St Mary, the Mother of Jesus

 

This Sunday, the 15th of August, is the day in the Church year when we celebrate the Feast of St Mary, the Mother of Jesus. The actual title of the day depends on the Church you attend. In the Roman Catholic Church, for example, it is called the Feast of the Assumption marking the bodily ascent of Mary into heaven at the end of her life. For Orthodox Christians, it is called the Feast of the Dormition of the Theotokos, traditionally kept as a national and religious holiday to celebrate the “falling asleep” or death of the mother of Jesus. And in the Anglican Church calendar, it is referred to as St Mary, the Mother of Jesus – a title that occurs in Acts 1:14 – and is implied in various Gospel passages. This title is also a compromise between the streams of belief found in the Anglican Church.

Those of a more evangelical or low church tradition, for example, usually avoid the feast day partly because it is not Biblical. However, those of a more Anglo-catholic faith, celebrate the feast in a very similar way to the Roman Catholic Church. And those Anglicans of a more Orthodox outlook might use lots of incense and music in their celebration. Understandably, those who have no religious faith may feel both confused and curious.

I grew up in an evangelical Anglican household. My father was an Anglican minister, and my mother was a Church Army Officer. (The Church Army is an organisation within the Anglican Church that trained people to become street evangelists and run evangelistic missions). As a teenager, I loved going into the Church near our house in the evenings when no one else was there. Sometimes I would play the organ. Other times I would sit and allow the silence of the building to wrap itself around me. In that space, words were no longer necessary. The silence was more potent than words could ever describe.

Years later, when living in a Franciscan Community in the USA, I explored one of the tracks that made its way up the hillside. On this particular track, someone had placed fourteen posts at intervals, marking the events mentioned in the Gospels during Jesus journey to the cross, usually referred to as The Stations of the Cross. When I came to the fourth post, which marked Jesus meeting his mother, I experienced a moment when time suddenly felt it was standing still. And while nothing changed – everything changed because I had a strong-extrasensory feeling that Mary was also standing there.

I have often pondered that experience. Some years later, I came across this passage from Albert Schweitzer. He was commenting on the mystery of human relationships and wrote:

We wander through this life together in a semi-darkness in which none of us can distinguish exactly the features of our neighbour. Only from time to time, through some experience that we have of our companion, or through some remark passed, they stand for a moment close to us, as though illuminated by a flash of lightning. Then we see them as they really are. 1

That moment on that hillside was a similar moment for me, when Mary, the mother of Jesus, stood 'for a moment close' to me 'as though illuminated by a flash of lightning'. The experience also provided me with new insight into a prayer that Father Bede Jarrett. O.P. once wrote and is often used at funerals:

Life is unending because love is undying,
and the boundaries of this mortal life are but a horizon,
and a horizon is but the limit of our sight.
Lift us up, strong Son of God, that we may see further!
Strengthen us in faith that we may see beyond the horizon!
And while you prepare a place for us, as you have promised,
prepare us also for that happy place,
that where you are we may be also,
with those we have loved, forever.2

Kia mau te rongo me te pai ki a koe i to haerenga

May you find peace and good will on your journey.

Phil

_____________

1   Albert Schweitzer, Charles Rhind Joy (1947). “Albert Schweitzer: An Anthology”, Boston: Beacon Press

2  https://rccav.org/prayers/day-5-november-fifth

Living Bread for the Soul (John 6: 51-58)

During the past week, my wife and I had some friends over for the evening. When they arrived, we offered drinks and nibbles and later an evening meal. The meal had taken quite a lot of time to organise and cook – yet their coming wasn't just about the meal. We wanted to catch up. To hear what was happening in their lives and to share our lives with them. The food might have been important – but the conversation was more memorable.

This coming Sunday, we continue our journey through Chapter 6 of John's Gospel ( vv 51-58). The author introduces a lot of important themes during this chapter. Poverty and the positive side of doubts are just two I have mentioned in earlier blogs. Our next bite of 'food for the soul' is when Jesus talks about being 'living bread': “Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood will have eternal life”. Naturally, his listeners thought he had lost the plot.

