Meditation in Eastertide ~ Friday, Week 3 '24: Our Turn to Rise Again and Again

April 19, 2024 ~ Friday, Week 3 

The mythical Phoenix

  rising from the ashes of its previous life 

 

I get knocked down

But I get up again

You're never going to keep me down

~ Chumbawamba**

 

If there is anywhere on earth a lover of God who is always kept safe, 

I know nothing of it, for it was not shown to me.

But this was shown: that in falling and rising again 

we are always kept in that same precious love.  

~ Julian of Norwich*

 

Dear God of Skinned Knees, Bruised Egos, Grieving Hearts, Pain-Filled Bodies, and Damaged Souls,

       I've been hit hard here and there ~ more than some, less than others ~ and then life goes on in its way until the next bump, or fall, or smack-down and I pick myself up, dust myself off, and life goes on again. Some days, though, I do have to fight back the not always fears of what's next while the world turns on its axis, the sun rises and sets, and the seasons change. I know You are here with me, I don't know how I would have gotten this far without You. And as long as I have breath within me, I will try to remember to turn to You in those inevitable times. But, could you give me a nudge now and then? Sometimes I need a shove to get myself out of the dark. Better yet, send me off to help someone else, there's always someone hurting far worse than me ~ then I'll get out of my own stuff and let Your light shine. amen.

 

*Julian of Norwich [1342-ca 1416], was an English Anchoress ~ a hermit who lived in, and was sometimes permanently enclosed in, a small cell attached to a wall of the church ~ whose life consisted of daily devotions, prayer, devotional reading, and writing. She is considered to be one of the most important mystics in all of Christianity. Her manuscript of Revelations of Divine Love - also known as the Short Text - is thought to be the oldest surviving book written in English by a woman. She is probably best known for her words that with God, "All shall be well, and all shall be well, and all manner of things shall be well."

 

**Chumbawamba ~ a British Rock group, released their most popular song Tubthumping in 1997. Perhaps not the most elegant of tunes or lyrics, but their line above has always kept me going!

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Meditation in Eastertide ~ Thursday: Week 3: Who Will I Be Today?

April 18, 2024 ~ Thursday, Week 3 

 

I can't go back to yesterday, 
because 
I was a different person then.

~ Lewis Carroll* 

          
      Was I a better or a worse person yesterday? What I know for sure is that today I have new experiences to reflect upon and a fresh perspective about now. Today might be a "normal" day filled with the routine and the ordinary but then one never knows what the world's news will be, what wonderful surprises will occur, or what difficulties great and small will arise. With all that comes with each day of living, who will I be today? 

     So, Dear God of All Possibilities, grant me the energy, curiosity, and persistence to explore all that this day offers. Let me accept all the busy-ness, relationships, moments of boredom, the stresses, the quiet, the noise, the laughter, the tears that this day may bring. I want to be aware of all the colors, the art, the music, and the characters that usually fade into the background in an everyday day. If it becomes an extraordinary day, I hope to have the reflexes to go with whatever comes. I want to be the best person I can be in every life circumstance. Mostly, I want to remember to be kind to everyone ~ and ~ my self. 

    As I lay my head down on the pillow at the end of it, help me sift through the moments where I found You most present. And, might there be a refreshing and peaceful sleep to follow? I'll need all that will empower and motivate the different person I will be tomorrow. amen.

          


*Lewis Carroll was the pen name of British born author, Charles Lutwidge Dodgson, best known for Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass, and a host of other children's stories and poems. A mathematics lecturer, he was also an avid photographer, wrote political pamphlets, and essays.

 

 

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Meditation Moment in Eastertide ~ Wednesday, Week 3: Morning, Open Eyes. First Thought?

April 17, 2024 ~ Wednesday, Week 3

 

For each new morning with its light,

For rest and shelter of the night,

For health and food, for love and friends,

For everything Thy goodness sends.

        ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson* 

  Holy Creator of Dawn, Noonday, Sunset, and Night, 

      How I often I open my eyes upon waking and my first thought is to go through the day ahead with my agenda of things to do, places to go, and people to see without taking a moment to recognize the blessings of my life.  I'm always quick to complain, whine, or moan to You and yet while I might remember an exclamation of  "Thank God!" when something dramatic occurs (such as the birth of a child, an improvement in health, or a disaster averted), I'm less likely to remember to breathe a small prayer of thankfulness for waking to another day of life, for the light of this day, and for the stars of this night.              

     Whatever the circumstances of my daily life, I always have small moments for which I can be thankful. All I have to do is learn to remember. It's easy enough on Sundays to remember to be thankful for the Resurrection or the Nativity of Your Son, but please help me, Lord, to add thankfulness into my daily life many times, if only in small ways. While I'm not suggesting that You are the Do-er of all things, I do want to acknowledge the parts of Creation that impact me in positive ways as a thanksgiving for the miracle of life itself. 

