The Rock – The Noontimes

Psalm 18: Thanksgiving for God’s Help

Tuesday, November 24, 2020

A Favorite Noontime first written on October 24, 2008. and posted today as we prepare for the holiday of Thanksgiving in the U.S.A.Thanksgiving for God’s Help

I have a list of petitions I take to God each dawn . . . that I reprise in the morning, at noon, in the afternoon, in the evening, and when I go to bed. On those nights when I wake during the wee hours I ask again. Scattered among the petitions are my Thank yous for prayers answered . . . I like to think of many big and little miracles with which I and my loved ones, and my enemies, have been graced. This list brings me peace. It reminds me of who I am, the Petitioner. It reminds me that I was formed by God, the Creator. It keeps the reality fresh that I have a purpose which is important and special. It reminds me that I have a mission, even though I am often in a cloud of unknowing about what that mission is. It renews for me the fact that I am child, that God is parent, and that my humility, fidelity and mercy are what my God requires of me. In all of this reminding I settle fully into the knowing that my blessings far outweigh my sorrows, and for this I am continually thankful.

My days go best when they are a constant, unceasing prayer. My nights are happiest when I enter them with God. My enemies touch me not when I step into the protective pillar of fire and smoke and pulsing prayer. The lures of the other world melt away from the light of this guiding and protecting pillar.

The rocking of my world reduces to a gentle sway when I turn to God. The darkness and thick thunder clouds dispel when I remember God. The depths of despair evaporate when I call on God. The harsh buffets of life become a gentle breeze when I sing with God.

The psalmist today reminds us that God gives us the swift feet and the sharp mind with which we avoid trouble. God gives us God’s self as armor against the cruelties of the world. God is our rock. God is our breath. God is our life. Praise God.

Dear gracious and good God, You have shown us mercy. We thank you. ou have shown us the way. We thank you. You have borne us up. We thank you. You have carried us away. We thank you. You have eased our burden. We thank you. You have created us. We thank you. You have loved us well. We thank you.

We thank you when we come to you at dawn, in the morning, at noon, in the afternoon, in the evening, in the night.

We thank you when we make our life a constant prayer.

We thank you. Amen.

Images from: http://www.photosbyjanine.com/-/photosbyjanine/gallery.asp?photoID=4210731&cat=57731 and http://beelieve-ahealthierme.blogspot.com/2011/01/my-quest-for-healthier-me.html

November 24, 2020

Liturgy of the Hours, pillar of smoke and fire, pray always, The Rock

Lessons in Serenity – Praying with Matthew 7

Saturday, November 21, 2020

Matthew 7

Lessons in Serenity

As Matthew closes this section of his Gospel he records Jesus as speaking plainly and simply to his followers. There really is no mystery here. What must we do to gain serenity?

Jesus tells us clearly.

Stop judging others and tend to your own progress. The criticisms we level at others are a good place to begin with our own self-development. We critique in others what we dislike most in ourselves. Let us recall the negative comments we have made about others and let us lay them out neatly. We will find an apt and accurate map of the journey we must take.

You are pearls of great price so there is no need to claw your way over those you perceive to be in your path. Once we see where our journey must take us we will want to relax into the great gift God has for us. All of our striving and fixing and arranging may, in fact, be counter to the work we must do on ourselves. Let us learn to bear good fruit in due season.

Ask the creator for all the desires of your heart. Who knows us better than the hand that carved us out of nothing? Fashioned us in God’s image, we do not have to search long or far to discover why we are here or where we are going. Who leads us better than our human and divine brother Jesus? He understands the dichotomy we hold in our hands, the tug from two directions, the calling of two diverging worlds. Who abides with us more faithfully than the Spirit? God’s wisdom and grace dwell within us to guide, protect and console.

Discipleship is difficult and the way to peace is narrow. Quick fixes, easy solutions, pat answers, immediate satisfaction, and feelings of control and power must be put aside in favor of process, dialog, reflection, shared decisions, forgiveness and redemption.

Expect false leaders. And work to be honest followers. Integrity, honesty, courage and persistence are wells from which we must draw. We must learn to rebuke gently, to walk humbly, to accompany without judging, to pray ceaselessly.

