Forward Day by Day - Today's Reading

[Seawolf]

Matthew 4:12-17. (Jesus) left Nazareth and made his home in Capernaum by the sea.

Jesus, hearing about John's arrest, goes to Capernaum by the sea where he is renewed and goes forward to begin his active ministry.

I grew up near the ocean. It tugs at my heart, having a powerful effect on me. I love being on the water and near it, but not in it. As a toddler, I was knocked down by a wave. Countless swimming lessons have never removed my fear of being in over my head. Even so, whenever I go home, no matter what time of year, I go to the shore and, if possible, put my feet in the water.

I flew to Boston for my brother's funeral. Planes approach the runway from the ocean. It was a clear day. The sun was dancing on the waves. My emotions overwhelmed me. Pent-up tears of grief cascaded down my cheeks. Crying is not something I do easily. I didn't understand it until later when I read Thomas Moore's The Re-enchantment of Everyday Life. He writes about the transforming effect of the water of our baptism and how the waters in our lives continue that transformation. Water reminds us of the "trickle of water" poured over our heads at baptism, changing us, renewing us, empowering us to live out God's ministry for us willingly and publicly.


Ps 105:1-22; Exodus 24:1-18; Colossians 2:8-23

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[Seawolf]

John 14:6-14. You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it. (NIV)

As our daughter chatted happily one morning on what has become our daily telephone ritual she stopped in mid-sentence and said, "Mom, I keep forgetting to tell you something." As she recounted a recent conversation with our three-year-old grandson, I felt the dampness from unexpected tears and a surge of humility. When asked who Jesus was, he said with all of the earnestness of his wonderfully uncluttered mind, "Grammy." As I reflected on that, for the life of me I could not recall a specific incident which would have stimulated such an affirming awareness of the Christ that I hold so dearly.

The disciples had numerous glimpses of God the Father in Christ Jesus. How cluttered their minds must have been not to have seen the evidence of this truth through the miracles, not to have heard the voice of the Father in the words of his Son. I wonder how much of the cluttering of our minds is self-imposed. And how much of the clutter will dissipate when we humble ourselves before God and earnestly ask: "Lord Christ, unclutter my mind, and open the eyes of my heart; let me see you in the world today. Let me encounter the risen Christ."

Ps 119:33-40; Isaiah 30:18-21; 2 Cor 4:1-6

[Seawolf]

Psalm 100. ...his faithfulness continues through all generations. (NIV)

As a child I recall my grandmother's imposing presence, her face often stern and expressionless; facial features made more striking by a vacant, joyless expression which was accented by a severe and rigid hairstyle. What I did not understand then was that my grandmother's life was as severe and harsh as my perception of her. At age 44 my grandmother was widowed and left to raise eight
children, the youngest of whom was four. In later years, the lines of sadness would be etched even deeper into her persona as she experienced the
suicide of a son.

Yet as harsh as I recall my grandmother's demeanor to be, I vividly recall that on her visits to our home she would faithfully retire early to read her Bible. In my minds eye I can still see her once harsh features transformed by the presence of the God she loved. As she read, my grandmother's face became radiant and the once severe hairstyle, now lying loosely about her shoulders, gave her face a soft and serene expression. Like so many of God's people, our family's life-journey has included the heights and the depths of human experience. In each generation, our family has rested in the sustaining faithfulness of God.

Acts 13:15-16, 26-33; Revelation 7:9-17; John 10:22-30

[Seawolf]

Exodus 32:1-20. Come, make us gods who will go before us. (NIV)

Can you believe it? When Moses does not reappear according to the presupposed schedule of his followers, they once again lapse into idol worship. I have always wondered what defined the life of the worshipers that would bring them back, again and again, to idolatrous worship.

As children of God our greatest temptation is to define God according to our own view. What defines your life? Fame? Comfort? Worldly treasures? Or, does your life have to be ordered and perfect? As a child of perhaps ten I recall one
Sunday morning standing in front of the mirror in my bedroom as I dressed for church. My preparation included a weekly conversation with God. The conversation, or rather, the directive on this particular day was, "make me perfect." I now understand that at a very young age I had made an idol of
perfection. Most of my life I have lapsed again and again into the comfort of order and perfection to steel me from the uncertainties of life. It would be well into adulthood before I understood that I had made a false god of perfection. And, I would later come to understand that it was the idol of
perfection that was obscuring the true nature of God within me.

Ps 41, 52; Col 3:18--4:6; Matthew 5:1-10

[Seawolf]

Matthew 5:11-16. You are the light of the world. (NIV)

Oh, it's not working, is it? Hmm. I wonder why. Passing around the flashlight, the Sunday morning's children's sermon became first a puzzle and then a challenge as each child tried to solve the mystery. A bit puzzled only momentarily, the youngest replied with an enthusiastic chirp, "Why it doesn't have any batteries in it!" "Ah-ha," I replied, "You're right, it doesn't have any batteries in it." From a selection of batteries, the children puzzled through which would be the best--"How about the much touted Energizer® battery?" The response was a loud and affirming, "Yes!" Trying the battery in the flashlight, the children's faces quickly fell as it failed to produce the anticipated light. "What about a battery which claims to have maximum plus energy?" I suggested. No response. "What about a rechargeable battery?" "Yes!" came the collective response. "Perhaps these which say Holy Spirit and Jesus?" I questioned. Inserting the rechargeable battery, the light filled the space in and around the children.

While this metaphor may well be both familiar and simplistic, I believe it strikes at the heart of a simple Christian truth. Our life, enlightened by the power of the Holy Spirit, and sustained by the love of Christ, becomes the reflected love of Christ in the world. Simple? Simple.

Ps 45; Exodus 32:21-34; 1 Thess 1:1-10

[Seawolf]

Exodus 33:1-23. ...as a man speaks with his friend. (NIV)

Perhaps the sum and substance of our conversations with God are being able to talk with him as we would with our closest friend. In any good conversation, there are moments of silence--intimate silences filled with the comfort of the presence of the other. I catch myself wondering if there were moments of sacred silence during Moses' conversation with God. Did Moses, like many of us, drift off during the silence--his mind distracted by the arduous challenge before him? Did God call him by name and catch him in his distraction? What if the silence was meant to be fertile space so that Moses would become aware of what may otherwise have been dismissed? What if there was missed silence from too much chatter, too many objections?

We are often bombarded by so much extraneous stimuli that it is difficult to pray, much less remain attentive in the silence. It is doubtful God will ever appear to us in a cloud, or in some altered state of consciousness. I believe our experiences are most assuredly more subtle. However we experience our intimate moments with God, it is in the silence where we hear His voice. I can't help but wonder how many times God has called my name and has caught me in my distraction.

Ps 119:49-72; 1 Thess 2:1-12; Matthew 5:17-20

[Seawolf]

1 Thessalonians 2:13-20. --but Satan stopped us. (NIV)

I am never so sure of my call to serve God as when the assaults of the enemy hound me. Hound me into self-doubt. Hound me into complacency.

Saint Augustine said, "Lord give to me what you have planned for me, create in me that which you desire of me." As I was meditating one morning this quote drew me up short. If God is willing to give me what he has planned for me, then I must be open to that which must be created in me to accomplish His purpose. Yet being aware of both, I am also brought up short by the simple fact that the enemy would like nothing better than to see me fall, watch jubilantly as I stumble, and rejoice at my discouragement. What God desires of me can only be
accomplished with and through the grace of God. God has called each of us out of ourselves to live the Good News of the Gospel in the world. He has called us to minister to the least, the last, the lost. Visions of what God calls us into are only limited by the lure of Satan snapping at our heels, and
assailing us with obstacles.

A dedicated Christian is one who redefines the obstacles and calls them challenges. I believe that is the sign and purpose of a life lived serving God.

Ps 50; Exodus 34:1-17; Matthew 5:21-26

[Seawolf]

Psalm 51. Create in me a pure heart. (NIV)

My morning meditation ritual includes Psalm 51:10-12. It is within these verses that I frame my day. I allow the words of the psalm to wash over me. Like water cascading over me, I feel the renewing of my spirit. It seems so fitting to come before God, to be in his presence in such a prayerful ritual. Yet this ritual in and of itself reflects a tattered reality if my day is consumed with behavior that is not congruent with the spirit and presence of God. It is in the awareness of this tattered reality, that I turn again to the renewing power of prayer for the comfort and reassurance that God has a plan for me. And that it is my own self-limiting behavior that thwarts the unfolding of His plan.

God, I know that you have a plan for me. Give me what you have planned for me; create in me what you desire of me. Let me not be deceived by sin, by carnality, by fear, by failure, by rejection, by generational curses, by the lies and deceits of the enemy, by pride, or hypocrisy. Let me know you Lord Jesus. Amen.

Ps 40, 54; Exodus 34:18-35; 1 Thess 3:1-13; Matthew 5:27-37

[Seawolf]

Matthew 5:38-48. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good. (NIV)

It is hard for me to imagine what the face of God may look like. Is his face large, with vivid detail? His eyes clear as the sea he created? Does he
furrow his brow when puzzled by our behavior? Admittedly trying to imagine what God may look like seems an exercise in futility, an elusive journey's end at best. But Joan Chittister, Benedictine Sister and author, has simplified it for us. She has said, "We are all fragments of the face of God." If we are to take scripture seriously, then we are all expressions of the divine presence of God in the world.

If I understand all of us to be fragments of the face of God, it begs the question, what fragment might you and I be as individuals? Since I admit to being a work in progress, I suppose that my place within the face of God changes from time to time. Yet, what is true of me is also true for others as well. As forgiven and forgiving Christians, we are called to name our enemies in prayer. Pray for your enemies.

Ps 55; Exodus 40:18-38; 1 Thess 4:1-12

[Seawolf]

John 13:31-35. I will be with you only a little longer. (NIV)

Jesus' life was a continual journey. Throughout his ministry, Jesus engaged fully those whom he found himself to be in relationship with, despite knowing his itinerant ministry would call him to another place, to another time. Most surely he felt pulled, knew the deep ache of leaving, the sting of betrayal, and the emptiness that comes with deep and profound loss.

Fully human and fully divine, he may have even thought how much easier it may have been had he not begun--had he not heeded the call of God on his life. But Jesus knew that a life not fully lived in response to God's call is but a mere shadow of existence. Even in the midst of the pain of saying goodbye, God is found.

We are each called to the same sacred itinerant ministry of the cross; meeting people where they are, where they are found, loving them as they are. It is what Jesus' life and death demands of us. May you love with the pure and sacred abandon of the heart of Jesus.

Ps 145; Acts 13:44-52; Revelation 19:1, 4-9

[Seawolf]

1 Thessalonians 4:13-18. Do not...grieve like the rest of men, who have no hope. (NIV)

For several weeks, I had an unsettling sense of something I could not name. As I was returning home from an errand, I was overcome by a sudden and unexplained sadness. As the tears coursed down my face, thoughts of my sister came into my mind--childhood scenes came quickly into remembrance. Hours later the phone rang and the unsettledness became an anguish called reality.

On her way home from church my sister had been struck broadside by a car that had run a red light. She was in and out of a coma, and before lapsing into a deep coma, she had asked for me. Hours later, entering the shock trauma unit in Tampa, I saw my sister sustained by life-support, motionless and in a state of semiconsciousness. Bonnie had a brain stem injury.

There would follow 356 long and arduous days. My disquieted spirit railed at God for what would be lost. There were waves of despair fused to heart-wrenching moments of anguish at the unfairness of life. And in my surrender--hope, as I commended Bonnie into the loving arms of God.

Ps 56, 57; Lev 16:1-19; Matthew 6:1-6, 16-18

[Seawolf]

1 Thessalonians 5:1-11. Let us be self-controlled, putting on faith and love as a breastplate. (NIV)

A brief internet search reveals hundreds of thousands of websites devoted to the ancient craft of armor creation. The resulting armor is said to be "performance apparel" that allows for both the creativity of the artist and the functionality of the piece. Let me admit the thought of creating my own armor feels more than a little daunting. And so I am both reassured and relieved that I do not have to choose the proper detail to assure its functionality. Nor, test my creative limits in choosing a style which heralds the dexterity of my skill.

We are assured by the Gospel that we are already clothed with our own "performance apparel"--the breastplate of faith and love, the armor provided to all of us--no creative energy required. What is required, however, is to live an embodied faith. And it is here that we are challenged not only by the attacks of men, but also by the attacks of the spiritual forces which fight against God. It is these forces of influence that seek to lure us from God and into sin. We are assured by God's love the resulting chinks in our armor are merely that--chinks. The God whose love shields us also forgives our humanness.

Ps 61, 62; Lev 16:20-34; Matthew 6:7-15

[Seawolf]

Matthew 6:19-24. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. (NIV)

I confess I have been a victim of the disease called acquisition. Although not fatal, it certainly has been debilitating at times. For most of my adult life I thought more was better, and so I acquired stuff--more and more stuff. In 1996 I attended my first women's retreat, the theme of which was simplicity, based on Sue Bender's book, Plain and Simple. The seed of simplicity was planted that weekend. A seed which refused to germinate at first, germinated slowly under considerable protest, then perished due to neglect.

As I began to understand my call to serve God, I became more aware of my need to rely on God's goodness for the abundance I was seeking. Slowly the seed of simplicity has taken root, and as a result I have been on a mission to de-stuff our home. De-stuffing is not to be confused with liberating useful and necessary items required for living. Jesus is not condemning personal possessions. What he does condemn is the accumulation of anything which blurs our ability to trust fully in him. I still have a nice home with many creature comforts. What I do not have is energy invested in things which edge out my focus on serving God and his people.

Ps 72; Lev 19:1-18; 1 Thess 5:12-28

[Wrath]

Matthew 6:25-34. Do not worry. (NIV)


This meditation might well begin, "It was a dark and stormy night," and you would anticipate some sense of impending doom. Not so. It was a beautiful spring day. From my vantage point, I could see the shoreline, the distant villages, and the seemingly endless Bay of Naples. The landscape literally would change for me within a matter of minutes. Lying on an x-ray table in a medical clinic, I waited with anxiety for the results--my leg was broken in two places. As co-leader of our pilgrimage to Italy, my mind raced with the details of the remaining days of our tour. Worry and anxiety overwhelmed me.

This interruption to an otherwise idyllic setting was ripe with opportunity to rest in the assurance that God would provide. Never did I imagine such a cornucopia of love and care from perfect strangers and friends. Upon returning home, a visit by a dear friend gave me great comfort. She stood by my bedside, and said, "I really want to stay with you, just to be here and look at you and to pray." In the visible anguish she carried on her face for my pain, she was for me in that moment, the presence of Jesus the comforter. God did indeed provide for my every need.


Ps 71; Lev 19:26-37; 2 Thess 1:1-12

[Seawolf]

Matthew 7:1-12. Do not judge. (NIV)

I meander through my garden every morning, eager to glimpse what growth may have occurred overnight. Dry, lifeless stems are pruned. Errant, bloomless flowers are rescued. The color pallets which do not blend harmoniously with the surrounding plants are tugged and toted to a new location, if only for overnight--my sense of judgment overshadowing all else.

I have had an oriental poppy for years which has lived at my mercy and whim. When I walk past it, I think it would look better over there--assured at least momentarily that this would be the most effective way to encourage bloom from otherwise barren stems. I have opted more than once to disturb its root system before giving much thought to the effect the action will have on its ability to flourish in a new environment. The last time it bloomed, there was tentativeness that made me sad. It is still in my garden, but I think it has long since given up any thoughts of blooming. To no one's surprise, including mine, the poppy has not bloomed in years.

In more introspective moments, I wonder how many tender shoots I have rendered bloomless by my carefully veiled words of aggression and judgment.

Ps 106:1-18; Lev 23:1-22; 2 Thess 2:1-17

[Seawolf]

Matthew 7:13-21. By their fruit you will recognize them. (NIV)

Several apple trees, a pear tree, peach tree, and a lovely grape arbor adorn a corner of our property. I remember the day my husband installed the grape arbor. He dug deep, strategically placed holes and embedded uprights to support the length of the 40-foot arbor. Next came the cross supports. And, lastly, five small bare root plants--their identities in question. Under our watchful eyes, the harvest, tentative at first, became abundant. An untold bounty of homemade delicacies followed--including county fair blue-ribbon grape jelly.

The harvest now comes in fits and spurts--a more vigorous harvest stripped clean by ravenous deer, birds, and squirrels. In our frustration, we have given up the struggle for the harvest. While the orchard has not fallen into disuse, it is more for show than harvest. I wonder how much of the harvest of good fruit of which Christ speaks, has been surrendered to a glossy Christian ideal? The fruits of which are unrecognizable except perhaps for the apathy which has tangled its arid roots. The harvest of good fruit continues for many of us in fits and spurts. The one constant of the harvest is Christ's vigilance and His bounty.

Ps 75, 76; Lev 23:23-44; 2 Thess 3:1-18

[Seawolf]

John 14:23-29. These words you hear are not my own. (NIV)

It is Sunday afternoon. There is an eerie sense of expectation to the noiseless streets. And then, I feel his presence. I have come shoulder to shoulder with a young man coming out of the church. The conversation which followed was stilted, my answer to the whereabouts of the pastor vague. As I watched the young man turn to go, I found myself calling after him, "May I help you?" These, I can tell you, were not the words I had intended to say. My mouth opened--and the words tumbled out. The young man was homeless and needed a bus ticket home. Yeah, right, I thought. Words from nowhere seemed to follow: "Do you need money for food?" Several days later the church secretary said, "Your friend stopped by. He was on his way home to Florida; he wanted to thank you."

I must admit that I live most of the time amid the tension of my free will and the tender tug on my heart to live out the Gospel. For several months I had tried fitfully to embrace Christ's vision of my call to serve Him. When I allowed Christ to shape my words, His utterance penetrated my cynical
façade. And, in that moment I was given a glimpse of the ministry which awaited me.

Ps 67; Acts 14:8-18; Revelation 21:22--22:5

[Seawolf]

Matthew 13:1-16. Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants. (NIV)

I love my garden. I love the feel of the soil freshly moistened by the rain. I love the way I can sift it through my fingers and roughly plow furrows with my hand. If nothing else this romantic narrative is but a partial reality. More than once I have combed my fingers through dry earth to be surprised, sometimes days later, that the earth could be so cruel. It starts with an almost indistinguishable ache. My distraction is not complete until I find the tiny
thorn-like particle embedded enough in my finger so as not to be seen--but there nonetheless manifesting itself as a red and painful area.

I wonder how much of God's word is choked out by our self-absorbed attention to the painful areas of our lives. What I must constantly remind myself is that even the fruitfulness of the most deeply rooted Christian waxes and wanes, influenced by a multitude of thorny recesses which create opportunities for growth. Scott Peck gives an insightful definition of maturity in his book, The Road Less Traveled. "Maturity is the ability to move toward pain." Christians are assured that this journey is not solitary. The same God who gave us breath, can also produce succulent fruit from even the thorniest of opportunities.

Ps 80; Lev 25:35-55; Col 1:9-14

[Seawolf]

Matthew 13:18-23. The worries of this life--deceitfulness of wealth. (NIV)

"Where are you going?" asked our three-year-old grandson, his voice filled with the anticipation that he might be able to tag along. "To the moon," our son replied, his voice full of mischievousness, his eyes twinkling with delight at his son's puzzled expression. With genuine concern for his father's safety our grandson thoughtfully replied, "But Daddy, how will you get down?" Seeing the concern on his child's face, our son quickly added, "Daddy was only kidding, Buddy."

While our son was being playful, society's thinly veiled subliminal messages of concern for all sorts and matter of things is anything but playful. For many, the response to escalating anxiety is more deeply rooted than the barrage of daily news--more personal, more complex. It is a response to modeled behavior. Consumerism as a modeled behavior is but a thorny respite for the escalating anxiety of the world--the stockpile of treasures richer in the art of accumulation than it is in the awareness of the barren fruit it will yield.
Christianity is not a can-I-tag-along-for-the-ride experience. It is a commitment made from the depth of the awareness that God's reassurance will be swift and complete when the worries of this world ravage our spirits.

Ps 78:1-39; Lev 26:1-20; 1 Tim 2:1-6

[Seawolf]

Ephesians 1:1-10. The faithful in Christ Jesus. (NIV)

Walking across campus, braced against the cold February wind, my mind raced as my leaden feet moved toward the dorm. Hours earlier, on a rain-slicked road, a campus van had overturned. Among the injured was the campus chaplain. As my mind replayed the pleading of a concerned friend, my spirit struggling anew with her pleading "Please come, please!" I am sure that my "Yes, I will come" was barely audible over the persistent clamor of mind-numbing noise that kept asking, why me? Scarcely into my first few weeks of chaplaincy training I could not fathom how I would be of help.

In the silence of my young friend's dorm room, her mother and I held her hand, praying that God would strengthen her as she walked the path of sorrow with her campus sisters. What I lacked that night as the faithful in Christ Jesus, was replenished by the tenacious spirit of a seventeen-year-old young woman, wise beyond her years.

All too often we presume that as Christians we are called into activity. In reality, our response to the pleading of our brothers and sisters may simply be the reassurance of our presence.

Ps 119:97-120; Lev 26:27-42; Mt 22:41-46

[Seawolf]

Ephesians 1:15-23. Remembering you in my prayers... (NIV)

I have a friend who assures me that even if he says he will pray for me, he won't. As a devoted Christian, my friend is an enigma--his visible life lived with passion; his interior life a mystery. The very same person who quips that he will not pray for others is the pied piper of charitable service. Barely mentioning a person in need to him elicits a response raw with Christ's passion--a contagious fervor that quickly ignites those around him. Honestly, I don't even think my friend has deliberately distinguished his life of service from his life of prayer. I sincerely believe that in his crowded
day-to-day life, he never quite gets around to it.

How crowded Saint Paul's life must have been. Imprisonment, quarreling churches, missionary journeys--his life crowded with the day-to-day life of raising up a new body of believers. Yet, no matter when I read the words of Saint Paul, I feel the genuineness of his spirit. I can almost hear him say, my world is crowded indeed, but this one thing I can do--I will remember you and your struggles in prayer. We, like Saint Paul, must be attentive to a Christian reality. Our exterior passion for Christ must be balanced by our interior life of prayer.

Ps 47; Acts 1:1-11; Luke 24:49-53

[Wrath]

Psalm 86. In the day of my trouble... (NIV)

On the second night of our hospital vigil, the phone rang--come quickly. As I put on my clerical collar, I knew that somehow God would strengthen me, if indeed I had to commend my sister into God's care. As the hours after the surgery wore on and my sister's condition continued to deteriorate I went out on the hospital grounds and sat on a hard, gray stone bench. There, I began to pray. My prayer, controlled and modulated at first, became a railing--an
anguished cry, where are you God? I tore frenetically at my clerical collar, trying as hard as I could to rip it off. It would not budge. After several angry attempts, my collar button broke. I found myself on the ground, groping for the missing button piece--on my knees, raising my fist in anger, railing all the time where are you God--where are you?

Twelve hours later as I dressed for bed, I caught the glint of something on the edge of the bed. There, precisely where I had taken off my clerical shirt, was the errant collar button piece. Okay, I said aloud. I get it--in the day of my trouble, you will not leave me, no matter how human my railings become, no matter how demanding the hour.





Ps 85; 1 Sam 2:1-10; Eph 2:1-10; Matthew 7:22-27

[Wrath]

Psalm 90. Establish the work of our hands for us.

The terrain of the road was, well--shall we say, using the term road was being quite generous. Near Chepo, Panama felt like an unlikely place to find the work of our hands. Yet, there it was--the answer to a prayer. For three weeks we had traveled through Panama, praying with our eyes open--vigilant for opportunities for an international mission. Though the disenfranchised were ever present, our missionary opportunities were limited. And then, there she was. There at the end of a challenging road was Annie and the Burbauar Lodge on Spirit Mountain, a fitting name for this secluded retreat lodge. Annie was a lodge guest. Our conversation weaved from the mundane to the irony of our meeting. As a social and environmental activist, Annie longed to deepen her relationship with Christ. We were connected by a spirit of passion for the people of her native land. There, on Spirit Mountain, the work of our hands was established.

Establishing the work of our hands is as much about establishing the work of our heart--the passion for a place, for its people. The work of our hands begins with allowing the Holy Spirit to direct us.




Ps 87; Num 11:16-17, 24-29; Eph 2:11-22; Mt 7:28--8:4

[Wrath]

Psalm 68:1-20. As wax melts before the fire, may the wicked perish before God. (NIV)

Pointing her finger at Dorothy the Wicked Witch of the West issues a menacing threat, "I'll get you, my pretty, and your little dog, too." The Wizard of Oz is a perennial favorite. As a child, if I watched it, I watched through tightly latticed fingers, fear clutching at my heart. What if I were mistaken as the enemy? While I was not keen on most of the film, I will admit to this--when "her wickedness" is reduced to a puddle of vaporous clothing--I cheered!

More than once I have harbored the fantasy of my enemy melting away like wax. But what has eclipsed this fantasy is simple. What if I have conjured up a bum rap for this presumed enemy? Sadder still is how much of my energy has been wasted on this misdirected pursuit. I am eternally grateful for a God who does not intervene in such dramatic ways. And I am grateful all the more that his challenging love invites me to live with and through my anger.




1 Sam 12:19-24; Rev 22:12-14, 16-17, 20; Jn 17:20-26

[Wrath]

Psalm 89:1-18. With my mouth I will make your faithfulness known through all generations. (NIV)

It is May, but I am transported back to a wonderful autumn day when the air was crisp and clean. A day which was full of God's artistry--a day bathed in the brilliance of the trees which frame our street. The trees were such a radiant hue of vibrant colors it was hard to comprehend that in a few weeks the leaves would be part of the landscape in a different way, as they begin to cascade to the ground to be transformed into nutrients for the soil.

Ecclesiastes tells us that in God's creation there is a time for all things in our lives. While it may be difficult to embrace all of the seasons of our lives as brilliant, even the seasons that lack radiance can be nourishing to our souls. The single thing that keeps us from embracing each new season of
our life is letting go--letting go before God's continued plan for us is secure in our sight.

As we approach this glorious May day let us give thanks for the autumn moments of our life. The autumn moments which hold the possibility of May abundance. Let us celebrate this wonderful day secure in the hope that God will sustain us through all of the seasons of our lives.


Ephesians 3:1-13; Joshua 1:1-9; Matthew 8:5-17

[Seawolf]

Ephesians 3:14-21. According to his power that is at work within us... (NIV)

I think of him often, the unassuming man who invited me into the deeper recesses of the final days of his life. His struggle with cancer was not complete until his life was in order. He was a man who could not profess his faith, but lived it daily--a man who did not fear death--but feared the impact that his death would have on others. He was a man who accepted God's power working through others, but could not articulate how that power manifested itself. We struggled, he and I--he to let go, and me to bring him into the realm of the faithful. When he rejected the sacraments I was at a loss. I felt that I had somehow failed. Lord, I pleaded, what is it you want of me in this time of dying? Came the answer: wait; be present; the power which is working through you, is also working within him.

Just before my friend died, I offered to him a simple living memorial service so that he could say goodbye to his family. In a profound articulation of the power of God working in him, he said, "I know that there is a life beyond this life. I cannot tell you what. I simply know." It was a grace filled moment.

Ps 97, 99; 1 Sam 16:1-13a; Matthew 8:18-27

[Seawolf]

Ephesians 4:1-16. So that the body of Christ may be built up... (NIV)q

The partially completed quilt square looked a bit curious. The colors seemed right, yet something was amiss. I felt a surge of frustration that it may be my grandson's high school graduation before his baby quilt was a reality. Later, I realized I had sewn one of the pieces of fabric to the wrong side. The colors were the same tones, but with very similar hues it was easy to miss the subtle differences between the right and the wrong side. Yet they were different. On closer examination, I realized something still was askew, but what? Carefully sifting through all of the quilt pieces, I realized the quilt piece I had chosen was exactly like other pieces, but it was the wrong size. I sighed--muttering all the while as I ripped apart the now almost tattered quilt square.

We are all given distinct, yet differing God-given abilities that can strengthen the church. Often these distinctions can become divisive. The true fabric of the church is strengthened by the complementary shades and hues of similar abilities given to all of our brothers and sisters in Christ. We are called as Christians to unite all believers in Christ, even amidst the echo of our frustrated sighs.

Ps 101, 109:1-4(5-19)20-30; Isa 4:2-6; Matthew 8:28-34

[Seawolf]

Ephesians 4:17-32. Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry. (NIV)

If I had my way, these words would be inscribed over every doorway on the planet. For reasons not exactly clear to me, it seems anger has become everyone's favorite emotion--as well as the one most openly practiced. I do not remember when it became alright to express anger so openly and publicly, but the world sure seems to be a less friendly place.

The truth is that anger is one of those modes we fall into with the least bit of inconvenience to our personal world. We seem to think everything ought to be easy, simple, and painless. It is not, of course, and never has been. It rarely, if ever, will be. Radio and television talking heads live by anger and they spread it like a disease, to ensure you are angry, too. Anger is just as contagious as graciousness.

St. Paul reminds us who we are: new beings in Christ Jesus. Those transformed by that relationship to Jesus dare not harbor anger, nor allow it to grow, nor use it to separate ourselves one from another. Making peace in our hearts and minds--and with one another--before the sun goes down, is wise advice; for it always restores us aright with God, ourselves, and those we love.

Ps 105:1-22; Zech 4:1-14; Matt 9:1-8

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Psalm 102. When I call, answer me quickly. (NIV)

Sunlight streamed through the chancel window, the rays reflecting the splendor of Easter morning. No day could have been more brilliant--more joyful. Yet I felt such a void in my life, such a chasm of separateness from God that I could only weep. The complexities of these feelings would bring me to my knees. As I gazed at the cross I gave voice to a lingering question. Who am I? Who am I in you?

Journeys are seldom, if ever, linear. If we admit it, they are often even circumspect. Yet if we guard our hearts too well we gather only a fragmentary glimpse of what God has planned for us. Even in the heart of one who seeks to understand who they are can be found the corrosive effects of doubt and cynicism. No matter how firm our faith is, as we explore, we are often seduced and lured by a world that even on a good day feels off kilter. It is part of the journey. It was my journey. In retrospect, it felt like a very long time between the question and the answer. But it was I who had wandered--wandered searching for the answer which had secured itself in my doubts. The answer, so illusive at first, was as resplendent as that Easter morning.

Jer 31:27-34; Eph 5:1-20; Matthew 9:9-17

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Ezekiel 36:22-27. Heart of stone...heart of flesh. (NIV)

There is something to be said for having a professional demeanor. I know clergy who would not dream of being seen with tear-stained faces, much less being heard stifling a sob. Yet I find it more than a little difficult to trust stony pastoral presence. When is it they weep? When is it they pound their fists at the unfairness of life?

Several years ago, I observed a cleric attending to the pastoral needs of a family. His demeanor was bouncy and cheery. Knowing the close relationship he had with his dying friend, I asked: "How are you--really?" "I have my professional façade on," came the reply. His professional veneer had served him well--insulating him from this painful situation. Perhaps more importantly, it insulated him from the family--denying their grief, their hearts of flesh.

I suspect that as with many of us, the avoidance of the reality of another's suffering is a defense mechanism. Yet, another's suffering is intimately connected to their ultimate wholeness, and perhaps even ours. When we insulate ourselves too well from another's pain, over time there is an accumulated numbness which mounds itself around our hearts so completely that our hearts become petrified, and the façade becomes a stony affront. If given the choice, I choose the tear-stained face.

Ps 107:33-43, 108:1-6; Eph 6:10-24; Matthew 9:18-26

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Acts 2:1-11. ...Speaking in his own language. (NIV)

There is a group of Anglican Franciscan brothers who, while working in the Solomon Islands, translated the Scriptures from English into Pijin. Upon hearing the sermons preached in Pijin, parishioners' heads snapped up and grins flashed around the room. It must have been a Pentecost moment for the Franciscan preachers--the liturgy they preached alive in the Pijin native tongue.

