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Overview
Contemporary, real-world prayer book for levelling up faith and getting closer to God.
For thousands of years men and women found meaning and a deep sense of belonging though faith in God. But today, traditional images of God (as an all-powerful father figure) and much standard prayer and worship language are no longer plausible for many believers. Yet the hunger to know - and communicate with - the Sacred in some form remains strong.
In this unique prayer book John McQuiston, bestselling author of Always We Begin Again, provides morning and evening devotions for two weeks, plus complete Morning and Evening Prayer services, along with a Service of Commemoration for Our Union. All use a language for and about God that reflects contemporary understandings of God and God's actions in the universe. This pocket-sized devotional is an excellent resource for individuals and congregations who are seeking to worship in a language that acknowledges today's realities and theology.
Product Details
| ISBN-13: | 9780819225771 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | Morehouse Publishing |
| Publication date: | 03/01/2004 |
| Sold by: | Barnes & Noble |
| Format: | eBook |
| Pages: | 142 |
| File size: | 340 KB |
About the Author
John McQuiston II is an attorney in Memphis, Tennessee, and author of Christianity Without Superstition, Always We Begin Again: The Benedictine Way of Living, and A Prayer Book for the 21st Century.
Read an Excerpt
A PRAYER BOOK
FOR THE TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY
By John McQuiston II
Church Publishing Incorporated
Copyright © 2004 John McQuiston IIAll rights reserved.
ISBN: 978-0-8192-2577-1
Excerpt
CHAPTER 1
AN EXPRESSION OF FAITH
We have faith that the whole of reality is God relating to God,
That we are to God as a wave is to the sea.
God is the thinker and the thought,
The force of gravity,
The wind on the waters,
The process of change,
The air we breathe,
The water we drink,
The bread we eat.
God is the nameless origin of names,
Acting in all that is,
Evolving and changing,
Uncreated, Ultimate, Unfathomable,
From whom all things proceed,
Of which all things are,
To which all things return.
God is the universe that has no edge,
The morning dew and the center of the sun,
God between us,
God beyond us,
God breathes us.
Rising, increasing, changing,
The great miracle and enigma,
Outside all categories,
The relationship of all relationships,
The medium of all communication,
The cause of love and love itself.
God in ourselves, our souls and bodies.
God is the source of time and endless time itself.
God is the present moment,
The Now that never ceases to be,
Infinite in all directions.
God fills the universe,
And the kingdom of God is within us.
If we could conceive all the worlds that exist,
They would be less than God's kingdom,
The place of freedom from place,
The time of freedom from time.
God is the smile on a loved one's face,
The gift of friendship,
The shared laughter that brightens the day,
Compassion and care offered during tragedy and joy.
God is the sleeping spirit of Christ present in every heart,
Ready to rise from the dead in each act of loving-kindness.
We trust that if we have true humility,
Which is the courage to abandon self-concern and fear,
We will experience the joy of self-transcendence,
And the peace that passes all understanding.
For the Holy is always with us, if we will awake to it.
It is the unwavering, constant embrace.
It is not a state of being.
It is not a state of mind.
It is that within which all states come and go.
For there are no words to describe the Presence,
It is the words we speak,
The sky we breathe,
The world we see,
The eyes through which we see,
And the eternal awareness behind our eyes.
A CYCLE OF DAILY OFFICES
Week One
Sunday Morning
The Morning Greeting
How lovely is this, your dwelling place,
Mystery of mysteries.
How I long for awareness of your company.
How I rejoice when I feel your companionship.
The sparrow finds his home in you,
The swallow builds her nest in your branches
Where she may lay her young in your arms.
Blessed are those who are aware
That they dwell in you,
For they fill their days with peace.
A minute awake to your presence
Is better than a thousand days alone.
Psalm 84
A Reading from Scripture
For I am sure that neither death, nor life,
Nor angels, nor principalities,
Nor things present, nor things to come,
Nor powers, nor height, nor depth,
Nor anything else in all creation,
Can separate us from the love of God.
Romans 8:38–39
A Meditation
"Your enjoyment of the world is never right,
Till every morning you awake in Heaven."
Thomas Traherne
The Concluding Prayer
Enveloping spirit,
We thank you for this priceless day, which will never come again.