Traditionally, this passage is understood as referring to the Eucharist. A service celebrated in many Churches and based on the Last Supper Jesus had with his disciples1. The Roman Catholic Church, for example, considers it the most important act of worship and usually celebrates it daily. The words of John's Gospel are taken literally. During the ritual, they believe the bread and wine become Christ's “body and his blood with his soul and his divinity”2. In contrast, there are other Christians, such as the Quaker's, who might never celebrate the Last Supper as a ritualised physical meal. They believe no ritual is needed to get in touch with God because God is already present within us. Over the centuries, much ink and argument as ensued as to what Jesus meant or intended.

I find ritual can be helpful, especially when done well or it is personally meaningful. Before I start my daily meditation, for example, I light a candle and some incense. I find this action helps to prepare me for my time of reflection and prayer. I am not alone in this as Timothy Jennings mentions:

“Rituals are the tools [God] uses to get us to think and to stimulate conversation with (the Divine).”3

I also find the Quaker, Brent Bill's comment in his book 'Holy Silence' insightful. He invites his readers to discover how God can grant us insights and guidance when we make time to be silent. These spiritual understandings are different to those we might experience in our noisy and everyday lives. Brent Bill then gives us an example that occurred during one of his Quaker meetings.

As people arrived, there was the usual chatter and conversation. Then, when it was time for the meeting to begin, it was followed by the usual noise people make as they settled down and make themselves comfortable. Slowly, as these exterior sounds dropped away, Brent was left with his internal chatter. The sort of concerns that so readily fills our minds when the events of everyday life no longer demand our attention. Gradually, this too settled, and he experienced something that he described as being 'dropped into a well of holy silence' which guided him into the 'deep waters of his soul'. And that was when he became aware of the Divine Presence deep within. It was as if the words of John's Gospel had suddenly become alive for him: 

'The Word became flesh and made its dwelling among us,
and we beheld his glory, the glory of the One and only who came from the Father,
full of grace and truth'.4

For me, that is what Jesus was referring to in John 6:51-58. God has given us the gift of life and invites us to shape our lives into a loving gift for others and God, as we:

Become familiar with her ways.
Grow to love her, feel [her] with all your heart,
and you will come to hear her silent music
and become one with Love’s silent song.5

Kia mau te rongo me te pai ki a koe i to haerenga

May you find peace and goodwill on your journey.

Phil 

_______________


1 See Matthew 26:17–29; Mark 14:12–25; Luke 22:7–38; and I Corinthians 11:23–25
2 Catechism of the Catholic Church, St Paul's Pub., 2nd Edition, 1997, para 1413
3 Timothy R. Jennings, The God-Shaped Brain. How Changing Your View of God Transforms Your Life (Downers Grove, Ill.: InterVarsity Press, 2013), 115.
4 Brent Bill, J, Holy Silence – The Gift of Quaker Spirituality, Paraclete; 1st Edition edition, 2005. p. 3.
5 Davis, Noel: http://effortlesspeace.com/silence-quotes/

My Daily Prayer

 

The Positive Side of Doubts (John6:35, 41-51)

I am sure we all suffer from doubts. Can I trust today's weather forecast? Will the Covid– 9 viruses change the way we live forever? Do I have enough faith – or courage – or the ability to handle the situation I face?

Doubts are real, especially when we get caught between two or more alternatives, and we don't know what we should do, or who to believe. Such doubts can be either negative or positive. They can stop us in our tracks, or they can motivate us to learn something new; to seek advice or to develop new skills or wisdom.

In the history of Christianity, the Church hasn't handled people's ability to doubt very well. Take the Apostle, Thomas, for example. He doubted Jesus' resurrection. He wasn't the only Christian to do that. And because it didn't seem possible, Thomas wanted physical proof. He wanted to see and touch and prove to himself that what the other disciples were saying was accurate and true. Today, you might say that he showed good critical thinking skills, or that he was a good scientist. He wanted to collect his own evidence and test that evidence. He wanted to see Jesus with his own eyes and to touch him with his own hands. Yet we find that rather than approving of Thomas methodology, such attitude was not, and has not been encouraged by the Church. In fact, it has often been regarded as a sin. That is until Pope Francis shocked the more conservative Catholics in 2015 when he announced that doubt was the key to the life of faith:

“We do not need to be afraid of questions and doubts
because they are the beginning of a path of knowledge and going deeper;
one who does not ask questions cannot progress either in knowledge or in faith.,” 1

