daily words of wisdom and faith

Today’s Reflection

In her book Walking on Water: Reflections on Faith and Art, Madeleine L’Engle writes about Mary, the mother of Jesus – a woman who, like Harriet Powers [an emancipated slave and quiltmaker], knew what it meant to proclaim the good news with the creative means she had at hand. For Mary, proclamation came not only in the form of a song that we have come to know as the Magnificat; it also came in her own being, in giving her own self, her own body, to bear God into the world. …

In the creative process, being obedient to the work, as L’Engle describes, calls us to trust that the work knows more than we ourselves know. Exerting too much control over the process can damage the work and us as well. Artful obedience requires intention and discernment. It requires attention to the demands of the work, to its rhythms and needs, and to the mystery that lies at its heart.

-Jan L. Richardson
In the Sanctuary of Women

From pages 252-253 of In the Sanctuary of Women: A Companion for Reflection & Prayer by Jan L. Richardson. Copyright © 2010 by Jan L. Richardson. All rights reserved. Used by permission of Upper Room Books. http://bookstore.upperroom.org/ Learn more about or purchase this book.

Today’s Question

What role does obedience play in your faith formation? Share your thoughts.

Today’s Scripture

Out of the mouths of babes and infants you have founded a bulwark because of your foes, to silence the enemy and the avenger.
Psalm 8:2, NRSV

This Week: pray for those recovering from addiction. Submit your prayer to The Upper Room Living Prayer Center or share it in the comment section below.

This week we remember:
Bernardino of Siena (May 20).

Lectionary Readings

(Courtesy of Vanderbilt Divinity Library)

• Proverbs 8:1-4, 22-31
• Psalm 8
• Romans 5:1-5
• John 16:12-15

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