Ezekiel 1:2-5, 24-28C; Psalm 148:1-2,11-14; Matthew 17:22-27

you open up
your life
and death
to us
in this here
and now
and provide
all we need
to enter
this day
even as we grieve
and fear
you hand
us heaven
and earth
filled with Glory
and Grace
we thank you
and praise
with all
of our heart

Do you experience the power of God’s grace?

Wisdom 18: 6-9; Psalm 33: 1, 12, 18-22; Hebrews 11: 1-2, 8-19; Luke 12.49-53

like Sara
and
Abraham
we know not
where
we are going
we put
our hope
our trust
our faith
in God
where
our salvation
and
new life
resides
lamps burning
we are
ever ready
to follow
our hearts
to home
in God
our
never-failing
treasure
that
no thief
can steal
we tend
ceaselessly
what has been
given
with joy

Do you live by your faith in God?
Are you always ready for God’s grace?
Do you feel God’s eyes and love upon you?

Feast of the Transfiguration
Dn &:9-10,13-14, Psalm 97:1-9; 2Peter 1:16-19; Luke 9:28B-36

At the center of our being
is a point of nothingness
which is untouched
by sin and by illusion,
a point of pure truth,
a point or spark
which belongs entirely to God,
which is never at our disposal,
from which God
disposes of our lives,
which is inaccessible
to the fantasies
of our own mind
or the brutalities of our own will.
This little point of nothingness
and of absolute poverty
is the pure glory of God in us.
It is so to speak [God’s] name
written in us,
as our poverty,
as our indigence,
as our dependence,
as our sonship [and daughtership].
It is like a pure diamond,
blazing
with the invisible light
of heaven.
It is in everybody,
and if we could see it
we would see
these billions of points of light
coming together
in the face
and blaze of a sun
that would make all the darkness
and cruelty of life vanish completely . . . .
I have no program for this seeing.
It is only given.
But the gate of heaven is everywhere.

— From Thomas Merton, Conjectures of a Guilty Bystander 1968, page 158

Na 2:1-7; Dt 32:35-41; Matthew 16:24-28

taking up
our cross
we follow
losing
our life
in Him
we save it
in the mystery
of His death
and rising
far beyond
sin
suffering
and death
we find peace
in a life
that sees
eternity
in this moment
opened
into
heaven

Is His mystery your mystery?

Jeremiah 31:31-34; Psalm 51: 12-19; Matthew 16:13-23

a new heart
created
renewed
steadfast
with a willing Spirit
to guide
no longer subject
to whim
but Truth
living
God’s holiness
within

Do you experience God within your heart?

Jeremiah 31:1-7; Jeremiah 31:10-13; Matthew 15:21-28

persisting
in our pleading
our faith
carries us
deeper
into
His healing love
where we
are heard
for the love
we carry
for our families
and friends
and enemies
we build
our lives
around this
as the Holy Spirit
guides us
and our mourning
is turned
into joy

Do you persist in your pleading?
Are you heard by God?

Jer 30:-2, 12-22; Psalm 102:16-23; Mt 13:22-36

from the mountaintop
of prayer
you come
to us
in troubled waters
and lift us up
above the storm
into a love
that has the power
to carry us
and calm the sea
as long
as we
are not afraid

What do you do with your fear?

Jeremiah 28:1-17; Psalm 119:29,43,29,80,95,102; Matthew 14:13-21

removing
falsehood
from our minds
and hearts
we hear
the word
of God
through Him
who nourishes
and heals us
responding
to to what is true
and not only
what we want
to hear

How do you respond to the Truth?

Eccl 1:2, 2-21-23; Psalm 95: 1-2, 6-9; Col. 3: 1-5, 9-11; Luke 12: 13-21

we are
a new creation
no longer
our vanities
building
stores
for things
that pass away
we turn
to His voice
with open hearts
and hear
the desire of spirit
for love
and purity
goodness
faithfulness
the truth of
our equality
as we live
in the love of
our God

What matters to God?
For what are you building up stores?
On what things is your mind intent?

Jeremiah 26:11-15,24; Psalm 69:15-16,30-31,33-34; Matthew 14:1-12

some are spared
and some
are not
even in
their righteousness
we are subject
to the hands
that hold us
yet in the hands
of God’s great love
our soul
is safe
for no Truth
dies with death
and we stand firm
within Him

Are you safe in the great love of God?