Verse of the day
The cup of blessing that we bless, is it not a sharing in the blood of Christ? The bread that we break, is it not a sharing in the body of Christ? Because there is one bread, we who are many are one body, for we all partake of the one bread.
– 1 Corinthians 10:16-17
Voice of the day
Rarely, if ever, are any of us healed in isolation. Healing is an act of communion.
– bell hooks, “All About Love” (1999)
Prayer of the day
Jesus, you invite us all to partake in your healing body and bread. Remind us that you call us to lives of community, not isolation.
The movers have shown up and now we are beginning the final part of our move from the apartment where we have lived for the past two years to our new house. During the past two years, I have been an Interim Minister, Denise and I have cared for my Dad in Hospice care in Minnesota, and finally we began the process of retiring from active ministry. In the past year life has been unpredictable and somewhat chaotic.
Yet in the midst of it all, we have discovered moments of beauty, wonder, and joy.
As I reflected on all that has happened in life and in ministry, I turned as I often do to one of my spiritual mentors, Howard Thurman. These words from his book Meditations of the Heart spoke to me the words that I needed to hear today.
Whatever may be the tensions and the stresses of a particular day, there is always lurking close at hand the trailing beauty of forgotten joy or unremembered peace.
My prayer for my family and for you, dear reader, is that we will find that joy and peace.
“History, despite its wrenching pain, cannot be unlived, but if faced with courage, need not be lived again.”—Dr. Maya Angelou
Verse of the day
Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us show gratitude, by which we may offer to God an acceptable worship with reverence and awe, for indeed our God is a consuming fire.
– Hebrews 12:28-29
Voice of the day
I think awe is an exercise, both a doing and a being. It is a spiritual muscle of our humanity that we can only keep from atrophying if we exercise it habitually.
– Cole Arthur Riley, “This Here Flesh” (2022)
Prayer of the day
We stand in awe of your glory and justice. Help us daily to exercise our spiritual muscles.
“Never bend your head. Always hold it high. Look the world straight in the eye.”—Helen Keller
I can definitely attest to this…
“If significant enough, burnout can be a form of trauma… which produces actual physiological changes, including a recalibration of the brain’s alarm system, and an increase in stress hormone activity, and alterations in the system that filters relevant information from the irrelevant . . . To experience burnout is to harm your mind and body in serious ways.”
— Dorcas Cheng-Tozun, Social Justice for the Sensitive Soul: How to Change the World in Quiet Ways our Lift Every Voice Book Club selection for February and March
Where can you take a step back and cultivate rest?
Verse of the day
Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness; rather, expose them.
– Ephesians 5:11
Voice of the day
I have a responsibility to all my relatives: To not remain silent. To speak, though my voice shakes. To argue with those who claim to speak for God at the end of our world.
– Patty Krawec, “Why Was Noah Silent at the End of the World?”
Prayer of the day
Lord, even when our voices shake, give us courage to speak up for one another as we endeavor to expose the evils of this world.
“Elie Wiesel argued that the opposite of love, art, faith, and life is indifference. When we lead from the heart, expressing our most fundamental longings, we are not only better for it, but we have a better chance of changing the world.”—Michael Bader, “Suffer the Little Children”
Until the great mass of the people shall be filled with the sense of responsibility for each other’s welfare, social justice can never be attained. — Helen Keller
Denise and I took a walk in our new neighborhood yesterday. We were on a break from unpacking and continuing the slow process of moving from the apartment we have been renting for the past two years to our home. Each time we walk in the new neighborhood, we see so many beautiful and wonderful things. There are so many examples of faith, hope, and love that my soul sorely needs to see and experience.
The Indian Hawthorn above spoke to me of the tenacity of hope in times of crisis and division. The “Love Is Inclusion” sign reminds me of the stubborn strength of love, rooted and grounded in faith. Such a faith does not give up when the storm clouds of insanity arise in the social and political landscape.
For years I have lived with moderate depression and anxiety. Far too often this can lead to hopelessness, anger, and fear. Social media and the 24-hour “news” cycle too often fuel these feelings within my heart and soul. If I allow myself to sink into the depths of despair, I end up having little to offer to myself, my family, and others as a Christ-follower. God knows that another way needs to be actively engaged as an alternative to the ugliness of christian nationalism that continues its rise in this nation.
This short, yet powerful quote from the late Father Daniel Berrigan, a Jesuit priest and peace activist, offers us a way to be the difference in this world. The gift we can offer others is so simple a thing as hope.—Daniel Berrigan (1988) (Daniel Berrigan: Poetry, Drama, Prose)
Perhaps, dear reader, we can offer this gift of hope and make a difference in this world.
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