The Spirituality of Advent, Day 5, Week 1

This week of focusing on hope has also been focused on mortality.  This is a very interesting pair.  Although in the church, it is not a pair that is surely an oxymoron.  Mortality brings hope for resurrection for those who believe in such things.  

The experience of mortality can take multiple formats.  Mortality can be experienced as just knowing that someone passed away.  Mortality can also be experienced as a funeral with all the emotions that brings.  

Listening to the readings and the music on Monday made me ponder--if I had a choice, which readings and songs would I want to be chosen to represent me.

The readings are somewhat easy.  I would go with the reading from Ecclesiastes that Sherry and I had at our wedding.  Not because I associate the wedding with death, of course.  But because it is timeless and it matches well with one of the songs that was sung at the funeral mass on Monday: Ecclesiastes 3:1-8.  

The Psalm, also easy.  Psalm 23--the Lord is my shepherd, there is nothing I shall want.  In any of its many forms either spoken or musical.  

The second reading--focusing on hope, as well as faith, and most importantly love--1 Corinthians, 13:1-13.  This ends with the verse that started me writing my personal blog.

Finally, the Gospel would be an interesting choice.  I'd actually go with Luke 23:33-43.  Not because I think that the focus on death would be the right thing.  But because of Jesus's forgiveness no matter what the soldiers did and because of the criminal who asked Jesus, "remember me, when you come into your kingdom."  I like the focus on God's kingdom.  And I like Jesus's response.  As Father Sam once pointed out, the criminal is the only one Jesus actually told he would be brought into heaven.

Songs: Amazing Grace, Be Not Afraid, something with Psalm 23, Take My Hand Precious Lord, Take Me Home.  All easy.  All typical.  I'd really have nothing to add on this one.

If there were a communion meditation song that was potentially non-religious, also a theme from Sherry's and my wedding--"Don't Know Much."    Maybe most would see it as a throw back to a "sappy" 1980's love song.  However, I would see it as a song of hope.  There may be many things I don't know.  But I would hope that everyone who showed up at the funeral would be someone to whom I had shown love.  I would hope that everyone who showed up at the funeral would be someone who felt love for me.  Love in a broad, general, friendly sense, of course.  

The key is that it is a song of hope and simplicity.  I only need to know that there is love.  Once I know that, everything else will follow in some way, shape, or form.  And that is a message that I hope others will have seen in my actions.

Comes back to the question of "if I were on trial for being Christian would there be enough evidence to convict me?" I hope that my actions of love and acceptance would be part of that evidence.

The opportunity to have so many messages that are dear to me so clearly communicated by word and music would be wonderful.  Of course, I hope that the opportunity to share these lessons does not come too soon.  While one of the readings on Monday was about the joy of marriage, I find the links to the same readings we used at our wedding to be a way to point out the importance of marriage.  The same fundamental ideas that have guided me for the last 22 1/2 years continue to guide me.  And I suspect they always will.

If those who come to my funeral some day can take with them the lessons that have guided me, I will be understood.  And while Saint Francis's prayer says I should not seek so much to be understood as to understand, at that point, I can't do any more understanding and the best I can hope for is that being understood will inspire others.  

Understanding

My goal at the end of last year was to write 100 words (or more) per day.  Today, I am thinking about  understanding.

The first thing about understanding today came from my thirteen year old.  He made an interesting observation this evening.  He pointed out that he understood how I felt the other morning when I came home and proclaimed how good my bagels were after a run.  I was very excited because I had run 5+ miles for the first time in more than a week.  I was also very excited because it was the best bagel recipe I had made.  I felt energy and excitement and shared it with everyone in the house.  No one else was sharing either my energy or my excitement.  My thirteen year old acknowledged that this evening and pointed out that his excitement comes from gardening.  He ended up saying that if everyone just understood that everyone else gets excited about different things it would help to show appreciation for each other and each other's interests and help each of us in the family to be supportive of others.  Quite a nice perception for a thirteen year old.

Understanding also was part of my day in three other ways.

First, I ran with just one fellow runner rather than our usual large track/tempo group.  I appreciated the company and it gave us a chance to chat and catch up more than we had in a while.  It was nice to get an understanding of issues each faces coming up and to deal with one fitness issue--Charlie horses.  Increasing understanding of that will be helpful for me.

Second, I met with an undergraduate to discuss her interests in health promotion and public health.  It was fun to share my knowledge and to gain an understanding of the student's interests.  Understanding here will hopefully lead the student to a more informed choice about graduate school and career choices and gave me a great chance to understand what issues undergrads are dealing with these days.

Third, I had an opportunity to look over a colleague's list of accomplishments from last year.  As someone I am mentoring, it is important to me to understand what this colleague is doing and what this colleague plans to do in the future for future success.

So many different ways of understanding.  Each is critical to relating to people.  Each is critical to being part of a family or being a friend or being a mentor.  Each is critical to working with others--which is one of the most important parts of what I do.