Prayers of the People: Always One Together ~ 6th Sunday after Pentecost '26 RCL Yr A

For Sunday, July 5, 2026, Readings: Zechariah 9:9-12, Psalm 145:8-15, Romans 7:15-25a, Matthew 11:16-19, 25-30

    See, your king comes to you triumphant and victorious is he, humble and riding on a donkey…he shall command peace to the nations. [Zechariah 9: 9b, 10a]

   The Lord is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. The Lord is good to all, and his compassion is over all that he has made.  [Psalm 145:8-9]

    I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but the very thing I hate...For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I do...Who will rescue me from this body of death? Thanks be to God though Jesus Christ our Lord! [Romans 7:15, 19,24b-25]

   Jesus said to the crowd, "To what will I compare this generation? It is like children sitting in the marketplaces and calling to one another...For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, 'he has a demon'; the Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say 'Look, a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!' Yet wisdom is vindicated by her deeds...Come to me, all of you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light." [Matthew 11: 16, 18-19, 28-30]

    Our Hebrew [Old] Testament reading highlights the God-inspired prophetic gifts of Zechariah in his foretelling of the king who is humble and riding on a donkey in a hymn of praise. This Zechariah, aka Zacharias, is the eleventh of the twelve Minor Prophets so named for their shorter books. He lived in the 6^th century BCE [Before the Common Era, or BC in the Christian parlance of Before Christ] and he is not the Zechariah mentioned as the father of John the Baptist in the Christian [New] Testament.

   The Psalmist presents us with a comforting and hope-filled description of God as slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. Quite a contrast from what many of us think about the angry vengeful God some of us were exposed to as children in catechism class or Sunday School that made us shudder and sometimes worry. Biblical scholar Walter Bruggemann, in his book Praying the Psalms, explains categories of the psalms that meet us where we are and give us the words to pray out loud in anger, in fear, or even where we long to be. I particularly like his description of cathartic psalms, the ones we can scream out loud as relief when frustrated and that hurt no one.  Psalm 145 for this week, however, is for me the perfect peace-filled comforter to pull over our heads in difficult times or just when our souls need a blessing-filled cuddle.   

   And then we move to Paul in an essay of self-revealing angst that always speaks to me with the stark reminder of all that is happening now has been happening all along. We may tune it out, believe or at least hope we are more self-aware and better at life, yet we all succumb to the us vs them mind game more often than we are willing to admit to ourselves. It may be in a hidden desire for a sense of personal superiority or of belonging to the “correct” group. There can be an almost addicting need for a sense of acceptance within a given community ~ if you are not one of or with us in all we think, say, or do, then you are one of or with them, painting with the broad brush of no exceptions. Further, if you are one of them you can't be one of us ~ THEM have demons, are gluttons and drunkards, the wrong race or nationality, bad political beliefs and activities, a very wrong sexual orientation and/or gender identity. THEM are, and associate with, all who are unacceptable to US. Is any part of the TV or online news too close for comfort and self-awareness?

   It is so easy, familiar, and self-comforting to get caught up in the want of knowing unequivocally who is right and who is wrong. That has never been more crystal clear than right here and right now. Paul brings our humanity front and center: deep down I know I don't want to say or do some of the things I say or do but I do the very thing I hate. When I catch myself, I resolve to be better and improve my reactions and responses in everyday living. Then, unaware, I fall back into the “I'm better than fill in name of person or group” mode and act accordingly, whereupon ~ eventually ~ I realize, I have failed, again, to be who and what I want to be. 

  Jesus, in turn, offers us His easy yoke, to guide us and teach us. The burden is light, he says, but the pull back to the familiar behaviors ~ even those we don't want ~ is quick and often unconscious. They are easier than making conscious changes, which can take on the risk of being ostracized from our “us” as one of "them."

  In the language of addiction treatment, we are sinners in recovery. The tendency to fall back is always strongest at the start of healing. But the farther we move ahead of it, the easier to resist, especially in a learning, supportive community of those who acknowledge unhealthy thoughts and behaviors and strive to overcome them; and when a fall occurs, the easy yoke of Christ will carry us together. 

  There is a yoke on each of us and each come with a clear choice. One binds us to the faults great and small that we know are within us, that bruise and chafe our hearts and damage our souls. The other is the Yoke of Christ, not free of pain or trials or even fear, but the loads and burdens of this short life ~ much of it self-inflicted ~ are lightened, less wearisome, healing, and hopeful. We are always one in, of, and with Him. With His yoke, we are always one together doing His work in His field, together, with time for rest and replenishment.

