People's Prayers: 2025

Monday, April 14, 2025

Prayers of the People: The Glorious Rising Son ~ Easter Day WLWC* ‘25 Yr C

For Sunday, April 20, 2025; Readings: Isaiah 49:1-13, Psalm 18:2-11, 16-19;

Hebrews 11:1-2, 23-24, 28-39; John 20-18

Sing for joy, you heavens, and exult O earth; let the mountains break forth into singing!! For the Tender-Loving One has comforted God’s people, and will mother-love God’s suffering ones. [Isaiah 49:13]

The snares of Sheol encircled me; the snares of death confronted me. In my distress I called upon She Who Hears; to my God I cried for help. From her temple she heard my voice…She delivered me from my strong enemy…the Sheltering God was my support. [Psalm 18: 5-6, 17a, 18b]

Now faith is the essence of things hoped for, the conviction of that which is not seen. By faith, indeed, were our ancestors approved. [Hebrews 11:1-2]

…Mary Magdalene came, early on while it was still day, to the tomb and saw the stone removed from the tomb…she turned around and saw Jesus standing, but she did not know it was Jesus…Thinking that he was the gardener, she said to him, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have laid him…Jesus said to her, “Mary.” She turned and said to him in Aramaic, “Rabbouni!” (which means Teacher.) [John 20:1, 14-16]

Alleluia! Christ is Risen! Easter Day is here at last! It is, of course, the most joyous day in the Christian year. While Christmas is lovely and inspiring in its own way, it would be no more than a pagan celebration of the winter solstice without the miracle of the Resurrection. Our Liturgical journey has taken us through the 40 somber days of Lent, and in this Holy Week, we walked the Stations of the Cross, re-enacted the Last Supper with the humility of foot-washing, experienced the mournful desolation of Good Friday, and the quietness of Holy Saturday. And now we arrive at the most potent symbol of Christianity—the Resurrection of Christ, our Messiah. We are reveling in the bells and flowers, the alleluias, triumphal music, and soaring voices all proclaiming that Jesus, the Christ, IS Risen.

Before we turn to brightly colored baskets filled with chocolate bunnies, hard-boiled eggs with shells dyed in multiple and vibrant hues, marshmallow chicks, and jelly beans, before the ham or lamb or turkey or roast has finished in the oven and all settle into the feast, let us take a moment to review the brief and shining earthly life of the man for whom the face of the world was changed forever, Jesus of Nazareth.

The infant humbly born was celebrated instantly by angels and shepherds alike. A neighboring group of exotic Kings or Wise Men traveled far to honor and worship the One whose Star was a sign for them of a new King in Jerusalem. The current King, Herod, wasn't pleased and so Joseph, warned in a dream, took Mary and Jesus to safety in Egypt and while we aren't specifically told, we are given to believe they returned sometime after Herod's death. We get a glimpse of him at Passover, lost and found in the Temple at about age 12 keeping the Rabbis on their theological toes. The timeline loses him until his cousin John, the Baptizer is prophesying his coming and ultimately baptizes Him. He is about 30 and from his 40 days in the wilderness preparing for his ministry, it is a swift and politically fraught period of about 3 years. His teachings upset the theocratic structure of the ruling Judaic leaders who had compromised their own souls to keep a semblance of power during the Roman occupation. Their devious plots to upend his miraculous healings, his preaching and teaching of compassion, peace, cooperation, justice, and mercy in the hearts of his followers ultimately resulted in their seeming success, a politically manipulated murder of a small-town, would-be prophet. But of course, 2000+ years later, Christ is in still our midst.

For this Easter Day, Dr. Gafney has used slightly different pieces of the reading from Isaiah that she used for her Liturgy of the Word on Palm Sunday. Her explanation is for us to remember that this day started out as a day of sorrow for those who followed Jesus, witnessing or knowing of his death while not yet knowing of his Resurrection. For those Palm Sunday services that do not include the Passion, this makes perfect sense. In our parish, as in many that I know, we did use a Passion narrative in the form of several readers speaking the words of Holy Week at our Liturgies. Certainly the sorrow here is reflected in Mary Magdalene’s arrival and discovery of the empty tomb. To that end I have used only one verse of the Isaiah reading above.