On the positive side, language is communication. On the down side, not being proficient in a language other than one's own is self-limiting and becomes a tool of estrangement. I am not bilingual. My heart understands--but my Spanish, sadly, is a composite of requests for local amenities. I wonder how many opportunities I have missed because of my language deficiency.

Pentecost, for me, is a day to listen to the voices from the edge of society, speaking to me with an authority born of their experience. And, it is a day for me to reaffirm my commitment to bridge barriers so that understanding is possible. God is seen today as unleashing the Good News to the world and giving specific power and authority to build up a body of men and women who can make Christ known to all people--in their own language.

Ps 104:25-37; 1 Corinthians 12:4-13; John 14:8-17

[Wrath]

Luke 1:39-49. My soul doth magnify the Lord. [Magnificat]

If music 'hath charm to soothe,' then the opposite must be true: the gentle heart can be driven up the wall with the awful clamor that passes for music. Take my kids' taste in music--please. One of the dreaded joys of being chauffeured by one of your own children is the music they select. (Family rule: the driver gets to select the music. This lasts until one, or both, parents threaten to leap out of the car.) They think our taste in music is 'oldies-elevator' [the Beatles old?] while we hear theirs as soulless noise. Note the major gift to humanity in the last 20 years is the affordable headphone.

The irony of it is that when it comes to church music, my young adult children brook no modernity. If I slip in a CD of hymns, carols, or service music I watch them slip off their earphones. Nothing grabs them as much as Mary's Song, Magnificat.

One family joke has me saying to my son on hearing some obnoxious song, "Be sure and play this at my funeral." My daughter responds, "Don't have to wait that long, Dad. I'll put it through your hearing-aid in the nursing home." Yet when they hear Mary's Song, inevitably they say, "Can I have this sung at my wedding?"

Some things bind us in powerful, inexplicable ways. Music is one of them.

Ps 113; Zeph 3:14-18a; Col 3:12-17

[Seawolf]

Ecclesiastes 2:16-26. There is nothing better for a man than that he should eat and drink and find enjoyment in his toil.

Brother Lawrence, a 17th century French monk often shared with others his repeated efforts to keep his attention constantly on God, no matter what business was occupying him. Even while peeling carrots at the monastery sink, he thanked God for being able to do this menial work and to be able to do it for others. This constant realization of the presence of God filled him with peace and joy.

We walk our dog three times a day. More often than not, the hot noonday sun is my round--and I was finding it a dreadful chore! One day while plodding through the summer's heat the thought came to me that I was most thankful to have such a beautiful and loving pet to care for--and that I was able to walk and to take her out to the beautiful park. Along with that change of heart came such thankfulness and joy--that I am so often reminded of in situations that I find a chore--and I am blessed.

The Minister of the Congregation is directed to instruct the people, from time to time, about the duty of Christian parents to make prudent provision for the well-being of their families, and of all persons to make wills, while they are in health, arranging for the disposal of their temporal goods, not neglecting, if they are able, to leave bequests for religious and charitable uses.--BCP, p. 445

Ps 45; Galatians 1:18--2:10; Matthew 13:53-58

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Psalm 119:49-72. It is good for me that I was afflicted, that I might learn thy statutes.

Several years ago, following an especially stressful time with family responsibilities, I was discovered to have shingles. I was told to "lie low" and be calm until the shingles healed. An especially warm summer, I was restricted to the only air conditioned room in the house--my bedroom. My sister sent videos on water coloring, my favorite passion which I seldom made time for, and I read C.S. Lewis and some wonderful books that I hadn't made time to read. I wrote in a journal and I was thoroughly enjoying myself.

In the healing process I had found the peace that I had needed and postponed for far too long. How many light years ahead in my spiritual journey I found myself during this process of several weeks. I praised God constantly for the joy that I found in the quietness, and I did not feel guilty for following my passions. I have always said that God sometimes has to hit me in the head with a two-by-four and kick me in the shins to make me listen--and he did--and I did.

I ask God's help in finding peace in the midst of turmoil, asking as in the Jesus Prayer, have mercy on me.

Ecclesiastes 3:1-15; Galatians 2:11-21; Matthew 14:1-12

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Psalm 50. He who brings thanksgiving as his sacrifice honors me.

I remember once asking a priest how thanksgiving was a sacrifice. The reply was not an answer I could understand until years later. I learned that being thankful to God is a gift or a sacrifice we give to God. We go to church on Sunday to praise God and in gathering in communion with one another we
give thanks during Communion for giving us his son, Jesus Christ who died for us.

Many years ago when going to the altar rail for Communion, it occurred to me I was smiling. Now, I know why. While helping to serve Communion I so often see sad, penitent faces at the rail. Sometimes I want to say, "Smile--your sins have been forgiven and now you are here to give thanks for what Jesus did for you--smile." But I know it is not my place to tell someone how to receive Holy Communion. God accepts the sad and penitent heart as well as the joyful one. Inevitably, we will all experience different emotions about our lives. The key is to know we can be thankful to God even in times of grief or sadness, and he will bless us.

Ecclesiastes 3:16--4:3; Gal 3:1-14; Mt 14:13-21

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Psalm 40. Sacrifice and offering thou dost not desire; but thou hast given me an open ear.

"Not now Lord, wait until I can make time to read your word and spend some time with you." And when I do, I tend to take my laundry list of what I need for God to do, rather than listening. Margaret Guenther wrote, "We can let go in holy forgetting, remembering that God was managing nicely before we joined the firm and will continue to cope after we have turned to dust."

Listening is work, make no mistake about it. We tend to be talkers, not listeners. In the act of truly listening we are totally present to the other--in the present, total attention focused, and not thinking of anything else but what is happening at that moment. Perhaps it is nothing but silence. Yet when we truly listen in that way holy silence takes over and we are in prayer. We are listening to the Other--the greatest "other" of all--using that open ear that is God's gift to us.

Remember to give thanks this day for the incomparable Book of Common Prayer.

Ps 54; Ecclesiastes 5:1-7; Galatians 3:15-20; Matthew 14:22-26

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Matthew 15:1-20. And he called the people to him and said to them, "Hear and understand: not what goes into the mouth defiles a man, but what comes out of the mouth, this defiles a man."

As Jesus talks with the Pharisees and Scribes regarding their dietary regulations, he says that what matters is not the way a person observes rituals but the state of their hearts.

For far many years I thought that by going to church every Sunday, teaching Sunday School, and serving on church committees I was being religious. In some ways I was, but doing the right things for the wrong reason. These are simply means to an end and not ends in themselves. I have to constantly remind myself that religion consists of personal relationships, my attitude towards God, myself, and others. Thomas Aquinas said, "Man sees the deed, but God sees the intention." I have come to realize that what matters most to God is not so much how I act, but why I act; not so much what I actually do, but what I wish in my heart to do. This is, in fact, the very end of pride.

Ps 55; Ecclesiastes 5:8-20; Galatians 3:23--4:11

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Isaiah 6:1-8. And he touched my mouth, and said: "Behold, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away, and your sin is forgiven."

Knowing that God has forgiven me, I know in my heart that I must change my attitude and my actions towards other. Knowing that God has forgiven me, can I do anything less than to forgive others?

A learned Bible teacher years ago gave me some advice I have never forgotten and have passed on to countless others. It is this: when you ask another's forgiveness do not simply say, "I am sorry," or "forgive me"; you must ask, "Will you forgive me?" This involves both parties--and requires a response. The other person can, of course, say "no" but if they say "yes" then they have made a change within themselves--and the intense knowledge of forgiveness is known by both. This is what God did with Isaiah. God touched Isaiah's mouth; both of them were involved, Isaiah's heart responded. Ours does also. Just so do we need to be involved with one another in love and forgiveness.


Ps 29; Revelation 4:1-11; John 16:(5-11)12-15

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Psalm 57. Be exalted, O God, above the heavens! Let thy Glory be over all the earth!

In the midst of lions and those who set a net for him, the writer of this psalm exalts God knowing that God's Glory is over all the earth! I call this pure grace. Driving on a snowy, icy interstate highway after dark several years ago we skidded across lanes of fast moving cars. As we wove in and out, I
remember seeing a Mack truck bearing down on me through the side passenger window. Suddenly, we found ourselves stopped on the left shoulder, engine off. Surprisingly, my husband and I sat there perfectly calm, at peace, and silent. Then, together, we softly praised God. Slowly we realized that we were not hurt, the car was not hurt, and when we tried, the engine started! We knew with deep peace within our hearts that our Guardian Angel had led us through to safety.

When I find myself praising God in the midst of turmoil, I am able to find peace within. I cannot make it happen, but God can--and does. It is that peace that passes all understanding.

Lord, help me to find peace in the midst of turmoil.

Ps 56; Ecclesiastes 7:1-14; Galatians 4:12-20; Matthew 15:21-28

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Psalm 62. Trust in him at all times, O people; pour out your heart before him; God is a refuge for us.

Our daughter was between three and four years-old and my husband and I were sleeping in on a Saturday morning. She had come in and bid us to get up. We responded with, "Just give us a few more minutes." After awhile we heard this loud plea coming from her bedroom: "Listen to me God--somebody has to!" (We still debate who leapt to the floor first.)

Belief or trust in somebody or something has been described as a devotion, confidence and reliance on good qualities, fairness, honor or ability without logical truth. I found in doing research on the spirituality of young children that they have no trouble at all believing in things not seen--fairies, magical kingdoms and so on.

The time is ripe at this age for learning about God, and not the problem that adults often find it to be. When we come to the knowledge that God is always there for us to talk with--and know that we trust God not to reveal our thoughts and feelings, God becomes, indeed, a refuge for us.

Ps 61; Eccl 8:14--9:10; Galatians 4:21-31; Matthew 15:29-39

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Galatians 5:1-15. For the whole law is fulfilled in one word, "You shall love your neighbor as yourself."

The catch, as I see it, is--do I love myself? Am I selfish if I say that I love myself or am I fulfilling God's desire for me? God loves us unconditionally. Can I do any less? Who am I to know better than God what God wants for me? If I love myself as God loves me, then how am I to respond to my neighbors?

Sometime ago I found myself praying for a dictator! How did that happen, I wondered. Then I knew: I was praying he would have a change of heart, to become a more loving, caring person.

It really is not difficult praying in this manner. I pray for those whom I do not like because I am able to love them as fellow creatures of God even if I do not like what they do. In doing so, sometimes I am eventually able to like them because in changing my attitude, I have allowed them to change theirs. It is at times like these that I am able to rejoice in that change of heart, that only could have come from God--not me.


Ps 72; Ecclesiastes 9:11-18; Matthew 16:1-12

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Psalm 71. Do not cast me off in the time of old age; forsake me not when my strength is spent.

I entered her room and found a small woman pacing the floor. Her right arm in a sling, she showed large black bruises on her face and arms. Obviously she had fallen--many times.

We sat down and I asked what seemed to be bothering her. Her daughter was mad at her and would not come to see her because she had fallen so much that she had to be taken to the nursing home. She was right.

When I talked with her daughter, she admitted she could not look at her mother so bruised and broken. Acknowledging her pain, I explained that her mother needed her just to come and be with her, and to listen to her; and that gift of love to her mother would benefit them both in the long run.

Caregivers do not have an enviable job. At one time or another we are all called to be one for someone we love. I explained to her daughter, we cannot handle everything ourselves; what we cannot handle we can turn over to God.

Eccles 11:1-8; Galatians 5:6-24; Matthew 16:13-20

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Acts 11:19-30; 13:1-3. For a whole year they met with the church, and taught a large company of people; and in Antioch the disciples were for the first time called Christians.

When were you first called a Christian? For too many years of my life I felt I was a Christian because I was born one into a household of good church-going people. It was kind of like being vaccinated a Christian; it was for my own good and I was told that I had an edge on those who were not.

John Feiler, in his book Abraham, relates that Abraham not only believed in God, but that he believed God. What a difference! We are told by polls that umpteen-million Americans believe in God--that is really a no-brainer--but do they believe God? And how are folks to know if they believe God if they do not read his word in Holy Scripture? I started reading the Bible several years ago because I wanted to know what all of the references in liturgy and literature related to. I got hooked. The holiness of the inspired words of Scripture grabbed me by the scruff of my neck, and then I knew that I was a Christian.

Ps 112; Isaiah 42:5-12; Matthew 10:7-16

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Psalm 75. We give thanks to thee, O God; we give thanks; we call on thy name and recount thy wondrous deeds.

Alice is ninety-four, her pink cheeks, bright blue eyes, white soft hair, and sweet smile remind one of an elderly angel as she sits eagerly listening to the stories of others in our monthly Circle of Friends--a spiritual direction group at a retirement center. When everyone responds to the question--how are you doing today?--she always answers with the same story. When she was married at nineteen their car had a flat tire and as she was standing beside it, a car came careening around the corner, hit Alice and threw her upon the roof of that car. The doctors said she would never live. She has had five children and a wonderful marriage. Alice smiles with tears in her eyes as she also continues that every night she recites the prayer for angels to stand at the four corners of her bed. And then she just sits there--remembering--in her joy.

Alice's husband has gone, she is in assisted living, but she beams with the love of the life she has lived and the memories of God being with her every step of the way.

Ps 76; Numbers 3:1-13; Galatians 6:11-18; Matthew 17:1-13

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Galatians 2:11-21. I have been crucified with Christ, it is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me; and the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

Paul's mystical union with Christ does not destroy his own personality, nor does it ours. We are, no matter what happens, sustained and molded by our Christian lives.

In times of stress when I have to read in church or talk with someone in need, I pray that I can empty myself of self and fill myself with God's peace and grace. Someone once suggested visualizing myself as a toothpaste tube with a cap on my head and one at the end of a toe, undoing those caps and letting God's love flow in the top and out the bottom, and then replacing the caps. In doing so I am still "me" but I am also filled with the greatest love of all, and I forget my fears. Fear, it is often said, prevents love. As we fill ourselves with God's love, then fear is replaced with promise.

Visualize God's love pouring into you and through you.

Ps 32; 2 Sam 11:26--12:10, 13-15; Luke 7:36-50

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Romans 1:1-15. First, I thank my God for all of you, because your faith is proclaimed in all the world.

In wisdom combined with love, Paul thanked God for the faith of those to whom he was writing. Giving praise for some is an integral part of their nature; others are tuned into criticizing. It has been said of Thomas Hardy that if he went into a country field, he would not see the wild flowers, but the compost heap in the corner.

The fact is we will always get far more out of people if we praise them rather than criticize them. In raising children, if they are constantly criticized they soon learn that what they do never brings praise--they begin not to care--and act as they are expected to. When we praise our children we trust them to be good, and they learn not to break that trust. Constructive criticism is often necessary, but we must remember that what we say must be said in love. Constant criticism does not give us a good feeling. How much better we feel--and everyone else does, also--when we can find something good to say.

Help me, Lord, to learn to give praise rather than criticism.

Ps 80; Numbers 9:15-23, 10:29-36; Matthew 17:14-21

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Numbers 11:1-23. And I will come down and talk with you there; and I will take some of the spirit which is upon you and put it on them; and they shall bear the burden of the people with you, that you may not bear it yourself alone.

Origen of Alexandria compares the relationship of human effort and God's grace to that of the captain of a sailing ship (us) and the wind (God). It is the wind that fills the sails and moves the ship along with the skill of the captain and his crew. The ship cannot sail itself, nor can the captain do it alone.

Sometime ago I found myself responsible for five family members over the age of 80. I found it necessary to travel a great deal and make decisions on the spur of the moment. I did not ask my church for prayer because I did not want to appear weak. In the midst of it all I was found to have skin cancer behind my left ear. I later asked the surgeon if stress could have been a cause, and he showed me spots on his face where small cancers had been removed, and answered "yes." I realized then that I had to ask not only for prayer, but for others to help.

I know that I cannot go it alone, ever.

Ps 78:1-39; Romans 1:16-25; Matthew 17:22-27

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Psalm 119:97-120. Thy word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.

Reading the Bible is a habit. Some folks find reading the Bible a chore because they do not understand what they are reading. There are many suggested ways to read the Bible--one way is to read sections three times. First, read it to see who it is talking to; next, read it asking, what is it saying; and third, read it to see what it says to the reader.

A helpful aid is a good Bible commentary or a Bible with footnote commentaries. Commentaries are essential because the wisdom of scholars is helpful. This is not to say that we do not each get something different from readings, but there is an essential pearl of wisdom found in each reading. Forward Day by Day was the way I first came to form my habit.

The Jewish grandmother of a spiritual sister of mine from childhood always said that people haven't changed since the Hebrew Testament days, and neither have most situations. Through Scripture we hear what the Holy Spirit has said to countless generations and is saying to us today--a lamp in our darkness.

I need God's help in making Bible reading a daily habit.

Numbers 11:24-33(34-35); Romans 1:28--2:11; Matthew 18:1-9

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Romans 2:12-24. You then who teach others, will you not teach yourself?

Ouch! "Practice what you preach" is a familiar phrase, but ever so much more important to those who feel they are religious. Clergy and laity alike must constantly be reminded of the matter of character. Character involves a set of qualities that make one distinctive, especially those of mind, feeling, and action, and often regarded as public reputation. Is our public persona the same as our true persona? Televangelists have often made the mistake of privately betraying their public persona. Am I not also guilty?

As I often thought, if not said, to our daughter, "Do as I say and not as I do," I must be reminded of the matter of character. Sometimes religious folk like to think of ourselves as living a kind of separate life. We are accountable to family, friends, those we talk with and teach, business contacts--but most of all we are accountable to God. How can I become accountable for good character to myself, to God and others? Reading the Bible daily, asking God's help in prayer. When we come to realize that, as St. Paul writes, "Nothing is hidden from God," we know that we must also teach ourselves about good character.

I look to you, Lord, for my help.

Ps 83; Numbers 12:1-16; Matthew 18:10-20

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Matthew 18:21-35. Then Peter came up and said to him, "Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times?" Jesus said to him, "I do not say to you seven times, but seventy times seven."

It is that forgiveness thing--again. Jesus teaches us in the Lord's Prayer: forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. It
once dawned on me that I could not ask God's forgiveness if I could not forgive others. I want to be forgiven--I need to be forgiven. First I needed to think of all those folks that I have resented--from my childhood on. As I began forgiving those who "did me wrong" in my growing-up years, I began to realize that so much of what had happened was that folks were doing the best they could under the circumstances.

As I began to forgive them, I realized that some of my resentment had been eating away at me like cancer. As I went through my list, I found that I could think of them in a fond way. It is said that resentment is like eating poison hoping that the other person will die. I have found another way to live, truly live spiritually.

Lord, help me to begin forgiving all whom I need to forgive.

Ps 88; Numbers 13:1-3, 21-30; Romans 2:25--3:8

[Wrath]

Matthew 19:23-30. But many that are first will be last, and the last first.

In Christianity there are always two ways of thinking: worldly and spiritually. A goal of Christian life, then, is to enmesh worldly and spiritual thought. We listen to spiritual things with spiritual ears. What we often hear in the Bible makes no sense whatsoever to our worldly ears--yet when understood spiritually, has such wonder-filled meaning.

"Enough is always a little more than a man has," has often been said. I have too often said, "If I only had..."--then not been at all satisfied. It just depends on where we put our treasures. Riches tend to make a person selfish. Jesus did not say that it was impossible for a rich person to enter heaven, but that a rich person may be in danger of thinking that God is not needed in their life.

Some who scoff at those who have few things on earth and who may think the "poor" are driven to God because they have no where else to go are exactly correct. Unless we divest ourselves of similar notions, embracing poverty of spirit, we will always be last. And we will be the ones scoffed.

Please remember Forward Movement in your will.

Ps 97, 99; Numbers 16:20-35; Romans 4:1-12

[Wrath]

Romans 4:13-25. Jesus our Lord, who was put to death for our trespasses and raised for our justification.

This is it in a nutshell: Jesus died so that our status might be changed in the eyes of God, with our sins forgiven. In response to the call that Jesus makes to us, we permit him to be no less than King and Lord of our lives, and we ourselves are changed. We spend our lives becoming the persons we were designed to be--at one with God.

This is a life-long process; and if we think we have arrived--we have not! But as we begin this process, our view of life changes. I remember so many years ago now, riding down an interstate highway reading my Bible. We were taking an
intensive two-year Bible study course, and I was doing my homework. I laughed, feeling a little self-conscious, and amazed that I was doing this--in public. Now, when I haven't had time to do my daily reading before I leave on a trip--I just pull out my little red travel Bible, as I would any book, and do my reading. As St. Paul says, "I am not ashamed of the Gospel," and neither am I. Wow, I've come a long way!

Help me Lord to keep on.

Ps 101, 109; Numbers 16:36-50; Matthew 20:1-16

[Wrath]

Isaiah 40:1-11. A voice cries: "In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our God."

This is a call from Isaiah to announce God's in-breaking into the world, into the human family. It has also been a call in my life to prepare a highway for my journey to God. When I was finally able to acknowledge the great need I had for help beyond myself and others, I reached out to Jesus to journey with me. It is difficult to continually keep my eyes on the road--sometimes they wander--and I do, too. I get choked up with worries and fears and have found myself operating on the same resources, and at the same level, as if I had never started on that highway. I have found myself too often in the driver's seat, alone, driving my own machine according to my own wisdom once again--hauling a huge, heavy trailer behind.

As any good driver knows, we must stop and rest once in awhile. Taking time out to be quiet and listen to God in prayer--holy silence--is a discipline that we must undertake if we are to remain on our journey. I need a navigator and to learn not to drive it alone.

Jesus, guide me.

Ps 85; Acts 13:14b-26; Luke 1:57-80

[Seawolf]

Psalm 102. When peoples gather together, and kingdoms, to worship the Lord.

It was a surprise to me when I first learned that going to church and listening to the sermon to give me a leg-up for the next week was not the real purpose of church-going on Sunday. It makes immense sense to me now to have discovered that church on Sunday is the grand finale of the previous week. We are supposed to be doing our daily meditations at home during the week and then go to church as a culmination of our reading, study, and prayer--to worship God together--in the fellowship of other Christians.

Many of us have felt from time-to-time that we can worship God anywhere, any time, and that we did not need a church to go to. It is true that we can indeed worship God anywhere; but one of our duties--and joys--is gathering together to
worship and praise God and to thank him during Communion. God created us to be in relationship with him, ourselves, and others--we were not created to be alone. God created Eve so that Adam would not be alone--and Jesus did not call us to be Christians alone. We have our churches.

God rejoices when we gather together and worship him.

Numbers 20:1-13; Romans 5:12-21; Matthew 20:29-34

[Seawolf]

Numbers 20:14-29. And when all the congregation saw that Aaron was dead, all the house of Israel wept for Aaron thirty days.

When my Jewish childhood friend's mother died, I went to stay with her family. I was able to "sit Shiva" with her family, members of her congregation, and friends, meeting in their living room mornings and evenings at 7:30 for prayers, Torah readings, and personal remembrances. Following each brief service food was served--usually brought in by friends. The family stayed in the house six days, meeting with all who came by. On the seventh day we put on our coats and walked around the block and then drove to the cemetery to the black cloth covered grave of her mother. Members of the family went from grave to grave of departed family members--talking together in remembrance of each of them. One year later everyone met for the unveiling of the headstone and again went out to eat together.

Sitting Shiva proved to be both an emotional and spiritual process in getting through the initial stages of grief--and then going out into the world once again. How wonderful it was to be part of such a beautiful and spiritual experience along with the others.

Ps 107:33-43, 108:1-6; Romans 6:1-11; Matthew 21:1-11

[Seawolf]

Psalm 16. I keep the Lord always before me; because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved.

When I first learned the Jesus Prayer, in reading about Russian Orthodoxy, I fell in love with it. I knew that its simplicity was formed by such powerful, all-encompassing meaning. It goes like this:

Lord Jesus Christ,
Son of the living God:
Have mercy on me, a sinner.

Lord Jesus Christ--here I proclaim Jesus to be Lord of my life; Son of the living God--I proclaim him to be who he is, the Son of God; Have Mercy on me,--I ask that his mercy be on me, be my protector, and my defender; a sinner--and here I must always be aware that I, too, continually fall short, and need help desperately.

So often when things are going swimmingly--I forget that I am here by the simple grace of God, and often take things into my own hands, taking credit for it all. When something happens now and I need protection or guidance, and am suddenly brought up short with the realization that I desperately need help--the Jesus Prayer immediately shoots forth from my lips.

Lord, help me always seek to be close to you.

1 Kings 19:15-16, 19-21; Galatians 5:1, 13-25; Luke 9:51-62

[Seawolf]

Romans 6:12-23. For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life.

Danish philosopher Søren Kierkegaard wrote about "sickness unto death," meaning spiritual death as well as physical death. We have all known folks who became so miserable that they simply "curled up and died"--with no will to live.

I began to think of spiritual sicknesses that could be likened to physical ones. I was initially amused and then frightened as I began to think of some
possibilities: spiritual leprosy--those who are afraid to touch others, to become close to them; spiritual cancer--those whose thoughts are eating away at them; spiritual heart blockage--those who cannot allow themselves to love or be loved; spiritual blood clots--suffering from those blockages that keep us from relating to one another; spiritual blindness--those who cannot see the lives of others; and spiritual deafness--unable to hear the Good News that Jesus came to proclaim for us.

But wait! There is more! Eternal life is a free gift that can be given to any of us--if we just accept Jesus' promise. All we have to do is accept it.

Lord, please deliver me from spiritual sicknesses.

Ps 106:1-18; Numbers 22:1-21; Matthew 21:12-22

[Seawolf]

2 Timothy 4:1-8. For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own likings, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander into myths.

I have been affected by this disease of "itching ears" over the years. People from the beginning of time have looked for those who will tell them what they want to hear--not what they need to hear. Prophets in the Hebrew Testament were not exactly popular--some were killed. Times have not changed. With the great malls of thought and belief within religions in the world today--we can shop around to find what we want to hear, even shopping within our own denominations to find someone we want to agree with. Some people may find that Christian teachings do not suit their own likings and are comforted by folks who say that Scriptures are no more than pious myths without any relationship to actual events, and with a God who supports their personal agendas.

Read and study the Bible. We can find comfort in what is central to the Christian message--the fact that God is a God who forgives.

Ps 87; Ezekiel 34:11-16; John 21:15-19

[Seawolf]

Romans 7:13-25. I can will what is right, but cannot do it. For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I do. Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I that do it, but sin which dwells within me.

Flip Wilson used to say "the devil made me do it," and we'd all laugh. But this is not the case; it is our will that makes us do things. St. Paul later writes that we do not have to do it (sin), "thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!"

I grew up sometimes trying very hard to do what was right in the sight of my parents--but sometimes felt I had a split personality, being pulled in
opposite directions. I now know that the spiritual and the worldly are constantly at battle with one another; God vs. the will and the mind. I don't always know what the right thing is to do--if I did life would be easy. This is the difference between religion and morality. William Barkley writes,
"Morality is knowledge of a code; religion is knowledge of a person; and it is only when we know Christ that we are able to do what we ought."

Help me, O Lord, to know you better.

Ps 119:145-176; Num 22:41--23:12; Mt 21:33-46

[Seawolf]

Matthew 22:1-14. "The Kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave a marriage feast."

The parish where my family worships has an active outreach ministry. One Sunday afternoon a month we serve a meal to homeless women. Last Sunday, my nine-year-old daughter came along. She jumped at the chance--anything to get away from her five-year-old brother. It occurred to me as we drove into the "badlands" of our city, that she might be a little young for this kind of thing. At the homeless shelter, she found her place in the serving line, and poured juice for a few hundred guests. I glanced over at her every now and again, and she seemed to be doing just fine. We didn't say much on the way home. My thoughts were already elsewhere.

The next day was her birthday, and birthdays are always a big deal at our house. Presents and singing, and friends and family--a real feast. When I put my daughter to bed, I asked her what the most special part of the celebration was and she said, "The meal." We had ordered pizza. "But we have pizza all the time," I said.

"No, not that meal," she said. "The meal for the ladies, the meal where I poured the juice. That was my favorite part!"

She had not missed the feast that God had put before her. Maybe the next time, I won't either.

Ps 131, 132, 133; Num 23:11-26; Romans 8:1-11

[Seawolf]

Romans 8:12-17. For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear.

The Ohio River flows a few miles from my home. It is a beautiful river that I often turn to for meditation and peace. I cannot look at the Ohio
without remembering that it was across this river so many escaped from slavery in their search for freedom. It seems strange that on one side of the water people were considered slaves, and on the other side of the water they were free. No matter how strange it seems to me, that's the way things were, and those people would not be stopped from crossing that river. The call of freedom was that strong. I hope when they arrived on this side of the water, they were made to feel welcome.

Through the water of baptism, people find freedom. They find freedom from the baggage of guilt and sin. They find freedom in the life and ministry that Jesus calls us to do. They find freedom in the community of faith. They find
freedom to be the people God intends us to be. It all seems so strange. On one side of the water, people are slaves, and on the other side they are free. No matter how strange it seems, that's the way things are; and people keep coming to the water of baptism. They keep coming. God's call to us is that strong. I hope when they arrive, on this side of the water, we all make them feel welcome.


Ps 140, 142; Num 24:1-13; Mt 22:15-22

[Seawolf]

Matthew 22:23-40. That same day Sadducees came to Jesus, who say there is no resurrection.

I know a man who was raised from the dead. He was sent by a judge to the Alcoholics Anonymous meeting I attend. He was, for all intents and
purposes, dead. He had nothing but the clothes on his back and looked so physically ill I wondered if he would live to see the morning. I shared my thoughts with a friend, who reminded me that I am not in charge. A few months later, I spotted the man at another meeting. He was clean and well dressed and even shared during the discussion. He stated with humility and gratitude, that his life had been given back to him.

Resurrection happens all the time, and all around us. People whose hearts are beating but whose spirits have been destroyed discover new life and life abundant. My friend was also at the meeting. I reminded her of how terrible the man looked that day so long ago. She turned to me and said, "You looked worse."

I know a man who was raised from the dead. Actually, I know a lot of people who have been raised from the dead. If you take time to think about it, I am sure you will discover that you do as well.

[Seawolf]

Galatians 6:1-18. Bear one another's burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.

My dog is afraid of fireworks. She is the exception in our family. Every year on Independence Day we pack up and join the crowds to watch the fireworks display. This year seemed to be exceptionally crowded and there was even a little pushing and shoving as people tried to find space on the lawn. At one point, everybody's attention turned to the parking lot where people in wheelchairs were
being helped out of a bus. They were from a residential care facility. People from the crowd offered to help. A path was cleared across the lawn, and a prime viewing area immediately cleared. People smiled and waved. The crowd was
transformed.

Jesus attracted some pretty big crowds. I imagine there was pushing and shoving as people tried to get the best view. On one occasion, the crowd was hungry and restless. Jesus shared a young boy's food with them. They were transformed.

The light of fireworks is spectacular. The light of Christ is even more spectacular. It fills the hearts of people and transforms us, and that light will never die.


Ps 66; Isaiah 66:10-16; Luke 10:1-12; 16-20

[Seawolf]

Psalm 145. One generation shall praise your works to another.

For many summers I worked at a church camp in Connecticut. The campers came from the greater New York metropolitan area and reflected its socio-racial and economic diversity. One summer, strife and conflict filled the community. The staff was discouraged. We came up with a plan. We would model Christian community and we would pray that they would be inspired by our example. It was a simple plan, and one that we all agreed upon.

Initially there were only a few signs that we were making progress. Some campers crossed lines and stepped out of their comfort zones at meals and other activities. The morning that a fully rigged sailboat was found on the roof of the dining hall, I had an inclination that good things were happening. The entire camp was gathered at the scene of the crime. They were all beaming with pride. When partial amnesty was offered for honesty, every camper raised a hand and cried in unison, "I did it!" I knew at that moment that our efforts were not in vain, and the Kingdom was at hand. Our prayers had been answered, and "one generation had praised God to another."

