TAKE ME INTO A NEW YEAR, Gracious God. Help me to continue looking for meaning, seeking peace, praying for light, dancing for joy, working for justice, and singing your praise. I go into the new year filled with expectations, a touch of worry, and a bundle of hope. I do not journey into the new year alone but with you as my guide, with a commitment to my disciplines, with a community of family, friends, and faith. Take me into the new year, Creator of beauty and wonder. Bless me with the companionship of Jesus, and gift me with the guidance and power of the Spirit. Amen.
- Larry James Peacock
Openings: A Daybook of Saints, Psalms, and Prayer
From page 398 of Openings: A Daybook of Saints, Psalms, and Prayer by Larry James Peacock. Copyright © 2003
Friday, December 31, 2010
Wednesday, December 29, 2010
From Upper Room
A Prayer: For the Birth of a New Year
God of winter morning,
Of new day born from the waters of night;
A feeble cry from Mother Earth's horizon,
A murmured moan from lingering stars;
Infant soft, blue-veined is your child, Dawn.
Into the waiting arms of Your people
You gift this newness to us...
O God, help us to look with awe-laden eyes,
Let us hear with soft-edged hearts the first cries
of the New Year, of a new day,
that we may come running as if life,
fragile and tear-stained,
awaits us.
O Creator, lover of life,
What child has been born as Day this hour?
Stretched across heaven and earth,
Arms wide open
Waiting for us to return the embrace --
To count fingers and toes of light and rivers,
bird and flower,
woman, man, and child.
Straining to hear a whispered word --
A song of peace,
A hymn of promise,
A lullaby of justice.
God who was, now is, and will still be,
Show us the way of newness --
conceived by Your desire,
born of Your Love's labor,
made visible,
embraceable.
O Lord,
In this now toddling year,
we move, outstretched in hope, toward You.
Amen
Pamela Hawkins is serves as Managing Editor of Weavings: A Journal of the Christian Spiritual Life. An Elder in the United Methodist Church, she lives in Nashville, Tennessee with her husband Ray. Pamela is the author of the Upper Room books The Awkward Season: Prayers for Lent and Simply Wait: Cultivating Stillness in the Season of Advent.
God of winter morning,
Of new day born from the waters of night;
A feeble cry from Mother Earth's horizon,
A murmured moan from lingering stars;
Infant soft, blue-veined is your child, Dawn.
Into the waiting arms of Your people
You gift this newness to us...
O God, help us to look with awe-laden eyes,
Let us hear with soft-edged hearts the first cries
of the New Year, of a new day,
that we may come running as if life,
fragile and tear-stained,
awaits us.
O Creator, lover of life,
What child has been born as Day this hour?
Stretched across heaven and earth,
Arms wide open
Waiting for us to return the embrace --
To count fingers and toes of light and rivers,
bird and flower,
woman, man, and child.
Straining to hear a whispered word --
A song of peace,
A hymn of promise,
A lullaby of justice.
God who was, now is, and will still be,
Show us the way of newness --
conceived by Your desire,
born of Your Love's labor,
made visible,
embraceable.
O Lord,
In this now toddling year,
we move, outstretched in hope, toward You.
Amen
Pamela Hawkins is serves as Managing Editor of Weavings: A Journal of the Christian Spiritual Life. An Elder in the United Methodist Church, she lives in Nashville, Tennessee with her husband Ray. Pamela is the author of the Upper Room books The Awkward Season: Prayers for Lent and Simply Wait: Cultivating Stillness in the Season of Advent.
Monday, December 27, 2010
Monday, December 27, 2010
Live in the world
Live in the world as if only
God and your soul were in it;
then your heart will never be
made captive by any earthly thing.
... St. John of the Cross (1542-1591)
posted by Sam Roberts at 6:33 AM 0 comments
John Donne (1573-1631)
This was the fulness of time,
when Christ Jesus did come,
that the Messiah should come.
It was so to the Jews,
and it was so to the Gentiles too...
Christ hath excommunicated no nation,
no shire, no house, no man;
He gives none of His ministers
leave to say to any man, thou art
not redeemed; He gives no wounded or
afflicted conscience leave to
say to itself, I am not redeemed.
... John Donne (1573-1631)
Live in the world
Live in the world as if only
God and your soul were in it;
then your heart will never be
made captive by any earthly thing.
... St. John of the Cross (1542-1591)
posted by Sam Roberts at 6:33 AM 0 comments
John Donne (1573-1631)
This was the fulness of time,
when Christ Jesus did come,
that the Messiah should come.
It was so to the Jews,
and it was so to the Gentiles too...