LET US, GOD’S PEOPLE, PRAY

Leader:  ~ O Lord, Gracious and Merciful, awaken us to our self-imposed bindings of our familiar sins that distract us from hearing and acting upon Your truth. Rescue our hearts to recover our eagerness to accept Your easy yoke of learning and redemption.

                                                       O Christ, our Savior                                                           

    RESPONSE:             We rest our souls in You            

~ O Lord, Gracious and Merciful, burden and enflame the souls the leaders of our World, our Nation, and our Community with a heavy yoke of desire to turn to the good they are capable of doing, to gather the strength to avoid the evils of power, and use their vision to see into the eyes and hearts of those for whom they legislate and those they themselves love. We pray especially for: add your own petitions

                                                       O Christ, our Savior

                                                       We rest our souls in You 

~ O Lord, Gracious and Merciful, soothe the pain and suffering of those depleted by illness, injury, or depression, and comfort those who give them care.  We now join our hearts together to pray for those in need… add your own petitions

                                                       O Christ, our Savior

                                                       We rest our souls in You        

~ O Lord, Gracious and Merciful, we commend, with our love, all who have been released from this life into the glorious reception of everlasting life with You. We pray especially for… add your own petitions

                                                       O Christ, our Savior

                                                       We rest our souls in You 

~ O Lord, Gracious and Merciful, we pause in this moment to offer You our other heartfelt thanksgivings, intercessions, petitions, and memorials… add your own petitions

                                                       O Christ, our Savior

                                                       We rest our souls in You                       

~ O Lord, Gracious and Merciful, for all who lead us in Your Church as a visible sign of Your Yoke, we ask continual renewing of the Spirit and the constant replenishment of joy in life and ministry. Let us be mutual companions on this journey of our souls, caring and carrying in turn. We pray especially for: add your own petitions

                                                       O Christ, our Savior

                                                       We rest our souls in You                                            

The Celebrant adds: O God of our Souls and our Humanity, help us to come as children to listen and learn, to hear and to grow. Fill us with the desire to recognize and repent of our sins great and small, and to be held captive only by Your love and grace. We ask this through our Most Holy Jesus, and Your Glorious Spirit, who live and reign with You, as 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: Free Gift? ~ Proper 8, 5th Sunday after Pentecost RCL '26 Yr A

For Sunday, June 28, 2026, Readings: Jeremiah 28:5-91, Psalm 89:1-4, 15-18; Romans 6:12-14, 22-23; Matthew 10:40-42

   The prophets who preceded you and me from ancient times prophesied war, famine, and pestilence against many countries and great kingdoms. As for the prophet who prophesies peace, when the word of that prophet comes true, then it will be known that the Lord has truly sent the prophet. [Jeremiah 28:5-9]

     I declare that your steadfast love is established forever; your faithfulness is as firm as the heavens… Happy are the people… who walk, O Lord, in the light of your countenance… For you are the glory of their strength.... [Psalm 89:2, 15, 17a]

     ...present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life...as instruments of righteousness. For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but grace...now that you have been freed from sin...the advantage you get is sanctification...For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. [Romans 6:13b, 14, 22-23]

    Jesus said, "Whoever welcomes you welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me...and whoever gives even a cold cup of water...truly I tell you, none…will lose their reward." [Matthew 10:40, 42]

   We pick up this piece from Jeremiah in the middle without the benefit of the whole conversation. It would be useful to read the full chapter to get a sense of the context of this snippet or at the very least the four prior verses that open the chapter. Essentially, we are to understand that prophecy itself is contextual for its time, not eternal for all situations and eras. What works for one moment in time doesn’t in another and may be inappropriate or even destructive in another. Just because a prophet claims the message is from God isn’t proof that it is. It sometimes appears that prophetic messages are all doom and gloom, but prophecy can also speak of hope and promise. As we “listen” to this message in our own time, we want to consider: How do we know the difference between a true prophet and a false one?  Just because one is more familiar to us is no guarantee that the message is truly from God. Perhaps we do have to wait and see if and when the prophecy comes true to know with more certainty and that can take a very long time. Yet isn’t it more calming to hear and absorb those promises of hope amidst despair in troubled times?

