People's Prayers: December 2024

Monday, December 30, 2024

Prayers of the People: Come On In ~ 2nd Sunday after Christmas WLWC* Yr C

For Sunday, January 5, 2025; Readings: Wisdom 3:13-15, Psalm 143, 1 Corinthians 6:12-20, Luke 3:1-6, 15-23

…blessed is the barren woman…undefiled…who has not known transgressive intercourse…[also] blessed is the eunuch whose hands have worked no wickedness…for special grace will be given them…Better is childlessness with excellence of character…because it is known by God and the woman-born. [Wisdom 3:13-14, 4:1]

Save me, SHELTERING GOD, from my enemies; with you I am covered. Teach me to do your will, for you are my God, Your good Spirit, may she lead me on a level path. [Psalm 143:9-10]

“Everything is possible for me,” but not everything is beneficial…Do you all not know that your bodies are members of Christ?...Or do you all not know that your body is a sanctuary of the Holy Spirit within you, which you have from God, and that you are not your own? For you were purchased with a price; therefore glorify God in your body. [1 Corinthians 6:1a, 15a, 19-20]

As it is written in…the words of the prophet Isaiah, “ A voice crying out in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the MOST HIGH, make God’s paths straight. Every valley shall be filled, and every mountain and hill shall be brought low, and the crooked, straight, and the rugged smooth; and all flesh shall see the salvation of God…” and when Jesus also had been baptized…the heavens opened and a voice came from the heavens, “You are my Child, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.” [Luke 3:4-6, 21b-22]

Hold on we’re in fast-forward mode! Last Sunday, the Magi visited the Christ Child, leaving town in a hurry to avoid Herod. In between then and now Joseph received a dream that caused him to take Mary and the Child to Egypt as Herod was killing all the male children under two. It was after Herod’s death, three years later, that Joseph, Mary, and Jesus returned to settle in Nazareth. While there is no historical evidence of Herod’s actions, it is certainly consistent with what we generally know of him. And now we pick up where we left off in Advent just after John the Baptist called the Pharisees and Sadducees a “brood of vipers” for their false piety when they presented themselves for Baptism. John is a God-sent herald to warn them to turn away from their corruption. As he says “one more powerful than I is coming” and now, this week Jesus, a grown man beginning his public ministry, comes to John for Baptism.

But why does Jesus ask to be baptized? Even John wonders and is reluctant. After all Jesus, as Messiah, is without sin; God’s own Son brought to human incarnation to lead Israel from the old Law of Moses into the new Way of the Greatest Commandment and the Great Commission [Matthew 22:36-40, Matthew 28:19-20]. Yet Jesus prevails – as he does with Peter and the foot-washing later on – and chooses to identify as the good Jew he was raised to be. Through Baptism he claims the sinfulness of the Hebrew nation in this communal rite of repentance and purification. In a very short time, he will claim the sinfulness of the World – past, present, and future – to take to his crucifixion.

As Jesus rises from the water, God announces from on high, "This is my Beloved Son in whom I am well pleased." The Holy Spirit descended as a dove to mark this man Jesus as God-sent, of God-nature, One with God, God’s own Human Image.

In this awakening time of Epiphany, let us begin again to discover and define our own public and private ministry. With the glitter of Christmas put away, all the turmoil in every corner of the world claims our attention and repels us and it’s easy to be distracted and distanced from the calling of Jesus. Whether you were officially baptized or not, take some time to think about the ritual of Baptism and its deep significance. For many Christians, though not all, Baptism is a Sacrament of purification, a Rite of Initiation, a formal adoption into the Christian faith. A simple definition is that the word comes from a hybrid of Latin and Greek and literally means "washing." This Sacrament is intended to be a means of and a visible form of God’s grace, just as the dove descending was for Jesus. It was, for Jesus, the beginning of his journey as Messiah.

You can read and pray through the ritual of the US Episcopal Church, learn or revisit its purpose and understanding at www.BCP.org and clicking Holy Baptism on the left sidebar. The five questions are asked of and answered by either the one being Baptized or, in the case of a child, a Godparent or Sponsor. Along with the five promises that are part of the Baptismal Covenant, these questions and promises are our operating principles, our acceptance of our charge and responsibilities as followers of Jesus. They are intensely serious and not meant as mere platitudes in a sweet ceremony. We revisit them at least five times per year in the Liturgy to remind us of what we might need to work on, a chance to reflect on how we managed at the end of a day or a month. One or more of them may even point to possibilities to shape our mindset for daily activities, or perhaps a new direction in vocation or volunteering as we make our way through our short human existence.

My favorite part of this Sacrament is near the end, after all the words have been spoken and the water has been poured. It is then that the Celebrant takes the chrism that was blessed in Holy Week and anoints the forehead of the one Baptized. The words at that moment stir my heart and my self-reckoning: you are sealed by the Holy Spirit in Baptism and marked as Christ's own for ever.

Whether by actual Baptism or a Baptism of desire, and whether or not officially anointed, we are each claimed as Christ’s own for ever. As mortal beings we will fail and fall away yet we can and may always return to the One who raises us with Him. Our hearts love to claim the Babe in the Manger.

