Temple: Church, Bath

Temple: Church

“The Church is the only society that exists for the benefit of those who are not its members.” Archbishop William Temple

Perhaps we should write Archbishop Temple’s words in stone in a prominent place in our churches. It should also be written on our hearts. I also see it as a mission statement for our soul. Jesus gives in his last discourse to the disciples before he dies this Great Commandment, “that you love one another as I have loved you.” (John 15:12) We are called to stay connected to God’s love and then to share that love with all we meet on this journey.

Part of spiritual direction involves helping our spiritual friends stay aware of their connection to God by following a rule of life or observing spiritual practices on a regular basis.

There is a second part to spiritual direction, however. If we just keep that God connection to ourselves and do not share the love we have received from God, the love cannot survive.

My image of feeling God’s love is like the peace and calm and joy one feels immersed in the water of a warm bath. We cannot just stay there, however. Our skin shrivels, the water becomes cold and murky and eventually dirty. We are called to enjoy the bath, but to get out of the bath tub, put some clothes on, and connect to others about the experience by our words and actions! We may even run a bath or bathe others. We may even wash the feet of others and they may wash ours.

Loving others involves servant ministry. First, we must be connected to that love, and then we are called to serve and share that love with others.

Joanna  joannaseibert.com

Harp: Listening

Listening

“Be a lamp, a lifeboat or a ladder. Help someone’s soul heal. Walk out of your house like a shepherd.” Rumi (1207-1273), Daily Quotes, inwardoutward.org, May 3, 2018.

Sometimes I think if I were to redesign a program about spiritual direction that 90% of the time would be devoted to listening. My experience is that listening is one of the best tools of the Holy Spirit within us. I am talking about active listen where we clear our heads as much as possible of agendas and what is going on in our lives. We offer up the gift of time for forty-five minutes or an hour to listen to someone else’s life. For this short period of time we are given the privilege of caring for the soul of another, helping a person realize God’s never-failing presence in his or her own presence.

I sit and all these great ideas come to me as I listen. “I think she would like this book. Changing to this spiritual exercise might be helpful.”

I am learning that if I interrupt with my ideas, they often fall on deaf ears, but if I wait until there is silence and speak, the person seems to see and hear better what I might suggest. Sometimes as I wait, I later realize, “no, this was not the right book or spiritual exercise.”

I have learned a great deal about listening from my harp. Perhaps you have occasionally noticed a loud buzzing sound when some harpists play. Buzz. One of the reasons for a buzz is that you have plucked a string that is still vibrating from a recent placement of that finger or another finger on that string.  You must wait for that string to stop vibrating before you play it again or this annoying sound comes out.

 My buzzing harp is reminding me that I must wait for the person I am visiting with to stop talking. 

I am learning how to play less buzzing notes and to talk less and listen more at the same time. My buzzing harp string has become my icon for listening.

 Listening can become a “lamp, a lifeboat, and a ladder”  to the presence of the Holy Spirit in our own lives as well as the lives of our spiritual friends.

Joanna  joannaseibert.com

Nouwen: Time Travel

Nouwen: Time Travel

“Travelling is exciting and exhilarating. But when we have no home to return to where someone will ask us, "How was your trip?" we might be less eager to go. Travelling is joyful when we travel with the eyes and ears of those who love us, who want to see our slides and hear our stories. This is what life is about. It is being sent on a trip by a loving God, who is waiting at home for our return and is eager to watch the slides we took and hear about the friends we made.” Henri Nouwen, Henry Nouwen Society, Daily Email Meditation from Bread for the Journey, © 1997 HarperSanFrancisco

Travelling in Williamsburg

Nouwen gives this amazing image of our life and death and eternal life, traveling, seeing new sites, new stories, new people, and finally returning to God to tell God all about what we have seen, being sent out and then returning to Jesus like the “seventy-two” in Luke’s gospel. I also can imagine that the God of my understanding would sit with each of us for hours, for days, for centuries, listening to our stories of what we have seen on our travels away from the “home” where God is.

I remember today so many friends who have died who were especially major travelers. I can image them right there now sitting close to God still talking about their travels as God excitedly listens. I think God wants to see all our slides, our home movies, all the pictures on our iPhone.  

When we talk to people about prayer, many say, “What do I say? I don’t know where to start.”  Nouwen gives us this great “ice breaker” for talking to God not only at the end of this life, but at the end of each day, suggesting that we tell God what we have been doing all day, as we would tell a family member or friend about a recent journey.

“Well today I  went out and met the most amazing people and I didn’t get anywhere near to the end of my ‘to do’ list because I spent time with them. What do you think, God? Was that what you were calling me to do today?”

Joanna  joannaseibert.com