Monday, October 9, 2006

Today’s reading

Philippians 2: 5-11

“Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited, but emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, being born in human likeness. And being found in human form, he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death--even death on a cross" (Phil 2:4-8).

Prayer

I see you, blessed Christ, bent and laden, carrying your cross. The rough wood beam cuts a path through the dusty street as it drags and clanks on uneven stones. Your feet bare, your movement steady, slow, you move ahead, ever onward. Then you stop and turn to me. “Follow me,” you say. “Carry your cross”

The intensity of vision soon passes, but the image persists in the mind’s eye and begins to speak. Words form in the heart: “Each day is an invitation to live the newness. Each moment is an opportunity to live the newness.” The words repeat until all that is left is the slogan itself: “Live the newness.”

These are your words to me--in me, and the meaning is near to hand. I know what it is for me: to release the fears that limit my soul so that I recoil from hard struggle. You invite me to a freedom beyond fear, to see each person, each encounter, each moment as occasion to live the love, the joy, the peace and conviction of the reign of God that even now shapes the depths of my being. It is to let the givenness of your love be the fountain from which every action and word flows in life-giving stream.

To live the newness is to give expression to your life, O blessed Spring. It bubbles from impenetrable eternity, emerging through my depths to freshen my heart with love and the hope-filled expectation that the every cross bears the promise of birthing the eternal newness flowing from your heart.

“Live the newness,“ you say again, the cross resting on your shoulder. Today, may I take up my daily duties, bearing them in hope, that each may become the occasion for the joy of sharing the new life you are. Amen.