Faith & Life Inspirational Message

Covid has been around for a while now.  As the days, weeks and months go on, people are getting tired of it all.  This is true even for those who may not have been tested positive or know anyone personally who has been affected.  For those folks who have been sick, life has been worse.  And of course, for the families of ones who have died from the disease, life will never be the same.   When it all began, no one really knew what was in store for us.  At first, it seemed like a distant threat.  I remember reading about Wuhan and never even thought about it coming to affect my life.  And then, it got worse.  And then the earliest news came out of Seattle, as I recall.  And then New York City was dealing with big numbers and Covid began to dominate the headlines of the news.  At that point, we knew it was a matter of time.   Recently, I heard an interview by some guy whom I did not know and can’t now recall his name.  He was not a hermit in the forest somewhere, but he had decided early

As Americans, we enter the Thanksgiving season. Already people are wishing me a “happy Thanksgiving.” I am delighted with that greeting. And I would be delighted if someone next week wishes me a “happy Monday.” But I guess Mondays are supposed to be normal…not so happy, not so awful. I am not sure I do major holidays very well. I am not against them. They celebrate important events in national, religious, and often personal lives. Thanksgiving is an American deal. In Turkey it is just another weekday! As an American, I welcome it. And I hope it is happy. I am confident one of the reasons I am not sure about major holidays is the trickiness of expectations. For example, Thanksgiving is supposed to be “happy.” Christmas is supposed to be “merry” and, of course, we return to the “happy” theme for New Years. Clearly, for too many people there are too many lousy things going on to gear up to be “happy” and “merry.” Holiday expectations are tricky things. The truth is Thanksgiv

I am sure many of us have a few disciplines---spiritual or otherwise.  Sometimes, I think discipline is a synonym for routine, but then I understand a routine is something I do without thinking.  At least for me, spiritual disciplines still require a little intentionality and sometimes some extra motivation.  No matter how important I think spiritual disciplines are for me, I still don’t do them automatically.  I don’t think I am mature yet! I am sure this is one reason I am drawn to read some of the saints and greats of Christian tradition, as well as some from other spiritual traditions, too.  They continue to inspire and sometimes offer little tidbits that are quite helpful to those of us still on the maturation journey.  One such person I very much like to read is Thomas Merton, the famous monk from last century.  It is easy to relate to Merton, because he is such a modern kind of guy.  Even after joining the pretty strict monastery, the Abbey of Gethsemani, in Kentucky, Merton sti

Recently, I had the pleasure of speaking to my former Quaker congregation on their homecoming occasion.  I am only one of a few leaders they have had over the years, so the fact that I was able to share my thoughts was special.  I take it seriously, because I know whoever speaks is able to set the agenda for the occasion.  It is as if the speaker says, “Look here” rather than somewhere else.  And if memories are going to be shared---as they inevitably will be at a homecoming---then I get to start the sharing with my own.   As I mulled over exactly what I could say to a group that once upon a time I knew so well and now after some absence, don’t know nearly as well.  That point itself was an interesting beginning.  I realized no group is static.  Time changes all things, including congregations and every other group.  Therefore, I needed to factor in the process of change.  Even though this group has had a sense of itself as a group for over two hundred years, there also is a continuity

Using a title such as the one used here is slightly risky.  The risk is that I don’t deliver what folks expect or want.  One of the classes I routinely teach is a basics of Christian theology.  As I do it, I tell students there are a number of aspects to a full-blown Christian theology.  There are things like focus on God, on Jesus and how Jesus is the Christ, and the Spirit---or Holy Spirit, if you prefer.  Additionally, we look at how Christians talk about the beginning of things, i.e. how the universe came to be and how it is sustained.  Clearly, Genesis plays a role in this particular focus, but in my estimation, we also need to take seriously evolution.  We can talk about the church and sacraments, although Quakers don’t do the typical thing when it comes to sacraments.  Finally, it is appropriate to talk about where all this is heading---the end.   For many Christians the end is easy to describe.  It is heaven.  Even though they may not be quite sure what heaven is, they are conf

Occasionally, I realize I can read and read and wonder if it is like “binge reading.”  I realize this is probably not fair to those folks with an eating disorder and I mean no disrespect.  Of course, I think reading is good, healthy, etc.  I can’t imagine a life in which I could not read things.  I remember the liberation that comes from being able to put various letters together to get words and, then, watch the magic of sentences as multiple words combine to make deeper meanings.  For example, the simple word “cat” is barely interesting in itself, but put it in a sentence with a verb and that cat starts doing amazing things!  My interest in the cat soars. But I also realize I can read things and never do anything with the ideas, advice and suggestions.  Learning with no application may not be adequate.  Surely this is true in the life of faith and in our spiritual journeys.  Faith is not simply an intellectual exercise.  As important as doctrine might be, doctrine does not inspire, s

