Meditation Moments: Finding the Then in Now

      

      When I have something to say that I think will be too difficult for adults, I write it in a book for children. Children are excited by new ideas; they have not yet closed the doors and windows of their imaginations. Provided the story is good... nothing is too difficult for children.    
                     ― Madeleine L'Engle* [1918-2007]

Ruler of the Universe We Know, and All the Ones We Don't ~
          It's amazing to watch children at play. They see the wonder, the color, the surprise, and have the imagination to find excitement in a beautifully creative understanding of life. They accept revelation, move boundaries, and effortlessly disentangle enigmas. They ask why a thousand times without caring how many times they get the same answer and never stop looking for another.
          Lord, when did my world become so limited, fixed, and absolute? How did I lose my curiosity and agree to be constrained by imposed and unexplored assumptions?  Please help me find the child in me that my education, life experience, and trying to prove my worth to others has set aside. Open my eyes to possibilities, potential, insight, and a new experience of You. Let me learn how to play again and to expand my inner vision to rediscover delight, joy, laughter, and un-seriousness in my relationship with You. Grant me the gift to know now what I knew then and the non-sense to live it.  amen.

*Madeleine L'Engle,  an author of many books and articles, among other accolades she was a Newbery award winner for her junior novel A Wrinkle in Time. L'Engle was a strong Episcopalian, and later in life she was a "writer-in-residence" at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in New York City where she is now buried. Because of some of her theological views such as universal salvation and a limit to divine punishment, many Christian libraries and bookstores refused to carry her books while at the same time she was criticized by secular reviewers as being "too religious." On writing for children, she often said that children could understand very complex topics better than adults and she emphasized the importance of being childlike and not childish.  



Please feel free to request a prayer or meditation to be composed for a particular person, concern, or topic for posting in this space. You may leave your request in the comments section or contact me directly at Leeosophy@gmail.com All compositions remain the property of the owner of this blog but may be used with attribution as long as they are not sold or charged for in any way. If you would like the weekly Prayers of the People prior to its appearance on the blog, please send me an email. Personal prayer requestors will remain anonymous.

Meditation Moments: 3 hours? Oh sure...

I have so much to do that I shall spend the first three hours in prayer.
             — Martin Luther*  [1483-1546]


Oh sure, God - not a problem, I'll just kick that off every morning! Can I just tell You how much I have to do every day? I'll bet Martin Luther didn't have to shop for groceries or prepare meals! And all the places I have to go? All the expectations others have of me? The pressure to get everything done on time and correctly, the phone calls, email, voicemail, bill paying, mowing the lawn, the laundry, text messages, travel reservations, doctor appointments.
       If I had the time I could go on and on for hours about how much time I do NOT have for prayer.....um, er, well, on the other hand, I guess I could just turn it all over to YOU...sort of like I just did. Hmm, I guess it isn't a requirement to lock myself up in a chapel on a kneeler. So, ok then, I'll just go on and on to You while I'm going around in my day. I already feel a little charged up, and wirelessly.  amen.




*Martin Luther was a German monk and theologian who is credited with the start of the Protestant Reformation. He was ultimately excommunicated by the Roman Catholic Church. He challenged the authority of the Pope on several levels and disavowed the Bible as the only source of divinely-revealed knowledge. He believed in "the priesthood of all believers" for baptized people and translating the Bible into the local language made it more accessible from the academic Latin known only by clergy and the very well-educated. He married and introduced singing by the congregation. His later writings were antagonistic toward Jews and remain controversial.  Nonetheless the Lutheran Church, in its various forms, follow the basic tenets of his theology to this day. 




Please feel free to request a prayer or meditation to be composed for a particular person, concern, or topic for posting in this space. You may leave your request in the comments section or contact me directly at Leeosophy@gmail.com All compositions remain the property of the owner of this blog but may be used with attribution as long as they are not sold or charged for in any way. If you would like the weekly Prayers of the People prior to its appearance on the blog, please send me an email. Personal prayer requestors will remain anonymous.

