I SEE YOU by Brother Dennis

     A couple of weeks ago we were in Austin, Texas for the tri-annual Episcopal Church General Convention. It’s a big affair with roughly 15,000 people attending from across the landscape of The Episcopal Church. There were a lot of important conversations, resolutions being explored, Cuba being received as a diocese of TEC, and lots of fun and Episcopal fellowship. We were there to represent the Community of Divine Love with the rest of the CAROA (Conference of Anglican Religious Orders in the Americas) members and talk with people about the monastic life and our ministry in the jails. So, there was a lot going on, but for me there was one in particular that is memorable in a unique way and I’m sure I will not soon forget, if ever. 

     On Sunday, July 8, roughly 1,000 people boarded nineteen charter buses, while others joined in private vehicles and we all made the hour-long trip to the Hutto Women’s Immigration Detention Center near Taylor, Texas, where I found myself standing on the road with other hearts beating for social justice. We stood there on the road outside Hutto bearing messages of compassion for our incarcerated sisters and surely in hope that our presence that day would make a difference. Our Presiding Bishop Michael Curry said it so well that day under the hot Texas sun: “We do not come in hatred, we do not come in bigotry, we do not come to put anyone down, we come to lift everybody up. We come in love. We come in love because we follow Jesus, and Jesus taught us love.” This is the Episcopal Church that I love.

     I stood looking at the building that was about a hundred yards off with its rows of narrow vertical windows. They were familiar. Twin Towers Correctional Facility here in Los Angeles as well as many other facilities have the same design. I knew that the women were on the other side of those windows. As I fixed my attention, suddenly I saw it. There was something white moving up and down one of the windows. They were waving at us. I waved back and started yelling ‘I SEE YOU,” over and over again. Soon all of us were waving and yelling the chant of “I SEE YOU! – Te Vio! Others began chanting YOU ARE NOT ALONE,” in both English and Spanish. This holy exchange between chants of solidarity and white waving went on for a good thirty minutes before we were asked to disperse and return to our original gathering place up the road.

     This experience deeply touched the hearts and energized the souls of all who were there. Little did we know that what happened next would leave us in tears. At least it did me. We learned later that evening that the women incarcerated at Hutto had telephoned the Episcopal Church. Their message was that they saw us, and that the women were huddled around those windows weeping and watching. They never left those windows until the last of us had left for our return trip. They wanted us to know that it meant everything to them that we had shown us in such a force of solidarity and they felt seen and indeed not alone that day.

     To see people on the margins is everything. To be seen while ensconced in the margins is everything. I’m proud to be a part of The Episcopal Church that is taking social justice concerns seriously, but this is not just the work of well-meaning Christians. This is not just the work of those of us who are striving for justice and peace among all people and respecting the dignity of every human being. This needs to be the work of all people everywhere. These are troublesome times when people are being separated in alarming new ways. More than ever in recent history we need to see one another; and not just the women of Hutto and millions of other refugees, but also the person standing next to you; the lonely neighbor, the confused teen, the addicted sister or brother, the overwhelmed mother, the one on the other side of the political debate. We need to see each other now. We need to show that the eternal power that brings us together in solidarity as human beings is more powerful than any lesser power than wants to confuse and divide us.

     That day on the road in Texas changed me. I am more aware than ever of the importance of really seeing people and of the power of love that springs from being mindful of really looking at people; of really seeing people. In doing so, I am more open to people really seeing me for who I truly am. I just know that this is what God desires for us; to be connected to one another. To really see each other. I encourage you to try it. You don’t have to be yelling form the side of the road. You can quietly say to someone: “I see you,” and see what happens next. It just might change your life.

Elements of Love - by Brother Dennis

Love is not Envious

     Each week we are focusing on one element of Paul’s exhortation to love taken from his First Letter to the Corinthians (1 Cor. 13:4-7). This week we are reflecting on Love is not Envious.

