Today’s reading
Philippians 1:15-18
“Some proclaim Christ from envy and rivalry, but others from good will. These proclaim Christ out of love, … the others proclaim Christ out of selfish ambition … . But what does it matter? Just this, that Christ is proclaimed in every way, whether out of false motves or true; and in that I rejoice” (Phil. 1:15-16a, 17a, 18).
Prayer
Dearest One, you bless me this day. I cross the street, gentled by an autumn sun. Warm and kind, it instantly drives off any musty doubts about the goodness of being alive. At my side walks a friend, also soaking in the golden goodness of this sparkling day. Pleased as I am by your sun, Blessed Friend, I am more warmed by the companionship of the one who walks with me, who loves you as much or more than I am capable.
Thank you for this privilege. I cannot take it for granted. Your great and holy ones often dwelt without the gentle presence of those who shared their love of you. They lived the labor of loneliness, facing resistance, knowing well that others wished them ill, distracted and distressed by those who used your blessed gospel to satisfy selfish ambitions and consuming conceits.
We, too, know such temptation. We are not always able to celebrate the blessings, successes and victories of others. Self interest, confining ideologies and concern for control corral our hearts and keep us from the one good thing: that you, blessed Friend, be known on Earth..
Grant that our eyes may focus on you alone that we may rejoice that you are made known in myriad ways, through many hearts, in millions of places, even though some may trouble us. And grant true gratitude for the privilege of living among those who love you. Amen.
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Friday, September 15, 2006
Thursday, September 14, 2006
Thursday, Sept. 14, 2006
Today’s reading
Philippians 1:12-15
“I want you to know, beloved, that what has happened to me has actually helped to spread the gospel, so that it has become known throughout the whole imperial guard and to everyone else that my imprisonment is for Christ; and most of the brothers and sisters having been made confident in the Lord by my imprisonment dare to speak the word with greater boldness and without fear” (Phil 1:12-15).
Prayer
What matters, dear Friend? What should live at the center of my heart so that nothing and no one can displace it? Around what axis should everything turn? Paul’s words draw me. He is centered, full of joy and focused on one thing—making you known. He remains determined, undeterred by hardship and suffering. Those, it seems, do not matter.
What matters is that you, heart of my heart, are exalted, glorified, made known to friend and foe. Joy flows from this core condition of the heart: in all, may you be known, and may you be known in all.
I want this joy, dear Friend, the joy of having you—the exuberant heart of all reality—at the center of my heart. But grant, first, clear awareness of what most matters: that you O Holy Mystery, blest Christ, be known whatever else happens to me this day. This most matters, for you are life, you are joy and wonder, you are the clear and blessed face of eternity. To know you is to have all we need to live fully and with joy. This day, may we know you. That will be enough for us. Amen.
Pr. David L. Miller
Dean of the Chapel, Cornelsen Director of Spiritual Formation
Philippians 1:12-15
“I want you to know, beloved, that what has happened to me has actually helped to spread the gospel, so that it has become known throughout the whole imperial guard and to everyone else that my imprisonment is for Christ; and most of the brothers and sisters having been made confident in the Lord by my imprisonment dare to speak the word with greater boldness and without fear” (Phil 1:12-15).
Prayer
What matters, dear Friend? What should live at the center of my heart so that nothing and no one can displace it? Around what axis should everything turn? Paul’s words draw me. He is centered, full of joy and focused on one thing—making you known. He remains determined, undeterred by hardship and suffering. Those, it seems, do not matter.
What matters is that you, heart of my heart, are exalted, glorified, made known to friend and foe. Joy flows from this core condition of the heart: in all, may you be known, and may you be known in all.
I want this joy, dear Friend, the joy of having you—the exuberant heart of all reality—at the center of my heart. But grant, first, clear awareness of what most matters: that you O Holy Mystery, blest Christ, be known whatever else happens to me this day. This most matters, for you are life, you are joy and wonder, you are the clear and blessed face of eternity. To know you is to have all we need to live fully and with joy. This day, may we know you. That will be enough for us. Amen.
