St. Nicolai Notes

EXCHANGES ON THE WAY: LENTEN PRAYERS
Day 24: Fourth Tuesday
Mark 11:27-33

     Christ Jesus, while some responded with astonishment and trust to the authority that they perceived in your actions and instruction, others resisted.  Some of us are like those who resisted: accustomed to conferred authority and influence, wealthy, powerful, conspicuous for our holy habits, even guardians of the faith.
     We are fully settled in what we believe to be true, right and holy. And we have closed our minds to the possibility that You might still do something new among us, or that we might still live fully into a more robust and godly type of humanity than that for which we have settled. At times we are almost fatalistic about the lives we have chosen or become stuck in, thinking and saying, "That's just who I am."
     Enable us to see the newness that You can create in our hearts and minds and in other dimensions of our lives. For those of us who have grown old, enable us to see that You can still alter our lives in surprising and meaningful ways. Touch us and speak to us in ways that open us to new possibilities. Enable us to recognize your authority, as we have before, and to walk your way, wherever it leads, with renewed hope and joy. Amen.