Week 3 prayer

Give out a thought and an action:

Here's a prayer written by an anonymous Franciscan that sets the tone for the coming week. Lets spend some time reflecting upon it and allowing God to prepare us for the challenges that we may face.

May God bless you with discomfort at easy answers, half truths, and superficial relationships, so that you may live deep within your heart.



May God bless you with anger at injustice, oppression and exploitation of people, so that you may work for justice, freedom and peace.



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.



And 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.

Give out an image:

sabbath -three-

Give out a thought:

 “Six days do your work, but on the seventh day do not work, so that your ox and your donkey may rest and the slave born in your household, and the alien as well, may be refreshed.’ (Ex 23:12) A further implication of the Sabbath is that slaves and servants are to be allowed rest. Here the Israelites’ memory was exercised. Previously they were in captivity within Egypt and had been overworked by their masters in order to increase their rulers economic output. Here the Sabbath not only reminds them of this story and the Lord who had saved them, but also provokes them to treat those who were their subordinates in a humane way. Rather than the bullied becoming the bully, this was the saved bringing salvation to others. 

Give out an image:

Give out an action:

Buy someone a fair trade chocolate bar/ banana and give it to them anonymously. Attach to it a reason why you think we should buy fair trade.

Sabbath -two-

Give out a thought:

‘We often forget that the Sabbath rest principle included the needs of the livestock. ‘Six days do your work, but on the seventh day do not work, so that your ox and your donkey may rest…” (Ex 23:12) The whole point of this instruction is that our dominion over the whole earth and the little creatures that creep upon it is to be a compassionate dominion. We are not to rape the earth but to care for it – kindly, lovingly, tenderly.’ (Richard Foster)

Give out an action:

Buy a plant/ packet of seeds and give it to someone with a request that they look after it and help it to grow.

Give out an image:

sabbath -one-

Give out an image:

Give out a thought:

'Six days do your work, but on the seventh day do not work...' (Ex 23:12). Often when we think about Sabbath we associate it with taking rest, putting our feet up or gathering together in worship. However we as less aware of the economic consequences of the '7th day' for God's people within biblical times. Working the land was how many communities provided for their family and contributed towards the wider society. To 'sabbath' meant to stay away from the fields for a day. Ignoring the Sabbath imperative would have given the individual an opportunity to gain an edge on others and increase wealth. However, God's people were to practice restraint from these impulses in order to remember that the Lord was their provider and that they should trust him for everything they needed.

Give out an action:

Take a day off from spending money. Don't cheat by using 'plastic' or writing a cheque. Literally don't spend any money.

Scarcity and unlimited appetite

Give out an image: (thanks Tom)

Give out a thought: ‘The two main axioms of classical economics are: 1) the natural condition of scarcity; and 2) unlimited human appetite. These, Lowery writes, “breed resignation to systems of distribution so unequal as to guarantee homelessness and starvation. Sabbath economics, however, based on “the principles of abundance and self-restraint turn this classical economic approach on its head. If you assume that resources are abundant, sufficient for the survival and prosperity of human life, and that human needs and wants are limited, then no one need starve or suffer the elements through lack of housing or clothing.” The conclusion we must draw, says Lowery, is that “long-term, systemic hunger, homelessness and poverty can be viewed only as a failure of human will.”

Cited in Ched Myers, ‘The Biblical Vision of Sabbath Economics.’

Give out an action: take a shoe box to work and leave on your desk - leave a note saying that you would like to fill it with specific items over next few weeks and then send it via "samaritans purse"

Ask why!

Give out an image:

Todays pictures come from a friend in Australia. Here's an explanation:

I wondered whether you might be able to make use of the attached pictures - taken through the bush fires that have swept through Victoria. Based on Monday's 'The earth is the Lords and everything in it.' I thought it'd serve as a reminder of our fragility but also in God's provision (based on your 'Explanation' on the blog). It's been pretty amazing to see 

how people support and help each other in the most devastating of times, but equally frustrating that it's only in these times that it happens and not just all the time!

Give out a thought:

‘If God has put enough into the world then why are there poor people?’ This question regularly exercises many conversations around poverty. The Christian tradition is littered with people who have tried to answer this question. In Latin America during the 70s, 80s and 90s a number of Christ followers not only got involved in the lives of the poor and began addressing the questions as to why they were poor in the first place. Dom Helder Camara was a Brazilian bishop in one of the poorest parts of the nation. He famously said, "when I feed the hungry, they call me a saint. When I ask why the hungry don't have enough food, they call me a Communist."

Lord open our eyes to see the injustice in the world, our hearts to respond to your compassion, and our minds to discover new possibilities.

Give out an action:

Search the internet to discover some of the many theories and opinions as to why people are poor. Spend time thinking through the reasons you would give, it may help to write a paragraph outlining your position. Contemplate what small steps you can make this week to respond to these reasons.

A prayer for this week

Give out a thought and an action:

At the start of each week we'll combine thinking and action in a prayer exercise. Take your time, meditate on each line and prepare for how God may want to transform you this week. 

'The earth is the Lords and everything in it.' (Psalm 24)

Lord we remember that you have given us all things and that they belong to you. This week as we spend money, help us to remember this.

'The earth is the Lords and everything in it.'

Lord we remember that you created and are re-creating all things. May we use our resources in partnership with your redemptive plan for the earth.

'The earth is the Lords and everything in it.'

Lord we remember that you created everyone. Yet, there are many who do not have enough resources to survive. In the silence, we pray for them now. We pray for .... (substitute with your own prayers)

'There is enough in the world for everybody's need, but not enough for anybody's greed.' (Gandhi)

Father, examine my heart today. Where is there greed? Where am I seeking to advance myself at the expense of others? Create in me a clean heart today.

Give out an image: