Jesus, Light of the world
(Devotion compiled by Ros McDonald)
Prayer: Light of the World
Light of the World,
you dispel the dark shadows
which we fear in our lives,
and unmask what we conceal
and would rather ignore.
We founder on reefs of our own making
only because we choose not to journey
in the light of your truth.
Light of the World, you reveal new paths to us.
Light of the World, beacon of Calvary,
with burning hearts, we praise you.
(Jeff Shrowder, Scattered Seeds)
Read:
John 1:1-5 (NIV)
Read this 3 times, each time asking God’s help and thinking about those words or phrases that leap out at you.
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of all people. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.
Thought for the day:
Light in darkness is one of the most ancient and profound religious symbols. God as light is one of the most apt metaphors we have (with the added advantage of being non-gender specific). We are bodily creatures, living in this physical world, and we need concrete things like bread and wine, light and water, to remind us of God in all God’s extraordinary depth, beauty and unexpectedness. For Christians, prayer, with or without candles, is a practice grounded in the belief expressed in the prologue to John’s Gospel, ‘the light (of Christ) shines in the darkness, and the darkness has never put it out’.
Sourced from Clare Boyd-Macrae’s blog http://www.clareboyd-macrae.com/
Clare works for the Uniting Church VicTas Synod.
Image: Photographed in Jerusalem by Chirag k on Unsplash
Psalm 15 Living Close to god
(Devotion by Graeme Harrison)
PRAYER: Prayer after receiving Holy Communion
Grant, O Lord Jesus,
that the ears which have heard the voice of your songs
may be closed to the voice of dispute;
that the eyes which have seen your great love
may also behold your blessed hope;
that the tongues which have sung your praise
may speak the truth in love;
that the feet which have walked in your courts
may walk in the region of light;
and that the bodies which have received your living body
may be restored in newness of life.
Glory to you for your inexpressible gift. Amen.
Liturgy of Malabar, 5th century
Read:
Psalm 15. Read this 3 times, each time asking God’s help and thinking about those words or phrases that leap out at you.
A psalm of David.
1Lord, who may dwell in your sacred tent?
Who may live on your holy mountain?
2The one whose walk is blameless,
who does what is righteous,
who speaks the truth from their heart;
3whose tongue utters no slander,
who does no wrong to a neighbour,
and casts no slur on others;
4who despises a vile person;
who keeps an oath even when it hurts,
and does not change their mind;
5who lends money to the poor without interest;
who does not accept a bribe against the innocent.
Whoever does these things
will never be shaken.
(Psalm 15 NIV)
Thought for the Day:
David uses poetic language to express deep things. Of course, no-one could live in God’s Tabernacle/Tent; it was considered too holy for that. So what is David trying to express? He is imagining an ideal faithful follower of God who is so pure that God wouldn’t mind their company in the Holy of Holies. David is trying to imagine what this person looks like in their behaviour and attitudes. His list of behaviours is not meant to be exhaustive but it does reflect what he considered were key qualities in his culture and time.
I wonder if you were creating a short list of ideal behaviours for our time and culture what you would you write for your Psalm. Try writing your contemporary version of Psalm 15.
Ps What David could never imagine is what we now take for granted; that we do live in the presence of God’s Spirit within us 24/7 because of Christ.
Photo by Jon Tyson on Unsplash
Psalm 3: Help!
(Devotion by Graeme Harrison)
PRAYER: For Divine assistance
We beg you, Lord,
to help and defend us.
Deliver the oppressed,
pity the insignificant, raise the fallen;
show yourself to the needy, heal the sick,
bring back those of your people
who have gone astray;
feed the hungry, lift up the weak,
and take off the prisoners’ chains.
May every nation come to know
that you alone are God,
that Jesus Christ is your Child,
that we are your people
and the sheep of your pasture. Amen.
St Clement of Rome, 1st century
Read:
Psalm 3. Read this 3 times, each time asking God’s help and thinking about those words or phrases that leap out at you.
