Morning Prayer Wednesday, 12 May 2021

Good morning on this green refreshing world, good Cornerstone friends.

Alleluia.

Praise the Lord from the heavens;
praise him in the heights.
Praise him all his angels;
praise him all his host.

Kings of the earth and all peoples,
princes and all rulers of the world;
Young men and women,
old and young together;
let them praise the Lord,
For his name only is exalted;
his splendour above earth and heaven.

Psalm 148: 1–2 & 11–13

O glorious God, your whole creation sings your marvellous work;
may heaven’s praise so echo in our hearts that we may be good stewards of the earth;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Amen

‘I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot hear them now. When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all truth; for he will not speak on his own, but will speak whatever he hears, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. He will glorify me, because he will take what is mine and declare it to you. All that the father has is mine. For this reason I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you.’

John 16: 12–15

The psalm is from the last few in the book,
all dedicated to the praise of God and of his great power.

The reading from John is part of several chapters recounting what our Lord said to his disciples
at the last supper, preparing them for the time when he would not be physically with them.
John’s gospel is different from the other three, in many ways.
He gives no account of the Ascension into heaven as in other gospel accounts.
Tomorrow we recollect the Ascension
in preparation for the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, what John calls the ‘Spirit of truth’.

We are preparing to resume worship in our building to celebrate Pentecost.
It will be, for us, a time of new beginnings.
Have we taken in all we need to have done during the ‘lockdown’
in readiness for being back in action in Central Milton Keynes?

Let us pray for the church:

We are now able to move about and meet people more.
More churches are beginning to resume activities in their buildings
and their service to their communities.
Let us pray that we may all stay safe while we move back to fuller activity.
The ideas we have for getting to know the needs of people living in Campbell Park
can now move forward.
Next week our café at church will be open again.
Let us pray for all new ventures from churches everywhere.

Almighty God who through your only begotten Son, Jesus Christ
overcomes death and opens to us the gate of everlasting life,
grant us by your grace, to go before us and place into our minds good desires,
so by your continued help we may bring them to good effect,
through Jesus Christ our risen Lord,
who is alive and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit one God now and forever.

Amen

Let us pray for the world:

Politicians and the leaders of nations are seeking to divide us rather than bring us together.
There is danger of armed conflict in Jerusalem.
The news media appear to dramatise those things they report
and ignore many much more important matters,
such as how are we going reduce our use of scarce resources
to preserve and nurture our planet.

Meanwhile, as I walk in the parks of Milton Keynes daily,
I note that the recent rain has enabled the larger trees, like the oak and ash,
to burst into leaf to join the maples, apple trees and hawthorn,
which have been green now for several weeks.
The horse chestnut spikes of flowers ‘candles’ are now blooming
to follow on from the cherry and blackthorn, which are over.
Soon we will have may blossom and summer will have arrived.
All this beauty has to be secured for the next generations.

Blessed are the poor; not the penniless, but those whose hearts are free.
Blessed are the meek; not the soft, but those whose hearts are patient and tolerant.
Blessed are the merciful; not those who forget, but those who forgive.
Blessed are the pure in heart;
not those who act like angels, but those whose lives are transparent.
Blessed are the peacemakers; not those who shun conflict, but those who face it squarely.
Blessed are those who are persecuted for justice;
not because they suffer, but because they love.

Christ of the pilgrim path,
you never see us as rich or poor, black or white, educated or illiterate,
but as one family involved with each other walking together in your Spirit of joy.
O Lord, our garden city which refreshes us cannot hide us from the world.
Strengthen our hearts that we may look with confidence to the future.

Amen

If you are able,
I hope you can get out more to enjoy our open spaces to refresh you and make you thankful.

Have a wonderful day.

Don Head