How's Your Spirit?

It seems we're at war. 

During my hospital chaplaincy training, one of our instructors shared that when she entered a patient's room, she would often ask, "How's your spirit?" It was an open-ended enough question to get a conversation going.

So I ask you, "How's your spirit?"

There is a story of a three-year-old girl, the firstborn and only child in her family. Her mother became pregnant again, and the little girl was super excited about having a new brother or sister. The family welcomed a healthy, sweet baby boy, and after only a few hours at home with the new baby, the little girl asked her parents for some alone time with her new baby brother. Specifically, she asked that this be in his room with the door closed. Her insistence on privacy made her parents a little nervous, but then they remembered that they had installed a new baby monitor, so they could keep an eye on things. If anything seemed suspicious, they figured they could quickly get to the nursery.

So, the parents walked their young daughter to the infant’s room, shut the door, and then raced to the monitor. Holding their breath, they watched the little pajama-clad body moving toward the crib. With only the back of her tiny head in view, she poked her face through the bars. The parents leaned closer and listened as the child whispered to her new sibling:

“Tell me about God. I’m starting to forget.”^[1]

How easily it is to forget that pure awareness of who we are, and whose we are. Which is why I firmly believe religion is still relevant, and spirituality, for today and tomorrow’s Christian, is no longer only an option, but a necessity. Both can serve as reminders of our Christian identity. Together, religion and spirituality can help us mature our faith. 

I asked EpiscoBOT, an AI resource developed by and for the Episcopal Church, for working definitions of religion and spirituality:

• Religion is the organized, communal expression of faith: beliefs, doctrines, rituals, worship, and institutions (churches, sacraments, creeds) that shape a people’s life together.
• Spirituality is the personal, interior life of relating to God (or the sacred): prayer, conscience, experience of the Spirit, and the ways a person grows in love, meaning, and holiness.

Not bad, EpiscoBOT!

While the three-year-old little girl in our story and, certainly, the writer of the Gospel of John, also known as the Spiritual Gospel, have a grasp of the importance of a healthy spiritual life, I am not so sure about the protagonists in our two Gospel passages.

See what you think.

Nicodemus, a leader in the Jewish community, has heard about Jesus. For reasons unknown to us, he comes to Jesus by night to ask some questions. He’s curious, intellectual, and eager to learn.  He’s respectful, too, flattering even, but Jesus doesn’t take the bait. Instead, Jesus takes their private conversation from the religious to the spiritual, the mundane to the transcendent. No one can see (perhaps more to the point, sense) the Kingdom of God without being born again, anew, or from above. (We have some choices here.)^[2]

Bewildered and perhaps a bit bewitched by the charismatic rabbi, Nicodemus, taking a literal approach, wonders aloud how one might physically enter back into one’s mother’s womb to be born again. It’s comical. Jesus elaborates using wind as an example of the spirit’s mystifying movement. One can only imagine Nicodemus’ confused facial expression, in the flickering candlelight, as Jesus presses the issue, with more symbolic imagery and language that leave the poor Pharisee more in the dark than he was when he first arrived.

And just like that, John leaves Nicodemus to ponder this clandestine exchange for several more chapters. He’ll be back in chapter seven to testify on behalf of Jesus. And in 19, he brings a hundred pounds of myrrh to the tomb to anoint Jesus, on the presumption that his body will remain dead. 

The Spirit forms us as disciples over time, it seems. Sometimes.

A woman walks toward a well, empty bucket in hand. It’s noon. She’s alone. Again. Perhaps a single crow caws in the distance. I imagine even the field mice have scurried off to cooler places. There’s nowhere to hide in the blazing desert sunlight. Because noontime shadows tend to be forgiving, this is her private time to replenish.

Traditionally, wells were early-morning gathering places where gossip was exchanged, and laughter rang out, signs of kinship and vital community. In the ancient world, wells were where God did new things. Even all alone with her thoughts, perspiration dripping down her back, she senses the promise of new life bubble up when she comes to dip her bucket in the water. As she approaches, she braces herself spotting a male figure sitting on the edge of the well. She notices the tassels on his tunic. A Jew. They would not speak. Jews and Samaritans do not socialize. 

“Give me a drink,” he says.

“You talking to me? A Samaritan?” 

