"Tis the Father’s pleasure we should call Him Lord, Who from the beginning was the mighty Word."

I've been asked (as in told) to read several books before Michaelmas term begins at Nashotah House, and I have to share something profound with you. The first book, Dietrich Bonhoeffer's Life Together, is filled with down-to-earth realities of sin, redemption, love, and - specific to this book - living in an intentional Christian community of prayer and theological study. The book was written as devotional guide for the underground seminary Bonhoeffer operated until his martyrdom by the Gestapo in 1945.

What struck me most this morning was his understanding of Christians beginning their new day:

For Christians the beginning of the day should not be burdened and oppressed with besetting concerns for the day's work. At the threshold of the new day stands the Lord who made it. All the darkness and distraction of the dreams of night retreat before the clear light of Jesus Christ and his wakening Word. All unrest, all impurity, all care and anxiety flee before him. Therefore, at the beginning of the day let all distraction and empty talk be silenced and let the first thought and the first word belong to him to whom our whole life belongs. "Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light" (Ephesians 5:14).

Wow! This is a far cry from most mornings in my house, where we awake in a panic to start scratching items off of our lists. Then, we have a family fight, and, if we're functioning normally, we then cram down something to eat and go our separate ways. And if anyone pesters us in the meantime, the image of the Big Bad Wolf comes to mind, ever ready to "huff, and puff, and blow the house down"!

But, you know, Bonhoeffer is spot on; he's right. "O come, let us sing unto the Lord; let us heartily rejoice in the strength of our salvation," says the Venite in the Daily Office (Psalm 95). "Sleepers, wake! A voice astounds," begs the Advent hymn.

So amidst that next morning cup of Joe, perhaps we'll listen for the voice of the Good Shepherd, calling us, restoring us, and blessing us.

The Daily Office is a great place to start, and in case you don't want to juggle three books, just use the link to Mission St. Clare at the top of this blog.