On this Saint Patrick’s Day, a portion of the Breastplate Prayer attributed to him.
Christ with me,
Christ before me,
Christ behind me,
Christ in me,
Christ beneath me,
Christ above me,
Christ on my right,
Christ on my left,
Christ when I lie down,
Christ when I sit down,
Christ when I arise,
Christ in the heart of every man who thinks of me,
Christ in the mouth of everyone who speaks of me,
Christ in every eye that sees me,
Christ in every ear that hears me.
“One of the most beautiful gifts in the world is the gift of encouragement. When someone encourages you, that person helps you over a threshold you might otherwise never have crossed on your own.”
― John O’Donohue, Eternal Echoes: Celtic Reflections on Our Yearning to Belong
Verse of the day
And he said to them, “Take care! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of possessions.”
– Luke 12:15
Voice of the day
Resting in the silence of God clarifies the falsehoods embedded in our systems of production and consumption. God helps us see this capitalist system for what it is: one fueling demoralizing cycles of hyper-consumption that distracts us from deeper encounters with ourselves, our neighbors, and God — the beloved community.
– Céire Kealty, “This Lent I’m Fasting From Retail Therapy”
Prayer of the day
In this time, help us to rest in your abundance. All that we need can be found in you.
Verse of the day
So if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; look, new things have come into being!
– 2 Corinthians 5:17
Voice of the day
If we are to continue as members of the church, we must challenge and transform it at the root. What is required is more than simply a “reformation.” I am speaking of revolutionary transformation. Nothing less will do.
– Rev. Carter Heyward, Touching Our Strength (1989)
Prayer of the day
We ask your kingdom to come, O God. Your Word has always been revolutionary, and you have always invited us into challenging and transforming old ways of being.
“Human society exists because it is impossible to live in complete isolation. We are interdependent by nature, and since we must live together, we should do so with a positive attitude of concern for one another.”—HH The Dalai Lama, How to be Compassionate
Verse of the day
Does not wisdom call and understanding raise her voice? On the heights, beside the way, at the crossroads she takes her stand.
– Proverbs 8:1-2
Voice of the day
This journey toward justice will not be easy, but we are not alone. She who is the Spirit is already on the move, making all things new even in the direst circumstances.
– Elaina Ramsey, “The World as it Should Be”
Prayer of the day
Wisdom, we hear your voice. We know the journey to justice will not be easy, but we will follow in your way.
“When you take on the confusion and the violence and you refine them, purify them into something new, you are doing what in the vocabulary of faith we call consecrating your chaos. To consecrate is to make holy, to put it into service for good. In consecrating chaos, you engage it, tame it, name it, take what seemed out of control and charge it with a duty.”—Otis Moss III, Dancing in the Darkness: Spiritual Lessons for Thriving in Turbulent Times
“We’re faced with such division in our country, but where does that start? It starts very young. So I believe that it’s important, just like Dr. King did, that our kids have an opportunity to learn about one another: to grow together, play together, learn together. The most time that kids spend away from home is in school, so our schools have to be integrated. And I know that there are arguments on both sides about that, but we’re never going to become the United States of America unless we, the people, are united.”—Ruby Bridges, on the re-segregation of schools across the US
“Our agency, our dignity, our very being is rooted in nonviolent principle.”—Michael N. Nagler, The Third Harmony
The people spoke against God and against Moses, “Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no food and no water, and we detest this miserable food.” Then the LORD sent poisonous serpents among the people, and they bit the people, so that many Israelites died. (Numbers 21:5-6)
I remember the first time I watched “Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark” in the movie theater. When Indiana Jones threw the torch down into the Well of the Souls, he saw that the floor was moving. Why? Because the floor was covered with snakes! It was at that point he uttered that infamous line: “Snakes… why’d it have to be snakes?” I’m with Indiana Jones, there is one way to make me jump — seeing a snake, even a non-venomous one!
As I read the passages of Scripture for this Fourth Sunday in Lent, I thought to myself, “Why did it have to be snakes.” If it had been the fifth Sunday in Lent, I could have used St Patrick (his feast day is March 17th) to drive the snakes out of my mind much like he purportedly drove the snakes out of Ireland! But alas, I wasn’t going to be that lucky. So Padre, what is it about snakes and the readings from Numbers and the Gospel of John? I’m glad you asked!
