The Gift of a Clean Heart

O, how we all suffer under the weight of “missing the mark”; the weight of hurting others or ourselves by what we’ve done or not done.

Yet, our Maker knows of the healing, cleansing power of confession, of acknowledging the error of our ways. Rather than a rote recitation of our sins, confession invites us into the light. We are welcomed into greater honesty about ourselves and our experiences. When we can acknowledge what is true about our lives, we discover the depths of God’s acceptance, compassion and grace meeting us right where we are. Even in our messes, especially in our mess ups, we can come to know our essential belovedness. We are welcomed, forgiven, and loved just as we are, including the parts of us shrouded in shame.

With practice and repetition of allowing ourselves to be seen as we really are, we come to increasingly trust that nothing and no thing can separate us from the love of Christ. Along the way, we discover ourselves being taught wisdom in our secret heart.

As you come to listen and pray this day, see if it is possible to just allow yourself to be seen by God. Simply notice what rises to the surface. Maybe a regret bubbles up or an inner criticizing thought about a regret. See if you can just welcome it into the space with you and the Spirit right there with you. Maybe it shows up as some bodily discomfort, like you want to wiggle out of your chair or reach for your phone. See if it is possible to just acknowledge that, like you are saying, “I’m sensing something in me doesn’t want to stay here or be seen” and see if you can just linger there with that in God’s presence. Notice what comes as you stay at the edge of comfort or uncertainty. Maybe place a gentle hand wherever you are feeling discomfort. And just linger there just a bit… being seen just as you are. Notice what comes. Grace and Perfect Love are companioning you in this moment whether it’s felt or not felt. Notice what comes.

You are worthy of love and grace. You belong to God.

Psalm 51: 1-23 (RSV)

Have mercy on me, O God, according to thy steadfast love;
    according to thy abundant mercy blot out my transgressions.
Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity,
    and cleanse me from my sin!

For I know my transgressions,
    and my sin is ever before me.
Against thee, thee only, have I sinned,
    and done that which is evil in thy sight,
so that thou art justified in thy sentence
    and blameless in thy judgment.
Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity,
    and in sin did my mother conceive me.

Behold, thou desirest truth in the inward being;
    therefore teach me wisdom in my secret heart.
Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean;
    wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.
Fill me with joy and gladness;
    let the bones which thou hast broken rejoice.
Hide thy face from my sins,
    and blot out all my iniquities.

Create in me a clean heart, O God,
    and put a new and right spirit within me.
Cast me not away from thy presence,
    and take not thy holy Spirit from me.
Restore to me the joy of thy salvation,
    and uphold me with a willing spirit.

For Reflection and Prayer:

Was there a word, phrase or image which caught your attention you as you listened to or slowly read the text? Quietly savor this with Jesus.

Notice any felt sense that seems to emerge as you linger with this passage. It might come as a bodily feeling, emotion, metaphor, picture, gesture or sound. See if you can describe it and simply be with it with patient curiosity. Be open to whatever more might emerge.

Perhaps you might want to draw, color or journal your conversation.

As the time of prayer comes to a close, share some quiet moments with Jesus, simply resting safely in his presence.

Psalm 51: 1-23 (Psalms for Praying by Nan Merrill)

Have mercy upon me, O Gracious One,
     According to your steadfast love;
According to your abundant kindness
     Forgive me where my thoughts and deeds have hurt others.
Lead me in the paths of justice,
     Guide my steps on paths of peace!

 Teach me, that I may know my weaknesses,
    The shortcomings that bind me,
The unloving ways that separate me,
     That keep me from recognizing your Life in me;
For, I keep company with fear, and
     Dwell in the house of ignorance.
Yet, I was brought forth in love,
     And love is my birthright.

You have placed your truth in the inner being;
     Therefore, teach me the wisdom of the heart.
Forgive all that binds me in fear,
     That I might radiate love;
     Cleanse me that your light might shine in me.
Fill me with gladness: help me to transform weakness into strength.
Look not on my past mistakes but on the aspirations of my heart.

