Hearing God's Word a.ka. God News in Song!

Happy Sunday Dear Family of God/Love!

I hope you all enjoyed your day of Sabbath rest. It was a beautiful day at the Faith Factory and for the past week we in Prep which is our Bible Study group have been focusing on the lessons for the Sixth Sunday in Easter. We will reprise them here tonight. The Gospel or God News is According to John and it has been singing to me in many ways not just in scripture but in song. Thomas Tallis wrote a motet called If Ye Love Me Keep My Commandments based on today's Gospel Reading. I invite you to listen to this piece first and then reading it five ways and then hearing it again. See if you can hear the words sing to you and your soul. Throughout tonight's blog click on the bold brown links for the musical selections.

Thomas Tallis - If Ye Love Me.....

John 14:15-21 New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)

The Promise of the Holy Spirit
15 “If you love me, you will keep[a] my commandments. 16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate,[b] to be with you forever. 17 This is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, because he abides with you, and he will be in[c] you.

18 “I will not leave you orphaned; I am coming to you. 19 In a little while the world will no longer see me, but you will see me; because I live, you also will live. 20 On that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you. 21 They who have my commandments and keep them are those who love me; and those who love me will be loved by my Father, and I will love them and reveal myself to them.”

John 14:15-21 The Message (MSG)

The Spirit of Truth
15-17 “If you love me, show it by doing what I’ve told you. I will talk to the Father, and he’ll provide you another Friend so that you will always have someone with you. This Friend is the Spirit of Truth. The godless world can’t take him in because it doesn’t have eyes to see him, doesn’t know what to look for. But you know him already because he has been staying with you, and will even be in you!

18-20 “I will not leave you orphaned. I’m coming back. In just a little while the world will no longer see me, but you’re going to see me because I am alive and you’re about to come alive. At that moment you will know absolutely that I’m in my Father, and you’re in me, and I’m in you.

21 “The person who knows my commandments and keeps them, that’s who loves me. And the person who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and make myself plain to him.”

John 14:15-21 The Voice (VOICE)

15 If you love Me, obey the commandments I have given you. 16 I will ask the Father to send you another Helper, the Spirit of truth, who will remain constantly with you. 17 The world does not recognize the Spirit of truth, because it does not know the Spirit and is unable to receive Him. But you do know the Spirit because He lives with you, and He will dwell in you. 18 I will never abandon you like orphans; I will return to be with you. 19 In a little while, the world will not see Me; but I will not vanish completely from your sight. Because I live, you will also live. 20 At that time, you will know that I am in the Father, you are in Me, and I am in you. 21 The one who loves Me will do the things I have commanded. My Father loves everyone who loves Me; and I will love you and reveal My heart, will, and nature to you.

John 14:15-21 J.B. Phillips New Testament (PHILLIPS)

Jesus promises the Spirit

15-20 “If you really love me, you will keep the commandments I have given you and I shall ask the Father to give you someone else to stand by you, to be with you always. I mean the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot accept, for it can neither see nor recognise that Spirit. But you recognise him, for he is with you now and will be in your hearts. I am not going to leave you alone in the world—I am coming to you. In a very little while, the world will see me no more but you will see me, because I am really alive and you will be alive too. When that day come, you will realise that I am in my Father, that you are in me, and I am in you.

21 “Every man who knows my commandments and obeys them is the man who really loves me, and every man who really loves me will himself be loved by my Father, and I too will love him and make myself known to him.”

John 14:15-21King James Version (KJV)

15 If ye love me, keep my commandments.

16 And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever;

17 Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.

18 I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you.

19 Yet a little while, and the world seeth me no more; but ye see me: because I live, ye shall live also.

20 At that day ye shall know that I am in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you.

21 He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him.

If you Love Me Keep My Commandments

Which one of the above sings to your heart or does the music do it alone or both? If you are having trouble repeat the exercise again. When you are ready move on to our next meditation:

 Let us engage in "The Be Stills"

Be Still and Know That I am God.
Be Still and Know.
Be Still
Be. 

Please repeat slowly and then close your eyes until you feel yourselves going deeper and journeying into your heart homes and in to God's Presence. 