In the lead up to this passage, God had already given the people land and water they needed in order to survive. Had they so quickly forgotten the bounty of the Lord which included manna that appeared with the morning dew? Had they forgotten the horrible conditions they endured as slaves in Egypt? Why on earth did they want to return to Egypt and slavery! Why weren’t they content with what the Lord had given them? The interesting thing is, people like to complain. Yes, I’m looking in the mirror as I make that statement.
When I was deployed with the Air Force I found it interesting that people complained about the food that the Dining Facility staff prepared for us. Did the menu repeat itself? Yes, it did. Was it decent chow? Absolutely! Our Services personnel took great pride in their work. However, I was reminded, and in turn reminded the other troops, that we could be eating MRE’s like our military members who were in areas where there was heavy combat. (Wikipedia describes MRE’s as a self-contained individual United States military ration used by the United States Armed Forces and Department of Defense. It is intended for use by American service members in combat or field conditions where other food is not available. )
As I continued to reflect on this story about snakes in the wilderness, I wondered what sort of snakes I might be dealing with today. I see the snakes symbolizing what distracts me from what God has called us to be and to do. In the story, the people realized that they were being distracted by complaining, forgetting God, and other issues. Once they realized what they were doing, the snakes were no longer the focus of their lives. God essentially said, forget the snakes and I’ll take care of them… return to the life of faith to which I called you when I brought you out of Egypt.
In today’s contentious world, I see more attacks against strangers and friends than I do dialogue. Whether it is in the national, state, or local governments, division and animosity seem to be in control. The snakes in my own life are usually tied up with despair, anger, and a lack of patience on my part to name a few. These snakes can poison my sense of hope and lead me to despair and anger. A sense of optimism and hope is essential for my own spiritual life. While I am not advocating becoming a “PollyAnna” and burying my head in the sand, I am advocating looking for the “silver lining” in the midst of the storm and not allow the storm to drown me.
In his book, No Man Is an Island, Thomas Merton shared some words of wisdom that I believe are relevant as we seek to live in a way that is different from what we often experience on Social Media and the “news” channels. The beginning of love is the will to let those we love be perfectly themselves, the resolution not to twist them to fit our own image. If in loving them we do not love what they are, but only their potential likeness to ourselves, then we do not love them: we only love the reflection of ourselves we find in them.
For me, Love is at the center of who I believe I am called to be as a Christ-follower. After all, Jesus tells us through Scripture that we are to love God and love our neighbor… that also means loving our enemies and praying for those who persecute us. In the Gospel reading for the Fourth Sunday in Lent, we begin reading in the midst of a discussion between Nicodemus the Pharisee and the Rabbi Jesus about what it means to have eternal life.
Far too often our focus on the the third chapter of John is verse sixteen.For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life. However, I challenge us to wonder… did God send Jesus into the world to condemn the world? Verse seventeen appears to say otherwise:Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world but in order that the world might be saved through him. Have we somehow turned John 3:16 into a snake which we use to condemn those who don’t believe exactly as we do when it comes to matters of faith, life, or even politics? Is it really “my way or the highway” when it comes right down to it? Here in the United States, as the primaries continue, I fear that it will become even more contentious inside and outside of the church. Therefore, I believe that the message of Love and cooperation is imperative.
The Jesus I know challenged the Empire and the Religious establishment for the way in which they treated those on the margins. In him I see the fulfillment of Micah 6:8 —what does the Lord require of you but to do justice and to love kindness and to walk humbly with your God? Believe me, many times a day I hear him asking me: Michael, how does what you say or what you do reflect the word of the Prophet Micah? And how do you live out my summation of the Law: ‘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.’ On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.
As Merton said: If in loving them [our neighbors] we do not love what they are, but only their potential likeness to ourselves, then we do not love them: we only love the reflection of ourselves we find in them. Dear reader, may we seek to see others as they were created by God according to Genesis 1:27 — So God created humans in his image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.
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