How do we live and love in a political climate of fear and hate? My Bible says that PERFECT LOVE casts out fear and that we are commanded by Jesus to LOVE our neighbors and to LOVE OUR ENEMIES TOO! That’s been the hardest verse to live out in the last few years! I was talking to one of my neighbors this week and she and I both feel like we’ve become more angry and hate filled than we used to be. We truly feel the weight of the political climate here in America and we are realizing that it is hurting our souls! It’s honestly why I think about moving to Scotland on a regular basis!
And this week, on Tuesday night, we had a presidential debate. Tuesday night is also when our house church Thinplace meets via zoom. We have people from all over the country and from Canada who have been gathering together since the pandemic of 2020. We practice Lectio Divina and listen to scripture and allow the Holy Spirit to be our teacher. We allow Jesus to speak to us for this day and ask “What do I notice? What do I wonder about? What is the Spirit speaking to me about today? We usually follow the Lectionary and you may have noticed if you follow freerangefriday that we try to be a week or two ahead so people can hear it again on Sunday if they go to a liturgical church, or if they preach or teach through the lectionary they might see something new. On Tuesday night, we just prayed the psalm for this Sunday and it seemed to be a great introduction and a nice way to ground ourselves before watching the debate and as we go deeper into this election season.
I found these two quotes by Parker Palmer in Diana Butler Bass”s post on the Cottage so we began our time with them….What resonates with you in these quotes?
When all of our talk about politics is either technical or strategic, to say nothing of partisan and polarizing, we loosen or sever the human connections on which empathy, accountability, and democracy itself depend.
If we cannot talk about politics in the language of the heart — if we cannot be publicly heartbroken, for example, that the wealthiest nation on earth is unable to summon the political will to end childhood hunger at home — how can we create a politics worthy of the human spirit, one that has a chance to serve the common good― Parker J. Palmer, “Healing the Heart of Democracy”“Rightly understood, politics is no game at all. It is the ancient and honorable human endeavor of creating a community in which the weak as well as the strong can flourish, love and power can collaborate, and justice and mercy can have their day.” Parker Palmer
READ the Psalm three times or you can listen to it here.
What word or phrase stands out for you today?
Notice all the action verbs in this psalm. What are the actions that God is doing?
1 I love the Lord, for he heard my voice; he heard my cry for mercy.
2 Because he turned his ear to me, I will call on him as long as I live.
3 The cords of death entangled me,
the anguish of the grave came over me; I was overcome by distress and sorrow.
4 Then I called on the name of the Lord: “Lord, save me!”
5 The Lord is gracious and righteous; our God is full of compassion.
6 The Lord protects the unwary;
when I was brought low, he saved me.
7 Return to your rest, my soul,
for the Lord has been good to you.
8 For you, Lord, have delivered me from death, my eyes from tears,
my feet from stumbling,
9 that I may walk before the Lord in the land of the living.
10 I trusted in the Lord when I said, “I am greatly afflicted”;
11 in my alarm I said, “Everyone is a liar.”
12 What shall I return to the Lord for all his goodness to me?
13 I will lift up the cup of salvation and call on the name of the Lord.
14 I will fulfill my vows to the Lord
in the presence of all his people.
15 Precious in the sight of the Lord
is the death of his faithful servants.
16 Truly I am your servant, Lord;
I serve you just as my mother did; you have freed me from my chains.
17 I will sacrifice a thank offering to you and call on the name of the Lord.
18 I will fulfill my vows to the Lord
in the presence of all his people,
19 in the courts of the house of the Lord— in your midst, Jerusalem.
Praise the Lord! AMEN
What are the cords of death that entangle you right now? What is keeping you bound and not free? Perhaps the cords of fatigue, exhaustion, anger, or despair over the state of our world, or perhaps it’s something more personal. Talk to Jesus about the things that are entangling you. Allow Jesus to remove these cords of death for you and set you free!
What vows have I made to the Lord? What do I need to go back to in following Jesus that maybe I committed to once upon a time?
What would a Thank Offering look like for you? If you were going to create something as a Thank Offering to God, what would you create, do, cook/bake, write?
How does this Psalm help you as you seek to live out love in the midst of an election year?
How does this Psalm help you have peace in the midst of all the uncertainty of our world right now?
