Today’s text
Matthew 10:38-39
Anyone who does not take his cross and follow in my footsteps is not worthy of me. Anyone who finds his life will lose it; anyone who loses his life for my sake will find it.
Prayer
We don’t go looking for crosses, Jesus. Nor should we. You didn’t. You tried to avoid yours, begging the Loving Mystery of God for another way. But there wasn’t, and you knew it.
The cross proved necessary to reveal the heart of God and the heart of a world that does not know God. So you took it up because of who you are; your vocation required it.
Our crosses come to us. We do not seek them. They come amid the labors of love which the Divine Majesty has planted in our hearts. It is so with us, just as with you. Jesus.
So let us be as you. Grant us hope and courage that we may give ourselves to all that you have given us the privilege of loving. Let us know the joy of loving to the full, surrendering ourselves to the precious places and faces of our lives.
For there we will find ourselves … and you.
Our hearts desperately need to be given away.
Pr. David L. Miller
http://prayingthemystery.blogspot.com/
Posts
All Comments
Friday, June 20, 2008
Thursday, June 19, 2008
Thursday, June 19, 2008
Today’s text
Matthew 10:32-36
'So if anyone declares himself for me in the presence of human beings, I will declare myself for him in the presence of my Father in heaven. But the one who disowns me in the presence of human beings, I will disown in the presence of my Father in heaven. 'Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth: it is not peace I have come to bring, but a sword. For I have come to set son against father, daughter against mother, daughter-in-law against mother-in-law ... .
Prayer
It has taken me most of a lifetime to be able to declare my love for you in unwelcoming or uncertain contexts. But I have come to know that denying you, Jesus, is denying myself, heart and soul, leaving nothing but an empty shell behind.
I should be grateful for that, and I am. It tells me you are a bigger part of me than 10 years ago or 20 … or … . This is great consolation, for I know what love as lies in the corners of this soul is you, the one I want to know before, above and in all things.
But it is also fearful because I know it remains possible for me to deny you. Troubled places in me remain unconverted from their devout fears. I could yet taste the dusty shell of a self that has lost you. It makes me shudder.
So, too, your words about family. My family has been such grace to me, Jesus, holy and blessed sacrament. I would not be sitting here praising to you were it not for them. I doubt I would be alive, tasting the sweet freshness of this new day. They were your saving arms and hands, your heart and eyes. And I thank you.
How could I turn against them? Yet, my love of you has made me odd, peculiar in some of their eyes. But I no longer mind so much, even as you still manage to love them through me.
I pray never to lose them and that they not be lost to your Spirit. But let nothing, not even these, come between us. I wish never to be alien to you, my Lord, my Life.
Pr. David L. Miller
Matthew 10:32-36
'So if anyone declares himself for me in the presence of human beings, I will declare myself for him in the presence of my Father in heaven. But the one who disowns me in the presence of human beings, I will disown in the presence of my Father in heaven. 'Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth: it is not peace I have come to bring, but a sword. For I have come to set son against father, daughter against mother, daughter-in-law against mother-in-law ... .
Prayer
It has taken me most of a lifetime to be able to declare my love for you in unwelcoming or uncertain contexts. But I have come to know that denying you, Jesus, is denying myself, heart and soul, leaving nothing but an empty shell behind.
I should be grateful for that, and I am. It tells me you are a bigger part of me than 10 years ago or 20 … or … . This is great consolation, for I know what love as lies in the corners of this soul is you, the one I want to know before, above and in all things.
But it is also fearful because I know it remains possible for me to deny you. Troubled places in me remain unconverted from their devout fears. I could yet taste the dusty shell of a self that has lost you. It makes me shudder.
So, too, your words about family. My family has been such grace to me, Jesus, holy and blessed sacrament. I would not be sitting here praising to you were it not for them. I doubt I would be alive, tasting the sweet freshness of this new day. They were your saving arms and hands, your heart and eyes. And I thank you.
How could I turn against them? Yet, my love of you has made me odd, peculiar in some of their eyes. But I no longer mind so much, even as you still manage to love them through me.
I pray never to lose them and that they not be lost to your Spirit. But let nothing, not even these, come between us. I wish never to be alien to you, my Lord, my Life.
Pr. David L. Miller
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
Today’s text
Matthew 10:26-31
'So do not be afraid of them. Everything now covered up will be uncovered, and everything now hidden will be made clear. What I say to you in the dark, tell in the daylight; what you hear in whispers, proclaim from the housetops. 'Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul; fear him rather who can destroy both body and soul in hell. Can you not buy two sparrows for a penny? And yet not one falls to the ground without your Father knowing. Why, every hair on your head has been counted. So there is no need to be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.
