Suggestion for Daily Use

Follow the ‘Daily Prayer’ at the side+++Suivez le ‘Prière Quotidienne’. Read the bible passages and then the meditation. Pray, tell God how you felt about the reading and share the concerns of your life with him. Maybe you will continue the habit after Lent. Lisez les passages bible et après la méditation. Priez, dites à Dieu que vous avez ressenti à propos de la lecture et de partager les préoccupations de votre vie avec lui. Peut-être que vous allez continuer l'habitude après le Carême. Daily Prayer Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, where for forty days he was tempted by the devil. Luke 4.1-2 Now is the healing time decreed For sins of heart, of word or deed, When we in humble fear record The wrong that we have done the Lord. (Latin, before 12th century) Read: Read the Bible passage. Read the meditation Pray: Talk to God about what you have just read. Tell him your concerns - for yourself, your family, our church family, our world. Praise him. Pray the collect for the week – see next pages. Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me bless his holy name. Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits. Prière Quotidienne Jésus, rempli de l'Esprit Saint, revint du Jourdain et le Saint-Esprit le conduisit dans le désert où il fut tenté par le diable durant quarante jours. Luc 4.1-2 Maintenant le temps de la guérison est décrété Pour les péchés du cœur, de la parole et des actes, Lorsque nous nous souvenons avec humilité Le mal que nous avons fait au Seigneur. Lire : Lisez le passage de la Bible. Lisez la méditation. Prier : Parlez avec le Seigneur de ce que vous avez lu. Parlez-lui de vos préoccupations pour vous-même, votre famille, notre famille de l’église, notre monde. Louez-le. Priez la collecte pour la semaine. Voyez les pages suivantes Mon âme, bénis le Seigneur ! Que tout qui est en moi bénisse son saint nom. Mon âme, bénis le Seigneur, et n’oublie aucun de ses bienfaits !

07 December 2018

Friday December 7, "I have chosen you and not rejected you.."


Lesser Festival for Ambrose, bishop, teacher of the faith, 397





Fear of rejection can haunt many of us - whether it be by those we want to love us, those we want to impress, those we want to like us.  Rejection is often hard and cruel, usually unwanted and can make us doubt ourselves and our abilities. The prophet Isaiah turns this around, tells us that God has chosen us as His people, as the ones He loves.  We have not had to go to Him for acceptance, not had to impress Him or convince Him of our abilities or greatness.  Instead, God has come to us.  He has chosen to be with us, to accept us despite our faults and fallibilities.

To be sought out, to be wanted, to be pursued can make us feel great.  In the workplace the term ‘headhunted’ is often used to describe professional pursuit and there can be some kudos in being the one headhunted. 

Jesus ‘headhunted’ the disciples, seeking them out and calling them by name to join Him.  But Christ did not do this to assign greatness to those called but to teach and build His community of believers here on earth.  He chose.  He did not reject.  Even when the disciples started to argue amongst each other about who is the greatest.

God does not speak empty words of choice and acceptance.  He brings it up close and personal to us through Christ. Advent is a time to prepare but also to accept and celebrate the choice God has made in having us as His people, a people He is willing to do anything for to keep us close to Him – even sending His only Son to live among us and experience rejection so that we will never be rejected again.  What a Christmas gift – to be chosen and not rejected by God!

Heather Roy

Attribution:

Saint Ambrose in His Study, ca. 1500, Made in Palencia, Tamara, Spain, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Gift of J. Pierpont Morgan, 1917, www.metmuseum.org.  

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