Tonight a very dear friend and Sister in Christ is mourning.
The calling to be a pastor is Holy
The calling to be a pastor can be challenging
The calling to walk with parishioners through the Valley of the Shadows is heartbreaking
Yet it is also a sacred duty and honor
We hold her in our hearts and our prayers
We hold those she walks with in our hearts and our prayers
As I continue to walk with my mentor Thomas Merton
I consider how he responded to grief
He wrote an elegy for his brother, John Paul Merton who was reported Missing In Action in 1943 during World War 2
The loss of his brother hit him deeply
In these words he shared the depth of his grief
Sweet brother, if I do not sleep
My eyes are flowers for your tomb;
And if I cannot eat my bread,
My fasts shall live like willows where you died.
If in the heat I find no water for my thirst,
My thirst shall turn to springs for you, poor traveler…
Come, in my labor find a resting place And in my sorrow lay your head,
Or rather take my life and blood
And buy yourself a better bed–
Or take my breath and take my death And buy yourself a better rest.
As I lift my dear Sister, Colleague, and friend in prayer
I seek for each of us the consolation of our Lord’s love
Blessed are those who mourn he said… for they shall be comforted
Comfort and sustain us as we walk through the Valley of the Shadows
Lord, in your mercy, hear our humble prayer
Dona Nobis Pacem
Grant Us Peace
Wise and powerful words from my good friend Jake ❤️❤️
We are our true selves when we live into our essence. We were created in the image of God. So, to be our true selves is to love what God loves how God loves it…
— Read on jakeowensby.com/2020/01/17/how-to-find-your-calling/
The sun has set and the Vesper Lights flicker and glow
It has been a good day, Lord
Filled with worship preparation
Filled with study and reflection
Filled with the wonder of your presence
I thank you Lord
For my dear partner in life and ministry
For our sweet and silly puppy dog
For the wonder of your Creation
I thank you also for the time 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…
“The inner monastery is a quality of consciousness you bring to everything you do, including creating. It is the crucible for your transformation, and everything you need to be whole is right there within you already.”
— Christine Valters Paintner, PhD, The Artist’s Rule: Nurturing Your Creative Soul with Monastic Wisdom
Do you want to make this Presbyterian squirm? Mention Predestination tied into the Will of God! Unfortunately, these two concepts which Presbyterians inherited from John Calvin’s interpretation of Augustine have been around a long time and have crossed the eyes of many a student and theologian, including me.
For me, Predestination (God selects, at the beginning of time those who will be “saved”) runs counter to the whole concept of Free Will and Grace. This really gets ugly in my eyes when you add in the not so nice sibling to Predestination, Double Predestination. This is a concept where God also selects those who will be damned to the fires of Hell for all eternity. Talk about no room for grace or mercy at the table!
What is especially galling to me is how some in the church spout the concept of Predestination and Double Predestination with an air of condescension. After all, in their minds they are obviously in the camp of the Elect (those who are saved) while others who are “not like them” are going to burn in the lake of unquenchable fire. I have never understood how this can bring anyone comfort… their comfort at the expense of someone else who was made in the Image of God just like them. Is that really the Will of God? I know I have a difficult time balancing that with the God of Love, Peace, Mercy, and Compassion whom I see in the life and teachings of Jesus.
If this was indeed the case, there would be no need for confession, reconciliation, or forgiveness. Why forgive when someone is obviously going to burn for all eternity. Unless that person is you… then all bets are off and you demand new rules for yourself!
I have also struggled with some of the concepts floating out there about God’s Will. So often today it seems (as it has in ages past) that God’s Will always lines up with our own beliefs and against the other… you know, a sort of religious “in-crowd” and “out-crowd.” In order to feel good about one’s self; a person has to be in at the expense of another who is out (aka burning in the lake of fire).
This afternoon has been a time of reading, study, and reflection for me. As I read and reflected on the writings of Thomas Merton in New Seeds of Contemplation, this specific thought from the chapter “Seeds of Contemplation” caused me to stop and to ponder. How am I to know the will of God?… whatever is demanded by truth, by justice, by mercy, or by love must surely be taken to be willed by God. (p. 18)
This weekend we remember and honor the Rev., Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Dr. King spoke the following words in his I Have a Dream speech delivered at the Lincoln Memorial in 1963. Dr. King was inspired in part by one of the great Prophets of the Hebrew Scriptures, Amos–We cannot be satisfied as long as a Negro in Mississippi cannot vote and a Negro in New York believes he has nothing for which to vote. No, no, we are not satisfied, and we will not be satisfied until “justice rolls down like waters, and righteousness like a mighty stream.” Amos 5:24 states: But let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.
