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Meditations – Early 2010
Meditation – March 31, 2010
Scripture
The Lord GOD has given me a well-trained tongue, that I might know how to speak to the weary a word that will rouse them. Morning after morning he opens my ear that I may hear. Isaiah 50:4
Prayer
Continue, Lord, to allow me to hear morning after morning.
Response
Do you see the patterns that surround you? As the sun will rise, so you rise in the manner that you do. It is with the same anticipation that the sun greets each morning, so you have discovered in this rhythm a measure of my eternal love.
How difficult to explain this mystery that truly is, as you would say, counter-intuitive, or would you prefer a paradox. Alone in the silence before dawn; no one awake around you; no radio to fill the airwaves with news; no thoughts or tasks intruding into this space demanding attention, as you sit guarding these moments of endless time in silence listening. And Isaiah is telling you to pray intently that this pattern remains without end – and so it is.
For today, hear me in the silence of your heart.
All for this morning.
Meditation – March 30, 2010
Scripture
So (Judas) took the morsel and left at once. And it was night. John 13:30
Prayer
So few words, yet they precipitate an event that reverberates in my life today. Help me to be still to their meaning.
>Response
Oh, if you were able to forecast the events pending in life, would you remain sitting casually this morning as the apostles did that evening, or would you rise up and barricade the doors, so to speak? Would you seek to flee the location to escape the fate impending, like a tsunami born from the depth? And here you remain as the apostles – except for Judas – as the rain hurtles with the wind against your window.
This verse gathers your attention, focuses it, on the contrast provided by the company of beloved companions in the light, and the darkness represented by the night into which Judas has disappeared. Is there anything to do but remain in his presence, await his word, accompany him to where he leads?
Since you know the end of the story approaching at the end of this week which celebrates the beginning of your life, remain in my presence; be quick to follow as you anticipate me rising to my feet. Don’t allow me to get out of your sight; know that I am close in every gesture of service and compassion you render on this journey.
All for this morning.
Meditation – March 29, 2010
Scripture
(The) large crowd of the Jews found out that he was there and came, not only because of Jesus, but also to see Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead. John 12:9
Prayer
I too would have come to see Lazarus.
>Response
The question you should ask yourself is what did you expect to see? You would probably have been too polite to ask of him detailed questions, especially if you were not especially acquainted with Lazarus beforehand. Would you have been satisfied with observing from a distance, appearing more interested in the drink and food served? What would you have found different in Lazarus’ presence from what Jesus’ had been preaching?
So much for the historical event – what do you find worth your time today, because the verse if meant for you today. You have heard and read regularly about the resurrection; are you here – yes here and attentive – to find proof of these words? Does seeing one raised ease your doubt, embolden you to embrace the message that you received, or would seeing one risen cause you to ask for one more sign?
Look around you; examine your life; reflect upon what you hear from deep within. Are you ready to throw caution to the wind and to do some hang-gliding? What do you have to lose, if you want to experience new life, soaring high above your mundane concerns, even high above those clouds of doubt? All that is required is to grasp the handles with a new found strength and agility that you discover in my grace.
All for this morning.
Meditation – March 28, 2010
Scripture
Jesus cried out in a loud voice, "Father, into your hands I commend my spirit"; and when he had said this he breathed his last. Luke 23:46
Prayer
Help me to hear the cry in my heart.
>Response
To do so, see if you can be alone even if in a crowded room. Filter out the sounds that surround you, the distractions and even from those around you who demand your attention. For this short verse, allow the words, the declaration, to resound in your heart as the curtain closes on part one of a magnificent drama that is created for you this day. I would have said performed, but there is an artificiality sometimes associated with that word. And you will experience no more authentic experience in your life than recorded in this verse.
Don’t rush off to read the next chapter, so to speak, of an engaging story. Rather, stay right there. Hear his loud voice at the end of a long ordeal. Don’t allow your eyes to drift off to catch the cloud formations or look around for the reactions of others around, their eyes wide. Instead keep your heart wide and listen.
Now, instead of witnessing in your heart this scene as a visitor from a distant town, hear this declaration spoken aloud in love for you. Don’t miss his chest heave with a last breath, and then wonder as you might wonder yourself some day.
All for this morning.
Meditation – March 27, 2010
Scripture
They looked for Jesus and said to one another as they were in the temple area, "What do you think? That he will not come to the feast?" John 11:56
Prayer
Fill me with that same search and anticipation.
>Response
How many times did you pray hesitantly and wonder privately whether your prayer could possibly be answered; by your question almost hoping to prod the response, veiling your anxiety at the same time. So here they are gathered, just as you assemble in your doubt.
If nothing else, gather from the events unfolding that there is timing in all the seasons of your life. And just around the corner, in this case in a desert region not too far from Jerusalem, Jesus prepares and awaits the perfect timing for his entrance. Reflect on how he filled this time – surely, in prayer dedication and love. Books could be filled covering those last hours apart, but it is for you to pause now and listen attentively in heart -depth, with eyes that scan far beyond the ridges of a distant horizon.
Indeed, he does come to the feast and on time. Do your best not to lock his arrival into the events of history. Welcome his surprise arrival, his presence into your life today, at the feast you are hosting even if you are alone with your thoughts.
All for this morning.
Meditation – March 26, 2010
Scripture
He went back across the Jordan to the place where John first baptized, and there he remained. Many came to him and said, "John performed no sign, but everything John said about this man was true." And many there began to believe in him. John 10:40-42
Prayer
Help me to see the completion that is being set in motion.
>Response
At this time, put yourself in the boat carrying Jesus across the Jordan as he nears the completion of his mission. As a companion, what thoughts would accompany you? Would you begin to wonder, if the mission was over and that Jesus would retreat into the desert never to be heard from again? Be in the silence interrupted only by the oars touching the water.
How many times in life have you been as quiet, wondering in the middle of the night or later, what’s this all about? Where you went back to the beginning so to speak, back even to your roots, and returned wiser? If you haven’t missed it, life unfolds in a circular sweep, perhaps a spiral is a more appropriate image. Don’t spend time trying to determine if the spiral is up or down. Both serve to bring you to my presence – as if a model would serve, see Jesus’ last across the Jordan as the manifestation of this special, holy occasion.
So for this day, and the days leading into Holy Week, be in the presence of one who invites you to accompany him not as a bystander lined up as he passes, but as a companion who walks alongside. And in you walk discover the answer to your question – What’s this all about?
All for this morning.
Meditation – March 25, 2010
Scripture
Then he said: Listen, O house of David! Is it not enough for you to weary men, must you also weary my God? Therefore the Lord himself will give you this sign: the virgin shall be with child, and bear a son, and shall name him Immanuel, which means God is with us. Isaiah 7:13-14
Prayer
May I read these verses ever as if for the first time.
>Response
It is easy to pass over these words without a glance as you would the planks on a wooden bridge taking you over a roaring gorge below. But pause for a moment in your sometimes weariness and take in the astounding sign promised, fulfilled, and then manifested in your lives. Don’t allow the tumult in the gorge to distract you from what is happening just now around you and within you.
These words are not for scholars to parse, stubbornly holding to one oath or persuasion, but rather to ponder in the depth of your heart in stillness. No need to look around except to share the relief and joy that you experience – that you encounter on a sometimes lonely road.
The Lord himself will give you this sign. Listen to these words carefully, attentively; they are spoken directly to you this day as if for the first time. Again, I ask, for what purpose?
All for this morning.
Meditation – March 24, 2010
Scripture
"A slave does not remain in a household forever, but a son always remains. So if a son frees you, then you will truly be free." John 8:35
Prayer
Give me grace to understand this short verse.
>Response
You have been freed and by the one in authority. So simple to understand. Take in deeply that with all the legalisms that your mind searches, for however complicated you would make life, all you have to grasp is that someone entered the prison of your heart and set you free. You no longer remained sitting there dazed and wonder did this really happen. No, if you have not fallen completely asleep, you are to get up and move briskly down the corridors to the light – for you have been set free.
Now you can spend a great deal of time debating the event, but would you do that if you were trapped in a fallen building and found release, or from a submerged craft and were untangled. In fact your initial impulse would be to discover your freedom and then to look back and thank your rescuer. Well, you are free, and it is time to thank the one responsible as you move your arms wide – unfettered.
So today, introduce the theme of freedom into your day’s routine. I am not suggesting that you abandon your responsibilities, but rather embrace them with this for some newly discovered freedom, and ask the question, why did your rescuer go to all the trouble?
All for this morning.
Meditation – March 23, 2010
Scripture
O LORD, hear my prayer, and let my cry come to you. Hide not your face from me in the day of my distress. Incline your ear to me; in the day when I call, answer me speedily. Psalm 102:2-3
Prayer
Help me to hear deeply these words.
>Response
Indeed, these words recall times when you did pray with such earnestness. Such times are so vivid that you would rather not dwell on the circumstances, fearing that in some strange way you can invite a repeat of that dread that caused you to fall to your knees. Don’t spend effort on the distress. Rather, consider the earnest cry that came from you – not its causes – and then the immediacy of the response. If you were directing a film, it was as if a thunderclap emanated from the sky on a cloudless day.
How to measure the response? Heartfelt words that reassured you from within – where you almost couldn’t fathom the source, a peaceful sleep that had been so elusive to that date, a surprise visit from a friend many miles distant, and you could go on. The important lesson for today is to recall the surprise, the unexpected nature of the response to your prayer and the immediacy you experienced.
As did the psalmist, lay the foundation for this and future days by saying from the heart, hear my prayer, and let my cry come to you and the in the day of my distress, incline your ear to me.
All for this morning.
Meditation – March 22, 2010
Scripture
Jesus spoke to them again, saying, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life." John 8:12
Prayer
Speak more of the light.
>Response
Think of waking in the middle of the night. Without a light you move tentatively, trying to recall where each piece of furniture is positioned, perhaps even holding a hand before you to check your memory and prevent stumbling; how your eyes strain in the darkness. Move the scene outdoors on a moonless night and perhaps introduce fog and the apprehension that danger lurks behind every shadow imagined. That is how life is without my light.
What does it take to remind you that I am not the optional light for your use indoors or the torch to carry on the path? The light to which the verse applies is contained in the Word, the Scripture, in the whisper you hear in prayer that resonates sometimes so clearly that you know you are not alone, in the chance encounter at a critical turn in life, from words of encouragement received when your way seems lost.
Consider this day that despite the darkness that would wish to envelop you, a light more than a lighted room or the glow on a moonlit night enriches your soul, and nothing can diminish it if you will. See where the light leads you this day.
All for this morning.
Meditation – March 21, 2010
Scripture
Remember not the events of the past, the things of long ago consider not; See, I am doing something new! Now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? In the desert I make a way, in the wasteland, rivers. Isaiah 43:18-19
Prayer
Bring me pause to see and perceive.
>Response
Yes, look around you, beyond the headlines, and see me working in your midst, rooting out hypocrisy and replacing it with a growing consciousness that spurs generous spirits who perform acts of mercy and compassion outside the floodlights of fame and recognition. This the something new about which you read. In seemingly impossible terrain, imposing boulders of tradition obstructing progress, I make a way. In desolation, I cause the irrigation of my spirit to bring forth a bounty to feed all who seek.
This verse encourages you to put down the crusty volumes of dreams; awake and look around as if your sight has just been restored. See with new eyes where you are and where you are going and how you can serve even those who are still nodding in a dream state with all their adornments of success, but especially those who are awake to their need.
This is a special time. With nothing to point to that indicates that you earned the privilege, you have received an opening night invitation to be present. And you should be reminded that for this performance you don’t simply sit quietly and politely. No, this is a raucous gathering of an awakened generation called to serve beyond knowing the definition of the word serve. Something new means for you something new in your daily activity that represents this new season – as if quite unexpectedly you received a new garment in the mail, perfect size, and you are asked to wear it in my full spirit.
All for this morning.
Meditation – March 20, 2010
Scripture
So the guards went to the chief priests and Pharisees, who asked them, "Why did you not bring him?" The guards answered, "Never before has anyone spoken like this one." John 7:45-46
Prayer
Help me to hear the guards speaking in my heart.
