Thursday, March 29, 2012

Look to God and God's strength;
seek to serve God constantly.
Psalm 105:4

     Wouldn't it be awesome if there were a God app?  A button we could touch on our phone that would bring up the face of God and answer all our questions, help us make decisions, show us what the next right step is?  We wouldn't have to think twice about what to do, we'd have it readily available on our phone.  Though, if the cell tower went down, it would be chaos.

     Life isn't simple.  There is no button to push, no central database to give us the answers.  Life is a journey, filled with joy, grace, suffering, fear, love, disappointment, miracles....and the list goes on.  The beauty of life comes in the vast spectrum of experiences it offers.  Like a tapestry, each stitch adds color and design to the broader picture.  Each experience we have adds to the full picture of our lives.  Sometimes the experience is a joy-filled one,  but often times our experience can be painful.  It is a gift of the spiritual life to realize that each experience is important to the whole.  

     Developing an intimate relationship with God is the app we need.   Spending time in prayer, in meditation, in discernment, in dreaming opens up a line of communication directly into our hearts and minds.  Seeking God's will instead of our own will lead us to making the next right choice, taking the next right step.  It's not easy for us humans to do this, and sometimes we will fail at the task - often in great ways with big consequences.  That's OK.  We will find that God's abundant grace will be waiting for us, will surround us, and will help us get back on track. 

     So, today, let us look to God in prayer and see the face of God in one another;  let us find God's strength and hold on to it tightly so we are not derailed as we hit the bumps of life;  let us seek to serve God and God's people so the love of God may be manifested in our world.

Prayer:  God of grace and wisdom, your presence and help is always available to us, but our world of instant gratification and instant information often leaves us wishing for a clearer, quicker way to find you.  Help us this day to appreciate time - time with you, time seeing the world around us, and time just being, so that our lives can reflect your never-ending love and faithfulness.


    

Wednesday, March 28, 2012

If you make my word your home, you will indeed be my disciples, and

you will learn the truth, and the truth will make you free.

John 8:31-32

     John starts his gospel with these words:  "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God."  He goes on later in the chapter to say "And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we say His glory, full of grace and truth."  Clearly, John is trying to communicate the importance of the life of Jesus told through story to those of us who were not present when Jesus walked this earth.  The Word is the gift that continues to guide us, teach us, and inspire us to live as Jesus lived.

     Jesus takes our use of the Word one step farther.  He asks us to make it our home.  It's not something we're just supposed to glance at once in a while, or listen to on Sundays, but rather we are being called to make it our permanent dwelling.  We are to make it the place where we rest, the place where we are accepted as we are, the place where we welcome the stranger.  Our home isn't necessarily the four walls in which we live, it is the place where love abides, hope remains, and where all are treated as children of God - with compassion, honesty, and respect. 

     Remember the saying "Home is where the heart is"?   This is what Jesus means.  If we allow the Word to abide in our hearts, we will be disciples of Christ.  With the Word implanted in our body, mind, and souls, we will fully experience the truth of God's unending love for us, God's forgiveness and acceptance of us exactly as we are at this moment, and God's abounding grace.  We will experience true freedom and we will be empowered to share it with the world. 


Prayer:  Gracious God, you continually welcome us home when we try to do this life on our own.  Help us this day to make our hearts home for you and your word, so that we may experience the freedom your truth offers.  And, God, let us become willing to share this truth, our home, with our communities and our world.

    

Tuesday, March 27, 2012

When you lift up the Son of Man,
then you will realize that I AM

John 8:28

     Poor Jesus.  Can you imagine what it would be like to know that the folks you were speaking to were so dense that it would take your death for them to realize who you are?  He must have been so frustrated.  Here he has been speaking in the temple, having dinner with people, speaking on the hillsides, baptizing, working miracles, and people still weren't getting it.  Not only were they not getting it, they were arguing with it.  Wow, some people.

     Can you imagine what it's like for him now?  Not only do we have the stories of the miracles, and his words written down for us, we know of his death and we know of his resurrection.  Yet, do we realize who he is and the impact that truth has on us?  Do we know who Jesus is?  It must be even more frustrating!

     Human nature is such that we can often be dense.  We can often be so reliant on logic, proof, our own ways of thinking that we miss the bigger picture.  We miss the fact that God goes beyond our logic, goes beyond our ability to prove, goes beyond what our minds can think that God is, was, and will be. 

