Lorica Prayer

On Sunday night, our focus was on Celtic Spirituality and specifically the "Lorica Prayer". These are prayers for protection over our whole bodies and being. For our time of prayer, we used an adapted version of a Lorica Prayer from Calvin Miller's book (one of them). Download the prayer here, or read it below.

Lord of mine, now and forever,
To me you are one and indivisible,
Creator God, redeemer Christ and indwelling Spirit,
You are indestructible and eternal;
I am weak and subject to pain and dying.

Proclaim to God those places where you have seen him create new life, where redemption has occurred, where the life of the Spirit has flourished. It may be transformation in your own life, or that of a friend, or in our city or neighbourhood.

I would serve you upon this footstool called the planet;
It is my only possible home,
The Roman stage where your incarnation came
To demonstrate the furthest victory that flesh can know.

Pray for those places where Christ’s victory is needed, as unexpected as it might be. Christ’s victory brings peace, life, justice, and wholeness. It may be a workplace conflict, a homeless person you walk by daily, a family relationship, a government issue, an international catastrophe.

I love the world you made.
It is the porch of heaven,
And there is such need here that I would serve you, Christ the Son,
Till all who live in hope stumble onto Calvary
And come to know why they were born.

Pray for specific people in you know who need to ‘stumble onto Calvary’. Thank God that he is already present in their lives. Pray for an ever-growing love for this world and its inhabitants, confessing to God those places where you do not love. It may be that you judge certain friends, ridicule our government, or treat some people with disdain. Pray for the grace to love them and see Christ in them.

But to help you in reclaiming this lost world,
I must beg you to lengthen my days
And guarantee my fragile life
So I shall have all the time I need to bring
The world to your feet.

Lord, we recognize that we cannot bring God’s Kingdom to its fullness on our own, and yet you have called us to be your Body – the tangible, physical expression of your presence and activity in this world. Pray for listening ears to hear where and to whom God desires us to go in his name. Pray for a blessing upon the places where your heart desires God’s Spirit to move in a powerful and evident way. Perhaps it is a conflict overseas, your campus, or your family.

Therefore, I pray this prayer of protection over you as you seek Christ’s redemption in every corner of the world.

Lord, guard our minds, so we may speak with clarity, truth and justice.

Make our heart to beat for years – for we must serve you by going to the places you have called us, by being people of peace and wholeness in our schools, our workplaces, our families, our city and our country.

Protect us from an impure conscience, for only purity of heart can lead to purity of life. And it will be our pure life which will speak of your glory in our lives and draw people closer to you.

Guard our steps, for waywardness prevents us from continually walking together, closer to you.

Build in us an open interest and empathy for all we meet who swelter in their grudges, for only those who are free of anger can be ambassadors of Christ, bringing hope and justice to every situation.

Give us full health so that we may serve you undistractedly.

Lord,
Set us on the rampart,
Give us health enough to complete the dream of God.
Amen, Father, maker of my body.
Amen, Christ, incarnate power of health and life.
Amen, Spirit, teacher of my ministry.
Amen.

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Rublev's Icon of the Trinity

Using icons as a form of meditation is probably quite foreign to most of us, yet it is a rich part of Christianity's history. To read an explanation of icons, check out this posting on the Daily.

For our series on spiritual habits, one of theme images is a 15th century icon done by Rublev of the Trinity. Go to this website for a detailed 'tour' of the icon. Here's what Henri Nouwen writes about this image:

"Andrew Rublev painted this icon not only to share the fruits of his own meditation on the mystery of the Holy Trinity but also to offer his fellow monks a way to keep their hearts centered in God while living in the midst of political unrest. The more we look at this holy image with the eyes of faith, the more we come to realize that it is painted not as a lovely decoration for a convent church, nor as a helpful explanation of a difficult doctrine, but as a holy place to enter and stay within. As we place ourselves in front of the icon in prayer, we come to experience a gentle invitation to participate in the intimate conversation that is taking place among the three divine angels and to join them around the table. The movement from the Father toward the Son and the movement of both Son and Spirit toward the Father become a movement in which the one who prays is lifted up and held secure...

Through the contemplation of this icon we come to see with our inner eyes that all engagements in this world can bear fruit only when they take place within this divine circle. The words of the psalm, "The sparrow has found its home at last. . . . Happy are those who live in your house" (Ps 84: 3,4) are given new depth and new breadth; they become words revealing the possibility of being in the world without being of it. We can be involved in struggles for justice and in actions for peace. We can be part of the ambiguities of family and community life. We can study, teach, write and hold a regular job. We can do all of this without ever having to leave the house of love. . . . Rublev's icon gives us a glimpse of the house of perfect love."

Quoted from: Nouwen, Henri J. M. Behold the Beauty of the Lord: Praying with Icons. Notre Dame, Indiana: Ave Maria Press, 1987, pages 20-22.

