Meditations – June 2010

Meditations – 2010 – Daily Affirmations

For over five years now I have risen daily before dawn and sat in stillness after reading a verse of scripture. What follows is the fruit of that quiet time that I want to share with you. As you will see the format remains the same. Someone suggested that I share this with a wider audience — my family and friends.

Meditation – June 30, 2010

Scripture

I hate, I spurn your feasts, I take no pleasure in your solemnities; your cereal offerings I will not accept, nor consider your stall-fed peace offerings. Away with your noisy songs! I will not listen to the melodies of your harps. But if you would offer me holocausts, then let justice surge like water, and goodness like an unfailing stream. Amos 5:21-24

Prayer

Help me to be authentic.

Response

That’s the message – be authentic. Don’t allow your practices to disguise your real intentions. Be truthful to yourself. It would be better to sit on a solitary peak and voice your dismay, despair than to participate in a frivolous ceremony adjusted to the calendar of the year.

An authentic heart is what I seek. In the process of revealing who you are, paradoxically you come to know yourself. The first sign of this consciousness is that the lines that once formed religiously on your face to disguise your innermost thoughts ease to reflect your soul content.

And with the easing emerges exquisite qualities long unrecognized – justice surges in your life path, goodness sweeps every gesture like the flow of a mountain stream in spring, and much more.

All for this morning.

Meditation – June 29, 2010

Scripture

He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?" Simon Peter said in reply, "You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God." Jesus said to him in reply, "Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah. For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my heavenly Father.” Matthew 16:15-17

Prayer

In the circumstances of my life, help me to answer the question with the same confidence and without hesitation.

Response

The question is asked you daily though there are days that you seek to drown out the words as you busy yourself in routine. You see, it is not so much the question as what you do and who you become in manifesting the truth. How many times have you sought to escape responding directly, not appreciating at the time that you were graced with the answer that now resides comfortably and deep within the essence of whom you are.

No longer is there any need to participate in debates, choosing clever arguments to prove a point and overwhelm an opponent. No now you are called to be a witness, as someone called to describe a living presence revealed, no longer confined to rumor, speculation, historical accounts, musty volumes, or even controversy.

So the question for you today is why each of you? Don’t panic, the answer requires a lifetime of exploration and discovery, and each answer reflects the manifold grace of the Father’s love.

All for this morning.

Meditation – June 28, 2010

Scripture

“Consider this, you who forget God, lest I rend you and there be no one to rescue you.He that offers praise as a sacrifice glorifies me; and to him that goes the right way I will show the salvation of God.” Remember this, you who never think of God. Psalms 50:22-23

Prayer

That last line of the Responsorial Psalm gives me pause this quite morning with the brilliant red globe rising over the water and no one about except the solitary sitting at water’s edge. Help me to offer this praise each waking day – and even thereafter.

Response

You might have discovered that there is a rhythm to praise. It is not a snatched moment or phrase uttered when there is something else to which you must attend. Rather it a time eternal when you might lose yourself – but indeed find yourself – without the weight of the moment or the fatigue of the body to distract you; when you might seem unconscious to the world, but paradoxically are vibrantly alive to its needs. Such is praise that sounds throughout the universe as the tumult from the highest waterfall.

Be brilliant in your praise as that sunrise you viewed; be fresh and free as the sea breeze that offers relief from the heat; take flight in praise along the tips of the waves as cormorants, putting aside memorized phrases that hold you sand-bound.

So you might ask, what’s the sacrifice? The sacrifice is offering praise especially when the sun doesn’t seem to rise through the storm clouds, when the wind howls and would pull your protection from you, when only a fool would take flight in the tumult. Remember this, you who never think of God.

All for this morning.

Meditation – June 27, 2010

Scripture

You will show me the path to life, abounding joy in your presence, the delights at your right hand forever. Psalms 16:11

Prayer

Quite an astounding comment from the psalmist. Help me to seize the truth with equal confidence.

Response

You are not asked to abandon what you have come to know and instead seize some unfamiliar quotations from the past. The reason for your confidence in my grace is that on the path you already see and experience the abounding joy of the psalmist.

When you take a step into rough terrain you can sense my presence close. Where you to find yourself alone in sickness, darkness, poverty, deep loss, or what others could describe as desperate circumstances, look to your right and see me close, guiding, protecting, and showing you the path to life.

