Up Hearts!

 The scripture passages for this practice sermon come from the lectionary, with particular focus on the following Gospel reading. 

 

Luke 13:10-17 

Now Jesus was teaching in one of the synagogues on the Sabbath. And just then, there appeared a woman with a spirit that had crippled her for eighteen years. She was bent over and was quite unable to stand up straight. When Jesus saw her, he called her over and said, "Woman, you are set free from your ailment." When he laid his hands on her, she immediately stood up straight and began praising God. But the leader of the synagogue, indignant because Jesus had cured on the sabbath, kept saying to the crowd, "There are six days on which work ought to be done; come on those days and be cured, and not on the sabbath day." But the Lord answered him and said, "You hypocrites! Does not each of you on the sabbath untie his ox or his donkey from the manger and lead it away to give it water? And ought not this woman, a daughter of Abraham whom Satan bound for eighteen long years, be set free from this bondage on the sabbath day?" When he said this, all his opponents were put to shame; and the entire crowd was rejoicing at all the wonderful things that he was doing. 

 

The LORD will guide you continually,
and satisfy your needs in parched places, and make your bones strong.

~~Isaiah 58:11

 

“Lift up your hearts,” we hear at the beginning of our Eucharistic Prayer. “We lift them to the Lord,” the congregation replies. This is called the Sursum Corda. Translated, it literally means lift up your heart or “up hearts!” It is the first part of our Eucharist, officially called the Preface, but because I am a yoga teacher, I like to call this the yoga section. It is an invitation to open our hearts toward God. Whether in our hearts and minds or physically or both, we are called to assume a brighter posture as we open to receive Christ into our very being.

 

Good posture is essential to our flourishing. Poor posture can negatively impact us in body, mind, and spirit. Poor posture can affect our ability to breathe well, which nourishes our cells and tissues. It also impacts our balance, our ability to experience a state of equilibrium. When our balance is off, we are more prone to falling. Balance is especially important as we age. It’s something we can work on every day, and we probably should. 

 

As we know, Jesus has a way of knocking the political and religious establishment off balance. Last week it was the crowds of people who had come to hear him. This week he calls out the religious officials in the synagogue. If this were to happen today, someone would likely be in danger of being canceled.

 

In a podcast interview, Rabbi Danya Ruttenberg discusses the way ancient Hebrew scriptures are interpreted and modernized by scholars and theologians to better relate to people in their current time and place. It is a wonderful discussion of repentance as given in the Talmud, simplified and made practical, using five steps given by the medieval philosopher Maimonides. The five steps are confession, making amends, beginning to change, apology, and choosing differently. Repentance and forgiveness are healing for individuals and can likewise bring healing to a community. In our current cancel culture, we could certainly benefit from this ancient rabbinic wisdom. 

 

Jesus knows his Hebrew scripture. He knows about the importance of repentance and forgiveness. And he knows about Sabbath as a day to rest in God and with God. Sabbath is a good thing, a healthy practice for individuals and communities. We could use a little more intentional observance of the Sabbath in our fast-paced secular culture. Jesus is teaching in a synagogue when an unnamed, bent-over woman appears. She has suffered from a spinal condition for eighteen long years. It hurts to even think about her condition.

 

As Luke tells this story, the woman had been vexed by a certain “spirit” that caused her crippling posture for a very specific length of time, the past eighteen years. According to Rabbi Alex Chapper, the number 18 has some interesting correspondences. For example, it is written in the Jewish Talmud that there are 18 vertebrae in our human spine. (There are differing theories about how this came to be determined.) In the Torah, religious patriarchs Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob are mentioned 18 times. The Amidah, the central prayer of every Jewish service, contains 18 blessings. In the Shema, God’s name is mentioned 18 times. It’s also in the 18^th chapter of Leviticus that we read, “You must obey my laws and be careful to follow my decrees and laws…I am the Lord.” In this chapter, there are also lots of laws about inappropriate sexual conduct and the serious repercussion of exile from the community. I imagine Jesus was well aware of this.

