Sep 19 2007
a franciscan blessing
At the end of our staff meeting, our executive pastor shared the following blessing. I was reminded how dangerous it is to prayer the will of God. I always feel safe when I pray the selfish prayers that are my habit, but when I am confronted with a prayer that so expresses the example of Christ and the values of God, I realize that prayer is dangerous. To pray “thy will be done” as a follower of one who was sent by God to die is a truly dangerous thing.
So to all my readers, I pray this blessing for you.
May God bless you with discomfort at easy answers, half truths, and superficial relationships,
so that you may live deep within your heart. Amen.
May God bless you with anger at injustice, oppression, and exploitation of people,
so that you may work for justice, freedom and peace. Amen.
May God bless you with tears to shed for those who suffer from pain, rejection,starvation and war,
so that you may reach out your hand to comfort them and to turn their pain into joy. Amen.
May God bless you with enough foolishness to believe that you can make a difference in this world,
so that you can do what others claim cannot be done. Amen.
And the Blessing of God, who Creates, Redeems and Sanctifies,
be upon you and all you love an pray for this day, and forever more. Amen.
on the walk
-Ethan
Ps. For those of you that are in a discipling relationship, either as a mentor or group leader, I would encourage you to discuss and pray this blessing for those you are discipling. Some of you are parents, and you may want to pray this blessing over your children.
I will try to use this in my group tonight. We are scheduled to study
Mark 7, and I think there is a connection.