“The monks and hermits of various spiritual traditions know this truth – that rushing does not bring the grace of the fullness of time, only slowing down can do that. This is the paradox at the heart of contemplative life. When we slow down, life and its possibilities seem to expand. When we rush everything feels constricted.”
— Christine Valters Paintner, PhD Sacred Time: Embracing an Intentional Way of Life (Ave Maria Press, February 2021) Online companion retreatApril 5-May 30, 2021
| Verse of the day Be strong, and let your heart take courage, all you who wait for the Lord.– Psalm 31: 24 |
| Voice of the day We’ve braved the belly of the beast We’ve learned that quiet isn’t always peace – Amanda Gorman, “The Hill We Climb” |
| Prayer of the day God, we give you thanks for all that we have already overcome; embolden us as we continue the path before us. |
Two weeks ago, homegrown terrorists attacked the nation’s Capitol. Our elected representatives, senators, and the vice-president were whisked away from the invaders of that sacred space.
Today, we witness the peaceful transfer of power to President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. and Vice President Kamala Harris which is something that we have taken for granted for far too long in our nation’s recent history. In spite of those who wanted to upend democracy, the Constitution prevailed.
To quote our nation’s first ever, youth Poet Laureate, Amanda Gorman:
When day comes we ask ourselves,
where can we find light in this never-ending shade?
The loss we carry,
a sea we must wade
We’ve braved the belly of the beast
We’ve learned that quiet isn’t always peace
And the norms and notions
of what just is
Isn’t always just-ice
And yet the dawn is ours
before we knew it
Somehow we do it
Somehow we’ve weathered and witnessed
a nation that isn’t broken
but simply unfinished
We the successors of a country and a time
Where a skinny Black girl
descended from slaves and raised by a single mother
can dream of becoming president
only to find herself reciting for one
And yes we are far from polished
far from pristine
but that doesn’t mean we are
striving to form a union that is perfect
We are striving to forge a union with purpose
To compose a country committed to all cultures, colors, characters and
conditions of man
And so we lift our gazes not to what stands between us
but what stands before us
We close the divide because we know, to put our future first,
we must first put our differences aside
We lay down our arms
so we can reach out our arms
to one another
We seek harm to none and harmony for all
Let the globe, if nothing else, say this is true:
That even as we grieved, we grew
That even as we hurt, we hoped
That even as we tired, we tried
That we’ll forever be tied together, victorious
Not because we will never again know defeat
but because we will never again sow division
Scripture tells us to envision
that everyone shall sit under their own vine and fig tree
And no one shall make them afraid
If we’re to live up to our own time
Then victory won’t lie in the blade
But in all the bridges we’ve made
That is the promise to glade
The hill we climb
If only we dare
It’s because being American is more than a pride we inherit,
it’s the past we step into
and how we repair it
We’ve seen a force that would shatter our nation
rather than share it
Would destroy our country if it meant delaying democracy
And this effort very nearly succeeded
But while democracy can be periodically delayed
it can never be permanently defeated
In this truth
in this faith we trust
For while we have our eyes on the future
history has its eyes on us
This is the era of just redemption
We feared at its inception
We did not feel prepared to be the heirs
of such a terrifying hour
but within it we found the power
to author a new chapter
To offer hope and laughter to ourselves
So while once we asked,
how could we possibly prevail over catastrophe?
Now we assert
How could catastrophe possibly prevail over us?
We will not march back to what was
but move to what shall be
A country that is bruised but whole,
benevolent but bold,
fierce and free
We will not be turned around
or interrupted by intimidation
because we know our inaction and inertia
will be the inheritance of the next generation
To offer hope and laughter… to find the light… we strive to forge a union with purpose… can there be a higher calling for the citizens of this nation?
There is a lot of healing that needs to happen and it begins today. In the sermon I recorded for Sunday this afternoon, I spoke the words of my friend and colleague in ministry Thom Shuman. We must somehow seek to understand and live out God’s scandalous mercy. It won’t be easy, but we are called to be instruments of God’s equally scandalous love.
