Monday Morning Offering: 3/9

Coffee in the Morning: George Mendoza

 

Good morning, good God!

 

A Lenten review has shown me, Lord,

I have so much more than I need.

I have too much stuff and too many things:

    I own things and stuff I'd forgotten are mine!

 

I have things I can't find 

    'cause they're buried do deep -
        under all the things I have! 

 

I have too many old things, 

    too many new things:

        collections of things I really don't need...

I have so many clothes:     

    too many that fit
        and too many that don't...

I have too much money.

    Wait - did I say that?

Yes, I did

    - and that helps me define

        how I have more than I need. 

 

It's not that I'm really wealthy, Lord

    - I am not flush with cash -

but looking around at the rest of the world,

    it's true - I have more than I need...

 

If I look around, with honest eyes,
    I see I have more than I need 
        - of just about all I have...

 

Ah, there's the question, Lord:
    how much of my stuff and belongings   

        do I really and truly need...?

 

And the answer comes 'round once again:

    I may not have all of the things that I want

        but I do have more than I need... 

 

I won't offer you all of my stuff, Lord,
    I know you don't need or want it,

but I'll ask for the grace to help me give up

    my desire to have more and more,

    my desire for more than I need,

    my desire to have  - for the sake of having,

    my desire to have more than others have,

    my desire to hoard and collect more things,

    my desire to buy, to have and to own

        the biggest, the smallest, the sleekest, the fastest, 

        the more expensive - the most expensive - 

        the new and improved whatever-it-is

            that I want but I don't need...  

   

I offer you, Lord, my desire to have:

    a full set, a full tank, a full stomach; 
    full shelves, full closets, full wallets and purses;
and boxes full of whatever I want
    or think I want, 

    or might one day want

    or believe I want

        because I've been told - I should want it...  

 

I offer you, Lord, my tendency 
    to clutter and jam my mind and my heart

         with filler, toys, junk and crap,
    with so much less than my heart deserves,
        so much less than my mind  deserves,     

    with so much less than you deserve     

        who make your home 

            - in my mind and heart...

 

I offer you, Lord, my complicity
    in filling my heart with anything but 

        the grace, the peace, the beauty and truth 
            for which my soul was made...

 

So help me this Lent to simplify:

    to give up, give away,

        clean out, cast off, 

            strip away, go without          

    and empty myself of anything more

        that what my heart of hearts desires:

            your mercy, your presence and peace...

And make me generous, Lord,
    in sharing and giving to others 

the bounty of all that I have,     

    for which they have so much need...

Such is my offering this morning, Lord,
    and through these holy days of Lent...

Amen.

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NIGHT PRAYER: Sunday 3/8

On Sundays, Night Prayer takes its lead from some element from the day's liturgy. On this Third Sunday of Lent we heard from the Letter to the Romans:

        We have peace with God 

            through our Lord Jesus Christ... 

                so we boast in hope of the glory of God. 

        And hope does not disappoint, 

            because the love of God 

                has been poured out into our hearts 

                    through the Holy Spirit 

                        who has been given to us...

 

I can imagine, Lord, 

that some of my readers are thinking,

"What's with all this hope stuff?

    You make it sound too easy!"

 

Truth is, Lord 

    - some days I feel that way myself...

 

Some days - hope is hard to find,

    hard to come by.

Some days - and let's face it: these days -

    hope seems a facile answer

in the face of problems 

    that defy resolution...

 

Some days - everything just looks hopeless...

 

Some days - folks hang on by a thread

    which seems to be unraveling...

 

Some days - hope sounds good

    at least until I listen to the news

        or ponder my own circumstances...

 

Some days - hope is just what I want 

    but I just can't find it... 

 

Some days - there's nothing I want more than hope 

    and I can see it - but it hangs there - 

        just beyond my grasp... 

 

But then I found tonight's song, Lord,

    and it gave me a new perspective

        a new take on hope

            - even a new hope for hope... 

 

So I'm praying with this song, Lord,

    and I'm praying and hoping 

        my readers will pray with this song, too...

 

I pray - we all pray - that hope will find us

    and give us the grace     

        to lean on your everlasting arms... 

 

Protect us, Lord while we're awake

    and watch over us while we sleep

that awake, we might keep watch with you

    and asleep, rest in your peace...

Amen. 

