The sun has set and the Vesper Lights flicker and glow
Another full day of meetings, study, worship, and reflection
I am thankful for the calling we have
A calling for my sweetheart and for me
To love and to serve as God calls us
Thank you for that precious gift Lord
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…
The sun has set and the Vesper lights flicker and glow
It has been a day of meetings, ministry, and study
I am so thankful for the work/ministry we have been called to be a part of
It has also been a time of study and reflection
A time to prepare for worship and for seminary coursework
I am also thankful for my beautiful partner in life, faith, and ministry
Now as my eyelids grow heavy
I lift this humble prayer to you
Dona Nobis Pace
Grant Us Peace
A wee prayer from the heart of your Padre…
The sun has set and the Vesper Lights flicker and glow
It has been a long and busy day
Worship preparation and scripture reflection
Reading and course workm get
Yet also time for reflection and prayer
As the hail fell in June
As our puppy dog cuddled closer
The storm passed by
A time to relax as a family
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…
Be still and know that I am God
Be still and know
Be Still
Be
In these days of social distancing I have heard a lot about ordinary folks like you and me, dear reader, becoming monks. We didnât choose it, rather it was brought about by a Pandemic beyond our control. It happened in order to keep all of us, especially the most vulnerable, safe.
So many donât have the luxury of working from home or even having a home to shelter in. This pandemic should be raising this issue along with so many others to the attention of our leaders and every citizen of every nation.
Somewhere in the middle of all of this something had been lost. This issue began long before the pandemic. It is the issue of too many in the church being tone-deaf to the reality emphasized by the pandemic. So many are huddled down in their own shelter and world that they forget about others. This is especially sad for me to see as a pastor. Too many people have turned inward, only concerned about their ârightsâ and not about the rights of others.
In the monastic tradition (specifically in the Cistercian/Trappist order which Thomas Merton was a part of for 27 years) contemplation and silence are an essential part of their sacred calling. These words from the PsalmistâBe still and know that I am God (46:10) were an essential part of their daily living.
Merton in describing love and solitude has the following to say in his book Loving and Living: Christianity is a religion of the Word. The Word is Love. But we sometimes forget that the Word emerges first of all from silence. When there is no silence, then the One Word which God speaks is not truly heard as Love. Then only âwordsâ are heard. âWordsâ are not love, for they are many and Love is One. When there are many words, we lose consciousness of the fact that there is really only One Word. The One Word which God speaks is Himself. Speaking, He manifests Himself as infinite Love. (p. 18)
May we listen in the silence dear reader and hear the gentle whisper of the Spirit… Be still and know… Be still… Be… Be Love.
As I offered the sermon this evening at our Zoom worship I was thinking a great deal about the connective nature of life and faith. We arenât worshipping in the sanctuary yet we are worshipping as a community of faith. We canât hug each other or sing together, yet we are still worshipping the Lord and loving one another.
An OpEd written by the Rev Hal Chorpenning who is the pastor of Plymouth Congregational (UCC) Church in Fort Collins, Colorado spoke to my soul. As he explained why Plymouth would remain closed while other churches are clamoring to open he spoke from a depth of thought and reflection that too many faith leaders arenât speaking from. He said that Christians are meant to love our neighbors as ourselves. And the best way to love our neighbors in a pandemic is to stop the spread of COVID-19. Not meeting in person for worship requires some self-sacrifice, which historically speaking should come naturally to Christians. God is still there, so whatâs the problem?
Some American Christians think of our Constitution as holy writ, which is heresy. For Christians, the Bible is more authoritative than legislation, and that means that loving God and neighbor trumps the First Amendment. For Godâs sake, canât you exercise your religion without risking the health of everyone in your congregation? Of course you can. And even if the government says that you can open your house of worship, please donât; not until it is safe to do so. God has given us the gift of life, so letâs not waste it. May you be well. SourceâColoradoan Opinion Piece
When you consider the fact that people of color experience a different and frightening reality that I do as a privileged white male it is overwhelming. As Hal said in his article, God has given us the gift of life, so letâs not waste it. That life which God has given to us is given equally to all of humankind. ALL of humankind!
