People's Prayers

Monday, November 2, 2026

Prayers of the People: Hope Any Day Any Hour ~ 24th Sunday after Pentecost, RCL Year A

For Sunday, November 8, 2026, Readings: Joshua 24:1-3a, 14-25; Psalm 78:1-7,

1 Thessalonians 4:13-18, Matthew 25:1-13

Now therefore revere the Lord and serve him in sincerity and in faithfulness…as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord…incline your hearts to the Lord…and him we will obey. [Joshua 24:14a, 15c, 23b, 24b]

That the generations to come might know, and the children yet unborn; that they in their turn might tell it to their children; So that they might put their trust in God… [Psalm 78:6-7a]

We do not want you to be uninformed…about those who have died, so that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope…so we will be with the Lord forever. [1 Thessalonians 4:13, 17b]

Ten Bridesmaids too their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were foolish, and five were wise…Keep awake therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour.” [Matthew 25:1b-2, 13]

Keep awake, therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour [Matthew 25:13]. Of all the admonitions of Jesus, this one always sends a chill up and down my spine. I've spent a considerable amount of time in hospital emergency rooms for a variety of personal and professional reasons, and a swift and unexpected death can sometimes overwhelm even the most experienced and detached medical staff, let alone loved ones. In my own life, the hour and the day have whisked away those I hold most deeply in my heart so unexpectedly, I can still feel the reverberation in my heart, and breath, and head, as if being hit with a concussive blow that never quite heals and never quite stops. This reminds me that I, too, am subject to immediate and sudden factory recall.

Joshua reminds the Israelites to incline our hearts to the Lord to serve and obey, to revere God in sincerity and in faithfulness. The psalmist tells us to know and recount to generations to come the praiseworthy deeds and the power of the Lord that they might put their trust in God.

Paul and those he converted and to whom he preached, were working with a presumption that the return of Jesus was fairly imminent. There was some concern by the Thessalonians about who would be raised up when Jesus returned. Paul gives them, and all of us, hope when he says about those who have died, that you must not grieve as others do who have no hope as we all will be with the Lord forever. Therefore encourage one another with these words. My favorite line in this passage is verse 17 which says Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up in the clouds together with them to meet the Lord in the air and so we will be with the Lord forever.

With the parable of the 10 Bridesmaids, we are given a serious lesson in preparation, taking nothing for granted, being ready for whatever comes. The parable itself is an example of an ancient Palestinian bridal ritual that those listening to Jesus would have understood. As the wedding day approached, the Groom, accompanied by friends would travel to take the bride from her home, usually at night. The bride was attended by maidens of both families and as they might be journeying a great distance, no exact time of arrival of the Groom was known. And so, preparation is the call here, keeping watch and being ready to embark. If you missed the Groom’s arrival and the wedding party’s departure, you were done. Those invited who remained awaiting the bridal party's return, were expected to stay at the Bridegroom’s, or a neighbor’s home, as long as it took for the entourage to appear. The underlying message about preparation is knowing NOW what we must do.

The Bridegroom, of course, is the Messiah, one through whom God’s work is undertaken to completion. Matthew is clear that the Bridegroom is the Risen Christ although Jesus never referred to himself as Messiah. Still, whether or not we are convinced that there will be no second chance at the End, we do know that an end is coming by, at the very least, our own mortal death. We just don’t know the day or the hour.

Playing the role of active Christian, faithful attendance at worship, giving of alms, doing good deeds, etc., is all well and good, but preparing my soul for an unexpectedly swift end to my human life needs some work. A re-evaluation of every-day and long-term plans, might be considered. Time to get more oil for the lamp, trim the wick, and start again with all my just-in-case soul preparations trying to match my outermost Sunday best to my innermost daily thoughts and then to my outer words and actions. Whew! How about you? Are you prepared for the unexpected hour…to being caught up in the clouds with those who have gone before to meet the Lord in the air? I’m not quite ready but if that is how it ends, then it sounds like floating into Paradise. Keeping up with my hope on any day and in any hour, with God’s help I will pray to say:

You cannot take my hope away
nor steal my inner joy
no matter all the plots and schemes
no matter intent or ploy.

My peace will continue
to grow and to give
to all I encounter
each day that I live.

