Ordinary Time 
Pause
The moments of our lives may be bright with possibility, dark with fear or sadness, or even plain everyday gray, but God's glory never fades.
God's presence deepens our joys, comforts our concerns, and settles our restlessness.
Take time to look into the brights and darks and grays of your day.
Seek the One whose glory shines in the light and through the darkness.
Listen
Strong king who loves justice, you are the one who established what is fair. You worked justice and righteousness in Jacob. Magnify the Lord, our God! Bow low at his footstool! He is holy! Moses and Aaron were among his priests, Samuel too among those who called on his name. They cried out to the Lord, and he himself answered them— he spoke to them from a pillar of cloud. They kept the laws and the rules God gave to them. Lord our God, you answered them. To them you were a God who forgives but also the one who avenged their wrong deeds. Magnify the Lord our God! Bow low at his holy mountain because the Lord our God is holy!
Psalm 99:4-9
Think
After his meeting with God on the mountain, Moses returned to the people with God’s law in hand to show them the way to live.
The disciples left the mountain with Jesus, returning to his ministry of teaching and healing, and looking toward resurrection.
Close encounters with God lead us to praise, then off the mountaintops and into life. The glory of God has never been about putting on a light show. The glory of God is in the character of God, and off the mountain, we can reflect that character. When we’ve experienced the glory of the God of justice, we act justly. When we’ve experienced the glory of the God of righteousness, we act rightly.
On the mountain we soak in the light of glory; off the mountain, may we reflect that light in every word and action. May we, like Moses and Aaron and Samuel, still call on God’s name. Because even off the mountain, God still answers. God still gives instructions for living, and God still forgives when we go wrong.
Nikki Finkelstein-Blair
Pray
I want to rest in your shining glory, O God, but I must also follow you to the places where your justice, righteousness, and forgiveness are most needed... even in my own heart. I praise you, for by your glorious presence you lead me off the mountaintop to live in your ways! Amen.
Go
May God's glory shine into the exciting lights, upsetting darks, and boring grays of your every day.
May God’s continuing presence shine through you, bringing joy, comfort, and calm.
Through you, may others be inspired to praise God!
