Saturday, February 21, 2015

February 21, 2015

Mark 1:35

 In the morning, while it was still very dark, he got up and went out to a deserted place, and there he prayed. 

John 17:20-21
‘I ask not only on behalf of these, but also on behalf of those who will believe in me through their word,that they may all be one. As you, Father, are in me and I am in you, may they also be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me.'

I know …

I know why you rose
from sleep, slipping
from the dwelling into
darkness before dawn.

Stepping without sound
in the night watches,
longing for the Love
you sensed in silence,
there to rest, refreshed,
knowing beyond doubt
the Love who is,
Mystery who dwells
not far but near
at soul’s deep center.

Water laps on lake shore,
as you gaze into star light,
pale moon reflecting
on water’s face, sinking
into western sky, its daily
journey near end.

There you sit
not alone, never alone,
knowing always within
this Love, Mystery,
no soul nor sun
can contain, the One
who always is within,
at depth of soul,
interior temple,
waiting for us to come
commune that we may
know and live the lives
of love for which we,
in Love’s Image,
are intended.

You commune in
dark silence, knowing
inner light no darkness
can shut out … ever,
Radiant Love
(of which angels sing),
who dwells in all that is,
deep within, igniting
the flame of hope …
every human soul needs
to carry on,
to live its mission
when days are hard and
future dim, uncertain.

And I sit with you
in early hours, knowing
you stepped into darkness
for the same reason
I come to these keys,
fumbling fingers,
filled with errors,
searching for words
with sounds just right
to speak what is in
this soul …and to it,
heart of heart longing
to know with completeness
what you went out
to feel and know
and there to rest
in the Love who is …
always.

And with tears
and candlelight
I am with you there …
in the silence.

Pr. David L. Miller


Tuesday, February 17, 2015

February 17, 2015

Mark 1:35-38

 In the morning, while it was still very dark, he got up and went out to a deserted place, and there he prayed. And Simon and his companions hunted for him. When they found him, they said to him, ‘Everyone is searching for you.’ He answered, ‘Let us go on to the neighboring towns, so that I may proclaim the message there also; for that is what I came out to do.’

Into the temple

Gentle chant rises,
reaching for “amen,”
as I wait again for you
to speak, aching …
for you,
for you are the peace
my heart desires
and cannot find.

I follow you into
the dark quiet,
longing to listen
to One who is Life;
sitting with you
in silence, waiting …
to hear echoes of deepest
love, to feel the Presence
of Mystery beyond any
command or control,
Who just is …
there at the heart
of the heart when chatter
of anxious mind falls
away and the soul hears
itself and knows …
it is so much more.

For You are
Abiding Presence within,
formless, hovering, waiting
for us to enter the inner
dwelling, the temple where
you are and are known,
quieting every restlessness,
all tension fading as
we find what the world
of success and failure
cannot give, peace …
passing all understanding,
that comes in the silence
of the deserted place
where we come to hear
and know … you.

Jesus, you left your
quiet place in peace,
knowing this Mystery
whom I can never hold,
yet who is held within
me---not by my choice
or creation--but because
You Are and there is
nothing I can do about it
except to enter the
temple of your dwelling
and know …
what I will never be able
to name.


Pr. David L. Miller 

Sunday, February 15, 2015

February 16, 2015

1 Kings 9:11-13

He said, ‘Go out and stand on the mountain before the Lord, for the Lord is about to pass by.’ Now there was a great wind, so strong that it was splitting mountains and breaking rocks in pieces before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind; and after the wind an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake; and after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire; and after the fire a sound of sheer silence. When Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his mantle and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave. Then there came a voice to him that said, ‘What are you doing here, Elijah?

Silent Voice

Wrapped in a mantle
of silence the prophet
stands humble to hear
the Silent Voice, Being
speaking to inmost being
where truth is known
and the heart hears
what it needs to live
and love, to move and act
knowing for what it is sent.

Wind and fire, storm and
thunder, trembling earth
shake our certainties,
reminding once more
we are for a time only
in this place before we
pass, but for all their fury
these do not close our
mouths and turn us inward
to hear the Voice who
spoke us into being.

In blessed silence
we hear you beyond the
world’s clamor and storm’s
fearsome roar, Deep calling
to deep reminding us that
you want us to hear and
know … you, knowing, too,
the sweet tears that come
only when soul’s depth
is touched.

And these tears?
Joy, each the joy
of knowing you 
want me … that I am 
not and never alone, 
that you who speak 
in silence hunger
to be known by me, 
needing me, too,
for holy purpose
known only in silence
where you speak, sending
me­--uncertain, halting,
wounded and longing--
back into the clamor …
knowing you,
O, Silent Voice,
the Love who speaks
as I lie in the silent darkness.

Pr. David L. Miller