Happy Feast. Today we celebrate the Feast of the Epiphany and the end of the Christmas Season. At the story level this is certainly a strong finish. A new star appears, maybe a supernova. Magi (some translations use astrologers) appear from the mysterious East, bearing treasure chests filled with extravagant gifts. They are searching for a child destined to be a king. And, of course, the story introduces a worthy villain-Herod, a frightened king who tries to trick the Magi into revealing the place of Jesus birth and whose evil plan is frustrated when God speaks to the Magi in …
Leora Weitzman's Homily from January 1, 2012
Sunday after Christmas – January 1, 2012 – Isaiah 61.10-62:30, Galatians 4:4-7, Luke 2:22-40 “The redemption of Jerusalem” mentioned by Anna is symbolic. In historical time, the people of Jerusalem were once overtaken by force and enslaved in Babylon. That and their eventual liberation form the backdrop for Isaiah’s song of celebration. Symbolically, Jerusalem stands for each of its children: Jews originally, then everyone. Our redemption is what’s at stake. What do we need redemption from? The letter to the Galatians spells it out just before today’s excerpt. Listen: What I am saying is that as long as heirs are …
Christmas Eve Homily
“Mary treasured all these words and pondered them in her heart.” What we treasure and ponder in our hearts shapes our lives and creates our reality. These days many forces around us seek to tell us what to treasure in our hearts. The pre-Christmas advertizing has told us to ponder our needs and what we lack so that we will treasure the multiplicity of things they have to sell. Politicians on both sides of the aisle seem to want us to ponder our status, power and entitlements so we will treasure winning more than working together for a greater good. …
Nature Notes Winter 2011-2012
The sun sets very early in the evening and rises late in the morning during the winter season. At the winter solstice or the beginning of winter in late December the days are the shortest they will be all year, and will get longer and longer until they are the longest at the summer solstice in late June. The main reason for this change in the length of the day and the change in temperature is because the earth tilts 23 degrees in relationship to the sun between the summer solstice and the winter solstice. Since we are in the …
What Shall I Do With My Life?
Many people come to the monastery with that question on their hearts. Whether they are about to graduate from school, make a career change, are pondering a significant relationship or a possible call to religious community, the question is the same. “How do I decide what to do?” Intuitively, they sense that coming to the monastery can help them discern their life choice. Their intuition is correct. Monasteries have a long tradition of helping people discern how God is active in their lives. Discernment is becoming a more common word these days though what it involves still remains a mystery …
Lynne Smith's Homily from November 27, 2011, First Sunday of Advent
What do you do when your world falls apart, your sins are exposed and even God seems to be absent? That is the situation of the people of Israel at the time of the reading from Isaiah today. The people returned to Jerusalem from years in exile in Babylon, but Jerusalem was no more. Their businesses, their government, the temple, their homes were all gone. Their whole society had been destroyed by the Babylonians. The prophets had warned it would happen and advised them to accept the situation and make their home in Babylon. But the people ignored the prophets …
Jack Finney's Homily from November 13, 2011
It is a spiritual principle that whenever we receive a call, an invitation, or have a gift to share there will always be resistance. To carry through we will also need support. The resistance can come in the form of a critic—either from within or without; laziness, or fear as in the case of the one talent person in today’s Gospel. The support can come from God/prayer; others; and inner resources. We see this pattern in everyone who is called or gifted. Moses’ resistance was that he was not a public speaker; but God gave him others for support. Jeremiah’s …
Radical Gospel Living
Sr. Mary David and I are excited about attending the Radical Gospel Living: Monasticism Today conference at Ohio Wesleyan University over the weekend! Joan Chittister and Shane Claiborne are keynote speakers. We are presenting a workshop entitled “Building Community Outside the Box.” We will be there with other “radical” folks living the Gospel in traditional and new monastic communities. Over 200 people are attending. What fun! I’ll post on Facebook from the conference. We’ll share more about the conference in the next Benedictine Bridge.
Joseph Wiesenfarth's Homily from October 30, 2011
Joseph Wiesenfarth delivered the following homily at Sunday Assembly at Holy Wisdom Monastery on October 30, 2011. The readings from the common lectionary that day included Micah 3:5-12, 1 Thessalonians 2:9-13, and Matthew 23:1-12. Recently—in September to be precise—my wife and I were in Scotland and France: two countries noted for their spiritual history as well as for bottled spirits of another kind. I was speaking at a literary conference in Glasgow after which, to recover, Louise and I went to Paris to celebrate our 40th wedding anniversary. Our adventures abroad involved visiting churches of two denominations—Presbyterian and Catholic—and sampling scotch …
Libby Caes' Homily from October 23, 2011
Libby Caes delivered the following homily at Sunday Assembly at Holy Wisdom Monastery on October 23, 2011. The readings from the common lectionary for the day included Leviticus 19:1-2, 15-18; 1 Thessalonians 2:1-8; and Matthew 22:34-46. Libby Caes is the oncology and palliative care chaplain at UW Hospital and Clinics. She is ordained by the Mennonite Church USA but makes herself at home in the larger ecumenical community. She received her M.Div. at Eastern Baptist Theological Seminary (now Palmer Seminary) in Philadelphia, PA. Just over a month ago Pat Robertson, the televangelist, was asked by a caller, named Andreas…and I …