Prayers of the People: Grand Opening, 15th Sunday after Pentecost

for Sunday, September 6, 2015, Pentecost 15, Year B, Readings: Proverbs 22:1-2, 8-9, 22-23; Ps 125; James 2:1-10, [11-13], 14-17; Mark 7: 24-37

My brothers and sisters, do you with your acts of favoritism really believe in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ?...What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if you say you have faith but do not have works?           [James 2:1, 14]

"But she answered [Jesus], "Sir, even the dogs under the table eat the children's crumbs." Then he said to her, "For saying that, you may go-- the demon has left your daughter"...Then looking up to heaven, [Jesus] sighed and said to him, "Ephphatha," that is, "Be opened." And immediately his ears were opened, his tongue was released, and he spoke plainly. [Mark 7:28-29, 34-35]

          Consciousness, mindfulness, awareness, attentiveness...faithfulness... are these not the keys to living out our faith in God? I'm not always aware of how unaware I am in the rush of the day, the list to be completed, life speeding by at warp. Then James asks if I really believe....well, sure, when I'm conscious, mindful, aware, faithful and, in church, more or less. I have to think about what I believe, sometimes. Yet at other times I'm absolutely certain but don't have time [don't take time] to do much about it.

         The readings this week are filled with instruction, images, warnings, and questions I'd prefer to think about later. And yet, for me, the overarching theme this week is Jesus saying, "Ephphatha" - "Be opened."  I can be fairly tightly wound at times and this miraculous phrase gives me a pause, a moment to breathe, a release of the self-imposed binding. The writer of James is trying to open us to act on what we say we believe, as faith must be also be accompanied by action. Even the Syrophoenician woman opened herself - in an unexpected way for a woman of her time - to speak back to Jesus. Was he merely testing her or was he in turn also opened by her candor and so removed the demon from her child? As Jesus healed the man who was deaf and couldn't speak clearly, he also heals us, right now, in this moment. By these words we, too, can be opened to new insight, new consciousness. We were created to live and act in faith, to be as God wants us to be, to reap the harvest of eternal life, to love and treat [all] our neighbors as if they were us. Let us renovate our understanding of what we really believe and have a grand opening, a new flowering, to our active faith in God consciously, mindfully, aware, attentively, faithfully.

  

LET US, GOD’S PEOPLE, PRAY

Leader:  ~ O LORD of Goodness and Mercy, in the midst of a busy life we often forget to be consciously aware of Your love and Your presence. Awaken our desire to turn to You in all things, to be as generous to others as You have been to us, and to use the life You have given us to live as a reflection of our true and abiding belief in You.  

 Dear God in Whom we say we trust,

RESPONSE:  Open our true hearts to live, speak, and act with faith   

~ O LORD of Goodness and Mercy, empower us to be heard by all who wield power in the halls of government on our planet, in our nation, and in our community. Let us work to hinder injustice, turn aside those with crooked ways, and sow the seeds of benevolence, dignity, and humanity for all Your people. We pray especially for: add your own petitions

                                    Dear God in Whom we say we trust,

                                    Open our true hearts to live, speak, and act with faith

~ O LORD of Goodness and Mercy, envelop with Your healing grace all who are lost in serious illness or chronic despair, and strengthen the resolve of all who give them loving support.  We now join our voices to pray aloud for those in need…add your own petitions

                                    Dear God in Whom we say we trust,

                                    Open our true hearts to live, speak, and act with faith

~ O LORD of Goodness and Mercy, surround those who mourn with the peace of knowing that their beloved has found the eternal bliss of life everlasting with You. We pray especially for: add your own petitions

                                    Dear God in Whom we say we trust,

                                    Open our true hearts to live, speak, and act with faith

~ O LORD of Goodness and Mercy, we pause in this moment to offer You our other heartfelt intentions and petitions, aloud or silently…

                                    Dear God in Whom we say we trust,

                                    Open our true hearts to live, speak, and act with faith

~ O LORD of Goodness and Mercy, as we come to the end of one season and the beginning of another, re-excite the spirits of those upon whom we depend to shepherd us on our journey to You. We pray especially for: add your own petitions

