Matthew 6:7-13 God sees our heart and knows our needs.

Matthew 6:32

For after all these things the Gentiles seek. 

For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things.

Sometimes in the silence of the night when words no longer come to us Holy Spirit takes the groanings of our heart and prays for us. Carla

Matthew 6:7-13

And when you pray, do not use vain repetitions as the heathen do. For they think that they will be heard for their many words.

8 “Therefore do not be like them. For your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him. 9 In this manner, therefore, pray:

Our Father in heaven,

Hallowed be Your name.

10Your kingdom come.

Your will be done

On earth as it is in heaven.

11Give us this day our daily bread.

12And forgive us our debts,

As we forgive our debtors.

13 And do not lead us into temptation,

But deliver us from the evil one.

For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen. NKJV)

The focus changes here from hypocrites to Gentiles (ethnikoi). Their many words In Graeco-Roman religions, repetition was used to pester the gods so they would grant someone’s request. After describing how not to pray, Jesus gives a positive example. Matthew 6:9–13 and the parallel passage of Luke 11:1–4 provide a model for prayer. The Gospels make no explicit claims regarding Jesus’ intentions for creating this prayer, but the context indicates that He is teaching people how to pray. Jesus prays similar words as He faces arrest and crucifixion (Matthew 26:39, 42). The people of rural Galilee were poor and oppressed, and resources such as food were scarce. This prayer reflects the real needs of people living in difficult times. The language used here for debt can reflect an Aramaic idiom referring to sin (Luke 11:4). Into temptation  refers to hardship in a general sense. The  evil one is a Greek term used here it may indicate a specific entity (such as the devil;  Ephesians 6:16) or evil in its many forms. Faithlife Study Bible

From the motives for praying (verses 1–6), Jesus turned to methods of praying. Why one prays determines how one prays. Nothing is wrong with repeating prayers (26:39, 42, 44). The prayer is composed of six requests. The first three ask for the kingdom to come (verses 9, 10) and the last three are for God to meet the needs of His people until the kingdom arrives (verses 11–13). Hallowed be Your name is not an ascription of praise to the Father. The verb is an imperative and means “May Your name be hallowed.” This recalls Ezekiel’s prophecy in Ezekiel 36:25–32, where the prophet says Israel has profaned God’s name among the nations. One day God will gather His people from the nations, cleanse them, and by this means vindicate the holiness of His great name. The hallowing of the Father’s name means the arrival of God’s kingdom. Daily bread is a reminder of God’s daily supply of manna to Israel in the wilderness. The NKJV Study Bible

1 Kings 18:26–29

So they took the bull which was given them, and they prepared it, and called on the name of Baal from morning even till noon, saying, “O Baal, hear us!” But there was no voice; no one answered. Then they leaped about the altar which they had made.And so it was, at noon, that Elijah mocked them and said, “Cry aloud, for he is a god; either he is meditating, or he is busy, or he is on a journey, or perhaps he is sleeping and must be awakened.”…

Proverbs 30:8

Remove falsehood and lies far from me;

Give me neither poverty nor riches—Feed me with the food allotted to me;

Many people I speak with right now are carrying grief. You can feel it in conversations. You can feel it in the quiet pauses when people try to describe what this moment feels like. War does that. Even when the bombs fall far away, our spirits know something sacred has been broken.

Grief is not weakness. Grief is what love feels like when life is threatened.

But grief can slip into despair. St. Thomas Aquinas taught that despair was the most dangerous of all human conditions. Despair tells us a dangerous lie: that nothing we do matters anymore.

This is the same wisdom the prophet Jeremiah gave to a people who believed their world had collapsed. Jerusalem had fallen. Their leaders had failed them. They were living in exile under an empire they did not trust.

And the prophet told them something surprising.

Build houses.

Plant gardens.

Seek the welfare of the place where you live.

In other words: keep tending life.

Good religion has always known this truth. We cannot control the great movements of history. None of us can stop the machinery of war alone. But we are not powerless.

We can decide who we will be while history unfolds around us.

We can keep loving our neighbors.

We can keep telling the truth.

We can keep protecting the vulnerable.

We can keep tending the earth.

We can keep planting trees.

We don’t know what tomorrow will bring. But we know who we are called to be today.

We are in this together.” Sabbath Moments

Psalm 143:8 God guides us so we never walk alone!

 Psalm 90:14

Oh, satisfy us early with Your mercy,

That we may rejoice and be glad all our days!

