New Testament

to see the human predicament

/ Eric Mathews / Leave a comment
Jesus and the poor / 1857 / Library of Congress / public domain
 
O God, our Father,
the fountain of love, power and justice,
the God who cares, 
    particularly for the least,
    the most suffering and the poorest among us.
O God, Lord of creation, grant us today your guidance and wisdom
    so that we may see the human predicament for what it is.
Give us courage and obedience 
    so that we may follow you completely.
Help us, Lord, to bear witness to the cross of your Son,
    our Lord Jesus Christ, who alone is the reason for hope,
    and in whose name we pray. Amen.
 
Koson Srisang, Thailand
 
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This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters. If anyone has material possessions and sees a brother or sister in need but has no pity on them, how can the love of God be in that person?  Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth.

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Compassionate heart of Jesus

/ Eric Mathews / 1 Comment
The Crucifixion 1360’s / Metropolitan Museum of Art / Public Domain
 
Compassionate heart of Jesus, have mercy on me.
Even before I offended you, my Redeemer, I did not deserve
    the great graces you have given me.
You created me, gave me so many inspirations 
    and all totally undeserved on my part.
But having offended you, not only did I not deserve your favors,
    I certainly deserved to be abandoned by you for all eternity.
But you, in your great mercy, have waited for me
    and preserved my life even when I was at enmity with you.
Your mercy allowed me to see my misery and you called me to conversion;
    you gave me sorrow for my sins and a desire to love you.
Now, I hope that, with your grace,
    I am in your friendship once again.
 
Alphonsus Liquori, 1696-1787, Italian Catholic bishop and theologian
 
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You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath through him! For if, while we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life!

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Glory to the Trinity

/ Eric Mathews / Leave a comment
Trinity image / Metropolitan Museum of Art / public domain
 
Grant, O God, of your mercy, that we may come to everlasting life,
    and there beholding your glory as it is, may equally say:
Glory to the Father who created us,
Glory to the Son who redeemed us,
Glory to the Holy Spirit who sanctified us.
Glory to the most high and undivided Trinity, 
    whose works are inseparable,
    whose kingdom without end abides,
    from age to age forever.
Amen.
 
St. Augustine of Hippo, 354 – 430 
 
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May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, 
    and the love of God, 
    and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.

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you ascended into the heavens

/ Eric Mathews / Leave a comment
Rabula Gospels / 6th Century Dsmdgold / Wikimedia Commons
 
To complete your seamless robe, 
    and so to complete our faith,
you ascended through the air into the heavens,
    before the very eyes of the apostles.
In this way you showed that you are Lord of all,
    and are the fulfillment of all creation.
Thus from that moment every human and every living creature
    should bow at your name.
And, in the eyes of faith,
    we can see that all creation proclaims your greatness.
 
Bernard of Clairvaux, 1090-1153, French abbot and Cistercian mystic
 
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After saying this, he was taken up into a cloud while they were watching, and they could no longer see him.  As they strained to see him rising into heaven, two white-robed men suddenly stood among them.  “Men of Galilee,” they said, “why are you standing here staring into heaven? Jesus has been taken from you into heaven, but someday he will return from heaven in the same way you saw him go!”

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Let me be free

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Photo by Vaishakh pillai on Unsplash

Jesus Christ, the beginning and the end, 
    the resurrection and the life, 
    the perfect man who gave His life for sinners, 
    I worship you, I adore you, I sing aloud your name. 
I am one of those whom you saved, whom you set free, 
    when you died on the cross. 
You redeemed me from the slavery of sin. 
And yet I cannot escape the overpowering sense 
    that I am still a wretched sinner, 
    that my every action is worthless or evil. 
I am like the dry sand of a desert thirsting for water.
I am like a criminal languishing in prison. 
 
Good people try to help me, and I pray that you will reward them; 
    but their goodness does nothing to assuage my sense of wickedness. 
Patient people try to teach me your ways; 
    but I am so stubborn that I cannot learn. 
Humble people seek to serve me; 
    but in my pride I cannot truly appreciate their services. 
Lift the burden of wickedness; break down my stubbornness; root out my pride. 
Let me receive your life-giving love. 
Let me be free.
 
Fulbert of Chartres, c.970-1028, bishop of the Cathedral of Chartres, France
 
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And since we have a great High Priest who rules over God’s house, 
    let us go right into the presence of God 
    with sincere hearts fully trusting him. 
For our guilty consciences have been sprinkled with Christ’s blood to make us clean, 
    and our bodies have been washed with pure water.

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Risen Lord, we come to you

/ Eric Mathews / Leave a comment
At the Throne of Grace / Lawrence OP / Flickr / CC BY-NC-ND 2.0 
 
Risen Lord, we come to confess our sins.
Our hearts are full of impatience, frustration,
    and sometimes even bitterness with one another.
We find it hard to be accepting.
 
    Break the seals, Lord, roll away the stone,
    rip open the protective bandages.
    Breathe the breath of life into our cold, dead hearts.
 