Christ hath excommunicated no nation,
no shire, no house, no man;
He gives none of His ministers
leave to say to any man, thou art
not redeemed; He gives no wounded or
afflicted conscience leave to
say to itself, I am not redeemed.
... John Donne (1573-1631)
Sunday, December 26, 2010
INTO OUR WORLD, where we usually stay busy and frequently feel tired, God comes. God comes to us where we are, somewhere between darkness and light. God comes to us as we are, anxious and worried, hopeful and blessed. God comes to us as wonderful and surprising as angels singing to shepherds on a hill. God comes to us now as a small baby in a manger.
Let us marvel at the Holy Child, worship on bended knee, and sing with the angels. Let us be blessed by the gaze of the Christ child. God looks at us with love and great joy that spreads to all people.
- Larry James Peacock
Openings: A Daybook of Saints, Psalms, and Prayer
From page 392 of Openings: A Daybook of Saints, Psalms, and Prayer by Larry James Peacock. Copyright & copy; 2003 by Larry James Peacock. All rights reserved
Let us marvel at the Holy Child, worship on bended knee, and sing with the angels. Let us be blessed by the gaze of the Christ child. God looks at us with love and great joy that spreads to all people.
- Larry James Peacock
Openings: A Daybook of Saints, Psalms, and Prayer
From page 392 of Openings: A Daybook of Saints, Psalms, and Prayer by Larry James Peacock. Copyright & copy; 2003 by Larry James Peacock. All rights reserved
Friday, December 17, 2010
The Spirit is breathing.
All those with eyes to see,
women and men with ears for hearing
detect a coming dawn;
a reason to go on.
They seem small, these signs of dawn
perhaps ridiculous.
All those with eyes to see,
Women and men with ears for hearing
uncover in the night
a certain gleam of light;
they see the reason to go on.
(Dom Helder Camera, Its Midnight, Lord)
All those with eyes to see,
women and men with ears for hearing
detect a coming dawn;
a reason to go on.
They seem small, these signs of dawn
perhaps ridiculous.
All those with eyes to see,
Women and men with ears for hearing
uncover in the night
a certain gleam of light;
they see the reason to go on.
(Dom Helder Camera, Its Midnight, Lord)
Thursday, December 16, 2010
Another way to keep Christ in Christmas.
A small rambling thought on the Christmas stories:
I am not beyond blending and co mingling the two separate nativity stories of Matthew and Luke. Luke includes Mary's magnificant in which she speaks of the hungry being filled with good things and the rich being sent away empty (Luke 1:53). I thought of those shepherds coming hungry for signs of hope and attention, being filled with good things. And then in Matthew's tradition I see those magi who have followed the star. I see them as the rich who have opened their treasure chests and offered the gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. Are they the rich who go away empty, because they have offered it, in devotion to Christ? They do not ask for more. The rich are sent away empty. It's part of the Christmas miracle. Can we practice such emptiness? Are we the rich who are able to empty ourselves , in our love for God. May the scriptures be fulfilled.
I am not beyond blending and co mingling the two separate nativity stories of Matthew and Luke. Luke includes Mary's magnificant in which she speaks of the hungry being filled with good things and the rich being sent away empty (Luke 1:53). I thought of those shepherds coming hungry for signs of hope and attention, being filled with good things. And then in Matthew's tradition I see those magi who have followed the star. I see them as the rich who have opened their treasure chests and offered the gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. Are they the rich who go away empty, because they have offered it, in devotion to Christ? They do not ask for more. The rich are sent away empty. It's part of the Christmas miracle. Can we practice such emptiness? Are we the rich who are able to empty ourselves , in our love for God. May the scriptures be fulfilled.
Dec Newsletter note
Thomas Lux wrote a poem called "God Particles."
"God explodes, supernovas, and down upon the whole planet
a tender rain of Him falls
on every cow ,ladle, leaf, human, ax handle, swing set...
I think he wanted each of us...to have a tiny piece of Him
though we are unqualified for even the crumb of a crumb."
When I read his words my own imagination went to the Christmas star, perhaps a supernova burst of light announcing the Advent; rain and the reign of God! Showers of blessing!
Christmas is our gospel poem of God coming down upon the whole planet, and in particular particle, as a child in Bethlehem, as good news for all the earth.
I like to think that in this God particle of Incarnation, the Word became flesh and dwelt among us indeed! And in the gift of the Holy Spirit dwelling in us , as the Christ is born in us, as the light shines in us. we too have a tiny piece of God.
So now let the Christ grow! Let the love grow! Let the gift grow! Let the light grow! Let the presence of God grow! Welcome the God particle graced upon you! Join us in the event s of Advent and Christmas. Perhaps you will see the signs of God ." in cow, ladle, leaf, human, ax handle, swing set..."
or perhaps in bread and cookie,
candle and bow,
wreathe and card,
song and verse,
child and silent night,
with prayers and deeds of peace,
Particles of Immanuel, God with us.
