Ephesians 1:18 (NRSV)

…so that, with the eyes of your heart enlightened,

you may know what is the hope to which he has called you,

what are the riches of his glorious inheritance among the saints,

and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power for us who believe.

Open my eyes to what is already holy.

Lucille Clifton, from Eyes

“may you open your eyes

to water,

to trees,

to air,

to light—

and not just see them,

but *see* them.

everything holds a sermon.

every leaf contains a psalm.

do not close your eyes to what has been singing your name

since the beginning.”

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Exodus 3:2–4 (NRSV)

There the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire

out of a bush;

he looked, and the bush was blazing, yet it was not consumed.

Then Moses said,

“I must turn aside and look at this great sight,

and see why the bush is not burned up.”

When the Lord saw that he had turned aside to see,

God called to him out of the bush,

“Moses, Moses!”

And he said, “Here I am.”

The flame that calls is the flame that heals.

Thomas Merton

“There is no way of telling people

that they are all walking around shining like the sun.

But it is true.

If only they could see themselves as they truly are.

If only we could see each other that way all the time.

There would be no more war,

no more hatred, no more cruelty,

no more greed...

But this cannot be seen with ordinary eyes.”

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Isaiah 61:3 (NRSV)

...to provide for those who mourn in Zion—

to give them a garland instead of ashes,

the oil of gladness instead of mourning,

the mantle of praise instead of a faint spirit.

They will be called oaks of righteousness,

the planting of the Lord, to display his glory.

Grace grows where the soul has been scorched.

Henri Nouwen

“Hope means to keep living amid desperation

and to keep humming in the darkness.

Hope is knowing that there is love,

it is trust in tomorrow,

it is falling asleep and waking again

when the sun rises.

In the midst of a broken world,

hope is the gift of grace—

the quiet knowing that ashes are not the end.”

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.