In You alone God I place my trust. In You alone! Your mercies are new each and every morning. Carla

Psalm 143:8 

Cause me to hear Your lovingkindness in the morning,

For in You do I trust;

Cause me to know the way in which I should walk,

For I lift up my soul to You. NKJV)

Psalm 143:8

In the morning let me hear of your mercy,

for in you I trust.

Show me the path I should walk,

for I entrust my life to you. New American (Catholic) Bible

Without a renewed sense of God’s presence, described by the words, Your face, David believes that he is as good as dead. Often in the psalms there is an expectation that an answer from God might come with the morning light (5:3; 30:5; 130:6). The NKJV Study Bible

Cause me to hear your loyal love in the morning. God will have to preserve the psalmist through the night in order for the psalmist’s request to be fulfilled. Faithlife Study Bible

Psalm 25:1–2

To You, O LORD, I lift up my soul. 

O my God, I trust in You;

Let me not be ashamed;

Let not my enemies triumph over me.

Psalm 27:11

Teach me Your way, O LORD,

And lead me in a smooth path, because of my enemies.

Psalm32:8

I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go;

I will guide you with My eye.

Psalm 86:4

Rejoice the soul of Your servant,

For to You, O Lord, I lift up my soul.

We are like crayons. I may not be your favorite color, and you may not favor the hues of others. But one day, we'll find that we need each other to complete the masterpiece. For it is in the blending of differences and distinctiveness that the most beautiful pictures are painted. And together, we create a story far greater than any single color could tell.
And I smiled big when I received this email from SM reader, Cindy, “And, remember broken crayons still color.”
Yes, and Amen.
Over the years in Sabbath Moment, we’ve talked about brokenness. And woundedness. And in both cases, how we too easily forget that neither brokenness nor woundedness diminishes our capacity to live whole-hearted. Or to spill light, and magnify color in a world where every small gift of kindness and encouragement and compassion makes this a better world.
Real life—real world trauma—can take a palpable toll. Recently we talked about feeling quanked (emotionally fatigued). That is real. But the fatigue is exacerbated when we believe that brokenness (or woundedness) is a weakness. Or a limitation and inadequacy, affecting our capacity to choose.
Let’s just say that it is no surprise when we prefer to shut down.

When society feels cruel, it is easy to be hurt or led astray. To remain tender after loss or tragedy or betrayal, is to choose life when renunciation beckons.
So. Let us choose to stay connected to our heart.
And let us embrace the truth that being fully seen, even at the risk of pain, is the only way to truly live.
Messiness, chaos, heartbreak, and vulnerability are not obstacles, they are the ingredients—transformed by hope—that gratefully become the “Crayola color” of human existence.
Let us not forget: Choosing to live from a soft heart in a cruel world is courageous.
Choosing softness is choosing hope, over cynicism.
Choosing connection, over isolation.
Choosing being fully alive, over merely surviving. Sabbath Moments

March 3rd Compassion wins

 From a soft heart, compassion wins.

For starters, when we see with our heart we don't give in to fear, or judgment, or alarm, or dismissal.

We do live in a world where it is tempting (and easy) to put people in a “box”—with labels to match.

One thing Jesus did with his parables, and “encounters” with the people around him, was to invite honesty about our paradigm. What kind of lens (glasses, or paradigm) do we use, to see the world, and the people in it?

And in his parables, he always invites a paradigm shift.

Let us choose empathy over judgment.

Let us choose understanding over dismissal.

Let us choose compassion over retaliation.

Let us choose inclusion over marginalization.

When I see only the label, or the box, it is easy to judge, or dismiss, or devalue.

With great irony, this itch to judge comes to life from our own fear of vulnerability.

The vulnerability alive and well in a soft heart. And this we know my friends, having a soft heart in a cruel world is courageous.

I love crayons. As a young boy, I always hoped that a Crayola box of 64 would be under the Christmas tree. Maybe you can relate?

Here’s the deal: We are like crayons. I may not be your favorite color, and you may not favor the hues of others. But one day, we'll find that we need each other to complete the masterpiece. For it is in the blending of differences and distinctiveness that the most beautiful pictures are painted. And together, we create a story far greater than any single color could tell. Sabbath Moments

Romans 12:17-21 Do not be overcome by by evil, but overcome evil with good

 Romans 12:17-21 Repay no one evil for evil. Have regard for good things in the sight of all men. 18 If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men. 19 Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but rather give place to wrath; for it is written, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,” says the Lord. 20 Therefore

“If your enemy is hungry, feed him;

If he is thirsty, give him a drink;

For in so doing you will heap coals of fire on his head.”

