Dear Friend,
The last homily I delivered was a little over two years ago, in March of 2020, right before the pandemic shut down the world. The gospel reading that morning was Matthew’s account of the Transfiguration of Jesus (Matthew 17:1-9).
In this story Jesus is preparing his disciples for the cross—it’s going to come, so be ready, he seems to say. Jesus knows it’s the only thing that’s going to transfigure them, and the same thing goes for us, too. You see, suffering has this strange and marvelous ability to pull us into oneness. Maybe you’ve seen it happen in your family, at the funeral of a loved one or some other communal tragedy. I think many of us felt it in the early days of the pandemic—before our dualistic politics got in the way—there was a sense that we were in it together.
Until we find the communal meaning and significance of the suffering of all life, we will continue to retreat into our individual, small worlds in our misguided quest for personal safety and sanity. A Crucified God is the dramatic symbol of the one suffering that God fully enters into with us—not just for us, as we were mostly taught to think, but in solidarity with us. The Good News is we do not have to hold that suffering alone. In fact, we cannot hold it alone.
As we approach Easter, let us remember that we too can follow this path, actively joining God’s loving solidarity with all. What starts in God ends in God. All of reality is moving toward resurrection. This is the great hope of our tradition and one that is becoming more and more necessary for the world to hear.
It is my prayer that our work at the Center for Action and Contemplation (CAC) has been a source of hope for you in these difficult and trying times. The CAC is not funded by any large institution or big foundation, but by thousands of people who have been impacted by this work—people just like you. Through your support we are able to introduce more people to the wisdom and practices of the Christian contemplative tradition, many for the very first time.
Thank you for being a part of this community. Please take a moment to read our Executive Director Michael’s note below. Tomorrow the Daily Meditations will continue exploring the theme of “It Can’t Be Carried Alone.”
Peace and Every Good,
Dear Friend,
When you make a contribution to the Center for Action and Contemplation (CAC), financial or otherwise, you partner with us in our mission to introduce Christian contemplative wisdom and practices that support transformation and inspire loving action.
We can’t overstate the importance of nurturing the emerging movement of contemplative consciousness in the world today. But it’s not something that we–any of us–can do alone. That effort is going to take all of us playing our part in the great and unified body of Christ. While we live in different places and come from different backgrounds, when we participate together in the work of Love, amazing things will happen.
We believe that contemplative wisdom should be open and accessible to all. This is a big aspiration, but we trust that it is possible because of the generosity of so many of you who support it. We are deeply grateful for your partnership.
If you have benefited from the work of this CAC community, please consider making a one-time donation or recurring gift to support it. If you are able, please consider making your donation a monthly one. Recurring support helps us to fund new offerings, many at no cost, that can help others who have yet to experience the liberating value of contemplative wisdom.
Donors from outside of the United States may find PayPal the most effective credit card processor. Click here to donate via PayPal through our bookstore.
We are so thankful for your partnership and help in working for a more peaceful, just, and connected world.
Peace and Every Good,
Michael Poffenberger
Executive Director
Center for Action and Contemplation
P.S. You can donate securely online at cac.org/dm-appeal or send a check (USD only) to CAC, P.O. Box 12464, Albuquerque, NM 87195. Donations are tax-deductible in the United States. EIN # 85-0354965. We invite donations of any size. Learn more about other ways to give, including gifts of stock, qualified distributions from your IRA or an estate gift at cac.org/support. Contact us if you have any questions or would like further information. Thank you so much.
