The sun has set and the Vesper Lights flicker and glow
Another day of virtual worship and fellowship
Another day of reflection and preparation
This Holy Week is indeed unusual
Walk with us Lord, during these challenging times
And may we also walk with you down the road to the cross
Help us to reflect, study, and learn
Help our faith to grow in these demanding times
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…
“Ezekiel gives the people what they need during the Exile: hope. They may have lost God’s favor, their land, and their Temple . . . but they are not completely lost. There was a way back. Ezekiel doesn’t promise them that it will be easy, just that it is possible.”
— John Valters Paintner, MTS,The Online, Self-Study Retreat ~ Exile and Coming Home: An Archetypal Journey through the Scriptures
Recall a time in your life that felt completely hopeless, that turned out to be just a new beginning.
As I ponder Holy Week and the journey of Jesus towards the cross I am struck by a number of things. Even though he would be betrayed by his friends, he never stopped loving them. Doesn’t this reflect the grace of God which says that love is not earned but rather is freely given without cost?
I have been reading and hearing stories about so many people who are quietly stepping up to the plate during this Pandemic to do what they are called to do. Yes they are paid (not always very well mind you) but what they do each and every day can’t be measured in dollars. Despite the low pay, they step up to the plate to serve.
As I hear about first responders, medical care providers, and restaurants and grocery store workers who are dying from COVID-19 it breaks my heart. Often without adequate protective gear they went into the trenches day after day for you and for me. Self-sacrificing love of the type which Jesus talked about in John 15:13-14 — “This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.”
Only while Jesus was talking about laying one’s life down for one’s friends, didn’t he lay down his life for so many more? Yes, Jesus laid down his life for all. While I have used this passage when officiating at funerals and memorial services for military members who were killed in Kuwait, Afghanistan, Iraq, and so many other places around the world; this applies equally to the folks I mentioned who are dying while helping this nation stay safe and well fed. They truly died for strangers. What greater or more selfless love is there than that? I truly believe these are examples of unselfish love which we can all learn from and even make a part of our daily living.
In the opening chapter of No Man Is an Island, Thomas Merton said the following about such love: A happiness that is sought for ourselves alone can never be found: for a happiness that is diminished by being shared is not big enough to make us happy…True happiness is found in unselfish love, a love which increases in proportion as it is shared. There is no end to the sharing of love, and, there for, the potential happiness of such love is without limit. Infinite sharing is the law of God’s inner life. (p. 3)
As we walk towards Passover, Maundy Thursday, and Good Friday may we pause to reflect on how we can be agents of God’s extravagant love to one another and to strangers. That is how love is shared, dear reader… without cost and extravagantly…even with strangers and yes, even with enemies.
I wrote this blog last year… it bears repeating as we begin the journey to the Cross….
A beautiful reflection to begin Holy Week. Thank you, Malcolm ❤️
This strange Holy Week has begun in tears: tears of frustration, tears of lament, and for so many who have been cruelly bereaves, tears of grief. It’s hard to see through tears, but sometimes its the only way to see. Tears may be the turning point, the springs of renewal, and to know you have been wept for is to know that you are loved. ‘Jesus Wept’ is the shortest, sharpest, and most moving sentence in Scripture.
I have a God who weeps for me, weeps with me, understands to the depths and from the inside the rerum lachrymae, the tears of things.
This sonnet, and the others I will be posting for Holy Week are all drawn from my collection Sounding the Seasons, published by Canterbury Press here in England. The book is now back in stock on both Amazon UK and USA The book is now…
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The sun has set and the Vesper Lights flicker and glow
We began the journey with our Lord today
From the parade of Palm Sunday to the torture of the cross
As we walk this journey with you, Jesus
May we learn more about our own perseverance when guided by you
In these unusual days of COVID-19 may we seek your presence
Guide us through the Valley of the Shadows
Help us to serve you and all of your children
Lord, in your mercy, hear this our prayer
Dona Nobis Pacem et in Terra
Grant Us Peace on Earth
A wee prayer from the heart of your Padre…
Today has been another long, yet productive day. We spent the morning preparing for and offering our Midday Prayer from the PCCR Chapel over Zoom. The afternoon and evening were spent preparing for additional worship services for the days ahead. I tried to isolate myself from the news and headlines but it was difficult to ignore. So much that is offered up as courage is really cowardice. Putting Grandparents lives on the line to protect the economy? Really? I seem to recall Jesus saying you cannot worship both God and Mammon. Sadly some are making that choice blatantly and it is not courageous.
