Related Texts

Upon seeing fruit trees in bloom in the spring (only recited once a year):
Blessed are You, Adonai our God, Sovereign of the universe, for nothing is lacking in His universe, and He created in it good creatures and good trees, to bring humanity pleasure with them.

Upon wearing a new garment of substantial value to the wearer:
Blessed are You, Adonai our God, Sovereign of the universe, who clothes the naked.

Upon receiving especially bad news:
Blessed are You, Adonai our God, Sovereign of the universe, the true judge.

Abu Huraira reported: Allah’s Messenger [may peace be upon him] said: “When a bondsman — a Muslim or a believer — washes his face [in course of ablution], every sin he contemplated with his eyes will be washed away from his face along with water, or with the last drop of water; when he washes his hands, every sin they wrought will be effaced from his hands with the water, or with the last drop of water; and when he washes his feet, every sin towards which his feet have walked will be washed away with the water or with the last drop of water with the result that he comes out pure from all sins.”
— Hadith Muslim, Book 002, Number 0475

Verily, God loves those who turn unto Him in repentance and He loves those who keep themselves pure.
— Qur’an 2:222

AND LO! The angels said: “O Mary! Behold, God has elected thee and made thee pure, and raised thee above all the women of the world.”
— Qur’an 3:42

O YOU who have attained to faith! When you are about to pray, wash your face, and your hands and arms up to the elbows, and pass your [wet] hands lightly over your head, and [wash] your feet up to the ankles. And if you are in a state, requiring total ablution, purify yourselves. But if you are ill, or are traveling, or have just satisfied a want of nature, or have cohabited with a woman, and can find no water — then take resort to pure dust, passing therewith lightly over your face and your hands. God does not want to impose any hardship on you, but wants to make you pure, and to bestow upon you the full measure of His blessings, so that you might have cause to be grateful.
— Qur’an 5:6

Nu’aim b. Abdullah al-Mujmir reported: I saw Abu Huraira perform ablution. He washed his face and washed it well. He then washed his right hand including a portion of his arm. He then washed his left hand including a portion of his arm. He then wiped his head. He then washed his right foot including his shank, and then washed his left foot including shank, and then said: “This is how I saw Allah’s Messenger [may peace be upon him] perform his ablution.” And [Abu Huraira] added that the Messenger of Allah [may peace be upon him] had observed: “You shall have your faces, hands and feet bright on the Day of Resurrection because of your perfect ablution. He, who can afford among you, let him increase the brightness of his forehead and that of hands and legs.”
— Hadith Muslim, Book 002, Number 0477

(For more details on this subject see: Al Bukhari, Kitab al Taharah and the same in Muslim, the two known Hadith Books in Islam)

“Do you wish to honor the body of Christ? Do not ignore him when he is naked. Do not pay him homage in the temple clad in silk only then to neglect him outside where he suffers cold and nakedness. He who said: ‘This is my body,’ is the same One who said: ‘You saw me hungry and gave me no food,’ and ‘Whatever you did to the least of my brother you did also to me.’ … What good is it if the Eucharistic table is overloaded with golden chalices, when he is dying of hunger? Start by satisfying his hunger, and then with what is left you may adorn the altar as well.”
— St. John Chrysostom, “Homily on Matthew”

“When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on the throne of his glory. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats, and he will put the sheep at his right hand and the goats at the left. Then the king will say to those at his right hand, ‘Come, you that are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.’ Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry and gave you food, or thirsty and gave you something to drink? And when was it that we saw you a stranger and welcomed you, or naked and gave you clothing? And when was it that we saw you sick or in prison and visited you?’ And the king will answer them, ‘Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me.’”
— Matthew 25:31-40.

Just then a lawyer stood up to test Jesus. “Teacher,” he said, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?” He said to him, “What is written in the law? What do you read there?” He answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself.” And he said to him, “You have given the right answer; do this, and you will live.”

But wanting to justify himself, he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” Jesus replied, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell into the hands of robbers, who stripped him, beat him, and went away, leaving him half dead. Now by chance a priest was going down that road; and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan while traveling came near him; and when he saw him, he was moved with pity. He went to him and bandaged his wounds, having poured oil and wine on them. Then he put him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him. The next day he took out two denarii, gave them to the innkeeper, and said, ‘Take care of him; and when I come back, I will repay you whatever more you spend. ‘Which of these three, do you think, was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of the robbers?” He said, “The one who showed him mercy.” Jesus said to him, “Go and do likewise.”
— Luke 10:25-37

“Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets; I have come not to abolish but to fulfill. For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth pass away, not one letter, not one stroke of a letter, will pass from the law until all is accomplished. Therefore, whoever breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches others to do the same, will be callled least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.”
— Matthew 5:17-19

