| New Book now Available Here is an anthology of over 1100 brief prayers and thought-starters, for each day of the year, with almost 400 original prayers by Bruce Prewer. Included is both a subject index and an index of authors-- an ecumenical collection of about 300 different sources. |
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| Title: Brief Prayers for Busy People. Author: Bruce D Prewer ISBN 978-1-62880-090-6 Available from Australian Church Resources, web site www.acresources.com.au email service@acresources.com.au or by order from your local book shop or online on amazon. |
Mark 6:14-29
(Sermon
1: “Such Is Life!”)
Ephesians 1:3-14
(Sermon
2: “The Secret of Life.”)
2 Samuel 6:1-5, 12b-19
Psalm 24
GREETING AND
PRAISE
The joy of Christ Jesus be with you all!
And also with you.
Lift up the gates of your soul,
open the closed doors of your mind,
that the king of Glory may come in!
Who is this king of glory?
The God of countless
hosts,
this is the king of glory!
Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
who in Christ has blessed us with every
spiritual blessing
that is available throughout the whole of time
and space.
OR
Praise be to the God and Parent of our Lord Jesus Christ,
who has enriched us with every possible spiritual bonus.
The earth is the Lord’s and
everything in it,
the world
and all who live within it.
God has made known to us the glorious secret of life:
That in the fullness of time all things should be brought together,
all things on earth and in heaven united in Christ.
Who is the Source of all this glory?
The Lord of hosts, God alone is the
source of glory.
SEEKING GOD’S HELP
Let us pray.
God of secret purposes and extravagant blessings, we come to praise you. We come because we want to, we sing our songs because we are glad to, we pray for your grace because we need to, and we ask for the love of Christ in our hearts because without it we are a dead loss.
Please lift every shutter within our mind, and open every door within our soul, that you, the Lord of glory, the God of countless hosts, may come in. Through Christ Jesus, the joy of loving hearts.
Amen!
FACING OUR INADEQUACY AND GOD’S SUFFICIENCY
Let us admit our deficiencies and
trust God’s sufficiency.
Let us pray.
Merciful Friend, most holy God, we are grateful that you love us and call us to a life of boundless opportunities and unmeasured joys. Yet around us in this world, we see a desperate search for happiness in all the wrong places.
We humbly acknowledge that we have allowed ourselves to become caught up in the world’s busy futility, exchanging-
love for
selfishness,
encouragement
for criticism,
peace for
conflict and alienation,
wholeness
for brokenness,
contentment
for dissatisfaction,
and joy for
brief splashes of superficial pleasure.
Loving God, we return to you for the spiritual blessing that
is in short supply everywhere else in this age of arrogant promises and
manifold disappointments.
We are
the lost
who need a rescuer,
the sick
who need a physician,
the
offenders who need forgiveness,
and the
weak who need some exercise.
Most gracious God, please forgive each of us, and have mercy upon this wide world for whom Christ Jesus died. In his name we pray.
Amen!
FORGIVENESS
It is written of Christ: “In him we have redemption though his shed
blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace which he
has lavished upon us.”
Now that really is good news!
Believe it, trust it, and be free of shame and anxiety. You and I are forgiven!
Thanks be
to God!
PRAYER FOR
CHILDREN
Dear God, you are wonderful!
Smarter than smart,
shinier than light,
more loving than kindness,
and cooler than cool!
Thinking about you
makes us realise how slow we are
to learn,
to shine,
to love,
and to be truly cool.
But with the help of Jesus
we are on the way.
to a better day.
Please keep us close to him,
for your love’s sake.
Amen!
OR
Loving God,
help us to stop
lying to
ourselves
and making
excuses
whenever we
get out of control
and say and
do bad things.
You see through our
excuses,
anyway,
You know when our
excuses are
just crap.
Make us accept responsibility
for what we
are and what we do.
Make us take authority
over
all the
little devilish thoughts
Teach us to be tougher
on ourselves
and more
gentle with others.
Through
Jesus Christ our Saviour.
Amen!
PSALM 24
The earth belongs to God and everything in it,
this planet and all living creatures on it.
God gave it a place in
the ocean of space,
and set it
on the rivers of time.
Can any mere mortal climb up to God?
Or stand in God’s holy Presence?