       Lord of Heaven, Lord of Life, Lord of All, thank You for this moment, right now! amen.

 

*Ralph Waldo Emerson [1803-1882] was a noted lecturer and leader of the Transcendentalist Movement of the mid-19th century. With a Unitarian background and Harvard Divinity School education, he came to champion the belief in the inherent goodness of people and nature, and, particularly, that only from truly self-reliant and independent people can genuine community be formed. A well-traveled and well-written life, Emerson forms the backdrop of American intellectual pursuits and long collegial relationships with contemporaries such as Oliver Wendell Holmes, Henry David Thoreau, Walt Whitman, Henry James and other literary luminaries such as Samuel Taylor Coleridge, William Wordsworth, and Thomas Carlyle. His work resonates to this day and speaks to much of our current experience and dilemmas.

 

Photo by Christina Brennan Lee, one Easter Sunday Morning in Rice, Virginia 

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Meditation in Eastertide ~ Tuesday, Week 3: Differently Blind

April 16, 2024 ~ Tuesday, Week 3

Believe, when you are most unhappy, 

that there is something for you to do in the world. 

So long as you can sweeten another's pain,

life is not in vain. 

~  Helen Keller *

 

Dear God ~ Straight up, I need Your help! I do my best to be a helpful person to family, friends, and even strangers (unless their driving is driving me nuts ~ I keep working on that). But the part that is hard is remembering to remember others when I'm feeling down and when I'm on top of the world.  Help me find a way to look outside of myself regardless of what is happening in my life. In the ordinary moments of life, reaching out my hand to another is easy. It is in the difficult times that I want to be thoughtlessly thoughtful, to hold my hand out to someone who needs me more than I need to think about myself.  Helen Keller, who gave new meaning to the word Visionary, saw and heard far more than I do with all of my senses intact. Please give me a hand with my being differently blind and too hard of hearing when I’m too busy with me, myself, and I. Thank You, as always. amen.

 

*Helen Keller [1880-1968] was born a healthy girl in Tuscumbria, Alabama and at 19 months old she contracted an illness that left her deaf and blind. The story of her extraordinary journey and that of her teacher, Anne Sullivan, has been depicted in the play and film "The Miracle Worker." An internationally known author, political activist, and lecturer, she was  the recipient of numerous honors including the Presidential Medal of Freedom by Lyndon Johnson, elections to the National Women's Hall of Fame and the Alabama Women's Hall of Fame. She was the first deaf/blind person to earn a Bachelor of Arts degree upon graduation from Radcliffe. Her life and work are iconic in framing the concept of overcoming obstacles and as an ardent advocate on behalf of others.

Click here to see Helen and her teacher Anne: How Helen Learned to Speak

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Prayers of the People: Catching Up with the Flock ~ 4th Sunday of Easter '24 Yr B

For Sunday, April 21, 2024; Readings: Acts 4:5-12, Psalm 23, 1 John 3:16-24, John 10:11-18

Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, "Rulers of the people and elders...This Jesus is 'the stone that was rejected by you...it has become the cornerstone.' There is salvation in no one else... [Acts 3:8, 11-12a] 

The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not be in want...Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I shall fear no evil; for you are with me...Surely your goodness and mercy will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever. [Psalm 23:1, 4, 6] 

How does God's love abide in anyone who has the world's goods and sees a brother or sister in need and yet refuses help? Little children, let us love, not in word or speech, but in truth and action. [1 John 3:17-18] 

I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father. And I lay down my life for the sheep. I have other sheep that do not belong to this fold. I must bring them also, and the will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd. [John 10:14-16]

    The poetry of Psalm 23 speaks to us in the simplest of terms that belie the intricacy of its depth. Jesus would, of course, have known the psalm and it is a perfect pairing to his continuing "discussion" with the religious authorities in this week's Gospel of John.

     The symbolism in this well-known Psalm is far more complex and fascinating than just the obvious image of a man walking down a country lane with a big staff and a dog, the shepherds of the arid regions of the middle east separating sheep from goats, or the pretty girl of nursery rhymes with a bow on her crook as the sheep dutifully follow. Along with the earlier verses in John 10 (which I encourage you to read), taken line by line we can see, feel, and almost hear Jesus, our Shepherd, with us, reviving, caring, comforting, and anointing. Watching over us, preparing our table, restoring us; nothing we need is withheld. 