Prayers of the People: The Price of Free, 3rd Sunday after Pentecost

for Sunday, June 29, 2014, Readings:  Gen 22:1-18, Ps 13, Romans 6:12-23, Mt 10:37-42

...the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.     Romans 6:23b NRSV

       This week our first reading is related to one of the four "texts of terror" as author and seminary Professor Phyllis Trible describes several biblical accounts in her book of that name. Even many non-Bible readers are aware of God's call to Abraham to take his son Isaac and make him a burnt offering, to sacrifice his beloved child's life, as a test of obedience. Who hasn't wondered, and worried, if this is what it means to "obey" God? 
        It's easy, and scary, to get caught up in the language of fear but each of this week's readings reinforces the steadfast love of God which will not harm us, and the full reward of Christ by doing what we should be doing anyway, welcoming and caring for others. 
       Free gift? Well, it is free choice and, at the very least, the promise of eternity seems well worth obedience and hospitality as the price.

LET US, GOD’S PEOPLE, PRAY

Leader:   ~ Lord of Righteousness, God of Grace, from the teachings of Christ we have learned obedience in our hearts and the release of our souls from the death grip of sin. We are thankful and humbled for Your exquisite love that sanctifies and gives us eternal life, through Jesus, Your Son and our Redeemer.

                         O Lord, our God, we trust in Your steadfast love

Response:    Our hearts rejoice in Your salvation

~ Lord of Righteousness, God of Grace, we ask you to endow the leaders of this world, our country, and our state with extra grace and strength of character to discern Your will and wisdom in all that they do for Your people.  We pray especially for: add your own petitions

                       O Lord, our God, we trust in Your steadfast love

                       Our hearts rejoice in Your salvation

~ Lord of Righteousness, God of Grace, grant healing and comfort to those who struggle with illness, recovery, and pain and nourish the stamina of those who support them. We pray especially for: add your own petitions

                       O Lord, our God, we trust in Your steadfast love

                       Our hearts rejoice in Your salvation

~ Lord of Righteousness, God of Grace, please embrace those who bear the heavy burden of sorrow for their loss, as we lift up, with love, those who have exchanged this earthly life for peace and eternity with You. We pray especially for: add your own petitions

                       O Lord, our God, we trust in Your steadfast love

                       Our hearts rejoice in Your salvation

~ Lord of Righteousness, God of Grace, we pause in this moment to offer You our other heartfelt intentions and petitions, silently or aloud……..

                       O Lord, our God, we trust in Your steadfast love

                       Our hearts rejoice in Your salvation

~ Lord of Righteousness, God of Grace, we ask that You bolster and sustain those chosen to help us navigate the time and tides of this human experience. Impart refreshment in spiritual wisdom to preach Your Word, encourage our understanding, and connect us to You in everyday living. We pray especially for:  add your own petitions

                       O Lord, our God, we trust in Your steadfast love

                       Our hearts rejoice in Your salvation

The Celebrant adds:  God of All that is, Seen and Unseen, create in us the desire to be the welcoming disciples of Jesus, develop in us a spiritual thirst that seeks to be quenched only in You. Grant us the willingness to spend more time with You amidst the busy-ness of daily life, so that all that we are and all that we do is a reflection of Your love and grace. We ask this through Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit, who live and reign with You as our One God for all times and all places. Amen.

Please feel free to request a prayer or meditation to be composed for a particular person, concern, or topic for posting in this space. You may leave your request in the comments section or contact me directly at Leeosophy@gmail.com All compositions remain the property of the owner of this blog but may be used with attribution as long as they are not sold or charged for in any way. If you would like the weekly Prayers of the People prior to its appearance on the blog, please send me an email. Personal prayer requestors will remain anonymous.

