Working through two funerals that use the most pop. versions of Psalm 23 acc. to CCLI. Shane & Shane's and The Belonging Co. The Belonging Co vers. feels like it performs eschatological alchemy turning this humble prayer of thanksgiving into a fierce declaration of victory.
I love this photo by Rebekah Pryor, which shows Mary Magdalene in the garden of resurrection, kneeling behind mounds of salt that signify her shed tears. I invite you to contemplate it in conjunction w/ a 12th-cent. hymn retuned by Jon Green @Cardiphonia. artandtheology.org/2024/04/0…
The phrase "do not be afraid" is written in the bible 365 times. A reminder for every single day of the year. I'm trying to live into this truth. To trust God's promise not to fear uncertainty, tomorrow, or an undefined vocational future. To live every day fearless with hope.
“I leave home every time I lose faith in the voice that calls me the Beloved and follow the voices that offer a great variety of ways to win the love I so much desire.”
-Henri Nouwen
Augustine on how to understand and relate to the Church:
"Rejoice in the plentiful crop, tolerate the weeds, groan during the threshing process, and sigh with longing for the barn."