Where's the peace?

"Jesus said to his disciples, 'Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you...
Do not let your hearts be troubled or afraid.'"
John 14:21-26

This is so perfectly timed for us right now, isn't it? The peace that Jesus gives to us is a peace of the heart; our hearts are not troubled or afraid because we have what Jesus gives. But, what does this look like as we go through this unprecedented time of pandemic? How can we rest in the peace of Jesus when all around us seems to be suffering and crumbling? What about when we feel alone and unsupported? What does the peace of Jesus look like then? How can it reassure us? I think it looks like this:
We remember and are reassured that we are loved, deeply, by God. Nothing happening around us can change that. God sustains and maintains everything and God never doesn't love what God creates and sustains.
All things will right themselves eventually. But we may not want to settle for "normal"--or the way things were before. God is giving us a chance to experience better-than-just-normal when this is all over.  Because...
We are growing up. We are learning and embracing what is really important and essential...our fellow human beings. Whether we know them already or are watching their stories unfold on the nightly news, we are sharing this difficult time with our brothers and sisters and, please God, may we emerge from this time recognizing we are all family, together. This terrible virus can unify us as we draw together to battle it.
And finally, a bit of advice from wisdom teacher Cynthia Bourgeault: for every hour we spend online, connected or zooming, may we spend another hour unplugged and quietly listening to the silence of our hearts. The hearts that are filled with God's love. Sit outside, take a walk through the neighborhood, light a candle and sit with just the flame for light. Unplug from the news and the world and look deep inside for the peace of Christ. It's there, right where God put it.
Love, heidi

The gift of music

"Hear O Lord, the sound of my call
Hear O Lord and have mercy
My soul is longing for the glory of You
Hear O Lord
And answer me..."
Ray Repp, "Hear O Lord"

I saw a post yesterday announcing that liturgical composer, Ray Repp, had passed away the day before. The post remembered that Ray Repp was one of the early pioneers of the folk mass after Vatican II. Listening to his music again (link below), took me back to the Wednesday night masses in the library of Billings Central High School. They had to have them in the library because the chapel wasn't big enough to hold all the students who wanted to attend. You see, those masses gave the mass to us--our generation--closer to our music, friendly homilies and the Sign of Peace went on for a half hour while we hugged everyone there. It became our liturgy, different from the Sunday mass of our fathers and forefathers. The music was a huge part of that and Ray Repp was a huge part of the music. It was funny, that in listening to the song Hear O Lord yesterday, I immediately sang along...the words and music were still right there in my head (But don't ask me what I did yesterday, besides sing this song!) It was such a vivid and vibrant part of my spiritual formation back in the early '70's! So, thank you to Ray Repp and peace and consolation to his family...the music that got me to church is still in my heart and head.  And I'm so grateful! Love, heidi
Hear O Lord

Are we there yet?

"Amen, amen, I say to you, unless one is born of water and Spirit he cannot enter the Kingdom of God."
John 3:5

No wonder this left Nicodemus scratching his head. It is weird, isn't it? Pray-As-You-Go asked a ponderous question...what does being born of the Spirit look like in our lives? I gave it a minute then realized we are born of the Spirit when we choose to recognize God in our lives. When we decide we are people of God and we want to live reflecting that. It may happen all at once, like we may have a life-changing event that awakens us to God. Or it may happen in stages. Or maybe the birth of the Spirit happens at once and the growth happens in stages, over time? That seems more likely. When I look back, I see a huge spiritual awakening event--my high school Search. From there, I see a slow growth process; one step forward, two back, at times. But the entire process takes a lifetime, doesn't it? I'm still on the spiritual growth path and, please God, will be for a while yet. I think being born of the Spirit means choosing to live our lives with God, for God. And if we live our lives for God, we are living for others, putting others first, caring for all. It's a tall order--one that may start with a bang and then we may struggle to keep it up. But once the Spirit of God resides in us, we are never alone in the endeavor! Today, as we're embarking on a gorgeous spring Monday, let's think about what being born of the Spirit means to us. How do we manifest it in our lives? Or as the kids used to say on long road trips, "Are we there yet?"  Are we born of the Spirit--yet? Love, heidi

The holy in-between...

