may you come to Christ
may you taste the body of Christ
unfamiliar
but filling
sustaining
giving life.
May you taste the blood of Jesus
bitter
but cleansing
washing away iniquity.
May you leave this table
and follow Christ
wherever he leads
wherever he goes.
may you be reminded daily of the taste
of the body
and the blood
of Jesus Christ.
And may that body and blood
fill your life
that you may share life
with all you meet.
sorry for the recent lack of updates… with the insanity generated by the hurricane and working on projects, things got a little crazy. hopefully stuff will be more forthcoming in the next few days.
When the brilliant ethicist John Kavanaugh went to work for three months at “the house of the dying” in Calcutta, he was seeking a clear answer as to how best to spend the rest of his life. On the first morning there he met Mother Teresa. She asked, “And what can I do for you?” Kavanaugh asked her to pray for him.
“What do you want me to pray for?” she asked. He voiced the request that he had borne thousands of miles from the United States: “Pray that I have clarity.”
She said firmly, “No, I will not do that.” When he asked her why, she said, “Clarity is the last thing you are clinging to and must let go of.” When Kavanaugh commented that she always seemed to have the clarity he longed for, she laughed and said, I have never had clarity; what I have always had is trust. So I will pray that you trust God.”
Craving clarity, we attempt to eliminate the risk of trusting God. Fear of the unknown path stretching ahead of us destroys childlike trust in the Father’s active goodness and unrestricted love.
-unknown
there’s something more to worship than songs
than words
than actions.
it takes more than intent or presence
more than simple motion.
just as knowledge is not understanding
simple participation is not worship.
worship –
true worship –
needs more than mechanics.
it requires passion.
God
we come before you a prideful people,
a sinful people,
full of our own desires and wants,
distracted by a thousand things
as we enter into the most holy place
of worship with you.
we come
wanting to feel good about ourselves,
to stroke our own egos,
to put in as little as possible
while stealing as much from you
as we can.
Forgive us.
For our pride,
Forgive us.
For our reckless pursuit of self,
Forgive us.
for our ungrateful hearts,
forgive us.
For our failure to yield our lives to you,
forgive us.
Humble us, o God.
Create in us hearts of compassion
of reverence
of humility
of justice.
Open our eyes, Lord
to the people around us
remind us, God,
of Justice.
do not allow us to sit by
as people in our city go hungry
as people in our state are out of work
as people in our nation live without homes
as people in our world die in wars without name
as people everywhere do not know you.
do not let us sit by
do not let us be silent
while there exist thouse without voice.
force us, God,
to cry out in their defence.
Cleanse us, Jesus
cleanse our hearts,
our minds,
our souls.
As we enter into the very presence
of your Spirit
cleanse us and make us worthy.
in this time
make us yours.
many thanks to liz for the photo-op today. here are 6, with a link to 226 at the bottom:
additional pictures here. note: this is the same set of 36 pictures processed 6 different ways.
A candle,
solitary flame;
light, shining in a dark place.
Though alone,
may you shine brightly
with such light as you have been given,
drawing people to Christ;
a lamp – illuminating the path,
a beacon – warning of danger,
a fire – shelter and warmth.
May you find strength in dark places
knowing that light only shines in darkness
and darkness cannot overcome it.