Daily bread

Prayer

Lord, when we say, ‘Give us today our daily bread,’ may we remember our brothers and sisters who live below the poverty line and pray, ‘Give them today their daily bread’. Give us the wisdom and courage to challenge the policies and structures which make the poor ever poorer, while we have more than enough. Grant us more deep compassion that we will not rest while surplus food rots in one part of the world, and families starve in another, for your loves’ sake.
 
based on the words of Sister Margaret Magdalen CSMV,
from The Book of a Thousand Prayers by Angela Ashwin, #440

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Bread of life


 
 
“One does not live by bread alone,
but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.”
Matthew 4:4

 
Lord, let me hunger enough that I not forget the world’s hunger.
Lord, let me hunger enough that I may have bread to share.
Lord, let me hunger enough that I may long for the Bread of Heaven.
Lord, let me hunger enough that I may be filled.

But, O Lord,
let me not hunger so much
that I seek after that which is not bread,
nor try to live by bread alone.
Amen.
 
~ from Banquet of Praise: A Book of Worship Resources,
published by Bread for the World, posted on re:Worship

drawing by John Giuliani, from Becoming Bread: Meditations on Loving and Transformation by Gunilla Norris

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A strange sight

Exodus 3:1-5

Now Moses was tending the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian, and he led the flock to the far side of the wilderness and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. 2 There the angel of the Lord appeared to him in flames of fire from within a bush. Moses saw that though the bush was on fire it did not burn up. 3 So Moses thought, “I will go over and see this strange sight — why the bush does not burn up.”

4 When the Lord saw that he had gone over to look, God called to him from within the bush, “Moses! Moses!” And Moses said, “Here I am.”

5 “Do not come any closer,” God said. “Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground.”
 

You Break In

Into the daily cycle of our lives
When all seems well
With us and with the world
When our yoke is easy
And the burden light
You break in
And scatter our complacency

Into the daily cycle of our lives
When we are comfortable
And at our ease
When the fire is lit
But eyes are closed
You break in
And challenge our dependency

You break into
Our daily prayers
Humble hearts
Lay souls bare
You break in
You break in

You break in
When defenses are down
With an Angel’s shout
Or the quietest sound
You break in
You break in
And we change
And all things change
When you break in

 
written by John Birch, posted on the Faith and Worship website

From the blog
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Strange and stranger


 

Prayer of intercession

inspired by Genesis 18:1-10

Lord God Almighty,
as Abraham and Sarah extended the gift of hospitality to visiting strangers,
open our hearts to share with others,
and to graciously receive the fulfillment of your promises.
Loving Christ:
Help us share the faith.

Holy Spirit,
Lord God, as we run from new idea to strange idea,
looking in vain for you,
give us eyes to see you present, as you always are,
in the form of the poor, the needy, and the hopeless.
Loving Christ:
Help us share the faith.

Heavenly Father,
creator of visible things, and creator of invisible things,
give us courage to trust you with this day, with tomorrow,
and with our redemption to eternal life.
Loving Christ:
Help us share the faith.

Lord Jesus,
the purity of your heart is obvious
in the single desire to do the Father’s will,
at all times, in all places and at any cost.
Help us keep our eyes focused on you as the singular Lord of our life.
Loving Christ:
Help us share the faith.

Holy Spirit,
inspire us to see Christ alive in our very own lives.
Loving Christ:
Help us share the faith.

Lord Jesus Christ, Great Physician,
remember us who are still in the earthly body,
so that disease may be cured.
We name those who need your healing power ____.
Loving Christ:
Help us share the faith.

Listening God, hear our prayers.
Amen.

 
~ written by Paul Sauer, posted on re:Worship

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Strange but true

 
TO PONDER

‘Our pilgrimage on earth cannot be exempt from trial. We actually progress by means of trial. We do not know ourselves except through trial, or receive a crown except after victory.’

by Augustine of Hippo

 
from Common Prayer: A Liturgy for Ordinary Radicals by Shane Claiborne, Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove and Enuma Okoro, p. 391

Prayer

Keeper of our lives,
      you know the hardness and gentleness of human hearts.
You call your people to faithful living.
Through the storms of life
      that bring suffering and fear, joy and laughter,
      teach us to turn to you for all we need,
      so that we may come to know your presence
      even in the midst of the trials that surround us.
Amen.

 
posted on re:Worship

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Strange territory

Prayer

inspired by the Beatitudes

God of life and of truth,
Your Son invites us to see the world through your eyes and we find ourselves disoriented:

You bless the poor
You bless the meek
You bless the pure in heart.
You turn our world and its values upside down.

