Nerys writes: This Sunday we dedicate to the glory of God a candle stand gifted in memory of Shareene Potter who died a year ago this week. This is not an ornament but, as Peter explains in a piece he has written in the magazine, it is a tool to help us to pray at those times when words don’t come easily or at all.
It is appropriate that the dedication is happening on a day when our Gospel reading illustrates the healing power of Christ, and especially the way he can take us from a place of fear and brokenness to a place of faith and wholeness.
Our Old Testament reading from the Book of Lamentations 3.22-33, also encourages us to hold on to a belief in God’s goodness even when things are difficult. Listen to the passage being read by Moira.
As you listen to the familiar story of the healing of Jairus’ daughter from Mark 5.21-43, being read by Morag, imagine that you are in the crowd watching it all happen. I wonder what you would have learned from the experience?
You may choose to listen to the account again putting yourself in the place of one of the characters at the center of the drama. I wonder what kind of healing that person receives from Jesus and what kind you may wish to receive for yourself or for a loved one?
Jean Holloway’s hymn to the Welsh tune, ‘Ar hyd y nos’, played on the organ by David, is especially appropriate for all of us at St Mary’s at this difficult time of transition. I invite you to use it as a prayer of healing for our worshiping community.
Lord, we come to ask your healing,
teach us of love;
all unspoken shame revealing,
teach us of love.
Take our selfish thoughts and actions,
petty feuds, divisive factions,
hear us now to you appealing,
teach us of love.
Soothe away our pain and sorrow,
hold us in love;
grace we cannot buy or borrow,
hold us in love.
Though we see but dark and danger,
though we spurn both friend and stranger,
though we often dread tomorrow,
hold us in love.
When the bread is raised and broken,
fill us with love;
words of consecration spoken,
fill us with love.
As our grateful prayers continue,
make the faith that we have in you
more than just an empty token,
fill us with love.
Help us live for one another,
bind us in love;
stranger, neighbour, father, mother –
bind us in love.
All are equal at your table,
through your Spirit make us able
to embrace as sister, brother,
bind us in love.
It was the woman in the story within today’s Gospel story who drew my attention this last week, especially after I came across this unusual depiction of her encounter with Jesus.
It is from a stunning mural by Daniel Carriola in the Encounter Chapel in Duc in Altum, a place for prayer, teaching and worship on the shores of the Sea of Galilee. It is often referred to by tourists and pilgrims as ‘the picture with the feet’, but it is to the hand that my eye was drawn, the delicate hand of a once-wealthy woman – a woman whose fear and brokenness led her to Jesus. She is not named but is known as the woman with a hemorrhage, rendered untouchable because of the flow of blood which had blighted her life for twelve long years. Her fear was not only that she would never be well again but also that she would always be alone, isolated from those who could help make her life bearable. This fear had changed her from the easy-going, confident person she used to be. It had worn her down. She was now poor, cowed and tired. She didn’t have the confidence even to ask Jesus for healing, but in her desperation reached out her hand to touch his clothes.
There are many like this woman in our communities today, people whose mental and physical health has been affected by the pandemic, whose personalities have been transformed because of fear and loneliness. We are called to pray for these people and to respond to their need. Despite being surrounded by a jostling crowd, Jesus is aware of the woman’s desperate touch and makes time to acknowledge her faith and to give her a voice. We are not told what becomes of her but it is clear that these are the first steps to her recovery and restoration.
Our Night Service this week will be a service of prayers for healing based on that which takes place every Tuesday evening in Iona Abbey. In the service, prayers are said not only for the healing of the bodies and minds of named individuals but also for the healing of oppressed communities and divided countries, of natural environments and of the planet itself. These prayers presuppose that asking something of Christ will lead to a deeper relationship with him and will inspire us to act to tackle the sources of injustice and violence which cause suffering.
Loving God, we hold in your healing presence
- those who suffer pain and ill-health, with their families, friends and those who care for them …
- those who suffer in mind and spirit, and all who care for them …
- the suffering people of our world, and the places where people are experiencing division, injustice and violence …
- natural environments destroyed by pollution and threatened by climate change …
- those who are struggling to overcome addiction or abuse, those supporting and working with them, and all whose suffering has distanced them from those who love them …
- those facing bereavement or experiencing grief …
- those whose needs are not known to us …
- those whose names we do not know but who are known to you.
May they know the deep peace of Christ. Amen.
(Prayers taken from Iona Abbey Worship Book and adapted)
We finish our time of prayer and worship with Bernadette Farrell’s song of longing for the light of Christ. Here is David playing the tune.
Longing for light, we wait in darkness.
Longing for truth, we turn to you.
Make us your own, your holy people,
light for the world to see.
Christ, be our light!
Shine in our hearts.
Shine through the darkness.
Christ, be our light!
Shine in your church gathered today.
Longing for peace, our world is troubled.
Longing for hope, many despair.
Your word alone has power to save us.
Make us your living voice.
Christ, be our light!
Longing for food, many are hungry.
Longing for water, many still thirst.
Make us your bread, broken for others,
shared until all are fed.
Christ, be our light!
Longing for shelter, many are homeless.
Longing for warmth, many are cold.
Make us your building, sheltering others,
walls made of living stone.
Christ, be our light!
Many the gifts, many the people,
many the hearts that yearn to belong.
Let us be servants to one another,
making your kingdom come.
Christ, be our light!
