There are about 600 people who have signed onto it because of their love for Eastern Point and the need to pray together during this difficult time. I will need to put my creative energies into that. If you are reading this and did not receive a communication about the retreat, please let me know if you’re interested. Her-story As I prayed with the scriptures of the Fifth Sunday of Lent, I kept wondering what it was that Jesus was writing on the ground with his finger. For some strange reason I felt “drawn,” to go to the beach and write something in the sand. As you can see from the picture above, my finger drew a large heart holding other hearts. Hmm… Is that what Jesus might have been writing or drawing as well? I am particularly drawn to the Gospel today which tells the story of the woman caught in adultery. Her story is one of public shaming, judgment and condemnation and ultimately gracious love and forgiveness from Jesus. But do you wonder about the “back story?” What brought her to this moment where she was publicly accused of sin? Where was the other person? Did he betray her? Was it the jealousy of another that betrayed her? Did her actions reflect who she truly was? Was she free or forced? What possessed her to risk her life? Of course, we don’t know any of this but shouldn’t we care? There’s always a story behind the story…. And then there’s the aftermath. What was her life like after the encounter with Jesus? What kind of life awaited her? Jesus may not have condemned her but what about her “friends” and neighbors? Would they shun her or accept her? Would she, loved and accepted by Jesus, bring about healing for her? Would she find it in her heart to follow him and become one of his disciples? I suppose it would depend on how large her heart was. Most of us are not exposed to the kind of public shaming this woman experienced. Can we call her Miriam like another Miriam who could have been stoned to death when Joseph learned she was pregnant with Jesus? Whatever our experience of human cruelty and condemnation, hopefully our experience of God’s gracious love and acceptance is infinitely greater. Her-story, My-story. History/Mystery….Hmm…. For Crying Out Loud!3/29/2020
5th Sunday of Lent
Is there an instrument with a more plaintive cry than an oboe? Whenever I hear Gabriel’s Oboe from The Mission, I am moved to tears. It is one of the reasons that I chose the piece for a collage of images of the sea crashing against the rocks at Eastern Point. It’s almost as if you can hear the sea crying out in grief and pain for the suffering of the world these days. With all the crying and crying out in today’s scripture and in our world, “For Crying Out Loud” seems like an appropriate title. In the Gospel story of the Raising of Lazarus, there are is the crying, the weeping, the tears that fall from the eyes of Mary, Martha, their friends, and Jesus himself. And there are the cries of disappointment, hurt, frustration that fall from the mouths of those questioning where Jesus has been and why he couldn’t do something to heal Lazarus before his death. Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. When Mary came to where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet and said to him, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” But some of them said, “Could not the one who opened the eyes of the blind man have done something so that this man would not have died?” As I read the Gospel this morning, I had a difficult time getting past the first lines. “Now a man was ill” I heard this as “Now humankind is ill.” Whereas the Gospel names the man who is ill, Lazarus, those who are ill and who have died from the virus are too many to be named. And from the awareness of this illness unto death comes the same mixture of cries of grief and cries of desperation, not unlike the ones we hear in today’s Gospel. As I prayed with my own sense of grief and loss, asking Jesus where he has been all this time, I did feel as if I were hearing him say, “All in good time. All in God’s time.” I just wish the time were sooner than later when we would hear the voice of Jesus say “Unbind them, let them go free!” In addition to the cries of the Gospel, there is the cry from the heart in today’s psalm although I hear it in the plural these days. Out of the depths, we cry to you, O Lord. Lord here our voice. Here is a link to “Out of the Depths” composed by Paul Melley and sung by Christopher Alt S.J. and danced by an ensemble of dancers from St Francis Xavier Parish. (It begins at 12:36) A Thorn by any other name...3/27/2020 Friday of the 4th Week in Lent Last year’s reflection for this day was entitled “Gain of Thorns.” A year ago, it was easier to be playful even with “thorny” issues. Here’s what I wrote: In my exilic wanderings I happened upon a rose-to-be bush and I became fascinated by the thorns. Ordinarily the thorns are hidden from sight by leaves, but these had not yet budded. I began to wonder how a creation as beautiful as a rose could share the same branch with something so potentially painful. Thorns prick the flesh, inserting themselves “under the skin,” It is very likely that the “touch” of a thorn will become an “ouch!” “Ouch” may be a good word to describe the scriptures today. The just person in the book of Wisdom, has countless “thorns in his side.” "Let us beset the just one, because he is obnoxious to us; he sets himself against our doings, Reproaches us for transgressions of the law and charges us with violations of our training. He professes to have knowledge of God and styles himself a child of the LORD. To us he is the censure of our thoughts; merely to see him is a hardship for us, Because his life is not like that of others, and different are his ways. The early Christian community recognized Jesus in these scripture texts. They saw him beset by his enemies who sought his death. By the time John