                                    Dear God in Whom we say we trust,

                                    Open our true hearts to live, speak, and act with faith

The Celebrant adds:  Creator God, Constant and Steadfast, grant our ears to be opened to hear Your Word, and our tongues released to speak our faith plainly, as we walk in Your ways to do the work You have given us to do. We ask in the name of Jesus, our Glorious Lord, and the Holy Spirit, our Holy Comforter, who together with You reign as one God from before all time and for evermore. Amen.

Requests for prayers or meditations for this space or private use may be sent to Leeosophy@gmail.com. All compositions remain the property of the owner of this blog but may be used with attribution as long as they are not sold or charged for in any way.

Prayers of the People: Straight to the Heart, 14th Sunday after Pentecost

for Sunday, August 30, 2015, Year B, Pentecost 14, Readings: Song of Solomon 2:8-13, Ps 45:1-2, 7-10; James 1:17-27, Mark 7: 1-8, 14-15, 21-23

       [Jesus] said to them, Isaiah prophesied about you hypocrites, as it is written: 'This people honors me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me; in vain do they worship me, teaching human precepts as doctrines. 'You abandon the commandment of God and hold to human tradition." 

       Then he called the crowd again and said to them, "Listen to me, all of you, and understand: there is nothing outside a person that by going in can defile, but the things that come out are what defile. For it is from within, from the human heart, that evil intentions come... [Mark 7:6-8, 14]

        The language of the readings this week is rich, provocative, and even sensual. The Song of Solomon is clearly a magnificent and moving love poem and the Psalm carries the romance along enticing us with idyllic images saying that the music of strings from ivory palaces makes you glad. [Ps 45:9] 
        The writer of James tells us that it is through God's generous act of giving that we are brought to birth by the word of truth and are directed to be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to anger...we are to be doers of the word, and not merely hearers. [James 1:17a, 18a, 19, 22a]  But, as always, it is Jesus who speaks bluntly to the Pharisees who make human tradition and precepts into idolatrous doctrine even as they abandon the commandments of God. He tells the rest of us by way of addressing "the crowd" that it is from within, from the human heart, that evil intentions come... [Mark 7:14]  
        In our own time and "religious practice" when the "tradition" and ritual are the end rather than the means to holiness, when purpose and origin are lost or forgotten, when the "why" of it is no longer considered, we have lost the integrity and intention of the worship of God. We have ceased to be conscious - we are merely hearers, not doers. We are desensitized, sterilized, and removed from receiving and giving the deep, abiding love of God.  
       Jesus yanks me into awareness that my commitment has become shallow and I hearken back to Ps 51, verses 2 and 10 in particular: Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin...Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me. 
        We are given these extraordinary words of love this week to deepen our relationship to God with gladness and singleness of heart [Book of Common Prayer, p. 365] , to be unstained by the world, and to act on behalf of those less fortunate. As we recommit ourselves to the acting within God's commandment, let us welcome with meekness the implanted word that will save our souls as it goes straight to each of our hearts.

LET US, GOD’S PEOPLE, PRAY

Leader:  ~ Sovereign God, Generous and Giving, stir our hearts with noble intentions that we may be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slower to anger. Infuse our souls with Your perfect love.

LORD of Lights

RESPONSE: Let us hear Your Beloved Voice and be doers of Your Word

~ Sovereign God, Generous and Giving, impart a purity of purpose to all those who govern Your peoples in all places, that they may be free of hypocrisy and filled with justice and mercy. We pray especially for: add your own petitions

LORD of Lights

Let us hear Your Beloved Voice and be doers of Your Word

~ Sovereign God, Generous and Giving, nurture the hope of those in distress with the pain of illness, depression, or addiction, and give strength to those who provide for their daily needs. We now join our voices to pray aloud for those in need…add your own petitions

