NOVEMBER - Ministerial Musings
As we turn toward the holidays and gather
with family and friends for Thanksgiving, my heart hears the words of author
Plec Ayer.
"May we remember, as we long on, that half the world's people
have never used a telephone, and recall, as we chatter, that most of those
around us have no change to speak or move as they choose. May we
recall that more than a billion beings live without food, and that as many
children live amidst poverty and war.
May we have the strength to questions our own gods, and the grace to
respect others'; may we, on a globe that is shrinking and expanding, honor
our differences, while finding a language in which to speak of them
together. May we recall that the responsibility of the fortunate is
to answer the prayers of others, and the privilege of the blessed is to
make cause for general gratitude; may we sing hymns for the opportunities
we often ignore and say hallelujahs to the moments that are every-day
gifts.
May we speak to the best in our neighbors and attend to the worst in
ourselves; may be have the courage to leaven compassion with discernment,
and the sense to make knowledge dance with innocence.
May we, above all, in the clamor of the moment, find a space to recollect
what we treasure, and a silence in which to recall the fact that progress,
fundamentally, takes us backward, toward the essential and the deep.
And may we continue, amidst the acceleration and opportunities of the
moment, to see what exists beyond all moments, and to rejoice in the wise souls
in our midst...whose challenges and injunctions and reminders answer our
petitions and our needs, while leaving use with questions it is our
duty--our pleasure--to take home." (from Prayers for a Thousand
Years, ed., by Elizabeth Roberts and Elias Amidon, p. 127)
Blessing to you. Happy Thanksgiving.
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