God chose things the world considers foolish in order to shame those who think they are wise. And he chose things that are powerless to shame those who are powerful.
1 Corinthians 1:27
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what I read this morning
are you ready to fast this Lent? (take your pick)
a Franciscan Benediction
May God bless you with discomfort
at easy answers, half-truths, and superficial relationships
so that you may live deep within your heart.
May God bless you with anger
at injustice, oppression, and exploitation of people,
so that you may work for justice, freedom, and peace.
May God bless you with tears
to shed for those who suffer pain, rejection, hunger, and war,
so that you may reach out your hand to comfort them and
to turn their pain into joy.
And may God bless you with enough foolishness
to believe that you can make a difference in the world,
so that you can do what others claim cannot be done
to bring justice and kindness to all our children and the poor.
Woody Guthrie, 80 years ago
Woody Guthrie, February 23, 1940
what I read this morning
…for he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the righteous and on the unrighteous. – Matthew 5:45
what loneliness…
What loneliness is more lonely than distrust? – George Eliot
it’s a joke?
Taking, as you did, this sinful world as it is, not as I would have it…
accepting hardships as the pathway to peace
what is the deepest loss that you have suffered?
Silent friend of many distances, feel
how your breath enlarges all of space.
Let your presence ring out like a bell
into the night. What feeds upon your face
grows mighty from the nourishment thus offered.
Move through transformation, out and in.
What is the deepest loss that you have suffered?
If drinking is bitter, change yourself to wine.
In this immeasurable darkness, be the power
that rounds your senses in their magic ring,
the sense of their mysterious encounter.
And if the earthly no longer knows your name,
whisper to the silent earth: I’m flowing.
To the flashing water say: I am.
– Rainer Maria Rilke
Edge of Atlantic 