Claimed, gathered and sent

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)

I read the following tonight during my devotions using Minister's Prayer Book by John W. Doberstein. Each day of the week is devoted to a different aspect of ministry. Tuesday concerns the minister's life. One of the reflections included for today was written by Kierkegaard (pictured at right). I found it very thought provoking and sobering. Order the parsons to be silent on Sundays. What is there left? The essential things remain: their lives, the daily life with which the parsons preach.Would you, then, get the impression by watching them, that it was Christianity they were preaching? By God's grace, may our lives speak of the life of Christ and him crucified, buried, and raised. Picture from Encarta

Today's texts are so rich. It was difficult to decide what to meditate on. Here is the link to today's readings: http://bible.oremus.org/?ql=64520793. I was really torn, but did lectio divina with Ezekiel 47:12, " On the banks, on both sides of the river, there will grow all kinds of trees for food. Their leaves will not wither nor their fruit fail, but they will bear fresh fruit every month, because the water for them flows from the sanctuary. Their fruit will be for food, and their leaves for healing.” I meditated on the underlined portion, which brought many thoughts to mind, such as Psalm 1:3, " T hey are like trees planted by streams of water, which yield their fruit in its season, and their leaves do not wither. In all that they do, they prosper," refering to the godly in Psalm 1. So if we are being refreshed by God through Word and Sacrament, daily in his presence in prayer and the scriptures, receiving God's watering, we too can have fruitful lives th...

Read what Internet Monk has to say about Advent our need of a savior. http://www.internetmonk.com/archive/the-mood-of-advent-we-all-need-a-savior

Each fall for 15 years, up to 100 people gathered every Wednesday night at Calvary Episcopal Church in Memphis, Tennessee, to explore the meaning of the Sacred Journey. Led by the Rev. Dr. Douglass M. Bailey, the participants in the class listened and talked about their own journey and the journey of others. The class affirmed the individual nature of each journey and each person's need to explore the questions that can shape their path. The people who journeyed together each fall learned about prayer, community, death and resurrection. They heard questions and reflections from others, and through them came to a better understanding of their own spiritual growth. We have included an overview of the Journey material here in hopes that some of the ideas may help you on your own Spiritual path. The questions are meant for you to ask yourself and those traveling with you. Use those that are meaningful to you as guideposts, pointing down a road you may not yet have explored. Journey wit...

Last week I visited two seminaries, The Lutheran Theological Seminaries at Philadelphia and Gettysburg. In speaking with administrators, seminarians, and other prospective students, the subject of call invariably came up. We told our stories of God's call and how we envision that. After returning home, my sense of the significance of call and God's preparation for that increased. I have a new awareness of being in a time of preparation. I know God called me at 15 to serve him. That service has taken on numerous forms: wife, mother, missionary, employee, student. But there is now a renewed sense of call, that God is working something special in my life. And then I read today's scripture from the lectionary. 2 Timothy 2:24-26 (Today's New International Version) 24 And the Lord's servant must not be quarrelsome but must be kind to everyone, able to teach, not resentful. 25 Opponents must be gently instructed, in the hope that God will grant them repentance leading t...

Belonging to Christ as “a bride in relationship to her loving and caring bridegroom (Eph 5:25-32) [1] is my most cherished image. Though “bride,” is absent from the passage, its meaning “is a profound mystery … I am talking about Christ and the church” (Eph 5:32). Having been under loved and well loved, this interconnectedness with Christ is richer, dearer as my husband ministers love to me. “Christ loved … and gave himself up for her” (Eph 5:25). “It was on the cross that our Lord gave himself up for his bride … all the more telling, since ekklesia is feminine.” [2] Encouraging my education and vocation, Ray lovingly sacrifices. Christ’s “mak[ing] her holy, cleansing her …washing with water” (Eph 5:26), loving her as is, but transforming her as “separate for himself a people for his own possession” [3] is profound. Paul possibly “was alluding to the purification of the bride before the marriage ceremony (Ezek 16:9).” [4] His “radiant church” (Eph 5:27a) “in unsullied sp...

For my devotional time this morning I was reading Hebrews 12, you know the chapter that starts out, "Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses..." (Heb 12:1). What powerful imagery, how moving. It makes you feel like you can hang in there with this great throng that has preceded you in the faith. It is the second half of the verse that I was meditating on this morning. "... let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us" (Heb 12:1b). Several thoughts came to mind. First of all, "the race that is set before us." My son, Christian, was a distance runner from middle school through college. He did best of all at the mile. He did very well at longer distances like cross country races or road races. He did ok at slightly shorter distances, but the mile was where he shined. That was his race. When he ran the race set before him, that he was best built for, he succeeded. What about us? Do we look at others' walks of faith...

