Today’s text
3 John 1:1-2
“The elder to the beloved Gaius, whom I love in truth. Beloved, I pray that all may go well with you and that you may be in good health, just as it is well with your soul.”
Prayer
How good it is, how pleasant when we live together in harmony. It fills the soul with peace and quiet joy.
And it fulfills your purpose, Blessed Triune One. Our harmony reveals the loving unity of your inner life. The wonder of unity bears the final future into the present that we may know the completion of life in your kingdom. We taste eternal life, and know the goodness to which we move.
Harmony among my sisters and brothers of the faith, of the flesh, of friendship comforts and completes my heart, Dear Friend. Seeing human souls live a single moment in harmony and care-full unity can move me to tears. I know why.
Tears come at the appearance of souls finding a home where they might rest, revealing my own hunger and promising its fulfillment. More than a promise, such a sight allows me to rest, knowing my home is ever in you, in the love you are, the love you incarnate in frail human relationships.
May it happen again today. And may I see it. Amen.
Pr. David L. Miller
http://prayingthemystery.blogspot.com/
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Tuesday, July 03, 2007
Monday, July 02, 2007
Monday, July 2, 2007
Today’s text
3 John 1:1-2
“The elder to the beloved Gaius, whom I love in truth. Beloved, I pray that all may go well with you and that you may be in good health, just as it is well with your soul.”
Prayer
I wake in the morning to find a love already stirring my soul. Who put it there? How did it get in me … and grow, so that it is not at my command? It bubbles from a place beyond reach of conscious willing. Apparently, I bear a Spirit beyond my own that has its own desire and purpose.
Joy accompanies this love, suggesting there is no need to resist. It draws me to faces, past and present, the fleeting thought of which stirs warming gratitude though I’ve not seen some of them for decades. But I carry them with me whether I know it or not, even as I bear the mystery of this love.
The mystery is you, Dear Friend. You are the love that bubbles from source unseen in 21st century souls. You are the same now as when Gaius opened this little letter to find loving gratitude spilling from the heart of a friend, pouring out words of blessing for which we all thirst. At least I do.
I thirst not only to hear them but to find them already whole and formed in my heart, ready to share. For then my heart is filled with you, filled with blessing and joyous consolation and eager to share. I don’t think there is greater joy than this.
And that is the joy I wake to find this day. You answer my heart’s great need before I have words to pray it. But finding the words also blesses and brings joy. Thank you. I know you intend to pull all of us into the joy of your loving--the ancient elder, Gaius, me, the faces that flit through my heart, all of us.
Let us never stray for this awareness. Amen.
Pr. David L. Miller
3 John 1:1-2
“The elder to the beloved Gaius, whom I love in truth. Beloved, I pray that all may go well with you and that you may be in good health, just as it is well with your soul.”
Prayer
I wake in the morning to find a love already stirring my soul. Who put it there? How did it get in me … and grow, so that it is not at my command? It bubbles from a place beyond reach of conscious willing. Apparently, I bear a Spirit beyond my own that has its own desire and purpose.
Joy accompanies this love, suggesting there is no need to resist. It draws me to faces, past and present, the fleeting thought of which stirs warming gratitude though I’ve not seen some of them for decades. But I carry them with me whether I know it or not, even as I bear the mystery of this love.
The mystery is you, Dear Friend. You are the love that bubbles from source unseen in 21st century souls. You are the same now as when Gaius opened this little letter to find loving gratitude spilling from the heart of a friend, pouring out words of blessing for which we all thirst. At least I do.
I thirst not only to hear them but to find them already whole and formed in my heart, ready to share. For then my heart is filled with you, filled with blessing and joyous consolation and eager to share. I don’t think there is greater joy than this.
And that is the joy I wake to find this day. You answer my heart’s great need before I have words to pray it. But finding the words also blesses and brings joy. Thank you. I know you intend to pull all of us into the joy of your loving--the ancient elder, Gaius, me, the faces that flit through my heart, all of us.
Let us never stray for this awareness. Amen.
Pr. David L. Miller
Friday, June 29, 2007
Friday, June 29, 2007
Today’s text
2 John 1:13
“The children of your elect sister send you their greetings.”
Prayer
Another goodbye: a farewell speaking simple words of grace from one life to the heart of others. I quickly pass over such words, Gracious One. They feel pro forma, a necessary formality with little meaning. I race by them in disregard, whether here in sacred text or in daily life. Life is busy; I must hurry to the next thing.
Greetings carry more weight in traditional cultures. The touch of a hand to the heart, a bow, hands brought together before the breast: these give honor and show respect or even affection.
I wonder: how much of your love and grace do I miss as I race through life? How much consolation and blessing do I push aside in my hurry to get on with it? I fear that I often miss your grace in the gentle hospitalities of those I meet each day.
I miss not only the goodness of human souls, but you. And of all the things I would miss in life, it grieves me most to miss you. For it is you for whom I most hunger. It is your gracious voice I most need to hear. Without it, my soul withers and dies.
Grant me grace to walk slowly, to pause amid the feverishness of life to hear and savor words of common hospitality and humanity. And give me a heart to know you in each one. Amen.
Pr. David L. Miller
2 John 1:13
“The children of your elect sister send you their greetings.”
Prayer
Another goodbye: a farewell speaking simple words of grace from one life to the heart of others. I quickly pass over such words, Gracious One. They feel pro forma, a necessary formality with little meaning. I race by them in disregard, whether here in sacred text or in daily life. Life is busy; I must hurry to the next thing.
Greetings carry more weight in traditional cultures. The touch of a hand to the heart, a bow, hands brought together before the breast: these give honor and show respect or even affection.
I wonder: how much of your love and grace do I miss as I race through life? How much consolation and blessing do I push aside in my hurry to get on with it? I fear that I often miss your grace in the gentle hospitalities of those I meet each day.
I miss not only the goodness of human souls, but you. And of all the things I would miss in life, it grieves me most to miss you. For it is you for whom I most hunger. It is your gracious voice I most need to hear. Without it, my soul withers and dies.
Grant me grace to walk slowly, to pause amid the feverishness of life to hear and savor words of common hospitality and humanity. And give me a heart to know you in each one. Amen.
