Pilgrimage to Easter: Day 36

Meditation for Wednesday 16 March
... from the readings of the day:

Blessed are they who have kept the word with a generous heart and yield a harvest through perseverance. 

Luke 8:15 

Although most do not notice,
each one of us has a choice: 
live caught up in the 
ways of the world we see 
and live in bondage

- or, live in Jesus and be free. 

The world tells us that we live alone;
fighting to survive in a domain where
dogs eat dogs-like-me

but, in truth, we are all part

of one incarnation, living our

lives as vital parts of the

body of Christ.

The world tells us that there is
not enough - of anything; 
that to survive we need
to accumulate and hoard and compete.

But we know there is enough

if we seek just our daily bread.

Fear of scarcity daunts us.

Fear of famine
leads us to compete, uncovering slights
and threats, eliminating rivals -  
bogies to fear and loathe and motivate
our anger and hatred, 
looking always for difference, 
looking always at the 
wrapping and packaging, not the heart 
of a brother or sister within

but we could live in peace

with quiet hearts;

singing in choral harmony, not

countless
tuneless soloists jangling against
the orchestra of creation,

living in love rather than 

in fear and resentment.

Loving God, Creator of us all:

calm our fears. Help us live sure of you,

trusting in your love, quieting

our frantic minds so that we can hear

our truer selves speak to us of love and compassion, sharing and equality, 

and harmony.

And then, we pray, give us the courage

to live in the face of clamouring voices

from a world still living 
in fear and resentment.

We ask this in the name of Jesus

who trusted in you, 

took courage from you, 

died, and rose again 
for us.

Suggestions for meditation
Always begin by offering your time to God and asking for the grace to grow closer: something like "My loving God, I love you with my whole heart and above all things. I give you this time as I reach out to you, and ask that you guide me now, and each day, closer to you".

The exact words of the prayer are not important but you do need a firm intention to open yourself to God's input.

Read the mediation over slowly a couple of times.

Listen for the personal message for you. There will always be one word or phrase that will reach into your heart. Think of it as the personal meaning God has for you alone!

If you would prefer a more authoritative reading to focus your meditation, try this from one of today's readings, John 8:31-37

Jesus said to those Jews who believed in him,
“If you remain in my word, you will truly be my disciples,
and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” 

They answered him, “We are descendants of Abraham
and have never been enslaved to anyone.
How can you say, ‘You will become free’?” 

Jesus answered them, “Amen, amen, I say to you,
everyone who commits sin is a slave of sin.
A slave does not remain in a household forever,
but a son always remains.
So if the Son frees you, then you will truly be free.
I know that you are descendants of Abraham.
But you are trying to kill me,
because my word has no room among you.”

Focus on a significant word or phrase in this passage or the meditation for a few moments.

Is there a word or phrase that jumps out to speak to you?

Why? Try to put yourself into those words. Maybe imagine Jesus speaking, and reply.

Then spend 5, or 10, or 15 minutes with your word from Jesus, or the word FREE or LOVE.

You need a clear intention to empty your mind of random thoughts (you won't be entirely successful but you need the intention).

You might want to begin the meditation using the breathing exercise I suggest in We have two minds.

After a minute or two focused on your breathing, move your focus to the word/s you have chosen.

Each time your attention moves away from the word/s, push the distraction gently aside and return to the word ("without the intervention of analytical thought" as The Cloud of Unknowing puts it).

You may need a countdown clock.

At the end thank God, and return to your day.

Pilgrimage to Easter - Day 30

Meditation for Thursday 10 March
... from the readings of the day:

How can you believe, when you accept praise from one another and do not seek the praise that comes from the only God?
John 5:44

In love God gave his Son: in love we give ourselves. 

We search for reasons to believe what we want

to believe, ignoring witnesses and seeking comfort

and safety in the fortress of our logic.

In love God gave his Son: in love we give ourselves. 

We have been told and shown our mission but

still listen to easy certainty and comfort, 

squandering fortunes on idols we can control.

In love God gave his Son: in love we give ourselves. 

