Taken from the Prayers After Communion, from the Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time:
Father, you give us food from heaven.
By our sharing in this mystery
teach us to judge wisely the things of earth
and to love the things of heaven.
Amen.
I love this. I love this.
As Christians, this is who we are called to be. These are the priorities we are called to embrace. To "judge wisely the things of earth and to love the things of heaven." Amen!!
Sunday, January 19, 2014
Saturday, January 18, 2014
Do not fear.
"But now thus says the Lord,
he who created you, O Jacob,
he who formed you, O Israel:
Do not fear, for I have redeemed you;
I have called you by name, you are mine.
"When you pass through the waters, I will be with you;
and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you;
when you walk through fire you shall not be burned,
and the flame shall not consume you.
"For I am the Lord your God,
the Holy One of Israel, your Savior...
"Do not remember the former things,
or consider the things of old.
I am about to do a new thing;
now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?
I will make a way in the wilderness
and rivers in the desert."
Isaiah 43:1-3a, 18-19 (NRSV)
he who created you, O Jacob,
he who formed you, O Israel:
Do not fear, for I have redeemed you;
I have called you by name, you are mine.
"When you pass through the waters, I will be with you;
and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you;
when you walk through fire you shall not be burned,
and the flame shall not consume you.
"For I am the Lord your God,
the Holy One of Israel, your Savior...
"Do not remember the former things,
or consider the things of old.
I am about to do a new thing;
now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?
I will make a way in the wilderness
and rivers in the desert."
Isaiah 43:1-3a, 18-19 (NRSV)
Wednesday, January 8, 2014
What You are in Love with.
"Nothing is more practical that finding God, that is, falling in love in a quite absolute, final way.
"What you are in love with, what seizes your imagination, will affect everything.
"It will decide what will get you out of bed in the morning, what you will do with your evenings, how you spend your weekends, what you read, who you know, what breaks your heart, and what amazes you with joy and gratitude.
Fall in love, stay in love, and it will decide everything."
-Father Pedro Arrupe, Society of Jesus
"What you are in love with, what seizes your imagination, will affect everything.
"It will decide what will get you out of bed in the morning, what you will do with your evenings, how you spend your weekends, what you read, who you know, what breaks your heart, and what amazes you with joy and gratitude.
Fall in love, stay in love, and it will decide everything."
-Father Pedro Arrupe, Society of Jesus
Monday, December 2, 2013
Advent, Week One: It Begins!
Week One: The Patriarchs’ Candle
God's extraordinary promises to imperfect people
Scriptures
Hebrews 11:8-12, 17-22; Isaiah 11:1-5
We light one of the purple candles as the scriptures are read.
Reading
“Knowing the stories of our faith, and how they connect with our own life experiences, means that we can celebrate the faithfulness and grace-bestowing love of God that was given to Abraham and Sarah, to the Israelites in the wilderness, and to the disciples. We can celebrate what is given to us as we join others in claiming God’s promise and rejoicing in God’s love as we gather at the Lord’s table. We can celebrate what will be given to us and to all creation in times yet to come because God is faithful and God keeps God’s promises.
“We know who we are –children of God loved and forgiven and called by God! And we know Whose we are – children of God who are called to be witnesses to God’s love and care for all the world. We are therefore able to share in the festivity that grows out of our shared stories and visions. Our identity as God’s beloved sons and daughters causes us to seek ways to celebrate and repeatedly affirm that we are who we are!” –Linda J. Vogel, Rituals for Resurrection
Questions
Each of the Old Testament patriarchs mentioned here –Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, David, together with their wives and families– endured significant (and soemtimes self-inflicted) difficulties during their journeys of faith with God.
Who do you think had the most difficulty trusting God, and why? How did they learn that God was faithful, and could in fact be trusted?
How are the stories of our faith connected, all the way from Abraham to the Israelites to the early Christians and to us? What does this say about celebrate God’s faithfulness in the past, present, and future?
God's extraordinary promises to imperfect people
Scriptures
Hebrews 11:8-12, 17-22; Isaiah 11:1-5
We light one of the purple candles as the scriptures are read.
Reading
“Knowing the stories of our faith, and how they connect with our own life experiences, means that we can celebrate the faithfulness and grace-bestowing love of God that was given to Abraham and Sarah, to the Israelites in the wilderness, and to the disciples. We can celebrate what is given to us as we join others in claiming God’s promise and rejoicing in God’s love as we gather at the Lord’s table. We can celebrate what will be given to us and to all creation in times yet to come because God is faithful and God keeps God’s promises.
“We know who we are –children of God loved and forgiven and called by God! And we know Whose we are – children of God who are called to be witnesses to God’s love and care for all the world. We are therefore able to share in the festivity that grows out of our shared stories and visions. Our identity as God’s beloved sons and daughters causes us to seek ways to celebrate and repeatedly affirm that we are who we are!” –Linda J. Vogel, Rituals for Resurrection
Questions
Each of the Old Testament patriarchs mentioned here –Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, David, together with their wives and families– endured significant (and soemtimes self-inflicted) difficulties during their journeys of faith with God.
Who do you think had the most difficulty trusting God, and why? How did they learn that God was faithful, and could in fact be trusted?
