The Scottish theologian, William Barclay, suggested using ‘the mind of God’ instead of ‘the Word’ for Jesus. And so John 1:1, 2-5, 14 reads
In the beginning was the mind of God,… 3 Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. 4 In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it….. 14 The mind of God became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.
Philippians 2:5 says: ‘Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus’.
Father/Mother God, as we try to come to rest before You, we come not alone but accompanied by the throngs of people near and far who impact our lives and consciousness. Help us to be still and put aside our need to fix things, sort out situations, come up with solutions, and allow Your Holy Spirit indwelling in us, to be freed to be…as You are.
God, indwelling in us, help us to be still and know, in the depths of our being, that You are God. May Your mind be in us as it was in Jesus.
From the throng surrounding us come people across the globe who are suffering from violent events in nature during this last week…
In particular we hold to Your light and loving care those killed and rendered homeless by floods, cyclones, landslides, droughts, famines and snow storms in New Zealand, Australia, Mocoa in Columbia, Catacaos in Peru, Somalia, Yemen, New England in the USA. As well as the immediate tragic events, the long-term consequences can be catastrophic.
Lord, you have given us humans custody of Your creation and as provision for our needs, but not our greed-bloated wants. Inspire and move us to do what we can now for those in great need, and to amend our lifestyle choices to provide a healthy legacy for our children and grandchildren. Give wisdom to lawmakers to provide protection for this, our shared planet, so richly endowed by you.
Lord God, may Your mind be in us as it was in Jesus.
We give thanks for the very promising progress by scientists in London, UK in making a working and cost-effective desalinization filter from graphene oxide. Almost 800 million people desperately need access to clean drinking water, the lack of which currently causes the death of 1000 children every day.
Jesus, You are the spiritual water of life. Help us to work together to provide water essential for physical life and health for our sisters and brothers throughout the world.
Lord God, may Your mind be in us as it was in Jesus.
We hear again and again of gas attacks and hate-fueled violence in Syria, Russia, Chechnya, Pakistan, the UK, and so many other places, attacks on your children created in Your image, yet perpetrated by others made in Your image who have chosen to turn away from Your reality of truth, light and love. Lord, have mercy on the perpetrators and all of us who condone such evil by our silence and inaction. We give thanks for those medics and others who seek to bring help and care in the middle of such carnage and devastation. Help us to seek Your mind as to the way forward, to bring light into the darkness. Guide our political leaders to know Your mind as they struggle to deal with these situations, that they may not be guided solely by fiscal and trade benefits which seem to help our nations in the short-term. You are inviting us to live with the long-term infinite viewpoint which is Yours beyond time and space and is one of justice and righteousness.
Lord God, may Your mind be in us as it was in Jesus.
As we come to Holy Week, where we have the greatest evidence of love conquering evil, Archbishop Desmond Tutu reminds us in his prayer:
“Goodness is stronger than evil;
love is stronger than hate;
light is stronger than darkness;
life is stronger than death.
Victory is ours, victory is ours
through Him who loved us.”*
Lord God, may Your mind be in us as it was in Jesus. AMEN
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