Wilderness woes


(Photo: Lindy Twaddle)
 

While searching for ‘dry wilderness’ on my go-to online prayer resource – the treasure trove, re-worship.blogspot.com – I found this call to worship by Rev. Nathan Decker.

It is inspired by Isaiah 35 and recognizes both the reality and pain of the wilderness experience and our sustaining hope in God for a life beyond the wilderness.

 

Call to Worship

(inspired by Isaiah 35: 1-10)

Too long have we walked this dry desert wilderness
    searching for salvation.
 
We’ve drunk the cup of sorrow,
burned our feet upon the sands of misery,
and watched as our children were devoured
    by jackals, lions, and beasts.
 
“Be Strong! Do not fear! Here is our God!
God will come and save you!”
Today, we walk in the Holy Way,
    the highway of the wise!
 
Where the lame leap as deer!
Where grateful blind eyes see colors!
 
And the speechless sing out to our merciful Lord!
Blessed be the Lord our God!
 
Praise the Lord, O Zion!

 
written by the Rev. Nathan Decker, and posted on the Discipleship Ministries website of the United Methodist Church in the US.

Tips on searching re-worship blog

The search box on the website is very powerful. Type in a string of keywords to find posts that contain all the words you’ve specified. To exclude words like ‘index’ or ‘resource’ (handy lists of posts arranged by type or theme), add -[keyword] to the search box, e.g. -index -resource, and those posts will be filtered out.

Also check out Christine Longhurst’s tips on How to use the re:worship blog.
 

From the Prayer Matters blog:
also see Call of the wild ones and Wild animal praise

Prepare a way


(Photo: Lindy Twaddle)
 

This is the first post in our March series, “Wilderness”.

In this short, but evocative litany John Birch captures some of the atmospherics of the wilderness as physical and emotional terrain.

Prepare a way

(referencing Isaiah 40:3-5, Mark 1:3, Matthew 3:3, Luke 3:4)

In the lonely places
The wilderness
Where we stand forlorn
Windswept and alone
Your voice calls out
Prepare a way for the Lord

In the dark places
The shadows
Where we hide our fears
Embrace our tears
Your voice calls out
Prepare a way for the Lord

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

see also People of the way
 

Wild hope #2


Shaped by the wind  (Photo: Irene Bom)

 
I wonder: What is the relationship between hope and waiting? Maybe Psalm 130 can give us some clues.

Psalm 130 features on a CD called Send us a Friend that I made with Friends and Neighbours in 2013. The song is called “My soul waits for the Lord”. It’s in English and in Dutch. I’ve included a link below.

Psalm 130

A song of ascents.

1  Out of the depths I cry to you, Lord;
2  Lord, hear my voice.
Let your ears be attentive
to my cry for mercy.

3  If you, Lord, kept a record of sins,
Lord, who could stand?
4 But with you there is forgiveness,
so that we can, with reverence, serve you.

5  I wait for the Lord, my whole being waits,
and in his word I put my hope.
6  I wait for the Lord
more than watchmen wait for the morning,
more than watchmen wait for the morning.

7  Israel, put your hope in the Lord,
for with the Lord is unfailing love
and with him is full redemption.
8  He himself will redeem Israel
from all their sins.

My soul waits for the Lord

My soul waits for the Lord
more than watchmen for the morning
Watchmen for the morning
My soul waits for the Lord.
For with Him there is mercy.
Hope in Him.

Mijn ziel wacht op de Heer
meer dan wachters op de morgen
Wachters op de morgen
Mijn ziel wacht op de Heer
Want bij Hem is genade
Altijd weer.

 
Backstory

The Dutch verse came first. It was surprisingly easy to translate into English – all except for the last line, “Altijd weer”.

“Altijd weer” means “every time again – when and as you need God’s mercy”. There’s no 3-syllable way of saying that in English, so eventually I chose “Hope in Him.”

See also Wild hope #1

 

Wild hope #1


On the coast near Belfast, Northern Ireland (Photo: Irene Bom)

 
On 25 February (Lent 2) I preached in my home church in Rotterdam. One of the strands of my sermon was about being in “God’s waiting room”, like Abraham and Sarah were.

