Dear Friends,

We hope that you are safe and well!

In today's Meditation, we share Jean's Pentecost reflection with Matthew Fox on Emily Dickinson's "In the Name of the Bee and the Butterfly and the Breeze. Amen." Pentecost is the feast day of The Spirit of Life Community.

We invite you to join us as we commit ourselves to working tirelessly to end systemic and structural racism in our society, in healthcare, in the workplace, in the Church--wherever it shows up so that everyone may come to have more abundant life. May this meditation nourish our contemplative-active hearts and sustain all of us in action.

In the spirit of our philosophy of co-creating community and our awareness that the Spirit speaks through each of us, we invite you to share your meditations with us as well. We truly believe that in God’s economy of abundance, when we share our blessings, our thoughts, our feelings, we are all made richer.

We hope and pray that you and your loved ones experience genuine peace of mind and heart, and remain in good health during this challenging time.

As Spring comes to birth, may you find peace, healing, hope, and the infusion of joy in your life!

With our love and care,

Jean & Ron

Meditation 366: Emily Dickinson: "In the Name of the Bee and the Butterfly and the Breeze"

In her homily yesterday, Jean reflected:

"I’ve been captivated this week by Matthew Fox’s sharing on Emily Dickinson’s theology and creation centered spirituality. Fox shares Dickinson’s thoughts on “Infinity (her name for Divinity) and a Creation Centered Trinity”.

It seems, to quote Fox, that “In Dickinson’s time and place the Trinity was a hot topic that engendered much debate. Is Divinity triune or one?

Emily Dickinson alters the patriarchal debate around the Trinity with all-new—and far more ancient—imagery. In a sort of aikido move, she sidesteps the theological niceties entirely by creating her own Trinity, based on non-anthropocentric creation, and challenges both arguing parties with new language and fresh insight that moves beyond anthropocentric religion.”

She prays and writes:

In the name of the Bee—

And of the Butterfly—

And of the Breeze—Amen

Fox continues: “This is not a theologically simplistic prayer—something deep and sophisticated is at work here. She is supplanting an anthropocentric and person-centered Trinity with a creation-centered one.

After all, the Bee keeps creation going by pollinating flowers and grasses, thus represents the Creator; the Butterfly undergoes a life, death and resurrection cycle comparable to the Paschal mystery of Christ as it evolves and even dies in its evolution from caterpillar to cocoon to beautiful (but short-lived ) winged creature; and the Breeze is wind just as Spirit is breath (“spirit,” “wind” or “breeze” are the same words in the Biblical languages as well as many languages in Africa and around the world and the Spirit came at Pentecost in the form of wind)."

In contrast to images that Emily’s “Breeze” brings to mind, our reading from Acts speaks of a “violent rushing wind from heaven that fills the house.”

All in all…..Wind causes us to pay attention….to see movement….and to be moved by it! Movement….That’s the work of the Holy Spirit whose feast we celebrate today.

The disciples were moved to step out of the room that they sheltered in out of fear of the reprisals from the Romans and their own people. When that wind blew, and those flames of fire signaling the Presence of the Holy the disciples were moved….and they stepped out in faith to share the ‘good news’

As we celebrate the feast day of our Spirit of Life Community today, I’d like to take a moment and honor the ways in which this community has stepped out in faith….how we too have been moved by that Spirit….sometimes in a breeze….and sometimes in the wild tornado like winds.

Prayerful is the first word that comes to mind: the amazing responses and prayers promised to those on our prayer list

Generosity: comes to mind…. The community was so aware and so moved by the needs of our innercity neighbors that outstanding contributions were made to help people stay in their homes and put food on their tables

Justice: the work the community has been engaged in educating ourselves about the reality of systemic racism in our country

My invitation for this week: In what ways have you been moved by the Spirit in your life?