"My New Good Book"

I'm super excited about the new

study Bible I bought.

It came highly recommended by a bunch of people who know about things like study Bibles.

This is my old study Bible.

I like it a lot.

And referred to it often.

So much so, that it became a bit overwhelmed.

And weighted down with notes and tabs and such.

And a bit tattered.

But that's not why I got a new one.

I actually kind of like when a Bible gets well worn and comfortable. Sort of like an old friend.

I got the new study Bible because of the amazing explanatory notes it has before each book and within the text.

I just think it will help illuminate God's word for me in a way the old study Bible couldn't.

But that doesn't mean I won't miss my old Bible. And pick it up now and then.

Speaking of Bibles, pictures of the previously unphotographed Gutenberg Bible are part of the stunning photo essay that make up the book Biblio.

Photographer Natasha D'Schommer, who happens to be from Minneapolis, lovingly captured what is likely the most expensive book on the market today (the Gutenberg not Biblio). It was first substantial book printed with movable type in the 1400's.

Biblio also includes photos of J.S. Bach's Cantata No. 33 and Emily Dickinson's chocolate recipe.

It's a beautiful book, worthy of coffee table placement.

And it could be yours.

To enter the giveaway just leave a comment below. Answer the following question, if you like. Or leave a random comment.

What is your favorite book in the Bible?

"God's Words"

Why did I cry?

Why did the tears stream from my eyes the instant I saw God's words. Tiny fragments of them, really.

The Dead Sea Scrolls. Oldest existing copies of the Bible.

The words of Isaiah were familiar:

"Of the suffering of his soul he shall see the light and find satisfaction.

And through his knowledge my servant the righteous one, will make many righteous,

he he will bear their iniquities...

And yet, this time, when I read them, I cried.

Maybe it was seeing them actually penned by the hand of an ancient scribe. Trying to imagine the life of the man 2,000 years ago. The depth of his faith. His steadfast dedication to his task.

Maybe it was understanding for the first time, thanks to a thoughtfully prepared exhibit at the Minnesota Science Museum, the significance of the responsibility of the preservation of those words to the culture of that time.

Maybe it was simply marveling at the enduring message. Words as important today as they were 2000 years ago.

"God," I remember thinking as I gazed at a portion of Psalm 119, "your words have travelled far."

"My eyes fail with watching for your promise;

I ask, "When will you comfort me?"

Maybe it was because I have seen the caves near Qumran where most of the scrolls were unearthed.
Overlooking the Dead Sea.
The pull to return there has always been strong. But yesterday, staring at those fragments, it was almost as though God's words were calling me back.

"The Prayer Of St. Patrick"

No green beer for me today.

I always start my St. Patrick's Day with The Prayer of St. Patrick. It's one of my favorite petitions. I especially love the third stanza.

The Prayer of St. Patrick

I arise today

Through the strength of heaven;

Light of the sun,

Splendor of fire,

Speed of lightning,

Swiftness of the wind,

Depth of the sea,

Stability of the earth,

Firmness of the rock.

I arise todayThrough God's strength to pilot me;

God's might to uphold me,

God's wisdom to guide me,

God's eye to look before me,

God's ear to hear me,

God's word to speak for me,

God's hand to guard me,

God's way to lie before me,

God's shield to protect me,

God's hosts to save me

Afar and anear,

Alone or in a multitude.

Christ shield me today

Against wounding

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 in the heart of everyone who thinks of me,

Christ in the mouth of everyone who speaks of me,

Christ in the eye that sees me,

Christ in the ear that hears me.

I arise today

Through the mighty strength

Of the Lord of creation

"A Psalm for a Glorious Day"

It is good to give thanks to the
Lord,
to sing praises to thy name, O
Most High;
to declare thy steadfast love in the
morning,
and thy faithfulness by night,
to the music of the lute and the harp
to the melody of the lyre.
For thou, O Lord, hast made me
glad by thy work;
at the works of they hands I sing
for joy.

"We Belong to One Another"

Sometimes music says so beautifully what we try so hard to say in ordinary words.

Take my recent post in this section on the importance of interfaith understanding.

I went on and on about it as I remember.

So this weekend I'm listening to my daughter's choir, along with another local high school choir,... ...perform a song that had been commissioned for the regional conferences of the National American Choral Directors' Association and suddenly I realize...that's it! That's what I meant to say!

By the way, that's my girl. Front and center.

The piece is called All Works of Love. It was written by Joan Szymko. The text is deceptively simple: two short quotes from Mother Teresa joined by the word, "remember," which was added by the composer.

If we have no peace

It is because we have forgotten that

We belong to one another.