    God came to this earth, through Jesus, so that we may see beyond our own limitations.  We weren't getting it any other way.  Jesus provided humanity with a tangible God; a God that spoke our language, felt our feelings, lived as we live.  Jesus also promised to remain present with us through the Holy Spirit so that generations will know the truth of God.  Do we realize this truth?  Do we realize the I AM?

Prayer:  God of love and compassion, we come today seeking to realize the truth that is you.  We seek to know in our bodies, minds, and souls that you are always present, always forgiving, and always loving.  Help us open ourselves to this truth and embrace it tightly, so that every deed we do, every thought we possess is rooted in your love.

Monday, March 26, 2012

Therefore the Lord himself will give you this sign:
the virgin shall be with child, and bear a son,
and shall name him Emmanuel,
which means "God is with us!

Isaiah 8:10

     Is it Christmas?  Didn't we hear this a couple of months ago?  Is there so little in Scripture that we need to repeat so soon?  What is this passage doing in the middle of Lent?  No, it isn't Christmas.  Yes, we did hear this a couple of months ago.  No, there is quite a lot in Scripture.  Friends, this passage is in the middle of lent because we need to hear it again, and again, and again.

     God is with us.  Jesus was born a human, lived as a human, died as a human.  This is the Good News.  We have a God that is with us and knows exactly what it feels like to be us.  We have a God that has experienced confusion, joy, fear, excitement, sadness, passion, love and betrayal.  We have a God that loves us so intensely and thoroughly that as a human he was willing to die for us.  We have a God with such power that death is not the final answer.  No, through the resurrection of Jesus, we are promised eternal life in the presence of God.

     But, God was not only with us in the past with Jesus, or in the future when we've passed into eternal life, but God is with us here and now through the power of the Holy Spirit.  The Spirit that lies within each and everyone of us is Emmanuel - God with us.  She connects us with our Creator because she is one with God.  We are not alone, my friends, God is with us each and every day, each and every moment - always available, always eager to guide, always there to uphold.  We are loved, cherished, and desired by a present God.  Can we ever hear this truth enough?

Prayer:  Emmanuel, you are indeed present in our lives.  Open our eyes, open our hearts to this truth.  Make us so aware of this truth that we live lives of confidence, forgiveness, courage, hope and love - lives that will glorify you.

    

Sunday, March 25, 2012

I will place my law within them and write it upon their hearts;
I will be their God, and they shall be my people.

Jeremiah 31:33

     Laws are good things, sometimes.  Their basic design is to help us humans live together in this world without chaos.  They are intended to help us live peaceful, loving lives - lives that honor God, ourselves and neighbor.   Unfortunately, we imperfect humans can create laws that don't necessary work out to be a good thing.  Our egos take charge and we create laws that would protect only certain people;  or we create laws that have harmful consequences.  We do our best, but sometimes our best is misguided.

     There is a perfect law, however, and that is the law of God.  It isn't a law written in words, but on our hearts.  This law is also called our conscience.  We are created by God in love and for love.  God has gifted us with an innate knowledge that will let us know the difference between right and wrong.  One of the challenges of the life is to discern what is the law written upon our hearts and how we need to apply it to our lives.

     Discernment is not an easy task.  It takes time and practice.  It takes time to discover what is ego-driven, fear-motivated, or just plain laziness compared to something that God-driven, selfless, and life-giving.  It takes time to know ourselves and to develop a relationship of trust with God.  It takes time apart from the busy-ness and opinions of the world.  But, with diligence and practice, we will soon find that our conscience will become stronger and clearer.  We will know we are children of God and we will make decisions accordingly.  We will also know that when we fail, and we surely will, God will grace us with forgiveness and guide us back to our hearts.

Prayer:  Loving God,  we come to you today with such thanks that you have written your law on our hearts.  Help us to seek this law as we live our daily lives instead of letting our own egos be our guide, so that we may be disciples of your light and love in our communities.

Saturday, March 24, 2012

God is a shield above me

saving the upright of heart.

Psalm 7:11

      Gone are the days of King Arthur with its knights gathering at the round table with armor and shields to protect society and make it a better, safer place.  Now negotiations between nations happen in closed rooms without armor and shields, but with words and promises.  It doesn't always feel as safe for us outside of the room, but we learn to trust that our leaders, our protectors, are working in our best interest. Sometimes they succeed, sometimes they fail.  Not so, with God.

