DEATH

PRAYER MOMENT

Friday, 1 November 2013

DEATH

Pause.  Bring to mind that you are in the presence of God.

Reading. “On this mountain the Lord will destroy death for ever. He will wipe away the tears from every cheek.” (Isaiah 25: 6-9)

Reflection. Death is the invisible shadow that is linked to every life. People in every age and place have sought ways of softening its hard reality. Great pains have been taken to build bridges between the living and the “living dead.” With the coming of God into the world in our flesh and in his submitting to death, something new happened. Death lost its sting (1 Cor 15:55). “Life is changed, not ended” (Preface for the Mass for the dead). Those who killed Jesus thought they had got rid of him. But his death was just the beginning of a new creation,  a transformation of the human community in every age and every place, which continues to this day. Such grand thoughts do not take away the pain of the individual deaths we meet every day. When Jesus met one – a widow’s only son had died (Luke 7:11-17) – “he was moved with compassion.” But the two go together: every death is charged with sorrow and with the glory that is to be revealed.    

Prayer. Lord Jesus, this time of the year we pray in a special way for those who have died, that they may enter into the fullness of life you have prepared for them and for us.  Amen.

TELL THAT FOX

PRAYER MOMENT

Thursday, 31 October 2013

TELL THAT FOX

Pause.  Be still in the presence of God.

Reading. “Leave this place because Herod means to kill you.” Jesus replied, “tell that fox … that today and tomorrow I must go on … and attain my end.” (Luke 13: 31-35)

Reflection. Where does moral courage come from? It is the courage that springs from a clear vision of what I want to do, or better, what I find myself called to do. It does not arise purely out of my own thoughts and desires; it also comes from a force “burning within me” (Jer 20: 9) which propels me forward without fear. You sense this in Jesus as he continues his journey to Jerusalem well aware of what would happen there. You also see it in Paul when he says, “Nothing can come  between us and the love of Christ, even if we are troubled or worried, or being persecuted, or lacking food or clothed, or being threatened or even attacked” (Rom 8: 31-9). This quality, this courage, is at the heart of what it is to be a Christian – or indeed to be a fully human being.    

Prayer. Lord Jesus, you know how easily I avoid the challenges that come and seek the safer way. Teach me to take the “path less travelled” and reach out to what is best within me. Amen.

ACCORDING TO THE MIND OF GOD

PRAYER MOMENT

Wednesday, 30 October 2013

ACCORDING TO THE MIND OF GOD

Pause.  Enter within and be still.

Reading. “God who knows everything in our hearts knows perfectly well what he means, and that the pleas of the saints expressed by the Spirit are according to the mind of God” (Romans 8:26-30)

Reflection. Romans Chap. 8 moves on each day to lead us deeper into the gift that God gives us in his Spirit. Many words in prayer are not necessary. If they are said, as in the rosary, the repeating of the words carry forward the one praying. What Paul is saying is that it is not you who are praying but the Spirit within you. The gift of the Spirit is so intimate that the person is taken over by God. “It is not I who live but Christ who lives in me” (Gal 2:20). The “adoption” that Paul speaks of in this chapter means that the person becomes one with Jesus in calling God “Father” and a “co-heir” with him both in his sufferings and in his glory. It was a realisation that carried Paul through all his stonings, floggings and shipwrecks, all his rejections and frustrations until he had “finished the race.”

Prayer. Lord Jesus, strengthen your people with this deep encouragement that you live in us through your Spirit. In all our challenges you are there. Teach us to trust so that we do not think we have to do it all on our own. Amen.

GIVING BIRTH

PRAYER MOMENT

Tuesday, 29 October 2013

GIVING BIRTH

Pause.  Enter within and be still in the presence of God.

Reading. “From the beginning till now the entire creation, as we know, has been groaning in one great act of giving birth” (Romans 8:18-25)

Reflection. Giving birth is normally a great moment of joy and wonder in a family. Here is this child, an entirely new creation, entering the world. “What will this child turn out to be?” (Luke 1:66). Paul, as he warms to his theme of the new creation brought by the Spirit, gives an astonishing picture of “the entire creation” groaning in giving birth. He is searching for images to describe the transformation of creation as it moves towards the fulfilment of the “mystery of his purpose” (Eph 1:9). In other words, what we are doing each day - our choices, our actions – is part of the great thrust and yearning of creation to come to its full maturity, We are far from there yet (and talk of the end of the world any day soon has to be nonsense). We have much to do but let’s rejoice in the great progress that has been made. We may say the glass is half empty but if it is it means it is also half full.    

