In Our Distress

Meditation: angelus est nomen officii

In my extremity, I called out to the Lord;
I cried out in the congregation in my distress.
I was answered with love;
I was restored and removed to a better place;
With the love of the Lord with me, how can I be cut down?

Place your trust in the Lord;
Seek the Almighty where he waits upon his beloved;
Though your enemies surround you;
Though you find yourself at fault and unworthy;
Though you see no escape, there is help and hope for you;
The Lord is our strength and right arm;
His servants listen for the cry of the oppressed;
They wait upon the word of the Lord.

The Lord is our salvation and our help;
Though we may be chastised,
we are not condemned;
Though we find ourselves in distress;
even at the end of our lives and beyond;
We are enfolded and comforted;
In the Lord we find our true labor;
In the Lord we truly find ourselves.

-distantly after Ps 118

At The Naming of a Hindu Child

Meditation:  We share the Word


Since it has pleased the Almighty to bestow upon N1 and N2
the gift of a child, N3, let us now give thanks:

Heavenly Father, you have blessed us with your presence in  this world.
We thank you for the life of this child, N3, entrusted to our care.
Help us to remember that we are all your children, and so to
love and nurture him, that he may attain to that full stature
intended for him in your eternal wisdom.

Lord, you have taught us that whoever receives a little child
in your name receives you.  We give you thanks for the blessing
you have bestowed upon N1 and N2 in giving them a child. Confirm
their joy by a lively sense of your presence with them, and give them
calm strength and patient wisdom as they seek to bring this child to
love all that is true and noble, just and pure, lovable and gracious,
excellent and admirable, following the example of all who are blessed.

- Modified from the 1979 Book of Common Prayer: Thanksgiving for a Child

The Other Parts of Our Hearts

Meditation:  We must listen for God speaking through each other


The problem is:
In order to speak to you;
For you to understand;
It seems like I must speak as an adult.

But for me to tell you the truth;
For us to truly communicate;
For your heart to hear me;
I must speak as a child.

And it may very well be
that there are no words at all
that express what we feel.

In which case
I ask that you imagine
the tears in my eyes
and the way my face crumples
and bends.

Somewhere
the other parts of our hearts
are hidden

Today we can only
try and hope
to remember.

On The Inside of St. Patrick's Breastplate

Meditation:  My Shepherd Is The Lord

Christ be with you, Christ within you,

Christ behind you, Christ before you,

Christ beside you, Christ to win you,

Christ to comfort and restore you.

Christ beneath you, Christ above you,

Christ in quiet, Christ in danger,

Christ in hearts of all that love you,

Christ in mouth of friend and stranger.

   -Amen

I Believe

Antiphon:   Love rejoices in the truth

I believe in God the Creator,
Who gives us breath and life,
Maker of all that is.

I believe in Jesus the Christ;
Wholly God and Wholly Man,
Who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,
And was born to a maid named Mary,

Who was tormented by Pontius Pilate,
Was crucified, died, and was entombed.
Who ministered to the dead,
And whom the gates of hell and death cannot restrain.

Three days after his death, he arose,
And ascended into heaven,
He sits on the right hand of God the Creator.
He shall come again to judge the living and the dead.

I believe in the Holy Spirit,
The Church, the Body of Christ,
The communion of saints,
The forgiveness of sins,
The resurrection of the body,
And the life everlasting.

I Help and Stand Back (Reprise)

I am reprising this post to honor Maple Leaf Lutheran Church of Seattle who voted overwhelmingly yesterday to host Tent City 3 against not insignificant opposition.

Proposed Antiphon: We are all one in God's great scheme, in God no lonely ways. ; But myriads of blessings over an infinity of days.

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

Original post here.

A Winter Faith (Reprise)

Proposed Antiphon: Unto you it is given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God


Cruel wintry winds
Howl, hiss and blow
Across the ice
Over the snow

Bare trees poke up
No life is seen
The ice gives all
A glassy sheen

Nothing moves
Lest blown about
High up above
Cold stars are out

Your face is numb
Your fingers chill
Breath a brief cloud
And all is still

Below the snow
Below the ice
In buried peace
Lie seeds and mice

Fish dream fish dreams
Deep in the ponds
While cruel winds whip
The cattail fronds

Chipmunks sleep tight
And dream of sun
Of nuts and grain
Of chipmunk fun

Down in the mud
The frogs all sleep
Turtles mark time
In burrows deep

Warmth will return
The ice will go
And life will rise
And water flow

Snow drops will leap
Out of their grave
Then crocuses;
These plants are brave

The buds will swell
And burst and bloom
The earth will shed
This wintry gloom

But bravest, first
Sign of the mild
The Christmas birth;
The holy Child

Reminding us
This wintry strife
Lies briefly over
Our vibrant life

From out of dark
Comes life and light
Showing us God's
Power and might.