Pr. David L. Miller
Wednesday, June 27, 2007
Wednesday, June 27, 2007
Today’s text
2 John 1:12
“Although I have much to write to you, I would rather not use paper and ink; instead I hope to come to you and talk with you face to face, so that our joy may be complete.”
Prayer
That our joy may be complete: This is your desire for us, Holy Joy, the ecstasy of face-to-face communion with you and your beloved. From the beginning, Blest Christ, you dwelt in face-to-face communion with the One you call ‘Father,’ rapt in a joyous eternal dance of mutual love and sharing.
This is what you want for us. You made us and all creation for such communion. In the mutual sharing of hearts and hands and in the meeting of minds, we encounter much more than the hands and eyes of those before us. We commune with you.
In the most mundane exchanges of hospitality and help, of giving and receiving our needs, we taste the communal ecstasy of your own divine life. We share your joy here and now in our little corner of existence, to be completed in the fullness of eternity.
You made us for the ecstasy of this holy communion, which we know as we share goodness and pain with each other, incarnating your own trinitarian life in our time and space.
Give us eyes and ears to perceive this mystery in every face and encounter that our joy and yours may be complete. Amen.
Pr. David L. Miller
2 John 1:12
“Although I have much to write to you, I would rather not use paper and ink; instead I hope to come to you and talk with you face to face, so that our joy may be complete.”
Prayer
That our joy may be complete: This is your desire for us, Holy Joy, the ecstasy of face-to-face communion with you and your beloved. From the beginning, Blest Christ, you dwelt in face-to-face communion with the One you call ‘Father,’ rapt in a joyous eternal dance of mutual love and sharing.
This is what you want for us. You made us and all creation for such communion. In the mutual sharing of hearts and hands and in the meeting of minds, we encounter much more than the hands and eyes of those before us. We commune with you.
In the most mundane exchanges of hospitality and help, of giving and receiving our needs, we taste the communal ecstasy of your own divine life. We share your joy here and now in our little corner of existence, to be completed in the fullness of eternity.
You made us for the ecstasy of this holy communion, which we know as we share goodness and pain with each other, incarnating your own trinitarian life in our time and space.
Give us eyes and ears to perceive this mystery in every face and encounter that our joy and yours may be complete. Amen.
Pr. David L. Miller
Tuesday, June 26, 2007
Tuesday, June 26, 2007
Today’s text
2 John 1:10-11
“Do not receive into the house or welcome anyone who comes to you and does not bring this teaching; for to welcome is to participate in the evil deeds of such a person.”
Prayer
These words are hard, Holy One. They say things I do not want to hear, bearing a message contrary to the welcoming love I know that you are. “Abide in me,” you never tire of saying to my heart. “Come make your home in me, and I will make my home in you.” Your invitation is so different from this warning.
But even here I sense your loving concern. Your heart grieves that we should lose the life eternal you are pleased to share. You would not have us miss drinking from the cool stream of your soul and find refreshment on our sometimes weary ways.
So you warn us not to welcome anything that would distract us from intimacy with you, anything that obscures the faith that is the path of fellowship in your love.
But what of those who do not know the mystery of your purpose to be incarnate and real in all that is, deifying the entire universe? What of those who deny that you appear in the flesh of our brother Jesus, out of love for a world you always intended to enter? What of those who mistake and refuse the wonder of this mystery?
I understand this warning, but does your love not burn also for these? Would not holy hospitality reveal the wonder of your growing enfleshment in the lives of those who share intimacy with you?
I will live with this question, Dearest Friend, enjoying your hospitality that welcomes even me. Help me to know when to welcome and when to stay clear for the good of my soul and the fulfillment of your purpose. Amen.
Pr. David L. Miller
2 John 1:10-11
“Do not receive into the house or welcome anyone who comes to you and does not bring this teaching; for to welcome is to participate in the evil deeds of such a person.”
Prayer
These words are hard, Holy One. They say things I do not want to hear, bearing a message contrary to the welcoming love I know that you are. “Abide in me,” you never tire of saying to my heart. “Come make your home in me, and I will make my home in you.” Your invitation is so different from this warning.
But even here I sense your loving concern. Your heart grieves that we should lose the life eternal you are pleased to share. You would not have us miss drinking from the cool stream of your soul and find refreshment on our sometimes weary ways.
So you warn us not to welcome anything that would distract us from intimacy with you, anything that obscures the faith that is the path of fellowship in your love.
But what of those who do not know the mystery of your purpose to be incarnate and real in all that is, deifying the entire universe? What of those who deny that you appear in the flesh of our brother Jesus, out of love for a world you always intended to enter? What of those who mistake and refuse the wonder of this mystery?
I understand this warning, but does your love not burn also for these? Would not holy hospitality reveal the wonder of your growing enfleshment in the lives of those who share intimacy with you?
I will live with this question, Dearest Friend, enjoying your hospitality that welcomes even me. Help me to know when to welcome and when to stay clear for the good of my soul and the fulfillment of your purpose. Amen.
Pr. David L. Miller
Monday, June 25, 2007
Monday, June 25, 2007
Today’s text
2 John 1:8-9
“Be on your guard, so that you do not lose what we have worked for, but may receive the full reward. Everyone who does not abide in the teaching of Christ, but goes beyond it, does not have God; whoever abides in the teaching has both the Father and the Son.”
Prayer
Where can I fly to go beyond you? To what ends can I strive to reach where you are not? Can I move back in time to the darkness that existed before the light of life burst from your infinitely fertile womb? Can I race the light, running ahead to wait for you to arrive?
There is no going beyond you for you are beginning and end. Where I go you are there waiting. You wait in the flesh of all that is. You shine with the light of tomorrow in the lives of all whose hearts consent to your in-dwelling love. Made in your image, you bring that likeness, your living word to life in us, revealing again the mystery of your way.
And that? To regenerate yourself again and again in hard resistant matter and in the tender flesh of all you create. You seek in every moment to birth your life again, to make Word flesh so that we may know you--and have you.
The thought transcends imagination and coaxes tears from eyes that only now are beginning to believe that it is true. It takes a lifetime, I think. But it comes with such joy: We have you. The light and love you are dwells also in us.
