Journal of Sacred Work

Days 210-214 - I love you even though...

It is easy to love you when you are kind & not when you are stern. It's simple to love your wit & complex to comprehend your self-pity.

I don't like your anger, do like your apologies, don't like you calling yourself stupid & do like your intelligence. 

Stop confusing people with your remarkable compassion & startling condescension. 

I like you when you give the benefit of a doubt & wonder why you won't give it to yourself. 

You love the truth & are gifted at lying. You are vain & I understand. You're a pain when you preach, persuasive when you invite & often confuse the two. 

You are foolish to feel ashamed & wise to accept responsibility; foolish to seek credit & wise when you don't; genuine & a hypocrite.

Your curiosity is your genius & stop asking so many questions. 

Thank you for being just, but not for judging; for being funny but not for thinking you are funny. 

I hate your deceptions & am astounded by your accomplishments. Your courage is as astonishing as your cowardice.

Thanks for protecting the vulnerable. Why don't you do more? Your persistence is profound & you give up too easily.

What is it with your energy & why do you love life & hate it? You are healthy & you suffer; good-looking & self-conscious. 

Thank you for changing lives & darn you for not knowing you are enough. 

I love you (or am trying to)  even though you are me.

-Erie Chapman

Days 208-209 Rest In God

Throughout antiquity hummingbirds have stirred the imagination with legends and folklore that are steeped in meaning and wonder. Images of these delicate winged beings are seen as healers and the bearers of love, good luck and joy in the Native American culture. The Aztecs viewed hummingbirds as messengers from the Gods and ancestors.

In this photo a brother and sister share a tiny home perched in the overarching canopy of a towering avocado tree. The tree’s camouflage of greening offers protection and shelter from dangerous predators.

This lovely pair calls to mind the beauty discovered in the yin and yang of life. According to the Taoist philosophy "the yin yang signifies a balance between opposites and can be thought of as complimentary rather than opposing forces that intermingle to form a dynamic whole that is greater than the sum of its parts."

In all of life, everything is composed of both yin and yang aspects such as shadows which cannot exist without light. We see examples of this in all of nature with the sun and moon, morning and night, water and air, summer and winter.

 In Taoism “distinctions between good and bad, along with other dichotomous moral judgments, are perceptual, not real; so, the duality of yin and yang is an indivisible whole.”  

In Erie Chapman’s provocative essay, I found myself challenged by his inquiry (as only a true artist can do) which stimulated self examination. I reflected upon my spirituality and how it has evolved over time. I found myself wrestling with the questions and came to the realization that perhaps, I do not need answers.

What I do know is that I am so grateful to have been raised by my wonderfully human, loving, warm and hospitable parents. My mom, Irish Catholic and my dad agnostic, the yin and yang of relationships. I am learning to appreciate and embrace the contradictions that ultimately inform our lives and create wholeness.

God is in all of all; an all-inclusive love that continues to radiate out in expansive motion. Through acceptance and forgiveness comes healing, as the essence of our being shines through so uniquely and beautifully.

I am learning that I can rest in God.

May the peace that surpasses all understanding be upon us all.

Liz Sorensen Wessel

Photo by ~liz

Days 203-207 - NEW MESSIAH?

"God is a boy. God is a boy's name. God is not a girl." - Michael, age 4. 

   This is what one of ten children I interviewed at a nursery years ago told me. I might have answered the same at his age when, looking around, I saw a church dominated by males.

   God is "He," not she. The Pope is male (as are Catholic priests.) The Old Testament prophets are men. The New Testament disciples are males. 

  For Jews & many others, of course, the Messiah, male or female, has never arrived. For Christians, He appeared two thousand years ago.

   Across an uneven history, Jesus's radical new message, God IS Love, has endured. The evidence shows, however, that Christianity in the western world has been losing followers for decades.

   Is it time for a new Messiah - one who brings God's Love through a spiritual descendent of Jesus? The long-sought Daughter of God? That question is posed by an exhibit planned at Vanderbilt Divinity School's Art Gallery this September.  

   As the featured artist (who proposed the topic & will give the opening talk) I will not be there to answer but to pose the questions.

   Do we need a new Messiah? What gender & race, what message, how presented?

   Would a female Messiah need to perform miracles for her message to be heard? What would be the difference, if any, in a woman's version of God's word presented in today's world?

