Sunday

You

speak 

in my 

heart 

and say 

“Seek 

my face.” 

Your face, 

Lord, will I seek.  Psalm 27:11

Saturday

Cast your burden 

upon the Lord 

and he will 

sustain you. 

Psalm 55:24

Friday

I want to know Christ 

and the power of his

resurrection 

and the sharing of his sufferings...

Phippians. 3:10

Thursday

Offer to God

a sacrifice of thanksgiving

and make good your vows to the Most High. Psalm 50:14

In Bill's memory

Have  

this mind 

among  you 

that is 

yours 

in 

Christ Jesus... 

                                   Philippians 2: 5  RSV 

This was a favorite of Bill Madhey's - in fact, this attitude and his belief in the  Risen Christ (part of this same passage) really epitomized his spirituality for me. But then it took me the LONGEST time to find the graphic I wanted.. But  I finally did- one that I never would have thought of using at first.  But it sure shows the mind of Christ - and NOT the mind of Christ! I LOVE Martha's pinched face!!!  I know that face! And then the RSV translation was right on for this graphic and this time in our communal history.  This version says to have this mind AMONG us rathe than the NRSV which has it IN us! I really think at this point we Really need the mind of Christ not only IN Ourselves individually but among ourselves! 

Thanks, Bill. 

Wednesday

The earth, 

O Lord, 

is full of 

your love;

instruct me 

in your statutes. 

Psam 119:64

Tuesday

Some proclaim Christ from envy and rivalry, but others from 

good will. ... 

What does it matter? Just this, 

that Christ is proclaimed in every way.... 

Only, live your life 

in a manner worthy of the Gospel of Christ. 

                                     Philippians  1:15, 18, 27 

First I read  Psalm 45... that’s usually  a wash for me. And then there came I Kings 16:23-34 - even worse! For Years I have wondered, as I bombed through it, why in God's name (literally) were we reading THIS and how can THIS be helpful to us?  Today I suddenly got a tiny glimpse of  the broad sweep of God's will for the cosmos being done in spite of, around and through us all.... We can stand in the way, we can get it wrong, we can be a temporary building block  or a stumbling stone, we can even think we are one and be the other, out of ignorance or pride, or a limited vision.....  That was helpful to me but it didn’t give me the needed  place to rest and meditate.S o I went on to Philippians. And I got the last verse. But then I had a vision of this pulpit in Melk Abbey. What were the motives of the people who built it? The abbots who have administered it through the hundreds of years? We cannot know the whole purpose of God (some terrible things in my life have turned out to be huge blessings) nor can we judge the motives of others though we can "look and pass on" as John of the Cross advises. What DOES matter, in the end , all we can do , is to try, one day at a time, to "live a life worthy of the Gospel of Christ." The outcome is God's.   

               God is working his purpose out as year succeeds to year, 

               God is working his purpose out, and the time is drawing near, ...

                Give ear to me, ye continents, ye isles, give ear to me,

               that the earth shall be filled with the gory of God 

                as the waters cover the sea.    From Hymn 534