Today’s reading
Philippians 4:4:1-7
“Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice. Let your gentleness be known to everyone. The Lord is near. Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God that passes all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus” (Phil. 4:4-7).
Prayer
Come, Lord Jesus. Draw near that we may speak heart to heart. But this does not describe the intimacy we know in these morning moments. For when I speak to you it is you who speak in me to the Holy Greatness who is beyond me. Your Spirit abides, speaking in the depth of this human heart to you who are ever beyond me. There is no space between us, no here and there, no separation, but two hearts holding intimate exchange in one mortality.
You are the Near Abiding and Infinitely Transcendent, the Far Near One, whose immense divine heart thirsts to abide in and with me. Your divine desire is that I may know you even as I am known, possessing such knowledge as only love may have.
No wonder you insist that we pour out prayer and supplication to you, making our hearts known to you. Certainly, you already know the quagmire of our soul’s confliction. But in prayer we give voice to you who hungers to pray us, to pray in us, to pray us into intimacy with an infinite love we have no other way of entering.
You demand our prayers that we may abide in each other. You insist because you hunger to know us, to dwell intimately, heart to heart, your immensity communing in and with my smallness. My desire to know you and nothing but you is nothing more--or less--than your Spirit taking residence in this soul. Your Spirit within my own moves to complete that blessed communion which is your desire for me.
So Lord Jesus, you who always come, I will come to you. I will pour out my prayers and requests, knowing all the while that it is you who speaks in me, praying me into the dearest desire of your heart, and mine. Amen.
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Friday, December 15, 2006
Thursday, December 14, 2006
Thursday, December 14, 2006
Today’s reading
Philippians 4:4:1-7
“Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice. Let your gentleness be known to everyone. The Lord is near. Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God that passes all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus” (Phil. 4:4-7).
Prayer
Come, Lord Jesus. I am here again, and you are here always. In prayer I enter the presence of you who are Presence beyond my ability to grasp or comprehend. I cannot understand you. But as certainly as the feel of my fingers on the keys, I know you are and that you are here. And I rest, sinking into a love that has known and treasured me since before the birth of time.
I read the words again, unable in these Advent days to move beyond them. Rejoice, ... do not worry, ... let your gentleness be known, ... peace will guard your heart and mind. They transport me into another world more lovely and gracious than I can bear. Insatiable longing fills me. I want to live in that world and only there.
Amid tears I did not choose, you take me into what I most need--you. You encircle me in your embrace where without word or concept I know the Love, the Mystery, the Unspeakable Wonder from whom all flows like a river from eternity into time. This offers no knowledge for which I have words. I simply know you who are Love, and life finds completion for I know you.
Jesus, you come, inviting me to savor the contours of your face and know that the compassion I find there is the compassion in which I was, am and will always be held. I dwell in the climate of divine compassion. Constant and inescapable. Such knowledge moves me to rejoice beyond worry, letting peace wash over me and gentleness through me so that my life becomes revelation of another world where all you desire is complete and your love is all in all.
We hunger for that world. So come, Lord Jesus. Take us into your heart that we might taste our eternal tomorrow. Amen.
Philippians 4:4:1-7
“Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice. Let your gentleness be known to everyone. The Lord is near. Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God that passes all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus” (Phil. 4:4-7).
Prayer
Come, Lord Jesus. I am here again, and you are here always. In prayer I enter the presence of you who are Presence beyond my ability to grasp or comprehend. I cannot understand you. But as certainly as the feel of my fingers on the keys, I know you are and that you are here. And I rest, sinking into a love that has known and treasured me since before the birth of time.
I read the words again, unable in these Advent days to move beyond them. Rejoice, ... do not worry, ... let your gentleness be known, ... peace will guard your heart and mind. They transport me into another world more lovely and gracious than I can bear. Insatiable longing fills me. I want to live in that world and only there.
Amid tears I did not choose, you take me into what I most need--you. You encircle me in your embrace where without word or concept I know the Love, the Mystery, the Unspeakable Wonder from whom all flows like a river from eternity into time. This offers no knowledge for which I have words. I simply know you who are Love, and life finds completion for I know you.
Jesus, you come, inviting me to savor the contours of your face and know that the compassion I find there is the compassion in which I was, am and will always be held. I dwell in the climate of divine compassion. Constant and inescapable. Such knowledge moves me to rejoice beyond worry, letting peace wash over me and gentleness through me so that my life becomes revelation of another world where all you desire is complete and your love is all in all.
We hunger for that world. So come, Lord Jesus. Take us into your heart that we might taste our eternal tomorrow. Amen.
Wednesday, December 13, 2006
Wednesday, December 13, 2006
Today’s reading
Philippians 4:4:1-7
“Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice. Let your gentleness be known to everyone. The Lord is near. Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God that passes all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus” (Phil. 4:4-7).