   The Psalmist is singing a hopeful message about the steadfastness of God’s love. Given the dire messages of other psalms, this one is more comforting as it reminds us that God loves us, especially for our faithfulness. And we are reminded that God made a covenant with David, a less than perfect human!

   Paul asks what advantage did you get…from the things of which you are now ashamed? In accepting Christ, we are freed from enslavement to sin. Yes, the language of “slave” and “enslavement” is archaic and distressing and yet truthful as we recognize the deep sin of ongoing systemic racial injustice, and the continuation of too many who are willing to practice intentional racial, gender, and other discrimination in our own time.  To put it into more contemporary language, Eugene Peterson’s Bible paraphrase, The Message, refers to the  tyranny of sin and when released, we are in living in God’s

freedom.

   Matthew’s Gospel for this week gives us the outline of the genuine welcomes that we can offer to others and how the smallest actions of life, simple as a cup of cold water, done in the name of a disciple and/or Christ himself, grants us our never-ending reward. Our "life" here, when we accept being freed from sin, welcoming and caring for others in Christ’s name, is to be a preparation for the free gift of God in eternal life in Christ.

   Free gift? Well, it is our free and intentional choice to follow the examples Jesus gives. At the very least, the promise of eternity seems well worth the price of obedience to The Great Commandment [Matthew 22:35-40] and this lesson in true Christ-like hospitality. 

LET US, GOD’S PEOPLE, PRAY
 
Leader:  ~ O Lord of Steadfast Love, awaken us to know of Your faithfulness to all generations and help us to recognize and accept that You are the glory of our strength. Guide us to walk in Your Light, working through rather than fearing, each test of faith in this life, always trusting in You.
 
                                                      O Christ, Most Welcoming
RESPONSE:                            Guide us to eternal life
 
~ O Lord of Steadfast Love, ignite the hearts and souls of the leaders of this Country, this Community, and this World with extra grace and strength of character. Teach their hearts to legislate with compassion assuring economic, environmental, racial, and  humanity in every form of justice for all Your people. We pray especially for: add your own petitions
 
                                                       O Christ, Most Welcoming
                                                       Guide us to eternal life 
 
~ O Lord of Steadfast Love, restore hope and health to those who struggle with continuing illness, isolation, or homelessness, and stamina for all who give support. We now join our hearts together to pray for those in need… add your own petitions

                                                       O Christ, Most Welcoming
                                                       Guide us to eternal life
           
~ O Lord of Steadfast Love, to Your Everlasting Arms, we lift up all who have exchanged this earthly life to flourish in the peace of eternity with You. We pray especially for… add your own petitions

                                                       O Christ, Most Welcoming
                                                       Guide us to eternal life
 
~ O Lord Steadfast Love, we pause in this moment to offer You our other heartfelt thanksgivings, intercessions, petitions, and memorials… add your own petitions

                                                       O Christ, Most Welcoming
                                                       Guide us to eternal life
                      
~ O Lord of Steadfast Love, fortify and sustain those chosen to help us navigate the time and tides of this human experience. Impart refreshment in body, mind, and spiritual wisdom, to preach Your Word, encourage our understanding, and connect us to You in everyday living. We pray especially for: add your own petitions

                                                       O Christ, Most Welcoming
                                                       Guide us to eternal life
                                                                                                
The Celebrant adds: God of all that is, Seen and Unseen, guide us to be a welcoming reflection of Your love in all that we are and all that we do. Give light to the eyes of our souls to follow Your path of grace to salvation. We ask through Jesus, our Messiah, and Redeemer; and the Holy Spirit, Your Sacred Breath within us; who together with You are 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

Meditation Moment: Juneteenth?

For Juneteenth, June 19, 2026

   Today, the reason for our newest Federal Holiday is still unknown in many white communities of this country (or worse: ignored, discouraged, and disparaged). Federal employees have the day off as do many state employees where it has been adopted.* So what exactly does it mean or commemorate? Let me answer first with this:

    Imagine that you have been in a prison for your entire life. You were born there. Many of your family have died there. You MUST do what your Jailer tells you to do inside or outside from dawn to dark of night, in all kinds of weather amid threats, serious physical  punishment, or a violent death, if you fail even for a moment. Your parents, your children, your spouse ~ if you have any ~ are sent to other prisons and you will likely never see them again. You are fed, some more meagerly than others, and you have housing, of a sort ~ cold, hot, damp, with rats and mice and other critters and insects living with you crawling through your food and all over your body for the few hours you are in that space. So if you are 90 or 50 or 30 or 15 years old or younger you have been conditioned to be a prisoner. 

