March 9, Ash Wednesday

Here is my paraphrase of today’s reading from Joel; I submit it humbly:

A message to you from God: Even though you might think you are beyond hope, return to me anyway. Do not waste your time beating yourself up, just come to me. For I am merciful and I love you no matter what. Who knows, maybe today will be the day when you return to me! If you do, there will be great rejoicing in my heart. Stop whatever you are doing and come right away, I am waiting anxiously for you.

Namaste! Amen!

The Readings

Joel 2:12-18

Yet even now, says the Lord,

   return to me with all your heart,

with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning;

  rend your hearts and not your clothing.

Return to the Lord, your God,

   for he is gracious and merciful,

slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love,

   and relents from punishing.

Who knows whether he will not turn and relent,

   and leave a blessing behind him,

a grain-offering and a drink-offering

   for the Lord, your God?

Blow the trumpet in Zion;

   sanctify a fast;

call a solemn assembly;

  gather the people.

Sanctify the congregation;

   assemble the aged;

gather the children,

   even infants at the breast.

Let the bridegroom leave his room,

   and the bride her canopy.

Between the vestibule and the altar

   let the priests, the ministers of the Lord, weep.

Let them say, ‘Spare your people, O Lord,

   and do not make your heritage a mockery,

   a byword among the nations.

Why should it be said among the peoples,

   “Where is their God?” ’

Then the Lord became jealous for his land,

   and had pity on his people.

Psalm 51

2 Corinthians 5:20-6:2

Matthew 6:1-6,16-18

The reading is from the website below.

http://bible.oremus.org/

March 8, 2011

The song “How Can I Keep From Singing” comes to mind when reading today’s Psalm.

My life goes on in endless song:

Above earth's lamentation,

I catch the sweet, tho' far-off hymn

That hails a new creation.

Through all the tumult and the strife

I hear the music ringing;

It finds an echo in my soul--

How can I keep from singing?

Namaste! Amen!

The Readings

Tobit 2:9-14

Psalm 112:1-2,7-9

Praise the Lord!

   Happy are those who fear the Lord,

   who greatly delight in his commandments.

Their descendants will be mighty in the land;

   the generation of the upright will be blessed.

They are not afraid of evil tidings;

   their hearts are firm, secure in the Lord.

Their hearts are steady, they will not be afraid;

   in the end they will look in triumph on their foes.

They have distributed freely, they have given to the poor;

   their righteousness endures for ever;

   their horn is exalted in honour.

Mark 12:13-17

The reading is from the website below.

http://bible.oremus.org/

March 7, 2011

On this day in 1850, Senator Daniel Webster gave his "Seventh of March" speech endorsing the Compromise of 1850 in order to prevent a possible civil war. The compromise was intricate and complicated and kept a temporary peace, staving off the War Between the States for just a little while longer. When I read today’s passage from Matthew, it brings home how complicated life can be and how difficult discernment is. We have no alternative but to trust that if we do our best to follow God’s path each and every day, then our failings will be redeemed and our efforts will be worthwhile.

Namaste! Amen!

The Readings

Tobit 1:3; 2:1-8

Psalm 112

Matthew 10:34-39

‘Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth; I have not come to bring peace, but a sword.

For I have come to set a man against his father,

and a daughter against her mother,

and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law;

and one’s foes will be members of one’s own household.

Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me; and whoever does not take up the cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Those who find their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will find it.

The reading is from the website below.

http://bible.oremus.org/

March 6, 2011

At the end of his Sermon on the Mount, Jesus reassures his listeners (and that includes us), using the metaphor of weather. If we practice the loving-kindness that Jesus models, if we calm our habitual patterns of stimulus and response, if we embrace our charge to make the world a better place, there will nevertheless be times when we fail in those efforts. However Jesus suggests that we consider those failures as rainy days or passing weather. Again the sun will shine on all of us because our efforts are based on a firm foundation. What blessed relief … to receive this gift of forgiveness again and again … as many times as there are clouds in the sky.

Namaste! Amen!

The Readings

Deuteronomy 11:18,26-28,32

Psalm 31

Romans 3

Matthew 7:21-27

‘Not everyone who says to me, “Lord, Lord”, will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only one who does the will of my Father in heaven. On that day many will say to me, “Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many deeds of power in your name?” Then I will declare to them, “I never knew you; go away from me, you evildoers.”

‘Everyone then who hears these words of mine and acts on them will be like a wise man who built his house on rock. The rain fell, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on rock. And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not act on them will be like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell—and great was its fall!’

The reading is from the website below.

http://bible.oremus.org/

March 5, 2011

Today’s reading from the Jewish scribe Ben Sira of Jerusalem, also known as Wisdom of Jesus son of Sirach, or Ecclesiasticus, describes the author’s relationship with God’s wisdom. To seek this wisdom is a pursuit that brings beauty, joy, instruction, and understanding. Are we not all on this quest, in some way? We seek understanding when the world brings confusion, we seek joy in our struggles, we seek instruction when we are unsure, we acknowledge beauty even when it seems hidden.

Namaste! Amen!

The Readings

Sirach 51:13-20

When I was young and innocent, I sought wisdom.

She came to me in her beauty, and until the end I will cultivate her.

As the blossoms yielded to ripening grapes, the heart's joy,

My feet kept to the level path because from earliest youth I was familiar with her.

In the short time I paid heed, I met with great instruction.

Since in this way I have profited, I will give my teacher grateful praise.

I became resolutely devoted to her-- the good I persistently strove for.

I burned with desire for her, never turning back. I became preoccupied with her, never weary of extolling her. My hand opened her gate and I came to know her secrets.

For her I purified my hands; in cleanness I attained to her. At first acquaintance with her, I gained understanding such that I will never forsake her.

Psalm 19:8-11

Mark 11:27-33

The reading is from the website below.

http://www.usccb.org/nab/bible/alpha.shtml

March 4, 2011

It is said that “Perfect is the enemy of good” and also “Good is the enemy of great,” but God does not seem to abide by those labels. In God’s world, whether you are famous or infamous, whether you are rich or poor, good or great, educated or illiterate, slave or free, man or woman, forgotten or remembered, immigrant or citizen, your righteous deeds are not forgotten; your glory will never be blotted out.

Namaste! Amen!

The Readings

Sirach 44:1,9-13

Let us now sing the praises of famous people,

   our ancestors in their generations.

But of others there is no memory;

   they have perished as though they had never existed;

they have become as though they had never been born,

   they and their children after them.

But these also were godly people,

   whose righteous deeds have not been forgotten;

their wealth will remain with their descendants,

   and their inheritance with their children’s children.

Their descendants stand by the covenants;

   their children also, for their sake.

Their offspring will continue for ever,

   and their glory will never be blotted out.

Psalm 149

Mark 11:11-26

The reading is from the website below.

http://bible.oremus.org/

Ruahmie: March 2, 2011

Ruahmie: March 2, 2011: "If you have a functional ego then you focus your talents and energy on bringing more love into life. On the other hand, an inflated ego has ..."