Sunday June 30-Ps. 77 In the night, the psalmist seeks the Lord, but “my soul refused to be comforted.” Sometimes prayer is a great comfort. sometimes the circumstance or the mood is so extreme that it feels wrong to even try to seek comfort. At times, we may not want comfort and prefer the familiarity of a trouble, as it starts to seem part of our life.
Monday-Ira Kent Groff wrties.”A rabbi friend tells me that the burning bush was not the real miracle, but rather that Moses "turned aside to see" (Exodus 3:3-4). The Hebrew word for "turn" is shuv (often translated moralistically as "repent"): simple turning creates spiritual awareness. That's why twentieth-century Christian mystic Evelyn Underhill says, "Prayer means turning to Reality"--because Reality includes the mundane and the sacred. Real prayer begins with simple turning to what is, opening to awareness, then seeing more than meets the eye.”
Tuesday-why are we determined to fix people? Surely part of it is a sincere desire to heal. Part of it may be a way of calming our own inner critic. Part of it may be an element of wanting to control even the attitudes, let alone the behavior, of another, Is it not based on the idea that our decision for them is superior to one they make for themselves?
Wednesday-Rev. Ralph Mitchell reminded me of the myth of Tantalus recently (yes origin of tantalize). When we want something and it seems just out of our grasp, or it recedes from us, we are understandably frustrated. When is it better ot reach for th elow-hanging fruit, and when is it better to keep striving for something a bit out of reach? Do we settle to easily, or do we succeed more in torturing ourselves with what turns into coveting?
Thursday-I always enjoyed the 4th of July. I always try to read the Declaration of Independence, but I usually skip fast through the bill of particulars. toward the end, it speaks of pledging lives, fortunes, and sacred honor, to the cause of liberty. We are not so quick to pledge the same to the faith. What festival of faith deserves fireworks the most, do you think?
Friday-We have our VBS potluck today. I like the idea of the parents and grandparents getting to share some food together with the workers and the children. I always wonder about the utility of VBS, if it is reaching unchurched children or merely emphasizing what they are expose to already. It is a good idea to share hospitality in a program that emphasizes being a neighbor. What are your best ways of extending hospitality? How do you extend hospitality toward the presence of God?
Saturday-I was asked to scout out some 12 step groups for family members dealing with “co-dependence.” Sure enough, we have a number of groups across the river. it has the sense of enabling someone in their addictions, almost to give us an excuse ot be the rescuer or the martyr, so we depend on their weakness as a demonstration of our “strength and virtue.
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