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Daily Scripture

+ 4th Week in Ordinary Time

Everyone needs a bit of ‘pocket time’

Readings: 1 Kings 3:4-13 Psalm 119:9-14 Mark 6:30-34

The apostles rejoined Jesus and told him all they had done and taught. Then he said to them, “You must come away to some lonely place all by ourselves and rest for a while.” [Mark 6:30]

The notion of Sabbath rest is rooted in the third of the Ten Commandments, “Keep holy the Lord’s day.” For Christians, Sunday is our Sabbath because it was the day on which the Lord rose from the dead. Holiness is the state of being whole, i.e., fully integrated, mind, soul and body. It is the acknowledgment of God as the ground of our being.

In truth, God doesn’t need the Sabbath; we do!

However, I am of the mind that we need to build into our daily routine, a mini-Sabbath or two. I call it ‘pocket time’ or time out from the pressure of our daily schedule. Some folks call it down time.

Of course, there are different strokes for different folks. A good power walk also can be a great opportunity for conversation with God. It’s an easy script. God talks and I listen.

All of us, married or single and whatever our call and career need pocket time every day and in that way we learn to live in the present moment. As my cousin frequently reminds me, “Yesterday is a cancelled check; tomorrow may never come; the present is a gift.” How true. I’m still a neophyte.

Ash Wednesday 2009

Tuesday February 24, 2009

+ Ash Wednesday

It’s a season of grace and opportunity.

Readings: Joel 2:12-18 2 Psalm 51:3-6, 12-14, 17 Cor. 5:20-6:2 Matt 6:1-6, 16-18

“Lent” comes from the Anglo-Saxon word for “lengthen.” We are already ‘tilting’ toward spring and the days are getting noticeably longer. In just a few weeks our clocks will be pushed ahead so that the daylight hours at least in the northern hemisphere will seem even longer. Although we are sure to have a few bouts of bitter weather but as the sun moves higher on the horizon, the soil will soften and the buds on the trees will thicken waiting for the sap to rise so that they can blossom once again.

It is a time to make fertile the soil in which God’s Word can be sown in our minds and hearts. I think this means doing away with so-called entertainment that distorts truth and beauty and distracts from the core of Christ’s message of unbiased and indiscriminate love.

It’s a time to moderate our excesses and to live more modestly in a world of plenty in which more demands more. The economy will not fold if with live within our means and if those with means give more generously to those who through no fault of their own are without means. In fact, for many of us, less can be more than enough.

Eliminate from your life whatever detracts from living more authentically and with greater integrity. If you have been over indulging in food, cut back and eat healthy. If you have been over indulging in drink, cut back and drink healthy. Stop gossiping and try to be more patient with your children or your parents or your co-workers or whomever. If you have been grouchy in the morning because you are not getting enough sleep, go to bed earlier. If you are one who has an opinion on everything but haven’t done your homework, then close your mouth and do your homework and do a lot more listening. Don’t try to accomplish everything. Select your sacrifices and be generous to them.

So Lent is a time not of punishment but a time for renewal in preparation for the feast of the Resurrection. People who are into holistic health understand the importance of the blend of physical, emotional and spiritual health.
Put your house in order and readjust your priorities.

If Lent works this year, then you will want to continue to live “Lent” all year.