The City Is My Monastery

Afterward

Easter Monday, April 13

AFTERWARD

A word from RTG: I love stained glass windows in old church buildings. Each window seems to convey a sermon in itself. Today’s message is “I am the Bread of Life.” Perhaps it’s the message for every day (in the sense of ‘give us this day our daily bread’).” Throughout the pandemic baking has increased significantly. Maybe that is because bread is truly a “comfort food.”

“I am the Bread of Life” St John Lutheran Church, Raymond, MN

This hotel key from a recent stay has our mission summarized into just three words:

Enjoy the afterword– take it to heart– Peace Out!

Afterword by Rowan Williams (104th Archbishop of Canterbury):

My dear Richard,

What your wonderful book says to me is that I’m invited into a shared space; so that it seems most natural to write an afterword as a letter of thanks, not a little essay of some sort. I warmed so much to the basic idea of exploring the ‘with-ness’ of God at so many levels. One of the really strange and fresh things about Christianity is that it says that God is never anything other than ‘with’ – with God’s self in eternity as the interwoven action that is the Trinity; and then, overflowing from that, God’s free act of being with what isn’t God. And because God is completely faithful to God’s own nature and character, this being with what isn’t God is the steady, dependable backdrop to everything in the universe.

You’re inviting us into a style of living that is meant to share and show this steady being-within our own acts, words and plans. You show us a variety of ways in which we might allow ourselves to step back far enough from feverish maintenance work on our own security and worry to be free to see and hear and sense what every encounter with the world gives us. Lots here about seeing and sensing, I thought. And it’s not just about some kind of aesthetic enrichment: you keep bringing us back to the embodied reality of accompaniment, a being-with that really requires us to put our bodies – and hearts – on the line: standing with someone without any defence that will keep the world at bay …

‘Running towards those you love’: what an extraordinary phrase to ponder: God’s own irresistible urge to be as fully with us as can be, and our summons to let that divine urge come alive in us. What you write here about the Eucharist makes me think of receiving Communion in terms of opening up to God’s urgency of longing to be with us, and to be in us, with whoever we are given to meet: the mystery of seeing ‘the peace of Christ carried on his father’s back’, where we have feared to find negation and violence. I was moved by the Eucharistic order you offered, and thought how much we clutter our celebrations to the point where we can’t properly see that promise carried into our midst, into our company.

And then, the silent dance, free from self-consciousness, when we are no longer worried about the impression we make or even the ‘results’ we achieve. Thank you for that, for the memorable image of Molly dancing to the music in her head. Perhaps as we learn to dance like that, we make ourselves at last visible to ourselves and others – or rather, we make visible to ourselves the reality of which we are a part, so that we and those looking at us and reacting to us might pick up something of that music in the head, unheard but imperative, deeply personal but just as deeply connected and connecting.

I realize that all I’m doing is leafing through and picking up bits that have struck and moved and kindled something as I’ve read, and I could go on with this for a very long time indeed. But this is meant to be just a letter of thanks, in which what matters is to say that yes, this is both recognizable and startlingly new. What you’ve given us here is not simply another book on ‘spirituality’ but a workbook for living in and with meaning, Christian meaning, Jesus-shaped meaning. Wherever we are, here and now, is the centre, the ground of the soul, because this here and now is where God has chosen to be and to be with. I hope that all those who are gathered in the Nazareth family of friends, who have chosen to be where they are because God has chosen to be where they are, will become words of hope and affirmation to all who don’t know where they are and don’t yet fully see the God who is with them where they are.

Thanks so much, dear Richard. It has been a privilege to find a way to Nazareth with you in reading this book. I hope this conveys my delight in and gratitude for your book.

With much love as always,

Rowan (TCIMM pages 267-269)

Easter 2019 Ebenezer Lutheran Church- Chicago

Easter Hoping

Easter Sunday, April 12, 2020

He Is Risen, He Is Risen, INDEED

Easter Hoping

Learn to Hope

We are because Jesus says “I AM.”

Christ is Risen. Christ is Risen, Indeed, ALLELUIA!

Like the disciples these days have been teaching us once again that we need to learn to hope.

The desert is blooming and the birds are singing.

