Meditation Moment in Lent ~ Day 30, Give Up, Take On, Pray

[A] personal God can become a grave liability…a mere idol carved in our own image, a projection of our limited needs, fears and desires. We can assume that [God] loves what we love and hates what we hate, endorsing our prejudices instead of compelling us to transcend them.      ~ Karen Armstrong* 1944-


       In an us and them world, where do we place God as Creator of All in God's own image? Is it that there is only one side that God is on and is it always ours?

Dear God,
     Of course you're on our side ~ don't we always kneel on the field and pray to You before the game to help our team win? Aren't we the right color, political party, gender, sexual orientation, and citizen of the best country? 
     For today, I will give up trying to have You act on my will. I will take on looking more closely for ways to discern Your will. At the very least, I will think more deeply about the teachings of Jesus to love You with all we have and to love others as ourselves ~ to love them as if they were us. I will pray for the will and the courage to walk this walk and think differently about whose image I serve.  amen.


*Karen Armstrong is a British commentator and renowned author of a multitude of books on quite a breadth and depth of comparative religion studies. A former Roman Catholic nun, she has given us such books as A History of God: A 4,000 Year Quest of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam; Through the Narrow Gate; and Jerusalem:  One City, Three Faiths. Her work centers around the commonalities across major religions and, in particular, the importance of the Golden Rule and Compassion.  Her work, research, and authorship has garnered her - among many other awards - the $100,000 TED prize in 2008 with which she started the Charter for Compassion: "A document that transcends religious, ideological, and national differences. A cooperative effort to restore compassionate thinking and action to the center of life." Individuals, groups, and even countries can sign and participate in this most human quest to develop humanity to its highest ideal.  http://charterforcompassion.org/

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Prayers of the People: The Time For Hosannas ~ Palm and Passion Sunday '23 Yr A

For Sunday, April 2, 2023, Readings: The Liturgy of the Palms: Matthew 21:1-11, Psalm 118:1-2, 19-29; 

The Liturgy of the Word: Isaiah 50:4-9a, Psalm 31:9-16, Philippians 2:5-11, Mt 26:14-27:66

    The crowds that went ahead of him and that followed were shouting, “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest heaven!”  [Matthew 21:9]

    Hosannah, Lord, hosannah! Lord, send us now success. Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord… [Psalm 118:25-26a]

   The Lord God has given me the tongue of a teacher... Morning by morning he wakens...my ear...The Lord God helps me...and I know I shall not be put to shame. [Isaiah 50:4, 7b]

     But as for me, I have trusted in you, O Lord. I have said, "You are my God. My times are in your hand...in your loving-kindness save me." [Psalm 31:14-15a, 16b]

    Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God...And being found in human form, he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death... [Philippians 2:5-11]

      Then [Jesus] went with them to a place called Gethsemane; and he said to his disciples. "Sit here while I go over there and pray"...Then he came to the disciples and found them sleeping; and he said to Peter, "So you could not stay awake with me one hour? Stay awake and pray that you may not come into the time of trial; the spirit is indeed willing, but the flesh is weak."  [Matthew 26:36, 40-41]

      Hosanna! The perfect short prayer, for these and other times, that we didn’t know that we knew. Before some Christian denominations began to use the now Revised Common Lectionary, Palm Sunday was a singular day by itself as a celebration. The following Sunday, beginning Holy Week, was by itself as Passion Sunday. Now and for many decades, these two parts of the Life of Christ are inextricably interwoven and significantly more cohesive and substantive when taken together than when separated. It is human nature to only want the fun part, yet as we know all too well, in the span of mortal life we cannot overlook the difficult in favor of only the pleasurable. And, that is why the shout of HOSANNA! is more important than ever, on this and every day.

    Hosanna, pronounced “Hoshana” in the Hebrew [Old] Testament, comes to us today in Psalm 118 appointed for the “Liturgy of the Palms,” which opens this Sunday, in verses 25-26 (NRSV): Hosannah, Lord, hosannah! Lord, send us now success. Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord; we bless you from the house of the Lord. In original Aramaic, the language Jesus would likely have spoken, the exclamation was “help, save, I pray.” The words of the Psalm become clearer with that in mind if we shift to “Help, Lord, Help! Lord, send us now success.” In the Jewish Study Bible (of the Jewish Publication Society and published by Oxford Press 1985/1999), verses 25-26 read as O Lord, deliver us! O Lord, let us prosper! May he who enters be blessed in the name of the Lord; we bless you from the House of the Lord.