As part of my sermon I shared this helpful comment from an article by Pete Wilson entitled “The Spiritual Benefits of Waiting”. He writes: “Faithful waiting involves actively seeking contentment, even amid less-than-optimal circumstances.”

Here is a prayer entitled “Waiting” by Jonny Baker that looks to God to help us in the waiting, as he helped countless before us.

Waiting

As Sarah waited…Ninety years for a son to fulfill God’s promise.
We wait in hope for what we thought had been spoken to us.

As Moses waited…40 years in the desert,
being prepared by God to lead his people.
We wait for emptiness and humility;
for bravado to wither.

As Israel waited…40 years of wandering,
hungry, depressed, thirsting, unsure.
We wait for the right time to act.

As the Prophets waited…1000 years of promises
that God would raise up a Saviour.
We wait for the signs that God has not forgotten.

As Mary waited…9 months of her 14 years for the child of God.
We feel the birth-pains, yet fear for the child.

As John the Baptist waited…
Scanning the crowds for the one whose sandals
he would not be worthy to untie.
We long for an experience of the Divine.

As Jesus waited… 30 years of creeping time.
40 days in the desert of temptation.
3 years of misunderstanding.
3 days in the depths of hell.

So we wait for God’s time.
Preparing the way.
Our turn to toil on leveling mountains
and straightening paths.
Our turn to watch the horizon.
Our turn to pass on the hope
that He who promised is faithful and will come back.

 
Source: Worship Trick No.67 on Johnny Baker’s Worship Tricks website.

See also blog post For all the saints
 

Fierce love #2


Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels, Los Angeles  (Photo: Irene Bom)
 

Here’s a prayer inspired by Genesis 32:24-28, where Jacob wrestles with God.

O Wrestler
contending with us until daybreak,
holding us in the grip of your argument,
grappling with our questions and doubts,
You who strive to deepen us through struggle,
and strengthen us through adversity:
Hold on to us now
in that fierce love that will never let us go.
Bless us, as you name us, as those who have prevailed.

~ posted on Third Space

Go deeper

– follow the Third Space link above for more on Genesis 32:24-28
– see also Fierce love #1
 

Call of the wild ones


Last year’s clutch of Egyptian goslings behind Rotterdam Central Station
 

On the eve of Ash Wednesday and a new season of Lent, here is a “wild” poem by Joel McKerrow that I found on the Northumbria Community website.

 

As the tamed horse
still hears the call of her wild brothers
and as the farmed goose flaps hopeful wings
as his sisters fly overhead,
so too, perhaps,
the wild ones amongst us
are our only hope in calling us back
to our true nature.
Wild ones
who have not been turned to stone
by the far-reaching grasp of the empire
and its programme of consumer sedation,
the killing of imagination.
Where, my friends,
have the wild ones gone?

Joel McKerrow
 

Can you hear the wild ones calling?

Jesus: ‘Whoever has ears to hear, let them hear.’ (Mark 4:9)

More Joel McKerrow

Curious to find out more about Joel McKerrow, I found this youtube video featuring another of his “wild” poems: We Dance Wild by Joel McKerrow

You can find the words to “We dance wild” and some backstory on the Abbey of the Arts website.
 

Wild animal praise


Sebastião Salgado exhibit, Rotterdam 2017 (Photo: Irene Bom)
 

This post combines a contemporary take on Psalm 148, written for a “blessing of the animals” service, and the work of Sebastião Salgado, the world-renowned Brazilian photographer, whose exhibition I visited last summer.

Circle of Praise

(inspired by Psalm 148)

All dogs and cats, large and small:
Praise the Lord!
All rabbits, hamsters, and guinea pigs:
Praise the Lord!
All goldfish, guppies, and swimming creatures:
Praise the Lord!
All robins, wrens, and singing birds:
Praise the Lord!
All racoons, squirrels, and deer:
Praise the Lord!
All horses, cows, and sheep:
Praise the Lord!
All lizards, snakes and creeping things:
Praise the Lord!
Every animal in the sky, the sea, and the forest:
Praise the Lord!

~ from “Blessing of the Animals” on the Web of Creation website and sourced from https://re-worship.blogspot.com/

Extra

1. The Story of Creation for Child-Like Hearts, an intergenerational story of creation (Genesis 1-2) told in gestures and words, from the Kairos Canada website.

