Morning musings

Morning Musings

““Children, have you caught anything to eat?”

They answered him, “No.”

So he said to them, “Cast your net over the right side of the boat and you will find something.””

So that’s the answer! I’ve been fishing on the wrong side of the boat!

He makes it so easy, so simple.

And he calls the grown men - and one young adult as Maggie pointed out to us Wednesday - who followed him, “children.“

I feel that nurturing and protective way toward my grandbaby, my Seton Hall students – and my daughter, but with the discipline of distance and detachment that Al-anon teaches me.

So Jesus calls me - and my new sisters in the Red Tent Bible study – children.

Children.

I’m savoring that this morning.

One afternoon when I was traveling through the halls of Kessler distributing the Eucharist to patients, I heard the voice of a child gleefully calling out,

“Abba! Abba!“ I looked up and saw a four-year-old dressed in black pants, big white shirt, with two long side curls bouncing out from his yarmulke, running, full tilt head toward his dad, dressed in similar orthodox fashion, smiling at him, waiting to fetch him up in his arms for a great big embrace.

Abba is waiting for me.

Father.

A whole lot bigger than me.

I sit in a sea of endless brown boxes, eager for that loving embrace.

“Abba, father, I put my life in your hands.” Solemn Lenten chant.

Sunrise on the beach, they could barely see the figure standing there.

It was Him.

So it’s raining today, Abba’s here, in the muted light of what could be called a dreary rainy day

Abba? I’ll take that hug – and while you’re at it, wanna show me which box has the pots and pans?

26 April 2019

Our Road to Emmaus--assignment for class Wednesday April 24

JESUS CHRIST Has RISEN ToDAYYYY!! Alleluia! 

There is something about that song that just makes my heart sing and my spirit soar! For as long as I can remember, I have awakened on Easter morning with that particular song ringing in my head and I have always made sure that, no matter where we are on Easter morning, we MUST be on time for mass JUST in case it is the song for the entrance processional!

So, now that we have come to the beginning of the "end" that is our story of Easter,  I am wondering what will be the HolySpirit take-away for each one of us?  

I am thinking about Mary of Magdala as she wept in front of the empty tomb on Sunday morning. What was she thinking? What great hopes did she mistakenly think were utterly dashed, forever shattered, broken, and now terribly horribly defiled by some faceless robber? 

And then...

Now the disciples went back to their homes, but Mary stood outside the tomb crying. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb and saw two angels in white, seated where Jesus’ body had been, one at the head and the other at the foot.
They asked her, “Woman, why are you crying?”
“They have taken my Lord away,” she said, “and I don’t know where they have put him.”  At this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not realize that it was Jesus.
He asked her, “Woman, why are you crying? Who is it you are looking for?”
Thinking he was the gardener, she said, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will get him.”
Jesus said to her, “Mary.”
She turned toward him and cried out in Aramaic, “Rabboni!” (which means “Teacher”)... (John 20:10-16, NIV)

What happened--what was she feeling!--when TRUE recognition suddenly dawned upon her in that eternal moment when everything seems to go in slo-motion as she is literally thrown from shocked disbelief into speechless wonderment and joy -- for the "gardener" was her Jesus Christ risen...VERY much alive and speaking to her!

Over the next 50 days, we as a church will be mulling over the meaning of the resurrection--through the eyes of the disciples and of all of His followers. How amazing that God knows that we humans need time to contemplate this miracle...to digest, be amazed, digest some more, reconsider, rethink, re-gather, re-start...!  After all, to go from "man-utterly-condemned" to "man-beloved-restored-and-redeemed"  in one incredible swoop of all-encompassing, all-consuming, all-engulfing act of sacrificial love is a monumental task for any human, even on our best day.

So, ladies! I know that this will be one of our last meetings for the season (I leave for London next week and then graduations and all of the mind-and-schedule-overriding end-of-school activities tend to take out a goodly number of us by mid-May). Therefore, we are asking that everyone please do the following for THIS WEEK's class:

Please read ALL of John 20 (the Gospel reading on Easter Sunday only went as far as vv 1-9).  If you can find the time, please also read LUKE 24 (which will take us from the tomb to the Road to Emmaus, then back to the upper room, and finally to the Ascension). Don't worry--they are both easy reads and ones that most of us know so very well.

As you are reading, please consider the following questions:
What does it mean to me that Christ is risen...is ALIVE?
How does that change my thinking? my perspective? my LIFE??

And, in preparation for Pentacost:
What does it mean to LIVE a RESURRECTED LIFE?