   Christian usage in the Christian [New] Testament has become an exclamation of special respect for the one who saves us. Neither definition excludes the other and so to proclaim Hosanna! is to recognize, celebrate, and respect Jesus as our Lord and Savior even as we ask him to help us.

   The opening readings may be familiar but listen, and even better, read them to discover what you've forgotten or never thought about. For example, choosing the kind of animal for Jesus to ride is quite significant. Jesus was accused later in the week of proclaiming himself "King of the Jews," yet riding into the city of Jerusalem on a donkey symbolized that he was a peaceful Teacher. A warrior King would ride in on a horse bent on war and occupation. The procession with palm branches celebrates Jesus' triumphal entry into Jerusalem just after his miraculous raising of Lazarus from the dead just two miles away in Bethany. The greetings of hosanna are a recognition that he is a Messiah who will remove and save them from the oppression of Rome.

    The Passion narrative develops the details of his Last Supper, betrayal by Judas, and the machinations of the Chief Priests, whose local standing and power among the Jewish hierarchy and Rome, were clearly threatened by this acclaimed and unorthodox prophet and miracle-worker. All of these elements were carefully noticed and recorded by the Roman occupiers and the Sanhedrin, the Jewish Council who had its own police force and trial court. How easy, it seems, to go from enthusiastic cheers of the welcoming crowd to the strongly manipulated and equally enthusiastic and deathly jeers by the same people mere days later. Two thousand plus years on, it is still a story for our own time. How easily are we turned from waving palms to throwing rocks because of a few well-placed headlines or Facebook comments because we simply followed the crowd?

    Jesus enters the chaos of his times as he enters the chaos of our own. The people along the way misunderstood the significance of this man who was being accepted as Messiah. He wasn't coming for regime change but rather to teach love and peace, equality and humanity. The political and religious authorities knew he was a threat to their power and wealth and he still is. How divided still is our world over who is in and who is out even, or perhaps especially, among those who claim Jesus as their own and everyone who doesn't believe in the exact way that they do are definitely out and often persecuted.

    The message of Jesus was, is, and will always be: Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. The second is this: Love your neighbor as yourself. There is no commandment greater than these. [Mark 12:30-31; Matthew 22:37-39] 

     When is the time for Hosannas? Always!

LET US, GOD’S PEOPLE, PRAY

Leader:  ~ Jesus, Son of Man, Son of God, the human winds of discontent change to the stillness of apathy and back as quickly as those who turned from Hosanna to Crucify Him. Grant us the willingness to walk consciously through this Holy Week with fresh eyes, and, the uncomfortable awareness of how often we, too, have slept in Your presence.

                                                      O Lord our GOD

         RESPONSE:                  Let Us Turn Again To You

~ Jesus, Son of Man, Son of God, lighten the hearts and enlighten the minds of all who govern in this Community, this Nation, and this World, that they may seek the paths of peace through global cooperation. We pray especially for: add your own petitions

                                                       O Lord our GOD             

                                                       Let Us Turn Again To You

~ Jesus, Son of Man, Son of God, cradle in Your benevolent arms all who are sick, desperate, or hopeless, and give peace of heart to those who care and worry. We now join our hearts to pray for those in need… add your own petitions

                                                       O Lord our GOD             

                                                       Let Us Turn Again To You       

~ Jesus, Son of Man, Son of God, ease the burden of grief in all who are or have ever been bereaved, as those we mourn now live in the eternal radiance of everlasting resurrection in You. We pray especially for… add your own petitions

                                                       O Lord our GOD             

                                                       Let Us Turn Again To You

~ Jesus, Son of Man, Son of God, we pause in this moment to offer You our other heartfelt thanksgivings, intercessions, petitions, and memorials, aloud or silently… add your own petitions

                                                       O Lord our GOD             

                                                       Let Us Turn Again To You

                 

~ Jesus, Son of Man, Son of God, embrace and enrich those You have called to lead us in Your Church through this sacred week and beyond. Inspire their words, their prayers, and their souls, that they and we together, may draw ever closer to You. We pray especially for: add your own petitions

                                                       O Lord our GOD             

                                                       Let Us Turn Again To You                                                                                                 

The Celebrant adds: GOD Almighty, Creator of Heaven and Earth, in Your loving-kindness sustain our hope and save us from a time of trial, that humbled in our human form, we may seek and serve Christ in ourselves, in each other, and in all of humankind. We ask through Jesus, our Strength and our Redeemer; and the Holy Spirit, the Wisdom of our Souls, who together with You are One God, now and forever. Amen. 