     God will never fail us.  God always works to protect us and seeks to make this world a better safer place.  God is our shield, if we choose to trust in God.  But, trust is difficult when we find ourselves experiencing pain, confusion, fear.  We jump to the conclusion that we have been abandoned by God because if God were with us, protecting us, bad things wouldn't happen.  Yet, they do. 

     Go back to the shield of King Arthur.  If we were to hold a knight's shield in our hands, we would not be holding a smooth, unmarked piece of metal.  We would be holding a dented, scratched, crooked device that has protected the knight from blows of another.  This is the shield of the spiritual life.  God does not stop us from experiencing the pain and dents of this world, but God does lessen the shock by standing with us. 

     When we invite God into our lives, when we develop an intimate relationship with our Creator, we will arm ourselves with a protection that is beyond our understanding.  We will come to see that though pain and suffering are a part of our lives, we will find the strength, courage, hope, joy, and love to live through it and be better for it.  We will find a community that surrounds us in doubt and sadness and celebrates with us our triumphs and joys.  We will realize that God will never abandon us, nor fail us.

Prayer:  God you are our shield.  Help us to embrace our relationship with you and trust that you know what is best for us.  Help us to be open to receiving your guidance and grace so that when the hurts of this world are present, we may not only bear the blows, but become witnesses to others of your power and love.

Friday, March 23, 2012

How can you believe, when you accept praise from one another
and do not seek the praise that comes from the only God?

John 5:44

     Let's face it.  We all love a pat on the back.  We all love hearing from another person what a great job we did.  There's nothing wrong with that.  It's actually important to share with someone our gratitude for a job well done, or for an act that touch our heart and changed our day.   It's important for us to get out of ourselves, see the goodness in others, and be grateful for one another's gifts. These kind of affirmations strengthen our relationships and build a community.  The problem comes when we define ourselves by the praise of others.   

      God has created each of us with unique gifts and talents and responsibilities that we are to share with our community, our world.   We need to realize, however, that sometimes what we are called to share will not always readily be accepted.  For example,  go back in your mind; you are 16 years old again.  Your parents are taking away your car keys because you stayed out until 3:00 in the morning when you were supposed to be home by midnight.  You're not happy with them are you?  It's not likely that the thoughts going through your head are "thanks Mom and Dad for loving me so much that you are willing to risk my anger just so I learn to behave in a way that will keep me safe."  Or how about when a police officer pulls you over for speeding are you going to thank him for keeping the roads safe?  The truth is that what is for our highest good does not always feel praiseworthy.  What we need to share with the world may not always be well received.  This is why if we seek only the praise of others, our egos will be in charge, and we will miss the truth of why we are here, the truth that can only come from God.

      God has a purpose for each and everyone of us - we were not put upon this earth to take up space.   But, often this purpose evades us.   Spending time in communion with God, through prayer, quiet, worship, meditation will help us discover the path that God has for us.  We will know in our hearts when we are following God's lead.  The awareness may indeed come from an affirmation of another, but the knowing will come from the heart;  for that is where God speaks. 

     So today, let us focus on our hearts.  Let us try to hear the praise of God from within and do our work from there.  Let us accept the praise of others with grace, and seek the praise of God with fervor.

Prayer:  Gracious God,  you have gifted us all from our creation.   Help us to discover our gifts and use them as you desire, not as the world desires.  Help us to seek your praise and affirmation as most important in our lives so that we may be true disciples of your love and your grace for our community, our world.

Wednesday, March 21, 2012

Can a mother forget her nursing child,
be without tenderness for the child in her womb?
Even she may forget, but I will never forget you. 

Behold, I have engraved you on the palm of my hand.

Isaiah 49:15-16

     We've all heard tales of the unfortunate tattoo.  The tattoo that comes from the desire to make a statement about our unending love for another.  The one where someone actually has their Love's name tattooed on their body - often in a predominant place - only to have the relationship end.  What then does one do with that tattoo? 

     Human relationships are not perfect.  Even the ones we think should be unbreakable and completely safe, like a mother with her child, are not perfect.  Because of our human fallibility, sometimes we cause and experience pain in relationships and sometimes that means they end.  It can be an incredibly painful part of our journey that leaves us scarred. 

