Verse of the day
And I am extremely angry with the nations that are at ease; for while I was only a little angry, they made the disaster worse.
– Zechariah 1:15
Voice of the day
The top 10 percent of us, those who make more than $38,000 a year, are responsible for more than half the world’s carbon emissions.
– Bill McKibben
Prayer of the day
We have wounded your love.
O God, heal us.
We stumble in the darkness.
Light of the world transfigure us.
We forget that we are your home.
Spirit of God, dwell in us.
– A New Zealand Prayer Book
The sun has set and the Vesper Lights flicker and glow
It has been a long day, Lord
It has also been a good day
A day for worship and reflection
A day for fellowship and a day to prepare for travel
As Pixie and I head to bed
Our hearts are set on Tuesday evening
An evening when we reunite with my beloved
May our sleep this night be refreshing
May our journey be safe
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…
“Constructive ideas (not wars) mark the forward progress of mankind. Art can change the world. Art is a communication that is more powerful and more real to any human being than any gun or war. It changes people’s opinions, style, ideas, and even sometimes people’s way of living. We should concentrate on art and peace, not hate and war. The day we can truly trust each other, there will be peace on Earth.”—Anonymous
A beautiful quintet of Sonnets from Malcolm Guite!
On August 15th many churches across the world, Catholic, Orthodox and Anglican, keep a feast for the Blessed Virgin Mary, fulfilling the scripture …
A Quintet of Sonnets for Mary
In the opening verses of 1 Kings:3-14 we read about the lavish offering which Solomon offered in the temple once his reign was firmly established. Now Solomon was anything but perfect, just like his father David before him. The first strike we see is when Solomon, who loved the Lord and followed his statues sacrificed and offered incense at the high places. Offerings and sacrifices in Israel were to be offered at the Temple in Jerusalem. The high places were where others worshipped, and people were led away from God to worship idols and local gods.
While we could focus on Solomon’s failings, I want to focus on something that he did which pleased God. Even though he was worshipping in the wrong place, God still came to him in a dream. The Lord asked Solomon, Ask what I should give you. Solomon had given a lavish offering to God and now God asked what Solomon wanted in return.
Have you ever thought about what you would do if you came into a large sum of money? In the movie, “It Could Happen to You” a cop asked the waitress at the diner he had been going to for years to help him pick the numbers for his weekly lottery ticket. In the movie when the cop hears that his lottery ticked was the big winner, his wife was thrilled. That was short-lived when the cop said that he was going to share half of the winnings with the waitress who helped him pick the winning numbers. The cop had a choice in the matter, and I would say that he chose wisely and generously. He thought of others before himself.
Solomon himself had a choice to make. Even though he had the United Kingdom of Israel and Judah which his father had reigned over he could have asked for more. He could have asked for more wealth, more territory, or many other things. Instead, Solomon asked for something to help him be a better ruler. Give your servant therefore an understanding mind to govern your people, able to discern between good and evil; for who can govern this your great people? (1 Kings 3:9)
God’s response showed God’s pleasure with Solomon’s act of selflessness as he began his rule. Because you have asked this and have not asked for yourself long life or riches, or for the life of your enemies, but have asked for yourself understanding to discern what is right, I now do according to your word. Indeed, I give you a wise and discerning mind; no one like you has been before you and no one like you shall arise after you. (3:11-12)
While we may not be Kings like Solomon, we do have a choice when it comes to asking God for things. I know that I have been guilty of asking for selfish desires without thinking of others. Despite my selfishness, the love of God is never withdrawn from me, and it can be the same for you. May we ask for discerning and understanding minds and hearts as we seek to serve the Lord. Can you imagine what might happen if local community, state, national, and international leaders dropped their often greedy and self-serving ways and decided to govern with wisdom on behalf of all the people?
In Psalm 34:9-14 we can explore how this passage ties into such wisdom. In that Psalm, the psalmist invites the people to “fear” the Lord in order to have “no want.” Come, O children, listen to me; I will teach you the fear of the Lord. (34:11)The next two verses are where I see the connection between the two readings. Which of you desires life, and covets many days to enjoy good? Keep your tongue from evil, and your lips from speaking deceit. (34:12-13)
Just what is this “fear” that the psalmist is talking about? Too often we think of this fear as being afraid of God. In the context of the Hebrew language, fear means “to honor or reverence” God. Just as Solomon chose gifts that would honor God and help him to be a more compassionate and just ruler, the psalmist invites us to make choices that honor God. Instead of telling us to be terrified of God, the psalmist invites the reader to honor and revere God through our words and our actions. How does one do that? The psalmist offers these closing words in verse 14 — Depart from evil, and do good; seek peace, and pursue it. This is the way of wisdom. This is the way of compassion. This is the way of justice. This is the way of peace. In the words of Thomas Merton from his book, The Nonviolent Alternative (p. 35), Peace demands the most heroic labor and the most difficult sacrifice. It demands greater heroism than war. It demands greater fidelity to the truth and a much more perfect purity of conscience.