 

Tonight's song was released less than a year ago but it incorporates a melodic phrase and line from a hymn written in 1887: "Leaning on the everlasting arms..."

 

Hope's Gonna Find You by Ellie Holcomb

   

If a video doesn't appear below, click here!

 

 

What if hope’s not a path that you chose 

It’s the loss of control 

It’s a landslide of losing my religion 

Going blind to find my vision 

I thought it was my job to know 

Where the flowers would grow 

When it turns out 

The lighting the and the thunder 

The easy breeze of summer 

Doesn’t feel like I’ve got control 

 

What if hope’s not a rope you hold on to 

What if it’s the arms that have always held you 

On the edge when it feels like you’re not gonna pull through 

Is the place you discover that hope’s gonna find you 

Hope’s gonna find you 

 

Well I lost my respect for the dark 

But if that’s where you are 

Could I let go of the light I thought would guide me 

And trust You’ll come and find me 

I thought that I had to hold on 

That I had to stay strong 

But I don’t cause you’ve been holding onto me all along 

 

Refrain

 

I’m leaning, I’m leaning 

On the Everlasting Arms 

I’m leaning, I’m leaning 

I could never fall too far 

 I’m leaning, I’m leaning 

On the Everlasting Arms 

I’m leaning, I’m leaning 

I could never fall 

 

Rerain

 

I’m leaning, I’m leaning 

On the Everlasting Arms 

I’m leaning, I’m leaning 

I could never fall too far 

I’m leaning, I’m leaning 

On the Everlasting Arms 

I’m leaning, I’m leaning 

Leaning, leaning 

Leaning on the Everlasting Arms 

Leaning, leaning 

Leaning on the Everlasting Arms

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Jesus: a man without a bucket

Above you'll find a video of my homily for March 8. (If a video doesn't appear above, undefined.)  The scripture I preached on was the well-known story of Jesus and the woman at the well.  And here's the text of my homily...

It is a great story - the story of the woman at the well.  And all this - because Jesus was thirsty. Because he turned to this woman and said, “Give me a drink…”

 

As the story begins, the woman doesn't recognize Jesus. In her eyes, he's just a thirsty guy with no bucket. But because he was thirsty… and because he asked… and because she reached out… well, you know the rest of the story…

 

How would YOU like to have been the woman at the well?

 

And suppose you didn't recognize Jesus either. Suppose Jesus approached you or me in the middle of our day - looking for something he needed, something he wanted. Suppose he came in the guise of a stranger, or a friend or a member of our family, or someone at school or at work or here in the parish.

 

SUPPOSE he did?

Well, of course, he DOES.

He Does. Just. That.

 

Jesus approaches us, comes to us in the middle of our lives, in the middle of our days - all the time: telling us what he needs, what he wants from us. And the question is, how do we answer him? How do we respond? What does he ask for?

 

Let's try something.

I invite you to close your eyes…

and imagine that Jesus is approaching you…

and you hear him say…

 

Give me a drink of water…

 

Give me something to eat…

 

Give me your shoulder to lean on…

 

Give me your word of forgiveness…

 

Give me an ear while I share my troubles…

 

Give me your hand to help me up…

 

Give me a hug to embrace my soul…

 

Give me a smile to cheer my spirits…

 

Give me a sign that I make a difference…

 

Give me the chance of a new beginning…

 

Give me the warmth of being a friend…

 

Give me your presence to ease my grief…

 

Give me your offer to talk things out…

 

Give me support when I'm falling apart…

 

Give me your welcome with arms open wide…

 

Give me your shoulders to share my burdens…

 

Give me a kiss to seal our love…

 

Give me your light to shine in my darkness…

 

Give me the gift of time by your side…

 

Give me your trust to restore my self-worth…

 

Give me a break when I disappoint you…

 

Give me an invitation to reconcile…

 

Give me the blessing of your thoughts and prayers…

 

Give me your wisdom to guide my steps…

 

Give me your kindness when I have been bruised…

 

Give me the strength of your standing with me…

 

Give me a second chance when I fail…

 

Give me your eyes to look into mine…

 

Give me your touch to heal my pain…

 

Give me your truth as a pledge of your word…

 

Give me a place at your table…

 

Give me a place in your heart…

 

Give me the solace of knowing I'm needed…

 

Give me a boost when I'm down and out…

 

Give me a nudge when I'm slow to respond…

 

Give me your patience when I fall behind…

 

Give me a share of your faith when I deal with doubts…

 

Give me a reason to hope when I'm lost…

 

Give me your love to help me survive.

