The Archbishop Desmond Tutu In Town: Photo Documentation!

"This gives me hope for the future."

These were Anita Trutwin's opening words in an email to me this morning, following our encounter over the weekend in the auditorium of Minneapolis North High School. We saw Archbishop Desmond Tutu address a crowd of almost 7oo youth in the Peace Jam event, and it buoyed our spirits. Inspired our hearts.

I hadn't seen Anita in about a year, when she pulled up behind me and parked outside the high school. Anita is a former North Side Anne Sullivan teacher who I met at the Church of St. Philips -- just across the street from her former school at 26th and Bryant. What a treat to walk in together and see the bus loads of mostly youth coming to take part in this revolutionary event.

Anita shared in her email an exchange with her three year old son from that day, that gave the Archbishop's visit all the more weight, hope, significance.

Josh, Anita's husband, asked their son Ben,

"What is the meaning of life?" (They like to pose deep questions to the child from time to time, "just to hear what will come out of his mouth.")

On this day, "Ben said, 'monsters.'"

Anita goes on in the email:

"I asked him what is one thing we could do to make the
world a better place. Ben thought for a moment, and said 'trenches.'"

"If I would have missed Desmond Tutu's speech on Saturday," Anita wrote, "I think I'd be building a bunker right about now."

I'm with Anita on this. I'm even with Ben a lot of the time: Monsters lurk in this world, I long for trenches, digging in deep, protecting myself.

But the Archbishop reminds us of why warfare and vilifying those who seem to do us wrong - get us no where. His constant modeling of joy, love, optimism, faith, in the face of the darkness, in the face of evil in the world, is truly inspiring. As he repeated Friday night, over and over and over again, (as only this South African Archbishop with spunk can really do):

"Jesus holds it ALL! Jesus holds us ALL! ...ALL!....George Bush! .....ALL! Osama bid Laden! .....ALL! ....Gay and Lesbian and so-called straight people.....All!" "

Whether you believe in Jesus or not, on Friday night when Tutu uttered these words before the Convention Center crowd, there was a standing ovation. On Saturday, again, students got to their feet and exploded with joyful applause at his message. For me, this signifies a kind of belief in the heart and message of what this guy stands for, and inspires us all to act on: Love! Peace! Yes!

Enjoy the pictures below.

TO HEAR AN AUDIO RECORDING OF TUTU's ADDRESS AT NORTH HIGH, CLICK HERE.

Metropolitan State University and Peace Jam Present:
Desmond Tutu.

Convention Center Crowd

Some of my peeps:
Antoinette Bennaars, Sr. Karen, Fr. Carl (Retired Maryknoll Missionary from Africa); Sr. Mary Frances, Sr. Mary Margaret, Brian Mogren, Sr. Katherine

Representative Keith Ellison is in the crowd

A Peace Jam Video Precedes his Entrance

The Audience gets to its feet to Welcome the "Arch"

Gesturing to signify those arms that "Hold it ALL!"

The exuberance that inspires us all...

Another final standing ovation

Saturday afternoon's ensemble:
Brian Mogren, Brother John, Me, Scott Mogren

Bus loads of youth filing in...

Youthrive's Peace Production crew

North High Student Senior "Bucky" starts the welcome with Principal Stewart

Naomi Tutu introduces her father...with words engaging youth in their thinking about their own relationship to their parents...

The Youth Welcome Him!

Archbishop Tutu first taking the North High Podium...

Lots of documentation is happening...

The "Arch" takes questions...

First student to ask a question...

One of Tutu's glorious expressions...

Another student question

Another expression...

He's frustrated he can't hear...

"Speak up!" Archbishop Tutu is EMPHATIC about student's using their voices!

A query in a louder voice

Joy!

Yes! More Joy....

A Final Standing Ovation, before Archbishop Tutu departs for Red Wing, and the youth correctional facility....

AMEN!

"Ask Me" A William Stafford Poem

Ask Me
By William Stafford

Some time when the river is ice ask me
mistakes I have made. Ask me whether
what I have done is my life. Others
have come in their slow way into
my thought, and some have tried to help
or to hurt: ask me what difference
their strongest love or hate has made.

I will listen to what you say.
You and I can turn and look
at the silent river and wait. We know
the current is there, hidden; and there
are comings and goings from miles away
that hold the stillness exactly before us.
What the river says, that is what I say.


Questions as Contemplation, Response, Prayer:

What lives below seemingly frozen surfaces?
What are my mistakes? Yours?
How do we measure or assess our lives?
How have I loved?
How have I hated?
What have the consequences been?
What stillness shapes or inspires action?
I wonder what the river might have spoken to Archbishop Desmond Tutu? Or Ghandi? Mother Theresa or Martin?
What might the river speak to my students at Minneapolis North High?
What does the river say to you?
What does your life say back?

This poem has re-appeared in my life. I first came across it a couple summers ago, before my journey west to Idaho write. I was appreciative then of the way it spoke to me, as well as what was conveyed simply in the sharing of it with a friend.

