Friends Forever ?

The friend in whom I trusted, who shared my bread, tells false stories about me. Psalm 41:9 Prayers of the People

The Lectionary from the Book of Common Prayer suggests this psalm for Monday of the first week in Lent, and it is not an easy read. The Christmas Cactus has brilliant blooms, but it also has tiny thorns on its pointy leaves. The plant illustrates the ache (thorns) the Psalmist feels with the realization that his friend(the flower) has betrayed him. In its natural environment, the cactus blooms during the winter holidays when people gaily swap gifts and attend to festivities. In short, they express their love and friendship. We seldom hear gossip about ourselves, but when the texting stops or the persons we met at the office party avoid eye contact, we can be pretty sure our trust has been offended. Suddenly we realize we have an opportunity to practice forgiveness. The very next verse cries for mercy. In our own restoration, our friends benefit from a divine encounter they never sought, and we are free to say hello. Shalom, Mother BE

Time of Singing

The flowers appear on the earth, the time of singing has come, and the voice of the turtledove is heard in our land. Song of Songs 2:12    Comment: Scriptures are like flowers, songs, and voices heard abroad. 

Springtime in the Rockies will soon push up from under most of the nation's(USA)water shed. The snow melt trickles at lower elevations and lingers as ice in the high country. It's a period of preparation and promise of flowers to come. As we enter the Lenten Season, we're aware that we enter a time of mourning in anticipation of the celebration of Resurrection. The turtledove (also called a mourning dove) sings her plaintive song across the land in hope of a response. A turtledove was one of Abraham's covenant offerings signifying an inexpensive gift of great worth, the voice. The creation of this (for now) weekly voice-blog intends to generate reflection and contemplation about selected verses of scripture. The Wood Lily is the most rare flower found anywhere in the entire chain of the Rocky Mountains. Rare indeed are those who value the time of singing. Thanks for reading this first post as I begin to learn my way around cyberspace. The next post will be on February 27th. Shalom, Mother BE