Random Thoughts
Submitted by Aldon Hynes on Wed, 07/06/2016 - 21:14On my way to work today, like has been the case for many days over the past couple of weeks, I listened to a recording of Evelyn Underhill’s Mysticism. I had to get to work a little early because CHC started offering free Ta’i Chi lessons in Middletown, at 8 AM for staff and 12:15 for the general public. Online, I shared various posts about celebrating the end of Ramadan.
At a meeting about a medical assistants’ training program we are starting, we talked about corporate social responsibility and how that relates to providing good jobs. On social media, I read some of the outrage about the most recent black man killed police officers.
A couple friends share Social Justice Is a Christian Tradition — Not a Liberal Agenda and others shared an image from NASA that reminds me so much of paintings by William Blake, returning me to the beginning of the day, and Evelyn Underhill’s Mysticism.
What to Write
Submitted by Aldon Hynes on Tue, 07/05/2016 - 20:00Reading The Interior Castle by St. Teresa of Avila. Listening to the Falcon Ridge Folk Festival Emerging Artists playlist. Seeing the post on Facebook shift from pictures of sunsets and fireworks to discussions about Hillary Clinton’s emails, Donald Trump’s Star of David, more Brexit madness, and the latest terrorist attacks in Istanbul, Baghdad, and Medina. Fiona is visiting her cousins. Kim is watching television as she recuperates from conjunctivitis.
I want to write something, but I just don’t know what.
The Interior Castle
Submitted by Aldon Hynes on Mon, 07/04/2016 - 14:24On this Fourth of July weekend, I’ve been reading a little bit of The Interior Castle by St. Teresa of Avila. This castle is a metaphor for our souls. St. Teresa writes,
Rarely do we reflect upon what gifts our souls may possess, Who dwells within them, or how extremely precious they are. Therefore we do little to preserve their beauty; all our care is concentrated on our bodies, which are but the coarse setting of the diamond, or the outer walls of the castle.
As I reflected on this, I thought of those who would whitewash the exterior of a deteriorating mansion in the name of upkeep. It doesn’t take much to look beyond the whitewash to see the decay, and beyond that, to get a sense of some of the beauty of yesterday year.
It made me think of our fascination with ‘Abandoned America’. I spent some time looking through the pictures of abandoned churches. I remember time I have spent on church vestries, at times as a treasurer or clerk, talking about how to keep these institutions financially stable, how to afford the upkeep of the buildings. I remember discussions about how the church needs to get outside of the building, think outside the box, and I see the struggles of trying to maintain a beautiful building, some of the history of the institution, while at the same time being a vibrant part of a community and not just a dying tradition.
I think of St. Francis being told to “go rebuild my Church, which you see is falling into ruins” and rebuilding the church at San Damiano, as well as the greater church.
I wondered about churches struggling in Connecticut. The Episcopal Church has some interesting Tables, Charts, and Research Reports. Using Studying Your Congregation and Community you can get historical data about members, attendance and income. This led me to look at churches for sale, which has plenty of listings.
It seems like there is some sort of allegory that could be written here, especially apt if we stop to wonder what it is that we are celebrating this weekend, what it is that makes our country great.
A New Golden Calf
Submitted by Aldon Hynes on Sun, 07/03/2016 - 16:44This morning, as I got ready for church, I read various Facebook posts, including one with a picture of a current U.S. Presidential candidate, with the words “If you believe America should always be first! Please Like and Share!”
First!
What does that even mean? First in what? I thought of the toddler screaming, “Me first! Me first!”. I thought of people who shout down differences of opinion chanting, “USA! USA!”
My thoughts drifted to what the Bible has to say about being first. Matthew 20:16 - “So the last will be first, and the first will be last.” I thought of Jesus washing the disciples’ feet at the Last Supper.
No, those who paint their faces like the flag of their country and chant “USA! USA!” in hopes that a leader will come along, to “make America great again”, to protect America’s safety and prosperity from people who are different from us, are worshiping A New Golden Calf.
Ramadan
Submitted by Aldon Hynes on Sat, 07/02/2016 - 11:16“That looks like cancer”,
the bereaved mother
who had lost her son
to neuroblastoma
said to the handyman
carrying his bottle
of some weird
bright blue
power drink.
I thought it looked
more like solvent
or perhaps one of
those nasty chemicals
they pump you full of
during chemo.
“At least I’m safe here”,
she said
as she adjusted her hijab
looking down the street
at the homeless man
selling cigarettes
to the drunks
and addicts
when three young black men
ran by
chasing a stranger
down an alley
as something went wrong.
The sun hung high in the sky
shining on the just and unjust,
the Muslim, the Christian and the agnostic.
It would be three more hours
before she could break
her Ramadan fast.
