Wondrous God, in You our world rejoices.
We praise You
for the jaw-dropping beauty of existence;
for the Mountains, snow-capped
and eternally reaching up and out towards You;
for the endless horizon of a beach,
where more colors of light than we can even perceive
enliven the sky like a master’s painting.
We praise You
for the endlessness of outer space,
which points to Your infinite nature;
all these things bless their Creator,
as do we, with hearts and hands and voices.
For the wondrous gift of life,
for the bounty of a communal meal,
for the pleasure of fellowship,
for the satisfaction of work,
for the grace of leisure,
for the security of peace,
for the promise of tomorrow,
we give You, Holy God,
our hearts,
our minds,
our souls
in humble gratitude.
Still, we ask for one more grace:
Open our shuttered souls that Your gift of love
may flow through us,
blessing others on its way.
We acknowledge that
too often we receive Your kindness and abundance,
only to keep it to ourselves.
Make us the vessels of Your communion, God of Eternity,
rather than bottlenecks where Your blessings get stuck.
Through Your wisdom,
teach us the way,
so that all people may know Your love,
may know You,
by any of Your infinite and eternal names.
God of peaceful healing,
we feel Your presence.
We are a communion of souls,
dancing in Your calming warmth,
a gentle bath of energetic love.
May the vastness of Your love
be felt by all those in our community,
and every child of God around the world,
brother and sister all,
in pain, oppressed, suffering or lost.
We know You are eternal hope,
our God of love,
and through You we find strength.
We pray these things:
closer connection with You,
and the wisdom to know You more deeply
and follow You more closely.
We beg You, merciful Lover of the Universe,
be with us as we continually strive
to be more like our Master,
the Enlightened One,
Jesus Christ,
in whose name we pray.
Amen.
Monday, October 13, 2014
Friday, October 10, 2014
Scripture: James 1:5
If
any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all
without finding fault, and it will be given to you.
Thought
for the Day: James might be my favorite of the
biblical authors. He just gives no-nonsense, straightforward advice. This is
part of the reason I agree with the scholars who think the letter actually was
written by James, the brother of Jesus. James
is Wisdom literature, and this again makes sense if he was the brother of
Jesus, who was the embodiment of Wisdom. For centuries Jewish theologians
anthropomorphized Wisdom as a female entity. New Testament authors (also all
Jewish) take this embodiment and apply it to Jesus instead. Jesus is both a
wisdom teacher and the embodiment of Wisdom, the creative breath of God.
While
Judaism probably wasn’t the first monotheistic religion, one of its great
innovations was the idea that the greatest blessing a person could ask for is
wisdom. Through Wisdom God created the world (which is what John means when he
talks about the Word and implies Jesus as the great Wisdom of God). Wisdom is
the key to God’s active presence in the world. If we take some time to
understand Jesus as both an ancient wisdom teacher and the very embodiment of
perfect Wisdom, we see that throughout Scripture he is teaching real monism—unity
with God. The quest for wisdom brings us to complete fulfillment in the being
of God, which then is our ultimate happiness. This does not mean a life free of
strife or suffering (we need only to look at the life of Jesus for evidence of
this fact). However, living in oneness with God and constantly asking for
Divine Wisdom does make the suffering more bearable, and quite often leads us
to places of peace and compassion we never dreamed possible.
We
don’t need to ask God for anything other than to know and experience God more
deeply in our normal, everyday lives. God, as the substance that is already and
always flowing through our DNA, knows what we need and is constantly working to
heal the wounds of this world. God is making us complete. We can help the
process along by asking for the wisdom to lead lives of compassion, selflessness,
love, and mercy—the very qualities we expect and hope God also possesses.
Prayer: Give me wisdom, God, so that I will
make loving choices, and lead others to the true and lasting happiness that’s
found only in your eternal embrace. Amen.
Thursday, October 9, 2014
Scripture: Matthew 5:3-12 (The Beatitudes)
[Jesus said] “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God. Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven [meant to mean God’s new world order, not a place in the clouds], for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”
Thought for the Day: In these versus Matthew describes a vision of happiness completely divested of the material world. In fact, like so many of the stories and activities associated with Jesus, these instructions seem to be in direct opposition to what most people would think brings happiness. Being poor, humble, and thirsting for justice bring happiness—not wealth and power. Making peace instead of war brings happiness. Enduring persecution and suffering brings happiness. All these things bring happiness because they require us to step outside ourselves ourselves and our world, and exist instead in the blissful presence of God.
