Dear Friends,

These are the lovely New England days when creation vividly comes to life before our eyes. All around us are birds building and protecting their nests, days when either sunshine or rain drops are known and named as ‘blessing’, leaves bursting forth from previously bare limbs and gardens calling forth our attention for work and eyes for pleasure. In this ‘coming to life’ ,

we see a meaningful connection to our first reading (Acts 4:8-12) this Sunday in which we hear of the healing of a man, one who was “made whole” through the ‘power’ of Jesus drawn upon by his followers. The followers, Peter and John, are subsequently sanctioned by the ‘powers that be’ for their healing ministry. Hmmm, does this seem like a familiar theme? What makes it so very difficult for those in positions of power to celebrate the goodness before them accomplished by those without ‘power over’ who simply witness to and embody Jesus’ loving, compassionate, healing presence in our world?

In reflecting on how we are “made whole” through the power of Jesus, and the fact that somehow we can so very easily lose sight of what it means to be “whole” and what that whole-ness/holy-ness calls us to, the poem below came to mind. It is another by our beloved Mary Oliver, and speaks of the fact that “the soul has need of a body” and that we are of “both of the earth…and heaven”. For me, this is the truth of the incarnation…. and perhaps this is what was (as told in our story from Acts) and is (as experienced by the Vatican’s actions against the LCWR) so threatening to those who hold ‘power over’ in this world. For there are some things which cannot be harnessed, held bound, silenced, indeed stopped! One of these things is the Spirit alive in our midst, working through those who love and hold tenderly the ‘paralyzed’ …or in our world today: those who are vulnerable, despised, or merely ‘different’ (e.g. female!). This ‘power with’ cannot be suppressed no matter how relentless the ‘surveillances’, or the ‘sanctions.’ Mary Oliver writes: “truly the body needs a song, a spirit, a soul.” Let us like the red bird: be song for one another.

Red Bird Explains Himself

“Yes, I was the brilliance floating over the snow
and I was the song in the summer leaves, but this was
only the first trick
I had hold of among my other mythologies,
for I also knew obedience: bring sticks to the nest,
food to the young, kisses to my bride.

But don’t stop there, stay with me: listen.

If I was the song that entered your heart
then I was the music of your heart, that you wanted and needed,
and thus wilderness bloomed that, with all its
followers: gardeners, lovers, people who weep
for the death of rivers.

And this was my true task, to be the
music of the body. Do you understand? for truly the body needs
a song, a spirit, a soul. And no less, to make this work,
the soul has need of a body,
and I am both of the earth and I am of the inexplicable
beauty of heaven
where I fly so easily, so welcome, yes,
and this is why I have been sent, to teach this to your heart.”

~ Mary Oliver ~
(Red Bird)

At The Spirit of Life, through our time of prayer and sharing together, we work together to grow in our self-understanding and in our relationships with God and with God’s people. We celebrate the gift of our faith and the responsibility that is ours as followers of Jesus Christ. It is our prayer that what we as a community experience in our praying together will overflow into the rest of our lives, making us more fully human and more ‘whole’….holy! We invite you to join us in this endeavor and journey with us as we seek to grow in our love of God and to grow in our capacity to be living expressions of God’s loving peace and justice in our world.

May the love and joy of the risen Christ sing in your heart and be made manifest in your lives!

Jean & Ron