Wednesday Devotion

Words for reflection on the day ahead or day past.

Centering . . .

Slow me down
Still my restless mind
Quell my tears
Quench my thirsty soul
Fill me with Your love
God of Truth . . .
God of Love . . .
Jack Walker, Singing with Grandpa, 2007

Ponder . . .

“Our congregation at Church of the Advocate declares, “We welcome people of every kind of household, at every stage of life and faith and doubt.” We are proud of that welcome and of the diversity it brings.

At one point we embraced “radical welcome,” defining it as “a welcome that doesn’t come easily, that makes us un­comfortable, that changes the community as we are.”

At times we’ve wrestled with our lines of tolerance and the limits of our flexibility.

One member of the congregation perceived in herself a gift for healing and wanted us to put a massage table in front of the altar so that she could lay hands on people there.
Is this part of a radical welcome? Where do we draw the line? How do we say, “That isn’t the way we do things,” while also proclaiming, “All are welcome”?

Lines of intolerance often lead to miscommunications or sudden departures, with no opportunity for further teaching or explanation or understanding. At best, lines of intolerance lead to conversations about norms, expectations, appropriate behaviors, and faithfulness. These days, being less certain in our venture, we say, “We strive to practice radical welcome, though we know it is hard to do.”
Lisa G Fischbeck, “Limits of Welcome: The Sunday I Told Someone to Leave,” The Christian Century, Aug 13, 2015
http://www.christiancentury.org/article/2015-07/limits-welcome

Remember . . .

May God make you impatient to get going,
eager to share the love you have found in the house of prayer,
and keen to exhibit mercy and peace in all your activities.

May God make you patient with those who seem tardy,
understanding with those who are hesitant, anxious or afraid,
and gracious towards any who appear (in your eyes) to be failing in their responsibility.

May the mind that was in Christ possess you,
the love that is always at the heart of God enlarge you,
and the joy of the Spirit give you kindly eyes and thankful soul.   Amen!
Bruce Prewer, Uniting Church in Australia
http://www.bruceprewer.com/DocB/BSUNDAY21.htm

, 08/19/2015. Category: Examen, Michael D, Theological Rant.

Blinded by Science

My companion and I saw the film, “Inside Out” this week.  First, it is not a film for kids.  It has been a long, long time since we were in a film where there were as many 8 year olds and under as there were adults. This cartoon is for at least 10 year olds and older.  Like most of the cartoons made by Pixar and Disney, it is made for adults much more than for young children.  The 5 year old sitting next to me kept bouncing in his chair and asking him mom questions.  For her part, mom did her best to quiet her son and answer his questions, but she too often talked to the characters on the screen as if sitting in her living room.  But the annoyance aside, the film is well done demonstrating once again how science can help humanity understand itself.  In the Sunday Review of the New York Times, the scientists that served as consultants for the film wrote their own review of the film and in it provide explanation about the science behind our emotion.

The Science of ‘Inside Out’
Sunday Review | The New York Times

Our conversations with Mr. Docter and his team were generally about the science related to questions at the heart of the film: How do emotions govern the stream of consciousness? How do emotions color our memories of the past? What is the emotional life of an 11-year-old girl like? (Studies find that the experience of positive emotions begins to drop precipitously in frequency and intensity at that age.)
Click here to read more.

, 07/05/2015. Category: Culture, Film & Book Reviews, Michael D.
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