“Love ripples out through space and time. In a moment of positivity resonance, studies show, your awareness automatically expands, allowing you to appreciate more than you typically do. Also, quite automatically, your body leans in toward and affirms the other person, and begins a subtle synchronized dance that further enforces your connection. Over time, these powerful moments change who you are. They help expand your network of relationships and grow your resilience, wisdom, and physical health.”—Barbara L. Frederickson, PhD.
“Martin Luther King said, ‘I know somehow that only when it is dark enough, can you see the stars.’ The women and men (of nonviolence) have been willing to see light in darkness. Their lives show us that in both hard and good times, love is the only power that matters. Their words are clarion calls telling us that it is time for us to shine—now more than ever.”—Catherine Ingram
Verse of the day
His disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” Jesus answered, “Neither this man nor his parents sinned; he was born blind so that God’s works might be revealed in him.”
– John 9:2-3
Voice of the day
[W]e ought to embrace disabled bodies as a gift from God that both reveals divine action in the world and expands the fullness of image-bearing creation.
– Amar Peterman, “My Disabled Body Proclaims the Gospel“
Prayer of the day
May we embrace as gifts the bodies of all members of your creation.
Verse of the day
So if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new!
– 2 Corinthians 5:17
Voice of the day
The Holy Spirit empowers us to reject the status quo.
– Montague Williams
Prayer of the day
Turning from the unjust status quo, may we create new rhythms, just as we are new through you.
These past few days I have been helping Denise in her continuing journey sorting through papers, possessions, and personal items that belonged to her parents. Her mom died in March, 2018 and her dad died in September, 2021. It has been a long journey through many Valleys of the Shadows. This week we hit a milestone of sorts as we finished loading the 26 foot UHaul truck with furnishings to be delivered to Central Presbyterian (Denise’s church in Mobile, AL) Church’s homeless transitional outreach. As homeless clients begin the transition from the shelters and streets to a home of their own, hopefully they will benefit from the gift/legacy of her parents.
Is this work exhausting? At times it is… especially when I am reminded that my 61 year old self isn’t quite as physically flexible as that young Padre was so many years ago in the military! However, this opportunity has given me an opportunity to reflect on what is important in life versus what I think is important.
One of the duties of a younger monk at the Abbey of Our Lady of Gethsemani in Kentucky was to keep watch at night while the other monks slept. As the name implies, the monk on duty made his rounds to ensure that all was safe and well within the Abbey itself and the surrounding area. On the particular night when he wrote the piece “The Fire Watch” he was in a reflective mood in much the same way as I have found myself contemplating these last few days/weeks/months.
The things I thought were so important—because of the effort I put into them—have turned out to be of small value. And the things I never thought about, the things I was never able either to measure or to expect, were the things that mattered. (July 4, 1952 – “The Fire Watch” in the epilogue of his book, The Sign of Jonas)
There is much to ponder in each of our lives dear reader. My prayer is that we recognize the opportunities to simply be still, watch, and listen to what the Spirit is saying to us.
“We’ve got thousands of years of training in organized violence, so we just assume that’s what works. People say, ‘Well you’re either a fighter or you’re passive.’ But one must accept nonviolence as a form of fighting, and that’s very hard for people to understand. However, compassion and joy can be as contagious as war fever.”—Joan Baez
Verse of the day
Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice; let the sea roar, and all that fills it; let the field exult, and everything in it. Then shall all the trees of the forest sing for joy.
– Psalm 96:11-12
Voice of the day
My vision for justice is one where the systems are blown wide open and new worlds can be built.
– Emily Joy Allison, “10 Christian Women Shaping the Church in 2022“
Prayer of the day
God, thank you for roaring water that reshapes the earth. Teach us to care for fields in which new things can grow.
“When we face this magnitude of suffering we are moved to the question of ‘why’? Yet we are also called to recognize that we do not know the answer; we rest in humility rather than theological platitudes.”
— Christine Valters Paintner, PhD, Desert Mothers and Fathers: Early Christian Wisdom Sayings Annotated and Explained
How do you cope with suffering and not knowing?
“Try to offer light in a world of darkness, peace in a world of war, love in a world of fear, hatred, and indifference.”—John Dear
“The next time you look in the mirror, breathe in and whisper to yourself, Look with eyes of love, then breathe out and say, See the wholeness you are.”
— Christine Valters Paintner, PhD, Breath Prayer: An Ancient Practice for the Everyday Sacred
Repeat this at least three times each time you are in front of your reflection and see if you can take in the invitation offered.
