The Bread of Life and The Cup of Salvation: Week 3
Week 3- Monday
By his blood, he reconciled us. By his wounds, we are healed. (Eucharistic Prayer C pg. 370 BCP)
The language of blood and sacrifice is difficult. I find the image unsettling. It’s too graphic, too gory for it to be helpful, yet here it is, right in the middle of the Eucharistic prayer, words of blood and reconciliation, wounds and healing, images of sacrifice. There must be something transformative in all of this, some point that draws us in, an invitation to participate in the life and death of Christ, and in resurrection. Near the end of the epic Harry Potter stories, there is a point where Harry must make a choice to allow his enemy to kill him. In that moment Harry realizes that the only way that evil can be overcome is to submit to death. In the end, his willingness to die results in life. There is something in that epic story for us. Our willingness to release that wounded and dying part of ourselves into Christ, opens the way for healing, reconciliation, and resurrection. Standing open-hearted at the cross of Christ creates a channel for the Holy Spirit to be poured into our lives and our world.
Where do you see resurrection in your life?
Week 3- Tuesday
And therefore we praise you, joining with the heavenly chorus. (Eucharistic Prayer C pg. 370 BCP)
In ancient Celtic Christianity there is the concept of the “thin place.” These thin places are the points where the earthly and the eternal are closest. For some people, it’s at a river, or a mountain, or a lake, or the ocean. For me there is no place where I am more aware of God’s presence than at the communion rail. Not only am I aware of the presence of the Trinity, but of all those living and dead who are worshiping with me. There are times I feel like if I just turn my head quickly enough I will be able to see them. We join in praise with all those who praise God, the one in three and three in one. We join with all those saints we can name, with Peter and Paul, with Gregory the Great and Catherine of Siena, with Hugh Latimer and Florence Nightingale, and all those others whose names have been forgotten. We join with the ones who are our saints, all those ones we remember. We join with all those others in time zones across the world. Together we praise God. Glory to you, Lord God of hosts, who lives in glory everlasting.
Where is your thin place? Where do you join with the heavenly chorus?
Week 3- Wednesday
With prophets, apostles, and martyrs, and with all those in every generation who have looked to you in hope. (Eucharistic Prayer C pg. 370 BCP)
Hope—it’s something I think we notice more when it is absent than when it is present. Hopelessness we recognize. Hopelessness haunts us when we see all the doors closing, when the light fades and we are trapped in the dark. Hope is what keeps us going in the dark. Hope is best when it is hope in something—or in this case, in someone. Who we hope in makes all the difference. Having hope in God, placing our certainty in the goodness and love of God is an altogether different thing from just trying to hope that things will get better. Placing our hope in God stretches backwards as well as forwards. In God we hope because we know all those things that the Lord has done, all those times YHWH rescued Israel, all those times Jesus reached out to the outsiders and the lost, all those times when the Holy Spirit did not leave the world in its brokenness and stirred up people to speak up, to change things, to help the homeless and hungry. Placing our hope in God is grounded on who God is and what God has done. Hope in God provides light for the way forward.
What do you hope for? How is your hope grounded?
Week 3- Thursday
To proclaim with them your glory, in their unending hymn. (Eucharistic Prayer C pg. 370 BCP)
There is a streak of Midwestern Modesty in the family in which I grew up. Make that a streak about a mile wide. It’s the expectation that one will always be aware that “you are no better than the next person” and that “you could do better.” All of that makes me uncomfortable with praise. Singing praises somehow feels like I’m trying to ingratiate myself into God’s good graces, to somehow cover up all my shortcomings. However, giving praise to God is not about me. Proclaiming the wonder and glory of God is to acknowledge who God is and what God has done. As uncomfortable as it may make me feel at times, it is a practice that helps me to put aside my preoccupation with myself and focus, if just for a few minutes on the Creator and Lord of all things.
What would you praise God for today?
Week 3- Friday
Holy, Holy, Holy Lord, God of power and might, (Eucharistic Prayer C pg. 371 BCP)
“In the praise of God the congregation shares the song of the angels and the whole company of heaven”. Marion Hachett
We share the song of the angels. We sing with quavery or full-throated or off-key voices, blending with the whole company of heaven to declare once again the wonders of our God. It looks crazy. Anyone passing by will wonder what we are doing. After all, what difference does it make if we, in our little corner of the world, are praising God? We do it because it does makes a difference. It helps us to keep things in perspective, to remember that God is God and we are not. It helps us to be thankful for all the wonders and delights that surround us. It lifts us up and connects us with the whole company of heaven, who delight in the presence of God. So we sing the song of the angels, you and me and that baby in the pew in front of us, each joining together to sing, “Holy, Holy, Holy.”
