Prayers of the People: Oh Those Wolves ~ 3rd Sunday after Pentecost '26 RCL Yr A

For Sunday, June 14, 2026, Readings: Exodus 19:2-8, Psalm 100, Romans 5:1-8, 

Matthew 9:35-10:8(9-23)

   

They…entered the wilderness of Sinai…Israel camped in front of the mountain. Then Moses went up to God; the LORD called to him…Thus you shall say to the house of Jacob and tell the Israelites: You have seen…how I bore you on eagles’ wings and brought you to myself…if you obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession out of all the peoples. Indeed the whole earth is mine… [Exodus 19:2-5]

 

  Make a joyful noise to the LORD, all the earth. Serve the LORD with gladness…Know that the LORD God. It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people and the sheep of his pasture. [Psalm 100: 1-3]

  Since we are justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ...we have obtained access to this grace...and we boast in our hope of sharing the glory of God...we also boast in our sufferings...[that] produces endurance...and character produces hope, and hope does not disappoint us, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit... [Romans 5:1-6]

  Jesus went about...proclaiming the good news...curing every disease...he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said..."The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore ask the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest"..."See, I am sending you out like sheep into the midst of wolves; so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves...But the one who endures to the end will be saved."  [Matthew 9:35-38; 10:16]

   When we are given the readings for the Liturgy week by week, we might remember that last week Jesus called on Matthew to follow him to the utter dismay of the Pharisees, and that as usual, there were several other readings from the Hebrew (Old) Testament and something non-Gospel from the Christian (New) Testament, and virtually no other context because available. The Episcopal Church uses the New Revised Standard Version, NRSV. Try using that and one (or more) other translations., essentially, that’s for the Sermon. But when one actually reads Matthew and Luke all the way through, it’s almost a breathtaking experience to discover how continuously and seriously busy Jesus was from the beginning of his public ministry. Walking up mountains and down, taking boats to get across to the other side, teaching, preaching, healing, restoring health and life, gathering disciples, irritating the Jewish Authority, and the many many miracles. I say Matthew and Luke because they are the most detailed of the activities of Jesus. Mark is more like a Reader’s Digest Condensed version and John is a whole other thing, more cosmically centered on the divinity of Jesus sent by God to take on a human identity. While we are early in the Season after Pentecost, and regardless of your official and unofficial experience of Bible study, try to make a practice to read 2 chapters a day, beginning with Matthew ~ that won’t take long. If you don’t want to carry a Bible around, go to BibleGateway.com and just start at Matthew 1 and go. On the right of that page you’ll see the very many translations and paraphrases so click on the NRSV to start and then choose another translation or more for comparison.

   SO this week: Moses is ascending Mt. Sinai for God’s instructions on what to say to the Israelites on their journey out of Egypt. The psalmist reminds us to make a joyful noise and to serve the Lord with gladness and uses the metaphor of God’s people as sheep that Jesus picks up in the Gospel. Paul is telling us that in having faith we are justified to be given the access to God’s grace through Jesus. Through that access is our hope and God’s love through Jesus and the Holy Spirit even in our darkest times. It is also for us to know with our whole selves that we did absolutely nothing to deserve that grace yet is has been bestowed upon us.

   Then we move to Matthew’s account of this time when Jesus saw the crowds. He had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. It is startling, at times, when the words of Scripture are so easily seen in the current news cycles, in cities and towns, in the streets of today, urban, suburban, and rural. When Jesus sent the disciples ~ and us by extension ~ out like sheep into the midst of wolves with the admonishment to be wise as serpents and innocent as doves, it wasn't with the understanding that all will be easy and comfortable. In fact, then as now, the assignment is quite frightening and dangerous. The key tools for our success at attaining a share in the glory of God are wisdom and innocence. Innocence, it must be said, is NOT about being naïve or dimwitted. It is about paying attention to surroundings, who or what is lurking in them, and keeping ourselves and each other safe from the clutches of danger as best we can with all the endurance we can muster to the end of our individual journeys.

   Sheep are as good or better at flocking together as their feathery avian counterparts and just as skittish when disturbed. Unlike the birds of the air, sheep have limited directional options and will frequently scatter helter-skelter when frightened. The shepherd's job to calm them is all the more difficult and important as the shepherd must continually shift the flock to different pastures for feeding and safety. But sheep do come to trust their shepherd and to recognize and remember both animal and human faces and, along with a keen sense of smell, with the comfort or danger they represent. The behavior of the flock is communal and spontaneous ~ impulsive and reactionary ~ to threats real and merely perceived. How like sheep we humans are, except that our sense of "smell" doesn't always tip us off to the many wolves in our midst.  

