Category: Daybook

With this post, I’m rebooting my Daybook.  Obviously, I failed to keep it going every day.  Perhaps I can do better making it a weekly entry.  So here goes….

Scripture for the Week

Song of Songs 1-2

Reflection

This week’s Reflection is from Divine Eros:  The Hymns of St. Symeon the New Theologian.

What is this spine-chilling mystery that is being accomplished
in me?
In no way can a word recount, nor can
my miserable hand write to the praise and glory
of Him Who is above praise, of Him Who is beyond telling.
For, tell me, if the things now being accomplished in me the
profligate
are inexpressible and unutterable, how would
He Who is the author and maker of such wonders
need praise from us, or need to receive glory?
No, for He Who has been glorified cannot be glorified,
in the same way that the sun that is seen by us in the cosmos
could not be illumined nor partake of light;
the sun gives light, it is not enlightened; it enlightens, it does
not receive light.
For the sun has the light that it received from the beginning,
from the Creator.
And so if God, the Creator of everything, has made the sun,
and has created without need, only to bring to light a
bounteous flame,
and in no way from any other greater need,
how would He receive glory from lowly me?

February 25 – March 8, 2011

Lectionary

Psalm 40:1-3

I waited patiently for the LORD;
And He inclined to me and heard my cry.
He brought me up out of the pit of
destruction, out of the miry clay,
And He set my feet upon a rock making my
footsteps firm.
He put a new song in my mouth, a song of
praise to our God;
Many will see and fear
And will trust in the LORD.

Reflection

“I am convinced that if people would really hear Holy Week, Pascha, the Resurrection, Pentecost, the Dormition, there would be no need for theology. All of theology is there. All that is needed for one’s spirit, heart, mind and soul. How could people spend centuries discussing justification and redemption? It is all in these services. Not only is it revealed, it simply flows in one’s heart and mind. The more I live, the more convinced I am that most people love something else and expect something else from religion and in religion. For me this is idolatry, and it often makes contact with people so difficult.” — Fr. Alexander Schmemann

Prayer

God who waits
while we rush off
to spend the riches you’ve given us
on unworthy pursuits
that always end with us slopping with the pigs
in the mud.

God who waits
each morning outside the gates
straining into the distance
to see if we’ve finally begun,
once again,
the long and tired slog back home,
into your happy embrace,
into feasting and laughter and dance.

God who waits
here we are
now waiting with you.

February 24, 2011

Lectionary

Prov. 8:1-11

Does not widom call out?
  Does not understanding raise her voice?
On the heights along the way,
  where the paths meet, she takes her stand;
beside the gates leading into the city,
  at the entrances, she cries aloud:
‘To you, O men, I call out;
  I raise my voice to all mankind.
You who are simple, gain prudence;
  you who are foolish, gain understanding.
Listen, for I have worthy things to say;
  I open my lips to speak what is right.
My mouth speaks what is true,
  for my lips detest wickedness.
All of the words of my mouth are just;
  none of them are crooked or perverse.
To the discerning all of them are right;
  they are faultless to those who have knowledge.
Choose my instruction instead of silver,
  knowledge rather than choice gold,
for wisdom is more precious than rubies,
  and nothing you desire can compare with her.

Reflection

“The Christian who becomes too concerned with theology is liable to confuse erudition with faith, knowledge with truth.  He is liable to think that words can capture God, and logic can define his existence.  He will never realize that inward passion which is the mark of faith.  In the case of a lover, it is a sure sign that passion is waning when the lover wishes to treat the object of his love objectively.  Passion and reflection generally exclude each other.  Become objective is our way of avoiding truth, because the truth threatens our comfort.  The passion for truth is man’s perdition; but it is his exaltation also.” — Soren Kierkegaard

Prayer

Christ be with me, Christ within me,

Christ behind me, Christ before me,

Christ beside me, Christ to win me,

Christ to comfort and restore me.

Christ beneath me, Christ above me,

Christ in quiet, Christ in danger,

Christ in hearts of all that love me,

Christ in mouth of friend and stranger.

I bind unto myself the Name,

The strong Name of the Trinity;

By invocation of the same.

The Three in One, and One in Three,

Of Whom all nature hath creation,

Eternal Father, Spirit, Word:

Praise to the Lord of my salvation,

Salvation is of Christ the Lord.

(from St. Patrick’s Breastplate)

February 16-23, 2011

Lectionary

Mark 9:38-40

John said to Jesus, “Teacher, we saw someone driving out demons in your name, and we tried to prevent him because he does not follow us.” Jesus replied, “Do not prevent him. There is no one who performs a mighty deed in my name who can at the same time speak ill of me. For whoever is not against us is for us.”

