- “Stay Active, Keep Your Inner Fire Burning,
It’s OK to let off steam,
Go with the Flow, Be Uplifting,
It’s All a Matter of Time, Have a Blast!
Advice from a Volcano”
- author unknown
- “Comfort, comfort, O my people, tell of peace, thus says God. Comfort those whose hearts are shrouded, mourning under sorrow’s load.”
- prophet Isaiah chapter 40 NRSV
- “From heaven above to earth I come
To bear good news to every home;
Glad tidings of great joy I bring,
Whereof I now will say and sing:”
- from Hymn #85 by Martin Luther (1483-1546)
This is the first stanza of his hymn, which is a
contrafactum (sacred text set to a popular folk tune).
The original text is from Luke 2: 1-18, which
can be seen here on Lutheran Hymnal.
Click here for more on “From Heaven Above”
by Rev. William H. Otto on Lutheran Witness.
- “Education is for improving the lives of others and for leaving your community and world better than you found it.”
- Marian Wright Edelman (b. June 6, 1939). American
activist for children’s rights. President
and founder of Children’s Defense Fund
- “You just need to be a flea against injustice. Enough committed fleas biting strategically can make even the biggest dog uncomfortable and transform even the biggest nation.”
- Marian Wright Edelman (b. June 6, 1939) - American
activist for children’s rights. President
and founder of Children’s Defense Fund
- “This is the miracle that happens every time to those who really love: the more they give, the more they possess.”
- Rainier Maria Rilke
- “O God, make the door of this house wide enough to receive all who need human love and fellowship, narrow enough to shut out all envy, pride and strife.
“Make its threshold smooth enough to be no stumbling-block to children, nor to straying feet, but rugged and strong enough to turn back the tempter’s power.
“God make the door of this house the gateway to Thine eternal kingdom.”
- “My humanity is bound up in yours, for we can only be human together.”
- “Autumn Afternoon
In the hazy, lazy autumn afternoon.
When a dreamy languor wraps the vale and hill,
And the silver brooklet half forgets its tune.
As it twinkles down the hollow calm and still;
When arrayed in gypsy dress of pink and gold.
Crest of crimson tint and folds of fading green.
Stand the woods in tranquil beauty as of old.
Stretching into vistas dim and opaline;
When the Year is ripe and mellow it is meet
Earth should echo,**Peace is blessed; rest is sweet**.”
- C. B. Galbreath, excerpt from his book
“The Crimson Flower: In Flanders Fields, an
Answer and Other Verse” (Stoneman Press, 1919)
- “Don’t ask yourself what the world needs. Ask yourself what makes you come alive, and go do that, because what the world needs is people who have come alive.”
- Howard Thurman, “The Living Wisdom of Howard Thurman: A Visionary for
Our Time” (2010 audio CD)
Howard Washington Thurman (1899–1981): Influential African-American
author, philosopher, theologian, educator, and civil rights leader. He played
a leading role in many social justice movements and organizations. His
theology of radical nonviolence influenced and shaped a generation
of civil rights activists. More information: Wikipedia.
- “Remember that the best relationship is one in which your love for each other exceeds your need for each other.
“Remember that the best business relationships are the ones that motivate, help people develop and enable everyone fulfill their potential by working at their best level.”
- Dalai Lama XIV, Number 17 of His Holiness' “18 Rules of living”
located on Huffington.
- “As you breathe in, cherish yourself. As you breathe out, cherish all Beings.”
- Dalai Lama XIV, widely quoted, source not found
- “Every day, think as you wake up, today I am fortunate to be alive, I have a precious human life, I am not going to waste it. I am going to use all my energies to develop myself, to expand my heart out to others; to achieve enlightenment for the benefit of all beings. I am going to have kind thoughts towards others, I am not going to get angry or think badly about others. I am going to benefit others as much as I can.”
- Dalai Lama XIV, widely quoted, source not found
- “Jesus Christ lived in the midst of his enemies. At the end all his disciples deserted him. On the Cross he was utterly alone, surrounded by evildoers and mockers. For this cause he had come, to bring peace to the enemies of God. So the Christian, too, belongs not in the seclusion of a cloistered life but in the thick of foes.”
- Dietrich Bonhoeffer
from his “Life Together: The Classic Exploration of Christian Community”
Vol. 5, page 27 (1996). Known for his staunch resistance to the Nazi dictatorship,
including opposition to Hitler’s euthanasia program and genocide of Jewish people,
pastor Bonhoeffer was accused of joining the plot to assassinate Hitler, and was
tortured and executed at Flossenbürg Concentration Camp, April 9, 1945
For more details on Bonhoeffer’s life and his writings, please see Wikipedia.
- “Summer was our best season: it was sleeping on the back screened porch in cots, or trying to sleep in the treehouse; summer was everything good to eat; it was a thousand colors in a parched landscape; but most of all, summer was Dill.”
- Harper Lee
from her “To Kill a Mockingbird” (July 11, 1960)
spoken by the narrator, Scout (Jean Louise Finch)
- “Shall I compare thee to a summer day?
Thou art more lovely and more temperate.
Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May,
and summer’s lease hath all too short a date.”
- William Shakespeare (1564-1616)
excerpt from his Sonnet 18
- “Nothing that is worth doing can be achieved in our lifetime; therefore we must be saved by hope.
“Nothing which is true or beautiful or good makes complete sense in any immediate context of history; therefore we must be saved by faith.
“Nothing we do, however virtuous, can be accomplished alone; therefore we must be saved by love.
“No virtuous act is quite as virtuous from the standpoint of our friend or foe as it is from our standpoint. Therefore we must be saved by the final form of love which is forgiveness.”
- Reinhold Niebuhr
from his “The Irony of American History” (1952)
- “Did I offer peace today? Did I bring a smile to someone’s face? Did I say words of healing? Did I let go of my anger and resentment? Did I forgive? Did I love? These are the real questions. I must trust that the little bit of love that I sow now will bear many fruits, here in this world and the life to come.”
- Henri J.M. Nouwen
source unknown
“Jesus didn’t say, ‘Blessed are those who care for the poor.’ He said, ‘Blessed are we where we are poor, where we are broken.’ It is there that God loves us deeply and pulls us into deeper communion with himself.”
- Henri J.M. Nouwen
source unknown
“Each day holds a surprise. But only if we expect it can we see, hear, or feel it when it comes to us. Let’s not be afraid to receive each day’s surprise, whether it comes to us as sorrow or as joy. It will open a new place in our hearts, a place where we can welcome new friends and celebrate more fully our shared humanity.”
- Henri J.M. Nouwen
from his “The Dance of Life: Weaving Sorrows
and Blessings Into One Joyful Step” (2005)
- “Certainly there are very real differences between us of race, age, and sex. But it is not those differences between us that are separating us. It is rather our refusal to recognize those differences, and to examine the distortions which result from our misnaming them and their effects upon human behavior and expectation.”
- Audre Lorde
from her essay, “Age, Race, Class and Sex:
Women Redefining Difference” (1980)
- “All young people, regardless of sexual orientation or identity, deserve a safe and supportive environment in which to achieve their full potential.”
- Harvey Milk
in his speech “You’ve Got to Have Hope,”
originally given on June 24, 1977.
Also cited in Mallon, 2010, page 172
- “For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even sinners do the same? And if you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others?”
- Gospel According to Matthew 5:46
- “Therefore welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God."
- Romans 15:7
- “The earth will not continue to offer its harvest, except with faithful stewardship. We cannot say we love the land and then take steps to destroy it for use by future generations.”
- “Out of the ground, God made to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for food, the tree of life."
- Genesis 2:9
- “Love heals. Heals and liberates. I use the word love, not meaning sentimentality, but a condition so strong that it may be that which holds the stars in their heavenly positions and that which causes the blood to flow orderly in our veins.”
- Maya Angelou
from the prologue to her autobiography
“Mom & Me & Mom” - 2013 Random House
- “Beloved, let us love one another, because love is from God … God is love.”
- First John 4:7
- “Live in harmony with everyone;
Be friendly with everyone.
If you are by yourself,
You are only one drop, one speck;
Whereas when you bond and unite with everyone,
You are an ocean, you are an ore.
There are many languages but all are the same meaning.
Water in different cups becomes one when the cups are
broken and they run as one.”
- Rumi (Mevlana Jalaluddin Mohammad Balkhi Rumi)
an excerpt from his poem “Come close, closer, even closer!”
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- "Jesus said, “Let the children come to me, and do not stop them;
for it is to such as these that the kindom of heaven belongs."
- Gospel According to Matthew 19:15
- “A flower does not compete with the flower next to it. It just blooms.”
- Author unknown
- “The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step.”
- Lao Tzu
from the “Tao Te Ching,” chapter 64
- “Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.”
- The Gospel According to Matthew 17:20
- “I lift my eyes to the hills, from where does my help come?
My help comes from God who made heaven and earth.”
- Psalm 121:1
- “But in every walk with Nature one receives far more than he seeks.”
- John Muir
located in “Steep Trails,”
chapter 9 “Mormon Lilies,”
from a letter dated “Salt Lake, July, 1877”
- “The good man is the friend of all living things.”
- Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi
Source not found.
- “Humankind has not woven the web of life. We are but one thread within it. Whatever we do to the web, we do to ourselves. All things are bound together. All things connect.”
- attributed to Chief Si’ahl (Seattle)
He spoke in Suquamish and
did not speak English.
- “You cannot get through a single day without having an impact on the world around you. What you do makes a difference, and you have to decide what kind of difference you want to make.”
- Jane Goodall
Source not found.
- “Our Lord has written the promise of the resurrection, not in books alone, but in every leaf in spring-time.”
- Martin Luther
from the “Dictionary of Burning Words
of Brilliant Writers,” 1895, page 518
- “There is not room for Death,
Nor atom that God’s might could render void:
Thou - Thou art Being and Breath,
And what Thou art may never be destroyed.”
- “But from this earth, this grave, this dust,
My God shall raise me up, I trust.”
- Walter Raleigh, from his poem: The Conclusion, 10th ed. (1919)
Written the night before his death, found in
his Bible at the Westminster Gate-house.
