Monday, September 18, 2006

Today’s reading

Philippians 1:18b-20

“It is my eager expectation and hope that I will not be put to shame in any way, but that by speaking with all boldness, Christ will be exalted now as always in my body, whether by life or death” (Phil. 1:20).

Prayer

What I do I expect, Faithful One? What do I eagerly await, assured that you attend your promises as a mother watches her wobbly toddler, ready to fulfill her vow to be there at every bump and fall and crack in the sidewalk? You coax me beyond the shadow existence where every bet is hedged and every expectation is couched in ‘maybe.’ You lead me by the hand from the shallows into deep water where my feet no longer find the bottom but must swim in the fluid currents of divine promises and purposes which take me to places I fear.

And you whisper, “believe, trust. You will not be put to shame but will exalt the life that I am in your mortal flesh.” So I hope, and more: I expect. That is the radical form of faith to which you invite, a faith that risks disappointment and disaster, a faith that breaks through the tough, gray cocoon of self-protection to play in the stunning light of day.

This is my prayer: To live no longer in the gray safety of small expectations but in vibrant assurance that I may know you in making known the loving wonder whom you are. Let me enter each moment, each situation, each encounter, expecting to encounter and exalt you. Each moment of my life exits for you and for your exaltation. This is what time is for. This is what I am for: to know you and make you known, living in eager expectation to know your love, your life, the wonder you are. Amen.


Pr. David L. Miller
Dean of the chapel, Cornelsen director of spiritual formation