Lectio Divina

Tomorrow will worry about itself.
Jesus, Matthew 6

Prayer

Lord

Tomorrow
she turns
six.

Help me.

I wish to hold
what cannot
be held.

Teach me
to be
here.

Not tomorrow

Not yesterday
when I rocked her to sleep
in my arms.

Here.

Palms open
in praise and surrender.

Blessing

Dear Friend

May Divine Countenance shine upon you.
May you find sacred, your here and now.

Take in a slow deliberate breath.
Feel your lungs expand.

You are alive.
God is near.

Here in this ordinary time.

You know
we cannot defeat
the passage of time, but
may we learn
to inhabit it nonetheless
with a smile.

God bless you.

In the Name of the One
Who Created All Things in Love

Amen

Lectio Divina

The spiritual journey is full of paradoxes. One of them is that the humiliation that brings us down eventually takes us to a firmer and fuller sense of self. When people ask how it felt to emerge from depression, I can only give one answer: I felt at home in my own skin for the first time.
Parker Palmer

While he was still a long way off,
his father saw him and was filled with compassion.
Luke 15

Prayer

Lord

Who have I become?

Not against
the measure
of yesterday,
but the young man
who first heard
your voice?

I have lived inside
a pigsty of stories
that excuse my wrongs
and paint a man unbreakable.

Oh God of Grace

May every
crafted narrative
fall away
until I see
the child
who never needed
to be remarkable.

May the
clenched hands
of proving
at last
be loosened.

May my humiliations
be a balm
for the wounds
long wrapped
but never healed.

Until I am
at home
at rest
at peace
within every
holy limitation,
may your own story
unfold in me.

Amen

Blessing

Dear Friend

Home is found when striving ends.

May your weary feet find the road back to the country of God’s grace.

May you discover beneath every story you’ve told, a beloved child.

May the embrace of God find you this day.

May you also embrace your truest self.

In the Name of Christ
who welcomed every wanderer home

Amen

Lectio Divina

Did becoming older bring me closer to Jesus?
Henri Nouwen

After twenty-five years of priesthood,
I was living in a dark place
and the term burnout
was a convenient psychological translation
for a spiritual death.
Henri Nouwen

What good is it for someone to gain the whole world?
Mark 8

Prayer

Lord

I have seen
people receive
everything
they prayed for

I have arrived
at the horizons
I once saw
from a distance

But only
one thing
is needful

May my mind
preoccupied

with deadlines
and grievances

come back
to a quiet center

Closer
than my skin

Inside
every breath
I receive

O Living God
Author of Shalom

May I desire
what cannot be achieved

Blessing

Dear Friend

Our tradition reminds us:
Father, Son, and Holy Spirit
have always lived
in perfect love.

May you find your place
in their dance.

And when your heart wanders
into smaller, make believe kingdoms
may perfect love call you home.

In the Name of Christ
Amen

Lectio Divina

Direct my footsteps according to your word
let no sin rule over me
Psalm 119:133

Until you make the unconscious conscious,
it will direct your life and you will call it fate.
Carl Jung

Prayer

Lord

You know
all my vices

You know
the underlying fear

The hunger
beneath the hunger

Prune my behavior, yes

But lay axe
to the root

Teach my feet
a different path

until joyful
obedience
becomes
the way
home.

Blessing

Dear Friend

May the God who knows
the root and the fruit
guide you
one faithful step
at a time, until
congruence takes form.

You have heard of God’s forgiveness,
may your feet give way to God’s path.

May it guide you
to a joy unimagined.

In the Name of the One
Who is Faithful to Call Us By Name

Amen

Lectio Divina

Suffering produces perseverance;
perseverance, character;
and character, hope.

And hope does not
put us to shame.
Romans 5

I do not believe in destiny.
I believe in character.
John McCain

Prayer

Lord

Will these days
become my excuse
or my formation?

The valley
of suffering
appears again.

And I know.

Not all
who enter
leave the same.