From the waters of Creation, to the waters of Baptism, Christ is our bridge over waters troubled and calm and who comes to set our souls ablaze with the infusion of the Holy Spirit. It is time to be refreshed and renewed as we begin our own ministry again. Come on in and wade in the water.** Let us now stake our souls’ claim to the Christ who leads us on His Way to our Salvation.

*Readings for our Parish in this Year C are from The Rev. Dr. Wilda [Wil] Gafney, Womanist biblical scholar, and the Right Rev. Sam B. Hulsey Professor of Hebrew Bible at Brite Divinity School in Fort Worth, Texas. She is the author of A Women’s Lectionary for the Whole Church Yr C, and others in her series, and translator of its biblical selections. I definitely commend her book for the complete readings, to Clergy and Laity, for her Text Notes, and “Preaching Prompts” whether or not you will use them in your Liturgies or Preaching. There is much to learn from her work to inform every facet of our lives in Christ. To learn more about her and her work, see her website: https://www.wilgafney.com/

LET US, GOD’S PEOPLE, PRAY

Leader: ~ Jesus, God’s Beloved, You are the Savior the MOST HIGH God has given us all, the bright beacon of love that can reach into the darkest of hearts and blindest of eyes. Animate our wills to be full members of Your body, the sanctuary of the Holy Spirit within, and to worship You by and with our lives.

Jesus, Messiah

RESPONSE: Our Hope and our Salvation

~ Jesus, God’s Beloved, as a Light to the Nations give strength to Your people and the blessing of peace. Grant open hearts filled with mercy and justice to all who lead the governments of this World, this Country, and this Community, that they may work together, with us and for us all, serving with humility, honesty, and integrity. We pray especially for: add your own petitions

Jesus, Messiah

Our Hope and our Salvation

~ Jesus, God’s Beloved, shower Your healing mercies upon all those who are ill or filled with worry and dread, and refreshment for those who give them care. We now join our hearts to pray for those in need… add your own petitions

Jesus, Messiah

Our Hope and our Salvation

~ Jesus, God’s Beloved, grant solace for those in sorrow through joy in the memories of those well-loved, now returned in eternal glory to You. We pray especially for… add your own petitions

Jesus, Messiah

Our Hope and our Salvation

~ Jesus, God’s Beloved, we pause in this moment to offer You our other heartfelt thanksgivings, intercessions, petitions, and memorials, aloud or silently… add your own petitions

Jesus, Messiah

Our Hope and our Salvation

~ Jesus, God’s Beloved, endow all who lead us in Your Church with the grace, wisdom, and strength of spirit to shake us from the wilderness of apathy and self-absorption, to guide us to the fullness of faith and forgiveness in You. We pray especially for: add your own petitions

Jesus, Messiah

Our Hope and our Salvation

The Celebrant adds: Living Jesus, in Whom God’s soul delights, You rose from the waters of Baptism to bring new life to God’s people. Raise us with You that through repentance to purify our souls, we may give the glory due Your name, and claim You, always, as our Redeemer Christ. We ask through the Holy Spirit, the Fire of our Faith; and our SHELTERING GOD, Creator of All That Is; who together with You are One God, now and for ever. Amen.

**Baptism, for some a rite of initiation and adoption into the Christian faith, for others a sacrament of the Christian Church, required by some, deemed unimportant by others. Whether by aspersion (sprinkling), affusion (pouring), immersion (total or partial, standing or kneeling, or submersion), as an infant, child, or adult, water is the channel of holiness, although there is admission through Baptism of Desire - if you want it, you have it. But John is clear that only Jesus will baptize us with the Holy Spirit. Yet many of us who have been baptized as infants or, even as older children or adults, take this Blessing for granted.
We are called by Jesus to follow, why not begin at the beginning? The words of an old Negro Spiritual say it best. God will trouble the water ~ that is to stir it up ~ so we can see the right place to enter:

Wade in the water
Wade in the water, children,
Wade in the water
God's a-going to trouble the water

Look over yonder, what do you see?
God's a-going to trouble the water
The Holy Ghost a-coming on me
God's a-going to trouble the water

To hear this moving message in music here is a link to Sweet Honey in the Rock, Wade in the Water: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RRpzEnq14Hs

All compositions remain the property of the owner of this blog but may be used with attribution and edited for local use as long as they are not sold or charged for in any way. For more information or comments, contact: Leeosophy@gmail.com

Prayers of the People: Beginning Again ~ 2nd Sunday after Christmas '25 RCL Yr C

For Sunday, January 5, 2025; Readings: Jeremiah 31:7-14, Ps 84, Ephesians 1:3-6, 15-19a; Matthew 2:1-12

Then shall the young women rejoice in the dance, and the young men and the old shall be merry. I will turn their mourning into joy, I will comfort them, and give them gladness for sorrow. [Jeremiah 31:13]

For the LORD God is both sun and shield; he will give grace and glory; no good thing will the LORD withhold from those who walk with integrity. O LORD of Hosts, happy are they who put their trust in you. [Ps 84:10-12]

I pray that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ...may give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation...so that, with the eyes of your heart enlightened, you may know...the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance...the immeasurable greatness of his power for us who believe. [Ephesians 1:17-19a]

In the time of King Herod, after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem asking, “Where is the child who has been born king of the Jews? For we have observed his star at its rising, and have come to pay him homage.” [Matthew 2:1-2]

The official date for Epiphany is tomorrow January 6^th marking the visit of the Magi (or the Wise Men or 3 Kings from the East) to the stable to see the Child Jesus. They saw his star and were moved to make the journey to find him to pay homage and bring gifts that are at once extremely valuable and also symbolic. The short version of the symbolism is: Gold for royalty as to a King, Frankincense as to a God, and Myrrh as to a Mortal.* And while this isn’t THE date it can’t get much closer so the Gospel for this Sunday is the same Gospel in the Revised Common Lectionary for the official celebration of this event.

