For Sunday, November
3, 2019, 4th Sunday in the Season of Creation*, Readings:
Ephesians 4:1-6, Psalm 146, Romans 12:9-18, Luke 19:1-10
I, Paul... beg you to lead a life worthy of the calling to
which you have been called with all humility and gentleness, with patience,
bearing with one another in love, making every effort to maintain the unity of
the Spirit in the bond of peace. [Ephesians 4:1-3]
Praise
the Lord! Sing to the LORD a new song, is praise in the assembly of the
faithful. [Psalm 149:1]
Let
love be genuine, hate what is evil, hold fast to what is good; love one another
with mutual affection; outdo one another in showing honor. [Romans
12:9-10]
Then Jesus said to
him, "Today salvation has come to this house, because he too is a son of
Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek out and to save the lost." [Luke 19:9-10]
This week in the Season of Creation we are seeking and celebrating The
Saints Among Us and that gives us an opportunity to intentionally think
about and discover what it means to be a saint. Many of us think of saints
only as extraordinarily special and Godly people, set apart by God for a
special purpose in their lifetime which, if we stopped to think about it, was mostly a very long time ago and far
away from my country, my daily life and times. But what is the definition of a
saint?
The word saint is
from the Greek, hagios [hagg-ee-ohse], which means “consecrated to
God, holy, sacred, pious." There are those people who have been given the title
of Saint through some official process. There are some mythical folks who have
the title and were never real but their legends hold great object lessons. And
there are the many from far history to our current day who have done/are doing
extraordinary things in God’s name and through great faith and without such a
precise designation. Many of the Saints and Extraordinaries are listed in church
calendars for special remembrance and honor. For the rest, we have All
Saints Day to cover all those known to God and yet unknown to us, but whose
presence in their and our own times have given us examples to emulate and/or
inspire our own lives.
Paul says in this
piece from Ephesians, that he is begging us to lead a life worthy of the
calling from Christ and describes some of the elements for us to achieve it.
The Psalmist reminds us to give God constant praise from the depth of our souls
and to put our trust only in God. In Romans, Paul is very specific in listing
ways to live out our call in love, hate, honor, patience and more. Saintly living is not easy work and
definitely requires intention, perseverance, and action. Even when we cultivate a
desire for it, we'll experience failed attempts, false starts, regression,
re-programming, and many cycle repeats. Yet we are not alone. It's helpful for me to keep in mind, that
those who are considered Saints, or at least saintly, would tell you of their
many faults and failings, and even weakness. But hope abounds. They found it. If I seek it I will find it and nourish it. I'm not working for sainthood but rather that if my faith remains
strong ~ or at least if I want it to ~ I can find and act on some measure of virtue to
live by.
Yes, faith wavers
at times for the saintliest; I merely get lost in earthly distractions and frustrations. But each
new day brings all fresh opportunity to feel the power of God in my life along with
the companions great and small who are with me in spirit and in person. The call of Christ guides us always if we turn toward the hope
and help, however unwittingly at times. We see that played out with the story of Zacchaeus.
Curious Zacchaeus
wanted to see about this Jesus and climbed a tree seeking a better view. Later the self-exalters grumbled
about Jesus being the guest of a sinner. No one was more surprised than Zacchaeus
(except perhaps Mrs. Zacchaeus?). Salvation came to Zacchaeus when he answered Christ's bidding to climb down and then renounced
his former way of life. Jesus reminded the nay-sayers that like them Zacchaeus
was also a son of Abraham. And then Jesus says, the Son of Man
came to seek out and save the lost. Perhaps those scorning Zacchaeus weren’t
aware of who was more lost. How well he did going forward we do not
know. But if he joined a community of those with conscious and living faith, he had help
along the way, as can we.
My prayer for this
day is to keep me in a peaceful mindset and let me not repay anger with anger,
and strife with strife. Not easy in these unquestionably difficult times. Yet,
as the saying goes: what I give out, I get back. I will struggle but feel
supported in a strong faith environment that lives with a Christ-purpose, no
matter the daily highs, lows, and challenges. As we work with and for the
benefit of God's Creation in its totality, glory, and grunge, together we
discover the hope of our calling¸ maintain the unity
of the Spirit in the bond of peace and frustrate the way of the wicked. Let
us join with the Saints above and the saints among us as God’s hope and promise guides us
to our great reward. If we get lost, we will be found if we but climb and seek.
Leader: ~ O God
of Friends and Strangers, in all times of trial, with the examples of
those we recognize as the Saints who have gone before us and the saints who
live among us now, strengthen us to arise each day with faith, courage,
patience, and genuine love for all.
O God of Hope
and Help
RESPONSE:
We
put our trust in You
~ O God of Friends and
Strangers, renew us each day to persevere
in prayer and take action to kindle morality in the Leaders of all governments across
Creation. Guide us all to strive for what is noble, to frustrate the ways of the wicked, and not to repay
evil with evil. We pray especially for: add your own petitions
O
God of Hope and Help
We
put our trust in You
~ O God of Friends and
Strangers, deliver from distress all in anguish from
illness of body, mind, or spirit, and infuse those who give them care with
gentleness and love. We now join our voices to pray aloud for those in need…
O
God of Hope and Help
We
put our trust in You
~ O God of Friends and
Strangers, as You bless and comfort all who mourn, keep us all in the
knowledge that the days of joy and gladness flourish now in the hearts of all
who live again in Your Eternal Kingdom We pray especially for…
O
God of Hope and Help
We
put our trust in You
~ O God of Friends and
Strangers, we
pause in this moment to offer You our
other heartfelt thanksgivings, intercessions, petitions, and memorials, aloud
or silently…
O
God of Hope and Help
We
put our trust in You
~ O God of Friends and Strangers, inspire the hearts and
minds of all who lead us in Your church who encourage and remind us through
Word and Sacrament, how to lead lives worthy of the calling for which we have
been created. We pray especially for: add your own petitions
O
God of Hope and Help
We
put our trust in You
The Celebrant adds: God of
us all, Saints and Sinners together, set our hearts free from the prison
of hate, the emptiness of self-importance, and the mindlessness of earthly
privilege. May we each claim the wisdom You have given us and no more, be
ardent in spirit, and serve the You that is deep within us all. We ask through
Jesus, Son of Man, in the Unity of the Holy Spirit, who together with You are
One God above all, through all, and in all, for ever and ever. Amen.
* 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. Click here for more information about: Season of Creation ~ In The Beginning
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