 

On this particular sabbath, Jesus notices a woman in the synagogue who is unable to stand upright. She appears to be suffering. Without pausing to ask permission, Jesus calls to her, lays his hands on her, and frees her from her 18-yearlong ailment. Indignant is the adjective Luke uses to describe the reaction of the synagogue leader. The Greek translation of the word is more like grieved or disappointed. How could a person of faith possibly be disappointed knowing that a member of the community has been restored to wholeness? He goes off on a rant about the law about observing the Sabbath, which leads to Jesus’ labeling as hypocrites the whole lot of religious leaders. Religious people can be so touchy! 

 

To be a hypocrite is to put on a false appearance of virtue or piety. Perhaps the religious leaders knew this woman who showed up at the synagogue. We don’t actually know why she was there. Could there be more to this story? What we do know is that Jesus touched her. Finally, she could stand tall. The crowd goes wild. I can just imagine a slow clap that builds to full-out applause. They are enthralled that Jesus heals people. That people take priority over laws, religious leaders, patriarchy, and power. 

 

Remember last week when Jesus spoke of division in families? Here, we encounter it again. This time it's between the religious leaders and the people. Are we not today divided about how best to interpret and enforce our laws? It would be hypocritical to say we are not divided on gender issues, even, and especially, in the church. Where are the marginalized, bent-over folks who could use healing? We don’t have to look far.

 

How can we restore the broken back into the community? It’s much easier to simply ignore or cancel them. What good is a church if it doesn’t make this its mission? The poet Tennyson wrote (indulge my paraphrase) that our reach should exceed our grasp. Or, what’s a heaven even for? 

When we are conscious, compassionate, and courageous, like Jesus, we work to restore our beloved community. This means doing the hard work of repentance and forgiveness continually. Relationships are never static. They are always moving towards wholeness or dissolution. Love requires vigilance and awareness. You’ll recall that when Jesus noticed

the woman, he stopped what he was doing to help. That’s staying awake. We are likewise called to stay awake. Being intentional about Sabbath can help us live more conscious lives. But being obsessive about it will always throw us off balance.

 

You might be thinking this is a lot of work, this being a Christ follower. Lift up your hearts. This is astonishingly good news. Jesus has got our backs. (Pun intended.) Emmanuel, God with us, redeems, restores, and raises us to behold the eyes of the beloved. Jesus is straight up about how we are to do the same. "Love your neighbors as yourselves." He shows us how, by taking time to care for the “least of these,” our neighbors in peril. They are loved. We are loved. We are loved whether we show up every Sunday for church, only at Christmas and Easter, or not at all. We don’t have to ask for this love. It is freely given. 

What is your posture on that? 

 

Here’s a yoga practice for opening the heart.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

What's Trending

 
This week’s practice sermon uses these readings from the lectionary. Not going to lie; this week's readings were challenging. 

Remember the television show Name That Tune? Can you name this tune in 17 words…
 
There was a time when I was 
in a hurry as you are
I was like you…

Do you recognize these lyrics? 
 
If you listened to pop radio in the seventies, you would probably recognize this song. 
 
Olivia Newton-John’s passing this week has sent me on a bit of a trip down memory lane. I was lucky enough to have been in her luminous presence for a couple of days. When I was 17, I booked a small part in the movie Grease, flew out to California, and spent time on the set during the summer between high school and college. It was quite the experience!
 
Grease appealed to a broad segment of society; to the Baby Boomers and the Gen Xers who came after them. Maybe also the Silent Generation. Do you know the Silent Generation?
 
This is the first ever defined generational group. It refers to those folks born between 1926 and 1945 who lived through both the Great Depression and World War Two. An article in Time magazine in the 1950s described the children of this generation as taught to be seen and not heard, work hard, and keep their heads down. This group is disciplined, loyal, value-based, and prefers direct communication over technology. 
 
