Tag: compassion

The Lord is my shepherd – a retelling of psalm 23

21st July 2025

He tends His flock like a shepherd; He gathers the lambs in His arms and carries them close to His heart. He gently leads the nursing ewes. Isaiah 40: 11

You Lord, are the source of all good things: 

We praise you.

You call us to tend and care for your creation: 

May we strive to do your will.

You have made us as brothers and sisters with all that lives: 

May we live together in peace.


A reflection on Psalm 23:

The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.

In your gift is daily bread, sustenance for each day

From you comes wisdom and understanding –

the gift of peace.


The Lord desires green pasture and clear waters,

wooded hills that clap their hands, 

streams that overflow with joy –

a  world where all may rest in peace.


The Lord restores my soul, 

forgives my sins and heals my pain.

He renews my confidence so I too 

may renew broken relationships.


The Lord leads me in right paths.

He goes before us, leading by example 

and marking the way – 

on earth as in heaven.


Even though I walk through the darkest valley, 

even though the news is of  floods and drought, 

fires and tempest, I am comforted 

for the Lord is my steadfast companion.

 
I hear of evil  – of warfare and greed, 

of persecution and oppression; 

of self-interest and self-delusion 

 – yet I  fear not evil, for the Lord is our righteousness.


You prepare a table before me 

where bread and wine will satisfy my wants. 

In the face of adversity, 

You anoint me with the Holy Spirit.
    

The goodness and mercy of the Lord 

 shall stay with me all the days of my life,
for the Lord is my shepherd 

and I shall not want. 

Prayers: 

Holy God, Shepherd of your people, 

forgive us for all the times we have strayed – 

and repeatedly strayed – 

from your ways.

Set us once again on the right path, 

the path of righteousness. 


Show us how to love our neighbour as ourself. 

Show us how to lead simple lives 

that do not steal food and resources 

from the mouths of the poor.


Show us how to tend and care for the earth 

that the  fertility of the soils and the vitality 

of pollinating insects will be restored.


Show us how to curb our greed 

that there may be an equal sharing of the earth’s gifts 

and equitable pay for all who labour. 


Show us how to unite all our brethren 

in eschewing the use of fossil fuels 

that global temperatures can be contained. 


Show us how to make space for others 

that migrants both human and creaturely 

may have space to call their own.

Amen.

Listening to the sounds of the world

17th May 2025

I will listen to you, LORD God, because you promise peace to those who are faithful and no longer foolish. Psalm 85:8

You Lord, are the source of all good things: 

We praise you.

You call us to tend and care for your creation: 

May we strive to do your will.

You have made us as brothers and sisters with all that lives: 

May we live together in peace.

Reading from 1 Kings 19: 11b – 13a

Now there was a great wind, so strong that it was splitting mountains and breaking rocks in pieces before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind; and after the wind an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake;  and after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire; and after the fire a sound of sheer silence. When Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his mantle and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave.

The day is quiet. 

It catches my attention. 

No murmur of cars, nor drone of airplanes. 

No crash or thump of builders. 


Silence – 

Silence? Are you sure?

I can hear a bird – 

no not one but two, maybe three – 

singing. 

The buzz of a passing insect. 

The wind rustling a leaf.

The slight crunch of my shoes on the ground.

The soprano voice of a child – 

Mummy, why do ….?

God, creator and companion, 

Stay my attention on the sounds of ‘silence’, 

on the sounds of life. 

Attune my heart to hear 

the unabated sound of creation, 

to sift out the raucous noise 

of the unimportant sounds.

Open my ears just enough to know your presence.

Ever mindful God, be present 

with those surrounded with the noise 

of guns and bombs. 

Bring compassion 

into the hearts of those who wage war. 

Remove greed and pride from those 

who might then make peace.

Ever mindful God, be present 

with those surrounded with the noise 

of traffic and engines.

Bless the work of those who create green spaces, 

those who bring calm to frenzied lives.

Lend strength to those who protect the environment 

and those who seek a quieter way of life.

Ever mindful God, be present 

with those who seek to tell the truth – 

however inconvenient. 

Open hearts and minds to hear your word, 

to discern your wisdom. 

Give grace to all who question, 

to all who seek to understand 

and to all who are willing to learn – 

for you the way, the truth and the life. 

Amen.