On Reading the Daily News, Comments by Merton

Some time ago, I advised: If you don't already own Watch for the Light, get a copy immediately.

I'm repeating that advice today because I just read Thomas Merton's essay, The Time of No Room.

About pessimism, he asks:

Is it pessimism to diagnose cancer as cancer? Or should one simply go on pretending that everything is getting better every day, because the time of the end is also--for some at any rate--the time of great prosperity? "The kings of the earth have joined in her idolatry, and the traders of the earth have grown rich from their excessive luxury" (Revelation 18:3).

Into this world, this demented inn, in which there is absolutely no room for him at all, Christ has come uninvited. But because he cannot be at home in it because he is out of place in it, and must be in it--his place is with those others who do not belong, who are rejected because they are regarded as weak; and whit those who are discredited, who are denied the status of persons, and are tortured, eterminated. With those for whom there is no room, Christ is present in the world.

Urban Renewal, Reflection on Revelation 21:1-6a

As we read this passage on New Year's Eve (or Day), we see the word "new" over and over.

• New heaven.
• New earth.
• New Jerusalem.
• All things new.

Throughout the Bible, the word of God has come to disconsolate, misbehaving people and promised that they did not have to remain in despair. "Come home," God has said to exiles. Here, God promises, "I'm coming to be with you."

Or, hasn't God been here all along? What makes all of these things new is that maybe now I can realize that God has been here and always will be. What needs to be new is that I start to pay attention.

A second point: As so many of us look for this-life salvation by rushing to the suburbs, we might notice that God may prefer the urban life. God is going to bring us a new Jerusalem. Jerusalem, a holy city; not Babylon, the city of sinful, selfish rulers. Try to re-think heaven (this-life or after-life) not as sitting on a lonely cloud listening to harp music but as a night-time urban neighborhood. After all, God is promising to dwell among mortals.

Lectio Divina: Revelation 21:2-3

Carpe Diem

poets.org offers some help in making the most of time: Poems for the New Year

Being Given Dominion, Reflection on Psalm 8

"O God," the Psalmist sings, "When I consider your glory, when I consider your power, when I consider what you have created, I wonder why you bother with us."

God is greater, much greater than human beings. Yet, don't get too humble. God has a job for us.

Many of us can use this psalm to prod us or to assure us of the value of what we're trying to do--or, ought to be. We're responsible for maintaining, caring for, being responsible for, God's creations--human and earthly.

Lectio Divina: Psalm 8:3-8

Prayer for New Year's Day

Creative God, you make all things new in heaven and on earth.
We come to you in a new year with new desires and old fears,
new decisions and old controversies,
new dreams and old weaknesses.
Because you are a God of hope,
we know that you create all the possibilities of the future.
Because you are a God of love,
we know that you accept all the mistakes of the past.
Because you are the God of our faith,
we enter your gates with thanksgiving and praise,
we come into your presence with gladness and a joyful noise,
and we serve and bless you. Amen.

(from Maren C. Tirabassi, the United Methodist Book of Worship, 294)

A Time for Every Matter, Reflection on Ecclesiastes 3:1-23

We'll have a new calendar this week. The lectionary for New Year's Day includes this reading from Ecclesiastes that begins by discussing time. Here's what strikes me as I read this passage:

There's a time for something to happen and a time for its opposite.

God wants us to enjoy ourselves. God wants us to behave ourselves. (Are these opposites, too?)

God controls the time. God judges what we do with our time.

Lectio Divina: Ecclesiastes 3:1-13

I Will Rejoice, Reflection on Isaiah 61:10-62:3

"I will greatly rejoice," Isaiah says. He talks about the gifts of salvation and righteousness. "Gratitude will spring up in you as inevitably as a garden grows from seeds."

But, keep reading.

Isaiah switches from the past tense to the future, "I'll not rest until Jerusalem is vindicated."

Jerusalem needs saving, and not only for its own sake. The salvation of Jerusalem will be a lesson for all who see it.

As we rejoice in the coming of Christ, we also recognize that the world we live in is not quite perfect even yet. We still need to sing of salvation and to look forward to it, as well.

Lectio Divina: Isaiah 62:1-3

The Prophet Anna, Reflection on Luke 2:36-40

Here are some excuses that will not work:

I'm too old.
I'm not important.
I don't have family support.
I'm not able to get around very far.

At least, they didn't work for Anna. Why is it that we don't speak about what we know?

Lectio Divina: Luke 2:36-38

Sunday School Lessons for January

Look on page 4 of the Mississippi Advocate for the January Sunday School Lessons:

• January 4 Exodus 1:8-21, Midwives Serve God
  
• January 11 Joshua 2:1-4, 12-14; 6:22-38, Rahab Helps Israel
  
• January 18 Joshua 3:1-13, Joshua Leads Israel
  
• January 25 Judges 3:1-13, 24, Samson's Mother Prepares for His Birth
  

Boxing Day, December 26

Judith Flanders, in the New York Times today reminds us of the history of Boxing Day