Deut 10:17-21; Heb 11:8-16; Matthew 5:43-48

[Seawolf]

Romans 8:31-39. Nothing in all of creation can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

God's love comes to us in many ways. To be loved by the Church, the Body of Christ, is to be loved by God. This was a lesson that I learned late in life. A professors wife at my seminary died. He was a priest of the church, and a regular participant at daily Morning Prayer. His grief overwhelmed him. He came to Morning Prayer, but sat in the back of the chapel and no longer participated. This went on for many weeks. One day, he returned to his regular spot and to the prayers. On the day of his return, he stood and addressed the congregation after worship. He thanked them all for praying for him when he was unable to. He thanked them for loving him, when he felt he would never know love again. He thanked them for not allowing him to leave.

"Nothing in all creation can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord." St. Paul wrote these words, and they are for us all a call to
ministry.

Ps 5, 6; Num 35:1-3, 9-15, 30-34; Matthew 23:13-26

[Wrath]

Romans 9:1-18. So it depends not on human will.

I love John Wayne movies. My favorite character of his was Rooster Cogburn in the movie True Grit. He is big and strong and really tough. He makes all the bad guys and all the bad things go away. Sometimes I wish that I was more like John Wayne, especially when things are not going the way I want them to. I would fix everything in the blink of an eye. Oren Arnold wrote a prayer for the modern American: "Dear God, I pray for patience and I want it now!"

Jesus reminds us again and again that our hope lies not in our own doing, but in the power of God. God's ways are not our ways and that means that things do not always happen when and where we want them to--no matter how hard we try to make them so. I read the stories of the birth, life, death, and Resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth, and I know that if Rooster Cogburn had been there, things would have turned out differently. He would have messed everything up!

I will always be a John Wayne fan. He gets the job done. I also know that God is doing far more right now in the world than I could ever comprehend, and sometimes the best thing I can do is stay out of the way. I pray for patience and wisdom to understand this.


Ps 119:1-24; Deuteronomy 1:1-18; Mt 23:27-39

[Seawolf]

Psalm 18:1-20. He rescued me because He delighted in me.

On Thursdays in the summer I volunteer with a Church that provides food in the middle of a city park. "The Street Feed" serves the homeless in the most crime-ridden section of our city. It is a rather dangerous undertaking. Last Thursday a fight broke out and someone called me to come and stop it. As I walked toward the struggle, I thought, "Oh Lord, help me." Then, out of a far corner of the park, I saw another volunteer running towards me. He was screaming, "I'll take care of it! Go back to the food!" I did as I was told--thankfully. He stopped the fight immediately. Slowly, the realization of what he had done overwhelmed me. Recently released from prison, he put himself in the middle of trouble that was surely a risk not only to his life, but to his
parole. The crowd calmed down. He approached me. "Don't you ever try something like that again! You leave that kind of thing up to me." It was a moment of grace.

God did not ask any of us to make the journey to the cross. It was too dangerous and too painful a journey. God came among us, full of grace and truth, and did it for us. God took a great risk to share His love with us, and he wants us to share that love with one another. It was then, and it is now, risky
business.

Deut 3:18-28; Romans 9:19-33; Matthew 24:1-14

[Seawolf]

Psalm 16. You will show me the path of life, in your presence there is fullness and joy.

One July, my family vacationed on the coast of Maine. We were driving north and stopped in a small town. We couldn't find our way back to the highway. We asked an elderly gentleman for help. "Excuse me," I said, "we're a little lost and need some directions." His response has stayed with me: "You are not lost. You are right here." He actually ended up being very helpful.

Discerning the presence of Christ in daily life can be a struggle. Sometimes, Jesus is hard to see. There is no doubt about that. Some called him Emmanuel--God with us. I try and remember this when the going gets rough; but there are times when the path of life is just too confusing. I get lost and I can't find anything. Perhaps you have known
similar times.

At such times, I stop trying to find my own way, and I turn to the body of Christ. There, among the community of faith, I look to my right and I look to my left and I am surrounded by family. The words "Take, eat; This is my body," fill my ears and my heart. The presence of God is certain and sure; in his presence there is fullness and joy.

Ps 17; Deut 31:7-13, 24--32:4; Romans 10:1-13; Matthew 24:15-31

[Seawolf]

Romans 10:14-21. How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news.

Walking across a parking lot at a shopping mall, I spotted an old friend and I yelled to him, "Hey, Charlie. What's it all about?" He yelled back even louder, "It's all about love!" Then he said it again. People getting into and out of their cars stared at us.

In the middle of what many would consider the ultimate symbol of American consumerism--the parking lot of a shopping mall--this man had the courage to boldly declare his conviction that love is the greatest gift of all. A voice crying in the wilderness? Perhaps. On that day, however, his feet and his hands and his whole being were overflowing with beauty. Jesus calls us all to
proclaim the Good News of God's love. When we do, it is always a thing of beauty. No matter where we are standing.

All things bright and beautiful,
all creatures great and small,
all things wise and wonderful,
the Lord God made them all.--Hymnal 405

Ps 20, 21:1-7(8-14); Deut 34:1-12; Mt 24:32-51

[Seawolf]

Luke 10:25-37. Do this and you will live.

A lawyer asks Jesus about eternal life. He recites the law and Jesus responds, "Do this and you will live." That, apparently, was not enough for the lawyer. To tell you the truth, it is not enough for me, either. If life in the Kingdom is defined by the acceptance, memorization, and recitation of a code of conduct, then it does not sound like much of a kingdom to me.

Do we have to know how to read to get into the Kingdom? How many people that followed Jesus knew how to read? Can we, like the lawyer, memorize and recite our way into the Kingdom? I certainly hope not. Where is the excitement? Where is the adventure? Where is love?

Jesus did not die so that people would live. People were living before he was born. Jesus died that we might know new life, and life abundant. Where and how do we find this new life? We find it the same way the Good Samaritan did, reaching out in love and compassion to our neighbor.


Ps 25; Deut 30:9-14; Colossians 1:1-14

[Seawolf]

Psalm 25. Let none who look to you be put to shame.

Zacchaeus was a tax collector. No one in Jesus' day liked tax collectors. They were reviled and hated. Moreover, Zacchaeus was a "chief" tax collector and he was rich. He was surely a lonely man with few friends. I imagine he tried to keep a low profile. Luke tells us that when Jesus came to Jericho, a large crowd gathered. Zacchaeus wanted to see Jesus, so he climbed a tree. Now, if I was chief tax collector in Jericho, and a big crowd gathered, I would not climb a tree where everyone could see me. I would stay with the "low profile" plan. Zacchaeus went looking for Jesus. He climbed a tree and literally "went out on a limb" just to get a glimpse of Him. Was he put to shame? On the contrary. Before he knew it, Jesus was standing in his living room.

Give me strength, Oh God, to be more like Zacchaeus. Give me the strength and resolve, in spite of my fear and insecurity, to seek you out so that I, too, may see you face to face.


Joshua 2:1-14; Rom 11:1-12; Matthew 25:1-13

[Seawolf]

Psalm 26. My foot stands on level ground, in the full assembly I will bless the Lord.

When Jesus gave the sermon on the mount, I bet his mother was proud. There was a big crowd and his popularity was obvious. The people were attentive and his words were profound and inspirational. What mother wouldn't be proud?

When Jesus was brought before Pilate, he did not speak. He was on shaky ground. He was threatened with a death sentence and abandoned by the crowds and his followers. I wonder if Mary was proud of Jesus at that moment. I hope her fear and concern for him did not blind her to his courage and his faith. It was one of his finest moments.

There are many opportunities for Christians to stand on the level ground of the community of faith and offer testimony to the power and love of God.

There are also many occasions for Christians to stand on shaky ground--called the world--and witness to the power and love of God. Declaring the Good News in word and deed to colleagues at work, to strangers, classmates, neighbors, and even to enemies bears testimony to our faith as well. It is often an uncomfortable undertaking.

A friend told me the most significant thing that we do in church on Sunday is leave. We go out into the world to do the work that God has given us to do. Jesus' ministry led him to both the firm and the shaky ground. Our ministries should do the same.

Ps 28; Josh 2:15-24; Rom 11:13-24; Mt 25:14-3

[Seawolf]

Matthew 25:31-46. I was hungry and you gave me food.

My family and I arrived at a new Church on Sunday morning. It was our first day, and happened to be the day the parish hosted a community supper. The place was packed. People from all over came to the annual Ham Loaf Supper. (I had never lived in that part of the world, and decided to keep it to myself that I had never even seen a ham loaf. I advised my wife and children to do the same.)

People helped us find seats. They made sure we didn't sit alone, and they brought us enough food for at least three families. When we could eat no
more, they brought dessert. The hospitality was wonderful, and we immediately felt as though we were part of the family. I became an immediate fan of ham loaf, and knew that we had found a new home.

In some way, the Kingdom of God is like a church supper. Strangers are welcomed and fed. Hospitality fills the building and the hearts of the people. Food is shared. There is joy and friendship, and the overwhelming sense that we are all in this together. It is another form of Holy Communion.

Was the last supper the first Church supper? Maybe that is a stretch, but perhaps not as much as one might think.

Ps 38; Joshua 3:1-13; Romans 11:25-36

[Seawolf]

Romans 12:1-8. We have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us.

One summer I took a youth group from our Church to an amusement park, one of the largest in the country. The park sponsored a Christian Day and church youth groups from all over the region came. T-shirts indicated the many different churches present. Surely God was pleased with the diversity and harmony of the whole affair.

The adult chaperones were told to keep a watchful eye on the kids. We set up a buddy system and had regular "check-in" times. At the end of the day, despite all our efforts, two boys were missing. We divided into groups and set out to find them. I was sure they were trying to get in one last ride.

As the sun was setting, I spotted them on one of the few patches of grass in the whole park. They were on their hands and knees chasing a frog. Surrounded by millions of dollars of expensive rides, games, lights, and music, these two were fixated on a frog. It was a beautiful sight, and a gift to behold.

Paul wrote that there are a variety of gifts but the same spirit, and every once in awhile I am reminded God's gifts come in all shapes and sizes. No matter how much money we spend, or how dazzling the spectacle, a small and subtle gift, one that very few even notice, can touch our heart like no other.

Ps 37:1-18; Joshua 3:14-4:7; Matthew 26:16

[Wrath]

Romans 12:9-21. Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them.

I wonder if St. Paul would have written these words if he had ever been driving an automobile during rush hour. Did he ever have to deal with the thousands of other drivers who should never have been given a license? Bless them? Do not curse them? They're blessed that I am only me and not God. If I were God, I would pull out the lightning and zap them! Cursing would be the least of their problems.

It occurs to me, and probably to you, too, that it is a good thing that I am not God. If I were and I had to lead the people of Israel to the promised land, I would have left them in the desert right when the complaining started. If I were God, and I sent all of the judges and prophets to guide my people, and they were ignored and rejected, I would have gone looking for some new people. If I were God, and the 12 disciples kept looking in the wrong direction and saying the wrong thing, I would have fired them all. And if I were God, I would have never sent my son into a world were he would be condemned and crucified. No way. I certainly would not bring him back from death so that the same people that crucified him would know that I love them.

So today, thank God that I am not God, and thank God that you are not God either. Thank God that with God, all things are possible. Even blessing those who persecute us.


Ps 31; Joshua 4:19--5:1, 10-15; Matthew 26:17-25

[Wrath]

Psalm 30. You have turned my wailing into dancing.

I can't dance. I have two left feet. Some would say that my dancing looks like wailing. My mother sent me to dancing school. I failed. She wailed. When I go to dances, I hold up the wall. I can do that.

Christians are in the habit of doing things that cannot be done. Once I went to Honduras with a group of Christians. We were asked to build a bathroom and shower facility at an orphanage. I looked at our group and thought, we can't do this. Well, we did. I have pictures to prove it. I have seen other Christians do things I never thought possible. They build houses and schools, hospitals and shelters. They provide food, clothing, and medicine. They teach people to read and write. If you think it can't be done, go tell the Christians.

Sometimes I find it surprising when the Church accomplishes something great. We always have been a rather "rag tag" group of people. Sometimes, I forget our Lord did some pretty amazing things, like walking on water and feeding 5,000 people. Sometimes I forget he was crucified, died, and rose from the dead. Sometimes I forget he has given us the gift of the Holy Spirit, and that through him all things are possible.

I saw an announcement in my parish newsletter that there are now dance lessons being offered on Thursday evenings. Could wailing really one day be dancing? It's certainly worth a try.




Ps 32; Josh 6:1-14; Rom 13:1-7; Mt 26:26-35

[Wrath]

Colossians 1:21-29. I toil and struggle with all the energy that he powerfully inspires within me.

Last summer the power went out for a few days and a lot of folks discovered how dependent we are on energy provided by power companies. The lights went out. People lined up for food and water. Life became a whole lot more complicated as millions toiled and struggled for basic human needs. When the power returned, there was a huge sense of relief.

God is moving in the hearts of people everywhere, all the time. The energy that Paul spoke of in his letter to Christians in Colossae is the same energy that was given to the Church on the first day of Pentecost. It is the same energy that flows through Christians in the here and now. We call this energy the Holy Spirit and it is the most powerful and consistent energy the world has ever known.

Because of this energy, things which were cast down are being raised up and things which had grown old are being made new, and all things are being brought to their perfection through Jesus Christ. Power companies lose their ability to
function sometimes. The light of Christ is eternal. How brightly that light shines is up to you and me.


Ps 15; Genesis 18:1-10a(l0b-14); Luke 10:38-42

[Wrath]

Matthew 26:36-46. Sit here while I go over there and pray.

I have always had a hard time sitting still. If I was in that crowd and Jesus told me to sit still and pray, I would have waited until he was out of sight. Then I would have looked for something to do. Quiet contemplation is not one of my gifts. When it is forced upon me, I fall asleep.

Betraying Jesus is not something most Christians contemplate. It is unpleasant. Who wants to betray a friend? The fact remains that we all do it. Betrayal comes in many shapes and sizes. I do not think falling asleep in the garden is as serious an offense as denying Jesus three times before the cock crows. The truth is, however, what I think doesn't matter. What God thinks matters. God obviously thinks that all people are in need of redemption and reconciliation. All people need Christ in their lives. All fall short! At some point, everyone betrays Jesus.

Henry Ward Beecher wrote, "The Church is not a gallery for the exhibition of eminent Christians, but a school for the education of imperfect ones." We all have much to learn. I can't even sit still; but, hey: I'm in good company. So are you.


Ps 41, 52; Joshua 7:1-13; Romans 13:8-14

[Wrath]

Psalm 45. Strap your sword upon your thigh, O Mighty warrior.

Three members of our Church family are serving in Iraq. Our parish is small so their absence is noticed. Their families and loved ones are noticed as well. Every Sunday we pray for them all, and we pray for peace. People in our parish have many different opinions about the war. Some believe we are on the right path, and others are convinced we should turn around and come home immediately.

I have been impressed with the conviction and passion on both sides. I have expected some to leave the church because of the disagreements. Strangely, this has not happened.

The steps into the church seem to provide a time and space of grace. The debate ends at the front door. When people come for worship, the focus shifts to the men and women serving in our military, and their families at home. We pray for them, and we pray for peace. Everyone agrees these prayers are necessary and vital. Together, we share the peace, and continue to pray for peace, and in doing so receive a vision of the "peace of God which passes all understanding."

After worship the debates continue, as they should. In my heart, I know that the prayers continue as well--prayers that all of God's people might know peace, and that one day the swords will be turned into plowshares.


Josh 8:1-22; Rom 14:1-12; Matthew 26:47-56

[Wrath]

Romans 14:13-23. Let us therefore no longer pass judgment on one another.

Judas Iscariot does not usually make anyone's list of top ten favorite Bible characters. Most consider him a traitor, the one who turned Jesus over to the authorities for crucifixion. People do not name their pets Judas. It is a tough role to cast in the Easter play.

A teacher once informed me that a significant amount of early Christian art presents Judas with a halo over his head. He was considered by many early believers to be the most trusted and obedient of Jesus' disciples. He was considered a key part of the plan that led Jesus not only to the cross, but to the Resurrection as well. I had never considered Judas a trusted friend of Jesus, but perhaps it is worth some thought.

Our impressions of others are always flawed. Jesus reminded people of this all the time. When the crowd labeled someone as despicable or an outcast, Jesus reached out to that person. When the crowd protested, Jesus invited that person to lunch.

I won't name my next dog Judas. I can, however, think of someone I need to call for lunch. Maybe you can, too.


Ps 119:49-72; Matthew 26:57-68

[Wrath]

John 20:11-18. Mary Magdalene went and announced to the disciples, "I have seen the Lord."

In our Church we strive to honor the gifts of all members. This has not been an easy endeavor. I am mindful that my mother was born into a church where she was not permitted to be a lay reader. My daughter was born into a church where all
ministries are open to her participation. The years that separate my mother and my daughter were filled with struggle and conflict as women claimed their place in the community of faith. As I watch my daughter participate in the life of the Church, I am thankful that the women who came before her persevered.

Mary Magdalene was one of these women. In Luke's Gospel, she and the other women told the disciples that Jesus had risen. The disciples did not believe them. In the end, their persistence and enthusiasm could not be ignored, and Peter went to see if their claim was true.

Jesus honored the ministry of all people. When we do the same, no matter how difficult that may be, the kingdom gets so close that we can reach out and touch it. All of us!



Ps 42:1-7; Judith 9:1, 11-14; 2 Cor 5:14-18

[Wrath]

Psalm 40. I waited patiently for the Lord, he stooped to me and heard my cry.

Waiting is a struggle for me. Waiting patiently is an oxymoron. Take the doctor's office as an example. I usually try and sit as close as possible to the
receptionist so that she has a physical reminder that I am still there waiting. After the eternity has ended and I hear the nurse call my name, I start to relax a little. It was worth the wait.

Bartimaeus tried to be patient. He waited by the side of the road for Jesus. The crowd started to pass by. This was too much for him to bear. He started to yell. They tried to quiet him and he yelled even louder, "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!" When Jesus called him, Bartimaeus got up quickly and went to Jesus. Jesus healed Bartimaeus. The blind man could see. It was worth the wait.

We wait for so much in our lives. We stand in line all the time. Sometimes I am amazed at the ridiculous things I stand in line for. The other day I stood in line for twenty minutes for pink applesauce. I am still not sure that was worth the wait. Once, I waited for over an hour to hear my daughter play the piano. That was worth the wait.

Waiting is part of life. Waiting for God is the very best part of life. Ask Bartimaeus.


Ps 54; Joshua 9:22--10:15; Romans 15:14-24; Matthew 27:1-10

[Wrath]

Joshua 23:1-16. Be very careful, therefore, to love the Lord your God.

Joshua led the people of Israel. Scripture tells us that it was a difficult journey for him. When he finds himself at the end of his earthly life, he says, "And now I am about to go the way of all earth." He tells the people to be careful to love God.

Some years ago a bumper sticker gained much popularity. "Practice random acts of kindness and senseless acts of beauty." It occurs to me that this message is contrary to the one Joshua shared with the people of Israel, and contrary to the one that God has given to all people in Jesus.

Jesus was not random or senseless. His acts of love, his teaching, his miracles, and his Resurrection were all part of God's plan for the establishment of the Kingdom. In my church if a plan is random or senseless, it fails. If, however, we are intentional and focused in prayer and action, and open to the power of the Spirit to guide us along the way, then we will always be blessed.

God loves us and wants us to love each other. There is nothing random or senseless about it. It is good news, and news worth sharing. Carefully!




Ps 55; Romans 15:25-33; Matthew 27:11-23

[Wrath]

Luke 11:1-13. Give us each day our daily bread.

I worked at an orphanage for a year. I helped out wherever I was needed. One of my jobs was to make the morning trip to the supermarket that donated bread for our meals. They donated a lot of bread. After I loaded the truck, I would drive back to the orphanage. One morning I grew bitter that the bread was old and stale. How could they give children bread like this?

When I returned, a few of the children ran to help unload the bread. Their excitement was a wonder to behold. My bitterness began to subside. A young girl who was a recent arrival stared at the bread with obvious amazement. She smiled and said, "God must really love us a lot to send us all this bread." It was a moment of grace.

Today, I received Holy Communion, the gift of Christ's Body and Blood, in the form of bread and wine. The bread today was old and stale. I thought of a little girl who, so long ago, reminded me that it is the bread of life.



Ps 138; Genesis 18:20-33; Colossians 2:6-15

[Wrath]

Matthew 20:20-28. They said to him, "We are able."

James and John were the sons of Zebedee. They left everything to follow Jesus. I wonder what could possibly have been so appealing about Jesus to make James and his brother drop everything and follow Him. If I had a job, a family, and a home, and some stranger came by and said, "Follow me," I would not do it. I would tell him he was crazy and go back to what I was doing.

Now, if I saw the same man having lunch with outcasts and people who had no friends, I would start to think about it. If I saw that man performing miracles like walking on water and healing the sick, I would seriously consider it. If I watched him feed hungry people and save a woman who had made a mistake from being stoned to death, I would not be able to stop thinkingabout following him. And if I saw that same One crucified on a cross, and then three days later rise from the dead, then I would do it. I would leave everything and follow him. And I would invite everyone I possibly could to join us.

How can we drop everything and follow? How can we not?


Ps 7:1-10; Jeremiah 45:1-5; Acts 11:27--12:3

[Seawolf]

Matthew 27:32-44. They compelled this man to carry his cross.

How do you carry the cross? Most people in my church carry the cross in front of them. They hold it hand over hand, directly in front of their face, and as high as possible. This is the way the cross is carried every Sunday in procession when our clergy and choristers enter the church for worship.

A friend once told me that this is a nice way to carry the cross for worship, but a lousy way to carry the cross in life. Arms become tired so it is hard to walk very far. Also, the view is obstructed so there is a risk of tripping and falling down. He suggested a better way to carry the cross is the way that Jesus did. He carried the cross on his shoulder. Shoulders are stronger than arms, so it is possible to go much farther. The view is unobstructed as well, so we see everything around us. Perhaps, most importantly, when we carry the cross on our shoulder, we can keep one hand free, so that if needed, we can help someone else along the way.

How do you carry the cross?

Ps 61, 62; Judges 2:1-5, 11-23; Romans 16:17-27

[Seawolf]

Psalm 72. He shall come down like rain upon the mown field; like showers that water the earth.

I have a personal relationship with my lawn mower. When it rains, the grass grows, and my thoughts turn to my lawn mower. It is a very old lawn mower, and whenever I look at it, I contemplate replacing it with a new self-propelled model. It takes a long time to start, coughs and sputters, and struggles in tall grass. Mowing the lawn requires me to verbally encourage my mower to complete the job. "Come on, you can do it. Just a little bit further..." It is not much to look at, but my lawn mower always gets the job done. I know it won't last forever and the day I have to replace it will be a sad one.

God loves us all, no matter how old and worn we might be. God loves us no matter how much we struggle along the path of life, or how long our struggle has been. Trading us in or replacing us is not part of the plan. We live in a "throw away"
society, but we do not have a "throw away" God. In Christ, we are renewed and made whole. One day, when the journey is complete and we rest from our labors, the sadness will be temporary. The joy of discovering that "whether we live or die, we are the Lord's possession" will be eternal. We are never thrown away. Never!

Judges 3:12-30; Acts 1:1-14; Matthew 27:45-54

[Wrath]

Psalm 36:5-10. Your love O Lord reaches to the heavens.

In Jesus' day, women were considered property and of little value. Scripture describes Mary and Martha as close friends of Jesus, and Luke writes that He visited their home. Many think that in doing so, Jesus was trying to break down societal barriers. I think he simply wanted people to know that Mary and Martha were gifts from God. He enjoyed Mary and Martha's company, and admired their friendship. I think Jesus saw God's love for people in Mary and Martha's love for one another, for their brother Lazarus, and for him.

Women continue to struggle for equality in society. The birth of my daughter increased my awareness of this struggle. A member of our church started a Girl Scout Troop two years ago. She is a kind and gentle person, and her commitment to the girls and their well-being runs deep. Perhaps she is helping to break down societal barriers. If that is the case, I am thankful. Most of all, she is also a friend to each girl. I can see God's love in those friendships, and I am thankful.

Where do you see God's love?



Romans 12:9-13; Luke 10:38-42

[Seawolf]

Psalm 146:7-8. "The LORD sets the prisoners free; the LORD opens the eyes of the blind. The LORD lifts up those who are bowed down."

William Wilberforce lived in England. He died in 1833 after a long life in public service. He was a man of deep faith, and convinced of the value of every human being as a child of God. He devoted much of his time to the abolition of the slave trade. One year before his death, Parliament put an end to the slave trade in all British dominions. The prisoners were set free.

Someone once said we are Jesus' hands and feet in the world today. If you agree with this claim, as I do, then we must also recognize that we are Jesus' eyes and ears as well. All around us there are prisoners crying for freedom. Listen and you will hear them. Open your eyes and see them. You will find them around every corner, every day.

Henry David Thoreau once said, "Most people lead lives of quiet desperation." William Wilberforce saw the world with the eyes of Jesus. He heard the cry of desperate people, and he helped them find the way to freedom.

Open our eyes, O Lord, that we may see. Open our ears that we may hear. Fill our hearts with love, so that our hands and feet will lead others to freedom and to the Kingdom.

Ps 69:1-23(24-30)31-38; Judges 5:1-18; Acts 2:1-21; Matthew 28:1-10

[Seawolf]

Acts 2:22-36. For God raised him up, having freed him from death.

A friend recently pulled into my driveway. She was obviously shaken. Cancer had returned. The doctor told her she would live for 21 days. We prayed for strength and hope.

Three months later we had lunch together. Six months later we worked at the Church rummage sale. Nine months later she invited me to her family reunion where she cooked for about 25 people. At the one-year mark, we went out for ice cream. A few weeks later, we shared Holy Communion, her health obviously failing. She sensed my sadness. "Do not be sad," she said, "I have every reason to be optimistic!" Her strength and hope overwhelmed me. She died that evening.

The resurrection of Jesus transformed Peter's fear and trembling into strength and hope. He addressed the crowd on the day of Pentecost with power and conviction. He had been born again.

That same resurrection filled the heart of a woman who was given 21 days to live. She was given strength and hope. In her last days, she was filled with power and conviction. She was born again.

I am reminded again and again, that we all have every reason to be people of faith, hope, and love.

Ps 75, 76; Judges 5:19-31; Matthew 28:1-20

[Wrath]

Psalm 49. We can never ransom ourselves, or deliver to God the price of our life.

How do you put a price on human life? What is its value? I know in personal injury cases resulting in severe disability or death, the jury is asked to determine how much money to award a plaintiff or his survivors based on the value of that individual's life. The amount to be considered is based on many factors including wage-earning capacity. Is this what a human life is worth in God's terms?

We are told redemption cannot be bought. We cannot buy back what we have done, nor pay for what we failed to do. Our worth is not based on how much is in our bank accounts or our money markets. God wants us to be rich. However, richness in God's sight can't be measured monetarily.

Neither wealth nor ownership is bad. Trusting only in oneself and deriving satisfaction from wealth to the exclusion of everything else is. Jesus tells us in today's Gospel reading that accumulating riches on earth is foolish. He states that life is not made up of the things we own no matter how rich we are. Jesus knows the value of human life.




Ecclesiastes 1:12-14, 2:18-23; Colossians 3:12-17; Luke 12:13-21

[Wrath]

John 1:1-18. The light shines in the darkness and the darkness did not overcome it.

Darkness--devoid of light. Many people fear the dark. The expanse of darkness can be overwhelming. However, it only takes a flicker of light to penetrate this expanse. A shining candle in a lighted room seems dim. By contrast, a shining candle in a very dark room appears as bright as a beacon. So it is with the Word of God.

The passage from today's Gospel has to do with the darkness of evil. Throughout history, we have come to know this darkness.

Anne Frank kept a diary while hiding in an attic during the Nazi occupation of Holland. She wrote about the day-to-day events of her family and the other occupants in the attic. She wrote about self-discovery and love. She recorded the persecution and extermination of the Jews during this dark period. Anne, along with so many in hiding, was discovered and sent to a concentration camp. There, she was killed.

Her writings attest to the light that illuminated her spirit. Even during the darkest times, she never abandoned her ideals. She wrote, "In spite of everything I still believe that people are really good at heart."

This light is from the beginning and is everlasting.

Ps 80; Judges 6:25-40; Acts 2:37-47

[Seawolf]

John 1:19-28. The Jewish authorities in Jerusalem sent some priests and Levites to John to ask him, "Who are you?"

Do you think the priests were disappointed when John replied he was not the Messiah? With each inquiry, Johns popularity and social status must have dropped a notch until the final question was, "What do you say about yourself?"

We live in a time of political correctness. Our society is ever so mindful to properly identify various ethnic groups even though attitudes and prejudices remain the same. Job titles are changed to reduce the stigma related to certain professions but little regard is given for a job well done.

What type of opinion would a person form of someone who, when asked to identify himself, said he was a seminary student? Very acceptable, I'm sure. But, say, in response to the same question, he stated he'd been released from prison where he served time for armed robbery. What perceptions of that person's character would be made? Would Christ be seen as easily in that individual as in the seminarian? If not, why not? Jesus stated that John the Baptist was greater than any man who lived but he who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than John.

The questions we ask often define who we are rather than defining those whom we question.

Ps 78:1-39; Judges 7:1-18; Acts 3:1-11

[Seawolf]

Psalm 119:97-120. How sweet is the taste of your instructions, sweeter even than honey.

In some synagogues there is a tradition that when a Jewish boy begins his study of the Torah, he is given a drop of honey or sweet cookie to eat. The symbolism represents the sweetness of a relationship between God and his laws.

I converted from Judaism to Christianity at age twenty-one. I met a priest while working as a volunteer in a hospital. He intrigued me. Prior to meeting him, the only priest I had ever seen was played by Bing Crosby in the movies.

Each time Father Slattery and I would chat, I would inquire about his life as a Christian. One day he gave me a little book whose outward appearance strongly resembled our Forward Day by Day book. He said it was the story of Jesus written by a Jewish man named Matthew.

The book seemed strange at first. It was as though I had entered a foreign country. Everything was new and different from what I had ever known. Yet there was a strong sense of home. I finished the books of the Gospel. I caught glimpses of Jesus in Fr. Slattery as well. I turned my life over to Jesus.

Our Christian tradition should reflect the sweetness of Jesus not only in the Gospel writings but in our lives as well.

Judges 7:19--8:12; Acts 13:12-26; John 1:29-42

[Wrath]

Acts 4:1-12. Jesus is the one... in all the world there is no one else whom God has given who can save us.

The first time I saw him, he was lying in a jail cell that smelled of sweat and excrement. A blanket covered his head. The guard kept the door to the cell open for ventilation. He could have been mistaken for a corpse were it not for the periodic leg spasms caused by drug withdrawal. He received antibiotics for the abscesses on his badly scarred arms caused by drug injection. I cleaned and dressed the sores while he lay with the blanket covering his head.

Months later, it was hard to imagine the smiling young man with the respectful demeanor was the same individual in that cell. He worked his way up to trustee. I knew he would be released soon. I stated I hoped he would seek help to overcome his drug addiction. He humbly nodded.

Several months passed. He was back. He looked malnourished and disheveled. Both arms were wrapped in gauze. When I removed the gauze from his arms and saw the depth of the open sores, without thinking I cried, "What are you doing to yourself?"

In that instant, my anguish joined with countless mothers, fathers, wives, husbands and families who have known such pain. Like them, I know Jesus is the only one who can save us.

Ps [83] or 145; Judges 8:22-35; John 1:43-51

[Wrath]

Luke 9:28-36. While he was praying his face changed its appearance and his clothes became dazzling white.

Jesus takes Peter, John, and James up a hill to pray. His face changes. Even his clothes become dazzling white. In Exodus, Moses returns from Mount Sinai after speaking with God and his face shines. God's presence is so powerful it can't be contained within them--they are illuminated.

Transfiguration is defined as a metamorphosis--an exalting, glorifying, or spiritual change. At the time of this writing, I have begun a new ministry. Actually, I have been inspired by one of the Forward Day by Day authors who wrote from prison. I have read all of his writings, but it was the meditations written for March 2001 that changed my life's direction.

Like Peter in the Transfiguration, I had difficulty in understanding what was happening. Initially, I believed it was the author of these meditations who had experienced a deep, spiritual growth. In talking with the author, he acknowledged that he has grown spiritually and his meditations reflect this, but the message he has proclaimed is the same as that written in 1995. I just was not ready to accept the message until now.