Spend some time reflecting on those times when truly you thought abandoned in your grief. Recall the easing, the sense of relief you felt when you realized thru my grace that you were not abandoned but accompanied, were not lost but found, were not desolate but comforted, were not destined to be gloomy but rather to reside in abounding joy.

All for this morning.

Meditation – June 26, 2010

Scripture

Rise up, shrill in the night, at the beginning of every watch; pour out your heart like water in the presence of the Lord; lift up your hands to him for the lives of your little ones (who faint from hunger at the corner of every street). Lamentations 2:19

Prayer

This verse could have been taken from a news story covering southern Sudan, or a war-ravaged region of the Middle East or Central Asia, or a poverty belt in an inner city of an industrialized nation. What is the message for me today?

Response

Yes, you could read this verse from the comfort of historical perspective, but you are called to discern its application for you today. The message or theme is quite simple – pray deeply and sincerely, and respond with service. This doesn’t mean that you have to pack up and travel to a desperate area near or far to serve the innocent who are not responsible for the calamity that engulfs them; but it does mean that you must become involved to the extent of your abilities, circumstances, and consciousness. Be the hands, feet, eyes, and courage to influence the healing for which you and especially the downtrodden pray.

There is comfort in reading such passages without understanding that the words are meant for you right this moment and are not merely graven images from the past to view at a comfortable distance. Lift up your hands is not only a call to pray but using those same hands to act.

This day jot down what you can do now to relieve the suffering that surrounds with your prayers and actions.

All for this morning.

Meditation – June 25, 2010

Scripture

May my tongue stick to my palate if I do not remember you, if I do not exalt Jerusalem beyond all my delights. Psalms 137:6

Prayer

Bring me to a deeper place this quiet time before dawn and after the rain.

Response

Rather than concentrate on what would happen if you did not remember, take joy this morning – all about you is in harmony. Take this time as one of soul refreshment, more than even the night’s sleep that refreshed your body. If you didn’t fear wakening your neighbors, you would find your voice most melodious. It is during moments of remembrance that your soul literally leaps within its confines.

So why not appreciate most deeply the grace of remembrance – in prayer, reflection, pause, and awareness – when your consciousness seems to leap as fingertips on the keys of a piano, as a brush across the width of a canvas, or as words scribbled to catch a thought.

Spend a quiet moment or two and consider how your soul is being transformed in such remembrance and how at such times every experience, yes every experience, in your life is woven with a design of love unfolding within you in my grace.

All for this morning.

Meditation – June 24, 2010

Scripture

“Ah, Lord GOD!” I said, “I know not how to speak; I am too young.” But the LORD answered me, “Say not, ‘I am too young’. To whomever I send you, you shall go; whatever I command you, you shall speak”. Jeremiah 1:6-7

Prayer

Well, there’s little chance I will say that I am too young. Help me to trust more your word.

Response

Rather than emphasize age in years, understand the commission that is especially designed for each of you. If you are tall, shoot hoops; if you run fast, chase the wind; if your voice is enchanting, sing with feeling; if you have learned the steps, dance with abandon and joy; if you can be engaging, share generously your hospitality; if entrusted with souls, mentor well and selflessly.

These two verses are a summons to listen attentively to me and respond without hesitation; witness not so much what you have read and studied, but what you have absorbed and incorporated/integrated in your heart-message – above all else be authentic in your every gesture of love and compassion.

This day let go of your reluctance to become engaged in those opportunities presented to fulfill my commission to you. Touch those around you gently with the words that are mirrored on your heart in my grace. You will be amazed at the work of my grace in daily circumstances that reflect more and more your authentic , unfolding self.

All for this morning.

Meditation – June 23, 2010

Scripture

Give me discernment, that I may observe your law and keep it with all my heart. Psalms 119:34

Prayer

Such a short verse, yet so much meaning. Help me to grasp your intent.

Response

Yes, discernment is a prayer you should utter frequently, especially when conflicting intentions plague your heart. No need to say much in words, your prayer is received and understood before words escape your mouth. Discernment is a special gift, imparted to those who are ready to embrace and act upon the truth.

Indeed, discernment is a gift, like viewing an almost incomprehensible cubist or impressionistic painting, puzzling over its sense; then in an instant the intention of the artist is made clear. This might surprise you but realize that you participate in the process of discernment. Without responding to the graces that are folded over you, there is little chance that you would ever get it – though Paul/Saul did once he was tossed from his horse in a lightning moment.