Prayer. Lord Jesus, we rejoice in the great work you have enabled us to do though your Spirit over the centuries. Help us always to stretch out to reach the goal for us individually and together as your people. Amen.

THE SPIRIT AND OUR SPIRIT BEAR UNITED WITNESS

PRAYER MOMENT

Monday, 28 October 2013

THE SPIRIT AND OUR SPIRIT BEAR UNITED WITNESS

Pause.  Be still in the presence of God.

Reading. “The Spirit himself and our spirit bear united witness that we are children of God” (Romans 8:12-17)

Reflection. Once a person becomes serious about seeking the reign of God, seeking, that is, to be united with the will of God and says – and means – ‘your kingdom come!’ – there is a harmony created between the Spirit and the person’s own spirit. Paul is driven by this profound certainty that the giving of the Spirit by Jesus makes us sharers in the divine life. Jesus addressed God as, “Abba”, “Baba”, Father, and that is what we too can now do. We become heirs, “coheirs with Christ, sharing his sufferings so as to share his glory.” When Jesus cured an enfeebled woman on the Sabbath the synagogue official was indignant; “there are six other days in the week. Come and be cured on one of them!” But the people were “overjoyed” because they had a taste of the harmony that was possible between God’s will and theirs (Luke 13:10-17).    

Prayer. Lord Jesus, you introduced us to the Father when you gave us your Spirit. Help us in each moment of our day to listen to that Spirit within us that all our thoughts, words and actions may be in harmony with the Spirit. Amen.

Piercing the clouds

Piercing the clouds

There is a website called the Zimbabwe Situation and an article last week called for individuals to “invest in change.” It unleashed a storm of vitriol because it was critical of the leaders of the country in wild language. Once again I was reminded of the difficulty of debating issues coolly and objectively. By judging people - and not their ideas and actions – you poison the atmosphere.

The writer did not say exactly how he saw people would change but I hope he was talking, for a start, about inner change; a change of the heart. Everything starts from there. There is a story in the gospels about two men who go up to the temple to pray.  One spends his time reciting a checklist of all the things he does in the week and ends up pretty pleased with himself. The other doesn’t even “dare to raise his eyes to heaven” but looks into his own heart and is horrified by what he sees.

“Investing in change” has to start there. To those who are impatient and want to force the pace of change one can only say, “you are building on sand.” For too long, people have longed for change “out there”, for “them” to change, without realising that change begins within people, one heart at a time. You cannot push the river. We are not a herd that can be stampeded into change by a word or a flick of the wrist.

But if we do that inner work, that looking into my own heart, and if we live the consequences of what we see there, change will come. The man who “did not dare to raise his eyes” was, in fact, “piercing the clouds” (Sir 35:16) and his prayer was accepted and he went home “at rights with God” (Luke 18:14). 

Once a person has looked into his or her own heart, as Ghandi did, that person finds strength to make small changes in their own life. And small things become bigger things once the initial fear is overcome. A child is afraid of water until he is in it. A man is afraid of speaking up in a crowd until he has done it.

Perhaps the vitriol flies because the one who ticks off the check list is secure and wants no disturbance to his way of life. He feels threatened by the presence of the humble man who asks questions, of himself first, but then of his community and society. Jesus said, “I have not come to bring peace but division” (Luke 121:51). We don’t like division. It unsettles us. But, if we respect its rhythm and its advocates, it is the one thing that stretches us and challenges us to do better.  

27 October 2013         Sunday 30 C

Sir 35:12-18                2 Tim 4: 6-8, 16-18     Luke 18: 9-14

THE BREAKTHROUGH

PRAYER MOMENT

Saturday, 26 October 2013

THE BREAKTHROUGH

Pause.  Quieten all thoughts and be still in the presence of God.

Reading. “Your interests, however, are not in the unspiritual, but n the spiritual, since the Spirit of God has made his home in you.” (Romans 8:1-11)

Reflection. Read these eleven verses, sentence by sentence. It is Saturday. Hopefully you have the time! It is the great breakthrough. We know about breakthroughs. You plough through school. You go to university or do a course. And then you wait. Will I get a job? Where? What sort? And then it comes and you are off on your way. (At least, it sometimes works like that!) Paul says the whole human race was at school. We were under school rules (the law of Moses) but they did us little good as they led nowhere except to make us frustrated. But they were the best that could be done at the time. And now the breakthrough! And how Paul celebrates! He can hardly find words to express his joy. Chapter 8 is one long explosion of triumph. A victory party. We’ve made it! The life of a Christian is one of sustained deep joy no matter what the trials that come.

