Sunday-Ps. 107’s selection for this Sunday (1-3, 17-22) deal gratitude toward god and warn against complaint.complaint is often a dominant feature of our speaking. It seems especially endemic when we speak of those close to us. Why does gratitude come with some many obstacles,but complaint seems to flow easily?
Monday-What is it about rules that puts us on the defensive? Is it because they make us feel like we're not trusted? Or maybe because they make us feel like we're not in control? Rules, of course, dictate how we are supposed to live and act. Though they are meant for good, they can be seen as a billboard for our shortcomings. They reveal to us that no, we are not perfect, we do not have it all together and we most certainly are not in control. And that makes us squirm a little bit—especially when we know we are bound to fail. But, thankfully, that's not where it ends. We, exposed as sinners by the 10 Commandments, are not left to figure it out on our own. For just as the Commandments show us that we are not in control, they reveal to us who is.
Tuesday-In Dennis, Shelia, and Matthew Linn’s book, “Healing the Purpose of Your Life” they talk about the importance of finding one’s “sealed orders.” Sealed orders are the special word(s) or phrase that perfectly sums up your distinct, God-infused, way of giving and receiving love—your unique way of being in the world. At this moment, the best way I've found to describe my life, my sealed orders, and what it means for me to be a monk in the world is to be a cultivator.
Wednesday-"Going through Lent is a listening.When we listen to the word,we hear where we are so blatantly unliving.If we listen to the word, and hallow it into our lives, we hear how we can so abundantly live again." (by Ann Weems from "Kneeling in Jerusalem")
Thursday-A good sleep is grace and so are good dreams. The smell of rain is grace. Somebody loving you is grace. Loving somebody is grace. Have you ever tried to love somebody?A crucial eccentricity of the Christian faith is the assertion that people are saved by grace. There's nothing you have to do. There's nothing you have to do. There's nothing you have to do. The grace of God means something like: Here is your life. You might never have been, but you are because the party wouldn't have been complete without you. Here is the world. Beautiful and terrible things will happen. Don't be afraid. I am with you. Nothing can ever separate us. It's for you I created the universe. I love you.
Friday-I visited the Sept. 11 memorial for the first time. The memorial has a peaceful yet commanding presence. It serves as both an aching reminder of what stood there before and an overwhelming tribute to those who lost their lives on that day. One of the things that struck me most at the memorial was the Survivor Tree. The tree was discovered about a month after the attacks, severely damaged with snapped roots and burned and broken branches. Today it stands with multiple ties stabilizing it and a barrier around it so it is not disturbed as it heals. As one of the only living things to survive at Ground Zero, it is a beautiful reminder that life can (and indeed does) come out of death. You may not look quite the same as you did going in, but alas, life, hope and faith can find you again
Saturday-Augustine -"Human beings go out and gaze in astonishment at high mountains, the huge waves of the sea, the broad reaches of rivers, the ocean that encircles the world, or the stars in their courses, but they pay no attention to themselves"
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