Dear reader, we are all interconnected. Until we as a nation and world recognize and celebrate that, we will never be the peaceable community that our Creator designed us to be. We can learn as well from the words of Thomas Merton which were written in the midst of the turbulent 1960âs. The Civil Rightâs protests and legislation tried to right a wrong which began in the 1600âs when the first African slave was brought ashore and sold. It began even earlier with the slaughter of the First Nation men, women, and children at the hands of greedy European whites. If we could only capture the vision Merton shared in Conjectures of a Guilty Bystander.
The more I am able to affirm others, to say âyesâ to them in myself, by discovering them in myself and myself in them, the more real I am. I am fully real if my own heart says yes to everyone. (p. 144)
This past Sunday Denise and I took our first drive into Rocky after evening worship. We saw this fellow along with two other bulls as we drove up the Bear Lake road. Obviously traffic came to a standstill as the Velvet Boys made their way down the road and onto the grassy area where they began grazing. As I watched this fellow walk down the road towards our car I saw the determination in his eyes. As we do the work God calls us to, shouldnât we have the same determination as our friend here? We have been blessed with so many incredible encounters (from a safe distance and with a Zoom lens!) with our wild neighbors. When I recognize the same bull elk year after year in our condo complex or the same bulls hanging out at the golf course or at the church I feel a connection with these neighbors. It isnât your typical relationship but it is incredibly rewarding.
Speaking of non-typical relationships, this is Trinity Sunday. On this particular Sunday in the church calendar we remember what is one of the uniquenesses of our Christian tradition. The Trinity has been a source of argument and confusion from the very beginning of the organized church in the Third Century (Common Era). Wrapped in mystery, the understanding of the Trinity has evolved over the centuries. Traditionally it celebrates the one and equal glory of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. There is a legend about Saint Patrick attempting to teach the Irish about the Trinity using a shamrock. The shamrock had three leaves with one stem.
Other language has been used to attempt to describe the three-in-one aspect of the Trinity. Traditionally it was Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Other names are: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit… Creator, Redeemer, and Sustainer… Creator, Christ, and Spirit. No matter what terminology you use there is still the same mystery. For me, the Trinity speaks of relationship. God understands relationship and in turn models relationship to Godâs creation.
While it can be both interesting and frustrating to discuss and plumb the depths of what the Trinity is, my focus today is on the call in Matthew 28:16-20. When Jesus gave the disciples their commission he also told them that the Spirit would guide them.
Last week in church we discussed Ruah (Hebrew for breath). We also examined the impact that the blowing of the Spirit had and continues to have on the church and on each Christ-follower. We can parse the meaning of the Trinity or we can listen and discern where we are being called to serve. I believe that is the focus of the closing verses of Matthewâs Gospel.
The eleven disciples were being commissioned to carry on with the work that Jesus had begun on earth. Go therefore… go therefore to teach, baptize, and share the Good News with everyone you meet. They were being called to do Godâs work as followers of Christ and guided by the Spirit.
We are called to do the same. Sadly throughout the history of Christianity this commission has been misinterpreted and abused. Christianity was used to pummel our First Nation sisters and brothers in Boarding Schools in an attempt to erase any trace of their heritage (literally beaten out of them).
So what is our calling today as followers of Christ? For me that calling is contained in the command of Jesus and the Prophet Micah. In Matthew 22:37-40 Jesus saidâââYou shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.â This is the greatest and first commandment. And a second is like it: âYou shall love your neighbour as yourself.â On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.â The prophet Micah said the following in Micah 6:8âHe has told you, O mortal, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?
Shouldnât this be our commission and calling? A calling that is not only about ourselves and the individual salvation experience; but a calling that is about being, in the words of St Teresa of Avila, the hands and feet of Christ. I invite you to reflect on her prayer as I end this particular blog.
