Patrick Comerford
This is Last Sunday after Trinity. Later this morning, I hope to attend the Parish Eucharist in the Church of Saint Mary and Saint Giles, Stony Stratford.
Before today gets busy, I am taking some time this morning for reading, prayer and reflection.
This year, the Week of Prayer for World Peace is from 16 to 23 October. In my prayer diary from last Sunday until today, I am reflecting in these ways:
1, One of the readings for the morning;
2, A reflection from the programme for the Week of Prayer for World Peace (16 to 23 October);
3, a prayer from the USPG prayer diary, ‘Pray with the World Church.’
Luke 18: 9-14 (NRSVA):
9 He also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous and regarded others with contempt: 10 ‘Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax-collector. 11 The Pharisee, standing by himself, was praying thus, “God, I thank you that I am not like other people: thieves, rogues, adulterers, or even like this tax-collector. 12 I fast twice a week; I give a tenth of all my income.” 13 But the tax-collector, standing far off, would not even look up to heaven, but was beating his breast and saying, “God, be merciful to me, a sinner!” 14 I tell you, this man went down to his home justified rather than the other; for all who exalt themselves will be humbled, but all who humble themselves will be exalted.’
Week of Prayer for World Peace 2022, Day 8:
The week of Prayer for World Peace takes place from the second to third Sunday in October each year, which this year is from last Sunday (Sunday 16 October 2022) to today (Sunday 23 October 2022).
The Week of Prayer for World Peace is supported by a wide range of organisations, many of which I have engaged with over the years, including the Anglican Pacifist Fellowship, Christian CND, the Fellowship of Reconciliation, Pax Christi, and Quaker Peace and Social Witness.
Day 8: Uniting Rather Than Dividing People:
Help us to work with all people towards a peaceful world.
‘Living God,
Who shall judge between the nations:
We ask that that you would lead the nations in the paths of peace
And that the dividing wall of hostility would be broken down.
Lord, in your mercy,
‘Hear our prayer.’
— Church of Scotland
‘O God, channel our hearts
so that they pulsate love and empathy,
rather than emit hatred and apathy.
‘Focus our eyes
so that they see the endless potential in people’s Divine souls,
rather than see the limits of their physical bodies.
‘Tune our voices
so that they speak words and sing songs of unity and empowerment,
rather than tones of discord and division.
‘Guide our hands and feet
so that they become your instruments of kindness and peace,
rather than tools of cruelty and destructiveness.’
— Rabbi Pinchas Allouche
The best refuge is an Earth where Serenity rules: an Earth that the Spirit of Wisdom, from the beginning of creation, and in the radiance of Righteousness, has cultivated green and fertile, and has presented to its inhabitants the two gifts of Good Thought and the power of Self Dominance.
— Zarathustra —The Gathas
Today’s Prayer (Sunday 23 October 2022):
The Collect:
Blessed Lord,
who caused all holy Scriptures to be written for our learning:
help us so to hear them,
to read, mark, learn and inwardly digest them
that, through patience, and the comfort of your holy word,
we may embrace and for ever hold fast
the hope of everlasting life,
which you have given us in our Saviour Jesus Christ,
who is alive and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.
The Post Communion Prayer:
God of all grace,
your Son Jesus Christ fed the hungry
with the bread of his life
and the word of his kingdom:
renew your people with your heavenly grace,
and in all our weakness
sustain us by your true and living bread;
who is alive and reigns, now and for ever.
The theme in the USPG Prayer Diary this week is ‘Theology in Korea.’ This theme is introduced this morning:
The relationship between the Anglican Church in Korea and USPG dates back to 1889, with the consecration and sending of Charles John Corfe as the first Missionary Bishop of Korea. The Church now has over 120 parish and mission Churches, four religious communities and around 55,000 members.
Over the past 30 years, a significant focus for the relationship between the Anglican Church in Korea (ACK) and USPG has been through engagement in theological formation. The ACK encourages its priests to apply Scripture to historical and contemporary subjects, enabling them to put theology into practice.
A priest who is currently studying for a PhD in the Old Testament writes, ‘My studies have focused on the Book of Daniel and the approach it outlines with regard to suffering and inequality. As a result of my research, I have been asked to give lectures on the Old Testament where I can share and discuss theological insights with my fellow clergy in the Diocese of Daejeon. Although not every priest in our diocese takes part in a formal degree programme, we provide an open space for everyone to study theology and share their knowledge with each other.’
The USPG Prayer Diary invites us to pray today in these words:
Merciful God,
May we be your humble servants. Let us learn of your ways,
serving our communities as we put faith into action.
Yesterday’s reflection
Continued tomorrow
Scripture quotations are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicised Edition copyright © 1989, 1995, National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. http://nrsvbibles.org
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