Good Evening Dear Family of Love!
Happy Being Thoughtful and Thankful Thursday. We all need to take time everyday for times of gratitude and thanksgiving and also a time where we go deeper and reflect on the needs of others. Today we reflect on the #ChristmasWord #Refugee. We reflect upon this word because the Holy family were refugees. Jesus and his family knew what it was like fleeing evil tyrants and areas of Roman occupation. Where Jesus lived, he and his family, and yes all the Jews, Samaritans, and the like did not live in places where there was freedom. Jesus knew this when he was growing up and so did John the Baptist, the Apostles, and anyone else living in the region. So what does the word #Refugee mean? It means to me some one seeking refuge from a dangerous political regime and not feeling safe at home.It means fleeing places where one may not be able to return home for many years or at all. A refugee seeks refuge. Our homeless family members are a different kind of refugee. We all must provide sanctuary for all refugees whomever they may be without fear but with compassion, acceptance, love, and mercy. Tonight we meditate upon refugees and place ourselves in this virtual prayer walk and flight into safety.
Walking in the footsteps of a refugee
A Guided Meditation and Virtual Prayer Walk
Let us imagine ourselves through the eyes of a refugee and pray along the way.
Imagine you have decided to leave the only home you and your family have ever known.
God I don't want to live in this country where my children and husband and I are having to dodge bullets and face daily fears. God help us to have courage to leave this war torn city and country and find safety.
Imagine having to carry a loaded in a backpack without any of the usual comfort items.
God I'm not ready to become homeless but in order to find a better life for my family I must Give me courage to take what I really need for my husband, children and myself.
Imagine the first day on the road by foot. How do your feet feel and what does your body feel like going long distances?
God my feet feel like they have become calloused, blistered, and in a lot of pain. Give us courage to honor our bodies, minds, and spirits when we need to as we flee our country of origin.
Imagine not having enough warmth on these cold nights out in the open.
God help us to find a suitable place of shelter for the night and that we may find warmth.
Imagine meeting up with other refugees and telling your stories and developing a new kind of family.
God we thank you that we have met many of our fellow refugee families and that we finally realize that we are all in this as one big family. God help us to find and make lasting friendships and that we may find safety together.
Imagine being in danger and seeing lawless gangs.
God help us to remain safe and secure and we pray for our enemies and those who wish to do us harm.
Imagine us having to find shelter, clothing, and food everyday on the road and there aren't any refugee camps nearby.
God help us to find shelter, clothing,food everyday. Help us to keep our eyes and ears open to finding refugee camps that are run by compassionate, accepting, loving, and merciful people.
Imagine becoming ill on the road.
God help us to find ways to cope with illness each day that we are not in familiar territory.
Imagine having a loved one die on the road.
God help us to mourn our loved ones loss on the road and that we may honor their bodies by burying them reverently in the ground. Help us to always to remember to carry white sheets for burial shrouds along the way.
Imagine you have finally reached the refugee camps and are awaiting resettlement.
God we thank you for finally reaching the camp and we pray that we may have patience to wait our turn to go through the resettlement process.
Imagine the day when you meet your sponsoring family.
God we thank you for our new family. Help us when it is our turn to welcome the stranger that we may model our lives after you Jesus and remember that you, Mary, and Joseph were refugees too.
As we have walked and prayed let us make vigil and light candles upon our holy pathway and take time to pray a little more.
Today's featured Station of the Creche for Meditation is this!
XI Jesus, Mary, and Joseph take flight into Egypt.
Lord God, we pray for all refugees who are fleeing wars, economic situations, religious persecution, and political uncertainty. We pray that they may return to their homes and livelihoods and if they are to stay where they have taken flight to that they may be welcomed not as strangers but as members of the family of love.
Isaiah 52:7-10
How beautiful upon the mountains
are the feet of the messenger who announces peace,
who brings good news,
who announces salvation,
who says to Zion, "Your God reigns."
Listen! Your sentinels lift up their voices,
together they sing for joy;
for in plain sight they see
the return of the Lord to Zion.
Break forth together into singing,
you ruins of Jerusalem;
for the Lord has comforted his people,
he has redeemed Jerusalem.
The Lord has bared his holy arm
before the eyes of all the nations;
and all the ends of the earth shall see
the salvation of our God.
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.
The Magnificat
"My soul magnifies the Lord,
and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
for he has looked with favor on the lowliness of his servant.
Surely, from now on all generations will call me blessed;
for the Mighty One has done great things for me,
and holy is his name.
His mercy is for those who fear him
from generation to generation.
