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ADDITIONAL PRAYERS (A) - BROTHER NICK HUTCHINSON
For ready-reference purposes I have numbered each of the following prayers. I specify details if a prayer
is from a particular source (whether one of my published prayers that I haven’t already sent you as part of
the package of prayers used already on the coloured cards, or if a prayer is written by another author.
E-
Many picture-stories are given in the Bible, Father, that describe well your love for each of us. You moulded me from the clay of the earth Gen 2: and gave me life as you breathed the Holy Spirit into me. You knit me together in my mother’s womb, Ps 139:13; Wis 7: and I am your work of art, your masterpiece, Eph 2: made magnificently. Ps 139:
You cast to the bottom of the sea Micah 7: the wrongs I have done, and no pit of mine is so deep (Corrie Ten Boom) that your love is not deeper still. I place my trust in your mercy and compassion because you love me tenderly and embrace me. cf Lk 15: I rejoice that nothing whatever can come between me and your love for me, Rom 8: and there on the palm of your hands my name is written. Is 49: Is it not remarkable for me to be able to say that you are very fond of me? I am not worthy, loving Father, but I thank you that you are always faithful, 1 Cor 1: exceeding by far anything that I might offer in return.
(adapted from Nick’s July 2008 ‘Prayer in Prison’ – the original prayer is not complete at this time, but above is one of two extracts in this collection. This reads as a complete, distinct prayer)
E-
Anyone can, at any time, Lord Jesus, seek your forgiveness and be made whole. Anyone can, at any time, Lord, have a change of heart and become a ‘friend of God’. Lk 12:31; Jn 15:15; Jms 2:23. How encouraging, how affirming it is, how uplifting, good Lord, that you proclaim: “I call you friends”. Jn 15:
In so many encounters in the Gospel, Lord, people found themselves captives no longer cf Lk 4: because you freed them from the effects of sin and death and sickness. I ask you to do the same for me and set me free Ps 119:32; Titus 2: from all that makes me less than fully human, from all that contradicts your love, from all that counters and diminishes the vision our Father has for me of being his work of art, his masterpiece, Eph 2: made magnificently! Ps 139:
(adapted from Nick’s July 2008 ‘Prayer in Prison’ – the original prayer is not complete at this time, but above is one of two extracts in this collection. This reads as a complete, distinct prayer)
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E-
COULD POSSIBLY GO WITH
PRESENT PRAYER CARD,
L.11 – rich young man
Lord, you look on us with love and call us to do the same to those to whom you send us. Give us your vision and show us hw to bring your blessing to others through our gaze and our presence. Lead us to confirm for each person that you look on us all with great love. Bless us, Lord, this day and always. Amen. Nicholas Hutchinson, FSC
AND ALSO:
Lord Jesus you treasure and hold a special place for each and every person, as though only that one individual exists. I rejoice that you accept me as I am, in the reality of my life this day. I rejoice, too, that though alone I need never feel lonely: I can grow in enjoying my own company and in appreciating, good Lord,
face-to-face. Amen.
Nicholas Hutchinson, FSC
G-1C
THIS IS A PRESENT CARD = P.
YOU WALK BY MY SIDE
Bro Nicholas Hutchinson Today and always, Lord, you smile on me and embrace me with your love, walking by my side from the rising of the sun to its setting. You have opened my eyes, good Lord, to the wonder of all that has been around me, and to the people who have been a part of my life each day. Empower me with your Spirit and warm my heart again, and grant me to walk humbly with you, my God. Amen.
G-2 GOD’S PRESENCE AMIDST DIFFICULTIES
The building of the Bell Rock (Inchcape Rock) Lighthouse
Nicholas Hutchinson, FSC
G-2A
Watching a TV programme on the building of The Bell Rock Lighthouse served as a special ‘ moment of faith’ , which comes to all of us from time to time. I remain very grateful for so many ‘ moments of faith’ and, even more so, for many ‘ people of faith’ throughout my life.
The Bell Rock (or Inchcape Rock ) is some 12 miles off the coast of Angus, eastern Scotland. The rock itself was particularly hazardous because it was hidden beneath the surface of the water for all but 4 hours of a day.
A bell had been placed there in the 14th^ Century but the theft of that bell by a pirate
- which later led to him being shipwrecked there! – gave rise to Robert Southey’s poem, ‘The Inchcape Rock’. The Rock was infamous for many shipwrecks, culminating in 1804 with the loss of all 491 on board the warship, HMS York. Legislation was passed and exceptionally dangerous work took place finishing in 1810 on the building of a Lighthouse on The Bell Rock. The rock itself was under less than 12 feet of water for 20 hours a day. Initially the builders lived in a ship, moored a mile away. Then they built a beacon house on tall wooden struts where, for 20 hours a day, and often amidst howling winds and treacherous waters, they would live and eat and sleep. Often it must have been quite terrifying.
