Spirit of quiet and stillness,
as we move away
from the pressure and strain of the day ,
be with us as we enter this silence
where you wait for us…..
God’s desire is to reach out, restore, and repair
all broken relationships.
Let us bring to Him our own brokenness,
and ask for the gift of reconciliation
where we have caused division ourselves…..
God of the turning tide, change us
so that the energy of your forgiveness
flows into our living and our loving. Amen.
PSALM 139 (PART3 – Jim Cotter)
Search me out, O God, and know my heart;
lead me in the way that is everlasting.
Where shall I go from your Spirit?
Where shall I flee from your Presence?
Awesome are your deeds, and marvellous are your works!
O God of forgiveness, we contemplate you.....
How deep are your thoughts to me, O God,
how great is the sum of them.
Were I to count them they are more in number
than the grains of sand upon the sea-shore,
and still I would know nothing about you –
still you would hold me in the palm of your hand.
O God of forgiveness, we contemplate you.....
Glory to God, Source of all being,
Eternal Word and Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning, is now,
and shall be for ever. Amen.
John 4: There was a royal official whose son was ill in Capernaum. When he heard that Jesus had arrived in Galilee from Judea, he went to him and asked him to come down and heal his son, who was near death.
Jesus said to him, “Unless you people see signs and wonders, you will not believe.” The royal official said to him, “Sir, come down before my child dies.” Jesus said to him, “You may go; your son will live.” The man believed what Jesus said to him and left.
While the man was on his way back, his slaves met him and told him that his boy would live. He asked them when he began to recover. They told him, “The fever left him yesterday, about one in the afternoon.” The father realized that just at that time Jesus had said to him, “Your son will live,” and he and his whole household came to believe. Now this was the second sign Jesus did when he came to Galilee from Judea.
When the royal official was on his way back home, his servants ran to tell him that his son had been cured, that he was alive. He asked them when the boy had begun to recover, and discovered that it was exactly the time when Jesus had said, “Your son will live!” He was confirmed in his faith.
John ends by saying, “This new sign…..” John prefers to speak of signs and not of miracles. The word “sign” specifies something which is seen; it is faith that can make me discover the signs profound significance.
Faith is like an X-Ray:
it enables one to see what the naked eye cannot see.
O Loving Father, may we become more like Your Son:
The Jesus who gave time to Nicodemus;
The Jesus who was moved to pity by the faith of the Royal Official,
whose son was dangerously ill;
The Jesus who saved the day at the Wedding in Cana;
The Jesus who would not condemn the accused adulterous woman;
The Jesus who spent nights in prayer;
The Jesus who served rather than waited to be served;
The Jesus who prayed for those who nailed Him to the cross;
The Jesus who stayed on the cross until His work was done.
O Loving Father, may we become more like Your Son,
who was Himself the sign, pointing to You,
and who came to show You to us.
Lord our God, almighty Father, You want us not to turn to the past to regret it or to mourn for it; but to hope for a future, a new earth and a new heaven. Give us a firm faith in Your Son Jesus Christ, that notwithstanding
the shortcomings and uncertainties of our present time we may have faith in the future which You want us to build up with Your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.
O Lord, support us all the day long of this troublous life,
until the shades lengthen and the evening comes,
and the busy world is hushed,
the fever of life is over, and work done.
Then, Lord, in thy mercy,
grant us safe lodging and holy rest, and peace at the last;
through Jesus Christ our Lord. (St John Henry Newman)
Be present, Spirit of God, within us,
Your dwelling place and home,
That your light penetrates all that is darkness,
All troubles be calmed by your peace,
All evil be redeemed by your love,
All pain be transformed in your suffering,
And all that is of death be glorified through your risen life. Jim Cotter
Let us bless the Lord
Thanks be to God!
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