Sometimes, one might almost wish that the gift would be retracted because of the obligation to act in consonance with my law. One can no longer deny hearing that melody in the heart, can no longer deny seeing the individual in need, can no longer withhold hospitality and generosity, can no longer remain alone when called to service. So be careful for what you pray.

All for this morning.

Meditation – June 22, 2010

Scripture

"Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the road broad that leads to destruction, and those who enter through it are many. How narrow the gate and constricted the road that leads to life. And those who find it are few.” Matthew 7:13-14

Prayer

These verses, so familiar, are not especially encouraging. Help me to a deeper meaning.

Response

Spend less time thinking about the broad road that leads to perdition. Instead focus your efforts on the narrow, secure path through the tumult of life, like finding your way across a glacier, along a slim trail by a ravine, or across a rope bridge. At such times, you were hardly looking around at the scenery, but focused on each step as you trudged along. Recall that the trudging did lead to great relief as you arrived to your destination safely – so too you are encouraged today. Yes, these verses are meant to encourage you, to keep you focused.

What is meant by focus? You know the answer; it resonates in your heart. Take careful steps each day in my presence. You might begin by asking for map coordinates for your day’s journey, or especially rest/nourishment stops when you reflect on the journey whether this takes place over coffee with a friend or loved one, or alone perhaps with a piece of paper and pen to record a thought heard, remembered; and who knows you might have a line or two of a poem to encourage you when no pen or paper is available.

This is the narrow road – the one under my guidance and direction – that leads to the destination you all seek – so you are not missing anything by not searching the horizon left and right anxiously wondering what you are missing. And don’t be distracted by the wanderings of those around you. Concentrate on your journey and you might find that others discover this same narrow path across glacier in your company.

All for this morning.

Meditation – June 21, 2010

Scripture

"Stop judging, that you may not be judged. For as you judge, so will you be judged, and the measure with which you measure will be measured out to you.” Matthew 7:1-2

Prayer

Another familiar couple of verses of which I need reminding.

Response

Sometimes, it is so much easier to look around or even afar and judge unfavorably beliefs, practices, and actions that are not consonant with your own; acting as if in doing so you enhance your position with the Lord. Scanning your eyes left and right takes precious time from your own transformation and encourages a rigidity of spirit inconsistent with my word.

Spend time reflecting upon whom you are and becoming, and put aside notions that you are a finished work of art that needs no refinement; or should I say flexibility, or better gentleness? You sometimes act as if you know, when you should be questioning and listening.

Take the art of questioning and listening in prayer where you will not be misguided. Really listen to what you hear even if it not what you want to hear or were taught you should hear. Voicing in spirit stubbornly this is the way I am proves to be a burden and paradoxically carries no weight in the transformation process.

All for this morning.

Meditation – June 20, 2010

Scripture

Thus will I bless you while I live; lifting up my hands, I will call upon your name. As with the riches of a banquet shall my soul be satisfied, and with exultant lips my mouth shall praise you. Psalms 63:5-6

Prayer

I come to you each morning in stillness. Help me to hear you in this almost overwhelming silence.

Response

In the silence a mantle is thrown over you in grace and you are no longer powerless to contemplate the resolution of challenges before you. As someone about to go on stage, there is no longer any need to refer back to the script that you spent years memorizing. Every step and gesture that you worked on is now part of who you are. There are no more rehearsals scheduled, but rather fulfillment in the light.

What do I mean? You are now to be the swimmer who swims, the cook who serves, the talker who listens, once in grief who laughs, the observer who dances, the student who shares, thrice injured who forgives, blessed with fortune who is generous, once self-absorbed – now compassionate, anxious now trusting, and fully – not finally – knowing of love.

So much happens in the transformation of a soul and you are called to witness this process from within with exultant lips my mouth shall praise you.

All for this morning.

Meditation – June 19, 2010

Scripture

“Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” Matthew 6:34

Prayer

As many times that I have come upon this verse, I seem to read it for the first time. Help the message to be daily on my lips.

Response

What better encouragement does this verse give you than to embrace the present moment as you would a towel after a brisk shower, a cool beverage on a stifling day, a seat in the shade after a grueling run, a conversation with loved ones that can seem without end.

Staying in the present, not worrying about tomorrow is like seizing the reins of a spirited horse and bringing its pace to suit your skill, opening your eyes of consciousness to take in what is happening now, listening with a sensitivity that could parse each whisper.