OK, sweet Red Tent sisters!! Let's meet with God on our Road to Emmaus together--and hear what incredible life-transforming TRUTHS the HolySpirit so dearly desires to place into our hearts and minds! 

See everyone on Wednesday!

Roll away the stone! See--the tomb is empty! He IS Risen!

My Easter Reflections following my trip to the Holy Land

I wrote this blog Holy week of 2011 after being in the Holy Land the previous fall. It gave me a whole different appreciation for Palm Sunday the Triduum events. Hope you enjoy it! Happy Easter! Joanne


https://joanne-spiritualwanderings.blogspot.com/2011/04/why-do-you-seek-living-among-dead_19.html

Contemplations from yesterday's class

Hi ladies

I am still reeling from the events of the past week--from the thought-provoking sermons on Palm Sunday, to the horrifying fire of Notre Dame, to the swirling confusion of news pundits and fast and furious commentaries on everything from why's and how come's, the would'ves--could'ves--should'ves, the solemn praises, sincere attempts to make right what was so deeply wrong, followed by swift condemnation over intent, blame, so much too late...the sadness and the anger, the soul-wrenching feelings of loss and deep deep grief swelling and overflowing across all secular, religious, political and international lines, coming seemingly out of nowhere and from the depths of everywhere at the same time. Nothing is quite fully understood, emotions running so high that nothing is fully focused, an event gone so wrong that it demands to be faced and dealt with, but no one quite knows how...a timeless hurt that now reaches into eternity in all directions.

Our class discussion today was truly reflective of all of these thoughts--encompassing the heartfelt questions posed in the emails, the search for hard answers and what comfort we could find--even if academic--in the words of scripture, being literally thrown into the very question of "where do I stand in all of this?" But when Ellen exclaimed "...and think about the timing!"--it suddenly hit me...maybe even hit all of us. The same feelings of joyful preparations turned slowly, simmering, then billowing into confusion, anger, sorrow, disbelief--unable to make right something that turned SO quickly into something so deeply wrong...any attempts seemingly, perhaps, "so much too late..." ...two-thousand years ago! It's the epitome of...the week of Christ's Passion.

I am still digesting everything we talked about so I am going to stop here and invite everyone to post your own thoughts if you can verbalize them. Doesn't have to be long or deep or eloquent--maybe just a sentence or two to describe what has left you gratitude-filled or awe-struck. What parallels has the HolySpirit drawn for you in your own journey through this week of turmoil and pain...and deep singular reflection.

Oh, and remember: we know the end of the story. 

"For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God." (Heb 12:2)

And we know [with great confidence] that God [who is deeply concerned about us] causes all things to work together [as a plan] for good for those who love God, to those who are called according to His plan and purpose. (Romans 8:28, AMP)

What do we say "AMEN" to this week?

love you all

Maggie

Reflecting on Passion Week (AND this week's readings)

HI ladies!

So, as we begin our walk through Passion Week, I am overwhelmed by the messages of love, of the enduring nature of GOD's love, of HIS faithfulness to us and of HIS faith in us. As far as I can tell, the messages from the pulpits all around me this weekend reflected that as well: God's knowing willingness to proceed through the gates of Jerusalem in seeming glory and recognition, and into a death so heinous that it was saved for slaves, pirates and enemies of the state...called for--no, demanded by--the very voices that clamored in praise only less than a week before.

But to top off that incredible growing message of God's persistent pursuing love for us, it was the questions posed for our consideration afterward that i found so compelling:
..."Those palms we are waving in our hands today--what DO they mean?" 
..."What did the palms mean to the people singing Jesus' praises and laying down their cloaks along His pathway into Jerusalem?"
..."What were they thinking...were they thinking of themselves? of Jesus? or of ANY of His teachings to that point?  or was it the pleasure of the thought of revenge against the oppression of so many years and sudden realization of the re-establishment (finally!) of their promised kingdom and kingship?" 
..."What of the "crowd mentality"? What happened to the people that allowed their great cheers on Sunday to turn so suddenly into great and effectual jeers by Friday?? What were they thinking?? Were they even thinking?? Was there any meaning or depth to their celebrations or the consequences of their causes...how many were truly joyful, truly angry, and how many were "just following along...?""