We flee from God's love, searching for security 

and peace in jobs we know will end, wealth we know

will be lost or stolen or spent, our own aging allure.

In love God gave his Son: in love we give ourselves. 

Suggestions for meditation

Always begin by offering your time to God and asking for the grace to grow closer: something like "My loving God, I love you with my whole heart and above all things. I give you this time as I reach out to you, and ask that you guide me now, and each day, closer to you".

The exact words of the prayer are not important but you do need a firm intention to open yourself to God's input.

Read the mediation over slowly a couple of times.

Listen for the personal message for you. There will always be one word or phrase that will reach into your heart. Think of it as the personal meaning God has for you alone!

If you would prefer a more authoritative reading to focus your meditation, try this from one of today's readings, Exodus 32:7-10

The LORD said to Moses,
“Go down at once to your people
whom you brought out of the land of Egypt,
for they have become depraved.
They have soon turned aside from the way I pointed out to them,
making for themselves a molten calf and worshipping it,
sacrificing to it and crying out,
‘This is your God, O Israel,
who brought you out of the land of Egypt!’
The LORD said to Moses,
“I see how stiff-necked this people is.
Let me alone, then,
that my wrath may blaze up against them to consume them.

Focus on a significant word or phrase in this passage or the meditation for a few moments.

Is there a word of phrase that jumps out to speak to you?

Why? Try to put yourself into those words. Maybe imagine Jesus speaking, and reply.

Then spend 5, or 10, or 15 minutes with your word from Jesus, or the phrase GIVE or GOD.

You need a clear intention to empty your mind of random thoughts (you won't be entirely successful but you need the intention).

You might want to begin the meditation using the breathing exercise I suggest in We have two minds.

After a minute or two focused on your breathing, move your focus to the word/s you have chosen.

Each time your attention moves away from the word/s, push the distraction gently aside and return to the word ("without the intervention of analytical thought" as The Cloud of Unknowing puts it).

You may need a countdown clock.

At the end thank God, and return to your day.

Pilgrimage to Easter: Day 20

Meditation for Monday 29 February
... from the readings of the day:

As the hind longs for the running waters,
so my soul longs for you, O God.
Athirst is my soul for the living God.
When shall I go and behold the face of God?
Psalm 42:2-3

NAAMAN'S REVERIE 

In quiet moments I feel myself in God, sensing my birth in God, longing for my home as a deer in drought longs for pools of cool, fresh water. 

But I live in a frantic world of silly hatreds and angers,
where we imagine unprovoked attacks and mindless
violence. There are not enough quiet moments.

There is no ease in my busy world. My dis-ease 
is obvious - my lack of peace visible on my skin, 
an angry tattoo I live with, knowing it is killing me.

I expect respect, dignity. I am good at what I do. 
I am important. I resent being ignored (distained?).
I am safe in my anger, blameless in my resentment.

My anger is really fear: fear of disappointment.
I will put that aside. I will give this foreign god 
a moment of trust. A moment costs me nothing.

In quiet moments I feel myself in God, sensing my birth in God, longing for my home as a deer in drought longs for pools of cool, fresh water.

Suggestions for meditation
Always begin by offering your time to God and asking for the grace to grow closer: something like "My loving God, I love you with my whole heart and above all things. I give you this time as I reach out to you, and ask that you guide me now, and each day, closer to you".

The exact words of the prayer are not important but you do need a firm intention to open yourself to God's input.

Read the mediation over slowly a couple of times.

Listen for the personal message for you. There will always be one word or phrase that will reach into your heart. Think of it as the personal meaning God has for you alone!

If you would prefer a more authoritative reading to focus your meditation, try this from one of today's readings, 2 Kings 5:9-14

Naaman came with his horses and chariots and stopped at the door of Elisha’s house. 

The prophet sent him the message: “Go and wash seven times in the Jordan, and your flesh will heal, and you will be clean.” 

But Naaman went away angry, saying, “I thought that he would surely come out and stand there to invoke the LORD his God, and would move his hand over the spot, and thus cure the leprosy.” 

