New Testament

reconcile us

/ Eric Mathews / Leave a comment
 
O God, Giver of Life, Bearer of Pain, Maker of Love,
    you are able to accept in us what we cannot even acknowledge:
    you are able to name in us what we cannot bear to speak of ;
    you are able to hold in your memory what we have tried to forget;
    you are able to hold out to us the glory that we cannot conceive of.
 
Reconcile us through your cross to all that we have rejected in ourselves,
    that we may find no part of your creation to be alien or strange to us,
    and that we ourselves may be made whole.
Through Jesus Christ, our love and our friend.
 
Janet Morely, British author, poet, and Christian feminist
 
___________________________
 
 
But now, this is what the Lord says—
    he who created you, Jacob,
    he who formed you, Israel:
“Do not fear, for I have redeemed you;
    I have summoned you by name; you are mine.
 
 
For God in all his fullness
    was pleased to live in Christ,
 and through him God reconciled
    everything to himself.
He made peace with everything in heaven and on earth
    by means of Christ’s blood on the cross.

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to crave the graces of your Holy Spirit

/ Eric Mathews / Leave a comment
image, Gloucestershire, UK via Pexels
 
 
Lord God, you know I need to call on you for my daily bread.
But how much more reason have I to crave the graces of your Holy Spirit –
    for supplying my soul with heavenly food,
    especially with saving faith.
When I am tossed about with the storms of doubts and fears,
    show me how to lay hold of your word and promises.
Then all the temptations of the world, the flesh and the devil,
    will never prevail over me, since I know in whom I have believed.
Increase the light of my faith, 
    that it may daily cast forth more clear beams.
Preserve that faith in the darkness of death,
    that it may guide me to eternal life.
And rule and govern me by your Holy Spirit,
    that I may never lose faith by agreeing to do anything
    that is against the light of my conscience.
Confirm the good work you have begun in me,
    strengthen me inwardly, and preserve me blameless 
    until the day of the Lord Jesus Christ,
    that I may inherit eternal life.
Amen.
 
Robert Parker, c. 1564 – 1614, English Puritan minister and scholar
 
___________________________
 
 
That is why I am suffering as I am. 
Yet this is no cause for shame, 
    because I know whom I have believed, 
    and am convinced that he is able to guard 
    what I have entrusted to him until that day.

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Pour Your Spirit on your servants

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image, Cyprus, via Pxhere, CC0 Public Domain
 
Lord God Almighty, no one rules over you.
You always were, and are, and will be. 
You stand in need of nothing.
 
You alone are true, and wise, and most high.
You alone are good, and beyond compare.
Your knowledge is without beginning.
 
You are God and Father of your only begotten Son,
    of our God and Savior, the creator of the whole world by him.
Your providence provides for and takes care of all.
 
Father of mercies, God of all consolation,
    you dwell in the highest heaven, 
        but see us here below.
 
From the beginning, you ordained leaders for your people:
Abel, Seth and Amos. Enoch and Noah. Melchizedek and Job.
Abraham and the rest of the patriarchs, with your faithful servants 
    Moses and Aaron, Eleazer and Phineas …
    who chose rulers and priests in the tabernacle.
 
Pour down the influence of your Spirit.
Grant by your name that your servants whom you have chosen
    may feed your flock, serving you night and day, 
    gathering those who will be saved.
 
May they please you in meekness and pure hearts,
    with steadfast spirits and blameless minds, being above reproach, 
    offering to you a pure sacrifice though Jesus Christ, our God and Savior.
 
All glory, honor, and worship be to you in the Holy Spirit,
    now and always, and for all ages, Amen.
 
Apostolic Constitutions, 375-380, Syrian Christian church orders
 
________________________
 
 
Now he is exalted to the place of highest honor in heaven, at God’s right hand. 
And the Father, as he had promised, gave him the Holy Spirit 
    to pour out upon us, just as you see and hear today.

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Risen and Ascended

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The Ascension, Rembrandt, via Wikimedia Commons
 
 
Almighty God,
We come today reminded of your greatness and glory,
your sovereign power and eternal purpose
all expressed so wonderfully in Jesus Christ, our Lord,
Risen and Ascended.

We thank you for the wonder of Ascension,
that marvelous yet mysterious moment
in the life of the Apostles
which left them gazing heavenwards in confusion
yet departing in joy.