- “My mission in life is not merely to survive, but to thrive; and to do so with some passion, some compassion, some humor, and some style.”
- Maya Angelou, posted to her Facebook account, July 4, 2011
born Marguerite Annie Johnson (April 4, 1928 – May 28, 2014),
poet, author, playwrite, screen writer, and civil rights activist.
- “For as the earth brings forth its shoots, and as a garden causes what is sown in it to spring up, so God will cause righteousness and praise to spring up before all the nations.”
- Isaiah 16:11, New Revised Standard Version (NRSV) Bible
- “Lord, I’m going to hold steady on to You and You’ve got to see me through.”
- Harriet Tubman (born Araminta Ross, c1822 – March 10, 1913),
American abolitionist, humanitarian, armed scout
and spy for the U.S. Army during the Civil War
quote located in “Harriet Tubman: Conductor
on the Underground Railroad” by Ann Petry
- “The Lord who told me to take care of my people meant me to do it just as long as I live, and so I did what he told me.”
- Harriet Tubman (born Araminta Ross, c1822 – March 10, 1913),
American abolitionist, humanitarian, armed scout
and spy for the U.S. Army during the Civil War
citation source unknown
- “Are you going to cater to the whims and prejudices of people? We draw out from other people our own thought. If, when you go out to organize, you go with a broad spirit, you will create and call out breadth and toleration. You had better organize one woman on a broad platform than 10,000 on a narrow platform of intolerance and bigotry.”
- Susan B. Anthony (February 15, 1820 – March 13, 1906)
American social reformer, women’s rights activist
citation source unknown
- “Some people only ask others to do something. I believe that, why should I wait for someone else? Why don’t I take a step and move forward. When the whole world is silent, even one voice becomes powerful.”
“Let us remember: One book, one pen, one child, and one teacher can change the world. Let us stand up for our rights, and let us fight.”
- “Be strong and of a good courage, fear not, nor be afraid of them: for God your God, who goes with you; God will not fail you or forsake you.”
- Deuteronomy 31:6
- “Confront the dark parts of yourself, and work to banish them with illumination and forgiveness. Your willingness to wrestle with your demons will cause your angels to sing. Use the pain as fuel, as a reminder of your strength.”
- August Wilson, playwright (1945-2005)
citation source unknown
- “All you need in the world is love and laughter. That’s all anybody needs. To have love in one hand and laughter in the other.”
- August Wilson, playwright (1945-2005)
citation source unknown
- “The foreigner residing among you must be treated as your native-born. Love them as yourself, for you were foreigners in Egypt. I am the LORD your God.”
- Book of Leviticus 19:34
- “You were born with wings.”
- Rumi, 13th-century Persian Sunni Muslim poet,
jurist, Islamic scholar, theologian, Sufi mystic
The full poem:
You were born with potential.
You were born with goodness and trust.
You were born with ideals and dreams.
You were born with greatness.
You were born with wings.
You are not meant for crawling, so don’t.
You have wings.
Learn to use them and fly.
Rumi
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- “Anyone can be cool … but awesome takes practice.”
- Lorraine Peterson
title of her book: “Anybody Can Be Cool,
But Awesome Takes Practice: Devotionals for Teens”
- “For your God, the great God, mighty and awesome, who shows no partiality and accepts no bribes. God defends the cause of the fatherless and the widow, and loves the foreigner residing among you, giving them food and clothing.”
- Deuteronomy 10:17-18
- “Whenever you did it to the least of these, you did it unto me.”
- Matthew 25
- “Preservation of one culture does not require contempt or disrespect of other cultures.”
- César E. Chávez
citation source unknown
- “When poor people get involved in a long conflict, such as a strike or a civil rights drive, and the pressure increases each day, there is a deep need for spiritual advice. Without it, we see families crumble, leadership weaken, and hard workers grow tired.”
- “On the morning of a new presidency and administration, we, as beloved people of God are called not only to point out the issues at hand, but to do something about them. For it is not enough to simply know something is blatantly wrong. We will need to find the courage to act on our faith and hope in solidarity with others.”
- The Reverend Angela Ying, January 20, 2017
Message to Bethany Church congregation
- “When life descends into the pit I must become my own candle
Willingly burning myself To light up the darkness around me.”
- Alice Walker from her book
“We Are the Ones We Have Been Waiting for:
Inner Light in a Time of Darkness” (2006)
also mentioned in her book “Coming to Light” (2014)
- “I don’t need a certain number of friends, just a number of friends I can be certain of.”
- Alice Walker
citation source unknown
- “The most common way people give up their power is by thinking they don’t have any.”
- Alice Walker
citation source unknown
- “Let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an everflowing stream.”
- The prophet Amos, chapter 5:24
- “A third reason why we should love our enemies is that love is the only force capable of transforming an enemy into a friend. We never get rid of an enemy by meeting hate with hate; we get rid of an enemy by getting rid of enmity.”
- The Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
A revision to one of his favorite sermons,
“Loving Your Enemies,” Dr. King edited this
during his two week imprisonment in July 1962.
It is contained in his book, “Strength to Love” (1963).
Read the sermon here: “Loving Your Enemies”
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