Morning Prayers
April 7-13, 2024
Second Week of Easter
Year B
Neighboring as a Rule of Life
Rest as a Rule of Life
Sunday, Second Week of Easter
This is a day for rest and renewal of body, mind, and spirit.
How wonderful, how beautiful, when God’s children get along! It’s like costly anointing oil flowing down head and beard. Flowing down Aaron’s beard, flowing down the collar of his priestly robes. It’s like the dew on Mount Hermon flowing down the slopes of Zion. Yes, that’s where God commands the blessing, ordains eternal life.
Psalm 133 (Message)
Lectionary Readings: Acts 4:32-35; Psalm 133; 1 John 1:1-2:2; John 20:19-31
Monday, April 8 - Second Week of Easter
Neighboring as a Rule of Life
Lord, your name is forever! Your fame extends from one generation to the next! You give justice to your people and have compassion on those who serve you.
~Psalm 125:13,14 (CEB)
Silence
Give thanks to the Lord because God is good. God’s faithful love lasts forever.
~Psalm 136:1 (CEB)
Prayers of Gratitude
We were born to manifest the glory of God that is within us.
It’s not just in some of us; it’s in everyone.
And as we let our own light shine, we subsequently give other people
permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.
Let us express gratitude to God for the ways we have received light and extend light to our neighbors.
The Lord’s Prayer
O Birther! Father-Mother of the Cosmos, you create all that moves in light. Focus your light within us- make it useful: as the rays of a beacon show the way. Unite us, so that we walk in peace with all that you have created. Create in us a divine cooperation–from many selves, one voice, one action. Grant what we need each day in bread and insight. Forgive our hidden past, our secret shames, as we consistently forgive what others feel compelled to hide. Free us to walk your path with joy. From you is the power and life to do, the song that beautifies all from age to age, bringing renewal. Let it be so. Amen
(adapted from the writing of Marianne Williamson as quoted in Life Prayers, Harper Collins, 1966. p. 3)
A Reading
Scripture: 1 John 2:3-11
Reflect on the scripture and what it means to be neighbor.
Silence and Reflection
Intercessions
When the wind blows
that is my medicine
When it rains
that is my medicine
When it hails
that is my medicine
When it becomes clear after a storm
that is my medicine
When I share love with a neighbor
that is their medicine. -Anonymous, adapted
Pray for this new day, and for the medicine God bestows upon you and through you to others.
Sending Forth Prayer
May the Holy Spirit guide us as we seek to heal and to nurture the earth and all of its creatures, to live in the midst of creation, and to love one another as brothers and sisters with all life. May we travel from this moment forward in awareness of our bonds to one another and to the Earth, and in commitment to our communities wherever they might be. Let it be so. Amen. 3
(U.N. Environmental Sabbath. Life Prayers p. 25)
Daily Lectionary Readings: Psalm 135; Daniel 3:1-30; 1 John 2:3-11
Tuesday, April 9 - Second Week of Easter
Neighboring as a Rule of Life
“Your faithful love lasts forever, Lord! Don’t let go of what your hands have made!”
Psalm 138:8b (CEB)
Silence
“We give thanks to you with all our hearts, Lord. On the day we cried out, you answered us. You encouraged us with inner strength.”
Adapted from Psalm 138:1a; 3 (CEB)
Prayers of Gratitude
We awoke this morning. What a joyous surprise!
We poured our feet into our slippers, felt the beating of our hearts, the breath in our lungs, the blood coursing through our veins.
Our bones creaked and cracked, but we didn’t mind.
We are alive.
What greater gift is there for us?
These earthen vessels born of stars and shaped by Divinity,
leaning forward now with curiosity’s gravity,
ready to meet another day.
Ready to embrace another’s heart.
Lord’s Prayer
A Reading
1 John 2:12-17
Reflect on the scriptures and what it means to do the will of God
Silence
Intercessions
“I bet God, if he let go of my hand, I would weep so loudly, I would petition with all my might, I would cause so much trouble, that I bet God would come to His senses and never do that again.”
(Meister Eckhart. Love Poems to God. Penguin Group 2002. p. 107)
Whose hand might you place in God’s hand today?
Sending Forth
Our hands in God’s hand, God’s hand in ours
Our hands in our neighbor’s hands, God’s hand in theirs.
Hand in hand, we receive the love and grace of God.
Hand in hand, together, we extend this to the world.
Daily Lectionary Readings: Psalm 135; Daniel 6:1-28; 1 John 2:12-17
Wednesday, April 10 - Second Week of Easter
Neighboring as a Rule of Life
Do not worry about tomorrow’s troubles. It is enough to trust Creator to give you the strength you need to face today.
Matthew 6:34 (First Nations Version)
Silence
Know this: the Eternal One is the True God
He is the One who made us; we have not made ourselves.
We are his people, like sheep grazing in His fields.