Unfortunately, our world is designed to make us miserable by keeping us disconnected from God. From the moment we’re born we’re taught to claw our way to the top at the expense of everyone else. Greed is good. Ayn Rand and her solipsistic ideology has captured and enslaved the American consciousness. When our politicians, who are elected to serve the people, begin quoting her ideology of selfishness, our country is in big, big trouble. When the six Walmart heirs have more money that an entire urban population while the millions of their workers, both in the U.S. and China, exist on government subsidies for food, shelter and clothing, the world is in trouble.
Happiness seems always just out of reach. Yet, happiness—true happiness, is always as close as our next breath. Happiness comes when we divest ourselves of the global rules of selfism and start living the unselfish life idealized in Jesus Christ, Buddha, Gandhi, Moses, and people like Dag Hammarskjöld. It is our choice to make: live a happy, God-infused life, or keep clawing for the leftovers dropping from the banquet tables of the global fat cats. As for me, I’m done with that game. I choose God. I choose happiness.
Prayer: I can’t even begin to describe how happy you make me, God of all time and space. When I feel You coursing through my veins I know what it means to be complete, to be loved, to be happy. Amen.
[Jesus said] “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God. Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven [meant to mean God’s new world order, not a place in the clouds], for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”
Thought for the Day: In these versus Matthew describes a vision of happiness completely divested of the material world. In fact, like so many of the stories and activities associated with Jesus, these instructions seem to be in direct opposition to what most people would think brings happiness. Being poor, humble, and thirsting for justice bring happiness—not wealth and power. Making peace instead of war brings happiness. Enduring persecution and suffering brings happiness. All these things bring happiness because they require us to step outside ourselves ourselves and our world, and exist instead in the blissful presence of God.
Unfortunately, our world is designed to make us miserable by keeping us disconnected from God. From the moment we’re born we’re taught to claw our way to the top at the expense of everyone else. Greed is good. Ayn Rand and her solipsistic ideology has captured and enslaved the American consciousness. When our politicians, who are elected to serve the people, begin quoting her ideology of selfishness, our country is in big, big trouble. When the six Walmart heirs have more money that an entire urban population while the millions of their workers, both in the U.S. and China, exist on government subsidies for food, shelter and clothing, the world is in trouble.
Happiness seems always just out of reach. Yet, happiness—true happiness, is always as close as our next breath. Happiness comes when we divest ourselves of the global rules of selfism and start living the unselfish life idealized in Jesus Christ, Buddha, Gandhi, Moses, and people like Dag Hammarskjöld. It is our choice to make: live a happy, God-infused life, or keep clawing for the leftovers dropping from the banquet tables of the global fat cats. As for me, I’m done with that game. I choose God. I choose happiness.
Prayer: I can’t even begin to describe how happy you make me, God of all time and space. When I feel You coursing through my veins I know what it means to be complete, to be loved, to be happy. Amen.
Wednesday, October 8, 2014
Quote: J.R.R. Tolkien
If more of us valued food and cheer and song above hoarded gold, it would be a merrier world.
Thought for the Day: Of course, the problem is that if we valued food and cheer and song, we’d find a way to hoard it. But Tolkien’s sentiment echoes some of the most ancient writings in the Bible. From Solomon to Sirach, our ancient forbears understood that happiness is never found in material things. As Jews who were constantly under attack and perpetually displaced, their possessions stolen time and time again, they quickly came to understand that happiness could only be found in relationship with God. Their hope was ever and always in God, because God was with them always, whether they were momentarily rich or poor, at home or in diaspora.
If we attach our happiness to wealth or possessions, then we will be devastated when we eventually lose those possessions. Perhaps more importantly, when we are obsessed by material things, we lose focus on God, and we begin to act out of purely selfish motives. We hoard our wealth, always afraid we’ll lose it, always afraid there isn’t enough. When we’re possessed by the material world, we forget that giving to others, that sharing our wealth creates a deeper happiness than any number of Ferraris in the garage.
I know it’s not very fashionable to believe in God in the 21st Century. But I just have no idea where I would find hope if I didn’t believe in God. Because as I look around at this frightened world we’re destroying through war and greed, I don’t see humans suddenly having a change of heart anytime soon. I don’t see dictators abdicating their thrones and stopping the genocides. I don’t see the Wall Street criminals giving us our money back. I don’t see the insurance companies giving us our healthcare system back. I don’t see government working for the people instead of the body corporate.
