Message of 3-26-08
Published: Sat, 03/22/08
"Easter says you can put truth in a grave, but it won't stay there."
- Clarence W. Hall
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
SCRIPTURE READINGS
http://www.nccbuscc.org/nab/
Acts 3:1-10; Ps. 105:1-2, 3-4, 6-7, 8-9; Lk 24:13-35
R. (3b) Rejoice, O hearts that seek the Lord.
Give thanks to the LORD, invoke his name;
make known among the nations his deeds.
Sing to him, sing his praise,
proclaim all his wondrous deeds.
Glory in his holy name;
rejoice, O hearts that seek the LORD!
Look to the LORD in his strength;
seek to serve him constantly.
You descendants of Abraham, his servants,
sons of Jacob, his chosen ones!
He, the LORD, is our God;
throughout the earth his judgments prevail.
He remembers forever his covenant
which he made binding for a thousand generations
Which he entered into with Abraham
and by his oath to Isaac.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
REFLECTION ON THE SCRIPTURES
- from "Daily Bread"
http://www.preacherexchange.com/daily_bread.htm
He asked them, 'What are you discussing as you walk along?'
The question to the disciples on the road is for us, as well. What
we think, feel and believe is revealed in what we say, whether we
talk about current events, plans, politics or the weather.
Moreover, our discussions form us, for better or worse. It might be
a good exercise to imagine Jesus walking with us today, listening
intently to all we have to say. He called the disciples on the
road "foolish" and "slow of heart." What would he say about us? Do
we choose forums where discussion amounts to little more than inane
blather, or perhaps do we meet regularly with others for the
explicit purpose of offering support, studying scripture or sharing
faith?
For spiritually edifying fellowship and conversation, we pray.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
NOTES FROM A CLASSICAL WORK
- "Meister Eckhart's Sermons"
The heavens are everywhere alike remote from earth, so should the
soul be remote from all earthly things alike so as not to be nearer
to one than another. It should keep the same attitude of aloofness
in love and hate, in possession and renouncement, that is, it
should be simultaneously dead, resigned and lifted up. The heavens
are pure and clear without shadow of stain, out of space and out of
time. Nothing corporeal is found there. Their revolutions are
incredibly swift and independent of time, though time depends on
them. Nothing hinders the soul so much in attaining to the
knowledge of God as time and place. Therefore, if the soul is to
know God, it must know Him outside time and place, since God is
neither in this or that, but One and above them. If the soul is to
see God, it must look at nothing in time; for while the soul is
occupied with time or place or any image of the kind, it cannot
recognize God. If it is to know Him, it must have no fellowship
with nothingness. Only he knows God who recognizes that all
creatures are nothingness. For, if one creature be set over against
another, it may appear to be beautiful and somewhat, but if it be
set over against God, it is nothing. I say moreover: If the soul is
to know God it must forget itself and lose itself, for as long as
it contemplates self, it cannot contemplate God. When it has lost
itself and everything in God, it finds itself again in God when it
attains to the knowledge of Him, and it finds also everything which
it had abandoned complete in God. If I am to know the highest good,
and the everlasting Godhead, truly, I must know them as they are in
themselves apart from creation. If I am to know real existence, I
must know it as it is in itself, not as it is parceled out in
creatures.
- Sermon Two, "The Nearness of God"
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
REVIEW OF DAY
- from, "Handbook for Spiritual Directees"
http://shalomplace.com/view/hndbk-lite.pdf
Here is a practice used by many at the end of the day to see what
lessons can be learned and how God was present and active through
the day. Set aside fifteen to twenty minutes at the end of the
day for prayer and review of your day. A suggested format is
described below:.
1. Take a few moments of quiet. Breathe deeply. Ask God to help you
see yourself as you truly were during the day.
2. Look back over your day - not to see what you did wrong but to
honestly acknowledge what was going on with you and others.
* What happened? What did I do today?
* How did I feel? Why did I feel that way?
* Were my expectations and beliefs reasonable?
3. Affirm the healthy things you recognize.
4. Admit to yourself and God the unhealthy things. Ask God's
forgiveness, believe it is yours, then decide if you need to
apologize or make amends.
5. Use creative visualization to grow stronger. Honestly
acknowledge the troubling situations of the day. See and feel
yourself acting honestly and lovingly in these situations. Ask God
for the grace to help you act in this new way.
6. Close with simple awareness of the sights and sounds around you,
grateful for the good things in your life.
This process can be undertaken as a daily journal exercise or by
prayerfully reviewing your day in your own mind. I like to take a
walk before bedtime for examen. The important thing is to do it. It
is a discipline, to be sure, but a very important one.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
SHALOM PLACE PREMIUM GROUPS
- Life-long learning and formation in Christian spirituality.
Groups now open include the following:
A. Psychological Types and Spirituality
B. The Way of Christian Spirituality
C. Freedom from Codependency
D. Christian Spirituality Resources
E. Wonderfully Made (Christian Metaphysics)
F. Growing in Christ
G. Spiral Dynamics®
H. Discerning God's Will
I. Dark Night of the Soul
J. Silence, Solitude and Sabbath
K. Alpha Group -- includes all the above and all to come.
- see http://shalomplace.org/groups.html
_________________________________________________
* Web Archive: http://www.aweber.com/z/article/?dailyseed
* RSS: http://www.aweber.com/z/rss/?dailyseed