IT'S ABOUT SHOWING-UP.

IT'S ABOUT SHOWING-UP. Welcome to day 6 of the Worldwide 30 Meditation for World Peace on Facebook.. Anyone who practices anything regularly knows that it's about showing-up. Sometimes we don't feel like it. We'd rather stay in bed or get busy doing something else. Sometimes we wonder if the practice is doing any good at all. I remember Br. Roger of the Taize Community in France. For more than 60 years, he and his community, showed up everyday, three times a day to sit and meditate, sing and pray. I remember him saying that there were many times when he did not feel like being there. He spoke of his commitment to simply be there and show-up. When we show-up in our meditative practice we attest to a reality larger than our own feelings. We offer ourselves to ourselves, to the world and to Divine Mystery. This past weekend one of the retreatants spoke of " revealing ourselves to ourselves." I like that. I believe that this revelation happens as we practice. Sometimes in spite of our feelings we are there. And sometimes it's a struggle. Frodo Baggins near the end of his journey said, " I can't do this, Sam." Sam's encouraging response might be directed to us ," There's some good in this world, Mr. Frodo. And it's worth fighting for." The myriad of beings from east and west throughout history attest to the goodness, the beauty and the power of a practice of meditation. When we meditate, we join with them and all to come in a timeless transformative moment. And all we need do is show-up...

NEW WEBSITE

I want to thank Rebecca Snyder for her excellent work on the new website. Thank you, Rebecca!

Rebecca is a gifted artist and designer and a joy to work with. I heartily recommend her and her work to those who are looking for website renewal.

You can check out the new website at: www.songsofpeace.net 

Many thanks!

Macushla

" NOT REALLY WELCOMED AT THE TABLE."

WE HAVE TAKEN A WARM, HEARTY MEAL THAT WELCOMES A WORLD OF FRIENDSHIP, DENIAL AND EVEN BETRAYAL and turned it into A COLD, DRY WAFER OR BIT OF BREAD THAT SATISFIES BUT A FEW.

This lavish and radical welcome, this nourishing, sustaining meal IS the Christian church in its essence . How to live this feast of Divine Love even more deeply so that those ( and there are many ) who feel excluded and unwelcome may enjoy this good food and drink alongside those of us who feel satisfied and content in our communities of the like-minded? I post this today on Holy Thursday because I was out walking and met a man who is very poor and homeless and when I invited him to accompany me to attend a lovely church community that I feel right at home in, he said: " I'm not REALLY welcome there ." It got me thinking/feeling... And I remembered hearing these words from others over the years. My question: Why? Why is this so? Can I see things from the perspective of one who does feel excluded ? Can I gain new insight and another perspective? Can we move beyond our contentment with where we are now and ask the hard questions of radical welcome? Can we imagine a longer, broader, new and different Table ? Or do we remain satisfied?

THE QUESTION OF WHY

WHY?    This is the question that Jesus cried out in his agony upon the cross. This is the question that captures my attention today. For years I have kept that question at a distance as a theological query seeing it as Jesus' ultimate question or better, quest in his personal relationship with his Abba, the Divine One. " Father, why have you abandoned me?"  But now, I'm troubled. I'm disturbed by the recurring thought that I am missing something more essential to the living of my life - the broader ethical implications that only now my imagination brings to my fearful mind. This question , 'Why? , is for me the ultimate question of my existence. Why am I? Why you?  Why this world? Why suffering? Why death? As I've reflected more and more on this in seminary, university, on the streets, reading the philosophers and theologians over many years, it  becomes clear to me that there is no satisfying answer but the question, that gnawing question, remains urgent. Why? Is it possible that the asking of the question itself is a kind of answer, a deeply human response to what is. When I cry out ,' Why?' I am throwing myself into this world of suffering with passion and the ever present possibility of passionate and compassionate engagement. When we listen, when we hear Jesus crying out from the cross, is it possible that Jesus' question ignites a theological and existential fire in our midst?  When we bring together another shocking cry of the Rabbi with this question a different light is shed. Jesus once said, " Whatever you do to the least of these you do to me."  When I attempt to make the connection I begin to see the world differently. I hear Syria crying out in their abandonment, "Why?" I hear the Palestinian people crying out from their refugee camps for more than sixty years, " Why?"  I hear men , women and children crying out from the rubble and shattered structures, " Why?" I hear those who live in poverty in the inner cities, in rural America continuing to lament their schools and the violence on their streets with this one word, " Why?" I hear the millions around the world struggling to find enough scraps of food to merely survive crying out, " Why? Why? Why?