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Meditation Moment in Lent, Day 29: Give Up, Take On, Pray

Doubt is not the opposite of faith;

FEAR is.

- Verna J. Dozier

Back when I first started talking about ministry, it was seen as something the ordained did. Lay people had no ministry at all except as they participated in the work of the institution. If you taught in the Christian education program, you had a ministry. If you taught in the public schools, you 'did time' five days a week until you could get to your ministry. When I began my second career, people would say, 'You taught school for thirty-two years; then you began your ministry.' … In my unredeemed way, I would steel myself and reply through clenched teeth, 'No, I continued my ministry.'

~ Verna J. Dozier** 1917-2006

What is your definition of ministry?*

-From Webster: the body of ministers of religion: clergy

-From Dictionary.com: 1. the service, functions, or profession of a minister of 

    religion;  2.the body or class of ministers of religion; clergy.

-From TheFreeDictionary.com: a. The profession, duties, and services of a

     minister; b. The Christian clergy; c. The period of service of a minister

    Perhaps our American Constitutional concept of "Separation of Church and State" permeates our consciousness more than we realize. According to most definitions work is work and ministry is what certain officially ordained clergy do for work. But are we ordinary people not Christians every part of every day or does that only happen when we're in Church? How does our idea of ministry change if we are being Christ's ministers whenever and wherever we are? Maybe that seems easier if you're a teacher, a doctor, or a social worker. Is it possible to be a minister if you're a motorcycle mechanic, house painter, file clerk, or corporate CEO? If we truly are one body in Christ with many members each with our own gifts, what, in even shaky Faith, is there to Fear from accepting our roles as ministers of the Gospel whatever, whenever, wherever it is that we are doing? 

Dear Chief Minister:
       I really don't want to stand on the street corner and handout leaflets, or knock on doors to proclaim You to the world. Even so, I would like to believe that I can be one of Your ministers without having to be so formal about it. Maybe I'm just being presumptuous to think so if I have no special training or credentials. So, how do I get to have a ministry?  Maybe if for today I give up the notion that only specially educated, formally trained, ordained people can be ministers, I can take on looking at the most mundane, or more important task as a ministry. If it is something that needs to be done, wherever it is, I can complete it or at least contribute time and energy to it without grumbling and resentment. I can smile at someone I pass on the street. I can listen to someone without interrupting. I can just be a comfortable presence and accept people for who and where in life they are. I can serve soup, or read at the Sunday service, serve on a church vestry or council; I can learn how to do other kinds of ministry in and out of “Church.”  I can seek some training in an area of Church life that interests me. I can pray to know You are with me always and allow that to guide my thoughts, my actions, and my sense of being an integral part Your One Body.  If everything I do is in the spirit of and as a minister of Christ's Gospel, then perhaps I will more easily be conscious of what I will NOT do, and, act accordingly. amen.

*From the 1979 Episcopal Book of Common Prayer Catechism, pg 855:

 

Q. Who are the ministers of the Church?

A. The ministers of the Church are lay persons, bishops, priests, and deacons.

Q. What is the ministry of the laity?

A. The ministry of lay persons is to represent Christ and his Church, to bear witness to him wherever they

     may be; and, according to the gifts given them, to carry on Christ's work of reconciliation in the world;

     and to take their place in the life, worship, and governance of the Church.

**Verna Dozier was a diminutive African-American woman in physical stature only. A trail-blazer in the movement of the "authority of the laity," a foremost Christian educator as a second career, author of books such as The Dream of God, The Calling of the Laity, The Authority of the Laity, and her self-directed Bible study process for lay groups: Equipping the Saints. One of her greatest gifts was making the Bible accessible to everyone by her down-to-earth discussions, sermons, lectures, articles, retreats, and her mere presence.  A master storyteller, educator, and leader, Ms. Dozier spoke with a prophetic voice. To those who knew her well she was funny and she could be quite blunt, but, she was always a minister.  She graced this world, the Church, and anyone who was fortunate enough to have met her and listened to her. But if you never met her, you can still read her.

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