Saturday, May 09, 2009

Messiaen: He has gone away

May 9, 2009

Meditation:
    In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.
    -- John 14:2 (KJV)

Quotation:
    He has gone away, the Well-Beloved,
    For our sake!
    He is risen, the Well-Beloved,
    For our sake!
    He has prayed, the Well-Beloved,
    For our sake!
    He has spoken, He has sung,
    The Word was with God.
    Praises of the Father,
    Substance of the Father,
    The stamp and issue forever,
    In Love!
    Word of Love!
    ... Olivier Messiaen (1908-1992), Three Small Liturgies of the Divine Presence [1944] (see the book)

Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, You have sent us Your Spirit!

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Friday, May 08, 2009

Juliana of Norwich: not overcome

May 8, 2009
    Feast of Juliana of Norwich, Mystic, Teacher, c.1417

Meditation:
    You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.
    -- 1 John 4:4 (NIV)

Quotation:
    He said not Thou shalt not be tempested, thou shalt not be travailed, thou shalt not be distressed; but He said, Thou shalt not be overcome.
    ... Juliana of Norwich (1342?-1417) (see the book)

Quiet time reflection:
    Increase our faith, Lord!

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Thursday, May 07, 2009

Gossip: the "good old days"

May 7, 2009

Meditation:
    [Paul:] "Then the Lord said to me, 'Go; I will send you far away to the Gentiles.'"
    -- Acts 22:21 (NIV)

Quotation:
    A century or so since, they spoke of sharing our Lord with the heathen, and the world rocked with laughter at so crazy a scheme, with the Church joining loudly in the merriment. Yet today, who laughs now? We ought to be the gladdest and the most exultant people in the world; for we have found the key to our difficulties, and it turns; have come on a solution of life’s problems, and it works.
    ... A. J. Gossip (1873-1954), From the Edge of the Crowd [1924] (see the book)

Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, Your word has gone out into the world with power.

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Wednesday, May 06, 2009

MacDonald: ministering to the poor

May 6, 2009

Meditation:
    So [Jesus] replied to the messengers, "Go back and report to John what you have seen and heard: The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is preached to the poor. Blessed is the man who does not fall away on account of me."
    -- Luke 7:22,23 (NIV)

Quotation:
    I cannot imagine a much greater misfortune for a man (not to say a clergyman) than not to know, or knowing, not to minister to, any of the poor.
    ... George MacDonald (1824-1905), Annals of a Quiet Neighborhood, London: Hurst & Blackett, 1867, vol. 1, p. 110-111. (see the book)

Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, implant in me a greater heart for the poor.

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Tuesday, May 05, 2009

Newbigin: tempting God

May 5, 2009

Meditation:
    And he called the place Massah and Meribah because the Israelites quarreled and because they tested the LORD saying, "Is the LORD among us or not?"
    -- Exodus 17:7 (NIV)

Quotation:
    Tempting God is the precise opposite of faith. Faith is a complete founding of the whole man upon what God has said and done, upon His self-revelation. Tempting God means trying to get more assurance than God has given.
    ... Lesslie Newbigin (1909-1998), The Household of God, New York: Friendship Press, 1954, p. 29 (see the book)

Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, grant me peace in Your assurance.

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Monday, May 04, 2009

Robertson: natural and holy pleasures

May 4, 2009
    Feast of English Saints & Martyrs of the Reformation

Meditation:
    Jesus said to the servants, "Fill the jars with water"; so they filled them to the brim. Then he told them, "Now draw some out and take it to the master of the banquet." They did so, and the master of the banquet tasted the water that had been turned into wine. He did not realize where it had come from, though the servants who had drawn the water knew. Then he called the bridegroom aside and said, "Everyone brings out the choice wine first and then the cheaper wine after the guests have had too much to drink; but you have saved the best till now."
    -- John 2:7-10 (NIV)

Quotation:
    It was not a marriage only, but a marriage-feast to which Christ conducted His disciples. Now, we cannot get over this plain fact by saying that it was a religious ceremony: that would be mere sophistry. It was an indulgence in the festivity of life; as plainly as words can describe, here was a banquet of human enjoyment. The very language of the master of the feast about men who had well drunk, tells us that there had been, not excess, of course, but happiness there and merry-making. Neither can we explain away the lesson by saying that it is no example to us, for Christ was there to do good, and that what was safe for Him might be unsafe for us. For if His life is no pattern for us here in this case of accepting an invitation, in what can we be sure it is a pattern? Besides, He took His disciples there, and His mother was there: they were not shielded, as He was, by immaculate purity. He was there as a guest at first, as Messiah only afterwards: thereby He declared the sacredness of natural enjoyments.... For Christianity does not destroy what is natural, but ennobles it. To turn water into wine, and what is common into what is holy, is indeed the glory of Christianity.
    ... F. W. Robertson, Sermons, Leipzig: Tauchnitz, 1861, p. 259 (see the book)

Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, Your grace sanctifies ordinary life.

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Sunday, May 03, 2009

Therese of Lisieux: Dear Jesus! 'tis Thy Holy Face

May 3, 2009

Meditation:
    As [Jesus] was praying, the appearance of his face changed, and his clothes became as bright as a flash of lightning.
    -- Luke 9:29 (NIV)

Quotation:
    Dear Jesus! ’tis Thy Holy Face
        Is here the star that guides my way;
    Thy countenance, so full of grace,
        Is heaven on earth, for me, to-day.
    And love finds holy charms for me
        In Thy sweet eyes with tear-drops wet;
    Through mine own tears I smile at Thee,
        And in Thy griefs my pains forget.
    ... Thérèse of Lisieux (1873-1897), Poems of St. Teresa, Carmelite of Lisieux, Boston, Angel Guardian Press, 1907 (see the book)

Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, let me gaze on Your face.

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