Envy can be a real distraction, especially in a keeping up with the Jones’ culture. We are blitzed with marketing that tempts us to be like someone else, to have what they have or even something better. Smart phones quickly become old news after they hit the market. Pressure comes for every side to have the latest and the best.

     But the monastic way is a different way, a counter-cultural way. It’s the way of simplicity and one that gradually over time can help us loosen the grip of envy. In the monastery, we learn over time that being content with what we have is a path to true happiness. Envy can block us from loving freely. Paul reminds us that envy can be a real stumbling block to both giving and receiving love in full measure with no strings attached.   

TAKING IT TO THE STREETS - by Brother Dennis

     The year was 1922. The place was Kiev, in the Soviet Union. The occasion was a large anti-religious rally. The featured speaker was the revered Soviet politician and orator Nikolai Bukharin. Thousands had arrived to listen to his words. He stood up and spoke for over an hour – preaching atheism and pouring insults on those who believed in God. Finally he sat down, and the chairman asked if there were any questions. There was silence.

     But then, a man stood up near the back. He was elderly, with a beard, and dressed in the habit of an Orthodox monk. Slowly he made his way forward, passing row after row of people, until he reached the front, and slowly climbed onto the stage. He turned stood facing the crowd. They sat looking at him with silent expectation.

     Then, he raised his arms, and in a loud, confident voice cried out, “Alleluia!  Christ is risen!” And at once, the huge crowd rose to its feet and thundered out, “The Lord is Risen Indeed!  Alleluia!” Resurrection was in the spiritual DNA of those people. No matter how much they were told the opposite, how much they were forced to live as if there were no God, the seeds of hope lay deep in their souls, latent and waiting. The seeds had been planted in their DNA by their ancestors long ago and preserved by the stories over the ages. The time had come. This was the moment that they had been waiting for.

     In the midst of all of the chaos that swirls around us in our nation and in our world today, could it be that this is the moment we have been waiting for? It surely feels for many that we are a breaking point that is forcing change. Within these tense and confusing times, where is our hope to come from?

     This past Saturday, millions of people – young people took to the streets to protest the indignity of sacrificing human lives on the altar of the right to own assault weapons. As I watched the sea of mostly young people speaking truth and demanding change, I knew that this was a moment that many have been waiting for. And like that seed of truth that had been planted within the hearts of those in Kiev by their ancestors, so too our seed of hope is beginning to break the hard-pan surface of oppressive ways that are not serving the common good. The March For Life campaign is just the most recent seed of hope that is breaking through. The past two years have featured yet millions more people marching and demanding dignity and the end of oppressive violence against women as the Women’s March continues and is not going away. The voices of the oppressed are literally crying out from the streets and they will not be silenced.

     So, this is where Jesus and the hope of Easter Resurrection comes in. Where do you think Jesus would be today? I am quite certain that he would be in the streets with those protesting and standing for the most marginalized and vulnerable among us. His history proves that he most assuredly wouldn’t be anywhere else except in the thick of it all, his face and feet would not only be part of the sea of protest, but he would most likely  be right up front with Emma Gonzalez and the other prophets of our own time that are calling for change.     

     The resurrection story of Easter is one of startling and profound hope that has changed the world, but if we as Christians are to have integrity, authenticity and authority we must be able to bring the good news and hope of resurrection to the world in ways that are vital and relevant today, such as the many faith communities that are out there marching in the streets with women and young people demanding change. 

     Our baptismal covenant with God calls for us to “seek and serve Christ in ALL PERSONS, loving our neighbors as ourselves…to strive for justice and peace among ALL PEOPLE, and respect the dignity of EVERY HUMAN BEING. To encounter all persons, all people, and every human being, we must move beyond ourselves. We must think beyond borders and divisions. We must be brave and bold enough to call for change that can affect the lives of generations to come.

     This is a movement, a movement of Christ’s life and love into all the world. This is about loving as Christ loved. It’s about respecting the dignity of others in such a way that our brothers and sisters of all faiths or no faith are freer, more able, safer to fully and proudly claim who they are because of our presence, not in spite of it.  Otherwise, we bear witness to a movement that is dying, not rising.