Through it, you offer us
The opportunity to fill it with compassion and joy.
Help us to trust in your unfolding grace
And transcend self-concern,
So that at this very moment, and throughout this day,
We may live fearlessly and generate loving-kindness,
And thereby experience the only true wealth,
That of life in you.
Amen.
Sunday Evening
The Words of Assurance
To whom will you liken God?
What image could you contrive?
Who could be the equal of the Divine?
Lift up your eyes and look.
Who made the stars?
Isaiah 40
A Reading from Scripture
Great is our God above all gods.
For who is able to comprehend God,
Since the heaven and heaven of heavens,
Cannot contain the mystery of our being?
2 Chronicles 2:5–6
A Reading
I came forth from beyond this world,
And I covered the earth like a mist.
I had my tent in the heights,
And my throne in the clouds.
Over the sea and the earth I searched for rest,
And looked to see where I might pitch my tent.
Then I pitched my tent in humankind.
Now I am like a vine putting out graceful shoots,
Approach me and take your fill of my fruits.
They who eat of me will hunger no more,
Whoever drinks of me will thirst no more.
From eternity I came,
And for eternity I will remain.
Ecclesiasticus 24
The Concluding Prayer
Infinite reality,
Unending in time,
Unending in every direction,
You surround us,
You pervade us.
Everywhere we look,
There you are.
We swim in a sea that is made of you.
Our every cell is made of you.
Lift every concern from our hearts,
For we are filled with your being.
Give us awareness that always and everywhere,
We rest in you,
Now and forever.
Amen.
Monday Morning
The Promise for the Morning
I will lift the stone from your heart,
And a new spirit I will put within you.
Ezekiel 36:26
Morning Invocation
Sing a new song,
Rejoice in our days,
And dance in praise.
For the Timeless is present in every moment,
And takes pleasure in our joy.
Psalm 149
Psalm
Make a joyful noise,
Serve with gladness,
Respond with song.
For Life is holy.
The Divine Mystery has made us,
And not we ourselves.
We are God's people, creatures of the Infinite.
Live this day with pleasure,
And be thankful,
For the embrace of the Eternal
Endures to all generations.
Psalm 100
The Concluding Prayer
Life-giver,
Where I am,
You are.
What I feel,
You feel.
What I think,
You think.
So transparent is my unity with you
That my eye and your eye
Are one eye and one seeing
And one knowing and one loving.
In awe I confess:
That what I do,
You do.
Assist me this day to be worthy
Of you.
Amen.
Monday Evening
The Evening Psalm
The wind is your messenger,
The clouds are your chariots.
The earth rests in you,
And springs gush from your mountains.
The cedars of Lebanon you planted,
In them, the birds settle in their nests.
The wild goats roam your mountains.
In the rocky crags, badgers hide.
You made the moon to tell the seasons.
While you bring darkness on,
The lions seek their prey.
The vast expanse of ocean
Teems with countless life.
All creatures exist in you.
What endless variety you are.
Psalm 104
The Concluding Prayer
You unfold this world from another dimension,
Each moment you bring all of creation into being,
Again and again we receive your gifts.
Mystery at the center of all,
Your universe is a daily miracle.
Endow us now, at the end of the day
With the sense of your presence.
Bestow on us peace as we prepare to rest,
And bring us into awareness
That we are part of your timeless kingdom,
Now and forever.
Amen.
Tuesday Morning
The Morning Greeting
Omnipresent Consciousness,
You look out through my eyes
And the eyes of friends and family.
You know when I sit
And when I rise,
You discern my thoughts.
You are acquainted with all my ways.
Before a word is on my tongue,
You know it.
You surround me behind and before,
My hands themselves are yours.
Such knowledge is too wonderful for me,
It is too high,
I cannot attain it.
Where shall I go from your spirit?
Where can I flee from your presence?
If I ascend into the sky, you are there.
If I lie in the grave, you are there.
If I take the wings of the morning
Or dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea,
Even there you shall lead me.
If I say, "Let darkness cover me,
Let the light be night,"
The darkness is not dark to you,
The night is as bright as the day.
For you knit me together in my mother's womb,
Fearful and wonderful is your nature.
