March 5, 2006 UNEDITED
Rev. Barbara McKusick Liscord
Unitarian Universalist Congregation in
Milford, NH
PRAYER
& MEDITATION
I
grew up in a Unitarian Universalist church in Portland,
Maine… each
Sunday we were invited to participate in the prayer that Jesus taught
as part of his Sermon on the Mount. Although most people associate
the prayer with Christianity, as a minister, I have found that the
prayer has meaning for many faiths. We included it a wedding
between a bride who was raised Italian catholic and her Jewish groom.
He told me that the prayer had been a source of strength and comfort
as he struggled to overcome his addiction to alcohol. This morning,
I offer a translation from Aramaic, that you may find useful as a
focus for meditation whether you believe in a personal God or not.
I
invite you now to enter into a spirit of prayer and meditation. You
may want to put down anything you are holding so that you can relax
your hands in your lap. Gently close your eyes or gently focus your
eyes somewhere in this beautiful sanctuary. I will offer the prayer
and then we’ll have a time of sitting quietly –
time for your own
prayers or simply being and then some music.
Spirit
of Life,
Inside
us and throughout the universe,
Your
power is real and holy.
May
love rule the world.
May
we fulfill our noblest potential
As
we move through this life and beyond.
May
we earn our daily sustenance.
May
we learn to love ourselves wisely,
So
that we may love others well also.
May
we be strong, more than weak.
Smart
enough to avoid trouble,
Wise
enough to learn from sorrow.
For
life is good, and rich and glorious
And
we give thanks for life,
Here
and now,
(silence)
AMEN.
(Prayer
translated by Rev. Marjorie Sams Montgomery)
Unitarian Universalist
Congregation
in Milford