Friday, June 30, 2017

Elijah & The Silence

I Kings 19:11-13

[God] said, “Go out and stand on the mountain before the Lord, for the Lord is about to pass by.” Now there was a great wind, so strong that it was splitting mountains and breaking rocks in pieces before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind; and after the wind an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake; and after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire; and after the fire a sound of sheer silence. When Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his mantle and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave. Then there came a voice to him that said, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”


Lord,
There are some in our world
creating earthquakes,
creating fires,
trying to distract us;
trying to take power.

But
You, O Lord,
are NOT in the earthquake.
You, O Lord,
are NOT in the fire.
You, O Lord,
are NOT in our attempts 
to grab power,
to make ourselves important,
to force our views on others.

No,
O Lord,
You are not there.

You are present
in the silence,
in the sheer silence,
in the voices long silenced.

Give us ears
to hear beyond
beyond the noise,
beyond the cacoffiny of sounds,
beyond all that competes for our attention,
beyond our self-promoting...

Give us ears
to hear the silence,
to listen deeply to the quiet,
to know You,
the breath beneath or breathing.

May You
be the deafening silence
we learn to listen to and obey.

Amen.






Tuesday, June 27, 2017

Celtic Blessing

May the Christ who walks on wounded feet
walk with you on the road.
May the Christ who serves with wounded hands
stretch out your hands to serve.
May the Christ who loves with a wounded heart
open your hearts to love.
May you see the face of Christ in everyone you meet,
and may everyone you meet see the face of Christ in you. Amen.

____
The above prayer is a Celtic Blessing.

Monday, June 26, 2017

We are not afraid!

We are not afraid today;
God will see us through.

That's what we sang
today in choir rehearsal.
I am struck by the certainty,
the confidence,
the boldness,
the courage.

The words were not
"We will not be afraid."
suggesting some future hope of no more fear, but being fearful now is somehow expected.

No, this was a clear direct statement.
"We are not afraid!"
Not now, not ever.

"Why?" you ask.
God will see us through.
Plain.
Clear.
Direct.

We are NOT afraid today.
I DO believe.

That is my prayer today.

Thanks be to God!


_________
This prayer inspired while singing the following setting of the great hymn, "We shall overcome".

Wednesday, June 21, 2017

Doing Good

Matthew 6:1-6
“Beware of practicing your piety before others in order to be seen by them; for then you have no reward from your Father in heaven.
“So whenever you give alms, do not sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, so that they may be praised by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward. But when you give alms, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your alms may be done in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.
“And whenever you pray, do not be like the hypocrites; for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, so that they may be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward. But whenever you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.

I hope that the good I do
is done out of joyful obedience
to You, O God.

Do I do good for rewards?
Do I do good for selfish reasons?
Do I do good so that others think more highly of me?
Lord,
whatever my motivation,
may the good I do 
be pleasing in your sight
and give glory and praise 
to your name
today and everyday. 
Amen.

Monday, June 19, 2017

Grieving the Death of a Son

The below prayer is shared from: 


Divine Darkness, 
when the night of grief 
swallows our feeble light, 
help us to feel you 
lovingly wrap us in that very darkness.

Hidden God, 
we are angry. 
Where are you? 
Show yourself. 
Explain yourself. 
Feel the heat of our frustration and fear 
we share only with you.

Burden-lifting God, 
our grief weighs us down. 
It feels as if our backs will break 
along with our hearts. 
We are smothered by the weight. 
When it feels as if we can bear no more, 
Loving Shepherd, bear us forward.

O, Answer to all Mysteries, 
we have unanswerable questions. 
We struggle with 
"If only ..." and 
"What if?" and 
"Why?" 
Give us grace to live the questions 
in the confidence that we don't have to have all the answers.

Our Beginning and Our End, 
you have taught us about life; 
now teach us about death. 

Comforting Mother, 
let us lay our wearied selves next to you, 
to sense your breath, 
to feel your warmth, 
to hear you tenderly call our name.

Amen.




____________________________________
Westminster Presbyterian Church is grieving the death of the beloved college-aged son of one of our families. Pray with us. Grieve with us. Hold onto God's love with us.

Friday, June 2, 2017

Spirit of Power, Love, & Self-discipline

II Timothy 1:5-7
I am reminded of your sincere faith, a faith that lived first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice and now, I am sure, lives in you. For this reason I remind you to rekindle the gift of God that is within you through the laying on of my hands; for God did not give us a spirit of cowardice, but rather a spirit of power and of love and of self-discipline.

Lord,
this Sunday the church
celebrates the gift of your Holy Spirit.

Remind us again,
just as Paul reminded Timothy,
Your Holy Spirit is
a Spirit of Power,
a Spirit of Love,
a Spirit of Self-discipline.

Sometimes we act out of
a spirit of defeat,
a spirit of hate,
a spirit of self-indulgence.

More often I see
a spirit of fear,
a spirit of meanness,
a spirit of apathy,
a spirit of self-interest.

O Spirit of Pentecost,
Rekindle your gifts within us;
Fan the flame of faith;
Stoke the fire to servanthood;
Throw another log on for loving God & loving others;
Pump the billows till we aglow for you;
BURN HOT refining and purifying us.
Come, O Spirit, Come!
Amen.