getting lost (july 16, 2009)

First Reading: You comfort me (rock opera a la ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’), Rob Lacy’s version of Psalm 23 in The Word on the Street:

You’re my guide and my guard, my minder, my mentor.

What more do I need? What’s better at the centre?

You sit me down, put my best CD on,

And my soul remembers who I am again.

Chorus:

(backing) You’re with me; you comfort me (x2)

(lead) You hold my swaying heart—so soft, so strong.

(backing) You’re with me; you comfort me (x2)

(lead) You stop them tearing me apart—I fear no wrong.

You show me where to go, without telling me;

You set a value on my life, without selling me.

(backing and lead) You’re with me; you comfort me (x2)

You call me to the streets; you show me such good things,

Right things with no hidden strings—

Just your name on, and its game on.

Your great repute, like a distant flute it comforts me.

I crawl through the alley of the shadow of cancer;

I know you know the answer, and the battle won’t rattle me.

You’re around, and I’ve found there’s something about your empathy,

Your symphony of sympathy, that comforts me.

You lay out a table; you sit me down;

My rivals arrive from the greatest to the least,

But my cup’s kept full, and my head’s held high

As you boast about me, your least priest,

And make them toast me right through the feast.

Boy, does it comfort me!

I know that your good, your best, your love and passion

Will stalk me, steer me, stand alongside me,

Outlast every fad and fashion, through all eternity.

For I’m going to live with you,

See heaven’s great views from my own cosmic mews;

No lease to renew, no terms to review, not one else to view—

Just me and you, me and you, me and you,

Right through, to the end of time.

Prayer:

Ever-present God, life can be so hurried and full of the tasks we need to do. Lead us to that place in your heart where we find rest and renewal. Help us remember who we are again and who you are to us. In your name we pray… amen.

Second Reading: Mark 6:30-34

The apostles gathered around Jesus, and told him all that they had done and taught. He said to them, ‘Come away to a deserted place all by yourselves and rest a while.’ For many were coming and going, and they had no leisure even to eat. And they went away in the boat to a deserted place by themselves. Now many saw them going and recognized them, and they hurried there on foot from all the towns and arrived ahead of them. As he went ashore, he saw a great crowd; and he had compassion for them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd; and he began to teach them many things.

Prayer:

Teacher Jesus, you took your followers away for some God-time, and you led them back into caring for your people. Teach us that rhythm. Help us to look out on your people with compassion like you did. Lead us into those valleys where we find your shepherdless children, and in doing so, find you. In your name we pray… amen.

Third Reading: Nourished and Refreshed By Wayne Muller

Once people feel nourished and refreshed, they cannot help but be kind; just so, the world aches for the generosity of a well-rested people. Source: Sabbath

Prayer:

Shepherding God, you are reaching out to nourish and refresh us even now. Breathe in us your peace. Teach us to be the generous and well-rested people our world is aching for. In your name we pray… amen.