Lord, we seek results and answers We fail to give our uncertainty up to you This is our song of lament Oh God of perfect grace Help us to remember that you work within our lives constantly When the Adversary breeds contempt We stir love and good works When the Adversary divides and silos We build community and mutuality When the Adversary preys on the lonely We are taught to extend our hands God you go before us in these times and we are weary You do not turn from sorrow, you shepherd You are not afraid of the valley of the shadow of death You are acquainted with our tears and know them like old friends The enemy says we are hungry, but we are fed The waves will continue to roar, but you will silence them Creator, Sustainer, Hosanna, you silence the storm. In the name of a Divine Creator who calms storms A Christ whose wounds are visible And a Spirit who proclaims redemption Amen. (Vox Prayer Team)
Scripture
We invite you to hear from the Gospel according to Luke 4:1-4, 9-12 1 Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness, 2 where for forty days he was tested by the devil. He ate nothing at all during those days, and when they were over he was famished. 3 The devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become a loaf of bread.” 4 Jesus answered him, “It is written, ‘One does not live by bread alone.’ ” 9 Then the devil led him to Jerusalem and placed him on the pinnacle of the temple and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down from here, 10 for it is written, ‘He will command his angels concerning you, to protect you,’ 11 and ‘On their hands they will bear you up, so that you will not dash your foot against a stone.’ ” 12 Jesus answered him, “It is said, ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’
The Good News of the Lord. Thanks be to God! The grass withers and the flower fades, but the Word of the Lord endures forever. Amen
Video: Contemplative Sit 12-Minute Meditation by Dr. Barbara A. Holmes (Albuquerque, NM: Center for Acton and Contemplation, 2023)
Benediction
Jesus you are not afraid for it is already written There is nothing our God wants to do more than to run after us Our patient shepherd, Christ sits at his Heavenly Parent’s feet, As we go out into the week in a season of contemplation and of silence Help us to remember that our Shepherd is never far away In the name of our Lord that weeps and takes pause A Christ of joy, and of lament And a Spirit of the grave and the resurrection Amen. (Vox Prayer Team)
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