Poets & Saints

Luke 2:6–7  

While they were there, the time came for Mary to deliver her child. 

And she gave birth to her firstborn son 

and wrapped him in bands of cloth and laid him in a manger,

because there was no place in the guest room.

God is found in the ordinary.

Madeleine L’Engle, from Walking on Water

“There is nothing so secular

that it cannot be sacred.

And nothing so ordinary

that it cannot be filled with God.

If we believe that God took on flesh,

then every place

where life unfolds

is holy ground.”

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John 1:14 (NRSVUE)  

And the Word became flesh and lived among us,  

and we have seen his glory,  

the glory as of a father’s only son,  

full of grace and truth.

God is closer than I imagined.

Meister Eckhart  

“God is nearer to me than I am to myself.  

My being depends on God’s nearness  

and God’s presence within me.  

God does not come and go.  

God is always here.”

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Luke 1:38 (NRSVUE)  

Then Mary said,  

“Here am I, the servant of the Lord;  

let it be with me according to your word.”  

Then the angel departed from her.

I make room for God.

Jan Richardson  

“This is a season  

for making room—  

for letting the heart  

be opened  

not by force  

but by consent.  

The Holy does not arrive  

with demands,  

but with an invitation  

that waits patiently  

to be welcomed.”

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Deuteronomy 33:27 (NRSVUE)  

The eternal God is your dwelling place,  

and underneath are the everlasting arms.

I am held in God.

Julian of Norwich  

“For I saw no wrath in God,  

only mercy.  

And I saw that we are all held,  

and shall be held,  

in love—  

and this holding never fails.”

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1 John 4:16 (NRSVUE)  

So we have known and believe the love that God has for us.  

God is love, and those who abide in love abide in God,  

and God abides in them.

God’s love moves through me.

Howard Thurman  

“When love is present,  

it does not force its way.  

It creates space.  

It releases fear,  

loosens the grip of control,  

and invites life to unfold as it must.  

Love does not originate with us.  

It passes through us,  

shaping the world  

as it goes.”

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Philippians 2:3 (NRSVUE)  

Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit,  

but in humility regard others as better than yourselves.

I am free to be small and loved.

Meister Eckhart  

“The more completely you are able  

to empty yourself,  

the more room God has to act within you.  

True humility is not weakness.  

It is the spaciousness  

that allows divine love to move freely.”

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Habakkuk 2:3 (NRSVUE)  

For there is still a vision for the appointed time;  

it speaks of the end and does not lie.  

If it seems to tarry, wait for it;  

it will surely come, it will not delay.

I trust the slow work of God.

Parker J. Palmer, from *Let Your Life Speak*  

“Before you tell your life what you intend to do with it,  

listen for what it intends to do with you.  

Before you tell your life what truths you have decided to live up to,  

let your life tell you what truths you embody.  

Vocation does not come from willfulness.  

It comes from listening.  

Listening to the quiet, persistent voice  

that invites you to become  

the person you already are.”

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John 15:4 (NRSVUE)  

Abide in me as I abide in you.  

Just as the branch cannot bear fruit by itself  

unless it abides in the vine,  

neither can you unless you abide in me.

I choose to abide in love.

Evelyn Underhill  

“The spiritual life is not a career of effort  

but a condition of being.  

It is not attained by strain  

but by consent.  

We do not need to rush ahead of God.  

We are invited to remain—  

to stay rooted in love,  

and let that love do its quiet work.”

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Romans 15:13 (NRSVUE)  

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing,  

so that you may abound in hope  

by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Hope rises within me by the Spirit of God.

John O’Donohue  

“Hope is not a prediction of the future.  

It is a companion for the present.  

It whispers that meaning is still unfolding,  

that grace is still moving,  

that God is not finished  

with any part of your story.”  

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Psalm 103:8 (NRSVUE)  

The Lord is merciful and gracious,  

slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.

God’s love is patient with my becoming.

Julian of Norwich  

“God is never surprised by our weakness,  

never offended by our slowness.  

For He sees us not merely as we are,  

but as we are becoming—  

and He loves us  

with a patient love  

that cannot be hurried or diminished.”

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