John The Baptist’s Day  2020   year 3 

Prayer for Midsummer’s Day year 3

Breathe on me, Breath of God ; fill me with breath anew,

That I may love what Thou dost love, and do what Thou wouldst do.

Breathe on me, Breath of God, until my heart is pure,

Until with Thee I will one will, to do and to endure.

Breathe on me Breathe of God, till I am wholly Thine,

Until this earthly part of me glows with Thy fire divine.

Breathe on me Breath of God; so shall I never die,

But live with Thee the perfect life of Thine eternity.

Written by Edwin Hatch (1835-89)

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Isaiah 42(5.9) Acts 10(37-38)Luke 1(67-80)

The prophet says his words are those of God. Basic foundations for the life of all humanity who seek righteous purpose and meaning in life. Isaiah states that God has given us life to be his implements; the means by which his will, will be.  Implements to build security in our mission which is :

To be a light to the nations . To all peoples  to  see -see clearly what life should be.

to open the eyes of the blind . not only the physical eyes  but the eyes of understanding kept blind by our own selfishness or fear or dependence on The World’s values instead of God’s

to release those stuck in the dark prisons of indifference to the plight of the poor and needy ,to those bound by sickness and despair, to the will of God. The “Godless”

Through Isaiah God says

HE has made a ”covenant.” Interpreted  as “ an act of Divine Compassion” by

Professor John F.A. Sawyer:

“HE is the LORD . HE is the Creator. HE is our authority. HE is the giver of breath..In Genesis second chapter verse 7 we can read that when God had made man from the dust of the ground , He breathed into his nostrils the breath of life and the man became a living being (Revised  Standard Version) All of this in righteousness.

Only through the breath of life, His Spirit, do we LIVE “

Luke tells us of Johannes the baby whose father met with the Divine Presence and who knew his son’s destiny which was to SERVE the Lord God. Read again the words he said to the child John …his purpose to direct our feet in the way of peace . The child grew and was strengthened by the Spirit. The Breath of God. Giving him the ability  to meet the evil of the world and stand and be counted  as God’s servant even unto death.  I believe John must have known our Old Testament  Text  and taken to heart the words !”I have taken you by the hand KEPT YOU”

Peter preaches   “You all know what happened. You all know what happened to John and to Jesus of Nazareth” I believe Jesus must  also have taken his strength from the Scripture’s words. He died arose from the dead. This truth was the foundation  of Peter’s Faith. He KNEW the risen Christ.  This is our challenge. Look inside ourselves. Do we know  about  Jesus. Of course we do BUT do we KNOW him in the depth of our inner beings…In our bowels as some  translations say.

The only way to live on earth is to be of God through Christ. This is our mission, exactly the same as is laid out in our Isaiah text. No guarantee of being liked by all, of being safe from danger , of being rich , of having a secure life BUT being sure of the Spirit of God  leading us through darkness to LIFE Eternal.  Fulfilling , indeed being His will.  May we all pray for one another that we might KNOW our Lord and live and die in Him. Remembering  “He has taken us by the hand and kept us “.

Amen.

Previous  Sermons:

Trinity - Summer time