We worship, study, and pray to follow the Christ who teaches us in our own times that our salvation leads us to eternal life if we but follow him. And now, in our time as then, and in all times since, we must also be wary of the false prophets whose shiny exteriors denigrate the very essence of the message of Jesus. Take care to turn away from the person who can tantalize with completely anti-Gospel charm and lead us astray as quickly as those who cheered with waving palms and loud Hosannas for Jesus' arrival on Palm Sunday and shouted in cold blood "CRUCIFY HIM" only a few short days later.

We find the fullness of our souls in the empty tomb. Christ is within us and we are marked as his own forever. Let us shout with unbounded joy to God’s Glorious Rising Son, ALLELUIA, CHRIST IS RISEN! As we begin again, let us stay the course in our own brief sojourns for the truth, life, and love of his Gospel.

LET US, GOD’S PEOPLE, PRAY

Leader: ~ Living Christ, Risen in Glory! By rising from human death, You have brought us to the dawn of a new Creation within us each that is alive in You. Remind us to know You in each breath we take, the courage to seek Your face in every person we meet, and the strength to feel Your beating heart within us in all the days and nights of our earthly life, especially on those that are joy-filled or discouraging.

Radiant Lord, Hope of our Faith

RESPONSE: Alleluia! You ARE Risen, indeed!

~ Living Christ, Risen in Glory! Resurrect Your Truth and Your Love in all of us who claim faith in You, especially those who govern in all places across this Earth, this Country, and this Community. May the marks of death wounds still upon Your Risen Body, summon us to insist to ourselves and our political leaders that Justice, Mercy, and Respect are required for the least of, as for all of, our companions in this brief, mortal, God-given life journey. We pray especially for: add your own petitions

Radiant Lord, Hope of our Faith

Alleluia! You ARE Risen, indeed!

~ Living Christ, Risen in Glory! Restore hope to the hopeless and faith to the fearful, soothe suffering everywhere, and grant stamina to all who serve You in others. We now join our hearts to pray aloud for those in need…add your own petitions

Radiant Lord, Hope of our Faith

Alleluia! You ARE Risen, indeed!

~ Living Christ, Risen in Glory! Lift the veil of grief from all who mourn, as our loved ones now dance in the limitless joy of eternal life with You. We pray especially for: add your own petitions

Radiant Lord, Hope of our Faith

Alleluia! You ARE Risen, indeed!

~ Living Christ, Risen in Glory! We pause in this moment to offer You our other heartfelt thanksgivings, intercessions, petitions, and memorials, aloud or silently…add your own petitions

Radiant Lord, Hope of our Faith

Alleluia! You ARE Risen, indeed!

~ Living Christ, Risen in Glory! May Your Resurrection be the source of unbounded elation that overflows in all who are anointed to guide our spiritual paths, and enliven our desire to be renewed as Your own forever. We pray especially for: add your own petitions

Radiant Lord, Hope of our Faith

Alleluia! You ARE Risen, indeed!

The Celebrant adds: Alleluia! Our Lord is Risen! Holy Jesus, excite our hearts and minds, and transform our souls with the miracle of Your return from the dead. So infuse our consciousness with Your constant Immortal Presence, that our thoughts, words, and actions begin and end in You. We ask through You, our Savior Glorified; and the Holy Spirit, the Fire of our Faith; who together with our Luminous Creator of All, are One God, now and forever. Amen.

*Readings for our Parish in this Year C are from The Rev. Dr. Wilda 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/Services/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/

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: The Ever Rising Son ~ Easter Day '25 RCL Yr C

For Sunday, April 20, 2025, Yr C, Readings: Acts 10:34-43, Psalm 118:1-2, 14-24;

1 Corinthians 15:19-26, John 20:1-18

Peter began to speak to Cornelius and the other Gentiles: “I truly understand that God shows no partiality, but in every nation anyone who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him…” [Acts 10:34-35]

I will give thanks to you, for you have answered me and have become my salvation. The same stone that the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone…On this day the Lord has acted; we will rejoice and be glad in it. [Psalm 118:21-22, 24]

For since death came through a human being, the resurrection of the dead has also come through a human being…so all will be made alive in Christ. [1 Corinthians 15:21, 22b]