    Then one day, say you’re imprisoned in Texas on June 19, 1865, this General Gordon Granger arrives to tell you and all imprisoned like yourself, that your release from prison was ordered by President Lincoln more than TWO YEARS ago but you are only hearing about it today. What is your first reaction? And what comes later as you realize that it took more than 2 years for you to be released? And then what becomes of you and your descendants who were and are hated and maligned and murdered because those who imprisoned you, and were then forced to release you, poisoned the small minds of others who didn’t look like you. And how do you suddenly manage your life with no experience of an “outside life” beyond  enslavement in a manufactured prison constructed solely because the color of your skin granted the overlords profit from your toil and extra votes for them in national elections ?

    Most of us in many religious denominations whether church attendees or not, believe we were created by our God, in the many colors and physical attributes of our ancestors, from the palest pale to the darkest dark and all the hues in between. With that we were given the free range of the various parts of this, and perhaps other planets at some point, to develop our languages, spiritualities, and cultures that bring great and beautiful diversities to the whole Earth. We are created to walk together with our friends, our neighbors near and far, our sisters and brothers of all the colors, shapes, and sizes we were given across God’s Creation. Let us learn of and share our joys and our sorrows, our similarities that far outnumber our differences. Let us also discover and share our celebrations, our life traditions and rituals from the history that we have learned from our recent and distant ancestors, and what we create in our own time to hand across as well as down. Let us also, even in angry and despairing times, pray for one another and especially for those spiritually and culturally damaged by uncountable generations of teachings by those with pathological fears of all who are unlike themselves; who intentionally invent themselves in their own minds as chosen to be the premier race, created to subdue and denigrate all who are not.

   May we always choose to walk together with our Creator as our Guide who Mothers and Fathers us all on every spiritual path, and in my religious tradition with Christ our Teacher, and with the Holy Spirit as our Grace-Filled Energy, to love one another ~ and ourselves ~ loving and blessing each of us humans of all shapes, sizes, languages, temperaments, cultures, and colors.

   May this day and every Juneteenth, and every day in between, remind us that we are each to guard and hold sacred the value of our created equality and diversity in our humanity, in our humility, and especially in our respect and appreciation for one another and in the joys and sorrows that join us together in this life and beyond.

Click here for more history of Juneteenth:  

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Juneteenth

*States that have adopted Juneteenth as a State holiday:  

https://www.yahoo.com/news/politics/articles/does-state-observe-juneteenth-paid-161119212.html

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: Wolves and Swords and Sparrows, Oh My! ~ 4th Sunday after Pentecost '26 Yr A

For Sunday, 21, 2026, Readings: Genesis 21:8-21, Psalm 86:1-10 16-17; Romans 6:1b -11, Matthew 10:24-39

 But God said to Abraham, "Do not be distressed because of the boy and...your slave woman...do as [Sarah] tells you, for it is through Isaac that offspring will be named for you. I will make a nation of him also, because he is your offspring...God called to Hagar..."Do not be afraid; lift up the boy...I will make a great nation of him"...God was with the boy... [Genesis 21:12-13, 17b-18, 20a]

 For you, O Lord, are good and forgiving, and great is your love for all who call upon you...In the time of my trouble I will call upon you, for your will answer me. [Psalm 86: 5, 7]

   ...all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death...so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life...So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus. [Romans 6:3b, 4b, 11] 

   So do not be afraid; you are of more value than many sparrows..."Everyone therefore who acknowledges me before others, I also will acknowledge before my Father in heaven...I have not come to bring peace, but a sword...whoever does not take up the cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Those who find their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will find it." [Matthew 10:31-32, 34b, 38-39]

    In the prior reading from Genesis, Sarah was laughing ~ she got caught, denied it, and was brought up short. She was then granted happiness in her old age, or so we thought…

    This week we find a different Sarah, jealous and vengeful, separating the child from his father, Abraham, and willing to allow that child and his mother to die. God calmed Abraham and later Hagar, by telling her Do not be afraid. And we are told about this other son of Abraham, known to us as Ishmael, upon whom God also founded a nation, that God was with the boy.  

     Paul reminds us that in Baptism we die, to sin that is, and if all goes well with us, we are alive to God in Jesus. And then Jesus tells the disciples (us, too) not to fear those who disparage him. Yet although the words those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul are fearsome, Jesus reminds us that even sparrows sold cheaply are valued by God. He echoes God in saying do not be afraid because we are more valuable than many sparrows.  