You have a choice to make; build on sand or rock. We are free to choose. Stand on solid ground where everyone is open and honest, or allow ourselves to slide into the shifting world of denial, obfuscation and illusion.

The way is clear. The path is open. The winding is narrow but there are signs along the way. These are lessons in serenity.

And so we pray.

Patient and loving father and mother, help us to refrain from judging lest we lose ourselves in the trial. Remind us that we are well loved and well protected. Repeat to us often that we are to knock, ask and seek. Support us as we sift through true and false teachers and leaders. Lead us out of the boggy quicksand of a life lived with the only goal of personal comfort. Steer us away from all that is alluring. Lift us to stand on the rock that is both fortress and refuge. Guide us always back to you. We ask this in Jesus’ name, together with the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Reflect on the past week’s posts and determine what lessons for serenity you hope to learn in the coming season of Advent.

Images from: http://joanmedinanisnisan.wordpress.com/tag/joan-medina-nisnisan/

November 21, 2020

ask-knock-seek, choice, deceit versus honesty, false teachers, serenity, The Narrow Gate, The Rock

Psalm 28: The Rock

Psalm 28: The Rock

Monday, December 30, 2019

In today’s Gospel John the Baptist tells us that he went out to the desert and there he encountered God; we are reminded that we must go apart, from time to time, as Jesus did to recoup, to re-focus, to re-listen. Even the one who heals all wounds and mends all brokenness goes off to pray for a little while.

Today’s Noontime focuses us on the origin of our strength.

To you, My Lord, I call; my Rock, do not be deaf to me. It is in the heat of desert days that we find an unyielding foundation on which to put our feet. Our foundation is the Rock, the Lord.

The Lord is my strength and my shield, in whom my heart trusted and found help. It is in the chill of the desert nights that we discover we need constant protection from the buffets of the world. We find this protection in the Rock, the Lord.

If you fail to answer me, I will join those who go down to the pit. It is in the desert extremes that we realize we are nothing, our puny resources are for naught without the Rock, the Lord.

So my heart rejoices; with my song I praise my God. It is in the harsh, desert reality, with all resources stripped away, that we come to understand the value of our relationship with the Rock, the Lord.

Lord, you are the strength of your people, the saving refuge of your anointed king. It is in the beauty of the desert simplicity that we come to believe that the Rock, our Lord, loves us more than we have imagined.

Rather than fear loss we must be open to its message, for although God is our constant companion we do not feel God’s true presence because we have filled our days with our own activity.

Rather than lament a world that is woefully off course, we might instead turn to the Rock, the Lord, for sustenance and hope.

Rather than funnel our energy into petty arguments and the useless struggle over power we do not even possess, we might rely instead on the Rock, the Lord, for clarity of vision and purity of intent.

Rather than hide our envy and resentment over the good fortune of others, we might look to the Rock, the Lord, for a steadfast spirit and a constant heart.

Prepare the way of the Lord, The Baptist calls out the words of the prophet Isaiah. Every valley shall be filled and every mountain and hill made low. When we journey into the desert to better hear the Lord, our way will be smoothed out for us by the Lord. No more will we skitter down steep slopes as we travel. No more will we exhaust ourselves as we climb over the huge problems that appear before us. The winding roads shall be made straight, and the rough ways made smooth. No more will we worry which way to turn and which way to go. And all flesh shall see the salvation of God. The Lord, our Rock, assures us of our rescue.

As we reflect and pray in this Christmastide, let us return with The Baptist to the desert, let us listen again to the familiar words of Isaiah, and let us build our permanent home on the only Rock that both rescues and sustains. Let us wait on the Lord.

Adapted from a reflection first posted on December 9, 2012.

Image from: http://www.ehow.com/info_8087024_deserts-drive-through.html

December 30, 2019

Isaiah 40:3-5, John the Baptist, Luke 3:1-6, rescue, shield, strength, The Rock

Tag: The Rock

Psalm 18: Thanksgiving for God’s Help

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Lessons in Serenity – Praying with Matthew 7

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Psalm 28: The Rock

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