March 15-We read the 10 Commandments today. Mick Saunders at Trinity, Rushville, wasted to consider Sabbath-keeping in our group. It’s a good choice, in our effort to not be legalistic about it; we are in danger of losing it altogether. Maybe a good start would be set aside some small Sabbath time during the day. I heard someone say that as a student they worked for 55 minutes and took a five-minute break. It may be “better to burn out than to rust,” but we are made to last a long time in a balance of work and rest.

Monday-We could read II Cor. 3:3 as you are a letter of Christ, or a message of Christ. In the age of cell phones and Twitter, that may be more apt these days. Young people, especially, seem to have the phone pressed to the ear or are dutifully typing about the ordinary course of the day. That’s a nice view of prayer, to keep God in touch with our lives, even the quotidian marks of the mundane. On the other side, what sort of Christian message do you intend to convey by the example of your life?

Tuesday-St Patrick has wonderful prayers attributed to him. Here’s a piece from the “breastplate”. "I arise today, through The strength of heaven, The light of the sun, The radiance of the moon, The splendor of fire, The speed of lightning, The swiftness of wind, The depth of the sea, The stability of the earth, The firmness of rock." He kept the old Celtic natural images and applied them to the new faith seamlessly.

Wednesday-We are hit by so much tragedy that we grow numb in self-defense. Numbness makes pain more bearable: physically and mentally. I wonder if becoming numb to psychic pain comes at the great cost of our compassion being marshaled when it needs to be alerted. Christians are called to resist suffering, to heal it when possible, to ease it when necessary, not to flee from it.

Thursday-Paying attention is an antidote to numbness. Life is too good to be half-observed and half-lived. We live in too frantic, hectic a pace. That rush makes the world rush by in a blur. Paying attention requires us to slow down and look. Ralph Mitchell of Rushville speaks of photographs allowing him to pay more attention to the world around him, even though the viewfinder is so small.

Friday Here’s another quote from Christian Winan’s new book. “God is not absent. God is everywhere in the world we are too dispirited to love…all too often the task to which we are called simply to show a kindness to the irritating person, or touch the face of a spouse from whom we have been too-long absent, letting grace wake love from our intense, self-enclosed sleep.”

Saturday-Calvin spoke of the spectacles (lenses) of Scripture. He agreed fully that we catch a glimpse of God in creation, but it is a clouded vision. Scripture sharpens the picture of god through Jesus Christ. It also acts as a therapist to help us see deep inside our motivations that we would much prefer to not view. Those spectacles adjust as we move through life. God continues to accommodate our needs, or weakness, and our growing strengths.