>Response
Sometimes, it is what is not said that holds meaning, the pause for emphasis to catch your attention. What a response to the authorities. What an invitation for the chief priests and Pharisees to listen carefully. And in that response is revealed what is going on in the hearts of the guards – or at least those who are speaking up directly. In that moment they are giving voice to what they have determined for themselves without challenging the authority.
So the message is for you today. Give voice to what you hear in your heart. Don’t worry about the citations of this text or that, this sermon or that, this mentor or that. Instead, consider that you have been following Jesus about from town to town, have heard his words, and have now returned to report what you witnessed. Your first words could be, you’re not going to believe this. Then, you begin to say what you have heard and seen before a quizzical audience.
And there is another witness among those reporting this experience, who keeps his words brief, just reporting the facts as they once said. With almost an impatience, this witness, leaves the throngs of doubters – those whose goals and position in life are most threatened – and commits himself to service, to those in need, shows compassion and comfort to the suffering and the grieving, listens to those close who are not heard, prays for those far who are also not heard. And all the while, this witness is gentle, joyful, and determined.
All for this morning.
Meditation – March 19, 2010
Scripture
After three days they found him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions, and all who heard him were astounded at his understanding and his answers. Luke 2:46-47
Prayer
In the closing weeks in this season of Lent, let me too be astounded.
>Response
Yes, you are to spend a moment looking forward, to be refreshed in the knowledge and awareness that your destination is within sight however far off it appears. On the heights the air is crisp and clear and you can see for miles beyond what was possible when you lingered in the valleys of obscurity, even despair.
Take a moment to relive the discovery of finding him whom you thought lost and lost to you, and to sense deeply that he was waiting for you as he listened to and questioned the teachers. Be astounded by his understanding and the questions that you hear most intimately. Be the witness who paused to consider his words. Listen intently.
Don’t miss the signposts that are before you as you walk your journey, indications that someone dear has preceded you and is beckoning you forward so you don’t lose your way. It may be an echo or a voice that seems to have lingered as the warmth of a fire still glowing in a hearth to remind you of his near presence. This day, be astounded at your discovery; and here you didn’t have to wander off – he is waiting for you listening and asking you questions.
All for this morning.
Meditation – March 18, 2010
Scripture
"How can you believe, when you accept praise from one another and do not seek the praise that comes from the only God?" John 5:44
Prayer
What praise do you speak of?
>Response
Sometimes you seem so dull. Is it the lack of sleep, or is it caused by the distractions of life that keep you fully occupied? In life it is so much easier to go from one contest to another, competing and collecting ribbons of success. No sooner does one competition end than another begins. Your ears are attentive only to the announcements that are broadcast aloud, causing you to change your locations of the heart; while within a steady, sonorous call is sounding, inviting you closer in my love.
Is this too obscure an explanation? Does this answer your question? To be clearer, I call for your full attention, not to become some robot in one of your techno-dramas on the screen, but to be fully engaged in my work. You demonstrate your belief by listening above the megaphones that distract with praise to my voice. In the very act of listening you show me your belief and even more importantly you show yourself. It’s as if in the throng of competitors you excuse yourself, distancing yourself from the slaps of recognition received from those crowding around you. Then, for the first time you are listening and awaiting my guidance and acceptance.
This verse is here for you this morning to remind you that belief is not engaging the challenges you face in whatever competition, but rather cultivating in my grace full consciousness, dawning consciousness, to the full dimension of a singular relationship with me. That is the praise that I seek, and be reminded that this relationship is not one sided. You will be overwhelmed by my love when you become conscious of it.
All for this morning.
Meditation – March 17, 2010
Scripture
Amen, amen, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes in the one who sent me has eternal life and will not come to condemnation, but has passed from death to life. John 5:24
Prayer
Help my hearing and belief.
>Response
This verse catches your attention in its simplicity The words are buried in full light, daring you to ignore the meaning, the promise. What a startling promise – to pass from death to life. The test for all is to wake up, to become conscious, and to listen with your full attention. Thankfully, before you is not a lengthy scripture or even prayer to memorize and present – no, just a promise to retain each day in your life.
There words are like the directions you receive from a loved one before you set out on a journey. Hear these directions as words of comfort because the road is not expected to be without challenge; they are words of comfort to pull into your consciousness when you are adrift, tired, or even disconsolate.
Rather than focus on what eternal life means, or even condemnation, fully embrace that in hearing and believing you pass from death and hopelessness thru my grace to that which you have only caught a glimpse — union in my love.
All for this morning.
Meditation – March 16, 2010
Scripture
When Jesus saw him lying there and knew that he had been ill for a long time, he said to him, "Do you want to be well?" The sick man answered him, "Sir, I have no one to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up; while I am on my way, someone else gets down there before me." Jesus said to him, "Rise, take up your mat, and walk." John 5:6-8
Prayer
Help me LORD to answer directly your questions.
>Response
Reflect on these verses as evidence today that even when you don’t respond directly to a question your prayer unarticulated is answered. See this man struggling down to the water and being pushed aside leaving no room for him. Yes, he wants to be healed, yet he cannot even respond with a one word answer when asked. He is not sure that all this struggling is worth the effort and would rather linger in his illness, representative of any despair of the heart.
But the question is asked of him and you each day. And the beauty is that even in your silence, you are heard and all you are required to do is to demonstrate to yourself and others this healing by taking up your mat and walking into the midst of your surroundings to serve others positioned on mats a long way from the healing waters.
Extraordinary scene. Even in the clamor of life, and even locked away sometimes in your concerns, your most private thoughts and prayers are heard, and you are thrust back into the surroundings you thought that you escaped with your infirmity – however you would define it.
All for this morning.
Meditation – March 15, 2010
Scripture
Sing praise to the LORD, you faithful; give thanks to God's holy name. For divine anger lasts but a moment; divine favor lasts a lifetime. At dusk weeping comes for the night; but at dawn there is rejoicing. Psalm 30:6-7
Prayer
Help me to take in fully the dawn.
>Such is the LORD’s compassion that indeed divine anger lasts but a moment. Transport yourself to the dawn as one who waits vigilant for the first gray hint to touch the edges of the black horizon. In doing such, you also indicate that you know the direction to turn. What a waste of a sleepless night if you did not remember the direction to turn, to be watching. And you do know the direction – it is implanted in your soul.
I am sure you have not missed that divine favor lasts an eternity. This is not a gift wrapped up in a box to be presented at some future time, but a communion of love, unmeasured, of a boundless, present duration of which you get a hint even in the darkest night you might experience alone.
How to speak of the unspeakable but to remind you to keep vigilant and remember that at dawn there is rejoicing.
All for this morning.
Meditation – March 14, 2010
Scripture
But the LORD said to Samuel: "Do not judge from his appearance or from his lofty stature, because I have rejected him. Not as man sees does God see, because man sees the appearance but the LORD looks into the heart." 1 Samuel 16:7
Prayer
On this foggy gray dawn, wind blowing across the sea, give me pause to known I am known.
>Response
In the flow of life – responding and reacting to people, events, and responsibilities – in the clamor that is routine, it is good to sit still and know deeply that beyond all the glamour of actions, words, accomplishments, concerns, you are known. And especially this is so as you reflect on those concerns you hold for those close to you as well as those who are nameless in their trials.
This verse prompts you to ease back in your chair and allow a smile to cross your face in the true knowledge, even inspiration and insight, that you are known. More intimately is this so than the knowing of any intimate partner and friend, child, even parent who has passed on. In fact, strangers in your midst have had as good a chance of knowing you than any of the latter – and many have.
But here this very moment, in the stillness your most intimate thoughts and aspirations, your concerns and hopes for others, regrets in life, missed opportunities to make a difference in the lives of others – even strangers – all these murmurings are known fully as the LORD looks into the heart. Take comfort in this knowledge.
All for this morning.
Meditation – March 13, 2010
Scripture
Your piety is like a morning cloud, like the dew that early passes away. Hosea 6:4
My sacrifice, O God, is a contrite spirit; a heart contrite and humbled, O God, you will not spurn. Psalm 51:19
Prayer
Almost in dialogue I hear the LORD and my response.
Response
Having floated amidst the morning clouds, you have first-hand knowledge of their transitory nature. It is not as if they go somewhere; they merely dissipate in a strong breeze or when the weather turns cold or for that matter hot. Don’t measure your performance in prayer or in consciousness to the morning clouds, to fog.
Instead, pray diligently expressing your sorrow for your failings – actually your failed attempts to be who you are ordained to be in your environment and in your unique circumstances. It is no use looking around to gain support from those who stand idly by for your decisions and transgressions. Deep within, seeking to burst the surface of your dreams is your heart-sense that seeks expression in my grace.
If you are to be a cloud, be a storm cloud that brings rain to water the parched earth.
All for this morning.
Meditation – March 12, 2010
Scripture
Let him who is wise understand these things; let him who is prudent know them. Straight are the paths of the LORD, in them the just walk, but sinners stumble in them. Hosea 14:10
Prayer
Give me wisdom and prudence.
Response
You seem puzzled by how could anyone stumble in a straight path. Turn your attention first to your prayer for wisdom; that you also discern the depth of the conversion of the spirit, of your spirit. What is happening is not something cosmetic; rather to your core you, all of you, are being transformed. The prayer is that you see, sense this transformation. This is not a one-time visit to a dermatologist but a new skin or covering that penetrates the depth of who you are.
You will never be the same again, that is, dull to my presence in your life. Yes, you can continue on your path as before but the ringing in your ears, or is it the melody that you hear on the wind or the roar of a distant wave will so distract you that you will stumble again and again; that is, until you give me your full attention – and this on a straight path.
Be the prudent man who walks in all climes and circumstances with a sure step, looking ahead, alert to all around, listening, responding, determined in his journey. The prudent man understands deeply the nature of this journey and prepares himself for all seasons of life with humor and commitment. Yes, humor –perhaps, grace would more precisely convey the meaning. Just as you finally catch the punch line in a story, so too is the enlightenment you will experience in a smile listening.
All for this morning.
Meditation – March 11, 2010
Scripture
This rather is what I commanded them: Listen to my voice; then I will be your God and you shall be my people. Walk in all the ways that I command you, so that you may prosper. Jeremiah 7:23
Prayer
Help me to invest in the prosperity you promise.
>Response
Not a bad way to consider this verse. Yes, you are lined up in ranks – sometimes quite uneven – voices heard as you chatter among yourselves, hardly keeping your attention on the reason for the assembly, waiting for the exhortation to begin. And then you realize that my talk has already begun – in fact for some time. You look around to gain support from those around you for your inattention. Yet, you notice that some are listening to my every word. You can continue to avoid giving me your full attention or you can move closer to catch what I am saying. I am inviting you to move closer.
Listen as one committed to depart on a new adventure. As you discover, each day is a new adventure, filled with new challenges. Though you might recognize the circumstances as a familiar terrain, as you approach you might just see a new turn that you had not anticipated – a word from someone not anticipated, a need you thought already satisfied, a lingering concern you had ignored. Well, this is why I urge you to listen to my voice.
Become aware that I am inviting you closer not only to be heard but so that you might prosper in realizing dreams that distinguish you, tending to those entrusted to you, serving those who are without hope, and bringing peace to the hearts of those who disturb and cannot yet hear.
All for this morning.
Meditation – March 10, 2010
Scripture
“Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets. I have come not to abolish but to fulfill. Amen, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or the smallest part of a letter will pass from the law, until all things have taken place. Matthew 5:17-18
Prayer
I smile – almost –about mention of the smallest letter. The verse doesn’t give me much room for negotiation. Help me to give up my negotiation stance in life.
>Response
The same is so even if you could not read because that smallest letter is imprinted in your heart. The law is more widespread than even you acknowledge. So do your best not to be glancing to your left and right and see what book your neighbor is reading. Rather, consult deeply your own. Pause on a word consisting of the smallest letters to lead you to the truth for the first time or to refresh your memory instilled so poignantly at your first reading.
Wherever you are in life, this day, this moment, there are before you signs that serve to impress the message upon you. Listen to the birds heralding spring in the distance, waking before dawn outside your window. Think of your effort if you were a film director trying to arrange a similar mood or theme of awakening, new beginnings in your work, and here it is arranged for you to prompt your memory of words read previously. All required of you is to be or become conscious.