The word Epiphany is the name used in the western Christian churches; in the eastern orthodox Christian churches it is known as Theophany. For the Orthodox, the feast of Theophany celebrates the revelation of God incarnate as Jesus Christ. In western Christian Churches, the feast of Epiphany celebrates the revelation of Jesus as God Incarnate to the Jews but also to the Gentiles, all non-Jews, as the Magi were not Jewish. The word Epiphany means a revelation of a divine being; also a sudden insight or intuitive understanding. The word Theophany is the appearance of God to a human. Whether Epiphany or Theophany, Christ was revealed to the Jewish and Gentile worlds as the Son of God.

EPIPHANY IS BIG! The feast is a very important date on the Church Calendar. It brings us a bright shiny and HOLY revelation! But unless it falls on a Sunday, the Feast of the Epiphany seems to be somewhat ignored in these times. It IS the continuing and the expanding of the celebration of the birth of our Messiah, and His importance to us all, but perhaps we are too worn out to listen. We have come through the four weeks of anticipation in Advent, the earth-bound hustle and bustle of preparation for gifts and food and gatherings ~ the familiar rush of the time of year for the more fortunate ~ followed by the pageantry and the glorious music, and then the usual “let down.” Perhaps Epiphany, the 12^th Day of Christmas, has become an anti-climax, the end of the story, the time to take down the decorations (if still up!). Yet it is in truth a beginning. We open new chapters of the Story that will take us from Jesus the Baby, to Christ our Redeemer in very quick succession. While we celebrate the birthday with great fanfare, the Epiphany moves us into the reason for which this Child was born, the revelation of God’s eternal purpose is upon us. A theophany then ~ the manifestation of God visible to humans ~ a re-discovery now.

At the Nativity of Jesus, Luke tells us that the angels appeared to the shepherds who received the good news of great joy, but Luke never mentions the Magi. Matthew never mentions the shepherds or even the birth itself except for a brief phrase: "...until she had borne a son; and he [Joseph] named him Jesus." But Matthew did tell us of the "...wise men from the East..." They saw a great star revealing to them the need for a long journey to pay homage to a new born king of the Jews. Herod gets involved and we begin to see the ominous cloud moving in to shadow the glorious star. But having heard this story so very many times are we listening as it is read again? Have we tuned out rather than engaging with the experience? Or might we take this moment to be re-awakened to the wonder of that moment and what it could mean for each of us in our own understanding?

These three Kings have trekked long distances to tell Herod, and us all, of the power and majesty this Child brings. It is now a new dawn, another chance to listen and to hear the message deep within ourselves. In the compression of time given in the Gospels and the Church calendar, it is a short season indeed before we begin the unfolding of the ministry, miracles, teaching, death, and resurrection of Jesus. It is time again to rediscover the astonishment, the amazement, the true adoration in this event.

In The Synthesis Commentary of 1997, there is a still significant and timely quote in their reflection on this Gospel that brings us directly to the need to know this story again and again:

We understand from this familiar story how much the Light of Christ was needed in those early days ~ and no less by us today ~ as the world has hardened itself to the poor and needy, the young and the frail, and where personal egos rule kingdoms ~ and hearts.

Hear the story as if for the very first time ~ know that we have been given an extraordinary gift: Christ, Our Lord, has been born to us! Let us be overwhelmed with joy! Let us search diligently for the child within us and around us. Epiphany is the time for me to seek the Magi-cal moments and spiritual gifts in my own life that call me to pay homage, follow, and live into the light and life of Christ. Our mourning turned into joy...gladness for sorrow...Our God is both sun and shield giving grace and glory, and happy are [we] who put our trust in [God]. Let us pause and be overwhelmed with joy as we realize the Newborn Child, Jesus, who becomes our Redeemer Christ, lives within us every moment of every day. We have another chance for beginning again. Now that IS an Epiphany!

*For a fascinating and deeper look into the Magi's Gifts click here: Nativity explained: the gifts from the Magi

LET US, GOD’S PEOPLE, PRAY

Leader: ~ Holy Messiah, Heartbeat of God, as we arise in the shining Light of Your glory, help us to come together as Your people, to seek the joy that You bring to us again and again, and to share in Your eternal promise.

