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 !

12 December 2021

Third Sunday of Advent +++A peaceful home

 

Canticle: Isaiah12.2-6│Zephaniah3.14-20│Philippians 4.4-7│Luke 3.7-18

Cantique: Ésaïe 12.2-6|Sophonie 3.14-20 |Philippiens 4.4-7 |Luc 3.7-18

Lofzang   Jesaja 12.2-6 | Zefanja 3.14-20 | Filippenzen 4.4-7 | Lukas 3.7-18

 

A peaceful home

 


In today’s Zephaniah reading the prophet speaks of the joys that the people of Israel will receive once they fix their then-troubled relationship with God. They will be able to stand proudly, with their head held high. God will go after those who mocked or looked down onto His people, but also says the Lord: ‘At that time I will bring you home.’ This struck me. What does that mean, to be home, to be brought home by God? As we are preparing ourselves for Christmas, we might think of home as that warm, fuzzy, nostalgia-ridden place from our childhoods. Yet for many others this cosiness stands in stark contrast with lived experiences. For various reasons, the approaching holiday can then very much be dreaded. In my thinking on the meaning of home, my search for a definition that honours people’s experiences, I stumbled across this prayer, written by the Dutch comedian Toon Hermans:

 

Lord,

Hear me

and my bleak prayer becomes a live tongue.

Many times You have

greeted Your friends

with the words: ‘Peace be with you.’

Please, say it to me once

And I shall never be afraid again.

With Your peace at heart

There is no distress. 

[Source: Toon Hermans, Gebedenboekje, (Baarn: Uitgeverij de Fontein, 1986), p26, my translation]

 

Some might say: Home is where the hearth is. I would say: Home is where there’s peace. May God grant each and every one of us His peace, in the midst of whatever tribulation life throws at us, and may he bring us home.

 

Moge God aan eenieder van ons Zijn vrede geven, te midden van eender welke moeilijkheid het leven ons toebedeelt, en moge Hij ons thuis brengen.

 

Que le Seigneur donne à chacun d'entre nous Sa paix, au milieu de n’importe quelles tribulations la vie nous alloue, et qu’Il nous ramène á la maison.

 

Teus Vermeer

Image:'Once upon a time the peaceful and secure climate of Maiduguri outskirts'  By Kitian06 - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=87474190

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