Is there one who has
clean hands and motives,
neither
selling their soul to deceit and delusion,
nor making
vows without keeping them?
Such a person could claim God’s blessing;
a seal of approval from the saving God.
If only the people of
today were like that,
seeking
God’s Presence above all else!
Lift up the heavy shutters on your soul,
open the closed doors of your mind,
that the king of Glory may come in!
Who is this king of
glory?
Our God of unconquerable love,
our God who
fights to save us.
Lift up the heavy shutters on your soul,
open the closed doors of your mind,
that the king of Glory may come in!
Who is this king of
glory?
The loving God of countless hosts,
this God is
the king of glory!
Ó B D Prewer 2002
WHERE IS GOD?
Mark 6:14-19
Where is God
when this good cousin
is beheaded
at the request
of a belly dancer?
Where is God
when devout families
are slaughtered
while at prayer
in village churches?
Where is God
when raging Moslem
and vengeful Jew
murder each other
in the name of faith?
Where is God
when the Mary’s Child
gets nailed to a cross
and dies forsaken
in the name of God?
Is it that Cross,
Lord,
which not only
sharpens the question
but gives us the answer
signed in blood?
Ó B D Prewer 2002
COLLECT
God our most Holy Friend, through your Son Jesus you call us into a new family, yet also send us out to be your love-squad in an unruly world.
Give us the faith to take authority over the evil spirits that lie in wait for us, and by the Spirit of Christ to take charge of situations where love has been despoiled or spurned.
To your honour and praise, and for the encouragement of our sisters and brothers who need a strong arm and a warm smile.
In the name of Christ Jesus our Lord. Amen.
OR
Loving God, to you set-backs are not disasters, and each crisis holds a golden opportunity. Please help us to learn from the rough as well as the smooth, and from our tears as from our laughter. To the praise of your name and the robust health of your family. Through Christ Jesus our Saviour.
Amen!
SERMON 1: SUCH IS
LIFE
Mark 6: 14-29
“Such is life” Ned Kelly is reported to have said as the hangman placed the noose around his neck.
Ned has of course attained a mythological status in Australian culture. He is our most famous outlaw of the pioneering days in the state of Victoria. He now features in our art, our literature and our films. Whether Ned Kelly was a depraved criminal, as some hold, or a persecuted freedom-fighter, as others believe, there is no doubting his iconic status. And those last words of his stand as an apt summary of the tragedy of many lives: “Such is life”
Things can go badly wrong. Even the most blameless person can unfairly suffer.
A young mother, grieving her dead child like Wendy Chamberlain, can find herself unjustly thrust behind prison walls. A good man in politics can be victimised and destroyed by his opponents. A competent and loyal employee can find themselves sacked to hide the incompetence of those above them in the chain of command. Such is life.
THE BLOODY END OF A PROPHET
Those words of Ned Kelly could also be applied to that remarkable prophet whom we know as John the Baptist, a cousin of Jesus. Today’s selection from Mark’s Gospel gave us a summary of that poor man’s death.
It’s not a bedtime story. It could in fact be an episode from one of the current batch of shallow “soapies” on TV. John the Baptist had criticised the actions of that play boy, the superstitious king Herod. Herod had taken his brother Philip’s wife (Herodias, a nasty scheming piece of work) and married her in defiance of Jewish morality. John accused them of adultery and pronounced God’s condemnation. Herod’s “minders” seized John and threw the prophet into prison. There John languished, for Herod was a weak character, too afraid to kill his godly prisoner and yet too proud to release John. In the background the woman Herodias seethed with anger against the man of God.
The story becomes more sordid. At Herod’s drunken birthday party Herodias made her move. She asked her teenage daughter, Salome, to do a belly dance for the king. He was so smitten with lust that he boastfully promised to grant the girl any one wish. Salome was primed by her mother. “The head of John the Baptist,” the girl asked.” Caught between a superstitious fear of killing a prophet and Herod’s own public boast, he capitulated. The “minders” were despatched and John’s head arrived back on a platter. A bloody spectacle indeed.
Such is life...................
I put two questions to myself when I re-read this sad tale.
The first is: Have I fallen into worldly cynicism when I use the phrase “Such is life.”
The second question: “Why does Mark interrupt his story of Jesus to go into so many details about John’s death?”
.
WHY THE LONG DIGRESSION?
