circle of prayer 6. the day: evening and morning: interlude

"the heavens declare the glory of god,
the vault of heaven proclaims his handiwork:
day discourses of it to day,
night to night hands on the knowledge." (Psalm 19:1-2)

in a section of his delightfully insightful book prayer shapes believing called "hinges of daily prayer," leonel h. mitchell more or less proves scholastically that evening and morning prayer "have a different status" from other times of prayer, quoting from the second vatican council's constitution on sacred liturgy that "[they]are the two hinges on which the daily office turns. they must be considered as the chief hours and are to be celebrated as such;" from robert taft, s.j., that "the offices at the begenning and end of day are . . . ritual moments symbolic of the whole of time . . . . they are our priest prayer as god's priestly people for our needs and those of the entire world. this is what liturgy means . . . . as a matter of fact, this is what life means;" and from the taize community, that "the liturgy of the church, the daily office, is part of the heavenly liturgy, of the office of christ and the angels, presenting before the throne of the father the prayersof the saints, toether with their own praise and intercessions."

of course, only we silly people need this proof, this reminder. the rest of the animal kingdom, knows and celebrates. at dusk and at dawn there is always a pause, a change in dance and song. i have watched, at black bass lake in arkansas, young white-tailed does dance their lauds as the sun lightens the mists of the new creation. and one midsummer, one in which the full moon and the solstice coincided, making very high tides that swallowed the beaches of hope island at the southern end of puget sound, i read vespers each evening in a madrona that overhung the water, i on one branch, and each evening for a week, a raven on another. we came, i think, to begin to understand each other's alien chants.

each of those evenings we both, man and raven, were given the amazing gifts of darkness and pregnancy, water and the mother. and each mornining, as i would boil water for the tea with which i toasted the rising son, sent to "guide our feet into the way of peace," (luke 1:79b) that raven, who came to share his oat meal with me, and i were given the amazing gifts of light and birth, warmth and the father.

appendex: canticles

The Song of Mary Magnificat
Luke 1:46-55

My soul doth magnify the Lord, *
and my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Savior.
For he hath regarded *
the lowliness of his handmaiden.
For behold from henceforth *
all generations shall call me blessed.
For he that is mighty hath magnified me, *
and holy is his Name.
And his mercy is on them that fear him *
throughout all generations.
He hath showed strength with his arm; *
he hath scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts.
He hath put down the mighty from their seat, *
and hath exalted the humble and meek.
He hath filled the hungry with good things, *
and the rich he hath sent empty away.
He remembering his mercy hath holpen his servant Israel, *
as he promised to our forefathers,
Abraham and his seed for ever.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit: *
as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen


The Song of Zechariah Benedictus Dominus Deus
Luke 1:68-79

Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, *
for he hath visited and redeemed his people;
And hath raised up a mighty salvation for us *
in the house of his servant David,
As he spake by the mouth of his holy prophets, *
which have been since the world began.
That we should be saved from our enemies, *
and from the hand of all that hate us;
To perform the mercy promised to our forefathers, *
and to remember his holy covenant;
To perform the oath which he sware to our forefather Abraham, *
that he would give us,
That we being delivered out of the hand of our enemies *
might serve him without fear,
In holiness and righteousness before him, *
all the days of our life.

And thou, child, shalt be called the prophet of the Highest, *
for thou shalt go before the face of the Lord
to prepare his ways;
To give knowledge of salvation unto his people *
for the remission of their sins,
Through the tender mercy of our God, *
whereby the dayspring from on high hath visited us;
To give light to them that sit in darkness
and in the shadow of death, *
and to guide our feet into the way of peace.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit: *
as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen.

The Song of Simeon Nunc dimittis
Luke 2:29-32


Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, *
according to thy word;
For mine eyes have seen thy salvation, *
which thou hast prepared before the face of all people,
To be a light to lighten the Gentiles, *
and to be the glory of thy people Israel.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit: *
as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen

Song of the Three Young Men, 35-65 Benedicite, omnia opera Domini


I Invocation

O all ye works of the Lord, bless ye the Lord; *
praise him and magnify him for ever.
O ye angels of the Lord, bless ye the Lord; *
praise him and magnify him for ever.


II The Cosmic Order

O ye heavens, bless ye the Lord; *
O ye waters that be above the firmament, bless ye the Lord;
O all ye powers of the Lord, bless ye the Lord; *
praise him and magnify him for ever.
O ye sun and moon, bless ye the Lord; *
O ye stars of heaven, bless ye the Lord;
O ye showers and dew, bless ye the Lord; *
praise him and magnify him for ever.

