First-Friday contemplative service

Last night I led a first-Friday service of contemplative song and prayer. The theme was "Christ, our hope." The readings for the service were those assigned for the Feast of the Presentation, which had been the day before. The concluding prayer, if I recall correctly, was adapted from a prayer of the Taize community.

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PSALM 84

How lovely is your temple, Holy One!
My heart yearns for your courts!
With body and soul, I sing for joy
to you, the living God.

By your altar, even the sparrow finds a home,
and the swallow builds a nest to lay her young.
Happy are all who dwell in your house!
They never cease to sing your praise.

Better to spend a single day in your courts
than a thousand anywhere else!
Better to serve as a simple doorkeeper in your temple
than to feast in the pavilions of the unrighteous.

Holy God, you are our safe haven and our shield.
Your kindness and favor shine upon us.
Your generosity abounds to those who walk uprightly.
Happy are all who place their trust in you!

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HEBREWS 2:14-18

Christ became flesh and blood,
like us,
so that by dying,
he could destroy the power of death.
Thus he could set us free
from the fear of death
that had enslaved us all our lives.

Christ did not come to be with angels:
he came to help feeble human beings.
He became our brother,
like us in every way.
By his own human experience,
he learned to be a merciful priest,
who intercedes for us
and makes sacrifice to atone for the sins of his people.

Because he himself has suffered,
he is able to help us in our suffering and trials.

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LUKE 2:22-38

At the time prescribed in the commandments,
Mary and Joseph brought the infant Jesus to Jerusalem
to present him to the Lord in the temple . . .

In Jerusalem, there lived a man named Simeon—
a devout and righteous man,
who lived in faith that God’s people would soon be delivered.
For the Holy Spirit had revealed to him
that he would not die
until he had seen the coming of the Promised One.

Led by the Spirit,
Simeon came into the temple.
There he saw Jesus,
being brought into the temple by his parents.
Simeon took the infant in his arms
and broke into praise.

He said,
"Faithfully I have served you, my God,
and faithfully you have kept your promise!
Now I can leave this world in peace,
for I have seen with my eyes
the salvation you have prepared in the presence of all peoples—
a light of glory for the people of Israel
and a light of revelation for the Gentiles!"

Mary and Joseph were amazed
by what Simeon was saying about their child . . .

There was also in the temple a prophet named Anna—
a woman eighty-four years old,
who had been widowed after seven years of marriage.
She never left the temple
but worshipped there night and day,
with prayer and fasting.

She too came and saw,
and praised God,
and spoke about the child
to all who were waiting for the day of redemption.

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PRAYERS OF INTERCESSION 

Jesus Christ,
you came to fulfill all God’s promises
and to bring about the redemption of the world.
Your work has begun; we pray for its completion.

We pray for the poor,
for those who suffer injustice,
and for those who are in any kind of danger.
Be their safe haven and their shield.

We pray for those who are in sorrow,
in pain,
or living with disease.
Comfort them in their suffering.
Free us from the fear of death.

We pray for the world.
Unite the peoples of the earth in peace.
Establish justice and equity.

We pray for your creation.
Make your earth flourish.
May all living things know the joy you intend for them.

We pray for your church.
Strengthen us in our weakness.
Teach us mercy and compassion.
Give us grace to be your servants.

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CONCLUDING PRAYER

Christ Jesus,
although we have not seen you, we love you.
Without seeing you, we place our trust in you.
And in you, we find hope and peace.