I reflect on these words this week:
Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good.
Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor.
Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord.
Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer.
Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality.
Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them.
Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep.
Live in harmony with one another. Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly.
Never be wise in your own sight.
Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all.
If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all.
Romans 12: 9 – 18
Ah, precious life, how variant and devious you are. Let this small world I inhabit see your much greater perspective. Lift me out of my apathy and my quiet contemplation and infuse me with Your zeal for life, Your work ethic and Your love of humanity.
I heard today of a sad date to set on the calendar, Abba. I do not know, do not understand, do not see You at work in this path; I am at one time both too close and too far away.
The ruthless voices of the past may pander to the apparent broken vows, but vindictiveness and revenge hardly seem at root here. The mocking cynics of the present whisper about how we change as we age, as we come into our own professionally and personally in adulthood, about how we are no longer the people we were as children, or even as young adults.
But what say You, Abba, of the future?
I do wish this was over for him, before Easter, Abba. He needs that re-birth, that resurrection. He’s lived in the expectant sobriety of Lent and under the gray shadow of dead marriage far longer than the three days Your Son wandered. It is time he, too, came back to the living.
But Abba, where are You, for him?
For wallering, tickling…
For smiles wreathed with pride,
For joyful faces and short-sized hugs.
I say thank you, Abba.
For a day generous in peace,
Rich in childlike wonder,
And graced with gentle love,
I say Alleluia, Abba.
Even during these supposedly glee-less times of Lent.
Abba,
In the long hours of the day as I listened in song, I wished I had an audio book about You. Of course, listening to stories about You is hard to do while driving, as I can’t drive and pray properly at the same time. But those hours seem lost now, scattered among the molecules of oxygen, carbon dioxide, hydrogen, water and the other components of our atmosphere.
They are gone now, never to be recaptured, but necessary to get me home, here with those who know and love me most. You, Chris and the princess have been bountifully generous – may I be so gracious as well, freely offering my heart, my talents, my time and my love to all of You.
Amen.
Abba, in the busy bustle of your day’s work, let us be faithful stewards of your resources and your time. Amen.
Abba, in the pre-dawn of a long and tiring day, please bless me in three things: safety, endurance and the company of good friends at its end. Amen.
Abba,
In the desert desolation, we cry out to you. We ask, pray, plead … to relieve our suffering, for justice for the wronged, for necessities for the needy, for healing for the broken.
We do this in our own voices and with one voice. We do it silently, with our bodies yearning – straining – for your intervention.
And yet, too often, our prayers go unanswered. To think that our agony is but one step in the great circle of life is humbling, Abba. To see ourselves – our existence, our humanity – as inhabiting but one stage in a Great Journey reduces our current fleeting souls to bare whispers in the winds of eternity. So many of us, Abba, do not want to be such small beings in a bigger Universe. So many of us want the worlds to revolve around us.
In these days, may we release our perceived holds on the world and simply cling to each other for the seconds we have.
Amen.
Abba,
This morning we woke so unexpectedly, so abruptly. There is so much pain and agony in the world today – a world, Abba, that you created. Some will say that You caused this. Some will say that it is evidence You do not exist, certainly not in a compassionate and merciful way. I do not know why your creation was made in a way that causes tragedy and disaster, I do not know why you watch and guide our response with just the lightest of evolutionary awareness and sophisticated human cooperation.
As this day passes, may we listen and hold in our hearts all that is happening, and may we use our knowledge, gifts and talents to support others in productive and supportive ways.
Amen.
Abba,
Forgive me… for not having the courage to lose everything in the service of Your Son. Some losses would be more painful than death itself.
For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ… that I may know him and the power … – Philippians 3: 8b-10a
Let the example of Jonah, Jesus, Paul and so many of the others be a model for me and give me courage, Abba, Giver of Life.
Amen.
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