Jesus, Light of Heaven

RESPONSE: Our Strength and our Redeemer

~ Holy Messiah, Heartbeat of God, guide all nations to come to Your light, and all leaders of governments to the brightness of Your dawn, that they and we model the very compassion and peace needed now to reverse the damage of violence, oppression, and injustice in our own time. We pray especially for: add your own petitions

Jesus, Light of Heaven

Our Strength and our Redeemer

~ Holy Messiah, Heartbeat of God, deliver from distress all who suffer in body, mind, or spirit, and comfort all who give them care. We now join our hearts to pray for those in need… add your own petitions

Jesus, Light of Heaven

Our Strength and our Redeemer

~ Holy Messiah, Heartbeat of God, lift the hearts of those lost in grief and turn their mourning into joy, as those we love are surrounded forever by the boundless treasures of eternal life. We pray especially for: add your own petitions

Jesus, Light of Heaven

Our Strength and our Redeemer

~ Holy Messiah, Heartbeat of God, we pause in this moment to offer You our other heartfelt thanksgivings, intercessions, petitions, and memorials, aloud or silently…add your own petitions

Jesus, Light of Heaven

Our Strength and our Redeemer

~ Holy Messiah, Heartbeat of God, lavish special blessings upon the wise women and men who lead us in Your Church, as they prayerfully bring us Your words, works, and wonders on our life’s path toward Redemption. We pray especially for: add your own petitions

Jesus, Light of Heaven

Our Strength and our Redeemer

The Celebrant adds: Most Holy Christ, God’s Eternal Purpose, grant us Your grace and glory, a spirit of wisdom, and an enlightened heart. Guide us to know the hope to which we are called and the immeasurable greatness of Your power for us who believe. We ask with deep humility and trust in the Almighty Creator, our Sun and Shield; in the Holy Spirit, the Counselor of our souls; Who together with You are One God, now and forever. Amen.

Monday, December 23, 2024

Prayers of the People: This Light Outshines All Darkness ~ 1st Sunday After Christmas '24 RCL Yr C

For Sunday, December 29, 2024, 1st Sunday after Christmas Day, Year C, Readings: Isaiah 61:10-62:3, Ps 147, Galatians, 3:23-25, 4:4-7; John 1:1-18

For as the earth brings forth its shoots, and as a garden causes what it sown in it to spring up, so the Lord GOD will cause righteousness and praise to spring up before all the nations…I will not keep silent…I will not rest…until the nations see Your vindication. [Isaiah 61:11, 62:1a, 2a]

Hallelujah! How good it is to sing praises to our God!...He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds…The Lord lifts the lowly, but casts the wicked to the ground. [Psalm 147:1a, 3, 6]

God sent his Son, born of a woman…so that we might receive adoption as children. And because you are children, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts crying, "Abba, Father!" So you are no longer a slave but a child…then also an heir through God. [Galatians 4:4b-7]

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God...What has come into being was life, and the life was the light of all people. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it...And the Word became flesh and lived among us...From his fullness we have all received grace upon grace. [John 1:1-2, 3b-5,14a, 16]

Still in the thrall of Christmas, we are on the cusp of the end of one year and beginning of another. The music, lights, and now unwrapped presents are all still claiming our senses though perhaps our attention is slightly on the wane. We’re not quite out of the holiday mood even if all the necessities of action in daily life are creeping in. Yet there is time enough to breathe deeply and inhale the air still electric with excitement for the sacred and Holy Infant's birth along with keeping hope alive regardless of our expectations for the New Year. As we fill our lungs the Creator-given oxygen disperses throughout our own life’s blood energizing every cell and tissue. On our exhale, we can thoughtfully, consciously, and intentionally send our doubts and fears of uncertain faith and the everyday concerns into the heavens. We inhale deeply again to refresh our souls’ sights to set our course for a new start, a new birth in ourselves, an awakening, a fresh awareness of the presence Christ within us and in everyone around us ~ every single one, even, and especially, those with whom we disagree mildly or strenuously.

For many of us this is a special and emotional moment to breathe in the memories of and deeply held hope for the journey of those no longer with us in this life. Our faith gives us comfort for their continuing new life in a joy-filled eternity where our mutual love lives forever.

Yet, while in the glow of spiritual and earth-bound celebrations, we are to remember the sacred obligation given to us by Jesus to help others struggling with their ongoing day-to-night-to-day life issues of serious illness, severe poverty, homelessness, and/or hopelessness. In this particular season of beauty and fun and exhilaration, it is too easy to look away from and even blame those in poor and often desperate conditions. Perhaps you have given donations of much needed money, food, and/or clothing to worthy organizations. And now is the time, as the New Year approaches, to mark your calendar to search for ways to continue to give in any way possible, more often than the once a year thought, even adding time occasionally or regularly to volunteer to help at food closets, clothing distributors, shelters, or perhaps pre-paying for meals at a trusted local restaurant.

John tells us in today’s Gospel that Jesus is the light that shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it. As the Spirit of Jesus lives in our hearts by God's gift, let us radiate that light from within, be the change we want to find in others, live as though we believe in the grace upon grace received from the Incarnation of Jesus, our Christ, the Word made flesh who lived among us. Let the first Resolution be made and kept: Begin at the Beginning and follow the Light. As John says, In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. Jesus, let us begin again with You. Time itself is always moving forward; may we move forward in purpose to rededicate ourselves to and with Christ’s love to be the Christians we claim to be.