Don’t make the law or my message to be more complicated than it is. You are to wake up, look around, refresh yourself in like company as you prepare for another day – working in whatever capacity be it of words, expression, service, learning, acceptance, diligence, and I could go on – until all things have taken place.
All for this morning.
Meditation – March 9, 2010
Scripture
Make known to me your ways, LORD; teach me your paths. Psalm 25:4
Prayer
Give me the courage to pray this verse and mean it.
>Response
Yes, you are perceptive this morning. It’s like mouthing the words of a hymn and suddenly everyone in the crowded cathedral is silent and only your voice is heard in the rafters loud and clear – or is it? Are you one of the silent ones?
As you appreciate, my ways are becoming known to you with increasing clarity each day. Even you cannot appear that you missed the lesson of the day issued in the headlines you read, the distress you encounter, the call to be patient and listen to those so close and those for whom you do not have a name. My ways lead through terrain that you have not negotiated previously and your aches and weariness are not only the signs of age, but more importantly the strength you are gaining as you work out in my grace.
You don’t need some glamorous and sometimes expensive power drink. No, all you need in increasing quantities is trust. Simple, is it not? And you acquire this in sincere prayer of listening, because in listening to me in stillness you will be guided. It’s as if you meet with me to check your map before you set out for the day – and during the day to confirm that you are on the correct course. You will find that not only does the path not confound over time, but that you gain increasing confidence as my ways are being made known to you, and more fully.
All for this morning.
Meditation – March 8, 2010
Scripture
But his servants came up and reasoned with him. "My father," they said, "if the prophet had told you to do something extraordinary, would you not have done it? All the more now, since he said to you, 'Wash and be clean,' should you do as he said." 2 Kings 5:13
Prayer
Help me to discern the ordinary experiences in life where you are found.
>Response
Yes, no longer expect bugles announcing his arrival in your life. Instead appreciate the subtly of my actions and grace that prompts you to perform miracles in his love. Don’t be concerned about the results or outcome but stay diligent to the process. A kind word, withholding a response until your companion or a passing stranger has the opportunity to express a need. Put aside if you can the assumption that you know the ending or what is unfolding, rather allow the unfolding in peace and in patience.
For today, note how truly ordinary is your life; how routine it is with the tasks that seem to dominate. Then, as if you are panning for gold nuggets, see what you discover knee deep in life that enriches you beyond all measure in an insight that you had missed earlier in something you read, in a familiar sight whose beauty had escaped you, in words spoken to you many times by a loved one – even if the person is no longer with you – that grips you deeply now. As you would say, do you get the drift?
Take note today of each burning bush you encounter in the people you see and from whom you hear, in the expressions of joy and even sorrow conveyed to you, the generosities you share and deliver, and the magnificence of creation surrounding you – not forgetting the spectacular sunrise over the surf this morning.
All for this morning.
Meditation – March 7, 2010
Scripture
There an angel of the LORD appeared to him in fire flaming out of a bush. As he looked on, he was surprised to see that the bush, though on fire, was not consumed. So Moses decided, "I must go over to look at this remarkable sight, and see why the bush is not burned." Exodus 2:2-3
Prayer
Help me to have not only the curiosity of the LORD’s wonder, but also the courage to check it out.
>Response
Can you just imagine Moses talking to himself aloud, wondering what was going on in front of him. The lesson is for you to do the same in the burning bushes you encounter daily. Perhaps, you don’t think the signs are so dramatic, but think again. Moses could easily have dismissed what he saw as an aberration caused after too long a night under the stars, but he didn’t. Keep your inquisitiveness alive at whatever age and no matter how long under the stars has dulled you to the magnificence before you.
And as you must gather, this is not only about confirming what you see, but also listening intently to what you hear. Moses could have easily confirmed that indeed the bush was burning and moved on, but he didn’t. He listened intently. Do the same whatever catches your attention – even a sleepless night.
Take note today of each burning bush you encounter in the people you see and from whom you hear, in the expressions of joy and even sorrow conveyed to you, the generosities you share and deliver, and the magnificence of creation surrounding you – not forgetting the spectacular sunrise over the surf this morning.
All for this morning.
Meditation – March 6, 2010
Scripture
So he got up and went back to his father. While he was still a long way off, his father caught sight of him, and was filled with compassion. He ran to his son, embraced him and kissed him. Luke 15:20
Prayer
No more familiar verse than this for me. Bring me to a deeper understanding.
>Response
For this insight, take a moment to see the actions involved, which serve as a model for your own life in the roles of someone needing forgiveness as well as being called upon to forgive. Sometimes, it easier to think of ,em>needing forgiveness. This is so especially when one considers God remote, just behind the furthest cloud formation. Now forgiving someone whether at your doorstep or inside your home or community – that is another matter. So here are the actions for you to reflection upon that serve as cues for you in daily life.
The son reflected upon his situation; he got up – stopped pitying himself; returned to his father; and begged forgiveness. Don’t miss the father’s actions. He was vigilant and ever hopeful for his son’s return; he was filled with compassion and did not harbor the anger and hurt that his son had caused; he demonstrated his love and did not allow the return to be expected; and most of all he celebrated as if there was no tomorrow – and there isn’t in forgiveness.
So where does that lead you today. Well, you are being instructed, guided actually, to wake up and embrace this moment to beg forgiveness and to offer forgiveness and compassion to those in your midst. Notice it is not an either/or for you to select. Both are required to demonstrate your understanding of this all too familiar verse.
All for this morning.
Meditation – March 5, 2010
Scripture
Jesus said to them, "Did you never read in the scriptures: 'The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; by the Lord has this been done, and it is wonderful in our eyes'? Matthew 21:42
Prayer
Such a powerful verse; give me deeper insight.
>Response
How many times have you read something whose message is so clear but you prefer to ignore the message; experienced something in life whose ramifications you preferred to dismiss; came upon an emissary who sought to guide you to a safe place, yet you chose to climb in loose earth? Do you yet understand that to absorb the meaning of the verse is not reading it aloud but rather deliberately with inner eyes that touch meaning even in the dark night of your life?
As you must see, the verse is not about the popularity of its contents. To drive the point home, Jesus is saying that you should be quite careful about lending your allegiance to those who would be architects of your lives. Read any newspaper or hear any exhortation on television or radio, and there they are ready to claim your allegiance in their dreams of neglect. No, you are being called to consciousness, to wake up, to embrace the freedom won for you. Incidentally, it is not a freedom won to allow you to go back to sleep.
Instead of leaving the room with your head down, turn back and hear it is wonderful in our eyes. Yes, catching the meaning, even late in your life at whatever age, is a special blessing on you and for which you should be prepared to reply thank-you from the depth of your heart.
All for this morning.
Meditation – March 4, 2010
Scripture
More tortuous than all else is the human heart, beyond remedy; who can understand it? I, the LORD, alone probe the mind and test the heart, To reward everyone according to his ways, according to the merit of his deeds. Jeremiah 17:9-10
Prayer
I can’t recall reading this verse previously. Perhaps, I avoided it. Bring me to a deeper understanding.
>Response
So it is no mystery the human heart. A bundle of energy – almost unguided – that rushes along this path and turns without warning in the opposite direction, like a child let loose in a playground for the first time, or a colt in a corral. Only the wise parent or perhaps you like the image of a horse whisperer who approaches to probe the inner spirit let loose. Do your best to identify with the child or the colt, not the parent or trainer.
You must admit that the understanding you enjoy at the present of your restless heart comes from the time you reserve for reflection and prayer. I am not suggesting that you be spread-eagle in a trance. The prayers I speak occur at times like this alone in my presence, moving about in your environment with reflective and receiving eyes, reaching within to someone in need, a smile reflective of your heart and not your circumstances.
It is good to accept – you actually have no choice – the human heart and all its complexity. But even more important is to accept graciously – again you have no choice – the LORD’s probing, testing, and refashioning that occurs each moment of your life experience.
All for this morning.
Meditation – March 3, 2010
Scripture
Then the mother of the sons of Zebedee approached him with her sons and did him homage, wishing to ask him for something. He said to her, "What do you wish?" She answered him, "Command that these two sons of mine sit, one at your right and the other at your left, in your kingdom." Matthew 20:20-21
Prayer
Help me to consider “the others” who surround me.
>Response
How many times have you witnessed such selfless determination in life? This was not a mother trying to get her child in a good school, or to win a prestigious appointment. No, in a worldly sense, this was requesting that they be included in a mission for which they would not return – again, in a worldly sense – but we are not talking about worlds. Consider, if you missed it, the great faith the mother displayed in these verses.
So your prayer should be for a similar great faith to give up what is dearest to you, accepting that you do not yet possess the understanding that surpasses your capacity. That does not mean to move about your surroundings and toss out all most valuable. No, what you are being asked to do is to toss out the attachment – the hold – that prevents you from walking briskly on the path in faith even if circumstances are such that you don’t leave the town in which you reside.
Notice that the mother is asked, what do you wish? Do you miss the invitation that resounds in your heart; the same voice that you hear so clearly in prayer? Just imagine, you don’t have to scour the town looking for him, hoping you don’t miss him. He is here right before you and not in a crowd of onlookers seeking his attention.
All for this morning.
Meditation – March 2, 2010
Scripture
Learn to do good. Make justice your aim: redress the wronged, hear the orphan's plea, defend the widow. Isaiah 1:17
Prayer
Help me to put these words into practice.
>Response
Now how exactly are you going to redress the wronged or redress the wrongs? It is easy to keep these words in an historical setting, fueled by some biblical extravaganza on the screen. These words are meant for you today, and not in some darkened theater of the heart.
Take some modest steps and see your surroundings as if you have just arrived. Don’t walk about with eyes down, but rather as you would a tourist who invested much in the ticket and accommodations; and surely you agree that you have invested much in your journey to date. And please, I am not talking about monetary costs and time invested to reach where you are. I am talking about what you have gained in loss. Think about that.
See who surrounds you and has been alongside you for some time; though you now seem surprised at what you see with the heart’s eyes. And as the verse states, take action – make justice your aim: redress the wronged, hear the orphan’s please, defend the widow. And you might be surprised with eyes raised to find some candidates for your action quite close – literally.
All for this morning.
Meditation – March 1, 2010
Scripture
"Give and gifts will be given to you; a good measure, packed together, shaken down, and overflowing, will be poured into your lap. For the measure with which you measure will in return be measured out to you." Luke 6:38
Prayer
Guide me to be generous in action and spirit.
>Response
Can you hear the grain in a large tin measuring cup as the contents are being tossed about for accuracy, the contents overflowing into the burlap bag you have brought. There seems to be no effort made to ensure that you do not receive more than you have paid or earned. You know it as does the one dispensing your reward and it takes much for you to observe what is happening because you know that you have not earned the reward. Yet, you are inwardly and outwardly delighted and can hardly contain your delight.
That is the scene for each of you. And as you leave the counting house, be determined to surprise him when you return next with the fruit of your labor – and what is that labor? How about dispensing to those in need, even if not a material need, you attention. Yes, attention. Eyes direct, listening; not that you can solve all anguish you encounter, but you can relieve perhaps one.
Look forward to your next journey to turn in the fruits of your labor and see how no matter how much you put on the worn and scarred wooden table, your reward will exceed all expectations. Take this message into your day. Your reward will exceed all expectations.
All for this morning.
Meditation – February 28, 2010
Scripture
About eight days after he said this, he took Peter, John, and James and went up the mountain to pray. While he was praying his face changed in appearance and his clothing became dazzling white. And behold, two men were conversing with him, Moses and Elijah, who appeared in glory and spoke of his exodus that he was going to accomplish in Jerusalem. Luke 9:28-31
Prayer
My attention is caught by the past and future time being folded into the present on this mountain. What am I to learn from this scene?
>Response
First and foremost, take the scene as a call to be present because indeed the past and future do fold into the present of your lives. See, discern even, that you are being invited to comprehend a dimensionless time that is not bounded or confined by why transpired or what is unfolding. These verses depict the sweep of eternity – just a hint for you to consider.
