Claimed, gathered and sent

Sometimes, it's just like God keeps hitting us over the head to get a message through. Well, today's lesson is the same one I've been hearing over and over and over--look for God in the places you don't expect to find God. Last night it was Pizza Hut. Ray's hair was getting a little longer than he likes it, so we decided to go to the barber shop today. We went in and sat down. There were 3 people ahead of Ray, so we were there a while before it was Ray's turn. I noticed that the music playing in the background was Christian music (Southern Gospel), which I thought was interesting. When it was Ray's turn to get into the chair, he introduced himself and then me as the intern at Grace Lutheran Church. The barber, Duke, brightened right up and said he was a retired Methodist preacher! He added that we would have an interesting conversation. That we did. Duke told us the story of his call at age 30 and the difference Christ has made in his life. He rela...

Henri Nouwen is one of my favorite devotional writers. He had a way of communicating deep truths in such simple, profound, and beautiful language. The Most Human and Most Divine Gesture The two disciples whom Jesus joined on the road to Emmaus recognised him in the breaking of the bread. What is a more common, ordinary gesture than breaking bread? It may be the most human of all human gestures: a gesture of hospitality, friendship, care, and the desire to be together. Taking a loaf of bread, blessing it, breaking it, and giving it to those seated around the table signifies unity, community, and peace. When Jesus does this he does the most ordinary as well as the most extraordinary. It is the most human as well as the most divine gesture. The great mystery is that this daily and most human gesture is the way we recognise the presence of Christ among us. God becomes most present when we are most human. Share your thoughts on this reflection. These reflections...

Throughout the past two years of seminary, we have been challenged to "think theologically." And sometimes one can't help but wonder how that really plays out in daily life. I like to think that I go through my day with an open heart and ears to the needs of those around me, to what God is saying, and to what I should/should not say or do. Sometimes God just wants me to listen to what someone is going through and not try to fix it. And it is so very tempting to try to fix things in people's lives. That's not always our job though. This is not to say that we ignore the needs of those around us. God help us if we do that.  My supervisor told me that at the end of each day he goes back over it, examining it theologically. What it boils down to for him is where did he see God throughout the day? That is what it means to think theologically. Where is God? Pr. Larry, my supervisor, keeps reminding me that we know where we expect to find God: church, in the fellow...

To Seek Beauty: Introduction What we do not nourish within ourselves cannot exist in the world around us because we are its microcosm. We cannot moan the loss of quality in our world and not ourselves seed the beautiful in our wake. We cannot decry the loss of the spiritual and continue ourselves to function only on the level of the vulgar. We cannot hope for fullness of life without nurturing fullness of soul. We must seek beauty, study beauty surround ourselves with beauty. To be contemplative we must remove the clutter of our lives, surround ourselves with beauty, and consciously, relentlessly, persistently give it away until the tiny world for which we are responsible begins to reflect the raw beauty that is God. –from Illuminated Life by Joan Chittister (Orbis)