LET US, GOD’S PEOPLE, PRAY

Leader: ~ Abba! Lord! You have revealed all life through Your Son Jesus, born of a woman to redeem us as Your children, Your heirs. Grant us the faith and courage to live every day in wisdom and in strength, through the Spirit of Christ that You have sent into each of our hearts.

Jesus, God’s Holy Word

RESPONSE: Center our hearts and minds on You

~ Abba! Lord! Let us not rest or keep silent in seeking Your righteousness and peace among all nations and all leaders, everywhere. Cause the changes we seek in others to spring up in ourselves in our daily thoughts and actions. We pray especially for: add your own petitions

Jesus, God’s Holy Word

Center our hearts and minds on You

~ Abba! Lord! Lift the lowly from their distress and bind up the wounds of all hurting bodies and souls. Renew the love and energy of all who give care and support. We now join our hearts to pray for those in need… add your own petitions

Jesus, God’s Holy Word

Center our hearts and minds on You

~ Abba! Lord! Heal the hearts broken by grief as those we love now live again, swathed in the glory and rejoicing in the exquisite bliss of Eternity. We pray especially for: add your own petitions

Jesus, God’s Holy Word

Center our hearts and minds on You

~ Abba! Lord! We pause in this moment to offer You our other heartfelt thanksgivings, intercessions, petitions, and memorials… add your own petitions

Jesus, God’s Holy Word

Center our hearts and minds on You

~ Abba! Lord! May Your Holy Spark forever blaze through the souls of those anointed to lead us on our journey toward Christ’s everlasting redemption. We pray especially for: add your own petitions

Jesus, God’s Holy Word

Center our hearts and minds on You

The Celebrant adds: Jesus, God’s Ever-Present Glory and Truth, You came as God’s flesh and blood among us in Your humanity; in Your divinity, You are our grace upon grace. As You have clothed us in the garments of Salvation, guide us to be Your Light in our world that the darkness of evil cannot overcome. We ask through God, our Creator, who together with You, our Redeemer Christ, in the unity of Holy Spirit, are One God, now and forever. Amen.

Prayers of the People: Carry the Lamp ~ 1st Sunday After Christmas Day '24 WLWC* Yr C

For Sunday, December 29, 2024, WLC* Year C, Readings: 1 Kings 8:12-13, 27-30,41-43;

Ps 68:15-17, 19-20,24-27, 31-35; Revelation 22:10, 22-27; Luke 2:41-51

Incline toward the prayer of your slave and his supplication, HOLY ONE OF OLD my God, heeding the cry and the prayer…Hear the supplication…hear in your dwelling place in the heavens; hear and forgive. [1 Kings 8:28, 30]

Our God is the God of Salvation; The SOURCE OF LIFE IS God, to whom belongs escape from death. [Psalm 68:20]

And the city has no use of sun or moon to shine in it, for the glory of God is its light, and its lamp is the Lamb…And its gates will not be shut by day and there will be no night there. [Revelation 21:23, 25]

Now the parents of Jesus went yearly to Jerusalem for the festival. And when he was twelve years old they went up as customary for the festival…when the festival was completed, they returned while the boy Jesus stayed in Jerusalem, and his parents did not know it…they returned to Jerusalem to search for him…after three days passed they found him in the temple, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions. And all who heard him were amazed at his understanding and his answers. [Luke 2:41-43, 45-47]

We fast forward briefly in this reading from Luke’s Gospel in Dr. Gafney’s text, interrupting our more usual recounting of chronology of the early days of Jesus to which we will return quickly. Here we suddenly find him at 12 years old, listening to the teachers in the Temple and amazing those teachers with his questions, his understanding and his answers. Perhaps it’s just the kind of abrupt change we need while we are still in the thrall of Christmas. We are, of course, on the cusp of the end of one year and beginning of another. The music, the lights, and the now unwrapped presents are all still claiming our senses though slightly on the wane as thoughts begin about the cleaning up phase. We’re not quite out of the holiday mood even if all the necessities in daily life are creeping in. As with the ending of the annual festival in Jerusalem, Jesus returns home with his parents and was subject to them, remember those days of yours ~ back to cleaning up your room and going back to school. Yet there is still a nano-second of time, enough to breathe deeply and inhale the air still holding some excitement for the sacred and Holy Infant's birth. We are also working to keep hope alive regardless of our expectations for the New Year.

As we fill our lungs the Creator-given oxygen disperses throughout our own life’s blood energizing every cell and tissue. On our exhale, we can thoughtfully, consciously, and intentionally send our doubts and fears of uncertain faith and the everyday concerns into the heavens. We inhale deeply again to refresh our souls’ sights to set our course for a new start, a new birth in ourselves, an awakening, a fresh awareness of the presence Christ within us and in everyone around us ~ every single one, even, and especially, those with whom we disagree mildly or strenuously.

For many of us this is also a special emotional moment to breathe in the memories of and deeply held hope for the journey of those no longer with us in this life. Our faith gives us comfort for their continuing new life in a joy-filled eternity where our mutual love lives forever.

