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Through Jesus We Become the Inherited
Opening Prayer: We recall the ministry of Jesus focused on bringing justice and equality to those who were oppressed and voiceless. As we join in prayer this evening may we commit to living a life that keeps justice and compassion uppermost in our mind. May we embrace the divine nature with which we are born, leading us to be voices for the voiceless, for the forgotten, for the oppressed in our society. May our efforts be blessed by the Spirit of Life and Love. Amen.
Reading: From the “Jesus and the Disinherited” by Howard Thurman
“The life working paper of the individual is made up of a creative synthesis of what the man is in all his parts and how he reacts to the living process. It is wide of the mark to say that a man’s working paper is ever wrong; it may not be fruitful, it may be negative, but it is never wrong. For such a judgement would imply that the synthesis is guaranteed to be of a certain kind, of a specific character, resulting in a foreordained end.
It can never be determined just what a man will fashion. Always, then, there is the miracle of the working paper. Wherever there appears in human history a personality whose story is available and whose reach extends far, in all directions, the question of his working paper is as crucial as is the significance of his life. We want to know what were the lines along which he decides to live his life. How did he relate himself to the central issues of his time? What were the questions which he had to answer? Was he under some necessity to give a universal character to his most private experience?
Our attention is drawn to such a figure because of the impact which his life makes upon human history. For what is human history but man’s working paper as he rides high to life caught often in the swirling eddies of tremendous impersonal forces set in motion by vast impulses out of the womb of the Eternal. When a solitary individual is able to mingle his strength with the forces of history and emerge with a name, a character, a personality, it is no ordinary achievement.
Such a figure was Jesus of Nazareth. To some he is the grand prototype of all the distilled longing of mankind for fulfillment, for wholeness, for perfection. To some he is the humanity, yielding healing for the sicky of body and soul, giving a lift to those whom weariness has overtaken in the long march, and calling out hidden purposes of destiny which are the common heritage. To some he is more than a Presence, he is the God fact, the Divine Moment in human sin and misery. To still others he is a man who found the answer to life’s riddle, and out of a profound gratitude he becomes the Man most worthy of honor and praise. For such his answer becomes humanity’s answer and his life the common claim. In him the miracle of the working paper if writ large, for what he did all men may do. Thus interpreted, he belongs to no age, no race, no creed. When men look into his face, they see etched the glory of their own possibilities, and their hearts whisper, “Thank you and thank God”.
Silent Reflection:
Affirmations and Intentions:
Warrior-Spirit Prayer of Awakening. . . . Response – May it be so.
May all beings be granted with the strength, determination, and wisdom to extinguish anger and reject violence as a way. Response – May it be so.
May all suffering cease and may I seek, find, and fully realize the love and compassion that already lives within me and allow them to inspire and permeate my every action. Response – May it be so.
May I exercise the precious gift of choice and the power to change [as] that which makes me uniquely human and is the only true path to liberation. Response – May it be so.
May I swiftly reach complete, effortless freedom so that my fearless, unhindered action be of benefit to all. Response – May it be so.
May I lead the life of a warrior. Response – May it be so.
- - Rev. angel Kyodo williams, Sensei
Silence to add your own intentions.
Closing Prayer: Joyce Rupp
May we go forward this day with faith knowing our hard work and endless efforts have enriched and helped those we serve. Each time we look at our hands may we find a reason to hope, remembering all the good they have done. May the blessing of the Holy One enfold you and enhance your life with gratitude and respect. Amen.
Song – I Believe by Carrie Newcomer
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