Last week I lead a discussion called "Living the Questions" where we talked about Faith as a Journey, moving us from certainty to the complexities and peace of faith. Our next discussion is Sunday April 18th at the main campus of Our Saviour's Lutheran Church. As we discussed faith as a journey I briefly brought up the spiritual tool of labyrinths. I find it easier to pray while my feet are moving and particularly like to walk the outdoor labyrinths at Marionjoy rehabilitation center off of Roosevelt Road in Wheaton as well as at the Theosophical Center off of Main Street in Wheaton. There's even one on the Riverwalk in downtown Naperville. There's a website where you can buy labyrinths and although I do not endorse them, they do have some helpful pictures and information, some of which I have enclosed. I would be happy to talk to anyone about walking a labyrinth. Cheers to life and faith as a journey!

What Is A Labyrinth?
Labyrinths are ancient human symbols known to go back at least 3500 years and probably much older. They appeared on most inhabited continents in prehistory, with examples known from North & South America, Africa, Asia and across Europe from the Mediterranean to Scandinavia. The labyrinth symbol was incorporated into the floors of the great Gothic pilgrimage cathedrals of France in the twelfth & thirteenth centuries. The most famous extant design is the example in the nave floor of the Cathedral of Notre Dame de Chartres outside of Paris. This labyrinth was built of honey colored limestone with marble lines around the year 1200 and is now over 800 years old.

Why Do We Walk Labyrinths?
A labyrinth is not a maze, but a walking meditation device with a single winding path from the edge to the center. There are no tricks, choices or dead ends in a labyrinth walk. The same path is used to return to the outside. Combining a number of even older symbols, including the circle, spiral and meander, the labyrinth represents the journey inward to our own true selves and back out into the everyday world.

Walking a labyrinth is a right brain activity (creative, intuitive, imaginative), and can induce or enhance a contemplative or meditative state of mind. It is a tool which can clear the mind, calm our anxieties during periods of transition and stress, guide healing, deepen self-knowledge, enhance creativity, allow for reconciliation, restore feelings of belonging to a community, and lead to personal and spiritual growth.

For many walkers the labyrinth becomes a metaphor for the journey of life: although full of twists and turns, each of us is on a single path through his or her life, and yet each person's journey is a separate and distinct qualitative experience. In walking labyrinths, modern seekers are emulating and recapturing the pilgrimage tradition of many ancient faiths.

Impact

I came home one day and my husband started talking about shopping more at Whole Foods. I have always loved Whole Foods. When I was younger, after church on Sundays, my family often "browsed" Whole Foods, smelling all the great and unique coffee beans and other foods. We were told smell but don't touch! We didn't buy anything but I didn't care, I loved it there. For special occasions, now as an adult, I'll try to buy yummy cheeses or meats or fruits and veggies there, and try to keep a poker face when I look at the receipt at the checkout. I have found that one good meal at Whole Foods can easily be half of my entire week's grocery bills shopping somewhere else. So when my husband all of a sudden passionately talked about our "need" to start shopping at Whole Foods more, I thought, "are you serious? I'm finally getting this coupon thing down to a science and keeping our grocery bills down." Then he had me watch the movie, Food Inc.. Enough said, we're shopping at Whole Foods as much as we can now. Our budget is taking a hit, but it's a justice issue for us now; not a matter of "better eating" as much as it is about fair labor laws and treatment of humans and animals alike. Knowing where our food comes from amounts to how we "treat our neighbor as ourselves." And although I can't write off my Whole Foods receipt as a charitable tax deduction; as long as I'm not splurging on the triple layered mouse dessert I feel like our new shopping routine is much less about luxury and more about a sustainable life for all life.

Living the Questions

I remember in High School asking a friend the question, "If the Jews are God's Chosen People then what does that make Christians?" I was a member of the Christian Student Union, and the boy I was asking was the leader of it. Not only was I excited to get into such theological debates because I respected his opinion but also because I had a huge crush on him and wanted to know him better. I don't remember exactly what he said, even though I can remember asking the question.

After four 1/2 years of seminary and six years as on ordained minister I'm stilling asking that question, amongst many others. In fact I just asked someone I respected that exact question the other day. He said that since God's promise was to Sarah and Abraham, that the promise belongs to all of Abraham and Sarah's descendents--Jews, Christians and Muslims. I had never thought about it that way, and told him I would have to think about that.

The third Sunday every other month, starting this February 21st I'll be leading a class where we can "live the questions," called... Living the Questions! It's a time where I hope we can grow in understanding, join in healthy conversation, and not always walk away with answers but always come to love God more. As a pastor I have always thought of myself as a midwife who helps people journey through the hard labor of new life. Come join me 11:30 in the Bonhoeffer Conference Room in the main campus February 21st as we labor together in faith. I'll see you there!

Sacred Envy

I had a great time co-teaching our Epiphany University class called "Can I Call My Neighbor Friend? Muslim/Christian Dialogue" I feel like we engaged in really good conversation about how we as Christians "can love our neighbors as ourselves." Hearing my co-teacher Ruth Nelson's personal passion, learning from Dr. Mark Swanson chair of Muslim-Christian Relations at the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago and dialoguing with four Muslim neighbors is a step in the right direction. I am encouraged to hear how people around the world are doing the same on a much larger scale. I particularly like the idea of a class called "Sacred Envy," I'll have to keep that in mind...


