For Sunday, November
10, 2019 ~ 5th Sunday in the Season of Creation*, Readings:
Jan Sutch Pickard**, Psalm 127, Rosemary Power***,
Luke 20:27-38
Luke 20:27-38
God-with-us,
you sit down in our midst. Nothing can separate us from your love – not
towering concrete walls or the deep darkness between searchlights; not distance
from friends or despair in our hearts that the world’s wrongs cannot be
changed. [Jan Sutch Pickard]
Unless
the Lord watches over the city, in vain the watchman keeps his vigil…Happy
is the man…[who] shall not be put to shame when he contends with his enemies in
the gate.
[Psalm 127:2, 6]
We
build barriers to hide what we fear to see…As we honour the graves of our
neighbours may we face those we fear, cry justice for the oppressed, tell of
love without end: may peace flourish until the moon fails. [Rosemary Power]
Those…who
are considered worthy of a place…in the resurrection from the dead…cannot die
anymore, because they are like angels and are children of God, being children
of the resurrection. [Luke 20:35b, 36]
God-with-us, you sit down in our midst is
the powerful and comforting opening to this week’s readings as we explore the
theme of Our World at Peace. This reading from Scottish poet
and theologian, Jan Sutch Pickard, is hopeful in its recounting of ways in
which humans experience separation and despair, and yet are never separated from
God’s love. The second reading by Rosemary Power also shines a strong light on
the realities of our world, upended as it is by the damage we humans do to
others. By action and by complacency when we build barriers to hide
what we fear to see…wear wounds unhealed by anger…when we defend
ourselves from other people’s rights there is no peace for anyone. How
is any peace attained if our words and actions, consciously and [worse] unconsciously,
are harmful and divisive?
The concept of World Peace is
daunting in and of itself. What possible difference could this one small human
make in the face of so much destruction by on-going wars large and small,
global and one-on-one antagonism on social media and elsewhere? Peace must
begin within ourselves first. St. Francis of Assisi prayed famously, let
there be peace on earth and let it begin with me. If we are not at peace
inside, we cannot transmit peace to others.
Tomorrow, November 11, 2019, is the 101st anniversary
of the Armistice that formally ended WWI, a momentary peace in the world that
has never lasted long because we deny God in ourselves and each other.
Abundance of wealth and privilege is not an antidote to the poverty of
self-importance. When we fail to embrace the fullness of the Gospel message in
how we live our daily lives, building walls of separation, we may
discover too late that we only belong with the dead. Rather, let us work together in communities of faith to seek to be worthy of…the resurrection from the dead, where we cannot die anymore…as
children of God, being children of the resurrection. Of course, it isn’t easy, yet it brings new life to ourselves and to others, and can spread across this Planet. Let us witness for and radiate peace and God’s love to others everywhere God lives, whether at checkpoints or shopping malls, with friends and strangers alike, in moments of happiness and in the depths of despair.
Rosemary Power also
prays in hope-filled words that can give rise to acts of peace: As we
honour the graves of our neighbours may we face those we fear, cry justice for
the oppressed, tell of love without end: may peace flourish till the moon
fails. Amen! One small step for humankind…
LET US,
GOD’S PEOPLE, PRAY
Leader: ~ O
God-with-us at checkpoints and shopping malls, in complacency and peril, energize
us to discover and embody Your peace within ourselves so fully that it radiates
through us to reveal Your love without end to all.
O Lord, in Safety and in Danger
RESPONSE:
We
put our trust in You
~ O God-with-us, as
you sit down in our midst, impel us to vigorously witness for peace to every governing
authority on this Planet, in this Nation, and in every Community. May our own words
and actions break down all walls of separation that hide only what we fear to
see, to flood your love through us to the whole of Your Creation. We pray
especially for: add your own petitions
O
Lord, in Safety and in Danger
We
put our trust in You
~ O God-with-us, lay
Your healing hand upon those weary of unhealed wounds, fear, and isolation, and
hold fast to those who offer caring help. We now join our voices to pray
aloud for those in need…
O
Lord, in Safety and in Danger
We
put our trust in You
~ O God-with-us, turn our grief to joy as we send our loved ones Home to never die again, but be raised
in eternal splendor and glory to new life in Christ. We pray especially
for:
O Lord, in Safety and in Danger
We
put our trust in You
~ O God-with-us,
we pause in this moment to offer You our other heartfelt
thanksgivings, intercessions, petitions, and memorials, aloud or silently…
O Lord, in Safety and in Danger
We
put our trust in You
~ O God-with-us, ease the path of all who are anointed to call
us to Your Word and Sacraments, inspiring us to serve in this world together in
Christ’s holy name. We pray especially for: add your own petitions
O Lord, in Safety and in Danger
We
put our trust in You
The Celebrant adds: Creator
Lord, Spirit of Hope, 101 years ago tomorrow, Your people breathed in the
promise for the future at the official end to World War I. Yet we restive
humans continue wars on battlefields and social media, wars of racial religious,
gender oppression, and more. Watch over us as we strive to honor the graves of
our neighbors, cry justice for the oppressed, and flourish the peace, truth,
and justice of Christ’s Gospel for all, everywhere. We ask through Jesus, our
Divine Example; and the Holy Spirit, our Wisdom Guide; who together with You
are One God, now and forever. 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
*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
**1st Reading: Bridges
Not Walls
God-with-us, you sit down in our midst.
Nothing can separate us from your love –
not towering concrete walls
or the deep darkness between searchlights;
not distance from friends
or despair in our hearts
that the world’s wrongs cannot be changed.
You are with our brothers crowded at the checkpoint,
with our sisters witnessing for peace:
you sit down in our midst.
Born into poverty, to displaced people living under occupation,
you shared our human lives,
and we know that your love can never be contained
by the walls of separation.
You sit down in our midst, God-with-us. Amen.
~ Jan Sutch
Pickard, former Warden of the Abbey on Iona, and a Methodist local preacher in the Church of Scotland, poet and storyteller
***2nd Reading: Seven
Days
Creator Lord of the unclaimed
place and of clashing claims, of no one’s land where some have homes, in danger
zones, in human souls, in nations’ claims: we are all guilty. We build barriers
to hide what we fear to see, we draw lines in other people’s hearts, we trample
underfoot what others hold dear, we wear wounds unhealed with anger, we defend
ourselves from other people’s rights. Drive out the demons that divide
neighbours.
Jesus, in the land where your
feet were tired, where you carried the oppressor’s burden, broke the chains of
the prisoners, demolished walls, made wounded lives blossom, and set our hearts
free to turn and to serve: may you be the potter in our lives’ neutral zones;
in divided land, may justice return.
Spirit of hope, may those who
build houses live in them, those who plant olive trees harvest them, may they
shelter under fig trees, give water to strangers, tell stories to children,
keep Covenant with God.
As we honour the graves of our
neighbours may we face those we fear, cry justice for the oppressed, tell of
love without end: may peace flourish till the moon fails.
~ Rosemary Power, University of Galway, Ireland, From Seven Days - Stories and reflections
for the World Week for Peace in Palestine and Israel
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