Sweetness

I recently was talking with a friend who was recounting her experience as a young child in church. She does not remember any words that were spoken. All that she remembers was a “sweetness” that she experienced within her. As years passed, she left the church. After much of her life she longed to recapture that sweetness but was not sure how to find it. What baggage from life would need to be unloaded in order to reach that inner sweetness and then to find a place where it could again be nurtured? Children are deeply spiritual. They come into the world connected to God. We do not need to teach them to be spiritual. They already are. What we need to do is give them safe spaces in which to explore this relationship. The stories of our tradition give them the words to begin to make meaning of their lives. In seminary I did some work on children’s spirituality. I interviewed young children and adults. The main thing that we explored was their first memory of something they would consider to be God. Most adults had memories from very young. On looking back, they knew that was an experience of God though at the time they had no words for the experience. Most of the experiences shared were in nature though there were a few in church. I think all could use that word “sweetness” to describe those moments. That sweetness is like being held in pure love. As we all move through life there are many forces that invalidate that sweetness or cause us to move away from it. There is often no safe place in which to grow it or just to let it be. The sweetness can become deeply buried. CCC provides many safe places for all of us to reconnect with that original sweetness given to us at birth. Spend some time connecting to that sweetness within. If you cannot find it that is ok. Find a group or person where that relationship can be explored. There are many online opportunities now and there will soon be times when we can be together physically. I am grateful for this amazing community where we can grow the sweetness together.

The Desert Sanctified

We have officially entered desert time. A time when we purposely make our way through the wilderness of our inner and outer lives. Thomas Merton said that Christ sanctified the desert. The only way we can discover this sanctification is to enter it. Jesus purposely went into the wilderness after he had been baptized. He had come so close to God and God had come so close to him. He needed to explore this relationship and begin to discover the treasures hidden there. He knew that his life was changing – or that he was called in a different direction. Has something ever stirred you so much that you began to question what you were doing in your life? Maybe you experienced a humming (as Jane Fonda has called it) deep within your soul? How do I follow this humming? Merton says that we must move into our own darkness. Once we spend time there, we will discover that it is being made holy.

Many years ago, I told the Godly Play story of the Good Shepherd at a home for children who had recently suffered abuse. As I entered the house it felt warm and inviting, and many of the children were just finishing their evening meal. I was told where I could go to tell a story for anyone who would want to come over to the circle. The children finished eating and I sat down to begin building the circle – inviting all who would like to join me there. There was one little girl who would not get near me. She stayed hidden behind a toy chest but would stick her head out from it as the story progressed. I began by moving the Good Shepherd and the sheep through the warm green grass and beside the cool water. I would notice her peeking out while I continued with the story. The Good Shepherd then showed the sheep how to get through places of danger. Out of the corner of my eye I noticed the little girl slowly inching closer toward the circle. The ordinary shepherd did not lead the sheep but let them scatter. When the wolf came the ordinary shepherd ran away but the Good Shepherd came and stood between the sheep and the wolf and brought the sheep home to safety. When the wondering part of the story began the little girl was right beside me. I wondered if any of them knew the green grass or the sound of the Good Shepherd’s voice. I also wondered if any of them had known places of danger. When this wondering was introduced the little girl began to spill her story. She told her story with emotion – her place of danger. She also knew about Jesus and that he loved her. To respond to the story, she drew a large sun smiling and wrote Jesus loves. By going into her darkness, she found it sanctified — her life had changed God is with us as we move through our own wildernesses. The call is not to stay there but to allow God to transcend our deserts and bring us into the resurrection. I am sure you have a resurrection story too. How have some of your deserts been sanctified?

"The Kingdom of God has Come Near"