So! For this week's class, we are asking everyone: Let's immerse ourselves into the stories of this week.  Imagine as best you can, the scenario, the circumstance, experience the feelings, the joy, the utter confidence (and possibly a lot of pride and a bit of pleasurable arrogance of being "in the know"--of being in that "inner circle"). And then feel the confusion...a little bit at first, listening to the weird instructions of Jesus, then His confusing, very somber (what a buzz-kill, right?) and somewhat dark thoughts at their last meal together, to His strange behavior and messages of servitude and sacrifice... And then--try to sense the horror, the "i-can't-believe-this-is-happening-oh-my-god-this-can't-be-happening", and the sounds--and the overriding, paralyzing make-me-run-away FEAR--of seemingly "everyone else" calling for death and due punishment and really VERY serious retribution...oh, and don't forget the condemnation of YOU, your friends, your family for just being associated with, seen with, walking alongside, sounding like, looking like...Him. 

Whew.  I know. It's a hard look into ourselves too, to answer the questions I heard posed at two different churches:  Where AM I--in the crowd? WHO am I--among the people in the story? What am I thinking/representing/saying--as I wave these palm branches and carry them into my home...are they merely "decoration"? an interesting craft challenge? Or can I SEE myself in the noise, the thoughts, the pride, the jumping and running...and then the screaming, the yelling, the calling for blood?

Where AM I in all of this--not knowing, no longer sure, filled with doubt and real fear...?

Hooboy...thank God that we know the end of the story, right? 
But until we truly question ourselves, uncover the true intents of our hearts and the true dedication of our minds, looking deeply into the dusty and cobwebby corners of our soul (you know them--the ones we like to hide from each other and from ourselves--thinking maybe we could even hide them from God!)...until we really sit down and ask the questions about that which holds us back, holds us down, holds us arms-length-away from accepting God's hand, it becomes difficult to release ourselves effectually into the experience of God's FULL love and sacrifice for us.  

So--over the next few days, the Gospel readings will come from the synoptic versions of what we read this past Sunday. READ THEM ALL!! (Easiest way to access them: Along the left hand side of the home page of the blog, there is a study link to the USCCB site. If you are on a mobile device, then the link will appear below the POSTs, directly underneath the welcome message.  Click on it and look for the calendar along the right side of their page.)   We encourage you to read them in the online lectionary--AND in your own bibles to get a fuller feel for the night of Jesus' passion.

And then let’s gather in class this week and share our thoughts. And maybe even better answer the questions:

What does it mean that “Christ died for me”? What does that mean to me now...?

Can't wait to see everyone on Wednesday!

love

maggie

Going Back to Spiritual Kindergarten!

Wow--ok, so catching up on some emails, I came across this commentary about "going back to our basics".  Thought I would share!

Happy Palm Sunday!!

The Unexpected Power of Kindergarten Truths by Amy Carroll “Lead me by your truth and teach me, for you are the God who saves me. All day long I put my hope in you.” Psalm 25:5 (NLT)

What are your memories of kindergarten? Today, kids are expected to start reading, writing and 'rithmatic in their first year of school, but when I was a kid, there was a philosophy centered on play. Educators believed simple activities built an important foundation for children. I have clear mental pictures of swinging at recess, drinks and cookies at snack time, and carrying baby dolls around the housekeeping center.

Teachers filled our 5-year-old minds with basics to develop fine motor skills, like coloring inside the lines or cutting paper hearts. Wee people circulated through centers, "cooking" plastic foods and putting together puzzles. It looked like pure fun, but all the activities were designed to ready our minds for learning in the upper grades.

Kindergarten is a wonderful place ... unless you get sent back there from college.

In the last five years or so, I've been hearing God whisper, "Go back, Amy. Relearn the things you think you know." God gently but firmly has sent me back to spiritual kindergarten. 

I've returned to simple truths like …

God loves me. 

Life is best when I trust Him. 

Belief is the bedrock for everything else. 

These elementary thoughts are where I've been reschooled by God, and it's been good. But honestly, it's been hard, too. It's difficult for a woman who’s loved Jesus for 40 years to admit she doesn’t really grasp Jesus' love. It's humbling for a Bible teacher to go from meat back to milk.

Yet it's the path God's had for me, and there are three things I've learned that I hope will help you embrace the basics, too:

1. Simple truths aren't insignificant truth.

The simple beliefs of our faith are usually the foundational ones. That’s why knowing "Jesus Loves Me" is a core reality of our faith.
Just like with houses, sometimes our foundations need shoring up after the wear and tear caused by years of life. Every now and then, sinking foundations need to be straightened from the weight of what gets piled on top. Our spiritual selves are the same. We return to basic truths to strengthen our underpinnings against the weight of disappointments and failures. Restoring our first love leaves us "plumb" and refreshed.

