Tuesday, March 6, 2007

Today’s text

1 John 2:8-10

“Yet, I am writing you a new commandment that is true in him and in you, because the darkness is passing away and the true light is already shining. Whoever says, ‘I am in the light,’ while hating a brother or sister, is still in darkness. Whoever loves a brother or sister lives in the light, and in such a person there is no cause for stumbling” (1 John 2:8-10).

Prayer

Passing away? Do you mean it, Holy Mystery? I heard the news today, and the darkness is well with us. Ancient hatreds erupt in murderous orgies. Greed and the will to power poison as many as ever, maybe more, immunizing human hearts from the suffering and death of multitudes. Violence desecrates our homes. Fountains of tears flow behind the doors of even the best-kept homes.

The voice on the radio reflects on the potential brutality hidden in every human heart. I don’t want to believe him, but there is too much evidence to make much of an argument. Darkness pulls at our hearts, dragging us back toward the primordial chaos from which you first made light, beauty and order. There remains a voice in me, too, that loves conquest more than peace.

Until my heart draws near to you, who are always near. Dwelling in your love, that voice falls silent. Standing before you who are Love Unimaginable, the voice disappears. It vanishes. For where you are, the darkness finds no room. It is driven out.

You, who will fill all time and space, seek to fill me with your love. And there are moments when, to my greatest joy, you succeed. Your love is the light that banishes the ancient darkness in human hearts. You exorcise the voice of violence that loves personal conquest more than the victory of divine grace.

Today, let me live in awareness of you that I may live in your light, a sign of your blessed future. Amen.

--Pr. David L. Miller