together, monday

Monday, June 30

Come to Stillness: Take a few minutes to allow your mind and heart to be still before God.

Opening Prayer: All praise and thanks to thee, most merciful God, for adopting us as thine own children, for incorporating us into thy holy Church, and for making us worthy to share in the inheritance of the saints in light.  Grant us, we pray, all things necessary for our common life, and bring us all to be of one heart and mind within thy holy Church; through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen. (The Book of Common Prayer)

Scripture Reading for the Day: Ecclesiastes 4:7-12

Reading for Reflection:

 

Two people, three people, ten people may be in living touch with one another through Him who underlies their separate lives.  This is an astounding experience, which I can only describe but cannot explain in the language of science.  But in vivid experience of divine Fellowship it is there.  We know that these souls are with us, lifting their lives and ours continuously to God and opening themselves, with us, in steady and humble obedience to Him.  It is as if the boundaries of our self were enlarged, as if we were within them and as if they were within us.  Their strength, given to them by God, becomes our strength, and our joy, given to us by God, becomes their joy.  In confidence and love we live together in Him. (A Testament of Devotion by Thomas Kelly)

Reflection and Listening: silent and written

Prayer: for the church, for others, for myself

             

Closing Prayer: God build your community.  From brokenness and indifference build love and caring, for you, for each other, for your creation.  God build your community.  From self centredness and independence build friendship and compassion for the marginalized, the abandoned and the despised.  God build you community.  From mistrust and misunderstanding build unity and togetherness for other peoples, religions and nations.  God build your community.  May we build together your living community, bound together by love and joy, interrelated to all God’s people, to the earth and all creation. (A Celtic Prayer)

together, sunday

Sunday, June 29

Come to Stillness: Take a few minutes to allow your mind and heart to be still before God.

Opening Prayer: All praise and thanks to thee, most merciful God, for adopting us as thine own children, for incorporating us into thy holy Church, and for making us worthy to share in the inheritance of the saints in light.  Grant us, we pray, all things necessary for our common life, and bring us all to be of one heart and mind within thy holy Church; through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen. (The Book of Common Prayer)

Scripture Reading for the Day: Psalm 133:1-3

Reading for Reflection:

 

     I must admit, I've never had oil poured on my head--much less precious oil—so I don't really know what it feels like.  I imagine that it is an incredibly peaceful and wonderfully soothing experience, especially if the oil is rich and warm and fragrant.  It seems that it would be an experience that would engage all of your senses and bring enormous pleasure, peace, and healing to the recipient.  This Psalm indirectly uses the words good and pleasant to describe the experience.  And there's definitely something about those two words, especially together, that I really like.  Good (towb) has to do with the quality that a thing possesses or brings.  In this case, it points to the qualitative depth of a particular state of being or experience.  And then the word pleasant (na`iym) comes along and takes it up a notch.  Pleasant, in this context, literally means delightful.  So the pouring on of oil, as with the unity of God's people, is an experience of deep quality and total delight.  Pretty strong words.  I wonder if there's any way to get a Groupon for "an anointing?"  If so, sign me up.
     A while back I had the privilege of going to Haiti with a group of dear friends.  The purpose of our trip was to lead a retreat for some local missionaries in order to allow them time and space to be refreshed, renewed, and encouraged.  Well, truth be told, we were the ones that were encouraged.  These folks are some of the most courageous, compassionate, extraordinary people I have ever had the pleasure of being around.  They do heroic things for the Kingdom every single day, without anyone really knowing much about it.  They are a great picture of what the words good and pleasant really mean.  In fact, they bring those words to life. 

