That Karma lady is for real. That’s what she told me. Her face had swollen up like a cartoon character and her eyes looked like little boxes. She actually told her doctor that she “quit him” and that “he just better stay on the other side of the bed because she wanted to fight him”. Personally, I was betting on her. I think she could take him. Let’s just say she was prophesizing a bit about what was going to happen in the future to this particular doctor because “some doctor who looked all Harry Potter” decided to go all “cowboy” on her. And it made me think. God will send you a soul friend whether you like or not. It is up to you to take the healing medicine she offers you. That’s kind of what I think about Karma. God sending you just what you need and you get to choose what to do with it. I often wonder how many soul friends I have ignored, “quit”, became indignant and defensive with. Far too many, I suspect. I envy that about Oprah. She seems to have about three dozen soul friends and an “ah-ha” moment twice a day. Me. About once every decade. This is one of my deep reasons for praying the Daily Office. It is my soul friend and I find I need prayers wiser than mine own. I am sure this is an enigma to some of my friends not familiar with the Christian calendar. It is a more “catholic” style of prayer. I suppose some are probably offended or at least puzzled as to why I don’t say my own prayers. C.S. Lewis thought it strange that his wife, Joy Davidson prayed prayers written by other people.
Once, a patient asked me four questions before she agreed to let me in her house. She had thrown out the first nurse and social worker. First, she wanted to know if I was born in the South. “Yes, ma’am.” Then she wanted to know if I drank bourbon and water. “No ma’am.” Then she wanted to know if prayed Compline every night. “Yes ma’am, I try, but sometimes I fall asleep.” I sure as heck wasn’t going to lie to her. Frankly she scared me with that cane and evil eye. And who knows, she could have been the karma lady. Finally, she asked, “Are you a Democrat?” “Yes Ma’am.” She said, “Well three out four ain’t bad, you can come in and at least your mama taught you good manners.” I failed the bourbon and water test.
About every other year, during the summer, my most favorite verse is scripture is read. John 6:68. My second favorite is John 12:21. Unlike the Psalms, which the Church Fathers deemed important enough to cycle through reading every week or month depending on how you use the BCP, the Gospel of John is read every other year. Some have said those of us who like John, have a high Christology. I think I developed a love - hate relationship with the gospel during my classes in Greek. We translated the entire gospel of John. So, if I tried real hard, and had the Greek text in front of me, I can recite the first chapter in Greek and sort of tell you what it says.
So, when I read that verse this week, I really wanted to write something profound, deeply spiritual and moving about it. And I thought about the Karma lady and soul friends. Annam Cara. I don’t think I came up with anything deeply moving that begins to do justice to the verse. A true Soul Friend, or an Annam Cara, is one with whom we feel nakedly ourselves, even when we don’t seem to know who that is. With our Soul Friend, we are seen fully for whom we are, and more importantly, for who and what we might become as we grow more and more deeply aligned with the Spirit of God.
And I don’t know if Peter knew it or not but that was what he was saying about Jesus that day. Jesus had just fed 5000, walked on water and seemingly endorsed cannibalism. No one seems to understand he was offering them healing, wholeness and life. And they left. The cannibalism thing turned them off. If only they had stayed to hear what he really meant. Jesus seems a little hurt and turns to the remaining 12 disciples and asked, “Are you going to leave too?” Peter answers in verse 68. “Lord, where would we go? You have the words of life.” My favorite verse of scripture. Where would I go? I haven’t found a better option. I haven’t always trusted or even understood the plan, much less the path, but better choice of who to turn to? There just is not a better option. There just weren’t any better options for Peter either, even though Peter didn’t know about the cross yet, didn’t know he would come to eat humble fish sandwiches and deny the person offering him life, hadn’t met Paul yet and didn’t know the ego battle, hadn’t been to prison, hadn’t been beaten and apparently wasn’t clear on the whole cannibalism issue, but he just didn’t see a better plan other than the friend in front of him. He had even given up fishing to follow the words of the friend in front of him. Something deep inside told Peter and Peter listened to that still small voice…”this is the way. Walk in it.” No he didn’t understand the message. No he didn’t always take the medicine offered to him. But he did stick it out.
For more on praying the Daily Office.
http://www.richardliantonio.com/blog/2009/08/how-to-pray-the-daily-office-from-the-book-of-common-prayer-part-2-introducing-the-book-of-common-prayer/
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