The children of this group were, for the most part, the Baby Boomers who ushered in the concept of a generation gap. The sociological theory of a generation gap first came around in the 1960s, when the younger generation (aka baby boomers) seemed to rebel against everything their parents had previously believed, from their music to their values and political views.
 
Remember the phrase "Don’t trust anyone over 30?" That became one of the most memorable expressions of the turbulent 1960s era during the height of the Free Speech Movement at UC Berkeley. The Free Speech Movement was initiated by students wanting to express themselves politically on campus, which ultimately helped catalyze broader political activism on campuses around the country over student rights, civil rights, and the Vietnam War. The kids of the silents didn’t trust their elders, even their own families. The Baby Boomers were big and loud, experienced many changes, and expected things to continue to change for the better. Their kids were Gen Xers and Millennials, and on and on we go…
 
Labeling generational cohorts can be helpful for recognizing and understanding social trends for predicting and forecasting future changes. It’s helpful in business and politics and other similar worldly institutions. But, as we know, Jesus was not of this world. He came to bring the Kingdom of Heaven to Earth. Jesus didn’t need a professional forecaster to tell him what was coming. Looking out over the crowds, he saw the future and didn’t much like what he saw. 
 
In this week’s passage from the Gospel of Luke, Jesus is anything but mellow.
 
In Luke’s version of the Gospel, Jesus uses strong words to get the attention of the crowd. He speaks of a baptism, which we have come to understand as our initiation into Christianity. Baptism confers a change of belief, behavior, and belonging to a loving community of the faithful. He speaks of fire, expressing his frustration at our refusal to change and our inability to read the signs God puts right in front of us. He speaks of division that arises when awareness of God is absent from our hearts and minds. Jesus, with attitude, says, “Stop talking about the weather when the world is crumbling around you! Wake up! Pay attention to the trends. You’re heading into some potentially treacherous territory. Turn back now before it’s too late!” 
 
If we study history, we detect some predictable trends. Christian history is replete with trends and countertrends. The Protestant Reformation in the 16^th century, for example, was a response to abuses in the church. The invention of the printing press helped to quickly spread these new ideas. All too often in our history, there has been violence and bloodshed. Theoretically, we should learn from our mistakes when we look back.
 
Sometimes, when we’ve simply had enough, it can be helpful to get a little angry. Sometimes a little anger can affect change. Within reason, that is. Anger is fiery energy that can break down walls and diffuse a sense of powerlessness. It can provide a certain necessary shock value.
 
But spiritually mature Christians (like us) will always be discerning. We consider more than our emotions when making critical decisions. You may have heard of the three-legged stool. The website of the Episcopal Church defines the three-legged stool this way:

  The threefold sources of authority in Anglicanism are scripture, tradition, and reason. These three sources uphold and critique each other in a dynamic way. Scripture is the normative source for God's revelation and the source for all Christian teaching and reflection. Tradition passes down from generation to generation the church's ongoing experience of God's presence and activity. Reason is understood to include the human capacity to discern the truth in both rational and intuitive ways. It is not limited to logic as such. It takes into account and includes experience. Each of the three sources of authority must be perceived and interpreted in light of the other two. 

There is wisdom in using this three-legged stool for discernment about God’s movement in our lives and our world, especially when emotions run very close to the surface. Always, love of God and neighbor remain our core values.
 
Throughout our scriptures, we read about God using shock value to get our attention. But there’s also “shocking goodness” in our tradition. Think about the “great cloud of witnesses”- exemplary folks like Saint Francis, Mother Teresa, Pauli Murray, and others. They stepped out and stepped up for God, doing their part to usher in a more God-centered, spirit-full world, each in their own unique ways. And they often used unconventional means to get the job done.

 

Think Olivia Newton-John as Sandy in the final scene of Grease, stepping out of her demure persona to shake things up. She sure captured Danny Zuko’s attention. Underneath all that makeup and leather, we all knew Sandy was still Sandy. 
 
