Prayers of the People: Long Haulin' ~ 5th Sunday after the Epiphany '19 Yr C

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For Sunday, February 10, 2019, 5^th Sunday after the Epiphany, Year C, Readings: Isaiah 6:1-8, (9-13); Psalm 138, 1 Corinthians 15:1-11, 

Luke 5:1-11

   One of the seraphs…holding a live coal…touched my mouth with it and said, “...your guilt has departed and your sin is blotted out.” Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send…” And I said, “Here I am, send me!” [Isaiah 6:6-8]

      All the kings of the earth will praise you, O Lord, when they have heard the words of your mouth. They will sing of the ways of the Lord…The Lord will make good his purpose for me…O Lord, your love endures for ever… 

[Psalm 138: 5, 6a, 9a]

      I would remind you…of the good news that I proclaimed to you…by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me has not been in vain. [1 Corinthians 15:1a, 10a]

      …[Jesus] said to Simon, “Put out in the deep water and let down your nets for a catch.” …they caught so many fish that their nets were beginning to break…when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees saying, “Go away from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man!”…Then Jesus said to Simon, “Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching people.”…they left everything and followed him. [Luke 5:4b, 6b, 8, 10b, 11b]

       In religious circles – as well as secular – we often hear and/or use the word call as, for example, “I/She/He/They are called to ordained ministry, working with homeless shelters, political activism, or medical training, etc. In the lessons and the Gospel, and to some extent in the Psalm appointed for this week we are hearing the language that expresses a calling. The dictionary defines calling in this context as, 1: a strong inner impulse toward a particular course of action especially when accompanied by conviction of divine influence; and, 2: the vocation or profession in which one customarily engages.

      We also use the word commission when one has been more formally launched into her or his chosen path. And that is defined as, 1: an instruction, command, or duty given to a person or group of people; and, 2: a group of people officially charged with a particular function.

      People may be “called” without being further commissioned for a variety of reasons such as ignoring or declining the call. A commission, doesn’t necessarily require a “call” in that it may simply be a matter of accepting a job as a means to an end and being instructed in its parameters. You can decline a call, you can quit a job, but that divine spark, that still small voice within that nags and niggles will continue to make itself known whether or not you accept. When a sense of a divine call is then allowed to bubble up, one may then be commissioned to engage with it all the way throughout the entirety of one’s life, in many and various and surprising ways.

       Isaiah engages us immediately with his vision that places him in the presence of the Divine. In the Lord’s presence, Isaiah declares that he is unworthy as a man of unclean lips. The description that Isaiah then gives when the seraph touches his mouth with a burning coal makes me want to put ice on my lips! Seraph is the highest order of angels and that informs us that this encounter is clearly significant. The angel tells him that now his guilt has been sent away and his sin is blotted out. God speaks asking “Whom shall I send?” Isaiah answers, “Here I am, send me.” He then clearly accepts the commission of the Lord who tells him all that he must do. When Isaiah asks, How long, O Lord?, the answer is stark. It is a very long time indeed.

       For the Psalmist, the call is accepted within his heart and all the kings of the earth will be commissioned when they hear God’s words, and “sing of the ways of the Lord.” Presumably, this will be enough for the kings to reign accordingly.

        Paul’s call was abrupt and startling when we read it in Acts 9 and it is Ananias who is then called to commission him on behalf of Jesus. In this letter to the Corinthians, Paul reminds us of his own feelings of unworthiness when he tells us that Jesus also appeared to him as he had to many others. Paul, feeling especially unfit as a persecutor in his former life, now speaks of his sense and earnestness of mission in his words, But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me has not been in vain…I worked harder…though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me.

       And then we come to our favorite fishermen. Jesus calls them to go to the deeper water with their nets. You can almost hear the sigh of Simon, who, weary after a full night of fishing with no yield, says, “…if you say so, I will…” Simon has perhaps felt the call and although he is still uncertain, he follows an instinct and does as Jesus says. In a parallel to Isaiah and Paul, Simon stunned by the overly abundant haul of fish, and realizing the reason, spontaneously tells Jesus to go away from him because he is a sinful man. The initial commissioning for Simon who becomes Peter, and for all those with him comes with the words of Jesus, Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching people. And they all accepted by leaving everything to follow him and embark on an unexpected new life. They are given the Great Commission by Jesus after the Resurrection [Matthew 28:19-20] which fills the rest of their lives.