     And not only that, but the friends from Knoxville that I had the pleasure of traveling with were—in and of themselves—some of the most beautiful, gifted, loving, kind people I know.  Some of these dear friends used their gifts during the weekend to lead us in worship.  Some used their gifts to lead us in laughter.  Some used their gifts to speak words of life and peace and encouragement.  Some used their gifts to set the whole trip up and make sure it went without a hitch.  Some used their gifts to make sure everyone felt welcomed and special and cared for.  And some used their gifts to be with and to sit with and to talk with anyone and everyone in their path.
     And as I was in the midst of it all it struck me.  What was happening as we were together was that precious oil was continually being poured out upon my soul.  In fact, it was being poured upon all of us.  So that's what it feels like!  How incredibly beautiful!  How delightful!  How full!  How free!  How healing!  And I have a suspicion that, at the very same time, our beloved Jesus was having precious oil poured upon his head as well.  It was simply amazing.  When we come together with the loving intent of pouring precious oil upon one another, and upon Jesus, something magical happens.  Delight is created.  The delight of our hearts, reflecting the deep delight of our God.   

     When we freely give to one another the things and the gifts that God has freely given to us (for his glory and delight) real community forms.  And somehow new life is created both within us and among us.  Parker Palmer said it well when he wrote: "When the gift I give to the other is integral to my own nature, when it comes from a place of organic reality within me, it will renew itself—and me—even as I give it away. Only when I give something that does not grow within me do I deplete myself and harm the other as well, for only harm can come from a gift that is forced, inorganic, unreal." 
     So let us, this day, give what is ours to give.  Let us pour precious oil on the heads of those that come into our path, knowing that by doing this it will bring life to our souls and deep joy to the heart of our God.     

Reflection and Listening: silent and written

Prayer: for the church, for others, for myself

            
Closing Prayer: Heavenly Father, may we be one as you are one.  May we continually pour precious oil on each other’s heads.  Teach us how to love each other fully and freely.  In the name of Jesus.  Amen.

prayer, saturday

Saturday, June 28

Come to Stillness: Take a few minutes to allow your mind and heart to be still before God.

Opening Prayer: Lord, I know not what I ought to ask of you.  You only know what I need.  You know me better than I know myself.  O Father, give to your child what he himself knows not how to ask.  Teach me to pray.  Pray yourself in me.

                                                                ~Archbishop Francois Fenelon

Scripture Reading for the Day: Philippians 1:3-11

Reading for Reflection:

     There is no such thing as prayer in which "nothing is done" or "nothing happens," although there may well be a prayer in which nothing is perceived or felt or thought.

     All real interior prayer, no matter how simple it may be, requires the conversion of our whole self to God, and until this has been achieved—either actively by our own efforts or passively by the action of the Holy Spirit—we do not enter into contemplation and we cannot safely relax our efforts to establish contact with God.

     If we try to contemplate God without having turned the face of our inner self entirely in His direction, we will end up inevitably by contemplating ourselves. (Thoughts in Solitude by Thomas Merton)

Reflection and Listening: silent and written

Prayer: for the church, for others, for myself

             

Closing Prayer: Late have I loved you, O Beauty ever ancient, ever new, late have I loved you!  You were within me, but I was outside, and it was there that I searched for you.  In my unloveliness I plunged into the lovely things which you created.  You were with me, but I was not with you.  Created things kept me from you; yet if they had not been in you they would not have been at all.  You called, you shouted, and you broke through my deafness.  You flashed, you shone, and you dispelled my blindness.  You breathed your fragrance on me; I drew in breath and now I pant for you.  I have tasted you, now I hunger and thirst for more.  You touched me, and I burned for your peace.

                                                                         ~St. Augustine

prayer, friday

Friday, June 27

Come to Stillness: Take a few minutes to allow your mind and heart to be still before God.

Opening Prayer: Lord, I know not what I ought to ask of you.  You only know what I need.  You know me better than I know myself.  O Father, give to your child what he himself knows not how to ask.  Teach me to pray.  Pray yourself in me.

                                                                 ~Archbishop Francois Fenelon

Scripture Reading for the Day: Colossians 1:3-14

Reading for Reflection:

Why should I spend an hour in prayer when I do nothing during that time but think of people I am angry with, people who are angry with me, books I should read and books I should write, and thousands of other silly things that happen to grab my mind for a moment? 

