I had the wonderful opportunity of hearing the Dalai Lama at the University of Portland on Thursday! What a gift! Though my untrained ear missed many of his words, his presence, his manner and engaging respect, pure interest and acceptance of everyone spoke eloquently of his care and oneness with human beings everywhere.
At one point in the day-long conference, he stopped for a moment and said, “if the Buddha was here I would be asking him what to do about the global issues. But he isn’t here. So I have to think about these things myself and trust what comes to me in here (pointing to his heart).” I thought YES, this is what disciples do. What other choice do we have if we are sincere and authentic but to ponder our questions then continue walking toward our answers on the path of our own integrity?
This is what the disciples of Jesus faced when he left them gazing into the heavens where he vanished into thin air. They had depended on him to continue teaching and answering their questions since he was continuing to appear to them. They expected him to step into the Messiah’s role and free Israel from Rome’s captivity. It was all different but somehow also the same as before he died. So they had no real thought of taking on the work he’d begun, especially without HIM. They saw themselves as followers, not as healers and teachers with authority of their own.
Jesus and the Buddha had to leave so their disciples could fully live into their own calling, their mission and potential. All of us must learn to live from that place of integrity within in order to become who we are meant to be, and carry forward God’s intention of a world and a people at one with each other, with all of creation and with the Creator.
Jesus’ love for his disciples, like a mother’s love for her children, had no bounds. That love extended beyond the grave, beyond his final departure, and into the infinite dimensions of time. In his final discourse in John’s Gospel he told them he would not leave them orphans but would be with them always, until the end of the age.”
Jesus clearly must have wanted all his disciples to grasp the reality of his continuing and ongoing presence with them and with us. He wasn’t content to simply LEAVE. Like a loving mother he wanted to assure us that nothing, not death or distance or disappearance, would ever interrupt his continuing care, love, attention and support. His work would now be their work, our work. He wanted to instill in us the courage to carry on despite what he knew would be his upcoming physical absence. He promised to send his Spirit to enliven and inspire, to help us carry on.
The power of the Spirit is the power of personal experience. When filled with the Spirit we have clarity. We KNOW without having to think things through or puzzle them out. We move confidently from that place of knowing located at the junction of head and heart. There is inspiration. There is energy moving us into action. There is fire and light and flow, groundedness and joy. We know what we’re about and act from a place within that is genuine, authentic.
The Holy Spirit is never about following rules. She’s unpredictable and moves where she will. That’s why there’s so little said about her, so few readings, and an amazing lack of scholarship or developed theology regarding her action and function in the world and the church. She is always about connection, oneness, freedom that leads toward wholeness within oneself and between persons. She has no interest in doctrine or dogma. She teaches us to reflect on our experiences from a place of compassion—for ourselves and for others. Her teachings emerge from within, which is why she can seem so threatening to structures of authority. She can sometimes be recognized best within that inner chamber that resonates with beauty, truth, tenderness, wonder and awe. She moves the world toward decisions that would support and enhance the gifts given to each individual for building a world of care, integrity and compassion. Using those gifts toward selfish ends runs counter to her leadership. All systems that seek to control, colonize or destroy run counter to her leadership. She is the Spirit of delight in differences, the spirit of freedom and creative engagement, the spirit of openness and transparency.
At one point in his talk the Dalai Lama said, “We are all human beings. We are all the same. We all come from our mothers and for the majority of us our first experience is one of care, affection and gentleness. Affection from our mother builds a sense of connection. Feeling cared for and connected we are healthy. We receive and engage one another without fear.” This is the legacy of gentle and affectionate maternal care.
It is also a manifestation of the Spirit’s life within us, moving us toward decisions and actions that build community and build upon our common humanity and desire for joy, love and peace.
Our great teachers—the Buddha, Mohammed, Jesus—have left us. We’re on our own, learning to recognize that resonant chamber and cultivate the ability to listen, to reflect, to discern and to heed where the path of compassion integrity lies.We are not orphans on this planet. The Spirit of God animates each one of us. Christ is alive and present not only at this table but within every one of us and within our world. Our teachers are cheering us on. The Mother of all creation holds us in a tender embrace. We can FEEL it if we slow down enough and open to the presence of ALL THAT IS in this one precious moment of time. Take heart and express heart in the world. This is the Mother’s way.
A rabbi told this story from Jewish Midrash:
There was a young boy who went walking in the woods near his home every morning. His father took notice and eventually became curious about his son’s daily routine. One day he asked the boy why he went walking in the woods every single day. The boy said he was looking for God. “But you know God is the same everywhere,” his father told him. His son responded, “yes, but I’m not the same everywhere.”
Rev. Toni Tortorilla, Sophia Christi Catholic Community
May 12, 2013, 7th Sunday of Easter
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