A Concord Pastor Comments

2/8/26

NIGHT PRAYER: Sunday 2/8

On Sundays, Night Prayer takes its lead from some element from the day's liturgy. Tonight we turn to these verses from today's first reading from the Book of the Prophet Isaiah. Speaking to Israel, the people who walked in darkness, the Lord promises LIGHT... These verses are ancient - and at the same, painfully contemporary. For tonight's prayer, I invite you to ponder these words from Isaiah and then to pray with the song, "Light Is Kindled in the Darkness."

Thus says the Lord:

   Share your bread with the hungry,
       shelter the oppressed and the homeless;
   clothe the naked when you see them,
       and do not turn your back on your own.
Then your light shall break forth like the dawn,
   and your wound shall quickly be healed…

If you remove from your midst
   oppression, false accusation and malicious speech;
if you bestow your bread on the hungry
   and satisfy the afflicted;
then light shall rise for you in the darkness,
   and the gloom shall become for you like midday….

Isaiah 58:7-10

Light Is Kindled In The Darkness

by David Bjorlin

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Light is kindled in the darkness

when our hope seems most absurd,

beacons through a shrouded future,

pledges of Christ's steadfast word

Gifts of goodness yet unfold us

all around beneath above

signs of beauty still persisting

symbols of God's constant love

Though the wrong appears victorious,

violence, prejudice and pride,

hope still rises from the wreckage

joy and grief stand side by side

We will feel both pain and promise

terror’s sting and love’s new birth

as we walk in light and shadow

on God's blessed and bleeding earth

Raise your candle in the darkness

though the wick of faith burns low

feed the fire with grace and justice

and in wonder watch it grow

As we gather flames together

till they shine with warmth and light

God dispels the night of hatred

and the blaze of love burns bright

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2/7/26

Pause for Prayer: SUNDAY 2/8

So many things keep me from prayer, Lord,

so many things, large and small,
   pull me in a dozen different directions
and slowly, surely, my time for prayer
   slips to the bottom of my list of things to do
and then I'm too tired or I forget,
   or I'm too worried or afraid,
       too distracted, out of sorts,
   to find a quiet place, a quiet time
       to find the peace I long for...

I have the time - or I can make the time...

I have a place - or I can find a place...

And as you know well, Lord:

I really need the peace...

Who doesn't need your peace, Lord?

Who doesn't hunger for your peace?

Who doesn't want a break, a breather,
some respite from the worries and the fear
that every day can bring?

So many things keep me from prayer, Lord,
and what keeps me from prayer

keeps me from you
and what keeps me from you,

keeps me from hope
and what keeps me from hope,

keeps me from peace...

Help me to turn to you in prayer today, Lord:
help me make the time to be with you,
help me find a restful quiet place

       to stop, to sit, to breathe,
   to close my eyes and find you
       at my side and in my heart...

Slow me down, I pray, Lord,
   and in your quiet presence,
       with your grace and in your peace,
   draw me close to you in prayer
       before the end of day...

Amen.

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NIGHT PRAYER: Saturday 2/7

It snowed again today... and with the snow came that singular wintry silence that

is filled with beauty, presence and healing...

In these wintry, February days, Lord:

I pray for quiet time,
far from the clatter and the clamor...

I pray for wisdom's counsel
to untangle my confusion...

I pray for consolation
to calm my troubled spirits...

I pray for time to finish
some things I need to do...

I pray my heart will open wide
to serve the poor in need...

I pray for peaceful dreams
to help me make it through the night...

I pray my thoughts be docile and
attentive to your word...

I pray for grace to figure out
what's right from what is wrong...

I pray for friends who love me
when I fail to love myself...

I pray for you to hold my heart
in warm and gentle hands...

I pray for trust and hope
to help me face what lies ahead...

I pray for love to spare and share
with those who are alone...

I pray to pardon freely
those who've treated me unfairly...

I pray to know your love for me
when mine for you is wanting...

In these chilled and frosted nights and days
I trust you're by my side...

And I pray you hear my prayer, Lord,
in the silence of the snow...

Protect me, Lord, while I'm awake

and watch over me while I sleep

that awake, I might keep watch with you

and asleep rest in your peace...

Amen.

Hear My Prayer by Moses Hogan
- sung by Cleveland Chamber Choir

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O Lord, please hear my prayer;
In the morning when I rise.
It's your servant bound for glory.
O dear Lord, please hear my prayer.

O Lord, please hear my prayer.
Keep me safe within your arms.
It's your servant bound for glory.
O dear Lord, please hear my prayer.

When my work on earth is done,
And you come to take me home.
Just to know I'm bound for glory;
And to hear You say, "Well done!"

Done with sin and sorrow.
Have mercy. Mercy.

Amen.

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2/5/26

Takin' a break!

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NIGHT PRAYER: Thursday 2/5

Sometimes, Lord:

it's the small and simple things bring me peace...

It wasn't warm today

but it was milder and warmer than it has been

and so I drove to Waltham

- with my window open a few inches -

and in the rushing air I enjoyed,

what I took to be,

a promise of spring...

And it was warm enough

for me to spend an hour cleaning out my car,

sorting through the odd debris

that piles up in winter

beside me on the passenger seat

and in the back seat

- and in the trunk!