     The answer is:  because God is greater than my mind and my heart, and what is really happening in the house of prayer is not measurable in terms of human success and failure.

     What I must do first of all is be faithful.  If I believe that the first commandment is to love God with my whole heart, mind, and soul, then I should at least be able to spend one hour a day with nobody else but God.  The question as to whether it is helpful, useful, practical, or fruitful is completely irrelevant, since the only reason to love is love itself.  Everything else is secondary.

     The remarkable thing, however, is that sitting in the presence of God for one hour each morning—day after day, week after week, month after month—in total confusion and with myriad distractions radically changes my life.  God, who loves me so much that He sent His only Son not to condemn me but to save me, does not leave me waiting in the dark too long.  I might think that each hour is useless, but after thirty, sixty, or ninety such useless hours, I gradually realize that I was not as alone as I thought; a very small, gentle voice has been speaking to me far beyond my noisy place.  So:  Be confident and trust in the Lord! (The Road to Daybreak by Henri J.M. Nouwen)

Reflection and Listening: silent and written

Prayer: for the church, for others, for myself

             

Closing Prayer: Holy God, Beloved Trinity, let me always be rooted in you so that I may live in you and you in me.  Bless me so that your grace may flow through me, allowing me to bear your fruit to a hungry and helpless world.  As I wander, prune me of all that inhibits your growth in me.  Let me do nothing apart from you so that your joy may be complete in me.  In Christ’s name I pray. Amen. (Vineyard Guild Prayer)

prayer, thursday

Thursday, June 26

Come to Stillness: Take a few minutes to allow your mind and heart to be still before God.

Opening Prayer: Lord, I know not what I ought to ask of you.  You only know what I need.  You know me better than I know myself.  O Father, give to your child what he himself knows not how to ask.  Teach me to pray.  Pray yourself in me.

                                                                 ~Archbishop Francois Fenelon

Scripture Reading for the Day: 1 Thessalonians 5:16-24

Reading for Reflection:

 

How, then, shall we lay hold of that Life and Power, and live the life of prayer without ceasing?  By quiet, persistent practice in turning of all our being, day and night, in prayer and inward worship and surrender, toward Him who calls in the depths of our souls.  Mental habits of inward orientation must be established.  An inner, secret turning to God can be made fairly steady, after weeks and months and years of practice and lapses and failures and returns.  It is as simple as Brother Lawrence found it, but it may be long before we achieve any steadiness in the process.  Begin now, as you read these words, as you sit in your chair, to offer your whole selves, utterly and in joyful abandon, in quiet, glad surrender to Him who is within.  (A Testament of Devotion by Thomas Kelly)

Reflection and Listening: silent and written

Prayer: for the church, for others, for myself

             

Closing Prayer: Lord, you know me better than I know myself.  Your Spirit pervades every moment of my life.  Thank you for the grace and love you shower on me.  Thank you for your constant, gentle invitation to let you into my life.  Forgive me for the times I have refused that invitation, and closed myself off from you.  Help me in the day to come, to recognize your presence in my life, to open myself to you, to let you work in me, to your greater glory. Amen. (The Spiritual Exercises by St. Ignatius)

prayer, wednesday

Wednesday, June 25

Come to Stillness: Take a few minutes to allow your mind and heart to be still before God.

Opening Prayer: Lord, I know not what I ought to ask of you.  You only know what I need.  You know me better than I know myself.  O Father, give to your child what he himself knows not how to ask.  Teach me to pray.  Pray yourself in me.

                                                                ~Archbishop Francois Fenelon

Scripture Reading for the Day: James 5:13-18

Reading for Reflection: Keep on beating the path of God’s door, because the one thing you can be sure of is that down the path you beat with even your most half-cocked and halting prayer the God you call upon will finally come, and even if he does not bring you the answer you want, he will bring you himself.  And maybe at the secret heart of all our prayers that is what we really are praying for.  (Wishful Thinking by Frederick Buechner)

Reflection and Listening: silent and written

Prayer: for the church, for others, for myself

             

Closing Prayer: O gracious and holy Father, give us wisdom to perceive You, intelligence to understand You, diligence to seek You, patience to wait for You, eyes to behold You, a heart to meditate on You, and a life to proclaim You, through the power of the Spirit of Jesus Christ our Lord.

