June 2007

Stories Seldom Heard Archive

Stories Seldom Heard
85th Edition
Is Our Baptismal Call Being Overlooked?
A Follow up on Pentecost

Welcome to Stories Seldom Heard.  This edition has two parts.  The first section reflects on our baptismal call. The second section is a reflection on the Second Letter of Peter.   

May and June are particularly busy months marked by Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, First Communions and graduations.  It is also the time of year when we celebrate baptisms, confirmations, weddings, jubilees and recommitment of vow ceremonies.  Recently I attended a baptism and was reminded once again that our sacraments are not only for those who are committing/recommitting themselves to God, but also for all those who participate in the service.  This was particularly evident at the baptism because the presider invited all of us to enter into the celebration by not only witnessing it, but also by recommitting ourselves to our baptismal promises.  Because the parish was small and the priest who presided knew most everyone in the congregation, the questions, commitment/recommitment and responsibilities that the baptismal ritual requires of us were not pro forma, but personal. 

While the babies were being anointed with chrism, we, once again, heard the words and the commission.  “As Christ was anointed Priest, Prophet and King, so may you live always as members of his body, sharing everlasting life.”  To this statement we all responded “Amen” which means “Yes”.  “I agree.” “Count me in!”   When the ceremony was completed the families held up their tiny loved ones for us to see more clearly and we all joyfully celebrated this tender moment of faith, family and community. 

As I left the church that day I wondered how many of us take seriously our priestly prophetic mission as members of the body of Christ.  We heartily responded “Amen” at the service, but I wondered if and how we live out this commitment.  When do we think of ourselves as priestly persons?  What priestly acts do we do?   When are we called to be prophetic people?  What does it mean to be a prophetic?

Closely following the experience of the baptisms, I was asked to preach at a Morning Prayer Service.  The scripture passage on which I was to preach was from the Second Letter of St. Peter.  (2 Pet 1: 19-21)  “We possess the prophetic message that is altogether reliable.  You will do well to be attentive to it, as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts.  Know this first of all, that there is no prophecy of scripture that is a matter of personal interpretation, for no prophecy ever came through human will; but rather human beings moved by the Holy Spirit spoke under the influence of God.”   There it was again: we have been entrusted with a prophetic message.  But what in heaven’s name does that mean? 

First, this is not just a question for ordained ministers.  It is a question that each of us needs to explore because according to the words of our baptism and scripture the gifts of the Spirit are given to each of us.  Each of us is called to be a prophet in the situation in which we find ourselves. (1)  Second, there are many ways to approach this question, but one of the necessary factors in prophetic speech is to have good hearing.  By this I don’t mean getting a clean bill of health from the audiologist.  Rather what I’m talking about is having an awareness and appreciation of our inner spiritual ear.  We need to be able to listen to, be attentive to the movements of the Holy Spirit.  Prophetic speech comes from deep listening.  It is the ability to set aside our own agenda and prejudices and recognize the truth in a situation as seen through the eyes of the Spirit.

Part II

With these two ideas in mind, I offer you my reflections on a portion of St. Peter’s Second Epistle.  Much of this epistle is Peter warning against false teachings and teachers, but not 2 Peter 1:19-21.  On the contrary, in these lines Peter reminds us that “We possess the prophetic message…”   

Before you read the following reflection please reread the scripture passage.  Take some quiet time - a few minutes or more - so that your own thoughts will have space to emerge.  I also quote from Mary Oliver’s poem “Bone”.  (2)  You might want to read the poem before you read the following reflection on the epistle.

Reflection at Morning Prayer ---

Last week, just about this time of day which means six AM California time, I was walking on the beach in Santa Cruz, part of the Monterey Bay, watching a pod of playful dolphins arching out and into the water moving northward in search of breakfast, no doubt.  And right behind them about two feet above the “dark knit glare” of the waves was a long narrow line of hungry pelicans.  The natural world never ceases to amaze us and reveal to us the magnificence and mystery of God.

No wonder I fell in love with Mary Oliver’s poem “Bone” which describes her ponderings when she finds on the beach the ear bone of a pilot whale that had “died hundreds of years ago”.  Yet, her description of this pink scooped out ear bone which she reminds us is the portion of the body “that lasts the longest in any of us, man or whale” was not an image of death.  It wasn’t dried, bleached, rotting away in the salty sun, but pink - as though alive -- still hearing the rhythms of nature and in its own way a prophet from the deep reminding us that the Spirit of God will never allow her voice to be silenced even in what looks like hundreds of years of death.