Reflection

“In Christianity there is both choice and no choice, freedom and compulsion.  Christianity says to man, ‘you shall choose to accept the eseential truth of life’; and this truth is so compelling that you have no choice.  Indeed once you perceive this essential truth, you have no choice but to accept it.  Once you realize that God is inviting you into his kingdom, you cannot refuse.  The choice to accept or reject Christianity is not a matter of cool deliberation, weighing up pros and cons with the intellect.  Christ demands a response of infinite passion, either of hatred or love.  Those who crucified him responded with hatred.  If you respond with love, you cannot help but accept his invitation.  Thus the choice is one of passion, not of reason.” — Soren Kierkegaard

Prayer

Christ be with me, Christ within me,
Christ behind me, Christ before me,
Christ beside me, Christ to win me,
Christ to comfort and restore me.

Christ beneath me, Christ above me,
Christ in quiet, Christ in danger,
Christ in hearts of all that love me,
Christ in mouth of friend and stranger.

I bind unto myself the Name,
The strong Name of the Trinity;
By invocation of the same.
The Three in One, and One in Three,

Of Whom all nature hath creation,
Eternal Father, Spirit, Word:
Praise to the Lord of my salvation,
Salvation is of Christ the Lord.
(from St. Patrick’s Breastplate)

February 4-15, 2011

Lectionary

Mark 8:14-12

The disciples had forgotten to bring bread, and they had only one loaf with them in the boat. Jesus enjoined them, “Watch out, guard against the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod.” They concluded among themselves that it was because they had no bread. When he became aware of this he said to them,
“Why do you conclude that it is because you have no bread? Do you not yet understand or comprehend? Are your hearts hardened? Do you have eyes and not see, ears and not hear? And do you not remember, when I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many wicker baskets full of fragments you picked up?” They answered him, “Twelve.” “When I broke the seven loaves for the four thousand, how many full baskets of fragments did you pick up?” They answered him, “Seven.” He said to them, “Do you still not understand?”

Reflection

“When a person needs help of any kind, he seeks out someone who has the ability to help him.  He might get that person to help him out of the goodness of his heart; but more usually he must pay for the help he receives.  The helper thus sets a high value on himself.  Jesus Christ by contrast never needs to be sought.  He knows our needs before we know them ourselves, and he is offering to help us before we ask.  He sets no value on himself, but gives himself totally to us without asking any reward.  And we soon discover that he is the only one who can help us in our deepst needs” — Soren Kierkegaard

Prayer

Christ be with me, Christ within me,
Christ behind me, Christ before me,
Christ beside me, Christ to win me,
Christ to comfort and restore me.
Christ beneath me, Christ above me,
Christ in quiet, Christ in danger,
Christ in hearts of all that love me,
Christ in mouth of friend and stranger.

I bind unto myself the Name,
The strong Name of the Trinity;
By invocation of the same.
The Three in One, and One in Three,
Of Whom all nature hath creation,
Eternal Father, Spirit, Word:
Praise to the Lord of my salvation,
Salvation is of Christ the Lord.

(from St. Patrick’s Breastplate)

January 28 – February 3, 2011

Lectionary

Heb 12:18-19, 21-24

Brothers and sisters:  You have not approached that which could be touched and a blazing fire and gloomy darkness
and storm and a trumpet blast and a voice speaking words such that those who heard begged that no message be further addressed to them. Indeed, so fearful was the spectacle that Moses said, “I am terrified and trembling.” No, you have approached Mount Zion and the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and countless angels in festal gathering,
and the assembly of the firstborn enrolled in heaven, and God the judge of all, and the spirits of the just made perfect,
and Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and the sprinkled Blood that speaks more eloquently than that of Abel.

Reflection

“God is invisible, inscrutable, incomprehensible, and so on . . . . Give up all such speculating, which is utterly unrelated to the word of God anyhow.  God is saying to you, From the unrevealed God I shall become your own revealed God:  I shall incarnate my own beloved Son. . . Behold his dath, his cross, his passion.  See him hanging on his mother’s brest, and hanging on the cross.  What Christ says and does, you may be sure of.  ‘No man cometh to the Father but by me.’ ‘He that hath seen me hath seen the Father.’  What God is saying to you is this:  ‘Here in Christ you have me, here in Christ you will see me. . . . At all costs cling to the revealed God.  Allow no one to take the child Jesus from you.  Hold fast to Christ, and you will never be lost.'” — Martin Luther

Prayer

Christ be with me, Christ within me,
Christ behind me, Christ before me,
Christ beside me, Christ to win me,
Christ to comfort and restore me.
Christ beneath me, Christ above me,
Christ in quiet, Christ in danger,
Christ in hearts of all that love me,
Christ in mouth of friend and stranger.

I bind unto myself the Name,
The strong Name of the Trinity;
By invocation of the same.
The Three in One, and One in Three,
Of Whom all nature hath creation,
Eternal Father, Spirit, Word:
Praise to the Lord of my salvation,
Salvation is of Christ the Lord.