21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. NKJV)

Jesus weeps! Carla

My heart hurts. And feels very soft. Maybe you can relate?

It is as if the nervous system of our country continues to fray.

We need a paradigm shift. As long as it’s win or lose, it is compulsory to be stronger—bigger, meaner or badder.

But what if? What if this life is about “We”? Being on this journey together, where there is no “us versus them”.

Where we say “No” to places where people are diminished, or marginalized, or seen as negligeable.

So yes. Please hear this: Having a soft heart in a cruel world is courageous.

It is choosing empathy over judgment,

understanding over dismissal,

and compassion over retaliation.

It is carrying care, when the world expects callousness,

and offering trust, when betrayal is common. 

To be sure, healthy boundaries will still be needed in some situations and relationships, but even then, this can be done with what John Paul Lederach describes “audacious and tender tenacity”. (Thank you, Carrie Newcomer)

Let is not forget that “Tenderness is the path of choice for the strongest, most courageous men and women. Tenderness is not weakness; it is fortitude. It is the path of solidarity, the path of humility,” as Pope Francis reminded us.

And I take a deep breath and smile big. Okay, back to our paradigm shift. We have a new way to see the world.
When we see with our heart, we are grounded, vulnerable and authentic.
Meaning, we are conscious—present—no longer numbed (by distraction, or elucidation or the addition of whatever it is that we need for the life we needed to “earn”).
Okay, my homily today:
One. From a soft heart, compassion wins.
For starters, when we see with our heart we don't give in to fear.
And Two. A soft heart can hold life’s brokenness and pain, and not be undone by it.
“To remain soft in a world that punishes tenderness is a choice few dare to make. It is saying, ‘I will not become someone I am not to survive.’ Life will knock us down, and it will demand that we harden ourselves just to keep walking. Yet those who refuse to armor up understand that authenticity is not weakness, it is power. Softness is courage incarnate. It is the willow bending in the storm, the phoenix burning to ash only to rise anew.
Yet, in such a tough and hurtful place, you need to remember who you are. You need to continue to spread passion and an essence of goodness, despite the under appreciation and maltreatment you receive. I want you to know that there is nothing wrong or bad about being softhearted. In fact, hold the remembrance that being kind and sincere makes you unique.”
(Thank you Obnews.co—Staying Soft Is a Choice of Radical Authenticity)

Yesterday, my day began with the weight of worry. And I could hear the words to the song, “War. Huh. Yeah. What is it good for?”

So, down to our garden I go. And I see the blooms of our Crocus. Three inches in height, their flowers as little cups—or, like little chalices—offering that respite of grace, and sustenance, and hope. I stop, kneel, and pay homage. And I remember Jim Harrison's great line; Paying attention is only game in town. And I know that to pay attention you must be present. I can tell you that I am mesmerized, and delighted, nonetheless. And there is something about wonder and awe that helps lessen the debilitating weight of worry.
And, yes, to be present, it sure helps to see with a soft heart. “Sabbath Moments” Terry Hershey

Today Donald Trump launched an illegal war against Iran

Last night, Donald Trump launched an illegal war against Iran, circumventing both the will of the American people and the United States Congress.

You all know how bad this is, and how immoral. 

When I woke to the news, I could only think of one thing: Blessed are the peacemakers. 

I urge you to embrace Jesus’ calling to make peace. And because I am at a loss for words, I share with you two thoughtful reflections, one from a prophet and the other from a poet, that are framing my prayers today.

A prayer ends this post

Blessed are those who make peace

DIANA BUTLER BASS O God, who dwells beyond all our names for you,

we pray for the will to be at peace with one another.

We remember this day those who find themselves thrust into war;
We pray for light in the darkness, and hope amid despair.
We pray for peace in ourselves;
help us to breathe in peace, help us to breathe out love;
help us know and accept ourselves as your beloved.
We pray for peace in our families;
help us to speak the truth to one another in love;
help us to respect and value one another.

Let there be peace in our communities;
help us to create a peace born of justice and equity;
help us to honor and serve the common good.

Let there be peace in our nation;
sustain our hope; grant us wisdom;
empower us with courage.

Let there be peace in our world.
Help us to love the earth as our mother;
help us to see other nations as our neighbors;
help us to wage peace.

— from a Litany for Peace by the Reverend Kay Sylvester
Rector, St. Paul’s, Tustin – Episcopal Diocese of Los Angeles