February: Praying with the Earth - WEDNESDAYS

PRAYING FOR THE EARTH: A Prayerbook for Peace 

John Philip Newell 

WEDNESDAY PRAYERS

Blessed are those who hunger for earth’s oneness, for they shall be satisfied. Matt 5.6

2.1.17       Wednesday Morning Prayer of Awareness

At the beginning of this day

We wake

Not as separate streams

But as countless currents in a single flow. –Excerpt JPN

         I am finding Newell’s prayer so very appropriate right now, as Executive Orders continue to file from the White House that seem intent on division and separation, on establishing levels of worth.  It is so very disturbing. Our morning prayer today once again reminds us of the interconnected flow of the River of Life.  One River, many currents.  Sometimes we are many streams but the important point is that we eventually all come together. 

         The scripture translation used for this Beatitude is different from the usual ‘hunger and thirst for righteousness’.  Writers used the word oneness rather than righteousness.  Righteousness is defined as that which is according to moral or divine law, ethical, and right.  In multiple lists of synonyms for righteousness I never found the term ‘oneness’.  Yet, isn’t God’s plan for us to love one another and respect one another, to live in ‘oneness’?  So perhaps the term isn’t a synonym for righteousness, but a sign or symptom of what it means to live a righteous life.  

         Last week we had a visual of separate fibers woven together in one fabric of life.  Today we picture water currents in the River of Life. 

God of Oneness….May we strive to keep our waters flowing with the cleansing power of your Love.  Amen.  

2.2.17       Wednesday Morning Prayer for the Life of the World

Grant us your longings for oneness, O God,

Amidst life’s glorious multiplicities.  – Excerpt JPN

        

The colors have meaning here: Red or Saffron is a
sacred color for Buddhism and Hinduism, Purple
for Christianity, Blue for Judism, and Green for Islam.

God longs for oneness and unity among God’s people.  All people.  The tension and discord between Christians, Jews, and Muslims is like three siblings squabbling, children who immaturely cannot get along.  Yet our Parent God continues to love us all and gently urge us to recognize the value in each other, to celebrate our unity as well as our diversity.  What will it take for us to climb out of the back seat of our earth-car and decide that we ARE family, a family of one world, one God?
 

God of the Universe…be patient with us in our quarrels.  Continue to remind us of our oneness.  Amen.  

2.3.17       Wednesday Morning Prayer of Blessing

Blessings on the day born of night.

Blessings on the earth wedded to heaven.

Blessings on the creatures adored by angels.

Blessings on our bodies alive with spirit.

Blessings on our minds filled with dreams.

Blessings on our hearts opened by love,

Blessings, blessings, blessings.  -JPN

         ‘Hearts opened by love’.  What single action can we perform which can transfigure a broken soul, a lonely heart, or a conflicted world?  We can reach out to another in love.  Simple acts of love can transform our attitude, our outlook, and our relationships. The mere act of loving changes us.  Blessings on hearts that are fully opened to love! 

God of Love….Open our hearts as we love one another.  Amen. 

 Simple acts of love

Break open our hearts 
to the magic of
God-blessings.

2.4.17       Wednesday Scriptures

May God grant you your heart’s desire. (Psalm 20.4)

Many will come from east and west and eat together in the garden of God. (Matt.8:11)

Whichever way you turn there is the face of God.  (Quran – The Cow 2.115)

    God’s table

Provides nourishment,

A harvest of grace

For all who dine 
As One.  

         “Many will come from East and West and eat together”.  The Gospels are filled with moments of communal dining.  Jesus often asked to eat with sinners, to have a meal together.  The Passover Meal in the Upper Room has become our Eucharist meal of remembrance.  Stony Point Conference Center brings people of many faiths together in their dining hall to eat in unity, to share around a common table.  Somehow, we are able to put our differences aside at the table and focus on our similar needs for sustenance. 

God of Provision…May we join as one at your table of grace.  Amen. 

My writer cousin, Lorrie, has issued a new Winter Poetry challenge of a short, perhaps just four line, poem on a daily basis.  I shall try to summarize each day’s devotion in just the four to six lines.  I added my poem for yesterday to the previous post. 

2.5.17       Wednesday Evening Prayer of Awareness

At the close of day

As busyness faces

As light dims

And footsteps soften

We open again the inner door of our being

To enter stillness

To feel our way through the dark

To You.  – Excerpt JPN      

         I am still coming to grips with pondering an evening prayer in the morning, yet I love the sense of peace and calm the words bring.  Do I stop and listen, do I enter a stillness as sleep overcomes, to find a moment with God?  Are my last thoughts as the darkness surrounds me of God’s grace?  Do I open the door to my heart, to my inner soul, to reflect on the day and God glimpses I was granted?  Seems to me a good way to end the day. 