Then the disciples returned to their homes. But Mary stood weeping outside the tomb...Jesus said to her, “Mary!”…Mary Magdalene went and announced to the disciples, “I have seen the Lord”; and she told them that he had said these things to her. [John 20:10-11a, 16a, 18]

Alleluia! Christ is Risen! Easter Day is here at last! It is, of course, the most joyous day in the Christian year. While Christmas is lovely and inspiring in its own way, it would be no more than a pagan celebration of the winter solstice without the miracle of the Resurrection. Our Liturgical journey has taken us through the 40 somber days of Lent, and in this Holy Week, walked the Stations of the Cross, re-enacted the Last Supper with the humility of foot-washing, and experienced the mournful desolation of Good Friday. And now we arrive at the most potent symbol of Christianity—the Resurrection of Christ, our Messiah. We are reveling in the bells and flowers, the alleluias, triumphal music, and soaring voices all proclaiming that Jesus, the Christ, IS Risen.

We worship, study, and pray to follow the Christ who teaches us in our own times that our salvation leads us to eternal life if we but follow him. And now, in our time as then, and in all times since, we must also be wary of the false prophets whose shiny exteriors denigrate the very essence of the message of Jesus. Take care to turn away from the sorcerer who can tantalize with completely anti-Gospel charm and lead us astray as quickly as those who cheered with waving palms and loud Hosannas for Jesus' arrival on Palm Sunday and shouted in cold blood "CRUCIFY HIM" only a few short days later.

We find the fullness of our souls in the empty tomb. Christ is within us and we are marked as his own forever. Let us shout with unbounded joy to God’s Ever Rising Son, ALLELUIA, CHRIST IS RISEN! As we begin again, let us stay the course in our own brief sojourns for the truth, life, and love of his Gospel.

LET US, GOD’S PEOPLE, PRAY

Radiant Lord of Life

RESPONSE: Alleluia! You ARE Risen, indeed!

Radiant Lord of Life

Alleluia! You ARE Risen, indeed!

~ Living Christ, Risen in Glory! Restore hope to the hopeless and faith to the fearful, soothe the suffering and grant stamina to all who serve You in others. We now join our hearts to pray aloud for those in need…add your own petitions

Radiant Lord of Life

Alleluia! You ARE Risen, indeed!

~ Living Christ, Risen in Glory! Lift the veil of grief from all who mourn, as our loved ones now dance in the limitless joy of eternal life with You. We pray especially for: add your own petitions

Radiant Lord of Life

Alleluia! You ARE Risen, indeed!

~ Living Christ, Risen in Glory! We pause in this moment to offer You our other heartfelt thanksgivings, intercessions, petitions, and memorials, aloud or silently…add your own petitions

Radiant Lord of Life

Alleluia! You ARE Risen, indeed!

~ Living Christ, Risen in Glory! May Your Resurrection be the source of unbounded elation that overflows in all who are anointed to guide our spiritual paths and enliven our desire to be renewed as Your own forever. We pray especially for: add your own petitions

Radiant Lord of Life

Alleluia! You ARE Risen, indeed!

The Celebrant adds: Alleluia! Our Lord is Risen! Holy Jesus, excite our hearts and minds, and transform our souls with the miracle of Your return from the dead. Infuse our consciousness with Your Immortal Presence that our thoughts, words, and actions begin and end in You. We ask through You, our Savior Glorified; and the Holy Spirit, the Fire of our Faith; who together with our Creator of All, are One God, now and forever. Amen.

Monday, April 7, 2025

Prayers of the People: Palm Sunday/The Sunday of the Passion ~ 6th Sunday in Lent '25 WLWC Yr C

For Sunday, April 13, 2025, Readings: Liturgy of the Palms ~ Matthew 21:1-11, Psalm 118:19-29; Liturgy of the Word: Isaiah 49:5-16, Psalm 22:1-11, Galatians 3:23-4:7; Mark 14:32-52

The disciples went and did just as Jesus instructed them…A very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road and other cut branches…and spread them on the road…shouting “Hosanna to the Son of David, Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Holy One! Hosanna in the highest!” [Matthew 21:6, 8-9]

This is the gate of the Holy Presence…This is the day that the Fount of Creation has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it. [Psalm 118:19-29]

