Meditation Moments in Lent: Frederick Douglass ~ Prophetic Witness

      "We have men sold to build churches, women sold to support the gospel, and babes sold to purchase Bibles for the poor heathen! All for the glory of God and the good of souls! The slave auctioneer’s bell and the church-going bell chime in with each other, and the bitter cries of the heart-broken slave are drowned in the religious shouts of his pious master. Revivals of religion and revivals in the slave-trade go hand in hand."  
       ~ Frederick Douglass 1817-1895

Will it ever be more than an "Us vs Them" world where we use the name of God as a weapon to justify all manner of inhumanity towards others? Where we choose to reject, demean, dismiss, cast out, or enslave others who don't look like or think like or believe like us? Where the few, for their own sense of power and personal gain, deliberately mislead the many who follow blindly into thoughts, words, and deeds that promote mistrust, deception, hatred, and all too much violence? Are we, the many, too self-absorbed to realize how easy it is to fall into unconscious group-think "understanding" and apply derogatory categories and labels that define our relationships with those other  than ourselves? 

Holy Lord of Heaven and Earth, 
         In this sacred time of Lent, grant me the strength of character and the courage of conviction and action of Your Servant, Frederick. Move me to go beyond merely knowing  what is right and good to being  right and good, and further, to doing  right and good in Your name for all the people of this world, especially in my own community. Help me to push beyond the barriers of my own making, to see through the halos and shadows imposed by others but accepted by me. Guide my heart to remember that we are each and every one the essence of Your Creation. And most of all, when I am in the midst of a moment of anger, doubt, fear, or uncertainty, help me to thoughtfully respond rather than mindlessly react out of arrogance or a false sense of superiority. Push me to take the time to breathe in Your Spirit and the love of Christ and Your saving help again that I may exhale grace into the space around me.  Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.   amen.



*Born into slavery on the Eastern Shore of Maryland, Douglass ultimately escaped and, as an ardent abolitionist leader, social reformer, renowned orator and author, the power of his pen and speech, at the very least, decimated the prevailing argument that people of color were intellectually inferior.  Becoming a licensed lay preacher in the A.M.E. Zion Church in 1839, his phenomenal biography would be amazing for anyone and all the more so for an escaped slave. He so impressed the Irish and English on a tour there, that funds were raised by British supporters to purchase his freedom from his owner in 1846. He returned to the US as a free man. The US Episcopal Church celebrates Douglass as a Prophetic Witness on the Liturgical Calendar for February 20.  

 Click to see the following:  Frederick Douglass  




Requests for prayers or meditations for this space or private use may be sent to Leeosophy@gmail.com. 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.

Meditation Moments: Spring Cleaning Begins - Ash Wednesday

I do not think you should get rid of your sin
 until you have learned 

what it has to teach you.

                                                                                                                                       [Richard Rohr, O.F.B*]

                 Here we are again at Ash Wednesday as Lent begins the Christian 40-day journey to Easter. Some will give up chocolate, junk food, or alcohol as an expression of penitence. Others will take on a new prayer or meditation discipline for the period, and some will be well-intentioned, begin in good faith, but falter along the way - not unlike "New Year's Resolutions." Some, of course, won't give Lent any particular attention.

        Some of us will receive ashes on our foreheads - which can be a stark and somber emblem of our individual and collective mortality - from dust we came and to dust we will return. It is also a graphic symbol of our faith commitment, our team logo, a temporary tattoo of our family crest, the sign of the Presence of Christ - the Light of the World. 

        Let's not make this Lent a dark and dreary trudge through the wilderness of gloom and doom. Life is a gift of God, a treasure, a miracle. While we must take the time to examine our sins and acknowledge the everyday idols that lead us astray, let us also do as Fr. Richard Rohr suggests - learn what our sins can teach us about ourselves. We go through much of life unconsciously and we can't get rid of something we don't know we have. Lent is a time to look closely and discover what we've been hiding in the basement of our souls. Just like Spring cleaning - or Fall if you're in the southern hemisphere - it's time to awaken to the best of ourselves, re-discover what it means to commit our lives to Christ, and throw the sin out with the trash. Let us repent with eagerness, with attention and intention, let us turn toward the Light and thrive.

(by the way, repent actually means to have a change of heart, a new consciousness, and more importantly, to turn toward God.)


Let us Pray. From Psalm 51:

11	Create in me a clean heart, O God, *     and renew a right spirit within me.
12	Cast me not away from your presence *     and take not your holy Spirit from me.
13	Give me the joy of your saving help again *     and sustain me with your bountiful Spirit.

Forgive us our sins AS we forgive those who sin against us. Amen.

*Fr. Richard Rohr [1943- ] is a Franciscan priest, the inspirational author of more than 20 practical books on contemplative prayer, Christian mysticism, spirituality, the Perennial Tradition, etc., and is internationally recognized as an ecumenical teacher and speaker having shared presentations with Sr. Joan Chittister, The Rev. Cynthia Bourgeault, the Dali Lama, Pastor Rob Bell, and so many others. He is the founder of the Center for Action and Contemplation in Albuquerque, New Mexico where he resides.  See http://www.cac.org for more information.



