Friday, March 9, 2018

A Time to Pause,Pray, and Reflect! Friday vigil time is here!





Good Evening Beloved Community!

Happy Friday one and all! I hope all is well and you are ready to journey into a time of personal prayer and reflection. Let us enter into a time of silence and invite God into our heart homes as we seek his presence. Before we do this let us do our Worry Free/Sabbath box, jar, or journal work to clean all the junk out of our hearts, minds, and spirits this weekend. Let us lay these things down and rest.


Peace be still.
Peace be.
Peace.

Peace be still.
Peace be.
Peace.

Peace be still.
Peace be.
Peace.

IN  LAK’ECH

TÚ ERES MI OTRO YO.

YOU ARE MY OTHER ME.

SI TE HAGO DAÑO A TI,

IF I DO HARM TO YOU,

ME HAGO DAÑO A MI MISMO.

I DO HARM TO MYSELF.

SI TE AMO Y RESPETO,

IF I LOVE AND RESPECT YOU,

ME AMO Y RESPETO YO.

I LOVE AND RESPECT MYSELF.

LUIS VALDEZ


 A Smudging Prayer

Creator,
our Father in heaven,
we come to you as your children.

We confess that we are weak and broken images of you.
We pray for the forgiveness and healing you give in Jesus Christ. May his Spirit clean our spirits, minds, hearts, and bodies.
We pray that your Holy Spirit will help us to worship in spirit and truth. 

We pray in the name of Jesus, so that his Spirit will carry our prayers to you. Amen. 


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 one with God and each other as we pray and meditate upon today's God News. 




A Song of Our Adoption 

Ephesians 1:3-10

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

for you have blessed us in Christ

with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places.

Before the world was made, you chose us to be yours in Christ, *

that we should be holy and blameless before you.

You destined us for adoption as your children through Jesus Christ, *

according to the good pleasure of your will,

To the praise of your glorious grace, *

that you have freely given us in the Beloved.

In you, we have redemption through the blood of Christ,

the forgiveness of our sins,

According to the riches of your grace *

which you have lavished upon us.

You have made known to us, in all wisdom and insight, *

the mystery of your will,

According to your good pleasure which you set forth in Christ, *

as a plan for the fullness of time,

To gather together all things in Christ, *

things in heaven and things on earth.





40 One of the two who heard John speak and followed him was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother. 41 He first found his brother Simon and said to him, ‘We have found the Messiah’ (which is translated Anointed[a]).  

John 1:40-41 

Pause 
Pray
God help us readily to answer your call to follow you wherever path leads. Give us strength to set our feet upon your holy ground as your servants buoyed up with CALM (compassion,acceptance, love, and mercy). Amen.

Reflect


“Mary Magdalene went and announced to the disciples, ‘I have seen the Lord”; and she told them that he had said these things to her.” 
John 20:18
Pause.
Pray
We thank you for Mary Magdalene who was the Apostle to the Apostles! Give us we pray the courage to spread the God News of Christ's saving grace and resurrection daily. Amen.

Reflect.


Mary took a pound of costly perfume made of pure nard, anointed Jesus’ feet, and wiped them with her hair. The house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume.” 
John 12:3
Pause.
Pray.

We give thanks for friends and caregivers who tenderly care for us when we are in need. May we be cheerful givers a without counting the cost or what's in it for me. Amen

Reflect.

When they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, ‘Simon son of John, do you love me more than these?’ He said to him, ‘Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Feed my lambs.’” 
John 21:15  

Pause.

Pray.
We give thanks for Peter who loved Jesus and was willing to shepherd, feed, and tend Jesus' lambs. Help us to do likewise when we are called to do so and remember that we are serving you when we are serving them.Amen.

Reflect.


Although the doors were shut, Jesus came and stood among them and said, ‘Peace be with you.’ Then he said to Thomas, ‘Put your finger here and see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it in my side. Do not doubt but believe.’ Thomas answered him, ‘My Lord and my God!’” John 20:26-28 

Pause.
Pray.
God we thank you for Thomas who reminds us that it is in doubting we find faith.  Let us pray the words of 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.

Reflect.

One of his disciples – the one whom Jesus loved – was reclining next to him." John 13:23 

Pause.

Pray.

Abba/Amma God draw us ever closely to You. We pray for a deeper relationship with you each nano second of the day. May we always know that we are never alone and that you walk with us. Amen.

Reflect.


“I have called you friends.” John 15:15    

Pause.

Pray.

Jesus we thank you for being our friend and teacher. May we follow in your dust as the Beloved Community as we pick up our crosses daily and follow you. Amen.

Reflect.


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.


Let us meditate upon this passage from Luke.

Luke 14:1-24 

Jesus Heals the Man with Dropsy

On one occasion when Jesus was going to the house of a leader of the Pharisees to eat a meal on the sabbath, they were watching him closely.Just then, in front of him, there was a man who had dropsy. And Jesus asked the lawyers and Pharisees, ‘Is it lawful to cure people on the sabbath, or not?’ But they were silent. So Jesus took him and healed him, and sent him away. Then he said to them, ‘If one of you has a child or an ox that has fallen into a well, will you not immediately pull it out on a sabbath day?’ And they could not reply to this.

