Collected from:
Volume 2: Take our moments and our days for advent through pentecost – An Anabaptist prayer book
With God Daily – Sky Jethani
Opening sentence
For to this you have been called:
because Christ also suffered for you.
Call to praise
The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear?
The Lord is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?
Glory …
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit: as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever.
Amen.
Psalms 23
1 The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing.
2 He makes me lie down in green pastures,
he leads me beside quiet waters,
3 he refreshes my soul.
He guides me along the right paths
for his name’s sake.
4 Even though I walk
through the darkest valley,[a]
I will fear no evil,
for you are with me;
your rod and your staff,
they comfort me.
5 You prepare a table before me
in the presence of my enemies.
You anoint my head with oil;
my cup overflows.
6 Surely your goodness and love will follow me
all the days of my life,
and I will dwell in the house of the Lord
forever.
Thanksgiving
Our souls are waiting for God, our help and our shield.
Our hearts are glad in you, Lord, because we trust in your holy name.
(Prayers of thanksgiving)
Let your steadfast love, O Lord, be upon us,
Even as we wait for you.
Amen
Call to discipleship
One does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.
Let us worship the Lord our God, and serve God alone.
John 9
Jesus Heals a Man Born Blind
9 As he went along, he saw a man blind from birth. 2 His disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?”
3 “Neither this man nor his parents sinned,” said Jesus, “but this happened so that the works of God might be displayed in him. 4 As long as it is day, we must do the works of him who sent me. Night is coming, when no one can work. 5 While I am in the world, I am the light of the world.”
6 After saying this, he spit on the ground, made some mud with the saliva, and put it on the man’s eyes. 7 “Go,” he told him, “wash in the Pool of Siloam” (this word means “Sent”). So the man went and washed, and came home seeing.
8 His neighbors and those who had formerly seen him begging asked, “Isn’t this the same man who used to sit and beg?” 9 Some claimed that he was.
Others said, “No, he only looks like him.”
But he himself insisted, “I am the man.”
10 “How then were your eyes opened?” they asked.
11 He replied, “The man they call Jesus made some mud and put it on my eyes. He told me to go to Siloam and wash. So I went and washed, and then I could see.”
12 “Where is this man?” they asked him.
“I don’t know,” he said.
The Pharisees Investigate the Healing
13 They brought to the Pharisees the man who had been blind. 14 Now the day on which Jesus had made the mud and opened the man’s eyes was a Sabbath.15 Therefore the Pharisees also asked him how he had received his sight. “He put mud on my eyes,” the man replied, “and I washed, and now I see.”
16 Some of the Pharisees said, “This man is not from God, for he does not keep the Sabbath.”
But others asked, “How can a sinner perform such signs?” So they were divided.
17 Then they turned again to the blind man, “What have you to say about him? It was your eyes he opened.”
The man replied, “He is a prophet.”
18 They still did not believe that he had been blind and had received his sight until they sent for the man’s parents. 19 “Is this your son?” they asked. “Is this the one you say was born blind? How is it that now he can see?”
20 “We know he is our son,” the parents answered, “and we know he was born blind. 21 But how he can see now, or who opened his eyes, we don’t know. Ask him. He is of age; he will speak for himself.” 22 His parents said this because they were afraid of the Jewish leaders, who already had decided that anyone who acknowledged that Jesus was the Messiah would be put out of the synagogue.23 That was why his parents said, “He is of age; ask him.”
24 A second time they summoned the man who had been blind. “Give glory to God by telling the truth,” they said. “We know this man is a sinner.”
25 He replied, “Whether he is a sinner or not, I don’t know. One thing I do know. I was blind but now I see!”
26 Then they asked him, “What did he do to you? How did he open your eyes?”
27 He answered, “I have told you already and you did not listen. Why do you want to hear it again? Do you want to become his disciples too?”
28 Then they hurled insults at him and said, “You are this fellow’s disciple! We are disciples of Moses! 29 We know that God spoke to Moses, but as for this fellow, we don’t even know where he comes from.”
30 The man answered, “Now that is remarkable! You don’t know where he comes from, yet he opened my eyes. 31 We know that God does not listen to sinners. He listens to the godly person who does his will. 32 Nobody has ever heard of opening the eyes of a man born blind. 33 If this man were not from God, he could do nothing.”
34 To this they replied, “You were steeped in sin at birth; how dare you lecture us!” And they threw him out.
Spiritual Blindness
35 Jesus heard that they had thrown him out, and when he found him, he said, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?”
36 “Who is he, sir?” the man asked. “Tell me so that I may believe in him.”