Dear ones, it is time for our Sunday Evening  Virtual Candlelight Prayer Vigils. Let us light our candles and be at prayer. Tonight we pray for peace in our minds, our hearts, our families, neighborhoods, We pray for the courage to speak truth to power and engage in peaceful non-violent protest. We pray that we may listen with listening ears and hearts and find common ground. We pray that we may Love our Neighbors and yes even those with whom there is disagreement. May we find ways to Be CALM( Compassionate, Accepting, Loving, and Merciful) We pray that a new spirit of respect and kindness may spread throughout the world and that we may prayerfully consider wisely again the words of the prophet Isaiah: 3 And many peoples will come and say, "Come, let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, To the house of the God of Jacob; That He may teach us concerning His ways And that we may walk in His paths." For the law will go forth from Zion And the word of the LORD from Jerusalem. 4 And He will judge between the nations, And will render decisions for many peoples; And they will hammer their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will not lift up sword against nation, And never again will they learn war. 5 Come, house of Jacob, and let us walk in the light of the LORD.

Here are the omitted verses

66 Jubilate Deo

1 Be joyful in God, all you lands; *

sing the glory of his Name;

sing the glory of his praise.

2 Say to God, “How awesome are your deeds! *

because of your great strength your enemies

cringe before you.

3 All the earth bows down before you, *

sings to you, sings out your Name.”

4 Come now and see the works of God, *

how wonderful he is in his doing toward all people.

5 He turned the sea into dry land,

so that they went through the water on foot, *

and there we rejoiced in him.

6 In his might he rules for ever;

his eyes keep watch over the nations; *

let no rebel rise up against him.

Psalm 66:7-18

Jubilate Deo

7 Bless our God, you peoples; *

make the voice of his praise to be heard;

8 Who holds our souls in life, *

and will not allow our feet to slip.

9 For you, O God, have proved us; *

you have tried us just as silver is tried.

10 You brought us into the snare; *

you laid heavy burdens upon our backs.

11 You let enemies ride over our heads;

we went through fire and water; *

but you brought us out into a place of refreshment.

12 I will enter your house with burnt-offerings

and will pay you my vows, *

which I promised with my lips

and spoke with my mouth when I was in trouble.

13 I will offer you sacrifices of fat beasts

with the smoke of rams; *

I will give you oxen and goats.

14 Come and listen, all you who fear God, *

and I will tell you what he has done for me.

15 I called out to him with my mouth, *

and his praise was on my tongue.

16 If I had found evil in my heart, *

the Lord would not have heard me;

17 But in truth God has heard me; *

he has attended to the voice of my prayer.

18 Blessed be God, who has not rejected my prayer, *

nor withheld his love from me.

Psalms 66 and 67

Acts 17:22-31

Paul stood in front of the Areopagus and said, “Athenians, I see how extremely religious you are in every way. For as I went through the city and looked carefully at the objects of your worship, I found among them an altar with the inscription, ‘To an unknown god.’ What therefore you worship as unknown, this I proclaim to you. The God who made the world and everything in it, he who is Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in shrines made by human hands, nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mortals life and breath and all things. From one ancestor he made all nations to inhabit the whole earth, and he allotted the times of their existence and the boundaries of the places where they would live, so that they would search for God and perhaps grope for him and find him—though indeed he is not far from each one of us. For ‘In him we live and move and have our being’; as even some of your own poets have said,

‘For we too are his offspring.’

Since we are God’s offspring, we ought not to think that the deity is like gold, or silver, or stone, an image formed by the art and imagination of mortals. While God has overlooked the times of human ignorance, now he commands all people everywhere to repent, because he has fixed a day on which he will have the world judged in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed, and of this he has given assurance to all by raising him from the dead.”

Magnificat

The Song of Mary 

Magnificat

Luke 1:46-55

My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord,

my spirit rejoices in God my Savior; *

for he has looked with favor on his lowly servant

From this day all generations will call me blessed: *

the Almighty has done great things for me,

and holy is his Name.

He has mercy on those who fear him *

in every generation.

He has shown the strength of his arm, *

he has scattered the proud in their conceit.

He has cast down the mighty from their thrones, *

and has lifted up the lowly.

He has filled the hungry with good things, *

and the rich he has sent away empty.

He has come to the help of his servant Israel, *

for he has remembered his promise of mercy,

The promise he made to our fathers, *

to Abraham and his children for ever.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit: *

as It was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen.

1 Peter 3:13-22
Now who will harm you if you are eager to do what is good? But even if you do suffer for doing what is right, you are blessed. Do not fear what they fear, and do not be intimidated, but in your hearts sanctify Christ as Lord. Always be ready to make your defense to anyone who demands from you an accounting for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and reverence. Keep your conscience clear, so that, when you are maligned, those who abuse you for your good conduct in Christ may be put to shame. For it is better to suffer for doing good, if suffering should be God's will, than to suffer for doing evil. For Christ also suffered for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, in order to bring you to God. He was put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit, in which also he went and made a proclamation to the spirits in prison, who in former times did not obey, when God waited patiently in the days of Noah, during the building of the ark, in which a few, that is, eight persons, were saved through water. And baptism, which this prefigured, now saves you-- not as a removal of dirt from the body, but as an appeal to God for a good conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, with angels, authorities, and powers made subject to him.