The world may seem chaotic and divided, but God is still God – a trinity of diverse expressions of goodness always working continuously, covertly, and creatively to redeem humanity and our broken, divisive world.
 
How is God working to get your attention? What in your life needs transformation? Where could the church be fired up to initiate positive change? In an essay this week, writer Diana Butler Bass suggests that the antidote to our precariously divisive times is “risky goodness,” According to Bass, it is time for Christians to “stand up, speak up, and do good right now.” 
 
What fires you up? For @tanksgoodnews, it was the incessant negativity of the 24-hour news cycle. He created a forum on Instagram with nothing but good news. In Nashville, Episcopal priest Becca Stevens was fed up with the human trafficking of women. She created a way to get them off the streets and into safe housing with @thistlefarms,  Several innovative women in New Haven, Connecticut, were called to address the issues of isolation, unemployment, and Islamophobia experienced by Muslim refugees in our country, so they devised a brilliant solution. Sanctuary Kitchen creates community and employs American Muslims from all over the world who share food and friendship with the greater community. It’s a small thing, but I am committed to picking up as much litter as I can carry off a trail on my regular hikes. My friend organized a food drive, gathering excess fruits and veggies from local gardens and delivering them to the local food pantry.
 
Our world has changed a lot since the nifty fifties. We’re more connected than ever. In many ways, we’re also more divided. We must learn how to share our resources and care for one another, despite our perceived divisions. We say the words every week, “Thy kingdom come,” It’s time, beloveds. It is time.
 

Prayer for this time

Loving Creator of sun, moon, stars, earth, sky, and sea, who can seem far away and near as our breath. Stir up within us such passion for you that we are bold to answer your call to serve in the name of love, justice, and peace. Grant us grace as to discern your will and to walk humbly, confidently, and faithfully through any doors that you open. This we ask that your goodness and peace may flood our world with the light of your love and that we may come to know you ever more intimately. Through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
 
 

 

 

 

Questioning God

Since I am well into my second year in seminary, I thought it might be prudent to take a few practice runs, writing weekly sermons while school is not in session. This one is based on the lectionary readings from week fourteen after Pentecost in the season of the liturgical calendar called "Ordinary Time." Which incidentally, I think is kind of funny. It's like the Holy Spirit whooshes in, and then things just go back to normal. Really? Also, what wouldn't we all do for a little bit of ordinary time? That is rhetorical. Can I get an amen?

“But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one.”

~~ Hebrews 11

 

 

How do you stay hopeful when there is so much despair? That is not a rhetorical question. 

 

I am dead serious. This week the news brought us even more of it. Homeless refugees in Washington, D.C. So many of them are families with children. We saw the administrative insufficiency, which left these families in hotel rooms rather than temporary housing that would assure the children get properly enrolled in schools. It’s difficult to watch. Most of us would gladly help if we only knew how. 

 

Children are the innocent victims in these cases. As adults in a civilized society, we are responsible for our children. 

A friend shared with me this week a heartbreaking story of one child. This young person originally came from a home with two parents. That’s usually a good thing, but these parents were, very sadly, as happens all too often, addicted to drugs. Their addiction eventually took the parents’ lives and left the child, at only eight years old, to live on the streets of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, begging for food wherever he could get it. Life was rough on the streets, as one might imagine. He was shot twice but thankfully survived. An aunt in Maryland offered to take him in. He was able to get an education and became involved in sports, finding a love of lacrosse. He excelled in the sport, and when his aunt, who suffered from mental health issues, became an unsuitable guardian, his coaches and his lacrosse family took the boy in. He graduated high school and entered college with a scholarship. The young man kept his grades up and played lacrosse until an injury sidelined him permanently. He lost his scholarship. Although he had a job working at a landscaping company, his earnings were not enough to cover room and board at his university. With just one year left to graduate, this young man is again facing potential homelessness. 

 

How does anyone muster the courage to hope for a better life with such a traumatic history?