Yet, while we try to keep the glow of spiritual and earth-bound celebrations lingering a bit longer, we are to remember the sacred obligation given to us by Jesus to help others struggling with their ongoing day-to-night-to-day life issues of serious illness, severe poverty, homelessness, and/or hopelessness. In this particular season of beauty and fun and exhilaration, it is all too easy to look away from and even blame those in poor and often desperate conditions. Perhaps you have given donations of much needed money, food, and/or clothing to worthy organizations. And now is the time, as the New Year approaches, to mark your calendar to search for ways to continue to give, in any way possible, beyond that once a year thought, even adding time occasionally or regularly to volunteer to help at food banks or a church food closet, clothing distributors, shelters, or perhaps pre-paying for meals at a trusted local restaurant.

Let us spend these last moments of Christmas, the Season, to continue to be amazed at the breadth and depth of the short, extraordinary, exceptional, and unparalleled life of Jesus, our Redeemer Christ, whose story continues to be celebrated well over 2,000 years later. And more important than a date on a calendar, let us move forward into all the Seasons of Christ’s life by listening, learning, and asking questions to broaden our commitment as the Christians we are meant to be. It is time to re-dedicate ourselves to living out his teachings, to carry the Lamp of God’s Light to brighten the path of this life for ourselves and for others in all ways, large and small. Let us choose to be subject to God in Christ with the Holy Spirit.

LET US, GOD’S PEOPLE, PRAY

Leader: ~ O HOLY ONE OF OLD, our God, the glory in our lives is Your light and the lamp that carries it is Christ our Lamb. As we are reminded again to breathe in this glorious Light that dwells always within us, forgive us, we pray, for all our faults, minor and more grievous. Renew us with the continuing desire and intent to enter your always open gates to listen, to learn, and to bring honor to Jesus in every conscious moment of our earthly time.

O GOD, The SOURCE OF LIFE

RESPONSE: Hear our prayer, hear and forgive

~ O HOLY ONE OF OLD, our God, may we not rest or keep silent in seeking Your justice, mercy, and and peace among all nations, all local communities, and among all leaders everywhere. Cause the changes we seek in others to spring up in ourselves in our daily thoughts and actions. We pray especially for: add your own petitions

Glory to God in the Highest Heaven!

Grant Peace on Earth to Us All

~ O HOLY ONE OF OLD, our God, lift the lowly from their distress and bind up the wounds of all hurting bodies and souls. Renew the love and energy of all who give care and support. We now join our hearts to pray for those in need… add your own petitions

Glory to God in the Highest Heaven!

Grant Peace on Earth to Us All

~ O HOLY ONE OF OLD, our God, heal the hearts broken by grief as those we love now live again, swathed in the glory and rejoicing in the exquisite bliss of Your Eternity. We pray especially for: add your own petitions

Glory to God in the Highest Heaven!

Grant Peace on Earth to Us All

~ O HOLY ONE OF OLD, our God, We pause in this moment to offer You our other heartfelt thanksgivings, intercessions, petitions, and memorials… add your own petitions

Glory to God in the Highest Heaven!

Grant Peace on Earth to Us All

~ O HOLY ONE OF OLD, our God, may the Holy Spark of our Lamb forever blaze through the hearts and souls of those anointed to lead us on our journey toward Christ’s everlasting redemption. We pray especially for: add your own petitions

Glory to God in the Highest Heaven!

Grant Peace on Earth to Us All

The Celebrant adds: Jesus, God’s Ever-Present Glory and Truth, You came into this world as flesh and blood among us in Your humanity, and our life-long Teacher in Your divinity. Guide us to be the carriers of Your Light, Your Love, and Your Actions in every day of our lives. We ask through our Abba, who together with You, our Lamp of Divine Light; in the unity of Holy Spirit, are One God, now and forever. Amen.

*Readings for our Parish in this Year C are from The Rev. Dr. Wilda [Wil] Gafney, Womanist biblical scholar, and is the Right Rev. Sam B. Hulsey Professor of Hebrew Bible at Brite Divinity School in Fort Worth, Texas. She is the author of A Women’s Lectionary for the Whole Church Yr C, ©2024 Wilda C. Gafney, Church Publishing (here after designated on my posts as WLWC) and translator of its biblical selections. Learn more about her and her work at her website: https://www.wilgafney.com/. In her book for Year C, Dr. Gafney explains her process and sources of translation of each reading she uses, and gives preaching notes. Fascinating and illuminating, not merely because of the womanist highlighting, but for a greater appreciation of and fresh perspective in each biblical reading as most are not, or rarely, used in Daily or Sunday Preaching Lectionaries.

