Come I this day to the Father
Come I this day to the Son
Come I this day to the Holy Spirit powerful;
Come I this day with God,
Come I this day with Christ,
Come I this day with the Spirit of kindly balm.
God, and Spirit, and Jesus,
From the crown of my head
To the soles of my feet;
Come I with my reputation,
Come I with my testimony,
Come I to Thee, Jesu;
Jesu, shelter me.
Psalm 27
The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? the Lord is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?
2 When the wicked, even mine enemies and my foes, came upon me to eat up my flesh, they stumbled and fell.
3 Though an host should encamp against me, my heart shall not fear: though war should rise against me, in this will I be confident.
4 One thing have I desired of the Lord, that will I seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord, and to enquire in his temple.
5 For in the time of trouble he shall hide me in his pavilion: in the secret of his tabernacle shall he hide me; he shall set me up upon a rock.
6 And now shall mine head be lifted up above mine enemies round about me: therefore will I offer in his tabernacle sacrifices of joy; I will sing, yea, I will sing praises unto the Lord.
7 Hear, O Lord, when I cry with my voice: have mercy also upon me, and answer me.
8 When thou saidst, Seek ye my face; my heart said unto thee, Thy face, Lord, will I seek.
9 Hide not thy face far from me; put not thy servant away in anger: thou hast been my help; leave me not, neither forsake me, O God of my salvation.
10 When my father and my mother forsake me, then the Lord will take me up.
11 Teach me thy way, O Lord, and lead me in a plain path, because of mine enemies.
12 Deliver me not over unto the will of mine enemies: for false witnesses are risen up against me, and such as breathe out cruelty.
13 I had fainted, unless I had believed to see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.
14 Wait on the Lord: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the Lord.
John 12:37-50
Although he had performed ever so many miracles before their eyes, they did not believe in him, so that the word the prophet Isaiah spoke would come true:
'Lord, who has believed our message?
To whom is God's might revealed?
So they were unable to believe, for Isaiah also said:
He has blinded their eyes,
he has turned their hearts to stone,
so their eyes are sightless
and their hearts closed to understanding,
or they would do an about-face
for me to heal them.
Isaiah said these things because he saw God's majesty, and spoke about it.
Nevertheless, many did believe in him, even many of the ruling class, but because of the Pharisees they did not acknowledge it, so they wouldn't be thrown out of the synagogue. (You see, they were more enamored of human approval than of God's endorsement.)
Then Jesus proclaimed aloud: "Those who believe in me do not believe in me only, but in the one who sent me. And those who see me see the one who sent me. I am light come into the world, so all who believe in me need not remain in the dark. I won't pass judgment on those who hear my message but don't keep it. You see, I didn't come to pass judgment on the world; I've come to save the world. But those who reject me and don't accept my message have a judge: the message I've spoken will itself be their judge on the last day. For I don't speak on my own authority, but the Father who sent me ordered me to say what I said and will say, and I know that his commandment is unending, real life. Therefore, I say just exactly what the Fahter told to me to say."
O Christ of the road of the wounded
O Christ of the tears of the broken
In me and with me the needs of the world
Grant me my prayers of loving and hoping
Grant me my prayers of yearning and healing.
No comments:
Post a Comment