Halloween

 We pause in our series on 33 of the Names of God because today is Halloween. This ancient Celtic festival was adopted or co-opted by the Church into a remembrance of All the Saints of God on November 1. All Hallow’s Eve is the night before, or eve (evening before), the Feast of All Saints. “Hallow” is an old term for Saints. The use of All Hallow’s Even first shows up in the 1500’s in Scotland. In the 1700’s was contracted from All Hallow’s Even into Hallow’s-een and then into Halloween.

Many scholars think that the traditions of Halloween that we are so fond of, jack-o-lanterns, costumes, even trick-or-treat are remnants of the Celtic festival of Samhain, which happened about the same time of year. During this ‘thin time’ souls of the dead can revisit their homes and are welcomed. This custom is found in other cultures, such as Day of the Dead in Mexico where feasts are prepared and taken to the graves of loved ones, as this image shows.

The Christian church’s Feast of All Saints, and the next day’s remembrance of All Souls, dates from the 4^th Century, although the date was not set as November 1 until the 9^th century by Pope Gregory IV. Since Irish monks came to mainland Europe starting in the 6^th Century, one can postulate that their presence influenced the growth of this feast, and the associated activities.  

This is a time of year to remember we are all “Saints of God.” In Deuteronomy we hear, For you are a holy people to the Lord your God; the Lord your God has chosen you to be a people for His own possession out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth. (Deuteronomy 7:6) St. Paul more specifically states that all are saints when he tells the church in Corinth, those who have been sanctified in Christ Jesus, saints by calling, with all who in every place call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, their Lord and ours. (I Corinthians 1:2)

Chosen, holy, sanctified and saints—those can seem like big shoes to fill and big promises to live into. We should remember that the women and men we name as 'saints' were just as human as we are. They had the same struggles and failings we do. And we are reminded that we are never alone in our juorney to being a saint by calling. Matthew 28:20 gives us the promise of Jesus, surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.

Remembering our loved ones and the lives of the saints can encourage us in our own faith journey. We can emulate where they lived into the love of God and learn from their errors. We can read about the ‘big name’ saints and discover that they were just as human as we are. That can give us inspiration and courage.

Who are your favorite saints? St. Francis, Hildegard of Bingen, Mother Teresa or perhaps your aunt Mabel or cousin Tom?? In a couple weeks, women in the Diocese of the Rio Grande will look at some of the saints, both those recognized by the church, and others who are "Women of Valor and Worth" during our Fall Retreat. You can still register to attend via Zoom. 

Maybe this Halloween will give you time to celebrate the saints in your life. Perhaps you can welcome them into your heart, even if you don’t prepare a feast for them at your table, or at their grave. 

Pentecost: Not Alone

We’ve been looking at how God is working in and through us to make us diamonds and masterpieces. As we noted last week, it’s not necessarily the big and grand things that make the most difference. It can be the small things we do because we are women and men of faith.

At the Daughters of the King Assembly I spoke about last week; the keynote speaker was Deborah Smith Douglas. She is an author, speaker, spiritual advisor, and deeply faith-filled woman. Her topic was Deepening Prayer. Douglas reminded us all that in our faith journey, we are never alone.

She said, we are always in the company of the saints who have gone before. Some of these are well known women or men. Others are the everyday people who lived a life of faith and in doing so, changed their corner of the world. In fact, many of those considered saints, like Julian of Norwich or Mother Teresa had no aspirations for sainthood.

Mother Teresa, it has been learned from her letters, even doubted her own faith. She wrote, “Where is my faith? – even deep down, right in, there is nothing but emptiness & darkness. – My God – how painful is this unknown pain. It pains without ceasing. – I have no faith. – I dare not utter the words & thoughts that crowd in my heart - & make me suffer untold agony. So many unanswered questions live within me – I am afraid to uncover them – because of the blasphemy – If there be God, - please forgive me.” - Mother Teresa: Come Be My Light

A long list of others who doubted their faith could be compiled. The Psalms are full of David’s wavering faith and fears. Psalm 42 is just one of many.

As a deer longs for flowing streams,
   so my soul longs for you, O God.
My soul thirsts for God,
   for the living God.
When shall I come and behold
   the face of God?
My tears have been my food
   day and night,
while people say to me continually,
   ‘Where is your God?’

These things I remember,
   as I pour out my soul:
how I went with the throng,*    and led them in procession to the house of God,
with glad shouts and songs of thanksgiving,
   a multitude keeping festival.
Why are you cast down, O my soul,
   and why are you disquieted within me?
Hope in God; for I shall again praise him,
   my help and my God.

My soul is cast down within me;
   therefore I remember you
from the land of Jordan and of Hermon,
   from Mount Mizar.
Deep calls to deep
   at the thunder of your cataracts;
all your waves and your billows
   have gone over me.
By day the Lord commands his steadfast love,
   and at night his song is with me,
   a prayer to the God of my life.

