Lectio Divina
Why must we go in and down? Because as we do so, we will meet the darkness that we carry within ourselves—the ultimate source of the shadows that we project onto others. If we do not understand that the enemy is within, we will find a thousand ways of making someone ‘out there’ into the enemy, becoming leaders who oppress rather than liberate.
Parker Palmer
Search me, God.
Psalm 139
Prayer
Come
You bid me
Come
Let us walk beneath the old tree
See how the morning light
finds its way
through the leaves
Here
her shadows
are given a place
to rest
Her branches
turn towards the open sky
Her roots
speak
far beneath
what eyes can see
Selah
Lord, grant me the courage
to meet the fears that hide
buried beneath my expertise
and pithy convictions
May my voice of prosecution
at least
for the morning
fall quiet
May I be with you
as you sit with me
Complex
beloved
on the road
toward liberation
Blessing
Dear Friend
The work of the spiritual life
is not to become someone worthy of love.
But to discover
even the complicated self
is already beloved.
May you hear the gentle invitation
to sit with the Spirit
as you are.
And may you find courage to look within
knowing you never look alone.
In the Name of the One
Who Withdrew to Solitary Places
Amen