       Isaiah, the Psalmist, Paul, Peter and those who became disciples/Apostles, were in it to win it for God, for Jesus, for the abundant catch of people, for whatever came to them and at them for the length of their lives. They acknowledged, accepted, and obeyed the call. We, too, are what we are by God’s creation. Now all we have to do is acknowledge that we are each called by God to discern and accept the commission through the words of the Gospel, then work it every day so that God’s grace within us is not ever in vain. The Good News in Christ is that we are in this together, for the long haul.

LET US, GOD’S PEOPLE, PRAY

Leader:  ~ O Lord Most High, cajole us to delve into the depths of our faith, that we may be captured in the net of Christ and the bounty of Your grace toward us may never be in vain.

                                                O God of Grace         

RESPONSE:             Your Love endures forever

~ O Lord Most High, open the ears of all who wield the power of government across this planet, in our country, and within our community, that they may hear Your Word and give You praise by moving according to Your ways. Guide them to make good Your purpose for the emancipation of all Your people from injustice, intolerance, and incessant injury. We pray especially for: add your own petitions

                                                O God of Grace

                                                Your Love endures forever

~ O Lord Most High, bind the wounds and heal the hearts of all who suffer in body, mind, or spirit and give strength to those who give them care. We now join our voices to pray aloud for those in need…add your own petitions

                                                O God of Grace

                                                Your Love endures forever

~ O Lord Most High, brighten the shadows for all who are bereaved, as those who have stepped from the constrains of this life, now delight in the glory and radiance of new and unending life in Christ. We pray especially for: add your own petitions

                                                O God of Grace

                                                Your Love endures forever

~  O Lord Most High, we pause in this moment to offer You our other heartfelt thanksgivings, intercessions, petitions, and memorials, aloud or silently…add your own petitions

                                                O God of Grace

                                                Your Love endures forever

           

~ O Lord Most High, renew and empower those who welcome us to the sacred feast at Your table and proclaim the Good News of Christ’s Gospel, that together we may know and experience Your blessings and abiding love. We pray especially for: add your own petitions

                                                O God of Grace

                                                Your Love endures forever

           

The Celebrant adds: O Holy Lord of Hosts, so immerse us in the confidence of Your love that we feel our guilt depart and we stand in Your strength with the courage to say, “Send me.” Diminish our fear of the deep as we set our sails for Christ and bring others along to our glorious destination. We ask through Jesus, Fisher of Souls; and the Holy Spirit, our Navigator; who together with You are One God in Glory, now and forever more.  Amen.

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: Loving Home ~ 4th Sunday after the Epiphany Yr C '19

For Sunday, February 3, 2019, 4^th Sunday after the Epiphany, Year C, Readings: Jeremiah 1:4-10, Psalm 71:1-6, 1 Corinthians 13:1-14, 

Luke 4:21-30

 

       The word of the LORD came to me saying, "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you...Do not say, ‘I am only a boy’ for you shall go to whom I send you…Now I have put my words in your mouth." [Jeremiah 1:4-5a, 7b, 9b]

       In you, O LORD, have I taken refuge; let me never be ashamed...you are my crag and my stronghold. [Psalm 71:1, 3b]

       If I speak in the tongues of mortals and of angels, but do not have love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal...And now faith, hope, and love abide...and the greatest of these is love.  [1 Cor 13:1, 13]

    And [Jesus] said, "Truly no prophet is accepted in the prophet's hometown...there were many widows...a severe famine...yet Elijah was sent to none...there were many lepers...and none of them was cleansed except Naaman, the Syrian." When they heard this, all in the synagogue were filled with rage.  [Luke 4:24-28]

