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, August 4, 2025

Prayers of the People: Each Human’s Race ~ 9th Sunday after Pentecost WLWC* ‘25 Yr C

For Sunday, August 10, 2025; Ezekiel 14:12-22a, Psalm 124:1-8, Hebrews 11:29-12:2, Luke 17:26-37 

 For thus says GOD WHOSE NAME IS HOLY: More so [than these things] my four dreadful judgments I send upon Jerusalem—word, famine, barbarous beasts, and pestilence—to cut off from her humankind and animalkind! And look! There remain in her survivors… bringing forth daughters and sons; they shall come out to you and you all shall see their ways and their deeds, and you all shall be comforted on account of the evil I have brought upon Jerusalem, for all that I have brought upon her. [Ezekiel 14:21-22]

   Blessed be the Holy Protector, who has not given us as prey to their teeth. We like a bird have escaped from the snare of the fowlers; the snare is broken and we have escaped. Our help is in the name of God Who is Holy, who made the heavens and earth. [Psalm124:6-8]

   They who through faith subdued monarchies, did the work of justice, obtained promises, shut the mouths of lions…since we have surrounding us so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also every weight throw off, along with the sin that distracts; through patience let us run the race that is set before us. Looking to Jesus the foundation and fulfilment of our faith, who for the sake of the joy that was set before him endured the cross, its shame despising, and at the right hand of the throne of God is seated. [Hebrews:33a, 12:1-2]

   “Now just as it was in the days of Noah, thus shall it be in the days of the Son of Woman. Women and men were eating, drinking, marrying, being given in marriage—until the day Noah [and his wife and daughters and sons and daughters-in-law] entered the ark and the flood came and destroyed all of them [and their children]. Likewise, just as it was in the days of Lot… But on the day that Lot [and his wife and daughters] left Sodom, it rained fire and sulfur from heaven and destroyed all of them [and their children]. Accordingly shall it be on the day the Son of Woman is revealed. On that day, anyone on the roof who has belongings in the house must not come down to gather them up and likewise, anyone in the field should not turn back…Remember Lot’s wife. The one who seeks to preserve their life will lose it, but the one who loses their life shall save their life...” [Luke 17:5b-6, 7b]

   Dr. Gafney’s* A Women’s Lectionary for the Whole Church, Year C, with her translations and choices, was published in 2024. Of course, it would have been written and submitted considerably earlier before its acceptance, printing, and release. I acquired my copy after our Rector received permission from the Bishop to use it for our parish for this lectionary cycle. The timing of all was well before the most recent US  General Election less than a year ago, and a scant 8 months, as of this writing, since the Inauguration of the current US Administration. As I have said before in this space, Dr. Gafney does not change the context of the readings in any way, she simply uses expansive titles that she has gleaned from her translations from ancient languages and culture. She uses feminine pronouns for God as well as mentioning specific women by name and title and others by gender, adding children in the readings where appropriate. I mention this because the readings, many of which never appear in our New Revised Common Lectionary, seem to me, to have an eerie prescience about them.
   The 70 or so years of the Babylonian Exile/Captivity of the Jewish people of course had and continues to have a profound impact on the Jewish people. There is no room in this space to examine it closely, other than to establish that the recent Old/Hebrew Testament readings from Dr. Gafney are set in this timeframe.
   Dr. Gafney reminds us that a significant theme in the Hebrew Bible is that God is responsible for all things including good and evil, and everything in between. Yet as she says, “God calls God’s own bluff…” ultimately refraining from total annihilation to a promise that God will not destroy everyone. Catastrophes and cataclysms continue and some people will always blame God while others blame categories of people they have been taught, or try to teach or demand of others, not to tolerate/accept.
   In this week’s readings, God having previously appeared to Ezekiel, who, after accounting for the words of God about the God’s judgments sent upon Jerusalem—sword, famine, barbarous beasts, and pestilence—proclaims that There remain survivors…and you all shall be comforted.
   The psalmist this week is steadfast in proclaiming that God who made the heavens and the earth is our Holy Protector and enables escape from predators as our help is in the Name of God.
   Most biblical scholars agree that The Epistle to the Hebrews is not authored by Paul. That said, the message is that there is no right/correct form of faith that guarantees a life free from significant difficulties. The world that God created, as Dr. Gafney says, is not that simple and God is not that fickle. The full message of Hebrews is perseverance through the hardships of captivity—even those of us not physically held by others are captive of our own vices and devices—and destruction from deliberately human as well as natural disasters. In probably its most well-known words the Epistle says through patience let us run the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus the foundation and fulfillment of our faith…
   The Babylonian Captivity, over 70 years, should have ended the people of Israel but it did not. God transcends all boundaries from human to geographic. God is wherever God’s people are.
   Jesus lived in and under oppression by the Romans in all of its forms—religious, cultural, and most of all political. In Luke, Jesus recounts the times of Noah that caused him [and his wife and daughters and sons and daughters-in-law] to enter the ark…and the days of Lot [and his wife and daughters] left Sodom… and offers what will precede his coming and what must be left behind when it does and not to turn back  when these things occur, with a sobering: Remember Lot’s wife. Throughout earthly history we have heard others tell us that end times are near. Our world has been changed many times and will be changed again. Our things are not going with us but are to be left behind. In faith we know that Christ’s return will come and until it does, let us not risk our physical or spiritual life for stuff. A good time to simplify our lives is now. We are each to run in our own human race as it unfolds before us, with patience, through faith, and following Jesus as our Foundation. [When we are worried about the things we have accumulated or wish to, however sentimental or valuable in earthly terms, let’s just remember Lot’s wife.]

