Prayer for Sunday, March 8

March 8, 2009

2nd Sunday : What does it mean to be a ‘Christian’?

Scripture for reflection: Mark 8:31-38

Reflection – Nero

(Nero was a Roman emperor who is rumoured to have played his fiddle as he watched
Rome burn)
All I need has been provided. In Jesus there is bread from heaven as well. Yet the
‘hedonic treadmill’ says more is needed. This is the trap of the developed world. More
is enough!! In truth, less is needed. More is obesity of the spirit, less is healthy. Do I
trust more in consumerism than I do in poverty of spirit?
Surely in today’s affluent first world, discipleship requires giving away and letting go. Too
often I hang onto treasures that rust away or are devoured by moths. Too often I want my
bank balance high and my stomach stretched. Am I not a Nero who plays while the less
fortunate suffer?

Prayer for Lent Event project : East Timor

Scripture for reflection: Mark 2:23-28

Prayer: Farmer God, you tend your creation, care for your people and invite us to be
pilgrims on your way. We can imagine our brother Jesus walking in fields, caring
for animals and working with wood, the sun on his neck, a splinter in his thumb
and, sometimes, in his throat a raw cough from blowing sand or scratchy seed.
We remember before you people among whom he lives still, people who each
day must submit themselves and their families to what weather gives. We stand
with him among people whose too common experience leads them to worry
whether there will be enough food. May farmers in East Timor and Australia
gain skills that make the most of their gifts, support when they need it, markets
for their produce and fair reward for their effort. We look for the day when the
systems that shape our lives embody your fairness, the day when all your
creation honours you, through Jesus Christ. Amen.