Sunday Oct. 11-Ps 22 is a great lament psalm, one that Jesus quotes on the cross , and one that seems to serve as a virtual template for the events of the death of Jesus. It starts in a striking way, as a prayer asks about feeling forsaken by God. When have you felt forsaken? Do prayers of lament seem to help you, or do other types of prayers affect you more? How doe sgod hear lament?
Monday-On the island of Macau, the partial walls of an old stone church sit at the top of a hill. I hiked there one afternoon. At the front of the church there is a cross, one of the few things still standing. In the heat of the day, I sat in the shadow of that cross. In 1835, a typhoon overtook the island. It is said everyone fled to the church. Within its walls, many were saved. At the foot of that cross, after the storm had passed, John Bowring penned the words of this hymn. I could picture the people coming, seeking shelter. Verse two speaks the truth of our lives. When the storm comes--and it always does--when fear is real and hope is distant, we live in the shadow of the cross. It is no small thing to know that we are saved. It is no small thing to know that we are not forsaken, but sheltered in the grace of God.
Tuesday-"Many of the mystics, including John of the Cross, talk about God as the living flame within each of us. We each contain a spark of the divine, a holy fire that leads us to greater love. Sometimes our inner fires seem to die, to fizzle out. At these times we are often overworked, overcommitted, or undernourished by the things that bring our soul alive."--- Christine Valters Paintner
Wednesday To perceive God's presence in the world, we need not so much an argument as the "eyes of faith," an inner attentiveness, sensitivity and courage. Miroslav Volf
Thursday-May your life be an answer to someone's prayer.May you own a grateful heart.May you have enough joy to give you hope, enough pain to make you wise.May there be no room in your heart for hatred.May you be free from violent thoughts.When you look into the window of your soul may you see the face of God.May the lamp of your life shine upon all you meet this day."(Macrina Wiederkehr in "Seven Sacred Pauses
Friday-"When we pause between activities or spaces or moments in our day, we open ourselves to the possibility of discovering a new kind of presence to the darkness of in between times. When we rush from one thing to another, we skim over the surface of life losing that sacred attentiveness which brings forth revelations in the most ordinary of moments." Christine Valters Paintner,
Saturday-Admitting we don't know is just one aspect of dealing with the really difficult problems and seemingly intractable questions facing us, of course. We also would do well to agree to suspend our dogmatic adherence to party lines, our compulsion to blame others, and to score points on people with whom we find ourselves in disagreement. I suspect this would come hard to some of us engaged in politics and religion. But if we hope to deal with some of the biggest problems facing our society and our church today, we need to learn, and learning requires a genuinely open mind. Michael Jiinkins
No comments:
Post a Comment