Morning Prayer Wednesday, 15 July 2020

Good morning, Cornerstone friends.

Today is St Swithun’s day.
Swithun was an Anglo-Saxon Bishop of Winchester who died in 862. He was a loving pastor and humble, asking to be buried in the common burial ground. He was so venerated that, later, the cathedral authorities moved his remains into the cathedral building, to make a shrine for pilgrims. The day that this was inaugurated with a grand procession, it poured with rain and tradition has it that it continued for forty days. Superstitious folk at the time said heaven was weeping that his wishes had been flouted.
It is still folklore that if it rains today we shall have a prolonged period of rain for forty days, which could mean poor grain ripening and a wet wheat harvest. Nowadays climate is constantly monitored and we can get regular updates on our phone, a long way from those simpler days.

Be joyful in God all the earth.

Praise is due to you, O God of Zion;
to you that answer prayer shall vows be paid.
To you shall all flesh come to confess their sins;
 when our misdeeds prevail against us,
you will purge them away.
Happy are they whom you choose
and draw to your courts to dwell;
we shall be satisfied with the blessings of your house,
even of your holy temple.

Be joyful in God all the earth.

With wonders you will answer us in your righteousness
O God of our salvation,
O hope of all the ends of the earth
and of the farthest seas.
In your strength you set fast the mountains
and are girded about with might.
You still the raging of the seas,
and the roaring of their waves
and the clamour of the peoples.
Those who dwell at the ends of the earth tremble at your marvels
the gates of the morning and evening sing your praise.

Be joyful in God all the earth.

Psalm 65: 1–7

May the riches of your creation, Lord,
and the mystery of your providence
lead us to that heavenly city
where all peoples shall bring their wealth,
forsake their sins and find their true joy,
Jesus Christ our Lord.

Amen

[Jesus has just told the parable of the sower, which was our reading last Sunday.]

Then the disciples came and asked him, ‘Why do you speak to them in parables?’
He answered, ‘To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given. For those who have, more will be given, and they will have an abundance; but from those who have nothing, even what they have will be taken away. The reason I speak to them in parables is that seeing they do not perceive, and hearing they do not listen, nor do they understand.

But blessed are your eyes, for they see, and your ears, for they hear. Truly I tell you, many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see, but did not see it, and to hear what you hear, but did not hear it.

Matthew 13: 10–13, 16 & 17

So, what message from today’s readings?

Praise to God for his greatness from the Psalm, a feeling of ‘what, me?’
from the message of the Gospel, ‘Am I so privileged to understand?’
To which the answer is, ‘Yes You!’ ‘Yes all of us.’
Our Lord knew that his disciples were not valued by worldly standards, just ordinary, like us.
He thanked God for it in his prayer for them, and look what happened at Pentecost.

Right now throughout the world, facing the disruption of this outbreak of illness which is killing so many,
there is a great hunger for spiritual matters and we are the keepers of the flame.
Let us pray that Christ the Cornerstone will be a ‘lighthouse’ in Central Milton Keynes to show the way.

Let us pray for the Church.
We pray for church leaders and all who are preparing to open our buildings for worship
and to build upon the use of new media in sharing worship when we are not able to leave our homes.
Pray for the meeting later today of Cornerstone Trustees,
for the leaders of each of the sponsoring denominations
and for our continued sharing of God’s mission here in Milton Keynes.
We pray for all who will come into our building for private prayer
and all who are keeping the Chapel clean and safe for continued use.
We pray for each other in our homes joining together in prayer,
for those of us preferring to be careful before joining in gathering in larger groups in our building
and for those yearning to be in church.
We pray for those keeping in touch with our younger worshippers and their families
and for the future of our fellowship.
May the congregations of Christ the Cornerstone
and congregations everywhere be ready for the transformation needed to meet the needs of this time.

This morning I kindle the fire upon my hearth,
before the holy angels who stand about my path.
God, a love-flame kindle in my heart, to neighbours all,
to foe, to friend and kindred, to brave, to knave, to thrall.
O Son of lovely Mary,
from the lowliest thing on earth,
to the name that highest is and of the greatest worth,
we bless and praise you.

Amen

Gaelic traditional

Let us pray for the world.

Covid-19 is spreading in many countries to more and more
with hospitals facing near overwhelming problems in many parts of the world.
We learn more about this virus each day,
but much of what we learn indicates that we need to remain vigilant,
careful for ourselves and one another.

The political mood is to set us apart from each other
by dividing us into categories that need to be mobilised
against those not part of that category we are asked to be in:
female against male,
black skin against white skin,
British against European,
oppressed against oppressor,
North against South.
The truth is that all of us have been affected in several ways by historic enmities and injustice.
We do need to identify current injustice and our own unconscious bias,
which excludes others or fails to heed the hurt we may cause by not caring enough.

In our fixation with the effects of this covid outbreak
we are in danger of forgetting the other big issues that affect mankind and our earth,
environment and climate change,
feeding the world with equity and sharing resources with everyone,
reducing tension and enmity between nations and groups.

The Mayor of Milton Keynes, Andrew Geary, who is a licensed lay minister in the Church of England,
posted on MK Council Youtube earlier this week a request that we pray for our city,
for the loss of local business, particularly in retail and hospitality,
for increased numbers of people who will be unemployed
and reliant upon public funds and voluntary organisations to provide for them.
We give thanks for a healthy range of public services
and of linked-up charities working to maintain our social cohesion
and for the way in which many private-enterprise bodies have modified activities
to meet new needs within our Milton Keynes community.

We pray for wisdom for ourselves and for those who are called to make decisions
relating to the economy and international relations,
that we may all strive for the common good
so that we move to being more like God’s kingdom on earth.

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.

Amen

Julia Esquiival, Guatemala

Let us pray for those who are unwell, for healing and for all who care for them
and we pray particularly for God’s servant George Mwaura.

We have been loved by God from before the beginning.
Christ the healer,
permeate our world with your healing power
and forgive our endless self-absorbtion.

Amen