A Song of Faith

1 Peter 1:3-4,18-21

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, *

by divine mercy we have a new birth into a living hope;

Through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, *

we have an inheritance that is imperishable in heaven.

The ransom that was paid to free us *

was not paid in silver or gold,

But in the precious blood of Christ, *

the Lamb without spot or stain.

God raised Jesus from the dead and gave him glory *

so that we might have faith and hope in God.

John 14:15-21

Jesus said, ”If you love me, you will keep my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, to be with you forever. This is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, because he abides with you, and he will be in you.

”I will not leave you orphaned; I am coming to you. In a little while the world will no longer see me, but you will see me; because I live, you also will live. On that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you. They who have my commandments and keep them are those who love me; and those who love me will be loved by my Father, and I will love them and reveal myself to them.”

Nunc Dimittis - Stanford

The Song of Simeon Nunc dimittis

Luke 2:29-32

Lord, you now have set your servant free *

to go in peace as you have promised;

For these eyes of mine have seen the Savior, *

whom you have prepared for all the world to see:

A Light to enlighten the nations, *

and the glory of your people Israel.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit: *

as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen.

                                       God is Love and Love is God
                                                      Prayers
             In the Spirit of Loving Our Neighbors and Family Members



God is Love and Love is God, may we love you with a gentle and  childlike spirit.

God is Love and Love is God, may we love our family members with a loving heart and a welcoming heart home.

God is Love and Love is God, may we learn to love ourselves and treat ourselves with gentleness and without shame.

God is Love and Love is God, we pray for all who are ill and in any distress of body, mind, and spirit.

God is Love and Love is God, we pray for peace in this fragile and broken world. 

God is Love and Love is God, we pray for all refugees, captives, victims of terror,violence, abuse, and human trafficking.

God is Love and Love is God, we pray for all who are being persecuted by virtue of their sexuality and gender. May they be afforded all human rights and acceptance.

God is Love and Love is God, we pray for all who are mourning and who are pre-grieving. 

God is Love and Love is God, we pray for all who are dying and who have died may they enjoy with joy their new mansion fit for them and in the Thin Places.

“Christ has no body now but yours. No hands, no feet on earth but yours. Yours are the eyes through which he looks compassion on this world. Yours are the feet with which he walks to do good. Yours are the hands through which he blesses all the world. Yours are the hands, yours are the feet, yours are the eyes, you are his body. Christ has no body now on earth but yours.”

God of Love, we pray that we may become instruments of peace as in the words from St. Francis of Assisi :

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace,
Where there is hatred, let me sow love;
where there is injury, pardon;
where there is doubt, faith;
where there is despair, hope;
where there is darkness, light;
where there is sadness, joy;

O Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console;
to be understood as to understand;
to be loved as to love.

For it is in giving that we receive;
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned;
and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.

Make me a Channel of your peace



God of Love, give us courage to live out and listen to your words you spoke through you son Jesus on the sermon on the Mount.

Matthew 5:1-12New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)

The Beatitudes

5 When Jesus[a] saw the crowds, he went up the mountain; and after he sat down, his disciples came to him. 2 Then he began to speak, and taught them, saying:

3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

4 “Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.

5 “Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.

6 “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.

7 “Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy.

8 “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.

9 “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.

10 “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

11 “Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely[b] on my account. 12 Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

God of Love, help us to acknowledge our dependence upon you and each other. Help us to build bridges and tear down walls of division and hatred. 

God of Love, give us strength to live each day without fear of those who differ from us and gather the strength to find common ground in Love for one another. 

God of Love we pray for___________________

God of Love we pray and ask for the forgiveness of our sins this day as we call them to mind____________

God  of Love, we pray and give thanks for___________________

God of Love, we lay these prayers in the arms of your beloved son Jesus Christ. Amen.

Ubi Caritas -Taize

Good Night Dear Ones! Here are a few pictures from a short walk this afternoon.

 I love you lots and appreciate you greatly. May you have a restful night and awaken refreshed tomorrow. Don't forget about this : A Call To Action! To Pray, Fast, and Advocate

Peace, Love, Prayers, and God's Blessings,

Sara

Resources

Musical Selections - You Tube
Enriching Our Worship 
Book of Common Prayer
Bible Gateway for text translations
Walk With Me On Our Journey