Morning Prayer Wednesday, 10 June 2020
Good morning Cornerstone people,
Welcome to our gathering together for morning prayers.
Alone with none but Thee, my God
I journeyed on my way:
What need I fear, when Thou art near
O King of night and day?
More safe am I within Thy hand
Than if a host around me stand.
The child of God can fear no ill,
His chosen dread no foe:
We leave our fate to Thee and wait
The bidding when we go.
‘Tis not from chance our comfort springs,
Thou art our trust, O King of Kings.
That prayer is traditionally attributed to St Columba.
Yesterday my prayer book reminded me that it was a ‘lesser festival’ for St Columba of Iona.
Colum means dove or peace in the Gaelic tongue.
In the year 563 Columba travelled from Ireland to Iona,
a little island off the coast of Scotland.
He founded a monastery there
and set about converting most of pagan Scotland and northern England
bringing the good news of Jesus Christ.
With Sunday’s Gospel still in our minds,
this was a man who really did take on the commission
to ‘make disciples of all nations baptising them
in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost’.
In the first half of the twentieth century,
when the church and monastery buildings were almost in ruins
these were occupied by Revd George MacLeod, a minister of the Kirk of Scotland
as part of his work with young people in the poorest part of Glasgow.
It is now become a base for a world-wide community of all denominations,
devoted to prayer and contemplation coupled with social work in all parts of the world.
Some Cornerstone people are associates of the Iona Community
and quite a number of the hymns we use are written by people based in Iona.
‘Will you come and follow me’ by John Bell and Graham Maule is just one of them.
6 With what shall I come before the Lord
and bow down before the exalted God?
Shall I come before him with burnt offerings,
with calves a year old?
7 Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams,
with ten thousand rivers of oil?
Shall I offer my firstborn for my transgression,
the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?
8 He has shown you, O mortal, what is good.
And what does the Lord require of you?
To act justly and to love mercy
and to walk humbly with your God.
Micah 6: 6–8
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control.
Galatians 5: 22–23a
Let us pray for the universal church, for our ministers and leaders
and the preparations for coming out of lockdown.
From 15 June churches can be open for private prayer only
and we look forward to our building becoming fully functional.
For those dealing with covering costs and maintaining our fellowship during this time of closure.
For those finding difficulty in maintaining their faith without access to church buildings.
For those who cannot attend the funerals of loved ones
or attend the funeral of a loved one without the support of their wider family.
For international communities like the Iona Community and others devoted to prayer and action.
Teilhard de Chardin, a twentieth century Roman Catholic scientist and philosopher wrote:
Some day, after mastering the winds, the waves, the tides and gravity, we shall harness for God the energies of love, then for the second time in the history of the world, we will have discovered fire.
Christ of the pilgrim way,
energise your church
to be both risk-taking and filled with prophetic zeal,
ignited by the fire of your spirit.
Amen
Let us pray for the world:
All countries are facing problems of preventing an uncontrolled outbreak of Coronavirus,
yet encouraging economic activity, to create work and spread wealth within their communities.
There is a need to promote trade between nations
that will increase choice and understanding among the peoples of the world.
We pray for all those caring for the sick, frail and needy;
for those seeking new knowledge for treatment of the sick
and for creating better opportunities for all people.
We pray for all those who feel marginalised in their society, very often with good cause.
The media is now full of the outcry following the death of George Floyd
at the hands of a Minnesota policeman, ‘Black Lives Matter’.
We pray that each of us will consider how we may be contributing to suffering by unconscious bias.
We hope is for a speedy return to economic activity and full employment,
but a number of economists warn that we could have a period of years
when there are severely limited opportunities
for the less advantaged people in developed countries
and for everyone living in less developed countries.
We pray for the leaders of industry and leaders of the different nations,
that they may see how they should act for the common good
and not just for their own nation, class, party, shareholders or small groups with which they associate.
The media seem only to be concerned, at any time, about one thing
and have stopped reminding us that we are continuing to cause harm to our planet
by our misuse of its resources causing potentially catastrophic changes to our climate and environment.
Revd George MacLeod once wrote:
‘We want to be wise without changing direction.’
Which implies that we often do need to change.
The Lord is king; let the earth rejoice.
May your kingdom come, O God,
with deliverance for the needy,
with peace for the righteous,
with overflowing blessings for all nations,
with glory, honour and praise for Christ the only Saviour
Amen
A prayer written by Revd George MacLeod:
Ever present God, everything is still in your hands.
By the spirit of prophecy you have awakened our souls to expectancy.
So let your light radiate all our worship by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Help us to know ourselves as women and men who have been made new.
By that same power inspire us to walk even as he walked;
that in going our way in faith and gladness we may come at last
to those things which eye has not seen nor ear heard
but which you have prepared for all them that truly love you
from the beginning of the world.
Amen
A verse written by John Bell and Graham Maule:
Lord, your summons echoes true
when you but call my name.
Let me turn and follow you
and never be the same
In your company I’ll go
where your love and goodness show
Thus I’ll move and live and grow
in you and you in me.
Love, kindle within our hearts a flame of love
to our neighbours, to our foes,
to our friends, to loved ones all;
from the lowliest thing that lives,
to the name that is highest of all.
Amen
Good friends, may your day be peppered with pleasures,
periodic reminders of the love of God for you and all that you care about,
and an opportunity to show that love to others, even in the lockdown.
