I long for Your peace

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O Lord Hear My Prayer

The Community of Taizé

Today is Sunday the 30th of August, beginning the 22nd week of Ordinary Time.

Lord, I long for Your peace. Quiet everything within me that is restless. Lord, I long for Your light. Shine into the places of darkness within me. Lord, be with me. Pray with me.

To guide us into prayer, the Community of Taizé sings, ‘O Lord Hear My Prayer’.

3:49

Today’s reading is from the Prophet Jeremiah.

Jeremiah 20:7-9

O Lord, you have enticed me,

and I was enticed;

you have overpowered me,

and you have prevailed.

I have become a laughing-stock all day long;

everyone mocks me.

For whenever I speak, I must cry out,

I must shout, ‘Violence and destruction!’

For the word of the Lord has become for me

a reproach and derision all day long.

If I say, ‘I will not mention him,

or speak any more in his name’,

then within me there is something like a burning fire

shut up in my bones;

I am weary with holding it in,

and I cannot.

5:12

Sullen

In today’s reading we see a very human side of Jeremiah, so as you pray, imagine that you are alongside Jeremiah as he expresses his ambivalence about his relationship with God and his call as a prophet.

I have become a laughingstock all day long;

everyone mocks me.

For whenever I speak, I must cry out,

I must shout, “Violence and destruction!”

As you hear these words, can you recall a time when you have also suffered whilst in the service of God? Take a moment as you stand with Jeremiah to reflect on this time and the feelings that you felt or continue to feel.

Yet, Jeremiah is so passionate that something within him is like a burning fire shut up in his bones! Listen to his passion as the reading is read again.

8:22

Jeremiah 20:7-9

O Lord, you have enticed me,

and I was enticed;

you have overpowered me,

and you have prevailed.

I have become a laughing-stock all day long;

everyone mocks me.

For whenever I speak, I must cry out,

I must shout, ‘Violence and destruction!’

For the word of the Lord has become for me

a reproach and derision all day long.

If I say, ‘I will not mention him,

or speak any more in his name’,

then within me there is something like a burning fire

shut up in my bones;

I am weary with holding it in,

and I cannot.

9:28

We might admire Jeremiah for having the courage and passion to keep on prophesying for the Lord. He says: ‘I am so weary with holding it in, and I cannot.’

Are there aspects of your faith that you withhold from others to protect yourself from mockery or perhaps the fear of being misunderstood?

Speak with the Lord with honesty about your experiences, seeking his compassion and help.

12:08

Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit.

As it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be

World without end

Amen