Humility and Hospitality

 When he noticed how the guests chose the places of honour, he told them a parable. ‘When you are invited by someone to a wedding banquet, do not sit down at the place of honour, in case someone more distinguished than you has been invited by your host; and the host who invited both of you may come and say to you, “Give this person your place”, and then in disgrace you would start to take the lowest place. But when you are invited, go and sit down at the lowest place, so that when your host comes, he may say to you, “Friend, move up higher”; then you will be honoured in the presence of all who sit at the table with you. For all who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.’

 He said also to the one who had invited him, ‘When you give a luncheon or a dinner, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or rich neighbours, in case they may invite you in return, and you would be repaid. But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind. And you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you, for you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.’

The Parable of the Great Dinner

 One of the dinner guests, on hearing this, said to him, ‘Blessed is anyone who will eat bread in the kingdom of God!’ Then Jesus said to him, ‘Someone gave a great dinner and invited many. At the time for the dinner he sent his slave to say to those who had been invited, “Come; for everything is ready now.” But they all alike began to make excuses. The first said to him, “I have bought a piece of land, and I must go out and see it; please accept my apologies.” Another said, “I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I am going to try them out; please accept my apologies.” Another said, “I have just been married, and therefore I cannot come.” So the slave returned and reported this to his master. Then the owner of the house became angry and said to his slave, “Go out at once into the streets and lanes of the town and bring in the poor, the crippled, the blind, and the lame.” And the slave said, “Sir, what you ordered has been done, and there is still room.” Then the master said to the slave, “Go out into the roads and lanes, and compel people to come in, so that my house may be filled. For I tell you, none of those who were invited will taste my dinner.” 


Canticle L

A Song of Christ’s Humility 

Philippians 2:6-11

Though in the form of God, *

Christ Jesus did not cling to equality with God,

But emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, *

and was born in human likeness.

Being found in human form, he humbled himself *

and became obedient to death, even death on a cross.

Therefore, God has highly exalted him *

and given him the name above every name,

That at the name of Jesus, every knee shall bow, *

in heaven and on earth and under the earth,

And every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, *

to the glory of God the Father.


John 5:19-24 (NRSV)

Jesus said to the crowd, “Very truly, I tell you, the Son can do nothing on his own, but only what he sees the Father doing; for whatever the Father does, the Son does likewise. The Father loves the Son and shows him all that he himself is doing; and he will show him greater works than these, so that you will be astonished. Indeed, just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, so also the Son gives life to whomever he wishes. The Father judges no one but has given all judgment to the Son, so that all may honor the Son just as they honor the Father. Anyone who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent him. Very truly, I tell you, anyone who hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life, and does not come under judgment, but has passed from death to life.”



A Song of Our True Nature 

Julian of Norwich

Christ revealed our frailty and our falling, *

our trespasses and our humiliations.

Christ also revealed his blessed power, *

his blessed wisdom and love.

He protects us as tenderly and as sweetly when we are in greatest need; *

he raises us in spirit

and turns everything to glory and joy without ending.

God is the ground and the substance, the very essence of nature; *

God is the true father and mother of natures.

We are all bound to God by nature, *

and we are all bound to God by grace.

And this grace is for all the world, *

because it is our precious mother, Christ.

For this fair nature was prepared by Christ

for the honor and nobility of all, *

and for the joy and bliss of salvation.


John 8:34-38 The Voice (VOICE)

Jesus: 34 I tell you the truth: everyone who commits sin surrenders his freedom to sin. He is a slave to sin’s power. 35 Even a household slave does not live in the home like a member of the family, but a son belongs there forever. 36 So think of it this way: if the Son comes to make you free, you will really be free.

Jesus notices that some of His opponents are listening, so He speaks louder and turns His remarks to them.

37 I know you are descendants of Abraham, but here you are plotting to murder Me because you do not welcome My voice into your lives. 38 As I speak, I am painting you a picture of what I have seen with My Father; here you are repeating the things you have seen from your father.


A Song of Christ’s Goodness 

Anselm of Canterbury

Jesus, as a mother you gather your people to you; *

you are gentle with us as a mother with her children.

Often you weep over our sins and our pride, *

tenderly you draw us from hatred and judgment.

You comfort us in sorrow and bind up our wounds, *

in sickness you nurse us and with pure milk you feed us.

Jesus, by your dying, we are born to new life; *

by your anguish and labor we come forth in joy.

Despair turns to hope through your sweet goodness; *

through your gentleness, we find comfort in fear.

Your warmth gives life to the dead, *

your touch makes sinners righteous.

Lord Jesus, in your mercy, heal us; *

in your love and tenderness, remake us.

In your compassion, bring grace and forgiveness, *

for the beauty of heaven, may your love prepare us.