Psalm 100:3 (Voice)
Prayer of Gratitude
When we consider all that we are and all that we have,
we are humbled.
When we gather with the beloved community in prayer,
we are family.
When we receive and extend hospitality to our neighbor,
we are faithful.
When we break the bread of generosity and share the cup of grace,
We envelope the whole world with Eternal arms.
Then we become who God created us to be.
God, may our prayers of gratitude truly express our love for you and the people around us.
A Reading
Mark 12:18-27
Silence
Reflect on these words and what matters most to God.
Intercessions
How do our feeble words of prayer move the heart of God?
What efficacy is there in speaking these aloud?
If God knows them already, is this not an act of redundancy?
Ah, but doesn’t the voice of the littlest child- asking for something we already know they need-enliven our hearts?
It’s not their words that move us, but our love for them.
Same with God.
God sure loves the sound of our voices.
Sending Forth
Love God with all we have.
Love our neighbors with all we are.
Nothing is more important than this.
Go in peace, to love God and love our neighbors!
Amen
Daily Lectionary Readings: Psalm 135; Isaiah 26:1-15; Mark 12: 18-27
Thursday, April 11 - Second Week of Easter
Neighboring as a Rule of Life
Many people say, “We can’t find goodness anywhere! The light of your face has left us, Lord!” But you have filled my heart with more joy than when their wheat and wine are everywhere!”
Psalm 4:6-7 (CEB)
Silence
You alone, Lord, are our safety.
Psalm 4:8 (Message)
Prayer of Gratitude
We awoke this morning to another day. You cared for us, Lord, while we were resting. You watched over as we dreamt and wrestled with things unfinished. You greeted us and gave us new life, again. May we remember how close you are to us in our waking as in our sleeping. Today, we remember and extend our gratitude for all the seen and unseen glimpses of your love for us.
A Reading
1 John 2:18-25
Reflect on these words of scripture and the importance of community to our faith.
Silence and Reflection
Intercessions
Make us worthy, Lord, to serve others throughout the world
who live and die in poverty or hunger.
Give them, through our hands, this day their daily bread, and by our understanding love, give peace and joy.
Mother Teresa
Sending Forth
We are within God
God is within us.
There is no space between.
The world is within God
God is within the world.
There is no “in” or “out”.
We are the family of God
one and all.
Daily Lectionary Readings: Psalm 4; Daniel 9:1-19; 1 John 2:18-25
Friday, April 12 - Second Week of Easter
Neighboring as a Rule of Life
The fullness of your presence enlivens us. It reminds us of your great love, the beauty of creation, the goodness of your people, the many gifts unearned but received with thanksgiving.
Psalm 16:5
Silence
Be still and know that I am God.
Be still and know that I am.
Be still and know.
Be still.
BE!
Psalm 46
Prayer of Gratitude
Everything we are. Everything we have. Everything we ever will be, is a gift from God. When we remember this, and live accordingly, we are grateful and our gratitude reflects our aliveness.
A Reading
Daniel 10:2-19
Reflect on the scripture and remember
the unexpected messengers God sends you.
Silence
Intercessions
Because we are connected by your Spirit to all things, when we pray, O God, all things come with us. We carry the whole wide world and entrust it all to the One who holds it all.
Hear us as we pray, aloud or in silence, for our world, our neighbors and ourselves. Christ in your mercy, hear our prayer.
Sending Forth
May you come to see yourself with the same delight, joy,
and anticipation that God holds for you in every moment.
Daily Lectionary Readings : Psalm 4; Daniel 10:2-19; 1 John 2:26-28
Saturday, April 13 - Second Week of Easter
Neighboring as a Rule of Life
We come to God as beggars with empty bowls to find spiritual food. We are confident we will receive all that we need from God’s bounty of goodness. May we be satisfied in what we receive and generous in sharing God’s gifts with our neighbors.
Psalm 36:7-8
Silence
Be still and reflect on the spring of life that flows in you and through you.
Psalm 36:9
Prayer of Gratitude
May we find the courage today to pursue the life you desire for us, to no longer delay our dreams, to find and fulfil what we came here for without letting fear consume our hearts any longer.
A Reading
Luke 22:24-30
Reflect on the gospel and the upside-down principle of servant-leadership in the kin-dom of God.
Silence and Reflection
Intercessions
This being human is a guest house.
Every morning a new arrival.
A joy, a depression, a meanness,
some momentary awareness comes as an unexpected visitor.
Welcome and entertain them all!
Be grateful for whoever comes,
because each has been sent
as a guide from beyond.
Excerpt from Rumi
Sending Forth
Help us, Gracious God, to see where faith, hope and love are lacking in our world. Send us to those places, so that we may be able to do some good work of peace there through you.
Daily Lectionary Readings: 4; Acts 3:1-10; Luke 22:24-30
Peace be with you.