As you know, such behavior becomes almost routine once you forgo the indulgence of worrying about a time and circumstances that you cannot control and have not yet become manifest. Not worrying is the ultimate test of your faith that all is well now, regardless of the weather patterns that are drifting by or on the horizon.

All for this morning.

Meditation – June 18, 2010

Scripture

Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and decay destroy, and thieves break in and steal. But store up treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor decay destroys, nor thieves break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there also will your heart be. Matthew 6:19-21

Prayer

Bring me deeper to an understanding of the treasures.

Response

So many words are overused, as is treasure. As a result you rarely pause on its meaning in the context of these verses. In a sense you are being presented with a paradox. For you a treasure is something of substance that you can collect and store like gold, a masterpiece hanging on a wall, a wine of rare vintage, money protected in a vault, even a home or land whose title you hold – all of which represents the work of your hands and mind, inheritance from others who predeceased in collection, or good fortune where a bounty was presented you unexpectedly. You would be hard pressed to collect and/or sell these treasures, were you to be summoned to another land with little notice.

And that is exactly what awaits you. Indeed, you can focus on the distribution of these treasures after you depart for your adventure, but for this morning consider what does accompany you. And you need little instruction or even insight in these special treasures. They require no pre-inventory; require no packing for the journey ; they are weather-proof and light – no burden to transport and take up no room in your carriage; and perhaps of equal value — they are thief proof.

o in what does this treasure consist? It’s quite easy to give examples, all of which you have heard previously, though your diligence in collecting the dense treasures suggests that you are sometimes distracted. Seek the treasures that do not tarnish, that are of the light, and afford you the freedom you seek, and accompany you as one. Seek the treasure of selfless service, compassion – especially for those who you cannot name, generosity of spirit, welcoming acceptance of your circumstances, the cultivation of a joyful demeanor, and, of course, love. In the end you will discover the ease of bringing along these treasures which prove to be of inestimable worth.

All for this morning.

Meditation – June 17, 2010

Scripture

Jesus said to his disciples: “In praying, do not babble like the pagans, who think that they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them. Your Father knows what you need before you ask him. Matthew 6:7-8

Prayer

Help me to listen rather than babble.

Response

Realize that babbling is often meant for someone within earshot and sometimes serves to distract you from hearing me in stillness that defies silence. Accept there are times when your heart is more articulate than the words you can muster.

Ah, when will you finally take in that the Father knows you so intimately that your needs precede even your awareness, and the response before recognition? Time and space do not separate or confuse or obscure your union with the Father.

For this day, consider a need or yearning that lingers on your heart. Instead of fashioning a prayer of many syllables be peaceful in his presence and experience the unfolding of his grace in your life, touching you most graciously.

All for today.

Meditation – June 14, 2010

Scripture

Some time after this, as Naboth the Jezreelite had a vineyard in Jezreel next to the palace of Ahab, king of Samaria, Ahab said to Naboth, "Give me your vineyard to be my vegetable garden, since it is close by, next to my house. I will give you a better vineyard in exchange, or, if you prefer, I will give you its value in money." "The LORD forbid," Naboth answered him, "that I should give you my ancestral heritage."1 Kings 21:1-3

Prayer

Help me to grasp my ancestral heritage.

Response

Ancestral heritage is more than what flows from a blood line, though it is a flow. Consider all the teachers who have passed on their lessons to form you as you are today and contributing to who you are becoming. Think of the ideas and ideals that create the spirit’s sinew – which is beyond how tall you stand or how heavy you land. Add to this the source of nourishment that is in another realm other than caloric. Finally, as a vessel for the graces showered upon you from the ancients, accept your responsibility to pass on these blessings to those around you and to follow.

That is why you like Nabath must reject any offer to give up your ancestral heritage for whatever is offered, be it a better home, a longer life, an easier road, fewer responsibilities, indulgent distractions, more time unaware of the needs of those around you. Not only must you reject any purchase offer, you must flee at the same to the stillness of prayer. There you become one with your source, with him who guides you.

What is your ancestral heritage? Who are you?

All for this morning.

Meditation – June 13, 2010

Scripture

Jesus said to him in reply, "Simon, I have something to say to you." "Tell me, teacher," he said. "Two people were in debt to a certain creditor; one owed five hundred days' wages and the other owed fifty. Since they were unable to repay the debt, he forgave it for both. Which of them will love him more?" Simon said in reply, "The one, I suppose, whose larger debt was forgiven." He said to him, "You have judged rightly." Luke 7:40-43

Prayer

I just returned from a walk. The rain outside is rushing against my window in sheets as I recall the woman entering the Pharisee’s home to bath Jesus’ feet with her tears. Help me to see in this rain your overflowing love and forgiveness.