Let us consent to your love on every occasion that you might shine in us, as in our brother Jesus. Your world needs it. And more than anything, we need to know that we have you. Amen.
Pr. David L. Miller
2 John 1:8-9
“Be on your guard, so that you do not lose what we have worked for, but may receive the full reward. Everyone who does not abide in the teaching of Christ, but goes beyond it, does not have God; whoever abides in the teaching has both the Father and the Son.”
Prayer
Where can I fly to go beyond you? To what ends can I strive to reach where you are not? Can I move back in time to the darkness that existed before the light of life burst from your infinitely fertile womb? Can I race the light, running ahead to wait for you to arrive?
There is no going beyond you for you are beginning and end. Where I go you are there waiting. You wait in the flesh of all that is. You shine with the light of tomorrow in the lives of all whose hearts consent to your in-dwelling love. Made in your image, you bring that likeness, your living word to life in us, revealing again the mystery of your way.
And that? To regenerate yourself again and again in hard resistant matter and in the tender flesh of all you create. You seek in every moment to birth your life again, to make Word flesh so that we may know you--and have you.
The thought transcends imagination and coaxes tears from eyes that only now are beginning to believe that it is true. It takes a lifetime, I think. But it comes with such joy: We have you. The light and love you are dwells also in us.
Let us consent to your love on every occasion that you might shine in us, as in our brother Jesus. Your world needs it. And more than anything, we need to know that we have you. Amen.
Pr. David L. Miller
Friday, June 22, 2007
Friday, June 22, 2007
Today’s text
2 John 1:7-8
“Many deceivers have gone out into the world, those who do not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh; any such person is a deceiver and the antichrist! Be on your guard, so that you do not lose what we have worked for, but may receive the full reward."
Prayer
You are our full reward, one we receive even now in water and word, flesh and blood. I will not deny your flesh, for that would be to deny my own flesh and the flesh of those who have been holy sacraments of your life for me, touching me with your divine love in flesh and blood, sweat and tears.
You appear in the flesh, Impenetrable Mystery, putting a face on the hunger for that More we could never fully name. Only in seeing you, touching you, hearing words carried by finite human breath, can we say, “Yes, this--you--is that which I have always wanted and needed.”
You, Loving Mystery, Divine Darkness, appear in our brother Jesus who reveals the fullness of your desire to pour blessing onto all creation, and more: In him we discover the mystery of our own life. You pour your life into us, en-fleshing yourself, each of us an expression of your divine delight, each a particular articulation of your love and creative joy, each a partial expression of the wonder no eye has seen.
Stir the presence and power of your Spirit within us this day that we may fulfill the holiness and reveal the eternal beauty you would speak in and through our flesh. Amen.
Pr. David L. Miller
2 John 1:7-8
“Many deceivers have gone out into the world, those who do not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh; any such person is a deceiver and the antichrist! Be on your guard, so that you do not lose what we have worked for, but may receive the full reward."
Prayer
You are our full reward, one we receive even now in water and word, flesh and blood. I will not deny your flesh, for that would be to deny my own flesh and the flesh of those who have been holy sacraments of your life for me, touching me with your divine love in flesh and blood, sweat and tears.
You appear in the flesh, Impenetrable Mystery, putting a face on the hunger for that More we could never fully name. Only in seeing you, touching you, hearing words carried by finite human breath, can we say, “Yes, this--you--is that which I have always wanted and needed.”
You, Loving Mystery, Divine Darkness, appear in our brother Jesus who reveals the fullness of your desire to pour blessing onto all creation, and more: In him we discover the mystery of our own life. You pour your life into us, en-fleshing yourself, each of us an expression of your divine delight, each a particular articulation of your love and creative joy, each a partial expression of the wonder no eye has seen.
Stir the presence and power of your Spirit within us this day that we may fulfill the holiness and reveal the eternal beauty you would speak in and through our flesh. Amen.
Pr. David L. Miller
Thursday, June 21, 2007
Thursday, June 21, 2007
Today’s text
2 John 1: 5-6
“But now, dear lady, I ask you, not as though I were writing you a new commandment, but one we have had from the beginning, let us love one another. And this is love, that we walk according to his commandments; this is the commandment just as you heard it from the beginning--you must walk in it.”
Prayer
You are our commandment, Hidden Spring. You are love, and we are alive with your being. You are Being itself, the infinite, bubbling, blessed source of our souls, the living spring of all that is. We are alive with your life, a life which is love, unceasing, unfailing, ever-seeking, constantly-generating, self-giving love.
The command of our very being is the love you are. The secret of our joy and all lasting satisfaction is to obey you, to be true to the need to love with which you fill us.
We know your command. It is as alive in us as the life we live, for it is the life we live. It is your life, the life of the boundless spring of unceasing love.
To walk in your way is a blessed gift, for it is to know the love in which you made us, the love that surrounds and embraces us, the love the bubbles, too, in our secret depths where you continue to pour yourself into us that we may live.
So let us walk in your commandment, true to the particular love you have given us to share. Amen.
Pr. David L. Miller
2 John 1: 5-6
“But now, dear lady, I ask you, not as though I were writing you a new commandment, but one we have had from the beginning, let us love one another. And this is love, that we walk according to his commandments; this is the commandment just as you heard it from the beginning--you must walk in it.”
Prayer
You are our commandment, Hidden Spring. You are love, and we are alive with your being. You are Being itself, the infinite, bubbling, blessed source of our souls, the living spring of all that is. We are alive with your life, a life which is love, unceasing, unfailing, ever-seeking, constantly-generating, self-giving love.
The command of our very being is the love you are. The secret of our joy and all lasting satisfaction is to obey you, to be true to the need to love with which you fill us.
We know your command. It is as alive in us as the life we live, for it is the life we live. It is your life, the life of the boundless spring of unceasing love.
To walk in your way is a blessed gift, for it is to know the love in which you made us, the love that surrounds and embraces us, the love the bubbles, too, in our secret depths where you continue to pour yourself into us that we may live.
So let us walk in your commandment, true to the particular love you have given us to share. Amen.
