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New every morning is your love, great God of light, and all day long you are working for good in the world. Stir up in us desire to serve you, to live peacefully with our neighbors and all your creation, and to devote each day to your Son, our Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.

"A Liturgy for Morning Prayer," Upper Room Worshipbook

Used by permission from the Book of Common Worship, © 2018 Westminster John Knox Press. All rights reserved. This prayer appears in “A Liturgy for Morning Prayer” in Upper Room Worshipbook.

 

Today’s Reflection

Receive the incredible and awesome gift of awareness of God. Let your time of Centering Prayer be a turning to receive what God has to give of divine love and gracious presence.
Read Exodus 3:1-6. Receive a word that comes to you through this reading. Listen to what it says to you. Pay attention to the implications of it. Take off your shoes to symbolize letting go and realizing the immediacy of the Divine Presence. Pray for guidance. Be quiet long enough to allow the word God has given you to resonate within.

—J. David Muyskens, Sacred Breath: Forty Days of Centering Prayer (Upper Room Books, 2010)

Today’s Question

What stands out to you about today’s scripture? Join the conversation.

Today’s Scripture

Then [God] said [to Moses], “Come no closer! Remove the sandals from your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.”
—Exodus 3:5 (NRSV)

Prayer for the Week

This week we invite you to practice Centering Prayer:
1. Choose a sacred word as the symbol of your intention to consent to God’s presence and action within.
2. Sitting comfortably and with eyes closed, settle briefly, and then silently introduce the sacred word as the symbol of your consent to God’s presence and action within.
3. When engaged with your thoughts [which includes body sensations, feelings, images, reflections], return ever so gently to the sacred word.
4. At the end of the prayer period, remain in silence with eyes closed for a couple of minutes.
Submit your prayer to The Upper Room.

Something More

The Upper Room Chaplains’ Ministry campaign is currently underway. Each year, between Memorial Day and July 31, The Upper Room raises awareness about and funds for this donor-led outreach, which distributes more than 270,000 copies of The Upper Room daily devotional to military, VA hospital, and prison chaplains. Support this ministry by giving today.

Lectionary Readings

(Courtesy of Vanderbilt Divinity Library)

Looking for lectionary-based resources? Learn more about The Upper Room Disciplines.

4 Comments

  • robert moeller Posted May 31, 2021 6:57 am

    “Do not be afraid,” Moses was told, just as the angels announcing Jesus birth said to the shepherds. To me the words “fear the Lord” mean that we should honor, respect, acknowledge and obey God as our Creator. The struggle of the Jewish people to follow and obey God became an option for all mankind when Jesus, Emanuel, God with us, was born , ministered to people, died and rose again, and whose good news was spread across the earth.
    Lots of cool rainy weather for the last three days, a very different Memorial Day weekend. Very thankful for the rain, this was a very different winter with less snow.
    The tv table has legs attached by screws and glue. Next to cut and attach the pieces that run from leg to leg.
    No painting on the Brill car when it’s raining.
    After Chinese food last night, it’s rice and raisins (porridge with honey and milk) for breakfast.
    Healing prayers for Marcy, Julie, and David. Hope this oasis of faith has a restful, meaningful, memory filled Memorial Day. Thank You, Lord

  • Lou Posted May 31, 2021 8:00 am

    Here I Am. God is with us. May everyone reading this today feel the strength of God’s presence. Thankful for our freedom and those that have given their lives in service of this country. Thankful for recovery from the isolation of the pandemic. Thankful for families.
    Blessings to all this day.

  • Ally Posted May 31, 2021 11:55 am

    As I read the scripture passage, Moses’ fear to approach the burning bush struck me. Moses is not known for displaying fear. Then the Lord says, “do not be afraid”. I pray that if God makes God’s presence known to me in such a dramatic way, that I will not be afraid. I also thought about the word ” holy”. My Paa-Paw was a holiness preacher in the Methodist church. In his day, holiness meant no drinking, dancing, or card Playing. My family did not ascribe to the strictest rules of the holiness movement, which stipulated that ladies not cut their hair or wear makeup, or skirts to their ankles. Holiness of heart(John Wesley called it Christian perfection) is what they strived for. What does that mean for us who live today? Today, I ask God to show me what it means to be holy. May it be so. I pray health and healing for all here and that remember the fallen on this Memorial Day. I thank God for my brothers and sisters in UR forum. Thank you for your prayers for us. Blessings to all.

  • Jill Posted May 31, 2021 7:21 pm

    What strikes me from this is how a super holy moment came out of an ordinary moment and setting. Moses tending his father-in-laws sheep, as I am guessing he had done countless times before. And, yet, in this rote scene, God breaks through. May I be ready for The Holy.
    I saw my sister’s new house today. It is pretty nice and I admit to pangs of jealousy. It is smaller than their previous house and she is missing her bigger closets and storage areas. I bit my tongue so I wouldn’t complain about the lack of closets and space in my older small home. I was thinking how nice it would be to have something new like that. But – I quickly thought about how nice it is to not have a mortgage and to have money for other things which I enjoy – travel, golf and tennis.
    Dad enjoyed the day so much, even though his hearing restricts how much of the conversation he hears. I have been very intentional about being patient when I have to repeat things – today and yesterday. God has helped me with this so much. When we were leaving my sister’s – dad commented about not having his knee strap on and his knee was a little sore, as we had walked around her new neighborhood. I must have been questioning him too much – like mom always harped on him – because he snapped at me a little bit. I must be very careful about this – cuz I always felt so sorry for him when mom relentlessly nagged him. God is making me very aware of these things – and I am grateful. It got warm when we were playing cards and my sister opened the sliding glass door. I went to get water and came back and it was closed – I said what happened – she said dad is cold. I looked at her and said this is what a week on vacation will be like – living in a sauna. She said back to me – what I wouldn’t give to be a fly on the wall observing you two. Yes, Father – more patience.
    I got all of my remaining flowers planted this morning. I am pretty happy with them. I hope my cat sitter will do a good job or watering them while I am at the beach with dad.
    Each day seems more and more like the end of school. Finally.

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