Pr. David L. Miller
Dean of the Chapel, Cornelsen Director of Spiritual Formation
Wednesday, September 13, 2006
Wednesday, Sept. 13, 2006
Today’s reading
Philippians 1:1-11
“For all of you share in God’s grace with me ... . And this is my prayer, that your love may overflow more and more with knowledge and full insight ... so that on the day of Christ, you may be pure and blameless, having produced the harvest of of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ for the glory and praise of God” (Phil. 1:7, 9-11).
Prayer
The day is drear, O Keeper of the Colors. But your grace remains, vibrant and varied, coloring creation and every life with precision. Each bears particular expression of the love you are and glorifies you by being itself.
Is this the harvest or righteousness we bear, Holy One? Do we glorify you by being that expression that your blessed life is pleased to shape in us through the constellation of histories and inheritances we did not choose? Does the love whom you are yield its harvest by being known in our mortal, fallible lives?
If so, accept my amazement--and my thanks that the life I live may bear something more than the anxieties that stir the idle, foolish and poisonous words that drip from my lips. Thank you that I may yield more in this life than the defensiveness and self-concern that leave so little room in me for anything but me.
I am tired of me. I weary of the drabness of life on my own terms, my days depleted by the same gray fears and worries. I long for colors of your life that lift all constriction and allow me to breathe free. Animate my drear flesh with the vibrance of your love. Complete in me your holy and blessed image, train me for holiness, that the little corner of the world I inhabit may be brighter for the light you are, more gracious for the love that is your nature, brimming with hope in you who leave no promise unfilled.
Glory to you. You are the colors of life beyond measure. You privilege me with the life you are. Accept my morning praise. Amen.
Pr. David L. Miller
Dean of the Chapel, Director of Spiritual Formation
Philippians 1:1-11
“For all of you share in God’s grace with me ... . And this is my prayer, that your love may overflow more and more with knowledge and full insight ... so that on the day of Christ, you may be pure and blameless, having produced the harvest of of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ for the glory and praise of God” (Phil. 1:7, 9-11).
Prayer
The day is drear, O Keeper of the Colors. But your grace remains, vibrant and varied, coloring creation and every life with precision. Each bears particular expression of the love you are and glorifies you by being itself.
Is this the harvest or righteousness we bear, Holy One? Do we glorify you by being that expression that your blessed life is pleased to shape in us through the constellation of histories and inheritances we did not choose? Does the love whom you are yield its harvest by being known in our mortal, fallible lives?
If so, accept my amazement--and my thanks that the life I live may bear something more than the anxieties that stir the idle, foolish and poisonous words that drip from my lips. Thank you that I may yield more in this life than the defensiveness and self-concern that leave so little room in me for anything but me.
I am tired of me. I weary of the drabness of life on my own terms, my days depleted by the same gray fears and worries. I long for colors of your life that lift all constriction and allow me to breathe free. Animate my drear flesh with the vibrance of your love. Complete in me your holy and blessed image, train me for holiness, that the little corner of the world I inhabit may be brighter for the light you are, more gracious for the love that is your nature, brimming with hope in you who leave no promise unfilled.
Glory to you. You are the colors of life beyond measure. You privilege me with the life you are. Accept my morning praise. Amen.
Pr. David L. Miller
Dean of the Chapel, Director of Spiritual Formation
Tuesday, September 12, 2006
Tuesday, Sept. 12, 2006
Today’s reading 
Philippians 1:3-7
“For all of you share in God’s grace with me” (Phil. 1:7).
Prayer
I sat with a soul the other day, Dear Friend, truly a soul. He told me of watching the sun rise after being awake all night, caring for a family in the hospital. Even on this gray day I can see the image. Orange and yellow, purple with praise, a confident and insistent sun filled the 10th floor windows from beneath the horizon, carrying souls into a new day after an intense night of sorrow and care.
Despite Earth’s weary sadness, the sunrise transfused hearts with a hope whose source was far greater than the turning of the Earth on its ancient axis. The light was revelation of a grace that invites us forward to see what will be: “Come and see,” you say, Gracious One. “Do not fear. For whatever else will be, I will be. I am the Living One. I will be surrounding and engulfing, bathing you with the insistence of the new morning.”
We sat and listened not only to his story, but to you, who have taught us to love, and to love you most of all. Without knowing what was happening or where we were going, we entered a holy communion in the love whom you are, a graced unity in your life, a joy you grant just as certainly as you give the morning. This communion in your love is your gift and more: It is the future into which you draw all things. May we taste the harvest of your future even now, and especially in hearts with whom we share your life. Amen.