Prayer
Come, Lord Jesus. Free our hearts and loose our minds from besetting worries that with full and pure hearts we may prepare to celebrate the feast of your coming among us. We are born to worry as smoke rises. We are finite and mortal. From earliest infancy, there is never a moment when our souls can forget this most fundamental fact. We weep for food, for warmth, for comfort, for protection that already we know we cannot provide for ourselves.
We are fragile creatures. We climb high and travel far in promethean efforts to deny the truth of our frame. But even our greatest triumphs cannot drown out the inner whisper, “You are mortal. You are never enough. You need. You can never secure your life against all you fear. Your existence is ever dependent upon powers that you cannot begin to understand or control.”
From anxieties native to our nature we fly into your arms, O Immeasurable Mercy. For you are life beyond dying. You are Loving Presence when all loves fail. You are hope beyond all human provision. You are joy in the darkest nights of our journey. You are Eternal Gentleness and Infinite Nearness when our vigils are lonely and the days are harsh.
You are Love beyond all knowing and speaking. And you are mine. Is there anything else I really need to know?
So come, Lord Jesus. Show us again that we are yours. This alone frees us from our fears that with full and and grateful hearts we may praise you who came, who will come, and who is Love Abiding. Amen.
Philippians 4:4:1-7
“Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice. Let your gentleness be known to everyone. The Lord is near. Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God that passes all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus” (Phil. 4:4-7).
Prayer
Come, Lord Jesus. Free our hearts and loose our minds from besetting worries that with full and pure hearts we may prepare to celebrate the feast of your coming among us. We are born to worry as smoke rises. We are finite and mortal. From earliest infancy, there is never a moment when our souls can forget this most fundamental fact. We weep for food, for warmth, for comfort, for protection that already we know we cannot provide for ourselves.
We are fragile creatures. We climb high and travel far in promethean efforts to deny the truth of our frame. But even our greatest triumphs cannot drown out the inner whisper, “You are mortal. You are never enough. You need. You can never secure your life against all you fear. Your existence is ever dependent upon powers that you cannot begin to understand or control.”
From anxieties native to our nature we fly into your arms, O Immeasurable Mercy. For you are life beyond dying. You are Loving Presence when all loves fail. You are hope beyond all human provision. You are joy in the darkest nights of our journey. You are Eternal Gentleness and Infinite Nearness when our vigils are lonely and the days are harsh.
You are Love beyond all knowing and speaking. And you are mine. Is there anything else I really need to know?
So come, Lord Jesus. Show us again that we are yours. This alone frees us from our fears that with full and and grateful hearts we may praise you who came, who will come, and who is Love Abiding. Amen.
Tuesday, December 12, 2006
Tuesday, December 12, 2006
Today’s reading
Philippians 4:4:1-7
“Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice. Let your gentleness be known to everyone. The Lord is near. Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God that passes all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus” (Phil. 4:4-7).
Prayer
Come, Lord Jesus. Let your peace guard my heart and mind. They stand in constant need of guarding, and you are the Prince of Peace. You are my peace. Apart from you, my heart knows no calm or assurance. You are ever near. But peace eludes me when I do not know myself encompassed in your all-embracing care. So allow me again pray myself into awareness of your abiding here in this silent cell where I pour out my heart to you, letting my vulnerability be the royal road into your divine heart.
I am in you at all times. Baptized, you enclose me into the circle of blessing that is your inner life, O Blessed Trinity. But I would know myself in you at all times. Then peace pours forth from your heart into mine, and I grow calm and gentle, peaceful and peace giving.
I do not dwell in this holy blessing at all times. But often I have tasted it, and I crave it like my next breath. My heart and mind are ruled too much by my fears. Anxieties about my life, my skills, my knowledge, my awkward ways and desire for others respect, these stir me from silence to speak too much at inopportune times, bumbling and stumbling over poorly formed thoughts, wondering if I am as much a fool as I feel.
Put a guard on my heart, and a seal on my lips, O Peace of Eternity. You are my peace. Guard my heart behind high walls of your constant watchfulness. Then I will know my being, entire and full, within the protective arms of your loving and eternal embrace. Hidden there in your love, inner silence crowds out the anxious voices. Peace fills and spills from me, a living stream of your holy life, pouring from me into your world to bless those lives you have place near to befriend and care.
Come Lord Jesus. Let us know ourselves in you that peace may guard our every word and act, our thought and ways. This day may we live beyond our fears in your blessed peace. Amen.
Philippians 4:4:1-7
“Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice. Let your gentleness be known to everyone. The Lord is near. Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God that passes all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus” (Phil. 4:4-7).
Prayer
Come, Lord Jesus. Let your peace guard my heart and mind. They stand in constant need of guarding, and you are the Prince of Peace. You are my peace. Apart from you, my heart knows no calm or assurance. You are ever near. But peace eludes me when I do not know myself encompassed in your all-embracing care. So allow me again pray myself into awareness of your abiding here in this silent cell where I pour out my heart to you, letting my vulnerability be the royal road into your divine heart.