You formed the days for me,
When there were no days.
Psalm 139
The Concluding Prayer
Eternal Progression,
You, who express me at this instant,
Open my heart during this day.
Help me to be continuously thankful,
And to share your love with all I touch this day.
For I seek to fully trust in your grace.
Therefore, without reservation, as this day begins,
I let go of the cares of the world,
And gratefully and joyfully accept
The overwhelming gift of being.
Amen.
Tuesday Evening
The Words of Assurance for Evening
The Never-ending is my light and my salvation:
Whom shall I fear?
The Eternal within me is the strength of my life:
Of whom shall I be afraid?
Though a host should encamp against me,
My heart shall not tremble.
Though war should rise up in opposition to me,
In the embrace of the Unlimited will I be confident.
When my father and mother forsake me,
The Source of all will fill me up.
In the midst of my enemies, the Comforter shall envelope me.
I will be of good courage because the Infinite is in me.
Psalm 27
The Concluding Prayer
Incomprehensible Mystery,
Here in this instant and always,
Deep within our being,
From the dust of stars
You brought us into existence,
And provided this day.
From the moment of birth,
You have sheltered us from death.
As night falls,
Help us, in your grace,
To be thankful,
And to make our lives worthy of your gifts.
Amen.
Wednesday Morning
The Promise
Fear not, for I am with thee.
Isaiah 43:5
A Morning Canticle
Before the oldest of my works,
From the timeless I was.
Before the earth came into being,
Before the mountains were settled,
Before the beginning,
I was there.
There were no springs to gush forth,
Yet I was there.
There were no mountains,
Yet I was there.
My delight is in you day after day,
And through you I am at play.
I delight in the children of all people.
Happy are those who keep my ways,
For those who find me find life.
Proverbs 8
A Meditation
In life we are in grace.
In every moment and in every place
We live suspended in the web of Divinity of which we are made,
Therefore, we leave our fears and concerns behind,
And place our complete trust in the Infinite.
We rest in the never-ending embrace.
We merge our spirits with your spirit
And with one another in the mystical delight in our world.
We call forth from within ourselves the spirit of the Christ
within,
Of forgiveness and unconditional compassion,
We offer Christ's kindness to one another.
The Concluding Prayer
Inexhaustible Unity,
Your origin is our origin,
We are an outpouring of your grace.
Therefore, as we begin this day,
We place our complete trust in you.
Help us to merge our spirits with your spirit,
To live as you live,
Without the need for justification,
To live life as an end and not a means,
And to find within ourselves
Christ's empathy, resurrected and incarnate,
In this place and time.
So that today, unreservedly,
We may offer care and compassion
To every person with whom we come in contact.
Amen.
Wednesday Evening
The Words of Assurance
Jesus said:
The kingdom of God is not found by observation:
We cannot say, look here! Or look there!
For the kingdom of God is within you.
Luke 17:20–21
A Meditation
Limitless center of our being,
You are our refuge and strength,
Therefore we will not fear.
Though the earth be moved,
Though the mountains are carried into the sea.
You are the river in which every stream is joined,
The beyond in our midst
From which we can never be parted.
People rage, kingdoms are destroyed,
But when we open ourselves to you, all that is earthly melts away.
Then our conflicts shall cease, and our weapons will be broken.
(Continues...)
Excerpted from A PRAYER BOOK by John McQuiston II. Copyright © 2004 by John McQuiston II. Excerpted by permission of Church Publishing Incorporated.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.
Table of Contents
Contents
Acknowledgments
Foreword by Marcus Borg
Introduction
An Expression of Faith
A Cycle of Daily Offices: Week One
A Cycle of Daily Offices: Week Two
A Service of Morning Prayer
A Service of Evening Prayer
A Memorial Service in Thanksgiving for the Life of One Departed
A Service of Commemoration for Our Union
Notes
Bibliography
What People are Saying About This
"McQuiston employs a language for and about God that reflects contemporary understanding of the nature of God and His actions in the universe. A pocket-sized devotional, A Prayer Book for the 21st Century is especially commended to the attention of individuals and congregations yearning to worship and express themselves to God in a manner that is appropriate to contemporary realities and Christian theology."
—Midwest Book Review