As we journey through this life, in times such as these, do
you, like me and the ancient Israelites, wonder from time to time ~ “Is
the Lord really here, among us?” How much more difficult for us to know God's
presence in our own times without being certain if the message we are trying to
understand is from an ancient self-proclaimed prophet, whom we can only assume is
truly “of God,” or, if it is in the way Jesus bested those righteous,
letter-of-the-law chief priests and elders, until they seemed to best him by
execution. Yet what do we really know of God? So much of our “knowledge” has
been about teaching us the austerity of rules and regulations on avoiding evil
and wickedness. Ezekiel tells us in this passage for today, as he did just a
few weeks ago in chapter 33:11, that God takes no pleasure in the death of
anyone.
Many of us would say, with a doubt or two
creeping in, that we believe God is with us, even without concrete visual
sightings of God's presence. But the days are busy and fraught with stress in
ordinary routines, the toll of personal trials, and all the current craziness
and crises in the world at large. How often do we stop and question the
location of God in the midst of a Monday afternoon or Thursday night before
bed, during an angry or frustrating conversation in person or on social media, or
even and perhaps especially, in the happiest of occasions. Some weeks it's all
some of us can do to find God on Sunday morning in Church as we attend in person
or online. But for me, this week's readings say God is here with me,
with us, so then, where am I with God? How am I following? How often do
I just plod along in life without conscious attention to how I express
the faith I claim by what I am doing?
The Psalmist, for
most of the excerpt we are given this week, is asking God teach us the ways we
are to live and then tells God to forget the things we shouldn’t have done. Is asking
all we need to do?
Faith is as faith does, actions always tell the tale ~ just think
of the parable of two sons in this week's Gospel. While teaching in the Temple,
Jesus was asked by the Pharisees by what authority are you doing these
things. Jesus then gives them the parable and they do not or cannot hear
what he is telling them: that they are the 2nd son. The popularity
of John the Baptist and in his place, Jesus, was something those leaders were
concerned about as both were threats to them keeping their own power. As
Eunyung Lim writes on WorkingPreacher.com: Ultimately, these leaders’
failure are rooted in a profound spiritual deficiency…In stark contrast stand
the tax collectors and prostitutes…among the most despised and dishonorable…believed
John and repented…thus [they will] enter God’s kingdom ahead of
the Pharisees.
I need to be
mindfully awake and present in a given moment, to think through how what I am
doing or what I have done, expresses how close to or far from God I am to
myself, not for “show” or public admiration. Is it my personal and unconscious
wilderness that allows me to keep God absent while I’m in pursuit of my selfish
agenda while I judge others as less worthy? What time have I spent
contemplating how to attempt to discover the mind of Christ in and for all that
I am doing?
Our humility in the face of all that God has done is part of
Paul's message. We know that we aren’t to be about only what we want but we
need to be more intentional in our words and actions. Jesus reminds us that it
isn’t always the high and mighty legal eagles that have all the answers. It
isn’t always the lowly and those we choose to see as less worthy that are less
actively faithful. How often do I say I’ll do something and then don’t, or pretend
I’ve tried, or, to have actually changed my mind and done it? Stop, Breathe, Hear,
Listen… We are obviously not likely, in this life, to see what the disciples
saw in order to believe, and we are called to let mere faith be our guide as
the disciples were at the beginning. When we're on that famous road paved with
good intentions, it is up to us to seek and pay attention to God’s presence, in
and through Christ and the Holy Spirit, within and around us. When is our yes
or our no really maybe? We are not what we say we’ll
do. We ARE what we DO. That is the lesson of the 1st son in today’s
parable. Self-sufficiency is more hindrance than help in discovering Who is
among and within us. The basic message of Christ ~ the Word ~ is simple enough
for everyone to understand. If this parable doesn’t help, try Matthew 22:34-40,
in which we are given what is known as The Greatest Commandment. In
those few words, Jesus gives a clear and concise direction for our lives. That’s
what we are to DO, intentionally!
LET US, GOD’S PEOPLE, PRAY
Leader: ~ O God
of our Salvation, fill us with the knowing of Your loving presence each day of
this life as we strive, in humility, to take on the mind of Christ.
Gracious and Upright Lord
Response: May
we walk in Christ’s Ways and live by His Word
~ O God of our Salvation, guide us in our determination
to press our political leaders for solutions and actions for the critical humanitarian
and ecological issues of our Community, our Nation, and our Planet. We
pray especially for: add your own petitions
Gracious and Upright Lord
May
we walk in Christ’s Ways and live by His Word
~ O God of our Salvation, cradle and comfort
all who suffer in body, soul, or life circumstance, and ease the burdens of
those who give them care. We now join our hearts to pray for those in
need… add your own petitions
Gracious and Upright Lord
May
we walk in Christ’s Ways and live by His Word
~ O God of our Salvation, we give thanksgiving
for all those newly released from earthly woes and trials, and welcomed into
new life with Christ. We pray especially for… add your own
petitions
Gracious and Upright Lord
May
we walk in Christ’s Ways and live by His Word
~ O God of our Salvation,
we pause in this moment to offer You our other heartfelt
thanksgivings, intercessions, petitions, and memorials… add your own petitions
Gracious
and Upright Lord
May
we walk in Christ’s Ways and live by His Word
~ O God of our Salvation, embrace and uplift
all whose priestly vocations nourish our spiritual development and care for our
pastoral needs, as they walk with us on the pathway to You. We pray
especially for: add your own petitions
Gracious and Upright Lord
May
we walk in Christ’s Ways and live by His Word
The Celebrant adds: O
God within us, O Lord among us, fill our hearts with the humility to seek and
reflect on the life and example of Jesus, engage in prayer-filled action, hold faith-filled
regard for all of Your People, and all of Your Creation. Let us live in and
work through our faith in strength and weakness, in times of assurance and
times of doubt. We ask through our Savior Christ who, with the Holy Spirit,
live and reign with You as One God, forever and ever. Amen.
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