There is wisdom for us all of us in Pope Francis' insight. The important thing is not to focus on our doubts and questions and uncertainties – rather, it is what we do with our doubts that is important. Do we use them as an excuse, or do we use them as an incentive to seek new answers? The Irish writer, lecturer, storyteller, and public speaker, Peter Rollins subtitled his book 'Insurrection' with the engaging maxim: "To Believe Is Human To Doubt, Divine". That is because an absolute faith leaves no room for the mystery of God to enter. Rather, as St Augustine once said, we are to ''seek God to find God; and to find God means we need to keep searching for God forever”.2

This week's Gospel reading is from the Gospel of John (6:35, 41-51). We hear how the Jewish gatekeepers were upset about the things Jesus was doing and saying. In their world, he had become a 'loose canon' (or' loose archer' would be a more historically accurate metaphor). His popularity among the 'uneducated classes' was rated higher than theirs. The crowds were following him and his teaching was increasingly subversive and hard to believe. Such an approach was not well received by the Jewish hierarchy because it threatened their power base and authority.

Yet to understand John's Gospel we need to appreciate that the author was a Jewish Mystic who drew heavily on Hebraic images and metaphors. All the language and images in John's Gospel are drawn from the Hebrew Scriptures, and the Gospel was written to provide readings to coincide with each Sabbath for the whole of the Jewish liturgical year.

For example, in the Gospel we encounter God who is the great “I AM” and as a result, each one of us can also affirm that we also share the life of the “I AM” – and hear the same song of the“I AM” echoing throughout the cosmos. In each moment, it is potentially possible for us to experience as Jesus did the mystical Oneness of God whose life and love form the foundation of all that exists, and for each one of us to encounter this mystery of eternity.

No wonder Jesus said to his listeners: "I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty". And it is little wonder that his listeners – and maybe us too – doubted his authenticity until we taste that living bread for ourselves.

Kia mau te rongo me te pai ki a koe i to haerenga
May you find peace and goodwill on your journey.

Phil
_____________
Spong, JS, The Fourth Gospel: Tales of a Jewish Mystic.HarperOne, 2014
Green, A, Seek My Face: A Jewish Mystical Theology, Jewish Lights, 2012
1“Pope Francis says doubt is key to life of faith' C Wooden Nov 23, 2016, Catholic News Service. https://cruxnow.com/vatican/2016/11/pope-francis-says-doubt-key-life-faith/
2https://www.americamagazine.org/faith/2013/09/30/big-heart-open-god-interview-pope-francis

The High Cost of 'Me First' (John 6: 25-35)

 During the night, I listened to a radio interview on the increasing cost of food in NZ Supermarkets. A recent Government Report by the NZ Commerce Commission found that NZ shoppers were paying high prices by international standards while the Supermarkets were reaping high profits. The reason for this is partly due to lack of competition. All NZ Supermarkets are owned by two major distributors. This monopoly has a two-way effect. Consumers are paying more, and the growers are receiving less for their produce. According to the radio interview I heard during the night, growers are also charged for shelf space and for loss of their stock through theft. At the same time, an estimated 18,000 more children in poverty since the beginning of last year.

These statistics provided a backdrop to my reading of today's Gospel from John chapter 6 verses. 25-35 which continues the story of Jesus feeding 5,000 people with five loaves and two fish. Poverty was common and visible in the time of Jesus. It is estimated, 9 out of 10 people lived close to, or below, subsistence level. Unlike us in New Zealand, there was no State support or concern for the destitute. This was one reason why Jesus spoke so often about the poor. One sign of the Kingdom of God was people willing to feed the hungry; give water to the thirsty; welcome the stranger; clothe the naked; take care of the sick and visit those in prison – many of whom were incarcerated because they could not pay the levies and fines imposed on the poor(1). This was also one reason why Pope Francis commented that: 

“Poverty is at the heart of the Gospel. If we were to remove poverty from the Gospel, people would understand nothing about Jesus' message”.(2)

“It is also interesting to realize that when Jesus spoke of “blessed are the poor” he wasn't supporting material poverty, rather the hope that those who shared his vision of a Kingdom of God would help to create a world in which there was no material deprivation.(3)

