Lenten Devotion – Week Two

Opening Prayer ~ I Need to Breathe Deeply by Ted Loder

Eternal Friend,

Grant me an ease

to breathe deeply of this moment,

to follow this light you offer, to know this miracle of now.

Beneath the din and fury of great movements

and harsh news

and urgent crises,

make me attentive still

to good news,

to small occasions,

and the grace of what is possible for me to be,

to do,

to give,

to receive,

that I may miss neither my neighbor’s gift

nor my enemy’s need.

Precious Lord,

Grant me

a sense of humor

that adds perspective to compassion,

gratitude

that adds persistence to courage,

quietness of spirit

that adds irrepressibility to hope,

openness of mind

that adds surprise to joy;

that with gladness of heart

I may link arm and aim

with the One who saw signs of your kingdom

in salt and yeast,

pearls and seeds,

travelers and tax collectors,

sowers and harlots,

foreigners and fishermen,

and who opens my eyes with these signs

and my ears with the summons

to follow to something more

of justice and joy.  Amen.

Reflection

It’s dark…in pockets of our hearts, in the emptiness of the night, in the hollows of the unknown, and heaviness of our world. Yet, whether it is our own darkness or the shadows of the people and space around us, we are beckoned to hope for something more in the invitation to live in the rays of the One who is the Light of the world.  Just as it is easy to lose your way when everything around is murky, and yet the slightest spark can illuminate our path; so it is with the light of Christ! In our sin and pain, we can look to the flame that radiates grace, mercy and hope…finding renewed life and the fuel to shine! What an amazing God we follow, that we should be given such a transforming gift so freely.

Isaiah 42:16

I will lead the blind by a road they do not know, by paths they have not known I will guide them. I will turn the darkness before them into light, the rough places into level ground. These are the things I will do, and I will not forsake them.

Ephesians 5:8

For once you were darkness, but now in the Lord you are light. Live as children of light-

John 8: 12

Again, Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness but will have the light of life.” 

Closing Prayer

Light of the world, You have set me free from the darkness that holds me captive by shining Your brightness in the heavens and the earth. You are…

Indescribable, uncontainable,

You placed the stars in the sky, and You know them by name.

You are amazing God!

All powerful, untamable,

Awestruck I fall to my knees as I humbly proclaim

You are amazing God!

In all Your radiant Glory, I desire to follow You and shine.  Amen.