Streams of Mercy

During Lent, Union Seminary has been e-mailing weekly devotions taken from Dr. Sibley Towner’s book, Prayers That Sing and Stir the Heart. He is a wonderful teacher- one of my favorites during my seminary years, and it’s a blessing to remember his teaching as it echoes in the words of his book. This was sent for Easter Sunday:

“Why We Love Jesus”

Let us remember why we love Jesus above all others:

because he loved the sick and the disordered, using for other people the

power that he would not invoke for himself;

because he refused to force anyone’s allegiance with threats or bribes;

because he prayed for forgiveness for those who rejected him, and for

perfecting of those who received him;

because he honored tradition, yet set aside conventions that did not serve

God’s purpose.

O Christ our Savior, dwell within us in your Spirit, so that we may go forth with the light of hope in our eyes and with the very passions of your love in our hearts.

Amen.

This beautiful “Benediction” was shared for Easter Sunday:

Weave the pieces of life together

on the loom of God’s love;

and in word and deed,

create new things all your lives long.

And may God lead us to enact here a community of such peace and acceptance that passers-by will point our way and say, “Look! That is what life is like in the Kingdom of Heaven!” Amen.

Giving thanks for faithful teachers, for prayers that sing and stir the heart, and for streams of mercy, never ceasing!

Elizabeth