NIGHT PRAYER: Monday 9/9

 

I first posted this in 2021 and then again in '22 and '23, each year adding a few more simple things for which I'm truly grateful - as I do tonight...  You might take some time to make your own list of simple things (and some things not so simple) for which you're truly grateful...

 

Just musing, Lord,

at the end of day,

on some simple things 

(and some things not so simple)

for which I'm truly grateful...

 

Simple things like:

   Jesus

   a summer's day

   a child's eyes, open wide in wonder

   a friend's hand on my shoulder

   freedom (I too easily take for granted)

   even a hint of Jesus' presence at my side 

   Georgetown, Colorado

   the close harmony of a cappella voices

   a starry sky on a clear night

   a bed to sleep in

   a friend's face in a crowd

   being alive and well at 77

   memories of my porch in Monument Square 

   my family of origin 

   feeling seen, known, understood, accepted

   picking up with an old friend - right where we left off 

   breakfast, lunch and dinner

   hugs

   sensing how God's Spirit is moving in my life

   reading something I wish I'd written 

   my faith

   good music, well played, beautifully sung

   sunshine

   childhood memories of Christmas

   every day of 51 years of ministry

   people without pretense, guile or hidden agenda 

   hope, even and especially in hellish times

   flowering trees budding and blooming

   happy memories of loved ones and good times

   the mercy of God

   sad memories connecting me with what and whom I've lost

   hearty laughter 

   the sun's warmth on my skin

   a well-written poem

   my friends, old and new, remembered and forgotten 

   the Cape, especially Hyannis

   watching the growth of crops along familiar roads

   a loyal friend

   cold drinks on hot days and coffee any time

   writing a well turned phrase 

   good news of any kind

   looking up and seeing a full moon 

   proclaiming and preaching the Word of God

   having dinner on my sister's porch

   the generous depths of the mercy of God

   a clean shave, a hot shower 

   clouds

   sharing with others in faith, in prayer 

   finally getting around to doing what needed to be done

   Starbucks' egg whites with roasted peppers

   the kiss of a breeze, the push of the wind 

   memories of friends who've forgotten me

   a rainbow

   critique that helps me change and grow 

   a day with no bad news

   crossing the Sagamore Bridge - east bound!

   waves lapping the shore and my toes

   the peace of a sleeping baby

   remembering what I'd forgotten 

   classic jazz 

   a soft rain, a driving rain

   a kind word from or to a stranger

   leading others to God, to prayer, to peace

   word that my friend is doing better

   praying with the men at Clear Creek County Jail

   living in sweatpants and hoodies

   presiding at the Lord's Table 

   naps 

   embraces, hugs and squeezes

   telling the truth 

   writing my blog

   a friend who (always) has my back

   slippers

   the satisfaction of a job well done

   Sauvignon Blanc (New Zealand)

   birdsong at dawn

   human imagination

   knowing when to speak - and when not to speak 

   Woods Hill Table's mesclun greens salad                           

   photos of loved ones I miss

   quiet time, lots and lots of quiet time 

   walking into any place where everybody knows your name

   raindrops on the roof, on the window, on my face

   a word - when I need to hear one

   the peace of being in prayer

   the wisdom of human experience

   a good cry

   staying up too late, sleeping in 'til ......

   a real letter in the mail 

   sourdough and dark rye bread

   being on time

   finishing the Sunday NYT crossword

   the bridge over Clear Creek at 8th and Griffith

   seeing my work bear fruit

   the quiet consolation of a friend who understands

   sounds and scents that unlock memories

   arriving on time

   solitude

   serving others' needs

   seeking and finding the truth

   a good night's sleep

   picking up my dry cleaning

   watching a dad watch his son with love

   long weekends

   silence: longed for, found and healing

   doing the next right thing

   blueberry muffins in the morning

   the amazing grace of Jesus

   laundry done, folded, put away

   an owl's song in the night

   the patience others have with me 

   a quarter century in Concord

   leaving behind some foolishness

   the sound of the song of people at prayer

   trusting that all shall be well - and finding how true that is

   exchanging smiles with a stranger

   making peace with my neighbor, with God, with myself

   praying with those who gather in my virtual chapel

   living in the moment, a day at a time

   discovering, remembering, believing 

        that I am truly loved...