An EVERY DAY WAY TO PRAY Prayer Practice:
I Pray for America each morning as I wash my berries for breakfast! I usually just have blueberries and I have often felt like a blueberry in a red state! So I pray for America as I wash my blueberries each morning. But this morning I had blueberries and raspberries, and I realized that I needed to be praying a different way! For all people to work together! Those with red and blue beliefs. I prayed for people in America to be people of compassion, mercy and love despite our differences… in belief, color, thinking, etc!
And this morning as I ran my facet and the water over the red and blue berries, I noticed that we really need the Living Water’s help to make this a place of love and grace and mercy! That love your neighbor, love your enemies command is so hard to live out these days BUT IT IS so needed and it is truly what being a FOLLOWER of Jesus is all about!
Join me in praying for America and for your own nation…as you wash your fruit in the morning or throughout the day, allow the Living Water to flow over you and pray for the Living Water of Jesus to flow over your country and fill each person with love and peace and hope today.
©lillylewin and freerangeworship.com
It’s been quite a week. We have had family in town from the East Coast and consequently have done more sightseeing around Seattle than we have done in years. I cannot believe the changes around the Pike Place Market and down to the waterfront. A few years ago the Alaskan Way Viaduct, an incredible eyesore of a road that cut right across the waterfront was removed and now there are beautiful walkways, and gardens that meander down to the water. Beauty out of ugliness. A transformation like this lifts my spirits and gives me hope for the future.
Another lovely thing that happened yesterday was the arrival of Kreg Yingst’s book Everything Could Be A Prayer. What a beautiful book it is. You may remember I interviewed Kreg for the Liturgical Rebels podcast a few months ago. He was inspirational to talk to and this book is an absolute delight. It is filled with colour prints created from his block printing on wood and linoleum of such people as Howard Thurman, Teresa of Ávila, Black Elk and Thomas Merton. Each print is accompanied by an inspirational reflection, encouraging us into the practice of Visio divina or sacred seeing. I highly recommend it to any who are looking for a new contemplative practice for the upcoming season.
Yesterday’s Meditation Monday – From Passion to Practice could just as easily been titled Everything Could Be A Prayer too. It encourages all of us to consider how we could transform the activities we enjoy doing into spiritual practices and so develop a spirituality that is intertwined with all aspects of our daily lives.
Friday’s Spiritual Practice – Praying In All Directions, took the Native American Practice of turning to each direction on the compass and offering a prayer focused on a different aspect of life. This is a way of praying that calls God’s Sacred Presence all around us, and literally asks for God’s Spirit to be present at the front, back, sides—even above and below—of an individual. This form of prayer is one that I increasingly find helps to anchor me in the world in which I live.
Today we launched the next episode in our Celtic series on The Liturgical Rebels podcast. This interview is with musician Jeff Johnson who lives on Camano Island just north of Seattle. He is well known internationally for his Celtic-influenced music. He shared his journey in the development of his music and how he was drawn to the Celtic Christian expression. He talked about his collaborations with other artists, including fantasy writer Stephen Lawhead and musician Phil Keaggy. Their latest album is ‘Spinning on a Cosmic Dime’. Jeff also reflects on the importance of wonder and the need to define oneself beyond creative achievements. I thoroughly enjoyed our conversation.
As you can imagine I am deeply immersed in all things Celtic at the moment. I am looking forward to the Celtic Spirituality 101 webinar on Saturday. There is still time to sign up if you hurry, but it is only a few days away. This should be a fun and instructive session in which we look at the legacy of this often neglected stream of Christianity which kept faith alive during the dark ages of Europe. We will interact with some of the Celtic saints like Patrick and Columba and Brigid, write prayers, and learn from one another. I hope you can join us. There is a special discount for paid Substack subscribers which can be accessed through Saturday’s substack post Introduction to Celtic Spirituality
REMEMBER in order to REGISTER FOR THE CELTIC RETREAT, YOU MUST FIRST LOG INTO OUR STORE. THEN USE THIS LINK CELTIC SPIRITUALITY 101 TO REGISTER. Sorry for this inconvenience. For paying Substack subscribers only there is a discount available. Checkout this post for details. If you are unable to afford the fee but would like to attend the retreat please contact us for this 20% off code.
On Godspacelight Lilly Lewin’s Freerange Friday – Heal Our Ears has a wonderful Q-tip prayer that I think we all need to practice.
