Praying Luke 5:1-11 - Poem by Raymond A. Foss

Dear God, creator of heaven and earth,
we thank you for this beautiful day,
for your gifts you heap on us each day,
for this time of holy fellowship
in your house, your church, for this time
to hear and respond to your word.

We join your first disciples,
with Peter, with James and John,
We pray that we would do as they did,
Heed your call to

Drop the net, the catch, the boats
leave them moored, or adrift
leave family, home, safety, comfort
responsibility, life as you knew it
drop it like a cast off cloak, a shawl
step away from everything
Leave it all
and follow me

Follow me, on my journey
my ministry, around the Sea
Galilee, your homeland,
no longer fishermen,
Now you will be fishers of men,
harvesters for the kingdom
of the good news,
the news of my coming,
my fulfillment, my mission
of service and saving
of spirit and law,
of water and the word
fishers of another sort
fishers of men
when you leave all
and follow me.

We come before your throne humbly,
knowing that we are but clay,
that we are too often satisfied with our comfort zone
too easily swayed by the traditional, the known
We struggle to move outside that realm,
to boldly go where you would have us go

There is so much more that needs to be done,
so much pain and loss and lost souls in this world
Help us to help them, we pray oh Lord

Help Us Lord, to hear your
call to us, members of your body,
your holy church universal,
to repent of our sins,
our prior lives, to leave all
and follow you.
To carry on the work
you began, to be like the
first disciples,
fishermen no more
Fishers of people
following Jesus, leaving
behind all they knew
to be true disciples, to make disciples

May we be open to your
message now for each of us

To cast our nets in deep
water, to reap a new harvest
a bounty of men and women
to God.

Amen.

February 3, 2007 13:58
February 4, 2007 13:35
Luke 5:1-11, Mark 1:16-20, Matthew 4:18-22
Two poems joined – “Leave All” and “And Follow Me”,
restated in prayer for the Rejuvenation service tonight,
Wesley United Methodist Church, Concord, NH