Risen Lord, we come to petition you.
Our minds are so often full of doubt
    and we are shy about sharing 
    the good news of your resurrection.
 
    Break the seals, Lord, roll away the stone,
    rip open the protective bandages.
    Breathe the breath of life into our cold, dead hearts.
 
Risen Lord, we come to adore you.
We desire to know you as living Lord
    and to experience your vitality within us.
 
    Break the seals, Lord, roll away the stone,
    rip open the protective bandages.
    Breathe the breath of life into our cold, dead hearts.
 
Risen Lord, we come to worship you.  
The world waits for your coming through us.
We want to be filled with joy
    and to have the freedom to be your true disciples.
 
As we come, we thank you that you do break the seals, Lord,
    you roll away the stone and rip open the protective bandages.
You breathe the breath of life into our cold, dead hearts,
    and by your resurrection we are made new.
 
prayer from New Zealand
 
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With great power the apostles were giving testimony 
    to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, 
    and great grace was on all of them.
 

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This is Jesus Christ

/ Eric Mathews / Leave a comment
image / pixabay
 
Born as a Son,
led forth as a Lamb,
sacrificed as a Sheep,
buried as a Man,
He rose from the dead as a God,
for He was by nature God and man.

He is all things:
He judges, and so he is Law;
He teaches, and so he is Wisdom;
He saves, and so he is Grace;
He begets, and so he is Father;
He is begotten, and so he is Son;
He suffers, and so he is Sacrifice;
He is buried, and so he is man;
He rises again, and so he is God.
This is Jesus Christ,
to whom belongs glory for all ages.
 
Melito of Sardis, d. 180, Bishop of Sardis
 
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The Good News is about his Son.
In his earthly life he was born into King David’s family line, 
and he was shown to be the Son of God 
when he was raised from the dead by the power of the Holy Spirit. 
He is Jesus Christ our Lord.

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O God, control my temper

/ Eric Mathews / 1 Comment
Photo by Marina Kazmirova on Unsplash
 
O God, I know that my temper is far too quick.
I know only too well how liable I am to flare up, 
    and to say things for which afterwards am heartily sorry.
I know only too well that sometimes in anger I do things
    which in my calmer moments I would never have done.
I know that my temper upsets things at home;
    that it makes me difficult to work with;
    that far too often it makes me a cause and source of trouble.
O God, help me.  Help me to think before I speak.
When I feel that I am going to blaze out,
    help me to keep quiet just for a moment or two,
    until I get a grip of myself again.
Help me to remember that you are listening to everything I say,
    and seeing everything I do.
O God, control me and my temper too.
This I ask for your love’s sake.
 
William Barclay, 1907-1978, minister in the Church of Scotland
 
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Know this, my beloved brothers: 
    let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger; 
    for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God.  
Therefore put away all filthiness and rampant wickedness 
    and receive with meekness the implanted word, 
     which is able to save your souls.

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remove anything that separates us

/ Eric Mathews / Leave a comment
Photo by Melissa Askew on Unsplash
 
I beg of you, my Lord,
  to remove anything which separates
  me from you, and you from me.
Remove anything that makes me unworthy
  of your sight, your control, your discipline;
  of your speech and conversation,
  of your benevolence and love.
Cast from me every evil
  that stands in the way of my seeing you,
  hearing, tasting, savoring, and touching you;
  fearing and being mindful of you;
  knowing, trusting, loving, and possessing you;
  being conscious of your presence
  and, as far as may be, enjoying you.
This is what I ask for myself
  and earnestly desire from you. Amen.

Peter Faber, 1506-1546, Jesuit Priest and co-founder of the Society of Jesus
Hearts in Fire Praying with Jesuits

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Just think how much more the blood of Christ will purify our consciences from sinful deeds so that we can worship the living God. For by the power of the eternal Spirit, Christ offered himself to God as a perfect sacrifice for our sins.

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Sometimes I choose sin

/ Eric Mathews / Leave a comment
Photo by Nick Gavrilov on Unsplash
 
Father – the truth about me is that often I choose sin:
    Sometimes I choose hatred.  Sometimes I choose slander.
    Sometimes I choose envy.  Sometimes I choose greed.
    Sometimes I choose pettiness.  Sometimes I choose lust.
    Sometimes I choose gossip.  Sometimes I choose pride.
    Sometimes I choose self-reliance.
    Sometimes I choose self-righteousness.
    Sometimes I choose self-aggrandizement.
    Sometimes I choose dishonesty.
    Sometimes I choose unkind words.
    Sometimes I choose to ignore the obvious needs around me.
    Sometimes I choose to hoard my resources.
    Sometimes I choose to neglect Your command to share the gospel.
The list of things I wrongly choose could go on and on.  And sometimes
I act on these things in ways that are darker than I ever care to state.
Each time I make such a choice, I choose death.
Today, I ask that You breathe life into my soul afresh
    and enable me to choose life – to choose You and Your ways.
 
Kurt Bjorklund, 1968- , American Minister and author or
 
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For the wages of sin is death, 
    but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.