Yesterday Lynne Baab contributed a beautiful post Praying About Longing that is excerpted from her new book Friendship, Listening, and Empathy: A Prayer Guide which also contains 29 beautiful watercolors by her husband, Dave Baab. One of these is used in the post. I found myself reflecting especially on her comment “When we feel loneliness, part of that emptiness is our longing for the place of peace and joy that we were created for. “
I continue to work on my book Celtic Advent – Following An Unfamiliar Path and appreciate your prayers as I race to complete it in the next week. I hope that it will be available for preorder by the beginning of October.
This week I came across a poem I wrote ten years ago that I thought I would share with you as we close:
Hold tight to God,
Place your hands
In the hands of the One
who is light, and life and love.
Hold tight to the hand of faith,
Let it strengthen you through deep waters,
Let it hold you safe when you are afraid,
Let it give you rest when you are anxious.
Hold tight to God.
Learn to trust in the One,
Who is ever your companion and guide.
Many blessings
Christine Sine
IN the 16th Episode of Liturgical Rebels, Jeff Johnson, a musician known for his Celtic-influenced music, shares his journey in music and how he was drawn to the Celtic Christian expression. He talks about his collaborations with other artists, including Phil Keaggy, and their latest album ‘Spinning on a Cosmic Dime’. Jeff also reflects on the importance of wonder and the need to define oneself beyond creative achievements.
Jeff Johnson’s music spans forty years of over fifty solo and collaborative releases featuring Progressive/Rock, Jazz/New Age, Contemporary Celtic and Contemplative Worship stylizations. He has collaborated with such diverse artists as Irish flutist, Brian Dunning, Jazz bassist, David Friesen, Classical vocalist, Janet Marie Chvatal and guitar virtuoso, Phil Keaggy. Most of his recordings – all self-produced and recorded – have been released on his own Ark Records/ArkMusic label which he began in 1977. He regularly leads a contemplative worship service featuring readings from the Psalms, music and silent prayer called the Selah Service at churches and retreats . He lives on Camano Island in the Pacific Northwest with his wife, Susie.
Check out this excerpt from his latest recording.
Jeff’s website is: https://www.arkmusic.com
by Lynne Baab, illustration by Dave Baab
A few months ago, I woke up humming a song. These words kept coming to mind:
But I’ve wandered much further today than I should
And I can’t seem to find my way back to the wood
So help me if you can, I’ve got to get
Back to the house at Pooh corner by one
You’d be surprised there’s so much to be done
Count all the bees in the hive
Chase all the clouds from the sky
Back to the days of Christopher Robin and Pooh
I looked the song up online. I listened to it and learned it was written by Kenny Loggins and recorded by the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band in 1970, titled “The House at Pooh Corner.” Kenny Loggins wrote an additional verse and recorded the longer song in 1994 as a duet with Amy Grant, titled “Return to Pooh Corner.” You can listen to that duet here. The lyrics are here.
In the longer version, the new verse speaks from the perspective of the boy who has grown up and become a father. His son sleeps with the father’s old stuffed bear. As the father bends to tuck his son into bed, he hears the bear say, “Welcome home.”
I’ve been humming the lilting song for two weeks now, and I so appreciate the sense of longing the song evokes. I long for a place so peaceful that I have time and energy to engage in playful activities like counting bees and chasing clouds. I long for a faithful companion like Pooh, who can count bees and chase clouds with me and who says “Welcome home” when I most need to hear it.
C. S. Lewis argues that we all have that double longing for a place of joy and people with whom to experience it. Several of Lewis’s books include reflections on longing. In The Weight of Glory, he argues that we often use the word “beauty” to describe our longing, but “beauty” masks the depth of the emotion, the inconsolable sorrow, that often accompanies longing. Because we were made for heaven, Lewis argues, the desire for our true home, our proper place, is already inside us. Beauty on earth evokes that desire. In his autobiography, Surprised by Joy, he uses “joy” to try to capture something he often experienced: what he longed for was just on the edge of his vision. He caught fleeting glimpses of it but couldn’t quite get there or grab it.
