Come to Stillness: Take a few minutes to allow your mind and heart to
be still before God.
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)
Daily Scripture Reading: Isaiah 61:1-3
Reading for Reflection:
When loneliness is among the chief wounds
of the minister, hospitality can convert that wound into a source of
healing. Prayer prevents the minister
from burdening others with his pain and allows him to accept his wounds as
helpful teachers of his own and his neighbor’s condition. Community arises where the sharing of pain
takes place, not as a stifling form of self-complaint, but as a recognition of
God’s saving promises. (The Wounded Healer by Henri J. M. Nouwen)
You cannot be multiplied
enough to be shared. You can only be
broken enough to be shared. (Living Prayer by Robert Benson)
Reflection and Listening: silent and written
Prayer: for the church, for others, for myself
Prayer: for the church, for others, for myself
Closing Prayer: Thank you, O God, that our brokenness, once
redeemed, is able to be a source of healing and wholeness to others. Only by your grace and mercy. Amen.
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