Let’s look at my second question first. Why this lengthy digression in Chapter 6 of the Gospel according to St Mark?
It is unusual in Mark to have a digression like this. Mark’s story is that of a man in a hurry. In Mark the focus is always on Jesus in action. One story quickly follows another. No time to dally. Not much time for teaching between happenings. A favourite connecting word, used by Mark between scenes is “Immediately” or “Straightway.” Things happen like a “power-point presentation” of snapshots. Scene piled upon scene.
Mark races on. He does not slacken the pace until Jesus begins his slow, final march to Jerusalem and to his betrayal, trails, suffering and death.
Why then, does this first Gospel writer pause in chapter 6 and takes a 15 verse diversion? This story of John the Baptist abruptly interrupts the account of Jesus sending out his disciples, two by two. They went with a command to preach and teach the good news and demonstrate it by deeds of healing.
And he called the twelve to gather around. Then he sent them out, two by two, and gave them authority over the unclean spirits.
So they went out and preached that people
should repent. And they cast out many demons,
and anointed with oil many sick folk and healed them.
There remains only one more sentence to complete this story. (The apostles returned to Jesus, and told him all that they had done and taught.) Yet Mark delays that sentence for 15 verses.
In these intervening verses he gives a detailed account of the demise of John the Baptist. As I have said, this is unusual for Mark. His is the shortest and the bluntest of the 4 Gospels in the New Testament. He is not some wordy preacher prone to numerous digressions. That is not his style. Yet he does it here in chapter 6. Why?
We can only make a guess. For my part I reckon there are two points.
(a) Point ‘a.’ John was too famous to ignore. A mighty figure in his day. He not only prepared the way for his cousin Jesus, but he also trained some of the men who would become disciples of the Christ. His impact continued long after his death. In the Acts of the Apostles we find John the Baptist’s influence had spread far and wide.
Therefore the story had to be told. It was far too important to ignore, Even although Mark is utterly captivated by the doings of Christ Jesus, John cannot be left out.
(b) Point ‘b.’ Up until now the progress of Jesus has been marked by success upon success. Even the disciples go out to preach and teach and heal in the name of Jesus, and they find much success.
However success cannot always be assured. Things can turn ugly for those who faithfully do God’s will. Even for those who lovingly reach out in the name of Jesus to the needy and the diseased and maimed. What happened to John the Baptist could happen to Jesus and his disciples.
John had been a huge success at one time. But he ended up in prison. Worse than that, his head was severed and served on a platter to satisfy the vengeful heart of an adulterous woman and the lustful boast of a petty king.
Mark does not hide this sombre note. Before the cavalcade of Jesus moves any further forward, there comes this warning: “Success is never assured. Evil does not easily yield ground. Things do not always turn out cosy for those who do the will of God. Disaster happened to John. The clouds will soon gather over the head of Jesus, and then enshroud his disciples.”
John serves as a grim warning. Having given us the warning, Mark ends his diversion and concludes the story of the first successful mission of the disciples:
The apostles returned to Jesus and
told him all that they had done and taught.
This is the first time the disciples are called apostles. A disciple follows and learns. An apostle is one who is sent out. The words means the “sent out ones.” This is an important transition in the life of that first community gathered around Jesus. His authority has been committed into the frail hands of his friends, not for them to feel smug and superior, but to enable them to serve the needy of the world.
AM I JUST CYNICAL?
Back to the first question I put to myself: When I read the story of John the Baptist and applied to it the last words of the outlaw Ned Kelly, “such is life,” am I being cynical? Have I surrendered to the arid negativity of the world around me?
No way! I do not say ‘such is life” with hopeless resignation. Not with a shrug of the shoulders. I do not say it with any bitterness.
.
It seems to me that we all need to face this truth; this is life, the real state of this world. Following Jesus does not, and never has, always led to measurable victories. Evil can conquer good in the short term. Wicked men can prosper while good souls can suffer and die an early death. Christians have, in recent times, been beheaded in massacres in African countries. They have been slaughtered in places as near to us as East Timor and Indonesian Ambon and Ache.
What is more, here in “Oz” Christians are not always rewarded with success and honour. If you want to have the sustained praise of your fellows, and seek to enjoy the perpetual comforts of life, then don’t put your trust in the God of Jesus. In the short term, things can go badly wrong. Accident can strike, disease can cripple, and social and economic hardship can befall us. The press and TV can “crucify” a modern day prophet. The worldly community can spurn and mock a modern day disciple should they seek to offer healing and reconciliation.