In Lewis’s most complex novel, Till We Have Faces, Psyche, the sister of the main character, describes the mountain she could see in the distance:
“Because it was so beautiful, it set me longing, always longing. Somewhere else there must be more of it. Everything seemed to be saying, Psyche come! . . . The sweetest thing in all my life has been the longing — to reach the Mountain, to find the place where all the beauty came from . . . my country, the place where I ought to have been born. Do you think it all meant nothing, all the longing? The longing for home? For indeed it now feels not like going, but like going back.” [1]
The idea of going back is also present in the song “Return to Pooh Corner.” Going back to something we remember, perhaps faintly, something we glimpse out of the corner of our eye, that pulls us with its beauty.
When we feel loneliness, part of that emptiness is our longing for the place of peace and joy that we were created for. I don’t want to minimize the pain of loneliness, but I want to affirm that feelings of loneliness are a part of the longing placed in us at creation for our true home and our true companions. Hebrews 11 mentions numerous people who died in faith. Then the chapter continues, “They desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God; indeed, he has prepared a city for them” (verse 16). God hasn’t prepared a beautiful but isolated mountain cabin for us. Cities have people in them, neighbors and companions. In God’s city, all will be right, and we will have faithful companions to enjoy life with us.
We can begin to pray for this longing in ourselves and others by asking for the Holy Spirit to help us see exactly what we long for. This world is so broken, and we’ve had so much evidence of that brokenness in recent weeks. That brokenness extends to our emotions, which we often misunderstand or can’t perceive accurately. In addition, many of us were raised with “shoulds” related to emotions: Don’t feel sad! You’re not angry! Your mom died a year ago. You should be done with mourning! We may wish for a friend who will help us forget the painful emotions we feel, while in reality, we need to sit in Jesus’s presence with the sadness or anger long enough to feel it before we try to release it into God’s presence and love. The Holy Spirit can help us grow in living with and coping with challenging emotions. The Holy Spirit can guide us and those we love who experience loneliness, and we can ask for that help and guidance.
We can also pray that Jesus would teach us to pray when we experience the longing we often identify as loneliness. What is the best way to pray about it? Jesus knows and can teach us.
Jesus, you are the still point in the turning world. In the midst of challenging times, we long for the beauty of your stillness, our true home. We long for deep connections with people we love. We long for your Spirit to bring your fruit to us: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Loving God, you planted these longings in us. Please meet us there.
(This post is excepted from Lynne Baab’s new book, Friendship, Listening, and Empathy: A Prayer Guide. The book contains 29 beautiful watercolors by her husband, Dave Baab.)
[1] C. S. Lewis, Till We Have Faces (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1956), 74-76.
In this webinar we will explore the lives of St Patrick, Columba, Brigid, Hilda and other Celtic Christians who still inspire and motivate us. This ancient/future faith, with an emphasis on a God who is present in every mundane act of life and who is revealed in every aspect of creation is much needed today. Their dedication to a whole life faith and a wholehearted commitment to God is amazing. Listen to the prayers that are the major heritage left behind and still impact us today. Be prepared to listen, share and create as we gain insight, and refresh our faith.
Bring the sacred in to wherever you need it. Join Christine for this virtual retreat on September 14, 9:30 – 12:30 PDT
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Register Now for Christine’s virtual retreat this Saturday.
What is it about Celtic Spirituality that is so attractive to so many today? Why is there a resurgence of interest in this stream of Christian faith that thrived in Britain in the 4th to 8th centuries? Bring the sacred in to wherever you need it. Join Christine on September 14, 9:30 – 12:30 PDT to find out.
In this webinar we will explore the lives of St Patrick, Columba, Brigid, Hilda and other Celtic Christians who still inspire and motivate us. This ancient/future faith, with an emphasis on a God who is present in every mundane act of life and who is revealed in every aspect of creation is much needed today. Their dedication to a whole life faith and a wholehearted commitment to God is amazing. Listen to the prayers that are the major heritage left behind and still impact us today. Be prepared to listen, share and create as we gain insight, and refresh our faith.
NOTE: to purchase from the store you need to login to the store HERE first.
by Christine Sine
Has it ever occurred to you to transform your favourite pastime into a spiritual practice? Many years ago when I was a fledgeling writer, I asked Phillip Yancey for advice on my writing. “Write to your passion”, he advised. His suggestion has never led me astray. I would give the same advice about spiritual practices: “Pray from your passion”. “Practice what you enjoy.”
