People's Prayers: Prayers of the People: Confusing the Wolves ~ 3rd Sunday after Pentecost '23 Yr A

For Sunday, June 18, 2023, Readings: Exodus 19:2-8, Psalm 100, Romans 5:1-8,

Matthew 9:35-10:8(9-23)

They…entered the wilderness of Sinai…Israel camped in front of the mountain. Then Moses went up to God; the Lord called to him…Thus you shall say to the house of Jacob and tell the Israelites: You have seen…how I bore you on eagles’ wings and brought you to myself…if you obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession out of all the peoples. Indeed the whole earth is mine… [Exodus 19:2-5]

Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth. Serve the Lord with gladness…Know that the Lord God. It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people and the sheep of his pasture. [Psalm 100: 1-3]

Since we are justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ...we have obtained access to this grace...and we boast in our hope of sharing the glory of God...we also boast in our sufferings...[that] produces endurance...and character produces hope, and hope does not disappoint us, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit... [Romans 5:1-6]

Jesus went about...proclaiming the good news...curing every disease...he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said..."The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore ask the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest"..."See, I am sending you out like sheep into the midst of wolves; so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves...But the one who endures to the end will be saved." [Matthew 9:35-38; 10:16]

When [Jesus] saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. It is startling, at times, when the words of Scripture are so easily seen in the news, in the cities and towns, in the streets of today, urban, suburban, and rural. When Jesus sent the disciples ~ and us by extension ~ out like sheep into the midst of wolves with the admonishment to be wise as serpents and innocent as doves, it wasn't with the understanding that all will be easy and comfortable. In fact, then as now, the assignment is quite frightening and dangerous. The key tools for our success at attaining a share in the glory of God are wisdom and innocence. Innocence, it must be said, is NOT about being naïve or dimwitted. It is about paying attention to surroundings, who or what is lurking in them, and keeping ourselves and each other safe from the clutches of danger as best we can with all the endurance we can muster to the end of our individual journeys.

Sheep are as good or better at flocking together as their feathery avian counterparts and just as skittish when disturbed. Unlike the birds of the air, sheep have limited directional options and will frequently scatter helter-skelter when frightened. The shepherd's job to calm them is all the more difficult and important as the shepherd must continually shift the flock to different pastures for feeding and safety. But sheep do come to trust their shepherd and to recognize and remember both animal and human faces and, along with a keen sense of smell, the comfort or danger they represent. The behavior of the flock is communal and spontaneous ~ impulsive and reactionary ~ to threats real and merely perceived. How like sheep we humans are, except that our sense of "smell" doesn't always tip us off to the many wolves in our midst.

The wolves of this world are many indeed, but there are billions upon billions of sheep. The importance of our flocking together as a community of Christ was never more crucial as now. Then and as much or more now, the harvest is plentiful but the laborers are few. Jesus was clear when he says later in Matthew: For where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there among them [Mt 18:20]. As the body of Christ, each endowed with specific gifts from the Holy Spirit, we are called to labor in the fields of the Lord, to build up the Kingdom, and ultimately to share in God's glory through Jesus. Our safe haven is always shepherded by the constant Presence of Christ among and within us.

Our community of believers is a place to learn from, comfort, and guide one another around the wolves that would devour us, harass us, or tempt us. As we flock together, we also reap the benefit of joyful times. While we may not always feel like whistling while we work, we can seek pause to enjoy our life together, gather others lost and alone in their fields, and continually shift ourselves and our fellow sheep out of the dens of wolves to the path of hope that leads to the Eternal Pasture. As Paul told the Romans, Hope does not disappoint. When we serve the Lord with gladness our noise will be joyful. Perhaps we can confuse a few wolves along the way into tagging along as friends.

LET US, GOD’S PEOPLE, PRAY

Leader: ~ God of Hope and Love, arouse and provoke us in heart and in mind to take up the labor in Your fields, sow to the Spirit, and reap the plentiful harvest to grow Your family of faith.

Lord, Faithful and Good

RESPONSE: We serve You with gladness

~ God of Hope and Love, keep us wise, fervent, and unceasing in our quest to speak Your truth to the wolves of misguided power as we strive for Justice, Compassion, and Principled governing across this World, this Country, and our Community. We pray especially for: add your own petitions

Lord, Faithful and Good