March 2019: Kyrie Eleison

Jesus says, "Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest." (Matthew 11:28)

As we move through life we grow weary from carrying heavy burdens:
the weight of worries and regrets,
the weight of things done and things left undone.

We hurt ourselves and one another, we stumble and fall, we forget who we are...

Ashes to ashes; dust to dust;
children of earth; Children of God

And so we pray
Kyrie Eleison (Lord, have mercy)
​Christe Eleison (Christ, have mercy)

asking for God's mercy: to heal our hurts, to lighten our load,
to restore us to ourselves, to remind us who we are. 

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Kyrie Eleison
Christe Eleison
Kyrie Eleison

Kyrie (Bridget) by John Bell

Further Thoughts
​from Mother Sylvia+

Lent is coming.  In Godly Play we talk about Lent as the season of "getting ready to come close to the mystery of Easter."  In "big church", our Lenten journey begins with Ash Wednesday, a somber day of penitence and reflecting on our own mortality.  

We often feel unsure about if or how we should talk about hard subjects--sin, repentance, death--with children.  I understand the impulse to avoid broaching these hard subjects with kids.  The Church has an ugly (I daresay sinful) history of using concepts like "sin" and "death" to inflict shame and fear on people of all ages, which has often led to devastating spiritual and physical consequences.  The amplification of shame and fear is never the work of God's people, who are called in baptism to "proclaim by word and example the Good News of God in Christ!" 

On the other hand, shame and fear, sin and death are real facets of the human experience and to pretend otherwise is doing nobody any favors.  As a perfectionist by nature, I can guarantee you that I have never needed the Church to shame me; I am perfectly capable of manufacturing buckets full of shame all on my own!  I have, however, needed the church to provide me with a community of loving support and effective practices (prayers, songs, scriptures, sacraments) to help unbind me from shame. 

At least one of my three kids seems to be naturally wired for perfectionism, like I am.  I see that, for this child, it is a diabolically short neurological leap from "I made a mistake" to  "I am unloved and unlovable."  It's heartbreaking.  It's also dangerous.

How different would our world be if, when our leaders were called out for making bad or hurtful choices, they didn't respond with tantrums, denial and defensiveness, but rather responded by simply and humbly  acknowledging their mistakes?   "I see now that I made a bad choice.  I'm sorry.  I want to do better.  What can I do to make things better, starting today?"  Can you imagine how revolutionary that would be?  

The good news is we can start training for that revolution today.  And we can give our kids simple tools to do the same.  We can help one another, and help our kids, grow strong in the unshakeable knowledge that we are "fearfully and wonderfully made",  fashioned in God's own image, infinitely and irrevocably loved.  And we can develop a regular, daily practice of unloading the "pebbles" of sin, anxiety, and  shortcomings, before they become boulders of fear and shame that weigh us down and impede our growth in love and joy.  

Below is a beautiful storybook, called "What is my Song", that I look forward to sharing with the children of St. Mark's during Lent.  I commend it to you as a great place to launch your own Lenten Journey and further reflection on the vital role a spiritual community can play in the important work of repentance, reconciliation, and restoration to our best and truest selves.

Perhaps we can think of this month's Song of the Month, the Kyrie, as a prayer song the rinses our hearts, minds, and ears,  so we can begin to hear our own, unique, God-given songs more clearly.  

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Story
"What is my Song"
​by Dennis Linn, Sheila Fabricant Linn, and Matthew Linn
​

Questions
choose one or more for daily reflection and discussion

• What weight or burden are you carrying?
• What do you need to let go? 

​

• What is your song?
• When did you hear your song most clearly today?
• When did your song get mixed up or muffled? 

• How have you hurt yourself, someone or something else today?  
• What support do you need in order to accept/welcome/receive healing and forgiveness?
• How support do you need to offer or share healing and forgiveness? 

Practice
Repentance and Letting Go

• GATHER MATERIALS: a heavy stone, a large empty bowl, a pitcher of water [Optional: You might want to use sharpies or paint pens to decorate the stone or write the words "Kyrie Eleison, Christe Eleison"]
• OPENING: Say: Jesus says, "Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest."
• REFLECT:  Holding the stone in your hands (if you are reflecting alone) or passing the stone from person to the person like a "talking stick"  (if you are reflecting in a family or small group) reflect on one or more of the questions listed above. 
• SING: Kyrie Eleison, Christe Eleison, Kyrie Eleison
• RESPOND: Carefully place the heavy stone in the empty bowl.  Slowly pour the pitcher of water over the stone and say:  Hear God say:  "You are my beloved child, with you I am well pleased.  As far as the east is from the west, so far I remove this weight from you."  In closing, dip your fingertips into the water and make the sign of the cross on your own forehead (or on the foreheads of one another, if you are reflecting in a group.) 

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