A while back I had started a devotional on Ephesians 1:17-19 and had said the next few posts would be about that. Well...I got waylaid. So, back to Ephesians we go. Ephesians 1:17-19 17 I pray that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation as you come to know him , 18 so that, with the eyes of your heart enlightened, you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance among the saints, 19 and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power for us who believe, according to the working of his great power. Once again, this passages is bookended with God. It begins with "I pray...that...God." It ends with "...his great power." And in between, it's all about knowing him. In verse 17b, "...come to know him." What specifically do we learn about God? hope-"...the hope to which he has called you" v 18. riches-"what are th...

My next few posts are going to be on the following passage. I have been meditating on this for a number of days. It is quite rich. For my own devotions, I have broken this passage down by sections/ideas and have concentrated on each. Ephesians 1:17-19 17 I pray that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation as you come to know him, 18 so that, with the eyes of your heart enlightened , you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance among the saints, 19 and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power for us who believe , according to the working of his great power. First, God bookends this passage. he is at the beginning and the end. He is the actor and we are the ones acted upon. Brief overview: loaded with verbs pray give come know enlightened called believe working repeated words know (twice) power (twice) Who-God What-gives spirit of wisdom and re...

Lk 9:18-27 Peter’s Declaration about Jesus Once when Jesus was praying alone, with only the disciples near him, he asked them, ‘Who do the crowds say that I am?’ They answered, ‘John the Baptist; but others, Elijah; and still others, that one of the ancient prophets has arisen.’ He said to them, ‘But who do you say that I am?’ Peter answered, ‘The Messiah of God.’ Jesus Foretells His Death and Resurrection He sternly ordered and commanded them not to tell anyone, saying, ‘The Son of Man must undergo great suffering, and be rejected by the elders, chief priests, and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised.’ Then he said to them all, ‘If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me. For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will save it. What does it profit them if they gain the whole world, but lose or forfeit themselves? Those who are ashamed of me and of ...

Revelation 11:15 (NRSV) Then the seventh angel blew his trumpet, and there were loud voices in heaven, saying, "The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Messiah, and he will reign forever and ever." What will it be like when that day comes...when the kingdom of the world is all his? The Revelation of John vividly, apocalyptically describes the future reign. But what about now? How can we live an incarnational life here and now? For Christ's reign to begin now, it must begin in the hearts of his people, our hearts. As I was pondering this and its outcomes, a chorus came to mind. Part of it is, "...may your kingdom be established in our praises, as your people declare your mighty worth!" Establishing his kingdom with our praises, not just verbally, but with our very lives, days, moments. "For to me to live is Christ..." (Phil 1:21) was Paul's affirmation. Just think of the ...

Revelation 3:1-6 If the Christian life is all about God’s grace and our inability to please God on our own, what is all this talk of works in Revelation? Obedience and repentance??? The good news is God know us intimately, better than we know ourselves. We can’t fool him. The church of Sardis had a “name of being alive” (v. 1), but instead they were dead. The outside looked good, but what was on the inside? Remember Jesus telling the Pharisees “You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of dead men's bones and everything unclean” (Matthew 23:27 NIV). What preventative measure is there for this problem? We must carefully tend the garden of our inner life. Those in Sardis and the Pharisees had it reversed. The outside looked great and the inside was full of death and decay. The inner garden is a delicate place, and if not properly maintained it will be quickly overrun by intrusive undergrowth. God does not often walk in disordered g...

This morning I read Psalm 91. As I was meditating on this, the first verse really struck me. He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. (NIV) I am a visual learner. As I pondered this verse, I realized that the second line was just a restatement of the first, which was done in a number of the Psalms for emphasis. dwells = rest = lives shelter = shadow = home Most High = Almighty = God My home is where I live, grow and am refreshed. I need to make God my home to have the benefits mentioned in the rest of this Psalm.

" He is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever he does prospers" (Psalm 1:3). I was meditating on this passage yesterday and started using my imagination. As I thought about how trees are planted and grow, I realized they don't do anything to make it happen. They don't plant themselves, someone else does. They don't concentrate really hard to grow better, to be more fruitful. They just have to be trees. We cannot of our own strength be better, more spiritual Christians. We cannot cause our lives to be fruitful. For the Christian, this analogy brings us to John chapter 15 of Jesus being the vine and our need to abide in him. "I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing" (verse 3). Let us trust in God's grace to enable us to grow in him as we abide, then we too can b...

Today's reading from the Revised Common Lectionary is Jeremiah 36:11-26. Baruch the scribe, recorded the words of Jeremiah which were then reported to the king. The king responded by burning the scroll containing them piece by piece, later ordering the arrest of Jeremiah and Baruch. God's response? "But the Lord hid them" (Jeremiah 36:26b). Psalm 46 beautifully speaks to this issue of the Lord's protection. "God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble" (Psalm 46:1). In verse 7 , God is "the Lord Almighty...our fortress." Verse 10 is the key to the experiential knowledge of knowing this deliverance in our lives. "Be still, and know that I am God." Everything in our world seemingly demands our immediate attention. Let us turn our wholehearted attention to the One who deserves it.