This day is a gift. We don’t deserve it because of our humanity, nor because of things we’ve done. This is the day the Lord has made. Take a few moments and rejoice in it. Gratitude is a great friend as you start the new day.

Today is the perfect day to celebrate
a moment
a memory
days gone by
days to come
love received
love given
a hopeful heart
a helpful hand
Today is one perfect day in the
imperfections of life. May our
hearts sing, our hands reach out
in grace and gratitude. May I
find in each smile, each embrace
this one, undeniable reality:
Today is the perfect day to celebrate.
Amen

Today, when things go wrong or I am upset about something, I will remember the beauty that surrounds me. I will intentionally focus my mind and my spiritual energy in the re-creation of this image. I will choose not to be overwhelmed by deadlines, expectations, or the need for others’ approval. I will remember that I am part of this lovely flower and it is part of me. And I will breathe easily and smile gratefully into the Wonder of Life. I will be restored, not by my own doing, but by the graciousness of Life’s Author. This I believe. This I will do.

It is a wonderful moment when light breaks through the clouds on a dismal, dreary day. Transformation. The world looks different, life looks different. Light has a way of penetrating and purifying everything it touches.

Even the human heart.

Seek, today, the clarity of Light. Wait, today, for the revealing of Light. Cherish, always, the presence of Light. The Light of the World comes to you in your awareness and abides in you to illuminate even the dreariest of days.

I’m not sure what attracts me to the deep center of lovely flowers, but now you know. They are beautiful on the outside…colors, shapes, patterns…works of natural art. But when I began to peek inside, I found a whole new world. Some have distinctive patterns not seen by the casual walker, some welcome passing bees and insects, some look like an artist’s design. Isn’t it a shame that we do not regard other people in this same way? Looking only at the “outside” of a person is dangerous, because we may misjudge entirely, make wrong assumptions, even reveal our prejudices. So, in keeping with my understanding of the Way of Jesus, I suggest that each of us spend more time getting to know the core values, hopes, and dreams of another person before we pass judgment. Who knows what gems await!

Dear New Day,

I know you will emerge very soon from the darkness.
I bid you welcome on this particular day.

You will bring with you the Lantern of Light, and
I ask that the light of understanding and peace
shine upon me and all whom I meet…

In your appearing, everything will be new. Yesterday
will be gone, and in this span of hours new
opportunities and possibilities will appear. May
it be so, and may I not be hesitant to respond
with gratitude…

Along with the opportunities and the possibilities,
you will gift us with challenges that will call forth
courage and perseverance. May I be ready to
live in that moment…

Perhaps when I least expect it, I will encounter
human need in another person. When that
happens, may I overcome my fear with compassion,
and may that feeling turn into a practical response
of care and aid…

As the light of your lantern now begins to appear
in the distance, may I feel the excitement, the joy,
inherent in this new day, and may I release the
song that I hold in my heart…

O, New Day…my ever faithful companion. Cast
the Light on my path that I may walk rightly.
And direct the Light to my heart, that it might
help me resist the coldness that seeks to harden
my soul…

Light of this new day, I bid you welcome!

If I pretend it’s not there,
maybe it will go away.
I will shut my eyes,
stick my fingers in my ears,
be quiet as a mouse.
Is it gone yet?

Every year it’s the same.
I am stalked by this specter.
I can predict the day when
it’s foul stench will bring
a chill to the air.

Can no one save me from
this terrible tyrant?
Even now I hear footsteps approaching.
A boney hand rests on my shoulder,
frigid breath falls on my neck.
And then that wicked chuckle.
Save me!

The Tax Man cometh.

If it’s going to be,
it depends on me.
I am a responsible man.
I cannot look the other way.
I will not turn and walk away.
I’ll not ignore what others say.
For too long I’ve pretended everything’s OK.
But it’s not.
By a long shot.
Hate destroys from the inside out.
It will no longer be allowed to tout
its strength and power over decency.
There will be no peace, it’s plain to see
as long as hate demands to be
the arbiter of life.
If truth and justice are going to be,
then I think a lot depends on me.
So I say this aloud for all to hear.
The time has come to make this clear:
For too long we’ve pretended everything’s OK,
but it’s not,
by a long shot.
And if it’s going to be
it depends on me.
And you.

(Acknowledgement to Wm. H. Johnsen for the first two lines of this poem)

The committed and the curious
line the riverbanks on a warm
summer afternoon. Some gesture
and point to the small group of
women and men wading into
the slowly moving river.

Immersed to his waist, the one they
call the Baptizer greets each person
in the group with a broad smile and a
welcoming embrace. He turns, places
his hand on a man’s shoulder and lowers
his body until he disappears into the
cool water. Then, to excited applause
and shouts of joy from the still gathering
crowd, the man bursts from the water
and begins to sing. To sing!

Crowd voices join the impromptu praise
and the sound of a hundred voices fills the
valley as a chant of life rises into the
cloudless sky. But only for a moment.
A sudden silence descends as a young man
makes his way through the riverbank
observers and into the water. Deliberately,
confidently, he stops facing the Baptizer.

They speak softly to each other, embrace,
and then the man disappears into the dark
water. This time there are no shouts of
happiness, no songs, no applause. All
watch puzzled as the man rises, looks to
the sky, and slowly brings his arms up
and forward, as if welcoming a friend.

In that scene, fixed so clearly in my mind,
a single dove circles the group, still in the
center of the Jordan, and comes to rest on
the young man’s shoulder. Murmuring
and surprise sweep through the riverbank
watchers, when a moment later the dove
lifts in flight, up and up and up until it
is completely lost to sight.

Such a baffling encounter, I thought.
Yet so moving. A sign? An omen?
Is this man marked for something
extraordinary? Time will tell.