O ye winds of God, bless ye the Lord; *
O ye fire and heat, bless ye the Lord;
O ye winter and summer, bless ye the Lord; *
praise him and magnify him for ever.

O ye dews and frosts, bless ye the Lord; *
O ye frost and cold, bless ye the Lord;
O ye ice and snow, bless ye the Lord; *
praise him and magnify him for ever.

O ye nights and days, bless ye the Lord; *
O ye light and darkness, bless ye the Lord;
O ye lightnings and clouds, bless ye the Lord; *
praise him and magnify him for ever.


III The Earth and its Creatures

O let the earth bless the Lord; *
O ye mountains and hills, bless ye the Lord;
O all ye green things upon the earth, bless ye the Lord; *
praise him and magnify him for ever.

O ye wells, bless ye the Lord; *
O ye seas and floods, bless ye the Lord;
O ye whales and all that move in the waters, bless ye the Lord;
praise him and magnify him for ever.

O all ye fowls of the air, bless ye the Lord; *
O all ye beasts and cattle, bless ye the Lord;
O ye children of men, bless ye the Lord; *
praise him and magnify him for ever.

IV The People of God

O ye people of God, bless ye the Lord; *
O ye priests of the Lord, bless ye the Lord;
O ye servants of the Lord, bless ye the Lord; *
praise him and magnify him for ever.

O ye spirits and souls of the righteous, bless ye the Lord; *
O ye holy and humble men of heart, bless ye the Lord.
Let us bless the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit; *
praise him and magnify him for ever.

circle of prayer 5. the day: evening and morning: evening

there is a tribe, the kogi, in tropical south america, who say that when an infant begins life it knows three things: mother, night, and water.

the same simple but profound knowledge is reflected in the daily prayer of the church, who has not forgotten that the evening and the morning are the day, even if this wisdom shows up in popular culture only as christmas eve and hallowe'en.

water in the womb it is dark and we live surrounded by water, our own little sea, remembered in romance language congates such as mere and mar, mother and ocean, and celebrated in the first sacrament of the church, baptism, which in an ancient custom being more and more recovered, happens in its fullest on the eve of easter, when we are plunged into the waters of rebirth as we remember our lord's day in the womb of mother earth, sharing his death that we might share his resurrection. paul describes this image beautifully in the sixth chapter of his epistle to the romans: ". . . when we were baptized we went into the tomb with him and joined him in death, so that as christ was raised from the dead by the father's glory, we too might live a new life." (6:4)

night each evening, but especially saturday evening, beginning as it does the sunday, the little easter, the day of the resurrection, is an opportunity to reclaim the promises of baptism, not only those we made or which were made for us, but more importantly those the church made to us and which we as the body of christ made to one another. we confess our sins and forgive and are forgiven. we reenter the darkness of the womb of rebirth to start another, yet more glorious day.

mother and we sing the magnificat (see the appendex for this and other canticles), the great canticle of the mother of our lord. as we sing we not only to fulfill the prophetic line, "all generations will call me blessed," (luke 1:48) but also because we, too, if we say "let it be according to your word," (luke 1:38) may have the holy spirit come upon us that we, too, may become temples of the holy one in order as it says in the eucharistic liturgy, "that he may dwell in us and we in him." it is by making ourselves available to birth the kingdom of god that we are birthed into the kingdom of god.

perhaps the gospel of thomas has it right:

"if you give birth to that which is in you,
it will save you.
if you keep it within you,
it will be your death." (gospel of thomas 71, author's translation)

circle of prayer 4. holiness: the sabbath

"on the seventh day god completed the work he had been doing. he rested on the seventh day after all the work he had been doing. god blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on that day he had rested from all his work of creating." (genesis 2:2-3)

simone weil had the insight that god and all creation is less than god alone. this is a clue to why holiness is spoken only of the sabbath, that part of creation in which god rested. often we hear said, whether in awe or in derision, that the world was created in seven days. but everything that was made was made in six days. yet the week has seven days, ending in the holiness of god's resting.

as the story that begins in genesis continues, rest and its connection with holiness will be a recurring theme. sometimes it is the story of holiness lost, as in psalm 95 (:10-11):

"for forty years that generation repelled me,
until i said; how unreliable these people
who refuse to grasp my ways! and so, in anger, i swore that not one
would reach the place of rest i had for them.

