Christ is risen. He is risen indeed! Alleluia!
Today is the Third Sunday of Easter. The theme for this week is Peace.
Click here to listen a continuation of the resurrection narrative from John Chapter 20.
The gospel is read by Ivica Gregurec and will introduce you to a process of
engaging with Scripture called Lectio Divina.
Don’t forget to continue with your daily gratitude practice.
Instructions are here.
Sunday Evening’s daily devotion service in A New Zealand Prayer Book concludes with this prayer:
Jesus our inspiration,
you come in the evening
as our doors are shut
and bring us peace.
Grant us sleep tonight,
and courage tomorrow
to go wherever you lead.
Amen.
Consider this question: What doors are shut within you? Talk to a friend about the peace that Christ brings, even when our ‘doors are shut’.
F B Meyer once said,
“Joy is peace dancing.
Peace is joy at rest.”
Some time today, put on your favourite piece of music and dance as if no one is watching (and – if you need to – when no one is watching!)
Experience the joy that comes when you move freely to music you love. Can you feel the relationship between joy and peace?
An ancient way of stilling ourselves in prayer, is through the use of an object to touch while praying. Find something which is pleasing to the touch. It might be a stone, a cross, fabric, rosary beads or a leaf from the garden. It could be smooth to the touch or rough.
Hold the object in your hand as you pray the prayer by Michael Leunig.
In the stillness, listen for what God might say. Record your thoughts in your journal.
Sometimes it is difficult to access peace when we feel the waves of stress buffeting us.
Click here to listen to Malcolm Gordon’s song, O Great Calm which is based on the gospel story of Jesus stilling of the storm. Throughout the day, whenever you are aware of feeling stressed or anxious, pray the phrase:
O Great Calm,
wash over me.
Rev Malcolm Gordon is Worship and Music Enabler for the Presbyterian Church of Aotearoa New Zealand. He teaches on worship and writes music for congregations (and other kinds of music too). Malcolm was one of the speakers at the Auckland Diocesan Ministry Conference in 2016.
In his book Sabbath as Resistance, Walter Bruggeman writes “Multitasking is the drive to more than we are, to control more than we do, to extend our power and our effectiveness. Such practice yields a divided self, with full attention given to nothing.”
The recent trend of adult colouring books is a move towards “mono-tasking” as a way of stilling the mind. It can be a very useful practice to lead to prayer. Print this free colouring in page and give yourself permission to play as you colour in. Find whatever pens or pencils you have around and let your creativity loose!
If you find this is a helpful practice you might get yourself a colouring in book and incorporate it into your patterns of prayer.
Click here to be led through The Examen.
Concluding Prayer:
God of opportunity and change,
praise to you for giving us life at this critical time.
As our horizons extend, keep us loyal to our past;
as our dangers increase, help us to prepare the future;
keep us trusting and hopeful,
ready to recognise your kingdom as it comes.
Amen.