Rev. Ruth Patterson
On Friday/Saturday, October 15th/16th, 2010, we, Sisters of Mercy met in Ontario, California for our Fall Gathering. We were blessed to have a very inspiring speaker, Rev. Ruth Patterson.
Ruth a Presbyterian Minister, was the first woman of any faith tradition ordained in Ireland. In her introduction she spoke of the difficulties that ‘calling’ brought to her and the challenges of ministry among a mostly male clergy. She founded Restoration Ministries in Northern Ireland, the idea taken from Psalm 23 “beside restful waters He restores me”.
Outrageous Hope – this is the title Ruth chose for her presentation. She introduced it with a Psalm of Hope, an extract from the book Good Friday People by Sheila Cassidy, “Lord This Day is Yours and We are Yours” and a South African Song “Never Give Up”. Ruth shared that she had the privilege of meeting many in our faith tradition who understand our pain ~ the pain of the Ryan Report ~ and that she walks among us as one “flawed and faithful” as we “walk the ragged heartland of pain”.(John O’Donohue) She shared about the “flawed and faithful” characters from Scripture to empower us to face the future with huge confidence. These scripture characters can birth outrageous hope in us as i) Sisters of Mercy ii) church, iii) world.
The following are some reflections Ruth shared with us:
Where can we as Sisters of Mercy find outrageous hope?
As Christian people we are people of hope. The Spirit is transforming and equipping us to be image bearers of hope. Are we buffeted by trauma? Drowning in despair? Distressed? Confused? Many in our church are devoid of hope and mourning for what once was and may never be again. In the world we read/hear of natural disasters, wars and rumors of war, alienation, confusion, and loss, so we are tempted to look out for number one.
In Abraham who had an outrageous call at his age (Gen. 12 ff.), to pull-up and go and it held an incredible promise. Abraham obeyed as did Sarah in her 70’s but they had pilgrim hearts. The fulfillment of Promise seemed long in coming! Hagar was devoid of hope when an angel appears saying to her: “God sees your misery, go back” and Ishmael was born. With his birth Hagar had outrageous hope and on her return she was different. The story of Hagar is a reminder that many people feel “unloved” “unappreciated” “non-being”. But we know that God created us for a purpose so we need to risk being wounded again, we must dare to believe and to hope. Richard Carver asks “Did you get from this life what you needed? Yes, I’m the Beloved ~ the Beloved of Jesus.”
At Restoration House, Ruth lives and works among those who feel like Hagar before the birth of Ishmael. She tells us of the Canadian writer, Mr. Bell, who says “Thank you for being God with skin on.” She spoke of Jean Vanier who reminds us that when one feels that they have been seen and loved they are ready to live life to the full. Jean Vanier sees community as founded on forgiveness and boosted by love.
Reflect on a time when you were seen ~~~
Where can the Church find outrageous hope? Elijah (1 Kings 18ff), when he was dealing with the prophets of Baal, says to God “prove that I am your servant, answer me that “they will know”. Elijah is full of self pity and God speaks to him “what are you doing here Elijah?” Elijah answers: “I only am left and they try to kill me too” and God says to him: “get out of the cave and stand before me on the mountain”. God did not come to him in loud thunder and lightning, God spoke to him “in a gentle breeze, a gentle whisper”. By the way not all went to Baal- 7,000 remained faithful.
Presently “the church” is in the desert, fearful, running away from the issues – it has batten down the hatches. Angels, messengers of God, come in all sizes and in the power of the Eucharist. “Get up and eat or the journey will be too much for you”. We must remember to put flesh on the past and remember that God is relentless with us, the church. What are we doing here? “Get up and go to the mountain and wait for God. God is not in the earthquake or fire but in the “gentle whisper” of God’s word spoken — and for us it’s the birthplace of an outrageous hope.
Every tradition who believes in Jesus Christ will command a blessing ~ a communion in diversity. We are called to feed “our sheep”. Elijah’s task was to anoint his successor, and as the mantle of Elijah falls on Elisha we have a “new church”. Elisha says to Elijah “as surely as the Lord lives and you live, I will never leave you”.
Where can the world find outrageous hope?
Jeremiah the prophet came from near Jerusalem and had no desire to place himself in danger or in a place of change. The Lord said to him; “I knew you before you were born”. God touches his mouth and Jeremiah has an honest relationship with God. He says; “God’s word burns in my heart”. God says: “Jeremiah, I have plans for you. Build gardens!” How contemporary is that! Jerusalem is under siege so he purchased a field. Just as in Jeremiah’s day the world today needs Restoration. It needs Mercy, Justice, Truth, Peace. The wider community desperately needs these, they need God … not a Catholic God or Protestant God!
God is calling some to be prophets, God is asking more. “So let us begin again because up to now we have done nothing” (St. Francis). Where are our prophets? Our Oscar Romeros? We are in need of Outrageous Hope. We need the desire to know and speak for God. If we trust God for only some things we trust him for nothing. Remember we are already the beloved! Jesus Christ shed his blood for us. The wider community of the world is unjust but also very beloved because of Jesus. Let us remember that God’s weakness is far stronger than human strength so let’s fling our outrageous hope against the darkness and suffering of the world.
Ruth invited us to take an inner journey. Can we see the face of God in our enemies? Do we keep the enemy out there? Humans have a deep seated desire to know that they matter. When we don’t acknowledge another, it leads from dehumanizing to demonizing. A book that supports this is A Human Being Died That Night, a South African story of forgiveness. Good and evil exist in our lives and we must face evil within ourselves. In Martin Luther King‘s ethic of nonviolence he saw the face of God in enemies. We remember that it is not possible to like everyone, but it is possible to love everybody by creative redemptive acts of good will towards another. This is a huge challenge and a cross which brings anguish to many.
How can we begin to see the face of God in our lives? How can we love the enemy? ~ by repeated acts of good will ~ by forgiveness ~ by generosity of spirit, reaching out to others, hospitality, willingness to befriend ~ by having courage and willingness to let go Jesus calls us by name and leads us out in the hard job of loving others, our neighbors and enemies, imaginary dragons. This journey into the third dimension we call divinity.
Reflect: I am created in the image and likeness of God
Conclusion
We wrestle with God, who encourages us to reach out to those who alienate us and whom we alienate. Jacob faced his wounded past. For a person of faith comes the day of reckoning. We can choose to remain in bitterness or we can choose to “see the face of God and live”. We realize that we are not the same since the Ryan Report, our pride is wounded. Jacob will not let go until he receives a blessing. Often as followers of the Way we have been afraid, been too cautious. We must pray for courage to step out into the unknown and throw caution to the wind. We need to unlearn and seize the moment to lay “things” down. We must limp out to reach this new beginning ~ our new selves for we have seen the face of God and are still alive. We recall the welcome the prodigal son received ~ running to forgiveness and reconciliation. The same theme is in the story of Jacob and Esau. By faith Jacob blessed each of Joseph’s sons as he leaned on his staff. So we must wrestle with our demons to see what is required of us ~ an opening into God ~ a new way of seeing. It is very important that we walk hand in hand with God and remember that forgiveness is not a feeling, it’s a process, a decision, a pilgrimage. And we have Eucharist to help us “get up and eat or the journey will be too much for you”. (1 Kings 19:7)
Ruth concluded, “You can have my heart ~ used and broken if you don’t mind the tears and tears” from “Broken Things” by Juliet Turner (Omagh Bombings) in the CD Across the Bridge of Hope.
Mary Potter rsm
US Province