Whatever you are passionate about, be it gardening or knitting, or composing music, you can, and I might add, should, transform it into a spiritual practice. And by that I don’t mean pray about what you are most deeply concerned about, I mean shape those things you are most passionate about into a practice for contemplative or devotional prayer. That doesn’t mean that every time you indulge in that activity you feel obliged to pray, but it does mean you can use that passion as a doorway into closer relationship with God.
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Over the years, I have transformed many daily activities into spiritual practices. Everything from walking in the rain to knitting and photography stir my creative juices and encourage me to craft new prayer practices. However, as a passionate gardener, nothing stirs me to pray quite as much as the garden does. Even an indoor plant with colourful patterned leaves or beautiful, delicate flowers can become the focus for my prayers. These activities often help me design templates for my prayers that has no proscribed boundaries and have the beauty of being both fluid and flexible. I have the freedom to continue modifying my practice to meet the needs of the moment. Today I might wander around the garden to pray. Tomorrow I might sit at my desk absorbed by the contemplative garden beside me.
All this helps keep my mind active, listening and learning. It encourages me to always be on the lookout for something new that God might want to point out. I am invited into a deeper relationship with my creator God who also has no boundaries or limits.
So today, I would encourage you, too, to think outside the box. Don’t settle for same old prayers and methods of prayer, design something that responds to your special needs for this season.
What is one thing you are passionate about, an activity you engage in frequently, that you would like to reshape into a spiritual practice? What about that activity inspires you and draws you towards God? Does it give you joy, bring peace or make you feel refreshed?
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Close your eyes and imagine yourself engaging in that activity with eyes turned towards God. If this is a stationary activity do you own religious symbols like crosses, icons or labyrinths that could be incorporated into your new practice to help you focus? Do you have books or music you would like to use as part of your practice? Do you want to add candles or lights? Perhaps you would like to create a table centrepiece like Lilly Lewin suggests as part of her Holy Week practice. Or like me, you might like to create a meditation garden with plants and words that help you focus.
If you are thinking of a non-stationary activity you may find inspiration from lectio divina, visio divina or lectio tierra practices.
The sky is the limit where spiritual practices are concerned, but if you are designing a practice you hope to use for a season don’t rush the process. Here are a few tools that might help.
- Going on retreat – My husband Tom and I have just returned from our regular quarterly retreat. This set aside time for reflection and renewal is a great time to get creative and plan to refresh your spiritual life by developing a new practice.
- Consult a soul friend – “an intimate bond where two people opened their hearts to one another, sharing their doubts and fears, their struggles and successes, encouraging one another on the journey.” I am privileged to have several good friends who provide soul friendship for me, some of whom have done so for decades. It is part of what has given my faith resilience through the tough times I have passed through. They are always great go to people for advice when I suspect the ideas bubbling up inside me are meant to be shaped into a new practice.
- Have some fun – It is only in the last few years, and particularly as I worked on The Gift of Wonder, that I came to believe in a God who loves fun, laughs frequently and delights in me and whom I am created to be. According to play expert Dr Stuart Brown, “nothing lights up the brain like play”. He believes that play might be God’s greatest gift to humankind. Nurturing my relationship with this fun loving God through the creation of fun out of the box practices has refreshed my soul and given me permission to enjoy life in every season.
These out of the box practices continue to inspire me and draw me closer to God. I hope they will do the same for you.
NOTE: My Meditation Monday and other writings appear first on Substack. To receive these immediately and gain access to other articles join me on Substack.
Don’t forget to sign up for Celtic Spirituality 101 on Saturday
In preparing for our thinplace house church gathering this week, I found a great article on this week’s gospel reading. We tend to follow the lectionary at thinplace so we’ve been in the gospel of Mark this summer doing a lot of thinking about Jesus as BREAD and using bread as our prayer tool reminder.
An orthodox pastor, Father John Burnett, calls this part of the Gospel of Mark, The BREAD section of the gospel… We’ve seen Jesus feed 5000 and say that he is the BREAD that came down from heaven and we’ve heard him say that he is the BREAD we must eat to have eternal life. In Mark 7, Father John feels like Jesus asks…
“Who can eat the children’s bread?”
Which made me wonder who do we think or believe should be allowed to eat the BREAD of Jesus? Who do we stop from eating it, or stop from being with Jesus because of our prejudice, disbelief or doubt?
Father John says we really need to know more about the context of this passage and who the woman was who was asking for help.