With good reason The Bell Rock Lighthouse is considered one of the Seven Wonders of the Industrial World, and in the TV series of that title the faith of those who built the lighthouse at the very great risk of severe injury and loss of life came across clearly. Before and after work each day the architect, Robert Stevenson, prayed with his workforce, and I was very struck when they were shown to pray from a well-used psalm concerning the Presence of God:
“If I take the wings of the morning and dwell at the sea’s furthest end… even there you are with me…” Ps 139:9-
Whenever I have prayed any psalm since that occasion bearing references to words like ‘ rock’ , ‘ water’ , ‘ shelter’ and ‘ light’ my mind has returned to reflect on the steadfast faith of those people in desperate circumstances. I think, too, of the heritage of faith and witness that has, in turn, been passed on to me.
Nicholas Hutchinson, FSC These men and boys may have prayed as I am doing now: bringing together phrases from different psalms (they came from a tradition of knowing the psalms by heart), bringing together into a ‘new’ prayer some themes from the psalms of ‘ rock’ and ‘ water’ ,
Nicholas Hutchinson, FSC
It would have been evocative to Stevenson’s men when they prayed the following words from the psalms, words about a ‘ rock’ , of ’ringing out’ , of ‘lamp’ and ‘ light’ , of ‘ darkness’ and ‘ fear’ :
Come, ring out our joy to the Lord; Ps 95:1- hail the rock who saves us. Let us come before him, giving thanks. To him belongs the sea, for he made it. Ps 95: You, Lord, are my lamp, Ps 18: my God who lightens the darkness. The Lord is my light and my help; Ps 27: whom shall I fear?
G-3 “EARTH IS CRAMMED WITH HEAVEN”
G-3A
A wonderful few lines from Elizabeth Barrett Browning I often return to as they recall the encounter of Moses with God. It was in a bush that was on fire yet was not burning that Moses saw a sign of God’s Presence. God revealed himself to Moses, on whom there was such an effect that his face was so transfigured, so changed, so alight, that he needed to cover his face with a cloth so as not to dazzle or blind those people who came near him: such was the effect on Moses of being aware of God’s presence – yet the poet, here, wonders if others who saw the same bush would not be able to perceive what Moses saw and experienced:
Earth's crammed with heaven, and every common bush afire with God; and only he who sees takes off his shoes; the rest sit round it and pluck blackberries.
Elizabeth Barrett Browning
G-3B
DO I PORTRAY THE PRESENCE OF GOD? We can think of Moses in whom the effect of your Presence, Father, from that encounter on the mountain-top, left his face shining so brilliantly that he had to wear a cloth, a veil, over his face so as to avoid dazzling those around him.
In the fullness of time, Father, the fullness of our experience of God came about in Jesus, your Son. Your revelation is to the people you love so greatly: Jn 3: people who are made in your image. Gen 1:27; Jms 3: You sent us your word in the scriptures and then your greatest revelation was of your Word made flesh. He was fully God and fully human and it is our joy to be able to say that he dwelt among us, Jn 1: and we saw his glory.
Nicholas Hutchinson, FSC
G-3C
And now, with our unveiled faces (unlike Moses) we reflect like mirrors 2 Cor 3: your brightness, Lord, or, if we do not, there is something amiss, because Jesus is the radiant light of your glory, Heb 1: and he dwells in each of us. His light as well as our own shines forth for others to see. Mt 5: Do we not proclaim that Jesus is the image of the unseen God: Jesus is the image of you , Father, Col 1: and so to have seen Jesus is to have seen you. Jn 14: Jesus is the first-born of all creation Col 1: and all our hopes are in him because you chose us specially long ago, Father, Rom 8: to be true images of your Son, so that Jesus might be the eldest brother of so many who follow him.
Touched by your hand our world is holy
- and how much more so is there something so very special, so compelling, so engaging, so wonderful about humanity because your Son became one of us. ‘ Incarnation’ concerns our life together and encourages us to look for and discover many depths in each other, encountering Jesus himself. In all its implications, ‘ Incarnation’ , surely, is truly awesome! So much about the ‘ Incarnation’ impinges on daily life, including a certain kind of reverence and respect for other people, appreciating that we are brothers and sisters in Jesus.
Nicholas Hutchinson, FSC
is your perfect way, Father, Col 2: of living as a human being. Yes, I have a lot to learn from him but it is all much greater than seeking to imitate him in the sense of setting out to try to be a ‘copy’ of him, as a photocopy is a copy of an original, or of someone trying to emulate the likes of a pop star or sports hero. Jesus is calling and beckoning, smiling and approaching, inviting and welcoming. I ask, Father, to be fully open to the workings of your Spirit in the remainder of my life: to be fully open to what you want of me. Amen.
