You Don't Need Words

A friend forwarded me a sermon recently, that had among its cuter quotes a comment from Annie Lamott, who claims that you only need to know two words to pray; 'Thanks' and 'Help'.

This is a great quote; amusing and directive, showing us how accessible God is and how simple to reach God.

But like many of my little words of wisdom, I don't think it goes far enough, or expresses the true wonder of God's love.

True, it encourages us all to pray, no matter how simple our prayers.

But we don't always have words for our prayers: God does not need words - just for us to try to walk with him.

And if you look at The Lord's Prayer, you will see that it asks for help and forgiveness *before* promising forgiveness in turn.

So you don't need words - all of creation can pray - and it is ok if you ask for help first and say thanks later.

And that's just like God:
Hearing our needs first,
Even when we don't know what they are.

Peace,
LE

A Light in the Darkness

We don't often talk in the waiting places.
Doctor's offices, train stations, elevators...
The places we wait for something to happen.

We just wait and our life spins by.
Some are quiet out of politeness,
Some because they are shy,
And some to keep the peace.

Fate, work, travel, sickness, life... have gathered you together here, but your minds, your hearts are miles away.

But some speak with the spirit, if they know you or not:

"Good Morning!", they say, with an intonation that shows they are wishing it for you all.

And your spirit rises in you, and you say "Good Morning!" back, and suddenly there is a community together in the waiting place;
people together; and sharing a few words.

And the glow from that brief friendly moment colors the next moment, and the next.

Good Morning!
Bless You!
God Be With You!

...Seems as if He arrived while you were speaking; thank you for inviting Him.

God Be With You All!

LE

Seeking The Light

Oppress not
Nor charge interest
Nor use cleverness to defraud
Or trick
Or seek unfair advantage

Do not lie
Or hide the truth
Or repeat gossip
Or tell that which will do more harm than good

Feed
Share
Teach
Help
Heal
Pray

Lend not, but give
Find joy as you may
Seek out and bless the good

Give space for life,
And keep space for God
Encourage the saints
See what light exists

And you will find that light is with you; and to you the darkness will be filled with light.

The LORD will guide you continually, you will pass through trouble and poverty and famine, and God will tend you, and make you strong;
You shall be like a watered garden,
like a spring of water,
whose waters never fail.
Your ancient ruins shall be rebuilt;
You shall raise up the foundations of many generations;
You shall be called the repairer of the breach,
And the restorer of the holy city.

God has promised this, and it will be done.

May God walk with you and bless you, and may you find God's way and make it yours.

LE

After Isaiah 58, from the revised common lectionary for Sunday, August 24; utilizing the NRSV

Linking...

Departures:
Slyphnascency has ceased to exist, fond goodbye...
Turns in the Road I still look there too rarely so, au revoir...

Thinking About It:
All youse who post like, once every other month, you are on notice... :)

Arrivals:
Your Daily Art Art! Everyone Loves Art!
100 Years of Illustration You can't ever get enough art, can you?
Out Of Fellowship Started out podcasts, now a melange of pictures and everything.

Love,
LE

Evensong

Above the trees
A hawk wheels screaming
Against the azure sky
Where cloud-dragons twist and coil

About my feet
The chipmunks skitter

The sky darkens with evening
The hawk finds its nest
The cloud-dragons are gone
The chipmunks settle in their burrows

The dog barks
And appears with his owner for a walk.

Bunnies appear
Cautious and quiet
Ears atwist

Evening birds sing
A bat swoops by

I poke the fire and sparks fly up
Fireflies blink
Stars peek

Peace soaks in

May peace and joy surround you

The Business of Love

Are you awake?
And if you are awake, do you see?
And seeing, do you speak?
And what manner of speech?
Are you welcoming or hard?
Available or distant?
Helpful or not helpful?

Do you note those around you who are hurt?
Those who are regularly put down, insulted, excluded, assaulted? The ones you see being harmed?

And if you did notice, would you offer them a word of comfort? Some direction? A hand of assistance? Or do you stand coldly with those who do the harm?

Remove your steel gauntlets.
Take off your armor.
Put up your barbed helmet.
Pull off your hob-nailed boots.

Wash yourself, cleanse your face, your eyes, your ears, your skin, and be clean;
Annoint yourself with scented oils;
Don soft garments for gentle interactions;
Silken slippers and gloves.

We are about the business of love,
And steel will not serve you today.

Seeking Balance

How do we manage to live well-rounded lives?
How do we ensure that we invest enough in the right things?
How do we even decide what are the right things?

