Sunday BibleTalk, January 13th, 2019
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Excerpt from
"A Re-Singing of the Song of Songs"
The wind is bitter here,
icy like the tentacles
which grip my heart,
squeezing out hope.
I followed His song
across land and ocean
until at last,
weary, tempest-tossed,
I sailed past Liberty
to join the throngs
of homeless ones
waiting for process.
Now, an alien,
I walk winding city streets,
faceless, nameless,
lost in the shadows
of tall towers
which grasp for the sky
proudly, like Babel.
I am numbed by traffic din,
by the pressing crowd
which elbows and jostles
but knows no intimacy
as it rushes
without mind or soul,
a beast on the rampage.
Lights flash out enticements,
luring passers-by
into sanctuaries of opulence.
I am mesmerized
by speed and glitter,
by the easy exchange
of goods and gold,
by the revolving doors
of gourmet palaces,
by blind men playing trumpets
on busy corners...
Loneliness aches like hunger,
gnawing at my flesh, my bones,
until I am overcome
with grief
for all I have left behind.
Do my sisters
weep for me still?
Will the geraniums bloom
or the yellow bird
warble its sweet song?
Here, there are birds, flowers,
for the asking,
but they do not
cheer my heart.
I would wish for a deep forgetting,
but the smell of rosemary
dances in the wind....
From
Woman Dreamer
,
Wyndham Hall Press, 1989.
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Greetings, SBT Readers:
Happy New Year! After being away for nearly three weeks, it is good to be writing again. Much as I love traveling and visiting family and friends in Malta, writing is one of the activities that feeds my soul and so the discipline of crafting each issue of
SBT
is a welcome one.
I left Malta on January 5th, arriving in Chicago on the afternoon of January 6th, the
Feast of Kings
. I mention this because it was exactly 45 years ago that I made the same journey for the first time as a young bride. At the time, I felt that the travel dates were auspicious -- and I still do. I left behind my world, my people, my pets, my sacred landscape, my activities to venture into a new land --and, like the Magi, I found the going tough. Culture shock and homesickness hit me immediately; regrets quickly followed but with no possibility of returning "home." Once I had crossed the Atlantic, there was no going back; worse still, in the early 70's, communications were limited. International phone calls were to be made on an emergency basis only; there was neither email, Facebook, Instagram nor Skype-- only "snail mail" which took on average 2-3 weeks per tissue-thin airmail letter. Then there was the feeling of being existentially lost. On my small island, everyone knew me or at least knew my family; I was the daughter of Lilian and Alec, the niece of Inez, Doris, Joe, Victor and Lewis, the sister of Diana, Patricia and Anne.... In Chicago, I was a stranger among strangers, with no identity and no sense of direction. I neither knew who I was nor what my purpose in life would be....
My journey to the States was a Baptism of Fire. Stripped of the familiar, I had only my faith to sustain me. Here, I had to let go of everything I had known for 22 years save my values and education; here, I turned to prayer and study to survive emotionally.
Traveling back to Chicago last weekend, I found myself wondering what turns my life would have taken had I stayed in Malta. Part of me wished I had never left. I imagined that I would have enjoyed a successful career as a university academic; my life would have been more conventional, I think-- rich socially and culturally, and filled with family gatherings. But what about discipleship? Would I have had the same faith commitment had I refused to follow the star that beckoned me? Would I have enjoyed the range of activities that presently fill my days and nights (yes, I'm an unabashed night-owl)? And, most importantly --especially as I was traveling with my daughter and her family-- what about the people who are so precious in my life right now?
Perhaps a Baptism of Fire is the prelude to grace!
Many Blessings!
Elizabeth
PS Sunday video chat is still on sabbatical. I began this as an experiment and would love to know if you find it useful. Your vote will help decide its future! Thank you!
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SCRIPTURE REFLECTION
After all the people had been baptized
and Jesus also had been baptized and was praying,
heaven was opened and the Holy Spirit descended upon him
in bodily form like a dove.
And a voice came from heaven,
"You are my beloved Son;
with you I am well pleased."
Luke 3:15-16, 21-22
The presence of the Spirit descending like a dove and the heavenly voice of affirmation are essential elements in the story of Jesus' Baptism. In the first place, they frame yet another Epiphany moment, bringing to a close the Christmas season, revealing Jesus' divine status, and confirming him in his mission. Secondly, the celestial happenings reveal that Jesus is in good standing with God -- in other words, the Lamb of God submits to "a baptism of repentance for the remission of sins" though he is himself without sin (Lk 3:4). This paradoxical submission to the waters of the Jordan shows that Jesus, far from placing himself above the human condition, is fully immersed in it, just as he was at birth. As in the infancy narratives, in this account there are none of the trappings of power and privilege, nor any triumphant fanfare as Jesus begins his public ministry. Writing to the Philippians, St. Paul underscores this theme of incarnational humility: "Though he was in the form of God, he did not deem equality with God something to be grasped at. Rather, he emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, being born in human likeness" (Phil 2:6-7).
Humility is not a popular virtue but it is one worth reflecting on. Like the crowds who flocked to John the Baptist, all of us are in need of forgiveness; our starting point on the journey to humility is to recognize this and to take stock of our shortcomings. Perhaps we lack patience or are judgmental towards others; perhaps we are habitually negative or sap others' energy with our complaints. Perhaps we live as "coach potatoes," living vicariously through the celebrities we follow on TV, Twitter and Instagram. Perhaps we consume more of the earth's resources than we need or fail to share our surplus with those who have little. It maybe that we feel entitled to the good things in life or that we hold ourselves above the law; on the other hand, we may be so bound by the rules that we completely lack flexibility. Or perhaps we try to control our own destiny rather than submit to God. When it comes to examining our consciences, we need to go beyond the Ten Commandments and look at our relationships with God, self, others, and all the web of life.
The point of this self-inventory is not to lapse into self-loathing or a scrupulous fixation on our faults; rather, it is to acknowledge that we are imperfect beings in need of God's mercy. In the ancient world, the greatest sin was hubris or pride -- that is, to deify oneself instead of bowing to a higher power. By re-turning to God, by acknowledging God as the source of all that we are, we allow ourselves to be washed clean and to recover the divine image that has been imprinted on our souls. Our goal is no longer self-gratification but pleasing God. We move from religion as "duty" to a love affair with God; then the God who is "well pleased" with Jesus will surely delight in us!
FOOD FOR THOUGHT
- In what ways do you delight God?
- In what ways have you tarnished the Divine Image within?
- What new year's resolutions might bring you closer to God?
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