sacramental effort

Bless the saints. Bless the saints of the past whose actions echo into the present now. We  remember and celebrate the richness we inherit from them. Bless the saints. [toll a bell here] -observe silence now to remember the saints whose richness you have inherited- Bless the saints. Bless the saints who surround us now. We celebrate the connectedness of our communities that bear us up in times of trial, and whose actions both seen and unseen play a part in forming us as children of God. Bless the saints. [toll a bell here] -observe silence now to reflect on the saints who bless your life now- Bless the saints. Bless the saints who will inherit their present from the future we co-create with God. We live with bold hope for the future and commit to preparing a place for future saints through our love and stewardship. Bless the saints. [toll a bell here] -observe silence now to consider the life you live today and what future you are helping create-  Bless the sai...

Keep loving each other like family. Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers for by doing that, we might have entertained angels without knowing it.  If we speak in tongues of human beings and of divine angels but we don’t have love, we’re clanging gongs and clashing cymbals.  Let love continue. If we give away everything that we have and hand over ourselves to feel good about what we’ve done but don’t have love, we receive no benefit whatsoever.  Let love continue. If we sing to God and speak for justice, but don’t seek mercy or have love, our words are vain—our mouths useless. Let love continue. If we open our doors to bring people in, but don’t seek to reach out to a hurting world in love, our hospitality is empty. Let love continue. Glory to God, who is present in every stranger among us, and who works in our lives every day.  Glory to the one who is love, and whose love is in us .  Let love continue.

This video is illustrating to me an interesting point that I find my self sitting with today when I think about the many folks frustrated with Pope Francis' visit with Kentucky Clerk, Kim Davis. People, when we actually pay attention and see them, don't fit neatly into any of the boxes that we so easily find ourselves creating for them. Miley Cyrus, who self-admittedly does not care what people really think about her, will at any one point sing music people find repulsive, causing many folks to dismiss her talent. This video shows some texture to her singing ability that one cannot avoid: the kid has talent whether or not she can be offensive or vulgar. Pope Francis lives a life of the gospel in embodied ways alongside what he says and preaches, and this makes him irresistible as a religious leader. But, Pope Francis clearly has his own convictions that a lot of people who adore him (including me, I admit) have a hard time accepting about him. I have read articles al...

The mouth of the Lord has spoken: act justly, love mercy, and proceed humbly with your God A path has been laid for us in loving god: By loving one another, we enable each other to be transformed by God’s grace. God’s glory has been revealed in the colorful, beautiful tapestry that makes up the Body of Christ. We all shall witness this glory together with God’s help. Boundary shaping God, who undermines harmful categories, harmful teaching, and harmful systems with all-encompassing radical love, we give you thanks for the beauty of our bodies, and how the diversity of our beautiful and unique bodies is a part of your Body that is here in this particular place. Erase our fear of what is different. Remove what prevents us from loving our neighbor. Heal us of hatred, and self-loathing, and compel us to act with charity to all of your creation. Amen.

I am particularly in love, lately, with these lyrics of a song from a new album of Gungor’s, which is sort of post-rock/indie/alternative band that makes Christian sacred music, called “Am I?” (found on iTunes  here. ) “Am I a spirit? Am I the chaos? Am I the lie? Am I alright? Am I loved? Am I an alien? Am I a sight? Am I alright? Am I a dream? Am I a memory? Am I awake? Am I ok? Am I the stars? And am I infinite? Am I a mist? Will I be missed? Am I am I am I am I Am I am I am I am I? Are you there? Are you listening? Are you anything?” The lyrics are mesmerizing; the music is mesmerizing. I have listened to this one song a lot, and the questions it asks still echo in my bones for what they are: fundamental questions that take nothing for granted. Asking these questions, and merely sitting with them, is very mindful. The questions conjure up images for me, and this song’s musical treatment of the questions are incredibly evocative. For me it’s as if the asking of these...

Ephphatha! Open Up! May our eyes open to the hurts of our neighbors and the needs of those pushed to the margins in our communities. Open up! Jesus’ perspective was opened by his experience with the Syrophoenecian woman. May our minds open to the perspectives of those who are not like us, that our actions may lead them to the open doors of radical hospitality that we are called to share as Christians. Open up! The deaf man's ears were opened by Jesus’ healing touch. May our ears open that we listen with charity to our neighbors, especially those neighbors whose viewpoints are different than ours. Open up! The voiceless man’s ability to speak was opened up by Jesus’s healing touch. May our mouths open to speak out against injustice in the world that harms and oppresses our neighbors. May our mouths cry out with joy the good news of Jesus Christ to the world. Open up! The hearts of all who witnessed Jesus’ miracles were opened to wonder at the power of God’s love. M...

God has birthed in us life, truth, hope, faith and love. Let us be doers of God’s word, and not merely hearers. God has led us into light, made rugged places plain, blessed us with the Holy Spirit and enabled us to be God’s children. Let us be doers of God’s word, and not merely hearers. God is love, and God loves us beyond our ability to understand. In God’s love, God became us, experienced our pain, healed us, taught us, and even was obedient to our unjust sentence of death by crucifixion. God, in love, forgives us daily. Let us be doers of God’s word, and not merely hearers. God reveals to us purpose in our life. God desires us to be participants in God’s mission in the world. Let us be doers of God’s word, and not merely hearers.