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The Still Point: A Time of Meditation and Reflection

The Twenty Third Sunday after Pentecost: Proper 27

… At the still point of the turning world. Neither flesh nor fleshless;
Neither from nor towards; at the still point, there the dance is,
But neither arrest nor movement. And do not call it fixity,
Where past and future are gathered. Neither movement from nor towards,
Neither ascent nor decline. Except for the point, the still point,
There would be no dance, and there is only the dance…

T.S. Eliot, Burnt Norton

  Peace on each one who comes in need;

Peace on each one who comes in joy.

Peace on each one who offers prayers;

 Peace on each one who offers song.

Peace of the Maker, Peace of the Son,

 Peace of the Spirit, the Triune One.  

Opening Prayer

 Mighty God, strong, loving and wise, help us to depend upon your goodness and to place our trust in your Son; who is alive and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God for ever. Amen.

The Gospel                                                                                                 Matthew 25:1-13

Jesus said, “Then the kingdom of heaven will be like this. Ten bridesmaids took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were foolish, and five were wise. When the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with them; but the wise took flasks of oil with their lamps. As the bridegroom was delayed, all of them became drowsy and slept. But at midnight there was a shout, ‘Look! Here is the bridegroom! Come out to meet him.’ Then all those bridesmaids got up and trimmed their lamps. The foolish said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’ But the wise replied, ‘No! there will not be enough for you and for us; you had better go to the dealers and buy some for yourselves.’ And while they went to buy it, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went with him into the wedding banquet; and the door was shut. Later the other bridesmaids came also, saying, ‘Lord, lord, open to us.’ But he replied, ‘Truly I tell you, I do not know you.’ Keep awake therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour.”

Poem: “The Five Virgins”                                                                          by Thomas Merton

There were five howling (or scatter-brained) virgins
Who came
To the Wedding of the Lamb
With their disabled motorcycles
And their oil tanks
Empty.
But since they knew how
To dance
A person says to them
To stay anyhow.
And there you have it,
There were five noisy virgins
Without gas
But looking good
In the traffic of the dance. (but well-involved in the action of the dance)
Consequently
There were ten virgins
At the Wedding of the Lamb.

Meditation:

Jesus’s parable has an urgent, cautionary vibe that perhaps asks us whether we are ready and alert and anxiously awaiting for the arrival of the bridegroom.  Thomas Merton’s poem paints the same scene, but with more joyfully chaotic colors.  We’ve got motorcycles, dancing, and above all, a graceful invitation to the unprepared to stick around anyway.  Without suggesting that one could ‘out-Jesus’ Jesus, we are nevertheless invited to consider two sides of Jesus’s love: justice and mercy.

Questions and resources for reflection:

• In our ever anxious times – with lots of anxious waiting! – what does it mean to you to know ‘how to dance’, despite, perhaps, a lack of preparation or foresight?
• Where do you go to balance urgency and anxiety with joy and sharing?
• Following Merton’s lead, how do we invite others ‘to stay anyhow’ in a socially-distanced world

Prayers

We bring before God someone whom we have met or remembered today

We bring to God someone who is hurting tonight and needs our prayer

We bring to God a troubled situation in our world

We bring to God, silently, someone whom we find hard to forgive or trust

We bring ourselves to God that we might grow in generosity of spirit, clarity of mind, and warmth of affection

We offer our thanks to God for the blessings in our lives

We name before God those who have died.

Gracious God, you hear all our prayers: those we speak aloud, those we hold in our hearts, and those prayers for which we have no words. Hear the prayers of your people, and grant them as may be best for us, for the sake of your holy name. Amen.

 Accept our thanks for all you have done, O God. Our hands were empty, and you filled them.

May Christ’s holy, healing, enabling Spirit be with us every step of the way, and be our guide as our road changes and turns, and the blessing of God our Creator, Redeemer and Giver of life be among us now and remain with us forever. Amen.