       “Do not say, I am only a boy,” God said to Jeremiah when he balked at God’s appointment of him as a prophet, citing his lack of skill to speak. In contrast, the synagogue congregation in Nazareth whispered about Jesus saying, “Is this not Joseph’s son?” as if to say, “who is this boy preaching to us?” Jeremiah’s lack of confidence was bolstered with God’s insistence that God would be present and give him the words he would need in his prophetic work. Jesus, however, was very confident in his statement that Isaiah’s words were being fulfilled in and by him in their hearing. Following that, after pointing out that no prophet is accepted in his or her hometown and giving a few unpopular examples, the outrage led to Jesus being driven from the town and barely escaping being thrown from a cliff. (I do like the part where Jesus seems to slip away from the angry crowd apparently unnoticed.) But Jeremiah and Jesus were similar and different in other ways. Jeremiah was living in the times that saw the destruction of Solomon's Temple and Jerusalem itself and the beginning of the Babylonian exile, he himself living out his days away from home, in Egypt. Jesus returns to the home of his childhood, and it didn't go well.

       The Psalmist is reassuring to those of us who are reluctant to emulate Jeremiah or Jesus in public or even in private. There is something unnerving about being open and vocal about our individual faith, especially if we are less than confident about our beliefs, why we have them, and what they are based on. Yet the Psalmist is reminding us that God is our refuge, our hope, our confidence, and our strength. All we need to do is turn in God’s direction.

       For me, of the four appointed readings for this Sunday, the significance of the reading from 1st Corinthians (13: 1-14) cannot be understated. It is so very much more than a pretty thing to recite at a wedding. In the context of all the readings for this Sunday, it brings the Word to now, to our time, to our space. It is helpfully and clearly instructive. I see it as a blueprint of our inner spiritual selves, our internal faith home, where some rooms are still under construction, some are in serious need of renovation, and still others are only vaguely outlined. As we look outside in this complex world, there is no denying the dissension, hatred, intolerance, and rage in seemingly every facet of human life through war, religion, race, gender, and so much more. There is a cacophony of clanging voices of politicos and power mongers disparaging everyone who is not one of them. Their supporters and detractors escalate the decibels to unbearable levels where few have a clear tone, or a calming demeanor that defuses the raging. But, turning inside, if we listen we can hear, as so many have sung, All You Need is Love, Love is the Answer, How Deep is Your Love, Endless Love, I Just Called to Say I Love You, etc., etc., etc. Love is the ultimate goal of all human endeavor, the path to eternal life.

       When the anger is boiling, when the resentment seeps in, when irritation begins its churning, let us take a breath and discover a more excellent way to live. Let us first seek ways to experience love and acceptance from within ourselves for ourselves. God is our refuge and our strength to grow and to act consciously with confidence in faith, in hope, and especially and intentionally, to live with and by love. Easy? Of course not, but building a room one floorboard at a time moves us closer to a solid foundation to stand in faith, and strengthens our resolve to leave the inside to build an outside community that grows in love. A supportive loving neighborhood grows beyond its boundaries by spreading out to foster a more loving hometown crowd. Love doesn't mean agreement in all things. It does mean acceptance and tolerance of the differences that divide and welcoming the caring that connects. From one hometown to another, love may not solve all problems but it will make a positive difference in everyone it inhabits. "Home is where the heart is", said Roman author and philosopher Pliny the Elder, who was about 10 when Jesus was crucified. Let's set our hearts on each other and through the Christ within us, we can build a loving home for us all.

LET US, GOD’S PEOPLE, PRAY

Leader:  ~ O Lord, our Hope and our Confidence, You knew us, and formed us, and consecrated us before our earthly birth. Guide us to put away childish ways of envy, boasting, and arrogance to follow Your call to reveal Your endless Love in all that we are, and in all that we say and do.