It is this context that gives meaning to the Gospel story of Jesus feeding the 5000 people. He was providing a visual example for his followers to reflect upon and learn. If one person, through their faith and action, could make a difference to others – albeit as temporary as it was – what would the world be like if all people shared a similar vision? When we focus on our inadequacy or on the little resources we have, nothing will change; nothing much will happen. But when we, like the young lad who offered his small lunch of five loaves and two fish in hopeful anticipation, the God-factor steps in; “Give,” said Jesus, “and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down and shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap; for the measure you give will be the measure you get back”.(4)

The crowd whom Jesus fed, did not get this either. They migrated after him, understandably hoping for another free meal. The composer of John's Gospel takes this story and uses it as a teaching event. While physical food is essential for life, its effects are transient. Physical deprivation will continue until the Gospel vision of equality for all is shared by every person – by both the poor and the wealthy alike. This is the radical message of the Gospel Jesus came to live and teach.

This story from John's Gospel also leaves us with the question: 'For what do I hunger?' 

The 'Me First' attitude of our age cannot give lasting satisfaction. Nor will greed or inequality or oppression of those less fortunate than ourselves.

The meditation teacher, Sri Chinmoy, once said something that sounds very similar to the Gospel of Jesus:

“Let us love. Love is the inner bond, the inner connection, the inner link between us and God, between the finite and the infinite. True, this world of ours is full of hatred and disbelief, but that is no reason why we should not love and why we should not believe. Love is the inner bond, the inner connection, the inner link between us and God, between the finite and the infinite. By loving more and more one day we shall be able to solve all our problems.(5)

Kia mau te rongo me te pai ki a koe i to haerenga
May you find peace and goodwill on your journey.

Phil
_____________________
 

1 eg Matthew 18:21-35; Luke 18:1-8 

2Glatz, Carol, “Pope Francis: Concern for poor is a sign of Gospel, not a red flag of communism” Catholic News Service | Jun. 16, 2015 

3See Kairos Center: Jesus and Poverty: Preaching Power for the Poor People, https://kairoscenter.org/jesus-and-poverty-preaching-power-for-poor-people/ 

 

4 Luke 6:37-38 

5https://www.srichinmoyquotes.com/quotes-love/

What do You Want? (Matt 20: 20-28)

The 25th of July is a day in the calendar of the Church when we remember two brothers, St. James and St. John. They were both disciples of Jesus and part of his innermost circle of followers. The Gospel of Matthew records their mother asking Jesus to give her boys places of special honour in the World to Come. In the Gospel of Mark, the two disciples make this request. The suggestion being that by the time Matthew wrote his Gospel 25 years after Mark, both men had become significant leaders of the early Church. James also had been the first disciple to be martyred for his faith.

The second observation is that both James and John were full cousins of Jesus and no doubt felt they deserved special recognition. Be that as it may. What also attracted my attention was the different responses Jesus made He asked the two disciples: What do you want me to do for you? To their mother, he asked: What is it that you want?  Both are good questions to ponder.

What do I want? Not always an easy question to answer. While at University, for example, I worked for the Vocational Guidance Service. In those days, it was part of the Governments Education Department. I recall an occasion during my orientation week when invited to sit in with the person to observe how to interview a budding school leaver. After taking down the particulars of the young man, the conversation turned to his thoughts of a possible career. He had no idea what he wanted to do – except to leave school! In the end, he took away a handful of potential career profiles. He could return when he was ready to discuss options.

Knowing what we want out of life, or from another person, or even from ourselves, influences the way we live and make our choices. Knowing what we want is important because it usually opens the door to new possibilities, hopes and dreams.

Then how would you answer the question asked by Jesus: What do you want me to do for you? Or to re-frame the question, What do I expect God to do for me? Do I believe in or expect God to do anything? Or are we responsible with our gifts and experience to sort out a life for ourselves?

We live in an increasingly secular age with high expectations of independence. Yet the question remains: What is it that I want? What do I long for deep inside? Is it always up to me to decide? Or is there an existential answer that would change the whole orientation of my life?

In the Gospel passages, Jesus turns the expectations of the woman and the disciples upside down. His teaching was entirely counter-intuitive: If we want to be great – become a servant. If we desire a place of honour – Take the lowest seat. If we long to know God, then we have to seek. However, God has already found us, so what we seek is already within us.