I am in you at all times. Baptized, you enclose me into the circle of blessing that is your inner life, O Blessed Trinity. But I would know myself in you at all times. Then peace pours forth from your heart into mine, and I grow calm and gentle, peaceful and peace giving.
I do not dwell in this holy blessing at all times. But often I have tasted it, and I crave it like my next breath. My heart and mind are ruled too much by my fears. Anxieties about my life, my skills, my knowledge, my awkward ways and desire for others respect, these stir me from silence to speak too much at inopportune times, bumbling and stumbling over poorly formed thoughts, wondering if I am as much a fool as I feel.
Put a guard on my heart, and a seal on my lips, O Peace of Eternity. You are my peace. Guard my heart behind high walls of your constant watchfulness. Then I will know my being, entire and full, within the protective arms of your loving and eternal embrace. Hidden there in your love, inner silence crowds out the anxious voices. Peace fills and spills from me, a living stream of your holy life, pouring from me into your world to bless those lives you have place near to befriend and care.
Come Lord Jesus. Let us know ourselves in you that peace may guard our every word and act, our thought and ways. This day may we live beyond our fears in your blessed peace. Amen.
Monday, December 11, 2006
Monday, December 11, 2006
Today’s reading
Philippians 4:4:1-7
“Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice. Let your gentleness be known to everyone. The Lord is near. Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God that passes all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus” (Phil. 4:4-7).
Prayer
Tell me, my Truest Joy, are the gentle joyful, or are the joyful gentle? Which is first and cause and which the affect? Or do both gentleness and joy find their source elsewhere? I ask because I desire both, and both too often escape me. Amid demands of the day, my heart grows quick and hard, my voice takes an edge and my inner space rattles with defensive chatter born of fear.
I know the difference in my soul when I am joyful. My heart grows expansive and generous. I embrace more of your world and of my own soul, receiving and holding near even the ugly and painful parts from which I normally recoil. Joy fills me, and gentleness becomes my desire.
It happens the other way too. There are days when the fragile beauty of every soul and all creation softens my voice and gentles my hand. I grow quiet and tender, seeking to bless every life you place in my care. Such gentle giving stings my eyes with tears of joy-filled gratitude, for I know then that I am part of your great giving of life to all you love.
Gentleness and joy appear together, natural siblings in my soul. Mutual apostles they are; one leads quickly to the other. And neither appears in my heart apart from you, Truest Joy. They appear where I know you. When I know your nearness, they appear. And when they appear, I know you are near. So I know, dearest One, a joyful and gentle heart is the miracle of a love that is not my own, but yours. Your love, the gracious heart of infinity, fills and spills from my heart as a reservoir overfilled, watering the land, issuing forth a living stream of gentle joy.
So come, Lord Jesus. Bring gentleness and joy to our lives and limbs. Our world is dying for both. Our souls shrivel in darkest winter cold unless you fire our hearts with the presence of your love. May we know you today. Amen.
Philippians 4:4:1-7
“Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice. Let your gentleness be known to everyone. The Lord is near. Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God that passes all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus” (Phil. 4:4-7).
Prayer
Tell me, my Truest Joy, are the gentle joyful, or are the joyful gentle? Which is first and cause and which the affect? Or do both gentleness and joy find their source elsewhere? I ask because I desire both, and both too often escape me. Amid demands of the day, my heart grows quick and hard, my voice takes an edge and my inner space rattles with defensive chatter born of fear.
I know the difference in my soul when I am joyful. My heart grows expansive and generous. I embrace more of your world and of my own soul, receiving and holding near even the ugly and painful parts from which I normally recoil. Joy fills me, and gentleness becomes my desire.
It happens the other way too. There are days when the fragile beauty of every soul and all creation softens my voice and gentles my hand. I grow quiet and tender, seeking to bless every life you place in my care. Such gentle giving stings my eyes with tears of joy-filled gratitude, for I know then that I am part of your great giving of life to all you love.
Gentleness and joy appear together, natural siblings in my soul. Mutual apostles they are; one leads quickly to the other. And neither appears in my heart apart from you, Truest Joy. They appear where I know you. When I know your nearness, they appear. And when they appear, I know you are near. So I know, dearest One, a joyful and gentle heart is the miracle of a love that is not my own, but yours. Your love, the gracious heart of infinity, fills and spills from my heart as a reservoir overfilled, watering the land, issuing forth a living stream of gentle joy.
So come, Lord Jesus. Bring gentleness and joy to our lives and limbs. Our world is dying for both. Our souls shrivel in darkest winter cold unless you fire our hearts with the presence of your love. May we know you today. Amen.
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