Today we celebrate the witness of St. Luke the Evangelist, companion of Paul and author of the two part book including the Gospel of Luke and Acts. In honor of his witness spend some time in Lectio Divina with a passage from Luke’s gospel. Slowly read the passage aloud, then read it again quietly, pausing and sitting with any words or phrases that strike you. Think of your reading as a walk through the text and your pausing as what... Read more
Several years ago I heard a story about a woman who visited a church. She liked the service, enjoyed the people she met, but at the end she decided not to attend the church because the floor in the nursery was dirty and needed a thorough vacuuming. When she told her experience to a pastor friend, he responded, “maybe God was calling you to that church so you could vacuum the nursery.” We are conditioned by our society to be... Read more
The Beatitudes of Jesus are a statement on who is well off in the kingdom of God, but his beatitudes are clearly not the only statements of blessedness. All around us day in and day out we hear answers to the question of who is well off and those answers are more often than not at odds with the kingdom of God. Today spend some time in quiet reflection and write down the “Beatitudes according to America.” Who is blessed according... Read more
The Exercise: Memorize Luke 6:20-26: 20Then he looked up at his disciples and said: “Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God. 21“Blessed are you who are hungry now, for you will be filled. “Blessed are you who weep now, for you will laugh. 22“Blessed are you when people hate you, and when they exclude you, revile you, and defame you on account of the Son of Man. 23Rejoice in that day and leap for joy, for surely... Read more
The Sabbath is a day of anti-achievement. It is a time when we have a break from all of the striving for human attainment and stop long enough to realize that we are blessed simply by being creatures made by a God who is Love. Today, don’t do anything that helps you achieve anything. Instead, take a break from trying to be successful, even successful at religion. Realize you are loved simply in the fact that you exist. Read more
Spend 20 minutes contemplating your life. What are the things in your life that help you feel secure? Is it your job? Insurance? A growing retirement account? A gun under the bed? After contemplating your sources of security, replace each one in your mind with the often repeated phrase in the scriptures, “Do not fear for I am with you.” The “I am,” of course, is God. Consider getting rid of one of your security blankets, especially if you find... Read more
The Exercise: Refuse to use the following words: Democrat, Republican, conservative, liberal, left, right, idiot, stupid, etc. (you can probably add some of your own). The Why: Already Facebook and Twitter, water coolers and drive time radio are buzzing about the Vice Presidential debate. Unfortunately, the reactions are mostly predictable and lend themselves to further polarization and easy ideologies. Christians have a better way, a way that calls us to truth, but truth that only makes sense within the context... Read more
The Exercise: Spend the last thirty minutes of the day in prayer and meditation. Dim or turn off all lights and light enough candles that you can see clearly enough to read. Read from the Sermon on the Mount for 10 min. Then spend 20 min in silent meditation. The Why: Our society is chronically sleep deprived, running from one thing to the next, and then closing out our day in front of computer and television screens that keep us... Read more
We are visual creatures and we tend to pray that way. We see a need and we respond. But what about our sense of smell, how can we engage that sense in our prayer? Think about how to engage God through your sense of smell. It might be the smell of incense as you meditate or the smell of a good meal you fix to share with someone in need. Do something today to engage with God, to pray, through... Read more
The work of organizing, encouraging, and prodding along (in some cases) God’s people is difficult and draining for those who burden that responsibility. We call these people ministers, but they don’t have to be clergy or even full time church staff. A minister could be anyone who plays a significant role of ministering within a church. Today write a letter to a minister and encourage them in their work. It doesn’t have to be a long letter; just a quick note to... Read more
Word + Flesh
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