I have a friend from ballet school called Sylvie. She
is so elegant and graceful – an accomplished ballet
dancer. Her movements show such art and beauty – a
wonderful bodyline. To watch her dance is
mesmerising. How amazing that she can do what she
does; such is the magic. But, like with many great
artists, she has had many trials in her life. She
meets these with courage and brings a great power to her
dance, seemingly taking the trials and difficulties of life
and transforming their power into dance. It is
difficult not to admire her and not to be inspired when
watching her dance.
The gift from God, that Sylvie has received and nurtures,
transforming pain into exquisite beauty – truly is a gift
from God.
The body can be so constricting, with its limitations and
frailties. St Paul in today's reading reminds us of
the difficulties there are of trying to resolve mind, body
and spirit. How there can be such tensions
between them. The dangers, the weaknesses of the
flesh. Too much focus on the flesh, and not enough on
the spirit, leads us away from God. But let us not
over-simplify this interpretation. The balance of
mind, body and spirit is key. It is not a case of
taking all focus away from the flesh and all will be
well. The flesh integral to our being, as we live and
breath. To neglect and deny that part of ourselves is
to deny what is real. The importance of the spirit is
to be recognised and to be nurtured. This is the
difficult part. If we allow the spiritual side of our
lives to wither or be neglected, then we are not
whole. The life which the Holy Spirit breathes into
each one of us is essential to our integrity, our being.
We become truly alive in the Holy Trinity – if we are open
to this possibility. It takes courage, commitment and
vigilance to live in this way. Yet, as Paul
writes in 1 Corinthians, there is another difficulty:
'For now we see through a glass darkly'
The faith and hope is that we will see 'face to face' but
now only 'I know in part'.
Faith, Hope and Love – which Paul entreats us to strive to
live by. But how hard. It depends on where we are, who
we are with. We may find that our hearts harden, with
each wound we receive, and each disappointment, each trial,
and each person who upsets us. When times are hard,
how difficult to keep faith, hop and love. I include
myself in this – to try to soften a hardening heart.
Are we to be like the hostile ground, where the seeds are
sown, described in the Gospel passage today? Are we
able to withstand the hostility of others, or the
inhospitable circumstances we may find ourselves in?
But to find and to hold onto faith in God is essential, at
all times, - and so to be truly alive in the Holy
Trinity. We are required to pray, in times of trial
and darkness. We need to hold a mirror up to
ourselves, to see ourselves as we are. To have deeply
fertile soil, as our faith in God. This means reaching
out to God, to have sense to see how much we need to pray
and not to rely solely on earthly and transitory
resources. That we should seek God in all people and
in all places. Living in harmony between flesh and
spirit. Turning away from the tendencies to
intolerance, judgement and hatred. Seeing these for
what they are – the way of spiritual death. To return
before straying, ensures that we do not lose our way, that
there is no spiritual ground to make up.
If we are to sow seeds, then we should sow kind acts, then
memory's garden will smell sweet.
The foundress of the order of the Poor Sisters of Nazareth
wrote the following prayer, entreating us to open our eyes
and see the world anew:
'See the Divine Infant in the Little Ones, try to love them
very much for His sake and in the dear old people see Our
Bless Lady and St Joseph'
Let us put our bodies, minds and souls to the expression of
love and beauty – as in the way my ballet dancer friend
Sylvie does – a living inspiration, that there may be in the
world and in us an abundance of faith, hope and love."