Monday Meditation

-

Good and loving God,
we give thanks
for the many gifts
we have received
today and throughout our lives.

We are thankful for
the many people
who volunteer their time and talent
to the needs of this world,
people striving together
to serve those in need.
It is a great blessing, indeed,
to serve with people
from all walks of life,
your children working together
to bring food, light, and love
to a world hungry for spiritual
and physical nourishment.
God of Magnificent Wonder,
we are most thankful
for your eternal presence in our lives.

Join us all together
as one body of love.
Move us through the world
as beings
so filled with love and grace,
that, like our
Great Teacher Jesus,
we too might
become healers,
and remind a broken world
of the wholeness found
in you.

We ask a special blessing upon
the students and teachers
who return to school
in the coming weeks.
Keep them safe.
Make their environment conducive to learning.
Help our leaders provide
teachers and students
with all they need,
so that future generations
of your people
will be better stewards
of this precious planet
and each other.

For our friends and loved ones
who are ill,
we pray for healing,
knowing that
we are all intimately connected
through you,
and that as we pray,
the people we care about deeply
are comforted by your tender embrace.

We pray also for the people
we mistakenly think of as enemies.
Help us realize that
there are no enemies.
Enemies are created
from fear,
from ego,
from the desire to possess and own.

Eternal Holy One,
when our journey toward you
is interrupted by such negativity,
shake us loose from
the shackles that keep us
trapped in the darkly lit cave
of this very unnatural humanity.

Show us
over, and over again,
that our natural state,
our true human nature,
is like that of Jesus:
Unconditionally loving,
thoroughly forgiving,
and perfectly filled with grace.

We pray all these things
in the many names
you have been called
throughout the eons:
Creator,
Sustainer,
Light and Life,
The Holy Christ,
God of Infinite Wisdom,
God of Love.
Amen.

Popular posts from this blog

Quantum Entanglement

-
Image
I’m fascinated by the intersection of quantum mechanics (the study of subatomic systems) and faith. I’ve written about string theory before, and the implication that everything that exists—every steak on the grill we smell and every soul-penetrating song we hear—is a vibration of God. The physical world is an emanation of the God frequency. God is the sound that started the universe. God is our infinite song of sustenance. Quantum mechanics helps me integrate faith and science. Science is biblical for me. I believe that by revealing the mysteries of the universe, science also reveals something of the nature of God. Understanding science as more than just the laws of nature helps people of faith maintain a healthy, contemporary, and relevant image of God and God’s activity in the world. In the quantum world, I have discovered interesting ways to imagine not only the nature of God, but also God’s infrastructure, if you will—how God is active in our world without being manipulative....
Read more

By the pricking of my thumbs, something wonderful this way comes

-
Image
Psalm 126 (CEB) When the Lord changed Zion’s  circumstances for the better,  it was like we had been dreaming.  Our mouths were suddenly filled with laughter;  our tongues were filled with joyful shouts.  It was even said, at that time, among the nations,  “The Lord has done great things for them!”  Yes, the Lord has done great things for us, and we are overjoyed.  Lord, change our circumstances for the better,  like dry streams in the desert waste!  Let those who plant with tears reap the harvest with joyful shouts.  Let those who go out, crying and carrying their seed,  come home with joyful shouts, carrying bales of grain! Isaiah 43.18-19 (CEB) Don’t remember the prior things; don’t ponder ancient history.  Look! I’m doing a new thing; now it sprouts up; don’t you recognize it?  I’m making a way in the desert, paths in the wilderness.  This is our last week in the desert, and for some reason, I’ve been think...
Read more

The Lovesong of Humanity

-
Image
Throughout my life, I have been blessed with jobs that required a lot of travel. Soon after I graduated from the University of Utah, I was a b-list touring musician regularly working with “classics” groups like the Drifters/Coasters/Platters (always on the same bill), the Classics IV, the Marvelettes, and even Herman’s Hermits, once, in Hong Kong, entirely coincidentally (as things tend to happen in Hong Kong, for better or worse). Now, you have to understand that at this time—somewhere in the 90s, I guess—there were no longer any original members in groups like the Coasters/Drifters/Platters. Sometimes, there was a loosely associated cousin or something singing tenor, but usually, the tribute acts were comprised of talented musicians who could faithfully recreate not just the songs, but the dance moves and the whole vibe of the acts they were memorializing. Watching them effortlessly interact with the audience was a master class in performance. To maximize revenues, the agenc...
Read more