“…I will give you as a light to the nations, for it will be that my salvation reaches to the end of the earth.” [Isaiah 49: 6b]

“Commit yourself to the Saving One; let God rescue and deliver the one in whom God delights!” [Psalm 22:8]

Now before faith came, we were garrisoned and guarded under the law…Therefore the law was our instructor until Christ came…But now that faith has come…in Christ Jesus you are all daughters and sons of God through faith. [Galatians 3:23-26]

Jesus and his disciples went to a place called Gethsemane and he said…”You all sit here while I pray…and stay awake…” Jesus came a third time and found them sleeping… “Enough! The hour has come. Look! The Son of Woman is betrayed into the hands of sinners…” [Mark 14:32,34b,41]

Of course, regular Church-goers know that Palm Sunday and Passion Sunday, for many decades now, are at once separate and yet one commemoration. And even non-regular Church-goers know the basic elements of both. The recounting of the procession with palm branches celebrates the triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem. The Passion narrative develops the details of his Last Supper, the betrayal by Judas, and the machinations of the Chief Priests whose local standing and power among the Jews and Rome were clearly threatened by this acclaimed and unorthodox prophet and miracle-worker.

Although there are differences in the texts used for this Sunday between the Revised Common Lectionary and this, Dr. Gafney’s Women’s Lectionary for the Whole Church, they are minimal given the theme. Dr. Gafney uses the Gospels of Matthew and Mark instead of Luke in the RCL. Within the synoptic Gospels, the basics remain fairly constant with more or less detail and slight variations. And, Dr. Gafney uses her own translations and emphasizes the feminine presence by her language and expansive titles for God yet does not change the context of the readings in any other way.

We remember that the arrival of Jesus created quite a stir. To this day in the Palm Sunday processions our hymns and shouts with "Hosanna" ["Hoshana" in Hebrew], praise to God with great elation, are as exuberant as when Jesus was greeted by the throngs that lined the road from Bethany to Jerusalem. They sang and shouted Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord [Ps 118: 26]. Cloaks and branches on the pathway for Jesus were a sign of the highest honor. The palm was the symbol of triumph and victory in the Greco-Roman culture of the times. The donkey or colt was itself a deliberate choice of Jesus sending the disciples to specifically retrieve it. The prophet Zechariah says in the Old/Hebrew Testament: Rejoice greatly, O daughter, Zion! Shout aloud, O daughter, Jerusalem! Lo, your king comes to you; triumphant and victorious is he, humble and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey [Zechariah 9:9]. Jesus was accused later in the week of proclaiming himself "King of the Jews," yet riding into the city of Jerusalem on a donkey would have been a known and understood symbol that he was coming in peace, as one would do to show a peaceful arrival rather than a warrior King riding in on a grand horse, bent on taking power and war.

All these elements were carefully noticed and recorded by the Roman occupiers and the Sanhedrin, the Jewish Council, who had its own police force and trial court and who set the deadly wheels of what is to come in motion. How easy, it seems, to go from enthusiastic cheers of the crowd to the politically manipulated yet equally enthusiastic and malevolent jeers by the same people mere days later. How altogether and suddenly eerie now.

The tone is set for this new journey through Holy Week in our own times of political machinations, violence, crowd wrangling, and manipulation. It is also time for me to acknowledge to my innermost self the moments of my own betrayal of Jesus through denial in thought, word, action, or plain inaction. Turning away from the unpleasant, the insincere, and especially the dangerous is safer and less stressful in the short run, but, going with the flow by participation or neglect reaps far more tyranny and destruction than standing up to oppression.

Dr. Martin Luther King said it best, "A time comes when silence is betrayal." That time came for Peter, that time is now for us. We, together, are the voice and power of Christ’s love in times of Palms and in the ensuing Storms. Let us always sing HOSANNA in the name of Jesus, our Redeemer Lord.

LET US, GOD’S PEOPLE, PRAY

Leader:  ~ O Faithful One, a Light to the Nations, jolt us out of merely listening or re-reading to know now the sudden joy of Your continuing Holy Presence in our midst. Open us to the shudder of feelings, today, and in this coming week, as beguiled minds turn to riotous, politically-manipulated, and deadly betrayal. Inspire us in this day, and every day to come, to experience the breadth, the depth, and the power of Your love, and to never deny You within ourselves or to another.