     Our Good Shepherd's job is never done. The demands on real living shepherds are constant and endless. Sheep are peculiarly needy and helpless creatures, quite restive, and even self-destructive at times. They can stand still for hours or bolt into stampedes because an apple drops from a tree. The shepherd must keep continuous vigil against disease, insect infestations, predators, pecking-order fights, escape artists, water, and food supplies. Sheep will NOT lie down unless they are completely contented and secure. A special oil mixture that the shepherd prepares and swabs (anoints) around each sheep's head and nose keeps deadly insects from burrowing and causing panic, disease, and injury, and the sheep is calmed for at least a little while. Then there are shearing and lambing seasons...*

    The sheep know their shepherd's voice and it comforts them. Do we know the voice of our Shepherd? Do we stand by as those in our own or other flocks are in need and refuse, or neglect to give help? Jesus, as Peter told those in religious and political authority after the Crucifixion, was the Cornerstone of our Salvation rejected and executed by them. But Jesus, the Good Shepherd stood firmly, and peacefully, in the midst of their persecution, and laid down his life for us, his sheep.

     Some days I feel pretty sheepish and need that still small voice of God as a reminder to get back into the flock, to follow and, in confidence, abide in the one who abides in us. Time for this sheep to answer the Shepherd's call, again, and catch up with the flock. C'mon along!

      

*I commend to you a charming and interesting little book, A Shepherd Looks at Psalm 23 by W. Phillip Keller, himself a modern-day shepherd, for a closer look at the connections between the Psalm's imagery and real-life sheep farming, line by line.

 

LET US, GOD’S PEOPLE, PRAY

Leader:  ~ Holy Christ, Loving Shepherd, lead our souls to Your verdant pasture to lay aside our earthly wants for your eternal shelter. May our hearts and minds be nourished by Your Word and Sacrifice, learn to know Your voice as You know ours, and answer Your call.

                                     Jesus, Cornerstone of our Salvation

 RESPONSE:          We live Your love by word and action 

~ Holy Christ, Loving Shepherd, in the violence, hatred, and desperation of Your times, You stood peaceably as those in authority maligned and executed You. Grant us courage and fortitude in our own desperate times to stand up, peacefully yet persistently, to urge the political leaders of our Planet, our Country, and our Community, to legislate and participate in peace, equity, and mercy, as well as racial, economic, and environmental justice for all. We pray especially for: add your own petitions

                                                       Jesus, Cornerstone of our Salvation

                                                       We live Your love by word and action

~ Holy Christ, Loving Shepherd, comfort the hearts, restore the hope, and give rest from anxiety, for all who suffer in body, mind, or spirit, and for all who provide love and support. We now join our hearts together to pray for those in need… add your own petitions 

                                                       Jesus, Cornerstone of our Salvation

                                                       We live Your love by word and action 

~ Holy Christ, Loving Shepherd, we give great thanks, through our mortal tears, for those who have gone through the darkest valley to now live again and dwell forever in the brightest light of Your Holy House. We pray especially for… add your own petitions

                                                       Jesus, Cornerstone of our Salvation

                                                       We live Your love by word and action

~ Holy Christ, Loving Shepherd, we pause in this moment to offer You our other heartfelt thanksgivings, intercessions, petitions, and memorials… add your own petitions

                                                       Jesus, Cornerstone of our Salvation

                                                       We live Your love by word and action 

~ Holy Christ, Loving Shepherd, with glad and generous hearts our Earthly Pastoral Shepherds break and sanctify the Bread of Life to bring You to us in prayer and teaching. Bless them in their work with and for us, that together we may feed all Your sheep with goodness and mercy. We pray especially for: add your own petitions

                                                       Jesus, Cornerstone of our Salvation

                                                        We live Your love by word and action

The Celebrant adds: Almighty God, Master of Creation, as You have anointed us for all the days of our lives. Infuse us with the desire to walk the right pathways, gather all Your sheep into one flock, and to love, serve, and abide in and through the Risen Christ. We ask this though Jesus, our Shepherd and Redeemer; and the Holy Spirit, Sanctifier of our souls; who together with You, reign as One God, forever and ever. Amen.

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Meditation in Eastertide ~ Monday, Week 3: Would YOU Do ALL THAT?

April 15, 2024 ~ Monday in Eastertide, Week 3

Josephine Butler [1828-1906] * 

"God and one woman 

make a majority."

 

    *An extraordinary woman in her time and ours, Mrs. Butler wrote more than 90 books and pamphlets relating to her various causes and also biographies of her father, her husband, and, St. Catherine of Siena. BUT SO MUCH MORE! It is well past time for her to be known much farther afield as her influence continues to this day. 

     A feminist from an early age, Josephine Butler became more involved in serious social issues about women after being devastated by the death of her 6 year old daughter. Early on she was co-founder of the North of England Council for Promoting the Higher Education of Women and, as a dedicated and committed Christian married to a Church of England clergyman, she also became a resolute advocate for the welfare of prostitutes. She believed that the double standard of sexual morality led to the exploitation of women and girls with no consequences for men. 