                                                    O God, our Refuge, our Strength

RESPONSE:    Deliver us from wickedness

             

~ O Lord, our Hope and our Confidence, grant our mortal tongues the words of justice, mercy, tolerance, and compassion to calm fear, dissolve rage, and to fill the hearts and souls of all who hold power in countries and communities across this planet. We pray especially for: add your own petitions

O God our Refuge, our Strength

Deliver us from wickedness

~ O Lord, our Hope and our Confidence, sustain the faith of all who suffer with chronic pain, depression, or disease, and refresh the energy of those who assist with their care. We now join our voices to pray aloud for those in need…add your own petitions

O God our Refuge, our Strength

Deliver us from wickedness

~ O Lord, our Hope and our Confidence, soothe the hearts of those who grieve as the heavens erupt with rejoicing for our loved ones now arriving. We pray especially for: add your own petitions

O God our Refuge, our Strength

Deliver us from wickedness

~ O Lord, our Hope and our Confidence, we pause in this moment to offer You our other heartfelt thanksgivings, intercessions, petitions, and memorials, aloud or silently…add your own petitions

O God our Refuge, our Strength

Deliver us from wickedness

             

~ O Lord, our Hope and our Confidence, nourish the gifts of our anointed pastors who join with us in a worshiping community, enrich our faith, and inspire us to step beyond ourselves in this life’s short journey to seek fulfillment in Christ. We pray especially for: add your own petitions

O God our Refuge, our Strength

Deliver us from wickedness

             

The Celebrant adds: O Constant, Righteous God, embolden our Faith, invigorate our Hope, and permeate our cells with Your purest Love that we may rejoice in Your truth as living, conscious, and steadfast reflections of Your Enduring Word. We ask through Jesus, the Incarnation of Love; and the Holy Spirit, the Breath of Faith; who together with You reign as One Holy and Eternal God. Amen.

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: Gathering ~ 3rd Sunday after the Epiphany Yr C '19

For Sunday, January 27, 2019, 3^rd Sunday after the Epiphany, Year C, Readings: Nehemiah 8:1-3, 5-6, 8-10; Psalm 19, 1 Corinthians 12:12-31a, Luke 4:14-21

            Accordingly, the priest Ezra brought the law before the assembly, both men and women and all who could hear with understanding.    [Nehemiah 8:2a]

              By [the statutes of the LORD] also is your servant enlightened...cleanse me from my secret faults...O LORD my strength and my redeemer. [Ps 19: 8a, 11 a, 12 b, 14b]

           Just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body ~ Jews or Greeks, slaves or free ~ and we were all made to drink of one Spirit. [1 Cor 12:12-13]

    [Jesus, filled with the power of the Spirit,] stood up to read, and the scroll of the Prophet Isaiah was given to him. He  and unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written: "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me...he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor...proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind..."  [Luke 4:14a, 16b, 17-18a]

           The prophet Nehemiah tells us that the people of Israel gathered together to hear again the law of Moses which God had given them. Ezra read the law of God, with interpretation, with the sense of it given so the people understood and the day was declared holy to our Lord. The people were sent on their way and told to send portions of their feast to those for whom nothing is prepared. The Psalmist tells us the heavens declare the glory of God and reminds us that God's law is perfect and God's statutes are just and rejoice the heart. And there is the verse from the Psalm and the Book of Common Prayer: Let the meditations of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, my strength and my redeemer. 

          Comforted and bolstered by the knowledge of the Lord's presence within us, we can imagine the members of the Church in Corinth gathering to listen to Paul's letters. He begins with the reminder that we were all baptized into one body...and made to drink of one spirit. 

         Continuing on from last week's reading of the gifts of the Spirit, Paul takes us further into the anatomy of the Body of Christ as created by God. He dissects our non-hierarchical arrangement of parts, well, except for God giving the greater honor to the inferior member. So very many members ~ digits, organs, and limbs ~ all created in the image of God, and all one body ~ all ordinarily the same and each extraordinarily different. ALL parts of the body ~ individually and corporately, locally and planetarily ~ are created and arranged by God, the ultimate and pre-eminent Architect, Electrical, Chemical, Plumbing, and Systems Engineer. We are endowed from before birth with different gifts that are not our own, but in our human lives are to be given out to and received from each other, so as to have the same care for another...if one member suffers, all suffer...if one member is honored, all rejoice together in it. 

           And then, in the Gospel, we move to the gathering in the Synagogue as Jesus returns to his home town, to his home congregation, and was asked to read the words of Isaiah. Quite an honor? Perhaps a test? He unrolled the scroll, read from it, and then rolled up the scroll...and sat down. He just sat down! Everyone was watching and so he told them, "Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing." Today is the key word, the principle concept. He was reading Isaiah's words The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me... He just announced his ministry, designating himself through the words of Isaiah to the congregation where he grew up. Is that an audible gasp travelling through the millennia? 