READ the Gospel or LISTEN
MARK 7:24-37 THE MESSAGE
24-26 From there Jesus set out for the vicinity of Tyre. He entered a house there where he didn’t think he would be found, but he couldn’t escape notice. He was barely inside when a woman who had a disturbed daughter heard where he was. She came and knelt at his feet, begging for help. The woman was Greek, Syro-Phoenician by birth. She asked him to cure her daughter.
27 He said, “Stand in line and take your turn. The children get fed first. If there’s any left over, the dogs get it.”
28 She said, “Of course, Master. But don’t dogs under the table get scraps dropped by the children?”
29-30 Jesus was impressed. “You’re right! On your way! Your daughter is no longer disturbed. The demonic affliction is gone.” She went home and found her daughter relaxed on the bed, the torment gone for good.
31-35 Then he left the region of Tyre, went through Sidon back to Galilee Lake and over to the district of the Ten Towns. Some people brought a man who could neither hear nor speak and asked Jesus to lay a healing hand on him. He took the man off by himself, put his fingers in the man’s ears and some spit on the man’s tongue. Then Jesus looked up in prayer, groaned mightily, and commanded, “Ephphatha!—Open up!” And it happened. The man’s hearing was clear and his speech plain—just like that.
36-37 Jesus urged them to keep it quiet, but they talked it up all the more, beside themselves with excitement. “He’s done it all and done it well. He gives hearing to the deaf, speech to the speechless.”
What do you notice from the passage that you didn’t notice before?
What do you wonder about? What questions come up for you as you listened to the passage?
What have you noticed about your ability to see or hear these days? Are you blind to anything? Like injustice, racism, etc? Ask Jesus to show you the things that are prevent you from truly seeing other people….maybe it’s your phone, maybe it’s work, maybe your fear? Let Jesus help you with this.
Jesus wants to go unnoticed when he arrives, yet he doesn’t get any time on his own. How have you felt like this before?
When you think about ears what do you think about first? Hearing? Listening? Music? Sounds in Nature? Noise? Consider all the times Jesus invites us to hear or listen to him. There are 2,114 Bible results for the word “hear” in the NRSV translation….Why is HEARING so important? Why do you think it’s important to Jesus?
We live in a world of US vs THEM just like in the days of Jesus. Yet Jesus is about healing…healing ALL people not just Jewish people. Who do you tend to exclude when you think about who deserves healing or who deserves grace? Why?
Consider this from Father John Burnett
“In Gentile territory, a woman approaches Jesus. Matthew simplifies and describes her simply as a “Canaanitess” (Mt 15.22), identifying her with Israel’s ancient enemies, but Mark describes her as a Greek, a Syrian, and a Phoenician (Mk 7.26)— that is, as a triple Gentile!— Moreover, she’s a woman. Mark is usually not this blatant. He is portraying her almost cartoonishly as a quadruple threat to Jesus, from the vantage point of the Israelite purity code.
A woman, a triple gentile, comes and begs a favor of a famous Jewish rabbi, directly challenging the purity code. And at this point that rabbi, fully conscious of his vocation as a leader and teacher, has only two choices. He MUST either ignore her or slap her down. Otherwise, he will not just lose face; he will even show that he is positively dishonorable, because he doesn’t care about the honor of his own people and his own God.”…
Now for her part, if Jesus ignores her, she will have no recourse but to slink away in shame. But if he engages her at all, he leaves himself open to a counter-challenge. And if she can top him, then he has to give her what she wants. The game is quite well known— sociologists call it “challenge-riposte”— and it’s common in honor-shame societies like that of Jesus. The form the game will take here is that of a “battle of proverbs”. She has challenged Jesus simply by making her desperate request. Jesus, who must either ignore her or make a suitable riposte, chooses to describe the situation of interest by means of a proverb, or at least by a proverb-like saying. If his opponent can find a more fitting proverb or gnomic saying to describe the situation, she wins. Can she do it?’ Fr, John Burnett
READ the whole Article here by Father John Burnett
How does this help you with this encounter ?
The Story continues….