is writing his Gospel around 100 CE, the emphasis on Jesus’ enemies was heightened by the rejection of many Jews of the claim that he was the Messiah. The “Jews” as a whole people were seen as responsible for the death of Jesus. The Jewish leaders were the “thorns in the side” of Jesus and later on for the communities who claimed that Jesus was the Messiah. The human tendency to blame and scapegoat the “other” came into full force in the Gospel writings. The “wicked” were the enemies of God and Jesus. The “good” were those who believed in him. I wonder if this “us vs. them” thinking is not the greatest thorn amidst the beautiful rose of Christianity. I understand how easy it is to see the other as “enemy” because they do not see the world as we do. I’m sure we have all known people who are “thorns” in our lives, who cause us pain when their lives “touch” ours. The “touch” can become an “ouch” and so much more. In his book, the Global Christ, Richard Rohr makes frequent reference to “great love and great suffering” as the two elements that give us a share in the divine live. Somehow, mysteriously, “thorns” and “roses” are meant for each other. Life is not life without love. Life is not life without suffering. Touch becomes “Ouch” and “Ouch” becomes Touch. Touché! A year later and our world has its own “crown of thorns”. How cruel is it that a beautiful image of a “corona” or crown is associated with such suffering? Until the present crisis, I never thought much about the crown of thorns that we see on the head of Christ crucified. The present crisis certainly feels like a crucifixion of the whole human race. Isn’t it also ironic that “thorns” exist as a defense mechanism for plants? I learned today that roses do not have thorns but prickles. To paraphrase Will Shakespeare
“A thorn by any other name will prickle as much.” We are living in a time of great uncertainty, where fears and anxieties in the present do not make it easy to see a “rosy” future. And yet when we look at a rose bush, we see both prickles and buds beginning to form. Can we hold onto the hope that the crown of thorns will be the crown of victory for the one who “a-rose” from the dead and continues to offer the promise of life? Gripes of Wrath or Forget-Me-Nots?3/26/2020 Thursday of the 4th Week of Lent
Last year’s reflection for Thursday of the 4th Week of Lent was entitled “Gripes of Wrath.” The reading from the book of Exodus reveals a God who is griping over everything. You can almost see God writhing with wrath. God is so hurt and angry and wants to be left alone and also wants to lash out at an unfaithful people. The LORD said to Moses, “I see how stiff-necked this people is. Let me alone, then, that my wrath may blaze up against them to consume them. I’m assuming that there are religious people who are saying that the COVID19 virus is God’s punishment for human sin and failure. That was the case with the AIDS virus. The image of a punishing, wrathful God is bizarrely comforting to many, as long as you are not the recipient of the punishment. This is what I wrote last year: “The Gospel reading is not much better! For the next days we are in the midst of a contentious argument between the Johannine Jesus and the “Jews.” Whenever I had to preach at this point in the Lenten season, I would groan inwardly and gripe to myself. “Do we really believe that God is so small, a “puny-shing” deity who is the original “terminator” rather than CREATOR? Last night, a group of us finished discussing Richard Rohr’s, The Global Christ. The consensus of all was that the images of God we have are too small, too puny to do justice to the One who is creator of this breath-taking universe. How can we look at the stars in the sky, rivers and oceans, mountains and molehills, and all the array of animals and plants that populate this one planet and think that God could be so “small-minded?” In the chapter, Why Did Jesus Die?, in the section “A Collision of Cross-Purposes,” Rohr says, It is not God who is violent. We are. It is not that God demands suffering of humans. We do. God does not need or want suffering—neither in Jesus or in us. (p.146) With all the suffering in the world, it’s easy to put the blame on the One whom we believe created it. God is an easy “scapegoat.” If God has any gripes with us, the biggest may be that we refuse to believe that God really is Love and Mercy and not Punishment and Wrath. It may be “sour grapes,” but my gripe this morning is that something as luscious and beautiful and the “fruit of the vine” is associated with wrath. ''So the angel swung his sickle to the earth and gathered the clusters from the vine of the earth, and threw them into the great wine press of the wrath of God.'' Rev. 14:19-20 Holy Week will be here before we know it. Can we enter into the mystery of God’s love for the world in Jesus in a way that let’s God be the “BE ALL and END ALL” of our lives and our world as God was for Jesus?” Since we celebrated the Annunciation yesterday, we didn’t hear the reading from the Prophet Isaiah that offers an alternative image to the “terminator” God. “But Zion said, "The LORD has forsaken me; my Lord has forgotten me." Can a mother forget her infant, be without tenderness for the child of her womb? Even should she forget, I will never forget you.” We have a choice when it comes to our images of God. Will we choose the wrath filled, angry God of Exodus? Or The consoling image of a God as tender as a mother with child? One of the stories I wrote years ago, hopefully captures the image of a God who in Jesus Christ embraces our human pain and suffers with us. I share with you again the video link to “The Widow, the Orphan and the Willow Tree” (the story begins at 1 hour and 10 minutes. And here is the text the_widow_the_orphan_and_the_willow_tree.pdf vimeo.com/346707624 Just in Time3/25/2020 IMG_0484 from Robert VerEecke on Vimeo.