God of rest….Speak to me in the stillness of the night.  Amen.

BEDTIME

As my breath slows,

My soul follows a path

Through the darkness

To stop and visit

With God. 

  2.6.17       Wednesday Evening Prayer for the Life of the World

Whichever way we turn, O God, there is your face…
In the light of eyes we love,

In the salt of tears we have tasted…

Whichever way we turn, O God, there is your face

There is your face

Among us.  – Excerpt JPN   

Everywhere I look

I find I see

The face of God

Reflected, combined,

United

In you and me.

         God is among us.  Yahweh is among us.  Allah is among us.  One God.  Regardless of who we are, our race, our religion, our gender, our politics, God is among us.  We just have to look for the love in each other.  God is there. 

Help me, God, to see your face whichever way I turn.  Amen.  

2.7.17                Wednesday Evening Prayer of Blessing

May heaven’s guardians of night welcome us….

That we may wake refreshed.

That we may wake with eyes of wonder.

That we may wake to the world’s oneness.

That we may wake to serve earth’s heaven-blessed oneness.  –Excerpt JPN

Look with wonder, Welcome the stranger Wake to the miracle Of heaven bringing Us all together.

           






 Did I awake this day with eyes of wonder?  Can I, will I, look at my community, my life, with a fresh start?  Can I find God at work, interweaving our souls together?  Our world is so in need of this miracle, of this unity.  What is my part?

God of Oneness…May we each do our part to bring the unity of heaven to earth.  Amen.  

All quotations are from PRAYING with the EARTH: A Prayerbook for Peace by John Philip Newell.  William B Eerdman’s Publishing Company, 2011

JANUARY: Praying with the Earth - TUESDAYS

Praying with the Earth - A Prayerbook for Peace
by John Philip Newell
TUESDAY PRAYERS
Blessed are the humble for they are close to the sacred earth. Matthew 5.5

1.24.17  Tuesday Morning Prayer of Awareness

It is in the depths of life that we find you…

The very Soil of our soul.  JPN Excerpt

         Where do we find God?  Not on the surface, not in the trivial of life.  We find God in the trenches, working down deep in our lives.  I love Newell’s term, the Soil of our Soul.  What does soil do for the emerging plant?  It provides the nutrients, the energy, and sustenance for growth.  And there we find God in our developing souls – encouraging, supporting, nourishing us in ways we can’t even imagine.

         This is perhaps off the subject, but I did a keyword search within The Message for the use of the terms soil and dirt.  Wow!  What a difference in connotations.  Soil is good.  Soil is nourishment.  Dirt is….well, dirty!  Filth and perverse behavior.  I was intrigued, so I googled, “What is the difference between soil and dirt?”  The scientific answer?  Dirt is dead, misplaced soil. So….we are more alive, in tune with our world, when our soul is filled with the soil of God, rather than the dirt of the earth?  You get the picture, I think.

God of substance and nourishment, fill my soul with the soil of life.  Amen.  

1.25.17  Tuesday Morning Scriptures

I 'cheated' today and borrowed a Scribble
from 2012!!  But the text was right!

God lifts up those who are bowed down.  (Psalm 146:8)

Whoever wishes to be great among you must be a servant among you. (Matthew 20.26)

Why do you not bow to the one whom My own hands have made? (Quran – Sad 38.75)

          Be a servant of others.  Humility puts you in the position of servanthood, because humble people think of others first.  The Bible is filled with references to servants and the term would have been familiar in Biblical times because household servants were a common occurrence.  Jesus once again used concepts people understood, but often with a new twist or way of looking at things.  To be great and powerful, I must humble myself and serve those ‘beneath’ me?  YES! 

God of the Humble….May I serve you through my service to others. Amen.  

1.26.17 Tuesday Morning Prayer for the Life of the World

Guide us as nations to what is deepest

Open us as people to what is first

Lead us as a world to what is dearest

That we may know the holiness of wholeness

That we may learn the strength of humility

That together we may live close to the earth

And grow in grounded glory.  –JPN

         So many phrases in this prayer for the world that call to me.  I love ‘holiness of wholeness’, ‘open us as people’ and ‘together living close to the earth’.  But God speaks to me in ‘grow in grounded glory’.  Perhaps it is the alliteration I love, or that the word GLORY always brings a vision of light and beauty to my mind.  But grounded glory?  That sounds like making sure our heads aren’t in the clouds, blind to the realities of life around us!  To grow in such a glory….together our becoming filled with a presence of God while attune to the needs and sufferings of others. 