Some books are so good, I return to them for reminders and inspiration.  Some of these books, like Thomas Kelly’s Testament of Devotion , are spiritually rich.  Kelly was a Quaker writing in the first half of the twentieth century.  He reminds me why I am a Quaker and how my own tradition can always help me on my journey.  Other books are less overtly spiritual.  One of these books is by the late Chicago theologian, Langdon Gilkey.   I met Gilkey a few times and read many of his books.  One I regularly use in class is Shantung Compound.  This was published in 1966.  It traced Gilkey’s personal story of being a prisoner of the Japanese in an internment camp in China.  Gilkey had gone to China soon after graduating from Harvard.  He was teaching in an American school when he was rounded up, along with many others from the area, and placed in this camp.  It was not a prison per se, but they could not escape. They spent about two and a half years in very cramped confinement until WW II end

Recently, I ran across a little piece on serendipity that I liked.  It was written a few years ago by Pagan Kennedy, who is someone I respect and follow.  She entitled her little article, “How to Cultivate the Art of Serendipity.”  I have written before about serendipity, because I very much like the idea and the experience of serendipity.  However, I have not done any research on the idea, so I only had gut feelings about what I thought about it and how I thought it happened.  I must admit, I don’t think I ever considered that serendipity could be cultivated---that I might somehow enhance my chances it would happen.   Kennedy opened the article with an intriguing quotation.  She asked, “Do some people have a special talent for serendipity?”  She tells a couple stories about experiences of serendipity and then concludes, “A surprising number of the conveniences of modern life were invented when someone stumbled upon a discovery or capitalized on an accident…”  She then sharped her ques

I began reading an article in a business online resource that surprising took me to the title, God as teacher.  It will not be obvious when I begin sharing some things from this article that we will ultimately come to a discussion about God, but hang in there with me.  I was intrigued by the article since it focused on the Rubik Cube.  Now I don’t know anything about the Cube, except that it looks difficult. The article by Alison Beard began by talking about Erno Rubik, who you rightly might guess, invented the Cube and gave his name to it.  As I read more about him, I realized having the thing named after Rubik probably did not matter to him.  What mattered to me was learning about his story and how it can inform our own story.  And then, I linked it to God, which is not at all obvious. Rubik grew up in Hungary, when it was still part of the larger Communist block of countries in eastern Europe.  His dad was creative, but from hearing him tell his story, his boyhood was more typical t

“Almost heaven, West Virginia---Blue Ridge Mountains, Shenandoah River.  Life is old there, older than the trees---Younger than the mountains, growin’ like a breeze.”  These words begin the very well-known 1971 song by John Denver.  I seldom know words to any song, but I know most of the words to this one.  Interestingly it was when Denver was driving his family through Maryland, he was inspired to write this song.  In fact, I read that Denver had never visited West Virginia before he wrote this piece!  As tempted as I am to devote this whole piece to the song, it is that first couple words I want to give focus---almost heaven.  Since I teach religion and have done a fair amount of funerals and memorials, I am sometimes asked about heaven.  I have been asked by the remaining spouse or children if I think their beloved deceased one has “gone to heaven?”  Of course, it is easy to say yes to this question.  I surely don’t need to quibble at this point.  Clearly, they are not asking for a

Recently, I heard a friend of mine speaking on some topics from my favorite 20th century monk, Thomas Merton.  Rightly, my friend describes the importance of wisdom as a theme in Merton’s theology and spirituality.  Wisdom is an important theme in the Christian Bible and in Christian history.  But clearly, it is not limited to Christians.  Wisdom theology, as it can be called, is also found in nearly all the major religious tradition.  It is certainly prevalent in Jewish theology.  In fact, some of our favorite books of the Bible are called “Wisdom tradition.”  These would include Proverbs, Psalms and others.  One of the things my friends referred to was Merton’s famous and rather long poem entitled, Hagia Sophia. Sophia is the Greek word for wisdom.  Hagia means “holy, sacred.”  Merton’s poem, therefore, is an ode to holy Wisdom.  It is such a rich, thought-provoking meditation on Sophia, who is God and who is present in the world.  The poem is structured about the span of one day.  O

I had not seen this phrase since graduate school days.  Unlearned ignorance is a phrase from the late-medieval theologian, Nicholas of Cusa.  Nicolas was a bridge figure---culminating the end of the medieval period and representative of the emerging Renaissance and Reformation period.  And unlike much of medieval theology, Nicholas still has something to say to us in the twenty-first century.  I met up with him again in an article I was reading in a periodical I routinely read.  The article was called, “Nurturing the cosmic perspective of learned ignorance,” by Alex Mikulich. This article fits in with my quest to continue to learn more about the world of science and, thus, to be a reasonable conversationalist with my contemporary scientists.  Too often, people of faith are incredibly ignorant of the science of our day and, therefore, increasingly irrelevant to important discussions going on in our world.  And too often, people of faith arrogantly dismiss science as irrelevant.  The iro

Recently I became aware of a new research institute which focuses on young people.  Since I spend much of my time with that age group, I am always interested in what others are discovering and how they can better do my job.  The name of the group is Springtide Research Institute.  The Institute was created in 2018 to study and focus on youth 13-25.  My eye was caught by a study they did that was interested in the issue of young people, religion and their experience particularly in the pandemic.  In the process they offered something positive, which they labeled “relational authority.”  I don’t know that I have heard this term, but I relate to it.  I want to share the gist of what this means. Rather than quote from the Institute’s lengthy publication, I refer to Lucy Grindon’s wonderful summary of the study.  Grindon begins with this telling fact, “Young people — including those who are religious — do not see religious leaders as trusted adults, according to a new study.”  In my own res