How are the stories of our faith connected, all the way from Abraham to the Israelites to the early Christians and to us? What does this say about celebrate God’s faithfulness in the past, present, and future?
Saturday, November 30, 2013
Advent: An Introduction
I love Advent.
I mean, I love Advent! It's my favorite time of the year...and really, it's not even close. You've got cold weather, Christmas decorations, and the already/not-yet coming of Christ, all at once? I'm in!!
People know this about me. :)
So it's been a great pleasure over the past few years to help head up some of the Advent preparations and celebrations in some of the churches we've served in (Oklahoma, Poland, and now the UK).
Last Sunday night we were asked to lead a sort of "Introduction to Advent" evening at the Ashton Church of the Nazarene. It was a great time of remembering, reflection, and renewal; I think we're all a lot more excited about the almost-here-ness of Advent as a result.
For those of you who might be unfamiliar, Advent is a season of four Sundays before Christmas when we remember and re-tell the story of a God who loved the people God created so much that he came to earth to live and love as a human (starting as a newborn baby). Amazing stuff!
If you'd like to learn more -or maybe just brush up on some British Advent traditions- some basic information from last week's "Advent 101" is enclosed below! :)
Advent is the first season of the the Christian calendar year, and thus begins in the chill of winter. The word "advent," comes from the Latin adventus, meaning "coming" or "arrival." During this season of Advent, we await the coming of Jesus, our Messiah.
It is not only we who wait, however; all of creation seems also to be in waiting. Trees wait to bloom again, and plants wait to blossom. While we as a people symbolically anticipate Christ’s arrival as a babe on Christmas morning, we also eagerly await His second coming.
For centuries, Christians have used the Advent wreath to symbolize this sacred season of longing and expectation. The candles we light each week will mark our progress as a people through this period of hope and anticipation for our coming Lord.
I mean, I love Advent! It's my favorite time of the year...and really, it's not even close. You've got cold weather, Christmas decorations, and the already/not-yet coming of Christ, all at once? I'm in!!
People know this about me. :)
So it's been a great pleasure over the past few years to help head up some of the Advent preparations and celebrations in some of the churches we've served in (Oklahoma, Poland, and now the UK).
Last Sunday night we were asked to lead a sort of "Introduction to Advent" evening at the Ashton Church of the Nazarene. It was a great time of remembering, reflection, and renewal; I think we're all a lot more excited about the almost-here-ness of Advent as a result.
For those of you who might be unfamiliar, Advent is a season of four Sundays before Christmas when we remember and re-tell the story of a God who loved the people God created so much that he came to earth to live and love as a human (starting as a newborn baby). Amazing stuff!
If you'd like to learn more -or maybe just brush up on some British Advent traditions- some basic information from last week's "Advent 101" is enclosed below! :)
Advent is the first season of the the Christian calendar year, and thus begins in the chill of winter. The word "advent," comes from the Latin adventus, meaning "coming" or "arrival." During this season of Advent, we await the coming of Jesus, our Messiah.
It is not only we who wait, however; all of creation seems also to be in waiting. Trees wait to bloom again, and plants wait to blossom. While we as a people symbolically anticipate Christ’s arrival as a babe on Christmas morning, we also eagerly await His second coming.
For centuries, Christians have used the Advent wreath to symbolize this sacred season of longing and expectation. The candles we light each week will mark our progress as a people through this period of hope and anticipation for our coming Lord.
Wednesday, November 20, 2013
Seeing the depths of things.
"It is not enough that we behave better; we must come to see things differently. We must learn to see the depths of things, not just reality at superficial levels.
"This especially means we need to see the nonseparateness of the world from God and the oneness of all reality in God; the Hidden Ground of Love in all that is.
"Prayer is a kind of corrective lens that does away with the distorted view of reality that, for some mysterious reason, seems to be my normal vision, and enables me to see what is as it really is."
-William H. Shannon, Silence on Fire
"This especially means we need to see the nonseparateness of the world from God and the oneness of all reality in God; the Hidden Ground of Love in all that is.
"Prayer is a kind of corrective lens that does away with the distorted view of reality that, for some mysterious reason, seems to be my normal vision, and enables me to see what is as it really is."
-William H. Shannon, Silence on Fire
Friday, November 1, 2013
The Imitation of Christ
Use the things of the world, but long for the things of eternity. You cannot be fully satisfied by material possessions, for you are simply not made to enjoy them.
Even if you owned every good thing in the world you would not be happy and blessed, for your blessedness and joy is in God, who created all those things.
Your happiness is not in what is seen and admired by others, but in what the good and faithful followers of Christ seek. Your happiness is in what the spiritual and pure of heart...sometimes experience in this life, though it is meant for the next.
Thomas à Kempis, The Imitation of Christ
Even if you owned every good thing in the world you would not be happy and blessed, for your blessedness and joy is in God, who created all those things.
Your happiness is not in what is seen and admired by others, but in what the good and faithful followers of Christ seek. Your happiness is in what the spiritual and pure of heart...sometimes experience in this life, though it is meant for the next.
Thomas à Kempis, The Imitation of Christ
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