Come to Stillness: Take a few minutes to allow your mind and heart to
be still before God.
Opening Prayer: O persistent God, deliver
me from assuming your mercy is gentle.
Pressure me that I may grow more human, not through the lessening of my
struggles, but through the expansion of them…Deepen my hurt until I learn to share
it and myself openly, and my needs honestly.
Sharpen my fears until I name them and release the power I have locked
in them and they in me. Accentuate my
confusion until I shed those grandiose expectations that divert me from the
small, glad gifts of the now and the here and the me. Expose my shame where it shivers, crouched
behind the curtains of propriety, until I can laugh at last through my common
frailties and failures, laugh my way toward becoming whole. (Guerrillas of
Grace by Ted Loder)
Daily Scripture Reading: John 21:15-19
Reading for Reflection:
The great
spiritual call of the Beloved Children of God is to pull their brokenness away
from the shadow of curse and put it under the light of the blessing. This is not as easy as it sounds. The powers of darkness around us are strong,
and our world finds it easier to manipulate self-rejecting people than
self-accepting people. But when we keep
listening attentively to the voice calling us the Beloved, it becomes possible
to live our brokenness, not as confirmation of our fear that we are worthless,
but as an opportunity to purify and deepen the blessing that rests upon
us. Physical, mental or emotional pain
lived under the blessing is experienced in ways radically different from
physical, mental or emotional pain lived under the curse. Even a small burden, perceived as a sign of
our worthlessness, can lead us to deep depression. However, great and heavy burdens become light
and easy when they are lived in the light of the blessing. What seemed intolerable becomes a challenge. What seemed a reason for depression becomes a
source of purification. What seemed
punishment becomes a gentle pruning.
What seemed rejection becomes a way to a deeper communion. (Life
of the Beloved by Henri J. M. Nouwen)
Reflection and Listening:
silent and written
Prayer: for the church, for others, for myself
Prayer: for the church, for others, for myself
Closing Prayer: O God of love and peace, increase my
restless longing for your presence in my life, set it in order according to
your will, and direct me in the paths of your perfect truth. Amen.
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