Lectio Divina
If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? And if you greet only your own people, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.
Jesus
Darkness cannot drive out darkness. Only light can do that.
Martin Luther King Jr.
I really only love God as much as I love the person I love the least.
Dorothy Day
Prayer
God of boundless mercy
You widen the circle
when we would draw it tight
You bless the neighbor, and the stranger
the friend, and the one who wounds
Teach me to love
beyond convenience
to greet
without calculation
To see in every face
a reflection of your own
Lord I confess
I prefer the comfort
of my walls
Yet you
stand at the door
inviting me to a love
that costs something
A love
that surpasses
tribal lines
But God
I really can’t stand
aloof pastors
who take
more money
than they deserve.
Them too?
Blessing
Dear Friend
May you not romanticize the gospel.
May it confront every devil that you rationalize with your brilliant self-preserving intellect.
May every idol of Baal be cast down at the feet of Christ.
May every spirit of religion and hypocrisy be exorcised from your soul.
May every ideology that does not cause the heart to love one’s enemy be exposed as the work of Satan.
May Jesus Christ be victorious in your life,
and especially mine.
Amen