The God Minute is a 10-minute daily prayer to help you draw close to God. Peaceful music, sacred scripture and a short reflection are woven together in a spiritual harmony to bring peace and focus to your day. Come Join Us!
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Jesus said to his disciples: "If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have won over your brother. If he does not listen, take one or two others along with you, so that 'every fact may be established on the testimony of two or three witnesses.' If he refuses to listen to them, tell the church. If he refuses to listen even to the church, then treat him as you would a Gentile or a tax collector. Amen, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. Again, amen, I say to you, if two of you agree on earth about anything for which they are to pray, it shall be granted to them by my heavenly Father. For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them."
SPEAKER_00
Good morning, God Minute Family. Father Ron here breaking open the word. Thanks for joining me. You know, recently I spent a week with my family at a lake house in Hot Springs, Arkansas. There were 15 of us, and we do this every year. We get an Airbnb house somewhere in the country that has a lake or something, and it's always a great time. But over the years, I've learned that if I'm gonna make it through the entire week with all of them, without drowning someone in the lake, okay, that I have to find a quiet place somewhere in the house to get away every now and again. Maybe a thing off the upstairs bedroom or a corner in the basement, just somewhere quiet, just to recollect amidst all of the craziness and the noise and everything else going on. But I suspect I'm not the only one. Because there's something about silence that restores us. You know, so much of what is beautiful and creative in the world is born from silence, in the quiet, you know, where the noise settles and something deeper can finally speak. I mean, think of all of the genius in the world that, you know, Darwin, uh, Newton, Einstein, Thoreau, even Jesus. He began his ministry where? In the quiet of the desert, no distractions, no noise, forty days so that he could step in to do what his father was asking him. Because when we slow down, when we set aside the to-do lists, the beeping phones, the news scrolls, and yes, even the yapping spouses and friends, well, we make room to notice the one who has been with us all along. You know, we connect there in that quiet place with our truest self, the holy, the sanctuary. And it's not that, you know, God suddenly becomes present because we're quiet. I mean, he's already here. Silence simply helps us become present to him. And we hear something of that promise in today's gospel when Jesus says, you know, at the end of it there, it's in the show notes, um, where two or three are gathered, there I am. You know, whether we come before him alone or with a couple others in faith, the invitation is the same. Make room for him. Step away from the distractions, and trust that he is present and there for you. And so perhaps the question in the spiritual life is not, where are you, God? Rather, where am I? Am I listening? Am I awake? Am I giving him the time God needs to share his life with me? That's what it's all about. That's what all of this is about. I mean, and and speaking of all of this, think of all of the people in Scripture in the New Testament whose lives were changed by Jesus in some beautiful ways. You know, they brought uh um who is it? You know, there's uh Bartimaeus, the blind man, the woman at the well, the woman in adultery, the guy who brings his sick daughter, and on and on the lepers. What ties all of them together in which their lives were overturned into joy? They each made space for Jesus to step in. Right? Bartimaeus brought to Jesus his darkness to bring light. You know, they she brought her grief, their fear, their sin, their longing, their struggles, everything else, their sickness. And when they gave that to Jesus, made time for him, well, in that encounter, they were healed. You know, they were forgiven, they they were strengthened, blessed. And see, friends, that's the promise today in every gospel reading that Jesus is here for us, for you and me now, today, when we make the quiet and the space for him to enter. And that is why, friends, beginning today, the God Minute is offering a new spiritual offering called Selah Sundays. Now, the word selah, it's an ancient Hebrew word, and it appears like seventy-some odd times throughout the book of Psalms in the Old Testament. It has long been understood as an invitation to pause, to stop, to listen, to let the words sink more deeply into the heart. Sila. That's what that invitation is all about. So we're using it for our offering every Sunday. It's that sacred pause. That's what's behind it all. So here's what it is. Each Sunday will offer a guided personal prayer experience for you. It's a one-on-one, you and God, for you to help quiet your spirit and enter more deeply into the presence of God before you. It will be available every Sunday and then throughout the week, of course, as both audio and video and will last between five and twelve minutes. And it's all designed not to fill more of your time, but to open a little space within it. Space for him. So one Sunday may be a guided prayer around a particular theme, as it will be today. Another sea less Sunday may offer an opportunity to lead you through a quiet meditation. Next Sunday, we're doing that. Later in the month, we'll invite you to step into sacred scripture through Lectio Divina. There'll be any multiple different kinds of ways for you to enter the quiet. The form will change from week to week, but the purpose will always remain the same. To help you enter that sacred pause to become still and meet God one-on-one. That's Sela. So you'll find these Sea Less Sundays in the Discover tab on the app all week. Also in the week-ahead email we send you today, every Sunday, the link will be in there as well. So, friends, I invite you to give God a few minutes quietly today. Click that and enter into it. Sea Less Sunday. Lay down the noise, let go of the hurry, and just step into the sacred pause. Because the Lord, the one you are searching for, is already here in your home, in your heart, in the midst of two or three, and even and most especially in the silence. So let's enter that today. Make room. It'll be worth it, I promise. All right, friends. God bless you. Thank you for being with me. May God bless you now, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen. Have a beautiful day filled with wonder. Share the love, and we'll see you tomorrow.