     We do have one relationship that is indelible - our relationship with God.  Even if we choose to walk away from it, God is waiting patiently for our return - with open and loving arms.  It is astonishing how much love God has for us.  It is amazing how freely it is given.  It is staggering to believe that it is ours for eternity.   But, it is a true.  God's hands do have our names engraved on the palms - the scars of the cross.  God loves us so deeply, so profoundly, and so fully that Jesus, God incarnate, was willing to die for us.  This is a love that is so complete and so permanent that on it we can always depend.

Prayer:  Faithful, forever God, we give you thanks for the love you pour upon us.  We give you thanks for the forgiveness you offer when we don't acknowledge this love or doubt it.  Help us this day to embrace you love and grace so completely as to change our hearts to be willing to risk and share it with those who cross our path today.

Tuesday, March 20, 2012

One man was there who had been ill for thirty-eight years.
When Jesus saw him lying there
and knew that he had been ill for a long time, he said to him,
"Do you want to be well?"

John 5:5-6

     Do you want to be well?  Really Jesus, is that your question?   Why do you even need to ask?  Of course we want to be well.  Isn't that obvious?  To remain ill when not necessary  - who would choose that?  Come on. 

     Ironically, each and every one of us. We humans, in our perfectly imperfect state, will at some point find ourselves ill.  Sometimes it is physically, often it is emotionally and spiritually.  Jesus question here is all encompassing.  Jesus is asking us if we want to be fully well - in body, mind, and spirit.  If our answer is "yes", it's time to rise, pick up our mat, and start walking.

     We all have aspects of our lives that are broken.  We all have character traits that are not healthy. This is not news to God.  God is fully aware of who we are and what we've done.  We don't have to hide, but we do have to be willing to bring all of this dis-ease to God for healing.  We can't do it by ourselves.   Many have tried to no avail - - take the man in the story.  He was ill for 38 years.  It wasn't until Jesus came by that he was able to rise and walk. 

     The spiritual life is a daily progression.  Every morning upon waking, we are given the opportunity to answer the question, do you want to be well?  If we answer "yes",  for this day we can choose to let God run the show.  We can choose to consciously bring God into our daily living and allow the Holy Spirit to guide us in our actions and decisions.  This is where we will find the ability to turn over our brokenness for healing, and find the power to live as our holy selves. 

Prayer:  Healing God, we give you thanks for the love you have for us;  a love that is so strong, that you desire to heal our brokenness.  Sometimes, though, our brokenness is so comfortable that it is hard to let it go.  Help us, O God, to become willing to release it all to you for healing and transformation so that we may be witnesses of your power and compassion for the world.

Monday, March19, 2012

After three days they found him in the temple,
sitting in the midst of the teachers,
listening to them and asking them questions,
and all who heard him were astounded

at his understanding and his answers.

Luke 2:46-47

     

     Can you imagine what was going through Mary and Joseph's minds when they finally found Jesus after searching for three days?  The relief must have been all encompassing, until the anger of him leaving came through.  Jesus was part of a human family, after all, so his leaving, even to go to temple, without telling his parents probably didn't go over very well.  Yet, he made the choice even knowing there would be consequences.  His passion and desire to learn and teach were too powerful. 

     Jesus grew up hearing the stories.  Most likely he knew of his mother's pregnancy, his father's  commitment to her, the visitations of angels.  And while he didn't know exactly what his future would hold, he knew God had a purpose for him.  That's why he sat in the temple and learned what he could learn.  He was developing his relationship with God and God's ways.  He was doing what he needed to to be prepared for his future and his ultimate death and resurrection - one step at a time.

     Thanks be to God, the salvation of the human race is not the destiny for any of us.  We have, however, been created with a purpose.  God does indeed have a purpose for each and every one of us - a way to live in this world that will bring healing, love, and transformation to a hurting world.  To discover this purpose, we too, need to develop our relationship with God.  We need to learn, listen, ask questions, and yes, sometimes break the "rules".  In communion with God, we will be guided in how to live, how to love, and how to be living examples of the kingdom of God in this world. 

     Today, let us spend time in communion with our Creator and seek to find the passion that God has put within us - the passion that will make us willing to risk , to learn new things, and to live in a new way.

Prayer:  Loving God, you have created each of us for a purpose.  You have created us to be your witness and voice in this world.  Help us to discover the passion that burns in our hearts and the way you want us to live, so that our lives may be examples of your love, grace, and abundance.