A psalm of David. When he fled from his son Absalom.
1Lord
, how many are my foes!
How many rise up against me!
2Many are saying of me,
“God will not deliver him.”
3But you, Lord, are a shield around me,
my glory, the One who lifts my head high.
4I call out to the Lord,
and he answers me from his holy mountain.
5I lie down and sleep;
sustains me.
6I will not fear though tens of thousands
assail me on every side.
7Arise, Lord!
Deliver me, my God!
Strike all my enemies on the jaw;
break the teeth of the wicked.
8From the Lord comes deliverance.
May your blessing be on your people.
(Psalm 3 NIV)
Thought for the Day:
What a blunt unrefined Psalm this is. “Strike them on the jaw and break the teeth of the wicked”? But it is this very quality that should give us encouragement. God does not need our prayers to be fully worked out or even sound spiritual. Just tell it like it is and let the Holy Spirit sort out the theology.
King David is fleeing his adult son, Absalom who has staged a military coup because David would not punish Absalom’s half brother when he raped Absalom’s sister. Such injustice! But David was muddle headed when it came to family matters; not his strength. David’s cause is hardly innocent but nor is Absalom’s military solution. That often characterises family disputes and as a result often muddies our thinking when we try to pray. But our Psalm encourages us to just give it to God right at the outset while it is still muddy and urgent.
Photo by Chris Sabor on Unsplash
Jesus, Living Water
(Devotion by Ros McDonald)
Image: Yosemite National Park, USA, Wayne McDonald
Prayer: Sea Tides
Let the love tide swelling
Surround me and my dwelling.
Let the power of the mighty sea
Flow in, Lord, and strengthen me.
Tide of Christ covering my shore
That I may live for evermore.
Whatever the tide
The Lord at my side,
In storm or in calm
To keep me from harm,
In good or in ill
He’s with me still.
(David Adam, Tides and Seasons, Prayers in the Celtic Tradition)
Read:
John 4:7-15 (NIV)
Read this 3 times, each time asking God’s help and thinking about those words or phrases that leap out at you.
When a Samaritan woman came to draw water, Jesus said to her, “Will you give me a drink?” (His disciples had gone into the town to buy food.)
The Samaritan woman said to him, “You are a Jew and I am a Samaritan woman. How can you ask me for a drink?” (For Jews do not associate with Samaritans.)
Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water.”
“Sir,” the woman said, “you have nothing to draw with and the well is deep. Where can you get this living water? Are you greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well and drank from it himself, as did also his sons and his livestock?”
Jesus answered, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”
The woman said to him, “Sir, give me this water so that I won’t get thirsty and have to keep coming here to draw water.”
Thought for the day:
Jesus and the woman are playing with the word “water” – sometimes meaning physical water, and sometimes what Jesus calls “living water”. What images and metaphors of water are most meaningful for you?
Like this unnamed marginalised woman, we say “Jesus, give me this living water.”
Proverbs: The Beginning of Wisdom
(Devotion by Graeme Harrison)
PRAYER: The love of God’s name
Lord of all power and might,
the author and giver of all good things:
graft in our hearts the love of your name,
increase in us true religion,
nourish us with all goodness,
and in your great mercy keep us in the same;
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Book of Common Prayer, 1662
Read:
Proverbs 9:7-10. Read this 3 times, each time asking God’s help and thinking about those words or phrases that leap out at you.
7Whoever corrects a mocker invites insults;
whoever rebukes the wicked incurs abuse.
8Do not rebuke mockers or they will hate you;
rebuke the wise and they will love you.
9Instruct the wise and they will be wiser still;
teach the righteous and they will add to their learning.
10The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom,
and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.
(Proverbs 9:7-10 NIV)
Thought for the Day:
I can still remember the story of The Rainbow Fish. The Rainbow Fish loved his beautiful scales and wanted to be admired above all else. Unfortunately, he couldn’t make friends because the other fish detected his narcissism straight away. He was stumped and sad. How to proceed? So he went out in search of wisdom. Fortunately, someone knew someone and he found his wise woman. Sharing was the missing insight that led to a fuller life.