 

Just musing, Lord,

at the end of day,

on some simple things 

(and some things not so simple)

for which I'm truly grateful...

for which I'm truly grateful...

 

Thank you, Lord, for all these gifts

    and for gifts that I've forgotten,

    gifts I've yet to open,

    gifts I've yet to find

    and the gifts you've yet to give me...

 

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.

 

Simple Gifts by Yo Yo Ma and Alison Krauss

 

If a widget doesn't appear below, click here!

 

 

'Tis the gift to be simple, 'tis the gift to be free,
'Tis the gift to come down where we ought to be,
And when we find ourselves in the place just right,
'Twill be in the valley of love and delight.
When true simplicity is gained,
To bow and to bend we will not be ashamed,
To turn, turn will be our delight,
Till by turning, turning we come round right.

Tweet   

SUBSCRIBE HERE!

  

Monday Morning Offering: 9/9

Morning Coffee by George Mendoza

This is the last full day 

    of my two magnificent months in Georgetown, Colorado.

This prayer, then, is more personal than usual

    but I'm hoping you'll find some ways it speaks for you, too...

Good morning, good God!

 

I've asked you before, Lord

    but I've forgotten what your answer might have been:

        Why must good times come to an end?

And even as I type those words

    I see the false premise in my question:

        my good times are not ending!

 

I'm going back to good places,

    good folks - and good times...

 

I'm going back to what I've known:

    what has rooted me, grown me, 

        blessed and sustained me;

    sharpened my best points

        and smoothed my rough edges;

    what has challenged me, changed me,

        strengthened and shaped me;

    delighted and thrilled me,

        steadied and calmed me...

       

I'm returning, Lord, 

    to fields of blessings

and only you know

    what blessings and joys

        await me on my return...

Will there be hard times?  

    I'm sure there will be! 

Disappointments, too, and lonely moments

    and loss and grief and the tears they bring;

but through it all I hope and trust

    your holy hand will lead and guide me

        and fill me with blessings yet unknown...

So, I offer this morning

    my outstretched hands and my open heart:

fill me, Lord, and feed my spirits

    with the joy of good places, people and times...

 

Fill my soul with blessings untold,

    blessings already heading my way,

unknown blessings, graces and gifts

    of  wisdom, wonder, mercy and peace...

Amen.    

 

This beautiful song gives perfect voice

    to what I'm praying this morning... 

Let Us Give Thanks for Unknown Blessings 

      by Carol Browning

 

If a video doesn't appear below, click here!

Let us give thanks for unknown blessings already on the way.

Let us give thanks for unknown blessings already on the way.

God holds the future, the present and the past,

so let us give thanks for unknown blessings already on the way. 

 

See the birds of the air

they neither sow nor reap

yet God will give them food to eat

and God will care for us.

 

Lilies of the field 

they neither toil nor spin

as they are clothed in glorious light

God gives us what we need.

 

Do  not fear or fret

our lives are in God's hands

so praise and thanks should be our song

to God, our hope, our home.

Tweet   

SUBSCRIBE HERE!

  

NIGHT PRAYER: Sunday 9/8

On Sundays, Night Prayer takes its lead from an element of the day's liturgy.  This evening we go back to today's gospel where Jesus heals a man who is deaf and mute by speaking the word, "Ephhatha" which means "be opened!" 

 

Suppose Jesus were to come to you right now,

    right now while now while you're praying,

        right here, where you're praying...

 

And imagine Jesus touched your ears and said:

Ephphatha! Be opened! 

Hear me 

    and be open to the word 

        I’ve been speaking to you for years,

especially that one word, 

    that message you’re afraid to hear 

        or don’t want to hear,

            or refuse to hear,

the message, the word that challenges you 

    and calls you to make real changes...

Open your ears to hear the truth.

Remove the ear plugs 

    of your prejudice, bias and political correctness.

Open your ears and your mind and your heart!

Open your ears and listen:

    hear the truth that others are speaking,

        especially those you don't want to hear...

Open your ears and hear

    not just the version of truth that's yours

but listen for the whole truth     

    and nothing but the truth...

