Lent and Easter 2010
Home
Lent
Easter
The Ascension and Pentecost
Think Do Pray
Are we there Yet?
It's a familiar question, especially if you have travelled with young children
in the car. No matter how long the intended journey is, two minutes after
you have left the house a little voice will pipe up Are were there yet?
As Church, we often consider Lent in terms of a journey, a re-turning, a coming home to the God who is waiting for us. The journey involves our transformation so that we might be able to receive and to share Gods love. Its a long journey; we might find ourselves asking Are we there yet? We might even ask: Do we really want to go there in the first place?
Over Lent and Easter we take a step each Sunday in our journey home. Each step might reveal a little more about the God who calls us home, who wants us to be at home with him, the God who is already at home with us. Each step will hopefully provide more reassurance that home with God is the place where we deeply long to, need to, be.
Each Sunday comes with an idea for THINK-DO-PRAY. Even if you dont warm to one section you might find another will help you appreciate how that gospel comes to life in your life. Discuss THINK in a parish meeting, or talk about it over a cup of tea with a friend. Undertake DO with children. Say PRAY just before dinner or stick it on a post-it by the door as a gentle, unspoken prayer for the week.
© Breige O'Hare for Diocesan Family Ministry
Week 1 - Who Cares?
Temptation in the wilderness
Luke 4: 1-13
. . . if you are the Son of God . . .
THINK
Coffee or tea? Chocolate or ice cream? Some choices are trivial. Not so in today’s gospel. Jesus’ choices are significant; they reveal his trust in God’s love for him. Jesus knows himself to be the beloved Son of God; no purchase required. Can you choose to spend your money and time on things you really care about rather than on things that promise to make you feel better about yourself Can you believe that God cares for you just as you are; no purchase required?
DO
Decide this week to set aside time to do what really matters to you with or for the people you really care about.
PRAY
Loving God,
We are surrounded by images and ads that try to convince us that we are not good enough. Help us to realise that nothing we can buy will make us feel better about ourselves. Let us realise that you love us and that you like being
with us just as we are: no purchase required.
Week 2 - The Chosen one
Transfiguration
Luke 9: 28-36
This is my Son; the Chosen One.
I always wanted to be somebody but I should have been more specific. (Lily Tomlin). God was very specific when he created us; each one of us plays a unique part in making Gods love a visible and touchable reality in our world. However, our acts of loving kindness are always tinged with self-seeking; we need to be changed, transfigured so that our love is more generous and selfless; more like Gods love.
Notice the goodness of others in their small acts of kindness towards you. Make a special effort to thank them for it.
You are present within us using our simple acts of goodness and kindness to make your love a touchable reality in our world. Change the selfish parts of us and help us to be more and more generous in showing kindness to others.
Week 3 - Who is this God?
Repent or Perish
Luke 13: 1-9
If they ask me what is your name, what am I to tell them? (First reading)
Who is this God who wants us to come home to him? Can we trust him? For the Jews, God was an angry and vengeful God but Jesus paints a different picture of a God who is patiently waiting and full of concern to bring life to his people. Repent or perish is no threat but a warning that life will die if cut off from God, its source. God waits patiently for you, coaxing you into life. Do you believe it?
Bring Gods patience to life in you. Be patient when you are driving or show patience in your work/home situation this week
You patiently tend to your children, nurturing and caring for us. Help us to realise just how much we need you. Help us to trust in your patient attention towards us, another expression of your desire that we may live life to the full.
Week 4 - All I have is Yours?
Prodigal Son
Luke 15: 1-3. 11-32
. . . you are here with me always. Everything I have is yours.
A sense of duty may carry us through hard times but it cannot be the sole basis for a loving intimate relationship. We are to be guided and drawn home to God by love. What is prayer for you? A duty to fulfil? Or a chance to spend time with someone who loves you?
We often do things because we feel we have to. Lend a hand this week without being asked to.
Loving father,
Help us to realise that you love us freely and want us to love you freely in return. We know there are times when we need a sense of duty to fulfil responsibilities but let us realise that prayer is not a chore but rather a way for us to spend time with you.
Week 5 - Knowing Jesus
Woman caught in adultery
John 8: 1-11
. . . the supreme good of knowing Christ Jesus . . . (second reading)
The woman leaves the scene of todays gospel unpunished, but transformed by her encounter with Jesus. Remember an instance where someones love and care for you changed you in some way. Trust that Gods love has even greater power to transform you and that it will challenge you to be more than you ever believed you could be.
Set aside fives minutes a day this week to spend time with God/Jesus. Know that he cares about your life, cares about you.
Time spent in prayer with you, whatever form our prayer may take helps us to appreciate your presence with us at all times. Help us to trust that in your presence we are changed, that we become better versions of ourselves.
Week 6 - Let Down
Entry into Jerusalem
Luke 19: 28-40
Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord.
The people want a hero but Jesus surrenders to his oppressors without a fight. The God we are coming home to can be a disappointment. Is he listening? Can he help? And us can we be honest about our disappointments? Can we trust that our honesty will help us grow in relationship with God?
People are not always what you expect them to be. Why not go and make your peace with someone who has let you down?
Intimate relationship is based on honesty. Let us trust that you welcome our honesty, and that you dont want us to be smiling through clenched teeth when times are tough. When things are difficult help us to appreciate that you want us to be ourselves with you and to be honest about what we are really thinking and feeling.
Holy Thursday - Do You Realise?
The Last Supper
John 13: 1-15
Do you realise what I have done for you?
Jesus reveals to us a God who is prepared to get his hands dirty on our behalf, who recognises our physical as well as our spiritual and emotion needs. What do you need in order to trust that God cares for you as a whole person?
Jesus way of leading was to encourage the talents and gifts of others. Offer encouragement or practical help to a friend/family member to help them to develop a talent s(he) might have.
You are sensitive to our needs. Let us recognise ourselves to be the Body of Christ, through which Christ continues his acts of love in our world. Help us to be your hands of comfort, offered in service, joined in prayer, so that others might experience your loving presence with them through difficult times.
Good Friday - Into your Hands
The Passion.
John 18:1 - 19:42
In your hands is my destiny (second reading)
Through his suffering and death, Jesus reveals to us a God who cared so much for us that he was prepared to do anything, give anything, give everything in order to reassure his people that he loved them, that he could be trusted to keep his word. God asks that we give ourselves to him in relationship; because of Jesus, we know it is safe to do so; we can trust God.
What small sacrifice could you make this week to show a friend or family member that you really care about them?
Jesus died rather than deny your love for your people. Help us to realise that you are completely committed to loving us, totally focussed on our well-being. May we realise that we are safe with you and that your desires for our future are to be trusted
Easter Sunday - Where is He?
We dont know where they put him.
Luke 24:1-12
John 20: 1-9
Christ has risen. Where is he? Follow the angels instructions to Mary: look for him among the living. See him in the kindness and patience of others. Know that wherever you are on your journey, whatever sadness or joy you carry with you, you are not on your own. The Risen Christ lives on through his Spirit in you. He has made his home in you.
Make an effort to be cheerful this week. Bring some of the gladness of the Risen Christ to the people you meet.
Coming home to you means realising that you are already at home within us. Help us to recognise and celebrate the presence of the Risen Christ within. Help us to be that Christ for others so that they might experience your loving presence in our world.