Meditation Moments: Know Myself

Nothing is more helpful to reduce pride than the actual experience of self-knowledge. If we are discouraged by it, we have misunderstood its meaning.
- Thomas Keating, American Trappist monk, Founder of the Centering Prayer movement [1923- ]

The essence of knowledge is self-knowledge.
- Plato, Greek philosopher, student of Socrates 
[ca. 424 BCE - 347 BCE]

Enquiry into the truth of the Self is knowledge.
- Ramayana, Hindu Epic, Indian classic literature [ca. 5th - 4th century BCE] 

When we see men of a contrary character, we should turn inwards and examine ourselves.
- Confucius, Chinese Philosopher [551 BCE - 479 BCE]

There are three Things extremely hard, Steel, a Diamond, and to know one’s self.
- Benjamin Franklin, American statesman, politician, printer, scientist, author, etc.  
[1706-1790]

Of all knowledge, the wise and good seek most to know themselves.
- Shakespeare, English playwright, poet [1564-1616]

Note to my Higher Power:  
              It seems that across the centuries and cultures, there is agreement about the importance of knowing myself. How do I really do that? Even Benjamin Franklin said that it's really hard. I already know that I can be my own best friend and my own worst enemy, well at least my harshest critic. And I do wonder, from time to time, what makes me think about things the way I do, and who and what influences me.         
             I could start thinking about basic questions such as: What gives me more energy - staying in alone, or being with a crowd? How do I get information that helps with decision making - just by my intuition or by gathering concrete information? And when I am making a decision, do I rely on what "my gut" tells me subjectively, or do I analyze the facts objectively? How much serious organization do I require in my life or am I more likely to "go with the flow"?
             Please inspire my willingness to find ways to know more about who I am and to seek helpful advice and companionship in the process. And, please remind me to take a few moments regularly to center myself in You, to breathe slowly in and out, and let myself be known better by me and by You.  amen.  



Please feel free to request a prayer or meditation to be composed for a particular person, concern, or topic for posting in this space. You may leave your request in the comments section or contact me directly at Leeosophy@gmail.com All compositions remain the property of the owner of this blog but may be used with attribution as long as they are not sold or charged for in any way. If you would like the weekly Prayers of the People prior to its appearance on the blog, please send me an email. Personal prayer requestors will remain anonymous.

Prayers in Pentecost: Beauti-ful is less

Royal Albatross in Flight over the South Island of New Zealand

Beauty saves. Beauty heals. Beauty motivates. Beauty unites. Beauty returns us to our origins, and here lies the ultimate act of saving, of healing...Do not confuse beauty with beautiful. 

Beautiful is a human judgment. 

Beauty is All. 

The difference is everything. 

~ Matthew Fox* [1940- ]

Holy Creator of Beauty ~
       When I am in the presence of true beauty, it lights up my soul and brightens my whole sense of what Creation is through nature, art, music, the laughter of a child, or the map of life on an aged face. And while I believe I am often surrounded by it, I realize that more often I fail to see and experience it. Instead, I'm critical and judgmental, rejecting in others the very failings I suspect are my own, damaging the essence of Creation and its creatures. I'm guilty of absorbing the artificially contrived, often unattainable, and even unhealthy standards of human beauty whether physical, intellectual, or spiritual imposed by a purely commercial culture intent on control and profit. 
        Help me, Lord, to get beyond my flawed judgement that, I must confess, can be at the very least, unkind. Please turn my heart, refresh my soul, and heal my inner vision so that I might see the world and especially Your people, through the eyes of love. Grant me a lightness of spirit and an effortless appreciation of all that exists in Your Creation. Rid me of lingering -isms, - phobias, and negativity that I may lift the spirit of another, expand my appreciation of the flora, fauna, and terra firma, and become a co-creator of true beauty until my earthly existence is completed. amen.




*Matthew Fox, is an American Episcopal priest, theologian, and author. Formerly a Roman Catholic priest of the Dominican order, Fox became an early advocate and exponent of Creation Spirituality that has drawn inspiration from Thomas Aquinas, Hildegard of Bingen, Francis of Assisi and others.  The movement is aligned with ecological and environmental movements and in the spirit of deep ecumenism, embraces many spiritual traditions of the world such as Buddhism, Sufism, Judaism, and Native American.  Fox has authored more than 30 books and a great deal of controversy among "traditional" religious leaders.




Please feel free to request a prayer to be composed for a particular concern or topic for posting in this space. You may leave your request in the comments section or contact me directly at Leeosophy@gmail.com All compositions remain the property of the owner of this blog but may be used with attribution as long as they are not sold or charged for in any way. If you would like the weekly Prayers of the People prior to its appearance on the blog, please send me an email. Personal prayer requestors will remain anonymous.

