Tuesday, September 11, 2007

Today’s text

Luke 14:27

“Whoever does not carry the cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.”

Prayer

What is this cross I am to carry, Jesus? Do I know; will I ever? And why do I feel care slipping from my soul?

I have never believed that you call us to soul killing labor or lonely isolation that drains us of the spark of joy. Surely, struggle marks our life in you, since your ways are not ours. And it takes a lifetime of struggle to know them; even then we know next to nothing.

But I have long thought that even the crosses we carry, in their own way, stir faith, hope and love in us--and joy, that joy in giving and serving we know in moments when we are truly alive and vibrant. Such life is your desire for us.

I hunger for this buoyancy because joy slips through my fingers and my heart languors. But I wonder: is this yearning for elusive joy an avoidance of the labor to which you call me? Or is it a holy whisper telling me I am going the wrong way--that the cross that drains care from my soul is not mine to bear? I just don’t know.

All I know is that I need you, your presence, your nearness, your tenderness, your help my brother. Without you, I can carry nothing, certainly not the cross of divine love for the world that you bore in and out of troubled days.

Grant us clear vision of how we may best follow you, Jesus. And let our hearts drink the joy of your nearness, especially when we lose our way and lonely questions close upon us.

Pr. David L. Miller