Proverbs knows where to find wisdom and begins with “fear” of the Lord. This strikes us as odd because we have discovered the centrality of the love of God through Jesus. What is there to fear? The original author did mean fear in the same way that you give some respect to a mother bear with cubs; not dangerous until you threaten someone she loves. Then justice and protection for the oppressed are found in the once hidden claws, teeth, and powerful muscles. Show some respect!
In the same way, the creator of the universe is not some Santa Claus in the sky but is powerful beyond our understanding. Does God not require respect and awe as well as love?
Jesus, Bread of Life
(Devotion by Ros McDonald)
Prayer: Waiting for bread
Move us this day beyond our fears and anxieties
into your land of goodness.
Our hopes are filled with promises of
well-being, justice, and mercy.
We wait for your coming,
we pray for your kingdom.
In the meantime, give us bread for the day.
(Walter Brueggemann, Prayers for a Privileged People)
Read:
John 6:32-35 (NIV)
Read this 3 times, each time asking God’s help and thinking about those words or phrases that leap out at you.
Jesus said to them, “Very truly I tell you, it is not Moses who has given you the bread from heaven, but it is my Father who gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is the bread that comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.”
“Sir,” they said, “always give us this bread.”
Then Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.
Thought for the day:
This passage follows the account of Jesus feeding a crowd of people with bread. There was plenty to eat, and plenty left over. On that occasion, Jesus provided physical bread. Now, Jesus has changed to talking metaphorically about spiritual bread. Just as physical bread nourishes our bodies, so spiritual bread nourishes our spirit and gives us life. When we are close to Jesus, our spiritual life is nourished.
Like the crowd, we say “Jesus, always give us this bread.”
Holy God
(Devotion edited by Ros McDonald)
Image: Glory, East Macdonnell Range, NT, Wayne McDonald
Prayer: You are God!
God, You are God!
The Splendour we cannot imagine,
the Wisdom we cannot contain,
The Power we cannot manipulate,
the Love we cannot buy.
God, you are God!
And we will worship and serve you all our days.
In the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Amen.
(Adapted from Jesus our Future, Bruce Prewer, 1998)
Read:
Revelation 4: 8b, 11 (NIV)
Read this 3 times, each time asking God’s help and thinking about those words or phrases that leap out at you.
Holy, holy, holy
is the Lord God Almighty,
who was, and is, and is to come.
You are worthy, our Lord and God,
to receive glory and honour and power,
for you created all things,
and by your will they were created
and have their being.
Thought for the day:
Often it’s hard to hold together the many aspects of our wonderful God; to balance the friend we have in Jesus with the holiness and majesty of God Almighty.
Today, concentrate on the holiness of God.
Finish by rereading the prayer.
Proverbs, Wisdom inbuilt into Creation
(Devotion by Graeme Harrison)
PRAYER: The Way, the Truth, and the Life
Lord Jesus Christ,
you have said that you are the Way,
the Truth and the Life:
do not let us at any time stray from you,
for you are our Way;
or ever distrust your promises,
for you are our Truth;
or ever rest in anything other than you,
for you are our Life.
Lord Jesus,
you have taught us
what to believe,
what to do,
what to hope for,
and in whom to take our rest. Amen.
Erasmus, 1466-1536
Read:
Proverbs 8:22-36. Our passage continues the speech of Wisdom idealise as a woman. Read this 3 times, each time asking God’s help and thinking about those words or phrases that leap out at you.
22“The Lord brought me forth as the first of his works,
before his deeds of old;
23I was formed long ages ago,
at the very beginning when the world came to be.
24When there were no watery depths, I was given birth,
when there were no springs overflowing with water;
25before the mountains were settled in place,
before the hills, I was given birth,
26before he made the world or its fields
or any of the dust of the earth.
