following Jesus, sunday

Sunday, July 13

Come to Stillness: Take a few minutes to allow your mind and heart to be still before God.

Opening Prayer: Dear Lord Jesus, I am still so divided.  I truly want to follow you, but I also want to follow my own desires and lend an ear to the voices that speak about prestige, success, popularity, pleasure, power, and influence.  Help me to become deaf to those voices and more attentive to your voice, which calls me to choose the narrow road to life.  I know this will be a very hard road for me.  The choice for your way has to be made every moment of my life.  I have to choose thoughts that are your thoughts, words that are your words, and actions that are your actions.  There are no times and places without choices.  And I know how deeply I resist choosing you.  Please, Lord, be with me at every moment and in every place.  Give me the strength and courage to live my life faithfully, so that I will be able to taste with joy the new life which you have prepared for me.  Amen. (The Road to Daybreak by Henri J.M. Nouwen)

Scripture Reading for the Day: John 1:35-51

Reading for Reflection:

 

     The call to follow implies that there is only one way of believing in Jesus, and that is by leaving all and going with the incarnate Son of God.  The first step places the disciple in the situation where faith is possible.  If he refuses to follow and stays behind, he does not learn how to believe.

     So long as Levi sits at the receipt of custom, and Peter at his nets, they both pursue their trade honestly and dutifully, and they might both enjoy religious experiences, old and new.  But if they want to believe in God, the only way is to follow His incarnate Son.  Until that day, everything had been different.  They could remain in obscurity, pursuing their work as the quiet in the land, observing the Law and waiting for the coming Messiah.  But now He has come, and His call goes forth.  Faith can no longer mean sitting still and waiting—they must rise and follow Him.  The call frees them from all earthly ties, and binds them to Jesus Christ alone. 

     The road to faith passes through obedience to the call of Jesus.  Unless a definite step is demanded, the call vanishes into thin air.  (Selections from the Writings of Dietrich Bonhoeffer)

Reflection and Listening: silent and written

Prayer: for the church, for others, for myself

             

Closing Prayer: Dearest Jesus, all too often I give you a small part of my life and then set about convincing myself that what I’ve given you is enough.  I could use some more of your presence, some more of your mystery, rising out of the water around me, glistening in the sun, splashing wildly through my life.  Sometimes I turn to food or sex or work to fill my soul.  Why do I expect the visible to heal the invisible?  A soul this damaged can only be bandaged by your hand. (A Heart Exposed by Steven James)