Today’s Bible reading

 “Consider the ravens: they neither sow nor reap, they have neither storehouse nor barn, and yet God feeds them.” – Luke 12:24

More thoughts for meditation

During the pandemic, many of us have been going outside more regularly out of necessity. In part, what this tragic season challenges us to consider is what it means to be a whole person in the world, no matter where we live. This week, as we move through our environment, each day will bring a tiny pilgrimage and some reflections from Dr. Barbara Brown Taylor on “the union of spirit and flesh”:

“Fortunately, the Bible I set out to learn and love rewarded me with another way of approaching God, a way that trusts the union of spirit and flesh as much as it trusts the world to be a place of encounter with God. Like anyone else, I do some picking and choosing when I go to my holy book for proof that the world is holy too, but the evidence is there. People encounter God under shady oak trees, on riverbanks, at the tops of mountains, and in long stretches of barren wilderness. God shows up in whirlwinds, starry skies, burning bushes, and perfect strangers. When people want to know more about God, the son of God tells them to pay attention to the lilies of the field and the birds of the air, to women kneading bread and workers lining up for their pay.”  — Barbara Brown Taylor, An Altar in the World 

Suggestions for action

Take a few minutes to walk outside, if you’re able, or open a door or window. What do you sense (see, hear, touch, taste, smell) that tells you about God?

Collect one small object before you return inside or choose an inside item before you close your door/window. Place your object in a space near where you will be spending at least some of your day. This is the first part of your altar. As you move through your day, use your object to consider God’s presence.