At the heart of our Christian vocation is the call to be both poet and prophet jointed together like “two sisters in the house of hearing” - both listening attentively, both observing what is happening around them in the world and both awakening the imaginations of those who hear so that they and we can re-vision life.  

The Second letter of Peter, that we heard this morning, claims our gift and responsibility to prophecy.  Peter forcefully reminds us that we do not live an uncalled life, but by our baptism we have been called into the prophetic tradition of Christ.  We are called to be prophets who like poets stimulate memories, hint and give nuances that point towards a world that does not yet exist so that others will be inspirited to explore possibilities not yet taken and entertain alternative worlds not yet visible.  (3)

Peter’s letter reminds us that we too have the ear bone of a pilot whale -our warm blooded, air breathing, earth/sea guide and friend - an ear bone that allows us to listen to the love and rage of the ancient prophets while at the same time attuning ourselves to the pleading voices of the outer world in which we live - an ear bone that connects the old with the now - the profound truths of God’s love with the on going rhythms of life.

Peter encourages us to be bold in our speech and these words have particular meaning for us because we, like the early Christians, find ourselves in the midst of change with unanswered questions and major shifts going on in our lives with a gap in our vision that the poet describes as a “dark knit glare” that precludes clear sight.  Whether we speak of our exploration of the universe story and the questions it raises in light of our faith tradition, or the eroding of long established structures in society and family life or the turmoil within the church and religious life, our lives as we have known them, have and are changing.  What we once thought was solid ground feels like the sands of time ebbing away beneath our feet.  What we thought would always be there has begun to shift and fracture.

We grieve some of these losses.  And there certainly is room for sadness and tears and fear of the unknown, but Peter’s words this morning come as a passionate plea to trust the prophetic Spirit who lives in us and who continues to guide us through the rough waters of uncertainty.  Peter invites us, like the prophets and the poets of the past “to seek language that is passionate, dangerous and imaginative enough to make available the passion, danger and freedom of God” (4) - a God who urges us to proclaim an “inspirited” truth in our times.   Peter reminds us to be like the ear bone of the pilot whale so that we can listen deeply to our tradition, trust firmly in the presence of the Spirit who promises not to be silent and boldly preach with compassion the truth we hear “under the influence of God”.

Footnotes

1. There are many stories about “little people” like us who make major differences in the world, neighborhoods and family life because they are willing to offer themselves for the common good.  One of those stories is Wangari Maathai.  (See Nobel Peace Prize winner 2004 Wangari Maathai.)  As a small child Wangari would never have thought of herself as having a prophetic voice.  Yet, because of her education, insight, courage and commitment to the common good she began the Green Belt Movement.  Wangari acknowledges the tremendous influence the Benedictine Sisters had on her life and education.  Wangari’s family, friends and education helped her develop the courage and commitment she needed to introduce her prophetic voice in the neighborhoods of Kenya and eventually the Kenyan government.

2. Oliver, Mary, “Bone”,  New and Selected Poems Volume Two, Beacon Press, Boston, 2007.  p. 72  This poem can also be found on the web.  Google Mary Oliver Poem Bone.

3. Brueggemann, Walter,  Hopeful Imagination: Prophetic Voices in Exile, Fortress Press, Philadelphia, 1986. p. 24.

4. Brueggemann, p. 15

Special thanks to Sharon Grant, Mary Ellen Green and Jeanne Keating who have helped in editing this article.

"Stories Seldom Heard" is a monthly article written by Sister Patricia Bruno, O.P.  Sister is a Dominican Sister of San Rafael, California.  This service is offered to the Christian community to enrich one's personal and spiritual life.  The articles can be used for individual or group reflection.  If you would like "Stories Seldom Heard" sent to a friend, please send a note to purple115@juno.com.  If you would like to support this ministry, please send tax deductible contributions to Dominican Sisters of San Rafael, c/o Sister Patricia Bruno, O.P., 1520 Grand Avenue, San Rafael, CA,   94901

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