Category: prayer

With you I can leap


‘Tree art’, Rotterdam  (Photo: Irene Bom)
 

A prayer

I cannot dance, O Lord, unless you lead me. If it is your will, I can leap for joy. But you must show me how to dance and sing by dancing and singing yourself! With you I can leap towards love, and from love I will leap to truth, and from truth I will leap to joy, and then I shall leap beyond all human senses. There I will remain and dance for evermore.

~ by Mechtild of Magdeburg (1210-1280)
from 2000 Years of Prayer compiled by Michael Counsell, p. 123
 

 
Mechtild of Magdeburg wrote this prayer while she served in the Béguinage at Magdeburg in Germany, as part of a community of lay women who combined a life of corporate prayer with service in the wider community.

One of the churches in our Presbytery, the English Reformed Church in Amsterdam, is located on the site of a Béguinage established in Amsterdam in the 14th century.

Although no Béguines live in the Begijnhof today (according the wikipedia the last Béguine died in 1971 at the age of 84), still the courtyard offers a place of retreat in the midst of a busy city. Somehow it’s hard to imagine the Béguines of old leaping and dancing there, but why not?
 

 
From the blog
Wilderness woes
Come rest
2017: Advent Joy #1
 

Lord of the dance


… and all the trees of the field will clap their hands.  (Isaiah 55:12)

A litany

In the beginning ……
The dance began to swirl and ponder.
In the beginning, all was dark.
And the dance cast forth bright light.
In the beginning, the earth burst forth with wondrous things,
creatures of all sorts, mountains and hills,
vast seas and rivers, valleys and desert areas.
And the Lord of the Dance saw that it was good
and blessed it all.

In our beginning, God blessed us.
And the dance went on,
through our lives, into all that we have done.
Sometimes the dance was slow and plodding;
at other times it was sprightly and fast.
Yet in the midst of it all,
the Lord of the Dance is with us.
This dance, called Life, is everywhere —
in the light and in the dark.
It is in places of hope and in places of deepest sorrow and tragedy.

How shall we dance our dance for God?
We shall live lives of hope and peace,
bringing the good news of Jesus Christ
and all that he taught to us,
so that others may join the dance.
Praise be to the Lord of the Dance,
the Lord of Creation, the Lord of Life!
Amen.

 
~ written by Nancy C. Townley, and posted on the Ministry Matters website. http://www.ministrymatters.com/
 

 
From the blog
On Writing Prayer-Poems
Call of the wild ones
Consolation joy
 

More food for thought

 

According to euronews.com, there are multiple benefits to eating locally and in season. For example:

  • reducing our carbon foot print
  • protecting local land and wildlife from mass-scale agriculture
  • minimizing our exposure to preservatives
  • reconnecting our body with nature’s cycles
  • enjoying nutrient dense food

 

Another benefit is that we get to share in the joy of harvest on a regular basis.

From the blog
Food for thought
Environmentally water-wise
From parched to satisfied
 

The fruit of lips


A GDR family savours a banana  (Artwork ** by Irene Bom)

 

Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise – the fruit of lips that openly profess his name.

 

A prayer

Blessing and honour, thanksgiving and praise
more than we can utter,
more than we can conceive,
be unto Thee, O holy and glorious Trinity,
Father, Son and Holy Spirit,
by all angels, all men, all creatures,
for ever and ever.

 
by Lancelot Andrewes (1555-1626)
from The Open Gate by David Adam, p.48
 

A more contemporary/inclusive version of this prayer:

Blessing and honour and thanksgiving and praise
more than we can utter, more than we can conceive,
be to you, most holy and glorious Trinity,
Father, Son, and Holy Spirit,
from all angels, and all people, all creatures
for ever and ever.

from churchofengland.org
 

 
** The photographs used for this collage come from a National Geographic article on the fall of the Berlin Wall. The collage (together with the quote that inspired it) is from a 100-day project on Instagram channel irene.bom, beginning in April 2020.
 

