“As in our lives of faithful action, this part of who we are now affects what we do next. The identity we took on months or years ago can constrain us from detours, or cause us to react quicker, not just for our own sake, but especially for the good of others. We cannot drain ourselves dry, or we will have no energy to do God’s work of sharing the Gospel and loving our neighbors!”
‘You are right, Teacher; you have truly said that “he is one, and besides him there is no other”; and “to love him with all the heart, and with all the understanding, and with all the strength”, and “to love one’s neighbor as oneself”,—this is much more important than all whole burnt-offerings and sacrifices,’ says the scribe in today’s reading from the Gospel of Mark.
“Indeed, we all suffer somehow or somewhere in life, and if not direct suffering for ourselves, love of others causes us to suffer, as we watch those we care about suffer so terribly. Suffering is elemental to the broken world, and we cling to the hope that one day, as Scripture promises, every tear will be wiped clean away.”
“Thank you for this new school year, full of energy and ideas, excitement and joy.
“We need our temples, and we need our priests and pastors, our teachers, our mentors, our scholars. But we need them to guide prayer, not own it. We need our faith communities and our personal practice of our faith to be ever reminded that God is with us, loves us, and will grant us whatever good things we need. But we are also part of the Kingdom, and God’s plan takes precedence over our personal very human personal requests.”
“As Christians, we believe that Jesus was the savior that they were looking for, the messiah, and that by his life, death, and resurrection he has saved all of us too. The reality on-the-ground, though, was that Jesus’s presence was creating division. For once, Jesus was telling it like it was. His presence was separating families, causing arguments, and creating unrest. It had kindled a fire and things were burning. “
“The eyes of children so often reflect hopelessness. Their eyes glaze as they realize people approaching them are not there to help but to move them around, shuffle them to a different place, or even abuse them. I confess that looking at those eyes tears my heart apart. Instead of suffering the little children to come, I see them made to suffer, and I have to ask myself if that’s the Christian way? What would Jesus think?”
“Making a public affirmation of our faith requires us knowing the story of our own faith journey and articulating it when needed or useful.”
“We, too, can live from the place where, attuned to the present moment, we experience God. “My spirit rejoices in God my Savior” is a good prayer to carry around as we go through our days. Utter it often and see how it brings you into the Now.”
Without prayer, words usurp God, creating worlds of their own imagination; But when words and prayer collide …