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The Still Point: A Time of Meditation and Reflection

All Saints Sunday

… At the still point of the turning world. Neither flesh nor fleshless;
Neither from nor towards; at the still point, there the dance is,
But neither arrest nor movement. And do not call it fixity,
Where past and future are gathered. Neither movement from nor towards,
Neither ascent nor decline. Except for the point, the still point,
There would be no dance, and there is only the dance…

T.S. Eliot, Burnt Norton

 Peace on each one who comes in need;

Peace on each one who comes in joy.

Peace on each one who offers prayers;

Peace on each one who offers song.

Peace of the Maker, Peace of the Son,

Peace of the Spirit, the Triune One.  

Opening Prayer

Almighty God, your saints are one with you in the mystical body of Christ: give us grace to follow them in all virtue and holiness
until we come to those inexpressible joys which you have prepared for those who truly love you; through Jesus Christ our Lord,
who is alive with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God now and forever. Amen.

The Gospel                                                                                     Matthew 5:1-12

When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up the mountain; and after he sat down, his disciples came to him. Then he began to speak, and taught them, saying:

“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
“Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.
“Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.
“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.
“Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy.
“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.
“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.
“Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
“Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”

Poem: “Blessed Are the Poor in Spirit”                                          by Alice Walker

“Blessed are the poor in spirit (for theirs is the kingdom of heaven).”

Did you ever understand this?

If my spirit was poor, how could I enter heaven?

Was I depressed?

Understanding editing,

I see how a comma, removed or inserted

with careful plan,

can change everything.

I was reminded of this

when a poor young man

in Tunisia

desperate to live

and humiliated for trying

set himself ablaze;

I felt uncomfortably warm

as if scalded by his shame.

I do not have to sell vegetables from a cart as he did

or live in narrow rooms too small for spacious thought;

and, at this late date,

I do not worry that someone will

remove every single opportunity

for me to thrive.

Still, I am connected to, inseparable from,

this young man.

Blessed are the poor, in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Jesus. (Commas restored).

Jesus was as usual talking about solidarity:

about how we join with other

and, in spirit, feel the world, and suffering,

the same as them.

This is the kingdom of owning the other as

self, the self as other —

that transforms grief into

peace and delight.

I, and you, might enter the heaven

of right here

through this door.

In this spirit, knowing we are blessed,

we might remain poor.

Reflection

Today’s reading of the Beatitudes reminds us of the context in which we honor the departed saints on today’s feast day. Within that context, a saint is meek, hungers for righteousness and mourns in the face of loss, is merciful and pure in heart, makes peace, and, most importantly for today’s poem, is poor in spirit.  Alice Walker’s meditation on this phrase adds a good-natured, rebellious comma to broaden the scope of Jesus’s blessing.  She also invites us into Jesus’s vision, asking us to “join with other” and to own “the other as self, the self as other.”  Ultimately, too, she asks us to consider that we, too, belong to the company of the saints.

Meditation

What phrases in the poem stand out for you as spirit-filled?

Since tomorrow is All Souls’ Day, this poem might provide us a bridge between the Saints (capital-S, officially acknowledged) and the saints (small-s, personally and privately acknowledged).  Who, for you, belong to your personal, private company of saints? What qualities did these individuals’ lives communicate to you and to the world?

Prayers

We bring before God someone whom we have met or remembered today

We bring to God someone who is hurting tonight and needs our prayer

We bring to God a troubled situation in our world

We bring to God, silently, someone whom we find hard to forgive or trust

We bring ourselves to God that we might grow in generosity of spirit, clarity of mind, and warmth of affection

We offer our thanks to God for the blessings in our lives

We name before God those who have died.

Gracious God, you hear all our prayers: those we speak aloud, those we hold in our hearts, and those prayers for which we have no words. Hear the prayers of your people, and grant them as may be best for us, for the sake of your holy name. Amen.

 Accept our thanks for all you have done, O God. Our hands were empty, and you filled them.

May Christ’s holy, healing, enabling Spirit be with us every step of the way, and be our guide as our road changes and turns, and the blessing of God our Creator, Redeemer and Giver of life be among us now and remain with us forever. Amen.

