DESIGNPICS
share is sacramental, a perichoretic experience of triune love.
Prayer
All forms of prayer—whether pri- vate petitions for healing and bless- ing, communal intercession or the deep quiet of contemplation—move us from communication with God toward communion in triune love. Meditation on Scripture, espe-
cially on Gospel stories about Jesus as he moves toward Jerusalem and the cross, has long been a staple of Christian prayer during Lent. This year you might pray the Gospel of Mark, starting with Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem (chapter 11) and praying each story through the remainder of the book. Take the stories one-by-one. Let
each come alive in your mind’s eye. The stories will awaken your heart, even as you speak to God about what each moves in you.
Here is a way of praying with
Scripture that can move you toward deeper communion with God. • Prepare: Mark the passage you are going to pray and read it the night before. • Place: Choose a place you can be alone, uninterrupted and uninhibited in your response to God. • Posture: Find a chair and place where you can relax. • Presence of God: Pause before you begin. Remind yourself that God’s presence envelops you like the air or the warmth of the sun. • Passage: Slowly read the passage.
24 The Lutheran •
www.thelutheran.org
Listen to what it says, to what it stirs in you. Return to words and phrases that draw you in or that seem to have more meaning and emotion attached to them.
• Pause: No need to worry if little happens. Don’t worry about “get- ting through” the entire passage. The purpose is not to cover ground but to be drawn into deeper relationship with God, letting the text sink into you. Be content just to rest securely in God’s presence. • Pray: Speak to God about what is moved in you—questions, concerns, worries, joys, old memories, hopes, etc. Pray it all. Hold nothing back. Your prayer will be as real as you allow yourself to be. • Reflect: What did you receive, what insights occurred? What did God do in your experience of prayer?
DESIGNPICS
candles, a cross and flowers. Wor- shipers meet there with prayer min- isters as communion is distributed. In addition, members established a prayer wall in an alcove of the sanctuary. A large bulletin board was attached to the wall. A candle, slips of paper, pens and pins sit on a table beneath the bulletin board. Worship- ers write prayer concerns on slips of paper and pin them to the bulletin board, sometimes also pinning up photos of the person for whom they are praying.
Share God’s sorrow Read the newspaper, asking to look at the world through the eyes of God. God’s holy dream is for all things to be gathered up into the community of the Trinity, united and sharing in the one love that overflows the heart of God. “They will not hurt or destroy on all my holy mountain; for the earth will be full of the knowl- edge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea” (Isaiah 11:9).
But the daily news paints a differ- ent picture. Wars, murder, conflict and layoffs fill the front page. If the story bleeds, it leads, according to an old adage.
Prayer corner or wall To nourish a deeper communion of prayer and care, congregations might set aside a corner in their sanctuaries where people can meet with a prayer minister who will pray for and with them. St. Timothy Lutheran Church, Naperville, Ill., created a space in a front corner of the sanctuary, placing extra pews around a small table with
One example: A newspaper carries the photo of a promising 19-year-old who was preparing for a medical career after escaping a lousy school system and a gang-ridden neighborhood. But a life of promise was cut short when he was killed by a random bullet intended for some- one else. All one can
think of
is the bodies the young man will never
heal, the
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52