Prayers of the People: Dear Thomas ~ Second Sunday of Easter '20 Yr A

For Sunday, April 19, 2020, Readings: Acts 2:14a, 22-32; Psalm 16, 1 Peter 1:3-9, John 20:19-31

    For David says concerning him, "I saw the Lord always before me, for he is at my right hand so that I will not be shaken, therefore my heart was glad...my heart will live in hope."

[Acts 2:25-26]

     O Lord, you are my portion and my cup; it is you who uphold my lot….You will show me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy, and in your right hand are pleasures for evermore. [Psalm 16:5, 11]

     Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! By his great mercy he has given us a new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead... 

[1 Peter:3] 

     [Jesus] said to them, "Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained."...Jesus said to [Thomas], "Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe." [John 20:22b-23, 29]

          Dear Thomas, what infamy you have achieved, quite unfairly. You are saddled with all the blame for your disbelief until your eyes beheld the Risen Lord and touched his wounds. You watched him die, being taken down from the Cross, placed in the tomb. Who of us would not be doubtful of the claim of the Resurrection in that moment? You have become a label - "a Doubting Thomas"- for those who don't believe something without concrete proof. And yet, you were far from alone in your skepticism. The other Gospel accounts all tell of your companion disciples doubting. Luke 23:11 tells of them dismissing the women's account as an idle tale, and in Mark 16:11, when Mary Magdalene tells them she had seen the risen Jesus, they would not believe. My personal favorite - in defense of you - is in Matthew 28:17 that says even when they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted.

          Whenever any of us are unsure or questioning of this preeminent event in the life of Christ, despite the Gospel accounts and the significance to the whole of Christian theology and practice, we are in good company! For me the story of Thomas and the other disciples' initial disbelief, humanizes these men and brings them into this current time, as did Peter's denial of Jesus, and Judas' betrayal, remorse, and suicide. We know these people in our own lives, we are some of them when we struggle to accept and understand all that we are told in the Christian/New Testament and by those who have taught us from the pulpit or in our families. It may seem unfaithful to those who think they must accept it all on "faith." Yet key elements of true faith for me are to constantly learn more, think more, wonder more, examine more, and discuss more with others. If we aren't questioning the tenets of our faith at various times, it seems to me that we haven’t really discovered what it is that we believe and why. These Gospel moments allow us to be who we are in this present time as well as relate to the people who were with Jesus and still wondered what this movement was all about even as they moved forward with him and later. Each time I read this and the other accounts, or any part of any of the Gospels and Epistles, I discover something new and often profound.

       Whatever I believe about the Resurrection and its significance to our Christian faith, in moments of human wavering or in absolute certainty, I try to remember the message of David in Peter's quote in Acts that is paired with the appointed Psalm for this day. It is the crux of the message of Jesus, the Christ, the Messiah: I must keep the Lord before me, live in hope, and follow the path of life he has shown me, as well as I can, through all of this life's trials. There is no better time than this moment to ponder those thoughts. The Presence of Christ is within us, and our faith however shaky at times, is the vehicle that keeps us upright and guides our thoughts and actions through trial and triumph. The writer of 1 Peter reminds us quite specifically what we have been given by the resurrection: an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading... 

         Dear Thomas, I firmly believe that Jesus wasn’t scolding you, he was speaking to all present then and all of us now, in love, compassion, and the utmost understanding.

          Whether seen or unseen, the results of living in faith, as Christ teaches through the Greatest Commandment  [Matthew 22:36-40], will be a gift to others and ourselves, in our mortal time and in the time to come, by receiving the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls. [1 Peter 1:9]. I’m reminded of a title of a book by Dr. Wayne Dyer, You’ll See It When You Believe It. And even if we struggle in our beliefs, our place is saved. For now, for always, Christ IS Risen! Alleluia! 

LET US, GOD’S PEOPLE, PRAY

Leader:  ~ O Christ Risen! How often have we simply walked through the penitence of Lent, the excitement of Palm Sunday, the passion of Holy Week, and the joyful celebration of Your miraculous Resurrection, taking it all for granted because it happens for us every year? In this time of trial, open our hearts to truly REJOICE as if for the first time. You have suffered, died, and Resurrected for each of us. Thomas saw and believed, let us simply believe in the gift of our salvation.

                                                         Jesus, Messiah

RESPONSE:                    Our Living and Eternal Hope

~ O Christ Risen! Grant us new courage to refresh our faith in the eternal life ahead, and the energy to strive in this life to challenge the leaders of this planet, this nation, and this community, to provide a just, safe, and merciful life for all Your people. We pray especially for: add your own petitions

                                                       Jesus, Messiah

                                                       Our Living and Eternal Hope                                            

~ O Christ Risen! Ease the hearts of those who are sick or fearful, and grant energy, strength, and resilience to all who give them care. We now join our voices to pray aloud for those in need… add your own petitions

                                                       Jesus, Messiah

                                                       Our Living and Eternal Hope

          

~ O Christ Risen! Our joy at Your resurrection is tempered with our grief at the loss of those we love. Yet in faith we rejoice knowing they are with You in the miracle of their own resurrections into Your eternal promise. We pray especially for… add your own petitions

                                                       Jesus, Messiah

                                                       Our Living and Eternal Hope

~ O Christ Risen! We pause in this moment to offer You our other heartfelt thanksgivings, intercessions, petitions, and memorials, aloud or silently… add your own petitions

  

                                                       Jesus, Messiah

                                                       Our Living and Eternal Hope

                     

~ O Christ Risen! Refresh and renew those who guide us in Your Church as they seek and find ever more creative ways to reach us with the Good News of the miracle of our salvation. We pray especially for: add your own petitions

                                                       Jesus, Messiah

                                                       Our Living and Eternal Hope

                                                                                                        

The Celebrant adds: Creator of All, Seen and Unseen, shelter us when we retreat into doubt, remind us to seek Your Path through this life, to set You always before ourselves, and to forgive as we are forgiven by faith in the imperishable inheritance of our salvation to come. We ask this through Jesus, the Resurrection and the Life; and the Holy Spirit, Wisdom of our Souls; who together with You, reign as One God, forever and beyond.  Amen. 