Create in me a clean heart, O Gracious One,
     And put a new and right spirit within me.
Enfold me in the arms of Love, and
     Fill me with your Holy Spirit.
Restore in me the joy of your saving grace,
     And encourage me with a new spirit.

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Learning to Live Freely & Lightly

Can you recall a teacher who truly inspired you to learn? How did that teacher interact with you? What was it about his or her demeanor which inspired you and gave you courage to learn something new, or perhaps something hard? What did her voice sound like? How did she look at you? What did she see in you that perhaps you could not see in yourself? It is possible that you have only longed for such a teacher.

Bring these reflections with you as you listen to the text. Notice the tone of voice you hear Jesus use with you. Be curious about how he is looking upon you as you meditate on this passage. Pay attention to the longings which rise up in your heart. What is it like for you to keep company with Jesus in this time?

Matthew 11:25-30 (MSG)
Abruptly Jesus broke into prayer: “Thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth. You’ve concealed your ways from sophisticates and know-it-alls, but spelled them out clearly to ordinary people. Yes, Father, that’s the way you like to work.”
Jesus resumed talking to the people, but now tenderly. “The Father has given me all these things to do and say. This is a unique Father-Son operation, coming out of Father and Son intimacies and knowledge. No one knows the Son the way the Father does, nor the Father the way the Son does. But I’m not keeping it to myself; I’m ready to go over it line by line with anyone willing to listen.
“Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly.”

For Reflection and Prayer:
Was there a word, phrase or image which caught your attention you as you listened to or slowly read the text? Quietly reflect on it in your prayer with Jesus. Journal your conversation.

Was there any particular emotion which emerged as you listened to the scripture? Notice it. Be curious about it. Talk it over with Jesus in your prayer.

What longings rose up in your heart as you prayed with this passage?

Savor any consoling words or pictures as you quietly rest in God.

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The Sparrows and Us

When we discover that prayer is a means to fostering real relationship with God, the time shared becomes more personal and authentic. As we come to the Scriptures to listen for God’s voice - a Living Word that intersects with our real lives - we might respond to the Spirit’s nudging and invitations with genuineness and vulnerability. It takes courage and trust that we can actually have a conversation with God.

Sometimes, we pour out our hearts.
Sometimes, we cannot contain our gratitude.
Sometimes, we ask for the grace we need.
Sometimes, we just be together in wordless silence.
Always, God is with us, just as we are.

This week, a participant shares her experience of this individual and communal time of prayer:

Loving One
Loving One
Loving one, loving all
Loving me.

Spare us from the Grinch translators
whose hearts are three sizes too small.
Spare us from our perpetual measuring sticks.
Our incessant othering as we judge
who is in and
who is out. Who is worthy.

We're all "out".
We're all, in you, "in".

I'm putting down my scorekeeping chalk,
my tallies;
I'm packing away the scales
as I stand drenched in the warm light of your gaze.
You see it all.
All the mess. All the nasty, the petty, the damaged.

And yet....
You see the Beauty, my Beauty
that calls your name,
the name that rescues my soul,
that intertwines us, embracing each other for all time.

The sparrows and us and you.
Always.

Matthew 10:24-39 New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition

“A disciple is not above the teacher nor a slave above the master; it is enough for the disciple to be like the teacher and the slave like the master. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebul, how much more will they malign those of his household!

“So have no fear of them, for nothing is covered up that will not be uncovered and nothing secret that will not become known. What I say to you in the dark, tell in the light, and what you hear whispered, proclaim from the housetops. Do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul; rather, fear the one who can destroy both soul and body in hell. Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. And even the hairs of your head are all counted. So do not be afraid; you are of more value than many sparrows.

“Everyone, therefore, who acknowledges me before others, I also will acknowledge before my Father in heaven, but whoever denies me before others, I also will deny before my Father in heaven. “Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth; I have not come to bring peace but a sword. For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law, and one’s foes will be members of one’s own household.

“Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever does not take up the cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Those who find their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will find it.

For Reflection and Prayer:

Was there a word, a phrase, image, or feeling that ‘shimmered’ as you listened? Allow it to land in your heart. Stay with it. Savor it.

Reflect on what you heard. What effect does it have on you? What meaning does it hold for you? What does the Holy Spirit seem to be conveying to you?

Talk it over in your prayer. Perhaps you want to draw or color your prayer or journal the conversation.

As the time of prayer comes to a close, share some moments of quiet with Jesus, simply resting safely in his presence.

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Cultivating Empathy

Through another difficult parable, Jesus challenges us to struggle with our perception of the world around and right in front of us. This story invites us to pause and prayerfully consider how we see the humanity of another and most want to respond to it.

What motivates us to truly see others and want to understand how it really is for them? What compels us to extend genuine curiosity and compassion to someone so very different from us?

As you sit with this Scripture, you might give yourself permission to feel the uncomfortable feelings evoked by this story. Be an observer of all that rises within you. As you are ready, bring your observations into a conversation or wordless silence with Jesus. He wants to hear your heart.

Luke 16:22-31 The Message

“There once was a rich man, expensively dressed in the latest fashions, wasting his days in conspicuous consumption. A poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores, had been dumped on his doorstep. All he lived for was to get a meal from scraps off the rich man’s table. His best friends were the dogs who came and licked his sores.

“Then he died, this poor man, and was taken up by the angels to the lap of Abraham. The rich man also died and was buried. In hell and in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham in the distance and Lazarus in his lap. He called out, ‘Father Abraham, mercy! Have mercy! Send Lazarus to dip his finger in water to cool my tongue. I’m in agony in this fire.’

“But Abraham said, ‘Child, remember that in your lifetime you got the good things and Lazarus the bad things. It’s not like that here. Here he’s consoled and you’re tormented. Besides, in all these matters there is a huge chasm set between us so that no one can go from us to you even if he wanted to, nor can anyone cross over from you to us.’

“The rich man said, ‘Then let me ask you, Father: Send him to the house of my father where I have five brothers, so he can tell them the score and warn them so they won’t end up here in this place of torment.’

“Abraham answered, ‘They have Moses and the Prophets to tell them the score. Let them listen to them.’

“‘I know, Father Abraham,’ he said, ‘but they’re not listening. If someone came back to them from the dead, they would change their ways.’

“Abraham replied, ‘If they won’t listen to Moses and the Prophets, they’re not going to be convinced by someone who rises from the dead.’”

For Reflection and Prayer:

Was there a word, a phrase, image, or feeling that ‘shimmered’ as you listened? Allow it to land in your heart. Stay with it. Savor it.

Reflect on what you heard. What effect does it have on you? What meaning does it hold for you? What does the Holy Spirit seem to be conveying to you? Talk it over in your prayer. Perhaps you want to draw or color your prayer or journal the conversation.

As the time of prayer comes to a close, share some moments of quiet with Jesus, simply resting safely in his presence.

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Worn Out on Religion

The text this week includes some of the first words which the prophet Isaiah writes to the Hebrews in his attempt to wake the people up to God in the whole of their lives. Notice how you hear the voice and heart of God in these words. If you feel discomfort, linger with it in prayer. Allow the text to be a conversation starter with God. These words of Jesus seem to echo in response:

“Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly.” - Matthew 11:28-30

Isaiah 1:10-18 (The Message)
“Listen to my Message, you Sodom-schooled leaders.
Receive God’s revelation, you Gomorrah-schooled people.
11-12 “Why this frenzy of sacrifices?” GOD’S asking.
“Don’t you think I’ve had my fill of burnt sacrifices, rams and plump grain-fed calves?
Don’t you think I’ve had my fill of blood from bulls, lambs, and goats?
When you come before me, whoever gave you the idea of acting like this,
Running here and there, doing this and that—
all this sheer commotion in the place provided for worship?
13-17 “Quit your worship charades. I can’t stand your trivial religious games:
Monthly conferences, weekly Sabbaths, special meetings—
meetings, meetings, meetings—I can’t stand one more!
Meetings for this, meetings for that. I hate them! You’ve worn me out!
I’m sick of your religion, religion, religion, while you go right on sinning.
When you put on your next prayer-performance,
I’ll be looking the other way. No matter how long or loud or often you pray,
I’ll not be listening. And do you know why? Because you’ve been tearing
people to pieces, and your hands are bloody.
Go home and wash up. Clean up your act.
Sweep your lives clean of your evildoings so I don’t have to look at them any longer.
Say no to wrong.
Learn to do good.
Work for justice.
Help the down-and-out.
Stand up for the homeless.
Go to bat for the defenseless.
18“Come. Sit down. Let’s argue this out.” This is GOD’s Message:
“If your sins are blood-red, they’ll be snow-white.
If they’re red like crimson, they’ll be like wool.

For Reflection and Prayer:
Was there a word, a phrase, image, or feeling that shimmered as you listened? Repeat it quietly to yourself and give it room to settle into you.

What feelings or longings arise within as you reflect? Bring them into your prayer. Perhaps you want to draw or color your prayer.

As the prayer comes to a close, give yourself some time to rest in quiet trust with God.

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Truth Speaking and Living Water

Last week we wondered about who it is we are actually speaking to when we pray. This week we notice how Jesus graciously evokes the truth in his conversation with the woman from Samaria. This vulnerable and respectful truth-telling between Jesus and the woman reveals a way we can all access the life giving well within. When the truth of our story is spoken and met with compassionate love and grace we discover our spiritual thirst being satisfied. God taught this first to Moses in Numbers 20 when he asked Moses to draw forth water from the rock by speaking. God comes around this time in the flesh of Jesus. Through Jesus' engagement with this woman he demonstrates how we can all draw forth living water from within.

John 4:11-18 (NLT)
11 “But sir, you don’t have a rope or a bucket,” she said, “and this well is very deep. Where would you get this living water? 12 And besides, do you think you’re greater than our ancestor Jacob, who gave us this well? How can you offer better water than he and his sons and his animals enjoyed?”
13 Jesus replied, “Anyone who drinks this water will soon become thirsty again. 14 But those who drink the water I give will never be thirsty again. It becomes a fresh, bubbling spring within them, giving them eternal life.”
15 “Please, sir,” the woman said, “give me this water! Then I’ll never be thirsty again, and I won’t have to come here to get water.”
16 “Go and get your husband,” Jesus told her.
17 “I don’t have a husband,” the woman replied.
Jesus said, “You’re right! You don’t have a husband— 18 for you have had five husbands, and you aren’t even married to the man you’re living with now. You certainly spoke the truth!”

For Reflection and Prayer:
What spoke to you as you listened? What feelings seemed to accompany this? Journal your thoughts and impressions.

Where, if anywhere, have you noticed thirst lately? What does thirst taste and feel like when you notice it? Take this into your prayer.

Consider having a gentle conversation with Jesus about any experience or thought this Scripture has raised up. Rest in the awareness that He knows the truth.

Our Exodus Story

As we continue to pray with the Psalms through Lent, this one is of particular significance. It is the hymn of the Exodus, traditionally sung or spoken before the Passover meal of remembrance. Psalm 114 invites us to remember our own Exodus story, those places where God saw our oppression, came to our rescue and delivered us to a place of sanctuary. Perhaps this story is still unfolding in your life. Take courage and ask God for what you need. Our Deliverer is surely coming.