2. It takes humility to go back when we want to forge forward.

I could have ignored God's provision, His beckoning back to His simple truths. I could have proudly proclaimed that I was too smart and mature to be “demoted,” but then where would I be today? I believe I would have missed out on God’s plan for me, creating a spiritual anemia. Instead, I’m experiencing a soul that’s more well-fed than when I started on this journey. 

3. When we return to the basics of faith, we aren't dumbing down; we're “leveling up.” 

My friend Cheri Gregory painted a word picture that’s stuck with me and comforted me. In the video game world, upward levels may appear the same while becoming more difficult. Conquering increasingly challenging levels, no matter how similar they may look, is called "leveling up." 

The journey through simple truths is the same. For example, each time I revisit the basic thought, "God loves me," I learn more about His love. And I believe it more deeply. What looks like regression to others — and may even feel like it to me — is actually progress.

Going back to “God’s kindergarten” has been challenging for me in some ways, but I’ve learned to say, “Lead me by your truth and teach me, for you are the God who saves me. All day long I put my hope in you” (Psalm 25:5). God is our faithful teacher, whether He’s teaching deep mysteries or the basics that sustain us. Relearning His simple truths has brought deeper love, greater trust and bolder belief into my life. 

Lord, when You call me back to simple truths, I won’t resist. I know You’re taking me on a journey to know You better and love You more. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY 

Isaiah 55:8, “‘My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts,’ says the LORD. ‘And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine.’” (NLT)

Striving

As we approach the incredible week of Jesus' Passion, I have been thinking about the message spoken most strongly into my heart and my faith walk this season.  I know it has been different for everyone--we have talked about the incredible messages of obedience, of strength, trust, KNOWING...of coming back, metanoia, forgiveness.

But for some reason, the same message for me personally has always come back to this:

Striving. Instead of resting.

Striving... to find that sense of "self-worth" through my prayers, through my "discipline"...?

God keeps telling me to REST instead. Rest in God's Sabbath...no matter what day, no matter what time.  

Just "sit and soak Him in."

I am thinking about the times that I have spent quality hours with the ones I love.  I never have to boast--or even think that--"oh I spent 2 ½ hours with my sister."  Instead, I say, "Oh! How I LOVE her! I love every moment with her.  I can't wait to be with her again!"

Sure...discipline, intentional and very deliberate set-aside time for prayer and worship is very important too especially when my lack of attention and my busy-ness has made me dull, lazy, routine, bored...what was it that someone had recently sent to me in a commentary?...negligent...lukewarm and "dry"...in my "prayer time". (hooboy did THAT really speak into my convicted heart!)

So, where IS my intent?

Am I seeking a sense of self-worth? Looking for a "feeling" to make me feel better about Me, Myself and I?
vs
Truly searching for and so finding and just resting in...Him.  Not me...nothing to do with "me".  Just Him.  ALL about HIM.

“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened." (Matt 7:7-8)

But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. (Matt 6:33)

If I come to worship or to spend time in study or in prayer, I don't necessarily need to "feel it".  However, my intent always first and foremost and ONLY needs to be:
I am searching for Him.  I want to SOAK Him in.

He totally promises me that I WILL find Him...because if I just STOP. REST. RETURN TO ME.  I will find that He has always been there. I've just been too busy "striving" to notice.

What pearls have you been mulling over this past week, sweet Red Tent Sisters? Everyone has been SO quiet lately--share if you can find the time.  Doesn't need to be long or involved.  What thoughts have been rattling around in your head today?

"Christ died for me"--what DOES that mean to me? (plus the readings for this week!)

Ok Ladies--wow, can anyone believe it? We are already in the final weeks of this amazing season of Lent.  This week's upcoming Gospel reading is the very looooong one, taking us all the way through Jesus' Passion, beginning with the Last Supper, through His agony in the garden on the Mount of Olives, to His arrest, His "trial", condemnation, crucifixion, and death. SO much to take in. SO much to ponder. SO little time to consider the events that, unbeknownst to everyone in the world, would herald the "end" of an era of man-utterly-condemned...and usher in the era of man-beloved-restored-and-redeemed.

But these are painful readings to take in all at once. The culmination of God's pursuit of each one of us seems to suddenly spiral out of control--deteriorating rapidly from man's triumphant cries of "Glory Alleluia Hosanna!" on Palm Sunday to the seething and truly venom-filled shouts of "Crucify HIM!" less than a week later. But, we already know the end of the story: the conviction of God's absolute unfathomable love for us, HIS unending and ever-deepening call to us to RETURN TO ME...no matter WHERE you are!--cannot be dampened in the least. The first and second readings, as well as the beautiful Psalm 22 bring out the cries of real physical suffering--AND the steadfastness of faith to endure to the end... in trust and true HOPE for what faith KNOWS God is doing. Even through the pain. Even through the utter darkness of unbelief.  Even to...and at...the point of death.

