Blogging toward Sunday

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In preparation for worship this Sunday, read through Luke 17:11-19 two or three times, slowly and prayerfully. Who are the main characters? What intrigues you most? In your own faith walk, when have you cried out to the Lord, "Jesus, Master, have mercy on me!"? When have you bowed before the Lord with a cry of thanksgiving?

May the following prayer penned by Bernard Thorogood allow you to experience the gospel reading on a deeper level:

Healing God, we praise you for the Christ

who, without fear, met those with leprosy

and gave them new life.

May that healing touch

reach the fears and darkness of our world.

Touch us, caring Jesus,

            to take from our hearts

            that fear which makes us keep our distance

            from all deep agony.

Touch us, caring Jesus,

            to heal that fear for ourselves

            which bars us from understanding

            mental illness, disfigurement and the approach of death.

Touch those, caring Jesus

            who have been segregated, rejected, cast adrift

            because they offend our competitive society.

And touch with hope, healing Jesus,

            those who give themselves to combat

            grim illness and all that threatens life.

            I am come that they may have life

            and may have it in all its fullness.

            Even so, come, Lord Jesus.[i]

As you journey toward Sunday, may the Lord richly bless you and those whom you love.

Shalom,
Glenda

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[i] Bernard Thorogood, in A Restless Hope: Prayer Handbook 1995.