Father Carter writes:

Hoping

“When you thought you had lost your path,

beneath all your fears,

I am there

When meaning is gone

I am that meaning

When truth seems hard to find,

I am that truth

When even love seems a bitter thing

I will take that bitter cup from you

and you will taste the wine of my forgiveness

Come back with me to the centre of the things

and be held, not torn.

Each day is an opportunity for hope

And hope will often arise from those deemed hopeless

Learn to hope in God even when hope seems impossible

and beyond

Learn to hope in God’s grace even when the rules of the

world cry out that your values have no currency

Learn to hope in God’s love

Hope as tender and ephemeral as a new shoot

But which can make the desert bloom and the song birds

return.” (TCIMM page 221)

“Easter Morning” by Nathan Tolzmann, 2017; Ebenezer Lutheran Church, Chicago, Illinois

GO DEEPER: One of the sayings that I repeat often in my conversations is “it’s that simple and it’s also that complex.” So, here is a statement which qualifies for that framework,

“We are because Jesus says “I AM.”

The Seven “I Am” Sayings of Jesus in John’s Gospel

1. “I am the bread of life” –John 6:35, 41

2. “I am the light of the world” –John 8:12, 9:5

3. “I am the door ofthe sheep” –John 10:7, 9

4. “I am the good shepherd” –John 10:11, 14

5. “I am the resurrection and the life 11:25

6. “I am the way, the truth and the life” –John 14:6

7. “I am the true vine” –John 15:1

Listen to the choir sing: “Give Us the Wings of Faith” (James Whitbourn)

Pray these words by Father Carter:

“Go forth into the world in peace;

be of good courage;

hold fast that which is good;

render to no one evil for evil;

strengthen the fainthearted;

support the weak;

help the afflicted;

honour everyone;

love and serve the Lord, rejoicing in the power of the

Holy Spirit.

Amen

And the blessing …

Beloved go gently,

go simply,

go joyfully,

go humbly.

And may the Spirit of God’s be with you.

Amen.” (TCIMM page 266)

Staying With – “To Live”

A word from RTG: I am an amateur bread baker. At this time during Holy Week I like to make hot cross buns. No matter which recipe is used, some yeast is needed to start. On this Friday we call “Good” it was great to work with something that was originally called “Goddisgoode.”

In her splendid book on English bread and yeast cookery, published by Allen Lane, Elizabeth David has this to say: “In Chaucer’s England one of the names for yeast or barm was goddisgoode ‘bicause it cometh of the grete grace of God’.” (www.english.stackexchange.com)

Yeast makes all the other ingredients come alive. I suppose that is why Jesus, who identified himself as the “Bread of Life,” called us to be leaven (yeast), which means to rise. www.lexico.com/definition/leaven: Middle English from Old French levain, based on Latin levamen ‘relief’ (literally ‘means of raising’), from levare ‘to lift.’

Father Richard Carter writes,

“To live– the Word became flesh and lived among us. Our aim is not a set of rules rather a life to be lived – to be breathed, inhabited, touched, tasted, smelt, seen, heard, within the world. What Jesus offered us was life, life in all its fullness. We were called to incarnate his life – to become the life that we received as pure gift from him. This is our Nazareth promise: ‘I want to live the gospel, O Lord give me grace.’ (TCIMM page 264)

GO DEEPER: As our Lenten journey draws to a close, read these words of encouragement from Father Carter regarding spiritual disciplines explored during these past weeks:

Keep coming back to your practice

“Not beyond

But here and now

Find the gap in the dialogue

Find the space in the crowdedness of your mind

Find the silence that your anxiety wants to invade

Find the Spirit within that you have ignored or suppressed

And enter again into that silence

Like a swimmer entering a pool

Whatever the weather, the pool is still there

Inviting you to discover in this immersion

The homecoming you long for

Keep on returning

Keep on seeking the God within.”

(TCIMM page 220)

Listen once again to the words of this Taize hymn:

Take, O Take Me As I Am

Summon Out What I Shall Be

Set Your Seal Upon My Heart

And Live In Me.

Read further words of encouragement from the book of John:

The Word Became Flesh

1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. ²He was in the beginning with God. ³All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being. What has come into being ⁴in him was life,^[^a^]and the life was the light of all people. ⁵The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it.

