week of may 28 reflections

Sunday-Ps. 68 imagines a powerful protective god. In v. 6, we get “ God gives the desolate a home to live in.” What sort of home do the desolate need, physically, emotionally, spiritually?

"The body loves slowness. Slowness creates more space for greening to enter our being, allowing us to experience the lushness of the body. Of course, the contemplative loves slowness as well. For me, the heart of the contemplative path is slowing down and paying attention, becoming fully present. When we get anxious we become disconnected from ourselves; our thoughts start to race and grasp. When we are always running from one thing to another, we lose ourselves and a fundamental connection to the body.--- Christine Valters Paintner

Barbara Kingsolver-There once was a time when Thoreau wrote, “I have great faith in a seed. Convince me that you have a seed there, and I am prepared to expect wonders.” By the power vested in everything living, let us keep to that faith. I’m a scientist who thinks it wise to enter the doors of creation not with a lion tamer’s whip and chair, but with the reverence humankind has traditionally summoned for entering places of worship: a temple, a mosque, or a cathedral. A sacred grove, as ancient as time.

"The invitation of [the prophet] Nehemiah is not just to action, but purposeful action. It’s not enough to be busy. . . .Nehemiah saw the bigger picture, the larger vision and worked tirelessly in small, pragmatic steps to achieve the goal set before him."--- John Valters Paintner,

When I’m hurting or afraid or anxious, it can be hard to go to sleep. So by reviewing the day, I remember I was caught, I was loved. I can go to sleep, trusting for gifts of love tomorrow. “For what am I most thankful today? When was I most fully alive? How did I receive love? How did I give love?” This practice of prayer, from the examen of Saint Ignatius, helps many go to sleep.-Br. Luke Ditewig

Christoph Friedrich Blumhardt-Avoid dividing the world into “us” and “them.” If you do, you will harden your heart. There are not two worlds, one in God’s hands and the other one not. There are not two species of people either, one totally under God’s rule and the other completely outside of it.

Michael Jinkins- Remember that however difficult it is to be merciful and to love kindness it is the thing God requires of us especially when we are seeking justice. Humility demands that we never stop recognizing that we are not God, that we don't know the mind of God. But we do know this: we do know what it means to see a man sent by God broken on a cross built by human hands, and we do believe that seeing him, we have looked into God's heart.