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

Prayers of the People: From Water to Wilderness, First Sunday in Lent

for February 22, 2015, First Sunday in Lent,Year B, Readings: Gen 9:8-17, Ps 25:1-9, 1 Peter 3:18-22, Mark 1:9-15

God said to Noah and to his sons with him, "As for me, I am establishing my covenant with you and your descendants after you, and with every living creature that is with you...and every animal of the earth with you...and the waters shall never again become a flood to destroy all flesh."  [Genesis 9:9-11, 15b]

...in the days of Noah...in which a few, that is, eight persons

were saved through water. And baptism, which this prefigured, now saves you... [1 Peter 3:20b-21a]

In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan...And the Spirit immediately drove him out into the wilderness. He was in the wilderness forty days, tempted by Satan... 

[Mark 1:9,12-13a]

        In this week's readings we travel from the receding waters of The Flood, to the baptismal waters of the Jordan, and on into the wilderness. 
        God makes a covenant (a promise) with Noah and his sons, and, the rainbow will be given as a sign by God and for God to remember the terms God has established. Who knew God needed a post-it reminder, just like the rest of us?
         1st Peter tells us that our baptism is an appeal to God for a good conscience - in effect, we promise, through baptism, to be faithful.  Jesus is driven into the wilderness by the Spirit after his baptism, and Lent, of course, mirrors the 40 days of his experience.
         The wilderness in our day can be anywhere that we feel lost and alone or isolated by others, but that may be different from the type of experience Jesus had. Lent is a designated opportunity to engage with Jesus by intentionally entering a sort of spiritual wilderness to repent (which actually means to turn toward God), to examine our faith and to find ways to be more dedicated to God wherever we are in our life circumstances. It is a time to recognize and acknowledge all those earthly temptations, those temporal enticements, and everyday idols that distract us from our good intentions and draw us away from committing ourselves to a life more centered in Christ. We need not take this journey alone, we can walk the path together through individual and communal prayer, meditation, and reflection. There are innumerable resources in bookstores, online, in churches, libraries, etc., and many people are looking for a companion on the way. Instead of just giving up chocolate, wine, or smoking, let's take on this wilderness journey together. Let us wait on each other as angels waited on Jesus, in our own space, in our own time, yet together in Christ.  Have an idea of how to, or, need an idea? Email me [see below] and let us, God's people, pray...

LET US, GOD’S PEOPLE, PRAY

Leader:  ~ All-Loving, Forgiving God, Your eternal covenant embraces all humankind, this Earth, and all living creatures. Help us to elude distracting temptations and turn our lives to You in faith and trust.

                                 O God of our Salvation

        RESPONSE:   Lead us in Your truth and teach us Your way

~ All-Loving, Forgiving God, as Christ suffered for the righteous and the unrighteous alike at the hands of the unjust, let us be His voice on behalf of all Your daughters and sons, and for our Earthly home. Let us encourage and support the leaders of this world, this country, and this community who diligently work for justice, mercy, and peace. We pray especially for: add your own petitions

O God of our Salvation

Lead us in Your truth and teach us Your way

~ All-Loving, Forgiving God, lift the hearts of all who are drowning in the pain of illness, isolation, and desperation, and sustain the energy of those who give them care. We pray especially for: add your own petitions

O God of our Salvation

Lead us in Your truth and teach us Your way

~ All-Loving, Forgiving God, help us to set aside our grief for those who have died to mortal flesh and give praise and thanksgiving that they are risen in glory and returned to life eternal in You. We pray especially for: add your own petitions

O God of our Salvation

Lead us in Your truth and teach us Your way

~ All-Loving, Forgiving God, we pause in this moment to offer You our other heartfelt intentions and petitions, aloud or silently…

O God of our Salvation

Lead us in Your truth and teach us Your way

~ All-Loving, Forgiving God, whisper Your wisdom to the hearts of those who constantly seek Your Spirit within themselves, and so by Your word, draw us into community and communion in Your Church. We pray especially for: add your own petitions

O God of our Salvation

Lead us in Your truth and teach us Your way

The Celebrant adds:  Holy and Living God, let us take this time of Lent to walk with Jesus as in a time of spiritual wilderness to examine our faith, our commitment, and to strengthen ourselves against the enticements of all that is not of You. We ask this through Christ, Your beloved Son, and the Holy Spirit, the restorer of Wisdom, who together with You, reign as One God, forever and ever, over all that is Creation.  Amen.

Requests for prayers or meditations for this space or private use may be sent to Leeosophy@gmail.com. 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.