And it is in this dimension of time that you are called to witness in the transfiguration where time as you know it loses its hold. A hint is being presented of the direction you are headed on the road that you travel, a road that dear ones and ancestors have preceded you, as well as those who follow you some far behind.
Allow your mind to cede its authority to your heart in order to sense a hint of the eternal, yes eternal, love of God.
All for this morning.
Meditation – February 27, 2010
Scripture
When the earth and all its people quake, it is I who hold its pillars firm. Psalm 75:3
Prayer
Another earthquake in the news nudges me to be quiet in your presence.
>Response
Your feet placed firmly on the ground, you sometimes fail to recognize your frailty until adversity strikes. And then you are overwhelmed, or at least your mind is, in trying to accept that you are a traveler across the terrain of life that can without warning tear asunder. Then all your previous planning, bank and retirement accounts, the very foundations of your homes, the availability of food, the transportation upon which you depend, livelihood, connection with family and friends – in a word security – evaporate in an instant of terror. When indeed you fall or are thrown to your knees in prayer and repentance.
But before you don a sack cloth and dab your face with ashes, read further – I will hold its pillars firm. This is no promise that you will not experience calamity in your lives or its aftershocks. However, it is an invitation to look beyond the smoldering embers that have enveloped you and seek strength and resolve in my presence.
How do you possibly draw such strength? The answer is by depleting whatever you have in reserve to dispense to those in need through service, prayer, compassion and love for those less fortunate – your neighbors however removed from you, pleading and worshipping in words and ways incomprehensible to you, with skin color and stature unlike your own, but all riding on the same globe in the galaxy of creation.
All for this morning.
Meditation – February 26, 2010
Scripture
My soul waits for the LORD more than sentinels wait for the dawn. Psalm 130:6
Prayer
So few words, yet such deep sentiment. Stir in me that vigilance.
Response
Remember the sun also rises, the title to a book that you read and reread in your youth. So, your vigilance is rewarded. And perhaps, the verse allows you to see that the waiting is always rewarded, even when a storm swings outside your window, or in life’s circumstances.
So what you hear this morning is turn to see the first light. Be among the first to announce the dawn, not only to reward wakefulness but especially to stir those who might have nodded off in weariness – such is their travail.
Fill yourself with expectation; greet the light today as if it were your first dawn. Then ask why sentinels were posted, and what was expected of you when light dawned. Surely, you don’t think that you were to remain on the ramparts or worse that you’d go back to sleep. No, first light announces your departure on a new adventure. There will be plenty of time to sleep – later. Grasp the opportunity that first light grants in your life and those you encounter.
All for this morning.
Meditation – February 25, 2010
Scripture
“For everyone who asks, receives; and the one who seeks, finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.” Matthew 7:8
Prayer
Help me to accept this simple formula.
>Response
Remember that the everyone is you. All you are required to do is ask, seek, and knock. No easy requirement when you are immersed in routine and distracted by details of considerable importance – or so you think.
Take a moment; stop what you are rushing about to complete and turn your attention to this. Alone in the silence, say softly what you would ask without judging the worthiness of the request or requestor; give expression precisely to what are you seeking; come to understand what force or influence is keeping you from knocking on the door that is directly before you; and finally, receive.
Is it that you can’t believe that the prayers rising from the depth of your heart will be heard, or more importantly answered? Test the promise contained in the verse, not looking behind to see if anyone is listening or observing, but direct your prayer to him who waits, whom you seek, at whose door you have hesitated up until now to knock.
All for this morning.
Meditation – February 24, 2010
Scripture
A clean heart create for me, God; renew in me a steadfast spirit. Do not drive me from your presence, nor take from me your holy spirit. Psalm 51:12-13
Prayer
Help to develop in me sincere contrition for my wrongs.
>Response
Instead of pulling out a pad and pencil to list your transgressions over time, consider your life without the presence of the Holy Spirit. Now that is a calamity to avoid – and at all costs. What would life be, if you woke early in the morning and an empty echo greeted you and not the voice that is always close? Indeed, you would believe that you were still dreaming – and an anxious dream at that.
Take comfort in knowing at your deepest consciousness – where words are not yet formed and thoughts are idle – that you are accompanied, are one with the Holy Spirit that fulfills and fills you with its breath under all circumstances. You are like a prisoner observed in a dungeon far below the earth – that is how it would seem to those absent to the Holy Spirit – who ranges in freedom far above in the thermals beyond anyone’s grasp.
So indeed, pray sincerely and consciously for a clean heart and for renewal of a steadfast spirit that becomes the embodiment of compassion, forgiveness, and love in your life.
All for this morning.
Meditation – February 23, 2010
Scripture
So shall my word be that goes forth from my mouth; It shall not return to me void, but shall do my will, achieving the end for which I sent it. Isaiah 55:11
Prayer
Help me to be your word.
>Response
In a sense, you think of a word as simply a few vowels and consonants floating on your breath, directed to a person standing close or far depending upon the range of your voice or the mode of communication. You hardly think of the significance of what you say, most times.
Consider that you become my word in your every action and being – in praise, joy, sorrow, silence – even when you err or are in confusion. As my word reaches you, so you become the word, or put another way, you are in whom I am invested, and as you watch your financial markets, let me say that I make good investments.
In my word, you are transformed. And as much as you might struggle with what transformation entails, rest assured that you will never be the same. In fact, it becomes more and more difficult for you to recall that former condition – however, you might seek to resist from time to time the you unfolding.
All for this morning.
Meditation – February 22, 2010
Scripture
Even when I walk through a dark valley, I fear no harm for you are at my side; your rod and staff give me courage. Psalm 23:4
Prayer
One of the most familiar verses for me. Bring me to a deeper understanding.
>Response
Emphasize in this reading the darkness as it is outside your window, and include in the scene the cold, though the wind seems to have subsided. The darkness represents the uncertainty that enfolds you from time to time as a fog would come across the mountains into a valley. Alone you can conjure up all variety of threats, yet this verse encourages you to shout for joy in the company of loved ones who accompany you on this trek, guided by the shepherd of your soul.
These words are meant literally – yes, you walk in darkness uncertain of the path at times. Yet, allow in my grace no anxiety to cause your steps to falter, to become hesitant. Nurture a sense of my presence, not just as a companion or even guide, but as a protector who seeks to embolden you, to stir courage. You have nothing to fear. Nothing! No circumstance in your life, not one, has power over you – even if you were drawing your last breath – and you are not. In fact, every experience, encounter, circumstance are aligned to support your transformation in my love.
And what is this transformation? Think of it as a process that becomes clearer as you reflect on where you were yesterday and where you are going today. Though it might indeed be dark or uncertain, my presence is as a torch lighting your way toward a new vista each day never to be repeated. See if you can see with new eyes this day unfolding, at the adventure waiting, even if you do not leave your residence. Take courage.
All for this morning.
Meditation – February 21, 2010
Scripture
For God commands the angels to guard you in all your ways. With their hands they shall support you, lest you strike your foot against a stone. Psalm 91:11-12
Prayer
Quite an assignment. Help me to perceive your presence even when I wander on an unfamiliar path.
>Response
How many times on the by-ways of life does a chance encounter lead to a course correction, a realignment of intentions, or reassessment of goals. And you attribute it to someone you meet, an article read, a reflection that occurs, a prayer that springs into mind, or a call or email received.
This reading is to encourage you to look at your life and the journey you are on as interconnected – not controlled – with a host of angelic influences that work to prevent you striking your foot against a stone. Now please, don’t begin to tabulate your bruises starting with yesterdays and going back as long as your memory and your idle time will allow. Instead, reflect deeply on the truth that celestial forces are ranged in your support that outstrips any surface injury your mind can envision.
Release yourself from mind games; enter deeply your heart in my grace; see yourself protected from any conceivable harm protected as you are with heavenly hosts accompanying you on your journey, in whatever your circumstances of age, infirmity, indecision. Recall this day that God commands the angels to guard you in all your ways.
All for this morning.
Meditation – February 20, 2010
Scripture
Jesus said to them in reply, "Those who are healthy do not need a physician, but the sick do. I have not come to call the righteous to repentance but sinners." Luke 5:31-32
Prayer
Isn’t it interesting, I am more inclined to include myself in the healthy group, missing the intent of his words. Help me to pause.
>Response
This is no time to become paranoid of every failing, meaning every time you didn’t measure up to your aspirations. Yes, aspirations. Rather it is a time that as an artist you examine your work and continue to refine it, much as a wood craftsman smoothes rough edges, a musician his execution, an artist his blend of colors, a wanderer his course, someone in prayer his intention. You are all artists.
And what do you discover is that each of you has a Divine tutor who guides and instructs your artistry and not some rote adherence to a prescribed movement. What freedom is contained therein, yet what acceptance also in the authority and love of the guide. All that is required of you is to be present, listen intently, and to execute in the artistic expression of your life.
Now how is it possible, you ask? Have you missed that your artistry is not contained in some sterile work that is to be hung on a wall or secured in a vault, but rather in your precious request for forgiveness, your heart felt and earnest desire to repent – do better, your diligent response to the call to service, your compassion, and – lest you become too gloomy as those who wear hair shirts in this season – joy expressed as you touch those who have misplaced joy and vibrancy in their lives regardless of your own personal circumstances.
All for this morning.
Meditation – February 19, 2010
Scripture
This, rather, is the fasting that I wish: releasing those bound unjustly, untying the thongs of the yoke; Setting free the oppressed, breaking every yoke; sharing your bread with the hungry, sheltering the oppressed and the homeless; Clothing the naked when you see them, and not turning your back on your own. Then your light shall break forth like the dawn, and your wound shall quickly be healed; your vindication shall go before you, and the glory of the LORD shall be your rear guard. Isaiah 58:6-8
Prayer
Remind me of these words in my walk about.
>Response
You are not exactly a Bushman. He is more alert to his surroundings, and that should be your prayer – to be more conscious of your surroundings. It is not all sacrifice you know. As it is written in this selection, then your light shall break forth like the dawn and your wound shall quickly be healed. You will find that you experience a freedom, a release of a force that you hadn’t even released that you contained within. Your question will be where did this inclination to serve, to be compassionate and forgiving come? And the answer will resound from your heart; it was always there only neglected in unconsciousness and neglect.
No time to sit examining the whys; rather the time is now to act. Perform the fasting I seek. Open your eyes; cease your procrastination and excuses. If you labor defending your generosity of yesterday, clearly it is within your capacity to be more today. There are more oppressed gathering before you while you talk of yesterdays, and this might surprise you – some are within touching – I didn’t say striking — distance.
And remember, your action comes with a promise: your light will break forth like the dawn, and your wound – all of them – shall be quickly healed.
All for this morning.
Meditation – February 18, 2010
Scripture
What profit is there for one to gain the whole world yet lose or forfeit himself? Luke 9:25
Prayer
I can’t overlook this verse from my youth. Help me to delve deeper into its meaning.
Response
There are occasions when words spoken or read seem to touch a ridgeline in your soul that you can feel as if a scar from a long healed wound. This is verse is your ridgeline. Each time you touch it, the words apply more appropriately where you are in life. In your youth, they served to influence your questioning of values and aspirations, later career choices, professional interests, creative pursuits, and service commitments. And always that haunting refrain, what good is it if you gain everything but lose what is most precious.
And so, like in the past, you must again define what is most precious to you. It is not that the list changes. Rather, your appreciation of what is precious is more defined, more clear, less disguised. Here is a paradox for you to ponder: in loss you are able to see value. This is not said to have you bemoan your losses – those most precious losses – but rather to encourage you to seek what was lost in new opportunities to serve, show compassion, love, commit, discover, create, forgive.
Imagine revealing to a loved one who you are and have become without a resume of accomplishments, itineraries of travel, buildings occupied, degrees acquired, stature achieve, miles raced, but with a steady silence and confidence that you are known as you are coming to know yourself.
All for this morning.
Meditation – February 17, 2010
Scripture
Have mercy on me, O God, in your goodness; in the greatness of your compassion wipe out my offense. Thoroughly wash me from my guilt and of my sin cleanse me. Psalm 51:3-4
Prayer
On this Ash Wednesday bring me to an acceptance of my failings and an intimate and personal appreciation of the greatness of your compassion.
