Thursday, December 6, 2012

.this, this is Christ the King.


"...But Israel's God was different.
He was definite, and His character was immutably fixed.
And they were to love Him for it with everything they had.

They were to love Him with all their heart.
In the seat of their deepest dreams and desires,
in the place where they wrestled with their sorrows and clung to flickering hopes,
they were to love Him...

In their creativity and in their learning,
in their working and in their resting,
in their building up and their tearing down,
they were to love Him.

They were to love Him as whole people,
in all their weakness and in all their strength.
On their best days and on their worst,
in the darkest hours of their loneliest nights,
and at the tables of their most abundant feasts,
they were to love Him.

This was the heart of Israel's religion: love.
Only divine love made sense of the world...
Israel's story was a story of being kept,
and the only reasonable response was to love the Keeper."





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Human Needs Global Resources Covenant, 2009

As fellow travelers on this journey, we commit to this covenant before God. Lord, in Your mercy, hear these our prayers:

When confronted with scarcity, need, and inadequacy, may we be nourished by the Bread of Life and the Cup of Salvation. Abundance overflows from Your table, sustaining all who come in faith. Father, help us.

When monotony blurs our vision and dulls our senses, may we encounter others as Christ did, through intentional presence in daily life, submitting as clay to be formed into vessels filled with the Spirit. Christ, guide us.

When wounded by the fractured condition of Your people, may we be united by Your Lordship in faith, hope, and love; seeing, as through the facets of a diamond, the beautiful spectrum of Your light reflected onto Your holy Church joined in praise. Spirit, empower us.

When all Creation groans, afflicted by injustice and driven to despair, may the promise of redemption root us in the hope of Your Kingdom: "Behold, I am making all things new!"

Holy Trinity, send us now into the world in peace, and grant us strength and courage to love and serve You with gladness and singleness of heart.

Amen.