With this, he turned about in anger and left. 

But his servants came up and reasoned with him. “My father,” they said, “if the prophet had told you to do something extraordinary, would you not have done it? All the more now, since he said to you, ‘Wash and be clean,’ should you do as he said.” 

So Naaman went down and plunged into the Jordan seven times at the word of the man of God. His flesh became again like the flesh of a little child, and he was clean.

Focus on a significant word or phrase in this passage or the meditation for a few moments.

Is there a word of phrase that jumps out to speak to you?

Why? Try to put yourself into those words. Maybe imagine Jesus speaking, and reply.

Then spend 5, or 10, or 15 minutes with your word from Jesus, or the word LONGING or TRUST.

You need a clear intention to empty your mind of random thoughts (you won't be entirely successful but you need the intention).

You might want to begin the meditation using the breathing exercise I suggest in We have two minds.

After a minute or two focused on your breathing, move your focus to the word/s you have chosen.

Each time your attention moves away from the word/s, push the distraction gently aside and return to the word ("without the intervention of analytical thought" as The Cloud of Unknowing puts it).

You may need a countdown clock.

At the end thank God, and return to your day.

Pilgrimage to Easter: Day 16

Meditation for Thursday 25 February

... from the readings of the day:

Thus says the Lord: “Cursed is the man who trusts in man and makes flesh his strength, whose heart turns away from the Lord. Jeremiah 17:5

We grow like trees: struggling, rooted 
in the lava field, or we flourish in good soil
near the running stream.
Rooted in God and love, or
trusting in myself, my own strength and grit.

The rich man was not doomed. He was in hell because he relied on himself: in his mind he'd become
all-powerful, all-knowing, all-controlling: god.
God was irrelevant to him: 
he relied on the power of his wealth and position.

We each make our choices: humble before God, or gradually becoming a god, trusting 
the complete power of my wealth and my class.
Rooted in God and love, or
trusting in myself, my own status and strength.

Suggestions for meditation

Always begin by offering your time to God and asking for the grace to grow closer: something like "My loving God, I love you with my whole heart and above all things. I give you this time as I reach out to you, and ask that you guide me now, and each day, closer to you".

The exact words of the prayer are not important but you do need a firm intention to open yourself to God's input.

Read the mediation over slowly a couple of times.

Listen for the personal message for you. There will always be one word or phrase that will reach into your heart. Think of it as the personal meaning God has for you alone!

If you would prefer a more authoritative reading to focus your meditation, try this from one of today's readings, Luke 16:19-24

Jesus said to the Pharisees: There was a rich man who dressed in purple garments and fine linen and dined sumptuously each day. 

And lying at his door was a poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores, who would gladly have eaten his fill of the scrapsthat fell from the rich man’s table. 

Dogs even used to come and lick his sores. 

When the poor man died, he was carried away by angels to the bosom of Abraham. 

The rich man also died and was buried, and from the netherworld, where he was in torment, he raised his eyes and saw Abraham far off and Lazarus at his side. 

And he cried out, ‘Father Abraham, have pity on me. Send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am suffering torment in these flames.’

Focus on a significant word or phrase in this passage or the meditation for a few moments.

Is there a word of phrase that jumps out to speak to you?

Why? Try to put yourself into those words. Maybe imagine Jesus speaking, and reply.

Then spend 5, or 10, or 15 minutes with your word from Jesus, or the word CHOOSE or the word GOD.

You need a clear intention to empty your mind of random thoughts (you won't be entirely successful but you need the intention).

You might want to begin the meditation using the breathing exercise I suggest in We have two minds.

After a minute or two focused on your breathing, move your focus to the word/s you have chosen.

Each time your attention moves away from the word/s, push the distraction gently aside and return to the word ("without the intervention of analytical thought" as The Cloud of Unknowing puts it).

You may need a countdown clock.

At the end thank God, and return to your day.