 

(See: Genesis 15:1-6)

 

In a vision, Abram, very much a senior citizen, asked God, “What will you give me.” In this very specific and imaginative vision, God promises Abram that his descendants will outnumber even the stars. If you’ve been following the Webb telescope, you know that we are finding a lot more of them than we originally imagined! Wow, that’s quite a lot of kids, Abram. Are you sure you want that responsibility? (As you might recall, Abram and his wife Sarai both got new names when they came into their spiritual maturity. Abram became Abraham and Sarai, Sarah. This happens in other places in the Hebrew Bible when there is a radical change of character, such as Jacob becoming Israel. You might investigate the meaning of these names for yourself.) 

 

Abram’s vision of a promise is just the beginning of quite an interesting journey – you can read about it in Genesis. It is ultimately a journey that will mature him and grow him up into Abraham, the father of the world's three major monotheistic religions. Talk about a legacy! 

 

(See: Hebrews 11:1-3, 8-16)

 

In Hebrews 11, we read about the kind of faith that ensures that unseen things will eventually pan out into something good because of this promise of the good that comes from God. We read in this letter that Abe was faithful and stayed in that “foreign land” in tents looking forward to the promise of some permanent housing - something with a more solid foundation laid by God. As Abraham and Sarah’s descendants were born (“as many as the stars of heaven and as the innumerable grains of sand by the seashore”), one by one, a promise from a long-ago vision was fulfilled. It didn’t happen overnight. But it did eventually happen. That audacious and precious hope of a promise fulfilled has been passed down to us, whether we are consciously aware of it or not.

 

There is something really incredible about this vision that we get in the story of Genesis. It starts with a pretty bold question. “What will you give me?” Abram is all up in God’s grill, unabashedly asking for a special favor. He’s like, “Here I am. What is this all about anyway? I am an old man, and I have nothing, no heirs to speak of. You made me. What have you got to say about that, God?” That’s a pretty audacious way to speak to the Creator of the Cosmos. And you’ve got to admit, kind of creative too.

 

Have you ever thought of asking God a similar question? What do you imagine God would say to you in response? 

(See: Luke 12:32-40)

 

Perhaps you might hear something comforting like Jesus’ words in Luke's Gospel. “Do not be afraid little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.” Wouldn’t that be nice? The kingdom would be good. Wouldn’t that be particularly nice for that young college student - to be able to finish school without the added stress of homelessness? Wouldn’t it be nice for those children in D.C. to be able to start school in the Fall with the stability of a home? To address these challenges, we need to do our best to be alert, as Jesus suggests. When we are alert, we are vigilant, quick to perceive and act; or so it says in the dictionary. 

 

These problems of homelessness did not happen overnight. They were a long time in the making. They started with choices made by people in our past whose decisions were ultimately not in the best interest of their children. It’s a difficult road to maturity, and sometimes we just plain screw up. When we’re feeling vulnerable, we often place the blame on others, our parents, our government, and even God. If we wanted to, we could go so far as to blame it on Abraham, who had some pretty serious family dysfunction of his own. But blame doesn’t heal. Only love heals the really deep wounds. 

 

The friend who shared with me the story of the boy has decided to take him into her own home so that he has a stable place to complete his studies. My friend is a single parent on a limited budget with three kids of her own, two of which are also currently in college. That right there is love. She's putting her treasure where her heart is and contributing to a more just and loving society while she's at it. She could probably use some additional funds. If you feel called to help monetarily, I am happy to put you in touch. 

 

To solve some of our seemingly intractable problems, maybe we need to ask more audacious questions of God and, while we’re at it, one another. Perhaps instead of endless blaming and tearing each other down, together, we could envision a more abundant future for all of God’s children. If, instead of asking what's in it for us, we flip it to ask perhaps the more spiritually mature question, "What can we give?" will we be alert enough to catch the answer?

Perhaps our hope is in our creative capacity to envision a healthier world. A better country can be built with a more heavenly imagination.