Original Post

GoD and DoG

This afternoon I found a wonderful video by Wendy Francisco entitled: GoD and DoG.


Wendy's website is Here, and her blog is Here.

Go in Peace to Love and Serve the Lord!

LE

p.s. Problems with displaying video properly made it clear blog template was out of step with YouTube and also with normal screen widths - so behold a wider blog. :)

Answer

Did you think
That all you had to do was read
That all you had to do was pray
That all you had to do was recognize me?

I am sorry
that the answer is not so simple
and that this is not all that is required

But in truth
what is required of you is much more

When everyone else is aligned with evil
You must speak of good

When the evil are dying
You must save them, and

When you are dying
You must speak of life

Did you notice the special deference allocated my son
And his disciples?

Know that they are not alone
And that you will share with them
The rewards of my kingdom

If you can gird yourself
with the word.

Nothing comes for free

And your sacriifice

Is not wasted

But the reward

Is also

Not visible

In this world

The peace of God

Such as it is

Be with you.



In response to 'Unclean'.

I Found The Door Unbarred

I found the door unbarred
I found my way within
There was a basin there
Placed welcoming, yet dry
An unlit candle stood tall
The light within was dim
Warmed by illumined saints
Precious woods shone and
Ancient stones gleamed coolly
I paced down the aisle
As carvings spoke to me
Of legend, ritual, faith
I knelt there for a moment
And next to me knelt God
Who accepted my foolish words
Alone in that spare place
And as God often does
I found that my small requests
Were blessed and all came true
The large ones… …it could be
God is leaving them for me

LE

Emily Dickinson on Hope

Hope is the thing with feathers
That perches in the soul,
And sings the tune without the words,
And never stops at all,

And sweetest in the gale is heard;
And sore must be the storm
That could abash the little bird
That kept so many warm.

I’ve heard it in the chilliest land
And on the strangest sea;
Yet, never, in extremity,
It asked a crumb of me.

May God bless your hopes and prayers with love and peace.

LE

Downspout

Rain comes down
Not every day
But it does come
Sometimes more often than I might like

And under my downspout
I have a watering can
Because when it isn't raining
A very small person likes to wander the yard
Blessing the flowers with water

And in this way
I keep water handy for her
To help her in her mission
And help make the world more beautiful
One drop at a time

May all of our dark rainy days
And all of our sadness
Be similarly transformed into moments
Of sharing and joy

Blessings
LE

Raise Your Light!

The sun rises, the sun sets
The moon waxes and wanes

The green life rises and leafs out

Fauns and children are born and grow

Old people hold hands, walking into the sunset

Rain waters the earth
Blue skies catch our breath

Birds sing
Fish splash
Squirrels leap
Chipmunks search the undergrowth for seeds

Woodpeckers knock, while skunks hunt for grubs below
Tiny sparks of life burrow in the earth and dance in the air

People help each other
People they know
And people they do not know

They set up funds, institutions, and ways of life to see to the care and shelter of others
For people they will never meet, for those who will come long after they have gone

Others have labored, and we have entered into their labors

Good is not the exception
We live in a very blessed world

We do not light a single lamp in the darkness
But add our light to the constellations lighting the sky

We do not sing alone in a vile place
But join the celestial chorus

There are those who do not hear
Who turn away
Who see the dark first, who struggle to pick out any good
Who cannot see how very blessed we are
Who cannot imagine the world of sharing that we really live in
And we must sing to them
And raise our light, our hearts

There is enough grace,

enough good,

… enough God for all of us

Raise your light!

None are Unclean

From Acts 11 NRSV:

Then Peter began to explain it to them, step by step, saying, ‘I was in the city of Joppa praying, and in a trance I saw a vision. There was something like a large sheet coming down from heaven, being lowered by its four corners; and it came close to me. As I looked at it closely I saw four-footed animals, beasts of prey, reptiles, and birds of the air.

I also heard a voice saying to me, “Get up, Peter; kill and eat.” But I replied, “By no means, Lord; for nothing profane or unclean has ever entered my mouth.”

But a second time the voice answered from heaven, “What God has made clean, you must not call profane.” This happened three times; then everything was pulled up again to heaven.

At that very moment three men, sent to me from Caesarea, arrived at the house where we were. The Spirit told me to go with them and not to make a distinction between them and us. These six brothers also accompanied me, and we entered the man’s house. He told us how he had seen the angel standing in his house and saying, “Send to Joppa and bring Simon, who is called Peter; he will give you a message by which you and your entire household will be saved.”