(from St. Patrick’s Breastplate)

January 27, 2011

Lectionary

Heb 10:19-25

Brothers and sisters: Since through the Blood of Jesus we have confidence of entrance into the sanctuary by the new and living way he opened for us through the veil, that is, his flesh, and since we have “a great priest over the house of God,” let us approach with a sincere heart and in absolute trust, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed in pure water. Let us hold unwaveringly to our confession that gives us hope, for he who made the promise is trustworthy.  We must consider how to rouse one another to love and good works. We should not stay away from our assembly, as is the custom of some, but encourage one another, and this all the more as you see the day drawing near.

Reflection

“The deepest truth of the Passion is to know and understand who he was that suffered.  And in this he allowed me to understand a part of the height and nobleness of the glorious Godhead, and also the worth and tenderness of the blessed body with which it is made one, and also the loathing our nature has for pain.

For as much as he was pure and loving, even so much was he strong and able to suffer — for it was the sin of every man that shall be saved which he suffered for.  And he saw the sorrow and desolation of every one of us, and grieved over it for love because he shared our nature.  For as greatly as our Lady grieved over his pain, he grieved for her grief just as much — and more — because the manhood he bore was of even greater worth.

For as long as he was capable of suffering, he suffered and sorrowed for us.  And now that he is risen and can feel pain no more, yet still he suffers with us.

And I, seeing all this through his grace, saw that the love he has for our soul is so strong that he sought our soul with great longing, and willingly suffered for it and paid for it in full.

For a soul that looks on these things shall see, when it is touched by grace, that the pains of Christ’s passion go beyond all other pain and, true to tell, that these same pains shall be turned into endless joys through Christ’s Passion.” — Juilan of Norwich

Prayer

God of grace and peace,
Who gives every good and perfect gift,
Help us to see each other as the greatest gift you give
together with the gift of yourself.

January 23-26, 2011

Lectionary

2 Tm 1:1-8

Paul, an Apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God for the promise of life in Christ Jesus, to Timothy, my dear child: grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord. I am grateful to God, whom I worship with a clear conscience as my ancestors did, as I remember you constantly in my prayers, night and day. I yearn to see you again, recalling your tears, so that I may be filled with joy, as I recall your sincere faith that first lived in your grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice and that I am confident lives also in you. For this reason, I remind you to stir into flame the gift of God that you have through the imposition of my hands. For God did not give us a spirit of cowardice but rather of power and love and self-control. So do not be ashamed of your testimony to our Lord, nor of me, a prisoner for his sake; but bear your share of hardship for the Gospel with the strength that comes from God.

Reflection

“The way to judge whether a person is called by God to be  Church leader is to look first at his moral qualities.  Is he generous to those in need?  Is he gentle toward those who are weaker than himself?  Is he patient toward those less intelligent than himself?  Is he a loyal and faithful friend?….  Second, look at his spiritual qualities.  Does he pray regularly and diligently?  Does he read the Scriptures with care?  Does he sincerely try to hear God’s will and obey it?  Of course, there are many people who truly love God, and yet are not called to be leaders.  There is, however, one quality — or rather a combination of two qualities — which marks out the true Church leader.  Is he humble about his own abilities, and at the same time can he discern the abilities of others? . . . Only a person who can discern the gifts of others and can humble rejoice at the flowering of those gifts is fit to lead the Church” — John Chrysostom

Prayer

God of grace and peace,
Who gives every good and perfect gift,
Help us to see each other as the greatest gift you give
together with the gift of yourself.

January 20-22, 2011

Lectionary

Heb 9:2-3, 11-14

A tabernacle was constructed, the outer one, in which were the lampstand, the table, and the bread of offering; this is called the Holy Place. Behind the second veil was the tabernacle called the Holy of Holies. But when Christ came as high priest of the good things that have come to be, passing through the greater and more perfect tabernacle not made by hands, that is, not belonging to this creation, he entered once for all into the sanctuary, not with the blood of goats and calves but with his own Blood, thus obtaining eternal redemption. For if the blood of goats and bulls and the sprinkling of a heifer’s ashes can sanctify those who are defiled so that their flesh is cleansed, how much more will the Blood of Christ, who through the eternal spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from dead works to worship the living God.

Reflection

“When God forgives, he forgets.  To forget something does not imply ignorance of it, because one cannot forget what one has never known.  Forgetting is in this sense not the opposite of remembering, but of fearing.  When a sin is remembered, we fear the consequence; when a sin is forgotten, that fear disappears.  Thus through forgetting, fear turns to hope — hope in God’s mercy and love.  When God forgets our sin he puts the process of creation into reverse:  we have created the sin; he turns the sin back into nothing.  In the same way we must forgive one another, by forgetting each other’s sins, blotting them out, erasing them.”  — Soren Kierkegaard

Prayer

God of justice and mercy,
Make our eyes bright in darkness,
Make our feet quick towards need,
Make our our hands strong for labor,
Make our hearts beat for peace.
Amen.