Ephphatha!  

Be open to the word I speak to you!

And imagine Jesus touched your lips and said:

Ephphatha! Be opened! 

Open your mouth to speak, 

    to speak clearly about your faith

        to speak plainly to others about your faith,

    sharing with them the peace you find 

        in believing, in trusting, 

            in hoping in me, your God!

Open your mouth and pray - speak to me!

Share with me your good times and your bad times.

Open your mouth 

    and speak the just word, the caring word.

a word of compassion, a word of challenge, 

    a word of mercy a word of pardon

to whomever needs to hear such a word

    from you, from your heart, from your mouth...

Open your mouth and speak with love 

    to those who have no one to love them...

Speak a word of welcome and warmth

    to those who have no place to go...

And speak a word, a gentle word 

    to those who've been wounded by hurt...

Ephphatha!   

Open your mouth and speak to me,

   I love the sound of your voice!

                / / / / / / / / / / /  /

Well, I don't have to imagine, Lord, 

because you are with me now while I'm praying

and you are with me here in the place where I pray...

 

I don't have to imagine, Lord,

because I know you come to me day and night

reaching out your hand

    to touch my ears

        and open my heart to your word,

    and to touch my lips 

        and open my mouth to speak the truth

            and to sing your praise...

 

Open my ears even more, Lord,

    so I catch every word you whisper

and open my voice to its fullness

    to proclaim your mercy, your pardon and 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.

 

 

Ephphatha: Be Opened by Carrie Allwine

 

If a widget doesn't appear below, click here!

Ephphatha! Be opened my eyes,

be opened my eyes, 

be opened my eyes, 

Ephphatha! Be opened my ears, Lord

help me to hear your Word  

Ephphatha! Be opened my heart,

be opened my mind, God fill me inside,

with Your Love 

 

1) If you can make a blind man see, 

        open me Lord, set my soul free

 

2) If you can make the deaf hear

     and the mute speak,

        fill my ears and tongue

        with Your Word so sweet

 

3) Help me to receive your love

     Help me to live your love

     Help me to give your love 

        Ephphatha!

        Open me, open me, Lord

 

 

Tweet   

SUBSCRIBE HERE!

  

Do you know whose birthday it is?

 

Who's in the painting?

 

No, it's not Mary holding the baby Jesus.  It's St. Ann, the grandmother of Jesus, holding her baby daughter Mary, the mother of Jesus.

 

The image is a detail from The Birth of Mary by Domenico Beccafumi

 

September 8 is the day when the Church commemorates the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary. (September 8 falls on a Sunday this year and so the Twenty-third Sunday in Ordinary time takes precedence over the Marian celebration.)

 

Do we know the actual date of Mary's birth? Well, certainly not from any birth certificate! But if you count back exactly nine months from September 8, you'll find yourself at another important date on the church calendar: December 8, the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception. (This is a good way to remember that the feast of the Immaculate Conception is not about the conception of Jesus in Mary's womb but rather about the conception of Mary in the womb of her mother, Ann.)

 

The church calendar celebrates the birthdays of only three people: Jesus, his mother and John the Baptist. The  history of the church calendar tells us that the feast of Mary's birth was observed centuries before the dogma of the Immaculate Conception was defined in 1854. The longstanding September 8 commemoration of Mary's birth led to choosing December 8 as the day for celebrating her conception.

 

Here's a prayer for today.  As you'll see, I've simply done a little expansion of the Hail Mary...

 

Hail Mary, Happy Birthday, 

    woman full of grace
       - indeed, the Lord is with you!  

Chosen and blessed are you among women
   and blest and divine is the fruit of your womb:

        Jesus, your Son, the Anointed of God,

        our Brother, our Lord and Redeemer...

Holy Mary, 

    Mother of God and Mother of all,
pray for us now in the troubles we face,
    we're sinners who need all the help we can get...

 
Pray for us, too, at the hour of our death
    that Jesus your Son will take us home

to be with him and to be with you

    and with all who have gone before us...

 
  Amen.

 

And here's Sarah Brightman singing the Bach-Gounod Ave Maria...

 

If a widget doesn't appear below, click here!