God spoke to me through his writings. I have been on fire ever since. It took a while for this spiritual change to occur, but God is patient.


Ps 99; Exodus 34:29-35: 2 Peter 1:13-21

[Seawolf]

Psalm 90. Show your servants your works and your splendor to their children.

The Feast yesterday interrupted John's Gospel. I wanted to comment on the fantastical exchange between Jesus and his Mother at the wedding in Cana (see John 2:1-12). I marvel at the conversation between them! With a mother's keen insight and absolute confidence in her son's love, Mary knew her son would grant her request. Thereby, Jesus performs his first miracle--changing water into wine.

We are not given much information about the wedding couple or their relationship to Jesus. We know Mary is there, as are the disciples. Perhaps the added numbers caused the wine to run out more quickly. And while changing water into wine might not be at the top of the miracle order, the very changing of lives is no small miracle, either. (For a married couple just starting out in life in those days running out of wine could have been disastrous, socially and personally!)

What the miracle clearly demonstrates--beyond the transformation of water into fine wine--is that if Jesus is invited to the wedding--even a wedding in our own day--it is a transforming event for the couple, too. They can be changed from an ordinary couple into an extraordinarily blessed couple. All it requires is love and confidence in Jesus.

Ps 87; Judges 9:22-25; 50-57; Acts 4:32--5:11; John 2:13-25

[Wrath]

Hebrews 11:1-3, 8-16. By means of his faith Abel still speaks, even though he is dead.

There have been many famous people throughout history who have left behind a legacy.

My favorite singer and musician is Rich Mullins, a notable Christian songwriter and philanthropist, who was killed in a car accident in 1997. I discovered his music four years after his death. His songs and testimony have brought me closer in my walk with Jesus.

Despite Mullins's death, he still lives, not only through his music, but through the lives of those who were touched by his kindness and generosity. Fame and fortune meant little to him. Earnings were given to various charities while he lived simply in a mobile home on an Indian Reservation. He founded the "The Legacy of a Kid Brother of St. Frank" which ministers to Native American children. He motivated others by his love and compassion to help those in need.

Mullins once commented about leaving a legacy: "If we are motivated by ambition to leave a legacy, we will leave a legacy of ambition. If we are motivated by the power of the spirit...to live in the awareness of the indwelling Christ and allow His presence to guide our actions and motives&we will leave a great legacy."

Mullins's legacy is one of love, joy, and compassion in service to our Lord Jesus.


Ps 33; Genesis 15:1-6; Luke 12:32-40

[Wrath]

Acts 5:12-26. As a result of what the apostles were doing, sick people were carried out into the street...so that at least Peter's shadow might fall on some of them...they were all healed.

While attending nursing school, I wrote a term paper on Florence Nightingale and her work during the Crimean War. She walked four miles of corridors with her lamp to check patients. Injured soldiers lying in their beds would listen for her footsteps as she made her nightly rounds. There they would rest hoping her shadow cast by the lamp she carried would touch them as she passed.

I push my noisy medication cart down the halls of the detention center that is temporary residence to some 220 adult male and female inmates. I am accompanied by a guard who unlocks the tiny food tray slot through which medications are passed. Inmates requiring medication come up to the slot. I stoop down and peer through the slot to see their faces and place the medication in their hands. I answer questions they might have about medical problems. For inmates in maximum security housed individually behind solid doors each with a small glass window at the top and a food slot at the bottom, human contact is minimal.

The county enables me to place needed medication in their hands; God enables me to see Christ in their faces. Healing occurs on both sides of the slot.

Ps 89:1-18; Judges 12:1-7; John 3:1-21

[Wrath]

Psalm 94. Whenever I am anxious and worried, you comfort me and make me glad.

One week each summer I work as a camp nurse for a Christian Camp. Each year one week is designated "Grace Camp." This camp is free to children who have one or both parents incarcerated.

I have had the privilege to work Grace Camp whenever the regular nurse was unable to attend. The following story about a camper was told to me by the program coordinator at the time.

The first year this camper came he stayed only a few hours. He was very anxious and homesick. His grandmother took him home that night. The second year he came, he was able to stay two days before his grandmother took him home. The third year he managed four days before his grandmother had to come for him. Did he hate camp? No, he loved it. Why did he leave? Both his parents were incarcerated. His only recollection of what happened to his parents was that he wasn't home when they were taken away. Despite the wonderful time he was having, he was fearful that when he returned home his grandmother would be gone and he would have no one.

The hope is that in time he will stay the full week; free from anxiety; free to have fun. Please pray for these children and their families.

Ps 97, 99; Judges 13:1-15; Acts 5:27-42; John 3:22-36

[Seawolf]

John 4:1-26. You are a Jew, and I am a Samaritan.

If you had to choose one word to describe yourself, what word would you choose? The challenge is to think of a single word that encompasses all that you are. Choose one word that would give others an accurate description of you. Would you use your gender--could "male" or "female" accurately denote who you are? Would you want to use your skin color, or religion, or nationality to describe yourself? How about your professional or social status? Possibly your level of intelligence might accurately convey who you are. How about using your physical attributes or possibly one distinct physical feature such as your weight, height, or stature? Surely, you would not want to be identified by any flaws in your appearance, speech, or mannerisms. Could one word possibly sum up all the complex components that join together to make you who you are?

Now, after considering the above, think about how many times you have heard one word used to describe someone else. How many times are individuals identified by their race, color, gender, religion, age, physical flaws, or intelligence level? How accurate are such one-word descriptions?

Jesus ignored the words and labels that were used to identify individuals. So should we.

Ps 101, 109:1-30; Judges 13:15-24; Acts 6:1-15

[Seawolf]

Psalm 105:1-22. Sing praise to the Lord; tell the wonderful things he has done.

Today's psalm instructs us to tell the nations the wonderful things God has done. In Acts, Stephen speaks to the Council of the promises God has fulfilled beginning with Abraham. Stephen, filled with the Holy Spirit, despite the threat of death, witnesses to God.

Each year my family and I celebrate Passover Seder with friends. The husband is of the Jewish faith and his wife is Christian. They invite a large group of people, Jews and Christians, to participate in this meal. Our host provides us with books to follow along as we celebrate Passover. The Jewish peoples' captivity and flight from Egypt led by Moses is retold. The food served is symbolic. The oppression of the Jews is remembered by dipping bitter herbs into salt water representing the tears of the captives. The haroset (chopped apples, nuts, and raisins mixed with honey) represents mortar used in brick laying which the Jews were forced to toil. The matzo (unleavened bread) represents the haste with which the Jews departed Egypt. Songs of praise are sung and a place is set for Elijah who is to come and announce the great day of the Lord.

Jesus Christ is Lord. Tell the wonderful things he has done.

Judges 14:1-19; Acts 6:15--7:16; John 4:27-42

[Seawolf]

Psalm 102. He heard the groans of prisoners and set free those who were condemned to die.

One of today's news stories concerns a stay of execution for a Texas inmate convicted of murder that he committed at age seventeen. According to the story, both the trial judge and appeals lawyer in the case requested the Governor stay the execution. The order came four hours before it was to take place. One can only imagine what this young man must be feeling.

I have a neighbor who now teaches at an alternative school for kids who are either court appointed or are there because their disciplinary problems can't be managed in the public school system. For some of them, this is their last chance to obtain an education or face entering a detention center. She teaches horticulture to these kids.

In talking with her, she told me that she had initially wanted to be a juvenile probation officer but after finishing her education was actually fearful of going into this profession. She also told me her thesis was one written in support of capital punishment. Tears filled her eyes as she told me how unfounded her beliefs in capital punishment were, as well as her fears about working with these troubled youths. She praises God for giving her the opportunity to work in this field. She, too, has been set free.

Judges 14:20--15:20; Acts 7:17-29; John 4:43-54

[Wrath]

John 5:1-18. Do you want to get well?

This is a simple enough question requiring a yes or no answer. Yet, this poor man who has been sick for thirty-eight years gives an in-depth account of how he is unable to get into the healing pool at the moment required for the miracle of healing to occur. He has been sick so long, he can't think in terms of getting well.

I once had a patient tell me she was dying of cancer. When I told her I saw a brave woman who was living with cancer, a look of shock came upon her face. She had focused so much on the stigma of death associated with this disease, that she no longer saw herself as living.

I have known people who have had to cope with illness so long that they identify themselves by the disease. I once had a patient tell me he was a cardiac cripple. I fear he learned this term from a health care provider or a medical book.

At times I am distraught because of the indiscriminate nature of disease and the lives it effects. But Jesus asks us if we want to be well. Many times it is not a miraculous cure we are offered. Many times it is overcoming the very nature of the beast and allowing ourselves to be free of its hold on our lives.

Ps 107:33-43, 108:1-6; Judges 16:1-14; Acts 7:30-43

[Seawolf]

Hebrews 12:1-7, 11-14. Let us keep our eyes fixed on Jesus on whom our faith depends from beginning to end.

How do people of different faiths perceive Jesus through your example? As a Jew, I experienced this first-hand. There was an aura of mystery surrounding this man Jesus, of whom I knew very little. My God had no physical form, but Jesus was a man. I knew of his agonizing death on the cross at the hands of the Romans with the consent of Jewish leaders. This terrified me. Was it because of his death that Jews were persecuted throughout history? My grandparents fled their Russian home to escape pogroms that accounted for thousands of deaths. Nazi concentration camps were responsible for the deaths of six million Jews.

Then, there was my pain: classmates who told me I was not allowed into their homes because I was Jewish; religious slurs for Jews was constant. I was disliked not for who I was but for my religion.

Then I met Fr. Slattery. He dispelled the myths and fears I had. Jesus, too, was Jewish. He gave us the commandment to love God with all our heart and soul and to love our neighbor as ourselves. Those who follow Jesus do not hate or persecute others. Fr. Slattery was able to melt through the layers of pain and let me see the love of Jesus. My eyes and faith have been fixed on Jesus ever since.

Ps 82; Jeremiah 23:23-29; Luke 12:49-56

[Wrath]

Luke 1:46-55. Mary said, "My heart praises the Lord; my soul is glad because of God my Savior, for he has remembered me his lowly servant! From now on people will call me happy..."

The Good News Bible uses the word "happy" but I prefer "blessed" for Mary most certainly is. I can't remember when I began saying my daily Rosary. It is a source of great comfort to me, and I enjoy meditating on our Lord through this daily prayer. It has helped deepen my faith.

Mary was chosen by God to be the mother of Jesus. It is hard to imagine that such a young girl could comprehend all that was being revealed to her by the angel Gabriel. Mary saw herself as the Lord's lowly servant. Her response to Gabriel was, "May it happen to me as you have said." Through this one act of submission, the Word became flesh. Through her consent, the salvation and redemption of mankind began.

Various faiths place different levels of importance on Mary. Women of our time talk about empowerment. Some see it as a form of strength. Yet, Mary's strength was in her submission to God's will. There is no greater woman who lived than Mary.

Hail, Mary, full of grace; the Lord is with you. Blessed are you among women and blessed is the fruit of your womb, Jesus.

Ps 34; Isaiah 61:10-11; Galatians 4:4-7

[Wrath]

Acts 8:1-13. And Saul approved of his murder.

Saul (Paul) not only approved of Stephen's murder, he set out to destroy the church. He went house-to-house dragging out believers and throwing them into jail. Yet God chose Paul as his Apostle.

In 1 Samuel 16:7, God states that, unlike man, he does not judge by outward appearances. God sees into a person's heart. Jesus saw qualities in Paul that were needed to carry out his mission

Some individuals with whom I work at the detention center justify their lack of concern and compassion for various inmates by virtue of the crimes these inmates have committed. Some of these crimes are horrendous indeed. Some inmates, at times, are verbally abusive. Some inmates are manipulative. My question is, does Jesus love only those worthy of his love? Does Jesus have criteria to define such worthiness? What, in fact, does Jesus command us to do?

The disciples of Jesus distrusted Paul. Justifiably so, considering the facts. Paul would have flunked the worthiness test miserably. Yet, he went on to be one of the most outspoken disciples of the very faith he initially tried to destroy. Did Jesus love Paul because of the change that occurred in Paul's life, or did the change that occurred in Paul's life result because Jesus loved him?


Ps 120--123; Judges 18:1-15; John 5:30-47

[Seawolf]

Psalm 119:145-176. I wander about like a lost sheep; so come and look for me, your servant...

When I was about five years old, my family and I spent the day at the beach in Atlantic City. I had my bucket and was picking up seashells. It wasn't until I had wandered far from my family that I realized I was lost. With thousands of people lining the beach, I had no idea where to go. I remember walking and crying. My uncle found me and returned me safely to my near-hysterical
parents.

Living in New Mexico, I still get lost traveling. There is always that surge of fear that runs through my body when I become lost. Out of desperation, I automatically start praying. I always find my way back.

It is funny how we know rather quickly when we are lost during our physical journeys. Yet in our spiritual journey, it may be years before we realize how lost we are. Sometimes we have to hit "rock bottom" before we call to our Lord to help us.

What I love about today's psalm are the words "so come and look for me." Like children, it is only when we wander so far and find ourselves in an unfamiliar place that we finally call for help. God is already there. He has already come to look for us.

Judges 18:16-31; Acts 8:14-25; John 6:1-15

[Wrath]

Acts 8:26-40. The official replied, "How can I understand unless someone explains it to me?"

Philip was directed by the Holy Spirit to help the Ethiopian official interpret scripture.

Today is the birthday of a special member of our family. Coincidently, she too is Ethiopian. Like the Ethiopian official, she needed someone to help her understand. Her brother, a physician, worked with me in Ethiopia. He asked if I would sponsor his sister so she could attend college in our country. With my husband's consent, I agreed.

Zemen was twenty when she came to live with us. Unlike her brother, this shy woman could hardly speak English and was very naive about our culture.

One day Zemen stated she wanted to be a nurse. I thought, "No way!" What about her English? What about medical terminology? How can we teach her all this so soon? Zemen, thankfully, would not relent. She had the makings of an excellent nurse. She just needed help and guidance from us, and we needed faith.

Zemen graduated nursing school with honors and is attending Nurse Practitioner School. She is a naturalized citizen. Zemen and her husband are expecting their first child. We love her. She's a blessing to our family. We can teach others if we allow the power of the Holy Spirit to work through us.


Ps 131--133; Job 1:1-22; John 6:16-27

[Seawolf]

Psalm 143:1-12. Lord, place a guard at my mouth, a sentry at the door of my lips.

If there was ever a passage that could make me cringe, the one above would definitely qualify. Have you ever been part of a conversation that was critical of an individual? Who hasn't? Have you thought to yourself, "It's wrong to say this," and said it anyway?

When I was in twelfth grade, I was part of the "in crowd." As a freshman, these girls wouldn't give me the time of day. However, I gained entrance into this elite group. I was partnered with another student for a class project. Brenda was not well-liked by my friends, and I was teased about my misfortune in being paired with her.

As I got to know Brenda better, I really liked her. Of course, while at school, I remained with my friends. One day in class, my friends were commenting about Brenda. This presented a wonderful opportunity for me to defend her as my friend. Instead, I said, "How do you think I feel? I have to be her partner." Not only was the statement unkind, it was false. My punishment was rapid and severe. I turned around, and Brenda was standing right there. The look of pain on her face said it all.

God's loving grace provided me with forgiveness. So did Brenda's kind heart.

Ps 140, 142; Job 2:1-13; Acts 9:1-9, John 6:27-40

[Seawolf]

Psalm 144. Stretch out your hand from on high; rescue me.

My husband and I took scuba diving lessons in Maui one year. We joined a small group in an open-water dive. I was unaware at the time that I was pregnant and that it caused me to tire easily.

I did well on the first dive. We changed locations for the final dive. I was already fatigued as I descended into the water. I stayed close to our
instructor. My husband was exploring the coral reefs. The couple with us took off in another direction. The instructor started after them.

I tried desperately to keep up, not wanting to be left behind. My legs felt like lead weights. The harder I kicked, the more exhausted I became. I started hyperventilating. I watched as the instructor's form faded in the distance. I didn't know my location or how far away I was from the boat. Absolute panic gripped me. In that moment of utter despair, a hand took hold of my arm. I turned to see my husband's face. I felt a surge of relief pass through my body. With my hand secured in his and with his strong and powerful kicks, we
rejoined our instructor. He stayed with me until I was safe aboard the boat.

God, too, reaches from above to rescue us from deep waters. All we need do is take his hand.

Job 3:1-26; Acts 9:10-19a; John 6:41-51

[Seawolf]

Luke 13:22-30. Then, those who are now last will be first, and those who are now first will be last.

Have you ever stood in line for a movie and had someone cut in ahead of you? It angers me when it happens. Observing others in line, it angers them, too. Reading the above passage, brought it to mind. We are very protective of our place in line. We were here first. It's a violation of our rights when others cut in front of us. I'm certainly not defending them by any means. It isn't considerate. I'm just making an analogy.

Sometimes, we feel the same way about those who have just turned their lives over to the Lord. We welcome them and are so glad they made the conversion. We share in their enthusiasm--that is, until they start preaching salvation to us. Excuse me, but I believe while you were lacking faith, I was attending church, reading my Bible every day, and praying to God. In fact, I was praying for people like you!

Maybe, just once, we should try listening to what they have to say. After all, our walk with Jesus is ongoing. It needs to be continually nurtured to grow. God can choose whomever he wants to deliver his message.

Those seeing Christ anew, though last, will be first--get in line.

Ps 46; Isaiah 28:14-22; Hebrews 12:18-19, 22-29

[Wrath]

John 6:52-59. Jesus said to them...if you do not eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you will not have life in yourselves. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life.

I cannot imagine how hard the above passage was for the followers of Jesus to understand. In Leviticus 17 the sacredness of blood is discussed. Hebrews are strictly forbidden to eat any meat with blood still in it. It states, "The life of every living thing is in the blood. Blood which is life takes away sins."

The people also questioned, "How can he give us his flesh to eat?" Was he speaking metaphorically? What surprises me about this portion of John's Gospel is that Jesus doesn't explain the meaning to his apostles either. In various other readings, when Jesus speaks in parables, he takes his apostles aside and explains the meanings of each parable. Not this time.

We are told in today's Gospel, "Because of this, many of Jesus' followers turned back and would not go with him any more." Jesus asked his apostles, "And you--would you also like to leave?"

Peter's answer says it all. "Lord, to whom would we go? You have the words that give eternal life."

Jesus has the words that give eternal life. Jesus is the Word that gives eternal life.


Ps 1--3; Job 4:1, 5:1-11, 17-21, 26-27; Acts 9:19b-31

[Seawolf]

1 Corinthians 4:9-15. For Christ's sake we are fools...To this very moment we go hungry and thirsty; we are clothed in rags; we are beaten; we wander from place to place; we wear ourselves out with hard work. When we are cursed, we bless; when we are persecuted, we endure; when we are insulted, we answer back with kind word.

I recently attended a "Walk to Emmaus." As part of our program, my group performed a skit in which various job seekers were seated in an employment office. The manager (played by me) told them there were no positions available. The job seekers were disgruntled. Suddenly, the phone rings. I look up at the potential job seekers and state, "One of you is in luck. I have a position that needs to be filled." The job seekers' faces light up.

I read the above quote from Corinthians as the qualifications for the job being offered. The employer on the line is God. One by one those seated in the waiting room started to leave. Such job criteria as "we wear ourselves out with hard work" did not fit with the expectations of job seekers, despite the fact the benefit plan covered the employee for eternity.

At the end of the skit there was only one individual left who wanted the job. The question posed to the audience: The Apostles are living testimony to the glory of Jesus. Are we?

Ps 91; Deuteronomy 18:15-18; Luke 22:24-30

[Wrath]

Psalm 119:1-24. I am here on earth for just a little while; do not hide your commands from me.

Today is my birthday. I received a card from a friend stating, "The older I get, the younger I used to be." That's the truth. There is an expression that mirrors do not lie. I'm just glad they don't talk. I must admit, I'm holding up pretty well.

Thank goodness there is more to getting older than chronology. Some of the most active people I know in church are thirty years or more my senior. They have a vitality that is unmatched. They are the backbone of the church. As witnessed in the Bible, Abraham, Jacob, and Moses did amazing things in their so-called "twilight years." We are constantly being called to ministry and are charged throughout our lives to get involved. Age is not a factor in working for the Lord. God is an Equal Opportunity Employer. You want to work for him; you've got a job.

I started prison ministry as a volunteer teaching CPR to inmates after reading Forward Day by Day meditations. God has since expanded my ministry. I am employed as a nurse at our local detention center. I am part of "Crossings" ministry at our local prison. I implemented and teach a literacy
program to at-risk teens in "Youth Challenge." As my faith deepens, so does my willingness to venture into new areas. The more I give to Jesus, the more I receive.


Job 6:1, 7:1-21; Acts 10:1-16; John 7:1-13

[Seawolf]

Psalm 18:1-20. I love you, LORD my strength.

A friend once said, "God loved David because David was a man after God's heart."

I am humbled when I read the psalms. David and the other psalmists' love and dependence on God are clear in these songs. More impressive is they hold nothing back. Sometimes I grimace when I read passages that demand vengeance and destruction be brought against the psalmists' enemies. The psalmist isn't always successful in working out his problems, but he does speak of God's love and mercy even though he may not always sense it.

Am I any different? I recently had a conflict with a coworker. I felt her callous attitude and treatment of the inmates jeopardized their care. When reasoning with her failed, I started documenting her behavior and submitting it to my bosses. I prayed and asked friends to pray for this nurse to experience a change of heart or, better yet, a change of jobs. With each incident, my anger grew until I finally exploded at her one day. I was ashamed and shocked by my rage.

Like the psalmist I wanted God's wrath to be directed against this individual. But Jesus tells us to love and pray for our enemies. How can I hope to change her negative attitude by displaying my own negative attitude towards her? Can hate change hate? I think I already know the answer.

How I love you, Lord!

Job 8:1-10, 20-22; Acts 10:17-33; John 7:14-36

[Seawolf]

Job 9:1-15, 32-35. Though I am innocent, all I can do is beg for mercy from God my judge.

When people are victims of a crime, it is justice they demand. If they or their loved ones commit the crime, then it is mercy they desire. Sometimes, the most difficult circumstance is when there is no one to blame. Then, we turn to God to determine the cause. We can't blame God directly so we blame ourselves. We must have committed some terrible sin for which we're being punished.

Unlike Job, who maintained his innocence despite friends' accusations he must have sinned, we try to reconcile ourselves with God even though we did nothing wrong. We regard suffering like "cause and effect," rather than accept that we are not to blame for many of the hardships we endure.

Phillip Yancey (The Bible Jesus Read,) uses the often overlooked wager between God and Satan to explain Job's dilemma. Yancey writes, "The best man on earth suffers the worst calamities, which poses a test of faith in its most extreme form." The question is not why God allows Job to suffer, but will Job still love and believe in God who allows such suffering to occur? Yancey claims, "Job may have given up on God's justice, but he refused to give up on God." God staked a lot on one man's righteousness. One person's faith made a difference.

Ps 16, 17; Acts 10:34-48; John 7:37-52

[Seawolf]

Job 9:1, 10:1-9, 16-22. Remember that you made me from clay; are you going to crush me back to dust?

Those who work with clay know the power of the potter who creates the form.

Pottery is my favorite past time. There is such a feeling of accomplishment in taking a lump of clay and transforming it into a functional vessel or art form. Sometimes I can throw a series of vessels (cups, vases, etc.) at one sitting with the greatest of ease. Other times I can work for hours on trying to save one pot.

Like many potters, I will work diligently to save a piece when it would be easier to collapse the form and start over. I will use a variety of tools including a hairdryer to dry the overworked clay and prevent it from collapsing. Maybe there is a strong desire to save the piece because so much of ourselves is put into its creation. When all else fails, the shape may be altered to preserve it. Sometimes the new shape is even more beautiful than its original form.

God has been called the "master potter." I can see him working so hard to save his creations. Sometimes he has to alter our shape and direction, but in the end we are transformed into something even more beautiful to Him.

Ps 20, 21:1-7; Acts 11:1-18; John 8:12-20

[Seawolf]

Hebrews 13:1-8. Remember those in prison, as though you were in prison with them. Remember those who are suffering, as though you were suffering as they are.

I looked up "prisoner" in the biblical cyclopedic index. Listed under "Notable Occupants" were prophets, apostles, and John the Baptist. We tend to forget that they, too, were prisoners.

When I decided to take up prison ministry, I visited the local correctional center. It is a minimum, restrictive facility. I got to meet and visit with some of the inmates. The main feeling they expressed was how grateful they were to know people cared, and they weren't forgotten.

We also isolate people who suffer. Individuals with AIDS are treated as outcasts, so they suffer the affects of the disease and are also stigmatized because they contracted the disease. This is a throwback to the Dark Ages. Alcoholism, drug addiction, and mental illness are also diseases for which there is a lack of tolerance and compassion.

Many people can easily justify their lack of compassion for prisoners and other members of society as listed. There are probably 101 reasons not to care. I only know of one reason to care: Jesus said, "Love God with all your heart, mind, and soul, and love your neighbor as yourself."

*From the Apocrypha

Ps 112; *Ecclesiasticus 10:12-18; Luke 14:1, 7-14

[Wrath]

Psalm 9. The needy will not always be neglected; the hope of the poor will not be crushed forever.

At times I get discouraged about my inability to help all those in need. TV channels feature stories of the hungry and needy in our communities and in the world. If I send to one charity, I am soon inundated with hundreds of letters from countless others asking for donations. Which one should I help? What about the others? It can be overwhelming, especially for one person.

We have enough people and resources in our communities to make a difference. All of us can play an important part in helping to bring about this change. Many of the major charitable organizations that help millions of people were started by an idea and a handful of individuals that wanted to make a difference. That is all it takes.

I don't know who came up with the concept of soup kitchens for the poor. I do know that it takes the help of people like you and me who donate the items needed to prepare the meals, the actual food preparation, serving the meals, and cleaning up afterwards to get this program to work. Thanks to the countless individuals who donate their time, talents, and yes, money, meals are provided to millions of people every day.

It takes all of us working together to be a source of hope for the needy and poor.


Ps 25; Job 12:1-6, 13-25; Acts 11:19-30; John 8:21-32

[Seawolf]

Psalm 26. Singing aloud a song of thanksgiving, and telling all your wondrous deeds.

I begin every morning with my cup of coffee and Forward Day by Day. The coffee jump-starts my body and the Day by Day awakens and lifts my spirit.

I know that with each new Forward book, I get to meet someone new or revisit an old friend who has written in the past. It's always a joyful journey for me to share a month with each writer. Sometimes, as was in my case, it can result in a life-changing experience. I do hope that you have enjoyed sharing this month with me.

I believe diversity is what makes life interesting. How boring it would be if we were all the same. Our humanity is what ties us together and sets us apart from the other creatures with whom we share the gifts of creation. But it is our spirit that unites us with God and lifts us to a higher level and quality of existence.

We are not put on this planet to live solitary lives. We are not self-made. Those who think they are only need look at their belly buttons. It is through another life we were conceived and nourished. It is to another life we will be transformed if we put our faith and love in Jesus.

Let us always give thanksgiving and praise to our Lord. Amen.

Ps 28; Job 12:1, 13:3-17, 21-27; Acts 12:1-17, John 8:33-47

[Wrath]

John 8:34-36. The slave does not have a permanent place in the household; the son has a place there forever.

When I was a little girl, four people lived in our house. They included me, my parents, and Julia. Julia was wonderful. She sometimes stopped what she was doing to play dolls with me and she stayed beside me through a thousand asthma attacks. My mother bought clothes for both of us, and we each had our own bedroom. We ate breakfast together and then walked to school.

But that is where our equality stopped. Julia couldn't stamp her foot at my father or climb in his lap, and she couldn't argue with my mother. After she walked me to school she walked back to the house and began cleaning the kitchen, because I was the daughter and Julia was our housekeeper. Julia was not a slave, but she didn't have a vote on any decision, or an eternal place in our household.

Jesus is the Son in God's house. He has all the privileges of sonship. Though he came to earth as a poor and humble man, the angels sing and seraphim hide behind their six wings in his presence.

But Jesus is no longer an only child. He has made us sons and daughters of God. We are not servants, we are part of a royal household. One where everyone is equal.


Ps 38; Job 12:1, 14:1-22; Acts 12:18-25; John 8:47-59

[Wrath]

Job 16:16-22, 17:1, 13-16.

Jerry, our next-door neighbor, had a long struggle with cancer. By the time he died, he was exhausted, in unrelenting pain, and ready to go. We attended his graveside service in a small hillside cemetery full of ancient maples, and dry leaves crunched underfoot as we walked to our chairs

In the middle of the Scripture reading, Jerry's mother--in her nineties, and with Alzheimer's disease--suddenly rose up to touch the casket. "Is Jerry in there?" she wailed, and even those of us who don't cry easily felt tears spring to our eyes.

I wanted to comfort the woman, to tell her that although her son's body was, indeed, in the coffin, the man himself was with God; but the funeral went on and she sat back down between her husband and Jerry's wife. Afterward we all shook hands, chatted for a moment, and went to our cars. The day was bright and warm and in a few minutes we had left death and graves behind us.

Or had we? That woman's terrible cry, her agony at thinking of her son in that casket, stayed with me. Not only does the voice ask if Jerry is in there; another Voice asks me to make sure my faith is up and walking, not buried in a box beneath the earth.


Ps 37:1-18; Acts 13:1-12; John 9:1-17

[Seawolf]

Psalm 31. I had said in my alarm, "I am driven far from your sight." But you heard my supplications when I cried out to you for help.

My aging dog is almost blind and getting deaf. He is still a happy little creature, who wags his tail when we get in the car, barks for his dinner at exactly four o'clock, and clambers onto my bed to sleep. He likes to be wherever I am, so he tries to follow me wherever I go. But sometimes he gets lost and thinks he's abandoned, even though I'm standing a foot or so away, talking to him. Then he begins to howl until I put my hand on his head and say loudly, "Here I am, doggie!"

Even the Psalmist could think God was out of sight and hearing, and I do that sometimes, too. I may find myself in such a wretched situation that I think I'm all alone, blind and unable to find God. Life can get me so out of touch that I may feel lost spiritually and emotionally, and cry out for someone, anyone, to save me. I howl and bark and complain that God has thrown me out of the kingdom and I need help. Desperately. Until God touches me and says, "I'm here." God didn't move away: I did. I had lost my sense of God's being there, but the Holy Spirit never abandons anyone, no matter how blind and deaf they are to the presence.

Thank you, God, for always being with me, no matter how lost or confused I become.

Job 19:1-7, 14-27; Acts 13:13-25; John 9:18-41

[Wrath]

John 10:1-18. Very truly, I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep.

Dr. Temple Grandin invented a gateway passage in which cattle or sheep can enter the slaughterhouse without fear. Because of the bends in the track, no animal sees what is coming; the passage touches their sides so they feel safe and comforted as they march to their end.

I'm not headed for the slaughterhouse, but death does stand at the end of my days, summoning me with its bony finger. The older I get, the more aware I am that my life will end. That could get pretty scary, but God has created a gateway that makes my passage calm and reassuring. The sign on the gate invites me to eternal life.

Fear could taint my personality. If I were to run scared of the future, if I believed either that death is the end or that I haven't earned heaven, my manner could become grumpy and I could turn into a narcissist, trying to define the world as a place all about me. But I can look up to see the Gate, see the One who stands there whispering, "No condemnation," and then I know I'm safe.



Ps 30, 32; Job 22:1-4, 21--23:7; Acts 13:26-43

[Seawolf]

Luke 14:25-33. Whoever does not carry the cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.

I enjoy photography, taking pictures of tall Oregon goldenrod or shooting close-up slides of mushrooms and wildflowers.

When you develop slides with color separations, you first add the yellow layer to the picture and it will look overly bright, flat, and with no definition. The red or magenta layers, the green or cyan all contribute to the beauty of the slide, but something is still missing. It's not until you add black, to create shadows and to deepen the colors, that you can see the shape of huckleberry leaves and forest shadows that make the flowers bright and important. Black is what creates the picture. Only the contrast of darkness can help us see in full color.