Pr. David L. Miller
Tuesday, June 19, 2007
Tuesday, June 19, 2007
Today’s text
2 John 1:4-5
“I was overjoyed to find some of your children walking in the truth, just as we have been commanded by the Father. But now, dear lady, I ask you, not as though I were writing you a new commandment, but one we have had from the beginning, let us love one another.”
Prayer
You are truth, and the truth that you are is love. All that is flows from your divine heart, the boundless fountain of being, a river of overflowing generosity.
From you the cosmos explodes into life from an infinitesimal grain expanding even now into myriad forms of magnificence. Life and matter, color and impenetrable darkness, intricate worlds invisible to human eye, the vast immensity of space that staggers the soul: all of it fills us with wonder that it--that anything--should be.
Why is there anything, if not for you? Your creative love births a billion worlds and raises human consciousness that the universe might know and name and praise you, the Unspeakable Wonder.
And you are not done. We do not know what forms of life and awareness you may yet raise from the dust to humble our human presumption that we are highest and greatest.
What is it to walk in the truth in such a universe? What can it mean but to tenderly love and care for all you continue to make, for each other, and for our own fragile souls? Fill us with wonder and gratitude for all that is, for life itself--and for all you must be, Unspeakable One. For you are truth, and we would walk in the truth of your overflowing heart. Amen.
Pr. David L. Miller
2 John 1:4-5
“I was overjoyed to find some of your children walking in the truth, just as we have been commanded by the Father. But now, dear lady, I ask you, not as though I were writing you a new commandment, but one we have had from the beginning, let us love one another.”
Prayer
You are truth, and the truth that you are is love. All that is flows from your divine heart, the boundless fountain of being, a river of overflowing generosity.
From you the cosmos explodes into life from an infinitesimal grain expanding even now into myriad forms of magnificence. Life and matter, color and impenetrable darkness, intricate worlds invisible to human eye, the vast immensity of space that staggers the soul: all of it fills us with wonder that it--that anything--should be.
Why is there anything, if not for you? Your creative love births a billion worlds and raises human consciousness that the universe might know and name and praise you, the Unspeakable Wonder.
And you are not done. We do not know what forms of life and awareness you may yet raise from the dust to humble our human presumption that we are highest and greatest.
What is it to walk in the truth in such a universe? What can it mean but to tenderly love and care for all you continue to make, for each other, and for our own fragile souls? Fill us with wonder and gratitude for all that is, for life itself--and for all you must be, Unspeakable One. For you are truth, and we would walk in the truth of your overflowing heart. Amen.
Pr. David L. Miller
Monday, June 18, 2007
Monday, June 18, 2007
Today’s text
2 John 1:3
“Grace, mercy, and peace will be with us from God the Father and from Jesus Christ, the Father’s Son, in truth and love.”
Prayer
You give such promise for the day, Joyous One, a reason to go forward with great expectation. I sense your smile, your joy, in these words, and they evoke lightness of soul and being in my body as well.
Your grace, mercy and peace will be with us. The gifts of your life will attend us on our various journeys through the routines and surprises of the day, this day. There is no uncertainty here, only purest assurance of your blessed nearness and of the joy you take in blessing those you love.
You will be with us. And we will know you, blessed Jesus. We will know you as the truth and love of the great Loving Mystery whose immensity makes beggars of all us who try to name what our minds cannot grasp.
The prospect of living the day with you fills me with delight and the delicious joy of anticipation. Is this joy an expression of the joy I sense in you, Holy One? Are we and all creation intended to be enrapt in this joy? Is this your purpose?
You smile. It is true. This is your desire. Lift our souls with your grace, mercy and peace that we may share and shimmer with your divine joy. Amen.
Pr. David L. Miller
2 John 1:3
“Grace, mercy, and peace will be with us from God the Father and from Jesus Christ, the Father’s Son, in truth and love.”
Prayer
You give such promise for the day, Joyous One, a reason to go forward with great expectation. I sense your smile, your joy, in these words, and they evoke lightness of soul and being in my body as well.
Your grace, mercy and peace will be with us. The gifts of your life will attend us on our various journeys through the routines and surprises of the day, this day. There is no uncertainty here, only purest assurance of your blessed nearness and of the joy you take in blessing those you love.
You will be with us. And we will know you, blessed Jesus. We will know you as the truth and love of the great Loving Mystery whose immensity makes beggars of all us who try to name what our minds cannot grasp.
The prospect of living the day with you fills me with delight and the delicious joy of anticipation. Is this joy an expression of the joy I sense in you, Holy One? Are we and all creation intended to be enrapt in this joy? Is this your purpose?
You smile. It is true. This is your desire. Lift our souls with your grace, mercy and peace that we may share and shimmer with your divine joy. Amen.
Pr. David L. Miller
Friday, June 15, 2007
Friday, June 15, 2007
Today’s text
2 John 1:1-2
“The elder to the elect lady and her children, whom I love in the truth, and not only I but also all who know the truth because of the truth that abides in us and will be with us forever.”
Prayer
Do we love that which abides in us, Holy One? Do we adore that truth which roots itself deeply in our souls, springing from seeds long since sown?
If so, you have sown seeds of beauty in my soul, for it is beauty that enchants me, filling my heart again and again on these summer days. It comes in many forms: the delicate yellow roses near my chair, the playful smile and shimmering dark eyes of a two-year old who dares me to catch him, a human soul embracing the crazy, unpredictable given-ness of her life as the precious gift that it is.
All of it beautiful. All of it fills the soul with joy. Does this mean the beauty I behold in each of them dwells also in me? If so, thank you, for the beauty I behold is you who are Beauty Itself.
You are the sower of the holy seed. You are the beauty that grows. You are the truth that abides, filling and moving us to love … you, and to love you in all the infinite disguises in which you are pleased to appear.
So abide Hidden Mystery. Abide here in us forever that our souls forever may be filled with love for you and all that shimmers with your beauty. Amen.
Pr. David L. Miller
2 John 1:1-2
“The elder to the elect lady and her children, whom I love in the truth, and not only I but also all who know the truth because of the truth that abides in us and will be with us forever.”
Prayer
Do we love that which abides in us, Holy One? Do we adore that truth which roots itself deeply in our souls, springing from seeds long since sown?