 

     The wolves of this world are many indeed, but there are billions upon billions of sheep. The importance of our flocking together as a community of Christ was never more critical as now. Jesus was clear when he says later in Matthew: For where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there among them [Mt 18:20]. As the body of Christ, each endowed with specific gifts from the Holy Spirit, we are called to labor in the fields of the Lord, to build up the Kingdom, and ultimately to share in God's glory through Jesus. Our safe haven is always shepherded by the constant Presence of Christ among and within us.   

    Our community of believers is a place to learn from, to comfort, and to guide one another around those wolves that would harass us, tempt us, and/or devour us. As we flock together, we also reap the benefit of joyful times. While we may not always feel like whistling while we work, we can seek pause to enjoy our life together, gather others lost and alone in their fields, and continually shift ourselves and our fellow sheep away from the dens of wolves to the path of hope that leads to the Eternal Pasture. As Paul told the Romans, hope does not disappoint. When we serve the Lord with gladness our noise will be joyful. As there are far more sheep than wolves in this world, let us sheep work to confound and confuse a few along the way, and even work to gather a few to start tagging along as friends. Jesus did!

 

LET US, GOD’S PEOPLE, PRAY

Leader:  ~ God of Hope and Love, arouse and provoke us in heart and in mind to take up the labor in Your fields, sow to the Spirit, and reap the plentiful harvest to grow Your family of faith.

                                                Lord, Faithful and Good                                 

              RESPONSE:        We serve You in Faith with gladness

~ God of Hope and Love, keep us wise, fervent, and unceasing in our quest to speak Your truth to the wolves of misguided power. Guide us as we strive for Justice, Compassion, and Principled governing across this World, this Country, and our Community. We pray especially for: add your own petitions

                                                Lord, Faithful and Good

                                                We serve You in Faith with gladness

                                

~ God of Hope and Love, grant comfort and endurance to all who suffer from chronic or life-threatening disease, depression, or desperate circumstance, and constantly renew the energy of their caregivers. We now join our hearts together to pray for those in need… add your own petitions

                                                 Lord, Faithful and Good

                                                We serve You in Faith with gladness

      

~ God of Hope and Love, as we grieve for all whom we have loved in this life, our hearts rest easier knowing You now hold them in Your everlasting embrace. We pray especially for… add your own petitions

                                                 Lord, Faithful and Good

                                                We serve You in Faith with gladness

~ God of Hope and Love, we pause in this moment to offer You our other heartfelt thanksgivings, intercessions, petitions, and memorials… add your own petitions

                                                Lord, Faithful and Good

                                                We serve You in Faith with gladness    

   

~ God of Hope and Love, uplift and uphold all who lead us on our journey to You, as faithful witnesses of the love and presence of Christ, through their prayer and service in His name. We pray especially for: add your own petitions

                                                Lord, Faithful and Good

                                                We serve You in Faith with gladness                                                                                                 

The Celebrant adds:  Holy God, Holy and Mighty God, guide us to safeguard our souls from the devouring wolves of temptation in this life. Fill us with the wisdom of innocence and joyful diligence in Your service, as we spend our human time in praise and thanksgiving for the gift of Salvation. We ask through the redeeming sacrifice of Jesus, our Christ;  and Your boundless love from the Holy Spirit; who together with You are One God, forever and ever.   Amen.

 

All compositions remain the property of the owner of this blog but may be used with attribution and edited for local use as long as they are not sold or charged for in any way. For more information or comments, contact: Leeosophy@gmail.com

Prayers of the People: Continuously, Constantly, Ceaselessly ~ 2nd Sunday after Pentecost RCL '26 Yr A

For Sunday, June 7, 2026; Readings: Hosea 5:15-6:6, Psalm 50:7-15, Romans 4:13-25, Matthew 9:9-13, 18-26

  For I desire steadfast love and not sacrifice, the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings. [Hosea 6:6]

  Offer to God a sacrifice of Thanksgiving, and pay your vows to the Most High. Call on me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you shall glorify me. [Psalm 50:14-15]

