*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
asterisks.
Week VII's Theme is: The Cosmic
Christ
We have arrived at the final Sunday in the Season
of Creation (SoC) and it is 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 new “Church Year” ~ a time of heart and soul
preparation for the birth of the Child in whom the fullness of God is
pleased to dwell [Colossians 15:19].
All of the readings chosen for this final
Sunday of SoC have a mystical quality to me. The Letter to the Colossians lays
out clearly the various names, titles, and roles of Jesus the Risen Christ, not
easily understood in our “modern” times as they also were not in their own
time. I think we can understand firstborn of all creation and head
of the body, the church, and also he is the beginning. How
do you understand firstborn of the dead? Looking
at various translations, I found it expressed as of the dead, from the
dead, from among the dead, etc. For me, the most relatable is in a
translation from “J.B. Phillips New Testament” which says: Life from
nothing began through him, and life from the dead began through him, and he is,
therefore, justly called the Lord of all. Check any translation(s) you
have on hand or online and discover what speaks to you. An online source I use
often is www.biblegateway.com as it contains variety of many
varieties of translations and paraphrases that are useful as well as
interesting to discover some significantly fascinating differences.
Psalm 24, was likely sung or recited as an
entrance processional. Verse 1 opens with a declaration that the earth
and all that is in it belongs to the Lord and follows by
saying that the world and all who dwell therein is also God’s,
referencing the first part in what is called a parallelism, that is, the
wording parallels, resembles, and/or repeats the first, as we might also say: synonymous.
Every one of the 150 psalms contains at least one parallelism. Verse 2 also
proclaims God as Creator. From there the psalm describes how humans enter God’s
domain in verses 3-6 and in the final verses, we learn how God enters our human
space and it is by way of Lift up your heads, that is by lifting up
our heads and raising our eyes to acknowledge One greater than ourselves. Through
this phrase, we are reminded that we are our own gatekeepers opening or closing
to allow God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit to enter, or not.
In his book, The Coming of the
Cosmic Christ, author, developer, and teacher of Creation
Spirituality, The Rev. Dr. Matthew Fox, writes: Listen to the Cosmic
Christ, to Cosmic Wisdom calling all the children of God together: “Come
children, drink of my waters which are all common waters. They are free and
available to all my children. Drink of my wisdom from your own unique well.”
And, as with last week’s
passage, this, the following one in Matthew’s Gospel, is also, on its face, an uncomfortable
view of the Great Judgment. As in last week’s post, Matthew has been telling us
all through his Gospel that the Law is only a starting point, we are to exceed
those expectations by cultivating and manifesting an inner attitude of love for
God in everything that we do. Especially difficult work in times of serious
social media, political, religious, and other frequent arguments. There are
many nice people doing good things but if one’s deeply held inner purpose is
for personal gain or acclaim, however small, they may be heading into the goat
pen. And of course, it’s not so easy to be so sure of one’s own true sense of
purpose.
As we strive to be good sheep, our
everyday lives with their ups and downs on a variety of fronts, keep us fairly
distracted and not always conscious of the what and the why we do as we
do. It is often challenging, and even distasteful at times, when confronted
with particularly sticky issues and people that may repel us. Yet we are called
to remember to look for Christ in strangers, the sick, the imprisoned, and the
poor, and care for them in any way we can, without any expectation of a return
in kind. Also, as well, those who seem better off in life than we are, and
those who in our less than best moments, we simply disparage as goats.
Some days, some seasons, some years,
it's much easier to be a goat and rest in the more-comfy Jesus ~ the sweet Baby
of the Christmas glitter, pretty packages, and sparkling decorations, and,
ignoring the other “reason for the season,” the resurrected Jesus in the
bright colors of Easter flowers, dyed eggs, and candy.
But, as we are at the end of one liturgical
season and beginning another, it is time to consider again our thoughts and
actions as members of the Body of Christ, working to follow Jesus with
intention and consciousness for as we do to others, we do to Christ ~ the Jesus
who is our Messiah, the Rock of our Salvation, Christ the King of Glory.
**A Reading From the Writings of Matthew Fox:
“Listen to the Cosmic Christ, to Cosmic Wisdom calling all the children of God
together: “Come children, drink of my waters which are all common waters. They
are free and available to all my children. Drink of my wisdom from your own
unique well. Let the Taoists drink and the Muslims drink; let the Jews drink
and the Buddhists drink; let the Christians drink and let the native peoples
drink. And then tell me: What have you drunk? How deeply have you imbibed my
refreshment? What wet and running wisdom drips from inside you to the outside?
What have you to share with others of my wisdom and harmonious living, of the
dripping of the oils of compassion and the lubricants of your common anointings
as my images, my other “Christs,” my co-creators of wisdom on earth? I am tired
of your religious wars, your sectarian divisions, your crusading spirits that
arise from disharmony. I long for harmony. If there must be competition, let it
take place at the level of shared gifts and bountiful outpouring of wisdom.
Pray together. Create harmony and healing together. Celebrate, praise, and thank
together. Cease using religion to divide. Use it for its purpose, to reconnect
to Mother Earth, to blessings, to the underground river that I am and that you
all share. And cease scandalizing the young by your indifference to these
awesome blessings, by your competition, and your boredom. Praise one another.
Praise the earth. In doing so, you praise me.” ~ Matthew Fox, The
Coming of the Cosmic Christ, Harper and Row, San Francisco, 1988.
LET US, GOD’S PEOPLE, PRAY
Leader: ~ Christ Jesus, King of Glory, awaken us again to the
wonder of God’s fullness in You, the beacon of our faith. Gather us as Your
sheep into our divine blessings, for being Your love in the world, and for
tending to and beckoning the goats of this life to turn and join us in Your
eternal flock.
Jesus, Face of God
RESPONSE: Enlighten the eyes of our hearts
~ Christ Jesus, King of Glory, guide our conscious intent in our own
actions to assure that we and the leaders of governments on this Planet,
locally and globally, seek the lost, bind up the injured, feed the hungry, and
all for their own sake, in justice with mercy. We pray especially
for: add your own petitions
Jesus, Face of God
Enlighten
the eyes of our hearts
~ Christ Jesus, King of Glory, grant comfort and healing for all who
suffer in body, mind, or spirit, and for those who give them care. We now
join our hearts together to pray for those in need… add your own
petitions
Jesus, Face of God
Enlighten
the eyes of our hearts
~ Christ Jesus, King of Glory, embrace all grieving hearts as You joyously
bless those now entering Your gracious and forever kingdom. We pray
especially for… add your own petitions
Jesus, Face of God
Enlighten
the eyes of our hearts
~ Christ Jesus, King of Glory, we pause in this
moment to offer You our other heartfelt thanksgivings, intercessions,
petitions, and memorials… add your own petitions
Jesus, Face of God
Enlighten
the eyes of our hearts
~ Christ Jesus, King of Glory, inscribe special blessings upon the souls
of those anointed to lead us in Your Church, as we journey together through the
gifts and trials of this mortal life. We pray especially for: add
your own petitions
Jesus, Face of God
Enlighten
the eyes of our hearts
The Celebrant adds: Son of Man, the Incarnation of Love, even as we each are
at once sheep and goat, You extend the blessing of Your welcoming and forgiving
hands. Strengthen us in our weakness that we may one day rise into Your holy
and sacred Kingdom. We offer our praise to You as Jesus, our Redeemer Christ;
to the Holy Spirit, our Wisdom Guide; and to our Glorious Creator, who together
and before time, live and reign as one God, then, now, and into forever. Amen.
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