Good morning.
Today is Friday,
February 26,
2021.
Oh Lord,
Let my soul rise up to meet you as the day rises to meet the sun.
Glory to God,
The three in one,
Creator,
Redeemer,
And sustainer.
As it was in the beginning,
Is now,
And will be forever.
Amen.
Come let us bow down and worship.
Let us kneel before the Lord,
Our maker.
Remind yourself that you are in God's presence.
Notice how God may be speaking to you today.
Let yourself dwell on any word or phrase that catches your attention or moves your heart,
And let your heart respond to God in prayer.
Please repeat these words.
Hear the cry of your children,
Lord.
Come quickly and set us free.
Our reading today is John 6,
Verses 22 through 26.
The next day,
The crowd that was left behind realized that there had been only one boat and that Jesus had not gotten into it with his disciples.
They had seen them go off without him.
By now,
Boats from Tiberius had pulled up near where they had eaten the bread,
Blessed by the master.
So when the crowd realized he was gone and wasn't coming back,
They piled into the Tiberius boats and headed for Capernaum,
Looking for Jesus.
When they found him back across the sea,
They said,
Rabbi,
When did you get here?
Jesus answered,
You've come looking for me,
Not because you saw God in my actions,
But because I fed you,
Filled your stomachs,
And for free.
Please repeat these words.
Hear the cry of your children,
Lord.
Come quickly and set us free.
On Fridays,
We follow Jesus' instruction and pray for our enemies.
You may think of someone immediately when you think of who your enemy is,
But you may not.
So I invite you to picture someone that you have a hard time loving.
Perhaps this is someone that you desperately want to love,
But it's hard for whatever reason.
And I invite you now in this space to hold that person before God.
And we will pray together for these people.
May the light of Christ go before you and behind you,
Beneath you and above you,
On your right and on your left,
When you rise and when you lie down,
May the light of Christ be with you.
May the light of Christ be in you.
May the love of God go before you and behind you,
Beneath you and above you,
On your right and on your left,
When you rise and when you lie down,
May the love of God be with you.
May the love of God be in you.
We pray in the name of Jesus who taught us to pray.
Our Father in heaven,
Eternal God,
Earth maker,
Pain bearer,
Life giver,
Source of all that is and all that shall be.
Not only father,
But mother of us all.
May the hallowing of your name echo through the universe.
May the way of your justice be followed by the peoples of the world.
May your heavenly will be done by all created beings.
May your commonwealth of peace and freedom sustain our hope and come on earth.
With the bread we need for today,
Feed us.
In the hurts we absorb from one another,
Forgive us.
In times of temptation and test,
Strengthen us.
From trials too great to endure,
Spare us.
From the grip of all that is evil,
Free us.
For you reign in the glory of the power that is love,
Now and forever.
Amen.
God our Savior,
Jesus our Redeemer,
You hear our cries.
You hear our cries and you heal our bodies and forgive our sins.
Thank you.
Thank you for your love.
May we turn to you over and over again and be healed.
Heavenly mind and spirit.
Amen.
And now my friends,
May the peace of the Lord Jesus Christ go with you wherever he may send you.
May he guide you through the wilderness,
Protect you through the storm.
May he bring you home rejoicing at the wonders he has shown you.
May he bring you home rejoicing once again into our doors.
Go in peace my friends.