This, dear reader, is what I believe is the centerpiece of the Will of God. In the words of that other great prophet, Micah: He 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? (Micah 6:8)
What is the Will of God? Thomas Merton, Martin Luther King, Jr., and the Prophets offer much to contemplate. I believe that the cornerstone of this will is found in Jesus’s summary of the Law and the Prophets–“He said to him, ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.'” (Matthew 22:37-39)
This to me is food for thought as we reflect on how we can better serve God and God’s Creation this weekend. For that matter, how we are called to serve God each and every day!
*The first picture in this blog was taken by a parishioner at the Christmas Eve Service held at Presbyterian Community Church of the Rockies in Estes Park, Colorado in 2019.
The second is from the pilgrimage Denise and I took to the Civil Rights Memorial that sits in front of the Southern Poverty Law Center in Montgomery, Alabama.
The sun has set and the Vesper Lights flicker and glow
What a day it has been, Lord
A day of work with an amazing staff
A day of mixed emotions
A day of reflection
A day of service
A day to simply try and Be Still
Lord in the midst of it all you are present
Thank you 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…
Once again I find myself contemplating this wide world which God has created. At times I wonder what She had in mind. At other times I wonder how deeply She mourns what humanity has done to this wonderful world which She created.
Two people come to mind… they are both poets and philosophers… Thomas Merton and Louis Armstrong.
Merton says the following about this Cosmic Dance: the Lord plays and diverts Himself in the garden of His creation, and if we could let go of our own obsession with what we think is the meaning of it all, we might be able to hear His call and follow Him in His mysterious, cosmic dance.
Ah, to follow our Lord in the Cosmic Dance… to so thoroughly enjoy the beauty of God’s creation… such a wonder to behold… such a beautiful dance to be a part of…
Tonight as I consider this Cosmic Dance, Satchmo, Louis Armstrong came to my heart and my mind. Having spent a fair amount of time in New Orleans, I cannot think of the Big Easy without thinking of Satch. As a veteran, I can’t help but think about the time (the Vietnam War) when he wrote this song. In the midst of the horrors of war and hate, he had the audacity to look above the horror to see the beauty of God’s Creation.
I see trees of green, red roses too
I see them bloom for me and you
And I think to myself what a wonderful world
I see skies of blue and clouds of white
The bright blessed day, the dark sacred night
And I think to myself what a wonderful world
The colors of the rainbow so pretty in the sky
Are also on the faces of people going by
I see friends shaking hands saying how do you do
They’re really saying I love you
I hear babies crying, I watch them grow
They’ll learn much more than I’ll never know
And I think to myself what a wonderful world
Yes I think to myself what a wonderful world
Can you imagine Thomas Merton and Louis Armstrong leading this beautiful Cosmic Dance? I leave you with this image and the song.
May we indeed join in the Cosmic Dance as we shine the light of God’s peace in this world filled with darkness.
A powerful vision and blog from my good friend Carl!
A couple of days ago in a dream I was instructed to write about “Blessed are the Peacemakers.” At first I put it off, because it’s such a huge topic and I’m not sure how qualified I am to write about it. But then today, while working on the Spiritual Exercises of Saint Ignatius, I had the task of meditating on the
— Read on www.patheos.com/blogs/carlmccolman/2020/01/blessed-are-the-peacemakers-jesus-said-it-and-it-still-applies-today/
The sun has set and the Vesper Lights flicker and glow
Thankful for time spent with a dear friend
Thankful for moments of calm and serenity
Thankful for Your Spirit’s presence
Thankful for your light which guides us through difficult times
Thankful for the consolation of your love
Lord continue to guide and protect us each and every moment
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…
There are challenges in life that can sometimes overwhelm
When you walk through the Valley of Dementia with loved ones and the slow goodbye it can tear your heart out
When you walk through the Valley of the Shadows with so many
When you watch so many take their last breath
When situations overwhelm
There is so much to contemplate and lift up to God
As I came across these words of Merton, they spoke to my heart
You do not need to know precisely what is happening, or exactly where it is all going. What you need is to recognize the possibilities and challenges offered by the present moment, and to embrace them with courage, faith and hope.
Lord guide us through this difficult valley I pray…
