“St. Francis, Explain to the people that the tree is not only a tree, that the bird is not only a bird, that the dew on the grass is not only dew, but that the whole universe is spinning with God beyond itself. Do not let human beings linger behind.”—Sergius Riabinin
Life is fragile. Life can be challenging. Life provides opportunities for reflection. Life can, at times, be challenging. In ministry and in life itself such reflections can overwhelm. In cemeteries, in war zones, in hospitals, and in daily ministry, I am often challenged to keep on going when I am overwhelmed or exhausted. Those reflective moments have been challenging lately. Lately there has been so much going on with my Dad’s health concerns, with the pandemic, and in ministry.
Thomas Merton said the following in his book, New Seeds of Contemplation. Every moment and every event of every man’s life on earth plants something in his soul. The challenge is to process and accept those moments, while allowing the Spirit to work in the midst of it all.
We spread the truth about God’s love by loving.
Getting to the Truth
Verse of the day
“Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.”
– Matthew 11:28
Voice of the day
When you are scared, reach out your hand / Talk to the Lord, talk to the Lord / If you are sad, He’ll dry your tears / Talk to the Lord, talk to the Lord
– Natalie Bergman, “Talk to the Lord”
Prayer of the day
Mother God, we call on you to hold us and nurse us back to health.
“You must give birth to your images.
They are the future waiting to be born.
Fear not the strangeness you feel.
The future must enter you
long before it happens.
Just wait for the birth,
for the hour of new clarity.”
—Rainer Maria Rilke
“Compassion is the ultimate and most meaningful embodiment of emotional maturity. It is through compassion that a person achieves the highest peak and the deepest reach in his or her search for self-fulfillment.”—Arthur Jersild
“Never let anyone—any person or any force—dampen, dim, or diminish your light.”—John Lewis
Verse of the day
Very truly, I tell you, the one who believes in me will also do the works that I do and, in fact, will do greater works than these, because I am going to the Father.
– John 14:12
Voice of the day
So much has been taken, but not everything. What this moment has taught us is that we have the ability to radically reimagine and reshape the world.
– Marc Lamont Hill, We Still Here: Pandemic, Policing, Protest, and Possibility (2020)
Prayer of the day
By your Spirit, reshape our lives according to the example of Jesus, and grant that we may show the power of your love to all the world.
– Adapted from the Book of Common Prayer
I have been reflecting on the many people that I have walked with through the Valley of the Shadows as a military chaplain and pastor. I have also been reflecting on the parishioners and friends that Denise and I have walked with together through the same Valley. I have also been reflecting on the gift that Denise gave to both of our mothers by her loving and steadfast presence with them through their own Valleys.
One of our musical companions on the drive from Georgia to Minnesota was our dear and beloved friend, Simon de Voil Home Page. One particular piece that he offered was his interpretation of Saint Francis of Assisi’s “Canticle of Creation.”
When speaking about our Sister Bodily Death whom Francis embraced wholeheartedly, Simon shared the following:
Most High, all-powerful, precious God,
through Mother Earth we see your face.
You who govern all of life,
sustain and nurture all that is.
With sister Death, first and last breath.
The key unlocking all we are,
there, we are.
Here are Francis’s own words: Be praised, my Lord, for our Sister Death,
whom we must all face.
I praise and bless you, Lord,
and I give thanks to you,
and I will serve you in all humility. (“Canticle of Creation” – St Francis of Assisi)
Mortality is something that I have had to face both professionally as a chaplain/pastor and as Denise and I journeyed together with our Mothers and some very dear friends.
Thomas Merton had the following to say about Sister Death: It is the acceptance of life in the midst of death, not because we have courage, or light, or wisdom to accept, but because by some miracle the God of life Himself accepts to live, in us, at the very moment when we descend into death. (The New Man, p. 5)
Tonight two mama deer and two fawns visited us at my Mom’s grave.
One of the mama’s came back to run around, look at us, jumped playfully over some headstones, and headed back to the brush along the marshy area behind the cemetery. Mom had chosen that spot years ago specifically because she knew that the wildlife would graze and play and live in that area.
As I remembered and gave thanks for my Sister Bodily Death, I also smiled and my heart dances with the deer who joined us.
“If you want to create a viable, peaceful world, we’ve got to integrate compassion into the gritty realities of 21st century life. Compassion is not an option. It is the key to our survival.”—Karen Armstrong
