Communion Prayer January 11, 2015

Join me now in prayer.

Father, you are Creator of all existence

And the Holy Spirit is our Companion.

But at this time,

I choose to think of the man in the upper room

Who knowing suffering and death awaited 
Ate supper with his disciples,

Then commanded them
To do this in remembrance of Him.
Let us do likewise.
In Jesus name,
Amen.

Easter 2013

He is risen!
He is risen indeed!
These words echo
Through the centuries.
The words of resurrection.
The words of Easter.
The heartbeat of Christianity.

Photo by hoyameg

The disciples, lost and grieving,
Change in one day
Because he is risen.
Soon they will spread the news
Throughout the world
For they know the truth:

Death has been conquered,

Christ is alive.

We celebrate his resurrection

And his promise

That all who love God

And love others

Shall have eternal life.
He is risen.

He is risen today.

The Saturday before Easter

On this day,
The apostles are absent

From the gospels,
This missing day.
Jesus is dead
His disciples believe.
Their world is ashes.
Their grief is immense.
They fear for their lives.
They hide in the upper room.
Only the women dare to go out.
Jerusalem is strangely quiescent.

Pilate places a guard by the tomb.

This day Christ's body lies undisturbed.
Tomorrow the disciples' world

Will come alive
But not today.
We must remember

That missing day
When sorrow fills us,
When we tremble in fear,
When we hide from the world.
Those that knew our Savior best
Did not escape their human frailty,
Neither can we.
We know that with the morrow
Came relief and jubilation.
We have the risen Christ
Not the missing day.

The Missing Day

On this day,
The apostles are absent

From the gospels.
This missing day.
Jesus is dead
His disciples believe.
Their world is ashes.
Their grief is immense.
They fear for their lives.
They hide in the upper room.
Only the women dare to go out.
Jerusalem is strangely quiescent.

Pilate places a guard by the tomb.

This day Christ's body lies undisturbed.
Tomorrow the disciples' world

Will come alive
But not today.
We must remember

That missing day
When sorrow fills us,
When we tremble in fear,
When we hide from the world.
Those that knew our Savior best
Did not escape their human frailty,
Neither can we.
We know that with the morrow
Came relief and jubilation.
We have the risen Christ
Not the missing day.

Peace I Leave With You

Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you; not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.

Jesus speaks these words
On his last night with his disciples
After the passover supper.
He knows what is to come.
Judas has left to betray him.
Christ seeks to reassure his followers,
But he also speaks to us.
In times of turmoil,
In times of war,
In times when death hovers,
In times of sorrow,
Jesus offers peace,
Peace of the spirit.
A serenity that can buffer us
From the horrors of this world.
We cannot escape life's events,
But the peace of God is ours
If we believe.

Photo by audreyjm529

Servant of All

Ye know that they who are accounted to rule over the Gentiles exercise lordship over them; and their great ones exercise authority upon them. But so shall it not be among you; but whosoever will be great among you; shall be your servant; and whosoever of you will be chiefest, shall be servant of all. For even the Son of Man came, not to be ministered unto but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.

Jesus struggled
To make his disciples understand;
He did not lead them
To the kind of greatness that they desired.
His was the path of the suffering servant.
His disciples would not comprehend
His sacrifice until the resurrection.
We look back two millenia
To the crucifixion,
To his suffering,
Because it is so incomprehensible.
But we must focus on the resurrection
Just as his early followers did.
We must remember
That he calls us
To the path of servanthood.

Photo by david55king