Photo by FAICAL Zaramod
Ash Wednesday Collect link
Lord Jesus Christ,
because of your love for humanity
you took on yourself the form of a servant,
although you are our Lord.
You walk like a wounded man,
although you are our Physician.
Raise us from our falls,
enlighten our blindness,
and loosen the chains of sins that have bound us;
you live and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and forever.
Amen.
Prayer of Veit Dietrich, d. 1549, Lent 2 link
Lord God, heavenly Father,
may your Holy Spirit strengthen our hearts
and confirm our faith and hope
in your grace and mercy.
Although we have reason to fear because of our conscience,
our sin and our unworthiness,
we may nevertheless, with the woman of Canaan,
hold fast to your grace
and in every trial and temptation
find you a very present help and refuge;
through your beloved Son, Jesus Christ our Lord,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one true God, now and forever.
Amen
Filled with His Love and Spirit of Self-Sacrifice link
Heavenly Father,
let your blessing be on us
as we pass through these holy days
in which we remember
the sufferings and death
of our dear Lord.
Set his example before us,
that we may follow him
in willing obedience,
learn his gracious humility,
and be filled with his love
and spirit of self-sacrifice,
and learn the lessons of a life
pleasing to you
and helpful to our neighbors;
through him who loved us
and gave himself for us,
Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.
This is a Part 1 of a series that I will feature in the next few weeks. Here is a link to read about N.T. Wright
Benediction link
Almighty God have mercy on you,
and forgive you all your sins,
deliver you from all evil,
confirm and strengthen you in all goodness,
and bring you to eternal life.
Amen.
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Rt Rev Wright is (like J Vanier and H Nouwen) poisonously patronising about the clientele at the centre down the road from him. I was emaciated, uncoordinated and inarticulate but I never othered myself and always assumed everyone else equally gifted as I was. Look how almost all the young are now driven to other themselves. Rt Rev Wright follows the crowd in indistinct Holy Spirit teaching. Thank you Dee for your trouble taken re. lovely prayers, songs, pictures and the many etc’s
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Thank you, Dee. I always am glad to hear Prof. Wright.
Michael in UK, personally, I’ve found Wright to be very helpful, and he has helped me to migrate from a “fear of punishment”-based vision of the biblical Story toward a vision that is rooted more in hope and in confidence in the Creator’s goodness.
I privately think (but, of course, I might be and probably am mistaken at many points) that larger renovations of the structure and even the foundations of institutional Christianity are needed than what I think Prof. Wright contemplates (and to be fair, he is a Churchman; his thinking is inevitably shaped by that). But I nevertheless find him very helpful, and I expect that his students will do (perhaps are already doing) amazing work. I hope I live long enough to see some of the fruits of that.
His “Jesus and the Victory of God” is probably the most helpful thing I have read, in terms of making sense of the Story of Jesus, in 5+ decades of reading christian literature. I am enduringly grateful for that.
Again, thank you, Dee.
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‘hope’ is a reflection of ‘trusting’ when all else fails to comfort us,
there comes a time when we ‘know’, a time when doubt fails to discourage, a time when we receive a gift of peace of mind and heart. When it comes, that is a good time. A blessing to us.
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Bishop Wright is someone who knows what he’s talking about.
And has a reputation as a THINKER, unlike so many preacher-men covered on this and other blogs.
(And he’s also a filksinger, best known for an online guitar duet with Francis Collins.)
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Think about it.
How many times have you heard preaching/teaching that ISN’T Fear and Guilt Manipulation?
A God who DOESN’T Hate Our Guts?
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Headless Unicorn Guy,
IIRC what I have read, Emperor Justinian sought the anathematization of Origen’s view of “ultimate reconciliation of all things to God” on the grounds that fear of future punishment was necessary to maintain order.
I keep returning to the thought that the human race doesn’t seem to make much progress from generation to generation. “Perfect love casts out fear, for fear has to do with punishment.” But we can’t get away from “fear of punishment” as the superior, or at least “more effectual”, motivation.
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A side effect of PUNISH! PUNISH! PUNISH! is to freeze moral development at the toddler level:
AVOID PUNISHMENT AT ALL COSTS.
No matter what (or who) the collateral damage.
Yet PUNISH! PUNISH! PUNISH! is the Christian go-to motivator.
Look at the flood of laws in bible Belt states after the overturn of Roe v Wade.
The Righteous are not happy unless they can PUNISH! PUNISH! PUNISH! the Unrighteous (i.e everybody else).