Category Archives: John

Real work

Alexander Andreyevich Ivanov (1806-1858)
People Gather Manna
via Wikimedia Commons

A job may earn me money, but my real work is learning to love—at home, in the workplace, in the community, those I know, those I have never met.

Today my work is to practice compassion, patience, forgiveness, generosity, gratitude, nonviolence, and reverence for all of God’s creation. My never-failing mentor is the Lord.

[Jesus said,] “Do not work for food that perishes but for the food that endures for eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. For on him the Father, God, has set his seal.” ” John 6:27

In Love

God’s love has been planted in my heart. May I take time today to sit with Love in the quiet of my heart space. May I let Love prune and shape my life and will. May my own capacity to love grow, flourish, and bear great fruit.

God is love, and whoever remains in love remains in God and God in him. 1 John 4:16b

Love one another

When Jesus says to love one another, it’s not a suggestion. It’s a command.

To be a faithful follower of Jesus, I must treat all people with respect, kindness, and compassion. We are kin. You and I and all of the human family are beloved children of God.

May I walk with reverence in the presence of my sisters and brothers. May my words and behaviors prove I am a disciple of the Lord.

[Jesus said to his disciples:] “This I command you: love one another.” John 15:17

Compassion fruit

I have had the experience of trying to join a group, but no one welcomed me because I was new to the area, an unknown, someone who might not be a good fit.

With the Lord to nurture me, compassion is the fruit that grows from times of rejection: compassion for the stranger, the newcomer, the misfit, the one who is different, the one—like me—who is a child of God.

When Saul arrived in Jerusalem he tried to join the disciples, but they were all afraid of him, not believing that he was a disciple. Acts 9:26

In need

Camille Pissarro (1830-1903)
Landscape with Flock of Sheep
oil on canvas, 1889 and 1902
Norton Simon Museum

Today I am especially in need of the gentle guidance and tender care of Jesus, the Good Shepherd. I am grateful for his kind attention.

May I be gentle, tender, and kind towards others, too, for they may also be in need of compassion.

Jesus said: “I am the good shepherd. A good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. John 10:11

Befriend the wounded

Caravaggio (1571-1610)
The Incredulity of Saint Thomas
oil on canvas, from 1601 until 1602
Sanssouci Picture Gallery

I am learning to identify and make friends with my mental, physical, emotional, and spiritual wounds. Although some are still open, these wounds are proof of my ability to survive, begin the work of healing, and live again. They teach me compassion, too, by opening my eyes and heart to recognize the wounds of others.

Today I pray for the grace to be gentle with wounded humanity. May I be willing to reach out to touch God’s holy Spirit in each of us.

Then [Jesus] said to Thomas, “Put your finger here and see my hands, and bring your hand and put it into my side, and do not be unbelieving, but believe.” John 20:27

Fools for Christ

1 Corinthians 4:10-13

They anointed and wrapped his dead body, and placed it with sorrow and reverence in an empty tomb.

And in a spectacular display of God’s power and love, Jesus played the greatest April Fool prank of all: He rose from the dead.

When Simon Peter arrived after him, he went into the tomb and saw the burial cloths there, and the cloth that had covered his head, not with the burial cloths but rolled up in a separate place. Then the other disciple also went in, the one who had arrived at the tomb first, and he saw and believed.
John 20:6-8

A morsel of mercy

Amish farm field, wheat up in shocks
By Nyttend (Own work) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

Today I feel the need for a light touch, a dash of comfort, a grain of healing. If I am feeling this way, perhaps others are too. May I be graced with the goodness to offer compassion to each member of our human family.

Have mercy on me, O God, in your goodness. Psalm 51:3

Cleaning house

Rembrandt (1606-1669)
Jesus Driving Money Changers from the Temple
etching, state i/ii, 1635
Connecticut College Wetmore Print Collection

It is my hope that God’s grace is driving greed, self-righteousness, and indifference to the suffering of others out of my mind and heart. I would like to be cleansed of all that prevents me from loving God, my neighbor, and myself.

[Jesus] drove them all out of the temple area… John 2:15b

Light witness

Today I will testify to the light of God’s love, compassion, healing, and peace with kind, respectful, nonjudgmental, and nonviolent words, attitudes, and actions.

A man named John was sent from God. He came for testimony, to testify to the light, so that all might believe through him. He was not the light, but came to testify to the light. John 1:6-8