sometimes it is an invitation to holiness, as in isaiah (30:15):

for thus says the lord YHWH, the holy one of israel:
your salvation lies in returning and rest,
your strength in complete trust." (jb emended by the author after bcp 1979)

sometimes it is reported as an experience, as in psalm 131 (:1-2):

'YHWY, my heart has no lofty ambitions,
my eyes do not look too high.
i am not concerned with great affairs
or marvels beyond my scope.
enough for me to keep my soul tranquil and quiet
like a child in its mother's arms,s
as content as a child that has been weaned.

and finally, when the messiah had come, and the writer of the epistle to the hebrews would try to understand this awesome act of god "according to the scriptures," he or she would use the metaphor of sabbath rest to describe our great salvation. (hebrews 3:7-4:11)

day 41: the day after the ascension

for the first disciples, the day after the ascension must have been one of the weirdest days yet. following jesus had been full of surprises. indeed surprise is far too weak a word. i mean, there they were, staying alive in the empire, maybe not, certainly not, leading the lives of their dreams, but getting by, eating, sleeping in warm cozy houses, hoping for more freedom for the children they might have, when bam! comes this man compelling them into abundant life with two words: "follow me."

they followed, and they knew as they had never known anything before that the words he spoke were truth, that he himself indeed was truth. but he led them not to the freedom they had imagined but to a passover at which the first born of israel would himself die, not escape, and die the cruelest, most humiliating death the empire, now roman rather than egyptian, could devise.

they had scattered, they had hidden, they had feared. but he had found them, and given them his peace. the empire of sin and death had no claims on him. he was alive, and with with them once again.

and now, after only forty days, he was not. only forty days, a period so short their detractors, inded even some of the twelve, said could just be a delusion, wishful thinking.

some doubted.

but he had said to wait, and they had not much else to do, and their time with him, the three years and the forty days, and their time without him, the three days of primaeval darkness, had changed them. they doubted, but they trusted. besides, what else could they do?

they waited for "what the father has promised . . . . the power from on high" (luke 24:49) they would be ready "to restore the kingdom to israel." (acts 1:6) they would repent from judas/ defection by choosing annother twelvth, one who would coincidentally bear the good maccabean name of mat'thias. (acts 1:21-26)

and they waited, gathered in the upper room, no longer for fear of the religious authorities, for the fear of god is only the beginning of wisdom, but in expectation and in love, growing in the womb of the newborn church which would take her first breath "when pentecost was fully come."

ten days they waited, an advent rosary, each day a prayer that has continued to prepare the church for the power from on high:

"come, lord jesus!"
maranatha

ascension day: clap your hands (psalm 47:1)

i am always delighted that one of the daily office readings for this day is the vision of ezekiel. i keep trying to paint it. it can't be done. peter paul rubens failed, so why should i think i can. the best effort i've seen is by william h. johnson.

one of the things implied by this juxtaposition of images, ezekiel's wheel with jesus' ascension, is that the throne to which jesus ascends is the throne which is occupied by yhwh. hear, o israel, old israel and new israel: the god of the old testament and the god of the new testament, is one god.

but the one god is not unchanged by the incarnation. the jesus who ascends is the same jesus who walked and talked and ate with us humans, and he is the same jesus who will return. this is the jesus who still has in his hands and feet and side the scars of the passion, who hungered and thirsted and who was tempted in all ways as we are.

thanks be to god.

st. brendan

the 16th of may, the feast of st. brendan, is one of my favourites. it was on the 16th of may a.d.2002 that i set forth on a journey by kayak, named brendan, that would change my life, introducing me to the life of a hermit and showing me the wonderful oneness of all creation. there is indeed link to a photograph of me in that kayak on the net.

the story of brendan continues to inspire me. last year, when i first came to the ozarks to "listen to the wind words," i brought with me celtic daily prayer ( the northumbria community, ed. harper san francisco, 2002). in it (pp. 191-193) were these words for "brendan--in exploration of a vision:"

"lord, i will trust you,
help me to journey beyond the familiar
and into the unknown.
give me the faith to leave old ways
and break fresh ground with you.

christ of the mysteries, can i trust you
to be stronger than each storm in me?

do i still yearn for your glory to lighten on me?

do i show others the care you've given me.

i determine amidst all uncertainty
always to trust.

i choose to live beyond regret,
and let you recreate my life.

i believe you will make a way for me
and provide for me,
if only i trust you
and obey.

i will trust in the darkness and know
that my times are still in your hand.

i will believe you for my future,
chapter by chapter, until all the story is written.

focus my mind and my heart upon you,
my attention always on you without alteration.

strengthen me with your blessing
and appoint to me the task.

teach me to live with eternity inview.
tune my spirit to the music of heaven.

feed me,
and, somehow,
make my obedience count for you.

the words seem just as good this year.

circle of prayer 3. male and female: icon of god as community

"god said, 'let us make man in our own image, in the likeness of ourselves, and let them be masters of the fish of the sea, the birds of heaven, the cattle, all the wild beasts and all the reptiles that crawl upon the earth.

