ppadmin – Page 119 – Prayer & Politiks

Grace upon grace

In the beginning, all formless and void, the Breath of Heaven hovered deep within darkness. And the Word appeared, a Word beyond speech, tender, full of grace, issuing light and life from the Womb of God to water and stone and all creaturely flesh.

Oh, Breath of Heaven, Word of the Beloved, Song of Creation and Presence of Peace, grant grace upon grace to all creaturely flesh.

Oh, Weaver of Days and Rest-giving Nights, your Word-shaped world has grown deaf to your voice and blind to your light. Against every dark threat shine again the Sun of your righteous radiance. Let the chorus of angels sound again your melody of pardon.

Signs of the Times: Annotated news, views, quotes and notes

Welcome to the premier of prayer&politiks, an online journal “at the intersection of spiritual formation and prophetic action.” Welcome as well to the first issue of Signs of the Times, a weekly column featuring annotated news, views, quotes and notes, for discerning the times in which we live.

¶ The launch of this site on 27 November, “Black Friday” (in the US), is intentional, as it occurs at the edge of Advent, whose first Sunday is this weekend.

¶ For readers outside the US: The day after the celebration of Thanksgiving (since 1941 always the fourth Thursday of November) in our country has effectively become the start of the Christmas shopping season. The phrase “Black Friday” was originally a derogative term, beginning in the early ‘50s, for the practice of workers calling in sick the day after Thanksgiving in order to get a long weekend holiday. (At the time, the holiday was limited to the single day.) In the early ‘60s the phrase was used by the Philadelphia Police Department in reference to the traffic jams caused by shoppers. Since then the day has emerged as the nation’s busiest shopping day of the year, when merchants provide steep discounts—though some major stores are now opening on Thanksgiving Day itself.