Think back over your own life, and give thanks for any moments of joy that have been so wonderful, you cannot put them into words.
CONFESSION
Almighty God, when we fail to see you in moments of joy, forgive our blindness and arrogance of heart, for Jesus’ sake. Amen.
PRAYER
Thank God for those things that have happened this day which have brought laughter to your eyes.
Pray for all those children in the world whose lives are marked and maimed by poverty and disease.
Pray for those who work in health care, especially your own doctor.
Our Father . . .
CONCLUSION
God be in my head and in my understanding;
God be in my eyes and in my looking;
God be in my mouth and in my speaking;
God be at my end and at my departing.
Richard Pynson (1448–1529)
PRESENCE AND PEACE Isaiah 49.13
Shout for joy, you heavens; earth, rejoice;
break into songs of triumph, you mountains,
for the Lord has comforted his people
and has had pity on them in their distress.
May the songs of heaven be within me and around me this day and always.
PRAISE Luke 1.68-69
Praise to the Lord, the God of Israel!
For he has turned to his people and set them free.
He has raised for us a strong deliverer
from the house of his servant David.
READING Luke 1.57,59-64
When the time came for Elizabeth’s child to be born, she gave birth to a son . . . On the eighth day they came to circumcise the child; and they were going to name him Zechariah after his father, but his mother spoke up: ‘No!’ she said. ‘He is to be called John.’ ‘But’, they said, ‘there is nobody in your family who has that name.’ They enquired of his father by signs what he would like him to be called. He asked for a writing tablet and to everybody’s astonishment wrote, ‘His name is John.’ Immediately his lips and tongue were freed and he began to speak, praising God.
REFLECTION
There is, in this story of Zechariah, a palpable sense of release. Zechariah is released from his inability to speak but ironically the people standing around are dumbfounded. Once they have recovered from the shock they ask what the future of the child will be. Liberation and release are great gifts. They open us up to new possibilities. What are those things that leave you in a kind of imprisoned speechlessness? What needs to happen to help you to face the future?
PRAYER
Pray for any people you know who are deeply unhappy, that they may rediscover a joy they once knew.
Pray for those who face this day in real distress of mind or body, that they may experience God’s strength upon them.
Our Father . . .
CONCLUSION
Father in heaven, I commend myself into your loving hands this day; may your Spirit be within me so that my life may be a song of praise for you, now and for ever.
PRESENCE AND PEACE Psalm 63.1
O God, you are my God; eagerly I seek you;
my soul is athirst for you
READING Exodus 2.5-8,10
Конец ознакомительного фрагмента.
Текст предоставлен ООО «ЛитРес».
Прочитайте эту книгу целиком, купив полную легальную версию на ЛитРес.
Безопасно оплатить книгу можно банковской картой Visa, MasterCard, Maestro, со счета мобильного телефона, с платежного терминала, в салоне МТС или Связной, через PayPal, WebMoney, Яндекс.Деньги, QIWI Кошелек, бонусными картами или другим удобным Вам способом.