We thank you for the way that it brought the earthly ministry of Jesus
to a fitting conclusion;
signifying his oneness with you,
and demonstrating your final seal of approval
on all that he had done.

We thank you that through his Ascension
Jesus is now set free to be Lord of all:
no longer bound to a particular place or time,
but with us always—able to reach even to the ends of the earth.

We thank you that through his departing
Jesus prepared for his coming again:
through his Spirit,
his Church,
and his coming again in glory.

Gracious God,
Forgive us for so often failing
to grasp the wonder of Ascension,
for living each day as though it had never been.

Forgive the smallness of our vision,
the narrowness of our outlook,
the weakness of our love,
the nervousness of our witness,
our repeated failure to recognize
the fullness of your revelation in Christ.

Give us a deeper sense of wonder,
a stronger faith,
and a greater understanding of all you have done.

Father God,
Like the Apostles,
we too will never fully understand all Ascension means.
We accept, but we do not fully understand.
We believe, yet we have many questions.
Help us, despite our uncertainty, to hold firm to the great truth
that the wonder of Christ Jesus
goes far beyond anything we can ever imagine,
and in that faith may we live each day
to his glory and honour. Amen.
 
Bryce Calder, minister in the Church of Scotland
 
________________________
 
 
And when he had said these things, as they were looking on, 
he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight. 
And while they were gazing into heaven as he went, 
behold, two men stood by them in white robes, and said, 
 
    “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? 
    This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, 
    will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.”

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to share in your triumph

/ Eric Mathews / Leave a comment

painting by Duccio di Buoninsegna, via Wikimedia Commons

 
O Christ, the brightness of God’s glory
    and express image of his person,
  whom death could not conquer,
    nor the tomb imprison;
as you have shared our mortal frailty in the flesh,
    help us to share your immortal triumph in the spirit.
Let no shadow of the grave affright us
    and no fear of darkness turn our hearts from you.
Reveal yourself to us as the first and the last,
    that Living One, 
    our immortal Savior and Lord.
Amen.
 
Henry Van Dyke, 1852 – 1933, American diplomat and Presbyterian clergyman
________________________
 
 
But our citizenship is in heaven. 
And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ,
    who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, 
    will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body.

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Easter Prayer of Pope Gregory the Great

/ Eric Mathews / Leave a comment
source by Luca Giordano via Wikipedia
 
It is only right, with all the powers of our heart and mind, 
    to praise You Father and Your Only-Begotten Son, Our Lord Jesus Christ.
Dear Father, by Your wondrous condescension of Loving-Kindness
    toward us, Your servants, You gave up Your Son.
Dear Jesus You paid the debt of Adam for us to the Eternal Father 
    by Your Blood poured forth in Loving-Kindness.
You cleared away the darkness of sin 
    by Your magnificent and radiant Resurrection.
You broke the bonds of death and rose from the grave as a Conqueror.
You reconciled Heaven and earth.
Our life had no hope of Eternal Happiness before You redeemed us.
Your Resurrection has washed away our sins, 
    restored our innocence and brought us joy.
How inestimable is the tenderness of Your Love!

We pray You, Lord, to preserve Your servants 
    in the peaceful enjoyment of this Easter happiness.
We ask this through Jesus Christ Our Lord, 
    Who lives and reigns with God The Father, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, 
    forever and ever.

Pope Gregory the Great (c. 540 – 604) of Rome, Patron Saint of Teachers
_________________________
 
 
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! 
According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again 
to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead

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for simplicity

/ Eric Mathews / 1 Comment
photo by Maheima Kapur on Unsplash
 
 
Jesus, my life feels cluttered.
Not just with material things, 
    but with my own distracted thoughts and desires.
I wish that things were simpler – not just my lifestyle,
    but the inner attitude of my heart.
I know it’s time to return to simplicity 
    when I stop being thankful and start feeling entitled;
    when I begin grasping for everything in sight 
         rather than trusting you to provide;
    when I hold on desperately to what I own
        instead of sharing it with those around me.
Jesus, help me to be thankful –
    viewing every possession and good occurrence 
    as a gift from you
  so I get to the place where I expect nothing 
    but am delighted with everything.
Help me to trust that my life is ultimately under your care.
Free me from feeling as if I have to own everything,
    because the truth is, all things belong to you.
Help me to be generous – willing to share all I have with others
    as an expression of your generosity to me.
Restore in me a thankful, trusting, generous spirit 
    so I can live simply.
 
