[the sweet spot]

I wrote this song in 2003 after being blown away by the humanity Jesus shows in Mark 14 when he prays “Abba, Father, all things are possible for you.  Remove this cup from me.  Yet not what I will, but what you will.”  The Message phrases it this way:  ”Papa, Father, you can - can’t you?  Get me out of this.  Take this cup away from me.  But please, not what I want - what do you want?”

This moment continues to humble me perhaps more than any other in the Gospels.

You didn’t have to Jesus.  But you did.

Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.
John 15:13

The Prayer of Saint Patrick

I arise today through the strength of heaven;
Light of the sun, splendor of fire, speed of lightning, swiftness of the wind,
Depth of the sea, stability of the earth, firmness of the rock.

I arise today through God’s strength to pilot me;
God’s might to uphold me, God’s wisdom to guide me,
God’s eye to look before me, God’s ear to hear me, God’s word to speak for me,
God’s hand to guard me, God’s way to lie before me, God’s shield to protect me,
God’s hosts to save me afar and anear, alone or in a mulitude.

Christ shield me today against wounding
Christ with me, Christ before me, Christ behind me,
Christ in me, Christ beneath me, Christ above me,
Christ on my right, Christ on my left, Christ when I lie down, Christ when I sit down,
Christ in the heart of everyone who thinks of me,
Christ in the mouth of everyone who speaks of me,
Christ in the eye that sees me, Christ in the ear that hears me.

I arise today through the mighty strength of the Lord of creation

Amen.

mrwcase:

nevver:

PaperPunk

For Brother Miles.

A Deficiency of Love

Last week I attempted to collect my thoughts on the tragic systematic sexual abuse of children uncovered at my alma mater, Penn State, by the hands of a former assistant football coach.  My goal was to express my conviction that the events bring to light a deeper societal issue that we all need to deal with.  After an overwhelming response, I felt that I needed to follow up with a more directly biblical response as a sort of “part two.”  I knew that I wanted to talk about the story of the “Good Samaritan” that Jesus tells in Luke 10 and had prepared some notes to begin a new post.

Then I came across Tim Henderson’s message at Penn State Cru and decided that he said what I wanted to way better than I ever would have.

Go read it.  Listen to it.  It’s the single best response I’ve seen to the events of the past two weeks.

All I can say is amen.