A moment of contemplation for yourself or on behalf of others on everything from the life-altering to the mundane.


Prayer: A conversation with The Higher Other who lives within each of us. An invitation to vent, to re-think, to ask, and to rest.

Monday, June 16, 2025

Prayers of the People: Put it on the Mirror ~ 2nd Sunday after Pentecost WLWC* ‘25 Yr C

For Sunday, June 1, 2025; Readings: Isaiah 8:1-8, Psalm 34:11-22, 1 John 3:1-3, 
Luke 9:38-48

   Now the Inscrutable God said to me: “Take for yourself a large tablet and write on it… ‘For Maher Shalal Hash Baz (meaning Swiftly Savaged, Rapidly Ravaged)…So I went to the prophetess and she conceived and she gave birth to a child. Then the Fount of Wisdom said to me, “Name the child Maher Shalal Hash Baz. For before the child knows how to call ‘My mother’ or ‘My father,’ the wealth of Damascus and the spoil of Samaria will be carried off by the ruler of Assyria.
[Isaiah 8:1-8]

  Come children, listen to me; I will teach you the reverence of She Who is Majesty…Keep your tongue from evil, and your lips from speaking deceit. Turn from evil, and do good; seek peace and pursue it. The eyes of the All-Seeing God are upon the righteous, and her ears are open to their cry… [Psalm 34:11, 13, -15]

   See what kind of love has our Maker given to us, that we should be called Children of God and we are…Beloved, now we are God’s children and it has not yet been revealed what we will be.  [1 John 3:1, 2a]

  Now there are arose a debate among them, which one of them was the greatest. But Jesus knowing the debate in their hearts, took a little child and put the child next to him. And Jesus said to them, “Whoever welcomes this child in my name welcomes me and whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me; for the least among you all is the greatest. [Luke 9:46-48]

     I want to begin with a reminder, that the Women’s Lectionary for the Whole Church [WLWC] texts used here are generally not those used in the Revised Common Lectionary [see more below]. Dr. Wilda Gafney as translator uses expansive titles for God and a perspective using feminine titles and pronouns of which some will appear in the prayers below. I cannot provide you with her full readings due to copyright issues. However, the context of these readings have not changed and can be found in whichever translation you prefer. That said, we begin with a passage from Isaiah 8…
     A warning of the overthrow of Syria and Israel centers on the prophet fathering a child with the prophetess. While all the translations I looked at used prophetess, the meaning of it in several commentaries I also viewed, is as the wife of the prophet. However, Dr. Gafney explains in her text notes for this Sunday’s readings, the female prophet is articulated as a prophet (masc. sing.) without the feminine suffix in the Great Isaiah Scroll of the Dead Sea Scrolls collection making a number of interpretations possible, including the lack of distinction between prophets based on gender.
    At the moment of time for this passage, approximately early 8th century BCE, war and invasion are imminent. Judah is the continuing people of God and Israel, with the remnant of northern monarchy allied with the Arameans and planning to invade Judah, essentially a civil war. The passage discusses the gentle waters of the Shiloah (later known as the “Pool of Siloam”) and then that God will use the Euphrates to flood everyone “up to neck” and “fill the width of your land.”  The underlying message from God to the prophet is that the people may be too focused on anger and threats of violence and the “water” reference is not literal but rather that their lands will be inundated with a flood of violence.
    This section of Psalm 34 is fairly self-explanatory. It is God’s presence that restores and preserves us while the absence of God in one’s life is the true cause of destruction. That, then, takes on the appearance of God’s wrath, when it is one’s own inner wrath and lack of faith that is the cause of the presumption of God’s absence. God doesn’t leave ~ we do when we’re angry or judgmental, or worse.
    From 1 John 3 we have this peaceful moment to breathe in deeply the words of how God loves us. A gentle comforting respite in the midst of everyday life. It calls out ~ at least to me at this moment ~ to be printed and posted on the refrigerator or the bathroom mirror!
   And the Gospel brings us to Jesus encountering a man whose son is possessed by a demonic spirit. This is based on Mark 9:14-29 although the author of Luke leaves out details from the other. Jesus heals the boy and “all were amazed at the greatness of God.” In the midst of the awe of those present, Jesus gives another prediction of his coming passion to the confusion of the disciples. They were then debating which one of them was the greatest and Jesus swiftly and artfully de-thrones their egos.
    War, threats of violence, a shrieking demonic presence, punctuated with the reminders of God’s love and constant presence make for quite an arc of emotions in this group of seemingly disparate readings. Yet the true message is sudden, with utmost clarity, and at the very end when Jesus says ~ “Whoever welcomes this child in my name welcomes me and whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me; for the least among you all is the greatest. As we are all Children of God no matter our age, gender, ethnicity, race, health, wealth, etc., Jesus takes us immediately back to: Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength…’ [and] ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ Too often we do love God and our neighbor the same way we love ourselves but haven’t recognized it as such.
    So, yeah, the piece from 1 John 3: See what kind of love has our Maker given to us, that we should be called the children of God; and we are. Put it on the mirror for the days when your Grrrrowl is louder than your Grrrrateful and Grrrrace.


LET US, GOD’S PEOPLE, PRAY

Leader:  ~ Loving God, keep your eyes upon us and your ears open to our cries. Stay near to the broken-hearted and save all whose spirits are crushed. As we take our hope and refuge in you, strengthen our hearts, deliver us from all evil, and preserve us in your everlasting love.

                                             Compassionate One
RESPONSE:      Turn us to do good, to seek peace and pursue it

~ Loving God, You are our strength as we stand before the rulers and regimes on this Earth, in our Nation, and in our Community. Hasten to help us in pressing for leaders to turn from governance for power and self-greatness, to walk a better way toward mercy, justice, and peace for all. We pray especially for: add your own petitions

                                              Compassionate One                                               
                                             Turn us to do good, to seek peace and pursue it

~ Loving God, shelter the hearts, minds, and bodies of those tormented by the demons of chronic pain, addictions, or mental illness, and sustain the love and patience of all who give them care. We now join our hearts to pray for those in need… add your own petitions

                                               Compassionate One                                               
                                             Turn us to do good, to seek peace and pursue it

~ Loving God, ease the burden of grief for all whose loved ones now awaken to the bliss of life ever after, in the peace of Jesus, our Christ. We pray especially for: add your own petitions

                                              Compassionate One                                               
                                             Turn us to do good, to seek peace and pursue it

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

                                              Compassionate One                                               
                                             Turn us to do good, to seek peace and pursue it         

~ Loving God, we raise up before you all those chosen to lead us in your Church, who baptize us as Christ’s own forever, who bring us your Word and Sacraments, and who teach us to proclaim all that you, our Triune God, have done for us, in us, and through us. We pray especially for: add your own petitions

                                              Compassionate One                                               
                                             Turn us to do good, to seek peace and pursue it

The Celebrant adds: All-Seeing God, She Who is Majesty, keep us ever mindful that the through the strength of love you have given to us, we are called as your children. Guide us to truly welcome children of all ages, colors, ethnicities, and genders in the name of Jesus, to become the way we welcome you; for the least among us all are the greatest. We ask through the redeeming love of Christ, our Savior; the comforting wisdom of the Holy Spirit, who together with You are our 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 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:


   






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