Prayer. Lord, I rejoice in the new life you give me in the Spirit who dwells within me. Teach me to treasure and rejoice in this gift. Help me face any challenges because you are now my strength and my joy. Amen.

INTERPRETING THESE TIMES

PRAYER MOMENT

Friday 2 October 2013

INTERPRETING THESE TIMES

Pause.  Be still in the presence of God.

Reading. “You know how to interpret the face of the earth and the sky. How is it you do not know how to interpret these times?” (Luke 12: 54-59)

Reflection. Among the themes that surface as we approach the end of the cycle of readings in the Church’s year is that of making a decision. Jesus has walked the paths of Galilee; he has taught the people and cured their diseases. Now, what is their response? “You can read the earth and the sky; you have face book and twitter and you can travel to New York in a day.” So, what do you say? What is your response?” What do you mean, “respond”? That is the way things are. I don’t have to respond. I just take them as they are. But whenever a parent gives a child a gift he or she looks for a response. It is part of the wonder of relationship and bonding. Jesus too looks for a response from the people of his time. He did not get it and he wept over Jerusalem. “How often I longed to gather you as a hen gathers its chicks under its wing!” It is a cry of disappointment.  

Prayer. Lord, teach me not to just take everything for granted. Help me to see the wonder behind science and technology, the wonder of children and grown-ups to. Help me to interpret these times and respond. Amen.

FIRE ON THE EARTH

PRAYER MOMENT

Thursday 24 October 2013

FIRE ON THE EARTH

Pause.  Enter the quietness within you.

Reading. “I have come to bring fire to the earth and how I wish it were blazing already… Do you suppose I have come to bring peace on earth? No, I tell you, but rather division.” (Luke 12: 49-53)

Reflection. When Aloysius Gonzaga said he wanted to become a Jesuit his father was furious and threatened to assault him. And it has often been like that when someone responds to their conscience but it is not well received by those closest to them. Jesus promised peace to those who welcomed the gospel but it was the peace that came after struggle with the call of that same gospel. It is not the facile peace of avoiding issues and thinking only of my own concerns and comfort. Jesus calls us to be engaged in the issues of our time and to do it like a raging fire that burns up all the petty compromises we live each day. He caused a stir where ever he went and Pope Francis told the youth on the beaches of Rio to do the same.    

Prayer. Lord, there is something within me that resists getting involved. I am afraid of getting hurt. Teach me to kindle fires where I can so that they may spread and consume the earth with you message of peace and love. Amen.

HAPPY THAT SERVANT

PRAYER MOMENT

Wednesday 23 October 2013

HAPPY THAT SERVANT

Pause.  Be still in the presence of God.

Reading. “Happy that servant if his master’s arrival finds him at this employment.” (Luke 12: 39-48)

Reflection. The last pages of the gospels often mention “staying awake.” It is a call to attentiveness which touches on the great gift of being human, being alive. Take, for instance, the exchanges on the internet on the “Zimbabwe Situation.” You often read vitriolic sentiments hurled back and forth and you wonder what are these people hoping to achieve by insulting one another. It is often said that we should hate the sin but love the sinner. Well then, are we not called to be attentive to the ideas and actions of others and be angry about them while at the same time realising that the person thinking these thoughts or doing these actions may be doing the best he or she can in their circumstances. They are not bad people. They are just wrong! Remember the words of Jesus, “Simon, I have something to say to you” (Luke 7). Jesus loved Simon the Pharisee but he did not like his attitude.  

Prayer. Lord, I want to be attentive each moment of the day; to people, to events, to what goes on in my heart. I need your help to put a good interpretation on what I experience rather than jumping to negative conclusions. Amen.

ONE MAN

PRAYER MOMENT

Tuesday 22 October 2013

ONE MAN

Pause.  Collect your thoughts and be still in the presence of God.