This is how a human being can change:

there's a worm addicted to eating
grape leaves.
Suddenly, he wakes up,
call it grace, whatever, something
wakes him, and he's no longer
a worm.
He's the entire vineyard,
and the orchard too, the fruit, the trunks,
a growing wisdom and joy
that doesn't need
to devour.

— Jelaluddin Rumi in The Essential Rumi

Spiritual Practice: Celebrate a moment when you saw the world with fresh eyes.

~~From Spirituality and Practice

 

 

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

You Live. You Learn.

You Live. You Learn. ~~Alanis Morrisette

My husband saw that Alanis Morrissette was coming to a concert venue near us and announced he was getting tickets. “She’s a beast,” he pronounced. Immediately I corrected him, “She’s spiritual,” I insisted.

I love that my husband appreciates strong, sensitive, talented women. But I wanted him to see it my way; that Alanis writes and performs from a deep knowing, a wisdom that comes from a higher source. He maintains that she is a sexy, strong, badass woman with an incredible voice and ability to write and translate into performance songs that relate to so much of our human condition. “She’s a beast.”

Do you think spiritual and "beast" or “badass” are mutually exclusive?

I'm not so sure.

During Covid, I went back to school to work on a Masters of Divinity, MDiv for short...after forty years. I graduated (with my husband) from Western Maryland College, now McDaniel, in 1981. In ’81 we typed our papers on manual typewriters. We used white-out if we made an error. We didn’t cut and paste, we rewrote. There was no spell check or Grammarly or applications for citations or bibliographies. It’s quite astounding, the technology that's available for learning these days.

One thing hasn’t changed. As the badass Alanis sings, we often learn best from our mistakes, our failures, our challenges.

For example, in my first semester, I took Introduction to the Hebrew Bible. That’s the Old Testament. You know, Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, etc. The professor is tough. For our final project, we were to create a Bible Study based on what we had learned about the Hebrew Scriptures. Because I teach yoga and meditation, I and my study partner decided to turn the Bible Study into a retreat for the congregation. I wanted participants to appreciate the beauty of the psalms and the more healing passages from beautiful poetic books like Isaiah during a year when we could all use some peace. The Zoom retreat went well. I threw in some self-care tips and guided meditations and we enjoyed one another’s company in community as we mined the Hebrew Scriptures for wisdom during a strange and stressful Advent season.

At the end of it, I proudly turned in my paper that described my successful Bible Study. I was certain I would get an A. When it came time for my grade, my professor took points off. What? My professor is a badass too. He knows his Isaiah. This is what he wrote in response:

"I think the topic of exile is very pertinent during this time. It seems the book of Isaiah gave you the images and inspiration to build community and explore the topic of resiliency. 
I left wanting to see how you addressed the issue of punishment in the book of Isaiah and how your group would tackle this point that frames the theme of resilience. I did not see it in your narrative. I understand the liturgical season we are in, but your work keeps the boundaries of the tradition in the lectionary and does not offer your group an opportunity to discuss them in the theological framework of punishment and redemption. What to do with that framework during this season? How to struggle with the theme of exile and pandemic in the same framework?"

I recommend biting off more than you can chew. To anyone.

Did he mean to suggest that this pandemic was a punishment? Certainly not. Where is our redemption after all of this?

I let it go and moved on to Intro to the New Testament for the Spring semester. You know, Matthew Mark, Luke, John, etc. It was in the study of the Gospel of Luke that I came upon a passage where Jesus was reading from the Prophet Isaiah. Here is the passage from Luke 4:18-19:

“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,

    because he has anointed me

        to bring good news to the poor.

