2021.05.30 Becoming Forever

Today is Trinity Sunday—Creator/Christ/HolySpirit all becoming one at once.

Can you see how becoming this intricate, intimate, impossible, confused, and tangled doctrine is? It is quite unbecoming, in fact. It simply does not fit into any of our compartments of theological understanding. Nor does it lend itself to appropriation into the safe comfort zone of being spiritual but not religious. Not much soul-breeching Mystery does, does it? After all, how many voices, dark and bright, silent or aloud, thrum about in your own mind, blow out from your own mouth, and pulse away in your own heart all at once?

Becoming

What greater joy can there be
    than to be becoming?

My mother always used to say,
    “Oh darling, that dress becomes you.”
The coat I bought you is so becoming.”
And my father would say,
    “How much was it?”

But what’s more becoming than
    to become yourself,
And so to know that God becomes you?

Now look about and say to the tree, the tiny bud,
    the bunny, your stuffy, your neighbor:
God is so becoming to you.
            by the Rev.Lyn G. Brakeman


Healer

The healer seeks the venues of the harmed,
The stressed, the victims of the brunt
Of inhumanity unchecked,
Of those who have been plunged into
A porridge of unmitigated pain.

The hands of unobstructed love,
With time and patient, gentle skill,
Bestow a sense of healing peace,
And send the reassurance that
Goodness lives and can be found
In the embrace of a true Friend.
            by Peter L. Dal Negro


Tell Me My Tears

Tell my my tears,
I asked the gull.
Ratcheting her head
One moist eye beaded mine
She waddled—away.

Tell me my tears,
I asked the sun.
Ducking under some clouds,
He winked, a bold flirt
Then dried them—all.

Tell me my tears,
I asked the wind.
Combing my hair
With gusto and purpose
She blew them all over my face.

Tell my my tears,
I asked the sand.
Warm granules, cozy toe blankets
A single grain
stuck in a teardrop.

Tell me my tears,
I asked the sea.
Curlicued tides, looping, lost
Salty to heal
Between coming and going.

Tell me my tears,
I asked my Beloved—
and waited.
        by the Rev. Lyn G. Brakeman

 

Left Out Of The Bible

What Adam said to Eve
As they lay in the dark
Honey, what’s making
That dog out there bark?
        by Charles Simic

What Eve said to Adam
As they lay in the dark
Honey,  just noticed
Not ticklish anymore.
        by Lyn G. Brakeman

 

Last Prayer

Dear Coherent Mercy: Thanks. Best life ever.

Personally, I never thought a cool woman would come close to understanding me, let alone understanding me but liking me anyway, but that happened!
    And You and I both remember that doctor in Boston saying polite but businesslike that we would not have children but then came three children fast and furious!
    And no man ever had better friends, and no man ever had a happier childhood and wilder brothers and a sweeter sister, and I was that rare guy who not only loved but liked his parents and loved sitting and drinking tea and listening to them!
    And You let me write some books that weren’t half bad, and I got to have a career that no kidding helped some kids wake up to their best selves, and no one ever laughed more at the ocean of hilarious things in this world, or gaped more in astonishment at the wealth of miracles everywhere every moment.
    I could complain a little here about the long years of back pain and the occasional awful heartbreak, but Lord those things were infinitesimal against the slather of gifts You gave mere me, a muddle of a man, so often selfish and small. But no man was ever more grateful for Your profligate generosity, and here at the very end, here in my last lines, I close my eyes and weep with joy that I was alive, and blessed beyond measure, and might well be headed back home to the incomprehensible Love from which I came, mewling, many years ago.
    But hey, listen, can I ask you one last favor? If I am sent back for another life, can I meet my lovely bride again? In whatever form? Could we be hawks, or otters maybe? And can we have the same kids again if possible? And if I get one friend again, can I have my buddy Pete? He was a huge guy in this life—make him the biggest otter ever and I’ll know him right away, okay?
    Thanks, Boss. Thanks from the bottom of my heart. See You soon.
    Remember—otters. Otters rule. And so:amen.
          by Brian Doyle

 

2021.04.04 EASTAH! Lyn G. Brakeman, Spiritual Lemons, blog post, 4/4/21

Lighten up! One recent morning I awoke with this strange amusing scenario in my mind: Jesus and a young guy sitting on bar stools, having a blunt conversation of sorts—dull, obvious, crucial, pedestrian, healing, and bloody good theology.

Guy:  All creatures are created equal.
Jesus: Duh
Guy:  Creator loves all equally.
Jesus: Duh
Guy:  Mosquitoes? The grass? Women? Trans? Any color?
Jesus: Duh
Guy:  You yourself. You aren’t the ONLY Son, ONLY child of Divine Creator.
Jesus: Duh
Guy:  You’ll be here tomorrow. Always. I’ll order Ginger Ale then.
Jesus: Duh

Neither douse your sorrows nor squelch your joys. All that has breath and life, rise and shout HALLELUJAH to shine your praises— anyhow/always/all ways. 