Seed


(Photo: Irene Bom)

 
Reflecting on Jesus’ parable of the sower, Uli Chi writes:

… there are two kinds of uses for seeds.

One use is to make something that can be appreciated and enjoyed for its own sake – for example, grains of wheat ground into flour to make bread. We regularly (and rightly) give thanks for that kind of seed.

But there is another, darker purpose for seeds, one which Jesus focuses on in this parable. That darker work finds its fulfillment not through the seed’s life but through its death.

As Jesus himself says, “Very truly, I tell you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains just a single grain; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.” (John 12:24)

[from depree.org]

 

Opening Prayer

(based on Matthew 13:1-9)

O God,
We gather together in Your presence with expectation,
hungry for an encounter with You,
eager to hear Your Word.

Open our eyes and ears to the presence of Your Holy Spirit.
May the seeds of Your Word scattered among us this morning
      fall on fertile soil.
May they take root in our hearts and lives,
      and produce an abundant harvest
      of good words and deeds.

We pray this in the name of Jesus Christ,
our teacher and our Lord.
Amen.

~ by Christine Longhurst, posted on re:Worship
 

 
From the blog
Who do you work for?
Hot-hearted in serving thee
Theme: Called into community  [prayer sheet]
 

All good gifts


 

“As long as the earth endures,
seedtime and harvest,
cold and heat,
summer and winter,
day and night
will never cease.”

 

A litany

All good gifts around us are sent from heaven above,
so we lift our hearts up to you, God,
in praise and thanksgiving.

As we count our blessings, and acknowledge your goodness,
our hearts go out to those who do not have,
and who are in need.

We thank you for plentiful harvests and full refrigerators
and ask that you supply the needs of those who are hungry.

We thank you for jobs that provide for our families
and supply the needs of our society,
and pray that you would care for those who have no work,
or the dignity and purpose it brings.

We thank you for opportunities and choices,
for meaning and challenges,
and pray that you would give a sense of purpose
to those who feel trapped.

We thank you for family and friends who love us and care for us
and pray that you would befriend those who are alone.

The abundance of the harvest
is a symbol of the abundance of your love in our lives.
May we live in a spirit of gratitude to you
and generosity to our neighbour.

Loving God, in this season and all year long,
give to us the gift of a thankful heart,
so that we may acknowledge you as the giver
of all that is good in our lives.

In the name of Jesus we ask it.
Amen.

 
~ from the Presbyterian Church in Canada website,
posted on re:worship in 2012.
 

From the blog
The work of our hands
mud mud mud
The Gift #7 : Traces
 

Open the door, open the window

 

Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me.

 
~ Jesus,  from Revelation 3:20
 

A prayer

O God, You who are always doing a new thing, we confess that we sometimes close windows against the fresh air of new ideas, against the noise of other people’s worries, against the winds of change. God of every place and time, we confess that we often draw the curtains against people who are different, against world news or community concerns. Forgive us our insulation in our locked homes, our shuttered churches, the security systems on our hearts. Open up our lives, and let your Spirit blow through. Amen.

 
~ written by Rev Teri, posted on revgalprayerpals.blogspot.com
 

 
From the blog
Treasure for our times
How good, how pleasant
Embrace the cities and towns
 

3 Prayers for courage


Space separates our bodies, but not our minds | Rotterdam Centraal  (Photo: Irene Bom)

 

Another post in the 3 Prayer series, to introduce our theme for September: THRESHOLD.

 

#1

O God, you know we are often filled with fear and foreboding.
Give us courage and deepen our trust.
You are a rock which nothing can shatter.
On you we can place the whole weight of our lives.