Blessed Holy days, Pastor Rory
"God explodes, supernovas, and down upon the whole planet
a tender rain of Him falls
on every cow ,ladle, leaf, human, ax handle, swing set...
I think he wanted each of us...to have a tiny piece of Him
though we are unqualified for even the crumb of a crumb."
When I read his words my own imagination went to the Christmas star, perhaps a supernova burst of light announcing the Advent; rain and the reign of God! Showers of blessing!
Christmas is our gospel poem of God coming down upon the whole planet, and in particular particle, as a child in Bethlehem, as good news for all the earth.
I like to think that in this God particle of Incarnation, the Word became flesh and dwelt among us indeed! And in the gift of the Holy Spirit dwelling in us , as the Christ is born in us, as the light shines in us. we too have a tiny piece of God.
So now let the Christ grow! Let the love grow! Let the gift grow! Let the light grow! Let the presence of God grow! Welcome the God particle graced upon you! Join us in the event s of Advent and Christmas. Perhaps you will see the signs of God ." in cow, ladle, leaf, human, ax handle, swing set..."
or perhaps in bread and cookie,
candle and bow,
wreathe and card,
song and verse,
child and silent night,
with prayers and deeds of peace,
Particles of Immanuel, God with us.
Blessed Holy days, Pastor Rory
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
Two Tasks
Richard Rohr:
There are two major tasks in the human spiritual journey. The task of the first half of life is to create a proper container for one's life and answer some central questions: "Who am I?" "What makes me signficiant?" "How can I support myself?" "Who will go with me?"
The task of the second half of life is, quite simply, to find the actual contents that this container was meant to hold and deliver. in other words, the container is for the sake of the contents. Problematically, the first task invests so much of ourselves that we often cannot imagine there is a second task, or that anything more could be expected of us.
Source: Radical Grace, Vol. 23, No. 4, the Center for Action and Contemplation
There are two major tasks in the human spiritual journey. The task of the first half of life is to create a proper container for one's life and answer some central questions: "Who am I?" "What makes me signficiant?" "How can I support myself?" "Who will go with me?"
The task of the second half of life is, quite simply, to find the actual contents that this container was meant to hold and deliver. in other words, the container is for the sake of the contents. Problematically, the first task invests so much of ourselves that we often cannot imagine there is a second task, or that anything more could be expected of us.
Source: Radical Grace, Vol. 23, No. 4, the Center for Action and Contemplation
From Verse and Voice
"Adoration, as it more deeply possesses us, inevitably leads on to self-offering. Charity is the live wire along which the power of God, indwelling our finite spirits, can and does act on our souls and other things, rescuing, healing, giving support and light."
- Evelyn Underhill
- Evelyn Underhill
Wednesday, December 8, 2010
CARRY A LITTLE QUIET inside you
while the world continues
in rush and rage
fighting and frenzy.
Carry a little quiet inside you
so that the worry and war
trouble and tumult
do not capture you in their grip.
Tarry in the Son-filled meadow of the heart
beside the still waters
where God’s Spirit refreshes and renews
Carry so much quiet inside you
that you have some extra calm
to share with me.
–Safiyah Fosua
- Safiyah Fosua
The Africana Worship Book: Year A
From page 37 of The Africana Worship Book: Year A, edited by Valerie Bridgeman Davis and Safiyah Fosua. Copyright © 2006 by Discipleship Resources http://www.upperroom.org/bookstore
while the world continues
in rush and rage
fighting and frenzy.
Carry a little quiet inside you
so that the worry and war
trouble and tumult
do not capture you in their grip.
Tarry in the Son-filled meadow of the heart
beside the still waters
where God’s Spirit refreshes and renews
Carry so much quiet inside you
that you have some extra calm
to share with me.
–Safiyah Fosua
- Safiyah Fosua
The Africana Worship Book: Year A
From page 37 of The Africana Worship Book: Year A, edited by Valerie Bridgeman Davis and Safiyah Fosua. Copyright © 2006 by Discipleship Resources http://www.upperroom.org/bookstore
Monday, December 6, 2010
Christ in Christmas.
It’s that time of the year when the “Keep Christ in Christmas”s slogans appear on face book and advertising and opinion news shows. Actually I do agree, but probably not in the way that I am supposed to agree. For me, keeping Christ in Christmas is not about simply avoiding Merry X Mas or whether or not we have nativity scenes or Christmas trees in public places or how we are greeted in a store. Happy Holidays is fine with me as it simply means Happy Holy days, and the last I checked, we are in Holy days.