And only the sorrowful part of our faith makes the joy in it honest. I like the "God is love" Bible verses a lot more than those that prescribe cross-carrying or other hard commands. I love our liturgy, the music, the Eucharist, the colors, the hymns, the fulfillment of fellowship, more than I like Good Friday. But deep down I know the best things about Christian life happen on the stage of atonement, with Jesus' cross and our practice of sacrificial love. Add the black and our faith shines forth like a color photograph of a beautiful flower.

Ps 1; Deuteronomy 30:15-20; Philemon 1-20

[Seawolf]

Psalm 107:1-9. [The LORD] put their feet on a straight path.

William Faulkner once told writers to mind their "darlings." (He meant those wonderful sentences or paragraphs that make you want to kiss your own hands or alert book reviewers.) That's the first thing you need to cut, he was saying.

The same applies to talking. The minute you are sure you have the answer to someone's problem, or an absolutely perfect insight about God, you'd be better off falling silent and praying for the person instead of uttering what might turn out to be arrogant nonsense.

Elihu couldn't shut up. He uttered one "darling" after another, explaining God to Job, and hoping the other older men were paying attention to his wisdom. He described himself as bursting like a wineskin unless he spoke. And, he did more damage than the other three comforters all together. He thought he saw the answer to Job's plight, and that he had to tell it. Not only was he dead wrong about Job, he was mean and boring.

I have always thought the most dangerous person on earth is the one who knows what's best for me. If someone swoops down on me with orders they say came straight from heaven, I run away. Otherwise I might not "mind" one of God's darlings.

*Ecclus 38:27-32; 1 Cor 3:10-14; Mt 6:19-24

[Seawolf]

Acts 14:1-18. But the residents of the city were divided; some sided with the Jews, and some with the apostles.

Half the people in our parish supported a new plan for our church but the other half was furious. Both sides opened Bibles to refute what the others said. Some broke down and cried; others threatened to walk out. I would like to say our church found a happy solution but, instead, one faction did leave.

Thich Nhat Hanh, the Buddhist writer, discovered that he was still in pain and anger over his experience with the French before they left his country. So he went to live in France, where he could love and forgive the people there. In Living Buddha, Living Christ, he says, "Only when you understand what has happened can you have compassion for the other person and forgive him or her. That kind of forgiveness is the fruit of awareness."

I miss the ones who left. Knowing that even early Christians behaved that same way does not make the situation feel any better. Part of our parish family has divorced us, and I wonder how we could have prevented it. I wish I could ask if we were compassionate and courteous, and listened to them. I wonder if they left over a theological disagreement, or because we were rude and unyielding. And, I wonder if God will forgive both sides.

Ps 45; Job 29:1-20; John 10:31-42

[Seawolf]

John 11:1-16. After having heard that Lazarus was ill, he stayed two days longer in the place where he was.

The disciples were frustrated. Not only had Jesus procrastinated for two days, now he wanted to go back to Judea where he could be stoned to death. When they questioned him, revealed that Lazarus had died, Thomas said bitterly, "Let us go, too, so we can die with him."

My father was sometimes so slow to answer a request from me that I would threaten all kinds of things: sand in his bed, or ice in his coffee. But his decisions always felt fair and usually offered more than what I had asked for. I might swear I was going to die if he didn't say whether I could go visit my friend but finally he would not only say yes, but offer to drive me so I wouldn't have to take the bus.

Jesus could have gone earlier and just healed Lazarus, but we would never have known the better story, the one in which Lazarus died and was raised. We would never have heard Mary say sorrowfully, "If you had been here, he wouldn't have died," or Martha confess, "I believe that you are the son of God." And we would have never known that Jesus cried for his friend.

Sometimes God is slow to answer, but be patient. You may get a lot more than you hoped for.

Ps 119:49-72; Job 29:1, 30:1-2, 16-31; Acts 14:19-28

[Wrath]

Psalm 50. I know all the birds of the air, and all that moves in the field is mine.

Swallows come every year during the last week of March, and one or two pairs make their nest under the eaves of our garage. When anyone goes outside during nesting time, the swallows swoop down, warning us that we are on their holy ground, and should leave immediately. For most of summer, the swallows are part of our lives.

Because we live in the Pacific flyway, flocks of birds stop at our feeders; sometimes they stay for the season and others move northward. Goldfinches, warblers, woodpeckers, and our year-round blue jays come to feast on suet and seeds, and humming birds hover over nectar. Wild geese and ducks roam the sky. For one glorious week this spring, a cedar waxwing fluttered in our birdbath.

Nobody tells swallows or geese or robins when to arrive and when to go; they can't read the clock or the calendar, but they "observe the time of their coming," and of their leaving again. They are obedient to nature, which means they follow the laws God set in motion. I think birds know God the same way the angels do: God commands, and they obey with love. The way we are supposed to.


Ps 93, 96; Job 29:1, 31:1-23; Acts 15:1-11; John 11:17-29

[Seawolf]

Psalm 40. I have not hidden your saving help within my heart, I have spoken of your faithfulness and your salvation.

The convention hall was too warm, and sheets of paper lay here and there on the floor. The coffee machine was empty and we were all hot and tired. The bitterly argued ballots to get our church convention business over with had left us exhausted and irritable. I had a five-hour drive ahead and wanted to leave, but courtesy required I stay to hear a teen who wanted support for a youth renewal movement.

When she stepped to the podium, she looked like a flower in the midst of a bramble patch. When she opened her mouth to speak, I thought for a moment I heard the angels sing. She talked so simply and honestly about her love for Jesus Christ and her faith in the church that I nearly broke down. We'd been tied up with budgets, logistics, and fiduciary concerns. It took a young girl to change us. She spoke of the way God was working in her life, and how she wanted to extend God's love into the world.

When she finished, the room was silent; and then someone said, "Amen!" We all said it. We shouted it. Then we rose and applauded the only person who had talked about God from the podium that whole, long convention weekend.

Ps 54; Job 29:1, 31:24-40; Acts 15:12-21; John 11:30-44

[Wrath]

John 11:45-54. So from that day on they planned to put him to death.

One of the icons I love is Anton Rublev's Old Testament Trinity. It depicts the three men (or angels, or persons) God sent to visit Abraham and Sarah to say they would have a son within the year. The beings are all winged and have halos; they sit around a table where Abraham has served their food. Henri Nouwen said in his book, Behold the Beauty of the Lord, "From within this holy circle, this house of love, the mystery of God is revealed to us."

Something else is revealed: the die is cast. Jesus is going to the cross; because on that day, Sarah would conceive a son and establish the chosen people of God, people who would ultimately be saved by their own descendant.

From that day on, God planned for his death as a ransom for people yet to come.

Forty-four generations after Abraham, a young rabbi was accused of blasphemy and a court sent him to Pilate. The charges were obviously trumped up, the death sentence came in spite of Pilate's disclaimer, and when Jesus was crucified even the soldiers proclaimed him a son of God. So why did it happen? Because three angels came to Abraham's tent, and ate the food he served them, and prophesied a son. God's son. The one who rose from the dead.


Ps 55; Job 38:1-17; Acts 15:22-35

[Seawolf]

Psalm 51:1-18. Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.

Want to see a makeover? Turn on TV. Almost every channel carries at least one makeover program. Trade houses and turn your neighbor's room into a new one. Glamorize your hair, clothes, and makeup. Decorate a bathroom or kitchen in a brand-new house. Let experts clear out your clutter and organize your life.

Infomercials show before and after pictures of people who have lost pounds, or erased their wrinkles. All you have to do to become younger is call a toll-free number--and have the money for the procedure, regimen, or program.

But how about a spiritual makeover? Maybe you have longings to be closer to God, or want to pep up your prayer life. Perhaps you need to be more patient with your family and coworkers, or more generous with the needy, but don't know where to start.

Frustrated? Maybe you're trying to make those changes by yourself, instead of letting God work miracles inside you. God, who has even promised a transplant, taking away your stone heart and giving you a new one, can and will make your spiritual life exciting: all you have to do is ask.

Exodus 32:1, 7-14; 1 Timothy 1:12-17; Luke 15:1-10

[Seawolf]

Acts 15:36--16:5. So the churches were strengthened in the faith and increased in numbers daily.

A long time ago, I was a mile runner for my school track team. I spent a lot of time exercising, jogging, and swimming to stay fit for the race. During the competition I rarely noticed where I was in the pack; I just kept time with the pacesetter in my head, but when I began to wear out, I could hear people clapping and yelling, "Sprint!" Then I'd know I was going to win and I got a second bolus of strength that speeded me up and took me through the tape.

You don't run the race of faith alone. When you face suffering and disappointment, or when someone treats you to abuse or anger, you can feel like you might fall down or give up. But listen! You can hear voices calling your name, someone applauding, someone urging you on. The cloud of witnesses is watching, Jesus is out there rooting for you, and the angels are clapping their hands (or whatever angels have). They'll give you the energy for the finish line.

And to stay fit for the race all the time, stay close to God in prayer, in silence, in Scripture, and in praise. God doesn't need our praise, but God gave it to us as a blessing. God doesn't benefit from our Bible reading or prayers, but we change and grow. And in devotional silence you'll hear one strong, divine voice occasionally yelling, "Sprint!"

Ps 56, 57; Job 40:1, 41:1-11; John 11:55--12:8

[Seawolf]

Galatians 6:14-18. May I never boast of anything except the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Bragging is a favorite indoor sport in America. We exaggerate our abilities and try to impress one another. We boast, or even lie, on résumés, college entrance applications, and first dates. The desire to look good can overcome modesty or even what we know is true: nobody wants to sound inferior, especially if they're looking for a job, or investor, or spouse.

St. Paul could have boasted about being a Roman citizen, which implied high status in first-century society. And, he was also a Pharisee, a member of the religious elite in Palestine. He was an important man, but he counted his position as nothing compared to what Christ had done for him on the cross.

Chronic boasters are insecure. Deep down, they don't think they measure up, so they embroider or even invent fact. But the truth of Jesus' sacrifice really gives us status. In the kingdom of God, those who have been marked as Christ's own are royal children. And that is something to brag about.

Ps 98; Isaiah 45:21-25; John 12:31-36a

[Seawolf]

John 12:20-26. Whoever serves me must follow me, and where I am, there will my servant be also.

Just as the word "tesseract" in Madeleine L'Engle's A Wrinkle in Time could move people instantly, Jesus' saying, "Follow me" made people drop what they were doing and go.

"Follow me" didn't send people through a tesseract, which in theoretical physics is a four-dimensional cube analog, a wrinkle in the fabric of time. There is nothing arcane or magical about Jesus at all. His personality was just so irresistible and powerful that the disciples deserted their fathers or boats or business to go where Jesus went. When he spoke, people either responded with love or reacted with anger that a 'mere man' could change the world so much.

Following Jesus to the cross is hard, but he says that God will honor all who do. That means living a sacrificial life where the needs of others are more important than one's own.

Jesus' personality hasn't changed. He is still the dynamic person whose energy can make you drop your nets (or your electric drill or your computer mouse) to follow him. And he still calls people like us to be disciples who are willing to take up the cross and willing to take the Good News into a broken and sorrowing world. Tesseract is a theory; but Jesus is a real person who calls us to his love.

Ps 72; Job 42:1-17; Acts 16:16-24

[Wrath]

Job 28:1-28. Where then does wisdom come from? And where is the place of understanding?

The late pianist Artur Schnabel once remarked that playing Mozart was "too easy for a beginner, too difficult for a virtuoso." Christianity has the same qualities; in fact, some inquirers would prefer a religion that demands more from its adherents and holds bigger unknowns. Faith that can look simple sometimes crucifies the intellect.

We say that whoever believes in Jesus Christ will be saved. That might sound foolish to a secular person, while to those of us who love God, "believe" encompasses a great wisdom. We accept such dogma as the resurrection, eternal life and--perhaps as the hardest concept of all to understandthe gift of free grace. Too easy for a new Christian, maybe, but mysterious and complicated to those who are trying to live their faith. Believing in Jesus means not just loving him, but loving unlovable brothers and sisters all over the world. Where does wisdom come from? Straight from God. And the place of understanding is where you assent to wisdom.

Master performers who play Mozart try to insert meaning and polish into every note; and dedicated Christians who are willing to embrace unworldly wisdom make a real effort to make every day shine with God's love.


Ps 71; Acts 16:25-40; John 12:27-36a

[Seawolf]

John 12:36b-43. While you have the light, believe in the light, so that you may become children of light.

When astronaut John Glenn orbited the earth three times in the longest space voyage any American had taken until then, he said on his radio, "Thank the people of Australia for the lights." Australians had turned on every available lamp to greet the man in space who would pass over the planet.

Several years later, the city of San Diego, during its 400th anniversary celebration installed amber highway and city lights and asked home owners to use their porch lights to create a golden glow, a salute to men returning from the moon. The fact that light can be seen from outer space shows how important it is; in fact, it was God's first command to the universe.

Lighthouses have kept ships from wrecking on rocks, and a porch light at the end of a journey welcomes a traveler, and the Christ light, the glow that emanates from your personality and that you shed on your world may prevent someone's emotional or spiritual shipwreck.

O splendor of God's glory bright,
O thou that bringest light from light,
O Light of Light, light's living spring,
O Day, all days illumining.
(#5, Hymnal 1982)

Ps 69:1-23, 31-38; Esther 1:1-4, 10-19; Acts 17:1-15

[Seawolf]

Psalm 27. For he will hide me in his shelter in the day of trouble; he will conceal me under the cover of his tent; he will set me high on a rock.

My father and I had staked a small mining claim a few miles from our Arizona home. One late spring afternoon we were combing it for turquoise--we had found a couple of good samples--when a sudden desert cloudburst began to drown us in sheets of water.

I was a lightweight and began to slide down the hill toward a wash, where water was already raging. Father grabbed me, and holding me in one arm, scrambled uphill to a big boulder. He put me on the back side of it and then covered me with his body for about fifteen minutes, until the rain stopped. His clothes were soaking wet and he had hail in his hair, but he was laughing as he helped me from my rock. "I know we're going to find some good turquoise," he said, "because the devil tried so hard to get rid of us."

Sure enough, the hard storm had unearthed some beautiful turquoise and a bonus: a dark red garnet, broken loose from its stony setting. My birthstone. I have it to this day, still not cut or polished, and I love to roll it around in my hand while I remember being set high on a rock and sheltered by a father who loved me.

Ps 75, 76; Esther 2:5-8, 15-23; Acts 17:16-34; John 12:44-50

[Seawolf]

Amos 8:4-12. The time is surely coming, says the Lord GOD, when I will send a famine on the land; not a famine of bread, or a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the LORD.

I had won first prize in the "murder mystery" weekend. For three days we'd feasted on gourmet food, watched the drama, and on Sunday morning the hotel served us a huge breakfast. We had juice, eggs, cheese grits, bacon, pork chops, fruit, home-fried potatoes, and waffles--with waitresses standing on chairs to pour honey on them to symbolize the roaring Columbia Gorge waterfall behind the hotel.

But as we packed and readied to leave, I was still hungry. Not for more food or honey poured from high above, but for church. I was used to being at the Eucharist on Sunday mornings, and I felt oddly empty. Not until I sat down and read the day's propers out of the Bible in my room was I satisfied.

The passage in Amos sounds terrifying. When I try to imagine a world without Scripture--or hymns or Communion--when I think about what life would be like in that kind of "famine," my heart speeds up. Christ is so much of my life that anything without him sounds grim. Maybe if some terrible power burned all our Bibles, we'd have to become "living books."

Maybe I'll start today. Maybe with today's prophecy from Amos.

Ps 138; 1 Timothy 2:1-8; Luke 16:1-13

[Wrath]

Psalm 80. Turn again, O God of hosts; look down from heaven, and see; have regard for this vine, the stock that your right hand planted.

When we moved into this house, the steep earthen slope in front had a sparse planting of English ivy. And although many people in this city consider ivy to be a noxious weed, it will grow in our rain-drenched soil. Or so they say; my slope eroded for a couple of years and I didn't see much progress in the vines. I finally went to a greenhouse and bought several more flats of ivy and began stuffing them into the almost-vertical banks.

That was hard work because I kept slipping downhill and taking soil with me. The new plants wanted to pop out of their holes and tumble away as fast as I could get them in. And instead of our usual rainy autumn, we had a bright, dry summer so I had to sprinkle every day. I was certain our sprinkler was washing more water into the street than on my plants, but eventually the skies darkened and in November the rains started.

I am God's vine. I try to pop out of the spot where God has planted me, and sometimes I get spindly in bad spiritual weather. But God, the master
gardener, has said, "I will never leave you or forsake you." Eventually, I'll be part of the planting God wants to cover the world with.


Esther 4:4-17; Acts 18:1-11; Luke 3:1-14

[Seawolf]

2 Timothy 3:14-17. Continue in what you have learned and firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it, and how from childhood you have known the sacred writings...

When I was ten our Sunday School had a contest to see who could sell the most pictures of Jesus and Bible scenes. First prize was a white Bible with a zipper, and second prize a black one. I set out every day for two weeks and though times were hard, enthusiastic Christians were delighted to pay a quarter each for the glossy plaques.

I sold 40 pictures; another girl sold 41. I got the black Bible and sat down to read it. I had a hard time understanding some of the King James Version, but my parents were helpful and my Godmother sent me a card with some special verses on it. I struggled with the Song of Solomon and Revelation, but as I read other passages I found stories I'd heard all my life. In about a year, I had read the whole Bible. My Godmother sent me a hundred dollars, which was more money than I had ever owned.

In memory, I can still smell the black leather cover and the India paper in that Bible, which I have packed away to preserve. Now I have many translations of the Bible but what I learned from childhood is more than knowledge: it's in my cell memory, as part of my life. One of the better parts.

Ps 119:33-40; Proverbs 3:1-6; Matthew 9:9-13

[Wrath]

Esther 6:1-14. So Haman took the robes and the horse and robed Mordecai and led him riding through the open square of the city, proclaiming, "Thus shall it be done for the man whom the king wishes to honor."

Haman hated Mordecai, a Jew who wouldn't bow down to him. Haman took himself and his position as vizier seriously; in fact, because Mordecai refused to honor him, Haman hatched a plot to commit genocide on all the Jews in the Persian empire.

When Xerxes the king asked Haman how to honor a man with whom he was pleased, the vizier assumed Xerxes meant him. So he described a suit of clothes, a horse, and a courtier proclaiming the king's favor. Imagine his shock when he was forced to deliver the clothes to Mordecai and lead him around the city! Later, Esther, Mordecai's cousin and queen of Persia, revealed the genocide plot and Haman was hoist to the gallows.

Instead of plots or scheming to gain glory for ourselves, we would all do well to honor God and seek to serve Christ in all others.

God, Mordecai would only bow down to you. Help us, also, to honor only you. Amen.


Ps 119:97--120; Acts 19:1-10; Luke 4:1-1

[Seawolf]

Luke 4:14-30. The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor.

Snow fell on me as I waited for a cab in Washington, DC. A rumpled homeless man in a stocking cap and fingerless gloves asked me for money to eat.

Most of us want to make certain that anyone we give money to is worthy (which usually means working or actively looking for a job) and we don't want them to spend the money on alcohol or drugs. So we donate through a church or community
organization, and pastors usually encourage that kind of giving.

I gave the man twenty dollars because I'd just been to the ATM machine and I had nothing smaller. He stared at me for a moment and stammered, "Ma'am? You meant to give me a dollar, didn't you?" When I said no, he put his head back and began to yell, "Thaaaank you, Jesus!" over and over again. He went to a nearby coffee shop and came out with a huge cookie and a cup of coffee, still singing out, "Thaaaank you, Jesus!"

What if a beggar misuses my money? That isn't my business. Giving to a beggar is between me and God; what they do with the money is between the beggar and God. Man does not live by bread--or cookies--alone, but they sure help the hungry.

Ps 116, 117; Esther 7:1-10; Act 19:11-20

[Seawolf]

Psalm 91. You will not fear...the destruction that wastes at noonday.

The desert fathers called it "the noonday devil" but in spite of the time of day, it is a cold sin. Dante put it in the fifth circle of hell, where people lie in black mire, unable to move for eternity. Acedia, also translated as "sloth," is one of the deadly sins.

Being slothful does not mean you won't dust the piano or load the dishwasher, but that you won't pray or think about God or even consider any good works. A slothful person is bored and maybe even cynical.

In 1857, preacher C.H. Spurgeon delivered a sermon on the demon of noontime. He said that if a person wasn't inclined toward "a very high degree of pride, Satan takes him with sloth. The man likes an easy life; Satan therefore adapts his bait to him by letting him sit still, fold his arms, and so perish by slothfulness: and mark this, he who sitteth still in the frost, when the snow is on the ground, in the depths of the wild regions of the frozen zone, must as surely perish by his idleness as if he drove a dagger to his heart."

Whether there's a real devil or a collective image created by our own evil, the spirit of one who "sitteth in the frost" could sure end up dying of cold even when the sun is high. The cure is prayer, one difficult word at a time, until you thaw out.

Ps 88; Esther 8:1-8, 15-17; Acts 19:21-44; Luke 4:31-37

[Seawolf]

Luke 4:38-44. At daybreak he departed and went into a deserted place.

Last weekend at a book signing, friends I hadn't seen in months appeared and I didn't go five minutes without shaking a hand or signing a book. I was delighted by the afternoon, but afterwards all I could think about was going home.

Writers have to be alone a lot, of course, but I suspect I'd be that way no matter my profession. I renew my strength in solitude. If I don't get enough alone-time, I get grumpy.

My husband is the exact opposite. He's never happier than when he's wading into a room, greeting people, telling jokes, counseling people with problems, and meeting absolute strangers who are soon his pals. He gets all his energy in the dialogue with other people, and our rector says my husband has a big coffee-hour ministry.

That thought makes me want to lie down. I'm intrigued that when God set the universe into motion, he also set in motion the elements of personalities that would emerge billions of years later. Why do we have such different types of behavior? Whatever the reason, the Bible tells us that after a day and a night of ministering and healing people, Jesus had to get off by himself for a while, to pray and to recharge his spiritual battery. Even an extreme extrovert like my husband has to be alone with God.

Ps 87, 90; Hosea 1:1--2:1; Acts 20:1-16

[Seawolf]

1 Timothy 6:11-19. As for those who in the present age are rich, command them not to be haughty, or to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches.

This country has had some hard lessons in the last couple of years about the "uncertainty of riches." Multi-millionaires toppled off their foundations, and employees who assumed their retirements would be secure suddenly discovered they had nothing--all because of the machinations of a few greedy, power-hungry heads of companies.

Crooked or avaricious corporations are not the cause of national problems, but they are a symptom of something deeper, something that's going on at the smallest level. We find it easy to criticize corporate greed and dishonest CEOs, but we also have to look inside our own hearts and values. So long as we allow such things to happen, they will.

How honorable are our own aims? Do we think money or success are more important than the simple joys of family and home? If we have given up our gardens or deserted our kitchens, if we don't have time for our children or friends, we are
contributing to the attitude that can produce an Enron scandal or people who function right on the edge of what is legal.

Earthly riches cannot last forever, and a fortune can be wiped out by a dishonest banker. But invest in God and you make the future absolutely secure.

Ps 146; Amos 6:1-7; Luke 16:19-31

[Seawolf]

Acts 20:17-38. There was much weeping among them all; they embraced Paul and kissed him, grieving especially because of what he had said, that they would not see him again.

I knew I would never see Jon again. He said, "My days are numbered now, so I'll say goodbye," and we held hands for a moment. He went home from the hospital that night and died two days later, after also saying goodbye to his parents and
children. Only his young wife was with him at the moment of death.

Final goodbyes are so hard that we usually pretend they are temporary. Maybe we should treat all goodbyes as if they are the last ones. I saw an eighteen-year-old friend downtown, a boy who had been in my high-school Sunday School class. I didn't make a great event out of our meeting, and maybe I should have. A few days later he went to a dance where he suddenly dropped dead of a rare coronary disorder. Oh, how I wish I had told him how much I loved knowing him. He had depth and wonder and honesty, and I wish... The only thing I can do is to let all my friends know how much I care for them, to treat every goodbye as if it might be the only goodbye.

D.H. Lawrence wrote that every parting means a meeting elsewhere, and that every meeting is a new opportunity to offer love. Preferably out loud.

Ps 89:1-18; Hosea 2:14-23; Luke 5:1-11

[Seawolf]

Psalm 98. Make a joyful noise to the LORD, all the earth; break forth into joyous song and sing praises.

People who come to my house don't see my secrets. In fact, I can't see them but I know where they are: they're hidden behind books in a tall shelf, inside a pitcher, under the washing machine, under the lid of a silver sugar bowl. All over my house I have reminders of God: a little cross, a tiny angel, a miniature china bird, a smooth black rock in a red bag. If nobody is home I like to walk through the house and bow to every symbol of God, to whisper, "Praise you!" or to sing a hymn.

In the late afternoon I like to stroll to the other end of the house to watch snatches of rainbow that bounce from a crystal windbell in the west window. Sometimes I put my hand out so I can hold not only a rainbow, but the memory of God's covenant with us on my palm, or I twirl and let the little prism refractions dance on me as I turn.

Private worship is not only fun; it is also a chance to be completely myself with God. I do not have to put on "church clothes" or behave with decorum. I can stand or kneel or dance, I can sing or whisper or recite. I have always been a person who likes to be alone; now I love being alone with God in every corner of my house. So, make a joyful noise and let the earth hear your worship.

Ps 97, 99; Hosea 4:1-10; Acts 21:1-14; Luke 5:12-26

[Seawolf]

Genesis 28:10-17. And he dreamed that there was a ladder set up on the earth, the top of it reaching to heaven; and the angels of God were ascending and descending on it.

Why would God choose Jacob to be the father of the twelve tribes, to be the ancestor of Jesus? Jacob was a mama's boy who extracted his brother Esau's birthright for a bowl of lentils, and deceived his father to get the filial blessing. On the night he had the ladder dream, he was fleeing his brother's wrath. Jacob's name means something like "usurper" or "trickster," very apt.

My first reaction to Jacob is: "But God, I want to see the angels on the ladder. I've been a good disciple of Christ. Better than Jacob, I never extorted or cheated or fled my obligations." However, God picked Jacob and let him see one of the most sacred points in the universe, a cosmic rendezvous of angels.

God and the company of heaven live outside time. This scene is still taking place. God sends messengers, helpers, and choirs to bring us good tidings of great joy. Maybe if I go out in the desert and use a smooth rock for a pillow, I'll see what Jacob saw.

Ps 103; Rev 12:7-12; John 1:47-51

[Wrath]

Psalm 105:1-22. Give thanks to the LORD, call upon his Name; make known his deeds among the peoples.

My friend calls the kind of Psalm for today "a prayer of remembrance." In it, the psalmist recites the moments in the history of Israel when God intervened and offers praise and thanksgiving for what he did during many generations.

Your own résumé probably has a list of your education and job history, your accomplishments and experience. We rarely, if ever, mention God in such a document. But can we honestly say we could have achieved anything on that résumé without the help of the almighty? Not me.

My remembrance list would have to include the special people God sent into my life: my parents, of course; my wonderful godmother who always sent me cards, not only on my birthday but on the anniversary of my baptism and the anniversary of my confirmation; God sent at least some of my teachers, especially Miss Knowles, who taught me to think, and Mr. Russell who called me a creative writer in sixth grade.

I would have to write a book--no, a book series--to tell the story of my life. And everyone reading this meditation would have as much or more to tell about how God's action made them who they are today. Because each of us recites the story God is telling to the universe.


Hosea 5:8--6:6; Acts 21:27-36; Luke 6:1-11

[Seawolf]

Hosea 10:1-15. Israel is a luxuriant vine that yields its fruit.

God's chosen people are often described as a vine, lovingly planted by God, tended and watered by his hand. But as the people prosper, they turn to their own pleasures and ignore the creator of the vineyard. And so they yield "wild grapes," not the choice fruit God expects.

We are just like that ancient vine of Israel. God plants us where we are and tends us as a loving gardener. He prunes us carefully so that we might grow strong (John 15:2); he loosens the soil around our roots so that water and nutrients might sink in and nourish us (Luke 13:8).

What kind of fruit does he expect us to bear? Perhaps the fruit of repentance, of a loving and contrite heart (Psalm 51) and surely the fruit of the Spirit: love, joy, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control (Galatians 5:22).

Do we bear fruit worthy of God? Only by seeing ourselves as God's own plant, and blooming where we are.

Ps 102; Acts 21:37--22:16; Luke 6:12-26

[Wrath]

Hosea 11:1-9. When Israel was a child, I loved him.

Sometimes it is very hard to accept the fact that God loves me--this blemished individual who so easily follows the selfish, self-serving path.

But listen to the nurturing, invisible love of God for his people. Imagine God speaking to you. When [you were] a child, I loved [you]; it was I who taught [you] to walk, I took [you] up in my arms; but [you] did not know that I healed [you]. I led [you] with cords of compassion, with the bands of love... and I bent down to [you] and fed [you].

But alas, says God, the more I called [you], the more [you] went from me. How like us to turn away from such love and seek our own way.

It is sobering to realize how arrogant we are when we refuse to accept God's love. It is altogether unfair to judge God's love for us by our feeble human efforts to love each other, because we fail miserably, even when our love is strong. But God is there, loving us, whether we accept or turn away, healing us whether we realize it or not, leading us with bands of compassion and love. Realizing this is humility, not conceit.



Ps 107:33-43, 108:1-6; Acts 22:17-29; Luke 6:27-38

[Seawolf]

Habakkuk 1:1-13, 2:1-4. O Lord, how long shall I cry for help, and you will not listen?

There are times when we echo this cry of Habakkuk. Even John the Baptist cries out from his dark prison cell, "Are you the one or shall we look for another?" And from our own individual prisons we also question and wonder.

But from his prison St. Paul writes to Timothy, "For this gospel...I suffer as I do. But I...know the one in whom I have put my trust, and I am sure that he is able to guard until that day what I have entrusted to him."

In the face of all that we cannot understand, even in the face of the silence of God, there is only one answer. St. Paul knows it and so does Habakkuk. Faced with the certain devastation of war and the captivity of his people into slavery, Habakkuk ends his cry with this prayer of faith: "Though the fig tree does not blossom and no fruit is on the vines; though the produce of the olive fails and the fields yield no food...yet will I rejoice in the Lord; I will exult in the God of my salvation. God, the Lord, is my strength" (3:17-19).

Ps 37:1-18; 2 Timothy 1:6-14; Luke 17:5-10

[Wrath]

Hosea 14:1-9. We will say no more "Our God" to the work of our hands.

The Israelites are in trouble again. They have been depending on their own military might. But now they recognize this work of their hands as a worthless false god.

How like us! We like to believe we have created something worthy to be "worshipped" and admired, and that we have done it by the might of our own wisdom and strength. These works of our hands are false gods, too.

What do you tend to set up as your god? It has a lot to do with the way we define ourselves. What is so important to your self-image that its absence would cause distress? Your job? Family? Appearance? Residence?

It is easy to be proud of our identity as professional, parent or child, volunteer or leader. It is another to know that all these accomplishments are as nothing unless God is at work in and through them. As Psalm 127 reminds us, "Unless the Lord builds the house, their labor is in vain who build it."

Ps 106:1-18; Acts 22:30--23:11; Luke 6:39-49

[Wrath]

Luke 7:1-17. When the Lord saw her, he had compassion for her and said to her, "Do not weep."

Over and over again in the gospels, Jesus sees people in distress and his heart goes out to them in love and compassion. He gives life to the only son of a poor widow. He heals the slave of the Centurion. He heals the daughter of a foreign woman. He touches the heart of the lonely and sinful Samaritan woman, and gives her life and hope.

When we grieve, God grieves. His yearning and love for us is clearly expressed through the life and actions of Jesus, and repeatedly in the Old Testament as well.