LORD of Lights

Let us hear Your Beloved Voice and be doers of Your Word

~ Sovereign God, Generous and Giving, soothe the wounds of those who grieve even as the Court of Heaven opens in a festival of everlasting joy for those we love. We pray especially for: add your own petitions

LORD of Lights

Let us hear Your Beloved Voice and be doers of Your Word

~ Sovereign God, Generous and Giving, we pause in this moment to offer You our other heartfelt intentions and petitions, aloud or silently…

LORD of Lights

Let us hear Your Beloved Voice and be doers of Your Word

~ Sovereign God, Generous and Giving, continually revitalize those who bring us Your Word and Sacraments, that they may move us from the idolatry of mere human precepts to honoring Your commandments with each action of our lives. We pray especially for: add your own petitions

LORD of Lights

Let us hear Your Beloved Voice and be doers of Your Word

The Celebrant adds:  Almighty God, we are anointed by Your Oil of Gladness and called to keep ourselves unstained by the world. Fortify our resolve to cleanse our own hearts as we think, pray, speak, and act on Your implanted Word that has the power to save all of our souls. We ask through the perfection of Jesus, our Christ and the wisdom of the Holy Spirit, who together with You, reign as One God, now and forever. Amen.

Requests for prayers or meditations for this space or private use may be sent to Leeosophy@gmail.com. All compositions remain the property of the owner of this blog but may be used with attribution as long as they are not sold or charged for in any way.

Prayers of the People: Pilgriming Progress, 13th Sunday after Pentecost

for Sunday, August 23, 2015,1 3th Sunday after Pentecost,Year B, Readings: 1 Kings 8:[1,6,10-11], 22-30, 41-43; Ps 84, Eph 6:10-20, John 6:56-69

Psalm 84:4 [5]

        Happy are the people whose strength is in you! Whose hearts are set on the pilgrims' way. [Ps 84:4]

        Pray in the Spirit at all times in every prayer and supplication. [Ephesians 6:18a]

        Jesus said, "Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood abide in me, and I in them..." When many of his disciples heard it, they said, "This teaching is difficult; who can accept it?"...[But Jesus said to them] "It is the spirit that gives life; the flesh is useless. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life." [John 6:56, 60, 63]

        This week we come to the end of the seemingly endless discourses of Jesus telling his followers to "eat my body and drink my blood." This paschal mystery is difficult to comprehend and many of those who were following Jesus in his time walked away because of it. But many stayed and struggled and today we each reconcile ourselves to this idea in various ways. Some Christians believe in Transubstantiation at the time of the consecration, that the bread and wine on the altar become, mysteriously and mystically, the True and Actual Body and Blood of Christ. Others accept the consecration as metaphor, or, symbolic representation. Some denominations have no "communion" service at all but rely solely on preaching the Word.
       For me, there is a direction to be gleaned from this week's readings. Solomon welcomes the Ark of the Covenant from its many travels into the Temple in Jerusalem. The Psalmist speaks over and over about dwelling in the House and Courts of God and says hearts are happy when sent on the pilgrim's way. Paul exhorts us to shield ourselves from all that could turn us away and to continue to pray in the Spirit at all times. And, finally in the Gospel of John, Jesus asks the Twelve if they wish to also turn away and Peter says, "Lord, to whom can we go? You have the words of eternal life. We have come to believe and know that you are the Holy One of God."  From those times to our times, we are still seeking to understand, to strengthen our faith, to travel the path to God in our own way and with each other. We struggle with questions and doubts and confidence in our faith. We are pilgrims.
       The Oxford dictionary defines pilgrim as: a person who journeys to a sacred place for religious reasons and offers the synonyms: worshiper, devotee, believer, traveler, wayfarer. It isn't important to physically travel, we can make progress as a pilgrim in our spiritual journeys wherever we are. But just as in travel, sometimes there are delays and detours, but eventually, the destination is reached. Prayer, perseverance, desire, and longing to be part of God's household is all it takes ... but it is easier if we go together. As the old hymn from John Bunyan concludes: 

Since, Lord, Thou dost defend us with Thy Spirit,
We know at the end, shall life inherit.
Then fancies flee away! I'll fear not what men say,
I'll labor night and day to be a pilgrim.