Thursday, December 19, 2024

Prayers of the People: Christmas Eve and Christmas Day '24 WLWC* Yr C

For Tuesday, December 24, 2024, Readings: Children’s Service Christmas I: Isaiah 26:16-19, Psalm 68:4-11, 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18, Luke 2:1-20. Late Service Christmas II: Reading at Creche, Luke 2:1-7; then: Isaiah 26:16-19, Psalm 68:4-11, 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18, Luke 2:8-20. For Wednesday December 25, 2024, Christmas III: see separate Prayers of the People below for Wisdom 9:1-6, 9-11; Psalm 33:1-9, Colossians 1:15-20, John 1:1-14

HOLY ONE, in distress they sought you, they pressed out a whispered prayer…as an expectant mother writhes in labor…we too were expectant, we writhed in labor…No victories have we won on earth, neither do the inhabitants of the world fall. Your dead shall live; their corpses shall rise. Awake and sing for joy you who dwell in the dust! For your dew is a radiant dew, and the earth shall release these long dead. [Isaiah 26: 16-17a, 18b-19]

Sing to God, sing praises to her name…HOLY is her name, rejoice before her! …God you provided in your goodness for the oppressed. The AUTHOR OF LIFE gave the word; the women who proclaim the good news are a great army. [Psalm 68:4-5, 10b-11]

Now we do not want you to be ignorant…about those who have fallen asleep…For since we believe that Jesus died and rose, even they who sleep, will God by Jesus, bring with him…Jesus himself…will descend from heaven, and the dean in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive who are left...will…meet Jesus in the air…we will be with Jesus forever. [1 Thess 13-14, 16b-17a]

And immediately there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly array, praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace among peoples whom God favors!”

For us and for our salvation he came down from heaven:
by the power of the Holy Spirit, he became incarnate from the Virgin Mary,
and was made man.

[from The Nicene Creed, US Book of Common Prayer, p. 358]

The time is now, because of and in spite of days of darkness, worry, fear, and anguish, to remember how to feel the Excitement, the Joy, the Wonder, the Thrill of Christmas AGAIN! Jesus, our Christ, is born today! It’s time again to re-awaken the Spirit within, remember the Reason it begins, open to a new spiritual start, a fresh opportunity. It's time ~ NOW ~ to push into the unknown, even if painfully, frighteningly, but with great anticipation to experience our own rebirth, again, as a New Creation in Christ.

We each carry the fertile seed, the Divine Spark within us ~ Christian, Muslim, Hindu, Jew, Atheist, Agnostic, Oblivious, Naughty, or Nice. We each choose how the Spark drives us ~ we tend, nurture, anticipate or ignore, abuse, or perhaps deny that innermost part of ourselves. But now, what was is gone. As with infants, we move into new light, new sound, uncertainty, anxiety, and every day is a new beginning. Even if we have tried before, distraction, disinterest, life circumstances may have stopped our momentum. Yet we, too, are called as part of the Good Tidings of Great Joy that is Christ the Lord!

We are the Reason he was born to us. We are the shepherds in the field called to see and wonder and listen and allow ourselves to be transfixed and transformed as if for the first time. Let the Joy and Peace of now begin with me and let me, with you, carry Christ forward into this Day, into our everyday lives every day, into all the Earth we inhabit. The Great Light in the Darkness has come!

It's time! Hallelujah!

LET US, GOD’S PEOPLE, PRAY

Leader: ~ O Holy Jesus, God’s True Light, You come at last, filled with grace and truth. Our joy is unbounded for the arrival of our Glorious Child, One in Being with God and the Holy Spirit, who redeems and claims us for the work of Heaven on Earth.

Glory to God in the Highest Heaven!

RESPONSE: Grant Peace on Earth to Us All

~ O Holy Jesus, God’s True Light, grant us energy and courage to give continuous voice to Your truth in all places of political, elected, and authoritarian power throughout this World, this Nation, and this Community. We pray especially for: add your own petitions

Glory to God in the Highest Heaven!
Grant Peace on Earth to Us All

~ O Holy Jesus, God’s True Light, we ask You who were homeless as you entered this world, to enfold all who are homeless, hungry, sick, and downhearted, that they may feel Your loving embrace on this Day of Days and always. We now join our hearts together to pray for those in need… add your own petitions

Glory to God in the Highest Heaven!
Grant Peace on Earth to Us All

~ O Holy Jesus, God’s True Light, lift up our hearts in the joy and the hope of the Love that never ends, as we remember and celebrate all who have left the woes of this earthly plain to live forever, deep in the heart of God. We pray especially for… add your own petitions

Glory to God in the Highest Heaven!
Grant Peace on Earth to Us All

~ O Holy Jesus, we pause in this moment to offer You our other heartfelt thanksgivings, intercessions, petitions, and memorials… add your own petitions

Glory to God in the Highest Heaven!
Grant Peace on Earth to Us All

~ O Holy Jesus, God’s True Light, continue to excite the hearts of all who lead us in Your Church, with imagination and inspiration. Guide all our hearts to rebirth in a Spirit-filled life in Your service. We pray especially for: add your own petitions

Glory to God in the Highest Heaven!
Grant Peace on Earth to Us All

The Celebrant adds: Most High Lord Jesus, the Word, the Imprint, the Incarnate Grace of God sent to live among us, we sing to You a new song of rejoicing. Let each breath we take draw You into ourselves, that we may give out Your glory and praise in all that we are, and all that we do. Guide us, guard us, goad us to live into Your divine will. We ask through You, Prince of Peace; and through the Holy Spirit, our Compass; who together with our Mighty Creator from the beginning, live and reign as one God, now and forever. Amen.

For Wednesday December 25, 2024, Christmas III: Wisdom 9:1-6, 9-11; Psalm 33:1-9, Colossians 1:15-20, John 1:1-14.

