Opening Prayer:
O persistent God,
deliver me from assuming your mercy is
gentle.
Pressure me that I may grow more human,
not through the lessening of my struggles,
but through the expansion of
them…
Deepen my hurt
until I learn to share it and myself openly,
and my needs honestly.
Sharpen my fears until I name
them
and release the power I have locked in them
and they in me.
Accentuate my confusion
until I shed those grandiose
expectations
that divert me from the small, glad
gifts
of the now and the here and the
me.
Expose my shame where it shivers,
crouched behind the curtains of
propriety,
until I can laugh at last
through my common frailties and
failures,
laugh my way toward becoming
whole.
(Guerrillas
of Grace by Ted Loder)
Psalm for the Week: Psalm 31
Scripture for the Day: 2 Corinthians 4:7-12
Reading for Reflection:
Psalm for the Week: Psalm 31
Scripture for the Day: 2 Corinthians 4:7-12
Reading for Reflection:
The great spiritual call of the Beloved Children
of God is to pull their brokenness away from the shadow of curse and put it
under the light of the blessing. This is
not as easy as it sounds. The powers of
darkness around us are strong, and our world finds it easier to manipulate
self-rejecting people than self-accepting people. But when we keep listening attentively to the
voice calling us the Beloved, it becomes possible to live our brokenness, not
as confirmation of our fear that we are worthless, but as an opportunity to
purify and deepen the blessing that rests upon us. Physical, mental or emotional pain lived
under the blessing is experienced in ways radically different from physical,
mental or emotional pain lived under the curse.
Even a small burden, perceived as a sign of our worthlessness, can lead
us to deep depression—even suicide.
However, great and heavy burdens become light and easy when they are
lived in the light of the blessing. What
seemed intolerable becomes a challenge.
What seemed a reason for depression becomes a source of
purification. What seemed punishment
becomes a gentle pruning. What seemed
rejection becomes a way to a deeper communion. (Life of the Beloved
by Henri J. M. Nouwen)
Reflection
and Listening: silent and
written
Prayer: for the church, for others, for myself
Song for the Week: Come Ye Sinners
Come, ye sinners, poor and needy,
Weak and wounded, sick and sore;
Jesus ready stands to save you,
Full of pity, love and power.
I will rise and go to Jesus,
He will embrace me in His arms;
In the arms of my dear Savior,
O there are ten thousand charms.
Come, ye thirsty, come, and welcome,
God’s free bounty glorify;
True belief and true repentance,
Every grace that brings you nigh.
Come, ye weary, heavy laden,
Lost and ruined by the fall;
If you tarry till you’re better,
You will never come at all.
Closing Prayer
Now,
O Lord,
calm me into a quietness
that heals
and listens,
and molds my longings
and passions,
my wounds
and wonderings
into a more holy
and human
shape.(Guerrillas of Grace by Ted Loder)
Prayer: for the church, for others, for myself
Song for the Week: Come Ye Sinners
Come, ye sinners, poor and needy,
Weak and wounded, sick and sore;
Jesus ready stands to save you,
Full of pity, love and power.
I will rise and go to Jesus,
He will embrace me in His arms;
In the arms of my dear Savior,
O there are ten thousand charms.
Come, ye thirsty, come, and welcome,
God’s free bounty glorify;
True belief and true repentance,
Every grace that brings you nigh.
Come, ye weary, heavy laden,
Lost and ruined by the fall;
If you tarry till you’re better,
You will never come at all.
Closing Prayer
Now,
O Lord,
calm me into a quietness
that heals
and listens,
and molds my longings
and passions,
my wounds
and wonderings
into a more holy
and human
shape.(Guerrillas of Grace by Ted Loder)
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