Feast of the Annunciation
I awoke “just in time” to see this dawn's “annunciation.” It was an annunciation full of grace and beauty, hailing the coming of another day. And dare I say, in the midst of the crisis of these days, it was also announcing, “The Lord is with you.”? Who knows at what time of day the annunciation of the Angel Gabriel came to Mary? Was it at dawn at her waking, as in the Tanner painting (below)? Was it at midday at the well where she went to fill a vessel with water? Was it at evening strolling the streets of Nazareth and stopping to behold a stunning sunset? Was it at night as she gazed at the moonlight coming through the window in the room where she slept? Whenever it happened, it was “just in time.” The annunciation is the moment in time of God’s breaking into human time and space and conceiving a new way of being divinely human. Thanks be to God for Mary’s willingness to be there “just in time.” This moment “just in time” has captured my choreographic imagination for the past 40 years. For almost 30, it was Ralph Vaughan Williams’ “The Lark Ascending” that announced the beauty and power of this moment in time. Over the past 10 years, it has been “Gabriel’s Message,” a Basque Christmas carol that I heard “just in time” as I was creating Christmas Reflections. The video above is the most recent performance this past December with Maresa D’Amore Morrison as Mary and Lauren Mead as Gabriel. All the angels are dancers with Sara Knight’s Chevalier Ballet or SLK school. All these dancers are grace personified! The angel Gabriel from heaven came His wings as drifted snow His eyes as flame "All hail" said he "thou lowly maiden Mary Most highly favoured maid," Gloria! "For known a blessed mother thou shalt be All generations laud and honor thee Thy Son shall be Emanuel By seers foretold Most highly favoured maid," Gloria! Then gentle Mary meekly bowed her head "To me be as it pleaseth God," she said "My soul shall laud and magnify his holy name." Most highly favoured maid Gloria! Of her Emanuel, the Christ was born In Bethlehem all on a Christmas morn And everyone throughout the world forever saved Most highly favoured maid Gloria! The lyric and melody are lovely in their simplicity and do capture some of the mysteriousness of Mary’s encounter with God’s messenger. Last year on this feast I entitled the reflection “God sends,” and shared with you the story of one of the godsends in my life, Joel Peterson. (You can see that post in the March archives for 2019) On this feast of the Annunciation it feels like Gabriel’s message is coming “just in time” for all of us in need of “grace, hope and healing.” Let's join together with Pope Francis and people around the world to pray this day, Hail Mary, Full of Grace! I’m so grateful for "graceful" Maresa D’Amore Morrison, Sara Knight and her dancers who are “godsends!” Water Works Wonders3/24/2020 Tuesday of the 4th Week of Lent The video above contains two Lenten Evening Prayers at St Ignatius Church. The first is from 2005, the second is from 2004. We were so blessed to have vocalists, Michelle Abadia, Carlisa Brown and so many other talented singers and instrumentalists under the direction of Michael Burgo. And of course, we had the gifted dancers of the Boston Liturgical Dance Ensemble as well as parishioners who enhanced the prayer with their dance. Why am I posting this link today? The first reading from the Prophet Ezekiel is water working wonders as it flows from the Temple. At the very beginning of the video you will see Jamie Huggins interpreting this reading which then leads into Tom Kendzia’s “Lead Us to the Water” sung by Michelle Abadia. Wherever the river flows, every sort of living creature that can multiply shall live, and there shall be abundant fish, for wherever this water comes the sea shall be made fresh. Along both banks of the river, fruit trees of every kind shall grow; their leaves shall not fade, nor their fruit fail. Every month they shall bear fresh fruit, for they shall be watered by the flow from the sanctuary. Their fruit shall serve for food, and their leaves for medicine.” During this time of crisis, we again have come to know that “water works wonders.” Not only are we called to “wash” our hands, but we also hear stories of places like the lagoons of Venice that are filled with all kinds of sea creatures again, now that the traffic of boats and cruise ships has been silenced for a while. And of course, in this Lenten season where many are preparing for baptism, we know that “water works wonders.” If you have the time, you may want to watch other “water” pieces. The first two were part of the service both years. My Soul is Thirsting: 13:00/ 50:00 By the Waters of Babylon: 17:00/ 56:00 Grace (James Taylor) 21:00 (Grace/ Stations of the Cross) O Healing River 1 hour 20 mins. Remembering the musicians and dancers with whom I was privileged to work with over the years, my own “water works” were reminding me of what a blessing it was to bring prayer and scripture to life with such a wonderful group of musicians, dancers, lectors and such a willing and wonderful community of faith. Sighs and Wonders3/23/2020 Monday of the 4th Week in Lent