37 Jesus said, “You have now seen him; in fact, he is the one speaking with you.”
38 Then the man said, “Lord, I believe,” and he worshiped him.
39 Jesus said,[a] “For judgment I have come into this world, so that the blind will see and those who see will become blind.”
40 Some Pharisees who were with him heard him say this and asked, “What? Are we blind too?”
41 Jesus said, “If you were blind, you would not be guilty of sin; but now that you claim you can see, your guilt remains.
Reflections on the Readings
- What stands out?
- What do these passages say about God?
- What do these passages say about us?
Devotion from With God Daily by Sky Jethani
Apart from the Lord’s Prayer, Psalm 23 is probably the best known passage of the Bible. Its familiarity can cause us to overlook the amazing message it contains. David begins his metaphor of the Lord as his shepherd by speaking of the contentment God’s presence brings. “I shall not want,” he says. It is sometimes translated, “I lack nothing.”
Dallas Willard, who used to raise sheep, noted that the verses that follow reinforce the message of contentment. Sheep typically do not lie down in green pastures, they eat green pastures. Likewise, sheep are expected to drink from quiet waters, not walk beside them. The imagery of Psalm 23, however, is of sheep so satisfied, with bellies full and thirst quenched, that they joyfully bypass their favorite food and drink. David is saying that real contentment is discovered in the presence of the Shepherd, not in the material things he provides as good as they may be.
This is something I need to remember regularly. Too often I look for my desires to be met in God’s good gifts rather than in God himself. I don’t want to dismiss the wonderful things I have received from his hand, just as David is not minimizing the value of green pastures and quiet waters. Still, there is an infinite qualitative difference between the gifts and the Giver; between the green grass and the Good Shepherd.
When I seek contentment in God’s blessings my wants only subside temporarily, and they soon return stronger than ever. When I learn to seek my satisfactions in the God himself, however, the pleasures offered by the things of this world grow dim in comparison.
1 Peter 2.21-24
21 To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps.
22
“He committed no sin,
and no deceit was found in his mouth.”[e]
23 When they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate; when he suffered, he made no threats. Instead, he entrusted himself to him who judges justly. 24 “He himself bore our sins” in his body on the cross, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; “by his wounds you have been healed.”
Call to intercession
Wait for the Lord; be strong, and let your heart take courage.
Hear, O Lord, when we cry aloud, be gracious to us and answer us!
Attentive God, we bring our prayers to you because we trust you to protect and provide.
In your mercy,
Lord, hear our prayer.
You receive us because of your great mercies. We pray for ourselves and those dear to us.
(open prayers)
In your mercy,
Lord, hear our prayer.
You rebuke all retaliation. We pray for our community and for our neighbors.
(open prayers)
In your mercy,
Lord, hear our prayer.
Your people bear your name. We pray for the church in all places, that we may know the freedom of life in the Spirit.
(open prayers)
In your mercy,
Lord, hear our prayer.
Your face will shine even on earth’s desolation. We pray for the world and for all who care for creation.
(open prayers)
In your mercy,
Lord, hear our prayer.
We offer you other concerns we carry in our hearts.
(open prayers)
In your mercy,
Lord, hear our prayer.
God our only hope, you seat us at the table with our enemies, breathing in our fears.
Feed us from your mouth, that our bread may be to do your will, in the strength of your Anointed, who taught us to pray:
Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name.
Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil, for thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory forever. Amen.
Lent Focus – Visit the sick and those in prison
Isaiah 58:6-7
“Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen:
to loose the chains of injustice
and untie the cords of the yoke,
to set the oppressed free
and break every yoke?
7
Is it not to share your food with the hungry
and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter—
when you see the naked, to clothe them,
Matthew 25:37-40
37 “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38 When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39 When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’
40 “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’
This week our lent focus is to visit those sick and in prison. This seems like a strange thing to focus on in the midst of social isolation but I belive this is on God’s heart especially during this time.
Right now we are asked to isolate from all others in an effort to prevent those who are vulnerable from getting sick. While for some of us having some alone time is a welcome break from the hustle and bustle, for others it can feel like a “prison”. We are created to be in relationship with God and with one another.
What good things in our lives can we give up in order to make space for the things on God’s heart?
Suggestions
- Give up movies or tv
- Limit how many times you check the news
During this time take a moment to pray and ask the Lord to put two people on your heart. Take a moment to pray for them and then find a way to connect with them. Pick up the phone and call or text. Send a message through the wide range of social media platforms.
Let’s continue to be in community even if we can not shake each others hands.
Benediction
May God our Savior,
through Jesus Christ our Lord,
keep us from falling,
and make us stand without blemish
in the presence of his glory with rejoicing.
Amen.