 

                                                                  ~Benedict of Nursia

prayer, tuesday

Tuesday, June 24

Come to Stillness: Take a few minutes to allow your mind and heart to be still before God.

Opening Prayer: Lord, I know not what I ought to ask of you.  You only know what I need.  You know me better than I know myself.  O Father, give to your child what he himself knows not how to ask.  Teach me to pray.  Pray yourself in me.

                                                                 ~Archbishop Francois Fenelon

Scripture Reading for the Day: John 17:1-26

Reading for Reflection:

 

To kindle in his heart such a divine love, to unite with God in an inseparable union of love, it is necessary for a man to pray often, raising the mind to Him.  For as a flame increases when it is constantly fed, so prayer, made often, with the mind dwelling ever more deeply in God, arouses divine love in the heart.  And the heart, set on fire, will warm all the inner man, will enlighten and teach him, revealing to him all its unknown and hidden wisdom, and making him like a flaming seraph, always standing before God within his spirit, always looking at Him within his mind, and drawing from this vision the sweetness of spiritual joy. (The Inner Closet of the Heart by St. Dimitri of Rostov, The Art of Prayer by Igumen Chariton of Valamo)

Reflection and Listening: silent and written

Prayer: for the church, for others, for myself

            

Closing Prayer: Look upon us, O Lord, and let all the darkness of our souls vanish before the beams of thy brightness.  Fill us with holy love, and open to us the treasures of thy wisdom.  All our desire is known unto thee, therefore perfect what thou hast begun, and what thy Spirit has awakened us to ask in prayer.  We seek thy face, turn thy face unto us and show us thy glory.  Then shall our longing be satisfied, and our peace shall be perfect.

                                                                        ~St. Augustine

prayer, monday

Monday, June 23

Come to Stillness: Take a few minutes to allow your mind and heart to be still before God.

Opening Prayer: Lord, I know not what I ought to ask of you.  You only know what I need.  You know me better than I know myself.  O Father, give to your child what he himself knows not how to ask.  Teach me to pray.  Pray yourself in me.

                                                                ~Archbishop Francois Fenelon

Scripture Reading for the Day: Psalm 131:1-3

Reading for Reflection:

 

Prayer is being loved at a deep, sweet level.  I hope you have felt such intimacy alone with God.  I promise you it is available to you.  Maybe a lot of us just need to be told that it is what we should expect and seek.  It feels presumptuous.  We can’t trust that such a love exists.  But it does. (Everything Belongs by Richard Rohr)

Reflection and Listening: silent and written

Prayer: for the church, for others, for myself

             

Closing Prayer: O God of peace, who hast taught us that in returning and rest we shall be saved, in quietness and in confidence shall be our strength: By the might of thy Spirit lift us, we pray thee, to thy presence, where we may be still and know that thou art God; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. (The Book of Common Prayer)

prayer, sunday

Sunday, June 22

Come to Stillness: Take a few minutes to allow your mind and heart to be still before God.

Opening Prayer: Lord, I know not what I ought to ask of you.  You only know what I need.  You know me better than I know myself.  O Father, give to your child what he himself knows not how to ask.  Teach me to pray.  Pray yourself in me.

                                                             ~Archbishop Francois Fenelon

Scripture Reading for the Day: Matthew 6:5-15

Reading for Reflection:

 

I’ve always had a sneaking suspicion that there is much more to most things than meets the eye—prayer for instance.  For years I was under the impression that prayer consisted of closing your eyes, bowing your head, and talking to God.  The pictures and images of prayer that I carried around in my heart and mind, quite frankly, left much to be desired.  Prayer was not an activity I was particularly drawn to or excited about.  My guess is that this had much more to do with my definition of prayer than it did with the real practice of prayer.  It wasn’t until much later in life that I began to see that maybe my definition of prayer was far too small and rigid.  Prayer wasn’t so much about performing a duty as it was about building a wonderfully intimate relationship.  Prayer was not simply throwing all the words I can muster at the unseen God, but it—at its very core—has always been about union with the God who lives within us.  I think that’s what Jesus is really getting at in Matthew 6:5-15; he is trying to recapture the true meaning and practice of prayer, which is simply being with God.

