Brother Lawrence always did his best resting in front of a pile of dirty dishes

Mercy and truth have met together; righteousness and peace have kissed each other. Psalm 85:10

Jesus taught us, saying: “Be compassionate just as your Father is compassionate. Do not judge, and you will not be judged; do not condemn, and you will not be condemned; forgive, and you will be forgiven. Give, and there will be gifts for you: a full measure, pressed down, shaken together, and overflowing, will be poured into your lap; because the standard you use will be the standard used for you.” Luke 6:36-38

May Your kingdom come, and Your will be done, on earth as in heaven.

The sweet spot.

Mercy looks straight into the eyes and yet releases. He who created my innermost being, who knit me together in my mother’s womb offers lifted-up-arms mercy.  What is set right as to a plumb line can yet sit down under a tree together and share a bit of bread and wine…just as your Father in heaven is compassionate.

And there are those moments. The rest moments.  The pause, You-Are-God deep breaths and look up at the billowing sky shot taken by Annissa. 

And Phil Drysdale reminds us of Max's maxim, "It's not about me."What a heart-lightening truth.

And a few days ago a friend sent me a morning prayer, that God would “fill you with the knowledge of His will through all the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives.”  And although the path is not clear, and I sometimes feel like I am being pelted with dirt clods, one thing is clear, His wisdom. His wisdom is peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere.

And that is a nice tidy checklist where I can live rest today.

Following the peace walk to Assisi as well

 My son, let them not escape from your sight, but keep sound and godly Wisdom and discretion, And they will be life to your inner self, and a gracious ornament to your neck (your outer self). Then you will walk in your way securely and in confident trust, and you shall not dash your foot or stumble. When you lie down, you shall not be afraid; yes, you shall lie down, and your sleep shall be sweet. Proverbs 3:21-24

Well, since dashing my foot and stumbling is something I do a lot, I went to a bunch of sporting goods stores to ask for sound wisdom as to what shoes I should wear on my now biking the northern route of El Camino.  And pretty much they all suggested the same thing, and they seemed to pass the googlesearch of What shoes should I wear on El Camino? so I now have a very cool pair of Keen sandals. 

But I think that old wiseman Solomon has more in his heart as he counsels his beloved child than toe blisters.  And what a lovely thing, in the Amplified translation, to have life in your inner self as well as a gracious and beautiful outer self.

And “discretion” is kind of a funny word that all of the translations use. Yet Merriam Webster’s, and all the rest of the dictionaries, has a sort of an odd dichotomy for this word, it means both to have rights, as in “individual choice and judgment,” and yet, using those rights carefully, with good judgment, especially in “cautious reserve in speech.”

And this is another way that I stumble, in what I say. Yep.

And just as it’s great to have good, sturdy, lightweight shoes for my journey, I am also going to use those walking pole things, because I have a very floppy ankle which sends me crashing to the ground when I least expect it.

Those poles slow the walker down a bit, requiring the time to plant them well, soundly, especially clambering over boulders or when the way is cobbled. And in my early-morning-head, I am going to consider those sticks to be wisdom, the wisdom from above that is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere.

And my journey next month includes a few days on Francis’ road to Assisi…and thus I am reading Reluctant Saint, the life of Francis of Assisi, who broke down this wisdom from above into lots of sturdy poles to cause one to discrete, as in an action verb I sort of made up:

…While you are proclaiming peace with your lips, be careful to have it even more fully in your heart

… Above all the grace and the gifts that Christ gives to his beloved is that of overcoming self

… Lord, grant that I might not so much seek to be loved as to love, and last but not least

…It is not fitting, when one is in God's service, to have a gloomy face or a chilling look.

When you lie down, you shall not be afraid; yes, you shall lie down, and your sleep shall be sweet.

Amen.

weighing mint, anise and cumin

 The proverbs of Solomon, son of David, king of Israel: To know wisdom and instruction, to understand words of insight, to receive instruction in wise dealing, in righteousness, justice, and equity; Let the wise hear and increase in learning, and the one who understands obtain guidance, The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction. Proverbs 1:1-7

Hear this, all you peoples; hearken, all you who dwell in the world, you of high degree and low, rich and poor together. My mouth shall speak of wisdom, and my heart shall meditate on understanding. I will incline my ear to a proverb and set forth my riddle upon the harp. Why should I be afraid in evil days, when the wickedness of those at my heels surrounds me, The wickedness of those who put their trust in their goods, and boast of their great riches? We can never ransom ourselves, or deliver to God the price of our life; For the ransom of our life is so great, that we should never have enough to pay it, Psalm 49:1-10

This is true equity: that none of us ever will ever have enough to ransom ourselves. It is through His provision, and His alone.

And wise dealing is framed by righteousness, justice and equity. And with gentle humility I am to live in the truth that my wealth and privilege and education and support system is not of my own doing, but are unmerited gifts distributed to be used for His glory and honor and service. 

LORD forgive us, the Church, for our wretched complacency and arrogance. And our faith will be known by our actions: love, joy, peace, patience, goodness, mercy, temperance, faith. Against such there is no law.

And if any of us, for example, me, lacks wisdom, I should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to me.

But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere.

And my Environmental Science kiddos have started in on their last project. And one of the objectives is to demonstrate understanding of the scientific process and experimental design, of independent variables and controlled variables, of random selection of subjects, and of quantifiable results and data analysis. 

But now that we have considered the global environmental water issues and affordable energy needs of the United States, and natural resource extraction in Arizona, we have set our eyes and minds on our local community environment, Desert Christian High School. And how do we measure faith, as explored by the Freshman chapel on Wednesday? Are there any signs of actions based on beliefs? Of stored treasure and stewardship and honor among us? Do we fear God?

That is the question we will attempt to ask as an If/Then Statement and set out to measure. Not as a parsing and measuring Pharisee, but let us not be fools with bigger barns and surplus grains, rather let us seek wisdom and instruction. 

Because quite honestly, the Landlord is going to return and settle accounts. Do we really believe that it is all about that Well done, good and faithful servant? Is that what I long for?

And salt that has lost its savor is worthless. It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot.