The Call
Immersion
There is anger abroad in the world, a numb thunder, because of God’s silence. But how naïve, to keep wanting words we could speak ourselves, English, Urdu, Tagalog, the French of Tours, the French of Haiti… Yes, that was one way omnipotence chose to address us—Hebrew, Aramaic, or whatever the patriarchs chose in their turn to call what they heard. Moses demanded the word, spoken and written. But perfect freedom assured other ways of speech. God is surely patiently trying to immerse us in a different language, events of grace, horrifying scrolls of history and the unearned retrieval of blessings lost for ever, the poor grass returning after drought, timid, persistent. God’s abstention is only from human dialects. The holy voice utters its woe and glory in myriad musics, in signs and portents. Our own words are for us to speak, a way to ask and to answer. —Denise Levertov
Prayer in Action and Reflections
Blessings and Curses: Think of time you have felt “cursed.” If you can, reflect on that time of darkness. What changes were needed? What insight came? Now think of blessings. As you breathe and pray: can you intermingle the blessings and curses, the dark and the light? What is God calling you to offer out of both? Trees beside deep water: What is the nature of your roots that seek the streams of living water? When drought comes, what keeps your leaves green and anxiety at bay? What does it mean to you to bear fruit “in season”? As you pray, endeavor to plant your heart and mind close to these streams. Consider what would bring your day-to-day living closer to this source for you.What would a valentine to your enemy say? What gift came, unbidden, even unwanted, from the challenge you see in that person, that circumstance? What love is at work in you to reach past difficulties and fears?
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