“After his encounter of the Syro-Phoenician Greek lady, Jesus and his disciples take a very confusing itinerary: “And going out again from the coasts of Tyre they came through Sidon to the ‘Sea’ of Galilee along the middle of the coasts of the Decapolis” (7.31). This is something like going from San Francisco to Miami via Edmonton and down the Colorado. But all the places that Mark mentions on this wild ride are Gentile or mixed, and the point is, they end up in the Decapolis, the Ten Cities region on what Mark has already referred to as the “other side” (the west) of the “Sea” of Galilee (cf 4.35, 5.1). The Decapolis has a mixed but mostly Gentile population. Upon arriving in the Decapolis, “they”— evidently, Jesus’ followers— bring a deaf and dumb man to him (7.32-37). In this Gentile region, we may infer that the man is a Gentile. In this extended and interesting story, Jesus gives the power of hearing and speaking to a Gentile. In the Bible, “hearing” is not trivial. Every single day, every observant Jew pronounces these words: “Hear, O Israel, Yhwh is our God; Yhwh is One!” (Dt 6.4).”
John Burnett
I’m not sure I had noticed that both of these encounters involve healing a Gentile, an outcast, a non person in the Jewish culture of the day.
Made me think of all the people who are on the “outside” of who I believe should be inside.
It also made me think about my own need for healing…no so much physically right now, but emotionally and spiritually. I need eyes to see and ears to hear. Sometimes I am so deaf to the voice of Jesus. Or I’m just so stubborn that I don’t listen when I do hear from Him!
Where or how do you need healing today? Maybe it’s physical healing your need, or emotional, or relational. Talk to Jesus about this and ask him to touch you and bring that healing.
Isaiah 35:4-7
35:4 Say to those who are of a fearful heart, “Be strong, do not fear! Here is your God. He will come with vengeance, with terrible recompense. He will come and save you.”
35:5 Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be opened;
35:6 then the lame shall leap like a deer, and the tongue of the speechless sing for joy. For waters shall break forth in the wilderness and streams in the desert; a the burning sand shall become a pool and the thirsty ground springs of water.
PRAY :
Jesus
Remove the wax from our ears that prevents us from hearing your voice
Remove the scales from our eyes that keep us blind to the beauty of ourselves, our world and the beauty that is in other people.
Lord, Give me ears to hear your words of love and eyes to see your gaze of tenderness.
I too often hear only myself and my fears, not your words of love and compassion, honor and care.
Heal this deafness in me!
Give us all ears to hear your still small voice that calls us each by name.
Give me ears to hear and help me to truly know that I am your Beloved.
Jesus
Give us eyes to see and ears hear to the cries of our world and that are not deaf to the cries of our friends and neighbors in need.
Forgive me when I fail to hear your voice and listen to your words of love for myself
and when I forget this is how you view everyone, with eyes of love!
Jesus
Forgive us when we fail to see you in the faces of other people especially when we miss your image in those we want to reject or dismiss out of hand.
Jesus we know that you have the words of life.
We know that you are the Bread that came down from heaven,
Give us today our daily bread.
Remind us that this is Bread that is for ALL people no exceptions!
You are that bread.
Help us to not be hoarders
but to be transformed by you
BREAD of life. AMEN
PRAYER PRACTICE:
Grab a Q-Tip swab to use as a prayer tool. Once upon a time at a National Youth Worker’s Convention, Rev. Kenda Creasy Dean gave everyone in the large audience of youth workers and volunteers a Q-Tip cotton swab to pray with. She asked us to consider the students who have opened our ears to hearing God in a new way. And she invited us to pray for these students. As an experiential prayer practitioner, I have always remembered this practice. And I’ve used Kenda’s idea for my own prayers when I clean my ears each day after showering.
Q-Tip Prayers by Lilly Lewin ( inspired by Kenda Creasy Dean)
When you use a Q-Tip, pray for the person/persons who help you hear from Jesus.Thank Jesus for them and ask Jesus to help them hear his loving voice today.
Next, take time to pray for the person/persons who need to hear from Jesus and about his great love for them.
Finally Ask Jesus to give you ears to hear him
To hear his still small voice
To hear him call you by your name and call you Beloved.
Ask Jesus to give you ears to hear the cries of the poor and the hurting and listen to them.
Ask Jesus to clean out your ears so that you can listen to those who need to be heard.
Jesus give us eyes to see and ears to hear as you do today … & everyday. Thank you for loving us just as we are! Amen 🙏
©lillylewin and freerangeworship.com
Art : Ilyas Basim Khuri Bazzi Rahib Jesus and the Canaanite Woman
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