         As we gather together to listen to God's Law and Word, let we who hear with understanding be conscious of the Spirit within us. Let us seek the gifts that are unique to us as individuals and honor the gifts of others. The waters of Baptism flow in a variety of ways and directions and the entire Body has been given the waters of the Spirit to hydrate our souls, to cleanse our hearts even of its secret faults, and to purify our intentions whether known or unknown to the other members. Let us gather often, drink deeply of one Spirit again, experience the Good News while we strive for the greater gifts as living members of the Body of Christ. 

LET US, GOD’S PEOPLE, PRAY

Leader:  ~ O Lord of Strength and Glory, fill us with the power of Your Spirit to bring Your Good News to all we meet. Cleanse us from our secret faults and enlighten the workings of our bodies, minds, and souls to be mindful instruments of Your justice and honor.

                                                   O Christ, our Teacher    

RESPONSE:                 We are Your Hands, Your Feet, and Your Voice

~ O Lord of Strength and Glory, grant us Your acceptable and heartfelt words to reach the hearts and minds of all who govern the countries of this world, our nation, and our local community. Endow them with the courage and compassion to act now on behalf of the poor, the blind and the sick, and to free those who are oppressed and held captive. We pray especially for: add your own petitions

                                                       O Christ, our Teacher

                                                       We are Your Hands, Your Feet, and Your Voice

~ O Lord of Strength and Glory, relieve the pain of those who suffer from illness, anxiety, or addiction, and refresh all who provide care and comfort. We now join our voices to pray aloud for those in need…add your own petitions

                                                       O Christ, our Teacher

                                                       We are Your Hands, Your Feet, and Your Voice

~ O Lord of Strength and Glory, lift the heavy weight of mourning, as those who have now left us in this life, rejoice and dance in Your everlasting light. We pray especially for: add your own petitions

                                                       O Christ, our Teacher

                                                       We are Your Hands, Your Feet, and Your Voice

~ O Lord of Strength and Glory, we pause in this moment to offer You our other heartfelt thanksgivings, intercessions, petitions, and memorials, aloud or silently…add your own petitions

                                                       O Christ, our Teacher

                                                       We are Your Hands, Your Feet, and Your Voice

             

~ O Lord of Strength and Glory, we give You thanks and praise for all who are anointed in the Spirit to lead us in Your Church, opening the scrolls of Your Word, and guiding us toward the fulfillment of our purpose in You. We pray especially for: add your own petitions

                                                       O Christ, our Teacher

                                                       We are Your Hands, Your Feet, and Your Voice

             

The Celebrant adds:  O God of Freedom and Favor, overflow us with the desire to drink deeply of the Spirit and to seek and use the unique gifts bestowed upon us for Your purpose. Teach our hearts, again, to care for and honor each other as the Body of Christ, as we strive to be ever greater in Your service. We ask through Jesus, our Master and Ideal; and the Holy Spirit, the Fount of our Wisdom, who together with You are One God, forever, and ever. Amen.

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

Meditation Moment: How Long? ~ Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Birthday ~ January 15, 2020

An edited reprise: Let us remember and reflect upon his words then 

and the parallels in our lives today: 

 The release of the movie Selma in the 50th anniversary year of the civil rights marches on Montgomery from Selma, Alabama brought 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 had a glimpse of the harsh and often brutal realities of the race struggles in the 1950s and 1960s. 

          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 has reduced the ability of minority, elderly, poor, and physically challenged individuals to meet the new criteria for casting a ballot. In a country forged in democracy, yet where voter apathy is frighteningly rampant, the partisan 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....
           The parallels to our current state of affairs are frightening, but let us cross the bridge again, together, hand in hand.

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

"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!"

"...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.

“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 pray 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/

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: What HE Said ~ MLK/Primo Sunday, 2nd Sunday of Epiphany '19 Yr C

For Sunday, January 20, 2019, Sunday after the Epiphany, MLK/Primo Sunday, Year C, Readings: Isaiah 62:1-5, Psalm 36: 5-10, 

The Making of a Black Bishop*/1 Corinthians 12:1-11, John 2:1-11

   For Zion's sake I will not keep silent, and for Jerusalem's sake I will not rest, until her vindication shines out like the dawn... 