Prayers of the People: The Transfiguration, Last Sunday in Epiphany

for February 15, 2015, The Transfiguration, Last Sunday in Epiphany, Year B, Readings: 2 Kings 2:1-12, Ps 50:1-6, 2 Cor 4:3-6, Mark 9:2-9

   

                    The Ultimate

           Mountain Top Experience

         It isn't at all difficult, these days, to imagine the Transfiguration scene given all the special effects available for the making of films and television. How about in 3D IMAX?! But how much credibility do we give it - do we really believe it or, is it just another story?         
         The Transfiguration is one of the five major markers in the life of Jesus along with his Baptism, Crucifixion, Resurrection, and Ascension. Each moment is spectacular in its own right and each gives rise to disbelief, even among those who were present. 
         I have to ask myself, fairly often, about how faithful is my faith? What impact do these lessons/readings have on my faith, and, perhaps more importantly, on my life, my actions, once I leave the Sunday service?  I have no definitive answers other than I just keep searching, more to discover why I am still searching as much as for answers about my faith.This particular Gospel piece, located high up on the holy ground of the Mountain, reminds me that it's time again to just be enveloped in the mystery, in the shekinah - the cloud of God's glory - and worry less about ifs and whats and whens and just do as God says from the cloud - LISTEN to Jesus. Perhaps if I just listen more and analyze less, then I, too, will have the ultimate mountain top experience when all will be revealed.        

LET US, GOD’S PEOPLE, PRAY

Leader:  ~ O God of Splendor and Glory, help us remove our spiritual blinders that we may consciously seek to lift the Gospel veil to see, listen, and live according to Your Word.

                                 Jesus, Beloved Face of God

        RESPONSE:  Transfigure our hearts, our minds, and our wills to follow you

~ O God of Splendor and Glory, illuminate the halls of governments across this world with Your saving wisdom and grace. Guide our voices to speak only with love and compassion on behalf of all Your people. We pray especially for: add your own petitions

Jesus, Beloved Face of God

Transfigure our hearts, our minds, and our wills to follow you

~ O God of Splendor and Glory, enable those besieged by illness or life circumstance to feel Your healing love within and to know the comfort of Your enduring, eternal Presence. We pray especially for: add your own petitions

Jesus, Beloved Face of God

Transfigure our hearts, our minds, and our wills to follow you

~ O God of Splendor and Glory, let our departed loved ones be received in the holy whirlwind of Your divine radiance, and may the light of Christ shine through the darkest hours for those who mourn. We pray especially for: add your own petitions

Jesus, Beloved Face of God

Transfigure our hearts, our minds, and our wills to follow you

~ O God of Splendor and Glory, we pause in this moment to offer You our other heartfelt intentions and petitions, aloud or silently…

Jesus, Beloved Face of God

Transfigure our hearts, our minds, and our wills to follow you

~ O God of Splendor and Glory, ignite the spirits of all who lead us in Your church that they may be a beacon to guide us across life’s troubled waters toward the wholeness of life in You. We pray especially for: add your own petitions

Jesus, Beloved Face of God

Transfigure our hearts, our minds, and our wills to follow you

The Celebrant adds: God of gods, LORD of lords, infuse us with greater strength and purpose to faithfully reaffirm our covenant with You. May our lives and souls be purified through the dazzling brilliance of the Transfigured Christ and the mystical breath of the Holy Spirit who together with You reign as One God, now and forever. Amen.

Requests for prayers or meditations for this space or private use may be sent to Leeosophy@gmail.com. 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.

Prayers of the People: Lift Ticket, 5th Sunday after Epiphany

for February 8, 2015, 5th Sunday after Epiphany, Year B, Readings: Isaiah 40: 21-31, Ps 147: 1-12, 21c; 1 Cor 9:16-23, Mark 1:29-39   

Have you not known? Have you not heard? Has it not been told you from the beginning? [Isaiah 40:21]

...but those who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength, they shall mount up with wings like eagles... [Isaiah 40:31]

The LORD lifts up the lowly, but casts the wicked to the ground. [Ps 147:6]

...Simon's mother-in-law was in bed with a fever...[Jesus] came...and lifted her up. Then the fever left her... [Mark 1:30-31]

