We began our Jubilee journey in February with poet and artist Jan Richardson. Along with her folksinger husband Garrison Doles, Jan helped us to meditate on doorways and thresholds in a wonderful retreat called “Thresholds of Jubilee.” Using stories, songs, and works of art, Jan helped us to think deeply about where we have come from, what we are carrying, and where we are going spiritually as a faith community. The wonderful event culminated in a collage activity where over 100 parishioners created vibrant doorway images of St. Matthias parish.
For our parish Lenten mission, our guest speaker was spiritual writer Paula D’Arcy. Using her own terribly sad personal story of loss and spiritual recovery, Paula held us spell-bound as she guided us through the dark night of the abyss. She shared with us the lessons that spiritual guides taught her along the way as she struggled to come to terms with forgiveness. And she taught us the three aspects of the Pilgrims Way. The first is to Walk Humbly, trusting in the voice that leads us. The second is to Open the Heart to receive the gift being offered to us. The third is to Let Go of what we are carrying, especially anger. Her message was one of hope, that our journey of faith may sometimes seem dark, but if we keep going, we will find the healing light of God.
Then Archbishop Elias Chacour, the self-titled Man from Galilee, visited St. Matthias, bringing us a refreshing message of peace and reconciliation from the Holy Land itself. Known as ‘Abouna’ (an Arabic term of affection meaning Father) to all who love him, he told us of his work in Israel, building schools and “bridges of peace” and understanding between Jews, Muslims, and Christians. His message was about respect and dignity, saying that we are all God’s children. We must love and accept one another, support one another. There is no other way to peace.
We ended our Jubilee year this month with the Franciscan Fr. Michael Crosby, author of Repair My House and 17 other books. Hailing from Milwaukee, Fr. Mike travels the world, speaking to audiences about the love of God.
His mission to St. Matthias, on three evenings, focused on the Great Commandment:
~ "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind and Love your neighbor as yourself." (Luke 10: 27)
Over the course of several talks, Fr. Mike addressed the reasons why we struggle and stumble with this command. Why we do not love God, or our neighbors, or even ourselves with our whole heart.
The trouble is, we have a hole in our hearts, put there by the wounds we receive as children from the "serpent voices" around us, when others told us that we were unworthy or that another group was "less than."
And this psychological process has global effects. Much of the suffering and conflict in our world today comes from the soul-damage that the serpent voices have done to our hearts.
What is the answer? What is the way to the peace that Jesus preached? We must attain a new way of thinking. Using scripture and personal stories to provoke us to open our minds, he helped us realize that we must find a way to love ourselves wholeheartedly.
Quoting Albert Einstein, Fr. Mike called us to expand our thinking:
“A human being is a part of the whole, called by us the ‘Universe,’ a part limited in time and space. He experiences himself, his thoughts and feelings, as something separated from the rest―a kind of optical delusion of his consciousness. This delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and to affection for a few persons nearest to us. Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty. We shall require a substantially new manner of thinking if humankind is to survive.”
To reach this new manner of thinking, Fr. Mike encouraged us to be innovators, to re-interpret the message of our scripture in the light of our times today. For example, Fr. Mike argued that Jesus did not come to die for our sins. Rather, Jesus came to reveal God's love for creation.
Instead of being born tainted with Original Sin, Fr. Mike argued that we were made in Original Goodness. Looking at the creation story in the Bible, we read that when God made the universe, it was all very good. We are part of that creation. So we too are very good. Therefore, as beloved children of God, we should actually be feeling very good.
Finally, Fr. Mike explored what Jesus meant when he commanded "Do this." What are we to do exactly?
Opening scripture again, Fr. Mike pointed out the four parts of the example Jesus gave in Matthew's account of the loaves and fishes story:
~ "Then he took the seven loaves and the fish, and when he had given thanks, he broke them and gave them to the disciples, and they in turn to the people." (Matthew 15:36)
Here we have a clear roadmap in four movements:
- He took - He received the loaves and fish that were offered
- He gave thanks - He said a prayer of blessing
- He broke - He tore the food into pieces
- He gave - He shared the meal with all
This, Fr. Mike taught, is what we are to do. And in so doing, we become the Body of Christ in the world today.
Posted by Terrence Seamon on Saturday October 20, 2012