So my happiness must come from God, from the knowledge that God is constantly at work making us kinder, gentler creatures, no matter how hopeless things look today. I know without any doubt that God is at work through millions and millions of us, and that slowly but surely, the evils that possess us are being destroyed by God’s ultimate love and forgiveness. And that faith makes me truly happy.
Prayer: God, give me strength to see beyond the trouble and turmoil. Give me courage to accept Your call to action, to be Your instrument for peace and love as You create a world of ultimate happiness. Amen.
If more of us valued food and cheer and song above hoarded gold, it would be a merrier world.
Thought for the Day: Of course, the problem is that if we valued food and cheer and song, we’d find a way to hoard it. But Tolkien’s sentiment echoes some of the most ancient writings in the Bible. From Solomon to Sirach, our ancient forbears understood that happiness is never found in material things. As Jews who were constantly under attack and perpetually displaced, their possessions stolen time and time again, they quickly came to understand that happiness could only be found in relationship with God. Their hope was ever and always in God, because God was with them always, whether they were momentarily rich or poor, at home or in diaspora.
If we attach our happiness to wealth or possessions, then we will be devastated when we eventually lose those possessions. Perhaps more importantly, when we are obsessed by material things, we lose focus on God, and we begin to act out of purely selfish motives. We hoard our wealth, always afraid we’ll lose it, always afraid there isn’t enough. When we’re possessed by the material world, we forget that giving to others, that sharing our wealth creates a deeper happiness than any number of Ferraris in the garage.
I know it’s not very fashionable to believe in God in the 21st Century. But I just have no idea where I would find hope if I didn’t believe in God. Because as I look around at this frightened world we’re destroying through war and greed, I don’t see humans suddenly having a change of heart anytime soon. I don’t see dictators abdicating their thrones and stopping the genocides. I don’t see the Wall Street criminals giving us our money back. I don’t see the insurance companies giving us our healthcare system back. I don’t see government working for the people instead of the body corporate.
So my happiness must come from God, from the knowledge that God is constantly at work making us kinder, gentler creatures, no matter how hopeless things look today. I know without any doubt that God is at work through millions and millions of us, and that slowly but surely, the evils that possess us are being destroyed by God’s ultimate love and forgiveness. And that faith makes me truly happy.
Prayer: God, give me strength to see beyond the trouble and turmoil. Give me courage to accept Your call to action, to be Your instrument for peace and love as You create a world of ultimate happiness. Amen.
Tuesday, October 7, 2014
Scripture: Jeremiah 9:23-24
“Let not the wise boast of their wisdom
or the strong boast of their strength
or the rich boast of their riches,
but let those who boast boast about this:
that they understand and know me,
that I am the Lord, who exercises kindness,
justice and righteousness on earth,
for in these I delight,” declares the Lord.
Thought for the Day: I’ve seen televangelists and evangelicals use this passage of Jeremiah as an excuse to claim some special knowledge about God or what God wants. Usually this involves sending them lots of money. “I know and understand God,” they say, “and God has told me to build a temple with a Starbucks and seating for 5000, and a bookstore to sell videos of my sermons, and a permanent home for the Rolling Stones, who are God’s favorite band. And don’t forget to send me a check! The Stones are expensive!”
This attitude completely misses the point of this passage. Jeremiah, probably preaching to the “televangelists” of his own era, reminds us to be humble and modest. Knowing and understanding God has nothing to do with privilege. Knowing and understanding are wisdom statements about consciousness. We know and understand that God is a loving, just and righteous universal force. Hopefully, knowing God in this way gives us the wisdom to act with love and justice as well. We’re not to boast about consciously understanding God as love. Our actions will make that clear.
Prayer: Good and loving God, crush the ego that makes us boast, as if we are somehow more favored than our brothers and sisters. Help us know You more deeply, and understand You more clearly, so that every second of our lives become examples of love and compassion. Make us transparent, Lord, so people see You through us, no sales pitch necessary. Amen.
“Let not the wise boast of their wisdom
or the strong boast of their strength
or the rich boast of their riches,
but let those who boast boast about this:
that they understand and know me,
that I am the Lord, who exercises kindness,
justice and righteousness on earth,
for in these I delight,” declares the Lord.
