Thought for the day, Wednesday 24th April

“Simply to be, and to let things be as they speak wordlessly from the mystery of what they are; simply to say a silent yes to the hillside flowers, to the trees we walk under; to pass from one person to another a morsel of bread, an answering yes: this is the simplest, the quietest, of sacraments.”

Jacob Trapp, UU Minister (1899 – 1992), quoted in Fragments of Holiness for Daily Reflection

Thought for the day, Tuesday 23rd April

“These our actors,
As I foretold you, were all spirits, and
Are melted into air, into thin air;
And like the baseless fabric of this vision,
The cloud-capped towers, the gorgeous palaces,
The solemn temples, the great globe itself,
Yea, all which it inherit, shall dissolve;
And, like this insubstantial pageant faded,
Leave not a rack behind. We are such stuff
As dreams are made on, and our little life
Is rounded with a sleep.”

From The Tempest by William Shakespeare, born on this day in 1564 and died on this day in 1616

Art by J. M. W. Turner, born on this day in 1775

Thought for the day, Monday 22nd April

EARTH DAY

“The Everglades preservationist Marjorie Stoneman Douglas once remarked that the Earth is as tough as an old shoe. On Earth Day, take comfort in its endurance, its perseverance, and its sheer stubbornness. We’ve proved that wetlands can be rehabilitated and endangered species can be saved. Likewise your own spirit, your beleaguered capacity to hope for the future, can be reinvigorated. Walk in the park, climb a mountain, swim in a lake, dig in a garden. Draw strength from the mantle of this planet, a world stronger than all of us put together. Dream Eden.”

From Earth Bound: Daily Meditations for All Seasons by Brian Nelson

Thought for the day, Friday 19th April

“The truth “I exist” is self-evident. You may deny God by saying, “God is just a belief,” but existence cannot be refuted. That existence, that Cosmic Power, is God. God has no separate hands, legs, eyes, or body, other than our own. He moves through our hands, He walks with our legs, He sees through our eyes, and it is He who beats within the heart of each one of us…

When God’s power shines through us, it manifests as truth, auspiciousness and beauty. When God manifests through the intellect, truth shines forth. When God manifests through actions, it does so as goodness and auspiciousness. And when God manifests through the heart, beauty is the result. When truth, auspiciousness and beauty blend in our life, true strength awakens.”

Mātā Amritānandamayī Devi (also known as Amma)

Thought for the day, Thursday 18th April

“”Sacred writings are bound in two volumes – that of creation and that of the Holy Scriptures… Visible creatures are like a book in which we read the knowledge of God. One has every right to call God’s creatures God’s “works,” for they express the divine mind just as effects manifest their cause..” Thomas Aquinas

Aquinas, a premodern thinker, is more sophisticated than some modern thinkers, who confuse the word of God with literal words in a book (even a holy book such as the Bible). Premodern times were not illiterate times; the Bible was read and revered. Yet the word of God was considered, above all, creation itself. Thus to study the word of God is to study nature. Scientists have as much to teach us about God as do biblical scholars.

To talk about Christ as the Logos, or word of God, is also to talk about Christ as the Cosmic Christ, the image of God present in every creature in the universe. Nature is as much a sacred book as the Bible. Will we ever recover this balanced and fuller understanding of where revelation is to be found? If we do, will respecting the sacredness of nature usher in a truly ecological era? Or will humans continue to use one holy book to justify destroying God’s earthly one?”

From Christian Mystics: 365 Readings and Meditations by Matthew Fox

Thought for the day, Wednesday 17th April

“This is the time when the earth is renewing herself peacefully, marvellously, victoriously. No power on earth may push back this triumphant tide of life… We are grateful that we ourselves as part of this great and glorious ordering… All unseen, the goodness of the air blesses every cell and fibre of our bodies, while silently our blood circulates through our veins, food strengthens us, and water, so humble and precious and clean, daily bestows its vital blessings. We are part of the ceaseless web of life, part of the harmony in the eternal song of praise; we resolve not to break, through stupidity, carelessness, or greed, the lovely and delicate strains of life’s web; not to bring discord and ugliness into the music of life.”

Frank Walker, retired Unitarian minister, quoted in Fragments of Holiness for Daily Reflection