     Don’t stand on street corners, don’t babble on and on; prayer is much more intimate and personal than that.  Instead go into your closet—that space where true intimacy is possible—and shut the door.  Leave everyone and everything else on the outside; I want it to be just me and you.  I want us to be together in a way and a place where I have your undivided attention.  I have so much I want to say to you; so much of me that I want you to know.  And this space and time is the place where that is most possible; the place where I can have the deepest desires of my heart fulfilled, which is just to be with you, my Beloved.  Come inside where things are still and quiet and you can hear every whisper of my loving Spirit deep within your heart and soul.  That’s prayer.

Reflection and Listening: silent and written

Prayer: for the church, for others, for myself

            
Closing Prayer: You stir us so that praising you may bring us joy, because you have made us and drawn us to yourself, and our hearts are restless until they rest in you. (Confessions by St. Augustine)

shaped by the word, saturday

Saturday, June 21

Come to Stillness: Take a few minutes to allow your mind and heart to be still before God.

Opening Prayer: Saving God, you set your heart on us and made us your own.  May we listen with the ear of our hearts to the many ways your Word and your love will be present to us and formed in us this day.  We ask this through Jesus, the Word made flesh.  Amen.  (The Work of God)

Scripture Reading for the Day: Isaiah 55:6-13

Reading for Reflection:

 

If we would dance our way into some deeper communion with God, we must stop working on the Word, wherever it is found, and let the Word begin to work on us. (Living Prayer by Robert Benson)

Reflection and Listening: silent and written

Prayer: for the church, for others, for myself

            
Closing Prayer: Teach me, O Lord, the way of your statutes; and I will keep it to the end.  Give me understanding, that I may keep your law and observe it with my whole heart.  Lead me in the path of your commandments, for I delight in it.  Incline my heart to your testimonies, and not to selfish gain!  Turn my eyes from looking at worthless things; and give me life in your ways.  Confirm to your servant your promise, that you may be feared.  Turn away the reproach that I dread, for your rules are good.  Behold, I long for your precepts; in your righteousness give me life!  Amen. (Psalm 119:33-40)

shaped by the word, friday

Friday, June 20

Come to Stillness: Take a few minutes to allow your mind and heart to be still before God.

Opening Prayer: Saving God, you set your heart on us and made us your own.  May we listen with the ear of our hearts to the many ways your Word and your love will be present to us and formed in us this day.  We ask this through Jesus, the Word made flesh.  Amen.  (The Work of God)

Scripture Reading for the Day: Hebrews 4:12-13

Reading for Reflection:

 

The stories of Scripture are stories about where we come from and where we are going as much as the story of our immigrant past is; and here too, if we are to understand what they mean—what they mean to us, mean for us, mean about us—we have to try to get inside them somehow.  Through whatever imagination, intuition, human compassion we can muster, we have to stand where these people stood and feel what they felt: to sail in that little boat as the wind freshened and the waves started to heave; to bury our own faces in our hands before the terrible darkness of that tomb or the sight of that great city being laid waste.  (A Room Called Remember by Frederick Buechner)

Reflection and Listening: silent and written

Prayer: for the church, for others, for myself

             

Closing Prayer: Your hands, O Lord, have made and fashioned me; give me understanding that I may learn your commandments.  Those who fear you shall see me and rejoice, because I have hoped in your word.  I know, O Lord, that your rules are righteous, and that in faithfulness you have afflicted me.  Let your steadfast love comfort me according to your promise to your servant.  Let your mercy come to me, that I may live; for your law is my delight.  Amen. (Psalm 119:73-77)

shaped by the word, thursday

Thursday, June 19

Come to Stillness: Take a few minutes to allow your mind and heart to be still before God.