Meditation: Be still and know (Psalm 46)

Despite all the terrible things you read in your news,
despite the wars and shameful things you do to each other,
despite the earthquakes and storms, droughts and famines
despite even your abuse of each other and my earth ...

   all will be well, because

   I am with you

   I will be with you always.
   Be still: step into my light.
   I made you. I love you. I am your home.
   Let me take you in my arms and give you peace.

When things fail in your home, when stress and anger
dominate love and gentleness,
have faith. Be strong: even in your pain
I hold you, cherish you, prune and nurture you, and

   all will be well, because

   I am with you

   I will be with you always.
   Be still: step into my light.
   I made you. I love you. I am your home.
   Let me take you in my arms and give you peace.

When you become ill - or someone you need becomes ill

empty yourself, come to me, I wait to fill your emptiness,
to heal and console, to comfort and calm, and guide you
from the blind uncaring city to the quiet pool of Siloam in the ruins of David's old city.

   All will be well, because

   I am with you

   I will be with you always.
   Be still: step into my light.
   I made you. I love you. I am your home.
   Let me take you in my arms and give you peace.

When you see people doing unspeakable things to each other, 

feel moments of terror and unthinking anger,
days, months, years of starvation and illness,
when death and disease is all around, even then

   all will be well, because

   I am with you

   I will be with you always.
   Be still: step into my light.
   I made you. I love you. I am your home.
   Let me take you in my arms and give you peace.

When you see darkness in the actions of angry people

darkness in the eye of the storm, when you see
darkness buried in the earthquake
and fleeing children dead upon the shore, even then

   all will be well, because

   I am with you

   I will be with you always.
   Be still: step into my light.
   I made you. I love you. I am your home.
   Let me take you in my arms and give you peace.

When people put their own power before the people I created

I will melt their guns and disperse their gases. 

I will breach their fantasy of unscalable ramparts 

and destroy all their dreams of security and safety.

   All will be well, because

   I am with you

   I will be with you always.
   Be still: step into my light.
   I made you. I love you. I am your home.
   Let me take you in my arms and give you peace.

When you damage my earth and trees and birds and fish,

when storms destroy your cities and drought lays waste your crops,
when the air turns brown and the horizon disappears,
when the waters rise and your security is shattered, come to me, then

   all will be well, because

   I am with you

   I will be with you always.
   Be still: step into my light.
   I made you. I love you. I am your home.
   Let me take you in my arms and give you peace.

Suggestions for meditation

Always begin by offering your time to God: something like "My loving God, I love you with my whole heart and above all things. I give you this time when I am reaching out to you" and then a few moments reminding yourself of some of the blessings God has given you - the clear signs of God's love for you.

Read the mediation over slowly a couple of times.

Listen for Jesus' personal message for you.

If you would prefer a Bible reading I suggest Psalm 46

God is our refuge and strength,
an ever-present help in trouble.
Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way
and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea,
though its waters roar and foam
and the mountains quake with their surging.

There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God,
the holy place where the Most High dwells.
God is within her, she will not fall;
God will help her at break of day.
Nations are in uproar, kingdoms fall;
he lifts his voice, the earth melts.

The Lord Almighty is with us;
the God of Jacob is our fortress.

Come and see what the Lord has done,
the desolations he has brought on the earth.
He makes wars cease
to the ends of the earth.
He breaks the bow and shatters the spear;
he burns the shields with fire.
He says, “Be still, and know that I am God;
I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth.”

The Lord Almighty is with us;
the God of Jacob is our fortress.

Read this passage or the meditation slowly a couple of times.

What word of phrase jumps out to speak to you?

Why? Try to put yourself into those words. Maybe imagine Jesus speaking, and reply.

Then spend 5, or 10, or 20 minutes with those words, or the word GOD. You might want to begin the meditation using the breathing exercise I suggest in We have two minds. After a minute or two focused on your breathing, move your focus to the word/s you have chosen. 

In my insights blog last week I suggested another way my wife used this psalm for meditation when she ran retreats.

Each time your attention moves away from the word/s, push the distraction gently aside and return to the word ("without the intervention of analytical thought" as The Cloud of Unknowing puts it).

You may need a countdown clock.

At the end thank God, and return to your day.