O God of my ancestors and Author of mercy…give me the wisdom that sits by your throne…With you is Wisdom, she who knows your works and was present when you made the world…Send her forth from the holy heavens…that she may labor with me, and that I may learn what is pleasing to you…and she will guide me wisely in my actions and guard me with her glory. [Wisdom 9:1a, 4a, 9a, 10a,c;11b]

Rejoice in the ALMIGHTY, you righteous…Praise SHE WHO IS MAJESTY…sing for her a new song…for the word of WISDOM is right…she loves righteousness and justice; the faithful love of the MOTHER OF ALL fills the whole earth…Let all the earth revere SHE WHO IS WISDOM. [Psalm 33:1-9]

Jesus is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation…all things have been created through him and for him. Jesus himself is before all things, and in him all things hold together. Jesus is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning…in Jesus all the fullness of God was well pleased to dwell and…pleased to reconcile Godself in all things whether on earth or in heave…making peace through the blood of his cross. [Colossians 1:15, 16b, 17, 18a, 19-20]

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God and the Word was God…What has come into being in the Word was life, and that life was the light of all people. The light shines in the bleakness…The true light…was coming into the world…to all who did accept him…he empowered to become children of God…And the word became flesh and lived among us…full of grace and truth. [John 1:1, 3b-5a, 9, 12, 14]

Dr. Wilda Gafney’s* readings, as usual, offer an array of new insights into “other” readings not generally seen. For these three pieces that my Episcopal parish is using, Christmas Eve for two services, and especially Christmas morning for one. I am not posting the full readings. This week is crunch time for everyone. As always, I found many of her thoughts from her Christmas III notes and preaching prompts quite interesting, and importantly thought-provoking, especially in these current times. For example, she refers to Colossians as using the masculine pronouns repeatedly and, that in the Greek text of this letter the name of Jesus is not included. So, she says, “I have substituted it [the name of Jesus] for some of the pronouns for smoothness and clarity.” She continues to say that the traditional focus in John’s Gospel on the preexistent Christ [has been] a concept expressed in grammatical gender but ontologically beyond gender. This, she says, gives us a chance to think about why we and our spiritual ancestors…gender things the way we do and what that really means. She says more about the use of slave language from her translations and acknowledges how difficult it is to use in scripture, prayer, and liturgy; doubly so for Black folk.”

*Readings for our Parish in this Year C are from The Rev. Dr. Wilda [Wil] Gafney, Womanist biblical scholar, and is the Right Rev. Sam B. Hulsey Professor of Hebrew Bible at Brite Divinity School in Fort Worth, Texas. She is the author of A Women’s Lectionary for the Whole Church Yr C, 2024, Church Publishing, (here after designated on my posts as WCL) and translator of its biblical selections. Learn more about her and her work at her website: https://www.wilgafney.com/. In her book for Year C, Dr. Gafney explains her process and sources of translation of each reading she uses, which is impossible to offer in this space. Fascinating and illuminating, not merely because of the womanist highlighting, but for a greater appreciation of and fresh perspective in each biblical reading as most are not, or rarely, used in Sunday preaching or Daily Lectionaries. For slightly more information see: [for slightly more detail, see my blog post for December 1, 2024, Advent I WCL, see link: https://prayersofthepeople.blogspot.com/2024/11/prayers-of-people-advent-ure-begins.html]

Glory to God in the Highest Heaven!

Grant Peace on Earth to Us All

~ O Holy Jesus, God’s True Light, we REJOICE in the Almighty for the word of WISDOM is right. She loves righteousness and justice and gives us her faithful love, with the energy and courage, to give continuous voice to Your truth in all places of political, elected, and authoritarian power throughout this World, this Nation, and this Community. We pray especially for: add your own petitions

Glory to God in the Highest Heaven!

Grant Peace on Earth to Us All

Glory to God in the Highest Heaven!

Grant Peace on Earth to Us All

~ O Holy Jesus, God’s True Light, lift up our hearts in the joy and the hope of the Love that never ends, as we remember and celebrate all who have left the woes of this earthly plain to rise and live forever, deep in the heart of God. We pray especially for… add your own petitions

Glory to God in the Highest Heaven!

Grant Peace on Earth to Us All

~ O Holy Jesus, we pause in this moment to offer You our other heartfelt thanksgivings, intercessions, petitions, and memorials… add your own petitions

Glory to God in the Highest Heaven!

Grant Peace on Earth to Us All

~ O Holy Jesus, God’s True Light, continue to excite the hearts of all who lead us in Your Church with imagination and inspiration. Guide all our hearts to rebirth in a Wisdom- and Spirit-filled life in Your service. We pray especially for: add your own petitions

Glory to God in the Highest Heaven!

Grant Peace on Earth to Us All

The Celebrant adds: O Jesus our Savior, God’s Word made Flesh, the light of all people. Your light shines through the bleakness, and rescues us all from the power of darkness, to transform our anxieties into fruitful action. Keep us striving toward Your purpose, as we offer our labor to soothe the sufferings of humanity near and far. We ask through Jesus, the image of our invisible God; and the Holy Spirit, the very Breath of Love; who together with You are our One God, the Word of, in, and for our lives every day, in every way, now and forever. Amen.