Praying Together 8th September 2024

Trinity 15

Collect

God, who in generous mercy sent the Holy Spirit upon your Church in the burning fire of your love: Grant that your people may be fervent in the fellowship of the gospel; that, always abiding in you, they may be found steadfast in faith and active in service; through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Adam and Eve left the garden – Genesis 3: 23-24

The LORD God sent Adam forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from which he was taken. He drove out the man; and at the east of the garden of Eden he placed the cherubim, and a sword flaming and turning to guard the way to the tree of life.

Abram left home to create a nation – Genesis 12:1

The LORD said to Abram, ‘Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you.

A man left home to build a family – Ephesians 5:31

A man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife.

A King comes to us – Luke 1:30, 31

The angel said to her, ‘Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favour with God. And now, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you will name him Jesus.

The Saviour left to be with His Father – John: 10-13

All mine are yours, and yours are mine; and I have been glorified in them. And now I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect them in your name that you have given me, so that they may be one, as we are one. While I was with them, I protected them in your name that you have given me. I guarded them, and not one of them was lost except the one destined to be lost, so that the scripture might be fulfilled. But now I am coming to you, and I speak these things in the world so that they may have my joy made complete in themselves.

Matthew 28: 18-20

And Jesus came and said to them, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.’

Comings and Goings

Life is a process of continual change – some gradual, some more dramatic. Perhaps marriage, parenthood, retirement, serious illness, facing the inevitability of growing old. However excited and confident we may feel, deep down, there is always too a slight sense of uncertainty as we approach any significant lifestyle change. And this is the time of the year when many young people are stepping out into a new chapter of life – first day at school or college, perhaps a first job – and as parents, we try to disguise our feelings of concern as we realise that we have to trust them to the Lord and let go.

Scripture is full of stories of coming and going – life-changing journeys that affect each one of us everyday. We each have our own stories of departures – some joyous, some sad (Often both at the same time!). We learn that whenever we go to somewhere new, we run the risk of getting lost unless we take a map, and, like Theseus, make sure we have a way to find the way back home to security in case we’ve taken a wrong turning.

Fortunately, we do have a map. We have a compass We have learned from our experiences. We are taught by our memories. We have a home with the light left burning. We have our Bible. We have our counsellor. We have a home in Heaven. We have Jesus.

As we move on, we do so in In Him, with faith, hope and love. And thus all shall be well, and all shall be well, and all manner of thing shall be well.

So, a song for all the Mothers, Fathers, Grandmas and Grandads who are waving a farewell and praying God speed as they watch their children step out in excitement and hope at their new beginning. May the Lord Bless them and keep them safe. And you too, in your journeys.