We are tempted, as Jesus was - to look for easy solutions to difficult problems.  

 

LINKS

In the Name of Jesus by Henri Nouwen

 

READING

Mark 1:9-15

In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. And just as he was coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens torn apart and the Spirit descending like a dove on him. And a voice came from heaven, “You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.” 

And the Spirit immediately drove him out into the wilderness. He was in the wilderness forty days, tempted by Satan; and he was with the wild beasts; and the angels waited on him.

Now after John was arrested, Jesus came to Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God, and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; repent, and believe in the good news.

 

PRAYERS

let us turn our awareness to the presence of the divine that is always with us and always within us. 

Let us bring before God all of those people and situations that are in any kind of need.

Let us bring before God the poor, the forgotten and those who are marginalized, as we renew our commitment to the lonely and the unloved.

Let us ask God to use our prayerful intentions for the benefit of all those who listen to this podcast, all those people we know and love, as well as people who are strangers to us. May we be blessings to one another.

Let us call to mind our reasons to be thankful, as we remember our abundance and the life-giving way of gratitude.

May God still our minds, Calm our hearts, breathe fresh life into us, and make us instruments of peace, justice and compassion. Amen. 

 

MUSIC

Selections from Giovanni Animuccia: Missa Victimae Paschali Laudes, Tudor Consort

Come my way, my truth, my life, Blackfriar Music