(What this means for us- is that before there ever was – GOD IS!)

Sabbath – “To Restore”

Two simple words juxtaposed with each other to form a cross. Two simple words which convey a truth that rings so very true today. Two simple words that convey the reality, “to restore.” Two simple words which shows God’s Love!

Father Carter writes:

“To restore– when a painting or a beautiful piece of furniture is restored, it recognizes the value that it already has and rediscovers its original beauty or authenticity so it can be seen again. We are all made in the image of God, but over the years we can easily become broken, or tarnished, and smeared by our sinfulness, or torn by pain. To restore is about healing – gently cleaning away all that has obscured and finding beneath the original beauty of the creator. To arrive at the beginning and recognize it for the first time.” (TCIMM page 263-264)

GO DEEPER: Read more from Father Carter:

“I once talked to my spiritual guide Fr Simon Holden about a difficulty I was facing in which I felt the pain of an injustice done to me. I have always remembered his response: ‘We will come up against those forces that seem to deny all that we are and all that is true. The question is not “will I face those moments of trial?” but “will I be poisoned by them?”’ Will I, when facing injustice, become the unjust? Will I return the hatred, return the exploitation, return the violence, return the lie or become infected by it so that I no longer know the truth? Or can I discover Christ within me? Can I transform the wagging finger through the sacred heart of Christ?

His stillness

His silence

His open heart

His wounds for love

The power of his gentleness

His open translucent compassion for the world

I am not seeing the death of Truth; in him we are seeing

salvation.

I think of Moses coming down from the mountain after his encounter with God, his face so full of the light that he had to veil his face. I heard an Orthodox priest speaking of the way our faces were mirrors. Mirrors of the love of God. I wonder if I can mirror the Jesus I see in this picture. Holding fast to that which is good. Giving back to no one evil for evil.” (TCIMM page 230)

Listen to this peaceful Maundy Thursday devotion by Father Carter on BBC radio:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m000h6db?fbclid=IwAR0W51nif9TXamiDvxK_yOHr_RLSuOSRnZikxa53kzBOm4x-wy-oczZ_d-U

GO STILL DEEPER: Experience this Bidding Prayer

Bidding Prayer

The assembly kneels or sits. The assisting minister leads the invitations to prayer (the bids). Silence for prayer follows each bid. The presiding minister leads the prayers that conclude the silence. (in these days of social distancing you can share this with someone and pray it via Facetime or Zoom)

Let us pray, brothers and sisters, for the holy church throughout the world.

Silent prayer.

Almighty and eternal God,

you have shown your glory to all nations in Jesus Christ.

By your Holy Spirit guide the church

and gather it throughout the world.

Help it to persevere in faith, proclaim your name,

and bring the good news of salvation in Christ to all people.

We ask this through Christ our Lord.

Amen.

Let us pray for name/s our bishops, for name/s our pastor(s), for name/s and all servants of the church, and for all the people of God.

Silent prayer.

Almighty and eternal God,

your Spirit guides the church and makes it holy.

Strengthen and uphold our bishops, pastors,

other ministers, and lay leaders.

Keep them in health and safety for the good of the church,

and help each of us in our various vocations

to do faithfully the work to which you have called us.

We ask this through Christ our Lord.

Amen.

Let us pray for those preparing for baptism.

Silent prayer.

Almighty and eternal God, you continue to bless the church.

Increase the faith and understanding of those preparing for baptism.

Give them new birth as your children,

and keep them in the faith and communion of your holy church.

We ask this through Christ our Lord.

Amen.

Let us pray for our sisters and brothers who share our faith in Jesus Christ.

Silent prayer.

Almighty and eternal God, you give your church unity.

Look with favor on all who follow Jesus your Son.

Make all the baptized one in the fullness of faith,

and keep us united in the fellowship of love.

We ask this through Christ our Lord.

Amen.

Let us pray for the Jewish people, the first to hear the word of God.

Silent prayer.

Almighty and eternal God,

long ago you gave your promise to Abraham and your teaching to Moses.

Hear our prayers that the people you called and elected as your own

may receive the fulfillment of the covenant’s promises.

We ask this through Christ our Lord.

Amen.

Let us pray for those who do not share our faith in Jesus Christ.