Sunday, March 18, 2012

Whoever lives the truth comes to the light,

so that their works may be

 clearly seen as done in God.

John 3:21

     If you had to describe your authentic self how would you do that?  What would that look like?  Would it involve what you do, how you believe, what likes and dislikes you have?  Would it be about your heritage, your family, the culture within which you live?  Most of us would could write a long list to answer this question of authenticity.  It can be a very complicated matter - after all we're complicated people.  But, it doesn't have to be.  What if we narrowed it down to one phrase - child of God.

     To even begin to describe who we authentically are, we need to reach the core.  First and foremost, we are children of God.  We have been created by a benevolent, merciful, loving God in God's own image.  Authentically, then, as God is holy, so are we.   We were not created perfect, but we were created holy.  This is the truth that God wants us to hold onto as we live our lives.  This is the truth that will lead us to live in such a way that will glorify and honor our Creator and all of creation. 

     God knows we are not perfect.  God knows that there will be times when we do not live into the light of our holiness and end up in the darkness of our errors.  God's desire for us is not to stay in that darkness, but rather to seek forgiveness and to move back into the light of our authentic selves as loved children of God.  This is what will bring transformation to the world - for when we accept our true, authentically holy, selves,  we are empowered to treat others as holy.

Prayer:  Holy One, we have heard the words and been told the stories of your love for us.  Help us to feel this love deep in our souls, so that we may claim the truth of who we are and who we were created to be.  And once we've claimed this for ourselves, God, help us to live in a way that is authentic so that we may be examples of your love in the world.

Saturday, March 17, 2012

Christ be with me, Christ within me,
Christ behind me, Christ before me,
Christ beside me, Christ to win me,
Christ to comfort and restore me.

Christ beneath me, Christ above me,
Christ in quiet, and in danger,
Christ in hearts of all that love me,
Christ in mouth of friend and stranger.

                                                                                - Prayer of Saint Patrick

     St Patrick was kidnapped at the age of 16 and enslaved in Ireland for 6 years.  During his captivity, feeling alone and afraid, Patrick turned to his faith for solace.  It was during his dark days of slavery that he developed the intimate relationship with God that would bring him back to his home, become a priest, and choose to bring the Gospel back to where he was a slave.

     What an incredible story of transformation.  To have your life as you know it taken away;  to be forced to live and work as a slave in a foreign land, to be removed from all that you love, all that brings you security and joy - and then to find a love so profound, so secure, so encapsulating that you devote your life to bringing to your captors. 

     This transforming love is available to each and every one of us.  We do not need to be slave to experience it.  We do not need to live in darkness to seek it.  We can seek it today, in our everyday lives - for the dark days will come, and like Patrick, we will have this faith upon which we can rely.

     Christ is present everywhere.  Christ surrounds us and lives within us.  Christ is waiting to join us in our day, guiding us, loving us, and transforming us.  Today, let us use this prayer as our guide.  Let us visualize this prayer and carry it throughout the day.  What will be different about how we think, how we speak, and how we respond to whatever comes before us if we realize we are surrounded by the energy of Jesus, who loved us so much he reached out his arms on the cross and died for us?

Prayer:  Transforming God, open our hearts and minds this day so that we can experience the power of your love - a love that surrounds and sustains us through our joys and our sorrows, through our sometimes mundane, sometimes chaotic lives.  Help us to be so aware of your constant presence within and around us that we are transformed into disciples of this love to help you transform the world.

Friday, March 16, 2012

God is One and there is no other.
And to love God with all your heart, with all your understanding,
with all your strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself
is worth more than all burnt offerings and sacrifices."

Mark 12:32-33

     Loving God is the root of everything.  We all long for love.  We seek it out from the moment of our birth.  Love of parents, love of family, love of friends, love of a partner - all natural desires for human beings.  Yet love without God is nothing, for God is Love.  God is not the essence of love, the feeling of love or the idea of love;  God is love, and from this love stems forth all the rest.   

     Jesus reminds us that the first and foremost commandment is to love God with all your heart, mind and soul.  Not because God has an egotistical need for our adoration, but because our lives will be filled with the strength and knowledge of a love that is so profound, so complete, so pure that it can actually transform us. 