Yet in the midst of this all, I hear so many stories of true heroism from our Doctors, Nurses, Nursing Assistants, and Med Techs as they care for the public often to the danger of their own well-being. Medical care specialists standing watch with patients who are dying because the family members aren’t allowed in because of the dangers posed by COVID-19 Novel Coronavirus. These compassionate women and men step in to be family for those who cannot have family beside them as they take their final breath. I know some of those medical folks by name and writing this brings tears to my eyes and an ache to my heart.
How can we do anything but dig deep within our hearts and souls to bring up the light, love, compassion, and tenderness that God calls us to share with EVERYONE. Instead of griping because a church won’t be open for Easter or a National Park is closed to protect the at-risk population in the community around the park, why don’t we try a little tenderness and compassion…
As I spent some time listening to music, reading, and working with Denise; I found the following words of Thomas Merton quite relevant. Without courage we can never attain to true simplicity. Cowardice keeps us “double minded”—hesitating between the world and God. In this hesitation, there is no true faith—faith remains an opinion. (Thoughts in Solitude, p. 24)
What is courage? It is the courage to think of others before ourselves… it is the selflessness that repairs the breach and reaches out to those in need without questions about so-called worthiness. Dear reader, we need to courageously step out and confront the selfishness of so many in this land. We need to show them the better way… the way of love, the way of hope, the way of grace, the way of peace… May we step up to the plate and do just that as we seek to love God and ALL neighbors… to Do Justice, Love Kindness/Mercy, and Walk Humbly with God.
When the snow finally melts and the temperatures begin to rise, there are so many reminders of how life emerges out of the wilderness. We missed its birth by mere minutes but we were there for this baby Elk’s first steps and first bath! A new arrival is celebrated over and over again as our animal neighbors give birth. It is indeed a beautiful sight to behold each Spring here in the Rockies. Sadly this Spring will be different for all of us. The Park is closed, people are Sheltering in Place, and life has changed dramatically. I guess you could say the same thing about Palm Sunday. It wasn’t going to be the usual Passover celebration for Jesus, his disciples, or the people.
If we truly look at what happened on Palm Sunday as Jesus rode into Jerusalem, one might think that it was going to be one heck of an arrival and welcome! At least that was how it began. Various groups had different ideas about what was happening as Jesus entered Jerusalem that day. The Zealots hoped that he was going to usher in a new revolution to overthrow the Romans and their minions. The religious hoped that the appearance of the Messiah would usher in the new age which they were praying for. I am sure that the disciples were caught up in the celebration and enjoying it. Had they forgotten their earlier worries about walking into a trap? Perhaps the joyous crowd gave them pause to think that things would turn out differently.
This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it. (Psalm 118:24) It surely seemed like this day was indeed a day of rejoicing for so many. Yet if I place myself in the crowd and intentionally look at Jesus, I believe I would see something different. While everyone else hoped that he would lead them out of the wilderness of occupation and into freedom he knew differently. Jesus was about to make the final wilderness journey of his earthly life and it would be like no other wilderness journey he had ever walked before.
Jesus, what was going through your mind that day? Were you looking out at the crowd and thinking how quickly they would turn from loud Hosannahs to shouts of Crucify Him? Did you know that the disciples who rallied around you would soon disperse into the night and that Judas would betray you with hopes that the Revolution would be kickstarted by that? Were you thinking about your mother and how this was going to pierce her heart as Simeon prophesied? Lord, I can’t even begin to imagine… how your heart was feeling as you rode into Jerusalem…
Michael Card, in his song “Ride on to Die” sings about this Palm Sunday event so long ago. These lyrics speak to my own heart about the conflicting feelings I have on Palm Sunday.
