Walk With me on Our Journey: Wisdom Wednesday! : May we all be loving and all be one!

Good Evening Dear Family of Love and God!

I hope all of you are enjoying your Wednesday and finding daily bits of wisdom to sustain you on this our Wisdom Wednesday. Today it has been warm and humid and that means for us that we are going to rest and relax using a shorter form of Evening prayer and lessons. We celebrate the feast day of Samuel Ferguson who was a Missionary bishop to Liberia. You'll see in these lessons many pieces of wisdom and a bit to chew on. These lessons gave us much to ponder during this morning's Morning Prayer service and time of conversation and reflection. Today we reminded ourselves and each other that we must be loving and all be one.

So let us take time to cool down and be still!

Slowly breathe in, and gently exhale out, pause and say our mindfulness phrase.

Be still and know that I am God.
Be still and know that I am.
Be still and know.
Be still.
Be.

Slowly breathe in, and gently exhale out, pause and say our mindfulness phrase.

Be still and know that I am God.
Be still and know that I am.
Be still and know.
Be still.
Be

Slowly breathe in, and gently exhale out, pause and say our mindfulness phrase.

Be still and know that I am God.
Be still and know that I am.
Be still and know.
Be still.
Be

Light of the World Phos hilaron

Light of the world, in grace and beauty,
Mirror of God’s eternal face,
Transparent flame of love’s free duty,
You bring salvation to our race.
Now, as we see the lights of evening,
We raise our voice in hymns of praise;
Worthy are you of endless blessing,
Sun of our night, lamp of our days.

Let us light our candles and be at prayer and make vigil!

Psalm 134
Behold now, bless the Lord, all you servants of the Lord, *
you that stand by night in the house of the Lord.
Lift up your hands in the holy place and bless the Lord; *
the Lord who made heaven and earth bless you out of Zion.

As we light our candles tonight let us be mindful of all who suffer various forms of anxiety and are afraid to ask for help. Tonight as we pray let us prayerfully and lovingly encircle one another with a prayer quilt of CALM ( compassion acceptance love and mercy) and that we may feel the warmth of this quilt when ever we need it. God give us courage to lean on and learn from each other. God help us to find ways to show and be love to the unlovable and marginalized and yes even our enemies too. God we pray that we may deepen our relationship with you and each other. Help us to hear your voice at the very depths of our souls and in the voices of others whom you have brought into our lives for a reason. Let us hold the virtual Light of Christ to one another this night and say" The Light of Christ in Me, Recognizes the light of Christ in You!" and The Love that God gave Me I give to you and my neighbor. Holy and loving God help us remember that Love patience, and understanding and peaceful nonviolent protests are the Keys to affect change in this fragile and broken world.

Psalm 119 : 9 - 16
Beth In quo corrigit?

9 How shall a young man cleanse his way? *
By keeping to your words.

10 With my whole heart I seek you; *
let me not stray from your commandments.

11 I treasure your promise in my heart, *
that I may not sin against you.

12 Blessed are you, O Lord; *
instruct me in your statutes.

13 With my lips will I recite *
all the judgments of your mouth.

14 I have taken greater delight in the way of your decrees *
than in all manner of riches.

15 I will meditate on your commandments *
and give attention to your ways.

16 My delight is in your statutes; *
I will not forget your word.

Lessons and Canticles:

Sirach 51:13-26

¹³ While I was still young, before I went on my travels,
I sought wisdom openly in my prayer.
¹⁴ Before the temple I asked for her,
and I will search for her until the end.

¹⁵ From the first blossom to the ripening grape
my heart delighted in her;
my foot walked on the straight path;
from my youth I followed her steps.

¹⁶ I inclined my ear a little and received her,
and I found for myself much instruction.
¹⁷ I made progress in her;
to him who gives wisdom I will give glory.

¹⁸ For I resolved to live according to wisdom,^*
   and I was zealous for the good,
   and I shall never be disappointed.
¹⁹ My soul grappled with wisdom,^*
   and in my conduct I was strict;^*

I spread out my hands to the heavens,
and lamented my ignorance of her.
²⁰ I directed my soul to her,
and in purity I found her.

With her I gained understanding from the first;
   therefore I will never be forsaken.
²¹ My heart was stirred to seek her;
   therefore I have gained a prize possession.
²² The Lord gave me my tongue as a reward,
   and I will praise him with it.

²³ Draw near to me, you who are uneducated,
   and lodge in the house of instruction.
²⁴ Why do you say you are lacking in these things,^*
   and why do you endure such great thirst?
²⁵ I opened my mouth and said,
   Acquire wisdom^* for yourselves without money.

