From titillation to sacred silence

​The alchemy of words and story.

​Not a flaw in you

As the ancient words from the Song of Solomon were read, I heard the first chuckle. Titillation hadn't occurred to me, perhaps because I heard these words knowing already where they would take me. The chuckles grew. And then I stepped up to the pulpit and began, and the room fell into sacred silent. 

It's not very often that I preach these days and even rarer that I would post it in this space. Yet this feels like more than a Sunday message, it is a healing spell. So I've decided to risk this space, to risk this broader sharing. Twenty seven minutes in is the reading from the Song of Solomon, then my message. Not a flaw in you.

Once you listen, take up my invitation. I'd love to hear from you.

For your reflection.

We Make Things Holy
Gaston Bachelard (The Poetics of Space) says, "The world seeks to be admired by you." 
Martin Shaw notes that “We make things holy by the quality of attention we give them.” 

12 Secret Names
Level 1
Go outside onto the land, it doesn’t have to be exotic or far, the front yard or a local park is fine, and find something small and specific –  a single flower, blade of grass, a mushroom, an insect. Sit with it, admire it, and craft 12 secret names. Write them down. Speak the words out loud to that which you are admiring.

Is this easy or difficult for you?
How does this affect your experience of that small piece of creation?

Level 2
Bring to mind your spouse, sibling, friend, someone with whom you are close. Think about specific and discrete moments that spark your admiration. Again this does not need to be big things. A batch of cookies, a look, a conviction. Write 12 secret names for them. Or, like the poet of the scripture, name different attributes. 
Find a time when you can offer these names to them verbally, out loud. If they are deceased, speak to them as if they were there with you.

How does this “quality of attention” affect your perception of them?
As with the person at the birthday gathering, it’s difficult for some of us to receive compliments and admiration. Why do you think that is? How might we do so graciously?

There Is Not a Flaw In You
During the service you were invited to take a moment and say this to yourself. “You are wholly beautiful, my beloved. There is not a flaw in you.” Do it again now, imagining those words spoken to you. 

How do you react to hearing those words spoken to you?
Why do you think this is the scripture the Rabbi chose to speak over the bodies at the Tree of Life Synagogue? 
What might happen if we held this notion for everyone we encountered?

Angelic Intercession
Sometimes inexplicable things happen in our lives that seem beyond the realm of reason, like the random phone call in the early morning drawing attention to the sound of rasping breath. We often don’t want to mention these events because they seem “woo woo” and we may even dismiss them. 

Have you ever had something happen that felt like angelic intercession?
Did you tell anyone? Why or why not?

Die Well
The three months that Paul lived beyond this incident provided an opportunity to “die well.” 

What does it mean to die well? 
How might we support loved ones, and ourselves, to die well?
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