God of Glory…Ground me to the earth while surrounding me with your presence.  Amen. 

1.27.17 Tuesday Morning Prayer of Blessing

May the deep blessings of earth be with us

May the fathomless soundings of seas surge in our soul.

May boundless stretches of the universe echo in our depths

To open us to wonder

To strengthen us for love

To humble us with gratitude

That we may find ourselves in one another

That we may lose ourselves in gladness

That we give ourselves to peace. –jpn

        

INFINITE

Infinite universe

A Milky Way of twinkling lights

Stretching across the sky

Unfathomable

Incomprehensible

In the magnitude of the Creator God.

Galaxy upon galaxy,

Black holes of nothingness, yet

Filled by God.

May the immensity spark wonder,

The immeasurable a sign of love

And bring us in awe to a

Recognition of our own

Value and worth.

A realization of you in me

And me in you.

Interconnected. 

Tiny hearts beating

Amid the sparkling universe.

Infinite love.

Infinite God.

Infinite God…connect us together within the vastness of your universe.  Amen.  

1.28.17     Tuesday Evening Prayer of Awareness

May we remember the ground from which we come

And know You as Presence in the mystery

As Evening Breeze in our soul

As Everlasting Strength in earth’s body. –JPN

         What does it mean to know God as Presence in the mystery?  The mystery of what?  The mystery of life?  Of Creation?  Of relationships?  How is God an evening breeze in our soul?  Newell uses some word images here that I don’t quite grasp, yet find intriguing.

         Yesterday I drove across the state…from the snow white, fog shrouded Baker valley, over a Ladd Canyon sunrise on the red and green barn,  past the hoarfrost of the Blue Mts., through the gorge of the mighty Columbia, and then down green fields of the Willamette Valley to Bandon.  I found hyacinths blooming on Mom’s front porch.  I can’t even imagine my bulbs bursting forth with green buried deep under the 2 feet plus of snow in Baker.  It was like driving through a weather warp, perhaps from the morning cold into the ocean breezes, from one expression of God glory to another. 

God of mysterious glory….fill my soul with the breeze of your presence.  Amen. 

1.29.17     Tuesday Evening Scriptures

God leads the humble in what is right. (Psalm 25.9)

The Son of Humankind came not to be served but to serve. (Matthew 20.28)

God has brought you forth from the earth like a plant and to the earth God will restore you. (Quran – Noah 71.17-18)

         We are talking the Blessed are the Meek Beatitude this round, and in looking at Psalm 25:9 through a variety of translations, I have found the word 'reject' used in Peterson’s The Message.  A word that I think changes the meaning dramatically.  Here are a few translations for this Beatitude:

• He gives the REJECTS his hand, and guides them step by step. (MSG)
• God guides the WEAK to justice, teaching them His way. (CEB)
• The MEEK will He guide in judgement…(KJ21)
• He will teach the ways that are right and best to those who humbly turn to Him. (Living Bible)
• God leads the HUMBLE in what is right. (NRSV)

         So…. Do humble and weak mean the same thing?  Is reject a synonym?  What about meek?  To me these words are NOT all the same!  Humility does not equal weakness, and it certainly doesn’t mean a reject!  Maybe I am putting my 21^st Century interpretation on this, but…..do the words really change the essence of the scripture when we consider Jesus’ words from Matthew?  The humble serve rather than wait to be served.  And that is what we are to do.  If that is a sign of weakness, then may I be a weak reject for God.  But somehow, I don’t think it makes me meek or weak, but simply a humble servant, with the strength to do what God has called me to do.   

God of Humility…May my first response be to serve.  Amen.  

1.30.17     Tuesday Evening Prayer for the World

May we love the earth and cherish her fecundity.

May we love the rivers and obey their ancient purity.

May we love the skies and honour their infinity

All for one another.  –jpn

        

Just for the record,  I had to look up fecundity.  It means fertility or the ability to produce.  Knowing the meaning helped make Newell’s prayer make sense to me.  Honor, obey, cherish that which is pure, eternal, and fertile.  Honor it all in and through and for one another.  We are an interwoven web of life on this earth.  We can’t separate the fibers of the cloth and expect the cloth to hold together.

         I find this relevant in light of today’s news concerning new immigration sanctions against targeted countries and religions.  Our new leader is intent on division rather than wholeness.  His actions seem to be picking the fibers of the earth apart rather than weaving a tapestry of love.  May we ALL call out in peaceful love, may we reach out to those who are apart and pull them back into our oneness. 