Christ has no body but yours,
No hands, no feet on earth but yours,
Yours are the eyes with which he looks
Compassion on this world,
Yours are the feet with which he walks to do good,
Yours are the hands, with which he blesses all the world.
Yours are the hands, yours are the feet,
Yours are the eyes, you are his body.
Christ has no body now but yours,
No hands, no feet on earth but yours,
Yours are the eyes with which he looks
compassion on this world.
Christ has no body now on earth but yours.
Teresa of Avila (1515â1582)
The sun has set and the Vesper Lights flicker and glow
Thank you Lord for another day of ministry
Thank you for your Spiritâs guidance of our church session (board)
Thank you for the opportunity to serve
Thank you for an evening of study and reflection
Thank you for my sweetheart and the ministry we share
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…
Tonight we were in Virtual Evening Prayer with a friend and mentor we havenât yet met in person (Rev Thom Shuman). The focus of tonightâs time of prayer and reflection was on the Breath Prayer. The irony of the symbolism was not lost on me. I canât breathe… I canât breathe… I canât breathe….
These were some of the last words of Eric Garner, Manuel Ellis, and George Floyd as they were brutally murdered by the very ones who swore to protect and to serve. As we practiced our breath prayer in Evening Prayer tonight, my heart and my mind went back to these men and their last minutes.
I can breathe… I can pray… I can walk the streets without fear… that is what it means to be a white male with privilege. I am not proud of that. I am actually ashamed of that. My brothers and sisters of color donât have that privilege. A friend of ours in Mobile (who is a successful lawyer and judge) has had to have that heartbreaking talk with his own son… when he was young his own father along with several prominent African-American businessmen were arrested on false charges and imprisoned. Later released after the charges were proven false. These are struggles that NO parent or child should have to have with their children!
Reading from the book Dialogues With Silence (a collection of Thomas Mertonâs prose and his drawings) I came across this quote from Mertonâs Entering the Silence (Volume Two (1941-1942) of his journals). It spoke to my heart and soul as I contemplated tonightâs prayer. My God, I pray better to You by breathing. I pray better to You by walking than by talking. (p. 57 in Dialogues and p. 161 in Entering the Silence)
As I unpacked the thought in the second sentence the Spirit opened my eyes. Pray by walking… do I walk with my sisters and brothers who are oppressed? My words, as pious and prayerful as they might be arenât enough. My walk must be congruent with my words.
Dear reader, as we breathe in and breathe out may we truly comprehend the calling we have. Our calling is to do justice, love kindness/mercy, and walk humbly with God. (Paraphrase of Micah 6:8b)
A wonderful reflection from the Abbey of Our Lady of Gethsemani…
…In my vocation and all walks of life, friendship is expressed by listening. Listening to others â whether in formal settings in church or in informal settings in the workroom, classroom or dialogue â is a fundamental way of being present to others. What we can give one another is attention. It is an implicit form of friendship, one that is not intrusive yet is inclusive. It respects the solitude of others, and this respect is one of the best gifts we can give to one another...
â Read on www.osvnews.com/2019/10/11/work-and-play-the-life-of-a-trappist-monk/
The sun has set and the Vesper Lights flicker and glow
It was a day of meetings and worship preparation
It was a time for a wonderful evening with dear friends
It was also a time for reflection
Thirty-one years ago today my son came into this world
A wonderful gift indeed
As I watched the Full Moon rise over the mountain
I was overcome by a sense of wonder
When I look into the night sky I am reminded of Godâs presence, even in the darkness.
These words from Thomas Merton in Entering the Silence: The Journals of Thomas Merton-Volume Two (1941-1952) struck a chord within me:
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.
Now as my eyelids grow heavy
I lift this humble prayer to you
Dona Nobis Pacem
Grant Us Peace
A wee prayer and reflection from your Padre…