For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
nor are your ways my ways, says the Lord.
For as the heavens are higher than the earth,
so are my ways higher than your ways
and my thoughts than your thoughts.
For as the rain and snow come down from heaven,
and do not return there until they have watered the earth,
making it bring forth and sprout,
giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater,
so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth;
it shall not return to me empty,
but it shall accomplish that which I purpose,
and succeed in the thing for which I sent it.
— Isaiah 55:10-11

Pray then in this way:
Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name.
Your king dom kingdom come,
Your will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our debts
as we also have forgiven our debtors.
And do not bring us to the time of trial
but rescue us from the evil one.
— Matthew 6: 9-13

“Little children, let us love, not in word or speech, but in truth and action….And this is his commandment, that we should believe in the name of his [God’s) Son Jesus Christ and love one another, just as he has commanded us. All who obey his commandments abide in him, and he abides in them. And by this we know that he abides in us, by the Spirit that he has given us.”
— The First Letter of John 3:18, 23-24

Now before faith came, we were imprisoned and guarded under the law until faith would be revealed. Therefore the law was our disciplinarian until Christ came, so that we might be justified by faith. Now now that faith has come, we are no longer subject to a disciplinarian, for in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith.… But when the fullness of time had come, God sent his Son, born of a woman under the law, in order to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as children. And because you are children, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, ‘Abba! Father!’
— Paul’s Letter to the Galatians 3:23-26 and 4:4-6

“The place where God calls you to is the place where your deep gladness and the world’s deep hunger meet.” (Fredrick Buechner, Wishful Thinking: A Theological ABC).

[ insert image of song notations ]
Alleluia! Come, Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of Thy faithful and kindle in them the fire of Thy love.
— Prayer to the Holy Spirit

Just then a lawyer stood up to test Jesus. ‘Teacher,’ he said, ‘what must I do to inherit eternal life?’ He said to him, ‘What is written in the law? What do you read there?’ He answered, ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself.’ And he said to him, ‘You have given the right answer; do this, and you will live.’

But wanting to justify himself, he asked Jesus, ‘And who is my neighbor?’ Jesus replied, ‘A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell into the hands of robbers, who stripped him, beat him, and went away, leaving him half dead. Now by chance a priest was going down that road; and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan while travelling came near him; and when he saw him, he was moved with pity. He went to him and bandaged his wounds, having poured oil and wine on them. Then he put him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him. The next day he took out two denarii, gave them to the innkeeper, and said, “Take care of him; and when I come back, I will repay you whatever more you spend.” Which of these three, do you think, was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of the robbers?’ He said, ‘The one who showed him mercy.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Go and do likewise.’
— Luke 10:25-37

Christians do not approach the issue of migration from the perspective of tribe or nation, but from within a faith community of love and welcome, a community that teaches and expects hospitality to the poor, the homeless, and the oppressed. The Christian community not only welcomes and embraces migrants but can be led by them toward clearer understandings of justice and hospitality. Furthermore, many migrants in many parts of the world today are themselves members of the Christian community, brothers and sisters of the same baptism, gathered around the same sacramental table. And people beyond the Christian community deserve no less hospitality than Christians extend to themselves.

United Methodists should harbor no doubt about their responsibility to all those who live here on the earth, especially the poor, the homeless, and the mistreated. John Wesley’s concern for the poor and outcast was constant and extended far beyond acts of charity. He worked for just systems in which persons could with dignity stand on their own feet. Wesley advocated just relationships within the social order. When some have great abundance while others are homeless and hungry, the biblical task is not merely to help those in need, but to seek justice—to shift resources and opportunity so that all are at the table, all are fed, all experience the abundance of Gods’ love both physically and spiritually.
“Global Migration and the Quest for Justice,”
— The Book of Resolutions of the United Methodist Church: 2008. Resolution 6028, pp. 754-63.

Action on behalf of justice and participation in the transformation of the world fully appear to us as a constitutive dimension of the preaching of the Gospel, or, in other words, of the church’s mission for the redemption of the human race and its liberation from every oppressive situation.
— “Justice in the World,” 1971, Synod of [Catholic] Bishops

Then Jesus told them a parable about their need to pray always and not to lose heart. He said, ‘In a certain city there was a judge who neither feared God nor had respect for people. In that city there was a widow who kept coming to him and saying, “Grant me justice against my opponent.” For a while he refused; but later he said to himself, “Though I have no fear of God and no respect for anyone, yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will grant her justice, so that she may not wear me out by continually coming.” ’ And the Lord said, ‘Listen to what the unjust judge says. And will not God grant justice to his chosen ones who cry to him day and night? Will he delay long in helping them? I tell you, he will quickly grant justice to them. And yet, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?’
— Luke 18:1-8