Reading. “As one man’s fall brought condemnation to everyone, so the good act of one man brings everyone life and makes them justified.” (Rom 5:12-21

Reflection. There is a line in Jesus Christ Superstar where the singer says, “he’s just a man!” And, true, the one playing the part of Jesus is just like everyone else in the cast. Yet the whole drama of Superstar is charged with the question, “who are you, Jesus?” Paul, in Romans, develops the theme of one man, Adam, bringing sin and death to humanity and one man, Jesus, who brings life and salvation. Paul is convinced, conquered, by the certainty that this “second man” has the power to overcome sin and death and his weapon is “obedience.” He begins and ends his letter to the Romans calling them also to obedience, the “obedience of faith”, which unites them to this one man so that his victory becomes their victory. Obedience is nothing more than a commitment to truth, so that in every moment I am utterly true no matter what the consequences, even if it be death – as it was for Jesus.  

Prayer. Lord, we rejoice in the way you overcame the great enemies of sin and death which were destroying us. Now they have no more sting, no more power. Help us so to live that we are always true to others and ourselves in all the big things as well as the small. Amen.

ABRAHAM DREW STRENGTH FROM FAITH

PRAYER MOMENT

Monday 21 October 2013

ABRAHAM DREW STRENGTH FROM FAITH

Pause.  Be still in thepresence of God.

Reading. “Abraham refused either to deny it or even to doubt it, but drew strength from faith and gave glory to God.” (Rom 4:20-25)

Reflection. John Henry Newman, a leading shepherd and thinker of the Church in the nineteenth century, called for people to understand their faith. It is not enough to build your faith on “the bible says.” It has to be more “faith says the bible says.” Any Tom or Jane can say what the bible says. But it takes someone who ponders the words of scripture in faith to understand what it means. Paul was our great teacher in this and he drew on the example of Abraham who put his faith in God when he “set out without knowing where he was going” and later offered up his only son to God on the mountain. We cannot find “answers” in the bible or build for ourselves a secure and comfortable home for ourselves there. (My battery is running out so let me stop here ….)

Prayer. Lord, teach us the faith of Abraham ….. Amen

YOU HAVE PREVENTED OTHERS

PRAYER MOMENT (to be resumed on Tuesday 22 Oct)

Thursday 17 October 2013

YOU HAVE PREVENTED OTHERS

Pause.  Be still and enter into your inner self.

Reading. “Alas for you lawyers who have taken away the key of knowledge! You have not gone in yourselves and prevented others from going in who wanted to.” (Luke 11: 47-54)

Reflection. We are responsible for our families and communities but we are also responsible for many other people whom we meet on the way. Ultimately we are responsible for everyone on the planet since we all depend on each other and are linked to each other and sink or swim together. As the poet said, “we live at others’ expense.” This is a bit frightening if we reflect that we may be “preventing” others from living their lives to the full because of our own inattentiveness or inaction. We know that many suffer because those who could do something about it don’t.   

Prayer. Lord, teach us to be attentive and open doors for others so that they may come to the banquet you have prepared for all of us. Amen

YOU OVERLOOK JUSTICE

PRAYER MOMENT

Wednesday 16 October 2013

YOU OVERLOOK JUSTICE

Pause.  Enter into your inner self in stillness.

Reading. “Oh, you Pharisees! You pay your tithe of mint … and overlook justice and the love of God.” (Luke 11: 42-46)

Reflection. Anger is a visceral movement like tearing up the ground when you plough a field. It penetrates our security, our “comfort zone,” and leaves us disoriented. Think of a time when someone was angry with you! Not a pleasant memory. It is really an attack and can leave you wounded for a moment. What do you do? Fight back? Defend yourself? Search for arguments to prove your attacker wrong? Or do you listen and look at the source of this outburst of anger – and learn something new? Something that changes you for the better? Jesus got angry with the lawyers and Pharisees but it does not seem to have made any difference for most of them. Perhaps Simon the Pharisee, Nicodemus and Gamaliel were among the few who did learn.   

Prayer. Lord, I hate it when people show anger towards me or raise their voice and confront me. But help me to handle this anger well, to discern where the anger comes from and whether it bodes well or ill. Amen

YOU CLEAN THE OUTSIDE

PRAYER MOMENT

Tuesday 15 October 2013

YOU CLEAN THE OUTSIDE

Pause.  Take time to be still in the presence of God

Reading. “Oh, you Pharisees! You clean the outside of cup and plate, while inside yourselves you are full of extortion and wickedness” (Luke 11: 37-41)

Reflection. Jesus storms at the Pharisees because they want to appear virtuous in public and so win respect among the people. But their way of living, and how they deal with people, is another story. So they bring religion into disrepute. They make a mockery of the real intention of the ancient laws of Israel. Jesus is angry because their attitude blocks the way for the ordinary people who love God’s law and want to really learn the compassion of his Father. We may not deserve such a strong rebuke, we tell ourselves. Yet the challenge remains; how to nourish our inner self so that it flows into our outer self – the one people meet – and shows a clear witness that the reign of God has come.

