"It is necessary for me to see the first point of light that begins to be dawn. It is necessary to be present alone at the resurrection of the Day in solemn silence at which the sun appears, for at this moment all the affairs of cities, of governments, of our war departments, are seen to be the bickering of mice. I receive from the Eastern woods, the tall oaks, the one word DAY. It is never the same. it is always in a totally new language."

That might work for Thomas Merton, but he was single and living in a monastery. Our life circumstances are quite different.

Maybe the dawn is a bit early for most of the year or maybe in the winter you are out the door before the sun rises but do Merton’s words stir anything in you?

Is there a daily ritual or practice that helps you to greet the newness of the day: a walk, a few moments of quiet looking out on the garden, a reading of scripture or poetry, a yoga or Tai chi morning exercise, a few minutes of meditation... What is it for you? What might it be?

Peter

Give therefore to the emperor the things that are the emperors and to God the things that are God’s.
Matthew 22:21

I was once part of a ministerial social justice committee in Labrador. We worked with the community to raise questions about a potential NATO weapons training centre. It was being considered for an area that the Innu community was claiming should be part of their land settlement. The local Member of Parliament wrote a letter to the newspaper saying that the church had no business in the debate. Our place was to get people to come to church, not to be involved in social issues like aboriginal land rights.

Do you think the church should be involved in issues like this? Where in your experience has the church’s involvement been helpful? When has it not been helpful? Where would you like to see the church become more involved?

Peter

"Then one of them when he saw that he was healed, turned back, praising God with a loud voice."Luke 17:15"

...if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things."Phil. 4:8

In the story of Jesus healing the ten lepers, only one returned to give thanks. Nine of the group members had a physical recovery, but only one took the time to express his gratitude. Is gratitude really that rare? Is it really that important? Apparently it was important enough for Luke to include it in his gospel. Stories of thanksgiving encourage that practice among the rest of us.

Here’s your opportunity to express that gift and encourage the rest of us to practice it.

Please consider sharing a thanksgiving story on this blog. Who was it in your life that taught you to be thankful? Was there someone in your childhood who helped you recognize the value of giving thanks? Was there a situation that nudged you to grow in your practice of thanksgiving?

Is there anybody out there?

Peter

“...forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead...” Philippians 3:13

The apostle Paul offers his solid credentials as a Jew, "of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew born of Hebrews." Paul valued his early life and yet he had to let go of some of his religious mindset to take the next step in his life of faith.

Are there valuable things you learned as a young person that still have meaning for you?

What are the things that you needed to forget in order to progress in your faith?

Should children be exposed to a Sunday School as children? Why? Is it better to give them a wide variety of religious options to see what fits best for them? Or is it fairer to not indoctrinate them at all and just allow them to make up their own mind when they are older?

What do you think?