From what script will I read my story?

Am I a victim?

Or a man
forged in the fire?

I lay all I am before you, God.

Come
transmute anger
into compassion and strength.

May it not calcify into a
deformed soul
with misshapen desire.

Come, Holy Spirit.
Let Imago Dei emerge.

Blessing

Dear friend

May you be as clay
in the hands of
an Artist
when you enter
the arenas
of unforeseen pain.

The Lord is with you.

In the Name of the Artist
Faithful to Finish the Work Begun in You

Amen

Lectio Divina

A man is a man, no more, no less. The awareness of this fact marks the supreme moment of human dignity.
Howard Thurman

The Lord is a God who avenges.
O God who avenges, shine forth.
Rise up, Judge of the earth;
Pay back to the proud what they deserve.
How long, oh Lord?
How long will the wicked be jubilant?
Psalm 94

Prayer

an unjust killing
from the violent hands
of tax funded state officials
is at the heart
of my religion

the sound of anger
a persistent lament
is the dominant prayer
of the Hebrew people

christ
you were well acquainted
with desperate prayers
for kingdom come

christ
you entered
the sorrows born
of injustice

and you wept

lord i ask
mourn with us
create beauty
through the raw material
of these anguished cries

for Lorenzo and his family
for the well being
of my immigrant siblings

oh lord
in your mercy
maranatha

Blessing

Dear Friend

May you be a light in this world

In the Name of Christ
Amen

Lectio Divina

Rejoice greatly, Daughter Zion!
Shout, Daughter Jerusalem!

See, your king comes to you,
righteous and victorious,
lowly and riding on a donkey,
on a colt, the foal of a donkey.

Zechariah 9

Prayer

Lord

Help me hear
the prophet, and
the poet.

His imagination
of procession
and power,
quiet.

I would prefer
the overthrowing
of unjust systems.

What else is a righteous victory?

Lord

Baptize me
in the waters
of your kingdom
where gentleness
reigns above
horses and flags
and weapons of war.

Blessing

Dear Friend

May the news not cause your blood pressure to rise above its resting measure. You do know it’s socially engineered to do just that, yeah?

May you take in the breath and beauty of this Sunday morning. May God’s nearness be your treasure immeasurable. May you not need to arrive any place on a horse.

May gentleness become your native language.

May exceptionalism be but an invitation to care for the least of these.

May you participate in the reign of God, not with anxious noise, but quiet determination to love deeply, to notice the weak, to greet the strong, to walk in gentleness and justice.

In the Name of the One Who Said
Follow Me

Amen

Lectio Divina

He asked them, “What are you discussing together as you walk along?”
Luke 24

I don’t want to talk about you
like you’re not in the room.
Misty Edwards

Prayer

Like an alarm
going off
at some
scheduled
future

my autopilot self
assumes
you will grow loud
when I need you
when you need me.

No wonder
I wonder
underneath
the noise of
daily life

where you are.

Today
I hear the
quiet invitation.

Revelation
is not a mountaintop.

It is stillness
in the valley
of ordinary life.

You do not wait at a finish line.
You are all along this winding road.

Like Cleopas
talking about Jesus to Jesus
on the way to Emmaus,
my Sunday morning rituals
miss the point.

Oh to be at the table with you long enough
for my eyes to be opened as his.

Come Holy Spirit.

Blessing

Dear Friend

May the eyes of our hearts be opened.
May we know the joy of Brother Lawrence.
May we live in the presence of God.

In the Name of the One Who Knocks
Amen

Lectio Divina

Whoever does not take up their cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds their life will lose it, and whoever loses their life for my sake will find it.
Jesus, Matthew 10

The true lover
lives only
to love the beloved.
Li-Young Lee

Prayer

This morning
I followed the path
of birds, disappearing
into the sky.

For a moment, I traced
their arc and dance
until there was only
the openness they entered.

Maybe this
is how you lead.

Not with linear certainty
but invitation.

Teach me courage
to follow…

To release what is too small.
To trade fear for wonder.