  For the promise that he would inherit the world did not come to Abraham or to his descendants through the law but through the righteousness of faith. For if it is the adherents of the law who are to be the heirs, faith is null and the promise is void. [Romans 4:13-14]

  As Jesus was walking along, he saw a man called Matthew sitting at the tax-collection station, and he said to him, “Follow me.” And he got up and followed him… [Jesus] said, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. Go and learn what this means, ‘I desire mercy not sacrifice.’ For I have not come to call the righteous but sinners.” [Matthew 9:9; 12-13]

   The opening reading this week is from Hosea, someone we don’t hear from all that much yet this week his thoughts appear twice. Hosea is one of the Twelve Minor Prophets whose writings are aggregated into one book in the Jewish Bible. In the Christian version of the Hebrew [Old] Testament, he has his own, if brief, book. The Talmud refers to him as the “greatest prophet of his generation” and his writings take us from significant doom to restoration. He is also quoted in the Qur’an and as we are each and all ~ Jews, Christians, and Muslims ~ children of Abraham, this should not come as a surprise though, sadly, it often does. We’ll see Jesus quote Hosea in Matthew 9:13, building on Hosea’s quote about what God truly wants ~ not things we think we are to sacrifice to God as God has/is everything. The Book of Hosea, 14 short chapters, is worth reading in full for he has quite a personal history of direction from the Lord which includes some rather shocking commands, and is of punishment, restoration, and forgiveness. Not the happiest of Biblical books but short and direct.

   The partial piece of Psalm 50 appointed for today continues this theme that God isn’t interested in the sacrifice of livestock but rather a sacrifice of thanksgiving and honoring God by actions that pay our vows to God. Reading the full Psalm from verse 1 to 23, gives us a greater understanding of what God is calling us to be and to do.

   After his conversion, Paul understood that strict obedience to The Law as only a system of rules was, in a sense, replacing personal goodness and obedience to God; a message found often in the teachings of Jesus. Paul further realized that for Gentiles to understand salvation, it needed to be expressed as God’s promise, as it had first been given to Abraham and later to Moses. As one source says: Therefore, Abraham could be the spiritual ancestor of everyone who shared his obedient faith, quite independently of racial heritage [emphasis added]. It is to the fulfilling of our faithful commitment and thanksgiving to God rather than arbitrary sacrifice that God calls us.

   This week’s Gospel reading from Matthew begins with the Call of Matthew: As Jesus was walking along, he saw a man called Matthew sitting at the tax-collection station, and he said to him, “Follow me.” And he got up and followed him. After this was a dinner to which many tax collectors and sinners came to sit with Jesus and the disciples. The rigidly Law-abiding, self-righteous Pharisees asked the disciples why Jesus would eat with such people. Jesus overheard and responded that well people don’t need a doctor and, with the piece from Hosea but with his own interpretation said: “Go and learn what this means. ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ For I have not come to call the righteous but sinners.” 

   So for this week, the sum and substance of these readings are fairly clear. God doesn’t want and certainly doesn’t need blood sacrifices, but rather for us to simply follow through with the faith commitments we’ve made and establish new ones that we may have been afraid to do. And, they/we who have begun to feel sorry for what we have and haven’t done can and must learn to accept the ceaseless outpouring of forgiveness that God is offering. Put the angry God of vengeance behind you. Too much rule-based religion has been grounded in fear. Hear the words of Jesus: EVERYONE who yearns to, wants to, hopes to, or is even afraid to receive the love of God, already has it. Believe it, and know that God through Christ, with the Holy Spirit, loves and forgives then, now, forever, and continuously, constantly, ceaselessly.

LET US, GOD’S PEOPLE, PRAY

Leader:  ~ O God, our God, You give eternal life to the dead and call into existence the things that cannot exist without You. Remind our hearts and our souls, to return our own selves to You, that we may not be counted among the wicked. In offering a sacrifice of thanksgiving, paying our vows to You, and through Your Covenant with us, we have the gift of calling on You in our days of trouble. Let us glorify our God!

