Thanks to Fred Drummond for his reflection this week as we continue praying for Peace and Justice through Lent, with specific focus on the ongoing war in Ukraine. Thanks Fred.

 

TODAY'S REFLECTION:

We worship a wonderful God. A God of grace, mercy, and justice. A God who leaves us peace and never lets us go. I need to remind myself often of how wonderful God is, especially now there are so many lenses through which I can view the world. My options are pretty much limitless.

I don’t know about you, but before I go to bed and in the morning, I have the news feed on checking the situation in Ukraine. It can begin to dominate everything even all my prayers. I can pray, starting with the situation, then asking God to bless my thoughts and prayers. While this is understandable, I think it is the wrong way round. We need to try to always start by seeing things through a “God lens”. I believe that's the reason that Jesus begins his teaching on prayer (Lord’s prayer) with…

“Our Father who art in heaven”

We begin prayer by starting with God! The focus has to be on him, and we see our lives through the lens of who he is: the God of all compassion, who feels compassion for all who face injustice and sorrow and loss; the God who weeps with those who weep. When I begin with God, I then see that there is hope, that death is defeated, that evil has been overcome and ultimately love wins.

When I begin with focusing on Jesus, I see that in the death and resurrection, the very worst that the world and the devil can throw has been faced and overcome. When I focus on Jesus, I believe that I am called in Him to be an overcomer in my prayers and in my life.

So Lord, as your people, we turn our hearts and minds to you. We ask you, the Lord of compassion, to show us what compassion looks like and what we should do?

We gaze upon the merciful one and ask, Lord have mercy.

We submit to the Sovereign one and say, Lord use us.

We bow before Love incarnate and say, soften our hearts Lord.

 

Reflect

Lord, I picture you, the King of all creation standing in a city. You weep over it.

Associating with the poor, broken lost and damaged.

I picture you, Lord of all, becoming vulnerable, bruised, and torn, facing the violence of the world.

Lord, I picture children with tears running down dust caked faces like acid.

Their screams unheard over the noise of unseen destroyers sent from miles away by unknown others.

I see hands wounded,

as mothers and fathers drag away rubble that was once a maternity hospital.

Lord, have mercy.

Amen

 

Grace and Peace

Fred.