“Yes, and if you knew who you were talking to, you would have asked me for a drink,” Jesus says.

In the longest conversation Jesus has with anyone in scripture, male or female, back and forth they go, like a fiercely competitive singles tennis match.^[3]

Jesus serves. “Go call your husband.” 

“Sorry, don’t have one.” 

“You are right. You’ve had five.” 

Jesus gives voice to her uncomfortable truth. How could he know?

Stunned, she drops everything and runs into the village to tell anyone she can find.

“Come and see someone who told me everything I have ever done!”

This woman has nothing to lose. She was ripe for transformation.^[4]

What might we glean from these two characters for our own spiritual life as disciples of Christ? 

Perhaps that laying down our stories can be the hardest, best thing that can happen to us. That the timetable for our spiritual awakening can be fluid, that gender is inconsequential. 

God so loves the world, the whole world, that God sends Jesus, the word, the truth, the light, the bread, the vine, the way to eternal life. Based on our two examples, a genuine encounter with Jesus will be life-changing. And our response to that encounter will be unique. Like Nicodemus, some of us will participate in the background. Like the Samaritan woman (St. Photini, whose feast day is February 26), some of us will bear public witness. If we’re serious about following Jesus, what happens in the dark will eventually come to light. And, finally, we would do well (pun intended) to expect the unexpected.

At its very best, organized religion supports our discipleship in community. At its best, spirituality also supports our discipleship, especially when accompanied by a spiritually mature, inclusive, expansive theological imagination and regular prayer and practice. 

Without religion, spirituality can become unmoored, subjective, or exclusive. Without spirituality, religion can become empty ritual or mere tradition. The Christian life calls for both: faithful practice in private and in community, and an interior life of repentance and prayer, leading to compassion in action.

 

In this dangerous and unpredictable time, we can no longer afford to be religious but not spiritual. Our spirituality can form us to be the disciples we are called to be – blessed to be blessings, partners with God, serving in ways that seek to love and heal the world so that we may never forget the sweetness of God’s lavish love for each and every one of us. May it be so.

Amen💛

Watch this sermon here.

 

God speaks to each of us as he makes us,
then walks with us silently out of the night.
These are the words we dimly hear:
You, sent out beyond your recall,
go to the limits of your longing.
Embody me.
Flare up like a flame
and make big shadows I can move in.
Let everything happen to you: beauty and terror.
Just keep going. No feeling is final.
Don’t let yourself lose me.
Nearby is the country they call life.
You will know it by its seriousness.
Give me your hand.

Rainer Maria Rilke
Translated and read by Joanna Macy
Book of Hours, I 59

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^[1] Marcus J. Borg, The Heart of Christianity: Rediscovering a Life of Faith (New York: HarperCollins Publishers, 2015), 113–14.

^[2] Amy-Jill Levine, The Gospel of John: A Beginner’s Guide to the Way, the Truth, and the Life, 1st ed (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 2024), Ch. 2.

^[3] Lindsay Hardin Freeman, Bible Women: All Their Words and Why They Matter (Cincinnati: Forward Movement, 2014), 518.

^[4] Rachel Held Evans, Inspired: Slaying Giants, Walking on Water, and Loving the Bible Again (Nashville: Thomas Nelson Incorporated, 2018), 142–46.

The Flower Full Moon

On this day of the Flower Full Moon, which also happens to fall the day following Mother’s Day in the US, we may feel called to reflect on the fullness of the love of Mother; Mother God, our earthly mothers - our original source of nurturance - Mother Earth, who supports our descent into this realm at birth, sustains us throughout our lives, and welcomes us back into her womb at our deaths. The Full Flower Moon invites us to imagine with faith the growth that comes when we can fully comprehend that very often the light shines brightest when things appear darkest.

Can we draw from the love that is offered this day, and in the week ahead? Can we release past hurts and traumas? Can we offer forgiveness and grace where necessary, staying open to new growth and transformation?

The yoga shape suggested for today is supported fish. It is a heart-opening shape that invites expansion and growth while encouraging us to accept the support of props.

Supported fish is a shape that can help us practice receiving love while resting, allowing our nervous system to return, as much as possible, to its original factory setting. 

