Speak from the heart

For a man's words flow out of what fills his heart. JB 

For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of. NIV

For it is out of the abundance of the heart that the mouth speaks. NRSV

 Luke 6:45

 

'Love the truth'

Marist Regional College motto

The political heat is being turned up and the expectations we have of those who would represent us in the next Federal election are heightened by how our COVID-riddled economy will be managed. Despite no date having been given for the election, electioneering posters have already made their way onto fences, walls and signboards.

Tassie being Tassie, everyone knows their local pollies. There are 57 state and federal members. There are 29 municipal councils, each with a minimum of 7, and a maximum of 12 councillors (including a mayor and deputy mayor providing for a minimum of 203 councillors (generally only the larger councils have 12). It'd be hard not to bump into a politician, or former politician on most street corners or cafes. Educationalists get their fair share of exposure to their representatives at school fairs, buildings being opened, new programs launched, new school crossings - you name it, they're there. Just along the road from my house I've shaken hands with Scotty and Malcolm.

I have absolutely no doubt that many who run for public office are motivated by the desire to serve their communities, but there's equally no doubt that many of them somewhere along the way lose their hearts to their own ideals and vision, their leaders and their parties, their policies, their donors, so that a growing disconnection separates their mouths from their hearts.

If anything the events of recent days in Ukraine are testament to such a disconnect. The consequences can, as in this case, be dire.

But we, too, have to take what comes from our own mouths deadly seriously. We ought be accountable for and responsible for what we say. You and I know when our words have had the impact we are seeking. We say such things as – ‘I really hit the mark’, ‘I really spoke my mind’, ‘I told him like it is’. We know that our words can not only build up and give praise, but all too easily they can diminish and destroy. On the other hand, if we would only listen as well as we speak, then we would really hear what people are saying to us.

The people we speak to every day will truly see and hear the real you, but what we often really crave and need is to be liked, admired, respected and loved and it can be so if we speak the truth, if we speak with love and respect. It is a high bar and there is no doubt that we should expect no less from our elected officers.

Our exemplar, as always, is Jesus (John 14:6). We ought not only speak the truth, but love the truth.

 

Peter Douglas

 

 

Prayer from Uniting Church in Australia President Rev Sharon Hollis

God of peace, God of mercy
We pray for the people of Ukraine,
We lament the violence that has come to their country
We ask for comfort for those who mourn, hope for those who despair and compassion for all who suffer.
We plead for an end to violence and aggression in their land

We pray for the people of Russia,
We give thanks for those who protest for peace and pray for ongoing courage
We ask for a change of heart in those who commit acts of aggression and war against their fellow citizens and neighbours
We pray for Russians who will suffer because of sanctions and war

We pray for leaders around the world
We pray that world leaders might work for an end to war and for establishing of peace
We seek wisdom for those who are making life and death decisions about how to respond to violence and threats of violence
We ask for courage for those who campaign for peace.

We pray for aid workers and journalists
We give thanks for the willingness of aid workers to work in situations of war and unrest in order to meet the needs of others
We ask for safety, wisdom and compassion for all working to alleviate suffering and heal the wounded
We pray for journalist and media organisations reporting the situation in Ukraine and Russia, may they report truthfully and compassionately.

We pray for peace
We lament violence around the world 
We plead for the ceasing of violence and the establishment of peace
We pray that you might give us a desire for peace and a willingness to work and hope and pray for peace each day. Amen

 

Pray for Ukraine by Rev Dr Ji Zhang

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace.
I pray in search for peace in Ukraine
give peace a chance in the time of war
in the world’s history.

O Lord,
enlighten the rulers
they may defend the gift of peace;
We denounce deadly armed force,
call on all leaders back to dialogue;
to respect the international law
to protect lives within the bound of peace.

The LORD is close to the broken-hearted
and saves those who are crushed in spirit.' (Psalm 34:18)
Give the injured your healing spirit,
Give the dead a rest in peace,
Give the displace a community of peace
Give the world a moment of peace
This is the peace
that the world cannot give,
but only comes from your son Jesus Christ.

O Spirit,
move the hearts of millions into prayer
for peace blossom forth.
Reign over the peoples and the region
with your boundaries of peace,
Let the Spirit of life
connect the people in their fear
and unify their hopes into
a potency of building peace.

O Christ,
we pray for the Ukrainian communities in Australia.
for brothers and sisters in the Orthodox tradition,
and for ourselves.
We pray for
those have been exposed to
the trauma of being caught in the crossfire,
the fear overwhelmed by a deliberate force.
We pray for
an immediate end to the armed hostilities
a protection for all lives threatened by the conflict.

Come, O God of peace,
Move the world out of darkness,
Bring all people into the light.
Send love to each broken-hearted,
Make your Church an instrument of world’s peace.

For peace in Ukraine.
We pray
in the name of Christ.

Amen.

A prayer for Ukraine from the Church of Scotland:

The news can be difficult to listen to and to read.
When that news relates to faces we know
And to voices familiar to us,
It becomes all the harder to hear.
Lord God,
We ask you to hold the people of Ukraine deep in your heart.
Protect them, we pray;
From violence,
From political gamesmanship,
from being used and abused.
Give, we pray,
the nations of the world the courage
and the wisdom
to stand up for justice
and the courage too,
to dare to care - generously.
Lord in your mercy,
Take from us all,
The tendencies in us
That seek to lord it over others:
Take from us those traits
that see us pursuing our own needs and wants
before those of others.
Teach us how to live in love
And dignity
And respect - following your example.
In your name and for your sake,
Amen