Sunday- Ps.79 is not an easy prayer. Yet, the words could come in a time of crisis. Note toward the end, it desires 7 fold revenge on those who ruined Jerusalem. Jesus says to forgive seventy times seven times.
Monday-She dashed across the road, And disappeared into the woods Leaving me breathless With a feeling of visitation Of Holy Communion,Like I'd been touched Ever so briefly,By something wild and completely unbroken.And ever since that evening,The world has felt less weary.And I’ve felt surer of the promise,That what I do not know,Or I might not see coming,Could leap out in unexpected glory At any given moment.By Carrie Newcomer
Tuesday-May the weaknesses and sins I see in others become a school of self-knowledge for me. Teach me tenderness for the frailty of others for they may be mirrors reflecting my own face. Clothe me with garments of compassion, encouragement and love. May it come to pass.
Wednesday-(Heschel) The whole bible might be summarized in one word: Remember We've remembered 9/11 fifteen years ago this weekend. Psalm 78:11-12 calls us to remember... recollect... meditate... muse... on God's presence even in the absence... in the dark times... until like a Rembrandt painting we see hints of light. On his last night, Jesus said, "Do this to remember me." The thief on the cross prayed,
"Remember me when you come into your Kingdom." Remember your successes and joys that rekindle the spirit. Remember sadness and failures that have taught you to grow. When you do, you re-member your own scattered self and soul and you re-member relationships. Ira Kent Groff
Thursday-"It seems that there is no such thing as a clear-cut pure joy, but that even in the most happy moments of our existence we sense a tinge of sadness. In every satisfaction, there is an awareness of limitations. In every success, there is the fear of jealousy. Behind every smile, there is a tear. In every embrace, there is loneliness. In every friendship, distance. And in all forms of light, there is the knowledge of surrounding darkness … " - Henri Nouwen
Friday-"One of the marvellous ways nature offers us her wisdom is through our attention to the seasons. We live so much of our lives sheltered and indoors, that the seasons are sometimes more a passing awareness than something that has a deep impact on our ways of being. Yet, there is incredible insight available to us by witnessing the way the world moves through its annual cycles of flowering, fullness, releasing, and resting."
--- Christine Valters Paintner, PhD
Saturday-Lament expresses human grief, sadness and disappointment in the face of loss, devastation and oppression. Lament can become a vessel that carries wrathful denunciations of injustice, certainly, but also ironic tweaks of the nose to actual and would-be tyrants. The person lamenting can deliver her message through tears of sorrow or with a voice choked dry from having cried far too long. Lament even has a place for mocking scorn and the sort of laughter that puts the proud in their place. Lament appeals to a higher bar of justice than any earthly court and demands that we hold ourselves to a higher standard than momentary self-interest.
No comments:
Post a Comment