Today is a lovely day to relax in a supported fish for ten minutes or so. Breathe here. Notice the effect on the body, the mind, and the spirit. 

Today might also be a good day to plant a Summer garden, create something new,  make vacation plans, reach out to someone who would appreciate hearing your voice, mend a relationship, to pray or to dream.

Sharing Our "God Moments"

 
While our new Maryland bishop, Carrie (Schofield-Broadbent), was on pilgrimage to the Holy Land recently, she posted about the trip on social media. One day, she posted about sharing our God sightings. I think she was referring to those seemingly inexplicable, life-changing, sacred experiences that, all too often, we have but keep to ourselves. Some might refer to these as God moments or mystical encounters. According to one Pew Report, around half of the American population claims to have had at least one such experience.[1]

 

In his landmark book on religious experience, psychologist and philosopher William James proposed that there were four necessary criteria for such an experience. They must be ineffable (unexplainable), noetic (not just a feeling but more of a deep knowing), transient (passing but capable of having a lasting impact), and passive (or initiated from outside the experiencer).[2]

 

In such a time such as ours, I think Bishop Carrie is onto something. Theologian Karl Rahner would likely concur. In 1961, Rahner made the bold statement that the Christian of the future will be a mystic, or “he” will not exist at all.[3] (It was 1961!)

 

Epiphany season is party time for mystics! Remember? We’re supposed to be paying attention, watching for God sightings and signs! The Gospel of John doesn’t disappoint. Of the four, John’s is the most mystical gospel. It’s said to be shallow enough for a child to wade in and deep enough for an elephant to swim. Ready to dive in?

 

 An entire community is invited to a wedding party. There is food and wine in abundance, music and dancing. A week-long joyful celebration. A new family in the making. The entire early church seems to be in attendance. Jesus’ mom is there. Jesus is there, too, with all his disciples.

This party roars on and on…until:

 

"They have no wine." An imperative from mother to son. 

 

"Woman, what concern is that to you and to me? My hour has not yet come." 

 

Is Jesus nervous, a little apprehensive about the start of his ministry? I can relate.

 

Jesus’ mother presses on. 

 

"Do whatever he tells you,” she directs the servers.

 

Spotting six empty jars used for Jewish purification rites, Jesus instructs them to fill the large stone vessels with water (no easy task in the ancient world!). Then there is so much wine. Hundreds of gallons. Good wine. Like 99 on the Wine Spectator rating scale good. 

 

“Draw some out and take it to the steward,” Jesus tells the servers.

Amazed and astounded, the steward gives all credit to the bridegroom. “The good wine is always served first. But you, you saved the best for last.” 

 

The servers know. Can’t you just picture them? 

 

Best. Wedding. Ever.

 

In the Fall of 1969, Peter Yarrow, who passed away just a couple of weeks ago, asked Paul Stookey to write and perform a song for his upcoming wedding to Mary Beth McCarthy. 

 

As you might recall, they were members of the popular sixties folk trio Peter, Paul, and Mary. A dark cloud had descended over the country following the assassination of John F. Kennedy, his brother Robert, and Martin Luther King, Jr. Stookey felt as though his life was spinning out of control. Encouraged by a friend to read the bible, he also began to pray. He prayed before making small decisions like which elevator to take. He prayed for himself and others. Eventually, Stookey’s life began to feel more manageable.

 

In an interview, he describes how The Wedding Song came to be:

 

Retreating to his tiny basement studio, Stookey tuned up his twelve-string. After sitting in silence for a moment, he prayed, asking for God’s blessing and presence at the wedding of his dear friends:

The lyrics came quickly:

He is now to be among you at the calling of your hearts. Rest assured this troubadour is acting on his part. The union of your spirits here has caused him to remain. For whenever two or more of you are gathered in his name, there is love.

So strikingly instantaneous was Paul Stookey’s inspiration that he felt it wasn’t his song. He decided to give away the rights to a non-profit. The Public Domain Foundation was created in 1971 with royalties from “The Wedding Song.” Since then, millions of dollars have been raised for social justice causes all across the country.[4]

 @kellylatimoreicons

In his book, Stride Toward Freedom, Martin Luther King, Jr. also shares a powerful God moment:

It was a cold January night in 1956, and as he was drifting off to sleep, Dr. King received a disturbing phone call. The person on the other end of the line spouted horrendous racial slurs and violent threats. Shaken, King went to his kitchen, sat down, and prayed, pouring all of his fears and his hopes out to God.