Nicholas Hutchinson, FSC
G-3F
THE WORD-MADE-FLESH AND HIS CRUCIFIXION
Crucifixion was intended to be a terrible, painful and slow death but paintings of that scene in the life of Jesus
- although they depict torture – can inspire us, Father, by reminding us that you so loved our world Jn 3:16; cf Eph 2:4- that, in the fullness of time, Heb 1:1- you lavished your love upon us 1 Jn 3: by sending us Jesus, your Son. Such art prompts us to reflect, Father, that your love and his know no limits: cf 1 Jn 4: Jesus loved us to death - and beyond. He not only died for us; Rom 8: he rose from the dead and there at your right hand, Father, cf Lk 22: he is praying for us now: “he pleads for us,” Rom 8: and you never take back your gifts Rom 11: or revoke your choices. I thank you, Father, for your love and for the love of your Son and for the love I can have today in being empowered by your Spirit to live as the person you call me to be. Amen.
G-4 PROCESSION TO CALVARY
G-4A
Brueghel’s ‘Procession to Calvary’ can readily be accessed on the Internet. Amidst the ‘busy-ness’ of daily life, Jesus
- and him carrying his cross of execution, at that – appears to be hidden, lost, whilst so much is going on around. Looking closely at the picture, undoubtedly as the artist intended, it is in the very centre of the picture that the Lord is detected: there at the heart, the centre, of daily life. It is a very powerful picture and very poignant for all that it conveys.
It can be viewed on these webpages:
www.navigo.com/wm/paint/auth/bruegel/calvary.jpg
http://cgfa.sunsite.dk/bruegel1/p-brueg1-8.htm
www.khm.at/data/page435/page435/Bruegel_Kreuztragung600.jpg
G-4B
In some paintings, the crucifixion is depicted amidst the earthiness of daily life. In my opinion this painting is not meant to convey either callousness of the crowd or disrespect on the part of people who bear looks and traits very similar to our own! Instead, I think the portrayal is to emphasise the wonder and magnificence and generosity of all that ‘ Incarnation’ means: that God is among us as a fellow human being
- and in many ways (as in Bruegel’s Procession to Calvary) ) it is, quite deliberately, hard to distinguish him from others around him.
Nicholas Hutchinson, FSC
G-4C
Dietrich Bonhoeffer:
“God is weak and powerless in the world, and that is exactly the way, the only way, in which he can be with us and help us… Only a suffering God can help.”
“If Jesus Christ is not true God,
in our midst today it can lead us to see Jesus as the one who is bearing
- or helping to bear - that burden…. Yes, almost lost in this painting, and almost lost in the human ordinariness of everyday life is Jesus
- yet it is he who gives meaning to the ordinariness of everyday life; he is our meaning and, in the busyness of our world, he is – in the words of T.S.Eliot – Four Quartets “at the still-point of the turning world”. ‘Burnt Norton’
G-4E
As I pray, loving Lord, I ask you to remind me that you are here with me and are in the midst of your people who gather in your name. Open our eyes and open our hearts that we may detect that you are present with us in so many ways.
Nicholas Hutchinson, FSC
G-5 WHERE SUFFERING IS TAKING PLACE,
JESUS IS THERE
G-5A
It is from heart-felt experience, Father, that I know that you can turn everything to good, Rom 8: just as the seeming tragedy of dying on the cross became the glorious victory of Jesus defeating death and rising to new life.
Difficulties can become opportunities, and we realise that Jesus makes our own crosses lighter to bear precisely because he helps us carry them. “Come to me , Mt 11:28- all who labour and are overburdened,”
he says to me, “and I will give you rest. Shoulder my yoke and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. Yes, my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”
Not only is it that Jesus is beside me and helps me to carry my cross, but he also takes my suffering upon himself, Father, as we read in that great prophecy: “Ours were the sufferings he bore; ours were the sorrows he carried”. Is 53: After all , ‘ suffering with’ is what ‘ compassion’ means, and your Son fully identifies himself with us:
undergoing what we go through.
All that is ‘Incarnation’
- ‘God becoming a human being’ and embracing all that is human - leads me to conclude that where suffering is taking place, Jesus also is there.
Nicholas Hutchinson, FSC
G-6 “GOD’S LOVE AND BLESSING
ARE NOW AND HERE AND EVERYWHERE”
- John Greenleaf Whittier
G-6A
It is always today that you challenge us, Father. You set before us Deut 30: a blessing or a curse: to choose life or death today, and the psalmist says: “ O that today you would listen to God’s voice .” Ps 95:
Then, at the start of the Gospel, is the Good News to each of us: ‘Today in the town of David Lk 2: a Saviour is born for you,’ and at the start of the public ministry of Jesus, Lk 4: he reads from a scroll in the synagogue of his home-town of Nazareth. There he concludes the prophecy from Isaiah, saying: “Today, here in your presence this text is being fulfilled.”