When you grieve or worry or hurt, remember that you are not alone. Although we no longer can see and touch Jesus, we have all the assurance of his life and actions, and of the experience of countless numbers of others: God's Holy Spirit is there, holding us and grieving with us. Sometimes the Spirit ministers to us through others, sometimes strengthens us in the quiet of our room. But God is there, waiting for us to recognize him.

Lord, I am not worthy to have you come under my roof; But only speak the word, and I shall be healed.

Ps 120--123; Micah 1:1-9; Acts 23:12-24

[Wrath]

Luke 7:18-35. The Pharisees and the lawyers rejected God's purpose for themselves.

Living in first century Palestine, many of us might have been Pharisees. They were the deeply religious Jews, who wanted very much to please God in all things. So, they set up laws and rules and regulations to make sure that they did nothing which might displease God.

But, of course, these laws of purity quickly became exclusive; not everyone could afford the time or money or radical life change which would assure purity. And the law became a "god" unto itself.

It is easy, very easy, to substitute actions and rules for God's love; it is easy to substitute our purposes for God's purpose. It is hard to allow ourselves to discern God's purpose for us, and to accept circumstances we would not choose for ourselves.

But the common people and the tax collectors accepted Jesus because he broke the rules, and ate and drank with them, and healed them. They were able to say, "We have failed." The Pharisees were not. We begin to discern God's purpose for us when we acknowledge our failure.


Ps 119:145-176; Micah 2:1-13; Acts 23:23-35

[Seawolf]

Psalm 131. But I still my soul and make it quiet, like a child upon its mother's breast.

Dame Julian of Norwich, born in 1373, was 30 years old when she became very ill, and was expected to die. But as the medical crisis passed she had a series of fifteen visions, revealing to her the Divine love of God. One aspect of her revelation was of God's nurturing:

As a mother gives us birth to this life, so Christ gives us birth to joy and endless life;

As a mother suckles a child for a few short years, so Christ feeds us always with Himself in the Blessed Sacrament;

As a mother allows us to fall and suffer distress and learn from it, so Christ allows us to fall and suffer distress and learn from it;

As a mother wants us to run to her for comfort when we scrape a knee, so Christ wants us to turn to him when we sin and go astray...to run and cast ourselves into his arms and cry, "Lord, have mercy."

So I still my soul and make it quiet, like a child upon its mother's breast.

Ps 132; Micah 3:1-8; Acts 24:1-23; Luke 7:36-50

[Seawolf]

Luke 8:1-15. Mary, called Magdalene, from whom seven demons had gone out.

After the birth of her first child, the young woman entered a nightmare time of depression, gradually recalling her own childhood of abuse. Intense therapy followed, and she came to know that each time the abuse had become unbearable, she had frozen herself and begun over, creating multiple personalities which she had left behind. Her therapist, recognizing dissociative identity disorder, helped her reclaim those parts of herself, and begin a growth into wholeness.

As she healed she told me that she remembered her childish prayers to God for help and safety. For years she thought God had not heard her cry. But now she realizes that God helped her escape, enabled her to freeze and forget and survive, and gave her an opportunity to heal as an adult. And now God has given her the life of her own young daughter to nurture and protect.

Our hindsight view of God's love and response to prayer can be a shock. I would have written this scene so differently...but God's wisdom and love are beyond our comprehension.

Ps 140, 142; Micah 3:9--4:5; Acts 24:24--25:12

[Wrath]

2 Timothy 2:3-15. Warn them before God that they are to avoid wrangling over words, which does no good but only ruins those who are listening.

St. Paul was a craftsman with words. He is surely responsible for articulating a great deal of the early theology of the church. And yet here he is in prison, approaching the end of his life, saying that wrangling over words ruins the hearers.

What does he mean, ruin? Perhaps this: the arguing about words makes us lose sight of The Word himself, the Word made flesh. I have often thought that if it weren't for human words and definitions, Christians and others could live in harmony and worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness.

Words, distinct from The Word: is it bread and wine or flesh and blood? Have you been baptized in the name of the Trinity or in the name of the denomination you join? Are you saved in the eyes of God or in the eyes (and definition) of fellow
human beings?

The Word has dwelt among us full of grace and truth. It is our words, seeking to define and limit the Word, which often cause division and ruin.


Ps 113; Ruth 1:1-19a; Luke 17:11-19

[Seawolf]

Psalm 1. Happy are they who have not&lingered in the way of sinners.

Scripture does not speak of sin lightly, as we might: "That cheesecake is sinfully delicious."

Sin is far more destructive to the root of our being than cheesecake. According to the Catechism in The Book of Common Prayer (p. 848), sin is "the seeking of our own will instead of the will of God, thus distorting our relationship with God, with other people, and with all creation."

All of us struggle against the seeking of our own will. But to linger in the way of sinners is to repeatedly and regularly seek our own way so consistently that we risk becoming hardened to our sin and, therefore, rationalizing and trivializing it.

Don't linger! We all sin, but do not trivialize your sin by preoccupation with all the little faults and failures of human nature. Our real sin is distorting our relationship with God, with others and with all creation. If we focus on the development of these three things, our selfish actions will be changed by God's grace.

Ps 2, 3; Micah 7:1-7; Acts 26:1-23; Luke 8:26-39

[Seawolf]

Jonah 1:1-17a. But Jonah set out to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord.

Probably everyone, even the saints of God, had a time of running away from God. St. Augustine, St. Paul, St. Francis--all spent part of their lives
resisting God and following their own desires. And so did I. Didn't you?

I remember my own experience of resistance, a time of following my own selfish agenda, sure I could get it right. My plans ended in much grief. Finally one Saturday, confused and hurting, I stopped by my parish church. The door was open, and the church was empty, waiting for me. I knelt for a long time and wept, and acknowledged in words and prayers to God that I had failed in my own attempts to control my life. I begged God to show me the way that I should walk. Comforted and at peace, I left the church and slowly began to learn of the joy of obedience.

Jonah is a fine example of how we try to flee from God, and the ways God makes known to us the right way, if we stop and ask. The storm which engulfs Jonah engulfs us all; it is the storm of the struggle between selfishness and obedience.

Ps 5, 6; Acts 26:24--27:8; Luke 8:40-56

[Seawolf]

Jonah 1:17--2:10. But the Lord provided a large fish to swallow up Jonah.

How absolutely like God to save Jonah from drowning by having a fish swallow him up!

On one level it seems like out of the frying pan into the fire. And indeed, when we allow God to lead us, we sometimes seem to be walking right into the fire.

But consider how three days in a fish belly might translate into real life.

A time of turmoil and darkness, which leads to new understanding and clarity?

A time of wrestling with our own fears, so that we can move from paralysis to action?

A time of recognizing that what God wants us to do is a challenge instead of a terror?

For Jonah, perhaps all of these things. And so he is set forth on dry land, to do what God calls him to do.

Ps 119:1-24; Acts 27:9-26; Luke 9:1-17

[Seawolf]

Jonah 3:1--4:11. And the Lord said, "Is it right for you to be angry?"

At our Junior High church camp one summer, a young boy acted the part of Jonah on our impromptu stage. Wearing the old bathrobe characteristic of church costuming freed him to act as he felt. Picking up a chair which served as a vine shelter, he hurled it across the stage, crying out in anguish, "I do well to be angry!"

And he was right. His sister had been murdered in that last year, and yes, he had every right to be angry, and hurt, and confused.

In our culture such raw emotion is often unacceptable. But anger can be a healing emotion. And admitting we are angry with God is at least a sign that we take God seriously.

God helped Jonah see that his frustration was selfish and misplaced. Why shouldn't we share our anger as well as our joys and longings with the God who created us? Where else can anger be healed and transformed?


Ps 18:1-20; Acts 27:27-44; Luke 9:18-27

[Seawolf]

*Ecclesiasticus 1:1-10, 18-27. Unjust anger cannot be justified, for anger tips the scale to one's ruin.

All my life I have struggled with my temper. It lies like a snake, coiled in a basket, deep in the heart of me, waiting to uncoil and strike--and the victim is me.

Once in my twenties I was in a heated discussion, and I didn't want to lose my temper, so I took my fist and hit the doorjamb in a gesture meant to be elegantly emphatic. But all my anger was focused in that fist, instead of in my voice and words. I hit hard, at an angle, and tore the cartilage in my wrist. Cartilage doesn't heal well, and even today when I overwork that wrist on cold days or at repetitive tasks, my shoulder aches, a vivid reminder not to lose my temper.

I have learned through the years to temper my anger, by recognizing and expressing it in more appropriate and positive ways. I do not always
succeed, but I am no longer eaten up by anger which causes me to lash out and try to hurt the other.

Patience has become a balance to anger, and keeps me open to God's enormous patience, so that the scale, with God's help, will not tip to my ruin.

Ps 16, 17; Acts 28:1-16; Luke 9:28-36

[Wrath]

Acts 28:17-31. [Paul] lived there two whole years at his own expense, welcoming all who came to him, proclaiming the kingdom of God and teaching about the Lord Jesus Christ.

Now here is a picture of a man who blooms where he is planted. Brought in chains to Rome, Paul speaks with the Jews of the city, and proclaims the good news of Jesus Christ. When some believe and others argue, Paul begins to teach the Gentiles, and spreads the good news in Rome, even though he is in prison and can only receive those who seek him out.

Paul becomes an agent of Christ under the worst of circumstances: in prison and in a foreign country, paying his own way and awaiting trial.

If God can use him in such adverse conditions, surely he can use us, no matter where we are. Speak boldly of your faith life, and do not be afraid to let others know that you believe. Just knowing that you have a firm foundation may give them the strength to recognize the power of Jesus Christ and seek him out.


Ps 20, 21; *Ecclesiasticus 3:17-31; Luke 9:37-50

[Seawolf]

Genesis 32:3-8, 22-30. Jacob said, "I will not let you go unless you bless me."

All night Jacob has wrestled with "a man." Who or what is this mysterious figure? His fear and guilt? An angel of the Lord? The spirit of Esau? All of the above? The battle is a draw, but the opponent blesses Jacob with a physical wound and a new name. It is a rebirth, a cleansing, a new beginning for Jacob, whose life has not been altogether pure and holy!

How often it is the struggle, the physical setback, the death and rebirth that changes and forms us. If we hold on to the struggle, we also receive a blessing. If we struggle with God, or with our fear, with our past sins or our future uncertainties, if we say, "I will not let you go until you bless me," then we, too, may see God face to face as new insights and blessings result from our tenacity.

Jacob did not turn back and flee from the brother he had cheated. Instead he wrestled with God and prevailed. In the facing of our fears lies blessing and peace.

Ps 121; 2 Timothy 3:14--4:5; Luke 18:1-8a

[Seawolf]

*Ecclesiasticus 4:20. Do not be ashamed to be yourself.

If only this were as easy as it sounds. At a very early age I realized that I had to accept who and what I was, warts and all. Some things can be polished and changed, but others cannot.

When I was ordained a priest I realized I had to accept who I was. I could not be my father, and I could not be the priests who had helped to guide, shape, and form me through the years. I could only be myself.

When I became rector of a parish I had to accept who I was. I could not become the paragon of virtue each member wanted me to be. I was who I was, with God's help, no more, no less.

When I was married I realized that I had to accept who I was. How wonderful that my husband loves me as I am, and I can be myself.

Daily I still have to accept that I am who I am, and that by the Grace of God alone, I can be myself and still be used by God for his purposes.

Ps 147; *Ecclus 38:1-4, 6-10, 12-14; 2 Tim 4:5-13; Luke 4:14-21

[Seawolf]

*Ecclesiasticus 6:5-17. When you gain friends, gain them through testing, and do not trust them hastily.

My first day at a new school, seventh grade, the age of awkwardness. At lunchtime, after a morning among strangers in a strange land, I sat down alone to eat my lunch. But one girl got up from her table of friends, and invited me to her table. I was a stranger and she took me in. After 50 years, this junior high angel is still my best friend. Her generosity was genuine and has stood the test of time.

The older I get, the more I realize that there is a wide range to friendship. As Ben Sirach* reminds us, one may be a friend when it is convenient so to be, but not in a day of trouble; another may change into an enemy; yet another might be a table companion, but will desert you when you are in trouble. But a faithful friend is a "sturdy shelter: whoever finds one has found a treasure."

Ben Sirach says, "Whoever fears the Lord directs his friendship aright, for as he is, so is his neighbor also." Like attracts like. Whom do you attract? What friends surround you? It makes a difference.


*The writer of Ecclesiasticus, or as in some editions The Wisdom of Jesus Son of Sirach.

Ps 26, 28; Revelation 7:9-17; Luke 10:1-16

[Seawolf]

*Ecclesiasticus 7:4-14. Refuse to utter any lie, for it is a habit that results in no good.

For about two years in my early 20s I lied a lot. Because I was hiding one shameful aspect of my life from others, I had to build a web of lies around myself. It became (of course!) increasingly hard to balance the lies and keep track of them. And eventually the truth came out anyway, with hurt on all sides.

I learned from that experience that truth, however painful, is far kinder than lies. I have worked hard since then to tell only the truth or to say nothing at all. And do you know, when I tell the truth now, I still feel a bubbling up of joy that this is true; and I can say it? That's how damaging the habit of lying or the need to lie can be. It marked me for life.

It is not for nothing that Jesus says, "I am the Way, and the Truth, and the Life."

Ps 38; Revelation 8:1-13; Luke 10:17-2

[Seawolf]

Luke 10:25-37. But wanting to justify himself, [the young man] asked Jesus, "And who is my neighbor?"

This reaction of the lawyer triggers a wonderful parable of the Good Samaritan who was a neighbor to a stranger. But what intrigues me is the lawyer's desire to justify himself. The way to eternal life is clear and he understands it; Jesus commends him and says, "Do this and you will live." But he hesitates--and justifies.

It is quite clear that loving God with all one's being and loving one's neighbor as oneself brings life, the kind of life which energizes and brings joy to all we do. It is equally clear that we try to justify ourselves by analyzing words and motivation: who is my neighbor?

It requires a lot of our self-centered instincts to turn and focus on God, and to allow ourselves to be a channel of God's love, open to God's Holy Spirit flowing through us to whatever neighbor we encounter. But if we stop up the channel, justifying, rationalizing, holding back on either the God-side or the neighbor-side, doesn't that mean that we begin to die a little? I think that is what Jesus is telling us. "Do this and you will live."

Ps 37:1-18; *Ecclesiasticus 10:1-18; Revelation 9:1-12

[Seawolf]

Luke 10:38-42. Mary has chosen the better part, which will not be taken away from her.

Mary sat at the Lord's feet and listened to his teaching, while Martha was distracted with many things. Mary let other things go, in order to be a disciple, because that is what "sitting at his feet" means.

Do you consider yourself a disciple? It might be much easier, we think, if we could really sit at Jesus' feet and learn from him in person. What might be the modern equivalent of that? We can still sit at his feet, in quiet, in contemplation, open to learning and listening. But it is hard. It requires willingness, time and concentration. Sometimes it seems like time wasted, pointless for us to sit in quiet. We are so geared to action and accomplishment, which is the Martha side of us.

But as a disciple, have you considered "tithing" your prayer time, at least a tenth to silence, sitting at the feet of Jesus? Have you thought of offering it as a sacrifice and gift to God for his use? This is the Mary side, the portion which shall not be taken away. Ignatius of Loyola called contemplation "finding God in all things." Finding God in the silence is part of that process.

Ps 31; *Ecclesiasticus 11:2-20; Revelation 9:13-21

[Wrath]

Psalm 32. Happy are they whose transgressions are forgiven, and whose sin is put away.

This verse synthesizes the gospel message: those who realize that they have sinned and been forgiven are blessed indeed. The woman who weeps over the feet of Jesus and wipes and anoints them with precious oil does so because she has heard the message of Jesus and has been overwhelmed by God's forgiveness. The prodigal son knows that he has sinned and is overwhelmed by the love and
forgiveness of his father, unlike his brother who doesn't see his own sin, and is jealous. Zaccheus, the tax collector is overwhelmed by God's loving acceptance through Jesus, and his joy is expressed in giving half his possessions to the poor, and more.

Knowing, really knowing and accepting that God forgives the very darkest and most despicable sins, is mind-altering. It enables us to let go of the heavy weight of guilt and sin, and motivates us to act with the generosity of Zaccheus. It is resurrected life.


Ps 1; Act 15:12-22a; 1 Cor 15:1-11; Mt 13:54-58

[Wrath]

2 Timothy 4:6-8, 16-18. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.

At one point in my life I was called to be part of a very difficult process, a process of discernment for consideration for an important position in the church. The discernment began with me; everything in the process of my life and my understanding of my gifts led me to accept the invitation to be
considered.

But it was painful and challenging to me and to my family. I knew that I was called to be part of the process, but what about the outcome? I was afraid.

My spiritual director, a wise laywoman, prayed with me that if this is what God wanted for me that I might also want it with all my heart. And further, that I might give my all to the process, so that when it was over, no matter the outcome, the Lord might say to me, "Servant, well done."

I was not chosen for the post, but that prayer has become my guideline for the far more important race to which Paul refers, so that I may share his words at the end of my life.


Ps 84; Jeremiah 14:1-10, 19-22; Luke 18:9-14

[Wrath]

*Ecclesiasticus 19:4-17. Never repeat a conversation, and you will lose nothing at all... Have you heard something? Let it die with you. Be brave, it will not make you burst! Do not believe everything you hear.

Oh, the wisdom of Ben Sirach! How much harm has been done by the repeating of conversations! In parishes, offices, schools, hospitals, Bible study groups...wherever "words" are passed on lightly, there beginneth trouble.

It is a privilege to be told something personal by a friend. To pass it on can often be an abuse of that privilege, and it can hurt you and the friend.

Much of our "gossip" is passed on because we want others to like us and see us as interesting and valuable friends. But have you ever noticed that the ones who rarely speak in a group setting are the ones we think are wise, and respect the most? When they make a move to speak, everyone stops and listens. We know that what this person says will be a distillation of well considered thought, not a scattering of simple ideas or secondhand words.

"Who has never sinned with his tongue?" asks Ben Sirach. We all have, of course. But sometimes the lesson learned is that silence is far better than gossip and easy talk.

Ps 41, 52; Revelation 11:1-14; Luke 11:14-26

[Wrath]

Luke 11:27-36. A woman said to him, "Blessed is the womb that bore you..." [But Jesus] said, "Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey it."

Once again Jesus affirms spirit, not status. It is not your public position which brings you blessing; the mother of Jesus is not revered because she was an earthly vessel for the birth of Christ, but because she heard the call, and said "yes," and endured the consequences of shame as a result of serving God. Her status comes because of her willing and obedient spirit, which allows her to be the vessel of the birth of Christ.

Worldly status may bring us money, fame, and recognition; but if that is our only source of blessing, we are impoverished. Blessing from God's hand comes to us when we hear what God has to say to us, and respond as Mary did: "Here I am, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word."

What seemed to be rejection by her espoused husband, shame among her people, the grief of watching her son put to death--led to resurrection and new life for Mary. God's viewpoint is very different from ours. Blessed are those who hear the word of God and obey it.

Ps 45; *Ecclesiasticus 24:1-12; Revelation 11:14-19

[Seawolf]

*Ecclesiasticus 28:14-26. The blow of a whip raises a welt, but a blow of the tongue crushes the bones.

Slander, gossip, hateful words; yes, I remember the childhood rhyme, "Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me." But I also remember clearly the words of rejection and misunderstanding and deliberate cruelty that surfaced in my childhood. They hurt my heart, but I suppose they helped temper my spirit.

But Ben Sirach is talking about slander: false rumors, gossip, hurtful words which may not be true, and which cast aspersions on another. Such slander begins with one person passing on a story to another. By repeating it, we add another link to the chain and participate in the evil thereof. Therefore, says Ben Sirach, "Make a door and a bolt for your mouth. Take care not to err with your tongue, and fall victim to one lying in wait."

Ps 119:49-72; Revelation 12:1-6; Luke 11:37-52

[Seawolf]

Revelation 12:7-17. But woe to the earth and the sea, for the devil has come down to you with great wrath, because he knows that his time is short!

My father used to tell this story; I'm not sure of the source, but I remember the story well.

A man stood engrossed in an art gallery, contemplating a large painting. In it Faust and the Devil are seated before a chessboard, deep into the game. The face of the Devil leers, triumphant and evil...the face of one who knows he has triumphed. Faust pictures despair and hopelessness in every line of his body and his face. Clearly he recognizes that he has gambled and lost.

Suddenly the man beholding the picture stands straight and cries aloud, "It's a lie! It's a lie! The King and the Knight have another move!"

It is true that our adversary the Devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour (1 Peter 5:8-9a), but his time is short; our God and our Lord have another move.

Ps 119:89-96; Deut 32:1-4; Eph 2:13-22; John 15:17-27

[Seawolf]

Luke 12:13-31. So it is with those who store up treasure for themselves but are not rich toward God.

Let's face it, we are dependent on creature comforts. I even take my pillow with me on retreat! My clothes closet runneth over, and I am surrounded by possessions. How do we keep from being possessed by our possessions?

I think the answer lies in the phrase Jesus uses in this parable: are we rich toward God? In other words (mine!), do we revel in the gathering of possessions and in pride of ownership? Or, do we see all these material comforts as the gifts from God which they are, gifts which enable us to live in such a way that we can devote time to God and share our bounty with others? Do we make an effort to live in the way God calls for through Isaiah (58:7) "...to share your bread with the hungry and bring the homeless poor into your house..." When we do the will of God we are rich indeed, in a totally different way from the standard of the world and the standard of selfishness. When we act in this way we are using our possessions to help ourselves and others; we are on our way to understanding what it means to be "rich toward God."

Ps 40, 54; *Ecclesiasticus 34:1-8, 18-22; Revelation 13:1-10

[Wrath]

*Ecclesiasticus 35:1-17. With every gift show a cheerful face, and dedicate your tithe with gladness. Give to the Most High as he has given to you, and as generously as you can afford.

The question of giving: how much, tithe on gross or take-home pay, all to the church or several places? But the hardest part may be learning to give whatever you give with a generous heart and cheerful face.

When I was first setting out in the work world, my father taught me a way to give cheerfully, without pain, and with joy! From every paycheck I deducted my 10% tithe, and wrote it in a separate checkbook log. From that book (which was now God's money, of which I was the steward), he encouraged me to give as I felt moved to give: to the church, the Christian Children's Fund, National Public Radio, CARE, or the charitable appeal which spoke to my heart. That money, quickly removed from sight and temptation, became God's money, and I learned the joy of giving, because my heart was free to give with thanksgiving for all that is given to me by God.

The Minister of the Congregation is directed to instruct the people...about the duty...of all persons to make wills, while they are in health, arranging for the disposal of their temporal goods, not neglecting, if they are able, to leave bequests for religious and charitable uses. --BCP, p. 445

Please remember Forward Movement in your will.

Ps 55; Revelation 13:11-18; Luke 12:32-48

[Seawolf]

2 Thessalonians 1:1-12. To this end we always pray for you, asking that our God will make you worthy of his call and will fulfill by his power every good resolve and work of faith.

All Hallow's Eve--secularized as Halloween. How interesting that ghosts and supernatural beings should be the theme of this celebration.

Consider the ghosts/saints of your life, those strong spirits who have served as mentors in your own life and spiritual journey. Mine include surprising candidates: a nurse, who showed gentle affection to me; a teenager, hospitalized for six weeks; my high school history teacher, who taught me to think outside the boxes, and to organize my thinking; a friend who has just celebrated her 100th birthday, who has taught me much about the cheerful endurance of physical pain, and the patient expectation of death as a gateway to larger life.

All these persons and other "saints" have been human and flawed, teaching me about living in a world filled with problems and the holy. In them I saw God's power working to fulfill their good resolves and works of faith. And I strive to follow their examples, urged on by Paul's exhortation and their wisdom.

Ps 32; Isaiah 1:10-20; Luke 19:1-10

[Wrath]

Matthew 5:1-12. Blessed are you, when you suffer insults and persecutions and calumnies of every kind...Exalt and be glad, for you have a rich reward.

Our capacity for joy is created, no doubt, by the inevitable painful experience of human existence. Jesus shows what gifts can come through what is seen as negative. Look at the saints which we have known personally, who have transformed our lives by their loving example. Look also at the stories of the saints of history. It is not just their suffering, but their attitude toward suffering which makes the vital difference.

The channel through which God's love comes to us through the saints has been carved most probably by suffering. The athlete training for the Olympics knows that the cost of a gold medal is a pathway of self-denial and suffering. The suffering, rather than being avoided, is embraced and dedicated towards the goal. Perhaps a difference is that the athlete chooses his or her path; the saint uses the suffering he or she has been given by accepting it and offering it as a gift to be used by God for the good of others. What the spin-doctors say we should avoid is transformed into a means of grace.

Ps 149; Rev 7:2-4, 9-17; *Ecclus 44:1-10, 13-14 *From the Apocrypha

[Wrath]

Luke 13:1-9. Do you think these Galileans were worse sinners because they suffered much?

Jesus is asked about sin and suffering. He responds that rather than think about whether or not other people do or do not deserve what happens to them, each of us should remember how short our own lives are and take time to reflect and to repent.

Part of my professional life is working as a group therapist. One of our rules of thumb is that when group members discuss something outside the group, they usually are talking about an important issue inside the group, and vice versa. This is done because we all like to choose easier options. When this happens, the therapist zeroes in on what is not being discussed as where the important message lies. Similarly, when a client comes in for the first time and blames someone else, one can largely assume this is a self-portrait painted on another, and that is the agenda which will need to be addressed. When the victim realizes they are the culprit, therapy is over.

Jesus in his wisdom reflects this in today's reading. He asks them to stop their speculation and reflect on themselves, while there is still time to repent.

Ps 61, 62; *Ecclus 43:1-22; Rev 14:14--15:8

[Wrath]

Luke 13:10-17. Woman you are freed from your infirmity.

Healing has many facets. Sometimes there is a cure, sometimes not. Sometimes the infirmity remains, but one is freed from being tyrannised by it and we can experience a new freedom even within the limits of our infirmity. This freedom comes about because the disease has gone on the back burner leaving life itself on the front one. This is why some people who bear difficult diseases seem whole and loving. Others, the "worried well," get so tyrannised by what might happen they are quite ill and bound by something which will probably never happen.

There is also spiritual illness. This is where the technical religious rules are put on the front burner and obscure the very loving they are there to promote. Those who focus on the rules have been called SRMs (self-righteous moralists). They have their mouths set in a disapproving straight line and continually remind us of "the rules." They would rather be right than liked. John Wayne, in the film True Grit, confronts just such a person by saying: "You are so concerned with what's right that you sometimes entirely forget what's good."

In the gospel for today, a woman gets healed by being freed from her infirmity. In the background are the disapproving SRMs who arent even aware they are spiritually ill.

Ps 72; *Ecclus 43:23-33; Revelation 16:1-11

[Wrath]

*Ecclesiasticus 44:1-15. And there are some with no memorial.

Victor Frankl told the story of an elderly woman who was formerly a cleaning woman. She was dying alone in a hospital bed. She said she was "useless" because she could no longer clean floors. She was asked to tell her story. She and her husband had raised four children; one was a doctor, one was a teacher, and two were in business. They were all killed during the war, now she felt useless. She was asked to think of one of her children. The doctor, for instance: "How many people would he see in one afternoon?" "Ten," she replied. "And if he on one afternoon saved two lives, where would the influence of that be today?" She said, "They would have been with their families for longer, and they would have contributed to the good of others." He asked her to multiply that by all that her whole family had done, "Where could the influence be now?" She thought, then said: "All over the world, being acted out in many people's lives who never even knew me." The doctor said: "All that was made possible by you scrubbing floors." She smiled and realized her immense value which would not stop with her death. She was not useless, she was very important. The goodness which came through her life would never be lost.

Ps 70, 71; Rev 16:12-21; Luke 13:18-30

[Wrath]

Luke 13:31-35. How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you would not?

There is a brilliant television advertisement on British television which shows an incident happening on the street in slow motion. They replay the incident three times from three different perspectives. It shows a rough looking man with long, unkempt hair and a leather jacket with studs running down the street. He pushes a gentle looking businessman carrying a briefcase roughly against the wall. As a viewer, I was outraged at the portrayal of violence. The scene is then shown again from the victim's point of view. From his perspective, the victim feels fear of the oncoming man, surprise, then shock at the assault. Finally, from the third perspective above, the viewer sees a stone come loose from a building and falling towards the sidewalk. The rough looking man is now seen as risking his life to push the businessman out of harm's way to safety.

Jesus was involved in pushing us out of harm's way from spiritual death. Then, as now, we react sometimes with anger at the stern words which we hear. We sometimes respond with dismay or even rage. But Jesus tells us behind the stern words is someone who loves us and wishes to gather us under his wings for protection. What might we need to do to see the whole picture?

Ps 69:1-38; *Ecclus 50:1, 11-24; Rev 17:1-18

[Wrath]

Luke 14:1-11. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.

Who of us has never had a fantasy of arriving at our dream? For each the arrival point is different. For some, being a millionaire or winning the lottery; for others, being famous or being the leader in their field. For some it may be to be a saint, or knowing God. If we live in this ideal world we come down with a thump to everyday reality. That is painful; food for our souls, perhaps, but hard on our egos. Ouch!

Jesus says in today's reading, "Reverse the direction." Start low and go up. There is a lot less thump. How might this work?

One man always dreamed of being a millionaire. His feelings were that once he was a millionaire he could give himself some luxuries that he could not at present afford. Looking at his bank balance he was no millionaire. "How can I be a millionaire in something small?" He thought: "If I were a millionaire I might treat myself to a fresh razor blade every day." So that is what he did. No matter what happened daily he gave himself a fresh razor blade, so he was already a "razor blade millionaire." He could only go up from there.

So what is your fantasy of when you would arrive? Is it material or spiritual?

Ps 75, 76; *Ecclus 51:1-12; Rev 18:1-14

[Wrath]

Luke 20:27(28-33)34-38. Therefore whose wife will the woman be?

In the psychiatric hospital where I work, two patients wished to get married. What was the ethical and loving thing to do? By law they are entitled, but both had recently been engaged to other people. If the marriage didn't last, the hospital would have to pay for the divorce. The answer was in the wedding service. There are two sets of vows: "Will you take this man/woman" (will means "at a time in the future") is a betrothal. The second vows are the wedding. In the Middle Ages they were separate services. The betrothal service was at the church door, the wedding service inside at the altar. Jesus was born in Bethlehem when Joseph and Mary were betrothed (first vows). I got the Bishop's permission to do only the betrothal vows in church, followed by a reception. They would be provisionally married, but not needing a divorce should
they part. I reflect that perhaps having betrothal re-introduced in church as a separate service would allow a couple to live prayerfully and reflect the vows they are making before they make them life-long.


Ps 17; Job 19:23-27a; 2 Thess 2:13--3:5

[Wrath]

Luke 14:12-24. Do not invite your friends...or rich neighbors, lest they invite you in return, and you be repaid.

For several months I invited a mendicant Buddhist monk into my home to live for a while. His saffron robes made quite an impact on our small English village. It was a very broadening experience. As he lived only by what others gave him, and as he could only eat what he was going to eat that day by noon, I had to rush back from work to cook a meal and place it in his bowl. Everything went into the bowl: salad, steak, and generally, a Mars Bar perched on top. According to his tradition he could not thank me for what I gave him "because that would be the end of my reward." If he didn't thank me my reward would be the greater because it came from a higher service. This is exactly what Jesus says in today's gospel reading.

It was true, I feel I did receive a greater blessing, as did our village. The added blessing was that my Buddhist friend helped me to see something more clearly what Jesus meant. He seems to be saying that we can limit what we get in life by going for the consolation prize rather than the fuller life that God has on offer. In Matthew 6:2 Jesus says the hypocrites who fast in public have their reward in full, namely, to be noticed. God's reward means do all things in secret so that it collects heavenly interest.

Ps 80; Joel 1:1-13; Revelation 18:15-24

[Wrath]

Luke 14:25-35. For which of you, desiring to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost?