In today’s gospel, Jesus says, “Unless you people see signs and wonders, you won’t believe.” To be perfectly honest, I’m one of those people who would like to see some “signs and wonders” and an end to the crisis time in which we are now living. But instead of signs and wonders, we’re left with “sighs and wonders.” Would that they were sighs of relief! The "sighs and wonders" today may come as we hear these hopeful and encouraging scriptures that overflow with God’s promise of joy and new life. Thus says the LORD: Lo, I am about to create new heavens and a new earth; The things of the past shall not be remembered or come to mind. Instead, there shall always be rejoicing and happiness in what I create; For I create Jerusalem to be a joy and its people to be a delight; I will rejoice in Jerusalem and exult in my people. No longer shall the sound of weeping be heard there, or the sound of crying; Oh that we could trust these words from the prophet Isaiah and embrace life once again and not be afraid of what lurks and lies ahead. Oh that we could find hope and consolation in words spoken centuries ago to a people who had lost so much in their exile and needed the encouragement to rebuild their lives with the help of their faithful God! Oh that we could fast forward in time and see beyond the present crisis and acknowledge with joy the wonders God has done! And I wonder if God is “hard of hearing” or just “tired of caring” or if God is doing something behind the “seens.” And I wonder if Jesus is even now healing the sick as he did for the son of the royal official? And I wonder how long it will be until our mourning is turned into dancing and our “refrain” from embracing becomes a refrain of joyful reunion. “Greet one another with a holy kiss!” “Embrace one another as brothers and sisters in Christ!” Sighs and wonders! And in the midst of these sighs and wonders, I saw a “sign” and I wondered. Last year I planted a hydrangea and assumed that it would last only one season and not come back to life again. I was surprised to see two green buds emerging from what looks like barren branches. When I looked closer and changed my perspective, looking down from above, I saw the form of a cross and the two green buds were like hands, wanting to embrace, the way Jesus on the Cross desires to embrace the world with his love. The “sign” did not change my mourning into dancing but it did make my heart “skip” a beat! Given the theme of today's hopeful readings, you might want to look at "All Things Work For Good." Music by Paul Melley. Dancers BLDE. https://youtu.be/mawiGN1bphU Muddle or Mudliscious?3/22/2020 Laetare Sunday from Robert VerEecke on Vimeo.
The Fourth Sunday of Lent (Laetare)
I was supposed to be offering a day of prayer today and although we cannot gather in the same physical space, I’m sending along my reflections in case you’d be interested in “praying along.” Link to “A Real Eye Opener” The video above contains images of a contemplative walk I took yesterday in preparation for today’s reflection. If you read the reflections for the day of prayer, you'll see that I came across and EE Cummings poem, "In Just" In it he calls Spring a mudlicious and puddle wonderful time. We're smack dab in the "middle" of Lent with Laetare Sunday and the world feels more in a "muddle" than "mudlicious." Even so, I hope there are mudlicious and puddle wonderful moments for you today as you contemplate the sun flowers and color burst below. Friday of the 3rd Week of Lent
There is nothing quite like a bouquet of flowers, sent from a friend or lover to lift your spirits and remind you that you are loved and special. These days our world is need of as many "Be Ok"/ “bouquets” of hope, healing, and love as we can give and receive. Can you hear these words from Hosea as a spiritual bouquet, a “be okay” from God’s lips to our ears? “I will be like the dew for Israel: she shall blossom like the lily; She shall strike root like the Lebanon cedar, and put forth her shoots. Her splendor shall be like the olive tree and her fragrance like the Lebanon cedar. Again they shall dwell in her shade and raise grain; They shall blossom like the vine, and her fame shall be like the wine of Lebanon.” In prayer this morning, I thought I heard God saying, “Everything will be OK. Trust in the power of my transforming love.” “Be OK.” Became “Bouquet” A spiritual bouquet is usually an offering of prayers, Masses, novenas etc. Today’s spiritual bouquet, however, is from God saying to us who are burdened with fears and anxieties, facing an unknown future, “ I love you with my whole heart and soul, mind and strength. You will be OK” From God’s lips to our ears. Can we hear those words and trust them? AuthorAs an ordained Catholic priest for 45 years and a member of the Jesuits for 57 years, I've had a great deal of "spiritual" experience! This is a place where I can continue to share my thoughts about God, Jesus, the Holy Spirit and what it means to live the "mystery of God." Categories |
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