Prayer Vigil - Meditation Trail

Signs of God’s Promise:
A guided prayer walk on the property of Living Waters Lutheran Church

Station 1: Signs
Begin at the front middle of the property along Old York Road.

Jesus said that his generation was perverse because they sought after signs. He said that no sign would be given them except the sign of Jonah - as Jonah was in the whale for three days, so Jesus would be in the earth for three days. The ultimate sign of God’s ultimate promise is the resurrection of Christ. It has been said that we should be giving our first fruits, drawing on the Old Testament obligation of first fruits giving. In the New Testament the concept of first fruits takes on a whole new dimension. Jesus is the first fruits of the resurrection. Since he has been raised, we too will be raised - the ultimate sign of the ultimate promise, life eternal in Christ Jesus.

Activity: How many signs do you see in the front of the property that have our name, Living Waters? Hint: it’s very trinitarian.

Pray: That God would open our eyes to the signs of God’s presence all around us.

Station 2: Foundations
Go look under the trees just beyond the driveway. You will see remains of the foundation of an old tavern - a community meeting place.

A great old hymn of the Church includes these words - "The church’s one foundation is Jesus Christ her Lord; she is his new creation by water and the Word." Tradition tells us that Jesus was a carpenter, but some think that he may have been a stone mason. This makes some sense when one considers the imagery Jesus uses in his teaching ministry: a stumbling stone; the stone rejected by the builders; building on rock rather than sand. It doesn’t as much matter what Jesus did for a living as it does that we pay attention to the meanings of the metaphors he uses. On what have you built your life? What do you count as your foundation? To what, or to whom, do you turn to find security? Do you trust in your accumulated wealth? Do you trust in your financial planning - your investment portfolio?

Activity: Looking at the foundation of the tavern, think about the many people who gathered in this community place for good food, good drink, and lively fellowship.

Pray: That, in the years ahead, God brings many people to this "land of promise" to know the love of God, to meet in lively fellowship, and to offer thankful praise for the gifts of God who is our foundation.

Station 3: Thorns
Walk northward along the western tree line where you will find a tree with large thorns growing from it.

When God created the earth, it was created whole, and right, and good, and brought forth only good things. Following the fall, sin scarred not only God’s people, but also the earth. From then on, when Adam would work the fields, it would yield only thorns and thistles. Our actions have consequences that often ripple out into the larger world for good or for ill. So too, on a larger systematic level this plays out in the continued impoverishment of whole segments of the earth’s population because of our consumption and uneven distribution of wealth. Others reap the thorns, as it were, of our abuse and misuse of the earth’s resources. During his passion, Jesus endured a mock coronation ceremony. Some have seen this crowning with thorns as part of Christ’s bearing of all of our iniquities and sins. The ground is cursed with thorns as one result of human sin, and Jesus, coming to redeem us from the curse, bears a crown of thorns that would not have existed had we not sinned.

Activity: Touch a thorn (Be Careful! They’re very sharp!) and consider how our use and misuse of God’s gifts continue to create thorny situations in the lives of others.

Pray: That, as he was willing to be crowned with thorns, so that we might be set free from sin and death - the curse of sin - we might be empowered to live lives of holiness for the sake of others.

Station 4: The Well
Continue along the Western edge of the property to the northwest corner. As you reach the northwestern corner of the property you will see a well casing.

Beneath you, as you stand here, there is water. You are brought into life through the waters of birth. You are brought into the family of God through the water and the Word of God’s promise in Holy Baptism. You are a member of Living Waters Lutheran Church’s worshiping community. Jesus invites all who are thirsty to come to Him and to drink freely of the waters of life. Those who do so will find living waters springing up from within them for the sake of a thirsty world.

Activity: Consider what it might mean for you to be a spring of living water for the sake of someone in your life (maybe at work or school, or someone in your community).

Pray: That God would empower you and give you opportunity to be a source of refreshment and renewal for someone in need.

Station 5: The Cross Against the Sky
Walk along the northern border of the property to the center and turn toward the cross at the southern end.

Activity: Look up the hill and you will see the cross against the sky. One of my favorite song lyrics (from a song by Billy Crockett) includes this line: "Even if we travel time two things can still be seen: a single cross against the sky, and the crossfires it will bring." The cross and the Christ of the cross never enter one’s life without risk. Discipleship calls us to a life with costs. Even grace, which is freely given, if it is lived out in one’s life, will involve cost in the living of it. The cross calls us to live for others, to be self-giving, to seek the good of others before our own good, to consider the other always before the self. That’s real risk. That’s real cost. That’s the cost of discipleship. That’s the way of the cross. That’s being caught in a dangerous crossfire!

Pray: That God would place you in the crossfires of other’s lives, and that you would be able to point them to the cross of Christ.

Station 6: The Northeast Corner
Not so much a station as a place to turn.

Rev. Scott Schatzenbach (who is praying with us at 3:00 today) recounted a Chinese proverb to us at our Stewardship Retreat in October. It goes like this: "Unless you change directions, you’ll end up where you’re heading."

Pray: That God would give us the courage to make the necessary turns and changes as we follow the Spirit’s lead in our decision making and planning for the future of this mission.

Station 7: No Borders
As you continue up the eastern edge of the property you will see a property border marker.

Activity: Stop here and listen to the sounds that surround you: cars, people, animals, the wind - what do you hear? Consider how all of these people and things are part of God’s good world, the world into which we have been called into mission. There may be a border to this property, but there are no borders, there are no boundaries, on God’s love for you.

Pray: That God would increase our awareness of God’s love and make us bold in sharing that love with those around us.

Station 8: Growth
Move toward the front side of the property. As you approach the southeast edge you will notice several young evergreen trees.

Activity: Look directly across Old York Road at the large evergreen tree standing there, and at all the large trees that surround the property. There was a time when these large trees were as small as these new trees. In the same way, we are small now, but in the years to come, with God’s help, we will grow too.

Pray: That God would sustain us and cause us to grow in faith, in giving, in love for God and neighbor, and in the grace and knowledge of Jesus who is the Christ.

Station 9: The Promise
Go to the tent.

We believe that God has called us to be in this place at this time. Just like the Jews in the wilderness, we journey now in tents, awaiting the day when God’s promise will be fulfilled in our midst.

Pray: That God would bless us, and make us bold in following our Shepherd in this mission that we call Living Waters Lutheran Church.

Thanks for taking a walk around the property.

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