“When you explore thresholds, it’s about resting into mystery. Learn to live in the liminal space where the old is released but the new hasn’t come into being.”
—Christine Valters Paintner, PhD, The Soul of a Pilgrim: Eight Practices for the Journey Within
What comes up in your body experience when you practice resting into mystery? What arises in your mental and emotional experiences?
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The experience of peace and reconciliation comes when people are very honest and compassionate with one another, when they are vulnerable and open about their mistakes and weaknesses. The seed that falls into broken ground bears much fruit. So perhaps it is wise to begin to shift our thinking. We want to move away from emulating successfulness and begin to dream about a life of fruitfulness. — Finding My Way Home: Pathways to Life and the Spirit
Reflection Question: How have you seen God use your life to bear good fruit?
For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you. – Romans 12: 3
Verse of the day
But even if you do suffer for doing what is right, you are blessed. Do not fear what they fear, and do not be intimidated.
– 1 Peter 3:14
Voice of the day
The point is that no one escapes suffering. It is part of the rhythm of life, part of the process of living. The question then is, for what are we willing to suffer?
– Joan Chittister
Prayer of the day
God of purpose, help us find meaning in the sacrifices we make and the hardships we endure for the sake of love, justice, and one another. May our suffering never be in vain, but become a seed from which compassion grows, hope takes root, and a more just world begins to flourish. Amen.
The present form of the world passes away, and there remains only the joy of having used this world to establish God’s rule here. All pomp, all triumphs, all selfish capitalism, all the false successes of life will pass with the world’s form. All of that passes away. What does not pass away is love. When one has turned money, property, work in one’s calling into service of others, then the joy of sharing and the feeling that all are one’s family does not pass away. In the evening of life you will be judged on love. I wish to affirm that my preaching is not political. It naturally touches on the political – and it touches the people’s real lives – but it does so in order to illuminate those realities and to tell people what it is that God wants and what it is that he does not want.
No one can serve two lords. There is only one God, and that God will either be the true one, who asks us to give things up when they become sin, or it will be the god of money, who makes us turn our back on Christianity’s God. — The Violence of Love, pp. 119-120
Resolution (excerpt)
Today
I will do better.
I will not let cynicism
gnaw at me like a beaver
toppling a tree.
—Christine Valters Paintner, PhD, What Enters Through the Open Heart: Poems
What has been eating away at you, and what do you feel resolved to change?
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Verse of the day
Clouds and thick darkness are all around him; righteousness and justice are the foundation of his throne.
-Psalm 97:2
Voice of the day
Our religious activities are worthless if they aren’t causing us to live and act justly. God does not divide between justice and worship.
-Kaitlyn Schiess
Prayer of the day
God of justice, remind us that worship is more than the words we speak or the songs we sing; it is also the way we show up for our neighbors and confront what harms them. When injustice feels overwhelming and the path forward is clouded, give us the courage to live what we profess and the imagination to build a world where righteousness is not just a promise, but a reality. Amen.
Verse of the day
He will guard the feet of his faithful ones, but the wicked will perish in darkness, for not by might does one prevail.
-1 Samuel 2:9
Voice of the day
You can pray until you faint, but if you don’t get up and try to do something, God is not going to put it in your lap.
-Fannie Lou Hamer
Prayer of the day
God, when darkness feels overwhelming and the odds seem stacked against us, help us remember that power does not have the final say. Steady our steps, strengthen our courage, and teach us to recognize the quiet ways your light is breaking through. Amen.
Verse of the day
He said, ‘I will hide my face from them; I will see what their end will be, for they are a perverse generation, children in whom there is no faithfulness.’
-Deuteronomy 32:20
Voice of the day
The evil, cruelty and injustice [the world] contains are neither inevitable nor meaningless but instead a call to human responsibility.
-Rabbi Jonathan Sacks
Prayer of the day
God, help us recognize the injustice and cruelty in our world and remember that we have a responsibility to confront them. Strengthen our faithfulness and guide us to choose compassion, truth, and justice in all that we do. Amen.
Verse of the day
Let us then pursue what makes for peace and for mutual upbuilding.
-Romans 14:19
Voice of the day
It is a challenge to build up society, communities and businesses by acting as peacemakers.
–Pope Francis
Prayer of the day
God of peace, guide us to build communities rooted in compassion, understanding, and respect for one another. Help us choose kindness over division, seek understanding through our disagreements, and take meaningful action to create a world where everyone can flourish together. Amen.
