prayer – Mother A Writes

It’s a Beautiful Day to Yell at God.

Luke 18:1-8 A friend of mine recently shared an image with me of an abstract scene in which three figures are shaking their fists at the sky and shouting expletives toward the sun. The caption read “It’s a Beautiful Day to Yell at God.” Among other phrases, one figure cries out “Face us you coward!”Continue reading “It’s a Beautiful Day to Yell at God.”

Let us pray

A photo of an outdoor chapel in late summer greens and early fall yellows, with dappled sunlight peaking through

Luke 17:11-19 I am indebted this week to Mary Karr and Anne Lamott, both of whom have done much to shape my own prayer life. The essay by Mary Karr that is referenced here is “Facing Altars: Poetry and Prayer” found in the journal Poetry. Anne Lamott’s book Help Thanks Wow: The Three Essential PrayersContinue reading “Let us pray”

Lord, Teach Us to Pray

Luke 11:1-13 Lord, teach us to pray. God bless the disciple who asked, no, demanded this lesson from Jesus. We don’t know how to pray, Lord, teach us. It is such a simple thing, and such a vulnerable thing for a religious person to admit. And yet, I hear it again and again in myContinue reading “Lord, Teach Us to Pray”

Crying in Church

1 Samuel 1:4-20 & 1 Samuel 2:1-10 As you may have noticed, I am not a particularly stoic person. When we sing a particular hymn, or read the words of a particular psalm, or even at times when I am preaching or teaching or sitting with folks going through something hard, tears come to myContinue reading “Crying in Church”

Praying with the Spirit

Romans 8:12-17 I did not truly learn how to pray until I was a young adult. I grew up in a Christian home, I went to my family’s Episcopal Church every Sunday, I attended youth group and Christian summer camp, I loved church and the prayerbook and I listened to the sermons as best IContinue reading “Praying with the Spirit”

A Day in the Life

Mark 1:29-39 There are some days when I feel especially grateful to the hundreds and thousands of people who contributed to the composition and preservation of the Scriptures. Today, as we read this passage from Mark, is one of those days. A lot of people over two thousand years and many continents made it possibleContinue reading “A Day in the Life”