For the church, the many abuses of human life, liberty and dignity are a heartfelt suffering. The church, entrusted with the earth’s glory, believes that in each person is the Creator’s image and that everyone who tramples it offends God. As the holy defender of God’s rights and of God’s images, the church must cry out. It takes as spittle in its face, as lashes on its back, as the cross in its passion, all that human beings suffer, even though they be unbelievers. They suffer as God’s images. There is no dichotomy between humans and God’s image. Whoever tortures a human being, whoever abuses a human being, whoever outrages a human being abuses God’s image, and the church takes as its own that cross, that martyrdom.
— Oscar Arnulfo Romero, The Violence of Love, cited in A Lent Sourcebook, Book Two, ed. J. Robert Baker et al. (Chicago: Liturgy Training Publications, 1990), 179.

Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be children of your Father in heaven; for he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the righteous and on the unrighteous. For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet only your brothers and sisters, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same?
— Matthew 5:44-47

Then Peter came and said to him, ‘Lord, if another member of the church* sins against me, how often should I forgive? As many as seven times?’ Jesus said to him, ‘Not seven times, but, I tell you, seventy-seven* times. For this reason the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who wished to settle accounts with his slaves. When he began the reckoning, one who owed him ten thousand talents* was brought to him; and, as he could not pay, his lord ordered him to be sold, together with his wife and children and all his possessions, and payment to be made. So the slave fell on his knees before him, saying, “Have patience with me, and I will pay you everything.” And out of pity for him, the lord of that slave released him and forgave him the debt. But that same slave, as he went out, came upon one of his fellow-slaves who owed him a hundred denarii;* and seizing him by the throat, he said, “Pay what you owe.” Then his fellow-slave fell down and pleaded with him, “Have patience with me, and I will pay you.” But he refused; then he went and threw him into prison until he should pay the debt. When his fellow-slaves saw what had happened, they were greatly distressed, and they went and reported to their lord all that had taken place. Then his lord summoned him and said to him, “You wicked slave! I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me. Should you not have had mercy on your fellow-slave, as I had mercy on you?” And in anger his lord handed him over to be tortured until he should pay his entire debt. So my heavenly Father will also do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother or sister* from your heart.’
— Matthew 18:21-35

While they were eating, he [Jesus] took a loaf of bread, and after blessing it he broke it, gave it to them, and said, “Take; this is my body.” Then he took a cup, and after giving thanks he gave it to them, and all of them drank from it. He said to them, “This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many.
— Mark 14:22-24

And as he sat at dinner in Levi’s house, many tax collectors and sinners were also sitting with Jesus and his disciples–for there were many who followed him. When the scribes of the Pharisees saw that he was eating with sinners and tax collectors, they said to his disciples, “Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?” When Jesus heard this, he said to them, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick; I have come to call not the righteous but sinners.”
— Mark 2:15-17

Now John’s disciples and the Pharisees were fasting; and people came and said to him, “Why do John’s disciples and the disciples of the Pharisees fast, but your disciples do not fast?” Jesus said to them, “The wedding guests cannot fast while the bridegroom is with them, can they? As long as they have the bridegroom with them, they cannot fast.
— Mark 9: 18-19

[Jesus said] “For John the Baptist has come eating no bread and drinking no wine, and you say, ‘He has a demon’; the Son of Man has come eating and drinking, and you say, ‘Look, a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ Nevertheless, wisdom is vindicated by all her children.”
— Luke 7:33-34

On the third day there was a wedding in Cana of Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there. Jesus and his disciples had also been invited to the wedding. When the wine gave out, the mother of Jesus said to him, “They have no wine.” And Jesus said to her, “Woman, what concern is that to you and to me? My hour has not yet come.” His mother said to the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.” Now standing there were six stone water jars for the Jewish rites of purification, each holding twenty or thirty gallons. Jesus said to them, “Fill the jars with water.” And they filled them up to the brim. He said to them, “Now draw some out, and take it to the chief steward.” So they took it. When the steward tasted the water that had become wine, and did not know where it came from (though the servants who had drawn the water knew), the steward called the bridegroom and said to him, “Everyone serves the good wine first, and then the inferior wine after the guests have become drunk. But you have kept the good wine until now.”
— John 2:1-10

A man came to the Prophet. The Prophet sent a messenger to his wives [to bring something for that man to eat] but they said that they had nothing except water. Then Allah’s Apostle said, ‘Who will take this [person] or entertain him as a guest?’ An Ansar man said, ‘I.’ So he took him to his wife and said to her, ‘Entertain generously the guest of Allah’s Apostle.’ She said, ‘We have got nothing except the meals of my children.’ He said, ‘Prepare your meal, light your lamp and let your children sleep if they ask for supper.’ So she prepared her meal, lighted her lamp and made her children sleep, and then stood up pretending to mend her lamp, but she put it off. Then both of them pretended to be eating, but they really went to bed hungry. In the morning the Ansari went to Allah’s Apostle who said, ‘Tonight Allah laughed or wondered at your action.’ Then Allah revealed: ‘But give them [emigrants] preference over themselves even though they were in need of that And whosoever is saved from the covetousness Such are they who will be successful’” (59.9).
— Al Bukhari, Book on Merits of the Helpers (Ansar) of Madina, Hadith No: 005.058.142

