Surrender

 Surrender

“The boat I travel in is called Surrender. My two oars are instant forgiveness and gratitude—complete gratitude for the gift of life. I am thankful for the experience of this life, for the opportunity to dance. I get angry, I get mad, but as soon as I remind myself to put my oars in the water, I forgive.”—Balbir Mathur, inwardoutward.org, Daily Quote, October 19, 2016—Heron Dance interview (Issue 11).

As president of Trees for Life, Balbir Mathur planted 200 million morning trees in developing countries for 30 years. I thank the daily words from Inward Outward from the Church of the Saviour in Washington for introducing him to me. Mathur’s extraordinary life is a story of constant surrender: immigrating to Wichita from India with no family contacts, mowing lawns, becoming world-known in business, developing a mysterious illness, leaving his business career, and starting an international nonprofit to plant trees in developing countries. The morning trees survive in dry conditions. Their leaves are nutritious in vitamins A and C and calcium, and their seeds are used to purify water.

Mathur’s words are indeed words of peace that I hear in many disciplines across all religious barriers. When I can forgive, when I am filled with gratitude, I stay out of trouble and find peace. What an image. We are in a boat called Surrender, and our two oars are gratitude and forgiveness that keep that boat moving on course. I can imagine rowing on a river, not too big of a river and not too big of a boat. I will need other passengers who can take over the oars when I become too tired, who will read to me and let me rest or just allow me to soak in the scenery. 

Rick Plumlee, The Wichita Eagle, May 10, 2014.

Making Unconditional Love Visible

Loving and Making God’s Unconditional Love Visible

“Whenever, contrary to the world’s vindictiveness, we love our enemy, we exhibit something of the perfect love of God.. Whenever we forgive instead of getting angry at one another, bless instead of cursing one another, tend to one another’s wounds instead of rubbing salt into them, hearten instead of discouraging one another, give hope instead of driving one another to despair, hug instead of harassing one another, welcome instead of cold-shouldering one another, thank instead of criticizing one another, praise instead of maligning one another...in short, whenever we opt for and not against one another, we make God’s unconditional love visible; we are diminishing violence and giving birth to a new community.”—Henri Nouwen in You Are the Beloved (Convergent Books 2017).

My image is that I am a loving person.

Nouwen proves me wrong.

 I rarely love my enemy or anyone who harms me, my family, or my friends.

 I am just scraping the surface of forgiveness.

I less frequently bless, as my excuse is that deacons are not supposed to bless! Sounds like a Pharisee!

I know subtle methods of rubbing salt into wounds.

I also have mastered the cold shoulder.

 I often forget to thank others for what they do. 

I try to encourage others, and I try to offer hope, especially to those grieving. However, I could do better by encouraging and offering hope to those with whom I disagree.

So, Nouwen has given us a Lenten list of loving and unloving practices to pray that the Spirit will change in us.

I also have a part. I am to stop and pause when I have the opportunity to show love or not show love in a multitude of daily situations.

Pray for me. Let us pray for each other.

Joanna. https://www.joannaseibert.com/

 

Praying Lectio Divina

Praying Lectio Divina

 “Lectio Divina means Divine Reading. It is a prayerful way to read scripture or any spiritual writing.
 Read -- Read Deeply
 Read a scripture passage slowly and profoundly and hear every word’s sound and meaning. Imagine that God is speaking to you through these words. Listen attentively to see which word or phrase catches your attention and speaks to you and your life.
 Meditate – Think, imagine Deeply
Take what caught your attention from your reading and think deeply about it using your imagination. Imagine what it meant to those at that time who first heard it. Why is this important to you, your tradition, your experience, and your life today? What about it particularly moves you?
Pray -- Pray from the Heart
If your heart is moved or your emotions touched, go with the feelings and offer what you are feeling to God in prayer.
 Contemplate -- Rest
Fall into the love of God and the love from God that was generated. Rest in silence. Just be.
Finally, memorize or copy the thought that moved you and try to remember it from time to time during the day.
Journal, if possible, about what happened during the prayer.”

Modified from the Community of Reconciliation at Washington National Cathedral and the Friends of St. Benedict.

 Lectio Divina is an ancient Benedictine practice of reading the scriptures, which, similar to centering prayer, cultivates contemplative prayer. It was practiced in community in monasteries during the time of St. Benedict. This is a time-honored way to connect to God through reading scripture, prayer, meditation, and contemplation or listening for God. If your tradition has fixed lectionary readings for Sunday, practice Lectio Divina with one or all of the readings daily as your discipline or in a group.

In her book, A Tree Full of Angels, Seeing the Holy in the Ordinary, Macrina Wiederkehr writes extensively about Lectio Divina, calling it “plowing up the field of the soul.” As her guide, she uses a quote from Benedictine Abbot Marmion: “Read under the eye of God until your heart is touched, then give yourself up to love.” She uses imagery in the process and waits for a mantra, a holy word, a phrase, or a sentence that may stay. She then carries that word or phrase with her during the day. Finally, she describes giving yourself to God as surrender, melting into God.