         The book of the prophet Isaiah introduces the readings for today - more specifically, in scholarly/theological terms, this piece is from Deutero-Isaiah or Second Isaiah. The book of this prophet is written in three distinct parts and most likely by three distinct authors. This piece is sometimes called the "Book of Consolation" as it speaks to an audience of those in a long exile out of Jerusalem which for some was not too bad and for others just terrible. This piece is filled with non-judgmental, hope-filled language of restoration, rebuilding, and renewal. God reminds us that we have heard this before, that God has always promised to remain with us and, as during the Exodus, God's power never fails, never grows faint or weary. In a poetic turn not only are we protected by the wings of God, but God gives those in exile and us wings of our own to lift us out of our weakness and weariness, an unusual and profound gift. What are we to do with them?
         The Psalmist reminds us of the rebuilding of Jerusalem, the gathering of the exiles to return home, and how God recognizes and heals the wounds and broken hearts, God lifts up the lowly. We are all to sing praises, sing with thanksgiving, make music upon the harp for all that God has bestowed upon us.
         Paul, in his letter to the Corinthians tries, in his way that is not always easy for us to understand, to tell us to meet people where they are in order to offer the way of the Gospel. He's also giving us some insight into how difficult things can be in congregational life with competing factions, different understandings, and varying ideas on how things should be done. What Paul is trying to tell them - and us - is that we need to listen, not judge, see what concerns people and welcome everyone. A true balancing act that we have difficulty with in our own time.
         And Jesus, lifted up Simon's mother-in-law and she was freed from the fever. Her response was to honor Jesus in the way she knew how. Isn't that what we each must do?  
         Let us honor the gifts of God, the healings, words, and works of Jesus, and the wisdom of the Holy Spirit, by accepting our wings, soaring to new heights of commitment, and proclaiming the message. Haven't you heard? We have the ticket.
 

LET US, GOD’S PEOPLE, PRAY

Leader:  ~ God of Abundance and Wisdom, You call us all and each by our names, and offer us wings like eagles to soar into eternal life. Let us learn to meet others where they are, for their sakes and Yours, so that we may invite them to join with us, as they are, to share in the freedom of Your abundant love.

Transcendent, Immanent, Preeminent LORD

RESPONSE:  Lift us in grace again that we may know You as from the beginning

~ God of Abundance and Wisdom, as we strive to live into the Gospel that is freely given us, let us remind those in authority over Your people of the limits and transience of human power. The time is now to prosper those who are living lowly in this world, this country, and our community.  We pray especially for: add your own petitions

Transcendent, Immanent, Preeminent LORD

Lift us in grace again that we may know You as from the beginning

~ God of Abundance and Wisdom, bind the wounds and heal the hearts of those who suffer in body, mind, or spirit and give strength to those who give them care. We pray especially for: add your own petitions

Transcendent, Immanent, Preeminent LORD

Lift us in grace again that we may know You as from the beginning

~ God of Abundance and Wisdom, receive in joy those who have left the exile of this mortal life for Your everlasting paradise, and shelter their loved ones from the tempest of grief. We pray especially for: add your own petitions

Transcendent, Immanent, Preeminent LORD

Lift us in grace again that we may know You as from the beginning

~ God of Abundance and Wisdom, we pause in this moment to offer You our other heartfelt intentions and petitions, aloud or silently…

Transcendent, Immanent, Preeminent LORD

Lift us in grace again that we may know You as from the beginning

~ God of Abundance and Wisdom, renew and empower those who invite us all to the sacred feast at Your table to hear the Holy Gospel of Christ proclaimed. Grant them Your gracious favor that we all may share in Your blessings and always enduring love. We pray especially for: add your own petitions

Transcendent, Immanent, Preeminent LORD

Lift us in grace again that we may know You as from the beginning

The Celebrant adds: Omniscient, Abiding LORD, restore and elevate our eternal souls that we may be freed from the fevers of sin to fervently serve You, each in our own best way. We ask this through Jesus, our Healer, and the Holy Spirit, our Comforter who live and reign with You as One God, beyond the ages of ages. Amen.

Requests for prayers or meditations for this space or private use may be sent to Leeosophy@gmail.com. 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.

Meditation Moments: On Thomas Merton's 100th Birthday

          Born in France on January 31, 1915 to a New Zealand Anglican Church father and an American Quaker mother, this worldly, other-worldly, best-selling hermit-author, mystic, priest, monk has left us a legacy of thought, a library of spiritual reflection, questions with answers that lead to more questions and a down-to-earth everyday approach to life with contemplation and prayer. Flesh, blood, all human, Merton, in his writings, shows he is one of us even as we are enveloped by and in awe of his ability to express and invite us into the realm of the Divine.
        I have no enlightened words but only 
"Thank you" to the soul of Thomas who is always available to us. His words speak the language our hearts and our own souls long for, as if he knew us each and individually more than 46 years after his death in 1968. One of my new personal favorites from his writing comes from his Conjectures of a Guilty Bystander written in 1966. In speaking of the early morning he says, 

"The first chirps of the waking birds mark the point vierge [the virgin point] of the dawn
under a sky as yet without real light, a moment of awe and inexpressible innocence, 

when the Father in perfect silence opens their eyes." 

He goes on to describe further the waking of the birds and then says, 

"Meanwhile, the most wonderful moment of the day is that when creation in its innocence
asks permission to 'be' once again, as it did on the first morning that ever was." 

In the typical language of that time he then speaks to each of us, 

"Man's wisdom does not succeed, for we are fallen into self-mastery and cannot ask permission of anyone. We face our mornings as men of undaunted purpose. We know the time and we dictate terms. We are in a position to dictate terms, we suppose: we have a clock...We will say in advance what kind of day it has to be...we will take steps to make it meet our requirements...we are off 'one to his farm and another to his merchandise'. Lights on. Clocks ticking. Thermostats working. Stoves cooking...'Wisdom,' cries the dawn deacon, but we do not attend."      