~ written by Richard Harries,
from The Book of a Thousand Prayers by Angela Ashwin, #279
 

#2

O Lord, everything fills me with fear and apprehension. Even the smallest commitment has become a huge ordeal in my eyes. I cannot see any hope or purpose in my life. Teach me to go on praying, though my faith seems lost and there is no apparent response. Give me the strength to face one day at a time, and to know that, somehow, you will carry me through. Do not let me become so obsessed with myself that I fail to respond to the needs of others. As I echo the words of Jesus, ‘Let this cup pass from me,’ let me, like him, accept your will – and give me a little of his courage.

~ written by Mary Rose de Lisle,
from The Book of a Thousand Prayers by Angela Ashwin, #289
 

#3

When I feel threatened
or believe myself to be a failure,
give me courage to enter my still centre,
the place of buried treasure
and sunshine
and solitude
where you are, Lord,
and where it no longer matters
who approves of me
or how successful I am
because you are there,
and, in your presence,
I rediscover the confidence
to be me.

~ written by Angela Ashwin,
from A Little Book of Healing Prayer by Angela Ashwin, #50
 

From the blog
Theme: Do not lose heart   [prayer sheet]
Not deserted
Leaving the desert behind
 

Restless / restore


(Photo: Kate McDonald)

 
If you search on the word rest you’ll discover, as I did, that it appears in all kinds of unrelated words, like interested, forest, wrestling and restore – each word containing a world of meaning of its own.

I like that unrest and restlessness are somehow related, and yet substantially different. Unrest generally has negative connotations, while restlessness has mixed overtones. A holy restlessness and an unholy restlessness are both feasible, but unrest feels far removed from God’s good intentions for us and the world. Still unrest might be a truer reflection of what is going on under the surface, and God has been known to use unrest to bring about necessary change.

Here is a morning prayer by Dietrich Bonhoeffer that features both restless and restore. In prayer we can bridge the two.
 

Morning prayer

O God,
early in the morning I cry to you.
Help me to pray,
and to concentrate my thoughts on you:
I cannot do this alone.

In me there is darkness,
but with you there is light;
I am lonely, but you do not leave me;
I am feeble in heart, but with you there is help;
I am restless, but with you there is peace.
In me there is bitterness, but with you there is patience;
I do not understand your ways,
but you know the way for me …

Restore me to liberty,
and enable me so to live now
that I may answer before you and before men.
Lord, whatever this day may bring,
Your name be praised.
Amen.
 
~ by Dietrich Bonhoeffer, posted on cinchreview.com
 

 
Extra
The photograph was part of a batch that Kate McDonald sent me to accompany the 2017 Holy Week series. It is somehow linked to a small family-owned farm outside Bethlehem, Palestine and their project called Tent of nations.
 

Treasure for our times


 

The Lord is exalted, for he dwells on high;
      he will fill Zion with his justice and righteousness.
He will be the sure foundation for your times,
      a rich store of salvation and wisdom and knowledge;
      the fear of the Lord is the key to this treasure.

Isaiah 33:5-6 (NIV UK)

 

Let us look to God and humbly pray that these inspired and inspiring words may come true in our times.

A prayer

Holy God:
with the precious jewel
of holy scripture,
you share with us
the treasure of your heart.
Engrave your covenant –
your hopes, your dreams,
your vision, your peace –
upon our hearts,
that they might beat
as one with yours.

Holy Word:
ever clear,
you keep us from wandering
down the wrong paths;
ever longed for,
you make us persistent
in bringing justice
to the lost and to the least;
ever practical,
you show us how
not to misplace our hearts.

Holy Wisdom:
as you breathe the Word
into our hearts,
tutor us in faithfulness
so we are trained
in using the tools
of justice and hope;
so we are equipped
to share the good news with all;
so we become skilled
in compassion and grace.

God in Community, Holy in One,
we lift our hearts to you.
as we pray as Jesus teaches us, saying,
Our Father . . .

 
~ written by Thom Shuman, and posted on Lectionary Liturgies

From the blog
Food for thought
Grace upon grace
Theme: Sharing in Jesus’ ministry  [prayer sheet]