Seine Net is the same reflection series I have been doing on Sundays, just a new name.
I wanted something a little more nautical oriented that also captured (get the pun?) the sense of my grabbing random bits of information to think about. Just as a seine net pulls up all sorts of things, some unexpected, so I think of this reflection post.
If you would like to see a page with the previous reflections you can follow this link.
The Lectionary Readings for today
Scripture Lessons for this Week: Transfiguration Sunday:
2 Kings 2:1-12; Psalm 50:1-6; 2 Corinthians 4:3-6; Mark 9:2-9
Reflections on the Scripture
Where Do We Expect Theophanies to Occur?
Well that probably depends upon your culture. Theophanies are those places where God shows up. It is interesting that for the Biblical writers, that would mean the desert, the mountain tops, and in clouds.
We cultural citizens of the United States get similar clues that something is going to happen in a certain way. When we see an old town at high noon and a man with a ten-gallon hat steps off the boardwalk and adjusts his pistol belt, what’s going to happen? Probably not a theophany. (On second thought, maybe your life flashing before your eyes is one).
Back to the text for this week. The reader, listener, know that a theophany is going to happen. Jesus goes up a mountain with some disciples. Then there is a cloud with a voice.
What I find interesting is the following. Do you notice where theophanies are expected? In wild places. When we eliminate wild places (both internally and externally) what does that imply?
Theophany and St. Valentine’s Day
I don’t remember the last time that Valentine’s Day and the Transfiguration fell on the same day. So I thought a little reflection on this might be in order, too. (More are below).
I think that we all experience transfigurations from time to time. Ok, so they are not quite as profound as this one the disciples experienced of Jesus.
Yet, don’t we all show ourselves as who we really are at certain moments in our lives? Maybe it is in looking at a newborn baby or our life partner. Maybe it is in accepting the loving gaze from a grandparent or aunt or uncle.
What they all have in common is love. Love, not in the “I want something from you” kind, but in the “I want the very best for you” kind.
Peter and the Dwelling Places
Just like Peter we want to create a sense of permanence, which just isn’t quite possible. But good communities can remember who we are, and help us call that forth in one another, so that we can live out our lives remembering that we are “Beloved Children of God,” each and everyone one of us.
A Reflection on How We Are Loved
“An Illustrated Meditation on the Many Meanings and Manifestation of Love” is as much a book review as it is a reminder of the ways we are all loved. You can check out the book by Matt de la Peña (author) and Loren Long (illustrator) click Love here.
A Reflection on the Courage to Weather the Uncertainties of Love
“Kahlil Gibran on the Courage to Weather the Uncertainties of Love” briefly explores Gibran’s understanding of Love and what happens when we surrender to this bigger mystical force. As The Prophet is “the 1923 classic that also gave us what may be the finest advice ever offered on the balance of intimacy and independence in healthy relationship” Gibran’s writing is suburb.
You can find you copy of The Prophet here.
Reflections for Black History Month
This is a continuation of a theme from last week’s Seine Net Reflection. These are the topics that Rachel Cargle is encouraging us to read this week. As I said last week …
Black History is United States History, Rachel Cargle reminds us. She has been posting to her Instagram feed places for the rest of us to go and learn (even unlearn) things about the United States history.
For most of us, the research is right at our fingertips via a computer, tablet, or smart phone. Here is the list of things to look up for this week:
Black National Anthem,
Birmingham Children’s Crusade,
Black Panther 10 Point Program,
National Association of Colored Women,
Student Nonviolent Coordination Committee,
Combahee River Collective,
Black Emergency Culture Coalition.
(This is the second week. You can follow along with the #DiscoverOurGlory2021.)
Give her a follow and learn along with us: Rachel Elizabeth Cargle
Can You Name the Wife of the US’s 9th V.P.?
I’ll add another hint, she was never freed from slavery.
As today is also Valentine’s Day in Black History Month, I thought this article might be of interest.
I found myself reflecting on how much more we know now, than we did then. Yet, we’ll know more in a hundred years than we do now. So how do we act with courage and compassion?
What is the Oldest Item You Have?
Sarah Laskow reflects on the oldest treasures are found in the 12 libraries. If you enjoy reading as much as we do around here, you might be interested to see what’s in there. I found it rather curious and fascinating. Here’s the link to the article: The Oldest Treasures from 12 Great Libraries.
A Spiritual Practice
This week, rather than give a specific practice, I thought I’d invite you into pondering some questions.
When do you feel most yourself?
Is this the same “time” that others notice it, too?
What, then, keeps you from doing that? From being your most you?
Blessed be
Currently I’ve still been reading Philip Jenkins’. The Lost History of Christianity, the Thousand-Year Golden Age of the Church in the Middle East, Africa, and Asia – and How It Died.
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Most of the links in this post are to other pages.
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Matt de la Peña (author) and Loren Long (illustrator) Love