Mark 1: 14 and 15 Now after John was arrested, Jesus came to Galilee proclaiming the good news of God, and saying, "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of god has come near; repent, and believe in the good news." John was arrested - this could not have been good news to the ears of Jesus yet he continues his path to Galilee proclaiming the good news. He then said - the Kingdom of God is near; repent and believe. Last March all of us experienced our own bad news as we entered into a world-wide pandemic. Like John's arrest - the news of this pandemic was not good at all. I remember being immobolized for a while but thinking surely this will be over in no time so that we can all go back to our life as usual. It is now January 25th as I write this and we are still in it. Over 400,000 people have lost their lives, families are forever changed and many have lost their jobs and need assistance. Fractures in our society and great inequities have been revealed. Life will never be the same. Yet, what does it mean to hear the words of Jesus now to repent and believe in the good news? Thomas Keating often says that to repent is to change the ways in which we have been looking for happiness. These last 10 months have given me much time to reflect on how I have lived. What can I let go of that does not bring me happiness? Are there some old ways of living that no longer matter? Did I clutter up my time with things that served no purpose? Were there behaviors that I thought were fulfilling only to find that they were not? Mark's passage continues in verses 16 - 20 as Jesus begins to call his disciples. They left their old lives behind and immeddiately followed him. We too are being called in our time to follow Jesus in new ways. How will life be different now? If I am not careful, I may slip back to my old ways and forget the voice that said to leave all of that behind to follow him. As horrific as this time has been we have also been gifted. The two experiences of chaos and creation are never far apart. Perhaps there is no better time than now to reflect on the work of the Holy Spirit within us and ask yourself: *what have you lost? *what have you gained? *what can you leave behind? *how will you keep from bouncing back to old ways? I am actively doing this myself. I pray that as a community we share our gifts and support one anotherr as we live into the transformation that has occurred within us. The Kingdom of God has come near!

How Can We Possibly Prepare For Such An Event?

“What has come into being in him was life and the life was the light of all people…
The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world.” 
John 1: 3, 5 & 9

 

Have you ever sat down and really pondered long and hard about what we are preparing for in Advent? Of course, there are the gifts to buy, food to prepare, decorations to adorn our homes and those amazing liturgies that we love. But why? Yes – Jesus was born a long time ago in an animal feeding trough in a barn to a very young couple. Oh yes – there was that amazing announcement made to Mary by the Angel Gabriel, telling her that she was going to have a son and her son would be the son of God. Now the event is getting so big that it could burst any seams that we have put around it. It gets bigger though. This life that was in him was and is the life of all people – that includes you and me! Thomas Merton exclaimed, “He is truly in me.” This amazing mystery of Christmas and Epiphany is a time that invites us all to take possession of what is already ours. This is a pretty big mystery. How can we possibly wrap ourselves around it? As I tell the children in Godly Play, this mystery is so huge that the church gives us 4 whole weeks to get ready to enter into it or to even come close to it. The evening that I began to prepare for the Advent 1 lesson, a settling came over me. I moved in the blink of an eye from a place of just getting a task done to one of being overwhelmed by the story that I was going to tell. This story is all that really matters. God is really in me, in you, in all of us. Can you begin to imagine what the world would be like if we all awakened to this truth? The lion would truly lie down with the lamb. So how can we possibly prepare for this? Maybe there is a hidden gift in this pandemic. So many of the things that I have traditionally done cannot be done – I did not have to do the work of letting go – it has been done for me. I have a little more time. Why don’t we spend time just in wonder at what this amazing mystery is that we are getting ready for in Advent? My prayer is that none of us will walk right through the mystery and not really glimpse it at all. May we experience how this little child has changed everything. I look forward to shared conversations about this with you.

Zechariah 8:9-17

“Do not be afraid, but let your hands be strong.” Zechariah 8:13

It was eight years ago that I was with my priest in my car. We pulled into the back parking lot of the church from lunch where we explored what God was doing in my life. I remember sharing some things about loss of interest in some things that used to fill my life and instead spending a lot of time praying. We sat in quiet, some, as others filled in other spaces in the lot. She brought up the priesthood. “I think you’re a priest, she said.” I shriveled in my seat. I think it was as much about the bluntness as it was the content. She explained a beautiful metaphor relating a call to be a priest to having a baby. “You have two choices, Laura. You can accept it and let it happen or you can moan and wail and worry. Either way, the baby is coming. Think about it.”

I did think about it but also did a lot more of that letting go and praying. I'll bet to someone looking at me from the outside, it looked like a lot of sitting around. To me, this little snapshot illustrates the value of discernment in community, the power of human fear, and even aspects of leadership. Today, though, I see truth as the theme. It is the same sort of truth, or "meet" in Hebrew, that this passage in Zechariah references. “Speak the truth to one another; render in your gates judgements that are true…”(v. 16) This was the truth she saw in me.

All over the Old Testament, the idea of “truth” refers to an experiential reality instead of a reasoned fact. God desires “truth in the inward being.” God judges according to emet, a part of righteousness and peace.