"god created man in the image of himself,
in the image of god he created him,
male and female he created them.

"god blessed them . . . ." (genesis 1:26-28)

at first this passage may seem an odd choice in a reflection on time, on what we usually call the church year. but the holy one's creation is not an abstract or merely subjective act. nor is it, despite many writers' claims, perfect. it is good, indeed very good. but not perfect, not finished. jesus will say, "my father goes on working, and so do i." (john 5:17) he will also model what it really means to be a master, assuming the role of a slave and washing his disciples' feet (john 13:1-20). but that will be far in the future. for now this mancreature, male and female, is iconic and prophetic. this is the particular creature which god blesses, who is created in "our own image, in the likeness of ourselves," revealing that the creator, although one god, is also a community, whom this mancreature will come to know as a trinity of persons, coming to understand that our own personhood exists fully in community as well. and ultimately in the incarnation, the holy one will take on our very flesh. god's spirit will hover over mary the mother of jesus in a new creation. all of these things will happen in time, not as randomly strung beads of chaos, of unrelated events, but in days and months, weeks and years, that reveal the continuing work of god and that form us in his image day by day. we are created both to be the recipient of the holy one's self-revelation and the agents of that revelation. we are blessed, the only part of creation of which this is said, to be a blessing.

circle of prayer 2. festivals, days and years: cosmic events

"god said, 'let there be lights in the vault of heaven to divide day from night, and let them indicate festivals, days and years.'" (genesis 1:14)

many modern writers, non-christian and christian both, assume that festivals are somewhat arbitrary, being entirely human inventions, no divine revelation of them having happened or being possible. but genesis asserts, in agreement with most people everywhere who live close to nature, to the creation, that festivals are part of the same natural order as "scientifically observable" days and years. this assertion is not primarily epistemological, about how we know things, but ethical, about how we live. how we celebrate festivals is deeply important not only to our well-being, but to the well-being of the whole world.

so isaiah will report "the word of yahweh" both as
"what are your endless sacrifices to me?
. . .
i am sick of holocausts of rams,
and the fat of calves.
the blood of bulls and goats revolts me.
. . .
new moons, sabbaths, assemblies--
i cannot endure festivals and solemnities.
. . .
your hands are covered with blood,
wash, make yourself clean." (isaiah 1:10-16)

and as

"Jacob, you have not invoked me,
you have not troubled yourself on my behalf.
you have not brought me your sheep for holocausts
nor honored me with sacrifices." (isaiah 43:22-23)

on time, life, and the recreation of the universe

for many years now i have been pondering the wonderful way the "church year" brings together the elements of the universe and of our life in christ. i am not becoming any younger, so if i want to put this together in some hopefully helpful form, the time to do it is now.

what i want to do is to try to establish the relationship between the day, the week, and the year, then to show how the same patterns are revealed in our lives in christ as part of the recreation of the universe.

your responses are welcomed.

circle of prayer 1. the holy one: the evening and the morning as revelation

"in the beginning, god created the heavens and the earth." (genesis 1:1)

thus begins the story which comprehends all stories. it is the story not only of the holy one's creation of all things, but also of his self-revelation through all things.

how could it be otherwise? if it is true for us, who are created in the image of god, that all writing is autobiography, all painting self-portraiture, should it surprise us if creation is the first way god shows himself?

the story continues:

"now the earth was a formless void, there was darkness over the deep, and God's spirit hovered over the water.

"god said, "let there be light,' and there was light. god saw that light was good, and god divided light from darkness. god called light 'day,' and darkness he called 'night.' evening came and morning came: the first day." (genesis 1:1b-5)

thus comes about god's first creations, light andtime. with time, evening and morning, the first day, comes also a pattern we can see repeated again and again. out of darkness comes the light. here in these opening verses of genesis are predicted (in the literal sense of "spoken before") the mystery of pregnancy and birth, samson's riddle, the exodus from egyptian slavery, the season of advent, and the resurrection from the dead. here we are given a hermeneutic for understand all the scripture to follow. here eternity puts on the clothing of time, even as god in christ will put on the clothing of flesh.