"Holy One, I ask for the grace to pray and meditate on behalf of my communtiy of faith. May we learn patience, tolernce, compassion, gentleness, and empathy for ourselves and one another. May we abstain from ignorance, anger, anxiety, compulsive behavour, discouragement, shame and self-centeredness. May we know and follow Jesus more closely; seeking justice, loving kindness, and walking humbly. I pray especially today for civilians in Syria."
Philippians 1:8-11
8For God is my witness, how I long for all of you with the compassion of Christ Jesus. 9And this is my prayer, that your love may overflow more and more with knowledge and full insight 10to help you to determine what is best, so that on the day of Christ you may be pure and blameless, 11having produced the harvest of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ for the glory and praise of God.
1) "...I long for all of you with the compassion of Christ Jesus;" "...that you love may ooverflow more and more;" "...full isight;" "...to help you determine what is best;" "...produced the harvest of righteousness;" "...for the glory and praise of God."
2) Are we producing the harvest of righteousness? Are we producing a harvest of right relationships among ourselves, with others with God? That's a hard question to ask as Russia backs a government suspected of gassing its own citizens; as the US continues to bomb those same civilians; as Canada ties up refugee support applictions with red tape. Where is the production of the harvest of right relationships? We harvest self-righteousness all over the place. How I long for us to be pure and blameless on the day of Christ. The path to "knowledge and full insight to help determine what is best," is that our love "overflow more and more."
3) What is the invitation in all this? to continue the daily task of letting go of resentment and nurturing compassion and love. Resentment of world governements; resentment of religious fundamentalists; resentment of angry, ignorant self-agrandizing world leaders; resentment of puffed up members of my own community; resentment of my own helplessness and ineffectiveness. None of it helps. And to nurture love and compassion for the same.
"Holy One, melt away our resentment, and fill us with the compassion of Christ Jesus, that our love may overflow more and more with knowledge and full insight to help us determine what is best, so that on the day of Christ, we may be pure and blameless, having produced the harvest of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ for your glory and praise."
Breathprayer: "That your love... may overflow."
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