Response

Notice in the Scripture reading there is no summary of the events in this woman’s life to account for her actions. Keep your focus on the deep sorrow exhibited in her act of contrition and the outpouring of love she received. And this love was not something she had to take away and contemplate later; it was immediate and she accepted it as fully as it was intended.

So what do you learn from this? Could it be that you too are to ask forgiveness without looking around for fear that someone will hear your guilt; then to accept the forgiveness that goes so far beyond what you would have thought possible or even reasonable; and most importantly acknowledge the forgiveness by demonstrating that rebirth of innocence in service and compassion?

Consider the Lord’s enormous love for you, and if you need a reminder go out once more into the rain squall even if someone observing you might question your stability.

All for this morning.

Meditation – June 12, 2010

Scripture

Elijah set out, and came upon Elisha, son of Shaphat, as he was plowing with twelve yoke of oxen; he was following the twelfth. Elijah went over to him and threw his cloak over him. Elisha left the oxen, ran after Elijah, and said, "Please, let me kiss my father and mother good-bye, and I will follow you." "Go back!" Elijah answered. "Have I done anything to you?" Elisha left him and, taking the yoke of oxen, slaughtered them; he used the plowing equipment for fuel to boil their flesh, and gave it to his people to eat. Then he left and followed Elijah as his attendant. 1 Kings 19:19-21

Prayer

How many times have you thrown a cloak over my hand and I ignored it? Create in me an eagerness to do your will.

Response

The cloak represents my grace that is tossed lightly over your brow, covering your eyes so that you see with a heart sense in stillness my purpose for you. Catch the almost playful scene that lightened but did not diminish the significance of the invitation and Elisha’s acceptance.

The verses are not meant this morning to prompt your recollection of times when you have been less than enthusiastic about the invitation, but rather to stir in you anticipation, to be on the lookout for when next you will be surprised with an invitation to serve – even as an attendant.

For today, see if you can detect my approach behind you; sense the fluttering of the cloak about your head and shoulders; then ask why me? It’s a question you have to answer, since in the blindness of my grace you cannot look around to pass the invitation to another.

All for this morning.

Meditation – June 11, 2010

Scripture

For thus says the Lord GOD: I myself will look after and tend my sheep. As a shepherd tends his flock when he finds himself among his scattered sheep, so will I tend my sheep. I will rescue them from every place where they were scattered when it was cloudy and dark. Ezekiel 34:11-12

Prayer

I await rescue, especially when it is cloudy and dark in my life.

Response

Consider the words when he finds himself among his scattered sheep. You like the sheep are not in a pen but wandering through wild terrain in search of clear pastures. If you listen closely and don’t become anxious about your you will hear and feel the shepherd’s presence in your midst. That is the experience of prayer.

Sometimes, you think that you are choosing the path and the shepherd is irrelevant. While you might choose a path, know that the gentle and not so gentle nudge from the shepherd serves to alert you, wake you from at times your overwhelming desire to be satisfied, or from a danger you were unaware.

And just when you pause to regret deeply the seeming impassable ravine into which you have with deliberation wandered or circumstances of life have led you, your constant companion appears to rescue you. Incidentally, regretting deeply and sincerely is also called prayer.

All for this morning.

Meditation – June 10, 2010

Scripture

Thus have you prepared the land: drenching its furrows, breaking up its clods, softening it with showers, blessing its yield. Psalms 65:10-11

Prayer

Do I have to go beyond opening my eyes and seeing your presence in the rain that pours down thunderously, or in a sun rise that seems to have forgotten the tumult of the night previous?

Response

The short answer is No, especially when you accept with equanimity the downpour in your life that indeed breaks up the patterns and stubborn resistance to my word. And I am not asking you to enact or even follow what you have memorized. Rather I am asking, directing you to listen to the guidance you receive each moment, guidance that you would ignore as you fall back to sleep.

How much rain must fall in your lives to break up the clods of doubt and resistance? What does it take to let go in my presence and spread my bounty to the barren fields that abound? Who of you would choose to remain rigid and intractable when you accept that in softening, yielding, you realize infinite, intimate blessing?

