For Sunday, June
23, 2019, 2nd Sunday after Pentecost, Year C, Readings: Isaiah 65:1-9,
Psalm 22:18-27, Galatians 3:23-29, Luke 8:26-39
I was ready to be…found by those who did not seek me. I said, “Here
I am…to a nation that did not call on my name. I held out my hands to a
rebellious people, who walk in a way that is not good, following their own
devices.
[Isaiah 65:1-2]
Be not far away, O Lord;
you are my strength; hasten to help me. [Psalm 22:18]
There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or
free, there is no longer male and female, for all of you are one in Christ
Jesus. And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham's offspring, heirs
according to the promise. [Galatians 3:28-29]
Now there on the hillside a large herd of swine was feeding; and
the demons begged Jesus to let them enter these. So he gave them permission.
Then the demons came out of the man and entered the swine, and the herd rushed
down the steep bank into the lake and was drowned. [Luke 8:32-33]
Why is there never a herd of scape-pigs
around when you need one? Well, of course they really are all over as it's so
very easy to jump on the closest group of "THEM" to blame
for whatever demon(s) or demonic activities have surfaced. Of course, if Jesus
were to cast the demons into the swine today, he would be overwhelmed with a
huge backlash from bacon addicts.
When this Gospel
appeared in the previous Year C readings for which I wrote in 2016, it was just
after the horrible tragedy at Orlando which, itself, was just a year after the
jolting tragedy at Charleston. Would that we could point to all being much
improved in the world, in this country – how do we count the times and ways of
horror-filled and hate-filled events just since then? How do we move
always forward, standing faithful and strong in the face of such ongoing misery
here and around the world?
The Psalm used in 2016 was Psalm 42
which I commend to your reading. The psalmist is in lament, depressed, mocked,
and yet for all his despairing he is still speaking to God, in memory of a time
when God felt closer. He also speaks in hope as if feeling and knowing somehow ~ by faith? ~ that the time will come again when he will give God thanks. This
time, in Psalm 22, although the beginning is also a lament, we are beginning
with the later part in which the Psalmist, still beset by fear of anguish to
come, is filled with the hope of God’s nearness and, as a guide to worship, gives
us reasons to praise the God who answers prayer and cares for all who turn in
God’s direction. We, too, must turn toward God when all is frightening yet also
when things are well and joyful to give thanks – how easy it is to forget then.
Paul reminds us that we are all
one in Christ and still children of Abraham. Jesus tells the man freed of
demons, at the end of this week's Gospel, Return to your home, and
declare how much God has done for you. Quite a contrast to the usual
lament of Why have you [God] forgotten me? How, indeed, do we
declare how much God has done for us in the midst of what has
been done to so many in our midst? Let us take the time to
breathe, clinging to hope and to each other. We are marked as Christ's own in
Baptism, either through water or desire. Let us be still and listen for God in
the silence of our souls, let us open our hearts to smile with the
giggles of children, and be alight with the joy of sunrise breaking through a
long dark night. Let us claim our faith, through prayer and by action ~ however
tenuous in the difficult times ~ believing in the power of God to guide us
through until we can at last praise the Lord,
stand in awe, and give glory. Let us be released from those little
piggies of doubt, greed, anger, hatred, and fear and send them over the cliff
for an eternal swim – calm down, bacon lovers, just speaking metaphorically.
LET US, GOD’S PEOPLE, PRAY
Leader: ~ O
Lord, our God, teach us, again, to
always know Your Presence within us without seeking, as we are Your children through
faith, all one in Christ Jesus, and heirs of Abraham according to Your Promise.
Faithful, Loving God
RESPONSE: We
give You glory and praise
~ O Lord,
our God, You are our strength as we stand before the rulers and regimes on this
Earth, in our Nation, and in our Community. Hasten to help us in pressing for leaders
to turn from governance by their own devices to walk a better way towards justice,
mercy, and peace. We pray
especially for: add your own petitions
Faithful,
Loving God
We
give You glory and praise
~
O Lord,
our God, shelter the hearts and minds and bodies of those tormented by the
demons of chronic pain, addictions, or mental illness, and sustain the love and
patience of all who give them care. We
now join our voices to pray aloud for those in need…
Faithful,
Loving God
We
give You glory and praise
~ O Lord,
our God, ease the burden of bereavement as our loved ones now awaken to the bliss
of life ever after in the peace of Christ. We pray especially for:
Faithful,
Loving God
We
give You glory and praise
~ O Lord,
our God, we pause in this moment to
offer You our other heartfelt thanksgivings, intercessions, petitions, and
memorials, aloud or silently…
Faithful,
Loving God
We
give You glory and praise
~ O Lord,
our God, we raise up before You all who have been chosen to lead us in Your Church,
who baptize us as Christ’s own forever, who bring us Your Word and Sacraments,
and who teach us to declare all that You, our Triune God, have done for us, in us,
and through us. We pray
especially for: add your own petitions
Faithful,
Loving God
We
give You glory and praise
The Celebrant adds: Most High God, Creator of All Humankind,
release us from any and all unholy possession by that which keeps us from
turning to You. Guide us to the path of Your peace within us, filled with faith
and compassion, proclaiming Your Name by all that we are and all that we do. We
ask through Jesus, our Teacher of Love in Action; and the Holy Spirit, the
Spark that ignites our Souls; who together with You are One God forever and
ever. Amen.
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