Let us attend, Dear Lord, to the words and actions of Your Servant, Thomas Merton. His profound and yet simple, complex and yet attainable thoughts, conjectures, musings, teachings, and prayers give each of us a direction, a way of practice, a calm knowing that we, too, can touch the hand of God in each and every moment of our day and walk toward eternity with Thomas by our side.  amen. 


To learn more about Thomas Merton go here to: A Thomas Merton Tour


Thomas Merton, or Father Louis, his name as a Cistercian Monk at the Abbey of Gethsemani in Kentucky, is celebrated on the U.S. Episcopal Liturgical Calendar on December 10.




Requests for prayers or meditations for this space or private use may be sent to Leeosophy@gmail.com. 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.

Prayers of the People: Fear and Awe-fulness, 4th Sunday of Epiphany

for Sunday February 1, 2015, Epiphany 4, Year B, Readings: Deuteronomy 18:15-20, Ps 111, 1 Cor 8:1-13, Mark 1:21-28    

 

Jesus...entered the synagogue and taught. They were astounded at his teaching, for he taught them as one having authority and not as the scribes...They were all amazed... 
[Mark 1: 21a, 22, 27a]

The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom. [Ps 111:10a]

       
       When was the last time you were astounded or amazed  by Jesus?
       Do you ever "fear the LORD" ?

          It is difficult to admit to myself that I don't actually remember the last time I was amazed or astounded by Jesus. I've been very moved during a retreat, in Sunday worship, by hymns and readings, in my personal prayer, and in other ways - but I'm suddenly aware that, whether through unconscious assumptions, a mild case of apathy, perhaps even some complacency, my sense of amazement and wonder is seriously lacking. I've been taking it all for granted, as if it's all easily understood, as if "I've got this."
          As for the "fear" that the Psalmist speaks of, I do remember that as a child I was afraid of God, terrified at times, that my misbehavior was grounds for eternal damnation. It's hard to distance oneself from that kind of image and language. So how can I begin to have wisdom if I am frightened of my Creator who loves me and who I am supposed to love?
         This fear of God or "of the LORD" isn't meant to be the kind of fear we associate with being scared and worried, or afraid of being in trouble. Rather, the ancient sense of the word tells us that in being filled with love, respect, and awe, we will fervently desire to be so faithful in our daily lives  that we will strive to avoid offending God through our thoughts and actions. It's the kind of "fear" we have when we don't want to upset or anger anyone we truly love.
         If we consciously engage with and love God more, if we sincerely want to know God the Creator, Jesus the Son, and the Holy Spirit, from whom all things are, and for whom we all exist [1 Cor 8:6], our wisdom will increase and our amazement will rebound. With faithfulness and awe of God as our life's primary work, our little forays into eating in the temple of an idol [1 Cor 8:10] , that is, giving in to the earthly temptations and everyday distractions that surround and pull us away from God, will be easier to overcome.
        It is time once again to find that amazement, to be astounded at the life and work and words of Jesus, to open our daily life and frequent prayers with true wonder, love, and praise. What can happen? I bet it's pretty awe-ful... Here's a way to begin, just sing with gusto:

O Lord my God, When I in awesome wonder,

Consider all the worlds Thy Hands have made;

I see the stars, I hear the rolling thunder,
Thy power throughout the universe displayed.
Then sings my soul, My Saviour God, to Thee,
How great Thou art, How great Thou art.  

[composed by Carl Gustav Boberg in Sweden in 1885, translated into English by British missionary Stuart K. Hein]

 
LET US, GOD’S PEOPLE, PRAY

Leader:  ~ Gracious, Compassionate Lord of All, we believe we know better yet we can easily succumb to alluring temptations in an earthly life. Awaken our hearts to rediscover our sense of awe in Your truth, equity, and righteousness.     

 God Almighty and Everlasting             

RESPONSE:  Clean our spirits; call us back to Your love and wisdom. 

~ Gracious, Compassionate Lord of All, even as we want to follow and love Jesus our Christ, let us be conscientious in wanting to boldly insist, of those in authority over all of God’s people, that the fulfillment of basic needs, economic justice, and mercy for everyone, is a fundamental necessity for peace, human rights, and the ethical survival of our souls. We pray especially for: add your own petitions

God Almighty and Everlasting

Clean our spirits; call us back to Your love and wisdom.

~ Gracious, Compassionate Lord of All, warm the spirits of those whose hearts, minds, and bodies are wearied with illness, severe weather, and loneliness, and enliven the energy of those who give them care. We pray especially for: add your own petitions

God Almighty and Everlasting

Clean our spirits; call us back to Your love and wisdom.