If so, you have sown seeds of beauty in my soul, for it is beauty that enchants me, filling my heart again and again on these summer days. It comes in many forms: the delicate yellow roses near my chair, the playful smile and shimmering dark eyes of a two-year old who dares me to catch him, a human soul embracing the crazy, unpredictable given-ness of her life as the precious gift that it is.
All of it beautiful. All of it fills the soul with joy. Does this mean the beauty I behold in each of them dwells also in me? If so, thank you, for the beauty I behold is you who are Beauty Itself.
You are the sower of the holy seed. You are the beauty that grows. You are the truth that abides, filling and moving us to love … you, and to love you in all the infinite disguises in which you are pleased to appear.
So abide Hidden Mystery. Abide here in us forever that our souls forever may be filled with love for you and all that shimmers with your beauty. Amen.
Pr. David L. Miller
Thursday, June 14, 2007
Thursday, June 14, 2007
Today’s text
2 John 1:1-2
“The elder to the elect lady and her children, whom I love in the truth, and not only I but also all who know the truth because of the truth that abides in us and will be with us forever.”
Prayer
I praise you this day for your irresistible presence. My heart is no immovable object. You know how to move me and you do so again and again.
Your truth abides and resides here in us, in me. I hear the stories and struggles of your children, and in each one you call to me: “Speak, write, witness. Gather up the fullness of your heart, and speak from the incomprehensible depths of my love.”
Your words fill my heart with desire and tears of yearning until I witness again to a love that refuses to release me--or any of your beloved. Your grasp on our hearts is strong, and the longing in our hearts is your longing living and abiding in us, filling us with knowledge of the love you are and the pain you bear.
This truth abiding in us will be with us forever. For you are eternal, and our lives are caught up in your eternal longing. The deep well of desire of my heart tells me at least this much.
Thank you for that longing, for in it I know you, the incomprehensible, the irresistible, the love I cannot name.
Thank you for allowing me to know your beloved chosen ones, to hear their stories which fill me with your love for them in all their pain and beauty. There, too, I know you, and I see your abiding as you take shape in the contours of their faces. Amen.
Pr. David L. Miller
2 John 1:1-2
“The elder to the elect lady and her children, whom I love in the truth, and not only I but also all who know the truth because of the truth that abides in us and will be with us forever.”
Prayer
I praise you this day for your irresistible presence. My heart is no immovable object. You know how to move me and you do so again and again.
Your truth abides and resides here in us, in me. I hear the stories and struggles of your children, and in each one you call to me: “Speak, write, witness. Gather up the fullness of your heart, and speak from the incomprehensible depths of my love.”
Your words fill my heart with desire and tears of yearning until I witness again to a love that refuses to release me--or any of your beloved. Your grasp on our hearts is strong, and the longing in our hearts is your longing living and abiding in us, filling us with knowledge of the love you are and the pain you bear.
This truth abiding in us will be with us forever. For you are eternal, and our lives are caught up in your eternal longing. The deep well of desire of my heart tells me at least this much.
Thank you for that longing, for in it I know you, the incomprehensible, the irresistible, the love I cannot name.
Thank you for allowing me to know your beloved chosen ones, to hear their stories which fill me with your love for them in all their pain and beauty. There, too, I know you, and I see your abiding as you take shape in the contours of their faces. Amen.
Pr. David L. Miller
Monday, June 11, 2007
Monday, June 11, 2007
Today’s text
1 John 5:21
“Little children, keep yourselves from idols.”
Prayer
I resist endings, Eternal One, all endings. They remind me that I will come to an end. I am mortal flesh. I will pass away, disappearing into your eternity, hoping to awaken in intimate abiding with you have haunted me every day of my existence. But in this life every ending reminds me of all the others, the ‘going aways,’ the ‘good byes,’ the deaths and departures that have torn my soul.
And now I come to the end of this little book that has led my soul in prayer these months, leading me into lands previously unknown to me. I don’t want to go. I fear I will forget what you have written on my soul. I do not know or trust that you have inscribed it so deeply that it will stay and abide in my heart, teaching me what I need to know to live. For I want to live, not merely exist, and it truly consoles me that this is your desire too. Make it so, dear One, this day and always.
But now one last verse: “Little children, keep yourselves from idols.” Here, too, you miss no opportunity to console and guide this heart of mind. I am your child, beloved, like all those others to whom you are so tender. And you would not have me walk outside the cloud of your enveloping love. I am to live in awareness of you who are true and eternal, who are all-possessing love.
Idols of self-indulgence and self-chosen principles, idols of goals and values, of gain and victories that would displace you in my heart--these are not you. They do not and cannot envelop me in the love that birthed the universe. They drain life and vitality from me, stripping me of the awareness and enjoyment of eternal life.
So I will cling to you, the true and eternal, the love illimitable, the infinite nearness, the intimate transcendence, the dazzling darkness, the One I name Loving Mystery, who abides, awaiting me each day like the morning sun with a holy invitation, whispering, “Come, stand in the warmth of my light. You will live.”
Thank you.
Pr. David L. Miller
1 John 5:21
“Little children, keep yourselves from idols.”
Prayer
I resist endings, Eternal One, all endings. They remind me that I will come to an end. I am mortal flesh. I will pass away, disappearing into your eternity, hoping to awaken in intimate abiding with you have haunted me every day of my existence. But in this life every ending reminds me of all the others, the ‘going aways,’ the ‘good byes,’ the deaths and departures that have torn my soul.
And now I come to the end of this little book that has led my soul in prayer these months, leading me into lands previously unknown to me. I don’t want to go. I fear I will forget what you have written on my soul. I do not know or trust that you have inscribed it so deeply that it will stay and abide in my heart, teaching me what I need to know to live. For I want to live, not merely exist, and it truly consoles me that this is your desire too. Make it so, dear One, this day and always.
But now one last verse: “Little children, keep yourselves from idols.” Here, too, you miss no opportunity to console and guide this heart of mind. I am your child, beloved, like all those others to whom you are so tender. And you would not have me walk outside the cloud of your enveloping love. I am to live in awareness of you who are true and eternal, who are all-possessing love.
Idols of self-indulgence and self-chosen principles, idols of goals and values, of gain and victories that would displace you in my heart--these are not you. They do not and cannot envelop me in the love that birthed the universe. They drain life and vitality from me, stripping me of the awareness and enjoyment of eternal life.
