Turn to the LORD for mercy;
to our God, who is generous in forgiving.
For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
nor are your ways my ways, says the LORD.
Isaiah 55:7b-8
The week has been full of stress. Today I feel in great need of God’s gentle comfort, mercy, and compassion.
May I also remember to imitate God’s kindness and forgiveness and to follow the Way of care for all of God’s creation, especially the people I find difficult to love.
Though darkness covers the earth,
and thick clouds, the peoples,
Upon you the LORD will dawn,
and over you his glory will be seen. Isaiah 60:2
Today I will not let the darkness of the pandemic, political posturing, and social tumult cover me. I will shine the glory of God’s love and compassion and comfort in my home, workplace, and community to help dissipate the clouds of fear, unrest, and discord that trouble our world.
Brothers and sisters:
Put on, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, heartfelt compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience, bearing with one another and forgiving one another. Colossians 3:12-13a
By God’s gracious gift of life to all people, we are family, united in God’s unconditional love for each of us. Let us honor and respect each other by remembering our relationship to God and one another.
[But that night the LORD spoke to Nathan and said: “Go, tell my servant David, ‘Thus says the LORD:] I have been with you wherever you went.'” 2 Samuel 7:9a
[The angel Gabriel] said, “Hail, full of grace! The Lord is with you.” Luke 1:28b
God is with me always. God is with you always. May we always remember we have nothing to fear: God is with us.
The spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me, because the LORD has anointed me. Isaiah 61:1a
The Lord has anointed me with love, peace, and joy, May I receive the grace of God’s holy blessing, be filled with God’s Spirit, and become a source of love, peace, and joy for all people.
Comfort, give comfort to my people, says your God.
Isaiah 40:1
Today I will lend you my strength in whatever way I am able. You are welcome to my experience of suffering, humor, joy, depression, peace, anxiety, and the hope I have found by walking through the valleys, climbing the mountains, and leaning on the Lord. This is the comfort I offer you.
Would that you might meet us doing right, that we were mindful of you in our ways.
Isaiah 64:4
May you meet me doing what is of the Lord: kindness, generosity, compassion, forgiveness, encouragement, comfort.
Today I will be mindful of choosing the ways of the Lord in all my interactions.
“Jesus said to his disciples, “For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, a stranger and you welcomed me, naked and you clothed me, ill and you cared for me, in prison and you visited me.’” Matthew 25:35-36
There are many people I know or have known who struggle to recover from addiction and stay sober.
So when I opened the rectory office door to a young woman who greeted me with: “Hi! I’m a recovering addict and alcoholic!” — my spontaneous reaction was delight and a loud “Yay!”
“I know, hey?” she said with a smile that matched mine and made her eyes shine with godly brilliance.
She wanted to receive Communion. Had I known where the key to the Tabernacle was kept, I would have taken her to the chapel and served her. As it was, I invited her into the rectory and said to the priest, “This young lady would like to receive Communion.”
He barely acknowledged her and kept his eyes on his computer while he said, “I’ll meet you in the chapel in ten minutes.”
The light faded out of her face. She looked at him, assessing him, maybe judging him. “Thanks,” she said, “But it’s almost time for lunch. I have to go.”
At the door, I wished her well, sketched a Sign of the Cross over her, and made a silent prayer that she continue on the hard road of recovery.
Sometimes it is my failures to feed others that show me how to do better the next time. May I continue to have opportunities.
Jesus told his disciples this parable: “A man going on a journey called in his servants and entrusted his possessions to them. To one he gave five talents; to another, two; to a third, one–to each according to his ability.” Matthew 25:14-15
I am imagining another scenario: the man gave a fourth servant half a talent. This servant bought bread with the talent and distributed it to the poor, the widows, the orphans, the lame, and the ill. When the man returned from his journey, all of those who had received bread were waiting to give him thanks.
What would the man say to the servant to whom he had given half a talent?
Sometimes it is necessary to be countercultural, to refuse to contribute to a system that seeks its own gratification and forgets those in need.
One who watches for [Wisdom] at dawn will not be disappointed, for she will be found sitting at the gate. Wisdom 6:14
In our awareness, we will find the Wisdom of God’s love, compassion, forgiveness, and peace sitting at the gate of our heart.
Today I will open my heart to Wisdom, to seek and find the Truth of God’s loving presence in every breath.