Seems the sorrow untold, as you look down the road
At the clamoring crowd drawing near
Feel the heat of the day, as you look down the way
Hear the shouts of Hosanna the King
Chorus
Oh, daughter of Zion your time’s drawing near
Don’t forsake Him, oh don’t pass it by
On the foal of a donkey as the prophets had said
Passing by you, He rides on to die
Come now little foal, though your not very old
Come and bear your first burden bravely
Walk so softly upon all the coats and the palms
Bare the One on your back oh so gently
Midst the shouting so loud and the joy of the crowd
There is One who is riding in silence
For He knows the ones here will be fleeing in fear
When their shepherd is taken away
Chorus
Oh, daughter of Zion your time’s drawing near
Don’t forsake Him, oh don’t pass it by
On the foal of a donkey as the prophets had said
Passing by you, He rides on to die
Soon the thorn cursed ground will bring forth a crown
And this Jesus will seem to be beaten
But He’ll conquer alone both the shroud and the stone
And the prophesies will be completed
Chorus
Oh, daughter of Zion your time’s drawing near
Don’t forsake Him, oh don’t pass it by
On the foal of a donkey as the prophets had said
Passing by you, He rides on to die
On the foal of a donkey as the prophets had said
Passing by you He rides on to die
As we look at Palm Sunday with 2000 years of history between the event and now, I urge you to sit with Jesus in the wilderness of Palm Sunday and Holy Week. Don’t be in such a hurry to rush through the week in an effort to get to Easter Sunday. While we do know that new life will come out of the Wilderness of Maundy Thursday and Good Friday, may this be a time of reflection, contemplation, and prayer.
The sun has set and the Vesper Lights flicker and glow
What a day it has been, Lord
Worship preparations for Palm Sunday, Holy Week, and Easter
Time spent connecting with those who serve as Deacons
Time spent in reflection and study
In the midst of it all your Spirit was with us
As we prepare for tomorrow’s fellowship and worship
May you continue to guide us
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…
As I pray and contemplate in silence the world situation I am struck by several things. While the media seems to focus on the negative because blood and guts sells airtime it seems, there is something even larger and greater going on. A friend of mine from Canada shared a story from a Doctor friend of his about a growing bond between construction workers and healthcare workers in Canada. It seems that a friend of the Doctor owns a construction company. He came across 10 N95 masks which he gave to his Doctor friend for he and his colleagues. He then found 5 more and gave them to the hospital folks. The numbers may seem insignificant, but the reality is much greater.
The numbers may seem insignificant unless you are that medical worker on the front lines of the COVID-19 pandemic who is using over and over again personal protective equipment that is supposed to be single use only. All of a sudden two very different professions are tied together by a common bond. The bond is life and saving lives. One small act of kindness can make all the difference in the world.
If only our government leaders around the world could do more of that and less posturing or fighting. In the words of Satchmo, “What a Wonderful World” it could be. What a Wonderful World – Louis Armstrong
As I continue my journey through Thomas Merton’s Book, No Man is an Island I was struck by the closing paragraphs of the prologue. Merton talks about the interconnectedness of all of God’s children. These words are especially timely for this day and age in the midst of the pandemic which is changing lives forever.
There are, of course, adjustments to make his words more inclusive which I believe that Merton would appreciate and do if he were alive today.
We are not all weak in the same spots, and so we supplement and complement each other, each one making up in {him/her-self} for the lack of another.
Only when we see ourselves in our true human context, as members of a race which is intended to be one organism and “one body,” will we begin to understand the positive importance not only of the successes but of the failures and accidents in our lives…
Every other {woman and man} is a piece of myself, for I am a part and member of {humankind}… Nothing at all makes sense, unless we admit, with John Donne, that: “No man {or woman} is an island, entire of itself; every {woman or} man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main.” (pp. xxi-xxiii)
Small acts of kindness like the act of the Construction Company owner and the Doctor truly do make a difference in this world. It is these random and selfless acts that can turn a horrible and isolating disease into a shared experience where many are working together to save and to heal.
