Set us free to serve
service
image via Picryl
Annoint the wounds
The Good Samaritan, Teofilo Patini via Wikimedia Commons
Anoint the wounds
of my spirit
with the balm
of forgiveness.
Pour the oil
of your calm
upon the waters
of my heart
Take the squeal
of frustration
from the wheels of my passion
that the power
of your tenderness
may smooth
the way I love
That the tedium
of giving
in the risk of surrender
and the reaching
out naked
to a world
that must wound
may be kindled fresh daily
in a blaze of compassion
– that the grain may fall gladly
to burst in the ground
– and the harvest abound.
Father Ralph Wright, 1938- , Benedictine Monk St Louis Abbey
Sharing the Darkness
of my spirit
with the balm
of forgiveness.
Pour the oil
of your calm
upon the waters
of my heart
Take the squeal
of frustration
from the wheels of my passion
that the power
of your tenderness
may smooth
the way I love
That the tedium
of giving
in the risk of surrender
and the reaching
out naked
to a world
that must wound
may be kindled fresh daily
in a blaze of compassion
– that the grain may fall gladly
to burst in the ground
– and the harvest abound.
Father Ralph Wright, 1938- , Benedictine Monk St Louis Abbey
Sharing the Darkness
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Luke 10:33-34
But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was;
and when he saw him, he took pity on him.
He went to him and bandaged his wounds,
pouring on oil and wine.
Then he put the man on his own donkey,
brought him to an inn and took care of him.
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Questions
When have you been wounded caring for another person’s needs?
Can you trust God to minister to your wounds in these times?
True Enlightenment
The Apparition of the Messiah, Alexander Andreyevich Ivanov, via Wikimedia Commons
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Why can’t I retreat into a mountain
and enjoy the rest of my life, sipping wine,
looking at the moon and making haiku
like the one “enlightened”?
However hard and long I may raise
my insignificant voice of anger,
I know I cannot stop this stream;
but I cannot give up.
Those who attained perfect enlightenment
yell at me from this world and the other,
“Hey! You have been a Christian for a
long time. How come you are not awakened yet!”
I do not want to attain enlightenment in the Buddhist sense.
My enlightenment is to follow Christ and go into the world.
I do not want to separate myself from the world.
And in the face of mounting injustice and misery,
I would like to live with those suffering people,
because Christ lives with them.
I often get lost, get angry, worry and make cries of protest,
but Christ is with me and soothes me.
Yorifumi Yaguchi, 1932- , Japanese Mennonite poet and pastor
Readings from Mennonite Writings New & Old
and enjoy the rest of my life, sipping wine,
looking at the moon and making haiku
like the one “enlightened”?
However hard and long I may raise
my insignificant voice of anger,
I know I cannot stop this stream;
but I cannot give up.
Those who attained perfect enlightenment
yell at me from this world and the other,
“Hey! You have been a Christian for a
long time. How come you are not awakened yet!”
I do not want to attain enlightenment in the Buddhist sense.
My enlightenment is to follow Christ and go into the world.
I do not want to separate myself from the world.
And in the face of mounting injustice and misery,
I would like to live with those suffering people,
because Christ lives with them.
I often get lost, get angry, worry and make cries of protest,
but Christ is with me and soothes me.
Yorifumi Yaguchi, 1932- , Japanese Mennonite poet and pastor
Readings from Mennonite Writings New & Old
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Luke 6:20-22
Then Jesus turned to his disciples and said,
“God blesses you who are poor,
for the Kingdom of God is yours.
God blesses you who are hungry now,
for you will be satisfied.
God blesses you who weep now,
for in due time you will laugh.
What blessings await you when people hate you
and exclude you and mock you and curse you as evil
because you follow the Son of Man.”
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Questions
Who is someone in your neighborhood that could use your help?
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Questions
Who is someone in your neighborhood that could use your help?
What is the need you can meet?
Pour Your Spirit on your servants
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
Fount of Heaven, Prayers of the Early Church slightly modified
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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.
answering our askings
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
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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.
The Church should be a verb
Photo by Claudio Schwarz on Unsplash
Granted, it’s a tough assignment, the original assignment. I get that.
Love – Lord help us, could we not have been assigned something easier,
like astrophysics or quantum mechanics?
But no – love those you cannot love.
Love those who are poor and broken and fouled and dirty
and sick with sores.
Love those who wish to strike you on both cheeks.
Love the blowhard, the pompous ass, the arrogant liar.
Find the Christ in each heart, even those.
Preach the Gospel and only if necessary talk about it.
Be the Word.
It is easy to advise and pronounce and counsel
and suggest and lecture;
it is not easy to do what must be done
without sometimes shrieking.
Bring love like a bright weapon against the dark.
The Rabbi did not say build churches, or retreat houses,
or secure a fleet of cars for general use, or convene conferences,
or issue position papers.
He was pretty blunt about the hungry and the naked and the sick.
He was not reasonable; we forget this.
The Church is not a reasonable idea.
The Church should be a verb.
When it is only a noun it is not what the Founder asked of us.
