Prayer: first thing, every morning

OK, the first thing after you hit the alarm clock to stop its ringing.

Let's start with a confession.  Routine is not my strong suit.  The discipline of following a regular pattern is not mine - I'm usually good for 3 weeks at best.  So keep that in mind as we talk about praying first thing in the morning.

I tried it after a particularly transparent presentation on the struggles, disappointments and joys of being a priest and bishop by a retired Catholic bishop.  He was so genuine; I could see the man wrestling with his faith, his pride, his wants and needs.  He spoke as an 'insider' having served the Church for 45 years and much of what he said fed me.

He ended his time with us by asking us to pray for him.  Not because he was sick, or because he had a particular challenge ahead.  No, just, pray for me because I know I am strengthened by the prayers of others.  So I did.

I began praying for him every morning, and once I had mentioned him I included several other folks I knew could use prayer or whose names just popped into my head.  Nothing special needed to be said, although I often used a prayer I learned in seminary.  It changed the tone and tempo of my day.  The prayer pushed away the 'to do' list until I at least got my feet on the floor, and it framed my day in God.  It was a good practice.

It lasted about 4 months (which for me is quite long).  Then I fell out of the practice.  Today I am trying to fall back into it.  All the benefits are there - for you, for your family, for those who you include.   And there are so many who need our prayerful support.

So try it.  Maybe something as simple as "Lord remember Robert and Judy and Matthew today.  Be present to them.  Thank you for this day and all that it will bring."  Or you can use the one I often use which comes from Morning Prayer ELW p304.

"Almighty and everlasting God, you have brought us in safety to this new day.  Preserve us with your mighty power, that we may not fall into sin nor be overcome in adversity.  In all we do, direct us to the fulfilling of your purpose; through Jesus Christ our Lord.  AMEN"

I know you will be blessed.  God be with you all.

Life or death, blessings or curses

Wow!  How hard a choice can that be?  Of course we would choose life and blessings rather than death and curses.  You don't have to be a rocket scientist to figure that one out.

So, if it was so easy, obvious, straightforward.....how come lots of folk often seem to be on the wrong side of that equation?  How come we think we are choosing 'life' and end up with 'death' instead?  It could have something to do with our short term thinking and definitions of life.

We are a people of the cross, and any reasonable person would look on a cross of crucifixion and tell you that death was staring you right back in the face.  Except they would be wrong.  The cross of Jesus Christ turned this world upside down and inside out, and the cross became God's instrument for revealing God's power and intent for creation: life after life, life upon life.  Death was defeated (not eliminated, defeated).  Ultimate power goes not to the executioner but to the God of all creation. Point, set, match.

Well, with that kind of turnaround, it is easy to understand how we could look at a high paying job with lots of perks as life but discover that the unquestioning loyalty it demands, along with long hours, middle of the night phone calls and no time for family sure feels like death each Monday morning.  A new industry in town providing hundreds of jobs and sparking the economy looks like a blessing until we realize that we have permanently poisoned the local lake.  We have such a small view of life (not our fault by any means) that we are often fooled into thinking that bad is good and horrible is better still.  We'll chase anything that is shiny and bright.

The writer of Deuteronomy, speaking as Moses, calls to the people of Israel to choose life.  Choose God, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the God who brought you out of slavery, the God who will lead you to a land of fertility and plenty.  Choose God - for in the end, no matter how good or bad today might look, God is in it for the long term.  Choose God and you will have chosen life.  Deu 30.15-20

God loves you and will lead you home.  Choose that which is eternal.  God has already chosen you.

Ripe tomatoes and a rich man's barns

It's going to start happening any day now: the tomatoes will begin to turn from pink to red to luscious...and after about a week you will have more tomatoes than you can handle.  It's  a wonderful time of abundance and the best tasting tomatoes you are going to eat for at least another year.  Yet, enough is enough and eventually you will have more tomatoes than you can creatively use.

What are you to do?

The rich man had the same problem: the harvest was so heavy he couldn't fit it all in his barns.  What to do? His solution was to pull down the barns he had and build new, bigger ones.

I wonder if he ever considered throwing a party for all his neighbors (who knew he had more than he could store) and give away a bag of grain to each of them - "Take it with you!  I have more than I can handle already!"

Did he ever think that God had sent this amazing harvest into his hands so he would turn and share it with his neighbors in need?  So he could feed the hungry?  Did he ever consider that he was blessed so that he could bless others?  Not only that, Jesus tells him that this harvest was to be his last.  He would never again get the opportunity to spread the wealth around like this again, because tonight he would die.  The time had run out; there would be no more blessings received nor blessings to give.

What a shame!  What a crying shame.

Blessed? Bless!

It's not about how much you have or how much you give away.

If you can look at your life, your hands, your family, your job.....add anything you want....and call yourself  'blessed' than turn around and bless another.

Thanks and kudos to Chris Syrell for this succinct insight.  Thanks to God for the blessings which pour down upon us - and the opportunity to pour out blessings on others.

So to remember

Today in chapel a small cairn was built - a tower of stones - a small example of the stone pillars built by the people of the Bible.  Of course, stone towers are a part of many cultures including Native American.  They are built to mark a spot and to remember an event or a person.

"Remembering" is one element in the richness of faith.  It is an activity which calls to mind so richly as to make that event or person present again.  So when you 'remember' your friend's phone number, you also bring into your presence the fullness of who your friend is, and what that friend means to you.  We remember God's covenants.  God remembers God's people.  We remember Jesus' gift of wine and bread; God remembers the promises of forgiveness made by Jesus.

The gift of the act of remembering is this:  we do not fly through the minutes and hours of this day, but in each act of remembering we are connected to our past, our friends, our hopes, our sorrows, our dreams.  This moment then becomes a thread in a larger living.  Our lives are richer through these connections which help us avoid losing our way.

Take a moment and remember....and be blessed.   AMEN