 

(Open your eyes if you closed them...)

 

Who knows how many times - and in how many disguises - Jesus approaches you and me every single day,  asking for something, needing something, wanting something from us.

 

How many times, in just this past week, did Jesus meet us at the well? in the middle of our day? and ask something of us?

 

How did we answer him? How did we respond? Did we engage with him?

 

Who knows how many times and in how many situations - and how many disguises - Jesus will approach you and me in the week ahead of us to ask us for something. How will we answer him? How will we respond to him? How will we engage with him?

 

This morning:, WE come to HIM - at the “well” of his table.

 

And we come hungry and thirsty - and we come without buckets.

 

So we ask him, “Give us something to eat.”  And he gives us his Body, the Bread of his Life.

 

And we ask him, “Give us something to drink.” And he gives us a sip from his cup, the cup of the Blood of his mercy and peace.

 

Could this not be the Messiah, the Christ? The one who has to come here to our table?

 

Indeed, it IS him. And we KNOW it is him  - because we have heard for ourselves. 

 

This is Jesus… 

The one who came to save us… 

The one who came to save the world.

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Pause for Prayer: SUNDAY 3/8

 As hints of spring warm the air and melt the snow, this poem from Mary Oliver captures almost perfectly where my soul is at this point in my life.  I offer it without any additional lines from my pen - I hope it might touch you as it does me...

Amen!

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NIGHT PRAYER: Saturday 3/7

I wonder what you think, Lord,
as millions this weekend conspire

    to change by sixty minutes

        our watches, clocks, devices and gadgets,

    pretending to gain an hour of light

        by cheating the night to save the day...

An artifice, Lord, that's all time is,

our meager, contrived and feeble attempt

    to measure what can not be clocked,

    to track what slips through open hands 

        as the wind upon a breeze... 

Who can save up tine for tomorrow?

Who can stay the sun at its rising

    or stall the phases of the moon?

Who can lengthen a sunbeam's reach

    or shorten midnight's shadows?

You alone, eternal God,

    you alone are the Lord of time:

you caused the sun to rule in the day

    and the moon to rule by night... 

 

Only you, in the dark of night,

    rose up for the day that has no end;

yours alone is the light that saves,

    the glory no night can eclipse...

We can change our clocks but not the time 

    for yours alone are night and day;

so, change our hearts with mercy's touch

    as we wait the Day that has no end...

 

Protect us, Lord, while we're awake

    and watch over us while we sleep

that awake, we might keep watch with you

    and asleep, rest in your peace...

Amen. 

God of Day and God of Darkness

    by Marty Haugen 

If a video doesn't appear below, click here!

 

God of day and God of darkness,
Now we stand before the night;
As the shadows stretch and deepen,
Come and make our darkness bright.
All creation still is groaning
For the dawning of your might,
When the Sun of peace and justice
Fills the earth with radiant light.

Still the nations curse the darkness,
Still the rich oppress the poor;
Still the earth is bruised and broken
By the ones who still want more.
Come and wake us from our sleeping,
So our hearts cannot ignore
All your people lost and broken,
All your children at our door.

Show us Christ in one another,
Make us servants strong and true.
Give us all your love of justice
So we do what you would do.
Let us call all people holy,
Let us pledge our lives anew,
Make us one with all the lowly,
Let us all be one in you.

You shall be the path that guides us,
You the light that in us burns;
Shining deep within all people,
Yours the love that we must learn,
For our hearts shall wander restless
'Til they safe to you return;
Finding you in one another,
We shall all your face discern.

Praise to you in day and darkness,
You our source and you our end;
Praise to you who love and nurture us
As a father, mother, friend.
Grant us all a peaceful resting,
Let each mind and body mend,
So we rise refreshed tomorrow,
Hearts renewed to Kingdom tend.

Gentle Father, Loving Mother,
Jesus, Brother, Savior, Friend;
Spirit of all grace and power,
May we praise you without end.
Grant us all a peaceful resting,
Let each mind and body mend,
So we rise refreshed tomorrow,
Hearts renewed to Kingdom tend.

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