Lord, teach me. . . .

  When I admire the wonders of a sunset or the beauty of the moon, my soul expands in the worship of the Creator. –Mahatma Gandhi As people of God, we are drawn to worship and to prayer. Right? So why is it, then, that prayer can seem so difficult at times? We come together from our busy lives, gathering in our houses of worship to praise and to pray. The praise part seems to come naturally. After all, there’s music and exhortation from the worship leaders to engage us. Then the time comes to pray. Silent prayer seems terminally long sometimes. And spoken prayer—well, please , let’s leave that to “the professionals.” Please don’t ask me to pray aloud! Even Jesus’ disciples asked for help there. Lord , they pleaded, teach us to pray . And he did—but the words we know as The Lord’s Prayer were not really intended for memorization; rather, Jesus was offering a method . A way to pray, no matter the situation. A more contemporary idea: the word PRAY can be seen as an a...

  If there is magic on this planet, it is contained in water. –Loren Eiseley A friend recently asked about preserving water from the River Jordan, so it wouldn’t go all skanky (a theological term) before a few drops were added to the baptismal font each time. Someone suggested freezing the water in ice cube trays, then thawing one or two for each baptism. Smart, right? Then he continued to offer this reflection: While it is symbolically cool to add a few drops from the river where Jesus was baptized to our modern day ceremony, it really isn’t necessary, because at some point, every drop of water on earth has passed through the River Jordan. How about that. Every drop of water, throughout all time. The water that courses as blood through or veins was once part of the Nile, or even Lake Superior. Talk about an effective recycling program. For me, not only is this a wonderful, mind-boggling observation; it also connects us, one to another, over the course of history, furth...

  Economy, prudence and a simple life are the sure masters of need, and will often accomplish that which their opposites, with a fortune at hand, will fail to do. –Clara Barton   I was thinking yesterday about the Thrift Shop we have in the basement of our church. Everything there is freely donated by members and friends of the church. The shop has no costs to run it; the church pays its utilities, and volunteers operate the shop. Prices are extremely low; in many cases, the ladies will take very needy guests on a “shopping spree” and allow them to choose several items at no cost. (It’s a great Thrift Shop, and if you haven’t visited it yet, I highly recommend it.) So then I got to thinking about God’s Reign, and our role in it. Everything we have is a gift from God. Everything . God give God’s Love so freely, the Psalmist says, that we shall not want. When we have extra, then, shouldn’t we open our hearts and our hands and freely give to those whose needs are greater...

  A family is a risky venture, because the greater the love, the greater the loss. . . .  That’s the trade-off. But I’ll take it all. –Brad Pitt In our modern world, a family can take many different forms. What was once “traditionally” defined as a mother, father and 2.2 children is now much, much more. The intricate, colorful tapestry we weave with our lives becomes bolder and more brilliant, at once unique and diverse—and constantly changing. The cycle is remarkable, if we think about it. We come in to the world helpless and hungry, wriggling and wailing, completely dependent on a grownup for—well, for everything. Left to their own devices, infants don’t stand a chance. What matters? Love matters, because loving leads to caring. As that infant begins to grow, to change and spread her wings, her mantra becomes I can do it myself! Trials, successes—and failures—are daily occurrences. What matters? Love matters, love enough to let that child learn and grow (and fail...

  For us, the greatest temptation is to lose touch with the Blessing. We are beloved Sons and Daughters of God. –Henri Nouwen Sometimes, Life is rough. Things don’t always go as we planned. (Heck—things often don’t go as we planned!) Our instinct as humans is to beat ourselves up over every little thing. Somehow, we think, if we had only done things differently, it would all have turned out better. And from there, we begin to convince ourselves that we are not good enough, or smart enough, or whatever.  Stop it. That is not true. God loves you. Period. Just as you are, right here, right now. You do not have to change anything or do anything to “make” God love you—and just knowing that should make you want to share that Good News with others, whether with words of love and caring, or gifts of food, clothing or warm socks. God loves you. Believe it. But don’t keep it a secret! Go—tell it on a mountain! Monday  Not everyone has a safe, warm place to stay in...

  A life is not important except in the impact it has on other lives. –Jackie Robinson   Here in Cleveland, we have a local meteorologist who is really good (in my opinion). Betsy is funny, articulate—and accurate , at least as much as any meteorologist can be. This winter has been a doozie everywhere, and Betsy has helped us make sense and remember what matters. As a winter storm approaches, Betsy will tell us the anticipated totals of snowfall, freezing rain or whatever, and then remind us: Folks, it’s not the inches that matter. It’s how the inches affect our getting around. Focus on the impact , not numbers . Impact, not numbers. An inch of freezing rain can really complicate things; an inch of snow, not so much. Similarly, I think we need to refocus our thinking about our churches, as well. So many churches tend to focus on getting more butts in the pews. We need people ! Especially families with young children ! A successful church is often seen as the one tha...

  Out of the fires of desperation burn Hope and Solidarity. –Sharan Burrows   Let’s face it: We are living in challenging times. For two years , we have lived strange, isolated lives, held hostage by the coronavirus. In recent days, war has loomed large over Eastern Europe, especially Ukraine. Add to that the ongoing climate anomalies that aren’t nearly as anomalistic as they used to be: devastating forest fires, hurricanes that are far more intense and extensive than they used to be; rising floods around the world. It’s sad. It’s horrifying. And—it can be overwhelming. As a person of faith, I feel called to prayer. But my God, there is so much ! I can’t even. . . . In his letter to the church at Rome, Paul exhorts his congregation, when their lives seem oh, so overwhelming, to allow the Spirit to pray for them. Maybe things are so jumbled in your mind, there are no words to pray. Or maybe the words come so fast and so furious, it all seems like a big old bowl of a...