| Verse of the day Finally, all of you, have unity of spirit, sympathy, love for one another, a tender heart, and a humble mind. – 1 Peter 3:8 |
| Voice of the day Let us not forget: We are a pilgrim church, subject to misunderstanding, to persecution, but a church that walks serene, because it bears the force of love. – Óscar Romero, The Violence of Love (2004) |
| Prayer of the day By your Spirit, fashion our lives according to the example of your Son, and grant that we may show the power of your love to all among whom we live. – The Book of Common Prayer |
The sun has set and the Vesper Lights flicker and glow
For tonight’s Session meeting worship our focus was on peace
Lord, make me an instrument of your peace
Praying as well for our community and families
In the words of Thomas Merton:
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)
May we indeed strive to be nonviolent peacemakers
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…
“I see revolution as a fundamental, structural and long-term transformation of unjust structures to structures where it is ‘easier for people to be good,’ as the Catholic Worker puts it . . . a great garden is not a romantic thing, but the result of much persistence.”—Leonard Desroches
| Verse of the day “Do not judge, and you will not be judged; do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven.” – Luke 6:37 |
| Voice of the day Forgiveness. The ability to forgive oneself. Stop here for a few breaths and think about this because it is the key to making art, and very possibly the key to finding any semblance of happiness in life. – Ann Patchett, This is the Story of a Happy Marriage (2013) |
| Prayer of the day Forgiving God, help us be kind to others; help us be kind to ourselves. |
Watching the increasing divisiveness in our nation and world can be, to be blunt, deeply and darkly depressing. When I see this hatred and divisiveness creep, or in some cases march proudly, into the church my heart breaks. This sort of hatred is completely counter to the teachings of the one whom I follow who is proclaimed the Prince of Peace.
In this nation, I watched in horror as insurgents broke into the Capitol on January 6, 2021. What was even more horrifying to me was the fact that so many of these insurgents carried signs proclaiming Jesus as Lord. I don’t know what Jesus has to do with a crowd that set up a gallows in order to hang the vice-President and members of Congress. Jesus surely must have wept. I know that I did.
In 1930’s Germany, a “ church” arose that claimed Christian Nationalism in the era of Hitler. They fully supported what was going on in Germany at that time. A movement arose in opposition to that and out of that rising came the “Barmen Declaration.” It is a part of the Book of Confessions which is a part of the Constitution of the Presbyterian Church (USA). I have used this section of the declaration as a Confession of Faith in my present church and the previous church that I served. We believe that God has revealed God’s self as the one who wishes to bring about justice and true peace among people; that the church must therefore stand by people in any form of suffering and need, which implies, among other things… that the church must witness against and strive against all the powerful and privileged who selfishly seek their own interests and thus control and harm others. If you want to read more about the Barmen Declaration, follow this link: The Barmen Declaration
Thomas Merton spoke passionately about nonviolence and peacemaking as did Dr Martin Luther King, Jr. Sadly, they had planned a meeting at The Abbey of Our Lady of Gethsemane but Dr. King was assassinated before they could meet. In the photo above from The King Center, the words of Dr. King say it all: It is no longer a choice, my friends, between violence and nonviolence. It is either nonviolence or nonexistence.
Merton had the following to say in his book, Blessed Are the Meek: The Christian Roots of Nonviolence: Christian nonviolence does not encourage or excuse hatred of a special class, nation, or social group. It is not merely anti- this or that. In other words, the evangelical realism which is demanded of the Christian should make it impossible for him to generalize about “the wicked” against whom he takes up moral arms in a struggle for righteousness. He will not let himself be persuaded that the adversary is totally wicked and can therefore never be reasonable or well-intentioned, and hence need never be listened to. This attitude, which defeats the very purpose of nonviolence — openness, communication, dialogue — often accounts for the fact that some aspects of civil disobedience merely antagonize the adversary without making him willing to communicate in any way whatever, except with bullets or missiles. (Blessed Are the Meek: The Christian Roots of Nonviolence as found in Thomas Merton: Essential Writings, p. 127)
The church, church leaders, and so many others need to have a “come to Jesus meeting” with the Prince of Peace. I believe that this is a life or death situation for the church as we know it today.
“There is no bad individual; there is no bad boy or girl, it is their actions that may be bad. Some people have more problems than others, so we work with the problem rather than say to the person, ‘You are a liar,’ or ‘You are a thief.’ Instead we say, ‘You have a problem of lying,’ or ‘You have a problem of stealing.’”—Mubarak Awad
The sun has set and the Vesper Lights flicker and glow
Thank you for a wonderful day of reflection
Thank you for the blessing of hospital ministry
Thank you for an opportunity to make connections in the community
Thank you for the reminders of your Grace and Presence
Thank you for the opportunity to Be Still
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…
“My belief is that when a country primarily instills fear in the minds and hearts of the people of the world, it is no longer useful in joining the dialogue we need for saving the planet.”—Alice Walker
| Verse of the day Indeed, what once had glory has lost its glory because of the greater glory; for if what was set aside came through glory, much more has the permanent come in glory! – 2 Corinthians 3:10-11 |
| Voice of the day We know God doesn’t will for anyone to suffer and die — even if some modicum of “justice” could come out of it. – Brittini L. Palmer |
| Prayer of the day Save us from violence, discord, and confusion; from pride and arrogance, and from every evil way. |
Denise and I do miss our Rocky Mountain home with the abundance of amazing wildlife literally wandering through the neighborhood. However, I really do appreciate being able to breathe with my sleep apnea under control at a much lower elevation (1,000 feet above sea level versus 8,000 feet with hikes at 10,000 to 12,000 feet).
The cardinal family who lives in the neighborhood (in the trees on the non-built up lot next to us) has kept us entertained and enthralled. Both of our Moms loved cardinals, so to see them reminds us of our Moms and it seems as though they are visiting us.
Thomas Merton speaks of the reading of scripture and how it renews him and he sees nature and the world around him differently.
By the reading of Scripture I am so renewed that all nature seems renewed around me and with me. The sky seems to be a pure, a cooler blue, the trees a deeper green, light is sharper on the outlines of the forest and the hills and the whole world is charged with the glory of God and I feel fire and music in the earth under my feet. — Thomas Merton (The Sign of Jonas, p. 215-216)
We are thankful that God speaks to us through the abundance of creation here in Georgia as God did in the mountains of Colorado.