~christina brennan lee

LET US, GOD’S PEOPLE, PRAY

Leader: ~ O LORD our God, incline our ears to the words of Your mouth and deliver us from pursuing temporary pleasures that distract us from the wisdom of preparing our souls. Guide us, we pray, to keep our everyday thoughts and words as actions of faith, in earnest service to You.

God of All There Is

RESPONSE: We put our trust in You

~ O LORD our God, we turn our faces to You for the strength and courage to live as a constant witness to the teachings of Christ Who was, Who is, and Who will come again. Give us, always, a calm, rational, and truthful voice to the issues at hand, to all holding power on our Planet, in our Country, and in our local Community, especially to those with whom we disagree. We pray especially for: add your own petitions

God of All There Is

We put our trust in You

~ O LORD our God, gather all who are fearfully ill, economically desperate, or emotionally distressed, to incline their hearts to You, and endow their care-givers with compassion and energy. We now join our hearts to pray for those in need… add your own petitions

God of All There Is

We put our trust in You

~ O LORD our God, console us all with the hope and the knowledge that we, with all who have gone before, will be with be with you forever in this life and the next. We pray especially for… add your own petitions

God of All There Is

We put our trust in You

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

God of All There Is

We put our trust in You

~ O LORD our God, grant our spiritual leaders continuing purity of heart, hope of the spirit, and the fidelity of faith, to guide our soul journeys toward Your eternal kingdom. We pray especially for: add your own petitions

God of All There Is

We put our trust in You

The Celebrant adds: Most High and Holy God, keep our hearts and souls awake and our minds alert to reflect Your presence within us now and in the time to come, as we move through this life ready for the unknown day and hour of our new life in You. We ask this through Jesus, our Christ and our Redeemer; and the most Holy Spirit, our Advocate; who, together with You, eternally reign as One God, in heaven, on earth, and beyond all time and space. Amen.

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Prayers of the People: The World at Peace ~ 5th Sunday in the Season of Creation*

For Sunday, November 8, 2026; Readings: Amos 5:21-24, Psalm 85:7-14, Marion Wright-Edelman,** Luke 4:16-22a

Even though you offer me your burnt offerings and grain offerings…I will not accept them…I will not listen to the melody of your harps. But let justice roll down like water and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.

[Amos 5:21-24]

Turn, revive us, nourish our joy…I listen to God speaking, “I…speak peace, peace to my faithful people who turn their hearts to me…Love and faithfulness will meet, peace and justice kiss each other… [Psalm 85]

O God of the children of Syria, Nigeria and Liberia, of Sudan, South Africa and South Carolina, Of Afghanistan, Pakistan, India and Myanmar, of Israel, Iran and Iraq Of the Congo, Central America, Charleston, and Cleveland, of Darfur and Detroit, of Libya, Yemen and Ukraine, Nepal and New Orleans…Help us to love and respect and protect and welcome them all. [Marion Wright-Edelman, Prayer to the God of All Children**]

[Jesus said…]“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set free those who are oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” [Luke 4:18-19]

*The Season of Creation originated in the Anglican Church of South Africa and was formalized in 2008. It is designed for us to explore our faith from a Creation perspective. For more information see:

https://prayersofthepeople.blogspot.com/2026/10/prayers-of-people-in-beginning-1st.html

We use Biblical and other readings that pertain to the specific theme of each of the 7 weeks of the Season. Alternate readings used are posted with an asterisk* and follow the prayers below.

Week V's Theme is:

World Peace

World Peace. Of course! Who doesn't want that? Yet the concept is exponentially large and is well beyond the scope of my abilities to achieve alone. It then remains a mere wish, too big to be a goal, and reduced to a conversational platitude. Or, is it? When you think of world peace how do you define it? Is it merely the end of all war on the planet or are there other considerations? A few formal definitions describe it as the absence of war, a cessation of hostilities, and/or tranquility. In an ironic construct, whole armies are deployed ostensibly to achieve peace by ending war ~ where am I in that? No army is ever truly deployed to make peace but rather for power and control, domination, and/or subjugation. It’s so much easier, isn’t it, when war or violence or riots are far away and, after all, what could I possibly do to help? In watching or just reading the news, a day doesn't go by when my anxiety and frustration levels aren't challenged even by headlines or political comments on social media, and I find myself, ironically and sadly, highly intolerant of the intolerance of others as my blood pressure rises, frustrated by the incursion of their rights on my own. On this day as I write, on the eve of Mid-Term Election Day in this country, peace on every conceivable level ~ personal, local, regional, country-wide, world-wide ~ seems to be teetering on a very fine edge. What will bring peace to some will upend it for others. Yet what we must require from those who are elected is well stated by Amos: let justice roll down like water and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.

