Category: Examen
Wednesday Devotion
Ash Wednesday
Words for reflection on the day ahead or the day past for persons
that follow the way of Jesus;
that only know Christ in belief;
that question and are skeptical;
that have no belief other that humanity is here on this planet circling a star we call the sun.
May the G*d of your choosing help us all live in peace and plenty with our neighbors without violence or oppression.
Centering . . .
Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;
Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,
And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.
I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.
The Road Not Taken, Robert Frost 1916.
Ponder . . .
All those days
you felt like dust,
like dirt,
as if all you had to do
was turn your face
toward the wind
and be scattered
to the four corners
or swept away
by the smallest breath
as insubstantial—
Did you not know
what the Holy One
can do with dust?
This is the day
we freely say
we are scorched.
This is the hour
we are marked
by what has made it
through the burning.
This is the moment
we ask for the blessing
that lives within
the ancient ashes,
that makes its home
inside the soil of
this sacred earth.
So let us be marked
not for sorrow.
And let us be marked
not for shame.
Let us be marked
not for false humility
or for thinking
we are less
than we are
but for claiming
what God can do
within the dust,
within the dirt,
within the stuff
of which the world
is made,
and the stars that blaze
in our bones,
and the galaxies that spiral
inside the smudge
we bear.
Blessing the Dust, © Jan Richardson. janrichardson.com
Remember . . .
Our God, Our Help in Ages Past,
our hope for years to come;
be thou our guide while life shall last,
and our eternal home.
Time, like an ever rolling stream,
bears all who breathe away;
they fly forgotten, as a dream
dies at the opening day.
A thousand ages, in thy sight,
are like an evening gone;
short as the watch that ends the night,
before the rising sun.
Before the hills in order stood,
or earth received her frame,
from everlasting, thou art God,
to endless years the same.
Under the shadow of thy throne,
still may we dwell secure;
sufficient is thine arm alone,
and our defense is sure.
Our God, our help in ages past,
our hope for years to come,
our shelter from the stormy blast,
and our eternal home.
Isaac Watts, 1719
Wednesday Devotion
Each Wednesday I write an “examen” which is a short reading for clergy and youth ministry folks here in Oklahoma to use. I’ll be posting those on my blog as well.
Words for reflection on the day ahead or the day past.
Centering . . .
I will extol you, O Lord, for you have drawn me up, and did not let my foes rejoice over me.
O Lord my God, I cried to you for help, and you have healed me.
O Lord, you brought up my soul from Sheol, restored me to life from among
those gone down to the Pit.
Sing praises to the Lord, you faithful ones, and give thanks to the Lord’s holy name.
The Lord’s anger is but for a moment; the Lord’s favor is for a lifetime.
Weeping may linger for the night, but joy comes with the morning.
As for me, I said in my prosperity, “I shall never be moved.”
By your favor, O Lord, you had established me as a strong mountain;
you hid your face; I was dismayed.
To you, O Lord, I cried, and to the Lord I made supplication:
“What profit is there in my death, if I go down to the Pit?
Will the dust praise you?
Will it tell of your faithfulness?
Hear, O Lord, and be gracious to me! O Lord, be my helper!”
You have turned my mourning into dancing; you have taken off my
sackcloth and clothed me with joy, so that my soul may praise you and not be silent.
O Lord my God, I will give thanks to you forever.
(Psalm 30)
Ponder . . .
Jesus was a man who liked to sit down with his friends
break bread and share good conversation.
He made no distinction of status or of station
just extended an open invitation.
The table is spread
Jesus won’t you sit and eat with us.
Spend some time like you’s with a chaste man after lunch.
Come on in to a feast for all to share
You don’t need a reservation just pull up a chair.
(The Del McCoy Band, Sit Down with Jesus, 2007)
Remember . . .
As one heart is lifted
May we share its celebration
As one heart is burdened
May we share the pain it knows
In the midst of hunger and war
We celebrate the promise of plenty and peace.
In the midst of oppression and tyranny
We celebrate the promise of service and freedom.
In the midst of doubt and despair
We celebrate the promise of faith and hope.
In the midst of fear and betrayal
We celebrate the promise of joy and loyalty.
In the midst of hatred and death
We celebrate the promise of love and life.
In the midst of sin and decay
We celebrate the promise of salvation and renewal.
In the midst of death on every side
We celebrate the promise of the Living Christ. Amen.
(From, Gathering for the Celebration of Life, Rex A E Hunt,)