~ Gracious, Compassionate Lord of All, as You clothe the newly departed with Your garments of heavenly glory, embrace the hearts of those who mourn, and give them the spiritual solace of Your peace. We pray especially for: add your own petitions

God Almighty and Everlasting

Clean our spirits; call us back to Your love and wisdom.

~ Gracious, Compassionate Lord of All, we pause in this moment to offer You our other heartfelt intentions and petitions, aloud or silently…

God Almighty and Everlasting

Clean our spirits; call us back to Your love and wisdom.

~ Gracious, Compassionate Lord of All, grant that Your words be especially placed into the voices of those who lead us in the Church, that they may speak to us as Your true prophets; and also grant us ears to hear only what is of You, and the spirits to heed. We pray especially for: add your own petitions

God Almighty and Everlasting

Clean our spirits; call us back to Your love and wisdom.

The Celebrant adds: Supreme, All-Powerful, Boundless God, from whom all things are, and for whom we all exist, ignite in us the desire to seek Your truth to fulfill the longing in our souls, to be amazed again by the breadth and depth of Your Power and Glory, and to more easily relinquish our dabbling in the empty glamor of the temples of idols. This we ask through Christ Jesus, our Messiah, and the wisdom of the Holy Spirit who together live and reign with You as One God, infinite and eternal, now and forever. Amen.

Requests for prayers or meditations for this space or private use may be sent to Leeosophy@gmail.com. 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.

Meditation Moments: First, Not Equal ~ First Woman Priest in the Anglican Communion

For January 24th ~ Florence Li Tim-Oi  [1907-1992]

             Born in Hong Kong, Li Tim-Oi was baptized later and chose the western "Christian name" Florence in honor of Florence Nightingale, at that time. Answering a call to ordained ministry, Florence attended theological school and was ordained and served as a deacon in Macau. When the fighting between the Chinese and Japanese intensified in the beginnings of World War II, there were no priests available to serve the Christians in the area so the Bishop of Victoria* ordained her as the first woman priest in the Anglican Communion in 1944. But as her ordination as priest was more than controversial, she voluntarily gave up her license to function as a priest - not her Holy Orders - after the war.                
            Florence remained in China for many years, even though forced to work in a factory during Mao's Cultural Revolution. It would be 30 years before two other women were ordained in Hong Kong and, at long last, in 1971 Li Tim-Oi was once again recognized as a priest (three years ahead of the US Episcopal Church's "irregular" ordinations of the so-called Philadelphia Eleven see: https://prayersofthepeople.blogspot.com/2014/07/meditation-moments-philadelphia-eleven.html). After later moving to Canada, and being awarded two honorary doctorates by General Theological Seminary in New York City and Trinity College in Toronto,  Li Tim-Oi became an honorary, that is, non-stipendiary, or, volunteer, assistant priest in 1983 until her death in 1992.

              The Episcopal Church in the US celebrates her life and ministry in the Liturgical Calendar on January 24, the date of the eve of her ordination in 1944. She is also celebrated by The Anglican Church of Canada on 26 February. 
              It is well past time for all of us to celebrate the life and legacy of Li Tim-Oi as a model of obedience to God's call regardless of all the hardship that it entails.

             Thank you, Lord, for the witness and ministry of this courageous woman who served as Your priest, who gave up functioning as a priest to serve the common will, and who returned to Your priesthood many years later as a volunteer. How many of us are humble enough, and dedicated to Your service enough, to live so simply, so humbly, and so willing to live life on Your schedule, rather than our own.  Grant us patience, forbearance, and willingness to be as You would want us to be, instead of who we think we ought to be. Thank you, Li Tim-Oi, for your life, your work, and your example of how to be a true servant of God in this world.  Amen.

*There is very little to be found by looking at the Anglican Diocese of Hong Kong about Florence Li Tim-Oi but there is a recent and fascinating article about the English Bishop who ordained her.  Here is the link about Bishop Ho Ming Hua (Ronald O. Hall, 1932-1966) – Bishop of Hong Kong and Macau:  Bishop Ho Ming Hua, aka, Ronald O. Hall

Requests for prayers or meditations for this space or private use may be sent to Leeosophy@gmail.com. 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.

Prayers of the People: Gone Fishin', 3rd Sunday after Epiphany

for Sunday, January 25, 2015, 3rd Sunday after Epiphany, Year B Readings: Jonah 3:1-5, 10; Ps 62:6-12, 1 Corinthians 7:29-31, Mark 1:14-20

Jonah began to go into the city...and he cried out, "Forty days more, and Nineveh shall be overthrown!....And the people of Nineveh believed God...God changed his mind about the calamity that he had said he would bring upon them... [Jonah 3:4, 10b]

I mean, brothers and sisters, the appointed time has grown short... [1 Corinthians 7:29]

And Jesus said to them, "Follow me and I will make you fish for people." [Mark 1:17]