There are a lot of posters put up around this time of year in Britain saying: "A pet is not just for Christmas." It is to discourage people from giving pets to people who are not expecting them. This is right. Before we enter into any kind of caring relationship we need to know whether we can pay the cost, not only in terms of money, but in terms of time and energy to see through that responsibility. It is not a commitment a friend can make for us without our agreement.

What of the cost of following our Lord? Often in the church we encourage people to follow our Lord; how often do we show them the fine print? Jesus says that we may even have to put our family last when it comes to following him. We might be called upon to risk or give up our lives. This is because the principal cost is to lose ourselves in the caring for others.

Looking back over your life and the commitment of faith you have made, what has it cost you? Where has your journey led you?

If you could, what would you have told yourself then about what your choice really meant in terms of the sacrifices and joys of your family?

Ps 78:1-39; Joel 1:15--2:2(3-11); Rev 19:1-10

[Seawolf]

Luke 15:1-10. There is joy before the angels of God over one sinner who repents.

One official of a railway, who had been the recipient of many lawsuits by farmers who had lost cows that had been hit by trains, remarked that for
insurance purposes, it always seemed that it was the prize cow that had been hit. Everyone seems to go for the maximum recompense available. He remarked ruefully that, "One sure way of increasing the value of livestock was to cross it with a locomotive."

Maybe this is human reaction. When we lose something, it not only gains in importance, but it becomes the only thing we can think of. Jesus summed this up beautifully in the parables read today: the woman who lost a coin and a shepherd who lost a sheep. When we lose something we move heaven and earth to find it. We can think of nothing else. The parables were told because Jesus was being judged for eating and consorting with sinners. He says, in so many words, that heaven can think of nothing else than those people who were outsiders. He was sent to bring them home. Society may judge us by the company we keep. Heaven will judge us by the souls we avoid.

To let you in on a secret, it's often my disreputable friends whom I find most delightful to be around; they are closer to the unvarnished truths of existence. Maybe it is a two-way street.

Ps 119:97-120;Joel 2:12-19; Rev 19:11-21

[Wrath]

Luke 15:1-2, 11-32. Lo these many years I have served you, and I never disobeyed your commands.

Resentment. How universal the feeling is. I find it the feeling most often getting in the way. It gets in the way because the one who is resentful is in most cases partially correct. The son who stayed home was faithful, he did help his father. Why all this fuss about an unstable son just because he decided to come home? Every church has its faithful few who keep things going without reward. Jesus tells us that there are no long-service rewards in Heaven. The last person who repents is as welcome as those who have served over the years. That is because divine love embraces, rather than keeping scores.

If we think about it, the poignancy of this story is that in terms of his mother, Jesus has been both the son who stayed home and the son who left. As Joseph is not mentioned after the birth narrative we may assume that he must have died. Jesus quite likely worked in the carpentry shop to support his mother. Then he was called by God to leave home; who was going to care for his mother? It must have caused him a lot of soul searching and guilt. Where did his true responsibility lie; to stay at home and be reliable, or to follow God's call and leave his family behind? I for one am grateful he made the choice he did, costly as it was for him.

Ps 83 or 23, 27; Joel 2:21-27; James 1:1-15

[Wrath]

Luke 16:1-9. The master commended the dishonest steward for his shrewdness.

A reluctant maiden was put to a game of chance. Two stones were to be placed in a hat. Draw out the white one and she was free of her unwelcome suitor. Draw the black and she must marry him. In dismay, she saw him slip the stones--both black--into the hat. She thought for a moment, then reached in and drew out one of the stones. But before she looked at it, she dropped it on the ground. She apologized for her clumsiness, but said that it did not matter because everyone would be able to deduce the color of the stone she drew out by the color of the stone remaining in the hat!

Today's gospel reading is perplexing on the surface because it seems that Jesus is condoning embezzlement. The dishonest steward is reducing the amount on the bills the creditors owe his master just before he is due to be fired. He then will have many satisfied customers who will be likely to offer him a job.

What Jesus is really saying is that to be a follower of his and strive for goodness, we must not think that means to put our natural shrewdness on hold. Wise advice.


Ps 88; Joel 2:28--3:8; James 1:16-27

[Wrath]

James 2:1-13. Has not God chosen those who are poor in the world to be rich in faith?

Theological students were put on the streets of London for two days and a night with 50 pence. They were told where they might buy a place to sleep for the night for 50 pence. They could either have a place to sleep or some food, but not both. The experience had a great impact on the students. They were aware of themselves both spiritually and emotionally. One student told how he stole milk from a doorstep, furious because those in the house had food and a place to sleep for the night, unlike himself.

The children of Israel wandered in the desert until they became aware of their need for God. Our poverty may come to us in different ways. Even though some are rich in money, they may be poor in health. Others may find their poverty because
they have lost someone close to them. Others carry with them some handicap. Some may be poor in liberty because they are in prison. Spirituality is an attitude. The question is whether loss primarily causes bitterness or compassion, cynicism or faith. It's how we choose to see our poorness; as an irate victim or as one who now knows the continuing providence of God--maybe we all have a bit of both.

Ps 87, 90; Joel 3:9-17; Luke 16:10-17(18)

[Wrath]

Luke 21:5-19. By your endurance you will gain your lives.

At the ending of some films there is something called a "freeze-frame." In it the moving action is stopped and frozen. Time stands still. Butch Cassidy and Elvira Madigan are two such films. When tragedy strikes, or the fear of a tragedy, it is a human reaction to "freeze-frame" the event. Time stands still, it is the end. The reality is that time does not stand still, it goes on, even though we may be so much in shock that it seems to stand still for us.

What Jesus is doing in today's Gospel is to prepare his followers for the catastrophes which will follow his crucifixion and resurrection. He says that, the tragedy will be so great, it will seem like the end. It's not the end, but more like birth pangs for what is to about to begin. During such times it is important to realize that God is still in charge, and to notice in our grief and shock how the new shoots of continuing life are coming forth. Something old and familiar is lost, something new is being born. Jesus says: "By your endurance, you will gain your (new) lives."

Ps 98; Mal 3:13--4:2a, 5-6; 2 Thess 3:6-13

[Seawolf]

Luke 16:19-31. If they do not hear Moses and the prophets, neither will they be convinced if someone should rise from the dead.

One of my favorite cartoons is of a haughty lady at a formal function, standing next to the fire place dressed in a dress which has a long train. Without her knowledge the end of her dress has caught fire. Behind her stand two gentlemen, one with a soda water bottle aimed and ready to put out the fire. "Better leave it for a while," says the other, "she'll never believe you."

It is very difficult warning anyone of danger if they do not feel the need first hand. Like the lady in the cartoon, sometimes people must feel the heat before help is accepted. Often, like the two gentlemen, we sometimes have to wait with the instrument of help until they are ready. In today's Gospel the heat happens to be hell fire.

What do we have to wait for? For the first sign of discomfort, uncertainty, puzzlement? With their awareness of discomfort or a question we can help them work back to what is really wrong. Getting that started is like getting the Scotch Tape edge worked free with our fingernails so we can unroll it. That takes a bit of time, especially when the surface feels smooth and unbroken, but once started it can be unrolled.

Ps 89:1-18; Hab 2:1-4, 9-20; Jas 2:14-26

[Seawolf]

Luke 17:1-10. If he turns to you seven times and says, "I repent" you must forgive him.

One of the saddest things about my work is to hear from people who haven't spoken to a particular member of their family for 20 years or so. Sometimes relatives who have gathered in our hospital because a member of their family is dying have to be kept in separate rooms because they have become so argumentative with each other.

Jesus emphasizes the importance of forgiveness. It is important for the person who is doing the forgiving as well as the recipient. If someone who is wronged does not forgive, sometimes they find themselves "collecting injustices," long lists of the wrongs done to them. Like stamp-saving books, when they have collected enough wrongs they feel entitled to "even the score." They feel they are not in the wrong to hurt another because they can list the many ways they have been wronged. This, they feel, allows them to wrong another without the need to repent themselves. It is spiritual death because it deadens the necessity to love certain neighbors. Its results are seen in both sides in Northern Ireland and the Middle East. Forgiveness is the antidote to spiritually fatal scorekeeping.

Ps 97, 99, 100; Hab 3:1-10(11-15)16-18; Jas 3:1-12

[Seawolf]

Luke 17:11-19. He fell on his face at Jesus feet, giving him thanks.

A nice thing happened to me yesterday. In the middle of seeing a long list of patients, one person booked an appointment to come in and say "thank you." He said he thought it might be frustrating for me not to see how difficulties turned out for the better. He said they had for him and thanked me for my help on his journey. I was happy all the rest of the day. What a lovely gift he gave me.

Thinking about it, what is involved in saying thanks? One thing is that we would have to sort through all of the things in our life in our relationships with other people which are not right (there is an enormous stack, isn't there?) to find a nugget of what is good. That is good discipline. Every time we say "thank you" we increase our capacity to be gold nugget spotters. If we say "thank you" a lot, we become expert gold nugget spotters in a world which has more than its fair share of grit.

At the end of today's Gospel the word which Jesus used toward those who returned to give thanks means, "has made you well." It also means, "has saved you." So for the one who gives thanks, he or she is more than healed, but is free as well. The "thank you" attitude liberates us from seeing life as a collection of negatives and problems to be solved.

Ps 101, 109:1-4(5-19)20-30; Malachi 1:1, 6-14;James 3:13--4:12

[Seawolf]

Luke 17:20-37. Let him who is on the housetop with his goods in the house, not come down to take them away.

A friend of mine was telling me what happened when her house flooded recently. She described her panic, and her rush to save what was valuable. Decisions and priorities had to be made quickly.

Jesus says this is like the arrival of the Kingdom of God. There is an urgency to do something which necessitates quick decisions. When Jesus called his disciples several of them left their fishing boats and followed him immediately. There was something in what he was saying which called for an absolute and instant response.

When people share their life stories with me, I am always interested in those immediate and profound changes of direction which have happened because they usually indicate something spiritual operating. One said, "I just walked out of my job; I didn't know what I was going to do, but I knew that wasn't the place for me." In exploring what happened, we discovered it was a symptom of a profound new insight of what was ultimately spiritually important which she had been ignoring for some time.

Ps 105:1-22; Mal 2:1-16; James 4:13--5:6

[Seawolf]

James 5:7-12. Behold, the farmer works for the precious fruit of the earth, being patient over it.

In what season of the year are you? Are you in May, full of youth, vigor, and beauty, perhaps? September, with its plentiful harvest, productive after a lifetime of preparing and study in your field? December, with its time of reflection around the fire, which is an important month where the energy, which has been projected outwards, goes back into the roots and lies apparently dormant? It can be a time when the wisdom of a lifetime has accrued, and even though nothing extraordinary may appear on the outside there is much inner wealth. A time of being rather than doing.

Each season has its advantages and difficulties. The blessing of God is to enjoy and be fully in the season in which we find ourselves; knowing what to expect and getting the most out of the season. We can also accept that it will pass in its good time. The curse is to wish we were in a different season than the one we are in, therefore not living it because we may feel that only in being elsewhere is where it all happens. The child wishing to be grown-up, the adult who yearns and acts childishly. In patience the farmer in us waits, and enjoys the blessings of the "Season of the Present Moment."

Ps 102; Malachi 3:1-12; Luke 18:1-8

[Wrath]

Luke 18:9-14. Jesus told this parable to those who trusted in themselves that they were righteous and despised others.

In The Hound of the Baskervilles, Holmes and Watson chase a villain toward a farmhouse. As the culprit arrives at the house, Holmes says: "Did you hear that, Watson?" "No, I didn't hear a thing, says Watson. "Precisely," says Holmes, "We know our murderer." Because the dog at the house was ferocious and barked at everyone, the fact that the dog was silent and did not bark identified the murderer as the only person the dog would not bark at--his own master.

In the parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector it is the silence of the Pharisee which gives him away as a spiritually stunted person; in particular his silence about his own shortcomings. He lists everything he feels is wrong about the other and compares it with what he feels is best in himself. He is silent about anything which is wrong in himself or in which he has a spiritual struggle. Spirituality is a pearl which is formed around the grit of being discontented with something in ourselves. To discover God we have to know that we are hungry for something which only God can provide.

Ps 107:33-43, 108:1-6(7-13); Mal 3:13--4:6; Jas 5:13-20

[Seawolf]

Luke 23:35-43. If you are the King of the Jews save yourself!

Near the town where I grew up in Ohio, there is an outdoor drama, Tecumseh, which is a presentation of events which happened early in our country's history. Tecumseh, a prophetic figure, conceives a plan to unite disparate Native American tribes into a single fighting unit. The plan is based on a crucial arrangement of timing arranged over several years. It is ruined because Tecumseh's brother throws it all away with a misplaced sense of bravado, by being tempted into a display of force.

Jesus, on the cross, is tempted by the soldiers to do an act of bravado and come down from the cross and wow the crowd. Think of the years of God's preparation which would have been ruined if he had. Had he done so, there would have been no death, therefore no resurrection. Death would have triumphed as being the final force which wins everything, rather than an entrance into God's Eternal Life through the resurrection. Christ's Kingship, which we celebrate today, is not so much based on power, but obedience to a Greater Good.

Ps 46; Jeremiah 23:1-6; Colossians 1:11-20

[Wrath]

Luke 18:15-30. Sell all that you have and give to the poor.

"Shop until you drop," or retail therapy, is a popular way of responding to a case of the blues. Perhaps this reflects a "self Christmas" which is giving myself lots of presents in order to affirm that when the chips are down at least "I love me." The only problem is that it doesn't work very well and the only thing it produces is an emptier bank account and an even emptier feeling inside. Jesus reverses the process. He suggests going on a giving spree--a big one, in fact, everything we have. It will not only cheer us up in the moment, but eternally because it gives us entrance into the Kingdom of God. It works on a beautiful principle. In order to receive the many things which God has to offer, our hearts and our lives have to be empty. There is not room to receive something unless we lay something down, the clutter which is keeping our lives artificially full. Sometimes we can purposely empty our lives as Jesus counsels the Rich Ruler; sometimes through the difficulties we encounter in life or in health our life is emptied for us. Either way, when the richness of God flows into an empty space, it is nourishment indeed.

Seeing the end of our lives and Heaven beyond, Jesus has given a new slogan: "Give until you drop." It's very rewarding.


Ps 106:1-18; Zech 10:1-12; Gal 6:1-10

[Wrath]

1 Corinthians 3:10-23. Like a skilled master builder I laid a foundation, and another man is building upon it.

While I was driving through the countryside near Birmingham with a friend, he said, "That's my building!" Asking whether he owned it, he said, "No, I spent a summer helping to build it as a laborer." Yes, in a sense, it was his building as it is also the building which the architect, the fitter, and the owner can say is "mine."

We tend to think of "mine" as singular, but is that accurate? "My Church" is, in reality, "Our Church." In England, when the rector is installed, the bishop says, "Receive the care of souls, which is both thine and mine."

Sometimes we can sense trouble afoot when collective belongings go singular, when one spouse says to the other, "Look what your daughter has done now!" I have always been intrigued by that; does it mean that their common child is divided up by genes? It is like saying, "Look what your set of genes has been doing to my daughter!"

We, as a Church, have many people inside who have influenced us.

Ps 120, 121, 122, 123; Zech 11:4-17; Luke 18:31-43

[Wrath]

Luke 19:1-10. And he [the Chief Tax Collector] sought to see where Jesus was, but could not... because he was small of stature.

A man who is regional director of the equivalent of the IRS (important, wealthy, feared, disliked) who is very short, has just climbed a tree so he can catch a glimpse of Jesus over the heads of the crowd.

In Roman times, tax collectors paid the entire tax of an area to the government ahead of time. They then got permission to collect the taxes--the profit was that they also had permission to overcharge (cheat) and pocket the difference. Not calculated to make them your favorite neighbor. What does a disliked short man perhaps rely on to save face before antagonistic neighbors? His dignity? This he threw away to climb a tree, just to see Jesus.

Then Jesus saw him in the tree (Jesus is very observant) and invites himself to stay at his house. Here Jesus risks throwing away his popularity with the townspeople because he sees a soul in spiritual need.

The result? Transformation. The tax collector gives half his wealth to the poor, and restores overcharging by four times. He's just switched his investment from Dow Jones to Heaven's eternal rewards.

Ps 119:145-176; Zech 12:1-10; Eph 1:3-14

[Wrath]

Psalm 65. You provide the grain, for so you provide for the earth.

Today we gather those dearest around us and give thanks.

A Sunday school teacher asked her class, "Where does our daily bread come from?" A child's hand shot up: "From the store." It's a good question. Who stands behind the loaf of bread on the table? The farmer and those who provide the gasoline for the tractor; grain elevator people, bakers, grocers, shoppers, employers, and meal preparers are involved. And behind all this effort stands the love of God. If the bread is consecrated, there are also the clergy, the wider church and through it the love of Christ who provides living bread. There are those who provided the community of the Body of Christ through their service and sometimes martyrdom. There are those who taught us to love their bread and their love. That's quite a crowd. Imagine all of them gathered around your table. They are there, represented by the loaf. Yes, it may be from a supermarket, but it is also from Heaven. Not only the bread, but also the love with which it is served will nourish our souls.

Deut 8:1-3, 6-10(17-20); Mt 6:25-33; Jas 1:17-18, 21-27

[Wrath]

Luke 19:28-40. Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord.

Which of us hasn't dreamt of someone to come rescue us? The knight in shining armor who will take us away from all this, the political leader who might solve all our problems, are universal fantasies. Unfortunately some people marry or elect their fantasy to public office only to find the reality soon enough.

When Jesus entered Jerusalem, fantasies abounded: "Here comes the Son of David...there go the Romans...out with the old King, in with the new." Jesus did not give them what they expected. He gave them more than they hoped for. It was awhile before it could be seen. He didn't throw out the Romans, he demonstrated that death was not the end. This is important, because all earthly power is based on the fear of death. Tyrants bully others by saying, "If you do not comply with our demands we will put you to death." After Jesus' resurrection death no longer was the last word. That is freedom. How did he save us? An old tale illustrates it.

A group of monks was walking in the snow. One fell down and cried out, "Help me up, help me up!" The wise leader went toward the monk and then lay down in the snow next to him. The first monk immediately got to his feet and walked away. How did the wise leader "help" the monk?


Ps 140, 142; Zech 14:1-11; Rom 15:7-13

[Seawolf]

Luke 19:41-48. And he entered the Temple and began to drive out those who sold.

Working my first day in a psychiatric hospital, I arrived before 7:00 a.m. I was instructed to wake-up the patients for breakfast. Approaching one sleeping patient from the back I gave him a gentle shake, saying "Wakey, wakey!" From a prone sleeping position, in one moment he was standing on his bed shaking his fist and shouting at me. "First lesson," said the nurse to me later, "never approach a paranoid person from the back and never touch." That definitely was a wake-up call and a lesson I shall never forget.

In today's Gospel, Jesus provides a wake-up call. It too had violent repercussions. He threw the money changers' tables over in the Temple. They definitely needed waking up to the fact that monetary interests were taking over spiritual ones. Perhaps they, too, shook their fists at him when they later shouted, "Crucify him."

Wake-up calls are uncomfortable. They can change our lives, reverse our directions, and make us aware of the wrong direction our lives have been taking. Sometimes these calls are provided by another person, sometimes by unexpected or tragic events which happen in our lives.

Ps 137:1-6(7-9), 144; Zech 14:12-21; Phil 2:1-11

[Wrath]

Matthew 24:37-44. And they did not know until the flood came and swept them all away. So it will be with the coming of the Son of Man.

Jesus tells his disciples about traumatic days to come. He says that the results will be quick and arbitrary: "Then two men will be in the field, one is taken and one is left." He tells his disciples to watch.

World events illustrate how widespread and devastating traumatic events can be--not only for us personally, but on a global scale. The problem is, how can we prepare for the unexpected?

There are practical ways and there are spiritual ways. On the practical level, as a hospital Chaplain we have been prepared for "major incidents." In the event of a disaster I have been taught where my post is and where I fit into the wider caring team. There is preparation that can be done on this level. On a spiritual level, there is not so much waiting as watchfulness. Living life in the here and now with a background awareness of how short and precious life is. On one level this may cause fear, but on a deeper level it helps us to live thankfully each day with an appreciation of life's blessings. This may be all the more valuable because we can't take our blessings for granted. An awareness of God's grace in the present moment is important.

Ps 122; Isaiah 2:1-5; Romans 13:8-14

[Wrath]

Luke 20:1-8. Tell us by what authority you do these things.

"Open up in the name of the law!" my brother and I used to shout as children as we banged on a closed door, dressed in cowboy hats and toy six shooters. Children love to play with authority. Jesus was asked by what authority he acted.

The recently married Queen Victoria once knocked on the bedroom door of her husband, Prince Albert. "Who is it?" he asked. "The Queen," she responded. No reply. Again she knocked, louder, and naming her authority: "It is The Queen."
Silence. Finally in a gentle voice, full of tenderness she said, "It is your little Vicki, sweetheart." The door opened.

Authority does not admit us into intimacy. The more we are "the boss of the world" the less intimacy we can expect.

Most of the relationship problems I encounter come when my demanded rights seep into an intimate relationship. Jesus revealed a God of love--one who waits in intimacy for our free response to his offer of love. So the question the religious people should have been asking is, "Tell us by what intimacy God has come to us, to show his vulnerability and love?"

Ps 1, 2, 3; Isa 1:10-20; 1 Thess 1:1-10

[Wrath]

Deuteronomy 30:11-14. It is not in the Heavens, nor is it beyond the sea...it is a thing very near to you, on your lips, and in your heart ready to be kept.

Within each of us there is a very deep spiritual hunger. It wants to find a home which is beyond home, our "true country." It is a compass within oneself which points toward finding one's true self as belonging in God. We know it is there, and we would recognize it if we saw it. Other things do not go deep enough to satisfy this hunger. Some people journey to find it; some find it by the way of others introducing them to what they have found. Andrew introduced Simon Peter to Jesus. As brothers they worked together fishing. Andrew is honored as the first missionary. How often it is someone who is close to us that gives us the lead in what we are looking for.

To discover something spiritual, I believe we have to find it simultaneously on the inside. As the scripture lesson says, we may seek something in the heavens, or beyond the sea, but when we find it we realize it was inside us all along. What we hear on the outside resonates with something we already know to be true. It is like a mother who can recognize her child's cry among many others. There is a deep recognition, an "Aha, that's it!"


Ps 19; Romans 10:8b-18; Mt 4:18-22

[Wrath]

Isaiah 2:1-11. They shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.

Who would have thought that Antiques Road Show would become one of the most popular shows on television in both Britain and America? In our fast-paced world there is so much thrown away that there is little time for anything to grow old before it is pitched. Prior to our time the reverse was the goal: to make things last for generations.

My own fascination with old things began when I was a boy. My grandparents lived on a kerosene-lit, cast iron stove-heated farm in southern Virginia. When it got dark you simply went to bed. My cousins and I would spend our weekends exploring the old farm buildings looking for treasures to hide under our beds.

One day in the smokehouse I discovered such a treasure: a Civil War sword. My grandfather used the sword on occasion to harvest corn. The subtle rightness of that use would have been lost on me as a boy, but today I rejoice in the appropriateness. General Grant had graciously sent the defeated Confederate soldiers home with their horses, mules, and side arms. At least one side arm had been used for the reconstructing of a peaceful life.


Ps 119:1-24; 1 Thess 2:13-20; Luke 20:19-26

[Seawolf]

Psalm 18:1-20. ,i>I love you O Lord my strength, O Lord my stronghold, my crag, and my haven.

Two of today's readings have dramatic images of the Lord expressing himself fearfully in nature--a windstorm and volcanic eruption, reflecting the Hebrews' experience at Mt. Sinai and wandering in the wilderness. In contrast to the wrath aimed at those who would exalt themselves and defy the Lord, the psalmist sings of the Lord who provides sheltering places for the weary, the forsaken, the friendless. How often do we sing of the Lord as a sheltering place? "Rock of ages cleft for me, let me hide myself in thee." If you travel in the Sinai desert, you quickly become aware of the necessity of the shadows of mighty rocks, which trickle water and provide respite from the debilitating heat.

Rock, shade, and crevices, impregnable fortresses--these are understandable images for divine protection but the image of the Lord offered by the psalmist as my crag--a rocky projection seemed strange. Then I remembered Gerard Hopkins' image of the mountains of the mind: "Cliffs of fall/ Frightful, sheer, no-man-fathomed. Hold them cheap/ May who ne'er hung there." If you have hung or are hanging over the abyss spiritually, mentally, or emotionally, "O Lord...my crag," can be your cry.

Isaiah 2:12-22; 1 Thess 3:1-13; Luke 20:27-40

[Wrath]

Psalm 17. Keep me as the apple of your eye, hide me under the shadow of your wing.

A priest friend said that in Advent when the shadows lengthen and the evening comes earlier and earlier until the twenty-first of December, the soul requires an intensifying of prayer. I think he is right. Corporate prayer in the evening--vespers, evensong, compline--in this country has never been very popular, although a late night service on Saturday or Sunday evenings attracts significant numbers in a few places.

I have lived in three academic communities in which regular evening prayer services became a part of my spiritual discipline. The earliest instance was many years ago when I sang with a choir of college students for evensong. Most recently I regularly attended the weeknight compline offered by college students in All Saints Chapel at the University of the South.

Most memorably, during my first job as an overseas teaching master in Hong Kong, a service of compline was held before lights out in the little chapel high up on the promontory in Stanley overlooking the South China Sea. The service was purely voluntary, yet each evening, one by one, or two by two, students, faculty, and staff, whether Chinese, British, or American, we the people of God gathered in a small group and prayed God to cherish and succor us.

Psalm 16; Isaiah 3:8-15; 1 Thess 4:1-12; Luke 20:41--21:4

[Wrath]

Matthew 3:1-12. In those days came John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judea, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand."

Repentance is a true change of heart. History contains some notable instances of repentance, both ancient and modern. Paul repents of his persecution of the Christians. In the early church Augustine repents his youthful folly. John Newton repented of his involvement in the slave trade and wrote Amazing Grace as an account of his conversion.

In recent times Archbishop Desmond Tutu served as a chairman for the Truth and Reconciliation Commission in bringing forward apartheid's worst villains. Who will forget the bishop's insistent plea, "We are simply asking you to say, 'I am sorry.'" John Paul II repented of the damage done in the name of Roman Catholicism to the Jews and the Chinese. It is never too late.

But the strongest example in my mind is that of a parishioner I had who was badly wounded by a landmine in Vietnam, and wrote a book, No Longer Enemies, Not Yet Friends. He spends much time overseas making available prosthetic devices to former enemies who have been torn by landmines and he writes from experience. The decisions we make are always fraught with moral ambiguities, but that is no excuse not to pick up the pieces of our lives, leave the shadows, and move toward the light which is Christ.

Ps 72 or 72:1-8; Isaiah 11:1-10; Romans 15:4-13

[Wrath]

1 Thessalonians 5:1-11. Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing.

In this instance Paul not only gives good advice, the statement itself is an example of the advice he is giving. Stressing encouragement is a good counter-balance to all of those woe are you passages that loom up in Advent and throughout the Bible. Not that we should be allowed any illusions as to human nature. You do not have to have lived through Nazi Germany's evil to have seen the worst. Though some psychologists err in the direction of an airy disregard of the darker side of human nature, it is also possible to make "not able not to sin" the rule. It is important to make a realistic appraisal of a situation before deciding on a course of action.

I was an unusually sensitive child in elementary school, easily upset by teachers and classmates. In the second grade when I was working on a picture of an apple tree, the teacher took it away and gave it to another child to finish because she said I would probably ruin it. I was told that I was always a different child. That became a self-fulfilling prophecy. I have spent much of my adult ministry around schools and churches trying to make them places of encouragement. It is a better way.

Ps 25; Isaiah 5:8-12, 18-23; Luke 21:20-28

[Wrath]

1 Thessalonians 5:12-28. Greet all the brothers and sisters with a holy kiss.
One of the great joys of being an early twenty-first century Christian is in seeing how the churches have begun to converge, particularly in worship. The common lectionary of Bible readings is widely used. The Eucharist modeled on the earliest known rites of the church has become regular fare. Mostly this convergence has come about charitably.

I remember when some other male seminarians and I visited a church and the service leaflet listed the Kiss of Peace. We each looked horrified and prepared to bolt if any kissing started. Perhaps it does get a little over-exuberant in some places, but compared to the coldness of worship of my youth, it is a remarkable change. The saddest cases are when the congregation embodies the Seven Last Words of a Dying Church: "We Never Did It Like That Before." Each day I pass by a beautiful church building, abandoned because of dissension in the Body of Christ. Would that we cared for one another more genuinely than dwelling on what divides us.

Ps 26, 28; Isaiah 5:13-17, 24-25; Luke 21:29-38

[Seawolf]

Isaiah 6:1-13. In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and his train filled the temple.

Any experience of the sublime is very difficult for language to even begin to capture; nonetheless, Isaiah has done a remarkable job of describing his divine-human encounter in the Temple in Jerusalem. Isaiah has his senses glutted. Unlike other Old Testament calls to ministry which are often auditory, Isaiah perceives by sight, touch, taste, and smell as well as sound. You find few descriptions between Isaiah and Revelation that are as graphic as Isaiah 6.

I think the Christmas Eucharist has Isaiah 6 as a prototype. In Advent, like the shepherds and Magi, we gradually approach the Babe of Bethlehem who comes down to us as we are lifted to him. We journey to Bethlehem to hear the original sacred story of divine-human encounter, just as Isaiah journeyed up to Jerusalem to experience the Lord's awe-full majesty. And at midnight on December 24 what happened to Isaiah can happen to us. We, too, may feel called and respond like Isaiah. "Here am I! Send me."

Ps 38; 2 Thess 1:1-12; John 7:53--8:11

[Wrath]

2 Thess 2:1-12. As to the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered together to him, we beg you, brothers and sisters, not to be quickly shaken in mind or alarmed.

Paul's teaching comes bubbling out with such enthusiasm that it is no wonder that some of the community at Thessalonica failed to get the import. We still have the same problem. There are times when the Holy Scriptures seem blindingly obvious and other times when I am sure we just don't get it. Paul reiterates the idea that before the Second Coming there would be widespread falling away from faith and the appearance of a lawless one. The lawless one has been identified with everyone from the Roman emperors Nero, Caligula, and Antiochus Epiphanes to various medieval popes, and more recent demagogues and tyrants. Paul reminds the Thessalonians that the preliminary events haven't happened yet.

Paul opened a can of worms. Now every street corner prophet predicts the end time. We have had some major league international stage performers playing lawless ones for sure, but far more insidious for my soul and your soul is the demonizing of anyone who happens to disagree with us in any matter. Religious epithets can be among the most painful for wounding our adversaries. "I am praying for you" can explode like a hand grenade. Where have I been the lawless one to another?

Ps 37:1-18; Isaiah 7:1-9; Luke 22:1-13

[Wrath]

Isaiah 7:10-25. Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, a young woman shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.

Isaiah's offering of the Sign of Immanuel to the royal court of Ahaz, like so many Old Testament prophecies, is both a promise and a threat. As always, the promise is that if the people are faithful to the Lord, the Lord will be faithful to them. The words fell on deaf ears. Ahaz didn't listen then. Herod didn't listen later. Pontius Pilate didn't listen. Much of the time we don't listen either. Despite the non-believers, there is always hope, faint perhaps, but hope nonetheless.

Did the prophecy refer to Jesus? As Christians we read the Hebrew Scriptures in terms of our own religious experience. The coincidences found in such instances as the birth of Jesus and the prophecy to Ahaz were seen by Christians since the earliest times as part of God's eternal plan for his people. Each Christmas Christ is reborn in you and me and we know in our hearts that God is indeed with us. As Phillips Brooks wrote many years ago, "No ear may hear his coming, but in this world of sin, where meek souls will receive him, still, the dear Christ enters in."