Ronald Beers, Chief Publishing Officer for Tyndale
_______________________
 
 
Yet true godliness with contentment is itself great wealth. 
After all, we brought nothing with us when we came into the world, 
    and we can’t take anything with us when we leave it. 
So if we have enough food and clothing, let us be content.

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mourning my sin

/ Eric Mathews / 2 Comments

Photo by Sasha Freemind on Unsplash

 
Eternal Father,
You are good beyond all thought,
    but I am vile, wretched, miserable, blind;
My lips are ready to confess,
    but my heart is slow to feel,
    and my ways reluctant to amend.
I bring my soul to you;
    break it, wound it, bend it, mold it.
Unmask to me sin’s deformity,
    that I may hate it, abhor it, flee from it.
My natural abilities have been a weapon of revolt against you;
    as a rebel I have misused my strength,
    and served the foul adversary of your kingdom.
 
Give me grace to mourn my unconscious folly.
Grant me to know that the way of transgressors is hard,
    that evil paths are wretched paths,
    that to depart from you is to lose all good.
I have seen the purity and beauty of your perfect law,
    the happiness of those in whose hearts you reign,
    the calm dignity of the walk to which you call,
         yet I daily violate and condemn your precepts.
 
All these sins I mourn, lament, and for them cry pardon.
Work in me a more profound and abiding repentance;
Give me the fullness of a godly grief that trembles and fears,
    yet ever trusts and loves,
    which is ever powerful and ever confident;
Grant that through the tears of repentance may see more clearly
    the brightness and glories of your saving cross.
 
 
__________________________
 
 
Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, 
    but worldly sorrow brings death. 
See what this godly sorrow has produced in you: 
    what earnestness, what eagerness to clear yourselves, what indignation, 
    what alarm, what longing, what concern, what readiness to see justice done. 

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answering our askings

/ Eric Mathews / 2 Comments
 
Lord God, 
  grant us to see that 
      even as the Word must become flesh,
      the prayer must become physical:
  grant our prayers 
      eyes to see the invisible,
      ears to hear the inaudible,
      lips to voice the unspeakable,
      hands to clutch the intangible.
Then to complete the body of yearning,
  equip our prayers with 
      legs to step out on faith,
      legs to progress one step at a time,
      legs to walk with our Savior
  in answering our very own askings.
In the name of Jesus Christ.
Amen.
 
Cecil L. Murray, 1929 – , African American Pastor and Ethicist
 
__________________________
 
 
And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, 
    to the breaking of bread and the prayers. 
And awe came upon every soul, 
    and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles.  
And all who believed were together and had all things in common.  
And they were selling their possessions and belongings 
    and distributing the proceeds to all, 
    as any had need.

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You have loved us first

/ Eric Mathews / Leave a comment
God is Love, by Wingchi Poon, CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons
 
 
Father in Heaven!
You have loved us first, help us never to forget that You are love,
  so that this sure conviction might triumph in our hearts
    over the seduction of the world,
    over the inquietude of the soul,
    over the anxiety for the future,
    over the fright of the past,
    over the distress of the moment.
But grant also that this conviction might discipline out soul
    so that our heart might remain faithful and sincere 
    in the love which we bear to all those whom
        You have commanded us to love
        as we love ourselves.
 
You have loved us first, O God, alas!
We speak of it in terms of history
    as if You have only loved us first but a single time,
    rather than that without ceasing You have loved us first in all things
    and every day and our whole life through.
When we wake up in the morning and turn our soul toward You –
    You are the first – You have loved us first;
If I rise at dawn and the same second turn my soul toward You in prayer,
    You are ahead of me, You have loved me first.
When I withdraw from the distractions of the day and turn my soul toward You,
    You are the first and thus forever.
And yet we always speak ungratefully 
    as if You have loved us first only once.
 
Soren Kierkegaard, 1813-1855, Danish philosopher and theologian
_______________________
 
 
God showed how much he loved us 
    by sending his one and only Son into the world 
    so that we might have eternal life through him. 
This is real love—not that we loved God, 
    but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins.

Dear friends, since God loved us that much, we surely ought to love each other. 
No one has ever seen God. But if we love each other, 
    God lives in us, and his love is brought to full expression in us.


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