Silent prayer.

Almighty and eternal God, gather into your embrace

all those who call out to you under different names.

Bring an end to inter-religious strife,

and make us more faithful witnesses

of the love made known to us in your Son.

We ask this through Christ our Lord.

Amen.

Let us pray for those who do not believe in God.

Silent prayer.

Almighty and eternal God, you created humanity

so that all may long to know you and find peace in you.

Grant that all may recognize the signs of your love and grace

in the world and in the lives of Christians,

and gladly acknowledge you as the one true God.

We ask this through Christ our Lord.

Amen.

Let us pray for God’s creation.

Silent prayer.

Almighty and eternal God,

you are the creator of a magnificent universe.

Hold all the worlds in the arms of your care

and bring all things to fulfillment in you.

We ask this through Christ our Lord.

Amen.

Let us pray for those who serve in public office.

Silent prayer.

Almighty and eternal God,

you are the champion of the poor and oppressed.

In your goodness, give wisdom to those in authority,

so that all people may enjoy justice, peace, freedom,

and a share in the goodness of your creation.

We ask this through Christ our Lord.

Amen.

Let us pray for those in need.

Silent prayer.

Almighty and eternal God,

you give strength to the weary

and new courage to those who have lost heart.

Heal the sick, comfort the dying, give safety to travelers,

free those unjustly deprived of liberty,

and deliver your world from falsehood, hunger, and disease.

Hear the prayers of all who call on you in any trouble,

that they may have the joy of receiving your help in their need.

We ask this through Christ our Lord.

Amen.

Finally, let us pray for all those things for which our Lord would have us ask.

All pray the Lord’s Prayer.

Lord’s Prayer: Our Father in heaven

Our Father in heaven,

hallowed be your name,

your kingdom come,

your will be done,

on earth as in heaven.

Give us today our daily bread.

Forgive us our sins

as we forgive those

who sin against us.

Save us from the time of trial

and deliver us from evil.

For the kingdom, the power,

and the glory are yours,

now and forever. Amen.

From sundaysandseasons.com.

Sharing – “To Enrich”

A word from RTG: Last year there was a Warhol exhibit at the Art Institute in Chicago. Many of the paintings were familiar, however, I was not prepared to see a camouflage Last Supper. This piece of art was both disturbing and intriguing. I am still unsure about my feelings around Warhol’s depiction of that night in the Upper Room. Today’s topic is “to enrich.” I had considered posting the Da Vinci painting and yet, maybe because we’ve all seen that so often we don’t really “see” it. Instead I submit this Warhol painting along with some links which explain what Warhol was doing. I hope you are enriched by the beautiful story that begins, “on the night in which he was betrayed…..”

I want you to know that this time with you studying Father Carter’s book, THE CITY IS MY MONASTERY has deeply enriched my faith during this particular and peculiar Lenten journey. Thank you, Richard, for writing such an exquisite itinerary for us to follow. We are almost at the conclusion of this journey and I am already thinking Iwant to sign up for this tour again.

Many thanks to Sue Ann who has lovingly mid-wifed the content of the daily posts. Deep gratitude to Hannah Grace Glusenkamp (our daughter) and Forrest Meyer (our friend and colleague) for curating the material on the web/blog and Facebook. Hannah and Forrest immediately said “yes” to this project without totally knowing what it was all about and where it was going. And to you, dear reader(s) and pilgrims: Thank you for answering the hunger we share for Silence, Service, Scripture, Sacrament, Sharing, Sabbath and Staying With.

Father Carter writes,

“To enrich – we often think it is possessions that enrich us. But we are most enriched by relationship. When we face our own mortality, we will realize that it is not how much we have but how much we have loved – how much we shared ourselves with others and allowed others to share their lives with us that is the treasure beyond price. I wonder who enriches you and how you can you enrich another.” (TCIMM page 263)

GO DEEPER: Read The kingdom of God by Father Carter:

You look through the window

And see the wild beauty beyond

You see and long, but you are not fully part of it

You try to open the window, but it is locked

And you feel the separation

The iron frame and rusted lattice you cannot open

But then you find the key

And ease open a window used to being closed

And the wind comes through

No glass now, just this opening

And you gulp the air

and feel the softness of the rain in your face

and the greens and the blues calling you to be part of them

to go beyond the spectator stand

And enter in

So you climb through the window

You feel the ground

You taste the sky

You hold the wind in open hands

And find that your heart has opened too

And there is no longer any division

No in

No out

Just God.”