He has shown strength with his arm;
he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts.
He has brought down the powerful from their thrones,
and lifted up the lowly;
he has filled the hungry with good things,
and sent the rich away empty.
He has helped his servant Israel,
in remembrance of his mercy,
according to the promise he made to our ancestors,
to Abraham and to his descendants forever."
and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
for he has looked with favor on the lowliness of his servant.
Surely, from now on all generations will call me blessed;
for the Mighty One has done great things for me,
and holy is his name.
His mercy is for those who fear him
from generation to generation.
He has shown strength with his arm;
he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts.
He has brought down the powerful from their thrones,
and lifted up the lowly;
he has filled the hungry with good things,
and sent the rich away empty.
He has helped his servant Israel,
in remembrance of his mercy,
according to the promise he made to our ancestors,
to Abraham and to his descendants forever."
Luke 6:17-23
Jesus came down with his disciples and stood on a level place, with a great crowd of his disciples and a great multitude of people from all Judea, Jerusalem, and the coast of Tyre and Sidon. They had come to hear him and to be healed of their diseases; and those who were troubled with unclean spirits were cured. And all in the crowd were trying to touch him, for power came out from him and healed all of them.
Then he looked up at his disciples and said:
"Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God.
"Blessed are you who are hungry now, for you will be filled.
"Blessed are you who weep now, for you will laugh.
"Blessed are you when people hate you, and when they exclude you, revile you, and defame you on account of the Son of Man. Rejoice in that day and leap for joy, for surely your reward is great in heaven; for that is what their ancestors did to the prophets.
Our Commemoration today is the Feast of St. Thomas A` Becket Let us pray the Collect and read the lessons for an extra boost. Here is the link to his biography.
PRAYERS (contemporary wording)
O God, our strength and our salvation, who called your servant Thomas Becket to be a shepherd of your people and a defender of your Church: Keep your household from all evil and raise up among us faithful pastors and leaders who are wise in the ways of the Gospel; through Jesus Christ the shepherd of our souls, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.
2 Esdras 2:42-48 (This is found in the Apocrypha) *
42 I, Ezra, saw on Mount Zion a great multitude that I could not number, and they all were praising the Lord with songs. 43In their midst was a young man of great stature, taller than any of the others, and on the head of each of them he placed a crown, but he was more exalted than they. And I was held spellbound. 44 Then I asked an angel, ‘Who are these, my lord?’ 4 He answered and said to me, ‘These are they who have put off mortal clothing and have put on the immortal, and have confessed the name of God. Now they are being crowned, and receive palms.’ 46 Then I said to the angel, ‘Who is that young man who is placing crowns on them and putting palms in their hands?’ 47 He answered and said to me, ‘He is the Son of God, whom they confessed in the world.’ So I began to praise those who had stood valiantly for the name of the Lord.* 48 Then the angel said to me, ‘Go, tell my people how great and how many are the wonders of the Lord God that you have seen.’
Psalm 125
Qui confidunt
1 Those who trust in the Lord are like Mount Zion, *
which cannot be moved, but stands fast for ever.
2 The hills stand about Jerusalem; *
so does the Lord stand round about his people,
from this time forth for evermore.
3 The scepter of the wicked shall not hold sway over the land allotted to the just, *
so that the just shall not put their hands to evil.
4 Show your goodness, O Lord, to those who are good *
and to those who are true of heart.
5 As for those who turn aside to crooked ways,
the Lord will lead them away with the evildoers; *
but peace be upon Israel.
1 John 2:3-6,15-17
3 Now by this we may be sure that we know him, if we obey his commandments. 4 Whoever says, ‘I have come to know him’, but does not obey his commandments, is a liar, and in such a person the truth does not exist; 5but whoever obeys his word, truly in this person the love of God has reached perfection. By this we may be sure that we are in him: 6 whoever says, ‘I abide in him’, ought to walk just as he walked.
15 Do not love the world or the things in the world. The love of the Father is not in those who love the world; 16 for all that is in the world—the desire of the flesh, the desire of the eyes, the pride in riches—comes not from the Father but from the world. 17 And the world and its desire* are passing away, but those who do the will of God live for ever.