It was a miracle that day that I could hear the truth. It was something hidden even to me, but still in existence. Still visible or felt in the quiet times and somehow conveyed to my mentor. The day before my ordination, I presented her with a Byzantine icon of the Annunciation- Mary and Elizabeth as they sat in disbelief in what God had done. The baby was coming.

In this time of waiting, of perhaps discernment of your own in some way, may your eyes and heart be opened to truth, and may you not be afraid, for the baby is coming.
 

God of Truth, You are the truth of our being. Help me today to experience all that you are, and to do it without fear. Amen.

 

The Reverend Laura Masterson

Gratitude and Hope

Written by Kathleen Balling, Music Assistant

This week is Thanksgiving. A time to be thankful for all of God’s gifts, whatever they are: health, family, faith, friends, or the beauty of the earth. It can be a challenge to feel thankful amid the upswing of COVID-19 infection in our community.

The word 'gratitude' is derived from the Latin word gratia, which means grace, graciousness, or gratefulness (depending on the context). In some ways, gratitude encompasses all of these meanings. Gratitude is a thankful appreciation for what an individual receives, whether tangible or intangible. Gratitude helps people feel more positive emotions, relish good experiences, improve their health, deal with adversity, and build strong relationships. People feel and express gratitude in multiple ways. They can apply it to the past, present or future. Right now, I think it is important to do all of these, but especially the future. You can express gratitude for the future by maintaining a hopeful and optimistic attitude.

Which brings me to the word “Hope”….

If you ask my family, Hope is one of my favorite words and feelings. On our farm, my tractor is a Farmall H. I call it the Hope tractor. I am a glass half full person (most of the time!).

I am hopeful about the season of Advent, which starts this Sunday. It is the promise of the coming of the Christ Child. In a normal year, the Cathedral Choir would be in final preparation for the annual Messiah performance. Handel’s Messiah tells the whole story of Christ: Part one foretelling the birth of Christ, Part two the Passion of Christ and Part three the Resurrection of Christ. Though we present it as a concert, to numerous people, this is a worship-filled service. It moves, nourishes, and inspires hope when they hear the soloists and Cathedral Choir, accompanied by orchestra, sing the words of this masterwork. All the words are taken from the Bible- the ultimate masterwork! You will still get to hear our Cathedral Choirs sing Messiah. We will present an encore online performance on Friday, December 4, at 7:30pm. We hope you will join us. We are grateful for all our families in the music ministry, as they continue to adapt and change to what “choir” looks like in this season.

Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:6-7

May you have a blessed Thanksgiving and Hopeful Advent.

 

Hope in the Season

 It's after Halloween.....you know what that means....CHRISTMAS!  (just kidding) But in all seriousness, if you've been to any store recently you've noticed it.  Aisles and Aisles of Christmas decorations, candy, trees, and gifts.  If you know me at all, you know that I love Christmas!  I would decorate my house on November 1st if my husband would let me.  I love all things red and green, silver and blue, gold and white.  I love the gatherings and the gifts and the joy.  Which is why this year already feels so different.

What will the last two months of 2020 bring us?  There's no denying its been a strange, difficult, lonely, weird year for most of us.  And with no end to this pandemic in sight, it seems the Christmas season will be just as strange.  It will be quieter, less busy, less hustle and bustle, less shopping, less 'all the things that make the season bright'.  Except Christmas isn't cancelled because of the pandemic.

I know all this talk of Christmas seems premature when its only a few days into November but I think its timely to consider.  Family and friends probably won't gather for Thanksgiving, for Christmas, for office parties and gift exchanges. There may not be visits to Santa at the mall. There may not be Christmas Eve Mass. Christmas may look different.

Jesus entered this world when life was strange.  People all over the Empire were traveling for the census. Hotels were full.  Journeys were tough.  And yet, the Savior of the world chose then to come.  A glimmer of Hope is a crazy hectic time.  The long-awaited son of God was born into a messy time.  Not unlike now.  I don't think its any coincidence that God chose then to send Jesus.  It is often in the midst of crazy that our greatest joys are found.  Remember that as we enter this crazy, hectic time. 

But friends, Christmas isn't cancelled.  We will adapt, change and grow. Instead of Christmas cards, send letters.  Reach out to those you would normally see in person by phone or video chat.  Make a donation to a local charity instead of buying gifts that will sit unopened. Make it a point to spread joy in small ways however you can. Because, even without gatherings and gifts and in person church services, Hope is still alive.  Don't forget to share that with those around you!