|
| Blessed are you in the heights of heaven,
worthy to be praised and exalted for
The king puts his trust in the Lord.
Psalm 21.1-7
The king puts his trust in the Lord
Crown us, O God, with humility, and robe us with compassion,
that, as you call us into the kingdom of your Son,
we may strive to overcome all evil by the power of good
and so walk gently on the earth with you, our God, for ever.
Isaiah 40. 28- end
Blessed are those who mourn,
For they shall be comforted.
Prayers may include these concerns:
God's royal priesthood, that it may be empowered by the Spirit
Those who wait on God, that they may find renewal
All people that they may acknowledge the kingdom of the ascended Christ
All who are struggling with broken relationships
Our city of Brussels
O King enthroned on high,
Comforter and Spirit of truth,
you that are in all places and fill all things,
the treasury of blessings and the giver of life,
come and dwell with us,
cleanse us from every stain
and save our souls, O gracious one.
Amen.
The Lord's Prayer
May the grace of the Holy Spirit enlighten our hearts and minds.
Alleluia, Amen
Conversations at the Crossroads.
LOOK at these scenes, and meet the characters caught
up in decisive moments. Here, past and future are
WAIT prayerfully for the Holy Spirit, alongside those who
have reached a crossroads and have found a way ahead.
Pause to receive, during these nine days, his guidance at
the turning points of our lives.
READ the Bible text, and allow each story to spark your
imagination.
LISTEN with attentiveness¸ asking God for a word or a
picture, a gift of insight that points you and your community
forward into the future. Let these emerge as you pray.
RESPOND to the prompting of the Word; discover the
next step of action. Let the collect gather up and bless
this time and the new place you are called to inhabit
God and Me
Three circles
You have before you 3 circles (well, ellipses), with a point at the centre. The outer is called ‘where am I?’, the middle ‘how am I?’, and the inner ‘who am I?’ The centre marks where God is, within you.
For each of the circles, you may like to add words or drawings, to portray your life as it is now:
‘Where am I’ refers to the given-ness of your condition, the things you cannot change. You may think of family, health, birth place, education, gifts and shortcomings. These are the facts of your existence. Not only can you do nothing to change them, but they occupy most of your consciousness and energy. Whether we know it or not, here, on the outside of ourselves, is where we tend to live.
‘How am I’ refers to the areas of life where you make personal choices and exercise some control. Things happen to you, but you are in control of how you respond. Choices create habits, and habits lead to character.(Perhaps some things move between these two areas, sometimes seeming given and sometimes in your control eg job, living in Brussels. Do you like accepting things as given, or do you like to feel in control?).
‘who am I’ refers to the centre of your being, where you are (potentially!) who you really are. Can you see who you are, in all truth and vulnerability? If you take off the masks that hide you from others, do you know yourself? You can live with where and how you are, are you willing to also explore who you are?
In the centre is what Margaret Silf calls ‘the God-seed’. Only if the true ‘you’ meets with God in your heart will the God seed be able to germinate. You may like to draw in your plant, as the God-seed grows through the three layers of you and blossoms. Because each of us is unique, the flower that grows from us will also be unique, a blessing to the world around us that could not come into being without our co-operation. Does it wind through the layers of you, taking time, or does it go straight to the surface? Is it a ground loving plant, that stays very close to you, or does it reach out (that might be an image of how your faith impacts with the world, who benefits from it and how)
You may also like to draw lines into the centre and out of it, considering aspects of your life that exist at all layers; For example:
When we pray, we tend to stay with ‘where we are’, yet since God dwells in the centre or heart of us, he knows the true ‘I’ and prayer is perhaps most meaningful when it comes from the ‘I’ God knows. How can our prayer relate to all the different aspects of us (do we want it to?)
As we journey inwards, we move from assuming things happen to us for external reasons, through the realisation that we can influence what happens, to the acceptance of personal responsibility. If those three stages correspond to our three circles, how far in might your line come?
When we open ourselves to God in prayer, we invite him to enter the Who centre, bringing the gifts of the Spirit into the heart of our lived experience, that then work outwards, transforming, healing and releasing us.
Transformation in our being to live for God will bring Christ’s kingship and kingdom values to all aspects of our lives, perhaps even those we think are ‘givens’ and unchangeable. So the God-seed not only creates the plant, but affects all aspects of our lives, if we let it.
We can search for freedom by trying to change the outer ‘where’ aspects of our lives, or by changing the way we respond at the ‘how’ level, but true freedom comes when the ‘who’ is open to God.
Closing Liturgy
They all
joined together constantly in prayer, along with the women and Mary the mother
of Jesus, and with his brothers.
Lord of Life, Hear our prayer.
Psalm 139
Pause for reflection on psalm 139, our life circles
and God’s life-giving breath.
Our Father…
Responsive Prayer
He breathed the breath of life into him. Lord
breathe into us.
But it is the spirit in a person, the breath of the Almighty, that gives them
understanding. Lord
breathe into us.
The Spirit of God has made me; the of the Almighty gives me life. Lord
breathe into us.
By the word of the Lord the heavens were made, their starry host by the breath of his mouth. Lord we
thank you for this world and the life in it.
Jesus called out with a loud voice, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.” When he had said this, he breathed his last. Father we
commit ourselves to you.
And with that he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. Lord give
us your Spirit.
Let everything that has breath praise
the Lord. Praise the Lord. Praise
the Lord. Alleluia.
God be in my head, and in my understanding;
God be in mine eyes, and in my looking;
God be in my mouth, and in my speaking;
God be in my heart, and in my thinking;
God be at mine end, and at my departing.
The Blessing
God the Father, who has given to his Son the name
above every other name, strengthen you to proclaim Christ Jesus as Lord. Amen
God the Son, who is our great high priest passed
into the heavens, plead for you at the right hand of the Father. Amen
God the Holy Spirit, who pours out his abundant
gifts upon the church, make you faithful servants of Christ our King. Amen
And the blessing of God almighty, the father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, be among you and remain with you always. Amen
Copyright material is included from Common Worship: © Archbishops' Council
|
Please share you comments. Where is God leading?
ReplyDelete