May 2, 2015

February 17

Colossians 1:15-16

He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation; for in him all things in heaven and on earth were created, things visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or powers—all things have been created through him and for him.

The cosmic dance

Our telescopic eyes look deep into distant time, and we stagger at the color and beauty, the immensity and intricacy of a universe we can barely imagine, if at all. We see nearly to the dawn of time—15 billion years I am told. How can I imagine that?

But that is when all that is exploded into existence from an infinitesimal speck, so dense no light could neither penetrate or escape its gravity. An unimaginable blackness—and from this comes billions of galaxies each with billions of stars that make our sun look like an underachiever. And it continues to expand every second, an expanding cosmos.

And every atom, every drop of water, every galaxy, the dark matter stretching billions of light years between the burning suns bears the mark of Christ, created in love, by love and for love—from the joy of the divine heart who makes worlds and drives us to our knees at the sheer wonder of it all.

And we, too. All of us. All that is bears the mark of its Maker. We are fashioned in and for the Love he is, being drawn into a harmony of Spirit and matter so that everything, everywhere glistens with the glory of his life.

For you, Holy One, draws all that is into a great, cosmic dance, a holy harmony of peace and beauty where all is one.

This universe is one great story, and we are part of that story. The story begins in the impenetrable darkness of the divine will and ends in a great dance of light and color, beauty and love where each things finds its place in the Love he is.

No words can speak this. The silence of awe is the only true worship. 

Pr. David L. Miller

Friday, May 1. 2015

Colossians 1:9-10

For this reason, since the day we heard it, we have not ceased praying for you and asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of God’s will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so that you may lead lives worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him, as you bear fruit in every good work and as you grow in the knowledge of God.

Lost in love

Sun awakens my soul as I drive down the street and know what I need to know. The world is alive, but more wondrously, so am I. More than physical life, something within surges and fills every pore of my being.

It is love, or shall I say Love? For the Love that fills me is you, and for a moment I know you beyond any ideas I ever learned about you. I am in love with everything and everyone I see.

I am one with you, sharing your life, for your life is the Love flowing from your unfathomable heart, flowing now through me.

I know you and what you are doing under sun that warms me this wondrous spring morning. All that is, all I see, every soul I meet this and every day is to be brought in union with the Love you are, joined with you.

Your will is that we be as Christ, a blessed union of created and divine life where your love fills and infuses all, so that it is alive with light and color … and shining like the sun on this crystal day.

This is the deep desire of your heart, your will, and today … my great joy.

Thank you, again, for shining the light of your love and lighting the world for me to see.

Pr. David L. Miller

Thursday, April 30, 2015

Colossians 1:7-8

This you learned from Epaphras, our beloved fellow-servant. He is a faithful minister of Christ on your behalf, and he has made known to us your love in the Spirit.

Madison’s ministry

Madison is my teacher. She is six, and she has a new lesson for me every Sunday. She hunts me down whether I am in the sanctuary, the sacristy or my office, often with several other children in tow.

Brown eyes flashing, she turns her face up to me and wants to be hugged … or picked up. She is getting a bit big for that. But she wants the touch of the love that binds us, the joy we find in knowing that we love each other—and we love each other a lot.

Once in a while, she brings me a gift, but the real gift is the connection we share that teaches me week-by week what this life is about.

Madison is a good teacher, a faithful minister of Christ. After six decades of living, I am beginning to understand. The life to which you call us, Holy One, is about being connected with each other in common hope, love and struggle to live the Love you are, a common life ministering to each other amid the average stuff of daily life.

It is not about me, but about us, joined to each other by the love your Spirit awakens in our souls.

Pr. David L. Miller

Wednesday, April 29, 2015

Colossians 1:3-5a

In our prayers for you we always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, for we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love that you have for all the saints, because of the hope laid up for you in heaven. 

One hope

Two words fill the heart. They are absolutely necessary and totally inadequate: Thank you.

Thank you, Holy One, for the hope that fills my life with light and color, beauty and joy. I do not hope for this or that … but for you, to know union, total and complete … with you … who are Love Incomprehensible.

Nothing else will do. Nothing else satisfies the soul. You made us for this, and whether we recognize it or not … our hearts long to see you, to know you, to live beyond the shadows of our earthly vision that we may see you face-to-face.

And we have seen your face in the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and have come to believe that the Love in him is you, Holy One, a Love with nether beginning or end.

Having seen and having tasted, having known in our brother, Jesus, we hope for utter union with you who sent him to invite us home into the Love who made us.

This hope, laid up for us in heaven, fills us with love for you and all you have made, for sun and moon, for the souls we meet and the distant stars, knowing all that is comes from the Love you are. 

Knowing, too, you will not rest until all that is shines with the colors of your life, in utter harmony with you and all that is.

Pr. David L. Miller

Tuesday, April 28, 2015

Colossians 1:1-2

Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother, To the saints and faithful brothers and sisters in Christ in Colossae: Grace to you and peace from God our Father. 

Ready to go

Every day is a journey, Holy One, a journey of hope. How can it be otherwise? For it is you who send us out.

I remember all those trips, dragging my packed bag through airports to cities and peoples unknown to me, knowing only that was you, through your church, who sent me to go and see.

I went, knowing always I would see you. You would find me in places and faces I had never known or imagined. You taught me to live in expectation for I never knew who, where, how or when you would open my eyes to see and my ears to hear … you.

I knew only that you sent me that the Love you are might be made known to and through me. That’s the way you are. You hunger to be known. You communicate not this or that idea about you … but you, the grace and peace, the fullness of Love you are.

No longer must I hustle through airports. Those days are done, but each day is its own journey. And I still don’t know who or when, how or where I will speak and share the love you are … or receive it from it another soul in an expected moment.

I know only that you are the Mystery of this Love who seeks not merely to communicate … but to commune … with me and every face today I see.

So let the journey begin. Send me to share and receive the wonder of your grace. I carry no bag … only a heart filled with hope.

 You have surprised me many times. Surprise me again, today.

Pr. David L. Miller