I'm inspired to post it here, following the experience of it re-emerging and again, inspiring a kind of soulful exchange with friends. Thank you to Parker J. Palmer, and his book "Let Your Life Speak: Listening to the Voice of Vocation" - where I found this reprinted and anchoring the text. Thank you to Maryann Pearson for sending me that book. Thank you to Becca Barniskis for ever cracking open Stafford's poems with me. Thank you to Joy Chaney, for liking this poem and being my teacher. Thank you to God for Rivers and Poets and Love.

Faith, Politics, Compassion, Action: Some Questions for the Presidential Candidates

In the spirit of living in the questions; being an open-minded, critically-thinking human who believes a little compassion could go a long way in transforming the world, I invite you all to check this out!

It's from Faithful America.org, and part of the Compassion Forum that will air Sunday evening at 8:00 PM (eastern time) on CNN.

The democratic presidential candidates will address pressing moral issues of deep concern to people of faith.

Here are the choices that Faithful America.org is inviting all to vote on:

Torture: In recently released memos, the Bush administration's Justice Department argued that whether an interrogation technique "shocked the conscience" and rose to the level of torture depended on the interrogator's motivation, which runs counter to most religious people's beliefs about the basic dignity of all human beings. Do you believe there is ever justification for subjecting a detainee to physically or mentally cruel interrogation techniques?

Domestic Poverty: What do you think the primary causes of persistent poverty in America are? Is it possible to entirely eradicate it? What respective roles should government, the faith community and the private sector play in ending poverty?

Genocide: Diverse faith groups have led the effort to pressure the Sudanese government to halt the genocide in Darfur. If diplomatic pressure on Sudan and China does not succeed in ending the genocide, do you think the US military has a role to play in stopping it? If so, what role, and what criteria would have to be met before you would seek to deploy US forces in response?

Global AIDS: Is health care a human right? If so, does the U.S. have a moral obligation to address the AIDS pandemic around the world? What about other diseases? Do you think the focus on HIV/AIDS distracts from other world health concerns?

Climate Change: Addressing global climate change is a major challenge in caring for God's creation. How do you plan to persuade the American people, as well as other nations, to make the short-term sacrifices necessary to address this long-term problem?

How do you feel about faith informing or inspiring political discourse?

How about faith driving political action?

I think for so many: this makes people cringe!

(I need to definitely write about this. As I have strong thoughts on the matter -- mostly inspired by the Fr. Richard Rohr (Center for Contemplation and Action) / Jim Wallis (Sojourners) camp on such matters.)

Stay tuned!

Peace,

Melissa

News from North Minneapolis and the Nuns

"This day here was quite extraordinary in that there were lots of people with needs at the door -- two of which told us that their house had burned down. One was Nonie's* grandchildren's house (none home at the time). Another family who we've not seen for 4 years. They too were not at home when the fire happened. We were able to help both in a small way and feel good about what was decided - and how we decided to help. Oh, Life is very, very tough for so many."


"Things on fire. Homes burning down. I knew this all too well in the classroom at North High. Exponential was the trauma - and beyond a critical mass. Hmmm..."

* name changed

This is an excerpt from today's email correspondence between Sr. Katherine Mullin of the Visitation Convent and myself.

I thank God for her.
I thank God for all the nuns in North Minneapolis.
I thank God for all the beautiful people who live in North Minneapolis and continue on.
And my own recent practice of Buddhist meditation, invites me to thank God for the mess and crisis and suffering in North Minneapolis.

It all flows together and reminds me of how great love is, especially in the face of all the woe and fear and darkness. How easy it would be to sink into despair, to simply see the fires and flee? How grace-filled is it that there are these relationships that allow us the privilege to be present to one another's pain, as well as the possible joy? How powerful is the witness and invitation of the sisters' to "Live Jesus!" - as their founder's motto exclaims?

I'm thankful for it all today.
I'm thankful for the Visit of Archbishop Desmond Tutu this upcoming weekend.
Yes.

Prayerfully,
Melissa

Archbishop Desmond Tutu Events! April 11-12

"If we could but recognize our common humanity, that we do belong together, that our destinies are bound up in one another's, that we can be free only together, that we can survive only together, then a glorious world would come into being where all of us lived harmoniously together as members of one family, the human family."

- Archbishop Desmond Tutu

Friends, Poets, Activists, Community Organizers, Faith Peeps!

What do you know of Archbishop Desmond Tutu?
What lessons might we draw from a post-apartheid South Africa and a present-day United States?

What does this Archbishop know of War? Of Peace? of Poverty? of Justice? Of enemies? Of making friends? Of healing and transforming a community? A world?

Who are we to engage or participate in such questions? In such activities?
What am I being called to do?

These are some of my questions as I pray and work to do my part circulating information on Desmond Tutu's descent into the Twin Cities this upcoming weekend. (Thanks to Pam McBride at Youthrive and Roxanne at Metro State for this updated info!)

Please pass pertinent info along! I hope to see many of you there!

Friday, April 11, 2008
Minneapolis Convention Center
7pm
Community Ticket Price: $10
(Please Call or Email for this special rate! This is significantly discounted from the $100 rate and $50 rate listed at the websites.)
Chesay Colson at Metro State - 651.793.1816
Email: chesay.colson@metrostate.edu)

Tix will be held at Will Call under your name. They are RESERVED SEATS.