Response
Here begins a season of pause and reflection. All the rushing about in whatever your circumstances and at whatever speed you are now able to muster ceases for a time. It is as if you have entered another time dimension, leaving the routine of your life to idle. Here you view the treasures of your heart that have been left for the most part unattended. This is the season for you to conduct an inventory; don’t allow the clamor on the streets to distract you from this task.
As a curator possesses the skill, training, and knowledge to assess what is in the treasure chamber, so you in considering the special, individual gifts entrusted. You might define them as special relationships, opportunities to reach or protect the disadvantaged, skills to promote a message of hope, dedication to a cause, discernment to see the truth, generosity that is unwavering, joy to be shared, patience that endures.
Once the inventory is complete it is time to evaluate how well you are doing in tapping these gifts, displaying these treasures, not keeping them from view as if in a private collection not open to the public. And then, and this is critical for this season of repentance, to admit what has prevented you from bringing the gifts into the open to be shared. For these reasons that invariably involve selfishness, greed, self-absorption, coveting the treasures of another, cowardice, and fear, you are to turn to his goodness and compassion to wipe away your momentary failings – momentary in the fullness of eternity stretching before you. Choose to return fully your attention to, to be conscious of his love and forgiveness in your life beginning today.
All for this morning.
Meditation – February 16, 2010
Scripture
When I say, "My foot is slipping," your love, LORD, holds me up. When cares increase within me, your comfort gives me joy. Psalm 94:18-19
Prayer
Help me to catch a deeper meaning here.
Response
On one level, of course, it relates to protecting the child as it wanders off to explore an ever widening circle of interests. And truly you can recount instances where vigilance on your part was called upon to ensure that discovery did not lead to injury. On another level, the Psalmist is reminding you at whatever age that his comfort and joy are there in abundance to support you.
But don’t miss the critical opening three words, when I say. Those words you could easily overlook, yet provide the key to receiving the comfort and joy. In those words you acknowledge your missteps, perhaps trying to climb too high unsupported by guide wires, not wearing proper shoes, encountering unexpected weather conditions. But there you are slipping, acknowledging a need for assistance. As you can appreciate, the words form the essence of prayer.
So today, be vigilant to the atmospheric conditions, and do not hesitant to whisper or shout, my foot is slipping, and reflect upon what happens to you this very day.
All for this morning.
Meditation – February 15, 2010
Scripture
But if any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God who gives to all generously and ungrudgingly, and he will be given it. James 1:5
Prayer
Tell me about wisdom.
Response
Don’t confuse wisdom to the answers for a quiz or exam. Wisdom is the immediate understanding you gain in prayer to those troubling questions you carry and know that just beyond the curtain all will be clear. Wisdom is the parting of that curtain of doubt. Some basic questions for you to ponder and await the wisdom of response are, who are you; why are you here; where are you going?
Doesn’t that cut to the heart of that for which you seek wisdom? And those questions also allow you to understand how personal the answers become, that is, the same answers are not given to the first fifty callers. It is in the private time you reserve to ask the questions that the answers are given. Once you engage in this dialogue, you will discover another dimension of prayer. You’re like someone who has been hearing over and over again words and explanations cited by authorities, and then in an instant you realize that you have the translation to a sacred text that had eluded the experts over the ages.
And all you have to do – yes do – is to ask God for the answers you seek, your God who gives to all generously and ungrudgingly.
All for this morning.
Meditation – February 14, 2010
Scripture
Thus says the LORD: Cursed is the man who trusts in human beings, who seeks his strength in flesh, whose heart turns away from the LORD. He is like a barren bush in the desert that enjoys no change of season, But stands in a lava waste, a salt and empty earth. Jeremiah 17:5-6
Scriptue
Blessed are you who are now hungry, for you will be satisfied. Blessed are you who are now weeping, for you will laugh. Luke 6:21
Prayer
My attention is called to both selections this morning. Help me to be someone of all seasons and in laughter.
Response
In both Scripture selections, don’t you see the contrast – desert and water, weeping and laughter? Isn’t it the change of seasons in life that attracts your attention and causes you to pause in your sometimes frenetic activity? Young – old; prosperous – pressed; well – ill; active – immobile; bright – dull; vigorous – inactive, life – death. Notice on the surface all progress to diminishment, except laughter, prayer, joy, celebration, service, patience, endurance, and most of all love that grows, expands, overwhelms.
So to be of all seasons – in eternity – cultivate within what is not ruled by the seasons of your age.
All for this morning.
Meditation – February 13, 2010
Scripture
He ordered the crowd to sit down on the ground. Then, taking the seven loaves he gave thanks, broke them, and gave them to his disciples to distribute, and they distributed them to the crowd. Mark 8:6
Prayer
Help me to a deeper understanding of what is happening in this verse.
Response
A more interesting question is what is happening in your life? Are you puzzled some time at how limited resources seem to stretch far beyond a logical or rational explanation? What do you think the disciples were wondering as they moved through the crowd distributing the bread seemingly without end? Do you think it did not hit them until they reached the 4,000?
So that is for you to consider this day. Don’t wait until you reach the end of the journey to say to yourself – Hey, what was happening here? Rather see, be conscious of, be a witness to, the bread that you receive and more importantly the bread that you distribute in service – yes, there’s that word again. Be awake to what is happening here – now.
And a footnote – awake you will become aware of the crowd that sits patiently awaiting sustenance. Instead of looking at your feet in self-absorption, sitting before you will see a panorama of souls who wait patiently for someone to distribute the sustenance of my grace and love; and to add a twist – looking up, you are also one of the hungry as he approaches with bread reserved for you.
All for this morning.
Meditation – February 12, 2010
Scripture
He took him off by himself away from the crowd. He put his finger into the man's ears and, spitting, touched his tongue; then he looked up to heaven and groaned, and said to him, "Ephphatha!" (that is, "Be opened!") Mark 7:33-34
Prayer
My eyes touch Ephphatha as my mouth sounds out the word. It is as if my speech is restored.
Response
You don’t have to go back into history to realize the restoration of hearing and speech. Notice I said restored. One of the ingredients of prayer – going off away from the crowd; another is experiencing one’s vision improving miraculously so that it is not only a text that you can read and understand, but more importantly you can hear seemingly for the first time the needs of your neighbor and family member in your midst.
Ephphatha is the breath of the Holy Spirit that rushes over you as your vision and hearing improves and you move in response to another’s circumstances, putting aside your needs. No need to rush for a translation; allow the sound of the word to roll off your tongue in whisper and in service.
So this day, do you think it is possible for you to perform a miracle of love and healing away from the crowd?
All for this morning.
Meditation – February 11, 2010
Scripture
From that place he went off to the district of Tyre. He entered a house and wanted no one to know about it, but he could not escape notice. Mark 7:24
Prayer
>If my memory serves, we once went to Tyre for a respite during the civil war than retreated swiftly to Beirut when the artillery sounded. Help me to understand more deeply this verse.
Response
What does memory serve except to put yourself into a scene to help you better understand what is happening. Why would Jesus enter a house to escape notice? Before you reach for an esoteric response, how about tapping your memory for understanding? Respite is the word; yet artillery sounded for him in the appearance of the woman seeking help for her daughter. A significant difference in your experience is that you sought safety in retreat, Jesus stayed in the turmoil and swirl of the attention he was receiving for a purpose.
Spend some moments in thought about his motivation and do your best to go deeper than the memorized phrases that peppered your education, and now in your age – if you are not diligent and persistent – keep you from touching his divine love directly.
Some might dismiss the notion that he wanted no one to know about his presence; but for this morning accept that as it is recorded so it was. And what if I took those words and put them into the present time: he entered your home this morning in the dark and didn’t want you to know? Before you rent your garments, be assured he could not escape your notice. Isn’t that powerful to consider this morning that vigilant, you caught his presence in your midst? He who was long sought was found in your midst. And I ask – now what?
All for this morning.
Meditation – February 10, 2010
Scripture
Find your delight in the LORD who will give you your heart's desire. Psalm 37:4
Prayer
>Sounds easy, deceptively so. Help me to understand more deeply.
Response
You are like a child on a treasure hunt. Where do I look, you ask? Let me suggest that the answer resides within you. Your heart’s desire is quite clear, if you can push aside the invasion of what others insist you are supposed to do, and who you are supposed to be. Listen first to your heart’s desire and finding delight in the LORD will be quite immediate.
So, take courage and give voice to your heart’s desire. If neglected, it might take you some time to unearth this buried treasure – and bring it to the surface of your consciousness. This task is not tedious but it does require tenacity as many will say it is too late, or even your rational mind will taunt you with, are you kidding? Owning your heart’s desire might be your single most important challenge in life.
There will be some who will accuse themselves that it is almost sinful to nourish and nurture a heart’s desire – as if it were some forbidden text kept in your closet. Be assured that your heart’s desire has its birth in my grace and love, and cannot be sullied. So without announcing it from the rooftop, instead go deep within and put words – even silent expression – to your heart’s desire and it will become manifest in the shadows of what was once your area of neglect.
All for this morning.
Meditation – February 9, 2010
Scripture
He responded, "Well did Isaiah prophesy about you hypocrites, as it is written: 'This people honors me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me.” Mark 7:6
Prayer
>Keep me conscious in my prayer.
Response
It is easier to identify the hypocrite in your midst than the hypocrite within. This is not said to castigate you but to encourage you to be with your heart in all your actions. What a guide is granted you! No longer do you tabulate the omissions and failing of your neighbor – even if that neighbor is in your family, the work place, social or church community.
Yes, as you prayed, the only way to avoid hypocrisy is to become conscious. Don’t turn to your neighbor to nod knowingly about another’s indiscretions. Better to spend the time in quiet reflection on where you have been less than honest in expressing yourself – and yes that expression finds its way in how you interact with and respond to the needs of others.
Finally, hypocrisy to be corrected needs a bit of lightness, not dark brooding. What better way to accept your own foibles than with a touch of humor – so what if others conclude that you are becoming childlike? You know what he said about becoming like little children.
All for this morning.
Meditation – February 8, 2010
Scripture
As they were leaving the boat, people immediately recognized him. Mark 6:54
Prayer
>So simply I ask that I recognize you in my life.
Response
Yes, that is a simple request that is granted to you this day and with continuing intensity and clarity as you continue to awake to my love and grace. You will recognize my gait as I move about your surroundings, appearing unannounced at all hours of the day and night administering to your needs, offering solace to the lonely, comfort to those grieving, encouragement to those wavering, understanding and discernment to those in a quandary, favor to those who persevere, approval to those who cultivate patience, and strength to those who are weak.
The recognition is immediate as it would be if you were searching for someone lost in a dark forest, only to discover that you are found. Yes, in your search you discover you are found. Reflect on the last.
For today, go forth with the absolute assurance that you are recognized. Though you might have thought yourself a stranger, you are my intimate friend. I sought you – and here you thought that recognition depended upon you retaining my physical characteristics, the garments that I would be wearing, those who would accompany, or the timing of the day or the circumstances of your life. Relax in my recognition of you. And no need to excuse your physical appearance, garments, companions, that it is late, or excuse the circumstances of your life.
All for this morning.
Meditation – February 7, 2010
Scripture
Your right hand saves me. The LORD will complete what he has done for me; your kindness, O LORD, endures forever; forsake not the work of your hands. Psalm 138:7-8
Prayer
>A birthday approaching, help me to draw increasing confidence that the LORD’s work in me will be completed.
Response
Isn’t it reassuring to know that the Lord’s work will be completed in all of you listening. It’s as if you are sitting in a large auditorium and before you on the stage is the master craftsman. He is sharing with you his trade of service, love, and compassion.
You are taking notes down vigorously as he crafts a work of art using an ancient wood that you had not seen previously. You can’t remember when your attention was so fixed, so focused. Though you are not in the first row, it is as if you were because his voice is clear; what he is holding up for you to see is as visible as if it were in your hands. Now here’s the secret to be imparted to you this morning – the work of art is in your hands.
The question is what will you do with it?
All for this morning.
Meditation – February 6, 2010
Scripture
“Give your servant, therefore, an understanding heart. “ 1 Kings 3:9
Prayer
>Along with Solomon, that is my prayer as well.
