Prayers of the People: With Only the Crumbs ~ 11th Sunday after Pentecost '20 Yr A

For Sunday, August 16, 2020, Readings: Genesis 45:1-5, Psalm 133, Romans 11:1-2a, 29-32; Matthew 15: 21-28

    Joseph said to his brothers... "I am your brother Joseph, whom you sold into Egypt...I will provide for you [in the land of Goshen]... and now your eyes...see that it is my own mouth that speaks to you...And he kissed all his brothers and wept upon them... [Genesis 45:4, 11a, 12a, 15a]

                  Oh how good and pleasant it is when brethren live together in unity. [Psalm 133:1]

                  I ask, then, has God rejected his people? By no means!...For the gifts and calling of God are irrevocable. [Romans, 11:1a, 29]

                 But [the Canaanite woman] came and knelt before him, saying, "Lord, help me." [Jesus] answered, "It is not fair to take the children's food and throw it to the dogs." She said, "Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters' table." Then Jesus answered her, "Woman, great is your faith! Let it be done for you as you wish." [Matthew 15:25-28]

         She is my hero. That Canaanite woman, that impure, foreign, woman, that non-Jew, that Gentile. I can imagine the scene - the disciples' rolling eyes and knowing looks of the she's one-of-them sort; their collective groans and oh please expulsions of breath in frustration, and finally asking Jesus to send her away as her shouts were annoying them. Can you see her, too? She's worrying about her child, seeking the help of the man she knows can work the miracle she and her child seek. Yet in her greatest moment of need, or perhaps because of it, she, of the lowliest stature, risks all to get a response from Jesus who then dismisses her, in effect, telling her she's no better than a dog. She gives a highly unexpected response that is food for thought for any of us who have diminished anyone - especially those we think of as not one of us - by a thought, a look, a comment, or especially an action that seeks to elevate ourselves above another. Jesus answers the ubiquitous question, What Would Jesus Do? THIS, THIS is what Jesus did: he heard her speak her truth to his power, and he acclaimed her for her faith and healed her daughter.
       And Joseph is also a hero to me. Sold into slavery to a foreign land by his own jealous brothers and then rising to an exalted position in the court of the pharaoh. Let me count the ways of revenge he might have used on them. But he didn't. He found himself in a position to help his family despite their actions against him. He forgave them. He gave them his love and protection.
       God has created us one and all with the free will to make what we can out of our human condition. Some days, some times of life, are clearly better than others for each of us, yet we all are God's chosen children. Luckily for the human race, God didn't give me or any of us the job of deciding who is the right sort, who is acceptable, or who belongs with the dogs.
       Paul tells us, the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable. God, in Jesus, did give me the responsibility of giving voice to faith, to use the gifts well, and to answer the call from the good in my heart, even if some days all I have are the crumbs of hope. Yet it is faith, however fragile at times, that is the key that opens the door and reveals the heart of the matter: We are to GIVE, FORGIVE, and BELIEVE. Let us seek those crumbs of hope, of faith, of love for it is in the seeking we will find that God’s door is always open.

LET US, GOD’S PEOPLE, PRAY

Leader:  ~ Eternal God, Most High, by and in Your Creation, everyone is Your beloved. Free us from the rancor and hostilities of an us and them world, and fill us with the inner peace and the confidence of faith. Open the eyes of our hearts to see others as ourselves and know they, too, are completely Yours, never, ever discarded by Your choice.

   Bless us, O Christ       

RESPONSE:                              May our faith be great

~ Eternal God, Most High, grant us the tenacity to sway the minds and hearts of the leaders of our Planet, our Nation, and our Community, to be the models of justice, integrity, and peace, for Your purpose: kindred souls living together in unity. We pray especially for: add your own petitions

                                                       Bless us, O Christ

                                                       May our faith be great

~ Eternal God, Most High, lighten the burden of all who are in the pit of despair, chronic pain, or serious illness, and preserve the health and patience of those who give them care.  We now join our hearts together to pray for those in need… add your own petitions

                                                       Bless us, O Christ

                                                       May our faith be great

           

~ Eternal God, Most High, our earthly pain of loss is lessened knowing that our loved ones live again, in the ecstatic grace of eternal life in You.  We pray especially for… add your own petitions

                                                       Bless us, O Christ

                                                       May our faith be great

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

                                                       Bless us, O Christ

                                                       May our faith be great

                      

~ Eternal God, Most High, bestow an extra measure of blessing on our spiritual leaders, especially in these troubled times, for the innumerable ways they care for us and work to strengthen our faith in You. We pray especially for: add your own petitions

                                                       Bless us, O Christ

                                                       May our faith be great

~The Celebrant adds:  Lord of All Blessing, Lord of All Life, open our ears to hear our hearts, open our hearts to hear Your Voice, and open our mouths to speak only Your love. We ask, in great faith, through Jesus, the Master of our Table, and the Holy Spirit, the Guide of our Souls, who together with You are One God, now and forever. Amen.

    

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