And when my steps trace
the very edge of all I know

may I find you
already there

waiting, in Hagar’s wilderness
addressing me by name.

Oh
God who sees
God who leads

I can hear you

Blessing

Dear friend

May you discover the strange grace
on the other side of surrender.

May you be free from the burden
of having to possess your own life.

May the cross you bear
be the cost of relinquishing
your false self.

All of life is an internship
in the school of unconditioned love.

We are gonna be alright.

In the Name of the One
Who Proclaimed Good News

Amen

Lectio Divina

I have loved you
with an everlasting love
Jeremiah 31

Joy does not simply happen to us.
We have to choose joy
and keep choosing it every day.
Henri Nouwen

Prayer

Before there was achievement
There was breath

Before there were goals
There was wonder

Before there were plans
There was creation singing

The birds do not hurry
The trees do not compare

This morning does not apologize
for arriving slowly

Thank you Lord

Today is not a problem to solve
But a gift to receive

Blessing

Dear Friend

May you notice and receive
what has not been earned

May you move through the day
with open hands

In every meal, every conversation,
may you have the wisdom to pause
and give thanks

In the Name of the One
Who dined and dwelled among us
Amen

Lectio Divina

All my friends are finding new beliefs
and I am finding it harder and harder to keep track
of the new gods and the new loves
and the old gods and the old loves
Christian Wiman

Dear children, keep yourselves from idols.
1 John 5:21

Prayer

Lord

I am finding
with every mountain I climb
there is but one summit

That thin line
upon the heights
where Heaven and Earth meet

It is all
a single
earned
confession

I am not god
I am human

Blessed
Invited

to love
and receive
in ways
more generous
than before

Look
another mountain
rises before me

I’m learning now
to stop romanticizing
and start enjoying
the path beneath

One step
then another

Kindness
Mercy
Praise

Here I am, Lord

Blessing

Dear Friend

Whatever you hold tightly this morning,
may you learn to see it with new eyes.

May all things become
an arena to practice
your humanity
for all our days
are but an internship
in the school of love.

May you reflect
the kindness of God
everywhere you already are.

May you enjoy
the presence of God
everywhere you already are

In the Name of Christ
The One Who Conquered Death
The One Who Prayed for His Crucifiers
The One Who Sustains Us
The One Who Taught Us to Pray

Amen

Lectio Divina

Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves. Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.
Romans 12

I believe that the desire to please you
does in fact please you.
And I hope I have that desire
in all that I am doing.
Thomas Merton

Prayer

Lord

Morning pulls at me
from every direction

Even before
the little ones
call my name

Return me
to the quiet center

Communion
and the loving gaze

May my love be pure
Unvarnished
Without need to be seen

May passion be born of daily breath

Grace received
Gratitude returned
All in joyful union

Draw me close

Blessing

Dear Friend

When I was young, I burned passionately for God. I also longed to be seen, admired by the ones I held in high esteem. That adolescent child is finally now a tired middle aged man! The voices I once strained to impress grow quieter each year. Praise be to God.

And yet, something holy still remains. The same passion now longs to be transmuted into a generous presence offered to those God has placed before me.

I pray God reigns in us this day.

May our love ask for little in return.
May we offer our attentiveness freely.
May we receive the grace of stillness.
May we enjoy the nearness of God.

In the Name of the One
Who Lifts Our Eyes

Amen

Lectio Divina

If you love me, show it by doing what I’ve told you. I will talk to the Father, and he’ll provide you another Friend so that you will always have someone with you. This Friend is the Spirit of Truth.
John 14:16-17, MSG

Taking the easy yoke is to lay aside your projects or my projects, which are crushing — this is where leaders come under intolerable pressure. It is because they are carrying their projects; they have presumed to take God’s projects and made them their projects.
Dallas Willard

Prayer

This morning
I woke up slow
and I thought of you

As the smile
broke across my face

I thought of younger days
when I would ask
you favors

Now
breathing through
a fortieth year
around the sun

I am
at rest

Your loving gaze
your friendship
is enough

Let me put my shoes on
Let’s go
for a morning walk

Blessing

Dear Friend

On this Pentecost Day

May the Spirit of God
be less of an abstraction
more of a companion.

