Prayers during the Easter Vigil

Prayers during the Easter Vigil, Rumours of Hope

(https://www.rumoursofhope.co.uk/)

 

I

Loving God, bring your light and restoring presence to the dark places in our lives. Bring your hope to hearts that feel defeated. Bring your love and compassion to those in pain. Open our eyes to see you at work, and give us your light. In Jesus’ name. Amen.[1]

 

II

God of compassion, be close to those who are ill, afraid or in isolation.
In their loneliness, be their consolation; in their anxiety, be their hope;
in their darkness, be their light;
through him who suffered alone on the cross, but reigns with you in glory,
Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.[2]

 

III

O gracious and holy Father, give us wisdom to perceive you, diligence to seek you, patience to wait for you, eyes to behold you, a heart to meditate upon you, and a life to proclaim you; through the power of the Spirit of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.[3]

 

IV

Be with us, Lord, in all our prayers, and direct our way toward the attainment of salvation, that among the changes and chances of this mortal life, we may always be defended by your gracious help, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.[4]

 

V

Keep us, good Lord, under the shadow of your mercy in this time of uncertainty and distress. Sustain and support the anxious and fearful, and lift up all who are brought low; that we may rejoice in your comfort, knowing that nothing can separate us from your love in Christ Jesus our Lord. Amen.[5]

 

VI

I am giving you worship with all my life,
I am giving you obedience with all my power,
I am giving you praise with all my strength,
I am giving you honour with all my speech.
I am giving you love with all my heart,
I am giving you affection with all my sense,
I am giving you my being with all my mind,
I am giving you my soul, O most high and holy God.
Praise to the Father, Praise to the Son,
Praise to the Spirit, the Three in One. Amen.[6]

VII

Grant us, Lord God, a vision of your world as your love would have it:
a world where the weak are protected, and none go hungry or poor;
a world where the riches of creation are shared, and everyone can enjoy them;
a world where different races and cultures live in harmony and mutual respect;
a world where peace is built with justice, and justice is guided by love.
Give us the inspiration and courage to build it, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.[7]

 

VIII

Christ be with me, Christ within me,
Christ behind me, Christ before me,
Christ beside me, Christ to win me,
Christ to comfort and restore me.
Christ beneath me, Christ above me,
Christ in quiet, Christ in danger,
Christ in hearts of all that love me,
Christ in mouth of friend and stranger. Amen.[8]

 

IX

Eternal God, we confess to you our sinfulness. You made the world a paradise, but we have turned our lands into places of tears and unhappiness. People are fighting each other, race against race. The holocaust of chauvinism sweeps through countries devouring humanity terrorising us into submission. Liberating One, free us from all bondage so that our faith in you will make us free to create with courage a new world and new societies. Amen.[9]

 

X

Lighten our darkness, we beseech thee, O Lord, and by thy great mercy defend us from all perils and dangers of this night, for the love of thy only Son, our Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen.[10]

 

XI

May God bless you with a restless discomfort at easy answers, half-truths, and superficial relationships, that you may seek truth boldly and love deep within your heart.
May God bless you with holy anger at injustice, oppression, and exploitation of people, that you may tirelessly work for justice, freedom, and peace among all people.
May God bless you with the gift of tears to shed for those who suffer from pain, rejection, starvation, or the loss of all that they cherish, that you may reach out your hand to comfort them and transform their pain into joy.
May God bless you with enough foolishness to believe that you really can make a difference in this world, that you are able, with God’s grace, to do what others claim cannot be done. Amen.[11]

 

XII

We are not people of fear: we are people of courage.
We are not people who protect our own safety:
we are people who protect our neighbours’ safety.
We are not people of greed: we are people of generosity.
We are your people, God, giving and loving, wherever we are, whatever it costs, for as long as it takes, wherever you call us. Amen.[12]

XIII

O God who is greater than the most powerful forces in this world,
enable us to be still and know that You are God.
O Lord who answers out of the whirlwind of everyday life,
breathe in us Your Holy Spirit to strengthen, comfort,
and guide us in the midst of the storm.
O still, small voice, speak to us this hour
that we might become makers of Your peace
in our homes, in our communities, in our world.
We pray all this in the name of the One who calmed the raging sea. Amen.[13]

 

XIV

Eternal Giver of life and light, this holy night shines with the radiance of the risen Christ. Renew your Church with the Spirit given to us in baptism, that we may worship you in sincerity and truth, and shine as a light in the world; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who is alive and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.[14]

 

XV

God of glory,
by the raising of your Son
you have broken the chains of death and hell:
fill your Church with faith and hope;
for a new day has dawned
and the way to life stands open
in our Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen.[15]

 

 

 

 

[1]  Based on https://hellohope.com/blog/prayer-light.

[2]  From https://www.churchofengland.org/more/media-centre/coronavirus-covid-19-guidance-parishes/coronavirus-covid-19-liturgy-and-prayer.

[3]   A prayer of St Benedict, included in https://www.churchofengland.org/more/media-centre/coronavirus-covid-19-guidance-parishes/coronavirus-covid-19-liturgy-and-prayer.

[4]   From https://www.churchofengland.org/more/media-centre/coronavirus-covid-19-guidance-parishes/coronavirus-covid-19-liturgy-and-prayer.

[5]   A prayer from Common Worship, included in https://www.churchofengland.org/more/media-centre/coronavirus-covid-19-guidance-parishes/coronavirus-covid-19-liturgy-and-prayer.

[6]   Adapted from Alexander Carmichael, Carmina Gadelica (1900), included in https://www.churchofengland.org/more/media-centre/coronavirus-covid-19-guidance-parishes/coronavirus-covid-19-liturgy-and-prayer.

[7]   From https://www.xavier.edu/jesuitresource/online-resources/prayer-index/justice-prayers.

[8]   From St Patrick’s Breastplate, included in https://www.churchofengland.org/more/media-centre/coronavirus-covid-19-guidance-parishes/coronavirus-covid-19-liturgy-and-prayer.

[9]   A prayer for renewal from Sri Lanka, https://www.uspg.org.uk/pray/.

[10]  Collect for Evening Prayer.

[11]  From https://aheartforjustice.com/2010/10/07/a-franciscan-blessing-may-god-bless-you-with-discomfort-anger-tears-and-foolishness/.

[12]  Barbara Glasson, President of the Methodist Conference, included in https://www.churchofengland.org/more/media-centre/coronavirus-covid-19-guidance-parishes/coronavirus-covid-19-liturgy-and-prayer.

[13]  From http://www.myredeemerlives.com/prayers.html (found via https://cmbs.mennonitebrethren.ca/worship_resources/elijah-and-the-still-small-voice/).

[14]  Scottish Episcopal Church, Collect for the Easter Vigil, https://www.scotland.anglican.org/wp-content/uploads/Collects-2015.pdf.

[15]  Church of England, Collect for Easter Sunday, https://www.churchofengland.org/prayer-and-worship/worship-texts-and-resources/common-worship/churchs-year/times-and-seasons/easter-liturgy.

Tuesday in Holy Week – 7 April 2020

Isaiah 49.1-7

Psalm 71.1-14

1 Corinthians 1.18-31

John 12.20-36

There is a wonderful richness to the readings set for this Tuesday of Holy Week in this third week of lock-down.  Paul writes to the church at Corinth about the cross: “For the message about the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.”  This resonates for me with the voices of those who say that lockdown is all a waste of time, and the voices of those who say that it is serving the purpose of lowering the numbers of those taken ill and particularly those who need intensive care.  Some around us are saying this is foolishness.  I prefer to believe – to hope – that what we are doing is important and meaningful.  Paul wants to look beyond human wisdom and human quarrels to see the deep truth that we mark each Holy Week:  “Jews demand signs and Greeks desire wisdom, but we proclaim Christ crucified, a stumbling-block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, but to those who are the called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.”  The arrest, trial and execution of Jesus, which by human standards look like abject failure, point beyond to the wisdom and power of God.  For Paul this is a turning of things on their heads:  “God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world, things that are not, to reduce to nothing things that are, so that no one might boast in the presence of God.”  We are in the midst of a situation that does just that:  turns our normal expectations, our normal measures of reality on their heads.  What will come of all this?  At present we cannot know.  But we can hope.

It may not feel much like that.  Isaiah writes of a sense of futility: “I said, ‘I have laboured in vain, I have spent my strength for nothing and vanity.’”  Do we feel that as the relationships and proprieties which generally shape our lives slip away?  And yet, Isaiah can still say, “surely my cause is with the Lord, and my reward with my God.” Psalm 71 reminds us that God offers hope and refuge in difficult times:

In you, O Lord, I take refuge;
let me never be put to shame.
In your righteousness deliver me and rescue me;
incline your ear to me and save me.
Be to me a rock of refuge,
a strong fortress, to save me,
for you are my rock and my fortress.

In this time of disorientation, a time in which many of our normal routines and normal places of safety may no longer be available to us, perhaps we can experience God in a new way as the place where our cause is rooted, as the rock upon which our lives are built, and a fortress within which we can take shelter.  As other certainties slide away, it may be easier to feel ourselves rooted in God.

John’s gospel reminds us that times of trial and times of suffering can be transformative.  And John’s gospel shows us Jesus reflecting on this theme.  Transformation, he says, will come about through death, through being broken:  “Very truly, I tell you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains just a single grain; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.”  Is this our time of falling into the earth and dying?  If so, perhaps we can see this Holy Week, this time of lockdown, the necessary precursor for a time of growth and flourishing.  We hear God’s promise through Jesus: “I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.”  And his call to us to “become children of light.”

A prayer by John Rayner (https://gracecathedral.org/prayers-difficult-times/):

When evil darkens our world, give us light. When despair numbs our souls, give us hope. When we stumble and fall, lift us up. When doubts assail us, give us faith. When nothing seems sure, give us trust. When ideals fade, give us vision. When we lose our way, be our guide! That we may find serenity in Your presence, and purpose in doing Your will.

 

Image: detail from purple stole (designed and created by Annabel O’Docherty)