A moment of contemplation for yourself or on behalf of others on everything from the life-altering to the mundane.


Prayer: A conversation with The Higher Other who lives within each of us. An invitation to vent, to re-think, to ask, and to rest.

Monday, January 17, 2022

Prayers of the People: This Year of Favor ~ 3rd Sunday after the Epiphany '22 Yr C

For Sunday, January 23, 2022; Readings: Nehemiah 8:1-3, 5-6, 8-10; Psalm 19, 1 Corinthians 12:12-31a, 
Luke 4:14-21

     Accordingly, the priest Ezra brought the law before the assembly, both men and women and all who could hear with understanding.  [Nehemiah 8:2a]

     By [the statutes of the LORD] also is your servant enlightened...cleanse me from my secret faults...O LORD my strength and my redeemer. [Ps 19: 8a, 11 a, 12 b, 14b]

    Just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body ~ Jews or Greeks, slaves or free ~ and we were all made to drink of one Spirit. [1 Cor 12:12-13]

   [Jesus, filled with the power of the Spirit,] stood up to read, and the scroll of the Prophet Isaiah was given to him. He  and unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written: "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me...he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor...proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind..."  [Luke 4:14a, 16b, 17-18a]

        This week the prophet Nehemiah tells us that the people of Israel were gathered together to hear a long reading of the law of Moses which God had given. The assembled were people who had forgotten or had even become contemptuous of God’s Covenant and for 3 generations, 70 years, they and their descendants had been exiled to captivity in Babylonia. Now returned home at last, Ezra read the law of God, with interpretation and the sense of it given so the people understood. The people listened and then bowed their heads in worship with their faces to the ground as an act of recognizing their own failings; yet the Levites tell them it is a day holy to the Lord and they are not to mourn or weep. God has not forgotten them and it is God who has brought them home. They then went on their way, with the joy of the Lord as your strength and told to send portions of their feast to those for whom nothing is prepared. 
      The Psalmist tells us the heavens declare the glory of God and reminds us that God's law is perfect and God's statutes are just and rejoice the heart. And there is verse 14 from the Psalm that we hear often as some of our preachers begin their sermons: Let the meditations of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, my strength and my redeemer. It is a verse we can all use as a beginning to prayer and especially as we prepare to meet and greet others. 
      Comforted and bolstered by the knowledge of the Lord's presence within us, we can imagine the members of the Church in Corinth gathering to listen to Paul's letter. He begins with the reminder that we were all baptized into one body...and made to drink of one spirit. 
      Continuing on from last week's reading of the gifts of the Spirit, Paul takes us further into the anatomy of the Body of Christ as created by God. He dissects our non-hierarchical arrangement of parts, well, except for God giving the greater honor to the inferior member. So very many members ~ digits, organs, and limbs ~ all created in the image of God, and all one body ~ all ordinarily the same and each extraordinarily different. ALL parts of the body ~ individually and corporately, locally and planetarily ~ are created and arranged by God, the ultimate and pre-eminent Architect, Electrical, Chemical, Plumbing, and Systems Engineer. We are endowed from before birth with different gifts that are not our own, but in our human lives are to be given out to and received from each other, so as to have the same care for another...if one member suffers, all suffer...if one member is honored, all rejoice together in it. 
      And then, in the Gospel, we move to the gathering in the Synagogue as Jesus returns to his home town, to his home congregation, and was asked to read the words of Isaiah [61:1-2a+] that were, interestingly and coincidentally (?!), appointed for that day. Quite an honor? Perhaps a test? In those days, as now, the synagogues in Palestine were not staffed by professional rabbis. Members, men, of the congregation read the Scripture lesson and were perhaps asked to explain them or apply them to everyday life. It was not uncommon to ask a visitor, who seemed knowledgeable, to read as a new voice and who might have a fresh understanding of the reading to share.
     Jesus unrolled the scroll, read from it, and then rolled up the scroll...and sat down. Everyone was watching him and so he told them, "Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing." Today is the key word, the principle concept. He had read Isaiah's words The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me... Jesus had just announced his ministry, designating himself as the One about whom Isaiah was speaking, to the congregation where he grew up. Is that an audible gasp travelling through the millennia? 
     As we gather together to listen to God's Law and Word, let us who hear with understanding be conscious of the Spirit within us. Let us seek the gifts that are unique to us as individuals and honor the gifts of others. The waters of Baptism flow in a variety of ways and directions and the entire Body has been given the waters of the Spirit to hydrate our souls, to cleanse our hearts even of its secret faults, and to purify our intentions whether known or unknown to the other members. Each time we provide hope for the dispossessed, or offer help to those in need or trouble, we are making a day that is holy to our Lord and proclaiming the year of the Lord’s favor. Let us gather often to drink deeply of one Spirit, experience the Good News and strive for the greater gifts as living members of the Body of Christ. Let this and every year be proclaimed and dedicated to the Lord’s Favor.

LET US, GOD’S PEOPLE, PRAY
 
Leader:  ~ O Lord of Joy and Glory, revive our souls with the power of Your Good News, as we carry it to all we meet and live it through our words and actions. Enlighten and cleanse us from our secret faults and engage the workings of our bodies, minds, and souls as mindful instruments of Your honor and love.
 
                                                     O Christ, our Teacher    
           RESPONSE:               We are Your Hands, Your Feet, and Your Voice
 
~ O Lord of Joy and Glory, grant us words so effective that they move the hearts and minds of all who govern the countries of our world, our nation, and our community. Endow those in seats of power and judgement with the compassion and courage to act now on behalf of the poor, the blind, the sick, and free those who are oppressed and held captive by misguided aims, debt-slavery, and so much more. We pray especially for: add your own petitions
 
                                                       O Christ, our Teacher
                                                       We are Your Hands, Your Feet, and Your Voice
 
~ O Lord of Joy and Glory, relieve the pain of those who suffer from chronic illness, anxiety, or depression, and refresh all who provide care and comfort. We now join our voices to pray aloud for those in need…add your own petitions
 
                                                       O Christ, our Teacher
                                                       We are Your Hands, Your Feet, and Your Voice
 
~ O Lord of Joy and Glory, lift the heavy weight of mourning, as those who have now left us in this life, rejoice and dance in Your everlasting light. We pray especially for: add your own petitions
 
                                                       O Christ, our Teacher
                                                       We are Your Hands, Your Feet, and Your Voice
 
~ O Lord of Joy and Glory, 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, our Teacher
                                                       We are Your Hands, Your Feet, and Your Voice
             
~ O Lord of Joy and Glory, we give You thanks and praise for all who are anointed to guide our lives and souls by Your Church, opening the scrolls of Your Word, and journeying with us toward the fulfillment of Your purpose. We pray especially for: add your own petitions
 
                                                       O Christ, our Teacher
                                                       We are Your Hands, Your Feet, and Your Voice
             
The Celebrant adds:  O Lord our Strength and our Redeemer, overflow us with the desire to drink deeply of the Spirit, as we strive to find even greater gifts within us to use for Your purpose. Teach our hearts, again, to care for and honor each other as the Body of Christ as we proclaim and dedicate this year, and every year, to Your favor. We ask through Jesus, Prince of Peace; and the Holy Spirit, the Fount of our Wisdom; who together with You are One God, forever, and ever. Amen.




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