2020.06.07 Trinity Sunday

Today, for Christians, is Trinity Sunday. To keep it simple, Trinity means Diversity within Unity, neither compromising the other— all of it divine.

The Trinity is a vision to emulate, especially at this time in the United States of America—a time when we are struggling to be united and free of our original and ongoing sin of rank-ordering our common humanity according to skin color, sexuality, social class, ability, political leanings, mental health, or religious preferences. We are murdering each other, thanks to this sin-sick practice.

I do not need to rehearse the events in history or just last week; nor do I need once again to remind us all about the purposeful misinterpretation of the Creator’s charge to humanity to care for all creation. Dominion does not mean domination, unless rank-ordering is the ethic, a practice that destroys Oneness, Diversity and Goodness.

As a therapist and spiritual director and priest I know that deep wounds interrupt the flow of Life itself. There are many ideas out there about what America’s wounds are. Racial injustice tops the list right now. I agree, yet I think the deeper wound is that we Americans are afraid.
    -afraid of ourselves
    -afraid of each other
    -afraid not to be great
    -afraid to be great
    -afraid to weep rather than shout,
    -afraid even to touch our wound.

Slowly, yet deliberately,
I touch the painful place.
I don’t know why;
I just need to.

Is there a strange kind of comfort in acknowledging the
pain?
The wound?

Strangely, the rollercoaster slows.
I hear the words,
“Pay attention. This is your life. This is Sacred.”

                                     
Mary Ann Bigelow, Spiritual Director, above words first published in 
Presence, International Journal of Spiritual Direction, March, 2020

To heal our wound we—together— must touch it, hallow it, give it belonging, a voice, bless it, talk about it in conversation, pray it, make it holy.  This is spiritual intelligence. This is Trinity.

P.S. Happy 86th Wedding Anniversary, Mom and Dad. 

2015.09.12 Plus Audrey

Yesterday we were at the consecration of the 11th Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Central Pennsylvania, the Rev. Canon Dr. Audrey Cady Scanlon, now the Rt. Rev. Audrey Cady Scanlan.

Doesn't your name get changed in some way, like Sarai to Sarah, when something God-driven happens to you with your consent?? Yes, the Bible tells us. 

Still, Audrey is, and will always be, Audrey, even with her fancy new titles of office and the option, should she so choose it, to put a + before, rather than after, her name. She is +Audrey now. She is the 1089th bishop to be consecrated in the American succession of bishops since Samuel Seabury in 1784. This consecration happens to be the last one over which Presiding Bishop, Katharine Jefferts Schori, will preside. There were three women bishops all in the front row—an unusual and welcome sight. The joke going around the loopy church loop is: There's a woman in the house! (the House of Bishops, that is:) Here is the latest addition in full vestal array. This is dress-up to die for. Elegant.

I thought of Psalm 29, which I'd read earlier this morning. It's a prayer full of praise for the divine face and voice, powerful enough to shatter cedars and convulse the wilderness. And inside?
                       "And inside the holy sanctuary, everything proclaims your glory."

Like all events of moment there is always an emotional blend of joy and sorrow running neck and neck. The sermon, delivered by the Rt. Rev. Ian Douglas of Connecticut, warned the gathered Church not to let itself and its mission take precedence over the primacy of God's mission, already ongoing in the world. The Church is called to participate in the Mission of God, a context of more depth, breadth, and value than the Mission of the Church. It was an excellent and true warning—for tomorrow.

But today, the Church liturgical/mystical dressed itself up for grandeur and glory: God's first of course, and then that of the beloved community of humble happy humans gathered—church panoply at its best, in song, symbol, full voice, and soul! Were there a thousand people there? I don't know but I felt small and insignificant, and also huge and important at the same time.

This event was personally exciting for both me and Dick. Audrey had been a member and Director of Christian Formation at my home parish in Collinsville, Connecticut, where Dick was the rector. In time, she was graduated from the seminary I'd graduated from. Dick was a mentor for Audrey in many ways and she invited him to be one of her presenters at the consecration.

Also, Audrey's consecration took place in Harrisburg Pennsylvania, where Dick grew up. He was a boy chorister at St. Stephen's Cathedral in Harrisburg where on Sunday September 13th, Audrey was seated. She now could add a big chair (cathedra) to her symbols of office. The cathedral did it up big with a brass ensemble blasting more glory than seemed tolerable, at least for an introvert like me. But Audrey was calm, full of good humor, and gave a fine homily including a phrase I loved She referred to the Church as "God's vehicle of institutional grace."  Imagine redeeming institutions from the bad-word category in one fell swoop.