Jesus, our Saving One
         RESPONSE:                   We commit ourselves to You

~ O Faithful One, a Light to the Nations, we turn to You for the courage to stand up, expect, and require that all who hold or seek office in the governments of this Earth, this Country, and this Community be exemplars of principled justice, mercy, and peace. We pray especially for: add your own petitions

                                                     Jesus, our Saving One
                                                       We commit ourselves to You

~ O Faithful One, a Light to the Nations, in Your loving-kindness make Your face to shine upon those who suffer through chronic pain, distress in spirit or in life, and refresh all who give them care. We now join our hearts to pray for those in need… add your own petitions

                                                     Jesus, our Saving One
                                                       We commit ourselves to You

~ O Faithful One, a Light to the Nations, fill the hearts of all who mourn with the comfort of the joyful and jubilant welcome that those we love received in their new and eternal life. We pray especially for: add your own petitions

                                                     Jesus, our Saving One
                                                       We commit ourselves to You

~ O Faithful One, a Light to the Nations, we pause in this moment to offer You our other heartfelt thanksgivings, intercessions, petitions, and memorials, aloud or silently… add your own petitions

                                                     Jesus, our Saving One
                                                       We commit ourselves to You

~ O Faithful One, a Light to the Nations, may each of those who lead us in Your Church be granted the tongue of a teacher and the humility of Your human likeness, as they guide us all to stand up together with faith and trust in You. We pray especially for: add your own petitions

Jesus, our Saving One
We commit ourselves to You

The Celebrant adds: Oh Christ, Son of Woman, agitate our spirits and provoke our desire to seek Your mind in all that we do. Urge us to empty ourselves of all distractions pulling us away, that we may find our true and everlasting life in You. We ask this of You, our Hope and our Redeemer; and the Holy Spirit, the Sanctifier of our Souls; who together with the Fount of Creation, is One God, now and forever. Amen

Prayers of the People: Palm Sunday/The Sunday of the Passion ~ 6th Sunday in Lent RCL Yr C

For Sunday, April 13, 2025, Readings: Liturgy of the Palms: Psalm 118:1-2, 19-29; Luke 19:28-40; Liturgy of the Word: Isaiah 50:4-9a, Psalm 31:9-16, Philippians 2:5-11, Luke 22:39--23:49-56

Jesus said] "Go into the village...and as you enter you will find tied there a colt that has never been ridden... [Luke 19:29a]

This is the gate of the Lord; the righteous shall enter through it…This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it…Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. [Psalm 118:20,24,26]

Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited, but emptied himself...humbled himself... [Philippians 2:5-7a,8a]

Pilate, wanting to release Jesus, addressed [the people] again, but they kept shouting, Crucify, crucify him. A third time he said to them, "Why, what evil has he done? I have found in him no ground for the sentence of death...But they kept urgently demanding with loud shouts that he should be crucified; and their voices prevailed." [Luke 23:20-23]

Then about an hour later still another kept insisting, "Surely this man was also with him...But Peter said, "Man, I do not know what you are talking about!"…At that moment…the cocked crowed…Then Peter remembered the word of the Lord…”Before the cock crows today, you will deny me three times.” [Luke 22:59-62]

Of course, regular Church-goers in the Episcopal, Catholic, and other so-called main-line liturgical denominations know that Palm Sunday and Passion Sunday, for many decades now, are at once separate and yet one commemoration. The recounting of the procession with palm branches celebrates the triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem. The Passion narrative develops the details of his Last Supper, the betrayal by Judas, and the machinations of the Chief Priests whose local standing and power among the Jews and Rome were clearly threatened by this acclaimed and unorthodox prophet and miracle-worker.

We remember that his arrival created quite a stir. To this day in the Palm Sunday processions our hymns and shouts with "Hosanna" ["Hoshana" in Hebrew], praise to God with great elation, are as exuberant as when Jesus was greeted by the throngs that lined the road from Bethany to Jerusalem. They sang and shouted Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord [Ps 118: 26]. Cloaks and branches on the pathway for Jesus were a sign of the highest honor. The palm was the symbol of triumph and victory in the Greco-Roman culture of the times. The donkey or colt was itself a deliberate choice of Jesus sending the disciples to specifically retrieve it. The prophet Zechariah says in the Old/Hebrew Testament: Rejoice greatly, O daughter, Zion! Shout aloud, O daughter, Jerusalem! Lo, your king comes to you; triumphant and victorious is he, humble and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey [Zechariah 9:9]. Jesus was accused later in the week of proclaiming himself "King of the Jews," yet riding into the city of Jerusalem on a donkey would have been a known and understood symbol that he was coming in peace, as one would do to show a peaceful arrival rather than a warrior King riding in on a grand horse, bent on taking power and war.

LET US, GOD’S PEOPLE, PRAY

Leader: ~ O Jesus, our Lord, jolt us out of merely listening to the re-reading of familiar texts to know now the sudden joy of Your arrival in our midst. Open us to the shudder of feelings, today, and in this coming week, as beguiled minds turn to riotous, politically-manipulated, and deadly betrayal. Inspire us in this day, and every day to come, to experience the breadth, the depth, and the power of Your love, and to never deny You within ourselves or to another.

O Christ, our Strength and our Salvation
         RESPONSE:                   We commit ourselves to You

~ O Jesus, our Lord, we turn to You for the courage to stand up, expect, and require that all who hold or seek office in the governments of this Earth, this Country, and this Community be exemplars of principled justice, mercy, and peace. We pray especially for: add your own petitions

                                                     O Christ, our Strength and our Salvation
                                                       We commit ourselves to You

~ O Jesus, our Lord, in Your loving-kindness make Your face to shine upon those who suffer through chronic pain, distress in spirit or in life, and refresh all who give them care. We now join our hearts to pray for those in need…add your own petitions

                                                     O Christ, our Strength and our Salvation
                                                       We commit ourselves to You

~ O Jesus, our Lord, fill the hearts of all who mourn with the comfort of the joyful and jubilant welcome that those we love received in their new and eternal life. We pray especially for: add your own petitions

                                                     O Christ, our Strength and our Salvation
                                                       We commit ourselves to You

~ O Jesus, our Lord, 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 Strength and our Salvation
                                                       We commit ourselves to You

~ O Jesus, our Lord, may each of those who lead us in Your Church be granted the tongue of a teacher and the humility of Your human likeness, as they guide us all to stand up together with faith and trust in You. We pray especially for: add your own petitions

                                                     O Christ, our Strength and our Salvation
                                                       We commit ourselves to You

The Celebrant adds: Lord God in Christ, agitate our spirits and provoke our desire to seek Your mind in all that we do. Urge us to empty ourselves of all that draws us away that we may find our true and everlasting life in You. We ask this of You, our Hope and our Redeemer; and the Holy Spirit, the Sanctifier of our Souls; who together with the Almighty Creator is One God, now and forever. Amen.

Monday, March 31, 2025

Prayers of the People: The Constancy ~ 5th Sunday in Lent WLWC* ‘25 Yr C

For Sunday, April 6, 2025; Readings: 1 Kings 10:1-10, 13; Psalm 131:1-3,

1 Thessalonians 1:2-10, Luke 11:27-32

Now the Queen of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon…and she came to test him with hard questions…she told him all that was on her heart…Then the Queen of Sheba saw the whole of the wisdom of Solomon…She said to the king…“Happy are your women! Happy are your slaves, they who stand before you continually and hear your wisdom…God has made you king to deliver justice and righteousness.” [1 Kings 10:1,4,8,9b]

…I have soothed and quieted my soul, like a weaned child with her mother…Israel, hope in the Wellspring of Life from now until forever. [Psalm 131:-3]

We give thanks to God at all times…mentioning you all in our prayers…God has chosen you all…you turned to God from idols to serve a living and true God. And turned to wait for God’s Son from heaven…Jesus, who rescues us from the wrath that is coming. [1 Thessalonians 1:2,4b,9b-10]

… Jesus said, “…blessed are those who hear the word of God and keep it…This generation is an evil generation; it seeks a sign and no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah. For just as Jonah became a sign to the women, children, and men of Nineveh, so the Son of Woman will be to this generation. [Luke 11:28-30]