As we seek wisdom and peace for our neighbors and strangers, we will be seeking them for ourselves as well. Merton reminds me of the challenges that I have had as I contemplate where I have been as an Air Force Chaplain and where God seems to be leading me as a “Peacemaker.” Will you join with me in this journey, dear reader?
Some wisdom and a challenge for Christ-followers from Thomas Merton. Gratefully shared from Paul Pynkoski’s post on the International Thomas Merton Society’s Facebook page. Thank you, Paul!
Merton was so adamant on the unity of contemplation and action, of spirituality and justice. And while it seems appropriate to speak of his earlier, contemplative writings (New Seeds…) and the later writings on social concerns ((Seeds of Destruction) there are examples where the two are woven together.
What follows is from “A Homily on Light and The Virgin Mary,” written in 1962:
“No one has ever more perfectly contained the light of God than Mary who by the perfection of her purity and humility is, as it were, completely identified with the truth like the clean window pane which vanishes entirely into the light which it transmits…
“For man today has lost consciousness of his need for truth. What he seeks is power. Truth is made to serve the ends of power. Truth is of no value unless it is expedient. When truth is not expedient, then it is deliberately twisted to serve the aims of the powerful…
“It is a common trait of all the powerful materialist societies, that they are not so much interested in truth as in the creation of slogans and images…Where power is primary, truth is made to bend to will. The will to power does not obey truth but manufactures its own truth, to suit policy and expediency…
“…persons are treated as things. They are bought and sold like commodities…
“In Mary is perfectly realized God’s whole creative and redemptive plan. That is why she is said to be for us a light of truth and a pattern of life…In her is all the beauty of the world, transfiguration and elevated to a level beyond our comprehension…We cannot help but see that she is, like ourselves, a human creature whose littleness has been glorified in the light of Christ and who has been saved from the power of darkness and evil by the grace of His Cross.”
(Seasons of Celebration, pp.134, 136, 138, 139)
“I think music in itself is healing. It’s an explosive expression of humanity. It’s something we are all touched by. No matter what culture we’re from, everyone loves music.”—Billy Joel
“I don’t know what’s going to become of you!” How many parents have said that? Maximilian Mary Kolbe’s reaction was, “I prayed very hard to Our Lady to tell me what would happen to me. She appeared, holding in her hands two crowns, one white, one red. She asked if I would like to have them—one was for purity, the other for martyrdom. I said, ‘I choose both.’ She smiled and disappeared.” After that he was not the same.
— Read on www.franciscanmedia.org/saint-of-the-day/saint-maximilian-mary-kolbe
There are times when I find myself in a low spiritual energy place. There are also times when my depression overwhelms me. Yet even in the midst of that darkness I am able to find light and hope. When I let go of my own need to be in control and surrender myself the the Lord of Light and Love, the spiritual dawn of a new day comes.
I found this quote from Thomas Merton that was helpful to me as I ponder these things tonight.
O God, teach me to be satisfied with my own helplessness in the spiritual life. Teach me to be content with Your grace that comes to me in darkness and that works things I cannot see. Teach me to be happy that I can depend on You. To Depend On You Should Be Enough For An Eternity Of Joy. To Depend On You By Itself Ought To Be Infinitely Greater Than Any Joy Which My Own Intellectual Appetite Could Desire. (Dialogue With Silence)
As I ponder, I offer this prayer:
The sun has set and the Vesper Lights flicker and glow
It has been a long day, Lord
I find myself with low energy and exhausted
I am thankful for the opportunity just now to see a little more clearly
I thank you for Merton’s words which offer me hope
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…
“Nonviolence has two faces, that of cooperating with good and that of non-cooperating with evil. These two faces, or call them two edges to the sword of Satyagraha, have been expressed throughout history as what Gandhi would call Constructive Program, where you create things, and make corrections in your own community, and what I like to call obstructive program, where you dig in your heels and refuse to go along with others’ attempts to weaken or exploit you.”—Michael N. Nagler
