Praying Twice

A. Unabashed Pacifist:

The work of peace is neither liberal nor conservative. It is human and divine. Thus its association with the birth of Jesus.

B. Unabashed Christian:

Holy One,

You could have made plants without their colorful flowers, roses without their wonderful aroma. You could have made trees without their amazing variety of shapes and sizes, leaves and bark. You could have made birds more alike and with croaks rather than songs.
You could have made people uniform and colorless, plain and without inspiration or wonder and creativity.
That you did none of these things leads me to know that you love beauty, you desire things and people that are beautiful inside and out.
It’s a wonderful world.
Amen

C. Un-quoting Jesus:

“Your dreadlocks look amazing, Jubelina.”

[No, it never occurred to Him, then…]

D. Blog: Praying Twice

There is a saying that anyone who sings prays twice. With our singing we express ourselves on multiple levels, one of them being, at least some of the time, a spiritual one. In those moments, Divinity is present. If angels sing God’s praises, so can we. Some music tries to make a point; the “music of the spheres” aims to make a connection. If we connect, we are usually in the Spirit. A woman leads a congregation in singing hymns, they connect. A soloist moves the hearts of his listeners by the beauty of his voice. A girl sings a long in honor of her grandfather at his funeral, causing many tears to shed. They all make music, and the Holy One delights in it. Voices raised in song rather than in angry shouts are a sign of grace and peace.