Now here's the kicker: I hear Jesus crying out through all these human beings, crying out not to God but to us. Christ, can you not leave us alone? We are doing all we can! What do you want from us?  The ultimate question of why is aimed right at me and right at you. It is a serious disturbance of the peace.  And remember, this is a question with no satisfying answer so it will not go away. It is not intended to be answered. It is intended to be felt like an earthquake in the heart. And when we're able to ask it we ask it with passion and compassion over and over and over again.  The question of why is meant to propel us deeper into the darkness of suffering, ours and the world's. This kind of question asks us until we cry out with Jesus, " Why?"  This unanswerable 'Why?' is our constant companion and will lead us, if we desire, and sometimes in spite of our desires, deeper into the awkwardness of relationship, deeper into the struggle for justice, and deeper into the paradox and the mystery of our lives.  Ultimately it's about transformation -ours and the world. And along the way there is the danger and risk of change. And along the way there is also the delight of asking questions that unearth truth and joyful discovery. And it all begins with, " Why?"

HEARTBEAT OF THE BELOVED TOUR

Long Island, Boston, Buffalo, West Virginia, Memphis, Cookeville, Brunswick,Takoma Park, Fairfax, Washington, D.C...Churches, Coffee Shops, Seminaries, Homes.Sidewalks...For the past six weeks it has been a whirlwind of visiting people in faith communities large and small, receiving the warmest of hospitality, deepening and extending friendship,sharing the new music from the CD called CELTIC KIRTAN: HEARTBEAT OF THE BELOVED. It has been a sacred journey of being with people, spirits, animals, listening to stories, rivers, trains, sharing songs and chants, concerts, workshops, liturgies, drumming, poetry and prose, good food, great conversation, laughter and tears and becoming more and more engaged in the work. And what is the work? What is really happening in the midst of it all?

WHY AM I A FOLLOWER OF JESUS ?

Why am I a follower of Jesus? The short answer is because I don't believe that Jesus came to start a new religion but rather, to start a fire under every religion - the fire of love. I believe that what Jesus set in motion is the deconstruction of every known religion and simultaneously the reconstruction of every known religion. And it doesn't stop at religion. That deconstruction/reconstruction affects any and every system whether it be  philosophical, psychological or political which at its heart uses force and violence to ultimately get its way while seeking to exclude any human being from an ever expanding ecumenical embrace. And it goes even further...Jesus' path of radical love and non-violence goes right to the heart and mind, body and soul of every individual lighting the fire of transformation under our assumptions, our beliefs, our greed, our fears, and our hatreds. There is no fortress , be it social or individual, in society or in the psyche, that is safe from the flames of this all transforming fire of love.

2015 Pilgrimage of Peace

Friends,

In 2015 we'll be taking the music, stories, poetry...on the road. We call it a Pilgrimage of Peace. We'll be visiting churches, colleges, seminaries, retreat centers, pubs, coffee houses...and sharing in concerts, retreats, workshops, festivals, flash-mobs, non-violent demonstrations... If you would like a visit let us know.

The schedule for 2015 will be posted in January on the website www.songsofpeace.net .

Let's stay in touch through Macushla and Friends: Heartbeat of the Beloved on Face Book.

I am very much looking forward to seeing you in the New Year!

Blessings,
Macushla