And we begin a new week of reflection and preparation for the resurrection of the Messiah.
I have been asked why I used the prayers of Stanley Hauerwas for the structure of this prayerfully reflective season. Â He certainly has some controversial theological positions on a variety of issues. Â My reason for using Prayers Plainly Spoken as the source for reflection isn’t to speak to those positions. Â The reality is that as I have read his prayers over the years they have spoken to my soul. Â They look at God from a slightly different angle than I typically do.
And speaking to your soul and guiding you to reflect on God more fully seem like good things for a collection of prayers to do. Â 🙂
They have blessed me and I truly hope they are blessing you.
Today’s prayer is a repeat, but I think it bears repeating…
LORD Almighty, we say we want to serve you, we say we want to help others less fortunate than ourselves, we say we want justice. But the truth is, we want power and status because we so desperately need to be loved. Â Free us from our self-fascination and the anxious activity it breeds, so that we might be what we say we want to be — loved by you and thus capable of unselfish service. Â Stanley Hauerwas
Peace, Jim
I pray these postings are being a blessing for you and that Hauerwas’ words are