*The Season of Creation originated
in the Anglican Church of South Africa and was formalized in 2008. It is
designed for us to explore our faith from a Creation perspective. For more
information see: https://prayersofthepeople.blogspot.com/2018/10/prayers-of-people-in-beginning-1st.html We use Biblical and other
readings that pertain to the specific theme of each of the 7 weeks of the
Season. Alternate readings used are posted with asterisks.
Week VII's
Theme is:
Christ the King
We have arrived at the Final Sunday in the Season of
Creation (SoC) and it is also the Last Sunday after Pentecost in the Revised
Common Lectionary [RCL] season, both of which celebrate Christ the King. Coming
next week [11/30/25] we begin the Season of Advent, a new “Church Year,” a time
of heart and soul preparation for the birth of the Child whose kingship is
one that shall never be destroyed [Daniel 7:14].
As we begin with words
from Daniel, considered a minor prophet, who had extraordinary visions ~ well,
maybe not so extra-ordinary as he was a prophet, minor or otherwise.
While his writing, though brief, comes at the end of the Major Prophets, just
after Ezekiel and just before Hosea in “English” Bibles, in the
Hebrew Bible it is placed among other writings. There are several additions that
are not found in the Hebrew/Aramaic texts that are placed in the “Apocrypha” in
Protestant usage and a few are in the normal flow of the text in Catholic
editions rather than set apart. There are variances in the translations [see https://www.biblegateway.com/
for a long list of translations and paraphrases to read varying versions of
this reading] but the intent in its usage for this Sunday, referring to one
like a human being, may be expressed as “the son of man” and may well be one
who represents God’s plan for humanity through Jesus, who has been given
dominion and glory and kingship rather than taking it by force.
Psalm 46 gives us an especially well-timed prayer
to keep close and to pray the words regularly. Somewhere on Facebook a few
months ago, someone posted that she had friends who were posting a reminder on
their phones for Noon every day for a Peace Prayer. Just a
moment to stop, to breathe in peace and breathe out worry and fear, and add
personal intercessions if desired. I’ve been doing that since seeing the post
and while I often don’t have any particularly useful words, it helps me to
remember to at least S T O P for a moment to simply breathe
deeply in and out several times. I’ve long known the meditational phrasing in
this psalm that begins Be still and know that I am God, and moves to Be
still and know that I am… repeating each line dropping a word until
reaching Be, while breathing deeply in and out all the way through. This
psalm reminds us that these are words Jesus knew and as well as the above “Be
still,” the other one that captures me now is: The Lord of Hosts is with us;
the God of Jacob is our stronghold. I’ve read and heard it too many times
to count and yet now, that phrasing, and adding the name of Jesus, becomes for
me a deep prayer for inner peace ~ brief, peace-full, and easy to remember when
nothing else comes to mind…especially God as our stronghold.
In his book, The
Coming of the Cosmic Christ, author, the developer of and teacher of
Creation Spirituality, The Rev. Dr. Matthew Fox, with a fascinating biography,
writes: Listen to the Cosmic Christ, to Cosmic Wisdom calling all the
children of God together: “Come children, drink of my waters which are all
common waters. They are free and available to all my children. Drink of my
wisdom from your own unique well.” What comes to mind when you
hear/read the word cosmic? The American Heritage Dictionary defines it
as: “Of or relating to
the regions of the universe distinct from Earth. Infinitely or inconceivably
extended; vast. Pertaining to the universe, and having special reference to
universal law or order, or to the one grand harmonious system of things; hence;
harmonious; orderly.” In other words, essentially indefinable and beyond our
comprehension. God. Jesus. Holy Spirit.
Moving to the Gospel of Luke, it does feel
strange that as we celebrate Christ as King we end our readings at the
Crucifixion. Yet, without the Crucifixion and Resurrection, of what purpose is the
life of Jesus who we know and follow as our Redeemer? For me, the crux of this
Sunday’s lessons is the moment in Luke’s Gospel where the contrast is made
between the hard-bitten criminal and that of the repentant one. In his response
to the “Good Thief,” Jesus gives us the path to freedom from the darkness of
sin and fear. For us who endeavor to follow, Christ is our non-earthly King in
this world who shows us the way to his, true and never-ending Kingdom, Paradise,
in the next. The question for each of us is: do we choose to be led astray
by the hard-hearted to be equally as hard-hearted in our brief sojourn in this
time, or follow him who loves us and freed us from our sins by his blood? We
know the answer, of course, and it is no easy task with strong
faith let alone for those of us who falter in our faith more than a few times during
our lives. The readings for this Sunday are as timely today as when first
written down.
