“As Christians living in the 21st century, we face every day a hundred interior negotiations between what we say we commit to as disciples of Jesus Christ, and what we commit to as people living in a post-modern capitalist society, based as it is on a heartless calculus of a few ‘winners’ and a large pool of ‘losers.'”
“I think about the times when waves would crash on top of me, suck me into the undertow and tumble me into disorientation. Or the times when waves would catch me by surprise and knock me down.”
“Hear our prayers, Lord.
The ones we speak out loud.
The ones that fall with our tears.
The ones that speak in righteous anger.”
“As I learned about each person’s story, I began to understand why God appeared to them in those distinctive ways. We were each encountering the elephant and bringing with us our spiritual baggage—bad and good alike. How could we believe that we each beheld a wholly complete vision of God? How do we truly know what God looks like?”
“Christ, my savior and my companion, hear the distress of your people. Calm our fears and help us deal with our deep sorrow and our profound anger. You, who were helpless on the cross, teach us to live with our helplessness. Teach us to love. Amen.”
“If I were to gauge the past year (in my own opinion, of course), and if I were to put that gauge onto a Snellen opthalmological scale, I’d put it at about 20/200. I’d practically have to put my nose to the mirror to be able to see a clear reflection.”
“Wherever you spend most of your waking time, glimpse out a window. What element of creation do you experience as mystical? In what environment do you feel God?”
“Yesterday was a day when we teetered on the brink of deep waters—waters that, if they were to close over our heads, threaten to overwhelm us and all that we hold dear.”
“I write all of this to add memorial upon memorial, but also because I think dignity, these days, is so seldom accorded. Dignity, the simple dignity of being a child of God, a creature of the earth, and a soul of the universe.”
“Turn my senses to the gifts in front of me. Help me to see the beauty of a sunset, the warmth of a loved one’s hand, a hand-written note, and a meal shared with family as signs of your presence.”