A Litany from the Iona Community

 

The sun rises and it is light, night falls and it is dark.

         BLESS THE ONE WHO GIVES THE LIFE.

 

Sew the seed and cut the corn; bear the child and build the house.

          BLESS THE ONE WHO GIVES LIFE.

 

Lay the tone and light the fire; cast the net and water the earth.

           BLESS THE ONE WHO GIVES LIFE.

 

Serve the guest and pay the price; nail the wood and pick the flowers

           BLESS THE ONE WHO GIVES LIFE.

 

Make the wine and bake the bread; pour the wine and break the bread.

           BLESS THE ONE WHO GIVES LIFE.

 

 

                                               The Meaning of the Christian Life

 

Christian life means being human by virtue of the incarnation, means being judged and granted mercy by virtue of the cross, means to live a new life by virtue of the resurrection. One is not without the other.

 

Christ did not come into the world that we might understand him, but that we might cling to him, that we might simple let ourselves be swept away by him into the immense event of the resurrection.

              (Dietrich Bonhoeffer, 1906-1945) 

 

(these two prayer meditations are from the spring issue of Confessing Christ newsletter, 2008; Pastor Frederick Trost, Editor)