As we approach the preparatory Season of
Advent, let us make the God-given Creation we inhabit the altar upon which to
offer all of life's triumphs, tragedies, joys, labors, and sufferings. As we go
forth in Christ, in the stream of universal becoming, as believers or
unbelievers, with faith strong or weak, let us cry out, with and for each
other: Lord, make us one!
**A Reading From the
Writings of Matthew Fox: “Listen to the Cosmic Christ, to Cosmic Wisdom calling
all the children of God together: “Come children, drink of my waters which are
all common waters. They are free and available to all my children. Drink of my
wisdom from your own unique well. Let the Taoists drink and the Muslims drink;
let the Jews drink and the Buddhists drink; let the Christians drink and let
the native peoples drink. And then tell me: What have you drunk? How deeply
have you imbibed my refreshment? What wet and running wisdom drips from inside
you to the outside? What have you to share with others of my wisdom and
harmonious living, of the dripping of the oils of compassion and the lubricants
of your common anointings as my images, my other “Christs,” my co-creators of
wisdom on earth? I am tired of your religious wars, your sectarian divisions,
your crusading spirits that arise from disharmony. I long for harmony. If there
must be competition, let it take place at the level of shared gifts and
bountiful outpouring of wisdom. Pray together. Create harmony and healing
together. Celebrate, praise, and thank together. Cease using religion to
divide. Use it for its purpose, to reconnect to Mother Earth, to blessings, to
the underground river that I am and that you all share. And cease scandalizing
the young by your indifference to these awesome blessings, by your competition,
and your boredom. Praise one another. Praise the earth. In doing so, you praise
me.” ~ Matthew Fox, The Coming of the Cosmic Christ, Harper
and Row, San Francisco, 1988.
LET US, GOD’S PEOPLE,
PRAY
Leader: ~ Lord God Almighty, in our fleeting mortality, turn
us always to Christ in whose Kingdom, now and forever, we are forgiven and
saved by Your Holy Son,
Most Holy Christ, King of All Creation
RESPONSE:
Help
us pray together for harmony and healing
~ Lord God
Almighty, for all who are governed by power or throne, by force, or dominion by
grant, on our Planet, in our Country, and in our Community, we implore You to
infuse the wisdom, sanity, and humanity of Jesus into all who lead Your people.
We pray especially for: add your own petitions
Most Holy Christ, King of All Creation
Help us pray together for harmony and healing
~ Lord God Almighty, send
healing grace to all who suffer in spirit, in mind, or in body, and
grace-filled endurance to all who give them care. We now join our hearts to
pray for those in need… add your own petitions
Most Holy Christ, King of All Creation
Help us pray together for harmony and healing
~ Lord God Almighty,
lighten our grieving hearts with joy, as the souls of our cherished departed
are with you today, in the ceaseless joy of Your Eternal Paradise. We pray
especially for… add your own petitions
Most Holy Christ, King of All Creation
Help us pray together for harmony and healing
~ Lord God
Almighty, we pause in this moment to offer You our other
heartfelt thanksgivings, intercessions, petitions, and memorials, aloud or
silently… add your own petitions
Most Holy Christ, King of All Creation
Help us pray together for harmony and healing
~ Lord God Almighty,
excite the souls of those chosen to lead us through Your Word and Sacraments,
keeping us eager to create harmony and healing together among all God’s People.
We pray especially for: add your own petitions
Most Holy Christ, King of All Creation
Help us pray together for harmony
and healing
The Celebrant adds: O Jesus, our Christ, Image of the Invisible God, arouse us
from our complacence to rediscover the fullness of God through you that is within
ourselves. Teach us to celebrate, praise, and give thanks together in your
Church and in Creation at large, through our Mother Earth and all the Life she
contains. Purify our hearts to receive Your blessings as we seek your face in everyone
we meet. We ask through the Holy Spirit, the very Breath of Love; who together
with You, are One God, for ever and for evermore. Amen.
