To show compassion for an individual without showing concern for the structures of society that make [them] an object of compassion is to be sentimental rather than loving. — Credo, p. 23
It is not because we have value that we are loved, but because we are loved that we have value. Our value is a gift, not an achievement. — William Sloane Coffin
Dear Lord,
Speak gently in my silence.
When the loud outer noises of my
surroundings and the loud inner noises of my
fears keep pulling me away from you, help me
to trust that you are still there even when I am
unable to hear you. Give me ears to listen to
your small, soft voice saying: “Come to me,
you who are overburdened, and I will give you rest ….. for I am gentle and humble of heart.”
Let that loving voice be my guide.
Amen.
Of God’s love we can say two things: it is poured out universally for everyone from the Pope to the loneliest wino on the planet; and secondly, God’s love doesn’t seek value, it creates value. It is not because we have value. Our value is a gift, not an achievement. — Credo, p. 6
I think we can say that democracy is a form of government that demands more virtue of its citizens than any form of government, but I do not think we can say that democracy guarantees that the virtue will be exercised. So let us term freedom of choice less a virtue than a necessity, a precondition to real freedom, which is the ability to make choices that are generous, loving, and wise. Our wills are not free when they will what is bigoted, narrow, ungenerous. Our wills are only free when they can will the will of a loving God. “Thy will be done on earth.” — William Sloane Coffin (Credo, p. 81)
“The only way we can save our fragile planet and humanity is to shift our consciousness (belief structure) from revenge to forgiveness, from punishment to restoration, from abuse to conservation, from violence to compassion, from wars to peace, from separation to unity, from judgment to empathy, from hate to love.”—Azim Khamisa, Peace and Purpose Newsletter
This world is full of conflicts and full of things that cannot be reconciled. But there are moments when we can… reconcile and embrace the whole mess, and that’s what I mean by ‘Hallelujah.’ — Leonard Cohen (source)
“Nonviolence is not appeasement, accommodation, avoidance, or attack. It is, instead, a force for goodness, truth, and justice. A power driven to build a world where everyone counts, where everyone can make amends, where everyone is included, where everyone is safe.”—Ken Butigan, October 28, 2023
Almighty, eternal, just and merciful God, . . . inwardly cleansed, interiorly enlightened, and inflamed by the power of the Holy Spirit, may we be able to follow in the footprints of Your beloved Son, our Lord Jesus Christ. —Saint Francis of Assisi
Verse of the day
The thought of my affliction and my homelessness is wormwood and gall! My soul continually thinks of it and is bowed down within me.
– Lamentations 3:19-20
Voice of the day
We forget the necessity of lament over suffering and pain. Absence doesn’t make the heart grow fonder. Absence makes the heart forget. The absence of lament in the liturgy of the American church results in the loss of memory.
– Soong-Chan Rah, “The American Church’s Absence of Lament”
Prayer of the day
Help us remember the need for lament, that in grieving we may find your healing and presence in our pain.
Pastor Michael Moore's Blog 