Opening Prayer: Saving God, you set your heart on us and made us your own.  May we listen with the ear of our hearts to the many ways your Word and your love will be present to us and formed in us this day.  We ask this through Jesus, the Word made flesh.  Amen.  (The Work of God)

Scripture Reading for the Day: 2 Timothy 3:16-17

Reading for Reflection:

 

The practice of lectio divina guides us to the inner work that brings about transformation.  It requires a deep listening to the Word planted in our souls.  It summons us to a tender abiding in the hidden mystery of God.  It asks of us a patient waiting for God’s personal revelation of truth to us.  It draws us into a loving romance with the One who rules the world from the throne of our hearts.  It encourages in us a joyful expectation of the healing touch of the Beloved.  A deep listening!  A tender abiding!  A patient waiting!  A loving romance!  A joyful expectation!  These are the warm invitations of this gentle way of being with the Word of God.  The gift of this intimate way of praying does not come in one sitting.  It is a daily discipline requiring faithful practice. 

     Long ago when I was a novice in monastic life, I would get up before the crack of dawn and trudge sleepily to our monastery chapel to pray the Divine Office with my sisters.  Together we would climb through the Psalms: praising God, rejoicing, pleading, complaining, yearning, crying out, thanking.

     In our daily classes we were assured that if we were faithful to the Word we would be drawn more deeply into relationship with God, making our morning treks to the chapel a delight.  In our daily pondering of the Scriptures, we were asked to listen with the ear of the heart.  It was all very romantic at first, but the crack of dawn began coming too soon.  The romance wore off.  I am happy to say that now, in my middle years, the romance is returning.  I am beginning to see lectio divina as a way to romance the Word.

     When you romance the Word, you pursue the Word as it pursues you.  You ponder it, pray it, sing it, study it, love it.  You treasure it as Mary treasured the mysteries unfolding in her life (Luke 2:19-20).  Listen to it with the ear of your heart.  Cling to it as to a beloved.  Cherish it.  Become a home for it. (The Song of the Seed by Macrina Wiederkehr)

Reflection and Listening: silent and written

Prayer: for the church, for others, for myself

             
Closing Prayer: Let my cry come before you, O Lord; give me understanding according to your word!  Let my plea come before you; deliver me according to your word.  My lips will pour forth praise, for you teach me your statutes.  My tongue will sing of your word, for all your commandments are right.  Let your hand be ready to help me, for I have chosen your precepts.  I long for your salvation, O Lord, and your law is my delight.  Let my soul live and praise you, and let your rules help me.  Amen. (Psalm 119:169-175)

shaped by the word, wednesday

Wednesday, June 18

Come to Stillness: Take a few minutes to allow your mind and heart to be still before God.

Opening Prayer: Saving God, you set your heart on us and made us your own.  May we listen with the ear of our hearts to the many ways your Word and your love will be present to us and formed in us this day.  We ask this through Jesus, the Word made flesh.  Amen.  (The Work of God)

Scripture Reading for the Day: Colossians 3:12-17

Reading for Reflection:

 

Take in fully, gently, and carefully what you are reading.  Taste it and digest it as you read.  Use the scripture passage to sense the presence of the Lord, you stay with the passage until you have sensed the very heart of what you have read…your purpose is to take everything from the passage that unveils the Lord to you. (Experiencing the Depths of Jesus Christ by Jeanne Guyon)

Reflection and Listening: silent and written

Prayer: for the church, for others, for myself

           

Closing Prayer: Your testimonies are wonderful, O Lord; therefore my soul keeps them.  The unfolding of your words gives light; it imparts understanding to the simple.  I open my mouth and pant, because I long for your commandments.  Turn to me and be gracious to me, as is your way with those who love your name.  Keep steady my steps according to your promise, and let no iniquity get dominion over me.  Redeem me from man's oppression, that I may keep your precepts.  Make your face shine upon your servant, and teach me your statutes.  My eyes shed streams of tears, because people do not keep your law.  Amen. (Psalm 119:129-136)

shaped by the word, tuesday

Tuesday, June 17

Come to Stillness: Take a few minutes to allow your mind and heart to be still before God.