So many questions this morning for you to consider. In your pondering, dwell on how you are being prepared; the drenching you receive sometimes not of your choosing; the softening experienced of even the most rigid heart; and most importantly, the blessing, the yield, you receive in this transformative process.

All for this morning.

Meditation – June 9, 2010

Scripture

Scripture:LORD, my allotted portion and my cup, you have made my destiny secure. Pleasant places were measured out for me; fair to me indeed is my inheritance. Psalms 16:5-6

Prayer

Speak of inheritance.

Response

Wonderful for you to consider is that the inheritance is especially reserved for you. You don’t have to look around and compare what any other soul received. It is as if the estate of an enormously wealthy and powerful king was divided and when you unwrap so to speak your inheritance you are overwhelmed with the generosity and love displayed.

Each item touches you, not with its value in the marketplace, but in the singular knowing of you that each gift represents – an artist receives brushes of infinite variety and a palette offering colors beyond comprehension, a student sees before him an assemblage of mentors ready to guide him patiently through mysteries so elusive previously, a sportsman a stable of the finest steeds await for racing on tracks that circle on verdant fields.

Rather than packing your bags immediately to receive the inheritance, consider deeply the truth that you are known to your inmost core, in the most intimate reaches of your heart, places where you are only now beginning to discover, fathom, touch, and accept and that this overflowing eternal love embraces you each day.

All for this morning.

Meditation – June 8, 2010

Scripture

When I call, answer me, O my just God, you who relieve me when I am in distress; have pity on me, and hear my prayer! Psalms 4:2

Prayer

What an invitation to prayer, even to formless prayer.

Response

Formless prayer is not knowing the ending, the solution so to speak, revealing one’s helplessness and most of all accepting the outcome. But there is more than resignation here, head down, defeated – though all of these aspects might be present. Relief is built into this prayer because at the moment of uttering the prayer , freeing the words of the spirit to reveal your frustration, uncertainty, or dismay, a release occurs like perhaps when finishing a lap in a relay race – the baton passed off – you walk off the exhaustion.

Look at situations that you encounter in life that prompt you to lift up your hands like David and give thanks for being drawn down to your knees humbled before your just God. And don’t take it as a coincidence that you do find relief, a new path, or a new perspective on the path you are traveling and on those whom you encounter.

This day sit still for a time and ask for His will to be made clear, for strength to sustain you should the road become narrow or arduous or be diverted, and grace to see His presence in the many blessings that pour over you even in your pleading.

All for this morning.

Meditation – June 7, 2010

Scripture

“Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.” Psalms 46:10

Prayer

The silence is overpowering this morning in the sunlight of an early morning after the tumultuous rains and winds of last night. Help me to grasp your peace after the tumult.

Response

Before the phone calls and the e-mails and the rising to the challenges one is to face, be in the stillness and peace afforded you. Don’t push it aside to jump the start so keen were you as a youth to meet the starter’s gun with a first stroke. No, be present, still, even silent. Don’t rush about to get the right reading material, or recall some fading words of advice or counsel. Simply be still and wait what occurs in the deepest recesses of your heart. Instead of an adrenal rush, you will experience a soul rush that you would be hard pressed to describe to another.

It is in this stillness that you discover that the tapestry discussed previously is forming as a rich representation of who you are becoming. This is a time when a minute or even twenty amount to a lifetime in my grace. There is no explanation for this gift you receive in the stillness. Don’t look around to seek confirmation from a bystander, even a guilty bystander. Simply accept the bounty of the moment as a sign of God’s love.

What a worthy goal to reserve, to carve out, this stillness in your life’s routine – not as an obligation, nor as something one should do, but as a selfish delight to be in His presence – and then see what happens, where this delight leads.

All for this morning.

Meditation – June 5, 2010

Scripture

My mouth shall be filled with your praise, shall sing your glory every day. Do not cast me aside in my old age; as my strength fails, do not forsake me. Psalms 71:8-9

Prayer

Yes, indeed, about old age and strength failing – do not forsake me.

Response

Such a prayer is especially powerful when you look up and assess your declining strength in all aspects of your life – or more accurately that which you cannot control though you try unceasingly. Might you include in the aspects of your life – health and the aging process, finances, concerns for those around you and those whom you will leave behind you when it comes time for you “to leave the room,” limitations of whatever variety that hold you from accomplishing what you would.

