By Sister Doreen, SSJD
The Anglican Church of Canada Church Calendar Quote for May: “For now the winter is past; the rain is over and gone. The flowers appear on the earth, the time of singing has come, and the voice of the turtledove is heard in our land” (Song of Songs 2:11-13).
“In the Bible, the book of the Song of Songs is like a prism in which all the love of God in all the world, and all the responses of those who love and whom God loves, gathers and then separates into individual colours” (Introduction to the Song of Songs in the Message Translation).
I found myself thinking of a prism, how it reflects the light and creates a rainbow of colours. This particular passage from the Song of Songs ushers us into a kaleidoscope or prism of the seasons – a story of transformation each year, both the external natural order and internal spiritual seasons in the circle of life – inviting greater growth and wholeness. There is an end date to every season, especially the winter ones as expressed in this quote from the Song of Songs. Our own experience of both the natural seasons and our inner seasons of life is one that knows that when the time is right, there are changes of seasons and times. The natural seasons move on, each with their own gifts. In my own spiritual quest, God draws me into that centre of the prism where I begin to understand that It is time to move from a season of difficulty to one of flourishing. This is so true in my own inner seasons, I am urged to step forward with faith and hope, knowing that God is with me. Perhaps this is something of your own experience.
While pondering this scripture passage and the prism of the seasons, I remembered a prayer that is in “The Circle of Life” by Joyce Rupp and Macrina Wiederkehr: “Dear seasons that pass over our fields and through our hearts, you are the word of God spoken to us from the cathedral of the great outdoors. Stir up our love for life. Fill us with joy and passion, wisdom and stillness. Reveal to us our own endurance, patience, and ability to trust. Lead us into reflection and solitude as we move through the years held in the arms of mystery. Teach us to say “Yes” to the unfolding work of the Creator in our lives. Amen.”
This passage from the Song of Songs dances the colours of the prism into springtime. Out of winter silence and stillness, barrenness and cold, and months of darkness, we are invited into springtime and joy, awakening, greening, openness, refreshment, and enthusiasm. The Song of Songs opens for us a longing for a happiness that we can lean on, that lasts. However, after a long period of winteriness, it is sometimes hard not to ask the question – is this just a wishful dream? But the scripture passage insists that this is a time of singing! This interplay of darkness and light in our seasons introduces us to JOY – joy is the lasting happiness, a happiness that does not depend on what happens, and one of the strong prisms colours of joy is gratefulness.
Snoopy sums it up: to be happy we must let go of what’s gone, be grateful for what remains, and look forward to what comes next!
“Even when the worst things happen to us, we can remain joyful, as long as we remain grateful for the new opportunities that misfortune brings with it – opportunities to grow by the painful experience; to learn courage, patience, and tenacity; to toughen up, to stand our ground. All these opportunities, no matter how demanding, are gifts for which we can be grateful. And as long as we remain grateful, it is possible to remain cheerful, upbeat, and content even amid misfortune. Through gratefulness we feel a deep joy in spite of suffering because we trust that Life knows best what we need at any given moment. Lasting happiness can lean on trust. Then and there, that trust may seem to be blind faith, but in retrospect, trust in Life always proves justified.” David Steindl-Rast.
Going through the seasons of life is our preparation for that opportunity that can spark genuine, lasting happiness, joy that we can lean on. It is built on hard won pillars that we gain by deep pondering of our life experiences: pillars of perspective, humility, humour, acceptance, forgiveness, gratitude, compassion and generosity. Archbishop Tutu saw these pillars as the inner spiritual grace of joy. Of all the gifts this extraordinary leader gave to the world, his often-repeated reminders of the importance of joy resonate most strongly — joy defined in a life of serving others, in fighting for justice, in leading from a moral compass and an unshakeable faith. “Joy is much bigger than happiness,” according to Archbishop Tutu, and he added, “While happiness is often seen as being dependent on external circumstances, joy is not.”
And so, we are ushered into Springtime and the month of May – with singing and dancing within the prism colours of Spring. And yet, even in Spring, amidst the new growth and the singing and dancing, there is a shadow side, unending rain, irritating allergies, sudden changes that cause floods and tornadoes, inner depression and discouragement! I find that this is an invitation into the opportunity for doing some personal work on getting rid of the emotional clutter and old sludge that has gathered over time, time to clear it away and open some space and inner freedom, bringing a new confidence and creativity. To lay hold of the pillars of joy by taking time to really ponder how they are part of our lives today.
It seems to me that this quote “For now the winter is past; the rain is over and gone. The flowers appear on the earth, the time of singing has come, and the voice of the turtledove is heard in our land” is the gathering in of all that is and then choosing in song separating, as a prism does light, into the colours of Springtime, in the natural seasons and in the spring-time season of our life! May’s birth flowers are the Hawthorn and the Lily-of-the-valley. The hawthorn means hope, while the lily-of-the-valley symbolizes sweetness or the return of happiness and gratitude. It is time to choose a spring-time spirituality of hope, sweetness, happiness and gratitude.
In the good times and in the bad times, in choosing gratitude and grateful living – when we wake up from taking everything for granted, we realize that the most precious gift of all – LIFE – gives itself to us extravagantly and unconditionally at every moment. Not a Pollyanna kind of gift, not looking through rose-coloured glasses, instead a deep understanding and choice that the real gift within every gift is opportunity. Both kinds of gifts – the good and the bad – the gifts for which we can be grateful and those for which we find difficult and challenging – contain the real gift: opportunity, and for this we are grateful which can give birth to new growth and a deep joy. Everything is offering us the gift of opportunity – to grow inwardly, to learn patience and compassion, to forgive, to stand up and protest peacefully and determinedly. Gratitude is not a feeling but an action – the action of using the opportunity given to us creatively. Joy is the happiness that does not depend on what happens – it gives meaning to life. it is letting go of what is gone, of being grateful for what is, and of looking forward to what’s to come next, as Snoopy says!
Joy is the happiness that we can lean on. Years ago, the Medical Mission Sisters wrote a song called “Joy is Like the Rain:”
“I saw raindrops on my window, joy is like the rain
Laughter runs across my pane, slips away and comes again
Joy is like the rain.
I saw clouds upon a mountain, joy is like a cloud
Sometimes silver, sometimes grey, always sun not far away.
Joy is like a cloud.
I saw Christ in wind and thunder, joy is tried by storm
Christ asleep within my boat, whipped by wind, yet still afloat.
Joy is tried by storm
I saw rain drops on a river, Joy is like the rain
Bit by bit the river grows, till all at once it overflows.
Joy is like the rain.”
Yes! Yes! “Arise shine for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon you.” Isaiah 60:1.