LET US, GOD’S PEOPLE, PRAY

Leader:  ~ Most HOLY PROTECTOR, in troubled and fearful times, guide our hearts and souls to ascend to you for inner comfort and spiritual safety. Fill us with the constant courage to resist and escape the snares of evil acts that diminish the personhood of the many, as they boost the egos of the few.  

                                             O God who made the heavens and earth
RESPONSE:                  Our help is in your name

~ Most HOLY PROTECTOR, for truth and by faith, we stand among those leaders in this world, this nation, and our community, who are pursuing justice and mercy for the oppressed. Strengthen us to work for the defense of those endangered by all who act from ignorance, violence, and greed, and help us to shut the roaring mouths of would-be lions. We pray especially for: add your own petitions

                                             O God who made the heavens and earth
                                             Our help is in your name                                           

~ Most HOLY PROTECTOR, release from despair all who suffer in body, mind, or spirit, and grant peace to all their loving helpers. We now join our hearts together to pray for those in need… add your own petitions

                                             O God who made the heavens and earth
                                             Our help is in your name                                           

~ Most HOLY PROTECTOR, lift us from our sorrow as we know our loved ones live again, in the boundless joy you have prepared for them, and for us, in eternity. We pray especially for… add your own petitions

                                             O God who made the heavens and earth
                                             Our help is in your name                                           

~ Most HOLY PROTECTOR, we pause in this moment to offer you our other heartfelt thanksgivings, intercessions, petitions, and memorials, aloud or silently… add your own petitions

                                             O God who made the heavens and earth
                                             Our help is in your name                                           
           
~ Most HOLY PROTECTOR, we give you thanks for those you have called to gather us in your Holy Name. May they guide us through the footsteps of Christ, that together we radiate your divine love to friend and stranger, beloved or divided. We pray especially for: add your own petitions  

                                             O God who made the heavens and earth
                                             Our help is in your name                                           

The Celebrant adds: O God of the Women and Men who were Prophets and Martyrs, let us throw off the weight of sin that distracts, leaning on the Cloud of Witnesses that surrounds us, as we, in patience, run the race of life you have set before us. Urge us to prepare our souls continuously for the unexpected hour when the Son of Woman returns. We ask through Jesus, the Foundation and Fulfillment of our Faith; and the Holy Spirit, our Wisdom Source; who together with you are our One True 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: 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


No comments:

Post a Comment