Holy Days and Holidays
Submitted by Sue
Firstly, apologies are due as we arel into September and so the Prayer page has remained unchanged since July
Now that Linda has stepped away from being our "Prayer Person" at Torrisholme, we are in greater need of contributors to the monthly Prayer Page. You could design a page yourself , or you could email Sue at bjcdfs@gmail.com with fragments of prayers that are important for you; I'll use them.
Pat gave me a handwritten prayer which I used it a couple of months back.
The main thing is to be involved.
We are so grateful for all Linda's commitment & grace; we wish her & Derek happiness in their new home. We'll miss them. Please remember them often in your prayers.
To help me along with tis month's prayers, I am using a little booklet,
Holiness and Justice, prepared by the Methodist Church for 2016/17
when th President & Vice President of the Methodist Conference were
Roger Walton and Rachel Lampard. It's a handy little companion that I carry with me when I go away.
Ponder this, people travel .....
on pilgrimage,
to follow the sunshine,
in desperation and enforcement
or to find a new home.
to go to college or start a new job
..... in doing so, they find themselves.....
in cramped planes and coaches
stressed
lost
with sore feet and knees
.....in the company of strangers.
They may be travelling in high anticipation, hoping for a miracle ;
they may be carrying a weight of heavy hearts and unbearable sorrrow
as all that mattered to them has been swept away.
So please use these following reflections as prompts for your own prayers,
May your holidays be times of refrehment, where glimpses of divinity create Holy days.
Where ever we travel, whoever we meet along the way, remember this how Jesus taught us to be,
"
Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’
[....], ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’
One more step along.............
Preparation,,,,,,,
What is required?..........
Before we leave there may be work to complete ;
Then we need to decide what we leave behind;
What care needs to be in place until we return?
What do we need to take with us?
How much can we carry?
Remember people who have nothing left behind,
little to carry
and no known destination
........He has shown you, O mortal, what is good.
And what does the Lord require of you?
To act justly and to love mercy
and to walk humbly with your God. Micah 6 v 8
Setting off........
Taxi? Plane? Boat? on foot?.......
Alone? Companions?
In our age, the road to holiness necessarily passes through the world of action.” (Dag Hammerskjold)
Give thanks for :
the taxi drivers who carry us through the night,
the airport workers who enable smooth flight,
the attendants and pilots that keep us safe,
the co-passngers who smile and encourage.
“Love recognizes no barriers.
It jumps hurdles, leaps fences,
penetrates walls
to arrive at its destination full of hope.”
(Maya Angelou )
Adjusting........
“God said, ‘Come no closer! Remove the sandals from your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.’” (Exodus 3:5, ) “
One way to talk about these profound experiences and places is that they have a sense of the Holy,
a sense of that which holds all things together,
a sense of God.
Holy people, holy times, holy places are holy in that we recognise that we are drawing close to God.
Earth’s crammed with heaven
and every common bush aflame with fire,
but only he who sees takes off his shoes,
the rest sit around and eat blackberries.”
(from ‘Aurora Leigh’, Elizabeth Barratt Browning)
A gift of holiness ..........
“And the Word became flesh and lived among us, (John 1:14, )
Consider this:
holiness is God’s primary characteristic,
and human beings are invited to share it.
Holiness is made known in Jesus
Holiness is an extraordinary quality,
it enables loving our enemies,
forgiving and being forgiven
and facing the truth about ourselves and the world.
Wonder..
Rocamadour is an amazing place; a place of pilgrimage and tourism. It is a town that clings to the cliff face above a tributary of the River Dordogne.
It has a reputation for miraculous healing . There is a sense of wonder in the beauty of the place, the extraordinary site to buid a town and the holiness of the chapel of the Black Madonna.
There was a great feeling of welcome as young people greeted travellers with cooling water and sensitive offers of prayer.
This place,
any place,
can become a place of hospitality & prayer.
Pray with gratitude for the places, people and times when we are enabled to recognise holiness
Thy will be done......
“Love one another. Just as I have loved you, you should also love one another.” (John 13:34,)
An awareness of holiness,
of a God who longs for a world where
the hungry are fed, the homeless are sheltered,
and the lonely are welcomed,
can prompt us to reflect the God of justice in our lives.
“We are not to simply bandage
the wounds of victims beneath the wheels of injustice, we are to drive a spoke into the wheel itself.” (Dietrich Bonhoeffer)
Holiness and justice are intimately related. Responding to love of God in Jesus
means seeking to live in a different way –
a way that respects and seeks justice for all people.
Walking the path together
John Wesley, a founder of Methodism, believed
that we need to make the journey of faith together, helping each other both to live differently and fight injustice.
He said: “‘Holy solitaries’ is a phrase no more consistent with the gospel than holy adulterers. The gospel of Christ knows of no religion but social; no holiness but social holiness.”
In other words, we must travel together and help each other to be truthful and compassionate.
We can’t do it on our own.
Even though there are times when we may need to withdraw for a while
or respect another's need for space,..
still we need both God’s grace
and the support of honest companions
on the road to a better world.
Together we can make a difference.
Together we can face truth and seek justice.
“For where two or three are gathered in my name,
I am there among them.” (Matthew 18:20,)
“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world;
indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.”
(Margaret Mead)
May we find companions and be companions to encourage, support and let go..
Holy living ..
Many people, moved by moments of awe & wonder, attracted by the person of Jesus,
want to live differently.
Together with others they form a rule of life –
a way of living out their new life trusting in God.
It is not what we do that makes us holy people,
but what we allow God to do with us.
Methodists commit to making a difference by worshipping God
learning and caring together
being good neighbours
challenging injustice
and inviting others to follow Jesus.
“Let justice roll down like waters,
and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.” (Amos 5:24,)
“The more we receive in silent prayer, the more we can give in active life.” (Mother Teresa)
Let us pray for the gifts that prayer can bring that we may become active in our lives.
And finally: Returning home....
We are creatures who live in time. The journey , the pilgrimage, the prayer and activity all pass and as a wise friend once saidd,
"Everything comes.... to pass"
We return home, perhaps to familiar routine;
perhaps to change;
Perhaps WE have changed.
In times of change we can remember,
If I speak in the tonguesof men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. [...].
Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. [...] It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
[...]
And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.
( from 1 Corinthians 13)