At that moment, Dr. King shares, “I experienced the presence of the Divine as I had never experienced God before… I could hear the quiet assurance of an inner voice saying: ‘Stand up for justice, stand up for truth, and God will be at your side forever.’ Almost at once, King wrote, his fears  subsided. “My uncertainty disappeared. I was ready to face anything.”[5]

 

From her pilgrimage, Bishop Carrie shared this on Instagram: “We all have unique perspectives ...The God-moments that may be obvious to us may be inaccessible to others.” I totally agree! We should talk about them!

Jesus gives the mystified servers something to talk about as they share the excellent wine with thirsty wedding guests. But wait, where is the bride in this story? 

 

Did you catch the last lines of Isaiah? 

 

For as a young man marries a young woman,
so shall your builder marry you,

and as the bridegroom rejoices over the bride,
so shall your God rejoice over you.

 

In our marriage rite in the Book of Common Prayer, Jesus’ presence and first miracle at Cana signifies “the mystery of the union between Christ and his Church.”[6]

 

In the true Church, the beloved community where love, justice, and mercy flow abundantly, I think we are the bride. Therefore, those whom God has joined together let no one put asunder.[7]

 

In the spirit of a God moment, I invite you to close your eyes and drink this in, from Christian mystic Meister Eckhart: 

 

In the deep quiet of the soul where thoughts dissolve, and worries cease.

There lies a rest, a sacred whole. A hidden peace that brings release.

Let go of striving. Let go of quest. In this vast stillness find your ground.

For here within the inmost breast the divine presence can be found.

Not in the clamor of the day. Nor in the rush of worldly things.

But in the space where thoughts give way.

The soul’s true resting place now sings.

Like a still lake reflecting skies.

Reflect the light of God within.

In this deep rest your spirit flies.

A union with the divine begins.

 

Amen.

 

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[1] Russell Heimlich, “Mystical Experiences,” Pew Research Center (blog), December 29, 2009, https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2009/12/29/mystical-experiences/.

[2] William James, The Varieties of Religious Experience: A Study in Human Nature. (New York: Longmans, Green and Co, 1902),380-81.

[3] Karl Rahner, Theological Investigations, trans. Cornelius Ernst (Baltimore: Helicon Press, 1961) XX, 149.

[4] Noel Paul Stookey, “The Song I Had to Give Away,” Guideposts (blog), June 1, 1993, https://guideposts.org/positive-living/health-and-wellness/better-living/the-song-i-had-to-give-away/.

[5] Martin Luther King, Stride Toward Freedom: The Montgomery Story, King Legacy Ser, v. 1 (Boston: Beacon Press, 2010), 135-36.

[6] Episcopal Church., The Book of Common Prayer and Administration of the Sacraments and Other Rites and Ceremonies of the Church: Together with the Psalter or Psalms of David, According to the Use of the Episcopal Church. (New York: Church Publishing, 1979), 423.

[7] BCP, 428.

Oodles of Zoodles

We have a small, raised bed garden in our backyard. We’ve been planting it for the past several years,
and I’ve noticed that each growing season is a little bit different. Each season there are certain variables that determine growth potential. What is growing changes based on what plants are available at my local nursery, the weather, of course, and then there’s the effort I am willing to put into it. This year my garden is providing more zucchini than our family can possibly consume. I have been trying to spread the love, offering it to family, friends, and neighbors. If you show up at my doorstep this month, you just might leave with a zucchini! If you’ve ever grown zucchini, you know it literally seems to grow overnight. Seriously, zucchini could be the answer to world hunger. With all the growth this year, my garden demands daily attention.

 

I have made zucchini pizza, zucchini muffins, zucchini boats, and pasta with zucchini…

 

This zucchini boat did not go over well with the hubs.

My husband is not a fan of zucchini. But he does like cucumbers. Thankfully our cucumber crop is also thriving this season. We love to slice them up and dip them in some yummy hummus. We’ve also been juicing them. Cucumber juice with a little ginger and lime is super refreshing on a hot summer day. And also, super healthy.

 Cuke juice is super refreshing when it's hot out!