Response
You can’t miss as long as you take time to pause and not allow yourself to be pulled into the maelstrom of activity that could easily dictate every waking moment in mindlessness.
You might ask what is – an understanding heart. Note carefully, Solomon did not ask for an understanding mind. An understanding heart parts the curtain before you that wraps people and circumstances in doubt and uncertainty. Through the curtain you discover acceptance, detachment – and through adversity even humor and understanding; there is that word understanding again. An understanding heart is relaxed though its pulse is vibrant and alert, not in slumber as those whose minds stir turmoil.
So you like Solomon have voiced a worthy prayer. Notice how your footsteps slow, but are no less determined; how your peripheral vision improves as a vast panorama opens to you; how you hear even a silent plaintive whisper in need. So the question for you is who are you to be with an understanding heart?
All for this morning.
Meditation – February 5, 2010
Scripture
You, LORD, give light to my lamp; my God brightens the darkness about me. With you I can rush an armed band, with my God to help I can leap a wall. Psalm 18:29-30
Prayer
>Help me to feel your energy.
Response
In this day of technology and film experiences, it might be difficult to place yourself in an audience of the past where such imaginings were not conceived. To leap a wall – your question is how high?
Go back to the first verse. Take these words in literally. Your LORD gives light to your lamp – to all you are, the essence of yourself, what distinguishes you from another – in some cases, what distinguishes you from a rock. It is with that light that all about you gives off, my light that reaches into the gloom of despair, sloth, resignation, and hopelessness. And as you know by now it is for my purpose and not to drawn praise from those whose eyes are almost blinded. So take these words seriously and do not look as if they apply to another.
Now the verse that caught your attention describes what happens to you when you appreciate deeply how different you are now with the light. No need to ask how many are in the armed band before you or how high the wall. The light empowers you with trust as you become an instrument of my grace and love. See where you are led. Notice I said see, since the darkness has diminished all about you.
All for this morning.
Meditation – February 4, 2010
Scripture
"Yours, O LORD, are grandeur and power, majesty, splendor, and glory. For all in heaven and on earth is yours; yours, O LORD, is the sovereignty; you are exalted as head over all. 1 Chronicles 29:11
Prayer
>Stir in me praise.
Response
There are mornings when it is right to say simply this verse in acknowledgement of my presence in your life and world. It is not that I need such praise. You do. What do I mean? Once you utter those words in your breath, you demonstrate at the deepest level your faith and hope, your acceptance in your life of what does not seem to calibrate to what you intend, you look up and await with patience, some would say patient endurance, the next turn in the path.
With this selection, you see perhaps for the first time that life is not all about you, but rather you in relation to all the LORD’s sovereign creation, and you await the unfolding of his will in your life – wherever you are on this journey and in whatever circumstances you find yourself .
Catch the splendor and majesty; propel yourself into the panorama of creation; listen to the swirl about you. And if you are ready, pray intently that in awakening you serve the LORD’s design.
All for this morning.
Meditation – February 3, 2010
Scripture
When the sabbath came he began to teach in the synagogue, and many who heard him were astonished. They said, "Where did this man get all this? What kind of wisdom has been given him? What mighty deeds are wrought by his hands! Mark 6:2
Prayer
>Help me to listen.
Response
Yes, listen. Try not to be quick to respond with questions. Just listen. And when the truth settles, your response will be quite natural as the words meant for you this day. Listening though requires you to calm your feverish mind that seeks to organize and parse each syllable. Resist this as a teacher would ultimately chasten a student who raises a hand before a teaching is conveyed, drawing attention to a premature response rather than a called for reflection of the spirit.
Don’t if you can be distracted by appearances or atmosphere, but seek to delve into the heart of expression calmly and patiently. Catch the melody that rides just below the surface print of my words. Don’t be surprised if you begin to recall that once forgotten rhapsody in my grace.
You are invited to take a comfortable seat in a music chamber acoustically perfect; it is a place reserved for you alone. Wrap-around sound assures that you will experience fully the performance that is resumed each time you enter; and you will find that you begin to recognize subtleties previously missed, overlooked, or ignored. Good listening!
All for this morning.
Meditation – February 2, 2010
Scripture
“Now, Master, you may let your servant go in peace, according to your word, for my eyes have seen your salvation, which you prepared in the sight of all the peoples: a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and glory for your people Israel.” Luke 2:29-32
Prayer
>Help me to a fuller understanding of these verses.
Response
Take note of the inclusiveness of these words. There is no hint of keeping the light hidden in some secret temple or text. Rather salvation is prepared and revealed in the sight of all the peoples. Instead of thinking of Gentiles as Other, embrace them as Everyone.
Now doesn’t that simplify your theology? No need to check one’s membership card. All you are asked, even required to do is to share the light which you have inherited as did your neighbor in the same spirit. Life is like being thrown into the same room filled with strangers and establishing some common connection. Well you have it here in that you share the same light – however you have allowed it to dim or blaze in your lifetime.
Today, just imagine – I know it might be difficult to change overnight – that everyone you encounter belongs to the same dynamic community even if they live many miles distant or sit across the table in your family.
All for this morning.
Meditation – February 1, 2010
Scripture
As he was getting into the boat, the man who had been possessed pleaded to remain with him. But he would not permit him but told him instead, "Go home to your family and announce to them all that the Lord in his pity has done for you." Mark 5:18-19
Prayer
>How many times do I prefer to remain in a comfortable place where there is no need to reveal who I am or becoming? For some reason I am reminded of Hemmingway’s short story, A Clean Well-Lighted Place.
Response
So literary this early morning in the dark! The message contained in this reading is become known. Allow the words of scripture to embolden you, inspire you, to display the light that shines from within. And to shine the light among those who think they know you, but will learn differently.
I am not suggesting that you rush about the streets of your community or in the corridors of whatever power you serve quoting this verse, rather that you display your light and truth openly in your actions both among those whom you are known and those who are meeting you for the first time.
And I trust that you didn’t miss that the command the healed man receives is to share the news of what the Lord in his pity has done for you. Think a moment today on for what you are thankful in your life and return the favor not in words but in action – and that includes prayer.
All for this morning.
Meditation – January 31, 2010
Scripture
[Love] bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails. 1 Corinthians 13:7-8
Prayer
>I remember the impact these words made upon me when I read them alone in Beirut during a civil war. Help them never to lose their impact.
Response
The question really is how to keep fresh what is familiar and true? Like brushing one’s teeth, the task is so routine that one might diminish the value of the teeth cared for. The first step is to recognize what is true; what one identifies at the deepest level as indistinguishable from one’s essential nature, as with love that transcends time and space, dismisses aging, illness, suffering, and even death.
Let me offer in recognizing what is true, be expansive and not clutch defensively what you believe you hold or possess as love. Love is found, yes, in relationship with those you know most intimately; love is to be cherished and cultivated in families – even families where you might not have selected all the participants; love is to shared among those you hardly know and even more those you do not know. Love is the elixir that offers and promotes in my grace a divine promise for eternity. Love is expansive and cannot be contained.
So with this understanding, how could love lose its luster? How could it be considered routine in any circumstances of life? How could your eyes glide over the words as if on ice? Realize more deeply than you have to date that love never fails.
All for this morning.
Meditation – January 30, 2010
Scripture
A clean heart create for me, God; renew in me a steadfast spirit. Do not drive me from your presence, nor take from me your holy spirit. Psalm 51:12-13
Prayer
>As a snow storm of the decade, they say, swirls outside my window in the dark, listen to my prayer uttered in the words and sentiment of David.?
Response
Powerful words that reach deep into his heart and in doing so shed appearances as David lays himself bare before his God. Notice David knows what he wants, needs few words to express his most urgent needs – and they are not about appearances, power, respect, success, even long life. No, he pleads for a clean heart – that is, he asks for forgiveness, expiation of his sins; he pleads for the steadfast spirit which he once recognized within him to be renewed; he pleads that he not be abandoned, dismissed from intimacy with his God, and that the holy spirit that fills him with God’s presence not leave him in his despair.
Now, how does that apply to you and you and you? To get where David is – not was (remember these verses reach you in this moment – storm and all swirling about outside) you must pause and shed all pretence, some would say disguise. Then, and this is exciting – pray diligently David’s prayer. You don’t even have to utter the words aloud. I don’t need any coaching, I know the words. And then sense the calm, perhaps serenity that envelops you that measures my forgiveness, encouragement, and embrace. You would have to be colder than the weather outside not to feel your spirit renewed, warmed, and my presence touching you.
Today, notice ways in which your spirit, a steadfast spirit, is renewed in my presence.
All for this morning.
Meditation – January 28, 2010
Scripture:
He also told them, "Take care what you hear. The measure with which you measure will be measured out to you, and still more will be given to you. To the one who has, more will be given; from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away.” Mark 4:24-25
Prayer:
Who is that one who has not?
Response:
It is he who has not the time or inclination to pause. He is the one who plans to make time, but instead rushes about his intent almost relieved with the next task before him. He is the person that nods in agreement to the slips of words he catches but rushes on to perform another self-imposed mission, gathering respect from the audience that he cultivates. Whatever his outward appearance, his profession, even his vocation, he is vacuous deliberate within.
Harsh words? Spoken only to shatter the complacency of your purpose. They are meant to reach those within range of my voice who just might hear the message. Do not allow the tasks that call out for your attention as livestock at first light hearing your approach. Rather hear your footsteps on the snow and a greater calling within as you tend to your duties. You see, it is not about abandoning responsibilities, but rather being able to enter an interior realm of your heart when all about you might be unaware of your purpose. Truly to this individual - the one who has, more will be given.
All for this morning.
Meditation – January 27, 2010
Scripture
He answered them, "The mystery of the kingdom of God has been granted to you. But to those outside everything comes in parables, so that 'they may look and see but not perceive, and hear and listen but not understand, in order that they may not be converted and be forgiven.'" Mark 4:11-12
Prayer
>Who are those that are outside?
Response
Those outside are those that stand outside the range of my voice. They are unconscious, slumbering. Though my voice filters through to them, the words are unintelligible because their attention is elsewhere. It is as if I am speaking in parables, a foreign language, or with words that have lost meaning. Sometimes the loss of my words is deliberate; sometimes through neglect; sometimes by mental anguish that causes turbulence within.
Consider also how these verses infer an inner as contrasting to an outer world. It is the inner to where I call you – where your hearing improves and the faint disguise of parables falls to reveal a truth that stands openly without need of an intricate interpretation.
So you are called inside this day perhaps for only minutes or longer to hear the mystery I reveal to you. Not an unreasonable suggestion given that you spend so much time outside or unconscious. Be conscious today to my words.
All for this morning.
Meditation – January 26, 2010
Scripture
I am grateful to God, whom I worship with a clear conscience as my ancestors did,as I remember you constantly in my prayers, night and day. 2 Timothy 1:3
Prayer
>Help me to be awake in my prayers.
Response
The verse you have selected points out the communion of companions, friends, relatives, and strangers, with whom you travel over a time that includes those who have gone before you. Doesn’t that rattle you with excitement this morning to realize that those who prayed in the silence of dawn in another age or country see in eternity the fruit of that prayer in you as those that follow will perceive your presence as well?
Cultivate a gratitude for their sincerity, unwavering in the turmoil they experienced. Your ancestors – though unknown perhaps except in stories that dim with time – are worthy of your thanks and prayers as are those who accompany you now with all their cares and worries. As you have received encouragement and continue to receive the same, dispense it regularly and faithfully on those who tire. The verse is quite emphatic – constantly in my prayers, night and day.
For this day and following, if you can stay conscious, consider those in need of prayer whether they asked or not, and remember them – consign them to my protection. It is not that I need reminding, but you do. And you will discover that your prayers, like an echo of resounding volume, return to you in my abundant grace.
All for this morning.
Meditation – January 25, 2010
Scripture
Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. 2 Corinthians 4:16-17
Prayer
Now why are these two verses so unfamiliar? Help me to probe your truth.