   Do America's faith-based hospitals, offering care beneath the cross, need a new Messiah to reawaken Jesus' message of Love in an environment where money may be crushing mission?

   In what is now acknowledged to be a Post-Christian Era, can Christianity survive with Jesus as the solitary savior?

   Please let me know your thoughts.

-Reverend Erie Chapman

Painting - Transfiguration, Raffaello

Photoart - "New Messiah?"- Erie Chapman (2019)

Days 201-202 Sometimes Even the Moon Needs to Rest

One of the goals of the JSW is to offer a space for respite for caregivers who may visit for a momentary pause of reflection. I offer this blessing in a spirit of hospitality & gratitude to you for your light filled presence in our world. 

A Blessing for All Who Serve in the Ministry of Health Care

May rest find you
In the peaceful moments when all is still,
In the quiet times when you pause
And breathe.

May rest find you
In the chaos of the moment,
In the sorrow you seek to heal.

May rest bless you and strengthen you.
May it fill your spirit
And give you unearned joy.

May you find rest in the care of others,
In the knowledge of your worth,
The values of your service.

May the One who gives rest
Bless you and hold you close.
And may you, in your very being,
Be a place of rest for others.

Amen.

 

This blessing comes from the book, Voices from the Journey, authored by Sr. Juliana Casey
www.chausa.org/voices

Offered by Liz Sorensen Wessel

Photo by ~liz Kauai, 2006
Watercolor by ~liz

 

Days 190-194 - Etched Not on Stone but in Hearts

 It has taken all of my long, varied & intensely reflective life to distill a few ideas of import including these two:

   Love rewards the expression of inner truth not outward praise.  Recognition can come at a terrible price because praise is a never-satisfied appetite & is often offered by those of limited vision & alternative motives. 

   Second, the creations of truth-writers are durable only if they have been "framed," recognized and promoted by advocates. Without these our contributions, no matter how "truthful" & beautiful, have little chance of surviving.

   Others must experience our work in a way they can absorb or it evaporates into the ether. 

   I thought of this for the one thousandth time as I framed a few of my pictures today. Of course, framing hardly guarantees survival, but it increases the opportunity that our best efforts will find purchase in the hearts of others.

   William Blake (1757 – 1827) is a prime example. The immortal English poet, painter, polymath and printmaker, recently described as "far and away the greatest artist Britain has ever produced," was ridiculed as a "mad man" during his life & was unrecognized by contemporaries. We would not know him were it not for an obscure patron named Thomas Butts & the loving curatorship of his widow, Catherine, who communed with his spirit & preserved the work framed in paintings & words. 

    It is not that the boats we launch into Eternity's river endure forever. Their voyages simply last longer when they are built with Truth, sail on Love's winds & are cheered along by the living. 

   We "frame" pieces of our creations in manifold ways: books, art, philanthropy, movements, inventions & more. Importantly, these contributions matter whether we are recognized. Helen Keller understood. One way we recall her is through framed words.

   And we send messages to the future through our children, friends & others whose names we never know & who may not recall us as the ones who ignited some light within them. 

  In 2 Corinthians 3:1-3 Paul wrote a message as hard to appreciate now as it was two millennia ago: "Are we beginning to commend ourselves again? Or do we need...letters of recommendation...? 2 You yourselves are our letter, ... 3 ...written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on...human hearts."

-Rev. Erie Chapman 

Painting - "Lot & His Daughters" - William Blake

Days 193-194 You Tell Me...

We’ve all heard the riddles, “Why did the chicken cross the road?” Still, I was startled to encounter a rooster actually walking across a four-lane road. I watched with trepidation mixed with awe. Perhaps because it was a Sunday afternoon, this usually busy thoroughfare seemed to have a lull in the normal cadence of cars.

It was so unusual, a miracle really, to see a rooster successfully stroll across 2 lanes and without a care in the world. He made it beyond the double yellow lines before a car approached. In the distance, I saw the white car nearing and realized this iridescent plumed fellow was about to meet an unfortunate fate.

I stepped off the curb and began to waves my arms wildly at the approaching vehicle and then with outstretched hands yelled, “STOP”. The driver heeded some 10’ away from my feathery friend who was not the least bit phased, that is until the driver honked his loud, ornery horn.  Startled, he took flight and landed on the rooftop of a one-story home. (Did you know roosters can fly?)