Others wiser than me have said that peace begins within oneself. And so I must earnestly search to find some peace within myself, somewhere. Perhaps by breathing very deeply in and out regularly, stepping away from the noise of all that disturbs a tranquil moment. Listening to the birds ~ even when they’re fighting ~ calms me. The laughter of children makes me laugh; as puppies and kittens and butterflies, and turtles sunning on a rock, warm my heart. Even in the depth of winter's cold, there is the peaceful quiet of a snowy day. As the Psalmist tells us this week we are to turn our hearts to God who will speak to peace to each of us. As I breathe in deeply again and again, the feisty, feckless, fuming, and fraying world is still there, but within it I can find a small moment of inner peace that remains.

Yet I must not simply live into a false peace-filled denial in which I only love those who love me. It is in the steadiness of holding fast within myself, that calls me to regularly return to a place of quiet. In prayer, meditation, and/or in simple moments of beauty, I can seek and find that special gift of inner peace. And then I must re-gift that inner peace outwardly to offer a smile, a kind word, and some serious personal restraint in response to a severe difference of opinion, then pray for release of my anger.

World Peace, it seems, does, frighteningly, begin within me, at least in some ways. We must have peace ~ and hope and joy ~ at our core that centers and steadies us. It doesn’t mean we are continuously silly happy-clappy fools but rather, in the midst of sad and difficult and yes even angry moments, we can dig down to find that glimmer of Christ’s light to carry us forward. We can support, defend, write, march, care about, and join organizations that give us useful tools to, at the very least in principle, support those who are in the midst of a war whether in their homes, on our streets, or far across the globe. And, we are especially called by the heart-rending prose of Marion Wright-Edelman’s Prayer to the God of All Children, to love and respect and protect the children…welcome them all and to affirm the sacredness of every child in our own country and all around the world. If we cannot care for the children, we cannot care for or about anyone anywhere, including our selves.

To begin in earnest, I and you must each open the doors to that house that the Lord has already built within us. There we can seek and sustain the joy that helps us to radiate God’s Eternal Light from the windows of our souls. Let us pray for the courage and intent to follow Luke’s Gospel ~ the spirit of the Lord is upon me because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor and I take that into a broader expression including and also beyond those in financial poverty, to the poor in spirit, the angry and the depressed, the fearful and the feared, the people I pass on the street and those I pass on the highway. If we are met with anger, disdain, or silence, we simply breathe out a blessing and move on. If we are angry and disdainful, we simply breath in a blessing, seek the Spirit, and stay tuned. We can always find small ways to mingle a moment of peace-filled breath with all the air that flows around this fragile Earth, our island home***. Will we end war ~ sadly, no. But peace is in my hands for one person, one moment, one less argument, one less angry retort, one full moment of intention and attention. To breathe the breath of God toward and for another, may be all the peace and perfection I/we have to give; and to give that is what we are called to do. It may be very difficult at first and a first step may be to do a little introspection. If you are finding it very difficult to love those deemed unlovable or truly hateful, take time to wonder why you feel that way. You very well may have quite legitimate reasons. Yet also take time to think about whether your struggle is in some way, a measure of your hesitance to accept God’s love for yourself.

We are Christ’s ambassadors of continuing hope and inner joy to everyone, evil and good, righteous and unrighteous ~ as it is still, and always, not ours to judge who is worthy. Within myself and out into the ether I say:

You cannot take my hope away

nor steal my inner joy

no matter all the plots and schemes

no matter intent or ploy.

My peace will continue

to grow and to give

to all I encounter

each day that I live.

~christina brennan lee

LET US, GOD’S PEOPLE, PRAY

Leader: ~ O God of Love and Faithfulness, when we are at home and while driving, or on social media and in grocery stores, in anger, complacency, or fear, among those we love and those we do not, energize us to discover and embody your Peace, for and within us so fully, that it radiates through us, to reveal and believe in Your love-without-end, for ourselves and all we meet.