Day By Day #9

Day by Day #9

MORNING/MIDDAY OFFICE

Silence and Stillness before God (2 minutes)

Scripture Reading: Genesis 28:10–17

Jacob left Beersheba and set out for Haran. . . . Taking one of the stones there, he put it under his head and lay down to sleep. He had a dream in which he saw a stairway resting on the earth, with its top reaching to heaven, and the angels of God were ascending and descending on it. There above it stood the LORD, and he said: “I am the LORD, the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac. I will give you and your descendants the land on which you are lying. Your descendants will be like the dust of the earth, and you will spread out to the west and to the east, to the north and to the south. All peoples on earth will be blessed through you and your offspring. I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go, and I will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.”

When Jacob awoke from his sleep, he thought, “Surely the LORD is in this place, and I was not aware of it.” He was afraid and said, “How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God; this is the gate of heaven.”

Devotional

Jacob is running for his life from the rage of his brother Esau. He has manipulated Esau out of the birthright blessing and fled, hoping that a few days away will lessen his brother’s hatred. That night, Jacob goes to sleep in an ordinary place and has an extraordinary experience of God. He meets God in a dream, seeing angels ascend back and forth from heaven to earth. Jacob awakens, exclaiming: “Surely the LORD is in this place, and I was not aware of it” (Genesis 28:16).

As poet Elizabeth Barrett Browning has written, “Earth’s crammed with heaven.” Thomas Merton also says it well:

Every moment of every event of every man’s life on earth plants something in his soul. For just as the wind carries thousands of winged seeds, so each moment brings with it germs of spiritual vitality that come to rest imperceptibly in the minds and hearts of men. Most of these unnumbered seeds perish and are lost because men are not prepared to receive them.^a

God invites us to that same awareness, to wake and see that he is active in every part of our lives—including our failures, disappointments, betrayals, misunderstandings, shattered dreams, marriage or singleness, anger, and anxieties. We live in a God-soaked world; his love letters to us are everywhere. But too often our spiritual eyes are clouded by fears and stresses. And so we miss him.

Question to Consider

What seeds from God might be coming to rest in your mind and heart today, particularly through a relationship difficulty which you are experiencing?

Prayer

ST. PATRICK’S BREASTPLATE

Christ with me,

Christ before me,

Christ behind me,

Christ in me,

Christ beneath me,

Christ above me,

Christ on my right,

Christ on my left,

Christ when I lie down,

Christ when I sit down,

Christ when I arise,

Christ in the heart of every man who thinks of me,

Christ in the mouth of everyone who speaks of me,

Christ in every eye that sees me,

Christ in every ear that hears me.

I arise today

Through a mighty strength, the invocation of the Trinity,

Through belief in the Threeness,

Through confession of the Oneness of the Creator of creation.

Conclude with Silence (2 minutes)

MIDDAY/EVENING OFFICE

Silence and Stillness before God (2 minutes)

Scripture Reading: James 3:5–10

The tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts. Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark. The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole body, sets the whole course of one’s life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell.

All kinds of animals, birds, reptiles and sea creatures are being tamed and have been tamed by mankind, but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison.

With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse human beings, who have been made in God’s likeness. Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers and sisters, this should not be.

Devotional

The ninth commandment reads: “You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor” (Exodus 20:16).

Every time I make an assumption about someone without confirming it, I am at risk for believing a lie about this person. My assumption is just a breath away from misrepresenting reality. Because I have not checked out my assumption with the other person, it is very possible I am believing something untrue and effectively bearing false witness against my neighbor. I am especially prone to this temptation when the other person has hurt or disappointed me. That also makes it more likely I will pass on my false assumption to others.

When we exchange reality for a mental creation (a hidden assumption), we enter a counterfeit world. At that point, we exclude God from our lives because God does not exist outside of reality and truth. We also wreck relationships by creating needless confusion and conflict.^b

Question to Consider

In what relationship are you making an assumption that may not be true? What small step can you take today to clarify the truth with that person?

Prayer

Lord, I agree that my tongue has the power to do good or evil in people’s lives. Forgive me for allowing my words to damage people. Touch my lips and purify my heart. I want the words I speak to impart life to those I interact with today. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Conclude with Silence (2 minutes)

^a Thomas Merton, New Seeds of Contemplation (New York: New Directions, 1987), 14.

^b For more information, see Scazzero, Emotionally Healthy Spirituality, 178–85.