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Breath Prayer | Jesus' words to us

We frequently use the breath prayer as part of our meditation at TILT. Read more about it here. On this Sunday, we focused on Jesus' words to us as we read about Paul's promise to everyone aboard the ship - that each one of them would survive the impending crash.

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The Apostles' Creed

During an evening of prayer for and celebration with the persecuted church, we read the Apostles Creed together as a symbolic act of standing together with all the saints throughout time. If you want to use this as a desktop background or anything, simply click on the image for the full-size and save it (right-click).

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Easter Meditation | Matt Adams

On the morning of the third day, when it was still dark out, we were all dead in our sin. Our bodies had been buried in the ground with Christ; there was no hope of life. It was as if we were stuck, buried in the ground, enclosed with soil, dirt and earth on all sides. We could not move, not to the left or to the right, we were trapped. The earth had enclosed around us. The ground froze over and we were stuck in the freezing cold ground, trapped with no hope. We tried to climb up through the soil but it was no use, it was so hard to move because the ground was frozen and ice and snow had covered the ground in many thick layers. It was suffocating. Even when we got near the surface we hit the inches of thick ice and snow, it enclosed our own mortal lives. All of humanity was trapped in the depths of the earth, tangled in our own depraved imaginations. We were a long time lost; it felt like God had abandoned us, like there was no hope.

Nation warred against nation. Child after child died of hunger. Women were beaten, neglected and abused. Teenagers cut themselves and no longer wanted to live because of the devastation. Those who had food could not eat it because of the vain beauty that had been turned into idolatry. They were indeed stuck, trapped in their sin. Then something miraculous happened, something unexpected. They began to feel the earth move beneath their feet. Was it the warmth of spring coming or was something else happening? What was this glimmer of life, this hope from a distant land? They waited and watched in expectation, they could feel the tremors. From the depths of the earth, from the depths of sin and depravity, a plant began to grow. Against all odds an impossible event started to happen; new life began to rise up through the frozen ground. Life was breathed into Christ’s body. Life came to his hands and feet, to his arms and legs. His blood started to flow, his fingers began to move. God his Father breathed life back into his lungs and He began to sit up. When the entire world was in darkness, trapped and entangled in the soil, roots and weeds, Jesus began to rise. Jesus rose through the depths of our sin, through the famine, through the hatred, through our deprived beings. He was like a shoot beaming forth in the spring. He rose and grew, bigger and bigger. He began to move earth, to shake the land everywhere. He rose up through the ground, through the dead bodies and broken bones until he reached the top. He reached icy ground level that had been too thick for any human to break through; He reached the top and looked at everything that had kept us dead in our sin and said, “No more”. In one swift move, in an act of resurrection, Jesus broke through the icy ground, he came to life. But Jesus didn’t leave the dead bones in the earth, rather he breathed life into the earth so that the ice melted away, the ground was opened up and the people of the earth began to rise to life. Jesus, through his death and resurrection, opened up the ground that had kept us all captive for so long. “Get up and live” he said, “come and follow me.” After Jesus had risen from the dead, on that Easter morning, it was still cold outside, but we had seen the Son rise. Even though we humans still struggled, even though there was still war, famine, poverty, violence and hatred, we now knew that there was hope. We didn’t need to stay underground, trapped in our sin. We, too, with Jesus began to live a resurrected life where it was possible to be healed, to be transformed, and to be a people of love and hope. When all of the angels saw that the son of God had risen they started in their celebration dance. They began to blow their trumpets for they knew that hope had been born again. When God’s people heard the noise they began to join into the heavenly dance and song, saying “Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia, alleluia to the lamb who was slain.”

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Lectio Divina | Led by Matt A

Last Sunday, Matt led us in this reading of Scripture:
Luke 2 – The Message
So Joseph went from the Galilean town of Nazareth up to Bethlehem in Judah, David's town, for the census. As a descendant of David, he had to go there. He went with Mary, his fiancée, who was pregnant.
While they were there, the time came for her to give birth. She gave birth to a son, her firstborn. She wrapped him in a blanket and laid him in a manger, because there was no room in the hostel.

Colossians 1- The Message
15-18 We look at this Son and see the God who cannot be seen. We look at this Son and see God's original purpose in everything created. For everything, absolutely everything, above and below, visible and invisible, rank after rank after rank of angels—everything got started in him and finds its purpose in him. He was there before any of it came into existence and holds it all together right up to this moment. And when it comes to the church, he organizes and holds it together, like a head does a body.
18-20He was supreme in the beginning and—leading the resurrection parade—he is supreme in the end. From beginning to end he's there, towering far above everything, everyone. So spacious is he, so roomy, that everything of God finds its proper place in him without crowding. Not only that, but all the broken and dislocated pieces of the universe—people and things, animals and atoms—get properly fixed and fit together in vibrant harmonies, all because of his death, his blood that poured down from the cross.

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Movies & Faith | Expelled

Looks like an interesting movie coming out this spring by Ben Stein, entitled "Expelled", examining the world of science and its persecution of those who believe in some sort of Creator. Check out the site here.

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