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Morning prayer 26.11.2020

Opening words

Where is Peace?

What is Shalom?

Where do I find Salam?

 

Silence

 "Where are the fruits of Justice? Where are the signs of Peace?

 "How long must we suffer? How long can we mind?

   When will the wronged be righted? When will the kin(g)dom come?

 

Silence

When will we feel the touch of Peace

 in our bodies, in our minds, with in our families,

 among our communities, and in the world?

 

Silence

As many cry, "Who will go for me? Who will extend my reach?

We have gathered here O God, to listen to your still voice saying,

 

“I, the Lord will bless my people with peace” Amen.  (Psalm 29:11)

Song: Confitemini Domino

“Come and fill our hearts with your peace, you alone, O Lord, are holy,

Come and fill our hearts with your peace, Alleluia”

 

Bible reading: 1 Samuel 25:1-35

One of the young men told Abigail, Nabal’s wife, “David sent messengers out of the wilderness to salute our master; and he shouted insults at them.  For evil has been decided against our master and against all his house; he is so ill-natured that no one can speak to him.” Then Abigail hurried and took two hundred loaves, two skins of wine, five sheep ready dressed, five measures of parched grain, one hundred clusters of raisins, and two hundred cakes of figs. She loaded them on donkeys and said to her young men, “Go on ahead of me; I am coming after you.”

When Abigail saw David, she hurried and alighted from the donkey, and fell before David on her face, bowing to the ground. She fell at his feet and said, “Upon me alone, my lord, be the guilt; please let your servant speak in your ears, and hear the words of your servant. My lord, do not take seriously this ill-natured fellow, Nabal; for as his name is, so is he; Nabal is his name, and folly is with him; but I, your servant, did not see the young men of my lord, whom you sent.

 “Now then, my lord, as the Lord lives, and as you yourself live, since the Lord has restrained you from bloodguilt and from taking vengeance with your own hand, now let your enemies and those who seek to do evil to my lord be like Nabal. And now let this present that your servant has brought to my lord be given to the young men who follow my lord. 

David said to Abigail, “Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, who sent you to meet me today!  Blessed be your good sense, and blessed be you, who have kept me today from bloodguilt and from avenging myself by my own hand!  Then David received from her hand what she had brought him; he said to her, “Go up to your house in peace; see, I have heeded your voice, and I have granted your petition.”

Word of God, Word of life.

Thanks be to God.

 

Reflection:  Ms. Kar Yee from Malaysia and Mr. Juan Carloz from El Salvador, Peace Messengers

Intercessory prayers

L:           O Christ, our eternal peace, this week, we pray with the people and churches of Brunei, Malaysia, and Singapore. We are thankful for the individuals, churches and other organizations who remain committed to seeking healing, justice, peace and truth through their words and works.

L: We bring before you our “common room” – your world

  • Where our greed for power and wealth shut our eyes to the needs of the poor and the earth
  • Where countries and communities wage war for profits, while the poor fight for their survival
  • Where our children are made to learn violence and forget peace

 

Come Holy Spirit, take your place among us and grant us peace.

L: We bring before you our court rooms

  • Where innocents are branded as “accusers”
  • Where truth is bought with money and power
  • Where human life is bargained

Come Holy Spirit, take your place among us and grant us peace.

L: We bring before you our decision-making rooms – our parliaments and our board rooms

  • Where policies and laws are shaped out of love for power than the love for people
  • Where the majority reigns and the minority is mocked
  • Where justice, ethics and compassion often occupy the backseat

Come Holy Spirit, take your place among us and grant us peace.

L: We bring before you all those intimate spaces – our living rooms, and our bedrooms

  • Where peace and respect are taught
  • Where lives are physically, mentally, sexually and verbally abused
  • Where trust and love are crushed by those considered intimate and close

Come Holy Spirit, take your place among us and grant us peace.

L: We bring before you spaces of death - funeral homes and morgues

  • Where families mourn for the loss of their dear ones during this time of pandemic
  • Where families search for their dear ones, among other unidentified bodies
  • Where bodies marred by violence, neglect and abuse find their final resting place

      

       Come Holy Spirit, take your place among us and grant us peace.

 L: We bring before you those who don’t have access to a space they call their own – in life or in death

  • Those displaced from their homes who live their life on the move
  • Those trafficked, whose dignity and rights have long been abandoned
  • The immigrants, whose search for ‘home’ continues beyond their homelands

Come Holy Spirit, take your place among us and grant us peace.

O God, we hold before you those we now name in our hearts who are ill and our many prayers spoken out loud, or written in the chatroom, or in the silence of our hearts... Amen.

 

 

The Lord’s Prayer (in many languages, with unmuted microphone)

 

Blessing

Jesus said,

“Blessed are the peacemakers,   for they will be called children of God”.

With this promise,

May we be encouraged to move forward with new hopes,

May we be freed to dream new dreams,

May we be emboldened to participate in new visions,

May we find new ways of working,

And be moved by compassion, justice and peace

And may the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus, now and forever. Amen

 

The peace of the Lord be with you all.

Let us share the peace of Christ with one another.