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Topsy or Turvy was the title of todays reading and I thought I would share it with you because it’s genius.
” 1 Corinthians 1:27,28
‘God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things – and the things that are not – to nullify the things that are.’
God’s ways are sometimes topsy-turvy. With him, things work differently. The first are the last and the last are the first. God in heaven becomes a baby on earth. Our life comes through his death. His cross provides our crown. Foolish shame wise. Weak shame strong. His ways are most definitely not our ways. But thank God his ways aren’t ours. In our sophistication, we’ve learned how to make a living but not how to live; we have higher incomes, but lower morals; we have more acquaintances but fewer friends; we have fancy houses but broken homes. The list goes on…
Tosy-turvy… his ways right, our ways wrong.
And when it comes to praying, you might think it reasonable to pray for comfort, peace, joy, wisdom, but this Franciscans prayer offers us the total opposite.
‘May God bless you with discomfort
At easy answers, half-truths, and superficial relationships
So that you may live deep within your heart.
May God bless you with anger
To shed for those who suffer pain, rejection, hunger and war,
So that you may reach our your hand to comfort them and
To turn their pain into joy.
And may God bless you with enough foolishness
To believe that you can make a difference in this world,
So that you can do what others claim cannot be done.
To bring justice and kindness to all our children and the poor.’
Lord I choose – maybe with some hesitation, but convinced it is your will – to embrace this benediction for my life today. Amen!”
– Choose Life by Simon Guillebaud
I almost shouted at my book as I was reading the prayer by this Franciscan but as I kept reading, it strangely made sense. What do you think?
Much love