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The Still Point A Time of Meditation and Reflection

The Twenty First Sunday after Pentecost: Proper 25

… At the still point of the turning world. Neither flesh nor fleshless;
Neither from nor towards; at the still point, there the dance is,
But neither arrest nor movement. And do not call it fixity,
Where past and future are gathered. Neither movement from nor towards,
Neither ascent nor decline. Except for the point, the still point,
There would be no dance, and there is only the dance…

T.S. Eliot, Burnt Norton

Peace on each one who comes in need;

Peace on each one who comes in joy.

Peace on each one who offers prayers;

  Peace on each one who offers song.

Peace of the Maker, Peace of the Son,

    Peace of the Spirit, the Triune One.  

Opening Prayer

Praise to you, God, for all your work among us. Yours is the vigor in creation, yours is the impulse in our new discoveries. Make us adventurous, yet reverent and hopeful in all we do. Amen.

The Gospel                                                                                     Matthew 22:34-46

When the Pharisees heard that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together, and one of them, a lawyer, asked him a question to test him. “Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?” He said to him, “’You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the greatest and first commandment. And a second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.”

Now while the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them this question: “What do you think of the Messiah? Whose son is he?” They said to him, “The son of David.” He said to them, “How is it then that David by the Spirit calls him Lord, saying,

‘The Lord said to my Lord,
“Sit at my right hand,
until I put your enemies under your feet”’?

If David thus calls him Lord, how can he be his son?” No one was able to give him an answer, nor from that day did anyone dare to ask him any more questions.

Poem: “If All You Want, Lord, Is My Heart”                             by Thomas H. Troeger

If all you want, Lord, is my heart
my heart is yours alone –
providing I may set apart
my mind to be my own.

If all you want, Lord, is my mind,
my mind belongs to you,
but let my heart remain inclined
to do what it would do.

If heart and mind would both suffice,
while I kept strength and soul,
at least I would not sacrifice
completely my control.

But since, O God, you want them all
to shape with your own hand,
I pray for grace to heed your call
to live your first command.

Reflection

Often the poems selected for Still Point provide a sort of new (sometimes unexpected) counterpoint to the gospel reading for the day. In this case, though, the poem is directly inspired by the gospel reading. It is also a hymn text that can easily be set to a new or existing hymn tune (in what is referred to as “common meter”). However, in the introduction to Borrowed Light, Thomas Troeger encourages readers to simply read the texts, “allowing the flow of images to awaken prayer and engage the imagination.” Through a personal reflection on the great commandment, the poem/hymn challenges us to consider those times when we are reluctant to sacrifice a sense of control. And the idea that giving up that control might create space for the shaping of God’s hand to occur.

Meditation

What aspects and images in the gospel and poem speak to you in this time of uncertainty and anxiety in our nation?

How does the first command to love God relate to the second command to love neighbor?

How do you perceive the shaping of God’s own hand in your life (drawing on both the past and present)?

Prayers

We bring before God someone whom we have met or remembered today

We bring to God someone who is hurting tonight and needs our prayer

We bring to God a troubled situation in our world

We bring to God, silently, someone whom we find hard to forgive or trust

We bring ourselves to God that we might grow in generosity of spirit, clarity of mind, and warmth of affection

We offer our thanks to God for the blessings in our lives

We name before God those who have died.

Gracious God, you hear all our prayers: those we speak aloud, those we hold in our hearts, and those prayers for which we have no words. Hear the prayers of your people, and grant them as may be best for us, for the sake of your holy name. Amen.

 Accept our thanks for all you have done, O God. Our hands were empty, and you filled them. 

May Christ’s holy, healing, enabling Spirit be with us every step of the way, and be our guide as our road changes and turns, and the blessing of God our Creator, Redeemer and Giver of life be among us now and remain with us forever. Amen.

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The Still Point: A Time of Meditation and Reflection
The Twentieth Sunday after Pentecost: Proper 24

… At the still point of the turning world. Neither flesh nor fleshless;
Neither from nor towards; at the still point, there the dance is,
But neither arrest nor movement. And do not call it fixity,
Where past and future are gathered. Neither movement from nor towards,
Neither ascent nor decline. Except for the point, the still point,
There would be no dance, and there is only the dance…

T.S. Eliot, Burnt Norton

Peace on each one who comes in need;
Peace on each one who comes in joy.
Peace on each one who offers prayers;
Peace on each one who offers song.
Peace of the Maker, Peace of the Son,
Peace of the Spirit, the Triune One.