You know when the church at worship gets going it's like heavenly glitter—out of control. It flies everywhere, touches everyone and sticks.  No one escapes its glow. Frankly, I think that the Church's job is, yes, to join God's mission of peace and justice in the world, but most centrally, to worship, pray and sing in order to help people remember that there is God.

Besides all the grandeur and uplift, I  learned something small and wonderful as I watched the woman who signed for the deaf people. The word for HOLY in sign language is this: the right palm sweeps over the left palm lightly and swoops off into the air like a dove. Three times for the grand old hymn, "Holy, Holy, Holy."  It was a silent symphony.

Sunday afternoon we visited the graves of Dick's mother and father. There it was silent, save perhaps for angel songs we could only hear with the ears of our hearts.

For now I am overchurched.

2015.05.31 Trinitarian Lemmings?

Most Christians make the Christian idea of the Trinity much too complicated even to contemplate.  It’s an interpretation of the nature of divinity. A vivid interpretation full of symbolic meaning and chutzpah, but still an interpretation—of Mystery.

Historically, interpretations get messy and complex as everyone tries to say it better—over and over, for generations. But what is the spirituality of this Mystery we call Trinity?

"The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.” (2 Cor. 13:13)

This biblical blessing is Christian code. It’s a refrain by which Christians tap out the simple belief that Godde/God is dynamic Love. That’s what they experienced, and that’s what they cherished, and that’s what they told the world. Theologian Walter Kasper is blunt about it: “Trinity is the Christian form of monotheism.”

The Greeks named it perichoresis (pronounced per-ee-kor ee’-sis) which means that three equally charged yet distinct energies cycle around, always interacting as one.  It’s a spiritual dynamism!

Just for today let’s KISS it, that’s “keep it simple, stupid,” according to twelve-step recovery jargon.

Let’s memorize the Augustinian tongue twister: “each in each, and all in each, and each in all, and all in all, and all are one”—and call it a day.  

Let’s laugh with it. Here’s a cartoon I saw in the June 1 (2015) New Yorker. It was created by artist Julia Suits who graciously gave me permission to use her work to illustrate the simple idea that divinity is dynamic love.

I see a funny amazing grace in the cartoon: the lemmings gleefully taking a leap of faith off a cliff, and the cautious measuring lemming, and his or her wise little friend who suggests she (or he) is "overthinking this" are ALL equally beloved, ALL part of the dynamism of grace.

Do you sometimes say "whee" and leap?  Sometimes measure and take proper precautions? Sometimes explain and try to persuade?  Yes. Yes. Yes.

Thanks to you Julia Suits for your humor and your creativity. 

2013.09.29 Who IS She?

Last evening around the dinner table over a delicious meal, which is where most good, and bad, things in life actually happen, a conversation ensued about who or what is the Holy Spirit?

We gathered as five Episcopal priests and three Episcopal laypeople  a like-minded and well-spirited group. I don't remember which impish one of us brought up the HS but it was funny because I'd just read a blog on the site of The Companions of Mary the Apostle asking the same question.

The authors' research showed that the Holy Spirit was always pictured with wings. Why? Was she meant to be an angel? The other two divinities, Father and Son, of the Christian Trinity are never winged and have never been identified as female. Why the wings?

They wondered if the wings were meant to keep the HS, traditionally identified as Sophia, Wisdom of God, in line.  Angels have wings. Angels are messengers of God, but angels are NOT God.  According to the biblical wisdom in the book of Proverbs, this divine Wisdom was God's first act of creation, first, but NOT God. Hmmm.

Even Wikipedia or Google-god had no answers.

Why this Spirit-interest now?  Maybe because change is so speedy and unmanageable we long for something withOUT wings! 

Our dinner group waxed on with theological eloquence, poetic beauty, and bits of earthy humor.  We agreed on two counts: 1) We don't know whereof we speak, and 2)Theology is always catch-up ball. 

Myself, I wonder if "Person 3" of the Trinity, no rank order implied of course, has been traditionally pictured with wings because She is the most fleet and can go anywhere and get everywhere fast, in order to plant seeds of grace where they are most needed and with the greatest efficiency—leaving the stay-at-home "men" to mind the house. :0) 

2011.04.23 Holy Saturday Musing

The Easter Vigil officially begins at dawn. Of course most parishes engage in this amazing all-encompassing liturgy tonight, because God forbid we would be too tired to do the whole thing again on Easter Sunday.

Tonight I will celebrate the ancient story and the dawning of Easter by 9 p.m. Tomorrow I will stay home—and feast.

Today is quiet, rainy, cold, bleak. I'm waiting-in-hope. A wise Jesuit once said to me that Holy Saturday is the day when:

The Father is silent.
The Son is dead.
The Holy Spirit broods.