                                                    Lord God of Promise

RESPONSE:                         By Faith we rest in Your Grace 

~ O God, our God, guide us in the ways and strength of faith, that we may deliver to the leaders of this Planet, this Country, and this Community, the message that we require mercy from and by you, without sacrificing  principles, morality, or loss of human rights and basic needs. We pray especially for: add your own petitions

                                                       Lord God of Promise

                                                       By Faith we rest in Your Grace                                             

~ O God, our God, still the fear and quiet the anxiety of all who are ill in body, mind, or spirit, and give energy and strength of purpose to all who give them care. We now join our hearts to pray for those in need… add your own petitions

                                                       Lord God of Promise

                                                       By Faith we rest in Your Grace                                  

~ O God, our God, embrace the hearts of all who grieve and guide them to the comfort of knowing, that all whom we have loved and lost, are now risen in the joy of eternal life with You. We pray especially for… add your own petitions

                                                       Lord God of Promise

                                                       By Faith we rest in Your Grace

~ O God, our God, we pause in this moment to offer You our personal heartfelt thanksgivings, intercessions, petitions, and memorials… add your own petitions

                                                       Lord God of Promise

                                                       By Faith we rest in Your Grace                                

~ O God, our God, renew again and always, the souls, the hearts, and the minds of all those anointed to serve Your Church, in guiding and teaching, listening and caring. Give them the self-knowing and courage to care as much for their own needs as for ours. We pray especially for: add your own petitions

                                                       Lord God of Promise

                                                       By Faith we rest in Your Grace  

The Celebrant adds: Most High and Loving Creator, as Jesus called Matthew, so he calls us each to follow Him. Open our eyes and hearts each day with our spirits renewed, to go forth as Christ’s Body in all that we do in love and with mercy for all of Your people. We ask through Jesus, our Lord and Redeemer; and the Holy Spirit, the Fire of our Faith, who live and reign with You, One God, now and forever. Amen. 

 

All compositions remain the property of the owner of this blog but may be used with attribution and edited for local use as long as they are not sold or charged for in any way. For more information or comments, contact: Leeosophy@gmail.com

Prayers of the People: Old Man, Young Man, and a Bird, Really? ~ Trinity Sunday, 1st Sunday after Pentecost '26 Yr A

For Sunday, May 31, 2026,  Year A Readings: Genesis 1;1-2:4a; Canticle 13, 2 Corinthians 13:11-13, Matthew 28:16-20

 In the beginning...God created the heavens and the earth...God said, "Let there be light...called the dry land Earth and the waters seas...Let the Earth put forth vegetation...and living creatures of every kind...Let us make humankind in our image, according to our likeness" and God saw everything that he had made, and...it was very good. [Genesis 1:1]

   Glory to you, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit; we will praise you and highly exalt you forever…in the high vault of heaven, glory to you. [Canticle 13:Book of Common Prayer]

   The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with all of you. [2 Corinthians 13:13]

   Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them...And Jesus came and said to them, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age." [Matthew 28:16-20]

     We’ve arrived at Trinity Sunday, the first Sunday in what we call The Season after Pentecost, and the Roman Catholic Church calls Ordinary Time. From now until the beginning of Advent, each Sunday will be numbered with its weekly distance from Pentecost Sunday, which was the end of Eastertide. So, how do you think about the Trinity?

   Many of us were raised to simply wonder about this enduring mystery, or to dismiss it, or to merely ignore it. A frequent image we’ve been given of the Trinity is two men and a bird within a triangle. It’s well past the time to think outside of that triumvirate. 

    The imagery of the Holy Trinity is as varied as it is old and has always been intended to help us and all who came before us, attempt to articulate that for which there are no adequate words or images. The Dove of Peace and Tongues of Fire are two examples. God is an old man on the Sistine Chapel ceiling in the Creation of Adam. Perhaps Michelangelo painted the white bearded God as old metaphorically to suggest God's timelessness that is impossible for human comprehension. Jesus was human as well as Divine so that is maybe a bit easier to grasp, except he is too often depicted as a lighter-haired, blue-eyed European rather than the brown middle-eastern Jewish man he was. But how to express pictorially the inexpressible? Perhaps St. Patrick really did use a shamrock to explain how three are all in one. All of history has tried to understand the Triune God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit yet with mere human understanding we simply cannot. And, until very recent times, as religious leaders, theologians, Scripture translators, and of course heads of governments and legislators, etc., were predominately male, so too is the language. One significant exception is in the Hebrew Testament and theology, Wisdom is female. [for one example see Proverbs 8:1-4]. Of course, a mystery explained is no longer a mystery no matter what the gender references.