Ps 31; 2 Thess 2:13--3:5; Luke 22:14-30

[Wrath]

2 Thess 3:6-18. Brothers and sisters, do not be weary in doing what is right.

Being sometimes weary of doing right is obviously intrinsic in human nature since Paul identified it in the Christian community two thousand years ago. We human beings are certainly capable of doing right as we see in the response to terrorist attack or natural disaster. We rush to Florida or Louisiana in response to a hurricane as we rushed to New York when the World Trade Center was attacked. But at Christmas, a lot of people are weary--stressed out--although I fear the stress more often comes from other things than doing good. In ancient Greece social service was required of all citizens. Schools public and private in our own society have caught the vision.

Part of the reason people may weary of doing what is right at this time of year is cynicism. Like most parishes my parish always distributed food to the needy at holidays. No, it didn't solve the systemic problem, but it was something. The fact that some will abuse any social service program leads to cynicism. A healthier response is what T.S. Eliot called "non-cynical disillusionment." I have read that between the world wars some people went around collecting money for the "widow of the unknown soldier!" At the holiday season it is still important to use our time, talent, and treasure for good.

Ps 30, 32; Isaiah 8:1-15; Luke 22:31-38

[Wrath]

Isaiah 35:1-10. The wilderness and the dry land shall be glad, the desert shall rejoice and blossom.

Today is celebrated in some churches as Rose Sunday, reflecting the Isaiah reading about the desert blossoming at the coming of the Lord. Rose Sunday stands as a kind of oasis in the solemn season of Advent, a reminder that the time of waiting will not be forever. It sounds rather like one of those nature shows on public television with a blooming desert after a rainfall; alive with blooming cactuses, iguanas, little desert birds, and snakes.

The word of Isaiah comes from near the end of the Hebrews' exile in Babylon, and is a hymn of restoration for Zion, the city and people of God. Instead of being a place of trial and suffering, the desert will offer refreshment--a prophecy of holy hope for all of our desert days.

For eight years I was headmaster of a school with many students for whom was held little hope or an unrealistic level of hope for success. Even for a student who had managed to alienate most of the staff there was always someone who became that student's advocate. It was gratifying to see the tenacity with which a faculty member insisted a student be given a chance. Many a young person found an oasis in the holy hope in the heart of an inspired teacher.


Ps 146 or 146:4-9; James 5:7-10; Matthew 11:2-11

[Wrath]

Luke 22:39-53. But this is your hour, and the power of darkness.

In the gospel lesson, we see Jesus in a range of emotional responses at the climax of his life and ministry: fear and acceptance, disappointment
and anger. Jesus asks Abba if the burden can be removed: the disciples sleep, Judas betrays, a disciple strikes with a sword--the hour of the power of darkness. John Henry Newman, an Oxford Movement luminary and later convert to Roman Catholicism, knew that lost feeling when he wrote, "Lead, kindly Light, amid the encircling gloom,/Lead thou me on." Indeed, who of us has not felt lost in the darkness, overwhelmed by circumstance, afraid of the deep night? And each of us is capable of being both an instrument of the powers of darkness and a recipient of the powers of darkness.

Years ago I led a pilgrims' group to experience Greek Easter. Late on Holy Saturday we took the cable rail up to the chapel at the top of a mountain in the middle of Athens. Each person was given a taper so that the candlelight above reflected the candlelight all over the city down below. It was a magical moment as the Easter greeting was exchanged: "Christo Anesti! Alithos Anesti!" ("Christ is risen! He is risen indeed!") It is easy to forget that the powers of darkness do not have the last word, and a comfort that even Jesus appears to have had momentary doubt.

Ps 41, 52; Isaiah 8:16--9:1; 2 Peter 1:1-11

[Wrath]

2 Peter 1:12-21. I know that the putting off of my body will be soon, as our Lord Jesus Christ showed me.

Peter who denies Jesus thrice in Luke's gospel is very different from the Peter we see portrayed after Pentecost, as in his epistles. The two leading
Christian apostles, Peter and Paul, both experience great conversion experiences, as have countless men, women, and children down through history.

I recently watched a television special about the Vatican. What was once a disputed matter has received archaeological corroboration as to Peter's burial place beneath the great basilica. From the epistle passage we assume that Peter expected to be martyred, but he could face the future with assurance, for he was with him [Jesus] on the holy mountain. Seven years ago, in Advent, I sat in a surgeon's office and heard my own life expectancy statistic. Many times it has occurred to me that the old Prayer Book Litany petition, from sudden death, good Lord deliver us was not true, at least for me psychologically. There are times when it seems to me that sudden death would be a great blessing. Of course the current Great Litany gives a different nuance to the phrase. We ask God that we not die unprepared. Though I now pray God to give me the faith of Peter after Pentecost, oftentimes I find in myself more of the fearful Peter.

Ps 45; Isaiah 9:1-7; Luke 22:54-69

[Wrath]

Mark l:1-8. John the baptizer appeared in the wilderness, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.

The traditional language liturgy for Advent and Lent are seasonal reminders of the need for repentance which Isaiah, John the Baptist, and Thomas Cranmer all emphasized. Even in our unworthiness God comes to us. Frankly, there is variation in how miserable a sinner I feel. There are days when I feel at one with my fellow citizens on earth. Then there are the other times.

I am a single parent. Though my son is now a fine grown young man I expect the process of our raising each other will never end as long as we are alive. One of the books we read growing up was entitled Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day. My first day as a single parent was like that. My education in parenting self-awareness began that painful day when I drove away from the marriage. I made an uncalled for remark about his mother and he said, "Dad, I know you don't love my Mom anymore but I would appreciate it if you wouldn't say bad things." When I crawled out of the car I felt lower than a snake's belly. I repented.

No, not "Glory to God in the highest," rather, "Lord have mercy upon us."


Ps 119:49-72; Isaiah 9:8-17; 2 Peter 2:1-10a

[Seawolf]

Matthew 3:1-12. Do not presume to say to yourselves, "We have Abraham as our father," for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children to Abraham.

Today's readings are all full of judgment. Any glimmer of hope is at best implied. One thing seminaries teach is to preach from your weakness, not your strength. In actual fact, when I look back over forty years of preaching I realize--Oh blinding glimpse of the obvious to those who had to listen!--that I found it all too easy to preach judgment. If I had truly preached from my
weakness I would have preached more love, joy, acceptance, for those were the things I found hard to accomplish, not judgment.

But I finally learned that judgment is not the whole story. I have also learned that railing against the conspicuous consumption at Christmas does little beside putting the congregation in a sour mood. I also learned that the comic vision of life is as illuminating as the tragic vision. From my father I learned that we can take ourselves too seriously. I can imagine him answering Isaiah's rhetorical question--where will you leave your wealth?--with the story of his Uncle Benny, who built his bank next to the cemetery because "even if he couldn't take it with him he could rest easier knowing it was near by."

Ps 50; Isaiah 9:18--10:4; 2 Peter 2:10b-16

[Wrath]

2 Peter 2:17-22. The dog turns back to his own vomit, and the sow is washed only to wallow in the mire.

Anyone who has ever tried washing an outdoor dog understands the animal proverb that Peter gives in the passage. Animals always make useful comparisons, for we humans have always lived with them so closely. George Herbert, the seventeenth century Anglican divine and poet, is credited with the proverb, "Those who lie down with the dogs will rise up with the fleas." In today's Isaiah passage the metaphor is centered on birds' nests placed in out of the way places in fields. The mother bird cannot move a wing or chirp a protest when the Lord the Gatherer comes. We can run but not hide.

Yes, animals make useful comparisons. Earlier in Advent we heard Isaiah's image of the peaceable kingdom with all the animals who are natural predators of one another being able to live in peace at the coming of the Lord. We shall soon arrive at Christmas Eve when one tradition has it that the animals speak at midnight and the bees buzz all night long with the news of Christ's birth. Perhaps this past Sunday we saw in an annual pageant our blessed children coming down the aisle portraying sheep, donkeys, and the rest.

Thank God for this whole created order with which we share this fragile earth, our island home.


Ps 40, 54; Isaiah 10:5-19; Matthew 11:2-15

[Seawolf]

Jude 17-25. But you, beloved, build yourselves up on your most holy faith; pray in the Holy Spirit.

I am a collector. Among my collections is a group of retablos, primitive Central and Latin American religious paintings on tin, often commissioned to commemorate a healing. One of these is of the Virgin of Guadalupe whose image is ubiquitous in Spanish-speaking areas. It was in December that the Virgin Mary is believed to have appeared to a peasant at Tepeyak, today the site of a great basilica in Mexico City. I am not sure what I think about such appearances, but as T. S. Eliot said, "You are not here to verify...You are here to kneel / Where prayer has been valid."

In December of 200l Pope John Paul II launched www.virgendeguadalupe.org.mx, a web site for the shrine. If you visit the site you will hear the haunting music of masses and in the background perhaps even the drumbeat of Aztec dance in the courtyard. A part of the legend has it that roses grew on the site where the Virgin appeared and the basilica was constructed. I visited the basilica at Christmas in 1965 with a fellow seminarian, a Mexican, and saw a group of Mexican priests commissioned as missionaries. We prayed with them in the Spirit and sang along in Spanish, "Publish glad tidings, tidings of peace, tidings of Jesus, redemption and release."

Ps 55; Isaiah 10:20-27; Luke 3:1-9

[Wrath]

Psalm 24:1-7. Lift up your heads, O gates; lift them high, O everlasting doors; and the King of glory shall come in.

I love the collect from the Book of Common Prayer for the fourth Sunday in Advent: "...that your Son Jesus Christ, at his coming, may find in us a mansion prepared for himself." In a historic district of an old city I help to host the Christmas house tour. It is truly amazing the scale on which some folks prepare their homes for the holidays. I, too, have been gradually trying to restore my home to something of its original condition. This has included removing and polishing brass door lock plates, pulling up layers of linoleum to expose the original pine hardwood floors, and removing acoustical tile dropped ceilings. The delight has been working with my hands and helpful advice from the local hardware store. Celebrating the Eucharist was about the only "hand work" I had done in years!

Spiritual preparation in many ways mirrors the preparation of our dwelling places. Reading is an important part of our spiritual preparation. Forward Day by Day and the referred to biblical passages are a good start. But there are also favorite Christmas stories, recordings, and poems, each of which captures a part of the many faceted celebration for which we prepare. Read, listen, pray, and the King of glory shall come in.

Isaiah 7:10-17; Rom 1:1-7; Matthew 1:18-25

[Seawolf]

Revelation 20:1-10. Also I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for their testimony to Jesus and for the word of God...

St. John the Divine wrote Revelation in a cave on the Greek island of Patmos. The imagery is bizarre. The text dramatically illustrates a final struggle between good and evil played out in the heavens and on earth at the time. Christian believers were experiencing massive repression, even martyrdom. It was important for them to know that their suffering was part of the divine order of things and the Lord would bring recompense.

The same point was being made by the old woman who used to appear on a street corner at this time of year in a certain North Carolina town. For any who would stop to hear, her message was a simple one, "Friend, he's coming soon." My seminary friend and I might well have been in the midst of unraveling the murky text of Revelation at the time he told me of her message. I suppose the gospel story can be taken plain or obfuscated. Thomas Aquinas is reputed to have had a dream at the end of his life that all the theological complexities he had written was "but as straw." I wonder if John of Patmos ever had the same thought.

Ps 61, 62; Isaiah 11:1-9; John 5:30-47

[Wrath]

John 20:24-29. Then he said to Thomas, "Put your finger here and see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it in my side. Do not doubt but believe."

St. Thomas the Apostle is reckoned in Christian tradition to have traveled to distant lands preaching the gospel, possibly Africa and even India. The day on which we remember Thomas happens to be the day of the winter solstice, the longest night and the shortest day of the year (in the northern hemisphere). By an odd coincidence the name of a saint in my life is also Thomas.

Some years ago I received a phone call from the seminary near which my former parish is located. It was the professor of church missions who asked if we might be interested in having as a Sunday assistant a priest from Sudan. What a blessing for the parish this priest from perhaps the most beleaguered Christian church in the world proved to be. Father Thomas poured out on our church family his love for his own large family back in Sudan. We agonized and prayed with him when the news from his home was sometimes grim. Upon his return to Sudan we supported him financially as much as we were able and his letters were like letters from St. Paul.

The poet Theodore Roethke wrote, "In a dark time, the eye begins to see." Pray for Sudan.


Ps 126; Habakkuk 2:1-4; Hebrews 10:35--11:1

[Seawolf]

Luke l: 26-38. And the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God."

The Annunciation of Our Lord Jesus Christ to the Blessed Virgin Mary is celebrated in the church on March 25. Liturgics scholar Marion Hatchett suggests the date of Christmas was set as December 25 on the basis of the nine-months earlier date of the Annunciation on March 25. Religious Christmas cards are more likely to portray the angel's announcement to Mary that she was bearing the Son of God than almost any other facet of the Christmas story.

Angels commonly preface whatever message they bear with the words, Do not be afraid. Being afraid in the presence of a divine encounter it would seem to me is a perfectly appropriate response. I remember reading that the 17th century poet George Herbert spent the entire night stretched out on the church floor in prayer in fearful preparation for ordination the next day. Of course Mary was afraid. Who wouldn't be? Pregnant. Poor. Very young. Living in a religious community known for its strictness. We can understand her fear. What is truly remarkable is her acceptance: Let it be with me according to your word.

After two thousand years we are still moved by the portrait of Mary in Nazareth, and ourselves fearful of the Herods that are always lurking in the wings. Sancta Maria, ora pro nobis.

Ps 72; Isaiah 28:9-22; Revelation 21:9-21

[Wrath]

Luke 1:39-56. He has brought down the powerful from their thrones, and lifted up the lowly.

The visitation of Mary to Elizabeth when John leaps for joy in the womb is a moment of high drama in the story. Blessed are you among women, now a universal Christian devotion, is responded to by Mary with one of the most poetic utterances in the New Testament: My soul doth magnify the Lord, / and my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Savior. Pier Pasolini, the Italian filmmaker, used ordinary people as actors and a wide range of musical background from Bach to Odetta to accent his gospel story in the foreground. One can already hear the musical strains of the Passion in the annunciation and visitation scenes.

Mary's song expresses a threat to every established order. It is not often that we count St. Mary the Virgin among the prophets, but her prophecy of a new social order is every bit as pointed as Amos's. Perverse crowned heads, dictators, corrupt elected officials, are necessarily anxious, for if they have even a modicum of awareness they know they have but a short time. The ultimate reordering of society by the Lord as made plain by Mary's song reverberates a few months later when Herod seeks to slay Mary's child. Behind the crib is inevitably the cross. "He came into the world as one going out of the world."

Ps 80; Isaiah 29:13-24; Revelation 21:22--22:5

[Wrath]

Luke 1:67-80. To give light to those who sit in darkness...

My people come from Kirkcudbrightshire in the lowlands of Scotland. St. Ringan (Ninian) is believed there to visit God-fearing shepherds on Christmas Eve. In one story a herd of sheep is left in the care of young herd boy on Christmas Eve. When night falls he searches frantically in the icy bog for a missing ewe.

The boy remembers that St. Ringan's well is near. He believes the saint might help if something is lost, but a gift is needed. The only thing he has is his own meager supper of kail brose porridge, and after warming the bowl by the fire he takes it out and leaves it by the well. The boy waits a moment, but still he hears no sound of the lost ewe and starts home dejectedly. Turning for one last look at the well, he sees a beggar sitting on the edge of the well eating. The beggar tells him where he will find the missing ewe.

The boy offers lodging to the beggar for the night, but the beggar says he must be on his way. The boy asks the beggar where he is going at midnight and the beggar replies, "Where? Why, Bethlehem, of course! Where else would I be on Christmas night?" Where else, indeed. On Christmas Eve all roads lead to Bethlehem.

Ps 45, 46; Isa 35:1-10; Rev 22:12-17, 21; Phil 2:5-11

[Wrath]

Luke 2:1-20. Let us go now to Bethlehem.

As a priest for the last thirty-eight years, I have welcomed the birth of Christ in celebrating the Christ Mass. I remember the altars and churches and congregations in which I have been privileged to serve, all full of the red and white poinsettias of the season, the Christmas créches, the wonderful music and sense of high expectancy. In retirement I drive through the frosty air at one and two o'clock Christmas morning, returning home after celebrating with a rural congregation or vacant parish. I think it is then I hear the angels sing.

Two memorable Christmas morns I spent in the Far East. One I spent with a student walking the streets after the midnight service at St. John's Cathedral, Hong Kong, debating high and holy things in a city not known much for either. The other began in the masters' common room at the Anglican Hostel at the University of Hong Kong where the expatriates and a few Chinese friends shared good cheer. At some point it was mentioned that a young boy's mother was sick and had been unable to provide a tree, so we bundled up our decorations and dropped them off for the family on the way to the cathedral midnight service.

Christmas is a wonderful season for remembering the past and hoping for the future.

Ps 96 or 96:1-4, 11-12; Isaiah 9:2-4, 6-7; Titus 2:11-14

[Seawolf]

John 1:1-18. And the Word became flesh and lived among us.

Christmas cards are a nice custom in most ways. Of course there are the printed cards with impossibly idyllic scenes portrayed on the front that some years seem especially ironic. And there are the Christmas letters in which all the individual and group accomplishments add up to Family of the Year. I had never in fact written a Christmas letter at all until I retired and found that there were more and more friends from whom I am geographically separated. I determined that whatever I wrote would be realistic and with possibly a saving dash of humor. My friends have generally responded approvingly for the glimpse of my real life.

I don't always manage to find cards I like, but this year I found one including a statement by Dorothy L. Sayers that to my mind says it all: "All this we could bear if we knew we did not suffer in vain; that God was beside us in the struggle, sharing the miseries of his own world. For the riddle of the world is this: shall sorrow and love be reconciled at last, when the promised kingdom comes? Yes. For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son."

Miss Sayers wrote the words during World War II for a series of radio plays on the birth of Jesus. They still inspire.

Ps 147; Isaiah 61:10--62:3; Galatians 3:23-25, 4:4-7

[Wrath]

Matthew 23:34-39. Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it!

Jesus' hard prophetic word over Jerusalem readily anticipates the stoning of Stephen, the first Christian martyr. Stephen's stoning is also linked to Saul (Paul) who witnesses the event that undoubtedly influenced his own later conversion to become the great apostle to the Gentiles.

An English ballad from the mid-15th century depicts an imaginary conversation between King Herod and Stephen who according to the legend is in the king's employ. Stephen tells Herod he wants to leave to worship the Bethlehem child who, "Shall help us in our need." Herod replies that that was as likely as the chicken on his dinner platter would speak, whereupon the chicken crowed Christus natus est! Herod in his fury orders Stephen stoned and the story is offered as an explanation for the proximity of the feast of Stephen to Christmas.

Two of the institutions I have loved and served in my ministry have had St. Stephen as their patron saint. Stephen was the first in the long line of Christian martyrs including Thomas of Canterbury. Modern martyrs such as Dietrich Bonhoeffer and Archbishop Janani Luwum are memorialized at Canterbury in a simple notebook behind the high altar.

Ps 31 or 31:1-5; Jer 26:1-9, 12-15; Acts 6:8--7:2a, 51c-60

[Wrath]

1 John 1:1-9. This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light and in him there is no darkness at all.

In the Eucharist we affirm in the creed that God is "Light from Light." One of the touching modern hymns proclaims, "I want to walk as a child of the light, I want to follow Jesus," and, "in him there is no darkness at all." In every age terrible dark things have been done in the name of religion. It is easy to despair when our moral guides expose their feet of clay. While we must always strive for the best, it is God only who is ultimate Light, not humankind.

The church festivals in the fall of the year reiterate the theme of light contending with the powers of darkness. St. Michael and All Angels warns us that the devil, a roaring lion, roams the earth seeking whom he may devour. On All Hallows Eve we attempt to expose the dark forces and laugh them out of existence. On All Saints we affirm that the darkest force of all, death, does not have the last word. And from Advent through Purification the light which Christ brings is the prime symbol of our celebration. John tells us to walk in the light and have fellowship with one another and Jesus will take care of the rest.

Ps 92 or 92:1-4, 11-14; Exodus 33:18-23; John 21:19b-24

[Wrath]

Jeremiah 31:15-17. A voice is heard in Ramah, lamentation and bitter weeping. Rachel is weeping for her children; she refuses to be comforted for her children, because they are no more.

The slaughter of the innocents is the great discordant note in the otherwise beautiful Christmas tableaux. Matthew quotes the Jeremiah text in reference to the slaughter of the innocents by King Herod in his attempt to obliterate a perceived threat to his throne. Perhaps Jesus' own love of children harkened back to stories his mother told him of the horror surrounding the flight into Egypt.

Innocence is always at the mercy of evil. Every parent tries to serve as a buffer between his or her child and the threatening forces of the larger world. And at some point every parent has to risk letting go of the child, hoping and praying that the values instilled in the home and church have become intrinsic as the fledgling adult makes his or her way into the larger world.

The abuse of children must be laid upon the consciences of us all, whether exemplified in the slave trade in Sudan, the ravaged children of Africa, or the victims of parental neglect in our own time and place. Inasmuch as you have done it unto one of the least of these brothers and sisters you have done it unto me.

Ps 124; Revelation 21:1-7; Matthew 2:13-18

[Seawolf]

Revelation l:9-20. Do not be afraid; I am the first and the last, and the living one. I was dead, and see, I am alive forever and ever; and I have the keys of Death and Hades.

I asked a good friend of mine for a Christmas theme. Her answer was, "Write about those who no longer gather at the manger," meaning those who died since the last Christmas. It occurs to me that the thought may also include those who no longer love the Lord Jesus. It is always a shock to read about someone who has done a dastardly deed and is described as having been a faithfully raised
Christian until he or she decided to chuck the lot for something different or nothing. They should surely be in our prayers at Christmas.

The flowers, particularly the poinsettias that decorate our churches at this holy season, are also living memorials to those loved ones no longer visibly present in our midst. But flowers are an ephemeral memorial. Special gifts designated by brass plaques last a little longer. The prayers of the people offered at the créche are forever: family and friends like the little girl who sat next to me in the second grade with whom I planned to run away to Hollywood except she died of leukemia; all departed dwell in a greater light on a distant shore.

Ps 20, 21:1-14; Isaiah 25:1-9; John 7:53--8:11

[Wrath]

2 Corinthians 5:16--6:2. So if anyone is in Christ there is a new creation: everything old has passed away.

The year's end celebration in the parish in which I worked for twenty years included a quietly reflective lessons and hymns service. Themes focused on light, the division of our lives into days and seasons, how we are a part of the people of God, and the new creation we are in Christ. On the 3lst old friends gathered in a home from which one could see the lights of Washington up river. At about a quarter to midnight some of us would go to the little colonial parish church, light all the Christmas candles, and ring the church bell: "Ring out the darkness of the land, / Ring in the Christ that is to be," as Tennyson said.

One year we went up to the National Cathedral for a grand service of preparation for the new millennium, when all kinds of catastrophic things were supposed to happen. Archbishop Desmond Tutu was the featured speaker. The enfeebled archbishop in his purple cassock was brought in a wheelchair. He had to be lifted up to the podium. Immediately he became his old irrepressible self with his message of hope, love, and peace for the new millennium, an appropriate message for any year's beginning. Hope, love, and peace to us all.

Ps 46, 48; Isaiah 26:1-9; John 8:12-19

[Wrath]

Philippians 2:9-13. Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who is at work in you.

It is the first day of 2005. By noon, many people in my neighborhood will have their Christmas trees taken down, stripped, and lying in the gutter, waiting for city haulers to take them away and make mulch. These folk may be a bit startled to read todays lesson. Apparently, Christmas is far from over. It sounds like the saving work of Jesus was not completed in a day (be it Christmas, Good Friday, or Easter). Paul tells the Philippians they will have to "work out" their own salvation. What could that mean?

Paul gives them and us two big hints. Our part must be done humbly (with fear and trembling), and God will do the bigger part. All the big mistakes of my life happened when I was too proud to ask God for help. God has never given me a bum steer when asked. Funny thing is, I still don't always remember to ask for help. I must still be working out my own salvation. Maybe I should keep my Christmas tree up all year as a reminder. In what ways are you still working out your salvation?

Ps 8; Exodus 34:1-8; Luke 2:15-21

[Wrath]

Ephesians 1:3-6, 15-19a. I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and your love for all the saints.

Many of us may wake up on January 2 exhausted. The expectations we have for ourselves and others around Christmas can wear us all out. New Year's can feel like an extra lap around the track after we thought the race ended. Midst all our effort, did we show "love for all the saints"? We probably fell short. An unkind word or two may have found its way into a gathering despite our resolve to not let that happen. Shopping may have encroached on time for serving.

Today's epistle breaks through any exhaustion or regrets we feel with a mood-altering message. We have been called to "hope" (verse 18), hope rooted in the "immeasurable greatness" of Jesus' power for "us who believe" (verse 19). Did you make a New Year's resolution yesterday? Did you resolve to grow in hope? If not, consider filing a revision. The only sure escape from regrets is hope in the immeasurable greatness of Jesus' power working in us and on us. Our ability to lean upon Jesus is aided by exercise, and our meditations this month will offer ways to get that exercise.

Ps 84; Jeremiah 31:7-14; Matthew 2:13-15, 19-23

[Wrath]

Genesis 28:10-22. Then Jacob said, "Surely the LORD is in this place...and all that you give me I will surely give one tenth to you."

Jacob gives us a helpful rule to live by--giving a tenth of all we receive back to God. Do you tithe? If not, you may be hesitant to read this, fearing a guilt trip. Fear not. Read on. Today's reading is full of promise, not threats. Jacob went to sleep in a desolate place, using a stone for his pillow. While dreaming, he saw "Jacob's ladder," a busy highway, with angels descending and ascending. Jacob got the message loudly and clearly--God does not reside in a distant heaven; God is right here with us, even amidst seeming desolation.

Those who do not tithe ask how tithing could be possible given all their other financial obligations. It is this seeming impossibility of tithing which makes it such a wonderful tool; for by faithfully doing what seems impossible to us, we enter into the world where God makes impossible things possible.We take a step up Jacob's ladder. We get closer to an experience of heaven now. We learn that bounty is not wealth. Bounty is knowing that God is faithful. Look for a new way to experience this bounty.

Ps 68; Hebrews 11:13-22; John 10:7-17

[Wrath]

Hebrews 11:23-31. By faith Rahab the prostitute did not perish with those who were disobedient, because she had received the spies in peace.

Rahab hid Hebrew spies who came to case out Jericho. She supported an enemy who soon destroyed the whole city. In most cultures, there is nothing more despised than collaborating with the enemy; yet we are told Rahab's faith in the God of Israel led her to do it. What can we learn from this?

We chide teenagers for giving in to peer pressure, but the truth is that we humans are pack animals at all ages. We long for the admiration of those around us. Even our leaders like to poll focus groups before leading. Accepting Rahab as a heroine, however, tells us that faith may call upon us to buck majority opinion.

Some impulses to speak out against the group come from faith and some come from ego. How can we tell the difference? Sitting with the issue for a time may help. We can count on God to make good use of time. Notice whether the impulse to speak grows out of Bible study or prayer. Do a reality check with trusted companions in the body of Christ. If God is the maestro, a crescendo is likely.

Ps 85, 87; Exodus 3:1-12; John 14:6-14

[Wrath]

John 15:1-16. This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.

Many people believe that Jesus preached the Golden Rule. What we read in today's Gospel is quite literally a world away. We are not asked to love one another as we love ourselves. We are asked to love one another as Jesus loves each of us. The expectation is heavenly, not earthly.

How? Jesus seems to have faith that this can be done. Perhaps we need to begin by sharing his faith. In a book entitled Contemplative Participation, Mary Collins, OSB, makes the bold statement, "Whoever sees us glimpses God at work for the world's salvation." When I first read this statement, I stared in wonder. Could this be so? Our goal must be to make it so. Perhaps we can grow into Jesus' heavenly command if we stop in every human encounter that challenges us and consider how our words might give a glimpse of God at work for the world's salvation. Does it seem beyond what we can do or expect? It is certainly beyond what we can do alone. We cannot love as Jesus without Jesus. Jesus' command tells us it is exactly what we should expect when he occupies our hearts.

Ps 2, 110:1-5(6-7); Joshua 1:1-9; Hebrews 11:32--12:2

[Wrath]

Ephesians 3:1-12. So that through the church the wisdom of God in its rich variety might now be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places.

Today's reading claims that through the church, truths will newly become known in heaven. What could the church teach to heaven? Maybe it is not so much the teachings of the church that will instruct heaven, but rather the life of the church. Even a "heavenly authority" could find new revelation of God's power in seeing God make good use of flawed mortals.

How do we cooperate in this revelation? The words above tell us to look for and celebrate the "rich variety" of God's wisdom, as made manifest in the church. "Rich variety" must mean more than 31 flavors. Every interaction between Christians must afford each a chance to encounter God's wisdom in a new way. Does that sound too fanciful? If so, we must be on the right track. Only something beyond our usual human experience could impress the heavenly authorities. There is nothing about the outside of an oyster that gives any hint of the beautiful pearl inside. You have to look for it. Today's reading encourages us to look expectantly for the pearls inside one another.

Ps 72; Isaiah 60:1-6, 9; Matthew 2:1-12

[Wrath]

Revelation 2:1-7. But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first.

Earlier in this reading, the church in Ephesus is complimented for discernment, patience, and forbearance. That doesn't count for much though. Without love, they were not Gods idea of a church. Why do we mortals find it so difficult to sustain love in the face of one another's foibles?

Some of those trapped in the twin towers on September 11 and facing impending death were able to leave messages by phone or email. Historians have collected many of those messages. Interestingly, not one person called anyone to underscore an old resentment or finish a long-standing argument. They all called someone to say, "I love you." Somehow, we need to harness the clarity nearness of death can bring without being captured by fear. Try living one full day as though you have been given some secret knowledge that it will be your last. Don't rush off to get your will in order. Just approach whatever has been scheduled for the day as though these will be your last encounters with the people you see (at least in your present form). The experiment may yield some habits of mind worth keeping.

Ps 103; Isaiah 52:3-6; John 2:1-11

[Wrath]

John 4:46-54. The man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him and started on his way.

Today's reading tells of an official who pleaded with Jesus to come and heal his dying son. When Jesus said, "Go; your son will live," the man took Jesus at his word, and left for home. There is something abrupt about this report. The man did not say thank you, or offer to follow Jesus, or talk to passers by about what had happened. He just "started on his way" back to resume life. He expected one big change, however. He expected to arrive at home and find his son healed. From that day forward, he and his household would live in the wake of a miracle.

This did not spare them from hazards of this life. We can assume that both the official and his son one day died; but when they did, they died knowing that death does not have ultimate power over humankind. Albert Einstein said that there are two ways to live in this world. The first is to live as though everything is a miracle. The second is to live as though nothing is a miracle. The royal official of today's Gospel testifies that there is a third way. As we experience all this life presents--the wonderful, the tragic, and the bland--we may live knowing that goodness beyond all human understanding waits upon us. We are in one, long, unfolding miracle.

Ps 117, 118; Isaiah 59:15-21; Revelation 2:8-17

[Wrath]

Matthew 3:13-17. Then Jesus came to be baptized. John would have prevented him. But Jesus answered, "It is proper for us in this way to fulfill all righteousness."

How did Jesus' baptism fulfill all righteousness? When Jesus emerged from the water, "the heavens were opened to him and he saw the Spirit of God descending on him." Even the Son of God saw the need for this gift before proceeding with the hard work of being fully human. We humans were not created with the ability to "fulfill all righteousness" by ourselves. We need to look heavenward. We need the gift of God's spirit to live into the dreams God had for us at creation. As Jesus looked heavenward, he heard, "This is my Son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased." When we are baptized, we hear, "You are sealed by the Holy Spirit in baptism and marked as Christ's own for ever." Nothing else matches this love "for ever." The love of some parents comes close, but other parents abuse or disown their children. "For ever" admits of no exceptions and no escape clauses. God's embrace at baptism will not be withdrawn. If today is typical, something will cause you to feel despair. When this happens, steal a moment to be alone. Dwell upon the words "You are marked as Christ's own for ever." If you have been baptized, let the words sink in anew. If you have not been baptized, ponder the promise.

Ps 89; Isaiah 42:1-9; Acts 10:34-38