Week 3- Saturday
Heaven and earth are full of your glory. Hosanna in the highest. (Eucharistic Prayer C pg. 371 BCP)
“It is a serious thing to live in a society of possible gods and goddesses, to remember that the dullest most uninteresting person you talk to may one day be a creature which, if you saw it now, you would be strongly tempted to worship.” C. S. Lewis
We live in a world filled with the hidden glory of God. Not only in the heights of the mountains and the vastness of the sea, but in all those astonishing people that surround us. Each of them carries the mark of God’s love and delight. There is a wonder and beauty to each person we meet that shines just out of our sight. Sometimes we catch a glimpse of it, lingering in laughter, shimmering in eyes filled with humor or compassion. Kindness and courage point toward it. Everywhere we look there are hints of glory, if we pause and look. That is the hardest part, stopping to see the glory that surrounds us, in heaven and earth, and in everyone we meet today.
May you see the glory of God today, in sky and tree and the barista who hands you your coffee.
Week 3- Sunday
Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. Hosanna in the highest. (Eucharistic Prayer C pg. 371 BCP)
“Whoever gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones in the name of a disciple—truly I tell you, none of these will lose their reward.” Matt. 10:42 NRSV
Many things have been done in the name of God. Wars waged, hospitals built, people shunned, loving communities created, people fed, and others abandoned. It’s strange that the actions of love and acceptance often occur in the quiet corners of life. Those who give that cup of water say, “It’s just a part of what I do.” You have heard that story over and over again—the teacher who makes sure that all the students have lunch, or the neighbor who looks in and gets medical help for someone in need, or the church that sets up tutors for the school down the street, then realizes that they need books in the library, and art supplies and . . . and . . . and. . . . You could keep adding to the list of tales, acts of love and care done by people who just bothered to show up. Those people who came “in the name of the Lord.”
What will you do today in the name of the Lord?
Back to list
By his blood, he reconciled us. By his wounds, we are healed. (Eucharistic Prayer C pg. 370 BCP)
The language of blood and sacrifice is difficult. I find the image unsettling. It’s too graphic, too gory for it to be helpful, yet here it is, right in the middle of the Eucharistic prayer, words of blood and reconciliation, wounds and healing, images of sacrifice. There must be something transformative in all of this, some point that draws us in, an invitation to participate in the life and death of Christ, and in resurrection. Near the end of the epic Harry Potter stories, there is a point where Harry must make a choice to allow his enemy to kill him. In that moment Harry realizes that the only way that evil can be overcome is to submit to death. In the end, his willingness to die results in life. There is something in that epic story for us. Our willingness to release that wounded and dying part of ourselves into Christ, opens the way for healing, reconciliation, and resurrection. Standing open-hearted at the cross of Christ creates a channel for the Holy Spirit to be poured into our lives and our world.
Where do you see resurrection in your life?
Week 3- Tuesday
And therefore we praise you, joining with the heavenly chorus. (Eucharistic Prayer C pg. 370 BCP)
In ancient Celtic Christianity there is the concept of the “thin place.” These thin places are the points where the earthly and the eternal are closest. For some people, it’s at a river, or a mountain, or a lake, or the ocean. For me there is no place where I am more aware of God’s presence than at the communion rail. Not only am I aware of the presence of the Trinity, but of all those living and dead who are worshiping with me. There are times I feel like if I just turn my head quickly enough I will be able to see them. We join in praise with all those who praise God, the one in three and three in one. We join with all those saints we can name, with Peter and Paul, with Gregory the Great and Catherine of Siena, with Hugh Latimer and Florence Nightingale, and all those others whose names have been forgotten. We join with the ones who are our saints, all those ones we remember. We join with all those others in time zones across the world. Together we praise God. Glory to you, Lord God of hosts, who lives in glory everlasting.
Where is your thin place? Where do you join with the heavenly chorus?
