Sunday September 20-Ps.1 may be an introduction to the entire volume of prayers, so it may deserve a closer look than we may often give it. At v. 3, we have the famous image of trees planted by streams. How does faith and practice contribute to your solid rooting in the Christian life? In what ways do you prosper?
Monday-'Pastor, let's remember that every Sunday is Easter. I need it.' An older saint once gave me those words of wisdom and I've tried hard to remember.Even in the midst of tears, there's a longing for Him. Even in the midst of darkness, there's a glimmer of what might be. Even in the midst of suffocating sadness, there's Someone holding out a hand. All of that and more is Easter whispering.Today, Easter comes to me in the form of music. Music is the best we can do when life happens to such an extreme that words are shallow. That's the More, the life eternal that Jesus promises. May our trust in His promise push us forward to love our neighbor and sing our hearts out, here, now, and forever. David Mattson
Tuesday-Greenness became not just a physical reality, but a spiritual one as well. Hildegard believed that viriditas was something to be cultivated in both body and soul. Her language is filled with metaphors for seeking out the moistness and fruitfulness of the soul. The sign of our aliveness is this participation in the life force of the Creator. Anything that blocks this flow through us contributes both to physical disease as well as spiritual unrest.For Hildegard, viriditas was always experienced in tension with ariditas, which is the opposite experience of dryness, barrenness, shriveling up. She would keep asking how to bring the flow of greening life energy back in fullness to a person.
Wednesday-Abba says to a seeker, “Do not feed your heart what does not nourish it.” This can be easier said than done, since we are inclined to so many “comforts” which only serve to numb and distract us from life. How often do we try to satisfy ourselves with that which depletes us?
Thursday-“Our job is to polish our hearts so more of the divine attributes can shine through us.”Christine Valters Paintner
Friday-Old Testament laments.We want to model forgiveness. Words of God repaying our "enemies for their evil" and "[putting] an end to them" (v. 5) unsettle us; this is not how we want God to be. But this is sugar-coating reality enemies are around us: personal enemies, national enemies, and non-entity enemies that we may personify (like cancer, or death). Yet, ultimately the lament psalms (and Psalm 54 specifically) do not focus on the battle, but on calling out to God and seeking God's sustaining presence.
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Saturday-"The challenge inherent in the Book of Hosea is to spend some time contemplating when we’ve been the villain in the life stories of others."--- John Valters Paintner,
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