Prayer. Lord, teach me to live so that there is a harmony between what I believe and what I say and do.  Amen

THE SIGN OF JONAH

PRAYER MOMENT

Monday 14 October 2013

THE SIGN OF JONAH

Pause.  Be still in the presence of God

Reading. “The only sign this wicked generation will be given is the sign of Jonah.” (Luke 11:29-32)

Reflection. The spoor of an animal, the colour of the sky. We have looked hard at signs since the dawn of time. But are we losing the energy to interpret them? The bird and the rabbit are alert all the time but are our senses blunted by the constant noise of twitter and TV? Jesus asked the Jews why they could not see the meaning of the “signs of the times.” The great sign of Jesus is his challenge to society. It was a world of wealth and oppression by the few and eking out a minimum existence by the many. He confronted this world and told the people it does not have to be like this. His great message was compassion, which he showed to all; to Zacchaeus the exploitative tax collector and to the woman caught in adultery. The powers that be did not like it and they crucified him. But death could not hold him and he rose again and that was what Jonah’s sign pointed to.

Prayer. Lord, open our eyes to the signs all around us; signs of suffering and oppression, signs of struggle and hope, signs of generosity and love. Help us to look out for all that is good and affirm it and build on it.  Amen

Carrying away the soil

Carrying away the soil

Today is Rain Sunday in Zimbabwe. We ask the Lord of the harvest to send us rain just as people of old went to the Matopos and other shrines in the country to make the same request. At the same time we are given readings that have nothing directly to do with rain but an awful lot to do with the Lord of the harvest.

Naaman, the Syrian, is cured of his leprosy and is stunned by the experience. He wants to shower Elisha with gifts to pay for his cure. But the prophet will have none of it. Eventually Naaman realises why. It is not Elisha who has healed him but God. His response is to take some of the earth from Israel home to his own country so that he can worship the true God on Israel’s soil.

Jesus too cures some lepers but they too are as bewildered as Naaman. Nine of them don’t draw any conclusions from what has happened to them. Incredibly, they take it for granted. But one, a foreigner like Naaman, does think about it and realises what it means. He hurries back and “threw himself at the feet of Jesus and thanked him.” And there is the key.

There is a huge cyclone in the Bay of Bengal. The last time one struck the coast 5000 people died. Now tragedy looms again. The relationship between man and nature – some will deny this but most now accept it – is skewed. We may have conquered leprosy but we are far from conquering all the scourges that threaten us.

The point of saying ‘thank you’ is that it creates and nourishes a relationship. If we do not say ‘thank you’ to the earth that gives us life we are taking the earth for granted. We are treating it like a bicycle or a computer – to be thrown aside when it is worn out. But you cannot treat the earth or the fields or the animals like that. They are literally our life support system.

And if we do not say thank you to one another and to God we are doing the same. Either we develop an attitude of gratitude to the earth and the One who made it or we perish. It is no good praying for rain if we do not respect the rhythm of the earth that produces rain. When Jesus cured the lepers 90% of those cured took it for granted. We have to do better than that.

We have to “carry away the soil” from our experiences. Whatever they are they are the ground of our gratitude and the seedbed of our growth.    

13 October 2013         Sunday 28 C

2 Kgs 5:14-17             2 Tim 2: 8-13               Luke 17: 11-19

STILL HAPPIER THOSE

PRAYER MOMENT

Saturday 12 October 2013

STILL HAPPIER THOSE

Pause.  Be still in the presence of Jesus.

Reading. “Still happier those who hear the word of God and keep it.” (Luke 11:27-28)

Reflection. This is perhaps the shortest extract from the gospel in any of the daily readings through the year. And yet it sums up everything. A woman gets excited thinking what it must be like to be the mother of Jesus. But Jesus, while not denying the happiness of his mother, sharply tells the woman that is not the point. Mary herself rejoiced more in doing the will of God than being the Mother of God. Ultimately our family ties, precious though they are, our career and status, our ambition and desires, all have to take second place. When faced with Truth Pilate turned away. He was afraid. In a radical sense we too are faced with truth and have to make a choice.  

Prayer. Lord, we rejoice in all the blessings you give us in marriage, family life, career and all the other things that some of us enjoy. But help us to see that they all come from you and that outside of you they are nothing at all.  Amen

PRAYER MOMENT

Tuesday 8 October 2013

SHE SAT DOWN AND LISTENED

Pause.  Be still at the feet of Jesus and listen to him.

