Reflective Prayer

Used in the Chapel at Gladstone's Library - March 2020

Please copy and use as you wish, including acknowledgements

Wilderness

The wilderness and the dry land shall be glad,
   the desert shall rejoice and blossom;
like the crocus it shall blossom abundantly,
   and rejoice with joy and singing.
The glory of Lebanon shall be given to it,
   the majesty of Carmel and Sharon.
They shall see the glory of the Lord,
   the majesty of our God. 

                                                Isaiah 35.1-2

PRAYER OF PREPARATION[1]

God of peace, keep our minds
on what is true and commands respect,

what is just, pure and kind,

whatever is excellent and commendable.

Let these fill our hearts

and guide our actions in Jesus’ name.

KYRIE

            Kyrie eleison,

            Christe eleison.

            Kyrie eleison.

ABSOLUTION AND CONFESSION[2]

            God forgives you;

            Forgive others;

            Forgive yourself.

            In response to such grace let us confess our sins:

            We need your healing, merciful God:

            give us true repentance.

            Some sins are plain to us,

            some escape us,

            some we cannot face.

            Forgive us:

            set us free to hear your word to us;

            set us free to serve you. Amen.

PRAYER OF ADORATION[3]

Generous God,

When we travel in unfamiliar territory, remind us that:

Your word inspired the people of Israel to risk the wilderness.

Your word moved Miriam to dance in praise of you.

We adore you and worship you.

Your word led Moses to find life-saving water for his people.

Your Word became flesh and offers us life-giving water.

We adore you and worship you.

Help us to be attentive to your word,

faithful in worship, and generous in our living.

In Christ’s name. Amen.

THE WORD

The wilderness is a liminal place, a space away from the known and the understood. It is a space where things might change, new wisdom might be acquired and from where a new life might begin. The poem is based on Numbers 20, in which we learn that as well as being in the physical wilderness of Zin, the people of Israel are in the wilderness of mourning because Miriam has died. 

IN THE WILDERNESS OF ZIN[4]

In the wilderness of Zin

in the place called Kadesh,

you died Miriam and we grieved as we buried you.

Who will find the water to wash the grave soil from our hands?

Who will find the water to wash the pain from our hearts?

Who will find the water to keep us alive in this God-forsaken place?

Moses, with your laws and plans, 

what use are they if we die of thirst?

Moses, with your tablets of stone, 

will they feed us when our animals starve?

Moses, with your Yahweh yearning, 

take us back to the familiar old landscapes.

What kind of wake can we offer you Miriam?

A funeral feast needs grain, figs, grapes and pomegranates.

In Egypt we would have said a proper prayer and sent you off in style.

Aaron, talk to Moses, get him to see sense.

Aaron, we are frightened, we are losing hope.

Aaron, stop hiding in your grief and rescue your people.

You led us to the rock, unyielding granite, hard like Edom’s heart.

You led us to the glorious holiness of Yahweh, the one God.

You led us to living water, flowing over angry words, 

            smoothing them to caresses.

We splashed in the spring, revelled in the ripples and drank deeply of love.

We danced in the sparkling jewels that form of light glancing on water.

We remembered Miriam and, in our dancing, grief was cleansed of anger.

SILENCE

GOSPEL

Luke 4.1-14

Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness, where for forty days he was tempted by the devil. He ate nothing at all during those days, and when they were over, he was famished. The devil said to him, ‘If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become a loaf of bread.’ Jesus answered him, ‘It is written, “One does not live by bread alone.”’

Then the devil led him up and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world. And the devil said to him, ‘To you I will give their glory and all this authority; for it has been given over to me, and I give it to anyone I please. If you, then, will worship me, it will all be yours.’ Jesus answered him, ‘It is written,

“Worship the Lord your God,
   and serve only him.”’

Then the devil took him to Jerusalem, and placed him on the pinnacle of the temple, saying to him, ‘If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down from here, for it is written,

“He will command his angels concerning you, to protect you”, and
“On their hands they will bear you up, so that you will not dash your foot against a stone.”’

Jesus answered him, ‘It is said, 

“Do not put the Lord your God to the test.”’ 

When the devil had finished every test, he departed from him until an opportune time.  Then Jesus, filled with the power of the Spirit, returned to Galilee, and a report about him spread through all the surrounding country.

SILENCE

PRAYERS OF INTERCESSION[5]

God, whose Spirit drives your people out 

from the comfortable, safe places;

guide us through each wilderness, 

every tough and lifeless landscape 

that would drain our energy and leave our souls parched.

We pray for those who travel through wildernesses of fear, loss and hate…

Help us to find places of refreshment, 

to wet our lips with your living water,
to drink deeply of your life-giving stream.

We pray for those who travel through wildernesses of poverty, disease and injustice…

Help us to travel with our eyes open, 

that we might glimpse your glory in unexpected places 

and your presence in unlikely people.

We pray for those who travel through wildernesses of isolation, prejudice and misunderstanding…

Help us to remain attentive, 

that we might see the wilderness as a place of beauty 

and sanctuary that will bring us, in the end, 

closer to the fullness of your grace.

In the name of the one tested in the wilderness. Amen.

LORD’S PRAYER

Abba, hallowed be your name;

Your kingdom come.

