A Great Advantage, Part 2

“We are like fledgling birds who may not be ready to immediately soar but, by watching the parents, little by little learn to emulate them. This kind of assistance, I know, is a great advantage.” Teresa of Avila, The Interior Castle (1577)

Last week I wrote about what a great advantage it was for Brad to have my mother in the kitchen with him this Thanksgiving. In the same way, I feel a great advantage in having the sisters at the monastery to help me in my spiritual learning. Yesterday I was definitely feeling thankful because I spent some time with my dear friend Sister Timothy Kirby in her new room at the monastery. (You may remember Sister Tim as the book club friend who fills me with lovelovelove and helps me to be a better human being.)

This week Sister Tim moved into a non-cloistered room where she can receive visitors. I was glad to see her new space and practice my Advent Vespers reading with her. On Tuesday we are having St. Scholastica’s annual Advent service followed by an outdoor lighting ceremony. Sister Tim spends time with the Advent readers every year to insure the readings are as listener-friendly as possible. Before I met with Sister Tim, I’d practiced the reading so I wouldn’t disappoint her but I was pretty sure there'd be things she'd suggest for improvement. When it came time to read the text, she asked me to close the door so we wouldn’t be disturbed. Then I situated myself closer to the door than her chair, and I began to read. It was easy to visualize the two of us in the chapel with me at the podium and Sister Tim in the pew. What I read came from the Book of Revelation:

Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adored for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying,

“See, the home of God is among mortals.
He will dwell with them;
they will be his peoples,
and God himself will be with them;
he will wipe every tear from their eyes.
Death will be no more;
mourning and crying and pain will be no more,
for the first things have passed away.”

And the one who was seated on the throne said, “See, I am making all things new.” Also he said, “Write this, for these words are trustworthy and true.” Then he said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give water as a gift from the spring of the water of life.”

When I finished, Sister Tim smiled at me encouragingly and said there were a couple of things I could think about doing to improve the reading. First, she said it would be good if I could practice the reading many times so that I could do it without looking down at the sheet so much. “You are telling a story,” she said. “If you look at the people, it makes it easier for them to listen to you.” I felt a bit of relief over this advice because I knew practicing a lot would be something I definitely could do…Whew!

The second thing she told me will be harder to do, but it captures my imagination and I’m having fun working on it. Sister Tim said to read the narrator's part differently from God's part so that people hear the two voices: “Think about how you would hear God speaking. ‘In a loud voice,’ it says. Think about how you would hear God speaking in a loud voice. When you read it, be the voice.”

I really liked that idea: Be the voice. I’ve been thinking about what it would be like to be John who has awakened from a dream after listening to the voice of the One seated on the throne, what it would be like to be John telling others the story of what I dreamed. I decided that God would sound like my friend Denise Starkey who is another member of our book club, so when I read that part I’m going to try to sound as confident and strong as Denise. And when I’m reading the narrator part I will be John, the dreamer and poet, sharing the vision of a new day for us all.

Teresa is right when she says, “We are like fledgling birds who may not be ready to immediately soar but, by watching the parents, little by little learn to emulate them. This kind of assistance, I know, is a great advantage.” What a great advantage I have experienced this week in having dear, dear Sister Tim guide me in my Advent reading! When I stand in the chapel next Tuesday afternoon proclaiming that God is coming to be among us, it will be so much better for the listeners because of Sister Tim’s assistance…Thanks be to God.