[Isaiah 62:1]

     For with you is the well of life. and in your light we see light, Continue your loving-kindness to those who know you, and favor for those who are true of heart. [Psalm 36:9-10]

      Now concerning spiritual gifts, brothers and sisters, I do not want you to be uninformed... there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are varieties of services, but the same Lord; and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who activates all of them in everyone. To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. 

[1 Corinthians 12:1,4-7]

     The congregation is free and the Diocese is free. And being free, we are both free to be One. What binds us together now is our common loyalty to Jesus Christ and to this branch of His Church.  [Bishop Quintin Primo from The Making of a Black Bishop*]

          When the wine gave out, the mother of Jesus said to him, "They have no wine." And Jesus said to her, "Woman, what concern is that to you or me? My hour has not yet come." His mother said to the servants, "Do whatever he tells you"… Jesus said to them, “Fill the jars with water.”  And they filled them up to the brim. 
[John 2: 3-5, 7] 

        As with so many Biblical anecdotes and parables, the story of the wedding feast of Cana is so well known that people of many beliefs and cultures have heard it. They even sell really terrible wine on the streets of a town that might be Cana but no one really knows for certain. As we’re told in John's Gospel, Jesus turned water into wine ~ his first miracle ~ and he didn't think he was ready. While quite an accomplishment, the setting for this first sign may not appear to be auspicious enough for such a pivotal event or serve humanity in any important way. Yet his mother asked and he complied, if slightly less than willing. He took the first step in his ministry. 
       The volume of the wine changed from the water is significant; it is an abundant amount given how late in the celebration. It is a metaphor for the way the love and Presence of God fills us all, God's own created vessels, up to the brim, just as the new wine fills the stone jars. And, it matters not how late in our lives we change and recognize the fullness of God's love within. The moment made believers of his disciples: Jesus, Son of God, Worker of Miracles! Let's follow him everywhere!

       Jesus was the embodiment of God's gifts as we each are, in our own individual ways. For us mere mortals, discerning our gifts is not easy and many of us ignore or disclaim them, hide under a mask of artificial humility, mistaking confidence for conceit. We may not all have the greatness to save the entire world but each one of us has abilities, knowledge, and talent that make us unique, useful, even admirable ~ if we accept them. Perhaps it is easier to hide from them as if the acceptance and claiming requires some responsibility for using them. Jesus accepted his gifts and used them for teaching, preaching, and healing. Dr. King and Bishop Primo used their gifts and did change the world and, often, especially as with Dr. King, at their own peril.

       But of course Jesus, Dr. King, and Bishop Primo were special people, called by God to do great and memorable things that are written down and remembered. "For Zion's sake I will not keep silent..." says Isaiah, and Dr. King, and Bishop Primo. What is Zion for me? What will call me from just dreaming about what I might do someday to pushing myself to action now? Dr. King said, "Faith is taking the first step, even when you don't see the whole staircase." Our first step begins with the Gospels. Bishop Primo was very clear when he said, "What binds us together now is our common loyalty to Jesus Christ..." But not everyone agrees on how and what to believe. If the Gospel message is so clear why are so many Christians arguing with and disparaging each other? How can there be so many divisions, denominations, theological and ideological differences determining who's in and who's out and who's right and who's wrong, who should be condemned (or worse) and who should be accepted? If being fully loved by God, as we learn from the Gospels, doesn't brings us all together, it does beg the question, "So, really, What Would Jesus Do?" Well, in faith be true of heart and as Mary directed, do everything He tells us. (And, listen to your mother.)

LET US, GOD’S PEOPLE, PRAY

Leader:  ~ O God Most Loving, give us ears to hear, hearts to feel, and souls to know the Spirit-charged words and voices of Your servants Martin and Quintin. Activate our own spiritual gifts, that we may change the substance of our lives from self-serving to full-service, to be true of heart and strong in faith, now more than ever.

