Saturday, March 12, 2016

Commemoration of Gregory the Great, 344

Commemoration of Symeon the New Theologian, 1022 (Orthodox)

Reading: Philippians 3:4b-14

Philippians 3:13 “Forgetting what lies behind, I press onward.”

            In personal lives, as in churches, as in countries, as in cultures, we can easily get trapped in the past – either in a sense of regret (if only…) or in a sense of grandeur (“those were the days”). The apostle Paul here reiterates what Second Isaiah reported in this week’s text from the prophet: God is always at work creating newness in our lives, and we need to press on. Change is the only constant in life. We can choose to progress or decay, but we cannot remain the same. Let us press onward, writes Paul.

O God, our springtime, blessed are you for you create surprising wonders around us and in us. Grant us courage, endurance and openness to all that you cause to grow. Amen

• Take a gratefulness walk. Gather something for your altar.