The bread of tomorrow, give us today.

Forgive us our debts, as we, here and now, forgive our debtors.

Do not let us succumb to temptation.

Amen.

FOR REFLECTION

I see the world being slowly transformed into a wilderness; 

I hear the approaching thunder that, one day, will destroy us too. 

I feel the suffering of millions. 

And yet, when I look up at the sky, 

I somehow feel that everything will change for the better, 

that this cruelty too shall end, 

that peace and tranquility will return once more. 

Anne Frank

Poetry is one of the ancient arts, and it began as did all the fine arts, within the original wilderness of the earth.

                                                                        Mary Oliver

BLESSING[6]

For glimpses of grace,
For shade in the wilderness,
For places of rest
We thank you, loving God.

In the arid places,
In the places of exposure,
In the heat of the day
We pray for your blessing.

Guide us in your way.
Amen

Cover Image:      Global Warming (detail), from ‘Six Acts of Uncreation’, 

in fused glass by Michaela Youngson.

---

[1] Philippians 4.8

[2] the church of the Province of New Zealand. The Liturgy of the Eucharist Genesis Publications. 1984. pg 50 (alt).

[3] Michaela Youngson, The Weaver, The Word and Wisdom, Epworth, 2008 (altered)

[4] ibid.

[5] ibid

[6] ibid

At The Foot of the Cross: Here is grace

Orlando: Good Friday.
Fused glass panel by Michaela Youngson

At Foot of the Cross

Here is Grace.

Here is grace, in all its humbling power – that love, so free and so creative, is willing to stoop so low, to ask so little, to give so much. And we look upon love’s face and find ourselves rooted to the spot. It would be so much more comfortable to deny, to hide, to run away – yet with the mothers and lovers and disciples and friends, we stay here. We look upon grace and we search our hearts, asking ourselves again ‘how can this be, that the creator of all, hangs, choosing helplessness, that I and all humanity might be loved this much?’

Here is grace, in our world where power warps the human heart, where the power-grabbers and status-hoarders will sacrifice anyone but themselves to cling on to wealth, false dignity and empty status. Here is one who lets go, who does not grab or cling or lord divinity above all others – here is one who empties himself of all power and pours love into the world. We live in a time where truth seems to be a fluid commodity and facts are cut, like cloth, to fit the desires of the story-teller. And before us hangs a person who offered truth, not fake news but good news – not for the comfortable but the poor, not for the complacent but for the passionate, not for the perfect but for those who know they need help, not for the holy but for those who long to be whole.

Here is grace, in the place where heaven reaches down and touches earth in blood-stained hands, where creation is embraced by arms outstretched, and the monarch wears a crown of thorns. All the accepted wisdom of the noblest and grandest, the student and the teacher is turned upside down, as all that to the world seems foolish, humiliating, hopeless is in fact the way to true wisdom. To be emptied of all ambition, is to be filled with all possibility; to let go of certainty is to ask new questions, to die to one’s self is to be made alive with the glory of God.

Here is grace, that love works to break down the barriers between the holy and the mundane. Love is active in freeing us from the fear of death, from the fear of hardly living at all. Love pays the price of releasing us from our limited perspectives and opening our minds and hearts to the fullness of God’s love.

Here is grace, Jesus Christ is love’s endeavour – the work of God. Jesus Christ is love’s expense – paying the personal price of loving without limit, that we might grasp a tiny insight into the enormity of God’s love for us and for all creation. So, we remain, watching the drama unfold. We remain, wondering at such grace, such love. We remain, here at the foot of the cross, because where else would love have us be?

Michaela Youngson, Good Friday 2017

Service of Reflection at Methodist Central Hall Westminster

Waiting - A Reflection

Advent shines with anticipation as amidst the gloom of short days and drab skies a day of glorious winter sunshine breaks through. A forerunner to the light breaking into darkness, absolution announced by gracious creation shattering a penitential season.

In this pause, as heaven holds its breath, filling her lungs with the air needed to rent the skies apart with hallelujahs, earth waits, troubled, scarred and distracted.

Waiting, those whose hearts are breaking, relationships strained or shattered, left wondering what it was all about.
Waiting, those holding on to hear what the doctors might say, wondering how long before pain gives way to health or death.
Waiting, those whose jobs are at risk, wondering if they will be one of the lucky ones or if their world is going to become smaller and a struggle.
Waiting, those sleeping in sheds, doorways, shelters, refugee camps, wondering just how cold it will be tonight.
Waiting, those who lie awake listening to the sounds of unrest and rioting outside, wondering when peace will settle more deeply into their community.

Break into the waiting, Wonderful Counsellor
Break into the waiting, Prince of Peace
Hold those who are wondering,
Inspire hope in the hopeless
and disturb the comfortable.

Enter our longing, as we look for the glimpses of Immanuel, God with us.

Lent Reflection

Having been asked to write a lenten reflection for Methodism's on-line 'Momentum', I thought I might as well link to it from here. There are lots of resources on the Methodist Church Website but I don't always remember to look!

Hope this season of reflection and journeying will be transformative - sometimes it's hard to see a way out of the wilderness and if a bloke with pointy horns and long tail offered some quick fixes to some of the issues I'm dealing with in the Circuit, I would be sorely tempted...