     This is how we show the world who we are. Our time has come. This is the moment we have been waiting for.

Our time has come to show the world a relentless love that knows no bounds. Our time has come to truly be true to a faith that is guided by love in community and one that inspires real hope for all people, especially the poorest and most at risk among us. Our time has come to become all that God desires us to be, so that people will not just watch, but will want to join the movement that seeks true freedom for all.

SPRING CLEANING

By: Brother Dennis

A French priest says it actually happened to him. An armed robber accosted him on a dark back street in Paris and demanded his wallet. As the priest opened his coat to reach for the wallet, the thief caught sight of the clerical collar for the first time and immediately apologized saying: “Never mind, Father, I didn’t realize you were a priest – I’ll be on my way.” The priest was relieved, of course, and good naturedly offered the man a cigar, to which the man replied: “No thank you, I’m giving up smoking for Lent.” Obviously, the man hadn’t gotten the whole idea of the meaning of Lent.  But then again, this story has something to say about human nature, life in modern society, and social etiquette.

The time of Lent is much more than mere social etiquette. It’s more than just giving up a cigars. Lent, is the forty days of spiritual practice that can help us examine and calibrate the human heart. It is a time for us to look inward, to delve deeper into ourselves and what it means to be a Christian and for that matter, what it means to be a decent human being. This is a time of really examining ourselves and hopefully getting honest about who we are. It’s a time of prayer, of spiritual discipline, of giving, and a time of cleansing our hearts.

The word “Lent” comes from the old English word for “spring”, a reference not only to what is happening in the natural world, but also what is happening in the spiritual world. Lent covers the six weeks before Easter, the great Christian festival of new life. For Earlier Christians it was a time for the greening of the soul, which began with penitence and fasting. New converts where prepared for holy baptism on Easter eve, or what we know as the Great Vigil of Easter, and people whose sins had separated them from the community were invited back. Those who accepted the invitation knew that more would be required of them than just showing up (or just giving up cigars). During Lent, they would join the whole congregation in the solemn work of self-examination and repentance, designed to renew their faith in God and restore their fellowship with one another. Who wouldn’t feel that same spirit is needed in today’s world?

But as I like to say: If you want to change the world, start with yourself.

In the context of our life today there are several ways to approach the examination of conscience. One that is well-known in the Christian tradition is what we refer to in the Episcopal Church as The Rite of Reconciliation of a Penitent understood by some as Confession. There is also the Ignatian method of The Daily Examen, which is an ongoing daily prayer to help one examine their conscience. I also like the approach taken by 12-Step Spirituality of a “fearless and searching moral inventory” that first helps build one’s foundation in recovery, and then is applied on an ongoing basis as a way to continue to take personal inventory, to admit shortcomings and amend one’s life. In all of these methods of turning inward for self-examination, the words of the Psalmist seem appropriate: “Create in us a clean heart, oh God, and renew a right spirit within us.”

 So what does this all mean for each of us personally? What does it mean for us as a society and as a global community? Because although the Christian calendar marks this time of Lent for us, is it not important for all of us everywhere, regardless of spiritual tradition, denominational stripes, national origin, or political affiliation to take time to assess where we are, to re-evaluate, to look at where we are off the mark, and to think about how we might do better for ourselves as well as for the common good of all?

There seems to be a great need in our world today for the type of introspection that can promote honest appraisal, truth-telling, reconciliation, and amendment of life. We live in a time when the work toward a unified consciousness and mutual respect and love seems more urgent that ever. It is a time when people are really questioning what truth means, what honesty is, and what true integrity looks like. Maybe we are moving into a time of “Lent” in the grander scheme of things – in the broader national and global consciousness. Maye it’s time to take stock honestly about who we are as individuals, as a nation, and as a global community. The time seems critical for us to decide who we want to be as we move on from this moment.

Yes, create in us a clean heart of God, and renew a right spirit within us. This seems like a good place to start. For all sorts of good things can spring from such a desire for goodness.