So I will cling to you, the true and eternal, the love illimitable, the infinite nearness, the intimate transcendence, the dazzling darkness, the One I name Loving Mystery, who abides, awaiting me each day like the morning sun with a holy invitation, whispering, “Come, stand in the warmth of my light. You will live.”
Thank you.
Pr. David L. Miller
Friday, June 08, 2007
Friday, June 8, 2007
Today’s text
1 John 5:20b
“We are in him who is true, in his son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life.”
Prayer
Center my heart this day in the middle of the enveloping cloud of your loving presence. Quiet my soul and give me the peace that knows all is well, for I am in you, who are Love.
Anxieties seek to undermine the assurance and calm in which you welcome me to live. I weary of beating back the fears that haunt my soul even after decades of struggle. But I will quit fighting. For I know quiet of mind flows from one thing, one truth, one reality--you, from the awareness that in every moment I am in you, the true, the eternal, the Loving Mystery.
Abiding in you is eternal life. In you I find rest and peace, hope and strength. Fears evaporate, and my heart beats slow and steady. My soul flows with a love and joy that springs from eternity. I walk surrounded by your cloud of enveloping presence, and I know you, for I know your desire. And what are you if not the constant desire of your divine heart?
You seek to fill my flesh and all that is with your love and life. So this day I shall dwell in the cloud of awareness, knowing that which is true and eternal and near as my breath--the Love whom you are--that you may fill me and be glorified in my mortal flesh. Amen.
Pr. David L. Miller
1 John 5:20b
“We are in him who is true, in his son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life.”
Prayer
Center my heart this day in the middle of the enveloping cloud of your loving presence. Quiet my soul and give me the peace that knows all is well, for I am in you, who are Love.
Anxieties seek to undermine the assurance and calm in which you welcome me to live. I weary of beating back the fears that haunt my soul even after decades of struggle. But I will quit fighting. For I know quiet of mind flows from one thing, one truth, one reality--you, from the awareness that in every moment I am in you, the true, the eternal, the Loving Mystery.
Abiding in you is eternal life. In you I find rest and peace, hope and strength. Fears evaporate, and my heart beats slow and steady. My soul flows with a love and joy that springs from eternity. I walk surrounded by your cloud of enveloping presence, and I know you, for I know your desire. And what are you if not the constant desire of your divine heart?
You seek to fill my flesh and all that is with your love and life. So this day I shall dwell in the cloud of awareness, knowing that which is true and eternal and near as my breath--the Love whom you are--that you may fill me and be glorified in my mortal flesh. Amen.
Pr. David L. Miller
Thursday, June 07, 2007
Thursday, June 7, 2007
Today’s text
1 John 5:19-20
“And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding so that we may know him who is true; and we are in him who is true, in his son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life.”
Prayer
You are true, which means you are holy and firm, solid and constant, certain presence and undiluted nearness, the first and last word of life itself. On you we can ever depend, for you are true.
Eternal you are, which means you are forever young, yet ancient and abiding, never frenzied or fevered. All time is at your disposal and serves your purpose. No secret of existence is lost to you, no life, no being, no moment. You are the Dazzling Dark, present to all that was and is and shall be, the eternal.
You are eternal life. You are everlasting, Being Itself, Infinite Source, Impenetrable Mystery, the Divine Darkness from whom all life springs fresh and flows like a river through time and space. Time and history are the flow of your creativity joy … and sorrow in the emptiness.
And we are in you, the true, the eternal, the Loving Mystery who is life, eternal life. We partake of the fullness of you who are all Fullness, receiving the fullness of life and love that we might live with joy and holy purpose, and at the end fall asleep in you for whom our moment of time is but a blink.
We know you. I know you, true, eternal, life and love. And you hold nothing of what you are from me. May my heart and mind abide constantly in you. Dwelling in the enveloping cloud of your presence, consenting to your life and love, may I, too, be true, eternal, life and love, receiving and being all you are pleased to share. Amen.
Pr. David L. Miller
1 John 5:19-20
“And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding so that we may know him who is true; and we are in him who is true, in his son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life.”
Prayer
You are true, which means you are holy and firm, solid and constant, certain presence and undiluted nearness, the first and last word of life itself. On you we can ever depend, for you are true.
Eternal you are, which means you are forever young, yet ancient and abiding, never frenzied or fevered. All time is at your disposal and serves your purpose. No secret of existence is lost to you, no life, no being, no moment. You are the Dazzling Dark, present to all that was and is and shall be, the eternal.
You are eternal life. You are everlasting, Being Itself, Infinite Source, Impenetrable Mystery, the Divine Darkness from whom all life springs fresh and flows like a river through time and space. Time and history are the flow of your creativity joy … and sorrow in the emptiness.
And we are in you, the true, the eternal, the Loving Mystery who is life, eternal life. We partake of the fullness of you who are all Fullness, receiving the fullness of life and love that we might live with joy and holy purpose, and at the end fall asleep in you for whom our moment of time is but a blink.
We know you. I know you, true, eternal, life and love. And you hold nothing of what you are from me. May my heart and mind abide constantly in you. Dwelling in the enveloping cloud of your presence, consenting to your life and love, may I, too, be true, eternal, life and love, receiving and being all you are pleased to share. Amen.
Pr. David L. Miller
Tuesday, June 05, 2007
Tuesday, June 5, 2007
Today’s text
1 John 5:19-20
“We know that we are God’s children, and that the whole world lies under the power of the evil one. And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding so that we may know him who is true; and we are in him who is true, in his son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life.”
Prayer
I dwell in the cloud of knowing. I dwell in you, the true, where that which is false and illusory disappears and fails to confuse my sight and soul. In the true, I know what is real and substantial. I know you and only you. For you are the true, the lasting, the real, the constant. There is no illusion or lie in you, no failure or fading, no dilution of love or life, only the ultimate and eternal truth of life itself: You.
You who are love: That is the true that never fails or falters.
Enveloped by the in the cloud of your all-possessing love, I no longer see the “realities” I confuse with the true. The lies about what gives strength and security, meaning and purpose disappear. The only security that is real is You, your love alone. And my true self appears only as I rest in you. All else is illusion.
