“As we look at history, and even as we read the Scriptures, there seems to be evidence that violence has worked at times and failed at times, just as nonviolence has worked at times and failed at times. In the end, the question is, Which looks most like Jesus?”
—Common Prayer
July 2012
“
Do not hurry as you walk with grief; it does not help the journey.
Walk slowly, pausing often: do not hurry as you walk with grief.
Be not disturbed by memories that come unbidden…
Be gentle with the one who walks with grief. If it is you, be gentle with yourself. Swiftly forgive; walk slowly, pausing often.
Take time, be gentle as you walk with grief.
” —Celtic Daily Prayer of the Northumbria Community
“And when you turn to the right or when you turn to the left, your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, “This is the way; walk in it.”
—Isaiah 30:21
On the Importance of Hatred in Prayer →
peterrollins.net
By praying out what we are holding without reserve we can actually be doing the very opposite of what the express language communicates. This becomes evident in those who, by expressing themselves in this way, work through their feelings and act in more reasonable and gracious ways in the aftermath of the unfettered expression.
“Holy One, so often we claim to see but prefer our blindness. Send us teachers and saints whose lives speak loudly of faith and perseverance to guide us when we unknowingly stray from wisdom’s course. Help us to find the Way, the Truth, and the Life in this world of shortcuts, deception, and death. Amen.”
—Common Prayer
Peter Rollins: On the Idolatry of Certainty and Satisfaction
In contrast to the usual understanding of the “Good News” as a message offering satisfaction and certainty, Peter will be offering a radical and destabilizing alternative, arguing that it actually invites us to embrace the idea that we can’t be whole, that life is difficult, and that we don’t know the secret. Decrying the popular view of God as a type of product that will render us complete, remove our suffering and reveal the answers, he will offer the blueprint for an incendiary faith that courageously embraces brokenness, resolutely faces up to unknowing and joyfully accepts the difficulties of existence.
Rollins will be speaking at The Seattle School of Theology & Psychology on Tuesday, August 7th at 7:30pm.
Suggested donation of $10
Some Dangers in Leaving the Church →
nakedpastor.com
I found it very interesting when Thomas Merton, the famous Benedictine monk, applied to become a hermit and it was met with resistance for years. Merton felt the Abbot was resisting Merton’s request for personal reasons. That battle is quite a read!
The resistance to Merton’s request wasn’t without merit. Even Merton knew the dangers of living out one’s spirituality in isolation. That’s what I’m up against. I no longer am a part of a local church community. Neither are many of you! In a way, we are like Merton who are living as kind of hermits out in the world, many of us in isolation from other Christians and church communities…
