Living with Christ Morning Prayer

Living with Christ Morning Prayer
Tuesday, January 21, 2014
The Sabbath was made for humankind… 

Jesus, there is something about this gospel 
only a rabbi or canon lawyer could love.
The Pharisees raise a question.
You respond, citing sources.
I’ll bet they responded, citing other sources.
And back and fourth you went.

I’m glad Mark spares us the details
and gets right to the point:
you are Lord; you are in charge.
Religious laws exist to help us live in you.

But, Jesus, something else you say reminds me
how hard it can be to live in you.
The sabbath, you tell us, was made for humankind.
Many of us take the idea of sabbath rest so lightly today.
And yet God gives us this law, this gift, for our benefit
in the midst of our very hectic world.
Sabbath is a time to rest, to praise God, to reflect on life,
and to notice and give thanks for the holiness
that is in and around us
but that is so hard to see when we are busy.

Sometimes, Jesus, Sunday just can’t be
a sabbath rest for me,
and I could cite lots of sources why.
Be gentle with me, but help me to find times
to savor this God-given gift of sabbath:
to stop and rest in you.
Amen.

Prayer for Today:

Jesus, fill us, we pray with your light and life that we may show forth your wonderful glory. Grant that your love may so fill our lives that we may count, nothing too small to do for you, nothing too much to give, and nothing too hard to bear. Amen.
- Saint Ignatius of Loyola