People's Prayers: Prayers of the People: Saying and Doing ~ 17th Sunday after Pentecost '20 Yr A

For Sunday, September 27, 2020, Readings: Exodus 17:1-7, Psalm 78:1-4, 12-16; Philippians 2:1-13, Matthew 21:23-32

  The Lord said to Moses, "Go on ahead of the people, and take some of the elders of Israel with you; take in your hand the staff with which you struck the Nile, and go. I will be standing there in front of you on the rock at Horeb. Strike the rock, and water will come out of it, so that the people may drink. [Exodus 17:5-6a]

  We will recount to generations to come the praiseworthy deeds and the power of the LORD, and the wonderful works he has done. [Psalm 78:4]

  Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility regard others as better than yourselves. Let each of you look not to your own interests, but to the interests of others. Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus... [Philppians 2:3-5]

  Jesus said to [the Pharisees]: "Truly I tell you, the tax collectors and the prostitutes are going to the kingdom of God ahead of you. For John came to you in the way of righteousness and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors and the prostitutes believed in him; and even after you saw it, you did not change your minds and believe him. [Matthew 21:31b-32]

As we journey through this life, in times such as these, do you, like me and the ancient Israelites,

wonder from time to time – Is the Lord really here, among us? By our current standards the Israelites had it good; God's presence was clear in the pillars of cloud by day and fire by night. God made a deal with Moses to be always present and have Moses do all manner of fantastic feats to lead the Israelites, feed them, and quench their thirst. Still, it wasn't enough and they grumbled time and again looking back at the hardships of slavery as better than their wilderness journey. How much more difficult for us to know God's presence in our own times without Moses striking a rock for water or Jesus besting those "righteous, letter-of-the-law" chief priests and elders, at least until the time came for them to execute him. Yet even his death is Life for us.

Many of us would say, with a doubt or two creeping in, that we believe God is with us, even without concrete visual sightings of God's presence. But the days are busy and fraught with stress in ordinary routine, the toll of personal trials, and all the current craziness in the world at large. It's likely that we don't always stop and question the location of God in the midst of a Tuesday afternoon or Thursday night before bed, in an angry or frustrating conversation in person or on Facebook, or even on the happiest of occasions. Some weeks it's all some of us can do to find God on Sunday morning in online Church services. But for me, this week's readings say, God is here, where am I? How am I following? In other words, do I just plod along in life without conscious attention to how I express the faith I claim?
Faith is as faith does, actions always tell the tale - just think of the parable of two sons in this week's Gospel. I need to be mindfully awake, present in a given moment to think through how what I do, or what I have done, expresses how close to or far from God I am. Is it my personal and unconscious wilderness that keeps God absent while I’m in pursuit of my selfish ambitions, while I am judging others as less worthy than me, and while not contemplating how to take on the mind of Christ?
Humility in the face of all that God has done is part of Paul's message. Jesus reminds us that it isn’t always the high and mighty legal eagles that have all the answers. Stop, breathe, hear, listen. The message – the Word – is simple enough for everyone to understand. Let us each remember, when we're on that road paved with good intentions, pay attention. Who we think we are might surprise us. We are not what we say we’ll do. We ARE what we DO.

LET US, GOD’S PEOPLE, PRAY

Leader: ~ O Lord, our Rock and our Salvation, quench our spiritual thirst by the living waters of Your grace. Split the hard shell of our selfish-ambitions and flood us with Your loving presence as we strive to take on the mind of Christ.