Saturday, April 12, 2008
North High School
1- 2pm
FREE
This event is for the YOUTH! All are welcome in support, solidarity, with the community in the name of peace. Desmond Tutu will address the community from the auditorium, with his speech simulcast to the North High Courtyard. There is a march from North High to Cub Foods and service projects happening throughout.

Archbishop Tutu will address the community again briefly at the Cub Foods stage, from 2:15pm - 2:25pm. Then Depart. His daughter, Naomi Tutu will be in attendance with the youth in their service projects till 4pm.



Peace,
Melissa

The Road to Emmaus, Baby!

I love this story.... 

Not because the disciples are clueless, but because I feel so much like them: wondering, trying to make sense of it all.... Death? Where's the dude? There have been these reports....We miss him....What do you know of his life? Have you heard anything?

 

And Jesus is here the whole time, loving.  Walking. Leading, offering insights....

And viola! An action they experience together: BREAKING BREAD! and their eyes are opened. They sort things out.

 

Oh. It just makes me really happy. And helps me form my prayer: 

God, open my eyes. Help me to see your face. Trust you. Let me walk this road to Emmaus and realize....

Peace!

Melissa

Gospel
Lk 24:13-35

That very day, the first day of the week,
two of Jesus' disciples were going
to a village seven miles from Jerusalem called Emmaus,
and they were conversing about all the things that had occurred.
And it happened that while they were conversing and debating,
Jesus himself drew near and walked with them,
but their eyes were prevented from recognizing him.
He asked them,
"What are you discussing as you walk along?"
They stopped, looking downcast.
One of them, named Cleopas, said to him in reply,
"Are you the only visitor to Jerusalem
who does not know of the things
that have taken place there in these days?"
And he replied to them, "What sort of things?"
They said to him,
"The things that happened to Jesus the Nazarene,
who was a prophet mighty in deed and word
before God and all the people,
how our chief priests and rulers both handed him over
to a sentence of death and crucified him.
But we were hoping that he would be the one to redeem Israel;
and besides all this,
it is now the third day since this took place.
Some women from our group, however, have astounded us:
they were at the tomb early in the morning
and did not find his body;
they came back and reported
that they had indeed seen a vision of angels
who announced that he was alive.
Then some of those with us went to the tomb
and found things just as the women had described,
but him they did not see."
And he said to them, "Oh, how foolish you are!
How slow of heart to believe all that the prophets spoke!
Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things
and enter into his glory?"
Then beginning with Moses and all the prophets,
he interpreted to them what referred to him
in all the Scriptures.
As they approached the village to which they were going,
he gave the impression that he was going on farther.
But they urged him, "Stay with us,
for it is nearly evening and the day is almost over."
So he went in to stay with them.
And it happened that, while he was with them at table,
he took bread, said the blessing,
broke it, and gave it to them.
With that their eyes were opened and they recognized him,
but he vanished from their sight.
Then they said to each other,
"Were not our hearts burning within us
while he spoke to us on the way and opened the Scriptures to us?"
So they set out at once and returned to Jerusalem
where they found gathered together
the eleven and those with them who were saying,
"The Lord has truly been raised and has appeared to Simon!"
Then the two recounted
what had taken place on the way
and how he was made known to them in the breaking of bread.

Walt Whitman, Garrison Keillor, Love Poems....

Yesterday was Gary Johnson's "Montona" - a poem of love, lust, redemption - appearing in "The Writer's Almanac" and being read by Garrison Keillor. Today, Mr. Keillor features another love poem of sorts, also taking us along a routed course of passion, this one by Walt Whitman.

I invite you to read the poem with your own journeys of love in mind. Following Whitman's text, I pose my own questions of contemplation.

Poems: "Once I Pass'd through a Populous City " by Walt Whitman, from Selected Poems. © Dover Publications, Inc., 1991. Reprinted with permission.(buy now)

Once I Pass'd through a Populous City

Once I pass'd through a populous city imprinting my brain for future
use with its shows, architecture, customs, traditions,
Yet now of all that city I remember only a woman I casually met there
who detain'd me for love of me,
Day by day and night by night we were together—all else has long
been forgotten by me,
I remember I say only that woman who passionately clung to me,
Again we wander, we love, we separate again,
Again she holds me by the hand, I must not go,
I see her close beside me with silent lips sad and tremulous.

What cities have I passed through?
(And you?)
Who did you encounter?
(And I?)
How are we detained in such meetings?
What do our memories hold? Where does emotion get stored?
Where does the memory, the encounter of love, live in our bodies?
What other things do we retain?
Does Garrison Keillor select these poems? If not him, who?
I wonder what inspires them?
If Walt were sitting here with me now, could he draw this woman if I asked?
What would a conversation between Whitman and Johnson sound like on this topic?
I wonder what populous city Mr. Whitman encountered this woman in?
Do you have silent and tremulous lips?

Hmmmm.....

Know I write with deep gratitude, joy, and laughter in my body contemplating such poems!

Thank you Walt Whitman!
Thank you Garrison Keillor!
Thank you Writer's Almanac!
Thank you, God, for journeys!

Melissa

Contemplating "Montana": A Poem about Sex, Love?

