Prayers of the People: The Cosmic Christ ~ 7th Sunday in the Season of Creation '21 [Yr B]

For Sunday, November 21, 2021, Readings: Poem by Chelan Harkin*, Psalm 93, Revelation 1:4b-8,

 John 18:33-37

  God had a secret she just couldn’t keep…She set truth to dancing…with her only real ordinance: Make your love visible. [poem by Chelan Harkin*]

  Your testimonies are very sure, and holiness adorns your house, O Lord, for ever and for evermore. [Psalm 93:6]

   Grace to you and peace from him who is and who was and who is to come…and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness…”I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God… [Revelation 1:4b, 5a, 8a]

  Jesus answered, “My kingdom is not from this world…I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice.” [John 18:36a, 37b]

   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. For more information see:  https://prayersofthepeople.blogspot.com/2018/10/prayers-of-people-in-beginning-1st.html

We use Biblical and other readings that pertain to the specific theme of each of the 7 weeks of the Season. Alternate readings used are posted with asterisk.

                                                                 Week VI's Theme is: 

                                                                   The Cosmic Christ

*A Reading from the Poetry of Chelan Harkin: God had a great secret that She just couldn’t keep and one day Her Heart exploded with the Big Bang. Her inability to contain Herself became galaxies She poured Her Heart out and it slowly began sorting itself out into the universe She spilled the beans (the stars) so completely Her repressed blushing became sunsets She whispered Her secret music into the heart of every atom and the electrons could not help but giddily dance All creation became a chatter box gossiping to each other nonstop about the wild, loving mysteries She’d shared with them Evolution was what happened as the story of ecstatic wonderment was passed through life from ear to ear changing slightly with each iteration She set truth to dancing with the whirl of Her planets and kissed the nucleus of everything with her only real ordinance: “Make your love visible.” ❤Copyright 2018, Chelan Harkin

       We have arrived at the final Sunday in the Season of Creation (SoC) and also the Last Sunday after Pentecost in the Lectionary season, both of which celebrate Christ the King. Coming next week we begin the Season of Advent, a time of heart and soul preparation for the birth of the Child in whom the fullness of God is pleased to dwell.

       This week our first reading is a fanciful and joy-filled poem from the self-described “Mystic Poet” Chelan Harkin who reminds us that God’s only real ordinance is to make your love visible.

       For its original audience, today’s Psalm proclaimed the power and eternity of the Creator yet in our Christian sense of it today the language, The Lord is King, applies equally to Christ as King.

       The Book of Revelation is always filled with mysterious and almost abstract descriptions that are difficult to comprehend for most modern, western minds. The sacred number 7 is introduced, the symbol of wholeness and perfection that is important to the structure of the Book itself. The phrase the seven spirits may be a reference to the 7 archangels in later Judaism. The word witness is often used to denote martyrs and verse 7 draws on the imagery of Daniel 7:13 and here is applied to Christ’s Second Coming. While some of these words and phrases may be somewhat familiar to anyone who regularly reads the Christian [New] Testament and/or hears them read in a church setting, they may also seem irrelevant in the scheme of daily living in today’s world. How does one concretely grasp God, the Almighty who is and was and is to come, the Alpha and the Omega, from everlasting? Or, Jesus Christ, the image of the invisible God, the faithful witness, firstborn of all creation and also of the dead, ruler of the kings of the earth? Yet we, who would be counted as faithful Christians, should take heed and examine more closely. It is in this daily life in this time that we may easily lose track of our allegiances and settle in more with the temporary earthly powers than in the everlasting divine Kingship of Christ. Although Jesus says his kingdom is not from here, it is here, and in this time and place, where we encounter him, if we seek him, and if we choose to follow.

       For me, the crux of this Sunday’s lessons is the moment in John’s Gospel when Jesus tells Pilate that everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice [John 18:37b]. Are we listening? Do we hear it? Even more interestingly to me, what comes next is not in our appointed reading and I wish it was. Perhaps because, especially in these fraught times, it is even more difficult for us to understand. In the next verse, 38: Pilate asked him, "What is truth?" How do you answer?

      For we who endeavor to follow, Christ is our only King and shows us the way to the true and everlasting Kingdom. The question for each of us is: to what truth do we listen and choose to belong? The “easy” answer is: Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to [Christ’s] voice. How, then, do we live it?

LET US, GOD’S PEOPLE, PRAY
 
Leader:  ~ O King Everlasting, fill us daily with the wonders of this Universe and turn us always toward Christ in whose Kingdom we are forgiven and saved. Teach our hearts again, to make Your love visible in all we are and all we do.
 
                                                      O Christ of the Cosmos
              RESPONSE:                 Keep us in Your Truth
 
 ~ O King Everlasting, for all who are governed by power or throne, by force or dominion, on our planet, in our country, and in our community, we implore You to infuse the wisdom, sanity, and humanity of Jesus into all who lead Your people. We pray especially for: add your own petitions
 
                                                       O Christ of the Cosmos
                                                       Keep us in Your Truth
 
~ O King Everlasting, send healing grace to all who suffer in spirit, mind, or body, and compassion to all who give them care. We now join our voices to pray aloud for those in need… add your own petitions
 
                                                       O Christ of the Cosmos
                                                       Keep us in Your Truth
 
~ O King Everlasting, ease the grief of those who mourn, as the souls of our cherished departed arise from earthly death into the ceaseless joy of Your Eternal Kingdom. We pray especially for: add your own petitions
 
                                                       O Christ of the Cosmos
                                                       Keep us in Your Truth
 
~ O King Everlasting, we pause in this moment to offer You our other heartfelt thanksgivings, intercessions, petitions, and memorials, aloud or silently… add your own petitions
 
                                                       O Christ of the Cosmos
                                                       Keep us in Your Truth
             
~ O King Everlasting, empower the spirits of those who lead us in Your Church, through Your Word and Sacraments, with the peace, unity, and truth of Christ’s all-encompassing love. We pray especially for: add your own petitions
 
                                                       O Christ of the Cosmos
                                                       Keep us in Your Truth
             
The Celebrant adds: Christ of All Peoples, our Alpha and Omega, rescue us from the power of darkness and transform our anxieties into fruitful action. Keep us striving toward Your purpose as we offer our labors to soothe the sufferings of humanity near and far. We ask through Jesus our Christ, the Faithful Witness; and the Holy Spirit, the very Breath of Love, who together with You are our One God, for ever and for evermore. Amen.

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