Religion Can Still Transform; Hope for the Future

I was lucky enough for my car to pick up a nail in the left rear tire the other day.

So, I made an appointment at my favorite shop to get it fixed. Warranties are so nice. The whole thing was free. Arriving at 6:50 in the morning, which is a perfect time for those who have attained elderhood, I found five old boomers and a millennial waiting for service. The doors opened precisely at 7:00.  We were processed into a computer queue and surrendered our keys.

Two of our group left their cars and were picked up by doting children. The rest of us settled into chairs with coffee in hand. The conversation started out with an octogenarian woman complimenting the hat of another who was somewhat younger. Funny how things can get started. I am reminded of the scriptural reference that whenever two or more are gathered, God is among them. Rough translation. Of course, God is always with each of us. But there is a sacredness in gathering together because an immediate community has a chance to emerge.

During our hour together, an unusual depth of sharing happened. We spoke of a spouse who is suffering from dementia in a nursing home, stories of growing up black in rural Memphis, recovering from surgeries, a defiant adult grandchild, the effects of growing old and trying to stay fit. We talked about karma, punishment and love. All the time, our young millennial was listening intently. She even said she was learning and appreciated being part of the unintentional group.

Our little meeting reminded me of the church in so many ways. Religion, like everything else, seems to be undergoing some big changes. Some of those are not very pretty. A so-called spiritual advisor who has the ear of our top leaders ranted in a public prayer that called on Jesus Christ to “command all satanic pregnancies to miscarry right now.” She later walked it back saying she was being metaphoric. A televangelist recently flashed a photograph of the Speaker of the House of Representatives while referring to "demons from hell." Islamist extremism caused 84,000 deaths in 2017.

Fanatics seem to be running rampant in almost every religion. I dare say that not one of them is reflecting the true nature of their faith nor are they representing God in any way, shape, or form. But they have followings and their voices divide a world that so desperately needs love, healing, and a joining together.

There is also a movement afoot that envisions a spiritual reawakening which it purports is underway right now. It's clerics and laypeople ask for organized religions to become transformational rather than transactional, teaching about simple living, nonviolence, inclusivity, and love of enemies. People seem to be starving for this kind of revival. Meetings such as those of AA, Celebrate Recovery, Cursillo, Tres Dias, and spontaneous gatherings like the one I experienced the other day speak to the depth of that hunger.

Thomas Keating once said that “The primary purpose of religion is to help us move beyond the separate-self sense to union with God.” I believe and teach that our separateness from self and from each other is merely an illusion. This is reflected in the Spanish folk song, De Colores. which is beloved by children and widely used in retreats. It sings simple lyrics of love, acceptance, and oneness which should resonate with all authentic faith systems.

De colores, de colores

Se visten los campos en la primavera.

De colores, de colores

Son los pajaritos que vienen de afuera.

De colores, de colores

Es el arco iris que vemos lucir.

Y por eso los grandes amores

De muchos colores me gustan a mí.

English Translation

In colors, in colors

The fields are dressed in the spring.

In colors, in colors

Are the little birds that come from outside.

In colors, in colors

Is the rainbow that we see shining.

And that is why I love

The great loves of many colors

We have come to a time in which authoritarian (my way or the highway) religion suggesting a vindictive and punitive God who plays favorites should come to an end. Hearts are crying out to our God of Love for restorative salvation, freedom, and acceptance by the entire community of human beings who long to be joined hand in hand.

The True Meaning of the Holidays (And Those 5 Golden Rings)

Today is known by some as the Fifth Day. It isn't widely celebrated nowadays, but there is good reason to give it another look.

We have been bombarded by familiar holiday songs for the past several weeks. One played over and over is The Twelve Days of Christmas. With partridges in pear trees, pipers piping, and lords-a-leaping, we sing along wondering what in the world it all means. Some say it represents secret Roman Catholic teaching during times of persecution. Whatever the origin, when we come to the fifth of those days, the true lover (God) brings the gift of five golden rings.

One explanation of this has stayed with me over the years. Bob Brown, a psychology professor of mine at Kishwaukee College used the metaphor to explain the relationship between our five basic human senses of touch, sight, hearing, smell, and taste which allow us to better understand the world around us, and what King Henry VIII called the five "inward wits" of instinct, imagination, fantasy, estimation, and memory.

While not the premiere of a new holiday tradition, FX’s new A Christmas Carol taps into the story’s promise of spiritual renewal..

Bob taught that the five rings become golden when all ten senses are engaged, hence connecting our outer and spiritual selves. This, he maintained was the essence of a healthy psyche. He certainly had a good point. When we are completely in tune with physical reality and our deeper stirrings, we are likely to be quite well balanced. It could be that the Fifth Day is a gift which points us toward a more enlightened way of living in the coming new year and new decade.

