Night Time Prayers

 Nighttime prayers, Compline

“Keep watch, dear Lord, with those who work, or watch, or

weep this night, and give your angels charge over those who

sleep. Tend the sick, Lord Christ; give rest to the weary, bless

the dying, soothe the suffering, pity the afflicted, shield the

joyous; and all for your love’s sake.” Amen.—St. Augustine of Hippo. Book of Common Prayer, p. 134. 

  This gift from St. Augustine is one of the nighttime prayers from Compline, an evening service read just before bedtime. Families or groups can say the short prayer service as a gathering before retiring. I particularly remember when our friends Barbara and Hap Hoffman came to our house and said compline with our family every night for six weeks while recovering from surgery.

In my medical practice, this prayer was meaningful, as I could visualize the people I knew working at night at our Children’s Hospital and the patients we were all helping care for. This prayer also strengthened me when I was on call at the hospital at night, knowing that people all over the globe were saying these prayers.

As compline became a more regular part of our rule of life, we visualize people in other professions, working at night, in grocery stores, restaurants, airlines, and police stations. We remember those dying and those mourning the death of a loved one. Then, we begin praying for the joyous.

All of these prayers ever so briefly can help us get out of ourselves and all our problems as we begin praying and thinking about others. This service calms our souls and is better than any sleeping pill, drug, or drink.

Below is another nighttime prayer from the New Zealand Prayer Book. I especially relate to the part, “What has been done has been done; what has not been done, let it be.”

I remember the C.S. Lewis quote you often hear from me, “We do not pray to change God. Instead, we pray to change ourselves.”

Nighttime prayers can change us.

New Zealand Prayer Book

         “Lord,

         it is night.

         The night is for stillness. 

                  Let us be still in the presence of God.

         It is night after a long day.

                  What has been done has been done;

                  what has not been done;

                   let it be.

         The night is dark.

                  Let our fears of the darkness of the world and of our own lives rest in you.

         The night is quiet.

                  Let the quietness of your peace enfold us,

                           all dear to us,

                           and all who have no peace.

         The night heralds the dawn. 

                  Let us look expectantly to a new day,

                           new joys,

                           new possibilities.

In your name we pray.” Amen. p. 184.

Joanna          https://www.joannaseibert.com/

 

 

 

Servant Leadership, a New Norm of Greatness

 MLK: A New Norm of Greatness

“Jesus gave us a new norm of greatness. You don’t have to have a college degree to serve. You don’t have to make your subject and your verb agree to serve. You don’t have to know about Plato and Aristotle to serve. You don’t have to know the second theory of thermodynamics in physics to serve. You only need a heart full of grace, a soul generated by love. And you can be that servant.”—Martin Luther King Jr., “Drum Major Instinct,” sermon, Atlanta, February 4, 1968.

Martin Luther King gives us the short version of servant ministry, which Bishop Bennett Sims described in his 1997 landmark book, Servanthood, Leadership for the Third Millennium. Our worthiness has nothing to do with our IQ.

Being a servant leader differs entirely from being the smartest, working to become the greatest, needing to control, or needing the admiration of others because of your abilities.
Servant leaders make room for and empower others, work to build up others, not to polish the system or the leader’s self-importance. A servant leader does not see production as the first purpose of any family system, endeavor, church, or business. Human enhancement, not human employment, is the primary aim of organizations led by servant leaders.

 Meaning and joy in work come from power with, not power over.
Sims describes collaboration with others as the “meat and potatoes” of human nourishment, while competition is the “salt and pepper.”
 Sims believes our society has been living on “spices.”

Being Part of the Symphony

Balbir Matbur: Part of the Symphony

“I plant trees, but I am not the doer of this work. I am the facilitator, the instrument—I am one part of the symphony. I know there is an overall scheme to this symphony that I cannot understand. In some way, we are each playing our own part. It is not for me to judge or criticize the life or work of another. All I know is that this is my dance. I would plant trees today even if I knew for certain that the world would end tomorrow.”—Balbir Matbur in Heron Dance interview (Issue 11) from Inward Outward, Daily Words, October 19, 2016, inwardoutward.org 

Our tickets at the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra were in the third row for many years. At times, we felt we were part of the orchestra. We knew who sat where, when someone new was there, or when someone was missing. We learned a few by name. Many orchestra members were still there when we first came to Little Rock over forty years ago.

I especially remember one moment many years ago when the first cellist had a twenty-second solo close to the end of the performance. Suddenly, his deep, melodious sound was heard above the rest of the orchestra, and then, just as suddenly, he faded back into the background to support the other instruments.

If I had been him, I would have been too nervous the whole night, waiting for that brief moment when the soloist’s voice soared above the rest of the orchestra. The professional cellist, of course, seemed as comfortable blending in the symphony as he was with his solo. He also continuously maintained direct eye contact with the conductor while playing his brief solo part. I later wondered about the many hours he must have practiced this short solo until it was almost part of his being.

The cellist taught me that we spend most of our lives as members of the orchestra with our unique instruments and talents, blending and giving depth to the composition assigned to us. Sometimes, we are called to speak out above the symphony’s music. Before we do this, however, we should be prepared by practicing, knowing our part intimately, especially the timing, and keeping our eye on the conductor. Most of the time, we are called to spend our gifts blending, supporting, and, in many ways, encouraging the sounds of others.

The Topping Out Ceremony of the ASO Stella Boyle Smith Music Center will now be Tuesday, January 30 from 10 - 11 a.m.

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