John 14:23-26

23Jesus answered him, ‘Those who love me will keep my word, and my Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them. 24Whoever does not love me does not keep my words; and the word that you hear is not mine, but is from the Father who sent me.

25 ‘I have said these things to you while I am still with you. 26But the Advocate,* the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything, and remind you of all that I have said to you.


Canticle N

A Song of God’s Love 

1 John 4:7-11

Beloved, let us love one another, *

for love is of God.

Whoever does not love does not know God, *

for God is Love.

In this the love of God was revealed among us, *

that God sent his only Son into the world,

so that we might live through Jesus Christ.

In this is love, not that we loved God but that God loved us *

and sent his Son that sins might be forgiven.

Beloved, since God loved us so much, *

we ought also to love one another.

For if we love one another, God abides in us, *

and God’s love will be perfected in us.



As we close our worship this night we remember these prayers.
Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
Forgive us our sins
as we forgive those who sin against us.
Save us from the time of trial
and deliver us from evil.
For the kingdom, the power, and the glory are yours
now and for ever.    Amen.
or the alternative form.
Eternal Spirit, 
Earth-maker, Pain-bearer, Life-giver, 
Source of all that is and that shall be, 
Father and Mother of us all, 
Loving God, in whom is heaven:
The hallowing of your name echo through the universe! 
The way of your justice be followed by the peoples
of the world! 
Your heavenly will be done by all created beings! 
Your commonwealth of peace and freedom 
sustain our hope and come on earth.
With the bread we need for today, feed us. 
In the hurts we absorb from one another, forgive us. 
In times of temptation and test, strengthen us. 
From trials too great to endure, spare us. 
From the grip of all that is evil, free us.
For you reign in the glory of the power that is love, 
now and for ever. Amen.

The Beatitudes Matthew 5:3–12
Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of Heaven. (5:3)
Blessed are those who mourn: for they will be comforted. (5:4)
Blessed are the meek: for they will inherit the earth. (5:5)
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness: for they will be filled. (5:6)
Blessed are the merciful: for they will be shown mercy. (5:7)
Blessed are the pure in heart: for they will see God. (5:8)
Blessed are the peacemakers: for they will be called children of God. (5:9)
Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. (5:10)

Teresa of Avila (1515–1582)
Christ Has No Body
Christ has no body but yours,
No hands, no feet on earth but yours,
Yours are the eyes with which he looks
Compassion on this world,
Yours are the feet with which he walks to do good,
Yours are the hands, with 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 but yours,
No hands, no feet on earth but yours,
Yours are the eyes with which he looks
compassion on this world.
Christ has no body now on earth but yours.

God of  Creation, we give thanks and celebrate all that you have made. Give us a tender and compassionate reverence for all things living.

God of Creation, we thank you for the rain and pray for more so that  the drought parched areas of our world may be cleansed and healed.

God of  Peace, we pray for peace in this your fragile and broken world. Help us to become truly the Children of God as Peacemakers.

God  of Justice, we pray for all leaders of the  nations that they may do justice, love mercy, and walk humbly with you O God.

God of Compassion,we pray for all who are in need of healing and comfort. May we help them wipe away their many tears and help them be relieved of anxieties and fears by using our empathetic skills and tender and loving hearts.

God of  Light, We pray that we may become Your beacons of hope to all who are in darkness.

God who walks with us on our daily journey, may we follow where you lead and may we walk hand in hand with you and when we need it may we feel you carry us in your arms.

God of all gentleness, may we always remember the vulnerable, especially children, elderly, the least of these, and all others who are the tender ones.

God of  time and space, help us to become acclimated  to the time change coming up. Help our bodies, minds, and spirits adjust.

God we pray for all who travel. May they have safe journeys.

God we pray for all leaders of the many faith communities who are in preparation for worship tomorrow. Help them to preach The Word boldly and without fear.

God we lift up our additional prayers for ourselves and others remembering especially__________

God we take time to add our remembrances of those who have died remembering especially-______

God we celebrate this the Feast of All Saints and remember those who have died and entered the Thin Places remembering especially________

God we give thanks for _______________________

God we lift up these our prayers, remembrances, thanksgivings, and celebrations in the most holy name of Your only Son, Jesus, the Christ. Amen.

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.



Holy eternal Majesty,
Holy incarnate Word,
Holy abiding Spirit,
Bless us for evermore.
Amen


Let us bless the Lord.

Thanks be to God.

++++++

Good Night Beloved Community. Let us enjoy our Self-care and Sabbath Rest weekend and retreat. I love you and am grateful to God for you always.


Love and blessings,

Sara


Resources

Enriching our Worship 1

E Common Prayer

Satucket lectionary 

A New Zealand Prayer Book

In Lak'Ech - Luis Valdez

Walk With Me On Our Journey

#LiveLent

The Good Book Club

Meeting Jesus in The Gospel of John

Quote sites for prayers

Metis Aboriginal Ministries 









No comments:

Post a Comment