Verse of the day
As long as the earth endures, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night, shall not cease.
– Genesis 8:22
Voice of the day
My world, my Earth is a ruin. A planet spoiled by the human species. We multiplied and fought and gobbled until there was nothing left, and then we died. We controlled neither appetite nor violence; we did not adapt. We destroyed ourselves. But we destroyed the world first.
– Ursula K. Le Guin, The Dispossessed(1974)
Prayer of the day Help us to respect the rights of all people and all species and help us to willingly share your gifts today and always.
– Fiona Murdoch
Thursday September 16, 2021
“Opinion is really the lowest form of human knowledge. It requires no accountability, no understanding. The highest form of knowledge . . . is empathy, for it requires us to suspend our egos and live in another’s world. It requires profound purpose larger than the self kind of understanding.”—Bill Bullard
Verse of the day
May the God of steadfastness and encouragement grant you to live in harmony with one another, in accordance with Christ Jesus.
– Romans 15:5
Voice of the day
In Beloved Community, radically inclusive and resilient love is the norm. It is a community in which we are constantly seeking to build and restore right relationships.
– Adam Russell Taylor, A More Perfect Union (2021)
Prayer of the day Clear the way in us, your people, that we might call others to freedom and renewed faith.
– Gwyn Cashmore and Joan Puls
“Peacemaking, like most beautiful things, begins small. Matthew 18 gives us a clear process for making peace with someone who has hurt or offended us; first we are to talk directly with them, not at them or around them . . . Straight talk is counter-cultural in a world that prefers politeness to honesty.
Peacemaking begins with what we can change—ourselves. But it doesn’t end there. We are to be peacemakers in a world riddled with violence. That means interrupting violence with imagination, in our streets and in our world.”—Common Prayer: A Liturgy for Ordinary Radicals
Keep watch, dear Lord, with those who work, or watch, or
weep this night, and give your angels charge over those who
sleep. Tend the sick, Lord Christ; give rest to the weary, bless
the dying, soothe the suffering, pity the afflicted, shield the
joyous; and all for your love’s sake. Amen.
Guide us waking, O Lord, and guard us sleeping; that awake
we may watch with Christ, and asleep we may rest in peace.
A special prayer for this night from The Book of Common Prayer…
Dona Nobis Pacem…
The sun has set and the Vesper Lights flicker and glow
It has been long and exhausting day
Dad is safely in his new apartment
The caregivers at Good Samaritan hated to see him go
The caregivers at The Cedars joyfully welcomed him home
We began our drive to Alabama to care for Denise’s Dad
This has been a long journey thus far
We are thankful for the love and support of so many
Now as my eyelids grow heavy
I lift this humble prayer to you
Dona Nobis Pacem
Grant Us Peace
A wee prayer from the heart of your Padre…
Verse of the day
Seek good and not evil, that you may live; and so the Lord, the God of hosts, will be with you, just as you have said. Hate evil and love good, and establish justice in the gate.
– Amos 5:14-15
Voice of the day
Never forget that justice is what love looks like in public.
– Cornel West
Prayer of the day May your Spirit fill us with hope. Remind us that we are good enough for you,
so that in all things, we will follow your will, and take up the call to do justice, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with you.
– Erica VanEssendelft, Office of Social Justice, Christian Reformed Church
“I swear I will not dishonor my soul with hatred, but offer myself humbly as a guardian of nature, as a healer of misery, as a messenger of wonder, as an architect of peace.”—Diane Ackerman
The sun has set and the Vesper Lights flicker and glow
It has been another long day, Lord
The exhaustion is very real
Yet a week from today we will be back home
So many emotions bubbling up
Thank you for my sweetheart who is my partner in life, love, and ministry
Thank you for our sweet puppy who has patiently accompanied us on this journey
Now as my eyelids grow heavy
I lift this humble prayer to you
Dona Nobis Pacem
Grant Us Peace
A wee prayer from the heart of your Padre…
This afternoon has been a time of contemplation for me. There are observances all around the US and even the globe as September 11th, 2001 is remembered. I remember Nellis Air Force Base reeling as ordinary life went out the window as the threat level indicators rose to a wartime footing. I also remember the five months that I spent in Afghanistan and Uzbekistan in 2005. I vividly remember the visceral hatred of Muslims in the US, around the globe, and “down range” by the military members I served with. Much of the hatred came from people who said that they were christians (lower case is intentional). Fear and lies spread like wildfire and were still very much alive in 2008 when I deployed to Southwest Asia in support of operations in Afghanistan, Iraq, and other places.
Twenty years after the attacks on September 11th, much of that hatred and fear is still here. In addition, the division and fear-mongering continues to spread as this nation faces a surreal political environment where lies are spread as “truth” and paranoia has replaced critical thinking.
I sometimes wonder how I can keep my sanity as a pastor and Christ-follower. It is far too easy to slip into the language and way of hatred and division. When I find myself going down that path, the Spirit nudges me and invites me back to the path of love, justice, mercy, and peace that is the way of Jesus.
Today my contemplation and prayer focuses on all the victims of warfare, hatred, and fear along with victims of individual and corporate greed. Thomas Merton’s reflections in New Seeds of Contemplation (published in 1949) continue to speak to the world situation today.
When I pray for peace, I pray not only that the enemies of my own country may cease to want war, but above all that my country will cease to do the things that make war inevitable. (New Seeds of Contemplation, p. 121)
On this day, and every day, may this be both my prayer and a call to action. I invite you, dear reader, to join me on this journey towards peace. In the words of Saint Francis of Assisi’s prayer: Lord make me an instrument of Your peace.