That remarkable man of God, John the Baptist, was beheaded. Such is indeed life. The same life which Jesus lived. The life which Jesus surrendered on the cross for us. Things are not always “pretty pretty” for God’ servants.
Yet that same grim cross of Jesus also stands out as the very place where God has for all time asserted his authority over all the evil spirits, over all the forces of wickedness .The cross itself has become the ultimate sign of salvation. It is the enduring symbol of hope, promising that Christ’s love has overcome the degradation of the world.
So you see, my mind is not ruled by cynicism when I read Mark’s story of John the Baptist and comment: “Such is life?” Rather it is a reality check for all who become too glib about the immediate rewards of piety and goodness.
Such is my life.
My hope and my faith and my love are fixed on “the Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me.”
Travelling with him at our side, there will be set backs. But there will also be good days. Days when even the least and lowliest of us successfully share the Gospel and exercise authority over the demons and diseases that afflict many around us.
Thanks be to God!
SERMON 2; GOD’S
SECRET PLAN
Ephesians 1:9-10.
For God has made known to us in all wisdom and insight the mystery of his will, according to his purpose which he set forth in Christ as a plan for the fullness of time: to unite all things in him, all things in heaven and on earth.
What is that secret of the universe? That secret which the optimists among astronomers, biologists, and physicists keep hoping to find revealed in their next exciting discovery? What is this universe, its basic structure, and its inbuilt impetus to produce life, all about?
AN OUTPOURING OF FAITH AND JOY
Leave that question about purpose hanging in the air for a few minutes while we turn to your own experience, and then to a very excited letter writer named Paul.
I hope you have times when you become so excited about some happening that words pour out in a torrent, hardly giving you time to breathe. Children often do it. Adults occasionally. I would like to think that none of you have totally suppressed the excitable child in your nature. I wish for you occasions when you are capable of letting loose a joyful torrent of words.
St Paul, extremely self disciplined person though he was, had such moments. In the opening page of his letter to the Christians in the populous city of Ephesus, he is so excited about the meaning of Christ Jesus that there is no stopping his outpouring of words. While Paul paced up and down and threw his arms in all directions, his scribe worked hectically to get it down on paper. Verses 3-15 are one mighty, poetic outpouring of wonder and joy. Unfortunately (or maybe fortunately for us) our English translations break this cascade of words into neat sentences, giving us places to pause and breathe.
At the heart of Paul’s excitement was his conviction that in Jesus the secret of the universe has been revealed. Not discovered by us, but disclosed by God. God had revealed the secret hidden from the beginning of time. The secret behind creation. The meaning of human history. This revelation propelled Paul to become the most intrepid missionary, and led to his imprisonment, floggings, public abuse, and finally his execution in Rome. He literally staked his life on this secret now revealed.
MYSTERY AND STEWARDSHIP
Some explanations about words which Paul uses in this lyrical outpouring of faith contained in the letter to the Ephesians.
1/ First, the word “mystery”.
The actual; word ismusthrion, ‘mysterion’. A word widely used in Paul’s day.
Among the current religions, “mystery” frequently described secret knowledge bestowed by initiation, or secret pass words. Usually a vow of silence was required from the candidate.
It was also employed in philosophy to indicate the enlightenment a thinker might gain into the true nature of life and his own being.
In everyday usage it could apply to special ointments or potions which had secret formulas known only to the healer.
Paul takes this common word ‘mysterion’ to speak of what happened in and through Christ Jesus. Mystery. Secret. The hidden truth.
2/ Second, the phrase “as a plan for the fullness of time”.
The Greek text employs the word for stewardship, oikonomia. Thus we have “in the stewardship of the fullness of time.” It sounds a clumsy phrase to us. But behind it is the idea of a steward who manages a household, property or business. God is the manager or steward of history. And in God’s careful, loving stewardship there comes a time, the very right time, for the revealing of the unique profits to be made, through Jesus Christ.
Summarising so far:
The mystery of God’s will: the mysterion, a secret religious enlightenment, or a physician’s secret ointment, or a philosopher’s flash of insight: In Christ God reveals the deepest secret.