In December 2009, Melbourne, Australia hosted the Parliament of World’s Religions, a global dialogue of faiths. Sister Joan Chittister, longtime champion of peace, human rights and gender equality attended the Parliament and spoke with AWID (Association for Women’s Rights in Development) to share her perspectives on what the Parliament proceedings mean for women. Here are two responses of hers from a much longer interview...

by Masum Momaya
Sister Joan what was the personal highlight of the Parliament for you?
Sister Joan Chittister: The Parliament of the World’s Religions is a living icon for which we all hope. It is a diorama of many peoples, all of whom express a different face of the Divine, all of them united in holiness, in common commitment to the entire human community, and all knowing themselves to be one in God. This was the highlight for me. Just watching this flow of goodness sweeping back and forth across the great foyer and down the halls of the Melbourne Conference Center was a kind of spiritual vision for me. To see this is to know that wars of religion are both a scandal and an impossibility and that the Parliament is a holy and necessary step to a future without religious wars or theocratic oppression.

Sister Joan what were some "takeaways" that stood out to you in terms of dialogues?
S.J.C.: I participated in a panel on "Sacred Envy." Each of us panelists was asked to describe what we loved about our own religion and about each of the others. Then we were permitted to ask one another the question that most plagued us about another of the religions represented there. It was an impacting moment to hear real questions asked—about freedom of religion in theocratic states or the connection between religion and politics, for instance—and answered without defensiveness and with real depth. It proved the possibility of real interfaith discussion when the discussants talk openly and honestly about the struggles of the faith rather than either defend or decry the concerns of the other. It modeled an important role for religious figures in the modern state.

Never ending

By the time I got to work I had taken off my boot three times, shaking it out, hoping to get the tiny rock that seemed to be irritating my foot every time I took a step. The third time around I realized the little rock was stuck inside my hose and not just my shoe. I had no interest in taking off my hose, searching for the rock, getting it out and putting the hose all back on, so I decided to make a spiritual practice of it. With the devastation and lack of any comforts in Haiti, I decided that with each step that irritated me feeling this rock in my hose/shoes I would remember the people in Haiti and keep them in prayer. Turns out I prayed for the people of Haiti regularly and throughout the day. By the time I had picked up my daughter and made it home, I was ready to remove every speck of dust, rock and you name it off of my wood floors so I could walk barefoot and not worry about trapping another "rock" the next morning when I got dressed- lest I have to be irritated and prayerful all day long. With my daughter comfy in her wrap close to my chest we set about vacuuming every nook and cranny of the house. When we were done, and the vacuum was back in the closet, as I walked around the house, I came upon more "little rocks" under my feet. And all I could think is that the suffering in our world is never ending. This doesn't mean to never vacuum or pray or try to make a dent in it-- but our attitude towards those in need takes repeated help and more than just a one time fix me up kind of thing. So thankfully without a rock in my shoe today, here's to continued remembering and praying for all those in need, especially the Larson family who you can read about at the following link...

http://www.elca.org/Who-We-Are/Our-Three-Expressions/Churchwide-Organization/Communication-Services/News/Releases.aspx?a=4403

SHINE

Here we are in the season of Epiphany when the Magi brought gifts to Jesus by following the light of God. Here's to a season where all of us are called to, "go easy, be filled with light, and to shine!"


"When I Am Among the Trees" by Mary Oliver

When I am among the trees,
especially the willows and the honey locust,
equally the beech, the oaks and the pines,
they give off such hints of gladness.
I would almost say that they save me, and daily.

I am so distant from the hope of myself,
in which I have goodness, and discernment,
and never hurry through the world
but walk slowly, and bow often.

Around me the tree stir in their leaves
and call out, 'Stay awhile."
The light flows from their branches.

And they call again, "It's simple," they say,
"and you too have come
into the world to do this, to go easy, to be filled
with light, and to shine."

Christmas Blessing

I feel blessed that our Evangelical Lutheran Church of America is lead by our Presiding Bishop Mark Hanson. He certainly loves Jesus.
The first time I met Bishop Hanson was in the elevator. We were both working at the Churchwide Offices in Park Ridge, and we were both headed downstairs for midweek morning worship when he realized he wasn't wearing his nametag. In his cleric and huge Bishop's cross around his neck, I told him not to worry, that people would know he's the Bishop. Frustrated, he responded more to himself then me, when he said almost under his breath, "But if I expect others to wear it, I need to wear it too." I have a feeling Bishop Hanson takes wearing his nametag so seriously, not because people won't recognize him otherwise, but because he sees the value in those with power being aligned with those who have less power. In fact, I've seen Bishop Hanson's servant heart on a variety of occasions and he is concerned about the working poor, about women's issues, about children, education, healthcare, and rights for gays and lesbians. This is why I highly recommend either reading or watching his short Christmas Blessing. If you have never seen him before I think you'll sense in his voice, his eyes and his demeanor, the servant of God who is leading our church.

http://www.elca.org/Who-We-Are/Our-Three-Expressions/Churchwide-Organization/Office-of-the-Presiding-Bishop/Messages-and-Statements/091206christmas.aspx