Morning Prayer Wednesday, 27 January 2021

Good morning to you all. I hope you are keeping well in this winter weather.

Psalm 119 verses 169-176

Let my cry come before you, O Lord;
give me understanding according to your law.

Let my supplication come before you;
deliver me according to your promise.

My lips shall pour forth your praise,
when you have taught me your statutes.

My tongue shall sing of your word,
for all your commandments are righteous.

Let your hand reach out to help me,
for I have chosen your commandments.

I have longed for your salvation, O Lord,
and your law is my delight.

Let my soul live and it shall praised you,
and let your judgements be my help.

I have gone astray like a sheep that is lost;
O seek your servant, for I do not forget your commandments.

God of mercy, swift to help us, as our lips pour forth your praise,
fill our hearts with the peace that you give
to those who wait for your salvation in Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.

Mark chapter 4 verses 1-10
Again he began to teach beside the lake. Such a very large crowd gathered around him that he got into a boat and sat there, while the crowd was beside the lake on the land. He began to teach them many things in parables and in his teaching he said to them: ‘Listen! A sower went out to sow and as he sowed, some seed fell on the path and the birds came and ate it up. Other seed fell on rocky ground, where it did not have much soil and it sprang up quickly, since it had no depth of soil and when the sun rose, it was scorched and since it had no root, it withered away. Other seed fell among thorns and the thorns grew up and choked it, and it yielded no grain. Other seed fell on good soil and brought forth grain, growing up and increasing and yielding thirty, sixty and a hundredfold.’
And he said to them, ‘Let anyone with ears to hear listen!’
When he was alone, those who were around him along with the twelve asked him about the parables.

The psalm is a cry for help but the gospel is a call to listen. We are asked to listen to a story that is so familiar it is easy to gloss over what the gospel is telling us, just like the seed falling on the path or the rocky ground. A week ago Ernesto referred to the writing of Brian McLaren and his idea of a ‘framing story’ one which gives people “direction, values, vision and inspiration”. Last Sunday Ernesto preached about our calling as disciples in 2021 and rather than use the Bible phrase ‘fishers of men’ we could gain by thinking of it as “navigating with people”, being “companions on the road”.

In various zoom meetings I have had about Cornerstone in the last few weeks we have been thinking about how few of our congregation live in Central Milton Keynes and Campbell Park, which must surely be the area we need to start, if we are to follow on from Ernesto’s reference to a ‘holistic ministry’ and bringing ‘healing in society’.

Let us think about our direction and vision as a Christian community in preparation for the congregational meeting next Sunday.

We pray for all Christians meeting both in person and virtually using the internet. Let us pray that during these times of restriction preventing us from meeting as we have been used to that we may use this time of lockdown to reach a vision of what we can be as worshipping communities, both now and when we are able to move about and meet others who are without a steady faith in God.

Let us pray particularly for the mission we have in Christ the Cornerstone for the communities of Central Milton Keynes and Campbell Park.

Heavenly Father, your Son our Saviour, Jesus Christ said, ‘I am the way the truth and the life’. We wish to follow his teaching, give us the courage to find a common intention and the abilities to make all in our city communities aware of your call to everyone for a life of faith, love and service so that your name will be praised from every mouth in the coming year to your eternal glory.
Amen.

The world around us continues with a sense of struggle. Hospitals and our health services are pressed to their limits; business is fighting for survival because of the lockdown, particularly the retail, leisure and travel sectors. Schools are attempting to keep their students and pupils learning their different subjects while uncertain when or how they will be required to open and take in their pupils again.

It is easy to get disheartened and many are feeling the strain and some are buckling and suffering real mental anguish. Let us pray for a relief from these testing times. On Monday I marked with friends the birthday of Robert Burns and raised a toast to his ‘immortal memory’ and I was reminded of the last verse of one of his poems which offers an optimistic view of humanity.

Then let us pray that come it may,
As come it will for a’ that,
That Sense and Worth, o’er a’ the earth
Shall bear the gree an’ a’ that.
For a’ that, an’ a’ that,
It’s comin yet for a’ that,
That Man to Man the warld o’er
Shall brithers be for a’ that.

Creator God, you have made us frail humans and placed us in a world which is full of all that we need. You have provided us with lively minds and ingenuity; give us grace to use our abilities to care for our world and one another so that the love you have shown us will be shared together with the bounty of the earth so that all will flourish and none be left in want.
Amen.

Don Head