    THEN, BOOM - where did THIS Jesus come from: Not bringing peace but a sword, setting family against family, households against one another? Separating us from him if we love others more? We have arrived at Part 2 of Jesus' teaching on what discipleship actually means. Last week we were sheep in the midst of wolves and now we learn what can happen when confronting those wolves, when we pick up His cross and follow Him. He has my attention ~ he had me at I have not come to bring peace, but a sword... 

     But then, how different is this from what we experience in life, especially in these tumultuous times, when we hold differing opinions with those we love? Political and even religious rhetoric can be fiery and fierce, families and friends stop speaking to one another. Strangers are yelling at each other in the streets and, of course, on social media. Sarah and her wrath against Hagar and her child Ishmael, fathered by Abraham, whose descendant founded the religion of Islam, is remembered and fuels the wrath among and between Jews, Muslims, and Christians, forgetting that we are ALL, Each and Every, Sisters and Brothers as the Children of Abraham, Children of the same God.

    The world seems angrier than ever and us vs them boils over all too often into violence, personal, global, and even as entertainment for the uber wealthy, politicos at high levels, and just-regular-folks ramped up to take it to the streets. Yet Jesus stops us in our tracks with his sword  because it begs the questions to ourselves and each other: What really is our life all about? How easily ~ like sheep ~ do we bolt headlong into everything except what our Shepherd wants from us? He doesn't want us to stop loving each other, we are simply to love Him more. The glint of the sword blade is a clear warning that being steadfast in faith, acknowledging Him above all else ~ family, friends, job, lifestyle, etc. ~ is fraught with far more than separation anxiety, it can be dangerous for a mere human. We are not to be the sword-carriers, we are to bearers of the Word, the Good News. And, as with life in general, some days will be easier than others. This is not a part-time occupation, a Sunday thing, or a Christmas and Easter duty. This is what we sign up for when we call ourselves Followers of Christ/Christians. The pay-off is full-time, eternal life. No easy road ~ yet ~ if we travel together, we can keep the wolves at bay and save some sparrows all while losing only that which keeps us from finding our true life. Remember that pray without ceasing thing? Start NOW and, oh yes: Do not be afraid. God in Christ is with us, always.

 LET US, GOD’S PEOPLE, PRAY

Leader:  ~ O Lord, Good and Forgiving, You bid us to choose between living now in false comfort or with division among us by walking in the newness of Christ. Keep us grounded, strong in our faith, willing to bear the cost in this life for the promise of Jesus in the next. 

                                                O God, Great and Wondrous                                         

           RESPONSE:          We lift our souls to Your Mercy

~ O Lord, Good and Forgiving, give us the courage to be what we expect and demand of political leaders in this World, across our Country, and in our Local cities and towns. Strengthen us to work in large and small ways to end quarreling, power plays, and violence that separate and kill us here and across this Earth. We pray especially for: add your own petitions

                                                O God, Great and Wondrous
                                              We lift our souls to Your Mercy

~ O Lord, Good and Forgiving, comfort and help all who are seriously ill, addicted, or homeless, and grant extra blessings for all who provide support. We now join our hearts to pray for those in need… add your own petitions

                                                O God, Great and Wondrous
                                                We lift our souls to Your Mercy

~ O Lord, Good and Forgiving, we commend those we love to the freedom of eternal life, resurrected and alive in Jesus, never to die again. We pray especially for… add your own petitions

                                                 O God, Great and Wondrous
                                               We lift our souls to Your Mercy

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

 

                                                 O God, Great and Wondrous
                                               We lift our souls to Your Mercy              

~ O Lord, Good and Forgiving, lift the hearts and souls of those anointed to guide us in Your Church in these wearying times. Grant unceasing energy as they endeavor to fortify us in our discipleship, as we seek to be worthy of Christ. We pray especially for: add your own petitions.

                                                 O God, Great and Wondrous
                                               We lift our souls to Your Mercy         

The Celebrant adds:  O Lord, our God, rescue us from the desert of denial, open our eyes to the wellspring of the Spirit, awaken our hearts to live first for Christ, and guide us to walk unafraid in Your Light and Love. We ask in the name of Christ Jesus, our Sin-Bearer; and the Holy Spirit, our Fount of all Wisdom; who together with You are 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: 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.

 

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