January 29, 2025

Wednesday Word . . . Prayer

“I choose now to pause.”

I have a number of prayer apps on my phone.  Some are Roman Catholic based and some are Episcopal based.  A couple of them have an audio option, while most of them require you to read through the prayers.  These apps are especially helpful when I don’t have a Prayer Book with me, since the Daily Offices are right there on my phone.  They are also helpful for those times I just want to sit and listen to someone else read through the Office.

I was talking with someone the other day about prayer.  A variety of things came up in that conversation, but there were two things that stuck out in my mind.  The first is that God is not a vending machine and our prayers are not the quarters that we insert.  And the second is that prayer, more than anything else, is the conversation you have with God – it works to deepen your knowledge and love of God while also providing time for you to listen to God.

Those, of course, are very basic ideas about prayer, and we could (should?) spend much more time delving into the topic and practice.

Another thing about prayer that I think is important is that it is intentional.  I hear people tell me all the time that they pray in their car on their way to work, or they pray in the shower, or they pray while they are making dinner, or whenever.  I’m not saying that’s a bad thing, because I have done them all at one time or another.  But how much more meaningful are our conversations when we aren’t distracted by traffic, or time constraints, or boiling water?

When you pray, make it a practice to be intentional.  When you pray, create space in your day to invite God to be with you.  When you pray, make sure God is your priority in that moment.

When you pray, choose a time to pause.

Blessings,

January 22, 2025

Wednesday Word . . . The Bleak Midwinter

“In the bleak midwinter, frosty wind made moan, earth stood hard as iron, water like a stone; snow had fallen, snow on snow, snow on snow, in the bleak midwinter, long ago.” – Hymn 112

A few weeks ago I was talking with a friend and they mentioned that this was their favorite Christmas hymn.  As I sat eating breakfast yesterday, I looked out at the field and mountains with dawn just beginning to break over the hills.  The trees were stark, dark and leafless, deep into their winter hibernation.  The grassy field and mountains were all monochromatic winter brown with the snow from last week’s storm laying hard-packed on the ground.  And as I looked out, this hymn came to mind.

We have come to that point in the year when we start noticing the sun rising earlier.  Morning commutes aren’t necessarily happening in the dark.  We can see that spring is coming.

It occurred to me, though, that the “bleak midwinter” doesn’t take place in the dark.  The bleak midwinter doesn’t take place when we are deep in winter and the sun doesn’t peak over the horizon until much later.  It doesn’t take place when mornings and evenings are dark.

Instead, the bleak midwinter happens now – still in the dead of winter, but when the sun begins to rise earlier.  It happens when there’s just enough light to see the dark and stark trees.  It happens when the only thing you seem to see is one long, monochromatic shade of brown.  It happens when the hard-packed snow doesn’t glisten, but is only a whiter shade of pale.

But here’s the thing about the bleak midwinter:  it happens when there’s just enough light to see the bleakness.  It happens as the light begins to drive back the darkness.

We may be in the bleak midwinter.  The frosty wind moans over earth standing hard as iron when water turns to stone.  But darkness is losing its grip, and light begins to take hold.  So wherever you may be, and whatever bleakness you are facing, know that it will not last because the light is coming.

Blessings,

January 15, 2025

Wednesday Word . . . Fire Relief

We have all seen the devastation of the wildfires in California, and while I can’t be sure, I think it will become one of the biggest natural disasters in our history, if not the biggest.  Pictures of lost homes, businesses, churches, and schools are almost beyond comprehension.  And while we know firsthand the devastation wildfires can inflict, we were fortunate to not have the destruction seen in California.

If you are able to financially donate to relief efforts, here are a few links which I think would do the most good:

https://support.episcopalrelief.org/wildfire-2025

https://diocesela.org/fire-response/

https://www.directrelief.org/emergency/california-wildfires/

https://www.cafirefoundation.org/what-we-do/for-communities/disaster-relief

https://www.ncjwla.org/lafire/

https://secure.projecthope.org/site/SPageNavigator/FY25_01_LA_Fire_and_General_Unrestricted_Support_Web_LO_12860.html

A Prayer for Victims of the Fires

Gracious Lord, surround all those who have lost homes, businesses, livelihoods, schools, churches, and family members with your never-failing love.  Give them hope amid despair.  Give them space for mourning and resilience to carry on.  Deliver them from the bitterness of eternal death, and give them the strength of your presence that they may know and find life from death.

A Prayer for Emergency Workers

Lord God, our strong deliverer:  When those charged with responding to crises feel overwhelmed by the numbers of those suffering and the vastness of devastation, uphold them in their fatigue and banish their despair.  Give them comfort, and renew their energy and compassion, for the sake of Jesus in whom is our life and our hope.

Blessings,

January 8, 2025

Wednesday Word . . . Sunshine

On January 5 we had our first real snow of the year.  Coming on the 12^th Day of Christmas, I guess, technically, we still got our white Christmas.  But even with the snow, both Sunday and Monday were rather dreary days. 

Yesterday, however, was glorious!  The sky was bright blue, the sun was shining, and the sunlight reflecting off the new snow was almost blinding.  Although the temperature only reached 26, it felt much warmer than that.

One of the things I really love is a calm and bright sunny day after a winter storm.  People smile.  Attitudes are much improved.  And if you have any cleanup to do, the sunshine even makes that tolerable.  In this winter sunshine there was a sense of joy and life in the people I encountered on my walk downtown.

The Christmas season began with the birth of Christ.  The Gospel of John tells us that “in him was life, and the life was the light of all people.  The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it.”

Monday was the Feast of the Epiphany, when we celebrate the arrival of the wise men from the East who followed a star to the home of Mary and Jesus in Bethlehem.  They followed a light that shone in the darkness which eventually led them to a life found in Christ Jesus.

Christmas and Epiphany are about the arrival of God’s light in a darkened world. 

This winter, may the light of Christ shine in and through you like sunshine after a winter storm so that you may bring joy and life to all those whom you touch.

Blessings,

January 1, 2025

Wednesday Word . . . Silence

[An angel said to Elijah], “Go out and stand on the mountain before the LORD, for the LORD is about to pass by.”  Now there was a great wind, so strong that it was splitting mountains and breaking rocks in pieces before the LORD, but the LORD was not in the wind, and after the wind an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake, and after the earthquake a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire, and after the fire a sound of sheer silence.  When Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his mantle and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave.  Then there came a voice to him that said, “What are you doing here, Elijah?” – 1 Kings 19:11-13

Today is January 1, 2025.  It is New Year’s Day.  It is also the Eighth Day of Christmas and the Feast of the Holy Name.  There’s a lot going on today.  In addition to continuing the Christmas festivities, this is the day we celebrate the naming of Jesus (taken from the Jewish tradition of naming male children eight days after their birth).  And if you’re like me, to be honest, there are a number of Bowl Games to follow and overeat on chips, dips, and the like.

Despite offices being closed today, there is plenty to do and plenty which to keep us busy.

In the midst of everything – Christmas, New Year’s, our 12^th Night Party, Annual Meeting prep, and, and, and – the above passage of Elijah’s encounter with God popped into my head.

As we navigate all of the busy-ness in our lives, remember to take time and listen for God, remembering that God cannot be heard through the noise of wind, earthquakes, fire, or Bowl Games.  God, it seems, is heard in the silence. 

In the midst of all that is going on, find time to slip away.  Find time for quiet.  Find time for silence.  In that silence you just might hear the voice of God speaking to you.  And in that silence you just might be able to answer God’s question:  What are you doing here?

Merry Christmas,