This coming Sunday is the celebration of Pentecost when we commemorate the outpouring of the Holy Spirit and the formation of the church. To me the imagery of Pentecost is always one of the family of God – a multicultural, multinational family in which all barriers of race, creed and culture are broken down, a family in which the misunderstandings and divisions of Babel are reversed and we once more understand each other – not becoming blended together as an amorphorous group, but blended together as a diverse family in which the uniqueness of each branch is appreciated and celebrated. I have tried to represent this in the litany below which is also adapted from one of the litanies in my book Light for the Journey
To God above us, creator of life and love
To Christ all around us, revealer of truth and justice
To Spirit deep within us, transformer of darkness into light.
To God above, around, within, the three in One, the One in three
All praise and glory to you forever
To the One you sent your spirit to lead us into all truth
To the One who has sealed us with this sign of your ownership
To the One who unite us into one family from every tribe and nation and culture
To God above, around, within, the three in One, the One in three
All praise and glory to you forever
(Silence)
For the busyness that has distracted us
God forgive us
For the anxieties that have burdened us
Jesus forgive us
For the selfcentredness that has isolated us
Spirit forgive us
Holy Three who would unite us
Have mercy on us
Pardon and deliver us from our sins
Draw us into your eternal family
(Adapted from Psalm 72:1-10, & Amos 5:24)
God let your justice and fairness flow like a river that never runs dry
Please help those of us who are rich to be honest and fair just like you, our God.
May we who have such abundance be honest and fair with all your people, especially the poor.
Let peace and justice rule every mountain and fairness flow as a river that never runs dry.
God let your justice and fairness flow like a river that never runs dry (Amos 5:24)
May we your people defend the poor, rescue the homeless, and crush everyone who hurts them.
May we be as helpful as rain that refreshes the ground, to those who are treated unjustly.
Let the wholeness and fairness of your kingdom live forever like the sun and the moon.
God let your justice and fairness flow like a river that never runs dry (Amos 5:24)
Because you our God rescue the homeless and have pity on those who hurt
May we who are rich stand up for the poor and let peace abound until the moon fades to nothing.
Let God’s kingdom of justice and fairness reach from sea to sea, across all the earth.
God let your justice and fairness flow like a river that never runs dry
God your world is broken and in pain
Broken by hunger that kills our brothers & sisters
Broken by injustice that enslaves and oppresses our friends
Broken by disease that deprives us of our loved ones
Forgive us God for our complicity and the times we have been indifferent to its cries
Forgive us for the times we could have shared our food
Forgive us for places we should have spoken out
Forgive us for acts that have polluted and destroyed immunity
Cleanse our hearts and wash away our sins
Fill us with your Spirit and restore our joy in your salvation
Make us willing to count the cost of our responsibility to our neighbours near and far
May we enter your kingdom of peace and justice for all
Isaiah 11: 1-9
John 14:21-29
We believe and trust in God the creator
Who made us to be family together
People from every tribe and nation and culture
We believe and trust in Christ the redeemer
Who saves us from self-centeredness and isolation
To be joined together as parts of a body that loves and cares for each other
We believe and trust in Holy Spirit the enabler
Who calls us into community
With the rich, the poor, the disabled, with the young, the old, the oppressed and despised
We believe and trust in the triune God –
Perfect community, perfect relationship
The three in one and one in three,
Whose kingdom of justice and fairness and unity will have no end
We believe and trust in God.
Amen
Our Father in heaven…
God we want to share life together,
Enable us to break down the barriers dividing us from our brothers and sisters around the world
Lord have mercy,
God we want to share life together
Help us move beyond our prejudices to live in unity and peace with those who are different
Lord have mercy,
God we want to share life together
Restore our vision to see and respond to those who suffer and are in need
Lord have mercy,
In a world divided by war and strife may we be your reconcilers
And share life with all who are torn apart by violence, oppression and dissension
Christ have mercy,
In a world that kills and maims may we be those who care for our enemies
And share life with all who are divided by race, culture, disabilities or gender
Christ have mercy,
In a world of indifference and despair may we be those who heal and restore
And share life with all who live in poverty, sickness and injustice
Christ have mercy,
God through the power of your spirit we can be your image bearers
Unite us in that great community of sisters and brothers from every nations that is Christ’s body
Lord have mercy
God through the power of your spirit we can be your image bearers
Bind us together with the love, peace, mutual concern and cultural diversity that represents you
Lord have mercy,
God through the power of your spirit we can be your image bearers
As one family living and serving together under the lordship of Christ and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit
Lord have mercy
Pause for a time of intercession and prayer for our broken world
God hear our prayers,
By the power of the spirit which is present in all of us,
May your river of love continue to flow,
Over us, in us and through us,
And out into the world you love.
God be in our heads and in our understanding,
God be in our eyes and in our looking
God be in our mouths and in our speaking
God be in our hearts and in our thinking
God be in our end and in our departing
The blessing of God be upon you.
The blessing of the God of life.
The blessing of Christ be upon you.
The blessing of the Christ of love.
The blessing of the spirit be upon you.