The plan for the fullness of time: God is the steward of all things. History is not a blind journey. God’s wise stewardship secretly works through the long ages. It is openly displayed in Jesus.
THE SECRET UNVEILED
What is this secret of the steward God?
God’s secret purpose is “to bring together all things in Christ; things in heaven and things on earth.” It is as simple yet as remarkable as that. All things are to be brought into harmony. Cohesion. Unity. Friendship. Community. Sharing. Peace. Wholeness.
Paul includes the heavens. In Paul’s limited understanding of the heavens, they were the many upper planes of the cosmos where good and evil forces struggled for supremacy. In his eyes, Christ had a cosmic role, bringing all things together in unity. Wherever there was life and thought and being within the layers of the heavens, there Christ’s reconciling work would triumph.
Isn’t that an incredible, wonderful insight? Can you imagine it? A cosmic reconciliation? One family of God? One loving body of people? Christ had launched this new creation, and nothing, absolutely nothing, can ever stop its ultimate implementation. The secret enlightenment is now available to all the world, the sacred initiation into the hidden truth will unite all classes and races, the secret formula for the ointment is available to heal the nations.
This is that secret of the universe, which the optimists among astronomers, biologists, and physicists keep hoping to find revealed in their next big discovery. They are too late. It is already revealed.
In Christ the secret of the universe is open. The mystery of God’s painstaking stewardship of history is unveiled. It is the gathering of all things together in unity, as through Christ people accept the grace that makes them children of God and calls them to live as one family.
THOSE WHO DIVIDE AND ALIENATE
Sadly much of the world prefers the arrogance, injustice and greed that divides, denigrates, deprives and destroys.
Political parties are on about dividing us into opposing camps and then trying to make their camp the most powerful. They will employ every trick to do this, especially exploiting our anxiety and fear. Fear in the hands of the ruthless is the chief manipulative tool for division and conflict.
Nations also are busy dividing and then co-opting support for an alliance against others. Most alliances are based on fear and greed. It is in the interest of the power brokers to foster division. We have in recent times since the violence of September 11th 2001, the bombings in Bali in 2002 and 2005; we have witnessed politicians in this nation and others, cynically exploiting suspicion and fear to maintain their personal political clout.
Religions, and even some Christian denominations, often employ the same tactics. Division gives power to a few. The more the membership can be made to be suspicious of other religions or denominations, the more it suits the control freaks. Sects deliberately foster misunderstanding of other denominations. Mis-information and all that! They try to indoctrinate their members with the reasons why their sect is superior (more "right" or the only "truly saved' ones, etc) to all others.
Misunderstanding, suspicion, fear, division, alienation, is demonic. It runs counter to the work of Christ Jesus, that reconciling mystery which has now been openly revealed.
What is more, division is the way of waste and loss. The way of Christ is finally going to win. You can bet your life on that! No matter how much alienation flaunts itself, it is not the end to which all things are driven. We are being drawn together by the God of Christ Jesus. The secret mystery of life is now open to all. God is the steward of history and the way of inclusive love is the real future.
EMBRACING THE SECRET?
Do you really want to embrace that mystery? Do I really want to embrace that secret?
Everything I have said so far, in response to St Paul’s outpouring of faith hope and love, can remain just abstract ideas unless we internalise the truth.
Paul preached and wrote for commitment. He wanted people to join up with Christ. Enlist with the Reconciler. Get with the true strength. Are we committed?
First, are we committed to Christ Jesus? Have we thrown in our lot completely with him? Or is our religion hedged with reservations and conditions? Is he the Lord of our hearts, the great love of our lives? If not, it’s not too late to take the plunge right now.
Secondly, are we fair dinkum [Aus = sincere] about being motivated by love, and practising that inclusive love which is the way of reconciliation? Is that really the way we go in family affairs, within this congregation, with other congregations and denominations, and with other races, classes and religions? As St John said, if we say we love God but do not love those around us, we are both deceived and deceivers.
SUMMARY
What is that secret of the universe, that the optimists among astronomers, biologists, and physicists keep hoping to find revealed in their next smart discovery? What is this universe, its basic structure, and its inbuilt impetus to produce life, all about?