To listen to an unusual rendering of the hymn click this link:
Steve Parsons, "To Be a Pilgrim"

LET US, GOD’S PEOPLE, PRAY

Leader:  ~ Holy God, our Sun and our Shield, when we are in Communion with Your Son and each other, the Spirit fills us with Your Power and Truth, and Christ abides in us as we do in Him. Help us on our pilgrim way to pray in the Spirit at all times, for all reasons, for all of Your people.

LORD, God of Hosts

RESPONSE:   Strengthen our faith to put our trust in You  

~ Holy God, our Sun and our Shield, move our feet and grant us courage to proclaim Your Gospel of peace and justice to all who hold authority over the governments of this world, of this nation, and of our community. Let us each walk with the integrity that we expect and demand of our leaders. We pray especially for: add your own petitions

LORD, God of Hosts

Strengthen our faith to put our trust in You

~ Holy God, our Sun and our Shield, breathe new life into the spirits of those who are weighed down by earthly illness, desperate life circumstance, or affliction of soul, and lift the hearts of those who give them care. We now join our voices to pray aloud for those in need…add your own petitions

LORD, God of Hosts

Strengthen our faith to put our trust in You

~ Holy God, our Sun and our Shield, ease the sorrows of those struggling with grief with the comfort of knowing that those we love and have sent on to You, now transcend all earthly woes, and live forever in Your Grace and Glory. We pray especially for: add your own petitions

LORD, God of Hosts

Strengthen our faith to put our trust in You

~ Holy God, our Sun and our Shield, we pause in this moment to offer You our other heartfelt intentions and petitions, aloud or silently…

LORD, God of Hosts

Strengthen our faith to put our trust in You

~ Holy God, our Sun and our Shield, You have gifted us with disciples that did not turn away, but who give their lives guiding us to hear the words and eat the bread of eternal life. Let us join together in constant praise of You as we journey toward the threshold of Your House. We pray especially for: add your own petitions

LORD, God of Hosts

Strengthen our faith to put our trust in You

The Celebrant Adds: Eternal and Living God, draw us together to stand firm in faith, resisting the wiles of temptation, desiring and seeking to live forever in You, rejoicing beyond all time. We ask through Christ Jesus, the Holy One, and the Holy and Life-Giving Spirit, who together with You, reign as One God, now and forever. Amen.

    

Requests for prayers or meditations for this space or private use may be sent to Leeosophy@gmail.com. All compositions remain the property of the owner of this blog but may be used with attribution as long as they are not sold or charged for in any way.

Prayers of the People: Wise Up! 12th Sunday after Pentecost

for Sunday, August 16, 2015, Year B, 12th Sunday after Pentecost, Readings: 1 Kings 2:10-12, 3:3-14; Ps 111, Eph 5:15-20, John 6:51-58

...[T]he LORD appeared to Solomon in a dream...and God said, "Ask what I should give you." Solomon said..."Give your servant...an understanding mind...able to discern between good and evil..." God said to him, "Because you have asked this, and have not asked for yourself long life or riches, or for the life of your enemies, but have asked for yourself understanding to discern what is right, I now do according to your word..." [1 Kings 3:5, 9, 11-12a]

The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom;

those who act accordingly have a good understanding;

his praise endures for ever. [Ps 111:10]

Be careful then how you live, not as unwise people but as wise, making the most of the time...So do not be foolish... [Ephesians, 5:15-16a, 17a]

Jesus said, "I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats of this bread will live forever...This is the bread that came down from heaven, not like that which your ancestors ate, and they died. But the one who eats this bread will live forever." [John 6:51a, 58]

          After David's death, Solomon asked for "an understanding mind" or, in other words, wisdom, rather than great wealth or the death of his enemies, which shows he was already pretty smart! Solomon wasn't always a paragon of virtue but he started out well.