Prayers in Pentecost: Finders Keepers

For whatsoever 

from one place doth fall, 

is with a tide 

unto another brought. 

For there is nothing lost, 

that may be found, if sought.

                                            ― Dante Alighieri* [1265-1321]

O Master of the Universe,

        I seem to lose You every now and then. You've given me the choice to be with You or not and sometimes I'm not paying attention and I wander away.  I may not have made the conscious choice to give You up, but it's clear that I can make that choice to look for You, to be with You, to live my life as You have instructed. I can't really lose You after all, I can only turn away by choice or by carelessness. But You have said that if I ask, if I knock, if I seek, all will be given, opened, and found. All I have to do is look...easy enough when all is well but when things aren't going so well I can't get out of my own way. Sometimes, I need Your help to remember where to look. I know now  where You are - will You please help me then? amen. 

*Dante Aligheri, was born in Florence, otherwise known simply as Dante, is the major Italian poet whose Divine Comedy, which includes the Inferno, has been called the greatest piece of literature in the Italian language and it remains a masterpiece of world literature.



Please feel free to request a prayer to be composed for a particular concern or topic for posting in this space. You may leave your request in the comments section or contact me directly at Leeosophy@gmail.com All compositions remain the property of the owner of this blog but may be used with attribution as long as they are not sold or charged for in any way. If you would like the weekly Prayers of the People prior to its appearance on the blog, please send me an email. Personal prayer requestors will remain anonymous.

Prayers after Pentecost: Seeding the Future

God created seeds, too, in all colors, shapes, and sizes

       We accomplish in our lifetime only a tiny fraction of the magnificent enterprise that is God's work.  Nothing we do is complete...No prayer fully expresses our faith...No confession brings perfection.  We plant the seeds that one day will grow. We water seeds already planted, knowing that they hold future promise. We lay foundations that will need further development. We provide yeast that produces far beyond our capabilities. We cannot do everything, and there is a sense of liberation in realizing that. This enables us to do something, and to do it very well. It may be incomplete, but it is a beginning, a step along the way, an opportunity for the Lord's grace to enter and do the rest. We may never see the end results, but that is the difference between the master builder and the worker. We are the workers, not master builders; ministers, not messiahs.  ~Oscar Romero* [1917-1980]      [emphasis added]

Lord of All, our Master Builder, 

       We westerners pride ourselves on accomplishment, our completion of tasks - even in our ministries. We proclaim ourselves "doers" and point to all the external activities in which we count ourselves competent, even expert. The checklists, the programs, the agendas, the plans....and then real life interrupts and some "important" projects never get finished. 

       Help us all, especially me, to remember that we can plant the seeds of Your love by a simple handshake, a smile, a kind word; and, that is often more ministry than building a church, fussing over liturgical details, or writing a check. While we can continuously renew our commitment to You within a community of like-minded people, when we live our love for You on the inside, we will wear it on the outside. In that way, You will be known to all through our love first and then through the simplicity of our actions, whether or not we are around to harvest the fruit.  amen.   
       
   

*Archbishop Oscar Romero of San Salvador, ordained in Rome and worked towards a doctorate in theology with a specialty in ascetical theology. When he returned home, he moved over time from a conservative stance to a radical supporter of Liberation Theology and supported the poor and the "disappeared".  More than 70,000 El Salvadorans were disappeared by the military leaders in 10 years and Dr Romero spoke out vociferously, even preaching to the United States to stop supporting the government because it was "killing my people."  He was murdered, shot to death while behind the altar presiding at Mass in 1980.  He has been given the title, "Servant of God" by the Vatican as a prelude to the process of canonization to sainthood.  


Please feel free to request a prayer to be composed for a particular concern or topic for posting in this space. You may leave your request in the comments section or contact me directly at Leeosophy@gmail.com All compositions remain the property of the owner of this blog but may be used with attribution as long as they are not sold or charged for in any way. If you would like the weekly Prayers of the People prior to its appearance on the blog, please send me an email. Personal prayer requestors will remain anonymous.