Meditation Moment: Apocalypse Then? For a US Election Season 2022

Apocalypse Then?

written in November 2019 ~ slightly adapted for today

October 29, 2022

    But for you who revere my name the sun of righteousness shall rise, with healing in its wings. [Malachi 4:2a]

       O sing to the LORD a new song, for he has done marvelous things...Make a joyful noise to the LORD, all the earth...He will judge the world with righteousness, and the peoples with equity. [Psalm 98:1a, 4a, 9b]

      For we hear that some of you are living in idleness, mere busybodies, not doing any work...Brothers and sisters, do not be weary in doing what is right. [2 Thessalonians 3:11,13]

        When you hear of wars and insurrections, do not be terrified; for these things must take place first, but the end will not follow immediately...By your endurance you will gain your souls. [Luke 21:9, 19]

        It is election season in this country, as I write, and all the potential and threatening narratives of outcomes and events around the world seem to be written into this Gospel, indeed in all of these readings. The vitriol, derisiveness, and divisiveness of the electioneering has families and friends turning against each other. There are earthquakes, hurricanes, famines, terrorist acts, random violence, personal tragedies, and somewhere there are lions, and tigers, and bears, Oh My, and things that go bump in the night. 

      Let us take a breath and stop living in the fear that more terrible things will happen. Yes, of course they will, they ALWAYS HAVE, from the beginning of time not a day goes by on this earth without something dreadful happening to someone, or to many, and the instant access to muddied headlines confirms the fear we want to have to keep us from moving forward in faith. But life is also filled with many wonderful and life-giving moments, if we but turn to the light to see and appreciate them.

      Jesus tells us not to fear wars and insurrections, betrayals, natural disasters, and not to be led astray by those who falsely claim to know when the end time is near. Whether or not you are living in a difficult time at this moment, or even living with any semblance of religious/spiritual faith, Jesus told us: I will give you words and a wisdom...By your endurance you will gain your souls. 

      Whatever your fears, know that the fears of others are the same. Let our enduring work begin with prayer, or a thought, or a hope, for confidence in the sun of righteousness to rise. Let us shake ourselves out of idleness borne of the paralysis of fear that masks as hate and anger. Let us move out of living in pre-grief to finding purpose in our earthly time. Let us feed our faith or hope together, and never, ever, weary of doing what is right. Whatever is to come, take heart in the assurance that if we stay together on this path, our minds, hearts, and souls will not perish through any evil doing now nor in any apocalypse then. Sing to the Lord a new song, for he has done marvelous things.

 

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Prayers of the People: Up a Tree ~ 21st Sunday after Pentecost '22 Yr C

For Sunday, October 30, 2022, Readings: Isaiah 1:10-18, Psalm 32:1-8, 2 Thessalonians 1:1-4,11-12; 

Luke 19:1-10

...cease to do evil, learn to do good; seek justice, rescue the oppressed, defend the orphan, plead for the widow.  [Isaiah 1:16b-17]

  You are a hiding place for me; you preserve me from trouble, you surround me with glad cries of deliverance. [Psalm 32:7]

  We must always give thanks to God for you...because your faith is growing abundantly, and the love of every one of you for one another is increasing. [2 Thessalonians 1:3b]

    Then Jesus said to him, "Today salvation has come to this house, because he too is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek out and to save the lost." [Luke 19:9-10]

        As we explore the collection of readings this week, the theme of forgiveness shines. We begin with quite a lambasting of those in Sodom and Gomorrah. Again. God is quite explicit through Isaiah as to what they are NOT to do. For example, those burnt and blood “sacrifices” are not on God’s happy list, but then follows quite clear instructions on what they are to do to be in God’s forgiving graces.
     The Psalmist reminds us that we are happiest when we are forgiven, and calms us by telling us that in time of trouble we are delivered. And as we read Paul’s great accolades to the church in Thessalonica, we are given yet more ways to understand what it is we are to do in this life through love from and for others and by working to keep faith steadfast, especially through difficult times.  
     And then we have Zaccheus in the branches above the crowd, peering through the leaves. I always wonder what Mrs. Zacchaeus was thinking when she opened the door later. Did she give him that look – you know the one: seriously, THIS guy for dinner, and he invited himself? I'm sure she already knew what the neighbors were thinking being less than the popular couple on the block because of her husband's job. Yet here is Jesus calling Zacchaeus out of the tree – to the grumbling chorus of nay-sayers and finger-pointers – and telling him Salvation has come to this house...the Son of Man came to seek out to save the lost. 
    How easy it is to let go of the reminder in The Lord’s Prayer when we ask God to forgive us AS  [in the same way that] we forgive others? And, also, that part of the Great Commandment to love your neighbor AS [if they are] yourself?  Perhaps the words are so familiar and routine the impact of what we are saying is lost.     
    Forgiveness is what we hope for when we know that we have sinned, feel unworthy, and as if we’ve lost our way to God. Forgiveness for others doesn’t necessarily repair relationships or result in a change of behavior by that person or group. We may not have an opportunity to express forgiveness openly to seek reconciliation. We may be angry at-large with political, religious, or other groups for our severe differences of opinion. Forgiving is, in its own way, our personal act of contrition for holding a grudge, quietly hoping for revenge, or other un-Godly thoughts. Whether or not we are able to reconcile with another or to simply make our own relationship with God stronger, we are to do as we are humanly able. In that way, remembering and acting on the lines from The Lord’s Prayer and The Great Commandment, is to do all I can to ask for help in forgiving others in the way I ask for myself. 