     There is no specific Scriptural reference to the Trinity. The Jews knew God as the Wisdom, the Power, and the Glory and tried to wrestle with ways to make God relatable to humans. It was through Jesus that the Apostles came to know God as their personal “Father” made manifest in the Jesus they knew and came to understand as God’s Son. The Holy Spirit fell upon them with the Gifts that gave them, and us all, the Great Commission in this Gospel ~ to go forth and make disciples of all nations. Yet, without going too far down a rabbit hole here, it is important to note that throughout all human history, parental language in Scripture can be a significant distraction for those with the experience of parental abuse.

     The mystery of the Trinity is nothing if not confounding and controversial. One God/Three Persons ~ separate yet one, equal with different roles that are ultimately the same, belief in one is meant to be belief in all and the One that is the same but different. Got that? That’s probably why we have Trinitarians, Unitarians, and No-tarians.

    Franciscan theologian Fr. Richard Rohr tells us that "...Niels Bohr, [a Danish physicist who was a major contributor to quantum physics and nuclear fission] said the universe is 'not only stranger than we think, but stranger than we can think...' The doctrine of the Trinity is saying the same thing: God is not only stranger than we think, but stranger than we can think...Perhaps much of the weakness of the first 2,000 years of reflection on most of our doctrines and dogmas is that we've tried to understand them with a logical or rational mind instead of through love, prayer, and participation itself..." Perhaps we are called, as more than a few theologians have suggested, to be almost a fourth person in the flow of God...

     If rational knowing all that God is becomes the substance and goal of our faith, are we merely reducing God to our human level? More than a few writers have said that if I can truly understand God, then my god is too small.

     One of my favorite ways to attempt a kind of explanation/understanding is through a piece of a 6th century creed from Dublin known as Tírechán’s Creed, albeit with the seemingly eternal and problematic masculine pronoun when speaking of God it says:

He has a Son who is co-eternal with himself;

   and similar in all respects to himself;

   and neither is the Son younger than the Father,

   nor is the Father older than the Son;

   and the Holy Spirit breathes in them.

And the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit are inseparable.

   If we think outside the Triangle that was developed to try to contain and explain, perhaps we can arrive at the beginning where all things are possible with, in, and through God. So, while the mystery of the Trinity is not solved at least we have looked beyond the image of an old man, a young man, and a bird.

~~One of the best discussions of this comes from a book written by renowned New Testament Scholar Sister Sandra M. Schneiders, I.H.M. in her book Women and the Word (Paulist Press 1986) Here’s a link to an article that is well worth the read for food for thought: https://uscatholic.org/articles/199005/god-is-more-than-two-men-and-a-bird/

LET US, GOD’S PEOPLE, PRAY

Leader:  ~ Divine and Holy Trinity, from You is every form of the Creation and its Life, including our redemption and the fire of Pentecost within us. Even with all You’ve given, we beg You yet again, to urge our souls to discard the obstacles of our own making, that prevent us from fully dedicating our lives to You. 

                           Creator-Redeemer-Spirit
RESPONSE:            In the high vault of heaven, glory to You
 
~ Divine and Holy Trinity, quicken our fervor with the intellect, love, and courage You have instilled in us, to exhort the political leaders in this Nation, on this Planet, and in our Community, to immediately turn to principled governing with integrity, mercy, justice, and peace. We pray especially for: add your own petitions
 
                                        Creator-Redeemer-Spirit
                                        In the high vault of heaven, glory to You
 
~ Divine and Holy Trinity, infuse an extra measure of the grace of hope upon all who are ill in mind, body, or spirit, along with strength and perseverance for those who give them continuing care. We now join our hearts together to pray for those in need… add your own petitions
 
                                        Creator-Redeemer-Spirit
                                        In the high vault of heaven, glory to You
           
~ Divine and Holy Trinity, in our earthly grief, we cling to the knowing that You carry those who have left our realm, into the warmth of holy comfort and the peace of Your life everlasting. We pray especially for… add your own petitions

                                         Creator-Redeemer-Spirit
                                        In the high vault of heaven, glory to You

~ Divine and Holy Trinity, we pause in this moment to offer You our personal thanksgivings, intercessions, petitions, and memorials… add your own petitions
 
                                        Creator-Redeemer-Spirit
                                        In the high vault of heaven, glory to You
                      
~ Divine and Holy Trinity, bestow peace of heart, strength of mind, and courage of conviction, on all You have called and anointed as guides for our souls in this life. We pray especially for: add your own petitions  
 
                                        Creator-Redeemer-Spirit
                                        In the high vault of heaven, glory to You                                                                                             

The Celebrant adds: Eternal Whole, All Who are One, we are each endowed with Your essence to accompany us in all that we pray, think, and do. Enhance and enrich the desire of our souls to seek our ultimate fulfillment in humble service to Your call. We beseech You as our Holy Creator, our Messiah Christ, and our Sacred Spirit, Who together are One God, forever and ever.  Amen. 