Pr. David L. Miller
Dean of the Chapel, Cornelsen Director of Spiritual Formation
Philippians 1:3-7
“For all of you share in God’s grace with me” (Phil. 1:7).
Prayer
I sat with a soul the other day, Dear Friend, truly a soul. He told me of watching the sun rise after being awake all night, caring for a family in the hospital. Even on this gray day I can see the image. Orange and yellow, purple with praise, a confident and insistent sun filled the 10th floor windows from beneath the horizon, carrying souls into a new day after an intense night of sorrow and care.
Despite Earth’s weary sadness, the sunrise transfused hearts with a hope whose source was far greater than the turning of the Earth on its ancient axis. The light was revelation of a grace that invites us forward to see what will be: “Come and see,” you say, Gracious One. “Do not fear. For whatever else will be, I will be. I am the Living One. I will be surrounding and engulfing, bathing you with the insistence of the new morning.”
We sat and listened not only to his story, but to you, who have taught us to love, and to love you most of all. Without knowing what was happening or where we were going, we entered a holy communion in the love whom you are, a graced unity in your life, a joy you grant just as certainly as you give the morning. This communion in your love is your gift and more: It is the future into which you draw all things. May we taste the harvest of your future even now, and especially in hearts with whom we share your life. Amen.
Pr. David L. Miller
Dean of the Chapel, Cornelsen Director of Spiritual Formation
Monday, September 11, 2006
Monday, Sept. 11, 2006
Today’s reading
Philippians 1:9-11
“And this is my prayer, that your love may overflow more and more with knowledge and full insight to help you determine what is best …” (Phil. 1:9-10a).
Prayer
What do you give us, O Maker of the Morning? What is you pleasure for us this day? Much of the time we have no idea what we most need. Turing to you we discover that you have only one thing to give: the life that you are. Your life is that stream of love that flows from your exuberant unity in the hidden darkness of eternity into our little moment of time, seeking to fill all that is—and us.
Your pleasure is our fullness. Your joy is that we overflow with the love you are. Do we ever experience this, dearest Friend? I think so. There are moments when there seems no room left in me for anything but you, for you have driven everything else out. I am filled, complete, wanting and needing nothing, joyous beyond all sorrow, my soul filled yet with room for a multitude, fresh and new yet possessing a transcending wisdom that only love knows, aware of myself yet lifted above the ravenous energies of ego.
In such moments, your divine pleasure for us is clear, however temporary the time this filling might seem. But for that moment I am certain: You will complete us. You will not quit until it is done. You will not abandon your divine desire until you have filled our emptiness with the life you have long delivered to your great and holy ones. Fill us this day with that love that that leaves no room for anything else. Amen.
Pr. David L. Miller
Dean of the Chapel, Director of Spiritual Formation
Philippians 1:9-11
“And this is my prayer, that your love may overflow more and more with knowledge and full insight to help you determine what is best …” (Phil. 1:9-10a).
Prayer
What do you give us, O Maker of the Morning? What is you pleasure for us this day? Much of the time we have no idea what we most need. Turing to you we discover that you have only one thing to give: the life that you are. Your life is that stream of love that flows from your exuberant unity in the hidden darkness of eternity into our little moment of time, seeking to fill all that is—and us.
Your pleasure is our fullness. Your joy is that we overflow with the love you are. Do we ever experience this, dearest Friend? I think so. There are moments when there seems no room left in me for anything but you, for you have driven everything else out. I am filled, complete, wanting and needing nothing, joyous beyond all sorrow, my soul filled yet with room for a multitude, fresh and new yet possessing a transcending wisdom that only love knows, aware of myself yet lifted above the ravenous energies of ego.
In such moments, your divine pleasure for us is clear, however temporary the time this filling might seem. But for that moment I am certain: You will complete us. You will not quit until it is done. You will not abandon your divine desire until you have filled our emptiness with the life you have long delivered to your great and holy ones. Fill us this day with that love that that leaves no room for anything else. Amen.
Pr. David L. Miller
Dean of the Chapel, Director of Spiritual Formation
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