Response
Perhaps, you tried to ignore the wasting and failed to register the renewal that is transporting you mightily. You must really be awake to see the light within and momentary troubles as working together to achieve for you eternal glory. In these verses are contained the very rhythm of salvation – the inner and outer, the light and dark in counterbalance.
Do not lose heart should be your mantra as you negotiate the shoals along a rocky shoreline, seeking the channel to a safe harbor. Failing strength is refreshed it seems as the dawn rises and reveals the channel inward long sought.
What a promise – what a revelation is contained in these words. In the seasons of life you are achieving a new consciousness in eternal glory though your spirit sometimes flags, your physical presence diminishes, and unexpected challenges must still be met. What a relief to know that beyond the confines of your occasional doubt, certainty reigns complete in all circumstances.
All for this morning.
Meditation – January 23, 2010
Scripture
Jesus came with his disciples into the house. Again the crowd gathered, making it impossible for them even to eat. When his relatives heard of this they set out to seize him, for they said, “He is out of his mind.” Mark 3:20-21
Prayer
Help me to be out of my mind.
Response
Good prayer. When you are out of your mind, indeed you are in your heart. How would you know that? Well, without warning, you are no longer calculating whether or not to offer service, whether you should forgive someone for an injury that the person might no longer recall, love someone who might be unaware of the consequences, share when you are uncertain of your resources, respond to an emergency or need when you are weary, smile and spread light when you are burdened.
Recognize now a person who is out of his mind and be that person.
For today, take stock of you and your surroundings and your every action. I am advising you to be conscious. See where you can respond through the heart and put aside the mind that you tend to overwork. Observe where that leads you. Begin this moment in the dark as you plan to depart your home on an errand.
All for this morning.
Meditation – January 22, 2010
Scripture
Have mercy on me, God, have mercy on me. In you I seek shelter. In the shadow of your wings I seek shelter till harm pass by. Psalm 57:2
Prayer
Teach me about your shelter.
Response
See and seek my shelter as you would a stone hut that you come upon without warning just as a storm begins to sweep over a barren landscape you are trudging. Without warning. Is that not like your life? Why else do you just happen upon the refuge of your soul except my mercy?
Hear the psalmist as he calls out in prayer as he recognizes the danger, feels the first hint of the storm approaching, verbalizes his need for shelter. This is no different than your prayer for guidance in life when faced with a dilemma, support when you feel taxed to the limits of your strength, vision when you are clouded, energy when your enthusiasm flags, optimism and joy when all about are discouraged.
Do you realize that there is always a shelter within reach in the most severe and sudden storm of life. The shelter is unlocked and stocked with all you need to survive in spirit whatever circumstance surprises you along the path. Your only requirement is to call out, recognize your need, and without delay you will be surprised at the resource within your grasp – no matter how sudden the onslaught of the storm.
All for this morning.
Meditation – January 21, 2010
Scripture
My wanderings you have noted; are my tears not stored in your vial, recorded in your book? Psalm 56:9
Prayer
When I think of wandering, I don’t immediately think of wandering away from you, but rather my seeking for you. Give me insight on this verse.
Response
Consider the journey of your life – even if you didn’t leave the district of your birth – though that is not your case. Within the journey that continues, your wanderings are filled with moments of seeking me. In what you read, heard, spoke of, inquired, experienced in sights, trailed along alone or with companions in a strange land or familiar suburb, you have been seeking me. At rare times, you have been conscious and at others unconscious – and sometimes purposely so. But always you have been seeking the missing friend in the crowd of events.
I am that missing friend who collects the tears that you shed, precious tears that you seek to wipe from your face before anyone notices – tears of doubt, regret, loss, unfilled promises to oneself and to others. I also note and collect those tears of joy, reconciliation, forgiveness, and hope. All of your tears are precious to me. These tears are the rain that nourishes your spirit even in the chill of a breeze on a winter morning.
Isn’t it interesting to you that your wanderings seem to slow or grow more infrequent as you become more conscious that your search is being realized? And now you wander or seek within where you discover a journey of the soul that eclipses in distance the thousands of miles with a glimpse of eternity.
All for this morning.
Meditation – January 20, 2010
Scripture
Looking around at them with anger and grieved at their hardness of heart, he said to the man, "Stretch out your hand." He stretched it out and his hand was restored. Mark 3:5
Prayer
Encourage my boldness to reach out to be restored.
Response
Interesting that you didn’t focus on Christ’s anger and grief and the causes of his reaction. If you missed it, the anger was prompted by the hypocrisy. Hypocrisy! Don’t you experience hypocrisy today? Aren’t there times when you practice it? All you are being asked in my grace is to be authentic to the spirit of my love that resides within each of you. It’s not a mystery, some puzzle for which you don’t have the answer, and you even have my grace. What’s more I am sitting opposite you this morning; I trudge alongside you in all elements as you walk or rush in life distracted. My patience is without limit. I begin each day with you as if there were no past.
And all I ask of you is to stretch out your hand. But notice I did not pull your hand; I asked, even commanded under certain circumstances, for you to stretch out your hand. For what purpose? That you be healed, restored, relieved in all the circumstances of your life that sometimes seem overwhelming – and most importantly know the cause.
This day, see if you can stretch out your hand in prayer. If you can muster the courage, look at me intently to experience the healing, but if not you will still be healed of all that withers your spirit and resolve.
All for this morning.
Meditation – January 19, 2010
Scripture
“Not as man sees does God see, because man sees the appearance but the LORD looks into the heart." 1 Samuel 16:7
Prayer
It’s almost comforting to know that I am known.
Response
Your qualifier almost was not missed. Before all the pretenses and disguises, you are known; before all your defenses and protestations and complaints, you are known. Don’t you feel the relief? You are in a room with your dearest companion who knows you more intimately than your closest friend and instead of accusing you, he forgives you before you can speak. His visit is not a fleeting one; he’s with you for the duration, observing and counseling you.
And you wonder what is meant by duration? Let me say that he is waiting for you to wake up, to seize the responsibility in my grace for your soul. Were you to be truly awake, nothing would stop you from forgiving the wrongs that surround you, especially the ones of your own commission; nothing would discourage you from service in a quiet unassuming manner tapping the talents that you have received and cultivated; nothing would impede a gracious generosity of spirit that you would distribute upon all in need; nothing would diminish your light that shines brilliantly and disperses the darkness, gloom, and despair that are infectious; nothing and no one would inhibit your laughter and joy even if both emerge sometimes through tears.
You see, you are known – as much as you sought to hide among the sentinels of silence and gloom.
All for this morning.
Meditation – January 18, 2010
Scripture
“No one sews a piece of unshrunken cloth on an old cloak. If he does, its fullness pulls away, the new from the old, and the tear gets worse. Likewise, no one pours new wine into old wineskins. Otherwise, the wine will burst the skins, and both the wine and the skins are ruined. Rather, new wine is poured into fresh wineskins." Mark 2:21-22
Prayer
I nod – but in ignorance as I read these all too familiar verses. Bring me clarity.
Response
Good, specific request. You are being reminded this morning that you are setting out on a new journey. What sustained you previously, will not suffice or serve you now; the packaging of your life till now is insufficient to clothe or sustain you. So the images of unshrunken cloth being sewn on an old cloak, and new wine poured into an old wine skin. You are being prepared for a journey of the heart for which the old way of outfitting will no longer suffice.
Now before you check your passport, understand that each day you set out on an adventure. However, these verses caught your attention because this day is special as it does represent a special parting with the past. Does this catch your attention? Are you reluctant to move on? Oh, how the temptation to linger at the door. Yet, the call to traverse regions of the heart not explored earlier in my grace sounds with the clarity that you have sought.
For this day, as it unfolds, see with clean eyes the magnificent scenes to be encountered – in the words, gestures, messages that you receive from friends and strangers as encouragement, pointing out the path you are to follow, though unaware of its significance. Take heart, as they say.
All for this morning.
Meditation – January 17, 2010
Scripture
“For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." Jeremiah 29:11
Prayer
Familiar words this early morning in the stillness.
Response
You see as I have said so often, your prayers can be unuttered groans from the heart. Did you doubt that though you have written and written about the insight previously? The verse is a call – even a shout – to catch your attention and pull you directly into the present. Responding to the summons, you demonstrate that you are awake though you would prefer to sleep. Everything tells you to go back to sleep – and you heeded the call.
Repeat this verse, especially select words like plans, prosper . . . not to harm, to give hope and a future. What more is prayer than to reassure you in all circumstances, to call you into the present with the promise and hope for the future in my grace? Why the promise, and not a promise? Because it is not some promise for a tribe, a clan, a nation, a family, or even a collection of friends. The promise is to you individually and the hope is your response. Hope is like saying thank you for a kindness; only the kindness is a gift of inestimable worth that you only come to realize in the stillness. So you see there is a reason for your wakefulness.
So especially this day, stir your alertness and anticipation – yes hope – in the bounty of my grace that is shed generously over you and all who listen this day.
All for this morning.
Meditation – January 16, 2010
Scripture
He asked life of you; you gave it to him, length of days forever. Psalm 21:5
Prayer
Help me to recall how my prayers are answered beyond what I had been able to articulate.
Response
This is especially so when you are in a quandary and must admit that you find no way out of even a routine dilemma of life. It’s as if you were given a book and randomly a key chapter or the concluding pages are missing. You are that book and your life are the pages – even the so-called missing pages. Yes, other readers when you have passed on will think that they have the complete book and will read it, commenting on its structure and quality.
Yet, the reality is that you have a book in your heart that is your journey. As it unfolds with each challenge, joy, sorrow, or celebration that is held in the bright light of dawn, in a downpour on a wintry day, surrounded by friends, or alone in the solitude of a flickering candle, you know that life eternal, a length of days forever, has been granted to you.
And these days forever are the profound answer to prayers that are not even uttered, that can emerge in soundless groans of the heart, that exhibit profound compassion, love, relentless faith, are indefatigable in the press of life, do not search for answers in the past but embrace the present moment of grace and are filled with hope.
All for this morning.
Meditation – January 15, 2010
Scripture
Your thunder was heard in the whirlwind, your lightning lit up the world; the earth trembled and quaked. Psalm 77:18
Prayer
Help me to see your purpose in the devastation in Haiti.
Response
Sometimes the sheer numbers of those killed in a calamity dulls your mind to the impact on one soul. Consider how you are not able to comprehend the loss of so many in the Holocaust. For this tragedy – termed a natural disaster with equally disturbing results as one man generated – focus on the one soul lingering in the shadows of a fallen building, pressed by the mortar and brick, and on the sole survivor from a family lying frightened and injured on a road. Allow those real images to speak to you in the depth of your heart and respond.
Because of the overwhelming calamity that has struck without warning, the time will come that you will turn from the disaster. Resist that inclination of the mind; stay engaged – not as an observer but as a caregiver to the extent you are able. And in this response, you will discover that a new found generosity with be generated in your own community with far more compassion than you exhibited earlier.
Take steps today to become engaged – not as aid to a poor foreign nation, but as an offering to a fellow companion on this earth journey which for so many there has been curtailed as a teaching for you all.
All for this morning.
Meditation – January 14, 2010
Scripture
Why do you hide your face, forgetting our woe and our oppression? For our souls are bowed down to the dust, our bodies are pressed to the earth. Psalm 44:24-25
Prayer
My attention caught the Psalmist’s words our souls are bowed down to the dust. Help me to understand.
Response
Isn’t it your experience that almost without warning you find yourself at times with your soul almost literally pressed down in the dust? You can go from the most ephemeral heights of thought and contemplation, and then you discover that you have landed – and hard – in the dust of your own creation. To what purpose you ask.
Think of yourself on a field like Kitty Hawk in North Carolina. You are learning to fly in a contraption that you do not yet have the confidence or the skill to operate. There are moments of exhilarating flight – though never for extended periods – and then moments of almost death-defying fright as you manage a crash landing in the dust or sand that cushions your fall. As you have experienced, your flights seem to extend in range and altitude though your uncontrolled descents and crash-landings seem incomprehensible, especially since you believe that you are becoming quite skilled; though they are crash landings none the less.
Well, this short lesson on flying is directly related to the Psalmist’s recounting of his soul bowed down in the dust. Accept the controlled crash landings as your apprenticeship in prayer, in rising consciousness of my love that you do experience in more and more extended flights. That soft landing in the dust is my grace provided to you to cushion your pride and ensure that you prepare for ascent without delay.
