Dear Friends
Rather than a word to us in the middle of Holy Week, I thought I’d write to you at the beginning, commending to us the Lord’s prayer (with added commentary regarding seeking and living out God's justice) that was shared at the end of our final sermon encouraging us to embrace justice. Perhaps as a preparation for Easter, you might like to join me in praying the prayer wherever we find ourselves, each day at noon?
Our Father In Heaven
who embraces your broken, sinful and suffering people
Hallowed be your name
a name that speaks of justice, peace and compassion
Your kingdom come
a kingdom of justice and peace, may it bring down oppressive empires of our making
Your will be done
and may we recognize when we confuse our will with yours
on earth as it is in heaven
and may we discern and nurture the seeds of your Kingdom already among us
Give us today our daily bread
help us to take only what is ours, so that we do not hoard for tomorrow the bread that our neighbour needs today
..and open the eyes of those who have much, that all may have bread and none go hungry
Forgive us our sins
our greed, our unwillingness to see and love our neighbour,
all the things we do not even know about ourselves, our communities and our world
as we forgive those who sin against us
Help us work towards justice and not revenge,
and show us how grace can transform both ourselves, and the ones we cannot bear to love
Lead us not into temptation
the temptation to exploit or condemn,
the temptation to dehumanise those we despise or disagree with,
the temptation to ask more of the other than we ask of ourselves
but deliver us from evil
deliver us from the evil we visit on others,
deliver us from all the evils of slavery,
of exploitation.
of dehumanisation,
of discrimination in all its forms
For the kingdom, the power and the glory are yours,forever and ever Amen!
Keep safe
Keep in touch
Keep the faith.
Simon
Rather than a word to us in the middle of Holy Week, I thought I’d write to you at the beginning, commending to us the Lord’s prayer (with added commentary regarding seeking and living out God's justice) that was shared at the end of our final sermon encouraging us to embrace justice. Perhaps as a preparation for Easter, you might like to join me in praying the prayer wherever we find ourselves, each day at noon?
Our Father In Heaven
who embraces your broken, sinful and suffering people
Hallowed be your name
a name that speaks of justice, peace and compassion
Your kingdom come
a kingdom of justice and peace, may it bring down oppressive empires of our making
Your will be done
and may we recognize when we confuse our will with yours
on earth as it is in heaven
and may we discern and nurture the seeds of your Kingdom already among us
Give us today our daily bread
help us to take only what is ours, so that we do not hoard for tomorrow the bread that our neighbour needs today
..and open the eyes of those who have much, that all may have bread and none go hungry
Forgive us our sins
our greed, our unwillingness to see and love our neighbour,
all the things we do not even know about ourselves, our communities and our world
as we forgive those who sin against us
Help us work towards justice and not revenge,
and show us how grace can transform both ourselves, and the ones we cannot bear to love
Lead us not into temptation
the temptation to exploit or condemn,
the temptation to dehumanise those we despise or disagree with,
the temptation to ask more of the other than we ask of ourselves
but deliver us from evil
deliver us from the evil we visit on others,
deliver us from all the evils of slavery,
of exploitation.
of dehumanisation,
of discrimination in all its forms
For the kingdom, the power and the glory are yours,forever and ever Amen!
Keep safe
Keep in touch
Keep the faith.
Simon
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