Spirit of Ecstacy
Leonardo Leinow

Poem: "Montana" by Gary Johnson.

Montana

A great many small failures have brought me to this
Dark room where, against the teachings of the church,
I lie in the forgiving dark with you and we kiss
And loosen our clothing and feel the hot urge
Toward nakedness, man's natural destination,
The slow unbuttoning, unclasping, until at last
We lie revealed. The fine sensation
Of you on my skin. A slender woman as vast
As Montana and I am now heading west
On a winding road through the dark contours
Of mountains and into a valley, coming to rest
In a meadow that I recognize as yours.
This is what I drove across North Dakota to find:
This sweet nest. And put all my failed life behind.

Contemplative Questions as Response:
What have "small failures" taught me?
How is failure like a dimly lit space where I am naked?
How is making love an act of forgiveness? For me and you?
What does the church teach?
What state am I in love?
What state is the person I love? Would I call him Montana? Or New Mexico? Or Nova Scotia?
What spaces do we travel across to arrive here: untangled and disrobed?
How do we say "Thank You" over and over again for North Dakota?
Is the journey in and of itself enough of the gift?
What does arrival look like in your eyes?

***
I don't have permission to post this. I just have deep desire to share these words by Gary Johnson. They appeared in today's Writer's Almanac.

(What are the rules of bloggers in such circumstances? Who reads this blog? Will Gary Johnson find his work reprinted here? Will he recognize my respect and deep appreciation of this poem? Of the words? In reprinting it here - without permission - am I somehow not appreciating him?)

Prayer as Response to Poetry - by Sondra Samuels

The following arrived this morning in my email inbox, and I received it as a delightful gift to begin my day. It's a response from Sondra Samuels to yesterday's blog on the William Carlos Williams' poem. Sondra writes poetically. I'm happy to share this from a woman who is my spiritual-friend, sister -friend, anchored- in-love-and- prayer- friend in North Minneapolis. Sondra heads up the Peace Foundation, and is gloriously partnered with City Councilman Don Samuels. I have the privilege of attending Visitation Companion Retreats with her.

I share this email and prayer with her permission, and great joy.

Peace!
Melissa

***

Hey Melissa. Thanks for the poem. Thanks for getting me out of the anxiety of what today will demand of me.

I love the poem! It reminds me of the same type of awakening that is possible with our consciousness. I'm reading Eckhart Tolle's new book, "A New Earth," and my understanding of, "springtime," is expanding. My prayer today:

O God, Our God! How Majestic is your name, is all the earth! Today may our minds, our thoughts, no longer have dominion over us, our relationships, or our understanding of the world. Father help us to stand apart from our thoughts- almost always dominated by ego- and know that there is more to ourselves, the other person and thing, or the situation at hand, than we could ever fathom. Help us to know that when we are judging today- that is ego. When we are defending ourselves to others- that is ego. When we become insecure by another's brilliance, beauty or power- that is ego. When we judge ourselves insufficient or too important- that is ego. As day on to day speaks to us and night on to night reveals wisdom, may we simply, "be" today. "Be still," and know what springtime teaches us about ourselves.

In your Son's name I pray.

Amen.

"Spring and All" A Reflection on William Carlos Williams' Poem

(Art by Karen Kaufman:)

It's a glorious poem* for today, this piece from William Carlos Williams. (Thank you Writer's Almanac!) Stark imagery, cold imagery, shifting-from -a-dank- and-dark -death imagery: Spring!

My favorite lines, phrases, words:

They enter the new world naked, cold, uncertain of all save that they enter.

wildcarrot leaf

stark dignity of entrance—

profound change
rooted
awaken

I think of my friend Sr. Rafael. I think of picking carrots in her garden, the Franciscan's garden at Assisi Heights. I think of the Sugar Maple outside my front door, with it's varigated leaves. I think of the courage it takes to break through frozen soil, and then wonder whether it's really anything like courage, or rather simple necessity, life force to enter this realm? I think of what each one of us experienced in our own births. Through the canal or lifted from a cut open belly.

"We are here!"

Are we rooted? Are we awake?

I wonder what William Carlos Williams' birth was like? Who was his mother? How many springs did he observe? How many births did he know?
Does he have a favorite tree?
I wonder if he ever spent time in that contagious hospital? What might a person catch there?
Is hope contagious?
What kind of dignified entrances are made in love? In creation?
How do we dig down? When do we let go or release?
What all is certain this Spring?


Enjoy the poem! Happy contemplating and questioning. I invite you all to respond in your own spirit, sphere of being.

Peace,
Melissa

Poem: "Spring and All" by William Carlos Williams, from Collected Poems Vol. 1. © New Directions. Reprinted with permission. (buy now)

Spring and All

By the road to the contagious hospital
under the surge of the blue
mottled clouds driven from the
northeast—a cold wind. Beyond, the
waste of broad, muddy fields
brown with dried weeds, standing and fallen

patches of standing water
the scattering of tall trees
All along the road the reddish
purplish, forked, upstanding, twiggy
stuff of bushes and small trees
with dead, brown leaves under them
leafless vines—

Lifeless in appearance, sluggish
dazed spring approaches—

They enter the new world naked,
cold, uncertain of all
save that they enter. All about them
the cold, familiar wind—

Now the grass, tomorrow
the stiff curl of wildcarrot leaf
One by one objects are defined—
It quickens: clarity, outline of a leaf

But now the stark dignity of
entrance—Still, the profound change
has come upon them: rooted, they
grip down and begin to awaken

More on Eucharist: Corresponding words from Fr. Rohr

March 28, 2008. Anniversary day for me. I celebrate with these words from Franciscan Richard Rohr. They correspond beautifully with yesterday's blog entry, Delaney Melissa's birthday, my friend Greg's death, and all upcoming "First Communion" celebrations.

