A couple of days ago, I shared a blessing from the Northumbria Community on the Holy Island of Lindisfarne in Northeast England. I learned that folks in that community take a vow of availability and vulnerability. They promise to make themselves available to God and to each other. They also promise to be open and honest - and thus vulnerable with God, and with each other.  

Along these lines, I’ve been thinking lately of Mary’s prayer, “Here I am, Lord, your servant. Let it be with me according to your will” (Luke 1:38). This would be a beautiful daily prayer for each of us. 

What would it look like in your own life to be open and available to God? What would it look like to be open and available to others? Today, my prayer is that you would give some thought as to how these vows might make sense in your own life. May God keep me ever open and available.

Our prayer today was written by John Philip Newell. Let us pray:

In the morning light, O God, may I glimpse again your image deep within me, the threads of eternal glory woven into the fabric of every man and woman. Again, may I catch sight of the mystery of the human soul fashioned in your likeness, deeper than knowing, more enduring than time. And in glimpsing these threads of light, amidst the weakness and distortions of my life, let me be recalled to the strength and beauty deep in my soul. Let me be recalled to the strength and the beauty of your image in every living soul. Amen.

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