(TCIMM page 258)

Read more about Andy Warhol and his painting on the Last Supper at these links:

https://www.americamagazine.org/arts-culture/2018/11/23/andy-warhols-camouflaged-catholicism

https://www.guggenheim.org/exhibition/andy-warhol-the-last-supper

Sacrament – “To Gather”

RTG writes: The media is reporting many people are baking these days. I have had trouble finding yeast and flour on our very infrequent visits to the grocery store. Even the online opportunities for purchasing baking supplies are reporting an end of the month delivery date. Fortunately, I have all the “fixins” for Hot Cross Buns later this week. Today’s bread was “no knead bread” by Mark Bittman. I actually mixed it up last night and let it ferment for about 12 hours. Check it out: https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/11376-no-knead-bread

Besides the great aroma this creates in the house it reminds me of those lovely words from the Didache that Marty Haugen aligned with his hymn “As the Grains of Wheat.”

So in these days of social distancing and sheltering in- may you and yours be blessed with the hope and promise of being gathering into one by the One who makes all things new.

Father Richard Carter writes,

“To gather – Christ gathers – in the Gospels he gathers people

around him – especially those on the edge. He is the good

shepherd who draws in and leads out, and who knows each

by name. They recognize his voice. They are gathered by it.

Our faith was never meant to be a lonely and isolated thing,

rather it is a communion, and if we live this communion it will

attract others for it is a beautiful and life-giving thing. We ourselves

become sacrament – the sign of the one who gathers – a

parable of community.” (TCIMM page 263)

GO DEEPER: Read more about the Didache at https://carm.org/didache

Listen to the beautiful hymn “As the Grains of Wheat”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HErzJ6eR5XM

Refrain As the grains of wheat once scattered on the hill

were gathered into one,

were gathered into one to become our bread;

so may all your people from the ends of the earth

be gathered into one in you.

Read TCIMM pages 142-143: Sacrament is going out into the world as a Bearer of God.

Sacrament is going out into the world

as a bearer of God

Father Carter writes:

“Having drunk at the still spring

Let’s take our faith outside

Into the raw beauty of the streets

Into each human encounter

Into the torn life

The wound that longs for healing

The need that has no answer

The loneliness longing for embrace

The sin longing for forgiveness

The blindness that needs to see

The random search for pleasure

The insatiable hunger

The broken heart

The weeping soul

The grieving memory

The life brittle with age and neglect

The mind programmed by trauma it is forever rewinding

The young person humiliated

The person mentally unwell lost in a maze of fear and

delusion

The child trapped within who has never been nurtured or

fully loved

The victim and the victimizer in need of redemption

The forgotten prison

The violent estate

The man whose poverty makes you turn away

The migrant searching for your home

The river choked with plastic

The city that can no longer breathe

The parched land longing for grace

This is your world too

This is where love calls us

This is the city that must become your dwelling place

This is the forsaken one crying out on the cross

Your sanctuary

Your altar

Your hands reaching out

Your resurrection

Your Good News.”

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paternoster_(sculpture)

Scripture – “To Inspire”

A word from RTG: Sue Ann and I participated in a bicycle flat tire repair class just before the shelter in place order came out. We both had some experience with flat tires as well as some not very inspired attempts at fixing our tires out on the road. We were able to practice with patch kits as well as some amazing CO2 cartridges. The stated goal of the class was to inspire us with confidence to fix a flat tire when required out on the road.

In many ways that class was similar to this book study. At the beginning we asked if you wanted to:

“Live more prayerfully

Live more holistically

Live slower

Live more gently with others and with self

Live with more space for silence and solitude

Live generously and hospitably

Live with an attentiveness to God, to creation, and

to neighbour

Live with a greater recognition of God in all things

Learn from the community of others

Rediscover a poverty of spirit that lets go of ambition and

self-interest and look for Christ where he was found

during his life – on the edge among the lost

Rediscover the gift of peace at the very centre of all that

you do.” (TCIMM Intro xxv)

Many of you indicated “yes” you wanted to be inspired. Today’s thought about the Scriptures reminds us that we too get “deflated” at times and need to be inspired.