I say to God, my rock,
   ‘Why have you forgotten me?
Why must I walk about mournfully
   because the enemy oppresses me?’
As with a deadly wound in my body,
   my adversaries taunt me,
while they say to me continually,
   ‘Where is your God?’

Why are you cast down, O my soul,
   and why are you disquieted within me?
Hope in God; for I shall again praise him,
   my help and my God.

David feels like he has been abandoned by God. People are even asking, “Where is your God?” He says “My tears have been my food day and night” and “my soul is cast down within me”. Yet ultimately, he is able to say that he will, “Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my help and my God.”

Doubt doesn’t make our spiritual ancestors, or ourselves, any less suited to act on God’s call in our lives. Deborah Smith Douglas told the women at the recent retreat that we are part of the company of those who walk with and act for God now and in the past. She reminded the women that God rarely choses those with ‘clean hands’ or ‘pure blood’ to “come follow me”. Jesus chose fishermen and women to be his disciples. Over the centuries, God has used harlots, adulterers, murderers, cowards, and other widely assorted men and women. God uses you and me, too. 

This coming weekend, I will be leading a retreat that will look at 5 women of the Bible. Mary (Mother of Jesus), Mary Magdalene, Esther, Ruth, and Judith have been maligned, glorified, or ignored by history. We’ll see who they really were and what their lives can teach us about our lives of faith in the 21^st Century.

If Mother Teresa, John of the Cross, 'Doubting' Thomas, and many others throughout the centuries can wonder about their faith and calling, we do not need to lose heart when we have our own questions. As Douglas noted last weekend, we are not alone. We can find community with our fore-bearers through gratitude, intercession, drawing near to God, and simply loving God and our neighbor.

Do you ever think you are unworthy because you have doubts?

What do you do when you feel alone and far from God?

Next week, we’ll start a series based on the women we will discuss at the Aug. 17-18 weekend. For those readers who might be at the meeting, this will be a chance for further learning. Others may find it interesting to discuss with friends in book or Bible study groups. 

Finding God when you Look Around

I was a participant in a vestry retreat at the end of August. We spent time at the monastery of Christ in the Desert. It’s a beautiful location, reached by a 13 mile gravel road, which can be treacherous if wet. This year it was fine and even fairly smooth. Those of us who had traveled the road before noted that we made ‘good time’ and were actually able to do up to 20 or even 25 MPH along the road. Once at the monastery there is no cell phone service, so you are out of touch for the duration. The Chama River runs right past the monastery and usually there is wildlife to be heard and sometimes seen. It is a serene and beautiful spot. It is easy to see why the monastery founders chose that location.

I arrived early to set up snacks and make preparations for the retreat. After a walk down to the Chama River that runs through and past the monastery on its way to join the Rio Grande, I returned to the guest house. Sitting on the deck, my thoughts focused on the limestone cliffs towering over the valley.

Your first impression might be that they are rather barren and impossibly steep cliffs. Then you start looking more closely. Steep yes, with piles of rocks that have fallen from the sides cluttering up the bottom of the cliffs. However, there is also a lot of life. Pine trees sprout up from cracks and grow tall. Small shrubs cluster here and there along the face of the cliff, wherever there is the slightest bit of dirt or level ground. Along the ridge line, a line of trees can be seen, which outlines it.

The more you stare at the cliff side, the more you see. Shadows turn out to be cracks, an abutment is really a tumble of huge stones, various shades of green highlight different trees and bushes, the jutting rock at the top of the cliff might look like a face in profile. It is easy to imagine how early humans would see their gods in the created world around them.

The Holy One who made all things is also very present in the cliffs and canyons where the river has tumbled for millennia. (Likely another reason the monks chose the location.) How can trees grow on the seemingly barren limestone walls? They grow because a tiny bit of dirt and a seed blew into a crack. It nestled there until the proper amount of moisture and sunlight brought forth life. And that life flourished.

In my own life there are what feel like barren cliffs. Things from the past that have left scars. However, sometimes I find myself pausing to sit with God and bravely stare at those scarred cliffs. Instead of barrenness, I see that there is new growth here and there. A seed of new life has found its way into the niche and grows there. Hidden and mostly unnoticed, nourished by prayer and study, the seed sprouts and starts to grow. Then suddenly, one day you realize the cliff is alive with abundant life!

We happened to be there during a full moon.  It was partially hidden behind clouds for the early part of the evening, which gave it a luminescent beauty. This got me thinking about the ways we often ignore God’s work which is right in front of us. We are too busy running to get our ‘important’ daily things done, and we neglect pausing to just see what God is doing. Then we pause and look around. 

Like the moon behind the clouds, God is always there, waiting to shine light on our lives. We just need to be willing to wait in the silence for the clouds to move away. The light pours down, illuminating the new life even on the scarred cliffs of the past.

I drew a picture of the cliff at the monastery to remind me that life and growth can sprout anywhere. From the scars of my past, things like books and curriculum have sprouted.

What might be growing in the, seemingly, desolate places in your hear? 

What action of God could you see if you took time to pause and look around?