     Josephine was tireless in her efforts to have the terrible Contagious Disease Acts** repealed and was further helped in this effort by Florence Soper Booth, daughter of the founder of the Salvation Army, William Booth; and the influential editor of The Pall Mall Gazette, William Thomas Stead. Stead had revealed an appalling ease of purchasing girls as young as 13 for sex and trafficking. The Acts were intended to thwart the spread of venereal diseases yet only women were being victimized by the requirements which often led to their imprisonment if infected, but men were not. In a public meeting she referred to some of the practices authorized by the Acts, such as humiliating physical examinations by police, as "surgical rape" ~ a shocking remark that resulted in her desired outcome when the Acts were repealed in England, Ireland, and British Raj India. Josephine also successfully undertook the effort to have the age of sexual consent raised from 13 to 16 to reduce child prostitution.

     At a time when women didn't have the right to vote, Mrs. Butler's efforts were compelling and considerable. Honored on the Church of England Calendar of Lesser Festivals, she is also portrayed in a window in the Anglican Cathedral of Liverpool [see above image] with Queen Victoria and other notable women of the time. A College at the University of Durham is named for her and she has been remembered and honored in many other ways and places in England. 

 

**The Contagious Disease Acts: https://hist259.web.unc.edu/contagious-diseases-acts-1864-1866-and-1869/

    God of All Women, All Men ~ All Human Beings, God of Earth and God of Heaven, God of all that is ~ Seen and Unseen,

   Your Servant Josephine led the way in her own time to courageously and relentlessly advocate on behalf of women and girls as fully human persons. From campaigning for higher education, pushing legislation to increase the age of sexual consent, and to succeed in having laws repealed that diminished and exploited girls and women, especially those engaging in prostitution, Mrs. Butler was a force beyond our comprehension for her time. Help us realize that we must continue her valiant efforts. Let us not avert our eyes to the very real, very prevalent issues of sexual violence and exploitation of all human beings in our own times ~ in the worst parts of the world and in the nicest parts of our comfortable lives. Rape as a political weapon, human trafficking for greed and lust, random gun violence, domestic violence, racial and gender identity violence, female genital mutilation, child pornography and prostitution ~ all and more are symptoms of a dissolving social ethic that only benefits the few who have power, and all thrive when we, the "good people" look away.

    Help us, Lord, to do the work You have given us to do and actively see to it that all Your children are safe and genuinely loved.  amen. 

 

 

 

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Meditation in Eastertide ~ Saturday, Week 2: Overthinking?

April 13, 2024 ~ Saturday in Eastertide, Week 2

 

THINK DIFFERENT. 

But don't believe everything you think.

~ Charlie Chaplin*

  

       I like Charlie’s thinking about this!  I'm always certain that my thoughts are on track and correct, except when I stop to think about my thoughts. Then, I realize I might, possibly, perhaps, have a bias or two, or, at the very least, an untested expectation that affects what I'm thinking. Often I think that she or he or they think that I should think one thing or another, but I've never asked her, him, or them so maybe they don't think that at all but something else instead. But if I ask them, will they think I just don't know what I'm thinking? All this thinking stuff gives me a headache. Can't I just breeze through life thoughtlessly? So many others seem to, or is that just a thought I shouldn’t think?

 

      Dear Most High Lord and Excellent Thinker of Thoughts, please help me to work more diligently on how to think critically, objectively, and constructively. Let me recognize and understand the biases and emotions that influence my thoughts and, after some analysis (which may include advice from several others), I hope to feel comfortable moving forward anyway or, to change direction somewhat or even entirely. I do know that my thoughts, human as they are, will always be flawed in one way or another. Grant me the ability to be open to changes in my opinions and positions based on new information, even if from people I don't especially like. (the “liking” being a decision of sorts based on whatever I’m thinking in a given moment) 

      Let me work through criticism of me calmly ~ fair or not (in my humble opinion) ~ and accept the outcomes of my actions (and my [sometimes?] over-quick mouth) while learning new lessons for the future.        Whether my thinking is inside or outside of any given box, let me not recycle the same ways of understanding life in ever smaller circles with ever smaller thoughts, or, in other words, please don't let me believe everything I think. amen. 

 

*Charlie Chaplin [1899-1977], born in England, was an actor, comedian, director, and writer ~ all of the first magnitude ~ with a huge fan base on both sides of the Atlantic and elsewhere that helped him survive both adoration and significant controversy. His brilliance in his early silent films is still well admired today. His most famous character, The Tramp, propelled him to icon status. But his The Great Dictator, 1940, was quite amazing for its time in making fun of Hitler. Check listings, it is available on some streaming sites. Worth the watch!

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