May you hear her voice
and smile.

May you find the eternal Shalom.

In the Name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit
Amen

Lectio Divina

Martha. Martha.
You are worried and upset about many things.
But few things are needed
or indeed, only one.
Jesus

To pay attention,
this is our endless and proper work.
Mary Oliver

Prayer

Outside,
cicadas fill the dark
with song.

The kitchen light
still burns above the sink.

I think of Mary
remaining in the room
as Martha moves on to the next.

My hands rest quietly
on the table.

And for a moment,
I stop reaching past
Your presence
already here.

For once,
I let the day remain unfinished.

Blessing

Dear friend

We can do the dishes
in order to move on to the next task.

Or we can do the dishes
to do the dishes
in the Presence of God
with gladness.

Perhaps this
is the mystery
of joy…

Every moment is an invitation
to be at the feet of Christ.

May you stumble into that sacred gift.
Many times, each day,
all the days of your life.

May your shoulders lower.
May your breath deepen.

May Christ dwell richly in your heart.

In the Name of the One, Who said

Mary has chosen what is better.

Amen.

Lectio Divina

Give us this day our daily bread
Matthew 6

Prayer

Lord
there are days
when the mind runs

unsettled
in ambiguity
seeking clarity,
resolution.

And yet
beneath it all

morning light still gathers
slowly across the kitchen table

coffee steams
between my hands

the trees quietly sway
without needing
answers.

God
teach me.

Not to abandon
this moment
for another.

If peace is possible
here, let me receive it
small and honest.

Each breath
each meal
is mercy poured out.

Though I walk through shadows
I do not walk alone.

Blessing

Dear Friend

Blessed are you
when you walk gently
within the discomforts of unknowing.

God’s grace is not waiting
on the other side of clarity.

It has already arrived
in the middle of it all.

May you seek first
the Kingdom of God.

In the Name of the One
whose goodness and love
follow all the days of your life.

Amen

Lectio Divina

Read these words slowly the first time.
Slower the second time.
Slower still the third.
Follow their lead into a deeper silence.

Prayer

God who abides

I want clarity.

I want to hear
when to stay,
when to go.

I know.

There are fields
to leave behind.

Others to tend
for a lifetime.

Keep me
from restless escape, and
from stubborn staying.

Give me
a steady heart.

May I not be bound to an ideal
but grounded
in you.

Lord

Wether I remain
or begin anew,
may I dwell
in and for the sake
of love.

Blessing

Dear Friend

If your life feels like a series of unexpected turns,
yours is in line with the biblical narrative
of a God who meets us on the wilderness path.

The issue with Jonah was not his geography
but the location of his heart.

May you discover the secret gladness
of knowing God in all manner of space and time.

May you discover the glory of God
that fills the whole Earth
and the whole of our lives.

May you leap in faith.
May you remain in faithfulness.

In the Name of the One Who is the Vine

Amen

Lectio Divina

Who can add
a single hour to this life
by worrying?
Jesus

Attention is the beginning of devotion
Unknown

Prayer

God of Presence

I keep walking ahead
eyes fixed on the bend in the trail.

But the ground is here
beneath my feet,
steady, carrying me.

The air is already full,
voices nearby,
light breaking through the trees.

More has been given
than I can hold.

Lord

Turn my pre-occupation
from what is to come
to what is already here

until this step
this breath
this day

is not passed over
but received.

Here is enough.

Blessing

Dear Friend

Contentment is not a prize to pursue.
It is a gift to receive in this given day.

May you notice
provision already given
and smile.

May you worship God
Giver of all good things
with gladness.