 

Since I tend to primarily look at life through more of a spiritual lens (and I am weird this way), I have been wondering what this means. I am curious about what wisdom my plentiful garden has to offer me this season. With so much zucchini and cucumber, I wonder what God is providing that I might need right now. According to my research, zucchini is chock full of vitamin A and folate. Its mild flavor makes it versatile and an ideal add-on to lots of dishes like eggs, pasta, and even smoothies. It lasts for quite a while in the fridge or freezer. That’s certainly a blessing, as I have been consumed with seminary studies and have had little time to think about much else.

 

Only we can determine what abundance is currently showing up. Every season is different. Every season of life is different based on what we have planted, how we have tended our garden, and of course, the weather. Where is the abundance? How can we ponder this more?

 

Enter into the Great Silence,

where you may hear the voice of the Beloved,

Who satisfies the hungry soul,

and quenches the thirsty with streams of Living Water                   

 ~~Psalm 107, From Nan Merrill's Psalms for Praying

 

Then there is this, also from Psalm 107:

 

If you are really wise, you’ll think this over—

    it’s time you appreciated God’s deep love.

~~Eugene Peterson’s The Message

 

I love that translation.

 

We are wise to spend more time reflecting on the abundance of God. Whether it’s zoodles and cucumber juice, a gorgeous sunrise, tea with a dear friend, a new grandbaby, a successful medical procedure, or fascinating scientific discoveries about the universe from the Webb telescope, the abundance is there. Where are you noticing abundance? Even if things seem really difficult right now for you, where are you experiencing new growth? According to the psalmist, it’s good…maybe healthy even, to ponder these things. 

 

Rather than the bazillion other distractions that are out there. 

 

God is great

God is good 

And we thank God for our food

 

By God’s hand we all are fed

Give us this day

Our daily bread

 

Remember that grace from your childhood? For many, this was a go-to grace. It is apparently also a hymn written by that famous person, anonymous. 

 

I took the liberty of making God’s gender neutral. You’re welcome. 

I think this sweet little grace pretty much sums up God’s love for us. 

 

God is good, our creator and sustainer and redeemer of everything that may seem negative in our lives. God is abundant in sometimes extremely surprising ways. And God loves us all – no exceptions. God loves every one of us, regardless of how plentiful or feebly our literal or metaphorical gardens are currently growing. God loves us and feeds us with what we currently need.

 

Our job is to pay attention. And to occasionally say thank you.

 

Blessings,

Connie

 

 

 

 

 

Connie Bowman is an actress, voice talent, yoga teacher, author, and host of the podcast Happy Healthy You! and now Seminarian Connie Bowman encourages all of us to find wholeness by following our bliss and living lives of health, happiness, and meaning. www.conniebowman.com

Webb Musings: Will We Kill the Messenger?

I read today about this South American saying: “To be human one must make room in one’s heart for the wonders of the universe.” This is a common thread among religions and indigenous cultures. 

We are, mostly, far as I know, human. How do we make room in our hearts (let alone our minds) for an appreciation of the wonders that are out there? 

Personally, I am a sucker for a sunrise or sunset. Geese flying in formation about do me in. But those are just examples of what my eyes can perceive. What about all the wondrous things we have not seen with our own eyes?
 

History exposes our reluctance, strike that - violent resistance, to new data that threatens to shake up the status quo. We have tended to kill the messenger. Will we accept information that comes from a sophisticated scientific instrument, albeit one that has been in the works for decades and developed together by humans from around the planet? (How much wonder is in that?) 

What of all that the Webb telescope will show us? Are our hearts prepared for that? How will that change our ideas about our cosmos, world, ourselves? While we’re pondering all of this, what of the wonders all around us, nearer to the ground? How will our hearts be changed by discoveries to come? Can we really prepare for that?

With no limits, what do you dream will be revealed by the Webb Telescope?

 Jesus said, “So, you believe because you’ve seen with your own eyes. Even better blessings are in store for those who believe without seeing.”

~~John 20:29 (From Eugene Peterson's The Message)

Here is a gentle yoga practice to help us center and gracefully reach up and turn our gazes skyward. 

May we see with clarity the truth of our past and future potential, and the beauty right in front of us.

Namaste,

Connie