     Nelson Mandela said: Resentment is like drinking poison hoping it will kill your enemies. And perhaps, if we are unable to forgive ourselves, it may be like drinking a poison that may well damage or kill our own souls.
     Through forgiveness we rid ourselves of the poison of resentment,  allowing more love to flow through us to all we meet. NOT easy, but with one breath at a time improvement is possible. A small quiet act of kindness even in the face of serious defiance, rescues both of us, whether we see and know it in another or we don’t. In prayer, Jesus may not be seen walking by, but he's always with us whenever we feel lost, especially when we feel we’re up a tree.

LET US, GOD’S PEOPLE, PRAY

Leader:  ~ LORD of Hope and Promise, as You know us better than we know ourselves, guide us to seek and recognize You in others, to find You living deep within us, and to learn to rescue, defend, and plead with more fervor for others than for ourselves. 

                                                   Forgiving God

RESPONSE:                        Preserve us from trouble

~ LORD of Hope and Promise, renew us each day to persevere in prayer as we take action to kindle integrity, morality, and empathy in the Leaders of all governments across Your Creation. Instruct us all in the ways of Christ’s peace, that together we may find the path where peace will grow and spread beyond all barriers and borders. We pray especially for: add your own petitions

                                                Forgiving God

                                              Preserve us from trouble

~ LORD of Hope and Promise, lay Your healing hand upon those weary of pain or anguish in this life, and hold fast to those who offer caring help. We now join our voices to pray aloud for those in need… add your own petitions

                                                Forgiving God

                                                Preserve us from trouble    

~ LORD of Hope and Promise, lighten the darkness for the grieving, as our loved ones return Home to the eternal splendor and glory of new life in Christ. We pray especially for: add your own petitions

                                                Forgiving God

                                                Preserve us from trouble

~ LORD of Hope and Promise, we pause in this moment to offer You our other heartfelt intentions and petitions, aloud or silently… add your own petitions

                                                Forgiving God

                                                Preserve us from trouble

~ LORD of Hope and Promise, refresh the courage and confidence of those anointed to call us to Your Holy Table, that our worship may be true, faithful, and pleasing to You. We pray especially for: add your own petitions

                                                Forgiving God

                                                Preserve us from trouble

The Celebrant adds:  Lord of Creation, Salvation, and Wisdom, grow our faith abundantly and increase our ability to love one another as we are loved by You. Grant us the grace to embody Your Presence and to serve the world together in Your name. We ask through Jesus our Redeemer Christ; and the Holy Spirit, our Wisdom Guide; who together with You are One God, now and forever. Amen.

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

Prayers of the People: The World at Peace ~ 4th Sunday in the Season of Creation '22

For Sunday, October 30, 2022; Season of Creation IV*, Readings: Micah 4:1-4, Psalm 127, Thomas Merton,**  Matthew 5:43-48

   [T]hey shall beat their swords into ploughshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not life up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore…[Micah 4:3b]

  Unless the LORD builds the house, their labor is in vain who build it. [Psalm 127:1]

 Peace is not something you fight for. Perhaps peace is not, after all, something you work for, or ‘fight for.’ Peace is something you have or you do not have. If you yourself is at peace, then there is at least *some* peace in the world. [Thomas Merton]

 

 But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you…For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet only your brothers and sisters, of what more are you doing than others? [Matthew 5:44,46-47]

*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. 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 asterisk.