In the Name of Christ Jesus,
Creator, Sustainer, and Friend
Amen

Lectio Divina

Better a little with the fear of the Lord
than great wealth with turmoil.
Proverbs 15

Wherever you are,
be all there.
Jim Elliot

Prayer

God of Nearness

I woke up to the quiet hum
of a house half asleep.

I traveled that 20 foot distance
from garage to curb
setting the trash on the street.

I was greeted
by cold Texas air.

Birds were singing, unbothered
in the near distance.

I felt my lungs expand.
And I gave thanks.

Not with G C D and E minor
or choir robes
or lifted evangelical hands

But from the gut.
From the wellspring.
From the inmost parts.

I went back inside.

Eggs in the pan.
Avocado sliced.
Small hands.
Loud voices.

A kiss at the door.

And I looked around.
The department store couch.
The mid-tier dishwasher.
The scent of yesterday’s candle.

All bearing witness.

God is steadfast.
Every moment is a gift.

I looked again.

Nothing spectacular.
Nothing missing.

Only this:
You are near
You are enough

Blessing

Dear Friend

May you notice what is already here.
May the ordinary become revelation.
May you find in small things
the sufficiency of grace.

Go in peace.

In the Name of the One
Who dwells in us

Amen

Lectio Divina

The Lord is my shepherd
I shall not want
Psalm 23

No such thing
No such thing
J Cole

Prayer

God of enough
God of nearness

I am so easily turned
towards the horizon, towards
what is not yet
what is not mine
what is just beyond reach

They tell me
its out there, hidden
in the next purchase
in the next milestone
in the next version
in the next arrival

Even my faith
becomes transaction
a means
a ladder
a quiet striving
dressed in sacred words

But you, O Lord
you are not a means to an end
you are treasure itself

Here
in this unremarkable morning
with breath in my lungs
with light arriving to greet my day
I am without lack

All that I need
is already given

Help me notice
my reaching, and
unclench my hands.

May I arrive at the smile
the Apostle had
while writing in chains
of the secret he carried
in all manner of life.

All my fountains
rise in you.

Blessing

Dear Friend

Our souls are restless
until nourished
by communion
with God.

We were made
for union with the Divine.

May you name
the disordered desires
the misinterpreted longings.

May you find your way
to the inner sanctuary
that the mystics of old enjoyed.

May you live
in the presence
of Father Son and Holy Spirit.

May you be alive.

In the Name of the One
Who taught us to abide in him,

Amen

Lectio Divina

When he entered Jerusalem
the whole city was in turmoil, asking,
“Who is this?”
Matthew 21

The basis for the ethics
of the Sermon on the Mount
is not what works, but rather
who God is.
Stanley Hauerwas

Prayer

God

I have been shouting something true
without knowing what I mean

Hosanna

A word so old
it has worn smooth
on my lips

Hosanna
Salvation
Save Us Lord

But I don’t know
what kind of king
rides an animal like that

I am not sure
if I am in this crowd
or finally watching
from a doorway

God bless America
God bless America

I have grown weary
of all shouting

Certainty moves through a crowd
like a virus

It feels like faith
But I’m not sure what it is

My God is Mighty to Save
My God is Mighty to Save

Still
something
is alive and moving

So here I am
I’m cutting down a branch
from the nearest tree

Not because I understand
but because that word
still touches the deepest
ache in me

Come save me, God
Hosanna

I don’t know what I’m asking for
I don’t know who is listening
but I pray it aloud
anyway

Blessing

Dear Friend

May the image of Jesus
riding into the politically charged
streets of Jerusalem
on a donkey
do in us the quiet work
the gospel writers intended.

May the Spirit
breathe upon such an image,
and disrupt
our imaginations of
power, success, significance, and freedom.

May we ponder our faith in Christ
as a path that leads
to death on a cross.

May we someday be as bold as Paul
who confessed

I want to know Christ,
the power of his resurrection
and participation in his sufferings,
becoming like him in his death.

In the Name of Christ
Who is Faithful
to Complete the Work
God Began in Us

Amen