Come to Stillness: Take a few minutes to allow your mind and heart to
be still before God.
Opening Prayer: All praise and thanks to thee, most merciful
God, for adopting us as thine own children, for incorporating us into thy holy
Church, and for making us worthy to share in the inheritance of the saints in
light. Grant us, we pray, all things
necessary for our common life, and bring us all to be of one heart and mind
within thy holy Church; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. (The Book of Common Prayer)
Scripture Reading for the Day: John 17:20-26
Reading for Reflection:
Ultimately the body of
Christ, so central in incarnational theology, is not the physical body of Jesus
but the corporate body of those who gather around the Spirit, wherever it is
found...Jesus exercises the only kind of leadership that can evoke authentic
community—a leadership that risks failure (and even crucifixion) by making
space for other people to act. When a
leader takes up all the space and preempts all the action, he or she may make
something happen, but that something is not community. Nor is it abundance, because the leader is
only one person and one person's resources invariably run out. But when a leader is willing to trust the
abundance that people have and can generate together, willing to take the risk
of inviting people to share from that abundance, then and only then may true
community emerge. (Let Your Life Speak by Parker J. Palmer)
Reflection and Listening: silent and written
Prayer: for the church, for others, for myself
Prayer: for the church, for others, for myself
Closing Prayer: Lord Jesus, help us to never be content with simply living for you, or merely living with you, when living in you is what you most deeply desire—both for us and from us. And, as we live in you, help us to experience the unity and the community we were created for. In your name and for your glory. Amen.
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