     Self-love often eludes us because we're so focused on our imperfections we lose sight of our true selves.  Loving someone else - especially someone we do not care for - eludes us because love another human being is to risk.  We risk being rejected, hurt, or we risk hurting someone else.  But, if we first love God, spend time with God, rejoice and cry with God, we will become aware of who we are at our core - a person created in love, treasured by love, sustained in love, and made to love ourselves and others - imperfectly as the results may be.  We will find the resting ground where we can learn to forgive as God forgives, love as God loves, and nourish the world as God nourishes us.

     Today, let us rest our hearts, minds, and souls in the purity of God's love.  Let us absorb this love so fully and so deeply that it overflows into our psyche and our behavior.  Today, let's let Love transform us.

Prayer:  Lover, Sustainer, Holy One, we come to you today as empty vessels waiting to be filled.  We give you our hearts, minds, and souls so that we may be so filled with your presence and secure in your love that we instinctively know how to love ourselves and our neighbors.

Thursday, March 15, 2012

Listen to my voice;
then I will be your God and you shall be my people.

Jeremiah 7:23

     Shhhhh,listen........"that lady at the grocercy store was so rude, whata".....Shhhhh, listen......."I'd really like to move those plants out front so they get more sunlight".......Shhhhh, listen......"I'm so busy, I don't have time for".........Shhhhh, listen......."God, I got a great idea".........Shhhhh, listen.  Hear my voice, child.  ......."but, God".......Shhhhh, listen.  I love you, child of mine.  "how could you love"..... Shhhhh, listen.  You are a gift, a treasure.  I want you home resting in me.  "But I don't deserve"......Shhhhh,  listen.  I love you, I forgive you, I want you with me, I need you to do something for me.  "What could you need me for?"  Listen, child, hear my voice, I will tell you.

     The world is loud, so are our brains.  We think and think and think.  We come up with plans - good ones even!  We worry, organize and do, do, do.  We try to cram 48 hours worth in a 24 hour day.  We pray our prayers and move on to the next thing on the list.  It's not healthy and it's not what God has in mind.  God is asking for something different.  God is asking for time to be heard.  Relationships are a two-way street; and our relationship with God is no different.   Yes, we offer God our petitions, pray for those we love and the world in which we live.  We give thanks for the gifts we've been so richly given and even share our sorrows.  But, we also need to give time for God to speak and we need to listen.

     Setting aside time in our day to be still is difficult.  It can become, however, be the most rewarding time of the day, so let's not look at it as a chore, but as a gift.  As we read Scripture and other spiritual readings and turn off our brains, we hear and feel the love of our Creator.  We learn the way to live through Jesus.  We learn to see how the Holy Spirit moves in our lives.  We learn to hear the voice of God.  As we hear the words of God, we will grow in faith and trust.  As we grow in faith and trust, we will begin to see how God is working in our world and desire to be apart of that journey.  As we begin that journey of walking with God, we will become the voice of God in the world.  As we become the voice of God in the world, and the world will indeed, be transformed.

Prayer:  God of love and faithfulness, we want to hear your voice, we want to be your voice in the world.  Help us this day to quiet our minds and spend time resting in your grace.  Help us to open our hearts and our ears so that we may hear your voice above all else.

Wednesday, March14, 2012

The Lord rebuilds Jerusalem, and gathers the dispersed of Israel.  Healing the brokenhearted, and binding up their wounds.

Psalm 147: 2-3

     During the Eucharist prayer, we listen to the image of God gathering us in as a mother gathers her children.  It's a beautiful image of comfort and safety.  Even as adults we sometimes long for that embrace that can take away the fears and sorrow of our lives and just rest for a moment.  But, that's not always readily available for us here in this world.  Or is it?

     When brokenhearted, it is often hard to have hope, to trust, to love.  If feels as if we will open ourselves to more damage, more pain.  Yet, we cannot heal ourselves - so where do we turn?  To God.  We turn to God.  God has all the nurturing and sustaining capabilities we will ever need.  God has the power to heal.  God has the desire to bind our wounds and make us whole again. 

     God tries to tell us over and over and over and over again about the unconditional love that is given to all of us.  We don't always get the message because the world is telling us so many contrary things.  This is why it is so important to spend time alone with God in prayer -  so that the voice of God becomes louder than the voice of the world.  God is seeking this time together.  God is ready to gather us brokenhearted, wounded, imperfect children because those are just parts of us.  Our essence is not brokenness, it is love.  When we spend time with our loving Creator, we learn to accept ourselves first as loved, then as wounded.  It is then that we are able to reach out to our brothers and sisters, find the people that can be God's loving embrace on this world.  We will also discover that we can become God's loving embrace for others.  When Love transforms us, we will transform the world.