27I was there when he set the heavens in place,
when he marked out the horizon on the face of the deep,
28when he established the clouds above
and fixed securely the fountains of the deep,
29when he gave the sea its boundary
so the waters would not overstep his command,
and when he marked out the foundations of the earth.
30Then I was constantly at his side.
I was filled with delight day after day,
rejoicing always in his presence,
31rejoicing in his whole world
and delighting in mankind.
32“Now then, my children, listen to me;
blessed are those who keep my ways.
33Listen to my instruction and be wise;
do not disregard it.
34Blessed are those who listen to me,
watching daily at my doors,
waiting at my doorway.
35For those who find me find life
.
36But those who fail to find me harm themselves;
all who hate me love death.”
(Proverbs 8:22-36 NIV)
Thought for the Day:
Wisdom is not seen as a human construct or a culturally specific thing. Instead, it is located in the way God created this world. Because the world operates according to certain rules that God laid out in the beginning certain contemporary behaviours and attitudes will match that pattern and some will contradict. In other words, wisdom is not random.
For instance, honesty and love bring well-being to human society while deception and selfishness do not because that is how God made us to be.
Yet wisdom can only be seen embodied in a local culture (v.34). What love looks like in Egyptian culture will have an Egyptian take, and what it looks like in Samoa will have a Samoan take, and so on …
In John’s Gospel, he uses the Greek word “logos” or in English “Word” to describe this same Wisdom through which God made all things. Wisdom is God. Paul, also, sees Jesus as God’s wisdom incarnate 1 Corinthians 1:22-25. The connection between the creation and Christ’s call to follow him and his wisdom is now clearer. This wisdom is True to nature, so to speak.
“Blessed are those who listen to me.”
Proverbs. Wisdom, She Calls
(Devotion by Graeme Harrison)
PRAYER: For enlightenment of the mind
Enlighten us, O good Jesus,
with the brightness of internal light,
and cast out all darkness
from the dwelling of our hearts.
Grant us, O Lord,
to know that which is worth knowing,
to love what is worth loving,
to praise that which can bear with praise,
to hate what in your sight is unworthy,
to prize what to you is precious,
and above all,
to search out and do your holy will. Amen.
Thomas à Kempis,1380-1471
Read:
Proverbs 8:1-11. Read this 3 times, each time asking God’s help and thinking about those words or phrases that leap out at you.
1Does not wisdom call out?
Does not understanding raise her voice?
2At the highest point along the way,
where the paths meet, she takes her stand;
3beside the gate leading into the city,
at the entrance, she cries aloud:
4“To you, O people, I call out;
I raise my voice to all mankind.
5You who are simple, gain prudence;
you who are foolish, set your hearts on it.
6Listen, for I have trustworthy things to say;
I open my lips to speak what is right.
7My mouth speaks what is true,
for my lips detest wickedness.
8All the words of my mouth are just;
none of them is crooked or perverse.
9To the discerning all of them are right;
they are upright to those who have found knowledge.
10Choose my instruction instead of silver,
knowledge rather than choice gold,
11for wisdom is more precious than rubies,
and nothing you desire can compare with her.”
(Proverbs 8:1-11 NIV)
Thought for the Day:
It is striking that in a patriarchal age, wisdom is epitomised by a woman. Our previous seven chapters depicted a father counselling his son and was focussed on the male’s role in ancient Israelite society.
What is clear from our passage is that the author found it perfectly natural to think a woman could represent everything wise, insightful and good about God. Part of the wisdom to come from this passage is that insight. How does society depict men and women? What roles are we typically assigned that we just don’t like? God is a redeemer and is perfectly able to redeem our self-image as a woman or a man from the stereotypes the world conforms us to. Proverbs sees these ways of thinking in competition with each other and continually challenges the reader to choose.
The key is found in God’s wisdom replacing society’s role models and conventions. Are you ready to be wise?