And as I began to speak, the Holy Spirit fell upon them just as it had upon us at the beginning. And I remembered the word of the Lord, how he had said, “John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.”

If then God gave them the same gift that he gave us when we believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I that I could hinder God?’

Hinder not God, but treat all with fairness, favoring none, poor nor rich, weak nor strong, discerning not between the races, or the sexes, or by who was born of what parents. For all are called to be Children of God, and all are desired at the great feast.

Look at yourself, and see if you truly treat all alike, repent and turn to the way of God.

Peace,
LE

Blessing for a Non-Sectarian Wedding Feast

This Good Friday, I had the pleasure to contribute a blessing for a wedding feast.

Somehow that feels particularly appropriate for the day when we commemorate the sacrifice of a man who often referred to himself as a groom.

The Prayer:

God, we thank you for bringing us here at this time, to share with friends and family the joyful wedding of N and M. May God continue to bless them, and work through their lives to make them, and the world a better and more loving place. God bless this meal before us, bless us as we share it, and continue to bless us as we travel and as we return to our individual lives. May the strength of N and M’s love inspire us each to a renewed commitment to each other – to live more kindly, to share more fully, and to love more passionately.

In God’s name we pray;

Peace,
LE

Hope for the Hopeless

I found myself in a valley, and the floor of that valley was strewn with bones.

Human bones.

Dry, dusty, no life in them, nothing in them that anything could live on.

And a voice said to me: “Can these bones live?”

Live? They are the essence of death!

“Prophesy over these bones! They shall live!”
“Sinews shall grow, flesh and skin shall cover them, breath shall enter them and they shall live!”

So I spoke the word of the Lord, and flesh came upon the bones, and breath entered them, and they stood upon their feet, a living multitude.

And you shall know that I am the LORD, when I open your graves, and bring you up from your graves, O my people. I will put my spirit within you, and you shall live, and I will place you on your own soil; then you shall know that I, the LORD, have spoken and will act," says the LORD. -Ezekiel 37:1-14

Photo Credit Rob Wakefield

Here's Mud In Your Eye:

100 Words on Dirt (John 9:1-11):

He rubbed dirt in his eyes!

What?

The man they are calling ‘Teacher’.

Oh, the new prophet-guy, Jesus. You said he put dirt in someone’s eyes?

Worse, he took dirt, he spit on it, made mud and rubbed it in this man’s eyes!

The man didn’t try to stop him?

No, No, he was blind.

What, it wasn’t bad enough that he was blind in the first place? Didn’t anyone else try to stop him?

No, we didn’t think of it – and it made him see!

He puts dirt in people’s eyes and makes them see; now that’s a miracle.

Peace,

LE

The Bread and the Wine

Some reach for the cup
Others open their mouths, faithful that you will tip carefully
Some grasp the bottom of the cup
And control the tip
Some just sip, so timidly that you wonder if they received
Others manhandle the cup and take a significant helping

Some raise their hands for the bread
But many, many leave their hands low
Their hands cupped, almost closed
You must reach down
Reach in
And place the bread inside their hands
Like a seed within a pod
Like a child within a womb
Encourage them to take, to taste

The wine seems more welcome than the bread
Perhaps the wine is like the spirit
The blessings of the spirit
Heady, inspiring, and lifting
And the bread is like the body
Reminding us of our mortality
Of our flesh, and its failings
Of our suffering, of our limitations

Or maybe we want to sense the physicality of the bread
To have it thrust upon us
To have God reach out to us
Touch us in our mortal life
We need the thrust, the touch, the impinging of God upon us

Perhaps this is why
It feels like I must give the bread
But that the wine
People are eager to receive

May you find that God reaches out to you
And that you are much beloved.

-LE

frosty filigree

A fantastic frosty filigree has silently decorated my window while I slept.

Now the sun catches the twisting tiny twirls of tinsel that have grown there, sparkling and glinting as if dotted with diamonds.

I am glad that I am inside to enjoy the beauty in a warm place.

May you have a warm place to shelter in your cold days also.

After The Third Psalm

Many are against me
Many rise to harm me
They mock my faith
They tease and taunt:
Where is your Savior now?

They ask where is my help.
But it is with me still.
God stands by me
In good and bad
My sheild and advocate

My God lifts up my head
Assures me of His love
God honors me
And comforts me
And answers all my prayers

God watches when I sleep
Sustains me so I wake
How should I fear
Ten thousand men
When my God holds me dear

Arise my Lord I pray
Deliver me from woe
Unseat my foes
And save my life
And wipe away my tears

God, bless the saints with love
Restore them by your hand
Show all the world
Your saving love
So they can understand