Prayer:  Nuturing, sustaining God, we come to you today to with both our brokenness and our joy.  We give you thanks that you are so ready to welcome and receive us as we are at this moment.  Help us this day to fall into your loving embrace so that your love and acceptance is stronger than any other force.

Tuesday, March 13,2012

Do not let us be put to shame,
but deal with us in your kindness and great mercy.

Daniel 3:42

     Shame.  In our culture, how often have we heard the words "you should be ashamed of yourself."  It comes from everywhere - in commercials, from the pulpit, in our own heads.  Just as Adam & Eve where ashamed when they discovered they were naked and tried to cover themselves with fig leaves, so too do we, as humans, put on shame like a blanket.  We feel our imperfections are to be humiliations rather than lessons to learn, that we should be punished instead of forgiven.  This may be the human mind, but it is not the mind of God.

     The Oxford dictionary defines shame as "a painful feeling of humiliation or distress caused by the conciousness of wrong or foolish behavior."   Now, to be concious of our wrong and foolish behavior is not a bad thing.  God wants that for us, for these behaviors cause barriers in our relationship with God and with others.  But, God has no need, nor desire, for us to feel humiliated, to feel less than who we are.  We are children of God.  Created in love, for love, by love.  Love does not have room for humiliation.  Rather, Love is the healing force that will help us transform our imperfections so we may be living proof of the insurmountable love and redemption of God in this world.

     God will ALWAYS deal with us in kindness and mercy.  God will ALWAYS love us and forgive us.  God will ALWAYS desire for us to live in grace, in hope and in confidence of the unconditional love that is our birthright, given to all by our Creator.  Today, let us let go of the feeling of shame and spend our energy focusing on the grace that is so freely given to us.  This grace that will transform our imperfections, bring us to a more intimate relationship with God, and enable us to be living examples of God's bountiful love and redemption in the world.

Prayer:  Loving God, you have created us in Love, for Love, and by Love.  Help us this day to be so aware of this that shame has no room to survive within us.  Help us to recognize and realize those parts of us that need change, but with a feeling of hope in transformation, rather than a feeling of humiliation.  God, teach us to love as you love.

Monday, March 12, 2012

But Jesus would not trust himself to them because he knew them all,
and did not need anyone to testify about human nature.
He himself understood it well. 

John 2:25

     There is no doubt that Jesus was a human being.  He felt what we felt - joy, sorrow, fear, anger, peace, anxiety, confidence, love.  He had them all.  Jesus had a family and all that entails.  He was a baby, learning to walk and talk.  He was a child, learning to play and do chores and behave in church.  He was a teenager that gave his parents attitude (his response to them when they scolded him for wandering away and going to the temple without telling them).  He was a young man, learning a trade, figuring out what God wanted for his life.  He was a man, living out his life's purpose, not always sure of what that was and not always liking it when he figured it out.  Yes, Jesus was definitely human.

     But, Jesus was also the Son of God.  He was one with God.  It is that connectedness that gave Jesus the ability to have complete and utter trust in God.  Jesus felt what we felt, but was able to respond as God would respond because his trust was with God and God's ways, not in humans and human ways.  Isn't this a tremendous gift? Isn't it awesome that we have a Creator who loves us so intensely as to come to us, as we are, and become a living example of how to be in relationship with our God and one another?

     Jesus knew that humans would fail him.  Jesus knew that no matter how much love they had for him and how much they believed in him, some of them would deny him.  No matter how much they told him they believed he was the Messiah, some of them would be in the crowd that screamed for his crucifixion.  Jesus knew this because he intimately knew their hearts.  Jesus also knew that God would never fail him.  That is why he put ALL of his trust in God.

     Humans fail one another.  We do.  God will never fail us.  God will always love us, forgive us, and desire a relationship with us.   But, if we put our complete trust in God, it is then that we will be given what we need to love each other, forgive each other, be in relationship with each other.

Prayer:  God, we come to you with our whole selves - the perfect and imperfect.  We give you thanks that you gave us Jesus - the One who can relatedto us completely.  Grant us today the grace to give you our complete trust so that we may be examples of your love and forgiveness in our daily lives.