In your helplessness – that is, in your inability to control what is to be – fill your heart with acceptance, praise, patience, detachment, love, and joy. In those beleaguered seasons of life, sing praise. Contradict in your witness the despair of those who have or might succumb; reach out to them whether they are strangers across the globe, or those in your family or among your friends who attempt to disguise the hopelessness they feel.

And don’t be surprised if your voice is heard and reaches those furtive in their grief. In the process of praise, you will see that your heart strength does not diminish, your joy is unbounded, your enthusiasm overflowing.

All for this morning.

Meditation – June 4, 2010

Scripture

All scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching, for refutation, for correction, and for training in righteousness, so that one who belongs to God may be competent, equipped for every good work. 2 Timothy 3:16-17

Prayer

Simply stated. Help me to follow the wisdom contained within these verses.

Response

There is not much for you to do than to reverence the word of God contained in Scripture. To reflect deeply on the words contained therein; to listen in your heart for the message contained for you at each reading; to put aside the notion that there will be exam with trick questions for you to pass except in your service and compassion for those around you.

Scripture serves to bring you to your core being where you are invited to confront who you are and to lead you to a new consciousness, a new becoming. And this dawning occurs in singular fashion for each at a timing that prompts one to act in acknowledgement, again in one’s timing.

What does a verse, this verse, mean to you, and how might it touch you where you are this day amidst the chaos that sometimes forms a daily routine?

All for this morning.

Meditation – June 3, 2010

Scripture

Be eager to present yourself as acceptable to God, a workman who causes no disgrace, imparting the word of truth without deviation. 2 Timothy 2:15

Prayer

Help me to be eager.

Response

Eagerness demonstrates success in becoming unburdened, detached from what would hold in the grip of uncertainty. Eagerness is like rising from your beach chair, throwing off your full length towel, and running into the sea beneath a warm sun; raising a hand in an audience to share a special insight without regard to how it will be received; shedding inhibition in the confidence of who you are; delving into the Book that reveals insight after insight applicable to life’s journey.

Eagerness is found in greeting a stranger and listening to his or her plight without judgment; sharing the joy of another; being open to new adventures and challenges; seeing beyond momentary discomfort or even deep loss; accepting the grace that abounds in every step taken.

So calculate just how eager you can be – from the time you look over a cup of coffee at someone sitting opposite or around you, to your walk in places unfamiliar or routine this day, or in messages you send and receive from a sitting position. Finally, be eager in your dialogue of prayer.

All for this morning.

Meditation – June 2, 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

My attention is caught by Paul’s words night and day.

Response

There is a life-rhythm in night and day that you might have tendency to miss, considering Paul’s intention to be an exaggeration of sorts. It would be good if you could catch rather the totality of attention in prayer that is being conveyed. Clearly, what is not meant is that you remain inert praying and allowing the world and your responsibility to drift off.

Think of prayer as a vital current that you activate at all hours. Realize that prayer is a time of awakening, a time when you are truly conscious – quite a contrast from when you are sleeping and performing intricate maneuvers. Consciousness in prayer is soul breathing – so don’t hold your breath too long.

Be grateful to God for the insights that you receive, for those who come into your path unexpectedly with a teaching even if at first encounter you would shun the message. Pray unabashedly in even pre-thoughts that are long from articulation and vocalization; in your prayer listen intently.

All for this morning.

Meditation – June 1, 2010

Scripture

Fill us at daybreak with your kindness that we may shout for joy and gladness all our days. Psalms 90:14

Prayer

Lord, this daybreak energize me with your love.

Response

It is on mornings like this that you come to me without words and expression and script. I hear you, knowing that you seek another couple of hours more sleep, not physical sleep, but rather a soul-sleep, absent mind calculations. At such times, you might have difficulty believing, that you are most in union with me. It is a time when you are most trusting in the circumstances unfolding in your life and their significance; it is when you put aside all deliberations and projections, accepting just what you encounter; it is when the present becomes truly present because you are having difficulty thinking forward the minutes, hours, days, weeks, and years before you.

As the gray light is beginning to break outside your window, penetrating the thick cloud cover, see with fresh eyes the painting emerging most subtly from the canvas with no preconceived notions or expectations. This might not be a day of vibrant reds, but perhaps you will observe life altering – at least for today – muted shades that invite deeper reflection.

Indeed, with heart-eyes turned attentive and inward, you encounter deeply my love, even if your shout for joy and gladness is a whisper, but a whisper that is heard.

All for this morning.