Daily Prayers Wednesday, 27 July 2022
Good morning Cornerstone friends, we have the gift of another wonderful day.
Let us join together to pray and consider how we will use this day for God’s glory
Rescue me from my enemies, O my God,
set me high above those that rise up against me.
Save me from evildoers
and from murderous foes deliver me.
For see how they lie in wait for my soul
and the mighty stir up trouble against me.
Not for any fault or sin of mine, O Lord;
for no offence, they run and prepare for war.
Yet I will sing of your strength
and every morning praise your steadfast love;
For you have been my stronghold,
my refuge in the day of trouble.
For you, O my strength, will I sing;
for you, O God are my refuge,
my God of steadfast love.
Psalm 59: 1–4 and 18–20
Strong and merciful God of steadfast love,
stand with the oppressed against the triumph of evil and the complacency of your people,
and establish in Jesus Christ your new order of generosity and joy,
for he is alive and reigns now and for ever.
Amen
‘The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which someone has found and hid; then in joy he goes and sells all he has and buys that field.
‘Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls; on finding one pearl of great value, he went and sold all that he had and bought it.
‘Again the kingdom of heaven is like a net that is thrown into the sea and caught fish of every kind; when it was full they drew it ashore, sat down and put the good into baskets but threw out the bad.’
Matthew 13: 44–47
The psalm is another of David’s pleas to God when he was fleeing those who wanted to kill him. Most of us do not have people wanting to kill us but the opening prayer of our service on 17 July 2022 indicated that some of us are not easy in their minds about how they are perceived. Do you remember the words?
Lord Jesus Christ, we come to you, burdened by our insecurities and responsibilities. Sometimes we are not valued for what we are, but for what other people want to make us…
Those who hold office can often feel the burden is too great, so let us pray for all who take responsibility and seek among ourselves, ‘the new order of generosity and joy’.
The gospel is in a chapter of parables starting with the parable of the sower, explaining to the disciples what the Kingdom of God or ‘Rule of God’ in the world could be. In the story of the sower, not everyone ‘gets the message and acts upon it’. May we not be stony or thorny ground but producers of good seed.
In other parables Jesus compares the Kingdom of God to a mustard seed or to yeast in a loaf; only a little is needed to make a big difference. In the stories in today’s reading, he tells how the Rule of God is the very best situation we could look for and try to achieve. It is more important than anything else and if we fail to seek it, we are in danger of being ‘fish only fit for the discard basket’.
It is the same message as from last Sunday’s meditation:
Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven
Let us pray that the whole church and in particular our fellowship will seek ‘the new order of generosity and joy.’
Almighty God, send down upon your church the riches of your Spirit
and kindle in all who minister the gospel of your countless gifts of grace
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen
The world is still a place of strife and unnecessary suffering for many people. This arises from conflict and from our misuse of the earth’s resources. Finding a way to curb these wrongs is proving more difficult for each of us as individuals, for governments and for international organisations.
Let us remember Collen Mitchell’s message from Monday that we cannot in our relationship with God remain in that cosy feeling. We have to move out and show it in what we do with our lives.
She moved from USA to live in Costa Rica and offer support for young boys who were without help.
Some other thoughts from Central America, from Archbishop Oscar Romero of San Salvador who was assassinated in 1980:
A church that doesn’t provoke any crisis, a gospel that does not unsettle, a Word of God that doesn’t get under anyone’s skin, what kind of gospel is that? Preachers who avoid every thorny matter so as not to be harassed do not light up the world.
You may think, ‘I don’t preach. That lets me off.’ Collen Mitchell’s thoughts about Mary Magdalene shows that we are all messengers of the love of God and of his ‘kingdom’ in what we do, or fail to do, to show it to others.
Lord of these times, let your kingdom come; your kingdom which is freedom and love, which is sisterhood and brotherhood, which is righteousness and life, which is truth and justice.
Julia Esquival, Guatemala
God our Saviour, look upon this broken world in pity and in power;
hold us fast to your promise of true peace won for us by your Son our Saviour Jesus Christ.
Amen
May we spend this day in ‘God’s Kingdom’ and may it grow by what we each do.
Don Head
