Meditation Monday – Silly Issues For God

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by Christine Sine

Over the previous few days spring has burst forth in Seattle. The daffodils are smiling. Crocuses fill the garden and flowering timber are bursting into bloom throughout the neighbourhood. There’s pressure inside me throughout this season of Lent. On one aspect I really feel the somberness of the season and name to repentance and sober reflection. On the opposite aspect I wish to dance and sing as a result of everyone seems to be bursting into life. Certainly that is a part of the foolishness of Lent and of the God who’s revealed throughout this season.

I need to confess I’ve discovered it very onerous to settle into my Lenten practices this 12 months, partly due to this bursting forth of spring which I so lengthy for as the times begin to lengthen, and partly due to the launch of my new podcast, The Liturgical Rebels. I’m delighted on the response to the primary episode and actually recognize your feedback and affirmation. The second episode, an interview with black poet Drew Jackson can be launched on Wednesday. Drew and I speak about poetry as religious follow and the way it will help us categorical the laments and joys of life whereas enabling us to take a seat longer within the questions life raises not on the lookout for solutions however sitting within the thriller of all issues. We additionally talk about his wonderful sensitivity to to girls within the gospels and the way poetry allows us to entry our anger and see it as an invite to uncover the thriller of life and let go of a necessity for solutions and management. He is an excellent particular person to interview.

In some methods it appears silly to launch a podcast like this originally of Lent, however in different methods it appears very applicable as a part of what I encourage us to do is to interrupt outdoors the realms of conference and do silly issues like experimenting with new approaches to religious practices.

Due to the stress I really feel in Lent this 12 months I’m together with two of the contrasting outputs of the final week for me. The primary is a Lenten reflection on the Foolishness of God. The second is a few poetry I wrote over the previous few weeks as I immersed myself within the surprise of spring and of God’s bursting forth into our world in new methods. Each, I really feel, converse of the surprise and the foolishness of God and the best way God’s holy presence is manifested in our world. take pleasure in

There’s Surprise within the World

There’s surprise on the earth,
We can not comprehend,
Miracles of sunshine and wonder,
Thriller of issues that develop
Within the depths of night time.
No science can clarify the splendor,
Or assist us perceive 
When sundown colors
Take our breath away,
And convey us to tears. 
Why do strangers present compassion,
For folks half a world away,
And care when violence 
Rips society aside?
Why can we ache  
When forests are destroyed 
And species made extinct,
As if the spark of God 
Is snuffed out? 
This world is alive with God.
Divine love shimmers by creation.
All is infused with holy presence
Full of love and life and wonder.

God of Each Stunning Factor

God of each lovely factor,

Give us eyes to see the surprise,
Of your world,
Let it disrupt our days with sacred pauses,
In order that we marvel,
Not simply at majestic mountains 
And sweeping vistas,
Bat on the sparks of thriller 
Carved in each extraordinary factor
That fills this earth.
Let our hearts swell with delight,
At every face made in God’s picture,
And glory within the divine gentle
Enlivening each mundane second.
With the glory 
Of your presence. 

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The Liturgical rebels is now Dwell. Don’t neglect to view the primary episode earlier than the second is launched on Wednesday.

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