Come to Stillness: Take a few minutes to allow your mind and heart to
be still before God.
Opening Prayer: O Lord, as we spend time with you and your
Word this day, let us hear the words of your Ancient Song; and let us listen closely
for the Song of God that rises in our hearts.
In Christ. Amen.
Scripture Reading for the Day: Isaiah 26:1-9
Reading for Reflection:
I have been greatly
instructed by the story of Ulysses, when he was sailing past the islands of the
Sirens. These Sirens had the power of
charming by their songs all who listened to them, and of inducing them to leap
into the sea. To avert this danger,
Ulysses filled the ears of his crew with wax, that they might not hear the
fatal music, and bound himself to the mast with knotted cords; and thus they
passed the isle in safety. But when
Orpheus was obliged to sail by the same island, he gained a better victory, for
he himself made sweeter music than that of the Sirens, and enchanted his crew
with more alluring songs; so that they passed the dangerous charmers not only
with safety, but with disdain. Wax and
knotted cords kept Ulysses and his crew from making the fatal leap; but inward
delights enabled Orpheus and his crew to reign triumphant over the very source
of temptation itself. And just so is it
with the Kingdom of which we speak. It
needs no outward law to bind it, but reigns by right of its inward life. So that it is said of those who have entered
it, “Against such there is no law.” (The Christian’s Secret of a Happy
Life by Hannah Whitall Smith)
Reflection and Listening: silent and written
Prayer: for the church, for others, for myself
Prayer: for the church, for others, for myself
Closing Prayer: O Lord, we wait for you; your name and
remembrance are the desire of our soul. My
soul yearns for you in the night; my spirit within me earnestly seeks you. (Isaiah 26: 8-9, ESV)
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