          The psalmist tells us that "the fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom" but "fear" isn't meant as we use it today as "to be frightened of." Rather it meant to have respect for, or, be in awe of.  

          Of course, being intelligent isn't the same as having wisdom. We are told that Solomon asked specifically for "discernment between good and evil" and that is a key element. Following the good is the way of the wise. Following the evil may be the way of the shrewd, but it's only short-term for they will die. If we eat of the Living Bread from Heaven that is Jesus, we will live forever. Let us "make the most of the time" we have and not "be foolish" as Paul says. As my grandmother used to say, "The days may be long but the years are short." The time to begin making the most is now.  Once we remember to be in awe of God again, we are at the beginning of wisdom. Once we know the path of wisdom, once we wise up, integrity will keep us on track. 

 

LET US, GOD’S PEOPLE, PRAY

Leader:  ~ O LORD Most Gracious, grant us the wisdom to discern the right choices in life, and to live knowing that we are filled with Your Spirit. Help us to make every action in our lives in service to You, and in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Merciful and Benevolent God

RESPONSE: Turning to You is the beginning of Wisdom

~ O LORD Most Gracious, guide us to expect and require truth and equity, wisdom and justice, from all who govern in our community, in our nation, and on this earth. We pray especially for: add your own petitions

Merciful and Benevolent God

Turning to You is the beginning of Wisdom

~ O LORD Most Gracious, relieve the suffering of all who are painfully afflicted in body, in spirit, or in life, and bring respite to those entrusted with their care. We now join our voices to pray aloud for those in need:  add your own petitions

Merciful and Benevolent God

Turning to You is the beginning of Wisdom

~ O LORD Most Gracious, lighten the darkness for all who mourn, as You welcome those now arrived into the fullness of Your infinite Majesty and Splendor. We pray especially for:  add your own petitions

Merciful and Benevolent God

Turning to You is the beginning of Wisdom

~ O LORD Most Gracious, we pause in this moment to offer You our other heartfelt intentions and petitions, aloud or silently…

Merciful and Benevolent God

Turning to You is the beginning of Wisdom

~ O LORD Most Gracious, for those You have chosen to inspire us to prayer, to bring us Your Word and consecrate the precious Body and Blood, and to guide us in the work You have given us to do, we offer our whole-hearted thanksgiving. We pray especially for:  add your own petitions

Merciful and Benevolent God

Turning to You is the beginning of Wisdom

The Celebrant adds: Almighty and Righteous God, awaken us from complacency, that we may live wisely, make the most of our time on this earth, and prepare ourselves as worthy to be raised to eternal life on the last day. We ask through Christ Jesus, our Living Bread of Heaven, and the Holy Spirit, our unending Source of Wisdom, who together with You reign as One God, for all time, now and forever. Amen.

Requests for prayers or meditations for this space or private use may be sent to Leeosophy@gmail.com. All compositions remain the property of the owner of this blog but may be used with attribution as long as they are not sold or charged for in any way.

Prayers of the People: I Beg Your Pardon, 11th Sunday after Pentecost

for Sunday, August 9, 2015, Year B, 11th Sunday after Pentecost, Readings: 2 Samuel 18:5-9, 15, 31-33; Ps 130, Eph 4:25-5:2, John 6:35, 41-51

       The king was deeply moved, and went up to the chamber over the gate, and wept; and as he went, he said, "O my son Absalom, my son, my son Absalom! Would I had died instead of you, O Absalom, my son, my son!" [2 Sam 18:33]

       Be angry but do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger...Put away from you all bitterness and wrath and anger and wrangling and slander, together with all malice, and be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ has forgiven you. [Eph 4:26, 31-32]

      Jesus said, "I am the bread of life"...No one can come to me unless drawn by the Father who sent me; and I will raise that person up on the last day...Very truly, I tell you, whoever believes has eternal life. I am the bread of life...This is the bread of life that comes down from heaven so that one may eat of it and not die. I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats of this bread will live forever... [John 6:35, 44, 47-48, 50,  51a] 

