Morning Prayers Monday, 24 August 2020
VII
By Malcolm Guite
35
At close of day I hear the gentle rain
Whilst experts on the radio explain
Mind-numbing numbers, rising by the day,
Cyphers of unimaginable pain
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Each evening they announce the deadly toll
And patient voices calmly call the roll
I hear the numbers, cannot know the names
Behind each number, mind and heart and soul
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Behind each number one belovèd face
A light in life whom no-one can replace,
Leaves on this world a signature, a trace,
A gleaning and a memory of grace
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All loved and loving, carried to the grave
The ones whom every effort could not save
Amongst them all those carers whose strong love
Bought life for others with the lives they gave.
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The sun sets and I find myself in prayer
Lifting aloft the sorrow that we share
Feeling for words of hope amidst despair
I voice my vespers through the quiet air:
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O Christ who suffers with us, hold us close,
Deep in the secret garden of the rose,
Raise over us the banner of your love
And raise us up beyond our last repose.
Good morning and welcome to Morning Prayer
The night has passed, and the day lies open before us;
let us pray with one heart and mind.
Silence is kept.
As we rejoice in the gift of this new day,
so may the light of your presence, O God,
set our hearts on fire with love for you;
now and for ever.
Amen.
Breathe in
Breathe out
Be still…
Spirit of Truth
who reveals to us the things of God
we praise your name.
Spirit of Wisdom
who inspires the words we ought to speak
we praise your name.
Spirit of Power
who grants the courage we need to act
we praise your name.
Spirit of Love
who knows our nature and loves us still
we praise your name.
Amen
Presence
May my heart rejoice in your love, O Lord.
Let me live each day anew.
Freedom
“In these days, God taught me
as a schoolteacher teaches a pupil” (Saint Ignatius).
I remind myself that there are things God has to teach me yet,
and ask for the grace to hear them and let them change me.
Consciousness
Grant, O Lord, that I may be conscious
and grateful for all the good things you have given to me.
May I share my blessings with others always.
THE WORD OF GOD
Matthew 16:13-20
Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples,
“Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” And they said,
“Some say John the Baptist, but others Elijah,
and still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”
He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” Simon Peter answered,
“You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” And Jesus answered him,
“Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you,
but my Father in heaven. And I tell you, you are Peter,
and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates
of Hades will not prevail against it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven,
and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven,
and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.”
Then he sternly ordered the disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Messiah.
WORDS OF WISDOM
Like most other kinds of growth, this spiral probably happens over and over throughout our lives, and reveals itself in the Bible:
Garden of Eden —> Fall —> Paradise.
Walter Brueggemann teaches three kinds of Psalms: Psalms of Orientation —> Psalms of Disorientation —> Psalms of New Orientation.
Christians call the pattern Life —> Crucifixion —> Resurrection.
Many now speak generally of Construction —> Deconstruction —> Reconstruction.
We are indeed “saved” by knowing and surrendering to this universal pattern of reality. Knowing the full pattern allows us to let go of the first order, accept the disorder, and, sometimes hardest of all—to trust the new reorder.
Every religion in its own way is talking about getting us to the reorder stage. Various systems would call it “enlightenment,” “paradise,” “nirvana,” “heaven,” “salvation,” “springtime,” or even “resurrection.” It is the life on the other side of death, the victory on the other side of failure, the joy on the other side of birthing pains. It is an insistence on going through—not under, over, or around. There is no nonstop flight to reorder. To arrive there, we must endure, learn from, and include the Disorder stage, transcending the first naïve Order—but also still including it! It amounts to the best of the conservative and the best of the liberal positions. People who have reached this stage, like the Jewish prophets, might be called “radical traditionalists.” They love their truth and their group enough to critique it; and they critique it enough to maintain their own integrity and intelligence. These wise ones have stopped overreacting but also over defending. They are usually a minority of humans.
Based on years of spiritual direction, I have observed that conservatives must let go of their illusion that they can order and control the world through religion, money, war, or politics. True release of control to God will show itself as compassion and generosity, and less boundary keeping. Liberals, however, must surrender their skepticism of leadership, eldering, or authority, and find what is good, healthy, and deeply true about a foundational order. This will normally be experienced as a move toward humility and real community.
Fr. Richard Rohr
PRAYERS AND INTERCESSIONS
We pray for the world…
Lord, in your mercy
hear our prayer.
We pray for the universal church of Christ…
Lord, in your mercy
hear our prayer.
We pray for one another and all those known to us…
Lord, in your mercy
hear our prayer.
The Lord’s prayer
As our Saviour taught us, so we pray
Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
Forgive us our sins
as we forgive those who sin against us.
Lead us not into temptation
but deliver us from evil.
For the kingdom, the power,
and the glory are yours
now and for ever.
Amen.
Silence…
May God the provider
of green pastures
and quiet waters
be the peace in our hearts today
May Jesus our guide
on mountain top
and valley deep
be the hope in our hearts today
May the Spirit of truth
and knowledge
comforter and friend
be the strength in our hearts today
Amen
THE BLESSING
May the beauty of God
be reflected in your eyes,
the love of God
be reflected in your hands,
the wisdom of God
be reflected in your words,
and the knowledge of God
flow from your heart,
that all might see,
and seeing, believe
Amen
Thank you for join us. Have a wonderful day!
Revd. Ernesto Lozada-Uzuriaga