Psalm 114 NLT
When the Israelites escaped from Egypt—
    when the family of Jacob left that foreign land—
2 the land of Judah became God’s sanctuary,
    and Israel became his kingdom.
3 The Red Sea saw them coming and hurried out of their way!
    The water of the Jordan River turned away.
4 The mountains skipped like rams,
    the hills like lambs!
5 What’s wrong, Red Sea, that made you hurry out of their way?
    What happened, Jordan River, that you turned away?
6 Why, mountains, did you skip like rams?
    Why, hills, like lambs?
7 Tremble, O earth, at the presence of the Lord,
    at the presence of the God of Jacob.
8 He turned the rock into a pool of water;
    yes, a spring of water flowed from solid rock.

vs. 8 references: Exodus 17:6, Numbers 20:11

For Reflection and Prayer:
What word, a phrase, image, or feeling affected you as you listened to the text? How did it affect you? Bring this into your prayer with Jesus.

Remember and reflect on your own Exodus experience. Take time to journal and record your story as a remembrance. What did God do for you? What oppressive place and ruler did God deliver you from? Where did God bring you to a place of sanctuary?

How does this Exodus still affect you today? How is God teaching you to draw forth water from the rock? From rocky places? Where or how does God lead you to springs of living water for each day?

How do you like to celebrate your Exodus?

Nurturing for Deep Roots

Have you ever wondered what causes a plant to become deeply rooted? In your life, how do you and the Trinity - Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, cooperate together to nurture deepening spiritual roots in your own life? Who and what are you rooted into?

Jesus begins teaching the crowds with parables conveying deeper truths within a story. His methods evoke desire in those who truly want to hear and understand. Listen and notice what Jesus is saying to you.

I pray that your roots may go down deep into the soil of God's marvelous love. Ephesians 3:17 NLT

Mark 4:1-20 NKJV
And again He began to teach by the sea. And a great multitude was gathered to Him, so that He got into a boat and sat in it on the sea; and the whole multitude was on the land facing the sea. 2 Then He taught them many things by parables, and said to them in His teaching:

3 “Listen! Behold, a sower went out to sow. 4 And it happened, as he sowed, that some seed fell by the wayside; and the birds of the air came and devoured it. 5 Some fell on stony ground, where it did not have much earth; and immediately it sprang up because it had no depth of earth. 6 But when the sun was up it was scorched, and because it had no root it withered away. 7 And some seed fell among thorns; and the thorns grew up and choked it, and it yielded no crop. 8 But other seed fell on good ground and yielded a crop that sprang up, increased and produced: some thirtyfold, some sixty, and some a hundred.”

9 And He said to them, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear!”
The Purpose of Parables

10 But when He was alone, those around Him with the twelve asked Him about the parable. 11 And He said to them, “To you it has been given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God; but to those who are outside, all things come in parables, 12 so that

‘Seeing they may see and not perceive,
And hearing they may hear and not understand;
Lest they should turn,
And their sins be forgiven them.’”
The Parable of the Sower Explained

13 And He said to them, “Do you not understand this parable? How then will you understand all the parables? 14 The sower sows the word. 15 And these are the ones by the wayside where the word is sown. When they hear, Satan comes immediately and takes away the word that was sown in their hearts. 16 These likewise are the ones sown on stony ground who, when they hear the word, immediately receive it with gladness; 17 and they have no root in themselves, and so endure only for a time. Afterward, when tribulation or persecution arises for the word’s sake, immediately they stumble. 18 Now these are the ones sown among thorns; they are the ones who hear the word, 19 and the cares of this world, the deceitfulness of riches, and the desires for other things entering in choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful. 20 But these are the ones sown on good ground, those who hear the word, accept it, and bear fruit: some thirtyfold, some sixty, and some a hundred.”

For Reflection and Prayer:
What did you hear or feel as you listened to the text?

If you were to give close attention to the sower (the farmer) what do you notice about the sower's character?

How have you experienced the seed planted within you?

What has nurtured a deepening rooted-ness of that seed within you? What has not been helpful?

It can be helpful to reflect on the fruit of one's spiritual practices. What do you notice? Which practices help you become more loving of God, yourself and others? More compassionate? More peaceful? Is there a new spiritual discipline which you are feeling led to explore or practice?