                                                O Righteous, Faithful Lord                                      

RESPONSE:             In You our souls are free at last

~ O God Most Loving, let us not keep silent but give our voices loudly and often for those who are lost and forsaken, in danger and despair in this life. Let us not rest until all governments and authorities, locally and globally, make The Dream into truth with peace, justice, and mercy for ALL of Your people everywhere.  We pray especially for: add your own petitions

                                                O Righteous, Faithful Lord

                                                In You our souls are free at last

~ O God Most Loving, calm the hearts and minds of those with physical, emotional, or spiritual challenges, and lighten the load for all who attend to their needs. We now join our voices to pray aloud for those in need… We now join our voices to pray aloud for those in need…add your own petitions

                                                O Righteous, Faithful Lord

                                                In You our souls are free at last

~ O God Most Loving, console all who mourn as Your steadfast and priceless love gathers our faithful departed into the joy and abundance of Your House forever. We pray especially for: add your own petitions

                                                O Righteous, Faithful Lord

                                                In You our souls are free at last

~  O God, Most Loving, we pause in this moment to offer You our other heartfelt thanksgivings, intercessions, petitions, and memorials, aloud or silently…add your own petitions

                                                O Righteous, Faithful Lord

                                                In You our souls are free at last

           

~ O God, Most Loving, nurture and enhance the gifts of our leaders in Your Church who strive to impart Your wisdom, keep us aware of Your eternal Presence, and guide us to discover our own. We pray especially for: add your own petitions

                                                O Righteous, Faithful Lord

                                                In You our souls are free at last

           

The Celebrant adds:  Holy God, our Well of Life, as the vessels were filled at Cana, fill us, Your own vessels, with Your Light that we may see light, with Your loving-kindness and favor, and bind us together in our common loyalty to Christ, with refuge under the shadow of Your wings. We ask through Jesus, Your Son and our Salvation; and the Holy Spirit, Your Infinite Wisdom; who together with You, reign as One God forever and forever.  Amen.

*A reading from The Making of a Black Bishop by the Rt. Rev. Quintin E. Primo, Jr. [1913-1998]:

          "The day of the yearly (Diocesan) Convention arrived. Presenting to the assemblage our (St. Matthew's) formal application to become a self-supporting unit of the diocese, the Rev. Canon James Birney, program developer/director for the diocese, spoke most eloquently, ''What we are doing at this moment is a symbol of what black and white people must continue to do as we offer our lives to be instruments for bringing the Kingdom of God reality on earth. For the past 122 years, the white congregations have patronizingly supported the black mission of St. Matthew's. Today, when black men everywhere are breaking the bonds of patronage which we hope are the last remnants of slavery and inequality, the people of St. Matthew's now both black and white, are freeing themselves and this Diocese from bondage to each other. Subservience and patronage are both gone. The congregation is free and the Diocese is free. And being free, we are both free to be One. What binds us together now is our common loyalty to Jesus Christ and to this branch of His Church. In this Christian context, you are demonstrating the meaning of Black Power.'"

     These Prayers of the People are commissioned by the Episcopal Church of Saints Andrew and Matthew (SsAM) in Wilmington, Delaware, who in 2019 celebrates the 23rd Anniversary of the blending of a traditionally white parish - St. Andrew's, founded in 1829 - and a traditionally African-American parish - St. Matthew's that began in 1845. St. Matthew’s was founded in the lower level of St. Andrew's as the Robert Smith Sunday School until it became St Matthew's Parish in its own location in 1891. Much later, in the racially fraught 1968, Bishop Quintin Primo, then an African-American vicar, guided St. Matthew's from mission status to full parish status and lived to see the joyous union of these two parishes into one. As many of us were privileged to know him personally, we are pleased to celebrate his life and prophetic voice this day along with the vibrant legacy of Dr. Martin Luther, King, Jr. The selection from Bishop Primo's biography (above) is SsAM's second reading on this Sunday in lieu of the lectionary's appointed reading from 1st Corinthians. To learn more about the historical significance and current mission of SsAM see: http://www.ssam.org/wpcontent/uploads/2015/09/WelcomeToSsAM_2015.pdf 

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