          The tangled web of intrigue and betrayal in the story of David is the stuff of legend and the subject of nearly salacious fiction in novels and films though there is barely a taste of it over a few weeks of the Sunday lectionary. From triumph to tragedy, love amidst anger, forgiveness is the overarching element - God forgives David; David forgives Absalom; God forgives us all.
            Paul gives us that familiar phrase don't let the sun go down on your anger and tells us to put away the by-products of anger ~ bitterness, wrath, and malice. It's not easy to be tenderhearted and forgiving when someone has broken your trust and your heart. Yet again we see that God, through Christ, forgives them and us.
           In our "real time" of now, it is easier than ever to be goaded into explosive anger by political, religious, and nearly any other subject when there are vicious, reactionary, or merely polarizing opinions voiced by broadcasters, editorial writers, and regular folks on any media outlet you can name.  My God-given life is 'way too short to feed the frenzy. I want to change my anger into positive energy and direct it toward solutions to genuine problems rather than to add more unproductive trash talk. Jesus tells us no less than six times in this Gospel reading, that he is our salvation, our bread of eternal life ~ do we hear it, do we know it, do we believe it yet? Through him, by God, we are forgiven everything, if we only just believe. Then faith will truly change our lives. 
          Forgiving is hard and may appear to be unrewarding work. But forgiveness does not mean that I or the other have to give up disagreement or even some true anger. Forgiveness doesn't mean that the issue has changed from wrong to right and no relevant punishment is due. Wanting justice is surely part of the act of forgiveness but may not be realized; however, in the act of forgiveness, mercy is paramount.  As the Prayer of St. Francis says, "It is in pardoning that we are pardoned." My satisfaction in forgiving others will be in recognizing that I have also forgiven myself, have tasted the Bread of Life, and freed myself from the useless prison of an angry heart.

LET US, GOD’S PEOPLE, PRAY

Leader:  ~ O God of Forgiveness, help us be quicker to see our own sin before another’s, to move beyond our egos into truth, to turn righteous anger into energy for the work of Christ. Let us believe in and feed on the Bread of Life.

LORD of Mercy

RESPONSE: Help us forgive as we are forgiven

~ O God of Forgiveness, grant us wisdom to overturn bitterness, wrangling, and self-serving malice wherever it is found in the halls of governments, across this planet, this nation, and in our community. Let us work together to build up for everyone, rather than tear down for all. We pray especially for: add your own petitions

LORD of Mercy

                                    Help us forgive as we are forgiven

~ O God of Forgiveness, give Your word of hope to all who wait and struggle with pain in body or soul, and calm the hearts of all who give them care. We now join our voices to pray aloud for those in need: add your own petitions

LORD of Mercy

                                    Help us forgive as we are forgiven

~ O God of Forgiveness, hear the voices of those who call out from the depths of grief, and bestow the peace of deeply knowing, that their loved ones are now feasting at the banquet of eternal life. We pray especially for: add your own petitions

LORD of Mercy

                                    Help us forgive as we are forgiven

~ O God of Forgiveness, we pause in this moment to offer You our other heartfelt intentions and petitions, aloud or silently…add your own petitions

LORD of Mercy

                                    Help us forgive as we are forgiven

~ O God of Forgiveness, bless those entrusted with our spiritual care who call us to worship, study, and pray together as members of one another, as a community in Christ. We pray especially for: add your own petitions

LORD of Mercy

                                    Help us forgive as we are forgiven

The Celebrant adds: Eternal God of Hope, energize our faith and excite our souls to live and act in each and every day as the living legacy of our salvation through Christ. We ask through Jesus, our sacred Bread of Life, and the Holy Spirit by whom we are Sealed for Redemption, who together with You are One God, for the life of this world and forever. Amen.

Requests for prayers or meditations for this space or private use may be sent to Leeosophy@gmail.com. All compositions remain the property of the owner of this blog but may be used with attribution as long as they are not sold or charged for in any way.