There is a new version of Charles Dickens classic story "A Christmas Carol" presented this year on FX cable channel. It's a spooky departure from the original tale of Ebenezer Scrooge's dark night of the soul. For those 'Scrooge purisits' among us, their artistic license has stretched itself to a breaking point.

In it, Ebenezer is a victim of childhood trauma by his father and chronic sexual abuse at the hands of his school headmaster. He acts out and survives his victimization by relying only on his five basic senses. But driven by resentment and lack of any emotions, Scrooge's cruel acts cost others dearly and doom him to a bleak solitary life. Like too many of us, he is able to justify amoral behavior as a byproduct of financial gain and success. Whatever the consequences, they are chalked up as unforeseen and unintentional.

It is the job of Jacob Marley and three spirits (Past, Present, and Future) to not only make him face his responsibilities, but to imbue him with legitimate feelings and a sense of connectedness. His redemption doesn't end as the story closes. And the writers make it very clear that those same spirits have plenty of work to do with each of us. Merging ten senses into five golden rings, it seems, requires quite a bit of work. But it is a gift that enables our physical and spiritual lives to explode with new meaning.

The calendar is bringing us closer to year and decade end.

In the next couple of days, we have a unique opportunity to get serious about what we would like to make of ourselves. An imaginary clean slate is waiting for the words we will write and those that will be written about us. The choice is ours. Will it be a headlong plunge into grasping for more or could it be a wading into transformative self discovery leading to kindheartedness? One will lead to an ending and the other will lead to a becoming. Dickens reflection of what might happen is a treasure.

Scrooge was better than his word. He did it all, and infinitely more; and to Tiny Tim, who did not die, he was a second father. He became as good a friend, as good a master, and as good a man, as the good old city knew, or any other good old city, town, or borough, in the good old world...May that be truly said of us, and all of us! And so, as Tiny Tim observed, God bless Us, Every One!

Gifts of The Wonderful

“The main trouble is there are too many people who don't know where they're going and they want to get there too fast!”

Sylvester (The Bishop’s Wife, 1947)

I’m waiting for The Wonderful. 

It’s coming as sure as there will be white Christmases, holiday decorations, familiar old songs, eggnog, stuffed stockings and presents under the tree.  Many of us have the luxury of fond memories, enticing smells of things cooking and a landscape that twinkles with a thousand lights to remind us.  Some have not been as fortunate. 

But we must remember that there is more to Christmas than the things we might receive and give.  I have come to call it The Wonderful.  It has to do with a marvelous transformation that seems to happen to people this time of the year.  Waiting for The Wonderful creates an atmosphere of childlike joy.  The possibility of a miracle reigns supreme. Something extraordinary is coming as our waiting takes on a joy of its’ own.

Christmas movies always put me ‘in the mood’ for the coming festivities.  Among my favorites are old black and whites from post-World War II. The men and women who had been engaged in devastating struggles of battle were back home and in the process of creating a bold new world.  They rolled up their sleeves, went to work, built houses, attended schools, and dreamed dreams of prosperity. 

By 1947, the simple times and ways of a Norman Rockwell agri-rural America were forever altered.  Along with the many changes came a more bountiful and materialistic focus on Christmas.  Presents were stacked under lighted trees instead of hung on branches.  More became better…and that notion was reflected in the movies. 

Two very different films were presented that year.  One was ‘Miracle on 34th Street’ which portrayed the Macys parade and an abundance of shopping.  The other was ‘The Bishop’s Wife’ which reminded a hurried nation to slow it down and to think about what our Christmas observance was all about.  This picture sums up the essence of The Wonderful.  It ended with a Bishop’s sermon written by an angel.  This is what he said;

https://youtu.be/XQoRul2ez1w

“Tonight I want to tell you the story of an empty stocking. Once upon a midnight clear, there was a child's cry. A blazing star hung over a stable and wise men came with birthday gifts. We haven't forgotten that night down the centuries; we celebrate it with stars on Christmas trees, the sound of bells and with gifts. But especially with gifts.

You give me a book; I give you a tie. Aunt Martha has always wanted an orange squeezer and Uncle Henry could do with a new pipe. We forget nobody, adult or child. All the stockings are filled...all that is, except one. And we have even forgotten to hang it up.

The stocking for the child born in a manger. It's his birthday we are celebrating. Don't ever let us forget that. Let us ask ourselves what he would wish for most... and then let each put in his share. Loving-kindness, warm hearts and the stretched out hand of tolerance. All the shining gifts that make peace on earth.”

Today, amid all the hustle and bustle, I will remember to fill a stocking in my heart with the most important gift of all. I will eagerly welcome The Wonderful.

Photo by Ben White on Unsplash