"Now in the place where he had been crucified there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb, in which no one had yet been buried. So they laid Jesus there because of the Jewish preparation day; for the tomb was close by."
John 19:42

And that's where we left Jesus yesterday, Good Friday. Holy Saturday has always had quite a different feel to it to me. Not quite as somber as Good Friday and there was a hopeful buzz in the air. We dyed Easter eggs and tried on the Easter outfit--new dress, hat, gloves (yikes!) There was a glimmer of hope that this, this Lent, is finally going to end! I have heard Holy Saturday called a liminal space, a space of in-between...between the sad gloomy of Good Friday and the joy of Easter Sunday. This year it feels so different! We need to remember that Jesus will still be risen from the dead, even if we feel we're still stuck in the tomb! We can be grateful that, eventually, this "tomb" shall pass (sorry, I couldn't resist) and we will be free once again. With God's help, we will emerge from this tomb people with deeper roots in God, now that we've had all this time to spend with God and dig deeper. Hopefully, we will emerge with a greater love and appreciation for our brothers and sisters all over the world who have gone through this with us. Hopefully, we will never take our jobs, a hug, a dinner around a big table for granted again. Hopefully, we are learning all the wonderful lessons this time is offering us. Jesus will rise and we will rise with him! Blessings on your Easter! Love, heidi

Washing each others' feet? From six feet away?

"By washing his disciples' feet at that meal, (Jesus) revealed how to recognize a great lover. The greater the love, the greater the desire to be of service, even in the most humble of actions. Also, Jesus said, loving, humble service is the most powerful cure for the deadly virus of power and prestige."
Edward Hays, "The Lenten Labyrinth"

Interesting to think of the "deadly virus" of power and prestige in the midst of the deadly virus of Covid-19, isn't it? Fr. Ed Hays wrote the Labyrinth in 1994 and it is timeless. But, we used to think that power and prestige were worthwhile things to work toward, didn't we? I remember thinking it was important to achieve, to succeed, to have your name on the door. That is all very first-half-of-life-stuff, as Richard Rohr would point out. I sure don't ever remember receiving any advice on how to climb back down the success ladder, do you? But, here I am, desiring more to humbly serve than to achieve. To live simply. To live generously. How do we humbly serve each other in the midst of this pandemic? How do we figuratively wash each others' feet when we're supposed to stay six feet apart? I think we need to take quiet time and really listen to God. God's probably not going to shout to be heard over our fifth hour binge-watching Hulu, though. God's gentle whisper can often only be heard in the still silence. Certainly, God wants us to flatten the curve, as we hear so often. But what else can we do? I think noticing what organizations are doing real, boots-on-the-ground work in your community and supporting them, is helpful. Reaching out and checking on others who are alone in this, is another thing we can do. Sending little love notes to people we may not often correspond with is an act of love. Washing each others' feet in this crazy time is a challenge for sure! But it is what we are asked to do right now. Listening to God, in the silence of our inner rooms, is one way to get ideas of how we can help. Blessings and love on this Holy Thursday, heidi

The holiest Holy Week...

"The world is overcome not through destruction, but through reconciliation. Not ideals, nor programs, nor conscience, nor duty, nor responsibility, nor virtue, but only God's perfect love can encounter reality and overcome it."
Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Lutheran theologian, pastor, mystic, martyr

I have a feeling this week, more than any other Holy Week in my lifetime, we will truly walk the road to Calvary with Jesus. And we can trust that Jesus walks this week with us. We will enter into the mystery of what it means to surrender to what awaits, feeling helpless and out of control. But, all the the Holy Weeks we have experienced in the past teach us that Easter is always at the end of a hard week, right? God's perfect love will encounter this reality we are living right now and overcome it.  Dietrich Bonhoeffer was speaking about a different time, a different enemy. But the message is timeless and true...only God's love can heal. And God loves the world through us; we are God's hands, feet and heart in the world. How can we love the world best right now? By staying home and staying healthy, I guess. By sharing. By praying. By not hoarding. By calling people on the phone or Zooming with them. By sending a check to the food bank. By paying the hair stylist for a haircut we won't get to have. By recognizing that we are a world community all suffering at the same time and holding our world family in love. By not blaming or condemning, but lifting up and holding lightly. This is going to be the holiest Holy Week we have ever experienced, let's enter in. Love, heidi