 

 

 

 

Tweet   

SUBSCRIBE HERE!

  

Pause for Prayer: SUNDAY 9/8

Photo by John McGinty

My friend John McGinty blogs at BothSidesNow where he offered, some years ago, his thoughts on arriving at his home on Job's Pond in Portland, CT.  Here's a brief excerpt from John's reflection, followed by my own Pause for Prayer:

Forty minutes ago I arrived at Job’s Pond. I got out of the car and just breathed. Blue cloud-marked sky. Green grass. Quiet waters of the pond. Absolute silence. Just the kind of moment I love. Just the kind of moment I need much of the time.

But tonight it is different...  Everything felt different. What was it?

Ah! Obviously. It is the first time this year that I have felt the summer slipping away, pulling away from the dock and beginning the trek to wherever summers spend their winters. That must be somewhere deep in the heart of God...

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 

Lord, I grieve these hints of summer's end
stirring in my heart of hearts,
long before the leaves begin to turn...

Summer is slipping away, Lord,
and there's nothing I can do to stop her!

I cannot slow her pace
as she journeys to where summers go
to sleep away the winter...

I can't hold summer back
but I do know where she's going:
heading home to rest 

where she was born,
deep in God's own heart...

My journey's not so different, Lord:
I'm always heading home,
home to where sweet summers go,
the place where I was born to be
deep in God's own heart...

Lord, give me peace
as seasons change and I reach out
to hold what can't be held
until I'm finally home
where you hold me forever
in that season of your love
when summer never slips away...

 

Give me peace, Lord, 

as the seasons change and I reach out

to hold what can't be held

until I'm finally home

where you'll hold me forever:

in the season of your love,

where summer never slips away

in the depths of your own heart...

Amen.

Tweet   

SUBSCRIBE HERE!

  

Homily for September 8

 

Before listening to my homily,

    you might find it helpful to take a look at Sunday's scriptures:

        - the One who will come (Isaiah);

        - "two men walked into a church" (James)

        - the One who does all things well (Mark) 

 

Here's my homily for Sunday, September 8.

 

 

 

Tweet   

SUBSCRIBE HERE!

  

NIGHT PRAYER: Saturday 9/7

With an apology for the late posting!

 

Speak to me, Lord...

Speak a word of blessing,
    a word of kindness,
    a word of mercy...

Speak a word that helps,
    a word that heals my hurt,
    a word to make me whole...

Speak a word to wake me up,
    a word to make me strong,
    a word to start my day...

Speak a word of hope,
    a word of peace,
    a word of pardon...

Speak a word of of wisdom,
    a word of counsel,
    a word that makes things clear...

Speak a word of challenge
    a word of comfort
    a word of consolation...

Speak a word to help me love
    my neighbor and my colleague,
    a word to draw me close to you...

Speak a word to my soul's depths,
    a word to gather scattered thoughts,
    a word to change the way I live...

Speak a word of memories healed,
    a word of new beginnings,
    a word to lift me up... 

Speak any word I need to hear,
    a word of love and truth, Lord,
    a word of grace from you...

 

Speak a word to help me rest,

    a word to help me rest in you,

    a word to sing my soul to sleep...

Speak to me, Lord...

Speak to 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.

Tonight's song is, well, different...

And the video for tonight's song is also, well, different...

But something about it is, well, different enough

    that it just might lead you to prayer...

 

Speak to Me by Kari Jobe

 

If a widget doesn't appear below, click here!

 

And if you find the visual distracting,

    you'll find just the lyrics below...

 

 

The sound of many waters 

Calms the sea in me 

The voice that ends the silence 

Meets me in my need

Like fireworks Igniting in my chest 

The weight of Your glory 

The reverence 

 

I’m in awe 

That You would come to me 

In awe 

That I can hear You speak 

 

Speak to me 

Speak to me 

I’m listening 

 

The sound that shakes the heavens 

The whisper on the wind 

Breaks my inhibitions 

And settles me within 

The mystery, You’re closer than my skin 

Your still, small voice moving me again 

 

I hang on to every word 

You say 

I live to hear You 

Say my name

 

Tweet   

SUBSCRIBE HERE!