Wednesday Reflection & Evening Prayer

Wednesday’s Reflection - Contrast

Last Sunday, October 10, The Twentieth Sunday after Pentecost, we

read this from the Book of Job.
 

Job 23:1-9, 16-17

Job said:
"Today also my complaint is bitter;
his hand is heavy despite my groaning.
Oh, that I knew where I might find him,
that I might come even to his dwelling!
I would lay my case before him,
and fill my mouth with arguments.
I would learn what he would answer me,
and understand what he would say to me.
Would he contend with me in the greatness of his power?
No; but he would give heed to me.
There an upright person could reason with him,
and I should be acquitted forever by my judge.
"If I go forward, he is not there;
or backward, I cannot perceive him;
on the left he hides, and I cannot behold him;
I turn to the right, but I cannot see him.
God has made my heart faint;
the Almighty has terrified me;
If only I could vanish in darkness,
and thick darkness would cover my face!"

It speaks of keenly feeling loneliness, despair, and God’s absence.

Our lives feel like that at times. 

In contrast, our EfM - Education for Ministry class  read this prayer

as we began our study together in September. It is a lorica. A lorica

is a prayer asking for protection, a form common in the Celtic tradition.

(St. Patrick’s Breastplate is a lorica.) The name is taken from the Latin

word for body armor. This is the closing prayer (from page 16) from our

first meeting. 🕂 

A Closing Prayer
A Lorica for Beginning Work* 
In my being, the Father of light, 
In my seeing, the Mother of sight, 
Christ in my hearing. 
Christ in my speaking. 
In my nakedness, in my strength, 
Spirit covering my length 
And breadth all around. 
Wash me with warm water, 
Root me in deep ground.

It speaks of being surrounded and filled with God’s love, presence,

and protection. Our lives feel like that at times. It is wonderful and

comforting.

Both feelings are real. Both feelings are true. How can this be? What

sense might we make of it? Where is the Good News? Might the

image above communicate something important?

Join us tonight for Evening Prayer and to talk about God’s immanence

(closeness), transcendence (remoteness), and the Good News of Jesus. 

Zoom Evening Prayer & Video Class
Wednesday, 5:30 p.m.
 
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86781577595?pwd=VjNnZTZnUFFadkJP

c3VOVTh3K21Idz09  
 
Meeting ID: 867 8157 7595
Passcode: 530
Dial by your location +1 312 626 6799 or  +1 346 248 7799

🕂 Week One: Orientation and Organization lesson in this year’s Reading

and Reflection Guide, Year A, The University of the South,

EfM - Education for Ministry. 

* Elizabeth Forbes, “A Lorica for Beginning Work,” in Women’s Uncommon

Prayers: Our Lives, Revealed, Nurtured, Celebrated, ed. Elizabeth Rankin

Geitz, Marjorie A. Burke, and Ann Smith (Harrisburg, PA: Morehouse

Publishing, 2000), 25.