Emanuel Lutheran Church-Hartford, CT “In the City for Good”

Father Carter writes:

”To inspire – to be Spirit-filled and to fill with Spirit, to be filled with that Pentecost fire and to share that light with others. The Scriptures are intended to do just that, not to contain or trap but to fill us with the one who is our inspiration. The more attentive we are to him, the more we too will reflect his Spirit using words only when we have to. Inspire is not about outward appearance it is about Christwithinus.” (TCIMM page 253)

GO DEEPER: Read again page 105 in TCIMM:

Returning again and again to the Scriptures

“You will never know them

But they will begin to know you

They will hold your heart

And wrestle with you like Jacob wrestling with an angel

They will be like being lowered into the Pool of Siloam after

a lifetime of waiting for the help and healing which it

seemed would never come

They are like having your eyes opened by the kiss of Christ

Or your body touched, and cleansed when you thought that

you, like the leper, would always be the outcast

This gospel will become written not on tablets of stone but

upon your heart

It will bring you the knowledge of God’s forgiveness when

no one else could

Or simply allow you to touch the hem of Christ’s robe so

that his courage can flow through you even when you are

unable to look him in the eye

This Word will transfigure you on the mountain but also

lead you into the very valleys and darkness you fear

It will show you the betrayal you refuse to acknowledge

But run to welcome you when you return naked from the

pig trough

It can become a spring of living water within you

Or anoint you with fragrant oil

And clothe you with the linen of resurrection.”

St Sulpice -Paris by Delacroix, Jacob Wrestling with the Angel

Service – “To Accept”

A word from RTG: Yesterday’s parade was cancelled. However, I see signs that people are still making their way to the cross this year. Today our “service” is to accept. I know myself well enough to say that I want acceptance, but I am not always willing to accept what or who comes my way. Father Richard Carter correctly provides a diagnosis for one of the reasons that I am non-accepting. Perhaps his observation is true for you as well.

Father Carter writes:

“To accept – the opposite of acceptance is rejection. I wonder how much of our pain or fear of humiliation comes from that sense that we are not accepted for who we are. Real service begins with acceptance not a sense of pity. When you know that you are accepted it will unlock your heart. When you accept others without condemnation it will unlock theirs too.” (TCIMM page 263)

More wisdom from Father Carter regarding service:

Service is recognizing the humanity of your neighbour

“In our acts of service, we must never let the roles or the rules of operation overpower that simple truth. Do not let the sense of righteousness or the process you are adopting take away the humility and simplicity of this discovery. Our ministry is to create the opportunity, the sanctuary and the attentiveness to recognize in each of those who come, the image of God. Neither must we allow talking about service or networking about service to take over from the simple acts of providing it. Our minds can become so occupied by the network that we cease to be present to the face-to-face encounter. Similarly, we can become so preoccupied with whether we can provide solutions that we are no longer present to hear the person standing in front of us. Do not fear that we are not doing enough. The welcome of just one guest can be the welcome of Christ. One act of forgiveness, or peacemaking, or compassion, is one act of Christ.” (TCIMM page 56-57)

GO DEEPER: Read pages 62-64 in TCIMM, “It’s my pleasure”

Watch the Queen’s historic encouraging speech regarding this pandemic:

Silence – “To Behold”

Father Richard writes:

“Perhaps we have all had the sneaking hope that our Christian faith will help us escape our present life, not stay in it and with it. But suppose God’s calling is that we should also be with – with others, with Jesus, with his patience, with his gentleness, his presence and his attention?” (TCIMM Introduction page xxx)

RTG responds: I like the parade on Passion Sunday and even the first part of the meal on Maundy Thursday, but the conflict and arrest in the Garden, the back and forth between Caiphas and Pilate, the reality of a “dead man walking” to the cross and the horrific scene at Golgatha-along with the emptiness and deep sadness of Holy Saturday, well, it’s too much!

So, it is no wonder that many of us would like to take a short-cut from the parade with palms to the party with the lilies on Easter Sunday. Father Carter is so right in asking, “What if God’s calling” is to stay with each and every step of this story? That would be something to behold.

