Sermons silent and sung . . .
Sunday, May 4, 2025. It's Sol's day . . . As our long string of cloudy mornings abate, the sun is appearing earlier these days in TulseyTown with twilight starting around 5 a.m. The weatherfeather indicates today to be one of bright sunshine, light breezes and mid 70's. Spring in full.
Every tree, every meadow, every stream, every wave rolling in on the beach … each of us sees them with different vision. We bring our own different backgrounds, perspectives, needs, interests, desires, and problems to whatever we see.
—Brian McLaren
Dr. McLaren, like Fr. Rohr often identifies with St. Francis. What does it mean to be a “Franciscan” beyond a religious order? “Being Franciscan-hearted is knowing and feeling oneself as part of everything—from the smallest molecule, to the tree, to the sun that was out this morning. This vast connection interweaves us all together in a community.”
Hmm...guess that makes a bunch of Franciscans on these pages.
In nature, an immense presence sometimes speaks a silent sermon. Perhaps for you, it occurred at a lake or by the seashore, hiking in the mountains, in a garden listening to a mourning dove, even at a busy street corner. I am convinced that when received, such innate theology grows us, expands us, and enlightens us almost effortlessly. All other “God talk” seems artificial. – Fr. Richard Rhor, Mediations 4.30.25, The Center for Action and Contemplation.
I Happened To Be Standing
I wouldn't persuade you from whatever you believe
or whatever you don't. That's your business.
But I thought, just now, of the wren's singing,
what could this be if it isn't a prayer?
So I just listened, my pen in the air.
– Mary Oliver, “I Happened To Be Standing” from A Thousand Mornings, Penguin Press. 2012.
Left over in yesterday's mailbox: a reminder of Leon Russell's birth anniversary. The multiple Grammy and Hall of Fame lareate was born in 1942 Lawton, Oklahoma. He was a classmate of mine at Will Rogers High School here in TulseyTown, along with Elvin Bishop, Anita Bryant, and David Gates. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2011. Elton John did the tribute speech.
Here's a “Song for You.”