But I think we should go deeper with this keeping Christ in Christmas. I think we should get Christmas out of our shopping centers and consumer patterns so we can more faithfully keep Christ in Christmas. We can keep Christ in Christmas by remembering to care for the poor not only with our much needed seasonal acts of charity but issues of justice and equity. Maybe we keep Christ in Christmas by avoiding that latest plastic product, gadget or fad that may be doing more harm than good on the global scale. (As my daughter put it, its Christ-mas not capital-mas!)Wouldn’t we be keeping Christ in Christmas by keeping peace and peacemaking? When we keep forgiveness and reconciliation in our Christmas isn’t that how we keep Christ in Christmas? When we consider our impact on the earth and its resources, I think we are closer to keeping Christ in Christmas. We keep Christ in Christmas by keeping his love in our heart and our words and our actions. We keep Christmas by prayerful living and generous behavior. We keep Christ in Christmas with our lives of worship and service .Maybe to keep Christ in Christmas I will need to keep some other things out. What do I really need, to simply keep Christ in Christmas?
I know that I don’t need to get worked up in the Christmas culture war that is using my Savior's birth as another tool for political divisivness , fear and sometimes even hate! I prefer to celebrate a humble birth of love . I will keep a humble Christ in Christmas. If these things are what we mean by keeping Christ in Christmas, that’s what I seek. I know that I will not be successful. But I will try a little more.
But I think we should go deeper with this keeping Christ in Christmas. I think we should get Christmas out of our shopping centers and consumer patterns so we can more faithfully keep Christ in Christmas. We can keep Christ in Christmas by remembering to care for the poor not only with our much needed seasonal acts of charity but issues of justice and equity. Maybe we keep Christ in Christmas by avoiding that latest plastic product, gadget or fad that may be doing more harm than good on the global scale. (As my daughter put it, its Christ-mas not capital-mas!)Wouldn’t we be keeping Christ in Christmas by keeping peace and peacemaking? When we keep forgiveness and reconciliation in our Christmas isn’t that how we keep Christ in Christmas? When we consider our impact on the earth and its resources, I think we are closer to keeping Christ in Christmas. We keep Christ in Christmas by keeping his love in our heart and our words and our actions. We keep Christmas by prayerful living and generous behavior. We keep Christ in Christmas with our lives of worship and service .Maybe to keep Christ in Christmas I will need to keep some other things out. What do I really need, to simply keep Christ in Christmas?
I know that I don’t need to get worked up in the Christmas culture war that is using my Savior's birth as another tool for political divisivness , fear and sometimes even hate! I prefer to celebrate a humble birth of love . I will keep a humble Christ in Christmas. If these things are what we mean by keeping Christ in Christmas, that’s what I seek. I know that I will not be successful. But I will try a little more.
Friday, December 3, 2010
A prayer from Verse and Voice:
God, today we remember the message of selfless simplicity that Jesus taught us from the moment he was born. We admit that we often lose sight of this radical message during the Christmas season as we ascribe to the theology of credit cards and shopping lists. However, this year we ask that you grant us the joy that comes from a life lived simply and dedicated to you. Amen
Thursday, December 2, 2010
ADVENT by Richard Rohr
When we demand satisfaction of one another, when we demand any completion to history on our terms, when we demand that our anxiety or any dissatisfaction be taken away, saying as it were, “Why weren’t you this for me? Why didn’t life do that for me?” we are refusing to say, “Come, Lord Jesus.” We are refusing to hold out for the full picture that is always given in time by God.
When we set out to seek our private happiness, we often create an idol that is sure to topple. Any attempts to protect any full and private happiness in the midst of so much public suffering have to be based on illusion about the nature of the world in which we live. We can only do that if we block ourselves from a certain degree of reality and refuse solidarity with “the other side” of everything, even the other side of ourselves.
Adapted from Preparing for Christmas with Richard Rohr, pp. 5, 7
When we demand satisfaction of one another, when we demand any completion to history on our terms, when we demand that our anxiety or any dissatisfaction be taken away, saying as it were, “Why weren’t you this for me? Why didn’t life do that for me?” we are refusing to say, “Come, Lord Jesus.” We are refusing to hold out for the full picture that is always given in time by God.
When we set out to seek our private happiness, we often create an idol that is sure to topple. Any attempts to protect any full and private happiness in the midst of so much public suffering have to be based on illusion about the nature of the world in which we live. We can only do that if we block ourselves from a certain degree of reality and refuse solidarity with “the other side” of everything, even the other side of ourselves.
Adapted from Preparing for Christmas with Richard Rohr, pp. 5, 7
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