Clothed and surrounded, enveloped and enclosed within the cosmic expanse of your embrace, I no longer dwell under the power of evils and fears that enslave me body and soul. I know the freedom of being in Love Itself, and I know that anything less is half-life and illusion. This is real and true, as eternal as your love. Amen.
Pr. David L. Miller
1 John 5:19-20
“We know that we are God’s children, and that the whole world lies under the power of the evil one. And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding so that we may know him who is true; and we are in him who is true, in his son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life.”
Prayer
I dwell in the cloud of knowing. I dwell in you, the true, where that which is false and illusory disappears and fails to confuse my sight and soul. In the true, I know what is real and substantial. I know you and only you. For you are the true, the lasting, the real, the constant. There is no illusion or lie in you, no failure or fading, no dilution of love or life, only the ultimate and eternal truth of life itself: You.
You who are love: That is the true that never fails or falters.
Enveloped by the in the cloud of your all-possessing love, I no longer see the “realities” I confuse with the true. The lies about what gives strength and security, meaning and purpose disappear. The only security that is real is You, your love alone. And my true self appears only as I rest in you. All else is illusion.
Clothed and surrounded, enveloped and enclosed within the cosmic expanse of your embrace, I no longer dwell under the power of evils and fears that enslave me body and soul. I know the freedom of being in Love Itself, and I know that anything less is half-life and illusion. This is real and true, as eternal as your love. Amen.
Pr. David L. Miller
Monday, June 04, 2007
Monday, June 4, 2007
Today’s text
1 John 5:18
“We know that those who are born of God do not sin, but the one who was born of God protects them, and the evil one does not touch them."
Prayer
You would have me know this. You want me to live with quiet assurance that, born of God, I bear your life that keeps me from sin that undermines your purpose and distances my soul from your fullness.
You want me to live … knowing that you live in me and I live in you so that neither fear nor worry, not past, present or future can shake my heart from the calm your love claims for me.
There is a cloud of knowing in which I sometimes find myself. In the cloud, I know myself in you, surrounded and enveloped. I dwell in this cloud of knowing. It is palpable, embracing my every move and thought, overshadowing my body and being.
It reveals reality to me: I dwell in the atmosphere of you, the environment of an unspeakable divine love. I am in you. Aware and abiding in the cloud, I cannot sin for I dwell in a love that also fills me. The fears and anxieties that are the seed of my sin do not exist in the cloud. With the demons that attack in the wee hours, they are absorbed and dissolved in the cloud of your holy presence.
I am, in a word, safe, for all I know is you, the cloud of presence, the cloud of knowing where I know only peace and a joy that does, indeed, pass understanding. I am a child of the cloud, born of an all-possessing love who dwells within and in all the places of my wandering. I want to know this always. Amen.
Pr. David L. Miller
Today’s text
1 John 5:18
“We know that those who are born of God do not sin, but the one who was born of God protects them, and the evil one does not touch them."
Prayer
You would have me know this. You want me to live with quiet assurance that, born of God, I bear your life that keeps me from sin that undermines your purpose and distances my soul from your fullness.
You want me to live … knowing that you live in me and I live in you so that neither fear nor worry, not past, present or future can shake my heart from the calm your love claims for me.
There is a cloud of knowing in which I sometimes find myself. In the cloud, I know myself in you, surrounded and enveloped. I dwell in this cloud of knowing. It is palpable, embracing my every move and thought, overshadowing my body and being.
It reveals reality to me: I dwell in the atmosphere of you, the environment of an unspeakable divine love. I am in you. Aware and abiding in the cloud, I cannot sin for I dwell in a love that also fills me. The fears and anxieties that are the seed of my sin do not exist in the cloud. With the demons that attack in the wee hours, they are absorbed and dissolved in the cloud of your holy presence.
I am, in a word, safe, for all I know is you, the cloud of presence, the cloud of knowing where I know only peace and a joy that does, indeed, pass understanding. I am a child of the cloud, born of an all-possessing love who dwells within and in all the places of my wandering. I want to know this always. Amen.
Pr. David L. Miller
Friday, June 01, 2007
Friday, June 1, 2007
Today’s text
1 John 5:16-17
“If you see your brother or sister committing what is not a mortal sin, you will ask, and God will give life to such a one--to those whose sin is not mortal. There is a sin that is mortal; I do not say that you should pray about that. All wrongdoing is sin, but there is sin that is not mortal.”
Prayer
I do not know what mortal sin means, Dearest One. I cannot grasp it. I know only that sin kills, right here and now. It is the illusion of separation from you. It is living without awareness that I and all that is are always in you, and you are in us. We exist only because we bear your Being. We are never separate from you, from your life, from your wonder, from the vitality and love you are.
Such awareness brings gratitude and calm. Anxiety flees the field, leaving the assurance that I am alive with you. The life I live is your life breathed into flesh. Every breath resonates with the peace that I have all I need in life and death. For, I am alive with you, the Boundless Spring of love and being itself.
What can mortal sin be but the determination to live in the illusion that this is not so? Your divine life has come in the flesh of my brother Jesus--and continues to come in and to the flesh of all you love? And you all love all you have made. Is mortal sin this dualism that separates you from our common life, denying that you are here, present and knowable in every moment?
If so, I will pray for those who fall into such sin including myself, for it is a terrible darkness.
Awaken our senses, Abiding Presence. Evaporate the illusion that clouds our vision so that we may know every breath we take draws in your creative love as you seek to fill us and all that is. Amen.
Pr. David L. Miller
1 John 5:16-17
“If you see your brother or sister committing what is not a mortal sin, you will ask, and God will give life to such a one--to those whose sin is not mortal. There is a sin that is mortal; I do not say that you should pray about that. All wrongdoing is sin, but there is sin that is not mortal.”
Prayer
I do not know what mortal sin means, Dearest One. I cannot grasp it. I know only that sin kills, right here and now. It is the illusion of separation from you. It is living without awareness that I and all that is are always in you, and you are in us. We exist only because we bear your Being. We are never separate from you, from your life, from your wonder, from the vitality and love you are.