The blessing of the spirit of peace.
The blessing of the triune God be yours, today and evermore.
Amen
God as we walk through Holy week may we remember,
Beyond sin there is love inexhaustible,
Beyond death there is life unimaginable,
Beyond brokenness there is forgiveness incomprehensible,
Beyond betrayal there is grace poured out eternally,
May we remember and give thanks
This morning I was listening to the news about the terrible storm that sent more than 200 tornadoes ripping across the southern US killing at least 45 people and tearing apart buildings everywhere. My heart grieves this morning with the families of those who have been killed as our planet is rocked by yet another natural disaster.
It is a good reminder to me that our hope lies only in the promises of God – the expectation that one day through Christ all things will indeed be made new. Because of the resurrection of Christ, one day there will be no more death and destruction, no more weeping and mourning. That is the hope we celebrate this Easter season.
God we are blind, but you open our eyes,
To see your glory revealed through your son Jesus Christ,
Who died and rose again to lead us into life.
God we are deaf, but you unstop our ears,
To hear the power of your resurrection story,
Once we were dead but now in Christ we are alive.
God we are dumb, but you set free our tongues,
To rejoice and sing with all the hosts of heaven,
Holy, holy, holy is the one who transfigures our world with the Spirit of life,
Holy, holy holy is the one who redeems and makes whole all who respond,
Holy, holy holy is the one in whose light we see that all creation will be made new.
Three bar cross
Over the last couple of weeks I have added several prayers to the Light for the Journey facebook page that are written especially for Good Friday and Holy week. Here are some that you might like to contemplate today and over the coming week. (Explanation of the Three bar cross )
You might also like to check out this prayer liturgy for Good Friday and these resources for Holy week, Good Friday & Easter
Let us walk the way of the Cross together
And move forward without fear into God’s eternal purposes
May we trust in God alone, then we will never know disgrace
__________________________________________________
In the midst of grief and despair
May we sense Easter springtime coming
Death’s dark and overwhelming night
Will give way to resurrection light
_________________________________________________
May we look and listen,
Responding to the Spirit of God who lives within us
May we throw off our grave clothes
And take on the life of the one who raised Christ from the dead
________________________________________________
Lord have mercy
When I stand in the shadow of the cross
Christ have mercy
When I kneel with a repentant heart
Lord have mercy
And shine your resurrection light on us
Palm Sunday draws near and my thoughts are focused on Jesus entry into Jerusalem and the even more amazing entry into our hearts. I prayers this morning were inspired by these reflections and my growing passion to follow Jesus with all my heart and soul and being.
Let us enter the city with God today
Let us sing hosanna to our king
To the son of God riding on a donkey
With shepherds and prostitutes,
With the blind and the leper
With the abandoned and oppressed
Let us shout for joy at Christ’s coming
And follow the One who welcomes the sinner and dines with the outcast
Let us touch and see as God draws near
Riding in Triumph towards the Cross
Jan Hynes, Entering the city
More of Jan Hynes Holy week images here
More resources for Holy Week – these lists were updated in 2014
Resources for Maundy Thursday:
Resources for Celebrating Holy Week With Kids:
I already feel that I have entered into the spirit of Lent. It is a painful season, especially as I remember the death of those I knew in Christchurch. Here is another prayer to begin the season.
Ashes to ashes, dust to dust
All that is not of God must die
All that is crushed will be restored
All that is lost will be made new
God may we repent of ways that do not serve you
And admit to the tensions that tell us where we need to change
Christ is coming walking towards the cross
God may we see him clearly
Pouring out love
Pouring out mercy
Pouring out peace
May we kneel before him in humble adoration
May we take up our cross and follow
And walk with Christ into the ways of life
This year I was not sure if I would be able to write a prayer for Ash Wednesday. With the MSA website attacked by a virus that precipitated us launching a new website earlier than expected, plus the garden seminar at the Mustard Seed House tomorrow and Tom heading to San Diego for an important meeting, I have been much busier than anticipated leading up to this season. And writing prayers like this is always something that I find takes time for reflection and writing.
However this morning I realized that this is a task too important to let pass by or in Ann Voskamp’s words too urgent to live fast. So I wrote this prayer for Ash Wednesday but plan to use it over the next week to help me focus on the season of Lent. So let us pray
God may we remember
All of life is held together with nails
Piercing flesh of the son of man
May we remember and give thanks
God may we remember
The power of sin and death are forever ended
Hung upon a cross and crucified
May we remember and give thanks
God may we remember
The bread of life broken for us
That we may eat and filled with abundance of life
May we remember and give thanks
God may we remember
God’s blood poured out for us
The deep wounds of love suffered for us
May we remember and give thanks
God may we remember ashes on foreheads
And kneel before the one whose love knows no end
With humbled hearts and repentant spirits
May we remember and give thanks
God may we remember we are but dust
And walk together into tomorrow’s unkowns
Breaking bars, building bridges, setting captives free
May we remember and give thanks
God may we remember and give thanks
Let us take up our cross and follow
Believing that in Christ all things work together for good
May we remember and give thanks
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