God of all Creation….Help us hold on to one another in love.  Amen. 

1.31.17     Tuesday Evening Prayer of Blessing

Glory be to you, Great Creating Spirit

Who shines in distant stars beyond numbering.

And on earth peace.

Glory be to you, Great Creating Spirit

Who sings and wings in birds on high.

And on earth peace.

Glory be to you, Great Creating Spirit

Whose thunder shakes the shining firmament.

And on earth peace.

Glory, glory, glory.

And on earth peace. –JPN

        

         ‘Glory be to you, Great Creating Spirit - And on earth peace’.  What greater prayer can we have for this day, this time?  I asked Rick to turn off the news last night after a half hour.  We watched a movie instead.  The only encouraging thing was to see that the country wasn’t taking the news quietly.  Protests were happening.  Will it be enough?  Will I lend my voice?  Will the thunder of the people shake the nation?  Peace.  Peace.  Peace in our homes and families, our communities, our country, our world. How can we interweave the Glory of God with the Peace of God in our lives?

God of Creating Glory….Help us find Your peace here on earth.  Amen.  

Totally off the subject, but as I posted this I realized I also see the word PRAY interwoven into this.
Perhaps that is our message....PRAY for the PEACE of God's GLORY.  

All quotations are from PRAYING with the EARTH: A Prayerbook for Peace by John Philip Newell.  William B Eerdman’s Publishing Company, 2011.   

JANUARY: PRAYING with the EARTH: MONDAYS

PRAYING FOR THE EARTH:  Monday Prayers

-J Philip Newell

Blessed are those who weep, for their tears will be wiped away. Matt 5.4

1.16.17     MONDAY MORNING PRAYER OF AWARENESS

Light.

Golden Light.

Fresh from the Source.

Colours

Creation’s colours

Calling our senses.  JPN Excerpt

         Any poem with color in it calls to me.  Any prayer that includes Creation’s colors is even better.  The colors of God call to us – visually, orally, palpably.  Take a look outside in the early morning.  The pink aura of the sky in the East reflecting off the ivory snow.  Green pines flocked with tiny crystals.  The chirps and songs of birds surging in and out of feeders.  The cold of the snow, the warmth of the fire.  God is speaking to us in so many ways, through so many avenues.  How can we fail to listen, to see, to know? 

Call to me, God, through all my senses, that I might seek your word. Amen.   

1.17.17     MONDAY MORNING SCRIPTURES

Wait for God.  Be strong and let your heart take courage.  Ps. 27.14

Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.  Matt 6.23

Remember God deep in your soul with humility and reverence. Quran-Hts.7.295

         I am finding myself drawn in this prayerbook to the scriptures from the Quran, probably because I am so very unfamiliar with it. It is an opportunity to take a peek into the heart of Islam and perhaps understand it more.   “Remember God deep in your soul” – it sounds to me much like “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and soul and mind and strength”.  Remember with humility, with reverence.  I am mostly reverent, but humble?  Not always.  How far deep do I allow God to go?  Is my faith just on the surface, or do I invite God into every nook and cranny? There is much more to this simple verse than meets the eye.  Go deep.  God deep.  

Help me, Lord, to remember you deep within my heart and soul.  Amen.  

1.18.17     MONDAY MORNING PRAYER FOR THE WORLD

The yellow glow is HOPE emerging...from the center of all faiths.
(Reminder: Blue, Green, Purple represent Judaism, Islam,
and Christianity respectively.)

Let our soul breathe hope for the earth, for the creatures, for the human family.  JPN Excerpt

         May we BREATHE hope….for all the world and its creatures.  Not just to talk about hope, but to bring it out from that God place deep within us, to act with hope, to act to produce hope.  Suzanne reminds us of the earth and its creatures every Sunday during prayers.  Prayers for ALL the world. 

         I am watching the snow fall outside my window, wondering how I can be a messenger of hope this day.  What can I DO beyond prayer?  How can I put my prayers into action? 

God of Hope… may my soul breathe this day for all the world. 

1.19.17     MONDAY MORNING PRAYER OF BLESSING

On this day the blessings of earth…

To open us to life

To ground us in life

To fill us with life

And with wonder. -JPN excerpt

        

WONDER

My fingers sift through cool, moist dirt

As I dig in rich garden soil.

Anticipation fills my heart

for the joy of emerging green.

The wonder of life trapped within a seed

Waiting for release.

Blessings. God.

I wander a mountain trail,

Shadows  and scent of pines,

Patches of wildflower color

Next to gurgling streams.

