Liturgy 090: When Jesus Saw the Crowds

Beauty, Blessing, and Happiness Part I

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Lectio Divina

When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up the mountain;
and after he sat down, his disciples came to him.
Matthew 5:1

Let us think often that our only business in this life is to please God. Perhaps all besides is but folly and vanity.
Brother Lawrence

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Prayer

Miracles
and spectacles
draw crowds.

But intimacy
is not found
there.

That ambiguous
lofty word —
disciple

has a location

where communion, courage,
and contentment
are born.

Jesus,
you did not lecture
from a pulpit made by men.

You sat with us.
You let the mountain hold you.

I imagine the hush
on that quiet
Galilean mountain top.

Those who were tired,
caught between
Caesar’s tax codes
and the Temple hierarchies

Those who longed for good news,
for a better way to live…
they drew close to you.

May I climb the mountain today,
where your voice is not shouted
or transmitted via devices
assembled in Cupertino.

But in that intimate space,
where stillness makes way
for truth to gently arrive.

May I sit when I’d rather run.
May I listen when I’d rather lead.
May I be with you
Jesus, Rabbi Savior and Friend

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Blessing

Dear Friend

May you stop and breathe deeply.

May you be a disciple of Jesus the Christ
whose Risen Body ascended into Heaven
whose Spirit dwells within you today
who calls you to the mountain top
away from what you and I have been conditioned
to see as urgent and immediate.

May you know and seek
the blessings of God
according to the Kingdom.

In the Name of the One
Who Came to Teach Us a Better Way

Amen