Thought for the Day: I’ve seen televangelists and evangelicals use this passage of Jeremiah as an excuse to claim some special knowledge about God or what God wants. Usually this involves sending them lots of money. “I know and understand God,” they say, “and God has told me to build a temple with a Starbucks and seating for 5000, and a bookstore to sell videos of my sermons, and a permanent home for the Rolling Stones, who are God’s favorite band. And don’t forget to send me a check! The Stones are expensive!”
This attitude completely misses the point of this passage. Jeremiah, probably preaching to the “televangelists” of his own era, reminds us to be humble and modest. Knowing and understanding God has nothing to do with privilege. Knowing and understanding are wisdom statements about consciousness. We know and understand that God is a loving, just and righteous universal force. Hopefully, knowing God in this way gives us the wisdom to act with love and justice as well. We’re not to boast about consciously understanding God as love. Our actions will make that clear.
Prayer: Good and loving God, crush the ego that makes us boast, as if we are somehow more favored than our brothers and sisters. Help us know You more deeply, and understand You more clearly, so that every second of our lives become examples of love and compassion. Make us transparent, Lord, so people see You through us, no sales pitch necessary. Amen.
Monday, October 6, 2014
Monday Meditation
God who sings throughout the universe,
unite our voices in love.
Focus our hearts and minds
on the healing songs You create through us.
Re-craft our lives,
tuning us into instruments of peace
rather than war,
creators of love,
rather than hate,
purveyors of wisdom,
rather than ignorance.
God who is Wisdom,
command the evil powers of oppression,
inhumanity and injustice
to recognize You
in our peaceful protests for human rights,
in our fight for economic and social equality,
in our evangelism of Your great and unconditional love,
in our efforts to set Your people--
all Your people,
free.
This magnificent world is burdened
by ignorance and fear,
and the powerful elite
of a New Rome
are doing their best to keep it that way.
The swords and slings of advertising
and consumerism keep us conscripted
to the overlords of Greed and Selfishness.
But we know better, Lord,
Hallelujah, we know better!
We know this is a world of abundance,
and that through You the selfish shall be eliminated,
the wealth they claim as their own redistributed,
the people they abuse for profit
finally given a chance to flourish,
finally given a chance to play their own
passionate melodies of compassion and forgiveness.
Make our lives beautiful,
heart-wrenching melodies
that awaken people from their worldly slumber.
Wake us with your music,
the music of the spheres.
Awaken us with appreciation
that You are composing a new song for a new age,
and that You have chosen us as Your humble musicians,
in service to You,
our great conductor.
Amen.
unite our voices in love.
Focus our hearts and minds
on the healing songs You create through us.
Re-craft our lives,
tuning us into instruments of peace
rather than war,
creators of love,
rather than hate,
purveyors of wisdom,
rather than ignorance.
God who is Wisdom,
command the evil powers of oppression,
inhumanity and injustice
to recognize You
in our peaceful protests for human rights,
in our fight for economic and social equality,
in our evangelism of Your great and unconditional love,
in our efforts to set Your people--
all Your people,
free.
This magnificent world is burdened
by ignorance and fear,
and the powerful elite
of a New Rome
are doing their best to keep it that way.
The swords and slings of advertising
and consumerism keep us conscripted
to the overlords of Greed and Selfishness.
But we know better, Lord,
Hallelujah, we know better!
We know this is a world of abundance,
and that through You the selfish shall be eliminated,
the wealth they claim as their own redistributed,
the people they abuse for profit
finally given a chance to flourish,
finally given a chance to play their own
passionate melodies of compassion and forgiveness.
Make our lives beautiful,
heart-wrenching melodies
that awaken people from their worldly slumber.
Wake us with your music,
the music of the spheres.
Awaken us with appreciation
that You are composing a new song for a new age,
and that You have chosen us as Your humble musicians,
in service to You,
our great conductor.
Amen.
Friday, October 3, 2014
Scripture: Psalm 81:1-3
Sing joyfully to God, our strength.
Shout happily to the God of Jacob.
Sing songs out loud, and strike up the band!
Play lyres and harps with their pleasant music.
Blow the winds and horns
for these are our festival days,
as all days should be our festival days,
singing, dancing, and playing thanks to our God.
