Prayers for Lent, Day 22: Give Up, Take On, Pray

What exactly IS The Christian Ideal?

If you Google the phrase you'll get directed to the Chesterton* quote and untold numbers of sermons about "it." Off the top of your head, you may be confident that you know all about it, "Well, of course it is...." So, how do you define it as a way of life? Why does Chesterton say it's difficult? Write it out. What happens if (when?) you stray from the Ideal? Be specific - points off for vague responses!

Jesus, Beloved of God,
     You are the Christ, the Anointed One, the Son of God, the Son of Man. We are the Christians who have signed on to follow You, to live our lives as You have taught us. You did give us all we need to know in Matthew 22:33-40** which is pretty clear:  Love God with everything we have and love everyone - friend, not friend, and stranger - as ourselves. Sounds easy enough ~ I guess if we can really do that we've pretty well covered the original 1-10 list.  Well, I quietly admit there are days when I'm not loving anyone very much and many other days when I watch to see how I measure up with the ways other Christians appear to be following You.  That can be discouraging on a variety of levels. For today, I'll give up looking around to see what everyone else is doing and take on the "trying" part a little more diligently. I'll pray to find my path through The Christian Ideal and when I hit a bump or two or have a cranky day, I'll "try" to remember to pray again.  amen.


*G.K. Chesterton [1874-1936] born in London and baptized as an Anglican, studied art and literature harboring a desire to be an artist. He fell into journalism and then began to write in earnest penning more than 80 books, hundreds of short stories, and more hundreds of poems.  He's widely known for his Priest-Detective Father Brown character, which, dramatized for television, still plays on PBS in the US. A lay theologian and philosopher, he converted to Roman Catholicism in 1922. Poet, playwright, political commentator, literary and art critic, he was known for his wit and humor and use of paradox. His faith was deep and his practice devout enough to warrant a telegram of condolence from the Pope "To the English People" at his death. Just one more of his innumerable quotable quotes that feels quite contemporary: The whole modern world has divided itself into Conservatives and Progressives. The business of Progressives is to go on making mistakes. The business of the Conservatives is to prevent the mistakes from being corrected.  

^{**Matthew 22:33-40 [NRSV]
34} When the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together, ³⁵ and one of them, a lawyer, asked him a question to test him. ³⁶ “Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?” ³⁷ He said to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ ³⁸ This is the greatest and first commandment. ³⁹ And a second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ ⁴⁰ On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.”


Please feel free to request a prayer to be composed for a particular concern or topic for posting in this space. You may leave your request in the comments section or contact me directly at 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. Requestors will remain anonymous.

Prayers for Lent, Day 21: Give Up, Take On, Pray

I hear and behold God in every object, yet understand God not in the least.  
                ~ Walt Whitman* 1819-1892




Where do you discover God in your life - in the woods, on a river, in the mountains, in the living room, on the highway, in church?  Have you ever experienced a moment when you were certain you understood God?   

Almighty, Mystical, Divinity,
     When I was a child, You were in every room, every sunrise, every blade of grass, inside, outside, and all over; and, I understood You, or at least the wonder of You and, who I was to You. And then I grew up - sort of. Where did You go?  Some days it's a struggle to find You anywhere and I'm more uncertain of You than ever.  Oh, wait, maybe I'm the one who went...
hmmm...SO...for today I'll give up trying to find You anywhere else but here because everywhere I am is here. I'll take on accepting that You are a mystery that doesn't need to be deciphered or comprehended. I'll pray. And then I can move forward because You are always here and I don't need to know why.  amen.


*Walt Whitman is an icon of American poetry, especially for his Leaves of Grass written and revised over nearly 40 years. Also an essayist, journalist, and humanist, Whitman believed that all religions were equal and although he remained a religious skeptic, he did believe that the human soul is immortal and always in a state of progression. A fascinating person, his biography is too extensive for this space but well worth the exploration. He continues to be one of the most influential American poets.  




Please feel free to request a prayer to be composed for a particular concern or topic for posting in this space. You may leave your request in the comments section or contact me directly at 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. Requestors will remain anonymous.

Prayers for Lent, Day 20: Give Up, Take On, Pray

Prayer  is a...nongeographic space that one enters at one's own peril, for it houses God during those few moments of one's presence there, and what is there will most surely change everything that comes into it....Ever traveling as we travel, moving as we move, prayer grips like home, until the heart belongs nowhere else and the body can scarcely function apart from them both. Prayer is dangerous and the entrance way to wholeness.  ~ Phyllis Tickle* 1934-


How do you pray?  There are many ways - some use formally constructed prayers written by others, some pray spontaneously in a group.  Some pray in silence and alone.  What are the reasons for your prayers - intercessory (on behalf of others), thanksgiving (for blessings in life), petition (request for yourself), penitence (you're sorry for something), to give praise to God without asking or expecting a return?  How do you want to pray? Step one: Dear God, [fill in the rest here]...