“To behold – both to be and to be held, to hold the other and let them be who they truly are. There is both immense attention and compassion in this word but also freedom. Freedom to love and yet to let be. Freedom to be held in love and to truly be who God intends you to be. In German the word is ‘behalten’, which means to keep – I think of us all being held in the palm of God’s hand – ‘the Lord bless you and keep you’.” (TCIMM page 263)

GO DEEPER: Enjoy this poem by William Wadsworth 1770-1850: My Heart Leaps Up

My heart leaps up when I behold
A rainbow in the sky:
So was it when my life began;
So is it now I am a man;
So be it when I shall grow old,
Or let me die!
The Child is father of the Man;
And I could wish my days to be
Bound each to each by natural piety.

Read this passage from The Message translation:^27-29“Has anyone by fussing in front of the mirror ever gotten taller by so much as an inch? All this time and money wasted on fashion—do you think it makes that much difference? Instead of looking at the fashions, walk out into the fields and look at the wildflowers. They never primp or shop, but have you ever seen color and design quite like it? The ten best-dressed men and women in the country look shabby alongside them. Matthew 6: 28-29.

Read more about this sculpture used in Palm Sunday processionals:https://www.vam.ac.uk/blog/museum-life/twenty-objects-twenty-years-christ-donkey-germany-c1480

Staying With, Where?

A word from RTG: I’ve been trying to wrap my head around all that has been taking place on this Lenten journey. We have learned new terminology like “social distancing” and “flatten the curve.” The graphs which show projected mortality rates of COVID 19 by country, state, city, and county create data overload in my mind, my heart, and my soul. I’ve been encouraged by friends and even complete strangers to check out the Tiger King while at the same time worship services are canceled (and that’s a good thing) along with the parade for the King of Kings, Jesus Christ. Meetings and worship along with family get-togethers are being conducted via Skype, Zoom, Facetime and Facebook Live. The civil announcements this past week have informed us that the entire month of April needs to be sheltered in place.

Fortunately, there is the gift of Love. Love as Father Carter so eloquently reminds us is waiting at the station (wherever that particular place or space may be).

Staying with love

Love waits for you at the station

Filled with joy at your coming

Or outside the doctor’s surgery

In the car to drive you home

It frustrates, irritates, gets in the way, longs, hopes,

worries, wants to do it for you, knows jealousy, protects,

confronts, defends, flashes with anger at your selfishness

or neglect

Longs for your successes

And yet loves you exactly as you are

Through years of imperfections

Love waits at the door for your return

Under the hanging basket of flowers you gave them years

before

And welcomes the whole of you

The bed is already prepared with towel

The endless cooking of the food you like

The room which you painted is waiting

The photo by the bedside from twenty years ago

And the thousand memories that pierce your heart

with affection and concern

and fear of loss

This love is home

To which you will return in search again and again

For this one who is watching and waiting

Whose eyes you know better than your own

And clothes you with the carefully folded clothes they have

kept in your drawer for your return

The pyjamas smelling of washing powder

And the clock on the wall already aching with the tick of

departure.” (TCIMM page 241)

GO DEEPER: Watch this calming music video: Walking in the Light of your Love by Peter Mayer www.petermayer.com

www.petermayer.com

Read and Pray this “text message” from St. Paul:

The Gift of Love

13 If I speak in the tongues of mortals and of angels, but do not have love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. ²And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. ³If I give away all my possessions, and if I hand over my body so that I may boast,^[^a^]but do not have love, I gain nothing.

⁴Love is patient; love is kind; love is not envious or boastful or arrogant ⁵or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; ⁶it does not rejoice in wrongdoing, but rejoices in the truth. ⁷It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

⁸Love never ends. But as for prophecies, they will come to an end; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will come to an end.⁹For we know only in part, and we prophesy only in part; ¹⁰but when the complete comes, the partial will come to an end. ¹¹When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child; when I became an adult, I put an end to childish ways. ¹²For now we see in a mirror, dimly,^[^b^]but then we will see face to face. Now I know only in part; then I will know fully, even as I have been fully known. ¹³And now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; and the greatest of these is love.1 Corinthians 13