Again and again you see how Jesus opts for what is small, hidden, and poor, and accordingly declines to wield influence. His many miracles always serve to express his profound compassion with suffering humanity; never are they attempts to call attention to himself. As a rule, he even forbids those he has cured to talk to others about it. And as Jesus’ life continues to unfold, he becomes increasingly aware that he has been called to fulfill his vocation in suffering and death. In all of this, it becomes plain to us that God has willed to show his love for the world by descending more and more deeply into human frailty.
“Abundance comes not from stuff. In fact, stuff is an indication of non-abundance. Abundance is the sacred; it’s in the connection of love. We will find abundance through hard times when we find each other.”—Rebecca Adamson
Verse of the day
The cup of blessing that we bless, is it not a sharing in the blood of Christ? The bread that we break, is it not a sharing in the body of Christ? Because there is one bread, we who are many are one body, for we all partake of the one bread.
– 1 Corinthians 10:16-17
Voice of the day
Rarely, if ever, are any of us healed in isolation. Healing is an act of communion.
– bell hooks, “All About Love” (1999)
Prayer of the day
Jesus, you invite us all to partake in your healing body and bread. Remind us that you call us to lives of community, not isolation.
The movers have shown up and now we are beginning the final part of our move from the apartment where we have lived for the past two years to our new house. During the past two years, I have been an Interim Minister, Denise and I have cared for my Dad in Hospice care in Minnesota, and finally we began the process of retiring from active ministry. In the past year life has been unpredictable and somewhat chaotic.
Yet in the midst of it all, we have discovered moments of beauty, wonder, and joy.
As I reflected on all that has happened in life and in ministry, I turned as I often do to one of my spiritual mentors, Howard Thurman. These words from his book Meditations of the Heart spoke to me the words that I needed to hear today.
Whatever may be the tensions and the stresses of a particular day, there is always lurking close at hand the trailing beauty of forgotten joy or unremembered peace.
My prayer for my family and for you, dear reader, is that we will find that joy and peace.
“History, despite its wrenching pain, cannot be unlived, but if faced with courage, need not be lived again.”—Dr. Maya Angelou
Verse of the day
Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us show gratitude, by which we may offer to God an acceptable worship with reverence and awe, for indeed our God is a consuming fire.
– Hebrews 12:28-29
Voice of the day
I think awe is an exercise, both a doing and a being. It is a spiritual muscle of our humanity that we can only keep from atrophying if we exercise it habitually.
– Cole Arthur Riley, “This Here Flesh” (2022)
Prayer of the day
We stand in awe of your glory and justice. Help us daily to exercise our spiritual muscles.
“Never bend your head. Always hold it high. Look the world straight in the eye.”—Helen Keller
I can definitely attest to this…
“If significant enough, burnout can be a form of trauma… which produces actual physiological changes, including a recalibration of the brain’s alarm system, and an increase in stress hormone activity, and alterations in the system that filters relevant information from the irrelevant . . . To experience burnout is to harm your mind and body in serious ways.”
— Dorcas Cheng-Tozun, Social Justice for the Sensitive Soul: How to Change the World in Quiet Ways our Lift Every Voice Book Club selection for February and March
Where can you take a step back and cultivate rest?
Verse of the day
Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness; rather, expose them.
– Ephesians 5:11
Voice of the day
I have a responsibility to all my relatives: To not remain silent. To speak, though my voice shakes. To argue with those who claim to speak for God at the end of our world.
– Patty Krawec, “Why Was Noah Silent at the End of the World?”
Prayer of the day
Lord, even when our voices shake, give us courage to speak up for one another as we endeavor to expose the evils of this world.
“Elie Wiesel argued that the opposite of love, art, faith, and life is indifference. When we lead from the heart, expressing our most fundamental longings, we are not only better for it, but we have a better chance of changing the world.”—Michael Bader, “Suffer the Little Children”
Pastor Michael Moore's Blog 