All compositions remain the property of the owner of this blog but may be used with attribution and edited for local use as long as they are not sold or charged for in any way. For more information or comments, contact: Leeosophy@gmail.com

Prayers of the People: Faith in Flames ~ The Day of Pentecost RCL Yr A

For Sunday, May 24, 2026, Readings: Acts 2:1-21, Ps 104:25-35, 37; 1 Corinthians 12:2b-13, Jn 20:19-23

  When the day of Pentecost had come, the disciples were altogether in one place. And suddenly from heaven there came a sound like the rush of a violent wind... Divided tongues, as of fire, appeared among them, and a tongue rested on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages as the Spirit gave them ability... then everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved. [Acts 2:1-4, 21]

   O Lord, how manifold are your works! In wisdom you have made them all...You send forth your Spirit, and they are created…Bless the Lord, O my soul.  [Psalm 104: 25a, 31a, 37a] 

  Now there are a variety of gifts but the same Spirit...but it is the same God that activates all of them in everyone...To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good...the same Spirit, who allots to each one individually just as the Spirit chooses. For just as the body is one and has many members of the body, though many are one body, so it is with Christ. For in the one Spirit we were all baptized into one body - Jews or Greeks, slaves or free... [1 Cor 12:4a, 6b-7, 11]

   When it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and the doors were locked where the disciples were, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you. After he said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.”  When he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.” [John 20:19-23]

 

     Fifty Days after Easter, Ten Days after the Ascension, comes Pentecost, the feast of Holy Spirit: the Birth Day of the Christian Church. The word Pentecost comes from the Greek for "fiftieth" and carries much ancient history and tradition along with its place on the Christian calendar. The fiftieth day after Passover, on the Jewish calendar, is the ancient feast of Shavuot* [shah-vote or shah-vwote] Though not explicitly named in the Hebrew Bible, in Judaic tradition Shavuot is considered to be the day on which the Torah was revealed by God to Moses who then gave it to the Israelites at Mount Sinai. Shavuot may perhaps be another reason the disciples of Jesus were gathered. Being together, comforted by a familiar and venerable ritual, they waited for the unknown sign promised by the resurrected Jesus in his final in-person teachings.

    Remember, that in just in the prior month and a half, the disciples had experienced a confusing “Last Supper,” the arrest, trial, and violent execution of Jesus, his resurrection, various appearances to them, his ascension, and their own grief, fear, and uncertainty at these inexplicable turns of events. Here they are gathered together again without quite knowing what was next or when. Suddenly a sound like a violent wind followed by tongues of fire resting on them, as they began speaking in multiple languages, of course they were bewildered, astonished, and amazed! From that day their ministry began in earnest, taking Christ's message far and wide.

    Today we are blasé. We know the story too well; we are immune to the thrill and amazement of it. The churches are packed at Christmas and Easter yet come Pentecost, all seems routine even if a "Festival Eucharist" is celebrated. Of course, Christmas, Good Friday, and Easter are all critical to our Christian history. We can't have gotten to this point at all without Christ's birth, death, and resurrection. But it was the arrival of the Holy Spirit, on that Pentecost, that fired up the Apostles. That was the moment that sent them around the known world proclaiming Christ, converting, and making the way for us to be the Church here, now, more than 2,000 years later. Without that Pentecost, would we still know about Christmas, Good Friday, or Easter? 

    It is in these current times with fear, frustration, anger, and intolerance swirling around in ever more intense and too often violent levels, that we must take the time to stop and read the texts with new understanding, a fresh awareness of what it must have been like for those in that Upper Room. From the devastation of the Crucifixion, to the confusion and the wonder of the resurrection, to the joy of his return among them, and then suddenly mystified by his ascension, now, only 10 days after his final leaving...they are waiting...and wondering...for what they are unsure.          

   For us, today is the day to move beyond merely knowing the story. Today is the day of knowing that the Spirit IS within US ~ to be as awe-struck, and dazzled and even as flabbergasted, or its Hebrew equivalent, as the Apostles ~ and to be reinvigorated and excited.  God’s grace, and the love and Salvation of Christ is ours. THIS IS the day that the LORD has made! Let us truly rejoice and be glad and joy-filled, and alive in it! After all, what else is faith for?