Three kitchen size trash bags

I dumped in the dumpster

and in letting go I felt the promise

of the cleaning springtime does

in my heart and in my soul...

And to top it all off - sunset came at 5:05!

I've been, recently, vaguely aware

that the days are growing longer

(thank you!)

and now the sun's still with us

even after 5, glowing with the promise

of the light and life

the spring will surely bring...

And after sunset I went out again

to Concord - and the first night

of a friend's showing of his paintings:

oh, the light he finds and brushes

from his palette to the canvass

'til a snow scene glistens,

silver, white and blue

and sunlight spills

through someone's kitchen windows,

warm with hope and promise

of a season yet to come...

And all this, Lord - in February!

But as I said...

sometimes, Lord,

it's the small and simple things bring me peace...

And peace I found today

although there's still the cold and darkness,

still danger's threat and harm,

still violence and death in our cities' icy streets

crying out for light and warmth,

for an end to the hostility tearing us apart

and holding springtime hostage

'til we find the peace you are...

Yes I found peace, today, because sometimes

it's the small and simple things that bring me peace...

Protect me, Lord, while I'm awake

and watch over me while I sleep

that awake, I might keep watch with you

and asleep rest in your peace...

Amen.

Small Things by Bella Taylor Smith

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Tell me what I look like through your eyes

Tell me did I ever cross your mind

Wonder if I have to wonder why

There’s so many things that you could say

Why can’t you just come and set things straight

Tell me did you look the other way

They say it’s in the small things

That I can see your love

And I got all these big things

And they’re messing me up

And maybe it’s perspective

And that could change my mind

And one day all these small things

They will add up over time

Cos that happens all the time

Did you mean to teach me something new

Or show me how to love the way you do

Everyone keeps telling me

you only want the best for me

But that’s just something new to me that I believe

They say it’s in the small things

That I can see your love

And I got all these big things

And they’re messing me up

And maybe it’s perspective

And that could change my mind

And start seeing the small things

They will add up over time

Cos that happens all the time

Once in a while when my heart stops beating

I hear you say “if you just keep breathing

You’ll be alright promise I’m not leaving”

Now I believe it

They say it’s in the small things

That I can see your love

And I got all these big things

And they still mess me up

And I know it’s perspective

And that has changed my mind

Now I can see the small things

How they will add up over time

It just takes a little time

One step and you'll be fine...

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This year's Lenten Pocket Cross

This is the 15th year for my Lenten Pocket Crosses and the first time I asked my readers to suggest an inscription for the Cross. I was surprised, thrilled and grateful to receive 55 suggestions! All were great... some were too long... and there were a number of repeats. The first suggestion that came in was Love Your Neighbor and I immediately thought: that's perfect! But as I read other suggestions I began see several themes repeating so I worked to bring them together and the result is the Cross you see above.

Thank you, one and all, for your responses!

Ash Wednesday is February 18!

If you would like to receive pocket Cross, please send me a self-addressed, STAMPED envelope. I would suggest putting 3 firstclass stamps on the return envelope to ensure that Cross I send you doesn't end up returned to me for insufficient postage.

If you're requesting more than one Cross, please provide an individual return envelope for each one - so that postage doesn't become an issue.

Please send your stamped, self-addressed envelopes to:

Fr. Austin Fleming

124 Cochituate Road

Wayland, MA 01778

There is NO CHARGE for these Crosses! Please do NOT send any cash or checks! If you're moved to be generous - consider making a donation to your favorite charity - or mine: Health Equity International - but please do NOT send ANY cash or checks. Please don't make me the middle-man for any charities!

The sooner you send your request, the better chance I have of getting your Cross to you by Ash Wednesday!

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2/4/26

Pause for Prayer: THURSDAY 2/5

For friends who offer good advice
exactly when I need it,
   thank you, Lord...

For folks who understand
without a lot of explanation,
   thank you, Lord...

For those who give the room I need
but never leave my side,
   thank you, Lord...

For those who never fail to be
the friends they truly are,
   thank you, Lord...

For a quiet place and time to pray
whatever most needs praying,
   thank you, Lord...

For You who wait for me
however late I am in coming,
   thank you, Lord...

For You who hear my every prayer
and take it to your heart,
   thank you, Lord...

For You who are my hope and strength,
the deepest peace I know,
thank you, Lord...

For all good gifts that come my way,
for blessings great and small,
   I thank you, Lord, and praise you...

Amen.

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NIGHT PRAYER: Wednesday 2/4

Sometimes, Lord, I see everything so clearly:
   I understand things,
   I see where I've been and where I'm going
       - everything fits and it all makes sense!

And then there are the other times...

Times when everything's fogged in
   and I'm lost in the dark,
reaching, feeling my way forward,
   my steps unsure on an unknown path...

And sometimes, Lord,

only a few hours separate

the clear skies in my soul

from the fog bank in my heart...

So, help me weather

   the cloudy mornings and stormy nights
to make my way, day by day,
   by your grace, Lord,
through this partly cloudy, mostly sunny life
   I call my own...

Protect me, Lord, while I'm awake

and watch over me while I sleep

that awake, I might keep watch with you

and asleep rest in your peace...

Amen.