We have signed on to follow your Son
but this is strange territory.
It doesn’t look anything like
the life we have been taught to yearn for,
to work for,
to believe will bring us happiness.

Yet, You know the despair that besets
so many of our young people
who fear that their future has been mortgaged
by our greed and carelessness.
You hear the cries of those who
have traded their souls for power and money
and now have emptiness as a friend.
You see those who are caught in lives that
lead only to weariness and anxiety.

Set us at Jesus’ feet
so we can learn to judge our lives differently.
Awaken in us that hunger and thirst for you
which will lead us to your will
and your peace.

Open our eyes to see your unexpected blessings.
Open our hearts to welcome you
when you come to us in strange ways.

Then make us into a community of blessedness
that beckons this neighbourhood
into your joy.

We ask these things in the name of Jesus
who blesses us with your living presence
and fills our lives with your life-changing truth.
Amen.

 
~ written by Christine Jerrett, posted on her website

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Simple things have special significance


 

Justin McRoberts writes,

“… one of the most powerful aspects of the Incarnation story is the thirty years of silence before the recorded part of Jesus’ life. That silence – since nobody found much of it worth marking down – says to me that Jesus lived a life that is in large part unremarkable, until He was baptized by John. Many days I find my life to be somewhat unremarkable: I work, I eat, I rest, I have time with family and friends. Nothing out of the ordinary – not even a flash of celestial glory. I am encouraged that Jesus lived such a life as well, at least for a time.

Unlike many other ancient incarnation stories wherein a god takes on human form for a while and only to serve a special purpose, in Jesus, God not only became a human being, but He …

was carried in a woman’s body,
was born to a woman,
was raised in a family with parents who taught Him to feed Himself, and had a dad.

And it seems, somewhere along the way, He …

lost His dad,
had siblings,
had friends,
lost friends,
lived in a neighbourhood,
had neighbours,
held a job,
worked for money,
paid for food,
and paid taxes.

All of which says to me that these things are not insignificant in their normality but that God finds worth in spending most of a human lifetime attending to simple things like work and neighbors and friendship and family.”

 
from “Scared Antacids”, Prayer: Forty Days of Practice
by Justin McRoberts and Scott Erickson

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A simple “Yes. Amen.”

 
But as surely as God is faithful,
our message to you is not “Yes” and “No.”
For the Son of God,
Jesus Christ,
who was preached among you by us —
by me and Silas and Timothy —
was not “Yes” and “No,”
but in him it has always been “Yes.”
For no matter how many promises God has made,
they are “Yes” in Christ.
And so through him the “Amen” is spoken by us
to the glory of God.
 

 

Prayer

Discerning God,
help me consider this day
how I live my life
and how I choose the direction I take.

Do I make my plans according to ordinary human standards,
ready to say ‘Yes, yes’ and ‘No, no’ at the same time? (2 Corinthians 1:17)

Discriminating God,
help me understand
how crucial are the words I speak to others
as I seek relationships in my life.

“Let your ‘Yes’ be your yes
and your ‘No,’ no,
or you will be condemned.” (James 5:12)

Disturbing God,
help me find clarity in my relationship with you,
with others, and maybe especially with myself.

Let your word be ‘Yes, Yes’ or ‘No, No’:
anything more than this comes from the evil one. (Matthew 5:37)
 

~ written by Kenn Stright, posted on re:Worship

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Pure and simple


 

Prayer

For the gift of faith
which sees beyond the present moment
and looks to an eternity,
we thank you.
For the gift of faith
small as a mustard seed, which has power
within its simplicity,
we thank you.
For the gift of faith
bestowed on those who would simply come,
hearts open in humility,
we thank you. Amen

 
~ written by John Birch, and posted on re:Worship

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In simple faith

Benediction

inspired by Colossians 2:6-7

Just like you receive Christ Jesus the Lord,
so go on living in him — in simple faith.
Grow out of him as a plant grows out of the soil it is planted in —
becoming more and more sure of your faith.
If you do this,
your lives will overflow with joy and thankfulness.
And the mercy of God,
the love of Jesus Christ,
and the abiding presence of the Holy Spirit
will surround you and uphold you
wherever you go.
Go in God’s peace.

from re:Worship

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