Lenten Reflections 2019

Session 5:   Spiritual Friendship Job 2    - Job`s Friends 7 So Satan went out from the presence of the LORD and afflicted Job with painful sores from the soles of his feet to the crown of his head.  8Then Job took a piece of broken pottery and scraped himself with it as he sat among the ashes.  9 His wife said to him, “Are you still maintaining your integrity? Curse God and die!”  10 He replied, “You are talking like a foolish woman. Shall we accept good from God, and not trouble?” In all this, Job did not sin in what he said.  11When Job’s three friends, Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite and Zophar the Naamathite, heard about all the troubles that had come upon him, they set out from their homes and met together by agreement to go and sympathize with him and comfort him.  12 When they saw him from a distance, they could hardly recognize him; they began to weep aloud, and they tore their robes and sprinkled dust on their heads.  13 Then they sat

Session 4: Transformed by Prayer Prayer to begin: Tree of Life Meditation from Healing Pathway Jesus Teaches prayer Luke 11 New Revised Standard Version (NRSV) He was praying in a certain place, and after he had finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, as John taught his disciples.”  2  He said to them, “When you pray, say: Father, [ a ]  hallowed be your name.     Your kingdom come. [ b ] 3      Give us each day our daily bread. [ c ] 4      And forgive us our sins,         for we ourselves forgive everyone indebted to us.     And do not bring us to the time of trial.” [ d ] 5  And he said to them, “Suppose one of you has a friend, and you go to him at midnight and say to him, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves of bread;  6  for a friend of mine has arrived, and I have nothing to set before him.’  7  And he answers from within, ‘Do not bother me; the door has already been locked, and my children are with me in bed;

Opening Prayer:   O God, May we bless you as long as we live, lifting up our hearts, calling on your name, and meditating on your power and glory. When we are spiritually hungry, satisfy our souls with a rich feast. When our bodies thirst and yearn for comfort, replenish us with living waters. When we find ourselves lost and unprotected, shadow us in your sheltering wings. With your stronghold, defend us. Amen. We r ead the children's book Is that story true? by Laura Alary, about bedtime stories that contain a bit of history, some mythology, parable and scripture, but which usually contain some "truth" even if they are not facts, where Maggie says to her mother "I've been thinking... I think that some stories are true on the inside, even if they are not true on the outside." Do you have a favourite story or biblical image? Why? What is your relationship to scripture today? -           Something from childhood/history -