Opening Prayer

Praise to you, God, for all your work among us. Yours is the vigor in creation, yours is the impulse in our new discoveries.
Make us adventurous, yet reverent and hopeful in all we do. Amen.

The Gospel                                                                                                           Matthew 22:15-22
The Pharisees went and plotted to entrap Jesus in what he said. So they sent their disciples to him, along with the Herodians, saying, “Teacher, we know that you are sincere, and teach the way of God in accordance with truth, and show deference to no one; for you do not regard people with partiality. Tell us, then, what you think. Is it lawful to pay taxes to the emperor, or not?” But Jesus, aware of their malice, said, “Why are you putting me to the test, you hypocrites? Show me the coin used for the tax.” And they brought him a denarius. Then he said to them, “Whose head is this, and whose title?” They answered, “The emperor’s.” Then he said to them, “Give therefore to the emperor the things that are the emperor’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” When they heard this, they were amazed; and they left him and went away.

Poem: Gloria                                                    by Denise Levertov

Praise the wet snow
falling early.
Praise the shadow
my neighbor’s chimney casts on the tile roof
even this gray October day that should, they say,
have been golden.
Praise
the invisible sun burning beyond
the white cold sky, giving us
light and the chimney’s shadow.
Praise
god or the gods, the unknown,
that which imagined us, which stays
our hand,
our murderous hand,
and gives us
still,
in the shadow of death,
our daily life,
and the dream still
of goodwill, of peace on earth.
Praise
flow and change, night and
the pulse of day.

Reflection
This week’s gospel is the well known story of Jesus’ response to the Pharisees as they sought to entrap him with a question about paying taxes to the emperor.

The poem Gloria by Denise Levertov is an excerpt from a larger poem, Mass for the Day of St. Thomas Didymus. St. Thomas Didymus (the twin) is another name for Thomas the Apostle, or “doubting Thomas.” The Orthodox and Byzantine churches celebrate his feast day in October. The poem is divided into the six sections of the Ordinary of the Mass: Kyrie, Gloria, Credo, Sanctus, Benedictus, and Agnus Dei.

Questions/Prompts for Meditation:

You are invited to go deeper either into the gospel reading or the poem, or to find a point of intersection between the two. What grounds you and gives you hope in the midst of anxious and turbulent times?

What does the gospel reading say to you at this moment, as a person of faith who is also a citizen — a citizen of Colorado, the US, the world.

What images in the poem speak to you in these October days: the invisible sun, white cold sky, chimney shadow, the pulse of day, and the “dream still of goodwill, of peace on earth.”

Prayers

We bring before God someone whom we have met or remembered today

We bring to God someone who is hurting tonight and needs our prayer

We bring to God a troubled situation in our world

We bring to God, silently, someone whom we find hard to forgive or trust

We bring ourselves to God that we might grow in generosity of spirit, clarity of mind, and warmth of affection

We offer our thanks to God for the blessings in our lives

We name before God those who have died.

Gracious God, you hear all our prayers: those we speak aloud, those we hold in our hearts, and those prayers for which we have no words. Hear the prayers of your people, and grant them as may be best for us, for the sake of your holy name. Amen.

Accept our thanks for all you have done, O God. Our hands were empty, and you filled them.

May Christ’s holy, healing, enabling Spirit be with us every step of the way, and be our guide as our road changes and turns, and the blessing of God our Creator, Redeemer and Giver of life be among us now and remain with us forever. Amen.

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The Still Point: A Time of Meditation and Reflection

The Nineteenth Sunday after Pentecost: Proper 23

… At the still point of the turning world. Neither flesh nor fleshless;
Neither from nor towards; at the still point, there the dance is,
But neither arrest nor movement. And do not call it fixity,
Where past and future are gathered. Neither movement from nor towards,
Neither ascent nor decline. Except for the point, the still point,
There would be no dance, and there is only the dance…

T.S. Eliot, Burnt Norton

Peace on each one who comes in need;

Peace on each one who comes in joy. 