Prayer
I think I fear me most, Jesus. I can kill my soul right here and now. And sometimes do.
I ignore your prompting. I neglect the things that I know my soul needs to live, the places and practices that dispose my heart to your nearness. I get lost in the noise of living and lose the still voice of silence in which I know you.
I fear me because I so often am confused, unsure what I need for this soul to live, to thrive, to remain supple and free. I confuse temporary moods with deep abiding truths and fail to walk in the ways that are life.
You know me. I make no attempt to hide. It would be futile anyway. I have come to believe that you do, indeed, know every hair on my graying head.
But I do not fear your knowledge of me. It’s the best news I know because what I know of you trumps everything you know of me. In your love I am of immense worth, and so I proclaim what I know: You are love, the love that holds all and will be all in all.
What more can I need?
Pr. David L. Miller
Matthew 10:26-31
'So do not be afraid of them. Everything now covered up will be uncovered, and everything now hidden will be made clear. What I say to you in the dark, tell in the daylight; what you hear in whispers, proclaim from the housetops. 'Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul; fear him rather who can destroy both body and soul in hell. Can you not buy two sparrows for a penny? And yet not one falls to the ground without your Father knowing. Why, every hair on your head has been counted. So there is no need to be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.
Prayer
I think I fear me most, Jesus. I can kill my soul right here and now. And sometimes do.
I ignore your prompting. I neglect the things that I know my soul needs to live, the places and practices that dispose my heart to your nearness. I get lost in the noise of living and lose the still voice of silence in which I know you.
I fear me because I so often am confused, unsure what I need for this soul to live, to thrive, to remain supple and free. I confuse temporary moods with deep abiding truths and fail to walk in the ways that are life.
You know me. I make no attempt to hide. It would be futile anyway. I have come to believe that you do, indeed, know every hair on my graying head.
But I do not fear your knowledge of me. It’s the best news I know because what I know of you trumps everything you know of me. In your love I am of immense worth, and so I proclaim what I know: You are love, the love that holds all and will be all in all.
What more can I need?
Pr. David L. Miller
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
Today’s text
Matthew 10:24-25
[Jesus said:] Disciple is not superior to teacher, nor slave to master. It is enough for disciple to grow to be like teacher, and slave like master. If they have called the master of the house "Beelzebul", how much more the members of his household?
Prayer
Your words are less about your goodness, Jesus, than about your persecution. You revealed the beauty of the kingdom, yet many rejected and denounced you.
We can never hope to shine so clearly as you, transparent to the Eternal Mystery of God. We look at you and savor what we see, a love that shines on just and unjust alike, assuring us that, yes, there is plenty here for us, too.
I pray to be a window on the grace that holds me, shining with the light that fills you. And this you promise.
But you also promise, or shall I say ‘warn of,’ something far tougher to take. As you were rejected so shall we be. You send us on a journey of revelation in which we reveal the goodness of your face in acts of mercy and healing, in meekness and forgiveness, in prayer for enemies and making peace with our accusers, in accepted suffering and the joy of casting every care on you.
But our journey of witness reveals you also to our own souls as we come to know your sufficiency amid our insufficiency, our lack, our wants, our fears.
You are there and ever will be, especially when we know the rejections than came also to you.
Pr. David L. Miller
Matthew 10:24-25
[Jesus said:] Disciple is not superior to teacher, nor slave to master. It is enough for disciple to grow to be like teacher, and slave like master. If they have called the master of the house "Beelzebul", how much more the members of his household?
Prayer
Your words are less about your goodness, Jesus, than about your persecution. You revealed the beauty of the kingdom, yet many rejected and denounced you.
We can never hope to shine so clearly as you, transparent to the Eternal Mystery of God. We look at you and savor what we see, a love that shines on just and unjust alike, assuring us that, yes, there is plenty here for us, too.
I pray to be a window on the grace that holds me, shining with the light that fills you. And this you promise.
But you also promise, or shall I say ‘warn of,’ something far tougher to take. As you were rejected so shall we be. You send us on a journey of revelation in which we reveal the goodness of your face in acts of mercy and healing, in meekness and forgiveness, in prayer for enemies and making peace with our accusers, in accepted suffering and the joy of casting every care on you.
But our journey of witness reveals you also to our own souls as we come to know your sufficiency amid our insufficiency, our lack, our wants, our fears.
You are there and ever will be, especially when we know the rejections than came also to you.
Pr. David L. Miller
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)