          Poor Jonah, after giving in to God's call after a whale of an experience, finally goes where he is told to go and tells the people what God wants them to hear. But in a later piece, Jonah - who never wanted to be a prophet, tried to hide and go off in the opposite direction - is disheartened because God changed direction after the people, and even the animals, of Nineveh actually beat God to it and did overthrow their own evil ways 
because they believed Jonah's prophecy.         
          Paul, who thought that the Second Coming of Jesus was imminent, grimly but accurately reminds us that our time in this life is short and we need to pay attention to how we are living.     
         And then there is Jesus who calls the next group of disciples - Simon, Andrew, James, and John - to leave their current lives NOW and follow Him. Can you even imagine walking away from your life as you know it, from family, and responsibilities, and all that you have worked for because someone like Jonah, Paul, or Jesus says you must? What level of trust does that require? I cannot quite grasp it, and yet, there is this nagging from the still small voice inside that I can do better, I can answer the call, I can live a life that calls others to see, respond, and join me in the net cast by God. It does sound a little fishy to an un-faith-filled ear, but then, is there a better way to be caught?

LET US, GOD’S PEOPLE, PRAY

Leader:  ~ Eternal God, Source of Steadfast Love and Redemption, as we are called through Your prophets, teachers, and Jesus to overthrow our old ways and turn our lives toward You, we are promised our deliverance, our honor, our life eternal with You. Help us hear, believe, and heed Your word.

Gracious LORD, our Fortress and our Refuge             

RESPONSE:  Our Rock who calls us to follow and trust

~ Eternal God, Source of Steadfast Love and Redemption, the appointed time has grown short for those who are suffering from war, disease, poverty, and political machinations. Grant us the courage to walk the path of discipleship and call to account the leaders of this world, our country, and our community for the actions that diminish the lives of God’s people instead of enhancing them. We pray especially for: Barack, our President; Jack, our Governor; Tom, our County Executive; and Dennis, our mayor.

Gracious LORD, our Fortress and our Refuge

Our Rock who calls us to follow and trust

~ Eternal God, Source of Steadfast Love and Redemption, sustain the hope of those laid low by illness, homelessness, or despair, and encourage those who give them respite. We pray especially for:

Gracious LORD, our Fortress and our Refuge

Our Rock who calls us to follow and trust

~ Eternal God, Source of Steadfast Love and Redemption, lighten the hearts of those who grieve as You greet those we love who have left us with open arms and everlasting love and light. We pray especially for:

Gracious LORD, our Fortress and our Refuge

Our Rock who calls us to follow and trust

~ Eternal God, Source of Steadfast Love and Redemption, we pause in this moment to offer You our other heartfelt intentions and petitions, aloud or silently…

Gracious LORD, our Fortress and our Refuge

Our Rock who calls us to follow and trust

~ Eternal God, Source of Steadfast Love and Redemption, You have chosen all of us, yet for those who have been chosen by You, and by us, to lead us in Your church, we ask that You favor them with the words, actions, and example of life that will cause us to re-think, re-work, and re-direct our life priorities toward You. We pray especially for: Katharine, our Presiding Bishop; Wayne, our own Bishop; David, our rector; Lloyd, our Rector Emeritus; Peter and Emily, our Associate Priests.

Gracious LORD, our Fortress and our Refuge

Our Rock who calls us to follow and trust 

The Celebrant adds: Merciful, Holy, Divine God, You call us to go where we do not want to go, to do what we do not want to do, to be who we do not want to be. Grant us the courage to accept the hook of Your salvation and to become the lure that others will follow, to be the fishers of people that Jesus asks us to be. Reconcile us to Your heart and steadfast love through the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ and the inspiration of the Holy Spirit who together with You, live and reign in the bliss of eternal life, now and forever.  Amen.

Requests for prayers or meditations for this space or private use may be sent to Leeosophy@gmail.com. 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.

Meditation Moments: We're Still Dreaming, Dr. King

           The release of the movie Selma in the 50th anniversary year of the civil rights marches on Montgomery from Selma, Alabama, will bring several generations up to speed on the way things were.  African-Americans, Asians, Hispanics, Muslims, Jews, Hindus, etc., and Caucasians who were too young to remember or not yet born will get a glimpse of the harsh and often brutal realities of the race struggles in the 1950s and 1960s. It's time for all of us to look, see, remember, and think again on how far we have come, how far we have yet to go, and how things - if we don't watch and act - will turn back.  

          Those of us old enough to remember will know that the Civil Rights Act of 1964 was landmark legislation that outlawed discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, and/or national origin.  It was followed by the Voting Rights Act passed on August 6, 1965 which was amended several times over the years to strengthen the ability of all citizens to have unencumbered access for voting.              
          In 2013 and 2014, many states, and the US Supreme Court, took measures to reduce the effectiveness of these laws by enacting legislation creating barriers to the ballot box based on a false pretext of protecting against voter fraud. Such legislation will reduce the ability of minority, elderly, poor, and physically challenged individuals to meet the new criteria for casting a ballot in future elections. In a country forged in democracy, yet where voter apathy is frighteningly rampant, the gerrymandering of credentialing, voting hours, and availability of adequate numbers of voting machines has had and will continue to have an adverse effect on voter turnout. Reading this speech of Dr. King's, of which the following is only an excerpt, I can feel the hands of time creeping backwards.