God's being is in my being.
Wherever I am, there is God.
Meister Eckhart (c1260-c1327)

Kia mau te rongo me te pai ki a koe i to haerenga

May you find peace and goodwill on your journey.

Phil

Siddhartha

Recently I came across an online Symposium on Hermann Hesse's novel 'Siddhartha'. The four contributors were all teachers at various educational institutions in the USA. They had used 'Siddhartha' as part of their Religious Studies curriculum. What piqued my interest to reread the book was their comments on the value they sensed the students had gained from the text. One student told her mother: 'It was the best book she had ever read and that it made her understand life'. I believe the student had grasped the author's intent because the word 'Siddhartha' means 'the one who has found meaning'.

While Hesse wrote Siddhartha in the 1920s, it didn't become popular until the 1960s, and that was when I read it for the first time. The story is set in India in the 6th century BC and is about two friends who search for self-discovery and deep inner peace. Siddhartha's close friend, Govinda, became a disciple of the Buddha. However, Siddhartha decided to be guided by his inner instincts. The story follows Siddhartha's life as he gradually allows moments of self-discovery and success to encroach upon his meditation practice. Which-in-turn, inevitably led to his disillusionment and despair. Finally, fed up with life, he is rescued by the same Ferryman he met near the beginning of his search. The Ferryman encourages Siddhartha to stay with him and to spend his days in silence, listening to the wisdom of the river that flowed past their simple dwelling.

The story ends as it began with Siddhartha and Govinda meeting. They discuss all that they had experienced over the years. His friend sensing that Siddhartha had learnt far more than him, inquires:

'Have you not discovered certain knowledge yourself that has helped you to live?

It would give me great pleasure if you would tell me something about this?' 

 

To which Siddhartha replied:

'Knowledge can be communicated but not wisdom. One can find it, love it, be fortified by it,

do wonders through it, but one cannot communicate and teach it'.

Hesses' book is a story of self-discovery and spiritual awakening. In the Judeo-Christian tradition, we also have many similar stories. I think of Moses meeting God at the burning bush. Elijah hearing God speak as he stood at the front of his cave. Job or Isaiah eyes being opened and seeing the mystery and glory of God. In the New Testament, we have the story of Mary meeting an angel at her annunciation, Jesus hearing the Divine voice at his baptism, and Paul seeing the risen Christ on the road to Damascus. These stories and many others all remind us that the mystery our soul seeks is always 'closer to us than our hands and feet'. We need to learn to follow Lord Tennyson's encouragement to 'Speak to Him, thou, for He hears, and Spirit with Spirit can meet'.

Recently, I have been reflecting on the Gospel stories of the annunciation of Mary and the baptism of Jesus. I sense an inner similarity between them and Siddhartha finally experiencing the interconnection of all creation and sharing that gift with his friend. Words in all these moments were inadequate.

As I look back over a lifetime's experience of the Church, I sense our religious heritage carries a similar inner tension that lies behind Hesse's story. It's finding the balance between theology and spirituality. The former encourages knowledge based on words and ideas taught through books and lectures that can easily lead to a sense of self-satisfaction. Spirituality is different. We are no longer in the driving seat because it is about learning to experience an intuitive awareness and an inclusive knowing that transcends the barriers of time and space. The contemporary author, Thomas Moore, wrote something similar:

'Religion is about transcending, going beyond. It's more a verb than a noun. The point is not to find something but to breakthrough... it's about being in tune with something incomprehensibly larger than (oneself that) tears open an otherwise closed cosmos.'

Kia mau te rongo me te pai ki a koe i to haerenga

May you find peace and goodwill on your journey.

Phil

____________

A Symposium On Hermann Hesse’s Siddhartha http://www.asianstudies.org/wp-content/uploads/symposium-on-herman-hesse-siddhartha.pdf

Hesse, H, Siddhartha: A Novel, ‎ Bantam (January 1, 1982), Hilda Rosner (Translator).

Thomas Moore, A Religion of One's Own: A Guide to Creating a Personal Spirituality in a Secular World  ‎ Avery; Reprint edition (January 6, 2015)