He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives

and recovery of sight to the blind

        to let the oppressed go free,

to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”

Insert Massive “Aha” moment…

Jesus is reading to the people from Isaiah 61. Here’s more of the original passage:

“The spirit of the Lord God is upon me,

    because the Lord has anointed me;

he has sent me to bring good news to the oppressed, 

to bind the brokenhearted 

to proclaim liberty to the captives and release to the prisoners

to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor, 

and the day of vengeance of our God; 

to comfort all who mourn"

   

Jesus changed it up! Five or six hundred years later, he brought out the ancient scroll to comfort his followers. He used familiar words. He didn't want to stress them out, even more, just to offer a different way of hearing. He didn’t tell the suffering people under Roman occupation that God’s vengeance was at hand. Isaiah 61 was written to a people in exile. Their land had been taken from them. Jesus was speaking to a people whose freedoms had also been taken away. Sound familiar at all? He just couldn’t bring himself to talk about a God of vengeance. I get it. Thank you, Jesus! You get me.

Wait until the dust settles...

Here’s the thing, I wouldn’t have stumbled upon that passage with any significant appreciation had my professor not challenged me. (I still got an A in the class btw!)

That’s just one interpretation of many more. That's why we hear that the scriptures are living words. They apply to us at every stage of our lives, to each of us differently. You say Alanis is a badass. I say she’s spiritual. We're allowed to agree to disagree. It’s all good. It’s all God.

Yes, I am going back to school. But everyday living is learning. 

We just have to keep our eyes and ears and hearts open. 

I cannot wait to see Alanis in concert. Thanks for getting us tickets, honey.
I am grateful for this recent version of Jagged Little Pill...

Namaste,
Connie

Lighten

Hey Friends,

Just a quick post to catch up and offer a little light during troubling times. That's my plan and I'm sticking to it!

These days, it takes a conscious effort to stay flexible enough to roll with the many changes, strong enough to be resilient and light-hearted enough to take ourselves less seriously. This gentle practice was created for all of the above. Enjoy and pass it on if you found it useful.

For many people, the mending of relationships, given up for lost has been a satisfying outcome of our quarantine time. Some of us, have realized the fragility of life this past year and want to share our wisdom with loved ones while we can. 

Like 107-year-old Nonnie Bonita, who became a YouTube sensation on her 102nd birthday. As she blew out the candles, on her birthday cake, her dentures flew right out of her mouth and her hilarious response immediately went viral. If you haven’t seen the video, you must! This year Nonnie lived through her second pandemic. Nonnie has lots of good advice to share after her long, challenging life, like always look at the bright side and never, ever hold a grudge.

Stay poised in the light friends. This too shall pass. Many blessings to you and yours.

Namaste,
Connie

Intention Setting in Lent

 Intention setting is an important part of Lent. It’s the intention we make that initiates the GPS for our journey. When we plug in an address, we are presented with a route. We can mindfully travel toward our destination by following the directions we are given as we go. Sometimes we are met with an obstacle, a tree down across the road if you will. Thanks to updated technology our intelligent GPS system reroutes us. Therefore, paying attention is crucial, lest we miss a turn.

You will want to choose your intention with care and then pay close attention. If you give up chocolate because it is a distraction, then notice daily what arises as you gradually learn to do without. You could choose another intention, adding a contemplative practice, for example.

Deprivation is never God’s intention for our lives. Rather, it is lavish, unconditional love. Everything is there for the enhancement of our spiritual journey. 

Everything. 

Lent is not for the faint-hearted

Lent is not for the faint-hearted.
It demands that we, like Thomas,
put our hand into the side of the crucified Christ.

Lent is a journey towards the cross, a journey of enlightenment:
from wilderness to feast,
from desert to oasis.

It’s an attempt to identify with the powerless and the suffering in the world.

Lent is not tidy.
The days grow longer,*
the ground thaws, there’s mud and dirt everywhere and the windows need cleaning.

Lent is a journey.
So at the end of Lent
we should expect to find ourselves somewhere different from where we started.

Lent can be an opportunity
to explore what is the nature
of the promised Kingdom of God on earth that we long for;
a time to discern
how we are called to work for it.

No, Lent is not for the faint-hearted!

~~Kate McIlhagga

*‘Lent’ means lengthen.

💛With Love in Lent,

Connie

Yoga: Message in a Bottle

Yoga: Ahimsa

Yoga: House of a New Year