PRAYER

God of light and darkness,

From the hilltop of light

Where You shone and transfigured the world,

From the hilltop of Calvary

Where darkness fell and enveloped humanity,

Be with Your people in times

When light shines our way,

When darkness dims our paths.

In this season of Lent,

Help us reflect upon This light, and

This darkness,

Playing in, across and around our lives.

Help us accept that life will always involve

The intriguing, unsettling interplay of

Luminescence and shade.

Hear our prayers today for those

Traversing the Valley of the Shadow of Death.

Where loved ones have gone,

Or dreams and hopes have faltered and fallen,

Where pain is real and tears not far away.

Yet even in that the deepest gloom,

Darkness is not dark to You,

And though we may not see You,

Yet still, dear Lord, You travel with us.

Hear our prayers today for those

Traversing the brightness of the heavens,

Whose journey is propelled by the wings of the morning.

Where joy and thanksgiving both humble and hearten,

And all we see is You, there, present,

Still, dear Lord, travelling with us.

As the days of Lent darken,

And the world our Saviour walked through

Took Him to

Confrontation,

Isolation,

Desolation,

We too will see these bitter truths

Within the world we walk today.

Steady our feet, strengthen our resolve,

That we, with Christ,

May walk the way of darkness

Into the certainty of light

That reaches out to touch and heal

Our broken world, our broken souls

With gentleness, with grace, with hope.

In Jesus’ Name.

Amen