²⁶ Put your neck under her^* yoke,
and let your souls receive instruction;
it is to be found close by.

A Song of Wisdom Sapientia liberavit
Wisdom 10:15-19,20b-21

Wisdom freed from a nation of oppressors *
a holy people and a blameless race.
She entered the soul of a servant of the Lord, *
withstood dread rulers with wonders and signs.
To the saints she gave the reward of their labors, *
and led them by a marvelous way;
She was their shelter by day *
and a blaze of stars by night.
She brought them across the Red Sea, *
she led them through mighty waters;
But their enemies she swallowed in the waves *
and spewed them out from the depths of the abyss.
And then, Lord, the righteous sang hymns to your Name, *
and praised with one voice your protecting hand;
For Wisdom opened the mouths of the mute, *
and gave speech to the tongues of a new-born people.

2 Peter 1:16-21

16 For we did not follow cleverly devised myths when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we had been eyewitnesses of his majesty. 17For he received honour and glory from God the Father when that voice was conveyed to him by the Majestic Glory, saying, ‘This is my Son, my Beloved,* with whom I am well pleased.’ 18We ourselves heard this voice come from heaven, while we were with him on the holy mountain.

19 So we have the prophetic message more fully confirmed. You will do well to be attentive to this as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts. 20 First of all you must understand this, that no prophecy of scripture is a matter of one’s own interpretation, 21 because no prophecy ever came by human will, but men and women moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God.*

The Song of Hannah
1 Samuel 2:1-8

My heart exults in you, O God; *
my triumph song is lifted in you.
My mouth derides my enemies, *
for I rejoice in your salvation.
There is none holy like you, *
nor any rock to be compared to you, our God.
Do not heap up prideful words or speak in arrogance; *
Only God is knowing and weighs all actions.
The bows of the mighty are broken, *
but the weak are clothed in strength.
Those once full now labor for bread, *
those who hungered now are well fed.
The childless woman has borne sevenfold, *
while the mother of many is forlorn.
God destroys and brings to life, casts down and raises up; *
gives wealth or takes it away, humbles and dignifies.
God raises the poor from the dust; *
and lifts the needy from the ash heap
To make them sit with the rulers *
and inherit a place of honor.
For the pillars of the earth are God’s *
on which the whole earth is founded.

John 3:1-153

Now there was a Pharisee named Nicodemus, a leader of the Jews.²He came to Jesus^* by night and said to him, ‘Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God; for no one can do these signs that you do apart from the presence of God.’ ³Jesus answered him, ‘Very truly, I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God without being born from above.’^* ⁴Nicodemus said to him, ‘How can anyone be born after having grown old? Can one enter a second time into the mother’s womb and be born?’ ⁵Jesus answered, ‘Very truly, I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God without being born of water and Spirit. ⁶What is born of the flesh is flesh, and what is born of the Spirit is spirit.^* ⁷Do not be astonished that I said to you, “You^* must be born from above.”^* ⁸The wind^* blows where it chooses, and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.’ ⁹Nicodemus said to him, ‘How can these things be?’ ¹⁰Jesus answered him, ‘Are you a teacher of Israel, and yet you do not understand these things?

11 ‘Very truly, I tell you, we speak of what we know and testify to what we have seen; yet you^* do not receive our testimony. ¹²If I have told you about earthly things and you do not believe, how can you believe if I tell you about heavenly things? ¹³No one has ascended into heaven except the one who descended from heaven, the Son of Man.^* ¹⁴And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, ¹⁵that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.^*

A Prayer attributed to St. Francis
Lord, make us instruments of your peace. Where there is
hatred, let us sow love; where there is injury, pardon; where
there is discord, union; where there is doubt, faith; where
there is despair, hope; where there is darkness, light; where
there is sadness, joy. Grant that we 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. Amen.

Hymn:
God be in my head, and in my understanding;
God be in my eyes, and in my looking;
God be in my mouth, and in my speaking;
God be in my heart, and in my thinking;
God be at my end, and at my departing.

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.

Prayers for ourselves and others may follow. It is appropriate that
prayers of thanksgiving for the blessings of the day, and penitence for our
sins, be included.

Wrapping ourselves in God's Loving arms with our prayers!

Let us visualize ourselves as being in God's loving arms seeking to know God better and feeling God's love encircling us. May we feel the love energy radiating from our heart homes outward to all of our family members around the world.

Let us lovingly pray for all of our family members tonight and consciously know that each one we pray for is a beloved Child of God.