CON VOIE MENT
pipes water shit
wires energy ground
souls wellness confession
cord name death
canal relations rites
babe character wake
thought christ cross
word breath blood
creation people love
a prayer
morning’s light barely registers
but with a turn of the wrist light
floods the room
the shock of emerging from
a comforting womb mitigated
by socks and a puffy coat
down the stairs where with four
pushes of a button a stream
of gas and flame warm the frames
of a home whose foundations
were set well before my parents
lived and well within the years of theirs
another button and water warms
another button and beans grind
another turn of the wrist and water pours
the warm elixir finds its mark as
words from an open Book call
and draw forth songs
for the heart melodies with
ancient rhythms lost in translation
but just as real today
Heavenly Father,
In the moment before you said, “Let there be…” your love existed and was shared within your eternal communion, the communion of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
Your holiness precedes the billions of galaxies you made and infiltrates every vast expanse between them. You see us. You are able to locate us. You have made us. We are the people of your pasture purchased through the blood of the Lamb. So say the Word — Say the Word that awakens us to the reality of you and to the reality of your love. Call out to us, “Wake up O Sleeper, Rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.”
For some us the joy of our salvation is preceded by the knowledge of our havoc to which we had become numb. And so — we fear.
We confess Lord, we have been foolish; we have been rebellious; we have been lovers of darkness. Forgive us and usher us into your ways of peace. May the righteousness and kindness of Jesus replace all the bitterness, rage, malice, unforgiveness, and apathy that has rushed in to fill the places created by desire and disappointment.
Lord, grant us the grace of repentance and the grace of obedience that comes by faith.
Indeed, fill us with the joy of your salvation!
We lift up our brothers and sisters
who weep; comfort them Lord.
who fear the future; assure them Lord.
who wrestle with decisions; guide them Lord.
We lift up students at UBC and at Langara College. We pray that your would call out disciples for Jesus — who rejoice in your friendship, and delight in your love. Cause them to be new creations from the inside out.
Oh Lord we need you and so we pray as Jesus teaches us:
(Please join me in the Lord’s Prayer.)
Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
And forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from the evil one;
for yours is the kingdom,
and the power, and the glory,
forever.
Amen.
This prayer with part of the Origin Church Weekend Broadcast on 19 February 2021.
Heavenly Father,
In every prayer in which we invoke your love of justice, we know we need your mercy. You are right in all your judgements. Unless you forgave us who could stand with you? The ransom for a life is too much! But thanks be to Jesus Christ your Son, who has paid our debt and has ushered us into your communion — the communion of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
Though we may at times be convinced of the rightness of our cause, Oh Lord, do not let us abide in foolishness. We raise our hands to you and each beseech you, “Lord have mercy on me, a sinner.” May your goodness infiltrate our whole lives.
Come Lord Jesus come. We are in desperate need. Renew our wills in the power of your Holy Spirit that we might obey you. May our lives resonate with a “Yes” and a “No” in response to your Word.
Renew our minds Lord. We struggle to imagine life in community with others where your justice rolls in like a mighty river. But you know. You know how our lives as neighbours can be different socially and economically because of the good news of Jesus and His Kingdom.
And of your Church, your Bride, we ask you to empower us to raise a lament for the historic and painful truths of adultery with the world. The lust for power is so toxic! Forgive us Lord. Raise up a new generation committed to genuine kinship through Christ.
We must pray as another brother has prayed, “Lord make me an instrument of your peace.”
We seek your shallom in South Sudan, in Syria, in Myanmar, in India, in Mexico, and in Canada. Fortify our brothers and sisters with Jesus’ love even through their weaknesses. Restrain us from violence against those who regard us as enemies and help us to bless and to do good. Protect us from idolatry, especially the idolatry wrapped up in greed.
Lord we need you and so we pray as Jesus teaches us: Please join me in the Lord’s Prayer.
Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
And forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from the evil one;
for yours is the kingdom,
and the power, and the glory,
forever.
Amen.
This prayer was part of the Origin Church Weekend Broadcast on 12 February 2021.
Some go out
and some stay in.
The only connection
between us are
sun-bleached
sidewalks with
occasional
puddles.
What slender
grasp we had
on culture is
fading as
quickly as
snow in
Van
cou
ver.