Sweet intersections, "promises" indeed.

Amen.
Melissa

"The Promise of Jesus"

Jesus promised that when we celebrate the Eucharist, he will be present to us. That has been the unwavering faith of the catholic Church since the New Testament. The Eucharist has been at the center of our Church from the beginning, and rightly so. It has given us the power of community, the power to understand ourselves as one universal people, beyond nations and races. It's given us the power of healing and reconciliation. Every time we celebrate the Eucharist, the Church is redefined as people, as a big family, around our family table, the altar. Jesus gives us himself at Eucharist to remind us: We are becoming what we eat. We are his body, we are his flesh for the life of the world. When we eat this meal we are united to Christians all over the world, who this very hour are celebrating this same Eucharist in many different languages and countries. Someone said, If we really understood Eucharist, how could there ever be war? How could we go out in that world and kill people who have eaten this same bread and have drank from this same cup? The Eucharist defines humanity as one flesh, one people, and if you hate this flesh, you hate the flesh of Christ himself. Eucharist is the gift that makes us a sacred and universal people.

Fr. Richard Rohr in The Symbolism and Meaning of Mass,

This Eucharist Business: How do We Understand this Meal?

My God-daughter Delaney Melissa is making her first communion next weekend. Tomorrow is her birthday. She is on my mind.

Reading today's scriptures* - I am thinking about where Delaney is at in her own understanding of the Eucharist. I think about where any of us are at for that matter. Whether we are Catholic, Christian, Buddhist, Hindu, Muslim, Atheist, I wonder:

How do we make sense of our meals? How do we understand our shared breaking of bread, drinking of wine?

(If you drink wine. If you break bread. You get my drift!)

I approach so much of my faith and church's rituals and traditions from an outsiders point of view, and often ask,

"Why do we do this? What's the point? How does this make sense? How does this help me or anyone in the community live their life? Does it make a difference?"

My friend Michael Benham, from the Church of St. Phillip's, shares the mentorship of three beloved boys with me from time to time. Treyvon, Jimmie and Shador are their names. I love them. I taught their older brother, Pierre, at North High about five years ago. Michael often accuses me of talking about concepts with the boys that are above their heads. ("How do guys understand the 'The Trinity? What do you make of the relationship between Father, Son, Holy Spirit?" were one set of questions Benham challenged me on posing to the boys. He makes me laugh.)

I think children are much smarter than we give them credit for. I think all of us are smarter than we give ourselves credit for!

(Photo courtesy of Michael Benham)

***

I was sitting with a group of the boys' friends at the back of mass one sunday, and saw them marveling at Treyvon (then 12) up on the alter, serving. I asked if they knew what was going on, why they ring the bells at certain points. Jimmie (10) said,
"It makes me think of doorbells, and like "someone's here!"" and another friend responded, "It's like "pay attention to this part!"

I laughed.

Then I asked them if they knew what was happening with the bread and wine and the priest. I told them, "This is what Jesus did with his friends the last night he was alive."

Another boy said, "It's like we all need to feed ourselves and be ready for whatever is coming next! Like, 'we could die tomorrow, we better be ready!' "

I don't know if adults think this much about the Eucharist, but I know this conversation really rocked me. And it makes me crave such an exchange with my goddaughter.

It makes me crave such exchanges with all people who participate in the Eucharist. It makes me hungry for dialogue about what we are doing at dinner parties. What we are doing at lunch time. Shoot! What are we even doing in our happy hours!?


This is what I think about. This is what I laugh about. This is how I pray, I guess, and I work to live up to this privilege of being anyone's "Godmother." I invite all of us, no matter what our faith tradition, to consider what happens when we dine together or alone. What is at work in our bodies, in our spirits?

How do simple meals feed us? What does any of this have to do with Jesus and his friends? What happens if we consciously consider this? What happens if we don't?

How connected are Delaney Melissa, Treyvon, Jimmie and Shador to each other? To you and me?
(Shador Praying. Photo courtesy of Michael Benham)

Happy Contemplating!
Peace,
Melissa



***
Gospel
Lk 24:35-48

The disciples of Jesus recounted what had taken place along the way,
and how they had come to recognize him in the breaking of bread.

While they were still speaking about this,
he stood in their midst and said to them,
“Peace be with you.”
But they were startled and terrified
and thought that they were seeing a ghost.
Then he said to them, “Why are you troubled?
And why do questions arise in your hearts?
Look at my hands and my feet, that it is I myself.
Touch me and see, because a ghost does not have flesh and bones as you can see I have.”
And as he said this,
he showed them his hands and his feet.
While they were still incredulous for joy and were amazed,
he asked them, “Have you anything here to eat?”
They gave him a piece of baked fish;
he took it and ate it in front of them.