Click here for more information about: Season of Creation ~ In The Beginning

Week III's Theme is: 

The World at Peace

    The World at Peace.  Of course! Who doesn't want it? Yet the concept is exponentially large and seems well beyond the scope of my abilities to achieve alone. It then remains a mere concept, too big to be a goal, and reduced to a conversational platitude. Or, is it? When you think of world peace how do you define it? Is it merely the end of all war on the planet or are there other considerations? A few formal definitions describe it as the absence of war, a cessation of hostilities, and/or tranquility. Whole armies are deployed ostensibly to end war ~ where am I in that? The words of Thomas Merton say it clearly: peace is not something you fight  for…fighting for peace…starts all the wars. Well, when it’s put that way, it becomes even more clear that of course no army is deployed for peace but for power and control, domination, and subjugation. Tranquility, though, sounds a bit more personal. But a day doesn't go by when my anxiety and frustration levels aren't challenged by the local news, comments on social media, and I am highly intolerant of the intolerance of others as my blood pressure rises! And Thomas speaks to that also: Peace is something you have or you do not have. If you yourself are at peace, then there is at least *some* peace in the world. Ah, a small first step. Find peace within me, somewhere, breathing deeply regularly, stepping away from the noise of all that disturbs a tranquil moment. Listen for the birds, even when they’re fighting it calms me. The laughter of children makes me laugh; puppies and kittens and butterflies, and turtles sunning on a rock. Even in the depth of winter's cold heart, there is the peaceful quiet of a snowy day. 

    Breathe deeply again. The feisty, feckless, fuming, and fraying world is still there, yet within it I can find a small moment of inner peace that remains. That still small voice of God in Christ with the Holy Spirit is quietly, steadily, holding me fast, calling me to return often to listen and be filled and then to let it out so that I can offer at least *some* peace in the world. A smile, a kind word, some restraint in response to a severe difference of opinion ~ World Peace, it seems begins within me, at least in some ways. Let us each invite the Lord to build our house from within, that we may radiate God’s Eternal Light from the windows of our souls to all we meet, and continue to mingle our peace-filled breath with all the air that flows around this fragile Earth, our island home***.

LET US, GOD’S PEOPLE, PRAY

Leader:  ~ Merciful, Saving Lord, revive our faith and nourish our joy, that the peace you speak overflows our souls and leads us to share with everyone, especially with those we deem difficult or unworthy. Guide us to remember Your ways, and learn to pray with more fervor for others than for ourselves.

                                                   O God of Justice and Peace

                 RESPONSE:       We turn our hearts to You             

~ Merciful, Saving Lord, search the faithfulness of us all, especially those who lead us in Governments globally and locally. Quell the ego-, greed-, and power- needs that obstruct the tranquility of all Your Earth, that we Lead us to  where peace can grow and spread beyond all barriers and borders. We pray especially for: add your own petitions

                                                      O God of Justice and Peace

                                                   We turn our hearts to You

~ Merciful, Saving Lord, lay Your healing hand upon those weary of the pain, anguish, or fears of this life, and hold fast to those who offer caring help. We now join our hearts together to pray for those in need… add your own petitions

                                                      O God of Justice and Peace

                                                   We turn our hearts to You      

~ Merciful, Saving Lord, lighten the darkness for those who grieve, as our loved ones return Home to the eternal splendor and glory of new life in Christ. We pray especially for… add your own petitions

                                                      O God of Justice and Peace

                                                   We turn our hearts to You

~ Merciful, Saving Lord, we pause in this moment to offer You our other heartfelt thanksgivings, intercessions, petitions, and memorials… add your own petitions

                                                      O God of Justice and Peace

                                                   We turn our hearts to You            

~ Merciful, Saving Lord, bestow courage and confidence, in these trying times, upon those anointed to call us to Your Holy Table for the spiritual renewal and fidelity of faith, to serve the cause of peace in this world together. We pray especially for: add your own petitions

                                                      O God of Justice and Peace

                                                   We turn our hearts to You

The Celebrant adds: O Lord our God, pour Your riches into our souls as we embody Your Presence within ourselves and as the instruments of Your peace for all we meet. Teach us to bend the swords, spears, slings, and arrows of rage and warring, into the tools that spring humanity toward the Salvation and Glory of our inheritance from Christ. We ask through Jesus, our Redeemer; and the Holy Spirit, our Counselor, who together with You are One God, now and forever. Amen.

 

**A reading from Thomas Merton — Conjectures of a Guilty Bystander (Doubleday, 1966, p 181):

Peace is not something you fight for. Perhaps peace is not, after all, something you work for, or “fight for.”  It is indeed “fighting for peace” that starts all the wars. What, after all, are the pretexts of all these Cold War crises, but “fighting for peace”?  Peace is something you have or you do not have. If you yourself are at peace, then there is at least *some* peace in the world. Then you share your peace with everyone, and everyone will be at peace. Of course I realize that arguments like this can be used as a pretext for passivity, for indifferent acceptance of every iniquity. Quietism leads to war as surely as anything does. But I am not speaking of quietism, because quietism is not peace, nor is it the way to peace.

 ***The phrase this fragile Earth, our island home, is from Eucharistic Prayer C, in the US Episcopal Book of Common Prayer, 1979. See bcponline.org, page 370

  

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