We are called to live with humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, making every effort to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.
Isaiah 2:2-4
Psalm 133
Ephesians 4:1-6
We are called to live with humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, making every effort to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.
As the Church we must seek Jesus for the strength and humility to live out our calling, not just within our worshipping communities and ecumenically, but beyond our upper rooms: on Emmaus roads, sharing stories together that root us in our common story; gathered on shorelines where the risen Christ challenges us to feed his sheep; in the spaces and places that we know we need to be transfigured.
Jesus gathers us to be joined as his Bride, made up (as Maximus the Confessor puts it) of “many and countless people various and profoundly different in origin and appearance, nation and language, way of life and age, knowledge and arts, manner of life, customs and propensities, sciences and honours, fate, temperaments and habits, all are in the [Church], through which all are regenerated and recreated in the Spirit.”
What a privilege to be part of such a rich and diverse community with a common call to make disciples, to bring peace and to work together in learning God’s ways and walking in God’s paths as we journey towards God’s Kingdom being made real in every community and corner of creation.
God of our journeyings,
Christ of our shorelines,
Spirit of endless horizons,
beckon us towards unity.
Challenge us to step out of our upper
rooms and safe spaces,
to be bringers of light and peace.
Imbue us with the light of your love,
reconciling us
to ourselves,
to each other
and to you
when we confront the scandal
of division.
Graft peace, love and compassion into
our mission and discipleship.
Bind with peace any broken limb
that we might go into the world
and live the way of Jesus
for the sake of all creation.
Amen
Her branches draped over me
create the shade of peace.
I recount stories of halcyon days
as I effortlessly drift towards slumber.
Leaning against your stoic mass, eyes
half shut
I notice mottled light through
the leaves
permeating the corners of my soul,
illuminating dreams once dead.
I awaken to the opening of
her blossom,
radiant and rich with the scent of hope
blown by the wind, whipped up
and bustling
through streets long devoid of
expectation and vision.
(see www.ctbi.org.uk/goanddo)
Personal: Reflect on how you handle disagreement. Explore ways to build
bridges with people who have different views to your own.
Local: “The Church is the Church only when it exists for others” (Dietrich
Bonhoeffer). Explore ways in which your church community live up to this
calling of existing for the sake of others?
Global: Find out more about what churches are doing to take action on global
justice issues through organisations such as Christian Aid and CAFOD.