            Dr. King's oratory was legendary and I can still hear his voice when I read the words below. I hope you will read it - the emphasis is mine - and, I also hope you will click the link at the bottom to read the speech in its entirety. One other thing that Dr. King said often, in various ways, is that "There comes a time when silence is betrayal." We must NOT be silent. We can, should, and must, make a concerted effort to implore and demand of our legislators  that voting credentials be fair and easily obtained for all who meet the basic criteria of citizenship and age. Voting is but one issue in the realm of discrimination, but if one of our brothers and sisters are denied, then we are all denied full and equal access to democracy. We are the people for which government is by, for, and of....
           Let us cross the bridge again, hand in hand.

"How Long, Not Long" is the popular name given to the public speech delivered by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., on the steps of the State Capitol in Montgomery, Alabama, after the successful completion of the Selma to Montgomery March on March 25, 1965. The speech is also sometimes referred to as "Our God Is Marching On!"

How long? Not long, because no lie can live forever.

How long? Not long, because the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.

"...Our whole campaign in Alabama has been centered around the right to vote. In focusing the attention of the nation and the world today on the flagrant denial of the right to vote, we are exposing the very origin, the root cause, of racial segregation in the Southland. Racial segregation as a way of life did not come about as a natural result of hatred between the races immediately after the Civil War. There were no laws segregating the races then. And as the noted historian, C. Vann Woodward, in his book, The Strange Career of Jim Crow*, clearly points out, the segregation of the races was really a political stratagem employed by the emerging Bourbon interests in the South to keep the southern masses divided and southern labor the cheapest in the land. You see, it was a simple thing to keep the poor white masses working for near-starvation wages in the years that followed the Civil War. Why, if the poor white plantation or mill worker became dissatisfied with his low wages, the plantation or mill owner would merely threaten to fire him and hire former Negro slaves and pay him even less. Thus, the southern wage level was kept almost unbearably low.

Toward the end of the Reconstruction era, something very significant happened. That is what was known as the Populist Movement. The leaders of this movement began awakening the poor white masses and the former Negro slaves to the fact that they were being fleeced by the emerging Bourbon interests. Not only that, but they began uniting the Negro and white masses into a voting bloc that threatened to drive the Bourbon interests from the command posts of political power in the South.



Marchers crossing the Edmund Pettus Bridge
in Selma, Alabama in March, 1965

To meet this threat, the southern aristocracy began immediately to engineer this development of a segregated society. I want you to follow me through here because this is very important to see the roots of racism and the denial of the right to vote. Through their control of mass media, they revised the doctrine of white supremacy. They saturated the thinking of the poor white masses with it, thus clouding their minds to the real issue involved in the Populist Movement. They then directed the placement on the books of the South of laws that made it a crime for Negroes and whites to come together as equals at any level. And that did it. That crippled and eventually destroyed the Populist Movement of the nineteenth century.

If it may be said of the slavery era that the white man took the world and gave the Negro Jesus, then it may be said of the Reconstruction era that the southern aristocracy took the world and gave the poor white man Jim Crow. He gave him Jim Crow. And when his wrinkled stomach cried out for the food that his empty pockets could not provide, he ate Jim Crow, a psychological bird that told him that no matter how bad off he was, at least he was a white man, better than the black man.  And he ate Jim Crow. And when his undernourished children cried out for the necessities that his low wages could not provide, he showed them the Jim Crow signs on the buses and in the stores, on the streets and in the public buildings.  And his children, too, learned to feed upon Jim Crow, their last outpost of psychological oblivion.

Thus, the threat of the free exercise of the ballot by the Negro and the white masses alike resulted in the establishment of a segregated society. They segregated southern money from the poor whites; they segregated southern mores from the rich whites; they segregated southern churches from Christianity; they segregated southern minds from honest thinking; and they segregated the Negro from everything. That’s what happened when the Negro and white masses of the South threatened to unite and build a great society: a society of justice where none would prey upon the weakness of others; a society of plenty where greed and poverty would be done away; a society of brotherhood where every man would respect the dignity and worth of human personality..."

*"Jim Crow" became a pejorative term for African-Americans in about the late 1830s because of a popular song called Jump Jim Crow that was written and performed in blackface all over the country by a white man, Thomas Rice, beginning in about 1832. This stereotyped mocking image was applied to the laws of racial segregation that became known as Jim Crow Laws.

The full text of this speech is available here: 
http://mlk-kpp01.stanford.edu/index.php/kingpapers/article/our_god_is_marching_on/





Requests for prayers or meditations for this space or private use may be sent to Leeosophy@gmail.com. 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.