Make yourself at home with Jesus......
Relax your tense shoulders;
shake out your tired arms;
Breathe deeply; breathe deeper still
Let your thoughts settle in this place;
be fully present here.We are here to soak in the presence of God...….
GOSPEL READING FOR TODAY (Mass Lectionary) - Mark 12:28-34.
One of the scribes came near and heard them disputing with one another,
and seeing that he answered them well, he asked him,
‘Which commandment is the first of all?’
Jesus answered, ‘The first is,
“Hear, O Israel: the Lord our God, the Lord is one;
you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart,
and with all your soul, and with all your mind,
and with all your strength.”
The second is this,
“You shall love your neighbour as yourself.”
There is no other commandment greater than these.’
Then the scribe said to him, ‘You are right, Teacher;
you have truly said that “he is one, and besides him there is no other”;
and “to love him with all the heart, and with all the understanding,
and with all the strength”, and “to love one’s neighbour as oneself”,
—this is much more important than all whole burnt-offerings and sacrifices.’ When Jesus saw that he answered wisely, he said to him,
‘You are not far from the kingdom of God.’
After that no one dared to ask him any question.
TODAY'S VERSION OF THE LORD'S PRAYER
Loving Creator we honour you,
and we honour all that you have made.
Renew the whole world in the image of your love.
Give us what we need for today,
and a hunger to see the whole world fed.
Strengthen us for what lies ahead;
heal us from the hurts of the past;
give us courage to follow your call in this moment.
For your love is the only power, the only home,
the only honour we need, in this world
and in the world to come. Amen.
This version of The Lord's Prayer has been composed by Sarah Dylan Breuer,
a teacher, writer, and speaker. She has an M.Phil. in biblical studies from the University of St. Andrews in Scotland, earned a C.Phil. in early church history from the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA), and engaged in advanced Anglican studies at the Episcopal Divinity School in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
How does this version of The Lord's Prayer enhance your understanding
of the traditional version?
Are there any particular phrases that you notice in particular?
What might God be saying to you in this version of the Lord's Prayer?
“TO PRAY IS TO CHANGE.” by Richard Foster “
Prayer is the central avenue God uses to transform us.
If we are unwilling to change,
we will abandon prayer as a noticeable characteristic of our lives.
The more we pray, the more we come to heartbeat of God.
Prayer starts the communication process between ourselves and God.
All the options of life fall before us.
At that point we will either forsake our prayer life
and cease to grow,
or we will pursue our prayer life and let Him change us.
Either option is painful.
To not grow in His likeness is to not enjoy his fullness.
When this happens, a haunting voice continues to ask,
‘What could I have become in him
if I would have been a person of prayer?’
To grow in His likeness is to enjoy His fullness.
When this happens,
the priorities of the world begin to fade away.”
God of the important
and the commonplace, you reach into our lives in story. Open our eyes, that seeing, we may perceive; Open our ears, that hearing, we may understand, Open our minds, that understanding, we may act.
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