Rosemary and Time

[captainsblog]

We returned this morning to the sanctuary of our wedding, Emily joining us on this special and somber occasion, in a church that is much more High Church than we are now accustomed to. Today was a good day for that. From a full brass section beginning the service with Fanfare for the Common Man, to a much larger and louder choir and congregation joining voice and heart for hymns and prayers for reconciliation, there was no other place for us to be today.

Though not used in the service itself, the bulletin contained a series of prayers consistent with its message- that all of us, whatever our faith or our perception of that faith, are brothers and sisters to be loved, and understood, and forgiven.  This series of suggested meditations set the tone for that:


Let the water wash away
the ancient grudges,
the bitter hatreds
nurtured over generations.
May it melt the memory
of our own pain.
Let our hearts,
nourished by the water of life,
blossom in beauty.
Our world awaits the water
that each of us can bring.


Be generous in prosperity and thankful in adversity.
Be fair in thy judgment, and guarded in thy speech.
Be a lamp unto those who walk in darkness,
and a home to the stranger.
Be eyes to the blind, and a guiding light unto the feet of the erring.
Be a breath of life to the body of humankind,
a dew upon the soil of the human heart,
and a fruit upon the tree of humility.


May all beings everywhere plagued
with sufferings of body and mind
quickly be freed from their illnesses.
May those frightened cease to be afraid,
and may those bound be free.
May the powerless find power,
and may people think of befriending one another.
May those who find themselves in trackless, fearful wilderness—
the children, the aged, the unprotected—
be guarded by beneficent celestials,
and may they swiftly attain Buddhahood.


Blessed are the peacemakers,
for they shall be known as the Children of God.
But I say to you that hear, love your enemies,
do good to those who hate you,
bless those who curse you,
pray for those who abuse you.
To those who strike you on the cheek,
offer the other also,
and from those who take away your cloak,
do not withhold your coat as well.
Give to everyone who begs from you,
and of those who take away your goods,
do not ask them again.
And as you wish that others would do to you,
so do to them.


Oh God, lead us from the unreal to the Real.
Oh God, lead us from darkness to light.
Oh God, lead us from death to immortality.
Shanti, Shanti, Shanti unto all.
Oh Lord God almighty, may there be peace
In celestial regions.
May there be peace on earth.
May the waters be appeasing.
May herbs be wholesome, and may trees and plants
bring peace to all.
May all beneficent beings bring peace to us.
May thy Vedic Law propagate peace
All through the world.
May all things be a source of peace to us.
And may thy peace itself, bestow peace on all,
and may that peace come to me also.


Come let us go up the mountain of the Lord,
that we may walk the paths of the Most High.
And we shall beat our swords into ploughshares,
8 and our spears into pruning hooks.
Nation shall not lift up sword against nation—
neither shall they learn war any more.
And none shall be afraid,
for the mouth of the Lord of Hosts has spoken.


In the name of Allah,
the beneficent, the merciful.
Praise be to the Lord of the
Universe who has created us and
made us into tribes and nations,
that we may know each other,
not that we may despise each other.
If the enemy incline towards peace,
do thou also incline towards peace,
and trust God, for the Lord is the one
that heareth and knoweth all things.
And the servants of God,
Most Gracious are those who walk
on the Earth in humility,
and when we address them,
we say “PEACE.”


Lord, make us instruments of your peace.
Where there is hatred, let us sow love;
where there is injury, pardon;
where there is discord, union;
where there is doubt, faith;
where there is despair, hope;
where there is darkness, light;
where there is sadness, joy.
Grant that we may not so much seek to be consoled as to console;
to be understood as to understand;
to be loved as to love.
For it is in giving that we receive;
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned;
and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life. Amen.


----

As we departed, each exit had a bowl of rosemary branches. Rosemary is the ancient symbol of remembrance. We do; we will. But not just the pain, and not just the patriotism, but the potential in overcoming humanity at its worst by joining- together- to make a humanity that is at its best.  Perhaps ten years are not enough to get us there, but today was a meaningful step toward it for a large and loving gathering in a city 300-plus miles from the worst of the worst of ten years ago.

Comments

[bill_sheehan.livejournal.com]

There are atheists who think that if only we could rid our race of superstition and religion, such things as September 11th would not have happened.

I beg to differ. But I don't argue either side, on today of all days.

When the towers fell, the priest was out of town. It fell to me to open the church and lead an ad-hoc liturgy. My mind was too numb to write anything, but I stole relevant passages from the Book of Common Prayer and litany composed by a Lutheran pastor. Now that I read it again, I cannot believe that I ever thought that it would be enough. It wasn't. It couldn't be. Even ten years later it is still beyond the power of words to express, though barrels of ink and trillions of electrons will be spilled in the attempt. It's never enough. Is it all we have?

[plantmom.livejournal.com]

In driving home one day recently, I listened to part of an NPR story about a non-fiction author who wrote about 9/11. The conclusion of another writer is that the definitive book about 9/11 will never be written, as no one book can be just that: the all-encompassing story of a day which ultimately affected millions, even as it was the result of the muted hopes and desires of other millions or at least thousands, who may or may not actually understand the outcome of their actions.

Oh boy, I'm expressing this badly, in terms of my verbage, but to quote my late, great (although small in actual stature) mother-in-law, it's "compicated".

That is, indeed, all we have, ultimately.