All for this morning.
Meditation — January 13, 2010
Scripture
I have waited, waited for the LORD, and he stooped toward me and heard my cry. Psalm 40:2
Prayer
How many times have I heard a child’s cry and stooped down. Allow me to learn from that experience.
Response
And think of how you especially responded to that silent sobbing that you just happened to catch; so it is with you now, when words or sound are lost in the groans of the heart. Accept that you cannot get out of listening distance.
Understand that it is in waiting that you cultivate patience, endurance, and acceptance – all marks of your faith. In that waiting you discover discernment and wisdom – precisely what you have been searching for even when the words escaped you – in what you thought was an empty and desolate space.
See if you can give measure to your prayers – reaching into the corners of your heart in which you rarely search. There your anxiousness will be calmed as you come to know that you are heard and most compassionately.
All for this morning.
Meditation – January 12, 2010
Scripture
“The LORD puts to death and gives life; he casts down to the nether world; he raises up again.The LORD makes poor and makes rich; he humbles, he also exalts.” Samuel 2:6-7
Prayer
Help me to accept with clarity the seasons of life.
Response
The seasons of life as you have been taught and read and heard reflect a harmony that goes unnoticed often times by the person in transit. Instead of registering the failures and successes, the ups and downs, of one’s neighbor, catch the pulse as it were within you.
Don’t measure this pulse by outside events, but look within. It is as if you drown out the external noises that scatter your thoughts and instead concentrate with your heart – not mind – on your journey, devoid of benchmarks of financial, medical, social, or relationship stability or even distance traversed.
It is in this region of your heart where devoid of accouterments of style that disguise, you fathom the true life journey, and can track progress not measured in miles walked but in silence heard. There you will learn of exaltation that is shared abundantly with those that are so humbled.
All for this morning.
Meditation — January 11, 2010
Scripture:
How can I repay the LORD for all the good done for me? Psalm 116.12
Response:
It is good to pause, especially when you awake in the morning, and give thanks and praise for the many blessings that have been bestowed upon you. Sometimes, it seems that you can awake and consider what needs to be done instead of the bounty you have received – again in whatever circumstances of ascent or decline you judge yourself to be.
And once you begin in almost routine or regular fashion to acknowledge these daily constant blessings, you will discover that what you previously thought of as calamities turn into rich pearls of – at a minimum – wisdom. See if you can break the routine of employing pat, memorized phrases in a show of thanksgiving, instead pausing to offer sincere thanks from the heart.
In truth you can repay in some sense the LORD’s special and deliberate kindness to you daily by showing compassion for those in need, forgiving those even of the distant past for their transgressions, generously sharing your love – that is a reflection of my love –with those around you be they family, friend, or the stranger in your midst. Regarding the latter, one of your blessings is that technology has brought strangers from distant shores into your community of awareness. Reflect on the cosmic consciousness that is dawning as a special blessing for which to be thankful.
All for this morning.
Meditation January 10, 2010
Scripture
The voice of the LORD is over the waters; the God of glory thunders, the LORD, over the mighty waters. The voice of the LORD is power; the voice of the LORD is splendor. The voice of the LORD cracks the cedars; the LORD splinters the cedars of Lebanon. Psalm 29:3-5
Prayer
How can I fail to hear your voice in the strong wind rushing against my window as winter is manifest in the dark before dawn?
Response
The elements bring you out of yourself so that you experience the interconnectedness in all creation. It is like walking on the beach in the gusts that buffet your home now. In the swirl your thoughts are minimized to careful steps and almost crouching beneath the warm of your coat. Yet paradoxically, in this storm sense you reach a depth within that is not clouded with words and deliberations – even pleas.
You hear at such times, above the tumult of the wind, the voice of the LORD; you sense the power of the LORD as represented by the crashing waves; and you recall the destruction of storms that you have witnessed. Doesn’t this all give you pause – even this morning – and encourage you to attune your heart listening to the voice of the LORD in prayer? What is he saying to you this morning?
Make note of what you hear this day from the LORD even if it is not over the waters or thundering in the midst of a storm.
All for this morning.
Meditation January 9, 2010
Scripture
Hallelujah! Sing to the LORD a new song, a hymn in the assembly of the faithful. Psalm 149:1
Prayer
Again, such familiar words that roll off so easily. What is this new song?
Response
This new song is one that is spontaneous and authentic, one that springs from your heart without searching for your place in the song book. It’s one that reflects your current state – whatever others might consider with pity or envy – in thanksgiving and praise. Not an easy song to sing sometimes, if you hesitate to evaluate circumstances – failings or accomplishments.
It is a new song each day because it is as a blossom at dawn whose posture changes in the wind but is always positioned to catch the first beam of light. Your new song is similar and it is to be sung from the heart. Hallelujah!
Sing to the LORD a new song, a fresh song, one that reveals who you are coming to know as you emerge from the dimly lit corridors of unconsciousness. This day, be kind and patient with this discovered self.
All for this morning.
Meditation January 8, 2010
Scripture
He has granted peace in your borders; with the best of wheat he fills you. He sends forth his command to the earth; swiftly runs his word! Psalm 147:14-15
Prayer
This early morning, swiftly runs his word, attracts my attention. Why?
Response
Could it be that you are coming to a place where time collapses in an instant? Perhaps, you are no longer launching prayers as you once dialed up a long distance call. Yes, perhaps, you sense immediacy to my presence and response. Perhaps, in stillness your thoughts express my words without articulation or vocalization.
Don’t spend a lot of time conjuring with the mind what this means, nor attempt to reason what you are experiencing; rather allow your heart to flow into the oneness of my word. There is no reason to check the text or footnote in our dialogue of prayer. Accept the swiftness as a sign of my presence, accessibility, response. Approach me as you would a companion being jostled in the back of truck journeying beyond your furthest destination or imagination. There is no greater intimacy that the one you share now with me.
For this morning be in the peace of knowing that I am not distant, that I hear the murmurings of your heart that you have not yet spoken. Extraordinary is it not that in the absence of sound this moment you are filled with a chorus of my presence?
All for this morning.
Meditation January 7, 2010
Scripture
Rolling up the scroll, he handed it back to the attendant and sat down, and the eyes of all in the synagogue looked intently at him. He said to them, “Today this Scripture passage is fulfilled in your hearing.” And all spoke highly of him and were amazed at the gracious words that came from his mouth. Luke 4:20-22
Prayer
Help me to catch the graciousness of his words.
Response
Another way of describing what you indeed hear is the grace-filled words of inspiration that are offered to all. And he sat down to allow you to digest what is spoken. Isn’t it easy to put yourself in the scene; to catch the silence that filled the space after the last word continued to resound in the chambers of the synagogue, but more – the chambers of each heart that sat in silence.
In prayer, allow yourself to be similarly amazed, to be in awe. Don’t rush the moment, if you can. Be still. Experience deeply the transformation that is occurring without any accolade from outside. But at the same time note how you are changing in consciousness. It is as if all your preparation for an exam is forgotten and you become what you studied so diligently.
Finally, note how your prayers are fulfilled in your life and hearing – those prayers for healing, purpose, service, clarity. All is manifest in your life, if only you would make time and space to hear the gracious words spoken to you each day.
All for this morning.
Meditation – January 4, 2010
Scripture: “The people who sat in darkness have seen a great light, and for those who sat in the region and shadow of death light has dawned." Matthew 4:16
Prayer: Reinforce these words in me.
Response: You can see that the season is one of enlightenment – literally. No need to determine where you sat once; now you stand in a new light that has dawned in your life. How can you be in stillness and not rush now to celebrate, wake those about you who still slumber? Consider the import of Matthew’s words; ponder what he is conveying in the region and shadow of death. He is not describing an earthly death which awaits all. And what of this light that has dawned in your life?
For today, bring these words to life into your life. Be distinct in your dealing with others, in the thoughts and acts that rule or will rule your day. Be as one who was stumbling about a room in the dark during a power failure who experiences its restoration. Now look around that room – the environment in which you live and operate – and see what you have neglected, forgotten, or ignored. This is a time of reinvigoration as you move stumble-free.
Linger in the realization that a great light has dawned in your life, and before you get too comfortable, or even cozy, ask yourself a simple question, for what purpose has the light dawned?
All for this morning.
Meditation – January 3, 2010
Scripture
Arise, shine; for your light has come, and the glory of the LORD has risen upon you. For behold, darkness shall cover the earth, and thick darkness the peoples; but the LORD will arise upon you, and his glory will be seen upon you. Isaiah 60:1-2
Prayer
Glorious sun, sub-zero temperature, strong wind from the north – bring the meaning of this selection within me.
Response
Isn’t it clear to you? Your light has come. Pause here and consider what more do you need to hear? Is there anything you lack with this statement – the glory of the Lord has risen upon you. And all you have to do is to receive and to awake to that reception. No, there is no time for why me? Rather, consider that the LORD will rise upon you. That’s the statement; that’s the promise. And don’t neglect the thick darkness that will cover the peoples who will stand transfixed – even in awe – as they comprehend the glory and light seen upon you. Who knows – you might serve to stir their thick, dark clouds of doubt.
This morning is a time to celebrate the special dawning of the spirit that you witness in my grace. Like any light – even one on a frigid morning – it diffuses, even shatters the darkness into pixels of forgotten shades.
Be at peace today in knowing that his glory will be seen upon you.
All for this morning.
Meditation – January 2, 2010
Scripture: The purposes of a man's heart are deep waters, but a man of understanding draws them out. Proverbs 20:5
Prayer: Help me to draw out your purposes for me.
Response: Notice the Psalmist does not write purpose, but rather purposes. And so you discover in the deep water of your life, that is, in the depth of your pondering. Do your best to free yourself from a linear consideration of purpose. Yes, when you were young your purpose might have simply been to complete school, or participate in a service project, devote time and energy to a profession, become a spouse, a father, and on and on. Step back from those self-contained efforts and plunge into the deep waters to discover the unifying element that integrates all of these at times disparate endeavors into a mission, purpose, or legend. See if you can see emerging the pattern of your soul purpose. The process is like dipping a precious metal into a fiery substance to eliminate the flaws.
Your purposes are not confined to time or to the age you once exhibited a speed of thought or form. Your purposes are without the boundary of past or future time, are found only in the present where all time and your endeavors are embodied in who you are today. Your purposes form an intricate tapestry of color and texture and are not threads singular that dangle without meaning – or purpose to keep consistent.
In the deep waters, especially in time – and here I mean age – as you grow in wisdom not only do you begin to discern your mission in broad, non-linear terms, but more importantly you devote little if any energy on those dangling threads of which I spoke. For today, sketch out – not with words that seek to define – patterns of your life that hint your purposes drawn from the deep waters of your consciousness in my grace.
All for this morning.
Meditation – January 1, 2010
Scripture: But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed. Luke 5:16
Prayer
Yes, I know the lonely places. Teach me to pray as well.
Response
Sometimes you view loneliness as an aberration that must be dismissed with noise and activity. See how Jesus deliberately withdrew from the bustle of life, seeking lonely places, not just one place, to pray both petitions and a listening heart. It’s hard, isn’t it, for you to appreciate that Jesus uttered sincere reflections of his heart in prayer, and he was so attuned that he listened as one with the Father.
It is worthwhile for you also to consider or speculate on his private prayer, since there are few private utterances in Scripture, except his words in the Garden of Gethsemane and on the Cross. What a worthy model to follow in any one of your lonely places.
If you recall the request made of Zorba made in the film, teach me to dance. And Zorba, hands aloft began to dance in a lonely place on the beach. Well, ask the same of prayer and follow the steps of the heart that will be revealed to you, spontaneously, not seeking the memorized words of your youth. Observe at the same time the silence of the heart in order to reach a depth in which you will be nourished.
Take up your theme of pray for this year as you have never practiced previously. In silence and in a lonely place you will learn the intricacies of dialogue with the Father that had not yet occurred to you. As Zorba was mad in dance, be so in prayer. Don’t be concerned – no one will observe you in this lonely space of your heart.
All for Today.
