Presence

May my heart rejoice in Your love, O Lord.
Let me live each day anew.

Freedom

Lord, I let go of the worries, resentments and fears
that I can sometimes hold on to so tightly.
Let me open my hands and my heart to receive freely
all the gifts that I need at this time.

Consciousness

Jesus, You are always there waiting for me.
Grant that I may be still more often,
that I may always desire to spend time in your Presence,
to know Your peace, Your love.

The Word of God

³¹The Jews took up stones again to stone him. ³²Jesus replied, “I have shown you many good works from the Father. For which of these are you going to stone me?” ³³The Jews answered, “It is not for a good work that we are going to stone you but for blasphemy, because you, though only a human, are making yourself God.” ³⁴Jesus answered, “Is it not written in your law, ‘I said, you are gods’? ³⁵If those to whom the word of God came were called ‘gods’—and the scripture cannot be annulled—³⁶can you say that the one whom the Father has sanctified and sent into the world is blaspheming because I said, ‘I am God’s Son’? ³⁷If I am not doing the works of my Father, then do not believe me. ³⁸But if I do them, even though you do not believe me, believe the works, so that you may know and understand that the Father is in me and I am in the Father.” ³⁹Then they tried to arrest him again, but he escaped from their hands.

⁴⁰He went away again across the Jordan to the place where John had been baptizing earlier, and he remained there. ⁴¹Many came to him, and they were saying, “John performed no sign, but everything that John said about this man was true.” ⁴²And many believed in him there.

Inspiration

Jesus appeals to his hearers to judge the truth of his words by the witness of his doing the good works of his Father.  ‘By their fruits you will know them.’  This is too much for the Scribes and Pharisees in their hardness of heart.  ‘Unless you become as little children you cannot enter the kingdom of God.’  Let us pray for the gift of humility and to recognise the truth of our own littleness.

Conversation

Your own words, Lord, taught me how to pray.
The beautiful “Our Father”
contains all I would wish to say.

Conclusion

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit,
as it was in the beginning,
is now and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen.

Amen