He said to them,
“These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you,
that everything written about me in the law of Moses
and in the prophets and psalms must be fulfilled.”
Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures.
And he said to them,
“Thus it is written that the Christ would suffer
and rise from the dead on the third day
and that repentance, for the forgiveness of sins,
would be preached in his name
to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem.
You are witnesses of these things.”

In the Questions: Mary Magdalene Encountering Christ

I'm thinking about Mary Magdalene today, outside Christ's tomb. He's not there. She is sad. She is crying. There are angels. A gardener appears. It is Christ resurrected, who she doesn't recognize right away, with some words for this weeping woman.

Here are my questions, based on this text from the Gospel of John:

What exactly does Jesus want?
Why does He appear here, to her?
Who is Mary Magdalene to Him?
What does it mean to "go to the father"? To anyone's father?
Why does Jesus command her to "let go" of Him?
Is she clinging and preventing something from happening?
Could He gently, lovingly, be inviting her to release her understanding of the loss of Him, and receive something better?
A resurrected Christ is still Christ, yes? but one of even more power, love, possibility?
What happens when we cling to our own fixed notions of love? What happens when we let go? How does God never let us go? What transpires in our tears and choosing to do nothing, but receive?
What do you and I see before us?
What is our present day tomb?
Who is our present day Rabbouni?
Is Christ appearing in a new form?
What gardeners and angels do we have in our midst?

Hmmm.....

In the questions,
Love!
Melissa

Gospel
Jn 20:11-18

Mary Magdalene stayed outside the tomb weeping.
And as she wept, she bent over into the tomb
and saw two angels in white sitting there,
one at the head and one at the feet
where the Body of Jesus had been.
And they said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping?”
She said to them, “They have taken my Lord,
and I don’t know where they laid him.”
When she had said this, she turned around and saw Jesus there,
but did not know it was Jesus.
Jesus said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping?
Whom are you looking for?”
She thought it was the gardener and said to him, “Sir, if you carried him away,
tell me where you laid him,
and I will take him.”
Jesus said to her, “Mary!”
She turned and said to him in Hebrew, “Rabbouni,”
which means Teacher.
Jesus said to her, “Stop holding on to me,
for I have not yet ascended to the Father.
But go to my brothers and tell them,
‘I am going to my Father and your Father,
to my God and your God.’”
Mary went and announced to the disciples,
“I have seen the Lord,”
and then reported what he had told her.

Mr. Rogers and Jesus

Around New Years, I juxtaposed Bob Marley and Jesus; today, it's Mr. Rogers and Christ. Indulge me.

Today is the birthday of Fred Rogers, of PBS' Mr. Roger's fame. (Information courtesy of The Writer's Almanac* peeps. Thank you!) In the Christian tradition, it's also the day we celebrate Christ's last meal with his friends, the disciples, and and the profound parting words He offered them, as well as the profound actions of loving service He modeled for them.

I think about Mr. Rogers, that cardigan sweater and sneakers, his songs, and I have to sort of laugh.

I think about Jesus, and the bread and wine, the washing of the feet, and I have to sort of stop and wonder.

What would a meal between these two look and sound like? What songs of Fred's might Jesus sing?
How would "Won't you be my neighbor?" flow from Jesus' vocal chords?
(Do you suppose He might whistle this tune?)
Would Mr. Rogers make a train that took us to the Holy Land? How would we observe them today?
Does the Middle East know of Fred Rogers? Do they have their own version?
What kind of Judas might Roger's have encountered?
How do the lessons of Fred Rogers and the lessons of Jesus compare?
Is it blasphemy to compare the two?
What PBS show will my own kids watch and learn from?

Happy Contemplating and Creating Juxtapositions of your own!

Peace,
Melissa


*It is the birthday of beloved children's television host Fred Rogers, born in 1928 in Latrobe, Pennsylvania.

In 1962, Rogers earned a divinity degree from Pittsburgh Theological Seminary, and he was ordained by the Presbyterian Church. Rogers continued his work in television, appearing on camera for the first time in 1963 on his new show, Misterogers, which was aired by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. This show would evolve into Mister Rogers' Neighborhood, which was seen nationally for the first time in 1968.

The show, which began with Rogers singing "It's a Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood" and changing into sneakers and a cardigan, would go on to become the longest-running show on PBS. The program featured themes like feeling good about yourself, getting along with others, and handling fears. Rogers wrote more than 200 songs for the show. The last episode was taped in December 2000.

Standing in the Presence of Pain: A Reflection on Henri Nouwen and Pema Chodron

An Honest Being-With

Being with a friend in great pain is not easy. It makes us uncomfortable. We do not know what to do or what to say, and we worry about how to respond to what we hear. Our temptation is to say things that come more out of our own fear than out of our care for the person in pain. Sometimes we say things like "Well, you're doing a lot better than yesterday," or "You will soon be your old self again," or "I'm sure you will get over this." But often we know that what we're saying is not true, and our friends know it too. We do not have to play games with each other. We can simply say: "I am your friend, I am happy to be with you." We can say that in words or with touch or with loving silence. Sometimes it is good to say: "You don't have to talk. Just close your eyes. I am here with you, thinking of you, praying for you, loving you."

- Fr. Henri Nouwen

How often do we want to "fix" someone else's broken heart, their agony, their fear, their journey? We can't stand to see someone else's woe. It breaks our own hearts, it takes us into the core of our own fears, own hurts, own woes. Or not. I'm not sure. I guess I can only speak for myself.

When I have encountered people, (my students, their mentors, friends) in pain, in abusive situations, in dire straights, seeming destitution, I have wanted to "fix it."

But Fr. Nouwen's words here make me wonder,

"What is enough? What am I called to do or be? What happens if all I am to do is stand alongside? Is pray? Is witness the ache, the deep wonder, the questions, and hold fast to the present moment? Is be love?"

Hmmm.....

I think the Buddhist Nun, Pema Chodron has taught me this, in her writing about being a "warrior of non-aggression" - one who is able to walk into "fire" without having to put it out.

More to meditate on. I invite you to hold Nouwen's words, along with this concept of Chodron's, and weigh the pain and heartache of your own life, your own circumstance, and be okay. Be present to to it.

Peace,
Happy Contemplating!
Melissa

Observations inspired by Paulo Coehlo's "The Alchemist"

Loves,

My friend Tiffany wrote to me today, recommending Paulo Coehlo's book, "The Alchemist."

I first picked up this text at the insistence of Dr. Ernest Darkoh. We were having coffee, that turned into dinner, and a five hour conversation, in Sandton, South Africa, on Sunday, July 18, 2004: Nelson Mandela's Birthday. It was our first and only meeting. We covered topics of calling, passion, purpose, and the writing of Coehlo seemed to connect our mutual faith in the Universe, in God, in Love. Yes.

I have held that Sunday, that conversation, that dear man, and that book in high regard ever since.

What follows is some writing, note-taking, inspired by Coehlo, done in the Fall of 2006. I invite you to consider how the Universe and Love speaks to you, your heart, your spirit, your mind.

Peace,
Melissa

"There is only one way to learn," the alchemist answered. "It's through action. Everything you need to know you have learned through your journey. (p132)

The wise men understood that this natural world is only an image and a copy of paradise. The existence of this world is simply a guarantee that there exists a world that is perfect. God created the world so that, through its visible objects, men could understand his spiritual teachings and the marvels of this wisdom. That's what I mean by action." (p133)

Out walking today, this is what I noticed:

1. They post signs when they clean the streets. No one can park during this period along the particular road.
Wouldn't it be great if we all had such intentionality - rather, if I could be so intentional when cleaning up my life's pathways? I would put up a sign and get help to do this messy 'getting-to-the-bottom-of-things work. It would say:

"Cleaning to take place. Don't park in my way: I'm going about this necessary business. Check out my team of helpers. Watch out for the big machinery."

I love the street cleaners!

2. Between Bayard and Hartford, there are tons of squirrels. Last week, I counted nine brown and one black one on the span of two neighboring lawns. The squirrels make me giggle the way they hover over acorns and jump across the lawns. I wish I could move as quickly, and navigate vertical inclines like the sides of trees.....

Today: I watched as one squirrel spent time examining a plastic bag of dog poop. It was tied neatly, and resting in the grass with a plastic handle that looked like a bow. On my return, a black squirrel went right by it, leaping to the tree, and hustling up and above the icky contents. I want his capacity to leap over sh-t!

3. The sun was shining today, something fierce, and yet: ice cold air was stinging my cheeks, bringing tears to my eyes.

How can both exist in the same space? On the same walk? Is this like being in love and being angry with a person at the same time? How might sunlight and freezing wind on my face teach me about the complexity and capacity of our hearts - of piercing ideas, emotion, experiences?

4. I counted four marked trees. They have these florescent orange dots on them. I imagine Arch Benham would tell me that they have dutch elm disease, they need to be cut down.

What would happen if people had orange dots on them? Wouldn't it make navigation and relationships so much simpler?

"Do not get involved here. This person is sick. Will contaminate you, and destroy your forest; your root system will start to break down."

(I have no idea what Dutch Elm does....maybe I should look into this...?)

5. I picked up two pieces of garbage: A small plastic bottle, half filled with saliva spit out from chewing tobacco. And then an upturned lawn sign by ProTurf: "THIS AREA CHEMICALLY TREATED CHILDREN AND PETS STAY OFF UNTIL: (and then in a white space with black marker, the word " DRY" written in.)

Chemically treated lawns make me nervous.

***

I think there were a lot of signs today. Literal ones. And the treasured figurative ones. That bag of dog poop. The marked trees. Bottle of tobacco spit. That cold wind in the space of bright sun.

I think all of this could be so harsh and potentially threatening, messy if we got in it's way or stepped into it....But there's that dang Sunshine...And those lovely jumping squirrels, who seem to know how to get from one place to the next with a certain amount of grace and charm....

That's where I want to live and place my energy: in the love of warm light and jumping furry figures. Woohoo!

Love you all,
Melissa

"Creating a Home Together"- Words from Henri Nouwen

AMEN!