My stride strong, my heart sings,

For I am grounded by Creation,

Awed by the wonder of God’s artistry.

Blessings. God. 

I sit in solitude, listening.

The music of life fills the air

Chirps and peeps, chatters and barks.

The never-ending roar of the ocean,

The buzz of hummingbird wings.

The earth is filled with life

And I am again in wonder. 

Blessings.  God. 

Crystals of snow, rays of sunlight

Droplets of water, cottony clouds.

Blessings from the earth.

Life around us, life in us.

Awe. Wonder. Praise. Glory.

God. GMR

God of the Earth…Fill me with unending wonder at the glory of your Creation.  Amen. 

1.20.17     MONDAY EVENING PRAYER OF AWARENESS

At the setting of the sun

In the darkness of the night…

We enter the dark with our years

To seek shelter in night’s sanctuary

To find strength for our souls

To know peace in our prayers and our resting. -JPN excerpt

         I found myself drawn in this evening prayer to the word ‘sanctuary’.  I looked up the definition to get more background on what is often just considered a ‘church place’.  I knew sanctuary was also a place of refuge, a safe haven.  That concept came about when fugitives were once immune to arrest when in such a place.  While that practice no longer applies (except perhaps in the immigration issue!), a sanctuary is considered still a place of protection, peace, and respite.

         With that in mind, to consider sleep our ‘night’s sanctuary’ fills me with hope.  It is a time to realign our thoughts, to find strength and recharging, to ‘find peace in our prayers’.  Yet, perhaps our sanctuary of sleep is much like our sanctuary of worship – we get out of it what we put into it.  How often do we go into sleep turning all those worries over to God?  How often do we fail to be recharged in worship because we are processing the details of life?  Sanctuary and God must go hand in hand…and then we will find the shelter of peace. 

God of sanctuary…Grant me peace within the shelter of sleep.  Amen.  

1.21.17     MONDAY EVENING SCRIPTURES

God heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds. Ps.147.3

Do not be afraid.  I am with you always. Matt 28:10,20

In the remembrance of God our hearts are comforted. Quran – Thunder 13.28

FEAR NOT

Jesus says “Do not be afraid. I am with you always.’

King David says ‘I will not fear.  I will trust God.’

The Angels tell the shepherds, ‘Do not be afraid.’

Through Isaiah, God speaks, ‘So fear not.  I am with you.’

Joshua tells the Israelites, ‘Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged.’

Paul writes to the Philippians, ‘Do not be anxious about anything…’

Timothy says ‘God has not given us a spirit of fear’

Over and over, scripture tells us, ‘Don’t be afraid!’

SO WHY DO WE LET FEAR RULE OUR LIVES?

Fear of failure, fear of defeat,

Fear of pain and suffering.

Fear of embarrassment and ridicule.

Fear Not.  Trust God. 

God can handle our fears.

God…help me to trust and put all my fears in your hands.   

1.22.18     MONDAY EVENING PRAYER FOR THE WORLD

May we be strong in our soul to cry at the wrongs of the nations, to weep with the bleeding earth. -JPN Excerpt

         Our nation has entered a new era with the inauguration of our new President.  It could be a scary time as we see basic human rights revoked or abused for certain aspects of our citizenry.  My soul does cry at the wrongs uttered, praying they won’t come to fruition.  Millions marched throughout the world yesterday in solidarity with the United States, the earth bleeding in the pain of anticipation, bleeding from the wounds of war, genocide, and cruelty in the name of faith. We must have strength within to do what is right, what is good, and noble, strength to voice our concerns and stand above the mob mentality.  I pray for our new government daily.  I want them to succeed, because to fail means all bleed.  I will do my part and take hope in yesterday’s scripture: ‘Fear not. I am with you.’ 

God…use my tears to wipe clean the wrongs of all nations. Amen.

1.23.18     MONDAY EVENING PRAYER OF BLESSING

Peace for the earth and its creatures

Peace for the world and its peoples. -JPN Excerpt

          

Passion.

Encouragement.

Acceptance.

Compassion.

Empathy.

         Our world is desperately in need of this word, peace.  Maybe if we could break it down into an Acronym for five simple actions, we can begin to do our part.  Each simple act of compassion, encouragement, acceptance on behalf of someone who looks, thinks, or acts differently from me is a beginning. 

God of Peace….May we all do our part to bring peace to our world.  Amen.  

All quotations are from PRAYING with the EARTH: A Prayerbook for Peace by John Philip Newell.  William B Eerdman’s Publishing Company, 2011.