Daily Worship

In search of Hope

Fyfe January 19, 2016 0 0

Isaiah 55: 6-7

Seek God while he’s here to be found,
    pray to him while he’s close at hand.
Let the wicked abandon their way of life
    and the evil their way of thinking.
Let them come back to God, who is merciful,
    come back to our God, who is lavish with forgiveness.

The search for hope often hits us when we are really feeling beaten down by whatever circumstances overwhelm us and all is grey and dark. Imagine in that place an invitation with a promise to return to God and embrace the new future and hope. This new is not just a spiritual resolve, it is concerned with God’s ways and plans that are about a whole new hope full of possibilities that re-orientate the way of one’s life and that of the community. 

Pray: 
May God bless us with discomfort
At easy answers, half-truths, and superficial relationships
So that we may live from deep within our hearts.
May God bless us with anger
At injustice, oppression, and exploitation of God's creations
So that we may work for justice, freedom, and peace.
May God bless us with tears
To shed for those who suffer pain, rejection, hunger, and war,
So that we may reach out our hands to comfort them and
To turn their pain into joy.
And may God bless us with just enough foolishness
To believe that we can make a difference in the world,
So that we can do what others claim cannot be done:
To bring justice and kindness to all our children and all our neighbours who are poor.
Amen.   [A Franciscan Benediction]