The story of the Queen of Sheba’s visit would certainly have made a great film back in the days of the Biblical Spectaculars. Dr. Gafney suggests that, as wealthy as Solomon was, the Queen’s wealth may have surpassed his. At gold prices in 2022 trading at $1830.30 per ounce, her gift to him would have been equivalent to $271,160,262.81 US and please don’t leave out that 81 cents! That noted, her wealth is less interesting than her interest in seeking out the truth about the Solomon’s famed God-given wisdom. While she has no other name than her title in either the Hebrew or Christian Testaments, she was written about by Josephus, the ancient Roman-Jewish historian, and she is known as Bilqis in the Qur’an and Makeda in the “Kebra Nagast,” the Ethiopian national hagiography [a biography of saints or those greatly admired]. Dr. Gafney indicates that the nation of “Sheba” has been identified with the Sabeans on the Yemeni portion of the Arabian peninsula to eastern Africa, generically called “Ethiopia” in antiquity.

The entirety of the very brief Psalm 131 is part of these readings. Dr. Gafney’s translation is slightly different though resonant with the version in the US Book of Common Prayer. I do like the imagery in Dr. Gafney’s translation, however, as it reminds me that no matter my age, I am always a child of God and often forget God as the ideal mother/father who can indeed soothe and quiet my soul with hope.

Paul, in the First Letter to the Thessalonians carries that theme of hope through God who sent Jesus to rescue us from the wrath that is coming, a phrase that chills and yet is recently becoming far too familiar in the seeming wrath of some powers currently being unleashed on our planet.

Luke has Jesus speaking to his times about the long past times of Jonah and his prophecies. I can’t resist the adage of what goes around comes around, from those times to our own, yet God through Jesus with the Holy Spirit are our constants. There, in the Presence is the sign we often beg for God to please show us! While the winds may blow and the storms and fires, literal and figurative, may rage, there are many and varied sources of word and wisdom that God provides when we are open to hear and to learn. Every single generation from the beginning of time has had its evil-doers and our own, obviously, is no exception. Our faith and our discipleship, especially in community, can keep us moving forward through worry, fear, and doubt. It can also feed our joy in the small moments and the great, when we can soothe and quiet our souls through knowing the constancy of our God in all places in all times.

LET US, GOD’S PEOPLE, PRAY

Leader: ~ O God Who is Love, who has chosen us all, soothe and quiet our souls as your weaned children in these difficult times. Turn our hearts in prayer to give you thanks at all times, that we may persevere through life’s trials and feel the strength of your constant embrace.

Wellspring of Life

RESPONSE: We place our hearts and hope in You

~ O God Who is Love, imbue all political leaders in this World, this Nation, and this Community, with fresh and enduring wisdom, compassion and empathy, integrity and morality, to legislate well for the true needs of those they were chosen to serve. Guide their souls to govern kindly rather than to rule cruelly, and to respect and care for all others as they would have others respect and care for them. We pray especially for: add your own petitions

Wellspring of Life

We place our hearts and hope in You

~ O God Who is Love, kindle hope in all who are poor in body, mind, or spirit, and to all who give them care. We now join our hearts to pray for those in need… add your own petitions

Wellspring of Life

We place our hearts and hope in You

~ O God Who is Love, may those who are grieving find consolation and comfort knowing that those they love have returned to eternal life in You, welcomed with heavenly shouts of joy. We pray especially for: add your own petitions

Wellspring of Life

We place our hearts and hope in You

~ O God Who is Love, we pause in this moment to offer You our other heartfelt thanksgivings, intercessions, petitions, and memorials, aloud or silently…add your own petitions

Wellspring of Life

We place our hearts and hope in You

~ O God Who is Love, refresh and enliven the spirits of those chosen to lead and accompany us on this mortal journey, sharing with us the joy of Christ, even in the darkest of times. We pray especially for: add your own petitions

Wellspring of Life

We place our hearts and hope in You

The Celebrant adds: O God, Living and True, grant us a sign of your blessing as we seek to hear your word and strive to keep it. Guide our hearts and souls toward Christ Jesus, our Rescuer from whatever Wrath may come; and the certainty and power of the Holy Spirit, who together with You are our One God, now and forever and ever. Amen.

*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/Services/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/