1) Silence, Stillness and Centering before God (2 minutes)
2) Scripture Reading—John 15:4-6
“Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.
“I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned.”
3) Devotional
When we are busier than what God requires, we do violence to ourselves:
There is a pervasive form of contemporary violence . . . activism and overwork. The rush and pressure of modern life are a form, perhaps the most common form, of its innate violence. To allow oneself to be carried away by a multitude of conflicting concerns, to surrender to too many demands, to commit oneself to too many projects, to want to help everyone in everything, is to succumb to violence . . . It kills the root of inner wisdom which makes work fruitful.”
—Thomas Merton
And in doing violence to ourselves, we are unable to love others in and through the love of Christ.
4) Question to Consider
How might you be busier than God requires? Are there other "vines" other than the True Vine that you are connected to?
5) Prayer
Father, I know how often I am carried away by too many concerns and demands and projects. I have felt the violence to my soul. Deliver me from this whirlwind around me and in me. Heal my tired, weary spirit, allowing the wisdom that comes from rest in you to flow deep within me. In Jesus' name, amen.
Conclude with Silence (2 minutes)
* from "Begin the Journey from the Daily Office" by Pete Scazzero