Let us pray that we are ever after dissolving
the formal officious arrogant thing that wants to rise,
and ever fomenting the contradictory revolutionary
countercultural thing that could change life on this planet.
It could, you know.
Let’s try again today.
And so: Amen.
Brian Doyle, 1956 – 2017, Catholic author from Oregon
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God has put all things under the authority of Christ
and has made him head over all things for the benefit of the church.
And the church is his body; it is made full and complete by Christ,
who fills all things everywhere with himself.
All Saints Day prayer
Before you, O God,
we remember today the ones who went before us.
Not held back by the awesomeness of the task
they followed you with tenacity and joy.
Full of courage and trust they went to new places,
ready to stand and suffer with you.
Like a cloud of many witnesses
they stand around us.
Before you, O God,
we remember the saints of our day,
who do not live by the rigid letter of the law
but by the wild demands of faith,
always prepared to give more,
always ready to be turned inside out,
knowing that new ways can only be found
through risk and pain.
Like a cloud of many witnesses
they stand around us.
Eternal God,
we thank you for the witnesses of all times and all places.
May the stories of their lives show us the richness of your grace.
May they inspire us to look deep within our souls.
May they encourage us to take the risk of faith
and to serve you in new ways.
Francis Brienen, United Reformed Church, UK
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Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses,
let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely,
and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us,
looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith,
who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross,
despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.
Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself,
so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted.
for those involved with the law
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Lord Jesus,
You were in prison, found guilty when you were innocent,
You were executed as traitor when in fact you were Savior.
To you who died to set all free we pray for:
All makers of the laws of the land,
that they do so with reason and compassion.
All interpreters of the law – judges, lawyers –
that they be fair, honest and impartial.
All administrators of the law – prison guards and superintendents –
that they be merciful in their firmness.
All prisoners – that they may know that you are in prison with them,
in their homes with their loved ones,
and that in you is their hope.
Though bound, may they be perfectly free in you and in your service.
John B. Coburn, 1914- 2009, Bishop of Massachusetts
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Blessed are those whose help is the God of Jacob,
whose hope is in the Lord their God.
He is the Maker of heaven and earth,
the sea, and everything in them—
he remains faithful forever.
He upholds the cause of the oppressed
and gives food to the hungry.
The Lord sets prisoners free,
the Lord gives sight to the blind,
the Lord lifts up those who are bowed down,
the Lord loves the righteous.
whose hope is in the Lord their God.
He is the Maker of heaven and earth,
the sea, and everything in them—
he remains faithful forever.
He upholds the cause of the oppressed
and gives food to the hungry.
The Lord sets prisoners free,
the Lord gives sight to the blind,
the Lord lifts up those who are bowed down,
the Lord loves the righteous.
give us hope to share
Do not give us rest, Lord
while people are hungry
and we are rich.
As long as justice is a dream
press us on
and do not give us rest.
Do not give us peace, Lord,
while people live in fear
and we are safe.
As long as hatred stifles love
stir us up
and no not give us peace.
Do not give us comfort, Lord,
while people are desperate
and we are well.
As long as lives are lived in pain
disturb us
and do not give us comfort.
But give us hope to share, O Christ,
hope that disturbs and stirs and shakes,
the hope of Job,
the hope of the lame,
a hope of new life
beyond the pain.
Until all find comfort
and peace
and rest,
Christ, give us hope to share.
Francis Brienen, United Reformed Church, UK
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Don’t just pretend to love others. Really love them.
Hate what is wrong. Hold tightly to what is good.
Love each other with genuine affection, and take delight in honoring each other.
Never be lazy, but work hard and serve the Lord enthusiastically.
Rejoice in our confident hope.
Be patient in trouble, and keep on praying.
When God’s people are in need, be ready to help them.
Always be eager to practice hospitality.
I pray for the children
This morning, Lord, I’m praying for many people,
just a day after Dobbs v. Jackson…
I’m praying for those
disappointed and angry,
who believe their rights have been trampled and crushed:
their choice and autonomy wrenched from their grasp…
And I’m praying for those
now claiming a victory,
who believe that justice has finally prevailed:
the right to life, refreshed and reclaimed…
I pray for our country,
torn apart and embittered,
where the battle for rights will continue to rage,
dividing our nation, body and soul…
I pray for the Church
to preach with compassion
the gospel of life as the wisdom for choosing
what’s loving and true, what’s generous and good…
And I pray for the Church
to faithfully serve
with shelter, support, understanding and help
people and life in all shapes and all forms…And last, but not least, Lord,
I pray for the children conceived every day:
planned or unplanned, welcome or not,
impaired or healthy, ill-timed or convenient,
each one made in your image divine,
each one named by your love and your grace,
each one, your own, entrusted to us…
Many to pray for, many to hold
in our arms, in our care, in our love.
Help us to welcome the gift of new life
with its challenges, burdens and blessings,
with the strength and help of your grace…
Amen.
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And the word of the Lord came to Zechariah, saying,
“Thus says the Lord of hosts,
Render true judgments, show kindness and mercy to one another,
do not oppress the widow, the fatherless, the sojourner, or the poor,
and let none of you devise evil against another in your heart.”