Morning Prayer Wednesday, 20 January 2021
Good Wednesday morning to you all.
Later today Joe Biden will take his oath and become president of the USA and Kamala Harris will be vice president, the first woman to hold that office.
It is a momentous day to offer prayers.
It is also the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity (18–25 January)
The Lord said to my lord,
‘Sit at my right hand,
until I make your enemies
your footstool.’
May the Lord stretch forth the sceptre of your power;
rule from Zion in the midst of your enemies.
Noble are you on this day of your birth;
on the holy mountain,
from the womb of the dawn the dew of your birth is upon you.
The Lord is king and has put on glorious apparel.
The Lord has sworn
and will not retract;
‘You are a priest for ever
after the order of Melchizedek.’
Psalm 110: 1–4
Again he entered the synagogue, and a man was there who had a withered hand. They watched to see whether he would cure him on the Sabbath, so that they might accuse him. And he said to the man with the withered hand, ‘Come forward’.
Then he said to them, ‘Is it lawful to do good or to do harm on the Sabbath, to save life or to kill?’ But they were silent.
He looked around them with anger; he was grieved at their hardness of heart and said to the man, ‘Stretch out your hand.’ And he stretched it out, and his hand was restored. The Pharisees went out and immediately conspired with the Herodians against him, how to destroy him.
Mark 3: 1–6
I have been confused by the opening of this psalm, ‘The Lord said to my lord’.
How do we get two lords?
It is a hymn of praise to God for the coronation of a king,
who receives God’s blessing at the ceremony
and who can then act as ‘priest’ as well as a political leader;
that is a person to link the people with God and represent the nation before God.
Who was Melchizedek?
He was a king/priest of Salem who blessed Abram,
who had invaded Salem to recover Lot, his nephew.
Melchizedek at that point acknowledged that Abram’s God was almighty
and is thus considered to be the archetypal Jewish priest.
(Genesis 14: 17–24 and Peake’s Bible Commentary).
The gospel is early in the ministry of Jesus in Galilee.
He could not avoid being an annoyance to the Pharisees if he was to do what was just
and throughout his ministry they linked up with groups that they were usually opposing.
This time it was the party of the government, the Herodians,
later they had other conspirators and finally the Roman Governor to put Our Lord to death.
Let us today pray for all those with responsibility for governing our church life and our secular life.
Let us consider the church, firstly a prayer from Churches Together in Britain and Ireland,
whose theme for this week of prayer is, ‘Abiding in Christ’.
Lord, you invite us to abide in you who are the vinedresser who cares for us with love. You call on us to see the beauty of each branch united to the vine, the beauty of each person. And yet, too often the differences in others make us afraid. We withdraw into ourselves.
Our trust in you and one another is lost.
Come and direct our hearts toward you once again. That as one family we may praise your name.
Amen
Earlier this week I attended a monthly Zoom session of the Board of Milton Keynes Christian Foundation. Stephen Norrish, our chief executive, always includes in his report some theological reflection as well as reporting on business matters. Stephen writes this reflection on a book published in November 2019, Being Interrupted by Al Barrett and Ruth Harley, SCM Press.
One of the hallmarks of the kind of ‘radical receptive’ church that we’ve been edging towards across this book, is that it does not believe it is creating the kin-dom* of God, but discovering it already present in the neighbourhood, and responding receptively and creatively to that ongoing discovery. The idea of God continually present, independent of any of our efforts, is crucial to becoming a less anxiety-driven, less self-centred church. If the kin-dom of God is already among us, in our neighbourhoods, then the calling of the church is not to ‘grow the kin-dom’ or ‘build the kin-dom’ but to see, to know, to receive the kin-dom, and then to live as people who know that reality.
[*The authors use kin-dom as they believe it has fewer negative connotations than Kingdom.]
Our neighbourhood for Cornerstone includes lots of residential areas in Central Milton Keynes and much more is being added to Campbell Park. Thought is being given to how we can reach more of those people who are living or will live in the substantial developments now being constructed. Let us pray that we can find the resources and the intention to serve those people in our kin-dom by finding out what concerns them and how those concerns can be met through the gospel.
Eternal God, you call people in every age and place to proclaim your glory in lives of prayer and pastoral zeal; keep the leaders of your Church faithful and bless your people through their ministry, so that the church may grow into the full stature of your Son Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen
We pray for the world suffering from this pandemic affecting people in all parts of the world.
Earth’s creation is also suffering with climate change
arising from the activities of we human beings trying to take too much from the earth
and not thinking about its need for renewal.
Both are problems that can only be resolved by cooperation
between nations and parties within the political life of those nations.
Such cooperation appears to be lacking in many parts of the world.
On the Covid situation, I note that many of my acquaintances
who are over 70 years of age in Milton Keynes have received their first dose of vaccine.
This is not the case in most other parts of the country, so we are fortunate.
The World Health Organisation have reminded governments in the wealthy parts of the world
that it does not help if they hog all of the output of vaccines
and do not share this supply with poorer countries.
We need to be aware of our advantages
and pray for those who still live without access to the provision of treatment
or the availability of prevention of suffering.
I was very moved on Monday to see on television an item from the Royal London Hospital
with doctors and nurses talking about the pressures of dealing with more patients
needing specialised treatment for their illness, nearly overwhelming them.
Then the interviewer met Martin Freeborn, a hospital porter
delivering much-needed ‘intensive care equipment’
and Martin related how his wife had died in the last half hour.
He read a letter from his daughter that arrived too late to share with his wife
before she went into her final sleep.
The dignity of this ordinary man made the point that we must all continue to be careful for others,
every bit as forcibly as the professionals from SAGE or any politician.
Let us pray for both the experts and the ordinary people
suffering or dealing with grief at loss of loved ones.
Let us pray for the world political leaders,
especially for the inauguration of the new president of the USA,
that this may lead to a new era of cooperation and understanding between nations and factions.
I am finishing with more prayers from Churches Together for this week
Abiding in Christ: The Unity of all Peoples with all Creation
God of life, you have created everyone in your image and likeness.
We sing your praise for the gift of our many cultures and traditions.
Grant us the courage to stand against injustice and prejudice.
God of peace, God of love, in you is our hope!
Merciful God, you have shown us in Christ that we are one in you.
Teach us to use this gift in the world so that believers of all faiths in every country
may be able to listen to each other and live in peace.
God of peace, God of love, in you is our hope!
O Jesus, you came into the world and shared fully in our humanity.
You know the hardships of life for people who suffer in so many different ways.
May the Spirit of compassion move us to share our time, gifts and resources with all those in need.
God of peace, God of love, in you is our hope!
Holy Spirit, you hear the fury of your wounded creation
and the cries of those already suffering from climate change.
Guide us toward new ways of living that are in harmony with all creation.
God of peace, God of love, in you is our hope!
At the centre of the world is God, in whom all our desires and longings find their meeting place.
As we move closer to God, so we draw closer to one another.
And the closer we come to one another …
The closer we come to God.