For it is He who has brought into being gardens — [both] the cultivated ones and those growing wild — and the date-palm, and fields bearing multiform produce, and the olive tree, and the pomegranate: [all] resembling one another and yet so different! Eat of their fruit when it comes to fruition, and give [unto the poor] their due on harvest day. And do not waste [God’s bounties]: verily, He does not love the wasteful!
— Qur’an 6:141

O CHILDREN of Adam! Beautify yourselves for every act of worship, and eat and drink [freely], but do not waste: verily, He does not love the wasteful!
— Qur’an 7:31

A human does not fill any container worse than his stomach. It is enough for a human to have some morsels to strengthen his back [keep his back straight]. If he must eat more, then it should be one-third of his stomach for food, one-third for drink and one-third for breathing.
— Hadith Ahmad

Lament needs to be an integral part of Christian practice in response to death and dying, precisely because we value so highly God’s gift of earthly life. The treasured promise of Romans 8:38-39 that not even death can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus does not erase the fact that death does separate us from those we love on earth. Death is an irrevocable, wrenching loss for those the dead leave behind. But it is also a loss for those who die—a loss of the parts of creation they took delight in, the relationships they held most dear, and the possibilities they envisioned for the future . . . Hope of everlasting life with God does not undercut Christian gratitude and concern for this life, nor deny the place of lament in Christian responses to death.
— Amy Plantinga Pauw, “Dying Well,” in Practicing our Faith: A Way of Life for a Searching People, ed. Dorothy C. Bass (San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 1997), 168.

For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
— Letter of Paul to the Romans 8:38-39

When Death Comes

When death comes
like the hungry bear in autumn;
when death comes and takes all the bright coins from his purse
to buy me, and snaps the purse shut;

when death comes
like the measle-pox;

when death comes
like an iceberg between the shoulder blades,

I want to step through the door full of curiosity, wondering:
what is it going to be like, that cottage of darkness?

And therefore I look upon everything
as a brotherhood and a sisterhood,
and I look upon time as no more than an idea,
and I consider eternity as another possibility,

and I think of each life as a flower, as common
as a field daisy, and as singular,

and each name a comfortable music in the mouth,
tending, as all music does, toward silence,

and each body a lion of courage, and something
precious to the earth.

When it’s over, I want to say: all my life
I was a bride married to amazement.
I was the bridegroom, taking the world into my arms.

When it’s over, I don’t want to wonder
if I have made of my life something particular, and real,
I don’t want to find myself sighing and frightened,
or full of argument.

I don’t want to end up simply having visited this world.

— Mary Oliver, New and Selected Poems (Boston: Beacon, 1992), 10.

Blessing (Jewish)

Blessing (Christian)

Blessing (Muslim)

Choosing One People (Jewish)

Choosing One People (Christian)

Choosing One People (Muslim)

Washing (Jewish)

Washing (Christian)

Washing (Muslim)

Caring (Jewish)

Caring (Christian)

Caring (Muslim)

Teaching and Learning (Jewish)

Teaching and Learning (Christian)

Teaching and Learning (Muslim)

Interpreting Law (Jewish)

Interpreting Law (Christian)

Interpreting Law (Muslim)

Treating Strangers (Jewish)

Treating Strangers (Christian)

Treating Strangers (Muslim)

Rescuing (Jewish)

Rescuing (Christian)

Rescuing (Muslim)

Struggling Against Oppression (Jewish)

Struggling Against Oppression (Christian)

Struggling Against Oppression (Muslim)

Recognizing Women (Jewish)

Recognizing Women (Christian)

Recognizing Women (Muslim)

A Loving and a Punishing God (Jewish)

A Loving and a Punishing God (Christian)

A Loving and a Punishing God (Muslim)

Experiencing the Divine (Jewish)

Experiencing the Divine (Christian)

Experiencing the Divine (Muslim)

Eating and Drinking (Jewish)

Eating and Drinking (Christian)

Eating and Drinking (Muslim)

Seeing God on Our Side (Jewish)

Seeing God on Our Side (Christian)

Seeing God on Our Side (Muslim)

Dying (Jewish)

Dying (Christian)

Dying (Muslim)

Making Peace in Jerusalem (Jewish)

Making Peace in Jerusalem (Christian)