There are so many choices, and so many tasks. Life demands much of us: far too much paperwork and conformity. Others are always asking, asking, asking, and pushing, pushing, pushing, and we don't get the things done that we know we really should do: things that make a difference.

But we must have balance in our lives. Not balance like a tightrope walker, but balance like a portfolio of investments - investments we can move as necessary.

And our assets are limited:
We have only so much time,
Only so much energy,
Only so much money,
With wich to express God's infinite love.

We must put the love first
(What are our priorities?)
And see how that drives the tasks
That use our time
Our energy
And our money.

Happily, God's love is free.


Peace to you

-LE

The Word Is Simple

The word is not only for sages
It doesn't take pages and pages
You don't need a degree
To sit on God's knee
And you don't need to study for ages

The instructions themselves are quite clear
You must hold each and every one dear
Share freely the love
That comes from above
Have faith and be of good cheer

No More Barns

With reference to last week's lectionary lesson;

To be sung to a country, sprightly melody.

There ain't no barns in heaven,
Lest maybe you are a cow;

And you won't need a big bank vault-
For treasure anyhow;

So don't go building storage,
For things that you don't need;

If you give away what you can share,
You'll find you're rich indeed!

May your kindness and generosity build you mansions in the hereafter...

Love to all!

-LE

I help and stand back

I help and stand back
I open the door and get out of the way
I show you those in need and you reach out to them
I whisper a question in your ear and you find a solution
I find you a little cash and you donate it
Some food, and you share it
A moment of peace...
An ounce of grace...
I am a silent helping presence while you work
You invoke me and credit me
But I was just a signpost and a prop
You pushed to your feet
You stepped in harm's way
You tangled with hardship
You struggled with need
You made do with little
You loved in the midst of carelessness and hate
You do not stand without help, it is true...
But you stand
And I love you
Bless you, each and every one

Living Into Our Call

We all have a vision, I think, of our 'best self';
The self we hope to be,
And perhaps are meant to be.

A self who is uniformly good,
A self who is uniformly kind,
A self who is uniformly fair,
A self who has a special kind of wisdom,
A self who walks with God.

Visualize that self.
See that parnership with the Almighty.
Call forth your faith;
And walk that path.

Acknowledge and put aside thoughts and deeds that do not belong to your best self.

Put on the white robe of faith and walk with the Lord. Be your best self when you greet people, when you work, when you are with family, when you dine, when things go well, and when they go wrong.

Reframe your thoughts, words, and deeds from the perspective of your best self, and as if you were already living the life you imagine that this faithful self lives. Don't just count your blessings; that is for beginners; SEE yourself as blessed.

Envision your body, glowing with love and light. You are God's hands here on earth - Reach out and create, heal and help.

And when you stumble, pick yourself back up, admit your mistake, put your robe of faith back on, and go back to work.

You ARE blessed, and you ARE needed, more than you know or imagine.

Inspired by this, and St Paul.

Care of the Dead

We honor and care for our departed in many ways.

Some of what we do is profoundly practical;

-collection of bodies by families and health workers;

-cleaning, preservation, and clothing or wrapping of bodies so they can be neatly managed;

-documenting and displaying of bodies so that those who had dealings with the departed can know that they are truly dead;

-final disposition of bodies that prevent them from becoming food for hazardous beasts or disease-spreading vermin.

And these are practical, sensible steps that humans execute to properly manage the dead in almost every culture, and which we have done since the days of the Neanderthals.

These tasks have also a 'ritual feel' to them, a depth. I think that few can care for the dead without being moved. Like children, or the very ill, the dead cannot care for themselves. They will not complain. They have no words, arguments, or expression any more. What filled them and gave them life is gone.

So we care for them. Sometimes we can express things to the dead we could not, cannot, to the living.

The dead do not judge.

The dead do not get angry.

The dead wait on us, and on God.

So we care for their mortal shell;

We place pictures, reminders, and little offerings;

...Where they died,
...Where they are buried,
...At memorials,
...In our workplaces,
...In our homes,
...In our lives

The dead cannot use these things.

The dead don't need flowers or sea shells,
Pebbles or crosses,
Candles or pictures

But we do.

We living, need to remember;

This one was, and is no more
This one lived
This one loved and was loved

This was one of us.


-for Boomer, and all our loved ones

Today we Mourn

Today we mourn and pray for those who were lost or injured in yesterday's bridge collapse, and pray for their families and friends.

And we also give thanks that so few seem to have been lost or hurt, for the favorable weather, and for the many helping hands that appeared when needed.

May God turn our mourning hearts to each other, and may we find comfort.