Week 3- Wednesday
With prophets, apostles, and martyrs, and with all those in every generation who have looked to you in hope. (Eucharistic Prayer C pg. 370 BCP)
Hope—it’s something I think we notice more when it is absent than when it is present. Hopelessness we recognize. Hopelessness haunts us when we see all the doors closing, when the light fades and we are trapped in the dark. Hope is what keeps us going in the dark. Hope is best when it is hope in something—or in this case, in someone. Who we hope in makes all the difference. Having hope in God, placing our certainty in the goodness and love of God is an altogether different thing from just trying to hope that things will get better. Placing our hope in God stretches backwards as well as forwards. In God we hope because we know all those things that the Lord has done, all those times YHWH rescued Israel, all those times Jesus reached out to the outsiders and the lost, all those times when the Holy Spirit did not leave the world in its brokenness and stirred up people to speak up, to change things, to help the homeless and hungry. Placing our hope in God is grounded on who God is and what God has done. Hope in God provides light for the way forward.
What do you hope for? How is your hope grounded?
Week 3- Thursday
To proclaim with them your glory, in their unending hymn. (Eucharistic Prayer C pg. 370 BCP)
There is a streak of Midwestern Modesty in the family in which I grew up. Make that a streak about a mile wide. It’s the expectation that one will always be aware that “you are no better than the next person” and that “you could do better.” All of that makes me uncomfortable with praise. Singing praises somehow feels like I’m trying to ingratiate myself into God’s good graces, to somehow cover up all my shortcomings. However, giving praise to God is not about me. Proclaiming the wonder and glory of God is to acknowledge who God is and what God has done. As uncomfortable as it may make me feel at times, it is a practice that helps me to put aside my preoccupation with myself and focus, if just for a few minutes on the Creator and Lord of all things.
What would you praise God for today?
Week 3- Friday
Holy, Holy, Holy Lord, God of power and might, (Eucharistic Prayer C pg. 371 BCP)
“In the praise of God the congregation shares the song of the angels and the whole company of heaven”. Marion Hachett
We share the song of the angels. We sing with quavery or full-throated or off-key voices, blending with the whole company of heaven to declare once again the wonders of our God. It looks crazy. Anyone passing by will wonder what we are doing. After all, what difference does it make if we, in our little corner of the world, are praising God? We do it because it does makes a difference. It helps us to keep things in perspective, to remember that God is God and we are not. It helps us to be thankful for all the wonders and delights that surround us. It lifts us up and connects us with the whole company of heaven, who delight in the presence of God. So we sing the song of the angels, you and me and that baby in the pew in front of us, each joining together to sing, “Holy, Holy, Holy.”
Week 3- Saturday
Heaven and earth are full of your glory. Hosanna in the highest. (Eucharistic Prayer C pg. 371 BCP)
“It is a serious thing to live in a society of possible gods and goddesses, to remember that the dullest most uninteresting person you talk to may one day be a creature which, if you saw it now, you would be strongly tempted to worship.” C. S. Lewis
We live in a world filled with the hidden glory of God. Not only in the heights of the mountains and the vastness of the sea, but in all those astonishing people that surround us. Each of them carries the mark of God’s love and delight. There is a wonder and beauty to each person we meet that shines just out of our sight. Sometimes we catch a glimpse of it, lingering in laughter, shimmering in eyes filled with humor or compassion. Kindness and courage point toward it. Everywhere we look there are hints of glory, if we pause and look. That is the hardest part, stopping to see the glory that surrounds us, in heaven and earth, and in everyone we meet today.
May you see the glory of God today, in sky and tree and the barista who hands you your coffee.
Week 3- Sunday
Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. Hosanna in the highest. (Eucharistic Prayer C pg. 371 BCP)
“Whoever gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones in the name of a disciple—truly I tell you, none of these will lose their reward.” Matt. 10:42 NRSV
Many things have been done in the name of God. Wars waged, hospitals built, people shunned, loving communities created, people fed, and others abandoned. It’s strange that the actions of love and acceptance often occur in the quiet corners of life. Those who give that cup of water say, “It’s just a part of what I do.” You have heard that story over and over again—the teacher who makes sure that all the students have lunch, or the neighbor who looks in and gets medical help for someone in need, or the church that sets up tutors for the school down the street, then realizes that they need books in the library, and art supplies and . . . and . . . and. . . . You could keep adding to the list of tales, acts of love and care done by people who just bothered to show up. Those people who came “in the name of the Lord.”
What will you do today in the name of the Lord?
Back to list
