Silent Sunday
The Lost Coin
Our theme for this Silent Sunday service is the parable of the lost coin.
Opening Chant: Hidden Things
As you listen to the following chant, written by J. Phillip Newell, you can sing along with it as an opening prayer:
Lyrics:
I will show you
Hidden things,
Hidden things you have not known.
Spend some time reading and reflecting on this parable for yourself. Listen for what stands out for you, and spend some time opening yourself to hear what the Spirit may be saying to you:
Luke 15:8-10
“Suppose a woman has ten silver coins and loses one. Doesn’t she light a lamp, sweep the house and search carefully until she finds it? And when she finds it, she calls her friends and neighbours together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost coin.’ In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents (metanoia – awakens).”
Length: 10 minutes
Use this image of sweeping as a way of gently letting go of thoughts and distractions as you move into a time of quiet prayer. As you let go and return to your sacred word or to awareness of your breathing, renew your consent to be open to God's presence and action within you, turning the furniture upside down, shining a light into the darkened corners, seeking you until you know that you are found and celebrated. (You can choose between a 10 minute timer and a 20 minute timer below, which each have a gong at the beginning and three gongs at the end)
Song: Find your way to me
Listen to the following song as a prayer:
Lyrics:
You are the light of the world
You are the fire that burns out my cold
You are the hope of my weary soul
Light of Heaven
Find Your way to me.
You are the grace that I need
Come now and still me with Your sweetest kiss
I’ve never felt arms warm like this
Grace of Heaven
Find Your way to me.
For further reflection:
Below are some of the quotes from the talk, and some additional quotes, for you to reflect on further:
Kabir:
Sweep from your heart
all hunger for fame or praise.
For their cheap sake
don't forfeit
your original wealth.
Mahmoud Shabistari:
I'm sweeping the floor of my heart, Beloved One.
I'm making it ready for You.
And then I'll leave, so you can come in.
When my ego's not at home,
You have space within me
to display your loveliness.
Henri Nouwen:
Your true identity is as a child of God. This is the identity you have to accept. Once you have claimed it and settled in it, you can live in a world that gives you much joy as well as pain. You can receive the praise as well as the blame that comes to you as an opportunity for strengthening your basic identity, because the identity that makes you free is anchored beyond all human praise and blame. ... The temptation [is] to disconnect from that deep place in you where God dwells and to let yourself be drowned in the praise or blame of the world. ... Only God can fully dwell in that deepest place in you and give you a sense of safety. There lies your true freedom.
Henri Nouwen:
I am deeply convinced that the necessity of prayer, and to pray unceasingly, is not as much based on our desire for God as on God’s desire for us. It is God’s passionate pursuit of us that calls us to prayer.
Ending prayer poem: (Anonymous)
In the dark must, the dingy back alleys,
under things, in dust, She is looking for you.
She knows where to find you,
even in the waste and scum of the city
of all your plans gone bad,
in the tumbled, shattered desert
of your loneliness and exile,
in the tangles and brambles of your shame,
among the slot machines of your distractions,
in the dense fog of your not even looking
she knows where you are.
You are not some dull penny for spending.
You are her dowry, her treasure.
You are worth your worth,
and she will not give up on you.
Always she is looking, always she is finding.
The light you walk by is her lamp.
When, unthinking,
an unsayable joy enters your heart
it is her, having found you.
Ending hymn: Great is Thy faithfulness
Lyrics:
Great is Thy faithfulness, O God my Father;
There is no shadow of turning with Thee;
Thou changest not, Thy compassions, they fail not;
As Thou hast been, Thou forever will be.
Great is Thy faithfulness
Great is Thy faithfulness
Morning by morning new mercies I see.
All I have needed Thy hand hath provided;
Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me.
Summer and winter and springtime and harvest,
Sun, moon and stars in their courses above
Join with all nature in manifold witness
To Thy great faithfulness, mercy and love.
Great is Thy faithfulness...
Pardon for sin and a peace that endureth
Thine own dear presence to cheer and to guide;
Strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow,
Blessings all mine, with ten thousand beside.
Great is Thy faithfulness...
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