Wednesday in the 22nd Week in Ordinary Time Colossians 1:1-8 Psalm 52:10, 11 Luke 4:38-44

Weekly Guide for Daily Prayer

Faith. Trust. Healing.  These are three words and concepts I reflect on from today’s Readings.  And, they are easy to apply to some summer experiences that I have had.

Faith.  Within the past four days [this being written on August 9th] I have had the opportunity to do some sharing with a small group of people in Omaha, Nebraska who have been faithful witnesses 1)to Christ’s non-violence message, 2)to those who suffered and died with the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasawki, and, 3)to the rest of us in this city and country of the kinds of Christian lives we are called to live.  Their faithful witness at the Strategic Air Commanders (SAC) headquarters for more than ten years was noted by one SAC employee as she left work, stopped and talked with them, and, shared how she noted their consistent presence year after year.

Faith and trust.  My husband and I combined a vacation and work trip to the Badlands of South Dakota, to Yellowstone, and the Grand Tetons.  And, I framed the above two purposes with a spiritual frame.  The faithfulness of God is in nature.  I will share a spiritual writing reflection from that trip which relates to faith and trust.  Faith – “How faithful the Old Faithful geyser is!  And, how faithful the Lord is.  Although, I/and the inclusive we, sometimes can’t see nor appreciate that.”

Trust.  At the mundane level of paying for gas at gas stations, what a pleasant surprise it was to travel in South Dakota, Wyoming, and Montana where one could fill one’s gas tank, and, then, pay for it.  There was no need for the pre-paying of gas which many of us in urban areas have now taken for granted the last several years.  In these more rural less-populated areas, there was trust in the inherent good of the other.  This was a definite reminder of one aspect of the kind of Christian life we are called to live.

Healing.  Jesus was one of several individuals of his time who were observed by others to have healing powers with sick people.  The time I spent in the Badlands and in Yellowstone presented a certain kind of ‘nature hunger healing.’  It was my first time to the Badlands which I can only describe as spiritually evocative.  A friend of mine who frequently goes there describes the area as ‘unforgiveably gorgeous.’  Whether it is the rugged geologic monuments suddenly popping up on the South Dakota landscape, the majestic Grand Tetons, the power of the bison herds, the magnificent skies of the west, the eye-popping beauty around every curve of the mountain roads in Yellowstone, or the extremophile bacteria adapting and thriving in the hot springs, one can only think of God in all of these gifts we have been given.

God gifts us with people and nature for healing.  These are gifts that ought not be decimated by nuclear bombs.

Faith. Trust. Healing.  How do these words have meaning in your life today?