Out of the darkness, we will walk together into the light. In one of his sermons, Dr King said the following: Now there is a final reason I think that Jesus says, ‘Love your enemies.’ It is this: that love has within it a redemptive power. And there is a power there that eventually transforms individuals.
May we walk together into that future with hope.
| THE NEXT WINTER I sat in Army fatigues somewhere near Anniston, Alabama, eating my supper out of a mess kit. The infantry training battalion that I had been assigned to was on bivouac. There was a cold drizzle of rain, and everything was mud. The sun had gone down. I was still hungry when I finished and noticed that a man nearby had something left over that he was not going to eat. It was a turnip, and when I asked him if I could have it, he tossed it over to me. I missed the catch, the turnip fell to the ground, but I wanted it so badly that I picked it up and started eating it anyway, mud and all. And then, as I ate it, time deepened and slowed down again. With a lurch of the heart that is real to me still, I saw suddenly, almost as if from beyond time altogether, that not only was the turnip good, but the mud was good too, even the drizzle and cold were good, even the Army that I had dreaded for months. Sitting there in the Alabama winter with my mouth full of cold turnip and mud, I could see at least for a moment how if you ever took truly to heart the ultimate goodness and joy of things, even at their bleakest, the need to praise someone or something for it would be so great that you might even have to go out and speak of it to the birds of the air. -Originally published in The Sacred Journey |
| Verse of the day But let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.– Amos 5:24 |
| Voice of the day Good people of moral courage are called to inaugurate a society of justice and righteousness flowing for everyone. – Rev. Dr. Jacqui Lewis |
| Prayer of the day Faithful God, we know our society has never provided liberty and justice for all; give us courage for the long work ahead. |
A beautiful and timely reflection from my seminary classmate and friend, Rev Shirley Hobson Duncanson
For days, I’ve been hearing people express fears about the Inauguration. We no longer take the peaceful transfer of power for granted. On January 6th we discovered, not only how divided we are, but how a lie told often enough can be fomented into violence. Federico Mayor’s poem “We Will Plant Olive Trees,”* has been […]
Planting Peace — A Pastor’s Heart
“Through nonviolence, courage displaces fear; love transforms hate. Acceptance dissipates prejudice; hope ends despair. Peace dominates war; faith reconciles doubt. Mutual regard cancels enmity. Justice for all overthrows injustice. The redemptive community supersedes systems of gross social immorality.”—James Lawson
A powerful reflection from Ronnie McBrayer which centers around the experience of then ten year old Martin Luther King, Jr and the Atlanta premier of “Gone With the Wind”
— Read on ronniemcbrayer.org/2021/01/19/a-humble-child-of-god/
The sun has set and the Vesper Lights flicker and glow
It has been a day for reflection
It has been a day for prayer
It has been a day for study
It has been a day of worship planning
It has indeed been a full day
At the end of this day I pause to consider
How can we be the light of God’s love in the gathering darkness
How can we make Dr King’s dream a reality
Thomas Merton offers some insight in his 1963 Letter to a White Liberal as he considers Dr King’s “Letter from Birmingham Jail”
In other words, the condition of the possibility of white people being transformed into the love of God and neighbor is the freedom of African-Americans to thrive as human beings.
There is much to ponder this night
There is much work to be done
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…
A year after the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. in 1968, the poet Carl Wendell Hines Jr. published “A Dead Man’s Dream,” in which he wrote: “Dead men make such convenient heroes/ For they cannot rise to challenge the images/ That we might fashion from their lives.”
Dr. King was a remarkable visionary, a true social justice warrior and a devoted lover of God. What makes me uncomfortable is that the man we celebrate today, both on his birthday and during African-American History Month, is often reduced to a speech about dreams.
— Read on www.americamagazine.org/politics-society/2019/01/31/beyond-i-have-dream-its-time-take-martin-luther-king-jr-out-box