Reading. “Mary sat down at the feet of Jesus and listened to him speaking.” (Luke 10:38-42)

Reflection. Generations have contemplated this scene of Mary sitting at the feet of Jesus while her sister, Martha, is busy in the kitchen preparing the lunch. It is the only place in the gospels – and maybe in the whole bible, though there was Elijah in his cave – where we see such a scene of contemplation. It is a moment of stillness where God communicates with the beloved. It is a moment captured for us, as in a photo, of what it is to really be attentive to God. What Martha was doing was good and necessary and sums up the lives of women down the ages everywhere. But what Mary was doing goes beyond that routine life and glimpses for a moment “what God has prepared for those who love him” (I Cor.2:9).

Prayer. Teach us, Lord, to go beyond the routine of our daily lives and sit in stillness in your presence, listening to what you wish to say to us, as you call us more and more to open up to the divine life you desire to share with us.  Amen

(I will be beyond the reach of internet on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday)

TOGETHER WITH MARY

PRAYER MOMENT

Monday 7 October 2013

TOGETHER WITH MARY

Pause.  Recall that you are in the presence of God and Mary, our Mother and all the saints.

Reading. “With one heart all the apostles joined constantly in prayer, together with some women, including Mary the Mother of Jesus and with his brothers.” (Acts 1:14)

Reflection. A crisis in 1571 concentrated the minds of Christians in Europe and they turned to Mary, the Mother of Jesus, for help. When the crisis passed the pope instituted a feast of Our Lady of the Rosary to remind people of the role of Mary in the story of our salvation. Her act of faith in God – “let it be done to me according to your word” – echoed the faith of Abraham all those centuries before. Abraham showed he was prepared to sacrifice his son, Isaac, with the rock like belief that “God will provide.” Mary too made her great act of faith in God without seeing where it would all lead. Like every mother, she shows us how to grow up and she has us constantly in mind. If we turn to her in our crises and in our daily lives we will always find help.    

Prayer. Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with you. Blessed are you among women and blessed is the fruit of your womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death. Amen

THE PEOPLE WERE ALL IN TEARS

PRAYER MOMENT

Thursday 3 October 2013

THE PEOPLE WERE ALL IN TEARS

Pause.  Recall that you are in the presence of God.

Reading. “For the people were all in tears as they listened.” (Neh. 8:1-12)

Reflection. When the people of Israel returned home after their long exile in Babylon they rebuilt their houses, their temple and their lives. They wept tears of joy as they listened to Ezra reading the words of the law from “early morning until noon.” It was a rediscovery of roots, like looking at old family photos or visiting the graves of parents long dead. The remembrance of things past helps to root us in the present and give hope for the future. It is good to recall the story of the founding of a nation, to recall the sacrifices that brought it to birth and to weep with sorrow and joy for the sins and the promise our history carries. The tears of joy of Ezra’s hearers were deeply felt. When Jesus took bread and wine and blessed them he said, “Remember me.” As the heirs of the promises to Israel we too can approach the Eucharist with tears of joy and sorrow.  

Prayer. Lord, teach us to remember all that you have done to bring us to this day. We weep for our failure to live up to the covenant we made in Baptism and we also rejoice in the promise you give us which is never withdrawn. Amen.

(I will be away for three days, beyond the reach of internet.)

ABOVE AND BEYOND

PRAYER MOMENT

Wednesday 2 October 2013

ABOVE AND BEYOND

Pause.  Rejoice in the presence of God and in his love.

Reading. “My angel will go before you.” (Exod 23:20-23)

Reflection. ABOVE AND BEYOND was the message on the back of a kombi I noticed yesterday in town. I thought it was a spiritual message but a friend pointed out it probably just meant the owner claimed his kombi was above others and went beyond them in performance! Our days are often full of double messages; one on the surface and one hidden from our first glance. This one, for instance, suggests to me that our ordinary daily life is loaded with traces of a life “above and beyond” what our eyes can see and our ears can hear. God is at work in everything and we can tune in and see and hear what he is doing. Our belief in angels comes from occasional references in the bible to God sending a messenger to a person to guide them or tell them something important. The former happened to Tobias, the latter to Mary. And in similar ways he works in all our lives.   

Prayer. Lord, teach us to be sensitive to your action each day in our lives and to see above and beyond what we perceive at first. Amen