2. More about the Sebastião Salgado Genesis exhibition (15 June to 22 October 2017 in Rotterdam).

3. The trailer for the film “The Salt of the Earth” that filmmaker Wim Wenders made with Salgado. It’s a beautiful testimony to how reconnecting with nature can restore our souls.

4. TED-talk, ‘The Silent Drama of Photography’, given by Salgado in 2013.

Fierce love #1


 

With Lent almost upon us, the theme for February is “wild”, as a precursor to a Lent-inspired theme for March: “wilderness”.

Here is a prayer by Bruce Prewer that touches on various dimensions of God’s love, including its fierceness, standing up for victims of wrong.

A prayer

God of all things seen and unseen, if you had insulated yourself from the pain of the world, then your name could not be love and our condition would be without hope. Thank you for being so personally involved, for revealing your complete commitment in Jesus of Nazareth. Through him we pray with hope, in him we pray with love.

Let your healing love be known this day by all who suffer ailment of body, or distress of mind, or agony of spirit.
     Please reveal your compassion,
     Loving God, bring wholeness to all.

Let your intimate love be known today by all who feel forgotten or lost, and all who are walking in the dark valley of despair.
     Please reveal your compassion,
     Loving God, bring wholeness to all.

Let your fierce love this day redress the wrongs of all who suffer exploitation, injustice, abuse, neglect, violence or unwarranted imprisonment.
     Please reveal your compassion,
      Loving God, bring wholeness to all.

Let your nurturing love today encourage those who are gathering resolve to make tough decisions, take on new responsibilities, or break free from some bondage.
     Please reveal your compassion,
     Loving God, bring wholeness to all.

Let your relentless love this day upset congregations that have become self-centred or even contemptuous of other churches.
     Please reveal your compassion,
     Loving God, bring wholeness to all.

Let your reconciling love today gather together the separated Christians, and make them aware of the fellowship and mission of the one, universal body of Christ.
     Please reveal your compassion,
     Loving God, bring wholeness to all.

Let your inspiring love this day rejuvenate pastors, priests and prophets who have become weary to the very roots of their souls.
     Please reveal your compassion,
     Loving God, bring wholeness to all.

Thank you for hearing us, most loving God. With the whole body of believers in time and eternity, we want to love, praise and serve you, today and evermore. Through Christ Jesus your true Son. Amen!

 
— written by Bruce Prewer, and posted on Bruce Prewer’s website. http://www.bruceprewer.com/
 

Hot-hearted in serving thee


Keerthana’s tasty treat (Photo: Irene Bom)
 

In this series of prayers by Chinese Christian women, practical tasks inspire prayer for parallel spiritual virtues.

Use and adapt the prayers to enrich your own daily (prayer) life.

Prayers by Chinese Christian women

Prayer when opening a door

I pray thee, Lord, to open the door of my heart
to receive thee within my heart.

When washing clothes

I pray thee, Lord, to wash my heart,
making me white as snow.

When sweeping floors

I pray thee, Lord, to sweep away my heart’s uncleanness that my heart may always be pure.

When pouring oil

I pray thee, Lord, to give me wisdom like the wise virgins who always had oil in their vessels.

When posting a letter

I pray thee, Lord, to add to me faith upon faith, that I may always have communication with thee.

When lighting lamps

I pray thee, Lord, to make my deeds excellent like lamps before others, and more, to place thy true light within my heart.

When watering flowers

I pray thee, Lord, to send down spiritual rain into my heart, to germinate the good seed there.

When boiling water for tea

I pray thee, Lord, to send down spiritual fire to burn away the coldness of my heart and that I may always be hot-hearted in serving thee.

from 2000 Years of Prayer compiled by Michael Counsell, p. 527-8

Other posts in the “Heart” series:

Heart’s desire


(Photo: Lindy Twaddle)
 

Take delight in the Lord,
      and he will give you
      the desires of your heart.

(Psalm 37:4)

Reflection

The secret is to connect with – and pursue – the desires that God has placed in our heart.

Recommended listening

Ashton Gustafson in conversation with John Philip Newell, the celebrated author of Listening for the Heartbeat of God: A Celtic Spirituality.