    On this fiftieth day after Easter, let us accept and welcome the extraordinary gifts and abilities bestowed on us, as in Paul’s 1^st Letter to the Corinthians, chosen for and unique to each of us. Let us be eager and enthusiastic in embracing all that a true life of faith calls us to be and to do, to live fully in the belief in Christ that we claim to have. Let us strive to be all that Jesus and his imperfect disciples have shown us that we can be. We, too, celebrate, with our Jewish heritage, the giving of the Law on Sinai as our rules of life, transformed by Jesus into the Greatest Commandment [see Matthew 22:37-39]. 

    On this Birthday of the Church**, let us begin again to live as Children of God, using the language of love with each other and especially with those who aren't so lovingly inclined. Christmas is wonderful, and lovely, and blessed. Easter is fragrant and joyful, but with Pentecost comes the true gift that brings fire to our souls and lifts our life's journey to a new level with our Faith in Flames!

 

*As an insight for Shavuot, and a parallel for Pentecost, an alternative reading given for today is from the Book of Numbers 11:24-30 which says, in part: So Moses went out and told the people the words of the Lord, and he gathered seventy of the elders of the people…Then the Lord came down in the cloud and spoke to him and took some of the spirit that was on him and put it on the seventy elders and when the spirit rested upon them, they prophesied. [Numbers 11:24-25]  

**As the Birthday of the Church, Pentecost marks the official beginning of the ministry of the Apostles beyond their local area and into the world at large. The descent of the Holy Spirit in the form of tongues of fire imbued, instilled, and infused them, and each of us, by extension, with extra-ordinary gifts to bring the message of Christ to everyone. This day is known as Whitsun/Whitsunday in Ireland and the United Kingdom, a name descending from a Gaelic celebration of medieval or perhaps even more ancient times, often wearing whit or white robes.

~~For an Additional Pentecost Reading: see John 7:37-39

LET US, GOD’S PEOPLE, PRAY

Leader:  ~ Most Holy Spirit, Breath of God, fill our souls with Your sacred fire and the gifts that it brings into us, onto us, and through us, to fuel our desire for faith-filled living and moving and being the Church-in-Action, in the name of Christ Jesus, our Lord.  

                                                       Spirit of Grace and Glory

RESPONSE:                Fall afresh on us

~ Most Holy Spirit, Breath of God, set our tongues alight to speak in the fervent language of Your Truth to the leaders of this Earth, this Country, and this Community, as the voice of those crying in the continuing wilderness of racism, poverty, intolerance, violence, and injustice. We pray especially for: add your own petitions

                                                       Spirit of Grace and Glory

                                                       Fall afresh on us                                                      

~ Most Holy Spirit, Breath of God, lighten the burden of pain for those who are weakened in body, spirit, and soul; and ease the worry of all who give comfort and care. We now join our hearts together to pray for those in need… add your own petitions 

                                                       Spirit of Grace and Glory

                                                       Fall afresh on us         

~ Most Holy Spirit, Breath of God, soothe the weary hearts of those who struggle in the midst of grief, as You carry those who have left us, into the loving and eternal arms of Jesus. We pray especially for… add your own petitions

                                                       Spirit of Grace and Glory

                                                       Fall afresh on us

~ Most Holy Spirit, Breath of God, we pause in this moment to offer You our other heartfelt thanksgivings, intercessions, petitions, and memorials… add your own petitions

                                                       Spirit of Grace and Glory

                                                       Fall afresh on us                 

~ Most Holy Spirit, Breath of God, grant an extra measure of Your gifts to those who lead us in Your Church, as they steadfastly strive to guide our spiritual journey through the trials of our times. We pray especially for: add your own petitions

                                                       Spirit of Grace and Glory

                                                       Fall afresh on us                        

 

                                                         

The Celebrant adds: God of Creation, Redemption, and Wisdom, though we are many, we are one body in the one Spirit, all equal yet unique by Your design. Set our hearts ablaze again, to seek Your will, keep Your Commandments, and use our earthly lives for the common good of all. We ask through Jesus, our Redeemer Christ; and the Holy Spirit, our Wisdom Source; who together with You reign as One God, now and for eternity. Amen. 

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