Well, there went my chance of helping him return to his roost. Upon  returning home from my neighborhood walk, I wondered what might become of him. Would some kind person offer him backyard shelter? Or ignore him to fend for himself? Or plan to cook him for their evening meal!

Early the next morning I heard a rooster crow  heralding the emergence of a promising day. Who can say for sure but I smiled when I heard his call, knowing he was safe to enjoy another sunny day.

I’d be curious to know just how many times this neighboring fellow had crowed to greet the morning and I had not even noticed. Yet, since our happenstance I seem to be keenly tuned in and when I hear him call, I feel a momentary joy, a sense of hopefulness at the encouraging sign from life, come what may.

Why did the rooster cross the road? Ha! You tell me…

Liz Sorensen Wessel
Watercolor by ~liz

Days 188-192 - How Is Your Bandwidth?

Bandwidth Definition (Dictionary): PSYCHOLOGY - the energy or mental capacity required to deal with a situation - "he lives alone, and says he doesn't have the bandwidth to handle a steady relationship"

 

Amid floods of meetings & omnipresent screens the word "bandwidth" is now widely used as a way as an excuse. "I don't have the bandwidth to handle that." Or in describing someone's limitations: "She would not have the bandwidth to handle that."

 

Our current crises may include our rising inability to listen beyond our agenda. Men are notorious offenders.

 

Over several hours this weekend with a hospital-based physician-leader responsible for patient experience (or, as a cardiologist in the discussion added, "All that bullshit.") I mentioned having been a hospital CEO who now consults on "that B.S."

 

Although professing "impossible trouble with ER docs" the physician-leader was profoundly disinterested in any thoughts from the cardiologist or me  on that issue or on anything we had to say. "What I need is a judge & a television show," he told us.

 

The cardiologist laughed, "Erie was a judge & hosted a national television show for eight years. He's also ordained."

 

The doctor-leader said nothing. I decided to fabricate.

 

"I also served as a flight surgeon in Viet Nam for six years - won the Silver Star," I lied.

 

Were this true it would have meant that on top of actually being a trial lawyer, hospital CEO, minister & national t.v. host I was somehow suddenly a doctor & a decorated war hero! Nothing had reached him.

 

I mad my final try: "Then I played cello for the Nashville Symphony." 

 

Bingo! "My daughter plays the clarinet," he said...& continued for several minutes.

 

This capable physician had no bandwidth for anything beyond himself.

 

Further pain came after the leader left as the cardiologist & I confessed how often we have committed the same offense - nodding but not listening. We do not have much bandwidth either. 

 

-Erie Chapman

Military Service as Caregiving

Note: Guest reflection by Terry Chapman: Last May, my son Daniel and I traveled by train to Gettysburg and Antietam Battlefields in PA and MD. The photo shows me saluting my 2^nd Great Uncle Degrasse S. Chapman, who was killed by confederate fire near the town of Sharpsburg, MD, above Antietam Creek, as he valiantly fought with the Ohio 23^rd Volunteer Regiment from Lorain, OH.  He left a wife and young daughter but gave the ultimate gift to his descendants and to the young America he chose to defend.  

Caregiving takes many varied forms in life, and his military bravery and loyalty to our country, certainly marked him as a hero and a unique caregiver. My Chapman clan has fought in US wars including the Revolutionary War, War of 1812, WWI; WWII; Vietnam, and others served honorably, including me, in peace time. Yes, I am proud of their gallantry.

What can we, the descendants and admirers of such supreme bravery do to honor and further the goals they died for? For one, we can all thank every person who served or serves in our country’s military, all branches and ranks and range of duties.  We can vote for local, state, and national politicians who will further the “better causes” of our nation: working together with differing opinions toward a higher justice: one nation, under God, committed to providing a clean environment, an accessible, well operated health care system, better educational, housing, food delivery for the hungry, and vocational opportunities for every citizen, and responsive caring for all our veterans.  To do anything less is unthinkable!

The next time you take a trip anywhere in America, pause and reflect on the many, like my Uncle, who sacrificed their lives to make America possible and unique among nations.  Help recognize all veterans and their families; donate to their causes and attend 4^th of July activities near you. But most of all: give them a grand salute! 

   -Terry Chapman