Wednesday, April 26, 2006
The Gift
O Lord of my life,
Your gift still amazes me,
How you walked the earth
To teach us the way to be,
Then suffered and died
So you might then set us free,
Peace of my heart,
let me come to thee now.
Those women who watched you
In sorrow and agony,
Amazed are their hearts
When they come in search of thee,
An empty tomb echoes
Instead of a cold body,
You have shattered death's chains,
All praise to you now!
O Peter, whose heart
Was a stone since the loss of thee
Ran with John like the wind
When Mary could not find thee,
Hope for the hopeless
The shroud and the towel they see,
But you are not there,
For you've shattered death's chains.
O Lord of my life,
O Master and King of me,
Your love is a call
That beckons me home to thee,
Your truth is a fire
That tranforms the dark of me
Peace of my heart,
Let me come to thee now.
Susan E. Stone, 2006
Your gift still amazes me,
How you walked the earth
To teach us the way to be,
Then suffered and died
So you might then set us free,
Peace of my heart,
let me come to thee now.
Those women who watched you
In sorrow and agony,
Amazed are their hearts
When they come in search of thee,
An empty tomb echoes
Instead of a cold body,
You have shattered death's chains,
All praise to you now!
O Peter, whose heart
Was a stone since the loss of thee
Ran with John like the wind
When Mary could not find thee,
Hope for the hopeless
The shroud and the towel they see,
But you are not there,
For you've shattered death's chains.
O Lord of my life,
O Master and King of me,
Your love is a call
That beckons me home to thee,
Your truth is a fire
That tranforms the dark of me
Peace of my heart,
Let me come to thee now.
Susan E. Stone, 2006
Labels: Jesus' Love, Passion of Christ, Song
Compassion
And Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every disease and every infirmity. When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.
Then he said to his disciples, "The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; pray therefore the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest."
Matthew 9: 35-38 RSV
Compassion -- to suffer with.
O Lord,
Emmanuel,
God with Us,
Who suffers with us,
Who feels our griefs,
Who knows our pains,
Who gifts us with his heart's own blood,
That we might know
That he knows,
That he understands,
That he cares,
That he loves.
O God with Us,
who knows the taste of frustration,
who knows how it feels to be misunderstood,
who knows the pangs of hunger,
who understands fear,
and sickness,
and sorrow
and pain.
O Lord, our Shepherd,
Open our hearts that we too might hunger
to share that compassion,
that suffering with our fellow man,
knowing as we do we suffer with you,
knowing as we do your work, we work with you,
knowing that as we give, we give to you.
O Lord,
make us the tools in your hand,
turn us into the workmen in your field,
the laborers for your harvest,
as you will,
in the way you will,
this day, and always.
Amen.
Susan E. Stone, 2006
Then he said to his disciples, "The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; pray therefore the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest."
Matthew 9: 35-38 RSV
Compassion -- to suffer with.
O Lord,
Emmanuel,
God with Us,
Who suffers with us,
Who feels our griefs,
Who knows our pains,
Who gifts us with his heart's own blood,
That we might know
That he knows,
That he understands,
That he cares,
That he loves.
O God with Us,
who knows the taste of frustration,
who knows how it feels to be misunderstood,
who knows the pangs of hunger,
who understands fear,
and sickness,
and sorrow
and pain.
O Lord, our Shepherd,
Open our hearts that we too might hunger
to share that compassion,
that suffering with our fellow man,
knowing as we do we suffer with you,
knowing as we do your work, we work with you,
knowing that as we give, we give to you.
O Lord,
make us the tools in your hand,
turn us into the workmen in your field,
the laborers for your harvest,
as you will,
in the way you will,
this day, and always.
Amen.
Susan E. Stone, 2006
Labels: Emmanuel, Jesus' Love, scripture
Tuesday, April 25, 2006
Promises
Amazing, really, when you think about it,
Something one would not make up in stories,
How God came to us and walked among us,
Emptying himself out to be the son of his handmaiden,
Fulfilling so many promises made so long ago,
Coming to bruise the head of that serpent
Coming to walk in the footsteps of those he created,
Coming to be our Emmanuel, God with us.
Look, see how he chose to heal the breech
The serpent created through pride and lust, and desire for power --
Master of all, God choosing to become poor and lowly,
The Limitless being bound by flesh and hunger, and pain,
The Creator becoming the worker, making things by hand and sweat.
Look, see how he chose to heal the breech
By walking that dusty road down to Jerusalem,
There to fulfill his word, stripe by stripe, pain by pain.
There, the words he had given long ago became history, reality,
Through a cross of wood, a set of nails, an empty tomb.
Amazing, when you think about it,
How promises made
Became promises fulfilled in the hands of Love.
Susan E. Stone, 2006
Amazing, really, when you think about it,
Something one would not make up in stories,
How God came to us and walked among us,
Emptying himself out to be the son of his handmaiden,
Fulfilling so many promises made so long ago,
Coming to bruise the head of that serpent
Coming to walk in the footsteps of those he created,
Coming to be our Emmanuel, God with us.
Look, see how he chose to heal the breech
The serpent created through pride and lust, and desire for power --
Master of all, God choosing to become poor and lowly,
The Limitless being bound by flesh and hunger, and pain,
The Creator becoming the worker, making things by hand and sweat.
Look, see how he chose to heal the breech
By walking that dusty road down to Jerusalem,
There to fulfill his word, stripe by stripe, pain by pain.
There, the words he had given long ago became history, reality,
Through a cross of wood, a set of nails, an empty tomb.
Amazing, when you think about it,
How promises made
Became promises fulfilled in the hands of Love.
Susan E. Stone, 2006
Monday, April 24, 2006
Ocean of Mercy
Your love, O Lord, is an ocean,
An ocean of mercy waiting to quench our burning thirst,
Living water,
Water ready to purify the darkness of sin,
Water to quench the fires of hate,
Water to fill the parched aching within,
Water to wash us clean,
Living water streaming from the heart of a loving God,
Endless fount of mercy,
Gift beyond our imagining.
Open our hearts, O Lord,
and remind us how we need that living water,
how we will perish without the touch of that healing flow,
how life becomes a meaningless desert
when we wander separated from the living water of your presence.
Help us to realize
that when the burning thirst touches us,
it is only you who can quench that fire within,
and when touched by your living waters,
may we remember the giver,
and pass the gift on to those whose lives we touch,
this day, and always,
Amen.
Susan E. Stone, 2006
An ocean of mercy waiting to quench our burning thirst,
Living water,
Water ready to purify the darkness of sin,
Water to quench the fires of hate,
Water to fill the parched aching within,
Water to wash us clean,
Living water streaming from the heart of a loving God,
Endless fount of mercy,
Gift beyond our imagining.
Open our hearts, O Lord,
and remind us how we need that living water,
how we will perish without the touch of that healing flow,
how life becomes a meaningless desert
when we wander separated from the living water of your presence.
Help us to realize
that when the burning thirst touches us,
it is only you who can quench that fire within,
and when touched by your living waters,
may we remember the giver,
and pass the gift on to those whose lives we touch,
this day, and always,
Amen.
Susan E. Stone, 2006
Labels: Jesus' Love, Mercy on Mankind, Prayer for Mercy
