Blessings for the Journey

Nick Beam, Interim District Executive, Southern Ohio/Kentucky District Church of the Brethren

 

January 3, 2022 Weekly Note--Written by Thomas Merton

My Lord God, I have no idea where I am going. I do not see the road ahead of me. I cannot know for certain where it will end. Nor do I really know myself, and the fact that I think I am following your will does not mean that I am actually doing so. But I believe that the desire to please you does in fact please you. And I hope that I have that desire in all that I am doing. I hope that I will never do anything apart from that desire. And I know that if I do this you will lead me by the right road though I may know nothing about it. Therefore, I will trust you always though I may seem lost and in the shadow of death. I will not fear, for you are ever near me and you will never leave me to face my perils alone. Amen.

December 13, 2021 Weekly Note--From Homilectics website:

God of such infinite tenderness and constant faithfulness, you give us longer nights, a gentle chill and this special time of Advent. A time of ...
waiting and hoping,
longing and dreaming.

Like pregnant Mary, we feel something stir within us ...
a sense of wonder at the starlit sky,
a feeling of love for our families,
a twinge of joy as we find the gift that expresses our deepest appreciation,
a little panic as we recall all that is to be done,
a sudden stillness when we sense your divine Presence.
O God, help us be attentive to the rise of hope within us, bidding us to action. Amen.

Benediction:
The Spirit of the Lord is upon us! God has anointed us to bring good news to the oppressed, to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and release to the prisoners; to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor, and to comfort all who mourn. Even in this season — perhaps especially in this season — our world aches to hear the good news of God’s advent, of God’s coming among us. Share the good news, in word and deed.

And may the grace of our coming Lord, Jesus Christ, and the love of the God who sent him, and the joy of the Holy Spirit who empowers us to receive him, be with us always. Amen.--An Advent prayer from the Homilectics website.