Mark 11:24-33
24 So I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received* it, and it will be yours.
25 ‘Whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone; so that your Father in heaven may also forgive you your trespasses.’*
27 Again they came to Jerusalem. As he was walking in the temple, the chief priests, the scribes, and the elders came to him 28 and said, ‘By what authority are you doing these things? Who gave you this authority to do them?’ 29 Jesus said to them, ‘I will ask you one question; answer me, and I will tell you by what authority I do these things. 30 Did the baptism of John come from heaven, or was it of human origin? Answer me.’ 31 They argued with one another, ‘If we say, “From heaven”, he will say, “Why then did you not believe him?” 32 But shall we say, “Of human origin”?’—they were afraid of the crowd, for all regarded John as truly a prophet. 33 So they answered Jesus, ‘We do not know.’ And Jesus said to them, ‘Neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things.’
*Apocrypha
Apocrypha are works, usually written works, that are of unknown authorship, or of doubtful authenticity, or spurious, or not considered to be within a particular canon. The word is properly treated as a plural, but in common usage is often singular.
And finally let us do another time of imagery, imagining us enfolded in a prayer quilt of love and warmth.
Now imagine each of us placing a warm prayer quilt of love around each other. We pray this prayer:
God we pray and ask you to help us to envision a warm prayer quilt of love that will give us all loving comfort by imagining being wrapped tightly by each other in loving service to you and to each other.
We :
Imagine it enfolding us with love.
Imagine it making us feel safe from harm
Imagine it giving us strength when we feel weak.
Imagine it healing us through warm thoughts and loving prayers.
Imagine it feeling like home
Imagine it enfolding us when we feel, lost, lonely alone, and invisible.
Imagine it feeling like Gods arms enfolding us with love, light, and mercy.
Imagine it feeling like Jesus' redeeming and healing graces.
Imagine it feeling like the Holy Spirit being the Holy Comforter.
Imagine it feeling like it being encircled and wrapped around each other uniting us and not dividing us.
Imagine it wrapping our family members who are ill with the warmth and healing balm.
Imagine it wrapping the world in justice, mercy and with God guiding us in the pathways of peace.
Imagine it comforting all of us who are grieving.
Imagine it wrapping our dear departed loved ones for their journey home to the Thin Places.
Imagine it enfolding the least of these who are without food, clothing, and shelter.
We imagine it being made of stitched prayers of love, joy, hope, and peace.
We imagine the prayers that are being said as we wrap each other in the prayer quilt we choose for each other.
We imagine it enfolding our family members who long to feel accepted lovingly and authentically for who they and we are.
We pray that as we imagine we may feel the presence of God our Creator, Jesus our Redeemer, and the Holy Spirit Holy Comforter. We lift up these our prayers to you O God with warm, loving, and compassionate hearts and heart homes. Amen.
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Good Night Dear Ones. I love you! May this blog enfold you with love, warmth, and welcome and that you may know and feel that God is love, You are love, and we are love. I give God thanks for you this night and always.
With love as warm and enfolding as a prayer quilt of love,
Sara
God we pray and ask you to help us to envision a warm prayer quilt of love that will give us all loving comfort by imagining being wrapped tightly by each other in loving service to you and to each other.
We :
Imagine it enfolding us with love.
Imagine it making us feel safe from harm
Imagine it giving us strength when we feel weak.
Imagine it healing us through warm thoughts and loving prayers.
Imagine it feeling like home
Imagine it enfolding us when we feel, lost, lonely alone, and invisible.
Imagine it feeling like Gods arms enfolding us with love, light, and mercy.
Imagine it feeling like Jesus' redeeming and healing graces.
Imagine it feeling like the Holy Spirit being the Holy Comforter.
Imagine it feeling like it being encircled and wrapped around each other uniting us and not dividing us.
Imagine it wrapping our family members who are ill with the warmth and healing balm.
Imagine it wrapping the world in justice, mercy and with God guiding us in the pathways of peace.
Imagine it comforting all of us who are grieving.
Imagine it wrapping our dear departed loved ones for their journey home to the Thin Places.
Imagine it enfolding the least of these who are without food, clothing, and shelter.
We imagine it being made of stitched prayers of love, joy, hope, and peace.
We imagine the prayers that are being said as we wrap each other in the prayer quilt we choose for each other.
We imagine it enfolding our family members who long to feel accepted lovingly and authentically for who they and we are.
We pray that as we imagine we may feel the presence of God our Creator, Jesus our Redeemer, and the Holy Spirit Holy Comforter. We lift up these our prayers to you O God with warm, loving, and compassionate hearts and heart homes. Amen.
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Good Night Dear Ones. I love you! May this blog enfold you with love, warmth, and welcome and that you may know and feel that God is love, You are love, and we are love. I give God thanks for you this night and always.
With love as warm and enfolding as a prayer quilt of love,
Sara
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