 Peace on each one who offers prayers;

  Peace on each one who offers song.

 Peace of the Maker, Peace of the Son,

Peace of the Spirit, the Triune One.  

Opening Prayer

Praise to you, God, for all your work among us. Yours is the vigor in creation, yours is the impulse in our new discoveries.
Make us adventurous, yet reverent and hopeful in all we do. Amen.

The Gospel                                                                                                 Matthew 22:1-14

Once more Jesus spoke to the people in parables, saying: “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave a wedding banquet for his son. He sent his slaves to call those who had been invited to the wedding banquet, but they would not come. Again he sent other slaves, saying, ‘Tell those who have been invited: Look, I have prepared my dinner, my oxen and my fat calves have been slaughtered, and everything is ready; come to the wedding banquet.’ But they made light of it and went away, one to his farm, another to his business, while the rest seized his slaves, mistreated them, and killed them. The king was enraged. He sent his troops, destroyed those murderers, and burned their city. Then he said to his slaves, ‘The wedding is ready, but those invited were not worthy. Go therefore into the main streets, and invite everyone you find to the wedding banquet.’ Those slaves went out into the streets and gathered all whom they found, both good and bad; so the wedding hall was filled with guests.

“But when the king came in to see the guests, he noticed a man there who was not wearing a wedding robe, and he said to him, ‘Friend, how did you get in here without a wedding robe?’ And he was speechless. Then the king said to the attendants, ‘Bind him hand and foot, and throw him into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’ For many are called, but few are chosen.”

Poem: Love (III)                                                                                            by George Herbert

Love bade me welcome. Yet my soul drew back

        Guilty of dust and sin.

But quick-eyed Love, observing me grow slack

         From my first entrance in,

Drew nearer to me, sweetly questioning,

         If I lacked any thing.

A guest, I answered, worthy to be here:

        Love said, You shall be he.

I the unkind, ungrateful? Ah my dear,

        I cannot look on thee.

Love took my hand, and smiling did reply,

       Who made the eyes but I?

Truth Lord, but I have marred them: let my shame

        Go where it doth deserve.

And know you not, says Love, who bore the blame?

        My dear, then I will serve.

You must sit down, says Love, and taste my meat:

        So I did sit and eat.

______

Reflection

There is a lot going on in the parable of the wedding feast that is today’s gospel. But my mind was drawn to this sentence, ‘Go therefore into the main streets, and invite everyone you find to the wedding banquet.’ Those slaves went out into the streets and gathered all whom they found, both good and bad; so the wedding hall was filled with guests. What would it be like for just one of the people unexpectedly invited to a wedding banquet?

The poem by George Herbert provides an intimate glimpse into a conversation between Love and the Soul, in which Love provides the gentle invitation to be the guest at the table. “You must sit down, says Love, and taste my meat: So I did sit and eat.”

Questions/Prompts for Meditation:

Does the poem provide a particular entry point for you into the parable, or the parable into the poem? 

For a recitation of the poem by Ralph Fiennes, go to: 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1kZSH4iywhY

There are two choral settings of this poem you may want to listen to as well.

By Judith Weir:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a60wg6_caaw

By Ralph Vaughan Williams:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bx1oWf2zPcY

Prayers 

We bring before God someone whom we have met or remembered today  

We bring to God someone who is hurting tonight and needs our prayer

We bring to God a troubled situation in our world 

We bring to God, silently, someone whom we find hard to forgive or trust

We bring ourselves to God that we might grow in generosity of spirit, clarity of mind, and warmth of affection

We offer our thanks to God for the blessings in our lives

We name before God those who have died.

Gracious God, you hear all our prayers: those we speak aloud, those we hold in our hearts, and those prayers for which we have no words. Hear the prayers of your people, and grant them as may be best for us, for the sake of your holy name. Amen.

Accept our thanks for all you have done, O God. Our hands were empty, and you filled them.

May Christ’s holy, healing, enabling Spirit be with us every step of the way, and be our guide as our road changes and turns, and the blessing of God our Creator, Redeemer and Giver of life be among us now and remain with us forever. Amen.