Such awareness brings gratitude and calm. Anxiety flees the field, leaving the assurance that I am alive with you. The life I live is your life breathed into flesh. Every breath resonates with the peace that I have all I need in life and death. For, I am alive with you, the Boundless Spring of love and being itself.
What can mortal sin be but the determination to live in the illusion that this is not so? Your divine life has come in the flesh of my brother Jesus--and continues to come in and to the flesh of all you love? And you all love all you have made. Is mortal sin this dualism that separates you from our common life, denying that you are here, present and knowable in every moment?
If so, I will pray for those who fall into such sin including myself, for it is a terrible darkness.
Awaken our senses, Abiding Presence. Evaporate the illusion that clouds our vision so that we may know every breath we take draws in your creative love as you seek to fill us and all that is. Amen.
Pr. David L. Miller
Friday, June 1, 2007
Today’s text
1 John 5:16-17
“If you see your brother or sister committing what is not a mortal sin, you will ask, and God will give life to such a one--to those whose sin is not mortal. There is a sin that is mortal; I do not say that you should pray about that. All wrongdoing is sin, but there is sin that is not mortal.”
Prayer
I do not know what mortal sin means, Dearest One. I cannot grasp it. I know only that sin kills, right here and now. It is the illusion of separation from you. It is living without awareness that I and all that is are always in you, and you are in us. We exist only because we bear your Being. We are never separate from you, from your life, from your wonder, from the vitality and love you are.
Such awareness brings gratitude and calm. Anxiety flees the field, leaving the assurance that I am alive with you. The life I live is your life breathed into flesh. Every breath resonates with the peace that I have all I need in life and death. For, I am alive with you, the Boundless Spring of love and being itself.
What can mortal sin be but the determination to live in the illusion that this is not so? Your divine life has come in the flesh of my brother Jesus--and continues to come in and to the flesh of all you love? And you all love all you have made. Is mortal sin this dualism that separates you from our common life, denying that you are here, present and knowable in every moment?
If so, I will pray for those who fall into such sin including myself, for it is a terrible darkness.
Awaken our senses, Abiding Presence. Evaporate the illusion that clouds our vision so that we may know every breath we take draws in your creative love as you seek to fill us and all that is. Amen.
Pr. David L. Miller
1 John 5:16-17
“If you see your brother or sister committing what is not a mortal sin, you will ask, and God will give life to such a one--to those whose sin is not mortal. There is a sin that is mortal; I do not say that you should pray about that. All wrongdoing is sin, but there is sin that is not mortal.”
Prayer
I do not know what mortal sin means, Dearest One. I cannot grasp it. I know only that sin kills, right here and now. It is the illusion of separation from you. It is living without awareness that I and all that is are always in you, and you are in us. We exist only because we bear your Being. We are never separate from you, from your life, from your wonder, from the vitality and love you are.
Such awareness brings gratitude and calm. Anxiety flees the field, leaving the assurance that I am alive with you. The life I live is your life breathed into flesh. Every breath resonates with the peace that I have all I need in life and death. For, I am alive with you, the Boundless Spring of love and being itself.
What can mortal sin be but the determination to live in the illusion that this is not so? Your divine life has come in the flesh of my brother Jesus--and continues to come in and to the flesh of all you love? And you all love all you have made. Is mortal sin this dualism that separates you from our common life, denying that you are here, present and knowable in every moment?
If so, I will pray for those who fall into such sin including myself, for it is a terrible darkness.
Awaken our senses, Abiding Presence. Evaporate the illusion that clouds our vision so that we may know every breath we take draws in your creative love as you seek to fill us and all that is. Amen.
Pr. David L. Miller
Thursday, May 31, 2007
Thursday, May 31, 2007
Today’s text
1 John 5:16
“If you see your brother or sister committing what is not a mortal sin, you will ask, and God will give life to such a one--to those whose sin is not mortal.”
Prayer
I know sin all too well. My heart is not singular and pure. My soul does not shine with the crystalline clarity of your divine heart. Each intricate facet of your Being glimmers with the unsullied, undiluted purity of the Love whom you are. Who can gaze into light so pure, so piercing?
I am nothing like this. My sin is the source of most of my pain and sadness, my weakness and worry. I would love and trust you, finding strength and calmness of heart amid the feverishness of life. But on too many days I turn from the plentitude of your provision and quickly am trapped in anxiety about my want of skill and time, insight and ability. My incompetence and inadequacy for the tasks of your calling mock me.
In abject need, I turn and fall again into the fullness of your love, and my soul is enveloped in a cloud of knowing assurance. I am certain again, not of me, but of you, of the constant presence of your love, of the infinitely abundant reality that I dwell in the atmosphere of a love that will never abandon me to my own devices.
My heart is filled my life, eternal life, which is to say, with you. And I live. Oh, that I could always live like this. This alone is life, a life you give to sinners and wanderers like me. Pour your loving nearness on all of us this day that we may glow with a glory not our own. Amen.
Pr. David L. Miller
1 John 5:16
“If you see your brother or sister committing what is not a mortal sin, you will ask, and God will give life to such a one--to those whose sin is not mortal.”
Prayer
I know sin all too well. My heart is not singular and pure. My soul does not shine with the crystalline clarity of your divine heart. Each intricate facet of your Being glimmers with the unsullied, undiluted purity of the Love whom you are. Who can gaze into light so pure, so piercing?
I am nothing like this. My sin is the source of most of my pain and sadness, my weakness and worry. I would love and trust you, finding strength and calmness of heart amid the feverishness of life. But on too many days I turn from the plentitude of your provision and quickly am trapped in anxiety about my want of skill and time, insight and ability. My incompetence and inadequacy for the tasks of your calling mock me.
In abject need, I turn and fall again into the fullness of your love, and my soul is enveloped in a cloud of knowing assurance. I am certain again, not of me, but of you, of the constant presence of your love, of the infinitely abundant reality that I dwell in the atmosphere of a love that will never abandon me to my own devices.
My heart is filled my life, eternal life, which is to say, with you. And I live. Oh, that I could always live like this. This alone is life, a life you give to sinners and wanderers like me. Pour your loving nearness on all of us this day that we may glow with a glory not our own. Amen.
Pr. David L. Miller
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