The leper loathly and abhorred, Lk 17: Whose eyes of flesh beheld the Lord!
"Oh, bear me thither! Let me look On Siloa's pool, and Kedron's brook; Jn 9:7; 18: Kneel at Gethsemane, and by Mt 26: Gennesaret walk before I die!… Mt 14:22-
"Henceforth my heart shall sigh no more For olden time and holier shore; God's love and blessing, then and there, Are NOW and HERE and EVERYWHERE."
Nicholas Hutchinson, FSC
G-7 THE GOSPEL TAKES SHAPE WITHIN ME
G-7A
Mother Teresa said:
“I am a little pencil in the hands of a writing God who is sending a love letter to the world.”
G-7B
These are words from a poem by Walt Whitman, ‘ Song of Myself’:
“I find letters from God dropped in the street, and every one is signed by God’s name.”
G-7C
Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote:
“Never lose an opportunity of seeing anything that is beautiful, for beauty is God’s handwriting
- a wayside sacrament.”
G-7D
PRAYER – Nick Hutchinson – PRESENTLY = prayer card P.
God our Father, until the time of the printing press, people copied the Gospel, writing it by hand. Slowly the Gospel took shape
- both on the page and deep within themselves. I ask that the Gospel
- the Good News of your love - may be written in me not with ink but with the Spirit of God. 2 Cor 3: Only then will I grow as a credible witness of the wealth of your love.
Day by day, as the pages of my life turn over, remind me that you write my name on the palm of your hand. Is 49: I ask this prayer through Jesus, who is your Word, living amongst us. Amen.
Nicholas Hutchinson, FSC ‘Praying Each Day of the Year’; (Volume 3: September 22) Matthew James Publishing
G-7E
Being Christians, we are following not a set of rules, but we are following the Person of Jesus! To 5th^ Century Christians, St Augustine said:
“Let us listen to the Gospel as if Jesus himself stood before us.”
G-7F
PRAYER Nicholas Hutchinson
May the message of Christ Col 3: in all its richness always find a home in us
- but we would be misguided if our reading of the scriptures was limited to gaining a ‘set of rules’ or even insights by which to live. Instead, what we seek
Be praised, my Lord, for Sister Water, who is very useful to us, and humble and precious and pure.
Be praised, my Lord, for Brother Fire, through whom you give us light in the darkness: he is bright and lively and strong.
Be praised, my Lord, for Sister Earth, our Mother, who nourishes us and sustains us, bringing forth fruits and vegetables of many kinds and flowers of many colours.
Be praised, my Lord, for those who forgive for love of you; and for those who bear sickness and weakness in peace and patience
- you will grant them a crown.
9 Be praised, my Lord, for our Sister Death, whom we must all face.
I praise and bless you, Lord, and I give thanks to you, and I will serve you in all humility.
G-9 “MAKE YOUR HOME IN ME” - Jn 15:
WHAT ‘HOME’ CAN MEAN
G-9A
In a programme (26/7/07) about the footballer David Beckham, whose family homes include locations in England and Los Angeles and Madrid, Beckham told of a question he asked one of his children. “Which home do you like best?” he asked, and the child’s delightful response (‘out of the mouths of babes’) was to this effect: “Wherever you and Mummy are: that’s our best home.”
G-9B
I recall, Lord Jesus, that you told your disciples to go into their “inner room” to pray. Mt 6: And so here I am, Lord, in my “inner room”, my own special place. Not only is it somewhere where I feel comfortable
and can readily be myself, but it serves as a reminder to come to you in a genuine way, just as I am, with no pretence or insincerity that only build up walls of separation
- whether with other people, or with you. Whenever I am anxious or afraid, Lord, Mt 6:34, Jn 14: or am not really myself, and “the doors of my room are closed” , Jn 20: do come through those doors and be with me and bring me your peace. Then, with courage and with the strength of your Spirit, those doors, too, will be opened.
You told a friend to ask “Where is the room in which I can eat the Passover with my disciples?” Lk 22: My answer, Lord, is here: because I am keen that there always be room in my life for you. Lk 2: I open my door as I hear you calling me and knocking Rev 3: and I invite you to come in, knowing that you are ready to join me, side by side. As with any other guest in my home, Lord, I welcome you warmly, and I hear you say: “Make your home in me as I make mine in you.” Amen. Jn 15:
Nicholas Hutchinson, FSC
JESUS DWELLS IN ME, HERE, TODAY
G-9C
When Jesus says: “Make your home in me as I make mine in you ” that wonderful invitation to ‘incarnation’ refers to me: to this person, this day, in this time, in this place.
In this place, and at this time the Lord Jesus dwells IN ME… I wish to make my home in him as he makes his home in me.
Nicholas Hutchinson, FSC