Remember

All works of love are works of peace.

I just can't get that line out of my head: we belong to one another.

We belong to one another.

Those few lines were set to the most glorious music. And they were repeated over and over and woven within each other. If I were musical the way my kids are I could explain this much better. All I know is that it was masterfully done. And there were times the piece was so powerful I forgot to breath.

The composer's task when accepting this commission was to create a "sacred work." According to the program, the composer chose a text that was universal, recognizing that compassion is a shared virtue in all faiths. The program reads: "The Dalai Lama has said: 'Love and compassion are necessities, not luxuries. Without them humanity cannot survive.'"

I remember writing not long ago that if people of different faiths didn't learn to work together there was no hope for humanity.

I did not write it as musically as the composer did.

Indeed, "We belong to one another."

"Living Water"

The New Testament reading at church today was John 4. You know, the familiar story of Jesus and the Samaritan woman at the well. It's one of my favorites. I love it on so many levels.

Jesus shows his radical nature in this exchange. Defying societal and cultural boundaries by conversing with the Samaritan woman. Who are we, then, to turn our backs on the outcasts, the marginalized in our communities?

Jesus offers the woman the living water. "...those who drink of the water that I will give them will never be thirsty."

Imagine never being thirsty again.

Our thirst. Our appetite for the things in life that in the end...and I mean the real end...won't matter seems insatiable.

Money, power, material goods.

I know of what I speak. Few are immune.

Aren't we really just trying to fill the empty spot within us?

I feel fundamentally unlovable. So I ceaselessly seek attention from others.

I feel fundamentally unattractive so I ceaselessly spend more than I should on myself--clothes, hair, make up, accessories. And tell myself my profession demands it.

"Anyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again."

In the living water Jesus offers a different way to live. Who is brave enough to accept it?

Consider the woman at the well with her five husbands and the man with whom she lives out of wedlock. We don't ever learn why the string of men in her life. This fact hints at and her open response to Jesus tell us she is a women clearly in search of a different kind of love.

A different kind of water.

The woman is an outcast even within her own 'lower class' community. She goes to the well under the heat of the midday sun, likely to avoid her judgemental neighbors.

And yet, presented with the man she suspects is the Messiah she has the courage to return in the light of day to that community to share the Good News. And not just the courage. But the generosity. Put yourself in her place. Could you? Would you?

She even leaves her water jug behind. A short sentence in this story but weighty with significance. Vessel of life. Likely one of her most important possessions. She sheds it along with all other life burdens so that she may run unencumbered into her new life.

What do you need to leave behind before you can accept a new way of living? Christ's way of living?

It is also an acknowledgement, I think, that for as important as well water is to to the woman..to all desert people...it is the Living Water water that will save her.

Save us.

We can drink and drink and drink of the things of the things of the material world . Or we can consider a new life in the way of Jesus.

It may seem an easier choice for the woman at the well or for the marginalized in our own communities. They have everything to gain. And much less to lose. We have so many things. So many precious things.

And, yet, why does it seem I'm never quite satisifed?

Perhaps I am drinking the wrong water.

"The Path Toward Peace"

I know of only one path toward peace.

My daughter and some of her friends are on it.

We should listen to them.
If the rest of us can not find our way to this path there is no hope for this planet. Only self-destruction.

My daughter hangs with this group called the Interfaith Youth Leadership Youth Coalition. See how serious she looks in her stripes? This is serious business...this trying to save the world stuff.

Actually, these kids have a lot of fun. They are kids from all faiths learning about each other. And working together. There are Jews and Muslims and Catholics and Protestants and Buddhists and Unitarians and a couple of things I'd never heard of.

One thing they discovered right away...

...is that all their faiths have strong service components.

You serve God (or Gods) when you serve the community.

Today the Interfaith Youth Leadership Coalition organized several hundred teens of all faith backgrounds.

They did service projects all over St. Paul.

They also spent several hours together just learning about each other. More like celebrating each other.

Keep in mind, for most kids today was a day off of school. A day to sleep. To catch up on homework. These kids got up early to volunteer and to connect with kids who are different from them. But the same, too.

The important thing to know about this interfaith work is that it is not about a blending of the faiths. It's not about converting others to your beliefs and you to theirs. In fact, to take part in good interfaith dialog you've got to be really secure in your own faith.

A lot of people find their commitment to their own faith deepens when they develop friendships with people of other faiths...at the same time they learn to appreciate their friends' beliefs.

It's kinda like loving your neighbor as yourself, wouldn't you say?

I always thought Jesus was an interfaith kind of guy.

I know of only one path toward peace.

Are you on it?