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Meditations in Lent: Second, Shock and Grief ~ Holy Saturday '20

Meditations in Lent: Second, Shock and Grief  ~ Holy Saturday '20 

Readings: Lamentations 3:1-9, 19-24; Psalm 31:1-4, 15-16; Matthew 27:57-66

        When it was evening, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who was also a disciple of Jesus. He went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus; then Pilate ordered it to be given to him. So Joseph took the body and wrapped it in a clean linen cloth and laid it in his own new tomb, which he had hewn in the rock. He then rolled a great stone to the door of the tomb and went away. Mary Magdalene and the other Mary were there, sitting opposite the tomb. [Matthew 27:57-61]

        Mary Magdalene and the other Mary are just there, sitting opposite the tomb ~ in the silence, in the shock, in the grief that hasn't yet fully formed, the wide-eyed wonder of disbelief colliding with a reality that is still ungraspable. They are doing what must be done according to religious law and custom but they are hollow forms, empty of thought, consciously unsconscious, and dazed. They are waiting without comprehending why and what it is they are to do next.
        We are learning in our own time to wait for the unknown, the unpredictable, and the unimaginable. Some will busy themselves and be willingly oblivious to all that is around us as the changes and chances of life reveal themselves. Some are fearful of anything that is different from their usual routines. On this day, although we know what is coming from the tomb tomorrow, we also wait. What better moment is there than this day to sit quietly and consider the mysteries of our faith? 
        For a time today, I sit with the Marys in their vigil...waiting...in the silence...knowing it all again for myself, yet I am filled with the hope that is always available in every moment and every circumstance, the Hope that will rise again tomorrow.

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Meditations in Lent: First, Torture and Death ~ Good Friday '20

Isaiah 52:13-53:12, Psalm 22, Hebrews 10:16-25, John 18:1-19:42

When Jesus had received the wine, he said, "It is finished." Then he bowed his head and he gave up his spirit.  [John 19:30]

      There is no rising without death. And the death of some, designed by and for the powerbrokers, is often particularly gruesome. A political act spurred on by the religious authorities who, not unlike in our own times, were threatened by a man who spoke the truth, defied their rigid interpretation of God's Law, contradicted their teachings using their own tools, upended their control over those who had known nothing else until he arrived, who had committed no crimes except by capturing the attention of so many who began to look at God very differently. He had to be stopped, and so he was by the State- and Religiously- sanctioned murder of an innocent man whose supporters turned away in fear of obstructing the accusers. None of them knew what was coming next, but we do. And that often shortcuts our willingness to think more deeply about this day.

      Because we know there's a "happy ending," Good Friday, in normal times, is a "maybe go to church" day and then, in places where it is a day off from work it becomes more of a preparation day for the egg hunts and family gatherings over this weekend. This year is obviously different as we are watchful and wary of COVID-19 and its aggressively mounting toll. It is time to take a fresh and different look at the Passion of Christ, his suffering on the way to his monstrous death on the cross.

       Listening to the words of the haunting spiritual Were You There When They Crucified My Lord* awakens me to new questions: would I have been there, am I there today? Do I tremble at the recounting of his suffering - do I tremble at today's torture, suffering, and death all over the globe for those who cling to their faith? Do I tremble with the fear of having my own faith tested in such a way? Or am I secure in my surroundings wrapped in the privilege of a culturally acceptable religious expression? Am I a Christ-follower or merely the bearer of a comfortable label?

       Today is all about being decidedly uncomfortable with the details of this long ago execution in the midst of all that is happening in our midst and far beyond. What we do with it and about it will be the true-telling of our faith, to ourselves first.

O Christ our Passover, Sacrificed for us ~

     How quickly this week has turned from exultation to murderous rebuke. You are no more truly human than at this moment, dragging a massive piece of rough-hewn timber laid across Your body, through the mean streets, amidst the jeers and tears of bystanders. A once living tree now makes the beams of a horrible death. With Your own agony and the torment, You show us how to give our lives to God. And as Your life ebbs with excruciating slowness, Your compassion for the one who hangs next to You, and for us all, is overwhelming. 

      Let us hear the slanders and endure the anger as You have, of those who, so selfishly flush with power, are quick to condemn a human life to death for any and no good reason.

     Give us strength to pray for those who truly do not understand, and those who choose not to, all the physical and emotional turmoil they inflict upon others in the name of faith.

      Infuse us with such compassion that we might not return injury for insult but rather reflect Your love and peace in all the actions of our lives.

      Grant us the courage and humility, to take this long walk in our current time with You and for You, no matter what comes.  

      Help us to look beyond ourselves and into the faces of others with love rather than self-assured pity, with hope rather than despair, with justice tempered with mercy, and with true contrition for our own sins of commission and omission. 

       Guide us to the realization and understanding that You ask no more of us than You have done for us. 

        Let us keep and strengthen our faith in You. Amen.

   
*click here for: Three Mo' Tenors: Were You There When They Crucified My Lord 




All compositions remain the property of the owner of this blog but may be used with attribution as long as they are not sold or charged for in any way. For more information or comments, contact: Leeosophy@gmail.com