There is no hidden secret any more. It is open. For God has made known to us in all wisdom and insight the mystery of his will, according to his purpose which he set forth in Christ as a plan for the fullness of time: to unite all things in him, all things in heaven and on earth. Ephesians 1:9-10.
We are now going to have a couple of minutes silence, in which I ask you to ask yourself: “Am I with Christ or against him?” I beg you to get with, or to re commit yourself to, God’s true Child Jesus and his open secret.
*Silence....................................................
THIS
I DARE BELIEVE
This
is God’s world, and it is not aimless.
Time
has a purpose and God is its steward.
Loving God, I believe, scatter my unbelief.
It is
not possible that greed and injustice are forever.
It is
not possible that the meek will stay dispossessed.
It is not possible that peacemakers must inevitably fail.
It is not possible that nations will always make war.
It is
not possible that the merciful will be always be scorned.
It is
not possible that forgiveness will at last dry up.
It is not possible that the weak are doomed to be down
trodden.
It is not possible that the hungry will always go
unsatisfied.
It is
not possible that sincere hearts will always be exploited.
It is
not possible that laughter shall finally be stilled.
It is not possible that fear will always outwit love.
It is not possible that the cynics will always be right.
It is
not possible that goodness will have flowered in vain.
It is
not possible that death will render all things futile.
It is not possible that Jesus will ever be forgotten.
It is not possible that faith will die out on earth.
Christ
holds God’s secret in open, wounded hands,
Christ
is our future and all will be redeemed.
Loving God I believe, scatter my unbelief.
ENCIRCLING OTHERS
WITH PRAYER
Let us pray to the holy Friend whose faithfulness is forever sure.
Let us pray for the rich and powerful, that they may discover the joy of giving and forgiving, of loving justice and mercy, and walking humbly with their Maker. God in your mercy,
Hear our prayer.
Let us pray for those with hard hearts and closed minds, that they may encounter the grace of Christ which opens doors and softens even the most obdurate spirit. God in your mercy,
Hear our prayer.
Let us pray for bitter and the vengeful, that they may strike free from the chains of their anger and find the wonderful liberty of the children of God. God in your mercy,
Hear our prayer.
Let us pray for our weaker sisters and brothers, those whom we push aside in our rush to get what we want, that they may learn to stand up for themselves and rebuke us. God in your mercy,
Hear our prayer.
Let us pray for the bedraggled souls who have been robbed of their self respect, that they may be cherished by folk who see Christ in very human face. God in your mercy,
Hear our prayer.
Let us pray for those whose lives are at the mercy of guns and bombs, that all lovers of justice and peace may find sure ways towards reconciliation and peace. God in your mercy,
Hear our prayer.
Let us pray for those whose eternal spirits have been plundered and corrupted by the gross materialism of this age, that they make wake up to their plight. God in your mercy,
Hear our prayer.
Let us pray for the sick and the dying, the fearful and the sorrowing, that the encouragement of the Holy Spirit may be theirs through long days and dark nights. God in your mercy,
Hear our prayer.
Let us pray for the holy, universal church, that we may remember whose sacred name we bear and whose loving service to the world we are called to share. God in your mercy,
Hear our prayer.
God of Christ Jesus and our God, as you gather up our prayers into your immense wisdom and love, use every bit of faith and love within us to honour you as we respect and love one another. In the name of Christ our Saviour.
Amen!
OUR MISSION:
SPREADING THE SECRET
It is time to go out and share God’ secret purpose
which has been disclosed in Jesus Christ.
With God’s help, Amen!
Share that secret with others by the way you live:
with the words on your lips,
by the deeds of your hands,
with the prayers in your minds,
and through the love in your hearts.
With God’s help, Amen!
The grace of Christ will redeem you
the enduring love of God will support you,
the friendship of the Holy Spirit will accompany you,
this day and ever more.
Amen!
or
In the name of Christ Jesus, I re-commission you for loving service to God and humanity.
Receive the grace to use your weaknesses to his glory
Take authority over diseases of the body, and the ills of mind and spirit.
Amen!
Take authority over closed minds and sour prejudice.
Take authority over anxiety, fear and discontent.
Amen!
Take authority over bitterness of spirit and lust for revenge.
Take authority over negative thoughts and cynical words.
Amen!
Take authority over pain and handicaps, loss and grief.
Take authority over all those things which mock the faith of Jesus.
Amen!
The grace of.........