When I teach my class on spiritual disciplines, I usually feel renewed in my life.  When I do that, I realize how significant discipline is for many different human endeavors.  I certainly knew the value of discipline in my more active sports’ life.  I suppose as I get older, it still takes a little discipline to keep up some form of exercise.  While I miss those days of long runs or the competitiveness of a basketball game, I still find joy in a walk through the Metroparks.  Discipline with respect to eating and so many other areas of life would likely make us all healthier and saner.  It is no different when it comes to our spiritual life. As I have taught spiritual disciplines over the years, I have to think about books I want students to read.  As you can imagine, there are a host of books about spiritual disciplines.  Of course, the real trick is actually to get students---and myself---doing disciplines, rather than just reading about them.  For example, prayer is just an idea unt

One of the best things about teaching at the university level is the opportunity to experience so many new beginnings.  This is probably true in other contexts, too, but I am most familiar with my own context.  At the university we have semesters and each represents a beginning.  When I first started teaching at college, we were on the quarter system, which meant three beginnings each year.  And if you taught during the summer, that was at least one more beginning. Beginnings offer the chance to think about how you want to proceed with what is to come.  If it is a new course, you plan a syllabus.  Essentially, the syllabus is a promise to students concerning what will happen over the course of fifteen weeks or so.  There are books to read, discussions to engage and a chance for reflective learning.  One of the things I learned from the very beginning of my teaching career was I would learn as much or more than the students.  In fact, my parents thought I had opted for being a perennial

I entitled this little piece “more conversion.”  I did this because I have written more than once on conversion.  Certainly, that is a big topic in religious circles.  But it happens in other arenas, too.  I think about political conversions and many others.  But I am intrigued by the spiritual dimension of conversion.  History is full of famous ones, like the Apostle Paul, Augustine and others.  The one I want to focus on is the contemporary columnist for the New York Times, David Brooks. I have read Brooks for many years.  Although I don’t always agree with him, he is an amazing thinking and writer.  Clearly, he is quite bright and well-educated.  He has been taught to observe, analyze and articulate.  His teachers would be proud of him!  But I am more interested in how his life has evolved and how he describes that.  He did just that in a recent piece he wrote for the paper.  Let’s follow his path. Brooks had a Jewish background, but would have been a secular Jew in today’s jargon. 

Those who regularly read these pieces know I like Joan Chittister.  Sister Joan is a Benedictine monk who lives in a fairly large monastery for women in Erie, PA.  I have had the pleasure of speaking to that group of remarkable women and to spend a little time there.  Like all monasteries in the US, this one is an aging population.  But there is a good smattering of younger women there.  And when I spend time there, I feel a vibrancy that makes me choose to be there over a place with younger folks who are spiritually dead.  I have no question that the Spirit spends a great deal of time there. Sister Joan recently wrote an article with an intriguing title: “When people stop listening: Keep it up.”  Reading that title left me unsure what she is wanting to tell me.  Knowing Chittister, I knew it would be both interesting and challenging.  I was not disappointed.  There is much in the whole article that I would enjoy sharing, but I was caught in the very beginning of her work.  She tells t

Enough happens coincidentally in the universe to lead me to believe in providence.  One example of this is a budding friendship I have with a Benedictine monk.  It is a fairly recent story, but I cannot quite remember how it got started.  Until yesterday, I had never met the monk.  We began exchanging emails and, I think, he initiated it.  But it really doesn’t matter.  He lives in a Benedictine monastery in the Midwest. Since we live in the world of internet, it is easy to do a little background checking.  In addition to this, he sent me a few of the things he has written, one of which was a piece that contained a fair amount of his biography.  Since the signature on the email said “Father,” I knew he was a priest.  More importantly than all this, perhaps, is the fact he loves music and poetry.  I can say I enjoy both of those, but I claim little skill in either arena.  No one would invite me to talk about either one.  In both I feel like a dilettante.  He clearly had some expertise i

 On its own the title for this inspirational journey makes no sense.  Of course, the words are understandable.  Everyone knows what ordinariness is.  And sweetness is a no-brainer!  But together, who knows?  What is missing is a context. Actually, context is more important than we usually think it is.  So often, meaning is gained when we know the context.  For this phrase, “ordinariness into sweetness” (the text), to mean anything, we need other surrounding words (providing the “con,” which means “with,” for the text!).  Those surrounding words form a context.  They would shape to how we are supposed to understand “ordinariness into sweetness.” Let me build the context by making suggestions.  The first suggestion is when I came up with the phrase, “ordinariness into sweetness,” I was thinking of Halloween.  No doubt, now the “get” half of it!  Halloween---candy---sweetness!  And you are exactly right.  Everyone thinks of candy when the Halloween season approaches. In fact, you probably