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Scribbles from...
It has been said, and I do believe, that the last thing that happens to a baby before it Is born is that an angel kisses it on the cheek and then whispers in its ear, “Remember! Remember from where you have come and remember to where you will return.” And then we spend the rest of our lives trying to remember, but mostly, forgetting.
There is something about this telling that we know to be essentially true. If ever you have gazed deeply into the eyes of a newborn child as this child looks back at you, you have seen there both wonder and wisdom. If ever you held that newborn in your arms and the two of you have fallen asleep together, you might remember falling into the deepest, dreamless sleep from which you awakened both incredibly refreshed and at peace, but also with a kind of startle and the sense that you had been someplace totally other than where you now are.
I remember as a young mother holding my first-born, overwhelmed at the prospect of explaining life to her. But looking into those incredible eyes I was met with the simple question, “Which one of us most recently saw the face of God?” Surely, it was this innocent child in my arms. I realized then that my role was to bow before the mystery of who she was and of what God was about in her life. I was there as much to learn as to teach.
What happens, then, to this first-blush beginning to life? "Remember!" seems an uphill struggle.
In her book, A Tree Full of Angels, Macrina Weidekehr tells a story from the childhood of the British poet/artist, William Blake. As he rambled through the hills near his home of Dulwich, he was suddenly confronted with the first rays of sunlight shimmering through a silver maple tree, a moment of wonder, resplendent with light. He gazed at the vision uncertain if the golden arms before him were tree branches or angel wings. He then grew certain he was standing before a tree full of angels dazzling him with their glorious presence. Heart filled with joy, he ran quickly home to tell his parents the joyful tidings. “I saw a tree filled with angels.” His father was about to punish him for telling lies when his mother stepped in and reminded him of the reading from Hebrews about “entertaining angels unaware.” (13:2).
In a lifetime of listening to peoples’ God stories, I have come to believe that all of us have such numinous moments and often these hearken to our childhood. But we are disabused of our belief in them by incredulity or mockery, the appeal to logic or circumstance. Yet, we know what we have seen and we know its effect upon us. Its reality is not dependent on the surrounding conditions, but on the mark it has made upon our heart and memory.
“Remember! Remember from where you have come and to where you will return.”
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Looking Ahead to Lent and Easter...
Often we turn the page to February and find Ash Wednesday staring back at us. This year Lent does not begin until Wednesday, March 5th, with Easter falling on April 20th, a date we share this year with the Orthodox. All of this means that my usual Lent and Easter planning is off a ways. Having said that, here's a heads up. One event already booked is Good Friday, WITNESSES ON THE WAY, for which I am once again partnering with RETREAT, REFLECT, RENEW. Your Save-the-Date is below:
"This Good Friday let us be intentional about setting aside time to meditate on Christ's Passion. Join us for WITNESSES ON THE WAY, a communal, prayerful reflection on the people and the events of that day. From Jesus’ sentencing before Pilate to his being laid in the tomb, various individuals are a part of his journey. During our time together each of us will be given one of these witnesses as a way to enter into the story with the eyes and heart of someone who was there.
Together we will learn about and share our witnesses using Scripture, quiet reflection, prayer, group sharing, and creative process. We will close our time together by gathering our stories into the larger narrative of the Passion, praying our way to the cross and tomb. Please reserve Friday, April 18th, 9 am to 12:30 pm, Pacific time."
Responses from Readers...
(in response to Dec 11th Scribbles, "She Said Yes"
Yes, I have Josephus, thanks to you, and yes, he hated Herod rightly. There are many instances of his cruelty chronicled in the book. It would not be accurate, however, to say that because he did not record the slaying of children in Bethlehem, it did not happen. It is always satisfying to get corroborating evidence from a secondary source, but that is rare when dealing with ancient history. The breadth and extent of Herod's cruelty was such that the Bethlehem incident would be only one among many others. I do not know why that priest spoke as he did. Perhaps it was a cautionary remark lest we take things too literally. The Scriptures are, after all, a testament of faith, not history. Maybe he just meant to Impress you for some reason. Hard to say. It is unkind, however, to say something that could undermine people's faith without providing them another assurance or at least, an explanation. - Kathleen
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