SO! With so much to review in only two days before class, we are asking that everyone take the chance AS SOON AS POSSIBLE to read through the Scripture passages for Palm Sunday. However, the question to ponder for class is different this week:

What does it mean to YOU when you say to yourself "Christ died for ME"?  How does that change your perspective on...God? For your self? For others?

Here is the link for the readings (from the USCCB):

Palm Sunday readings Cycle C April 14 2019

And here is the listing of the readings:

Gospel(The Solemn Entrance): Luke 19:28-40
First Reading: Isaiah 50:4-7
Responsorial Psalm: Psalms 22:8-9, 17-18, 19-20, 23-24
Second Reading: Philippians 2:6-11
Gospel: Luke 22:14-23:56

AS always, pray before you read. And read them in your own bibles as well--to get a feel for the context in the before and after sections, as well as the in-between ones that might be missing in the lectionary.

Can't wait to see everyone!

love
maggie
  

More thoughts on Lent and this Sunday's readings (April 7)

There's a relatively new scroll hanging in the church that quotes Mark 12:30:

And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength: this is the first commandment. 

With its most beautiful script, this scroll has been reminding me of the particular message I feel the HolySpirit has been placing over my heart and mind this Lent: to think first and foremost and ONLY of...Him. Strangely enough, I found that by striving to "make MORE time" with God by trying to fit in and keep up with yet another one of the myriad of daily Lenten devotionals, exercises, commentaries, and readings scattered over my bedside/kitchen/office tables, I was actually spending LESS time IN Him! In my stretch to get more OF His word, I found myself with less and less time to merely...rest...settle into...just mull over...Him. 

This upcoming Sunday's readings are once again a reminder to me to STOP. REST. CONSIDER...where AM I? Where IS my heart? What IS the intent of my actions...and where am I going with them?? To whom or what have i given over my mind? To whom or what have i given over my strength? But it wasn't so much the readings that spoke out to me, but that little "verse before the Gospel" that made me think about how much of my heart, my soul, my mind and my strength was I actually FULLY dedicating to, well, sitting in His presence and LOVING Him.

Even now, says the Lord, return to Me with your whole heart; for I am gracious and merciful. (Joel 2:12-13)     

Where ARE you? RETURN to ME.

I love this Sunday's gospel of John 8, where the Pharisees have dragged that poor woman "caught in the act of adultery" and thrown her down before the feet of Jesus, demanding "...Now in the law, Moses commanded us to stone such women. So what do YOU say?"  And in response, Jesus just bends down and writes on the ground with His finger.  What is He writing? What do they see? When their insistence persists, He does not condone the woman's sin, but throws the "decision to punish" right back at the accusers.  Right into their hearts.  Directly into the minds that FULLY KNEW they were unlawfully presenting, accusing, demanding with their intent NOT being to bring "justice against a crime committed", but to trap Jesus into doing or declaring something outside of the current Roman death-penalty laws. 

Where ARE you? What is the intent of your heart?   

And then Jesus states what each one of the accusers are so well aware of--that in their accusation of a crime committed, they too were breaking the very law they were using to accuse (i.e. see Deut 22:22; so if they "caught her in the act of adultery" then they must also know the partner and their law requires that BOTH adulteress and adulterer be brought to the same penalty...so where is the other?): "Let the one among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her." 

Where ARE you? What is your true intent?

Whatever Jesus is writing on the ground is very impactful--seemingly affecting the most mature first and eventually trickling down to the younger.  What made them "see" their hypocrisy, their inconsistency in their demands for law-bringing, their perversion of the truth to meet their end...?

Where ARE you? RETURN to Me.

But one by one they all walk away.
  
And to the woman, He asks if no one condemns her (condemn is the very strong Greek word katakrino, having the meaning of a judicial judgment in which a legal sentence has been handed down and passed). AND THEN, although He says "Neither do I condemn you" (i.e. pass judicial judgment and legal sentence--katakrino), He acknowledges her sin, and tells her to...STOP.

Where ARE you? RETURN to Me.

I am loving these Lenten pearls, ladies, and would LOVE to hear some more of yours!
I will post the next week's readings tomorrow!

love
maggie