The
reading from The Book of Acts this week opens with a brief mention of Lydia, a
merchant of purple cloth, a valuable commodity in her time as well as for a
thousand and more centuries beyond. We are told that The Messiah opened her
heart to listen eagerly to what was said by Paul and she was baptized along
with her household. Then we hear a longer story about an enslaved girl who
had a spirit of divination… She was following after Paul and Silas for many
days, calling out along the way that they were proclaiming a way of salvation. Paul
was irritated and ordered the spirit to come out of her in the name of Jesus
Christ and so the spirit did. Her owners were not pleased that their source
of very good income was gone and they had them arrested, stripped naked, and
violently beaten. While they were released, and visited Lydia and her household
before leaving town, we are left to wonder what became of the enslaved girl?
As with last week’s mention of Rhoda, a slave who was mocked and told she was
insane when she said Peter was at the gate of the house, where a sufficiently
large number of believers were gathered and praying. Peter had been
imprisoned but escaped with the help of God’s angel, and went to the house
whereupon Rhoda announced him and firmly insisted that it was Peter. Finally
the gathered saw him and were amazed. But no further mention of Rhoda. Do
we notice these people have gone missing from the storyline? “Minor characters”
in a storyline we might say if we thought about them at all. At least Rhoda was
named.
Who are the named and unnamed minor
characters all around us in our everyday lives? Are they the ones sleeping on
benches, wandering around talking to themselves, or asking for food money in
the median of a road? Perhaps a mother chasing a toddler in a neighborhood, or drivers
weaving in and out of traffic at great speed or driving so slowly as to drive
others (me, I confess) less than charitable in thought (or word!).
I was truly drawn to the expression in Psalm
102:17 ~ God regards the prayer of the destitute and she will not despise
their prayer. Dr. Gafney* uses her
own translation and intentional feminine language/pronouns, but the fundamental
wording and context of the readings doesn’t change. Most, if not all, of her
chosen readings are NOT from the Revised Common Lectionary and so it gives us a
chance to hear the names and know a fraction of a mention of those otherwise
minor characters throughout both the Hebrew and Christian Testaments. It has
given me a fresh perspective. I have read the entirety of the Psalms many
times, and yet that phrase in the psalm, which is very similar throughout the
variety of Bible versions I have looked through (using Biblegateway.com) ~ the destitute
~ remains hanging in my thoughts.
We are all destitute, or deficient, in one
way or another and some obviously in more actual life threatening ways than
others whether by disease or poverty, or addiction, or lack of financial and
housing resources, etc. But I know that all of us fall into a destitution of
one kind of another in our lifetime whether of faith, in hopelessness, or
anytime we experience a sense of having lost our path forward. And then comes
the passage from the Letter to the Colossians. Epaphras is always
fighting for you all in his prayers. Well, maybe not that particular
person, but there are millions of people praying for all of us in one way or
another. If you’re reading this, then
you and I are also praying specifically and generally for many others and for many
reasons. And then, Paul says: See that the ministry you have received in the
Messiah, that you fulfill it.” Well, that makes me take note of my
deficiencies of living in and through my faith and what I am called to do.
And many of us will know the parable of the Lost
Sheep and the woman with the lost coin. Here Dr. Gafney gives an account of the
value of that silver drachma and why the woman took her house apart to
find it! But of course the common thread between these parables is that there
is more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine
righteous somebodies who have no need of repentance. Well, I hate to sound
judgmental but are there really 99 who don’t need to repent of something? Ok,
I’ll repent of that but the “Good News” is that there is joy in the finding of
faith in our hearts and souls, however shaky and uncertain it may be. And the
word “repent” does mean to acknowledge one’s wrongdoings feel remorse and
resolve to change and make amends if possible. Sure there are sinful actions with civil and
human consequences, but for me the overarching meaning of repentance is the
change of heart and mind, the turning back toward God.
Sometimes we just stop
paying attention to the wonders of Creation, the love of family and friends,
the everyday moments of smiles or laughter that slip quickly away. Let’s
resolve to take a deep breath, think through the cranial rolodex of yesterday
and notice what we didn’t notice about the 1000 or so minutes of consciousness
in the 1440 minutes of a day. What positive conversations were there? What
brought a smile or laughter? When was the mood a bit gray or darker and why? Where
was God, Jesus, and/or the Holy Spirit found? How and in what ways can we
improve and give attention in prayer to, conversation with, or simply thinking
about God in a moment of happiness, frustration, anger, or a more ordinary
activity such as eating a meal (Grace), filling the car with gas (bless that
family at the next pump), retrieving the mail (thank you for that person’s
work). We can find many ways to bring God into our moment by moment living.
Even people who are ardent about the Daily Office prayers, saying a rosary every
day, reading a passage of the Bible or another inspirational text each day can
find positive ways to turn toward God in a moment outside of intentional prayer
work.
What has been lost, or simply put up on the shelf of our minds can be
rediscovered. Whether it’s a lost sheep or silver drachma, let’s sweep the
pasture of our hearts regularly to leave no distance between God in Christ with
the Holy Spirit. What is lost may still be found and the joy, in heaven and on
earth, is in the finding, each and every time.
LET US, GOD’S PEOPLE, PRAY
Leader: ~ O God, Creator of All, regard the prayers of those destitute in
food, clothing, shelter, and in heart and soul, and behold all of us who fall
into the valley of despair across our human time. Lead us to listen eagerly as
we seek to find and fulfill the ministry given us by our Messiah, and to stand
mature and fully assured in everything that is your will.
Oh Christ, Messiah
Response:
Open our hearts to know your voice
~ O God, Creator of All, guide us
to be as your voice in acting for justice and mercy for all of your Creation.
Soften, open, and change the minds and hearts of those who choose not to govern
wisely and well, but through coercion and control, on this earth, in this
country, and in our community. We pray especially for: add your own
petitions
Oh Christ, Messiah
Open
our hearts to know your voice
~ O God, Creator of All, release
from anguish all who are chronically ill in body, mind, or spirit, and refresh
the stamina of all who give support. We now join our voices to pray aloud for
those in need… add your own petitions
Oh Christ, Messiah
Open
our hearts to know your voice
~ O God, Creator of All, lift the
hearts of the mournful as through You, death is no more and our dearest
departed have now risen to new and unending Life in joy, free from tears and
pain. We pray especially for: add your own petitions
Oh Christ, Messiah
Open
our hearts to know your voice
~ O God, Creator of All,
we pause in this moment to offer You our other heartfelt
thanksgivings, intercessions, petitions, and memorials, aloud or silently…
add your own petitions
Oh Christ, Messiah
Open
our hearts to know your voice
~ O God, Creator of All, grant
additional grace to all You have chosen to bring us Your Word and Sacraments,
that together we may receive our Salvation through Christ. We pray especially
for: add your own petitions
Oh Christ, Messiah
Open
our hearts to know your voice
The Celebrant adds: Most Holy
God, as you hear the groaning of your children across this planet,
imprisoned by poverty, fear, ethnicity, race, gender, and more, strengthen us
to fight with our prayers and by our merciful actions, that we may open more
ways to relieve and set free, all who are suffering and condemned to earthly
misery by unjust earthly powers. We ask through Jesus, our Great and Good
Shepherd; and the Holy Spirit, the Sacred Energy in and of our Souls; who
together with You reign as One God, today, tomorrow, and for all eternity. 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/
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