Creating a Home Together

Many human relationships are like the interlocking fingers of two hands. Our loneliness makes us cling to each other, and this mutual clinging makes us suffer immensely because it does not take our loneliness away. But the harder we try, the more desperate we become. Many of these "interlocking" relationships fall apart because they become suffocating and oppressive. Human relationships are meant to be like two hands folded together. They can move away from each other while still touching with the fingertips. They can create space between themselves, a little tent, a home, a safe place to be.

True relationships among people point to God. They are like prayers in the world. Sometimes the hands that pray are fully touching, sometimes there is distance between them. They always move to and from each other, but they never lose touch. They keep praying to the One who brought them together.

- Fr. Henri Nouwen

"Our Daily Bread" - Another Reflection of Fr. Richard Rohr's

It's Lent. There's time in the desert. There's temptation. There's deep rumination. It's a grand season to take us all through to a sweet party of miracles. (I don't really care if you are Catholic or believe in God and a Resurrection or NOT.) Love is good and here and coming through in this guy's words.


Enjoy Fr. Rohr's wisdom. And try to trust that the Universe will provide for you. Daily! It is! It Does! Yes! Amen!

Peace,
Melissa

"Our Daily Bread"

When Moses prays to God, "Yahweh, feed these people," Yahweh replies, "I will feed them. I will let manna drop from heaven but they are to pick up only enough to feed themselves for one day" (Exodus 16:4). The whole message of the desert is a message of continual dependence on God, minute-by-minute learning to trust in Providence. Some of them want to store up the manna in order to have some for tomorrow. They want to plan for the future, and allay their fears. Moses says, "No! Only enough for today. Yahweh will give you your daily bread. But some kept an excess for the following day, and it bred maggots and smelt foul" (Exodus 16:20). Instead we say, "Give us this day our daily bread." How strange these words sound to a people with savings accounts, insurance policies and three-year warranties, even on their toasters!

from The Great Themes of Scripture
-Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM

"I Will Be With You" - Comforting Words from God, Via Moses and Fr. Richard Rohr

Friends,

I found amazing comfort and joy in these words.... Please share with anyone who may be struggling in their own steps, in their own journeys - as Love calls them forward.

Peace,
Melissa


"I Will Be With You"

Moses said to God, "Who am I to go to Pharaoh and bring the people of Israel out of Egypt?" (Exodus 3:11). The Lord answers, "I shall be with you." That's all. Simply, I'll be with you! He wouldn't tell Moses how to do it. He doesn't give him a timetable, any directions, simply - "I'll be with you" (3:12). Moses's power is the presence of the Lord. That's all! In every religious experience in the Bible, a person comes to an experience of God and god says, simply, I shall be with you. I will do it. Trust me. The directions come as you walk the journey. The word is not fully given until the first steps are taken. This is perfectly borne out as the Hebrews journey through the desert. Moses said to Yahweh's face, in his fourth attempt to get out of the job, "I am slow of speech. Why should Pharaoh listen to me?" (Exodus 4:10). Yahweh again comes back to him and says, I've given you the command. Go ahead. I will be with you. Do it! (4:12).

from The Great Themes of Scripture
Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM

"Love Your Enemy - Within?!" A little Radical Love Contemplation, Courtesy of Fr. Richard Rohr

The following speaks directly to my heart. Fr. Rohr echoes and underscores what I was trying to articulate in my reflection from February 9th, ("After November 2, 2004") reflecting on our last election. His words also illuminate - in greater depth and clarity for me - an aspect of what Sun Tzu was conveying in "The Art of War" - with the cautionary words "Choose your enemy wisely, for you eventually become him."

Good God! We are the enemy when we haven't taken the time to love here, first, within!

Read this with your own heart in mind. I dare you to ask,

"What is unforgiven in my own spirit? In my own life? In my own body? What do I go to war with everyday? What lies within? What enrages me out there?"

Peace!
Melissa

"Love Your Enemies"

Fear is the major barrier to the emergence of great faith and great-souled people. To enter into the mystery of forgiveness, we must first recognize our fears. Most of what we hold in unforgiveness we fear. I was given the impression, when I grew up in the Church, that the problem was doubt. And so all our teaching was head education. Teach people up here how to get the right answers about God and then they will have great faith. Show me where head information alone has created great-souled people, prophets of great desire, freedom and courage for the Church! God speaks to us, heals us and frees us at another level, at the level of our fears. Until you allow God to address your fears, you'll never recognize them yourself and you'll undoubtedly be trapped in them. As we grow in faith, we move beyond the need to exclude (he, she, they are the enemy). We gradually move into that place where we can risk letting the would-be enemy in. And then begins the way of wisdom. We find ourselves capable, at last, of obeying what is the greatest of Jesus' commandments, the most radical of all of his teaching: Love your enemies. How many of us love other people who kick us around, who make it hard for us? We haven't internalized the commandments of Jesus. Scriptural language, though, is both introverted and extroverted. If we haven't been able to love our enemies out there, if we still think the Russians or Iraqis are the problem, it's probably because we haven't first loved the enemy within. And if we haven't forgiven the enemy within, we will never know how to love and forgive the "enemies" without.

from The Passion of God and the Passion Within - By Richard Rohr