Words on the Word
Prayer
Read Your Bible: But How? (Lectio Divina)
“Read your Bible.” But how? I’ve benefitted from reading large portions of Scripture–whole narratives, books, and multiple chapters–in one sitting. I’ve also benefitted immensely from slowing down and meditatively just reading a few verses at a time. Lectio Divina is a way of reading Scripture that encourages that. It’s reading, as many have said, for transformation and … Continue reading
Praying Morning Prayer (beta site)
My friend Ben Rey has made a really attractive site for praying Morning Prayer from the Book of Common Prayer. The site is in beta right now, but you can use it to pray each day–it’s got the liturgy and Scriptures. Ben says: Thanks again for participating in the Morning Prayer (MP) beta testing. The … Continue reading
Need of Jesus (a Puritan prayer)
Here is a prayer from The Valley of Vision, titled “Need of Jesus.” (More on this collection of Puritan prayers is here.) Lord Jesus, I am blind, be thou my light, ignorant, be thou my wisdom, self-willed, be thou my mind. Open my ear to grasp quickly thy Spirit’s voice, and delightfully run after his beckoning hand; Melt … Continue reading
Psalms of Lament (for “Scalding Tears”)
Psalms of Lament is a heartbreakingly beautiful collection of poetry. Weems alarmingly yet assuringly gets right down to business in her Preface: This book is not for everyone. It is for those who weep and for those who weep with those who weep. It is for those whose souls struggle with the dailiness of faithkeeping … Continue reading
Derrida, Caputo, and David Walk Into a Psalm
Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin. Psalm 51:2 The heading of Psalm 51 gives its setting: “When the prophet Nathan came to [David] after David had committed adultery with Bathsheba.” The Hebrew text is more explicit in its description of David’s adulterous act in the Psalm heading. David had had … Continue reading
A Prayer for Difference amidst Unity, and Unity amidst Difference
Does race matter? Is ethnicity important? How do cultural backgrounds affect our everyday lives? This week at Gordon College we have a special emphasis week, BEYOND COLORBLIND: BEYOND COLORBLIND is a focus week to help start new conversations about race and culture on campus. We hope the lectures and discussions help us consider how our racial … Continue reading
A prayer for the first day of school
This semester is the first day of classes at Gordon. This morning in chapel I led us in a responsive prayer, offering thanksgiving and petition to God at the start of a new semester. I offered the prayer in italics, then we all as one congregation read the bold responses. For the start of a … Continue reading
“I, who live by words, am wordless when I turn me to the Word to pray”
It’s been a quiet week at Words on the Word. That’s okay–words are not always called for. I think I first learned about this Madeleine L’Engle poem through my boss some time ago, but can’t recall for sure now. It’s called “Word,” though she just as well could have called it “In Praise of No … Continue reading
More on the Connecticut school shooting: the haughtiness of humanity will collapse, says Isaiah
I wondered tonight whether this week’s Greek Isaiah readings might have something to say to the recent school shooting in Connecticut. Indeed, here is Isaiah 2:17-19 (my translation from the Greek): Then every person will be brought low, and the haughtiness of humanity will collapse, and the Lord alone will be exalted in that day. … Continue reading
He crushes guns and diffuses bombs; he destroys weapons of destruction (Psalm 46 speaks into the mass school shooting)
Psalm 46, a Psalm for tragedies and disasters, reads: God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging. There is a river whose streams make glad the city of … Continue reading