Opening Prayer: Saving God, you set your heart on us and made us your own.  May we listen with the ear of our hearts to the many ways your Word and your love will be present to us and formed in us this day.  We ask this through Jesus, the Word made flesh.  Amen.  (The Work of God)

                        

Scripture Reading for the Day: Psalm 119:1-16

Reading for Reflection:

 

My beginning advice to you is this: Always read the Scriptures with a heart ready to repent.  Receive the storm that repentance brings.  Let the holy winds toss you to and fro.  You will be awakened to new depths as you wrestle with the life forces within.  What seems like violence at first will lead you gently into the eye of God where all is calm and quiet, like the eye of a hurricane.  When you finally surrender and stop fighting the winds, you will be carried into the eye of God.  There, you will rest in peace and learn to see like God.  It will be the great harvest of contemplation—through the storm into the quiet. (A Tree Full of Angels by Macrina Wiederkehr)

Reflection and Listening: silent and written

Prayer: for the church, for others, for myself

            
Closing Prayer: Oh how I love your law, O Lord!  It is my meditation all the day.  Your commandment makes me wiser than my enemies, for it is ever with me.  I have more understanding than all my teachers, for your testimonies are my meditation.  I understand more than the aged, for I keep your precepts.  I hold back my feet from every evil way, in order to keep your word.  I do not turn aside from your rules, for you have taught me.  How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth!  Through your precepts I get understanding; therefore I hate every false way.  Amen. (Psalm 119:97-104)

shaped by the word, monday

Monday, June 16

Come to Stillness: Take a few minutes to allow your mind and heart to be still before God.

Opening Prayer: Saving God, you set your heart on us and made us your own.  May we listen with the ear of our hearts to the many ways your Word and your love will be present to us and formed in us this day.  We ask this through Jesus, the Word made flesh.  Amen.  (The Work of God)

Scripture Reading for the Day: Joshua 1:1-9

Reading for Reflection:

 

When it comes to listening to God speak, we must always begin with the Word of God, His clearest and most authoritative voice.  But, as in all listening, we must learn to allow the other Person to speak.  This may sound oversimplified, but in fact it can be a major task.  When we find ourselves trying to listen to someone whose speech is slow or deliberate, the great temptation is to finish their sentences for them.  The same is often the case when we listen to God’s Word, particularly to familiar passages.  Adopting a listening stance before the Word means keeping your mind as quiet as possible and letting the Bible finish its own sentences and stories.  Allowing the Bible to speak for itself means listening with as few presuppositions as possible.

     Often we fail in listening when we read only for theological or doctrinal affirmation.  The baptism of Jesus becomes a proof text for immersion and not a scene to which we are transported by our imagination.  The crucifixion becomes a necessary piece of the puzzle for redemption, the obligatory final step in a long “holy history,” and not a heartbreaking moment of transformation.  Parables and visions become codes to break, sponges to squeeze dry and then leave behind.  Sometimes my own temptation is to merely use the Bible as a folder for lyrics.

     In all these ways and more, we effectively plug our ears to the Voice of Scripture.  The simple act (which is sometimes not so simple) of quieting our minds and hearts and allowing the Bible to speak, as if it has never before spoken in its own voice to you, will transform your time with the Word.  Be quiet, be patient, and let Scripture say what it has to say! (The Walk by Michael Card)

Reflection and Listening: silent and written

Prayer: for the church, for others, for myself

            

Closing Prayer: Forever, O Lord, your word is firmly fixed in the heavens.  Your faithfulness endures to all generations; you have established the earth and it stands fast.  Praise be to you, Lord God Almighty.  Amen.