Thought for the Day: It’s likely Psalm 81 was part of a festival liturgy, probably in the seventh month of the ancient Jewish calendar. It doesn’t seem to celebrate any single festival as much as it serves as a reminder that because of God’s great love for us, we have much to be festive about, no matter how bad the situation around us appears.
I know today’s news seems grim, and it doesn’t help that our media blows every little thing way out of proportion. The news is designed not to inform, but to sensationalize. This is not in any way meant to downplay the turmoil in the world today. Things are bad—but relatively, they are no worse than they ever have been before in human history. We just get bombarded with the bad news 24/7, and our fear is used to exploit us and beat us into submission to our corporate overlords, who control our education, our healthcare, our savings accounts, and our politicians. Things are frighteningly the way they were in the Roman Empire of the 1st Century.
Something else that hasn’t changed is our means to combat our fear and the ills of the world. Just as it always has, our faith in God will not only see us through, but also create the change we want to be and see. I know this sounds trite. “Just have faith, everything will get better,” said the preacher to the comfort of no one. Yet faith is what it takes. If we don’t believe in the power of God to change the world, to change our hearts, then where does our hope for change lie? In human endeavor, which has been shown to never change anything for the better, save for perhaps a handful of the power elite? Not a chance. Without God there is no change, not even a little.
I’m not sorry for shouting happily and faithfully to God for help! I will play my music loudly, and I will proclaim the power of God to set the world right, because it is the only hope I have that humans will ever change, that our world will ever become truly peaceful, that we will gladly share our abundance with one another. I have faith that we will turn all our days into festivals, singing and dancing and banging drums in praise of God who finally, ultimately, inevitably, will lead us out of our darkest night into the light of a new and glorious era of peace, love, and happiness.
Prayer: Eternal Consciousness and Creative Force of everything seen and unseen, retune our hearts, minds and souls. We’ve been playing a cacophonous, cataclysmic symphony of terror, because we’re all playing our own tune without regard for a Conductor. Conduct us into harmony, remove our dissonance, and heal our broken hearts. Amen.
Sing joyfully to God, our strength.
Shout happily to the God of Jacob.
Sing songs out loud, and strike up the band!
Play lyres and harps with their pleasant music.
Blow the winds and horns
for these are our festival days,
as all days should be our festival days,
singing, dancing, and playing thanks to our God.
Thought for the Day: It’s likely Psalm 81 was part of a festival liturgy, probably in the seventh month of the ancient Jewish calendar. It doesn’t seem to celebrate any single festival as much as it serves as a reminder that because of God’s great love for us, we have much to be festive about, no matter how bad the situation around us appears.
I know today’s news seems grim, and it doesn’t help that our media blows every little thing way out of proportion. The news is designed not to inform, but to sensationalize. This is not in any way meant to downplay the turmoil in the world today. Things are bad—but relatively, they are no worse than they ever have been before in human history. We just get bombarded with the bad news 24/7, and our fear is used to exploit us and beat us into submission to our corporate overlords, who control our education, our healthcare, our savings accounts, and our politicians. Things are frighteningly the way they were in the Roman Empire of the 1st Century.
Something else that hasn’t changed is our means to combat our fear and the ills of the world. Just as it always has, our faith in God will not only see us through, but also create the change we want to be and see. I know this sounds trite. “Just have faith, everything will get better,” said the preacher to the comfort of no one. Yet faith is what it takes. If we don’t believe in the power of God to change the world, to change our hearts, then where does our hope for change lie? In human endeavor, which has been shown to never change anything for the better, save for perhaps a handful of the power elite? Not a chance. Without God there is no change, not even a little.
I’m not sorry for shouting happily and faithfully to God for help! I will play my music loudly, and I will proclaim the power of God to set the world right, because it is the only hope I have that humans will ever change, that our world will ever become truly peaceful, that we will gladly share our abundance with one another. I have faith that we will turn all our days into festivals, singing and dancing and banging drums in praise of God who finally, ultimately, inevitably, will lead us out of our darkest night into the light of a new and glorious era of peace, love, and happiness.
Prayer: Eternal Consciousness and Creative Force of everything seen and unseen, retune our hearts, minds and souls. We’ve been playing a cacophonous, cataclysmic symphony of terror, because we’re all playing our own tune without regard for a Conductor. Conduct us into harmony, remove our dissonance, and heal our broken hearts. Amen.
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