April 1 Lent 6 Reflections as we shelter in place
Welcome and may the peace of the Lord be with you all, comforting you, calming your fears and giving you patience as we shelter in place.
To you O Lord we pray. God of our fears, God of our tears, God of our weary souls. We come to you in prayer asking that you lift and sustain us as we adjust to the changes in our lives at this time. Bless us with Your presence, Your comfort, Your sustaining hand. Help us to be calm and patient as we wait for the day when we can emerge from our sheltering and meet in person with others, renewing relationships with those we have not seen. Help us to trust in you, trust in your promise, and lean on your goodness and mercy. Through Christ our Lord who lives and reigns with you, one God now and forever. Amen
Psalm 130 Waiting for Divine Redemption A Song of Ascents.
1 Out of the depths I cry to you, O Lord.
2 Lord, hear my voice!
Let your ears be attentive
to the voice of my supplications!
3 If you, O Lord, should mark iniquities,
Lord, who could stand?
4 But there is forgiveness with you,
so that you may be revered.
5 I wait for the Lord, my soul waits,
and in his word I hope;
6 my soul waits for the Lord
more than those who watch for the morning,
more than those who watch for the morning.
7 O Israel, hope in the Lord!
For with the Lord there is steadfast love,
and with him is great power to redeem.
8 It is he who will redeem Israel from all its iniquities.
Little needs to be said about this psalm. We hear our voices in this psalm as we cry out to God in lament of our current situation, when we are isolated one from another, when our normal way of life has come to a grinding halt, when the shelves at the stores have scant food and supplies. We lift our voices to God, in complaint, fear and need. Those of us alive today have never encountered a time like this, and we feel lost.
But within this psalm there is hope. We pray to God, we have faith that God will hear our prayer, and we trust that God will hear our cries and answer our pleas.
We have faith in God who has shown us mercy and forgiveness, who loves and restores us, who walks with us and sustains us as we struggle in the darkness of our current valley.
And so we wait sheltering in place for God to release us, we wait in eager anticipation for God to answer our prayers, to heal the world and to restore us. And we know that God will answer our prayer because God is always faithful in keeping God’s promises to us.
May we all wait patiently in hope as God heals and restores the world and we emerge from our shelters renewing relationships and praising God.
Let us pray: We thank you Lord that you have been with us during this time, sustaining and lifting us. We praise you for your goodness and mercy; we thank you for your love. Amen
Let us pray as our Lord Jesus taught us. Please pray the Lord’s prayer.
And may God bless and keep you now and forever. Amen.