Dear God,
       Sometimes I find it difficult to know what to say to You even though I don't seem to have a problem talking to anyone else. What words are best? What should I be saying? Do the words matter? 
       For today, I will give up trying to pray the way I think is correct and take on speaking to You from my heart.  I will pray to share sacred space with You, often. Is it true that I can be transformed by engaging with You regularly? That does feel a little dangerous but, You are God, what better danger can there be?  amen.




*Phyllis Tickle is an accomplished author and lecturer whose focus is primarily religion and spirituality. She has served as a teacher, professor, and an academic dean and as an editor for St. Luke's Press, Peachtree Publishers, and Publishers Weekly. Her best known works are The Great Emergence - How Christianity is Changing and Why and her series on The Divine Hours.  An Episcopal lay woman, Ms. Tickle lives in Tennessee with her husband.
  
Please feel free to request a prayer to be composed for a particular concern or topic for posting in this space. You may leave your request in the comments section or contact me directly at 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. Requestors will remain anonymous.

Prayers of the People: The Ultimate Oil Treatment, 4th Sunday in Lent

for Sunday March 30, 2014, Readings: 1 Sam 16: 1-13, Ps 23, Eph 5:8-14, Jn 9: 1-41

The ritual of Anointing is as ancient as human life itself. This symbolic rite is still known across all cultures, religions, and ethnicities in every corner of the Earth. Perfumed oil has been used to establish and confirm a monarch, to welcome a guest, to mark a child as Christ's own forever, to promote physical and spiritual healing of the sick, exile demonic possession, and to honor the body of one who has died. Some practices use herbal pastes, scented water, and even yogurt.  
      The name "Christ" derives from the Greek word Χριστός (Khristós)   meaning "The Anointed One." 
       Beyond the sacramental, spiritual, and symbolic, as a universal ceremonial from the beginning of time, perhaps it is that the act of anointing taps something primal in us and deeply connects us to all who have gone before and all who are yet to come. Our comfort from  and to the ages.  


LET US, GOD’S PEOPLE, PRAY

LEADER: ~ Eternal Shepherd, our One True Light, You chose David in his youth and us from our births knowing our full potential. You see beneath the surface of our flesh and know the hidden longings of our souls. Lead us out of the blindness of self-pride to the clarity of eyes opened to life in You.

                             Anoint our eyes to see You more clearly.
RESPONSE:  Anoint our hearts to follow You more nearly.

~ Eternal Shepherd, our One True Light, illuminate the paths of justice and mercy that the leaders of this world might follow. Awaken their inner vision to see themselves as You see them, so they may begin to shepherd their own flocks with integrity and principle. We pray especially for: add your own petitions.

                      Anoint our eyes to see You more clearly.
                      Anoint our hearts to follow You more nearly.

~ Eternal Shepherd, our One True Light, attend those who are suffering with physical or emotional trials and calm those who give them care. Enfold them with Your radiance and grant them the peace of Your green pasture while they heal. We pray especially for: add your own petitions

                       Anoint our eyes to see You more clearly.
                       Anoint our hearts to follow You more nearly.

~ Eternal Shepherd, our One True Light, we long for those who have left us to live in Your House forever. Let Your promised comfort embrace all who are weeping in the shadow of grief. We pray especially for all those who have been lost in earthly tragedies on land, on the sea, and in the air, and for: add your own petitions

                        Anoint our eyes to see You more clearly.
                        Anoint our hearts to follow You more nearly.

~ Eternal Shepherd, our One True Light, exhilarate the spirits of those who guide Your Church so they may lead us on our journey to You and we may all be released from sin and darkness. We pray especially for: add your own petitions

                          Anoint our eyes to see You more clearly.
                          Anoint our hearts to follow You more nearly.

The Celebrant adds: Timeless, abiding, immutable Pastor, Your goodness and mercy overflows our cup of life when we choose the blessings You set before us. Grant our eyes to open and our hearts to see the table of Love You have prepared for us. We ask this through Jesus our Savior and the Spirit of all that is Holy, who live and reign with You, one God, forever and ever. Amen.

Please feel free to request a prayer to be composed for a particular concern or topic for posting in this space. You may leave your request in the comments section or contact me directly at 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. Requestors will remain anonymous.

Prayers for Lent, Day 19: Give Up, Take On, Pray

"One of the most significant negative habits we should be aware of is that of constantly allowing our mind to run off into the future...Carried away by our worries, we’re unable to live fully and happily in the present. Deep down, we believe we can’t really be happy just yet—that we still have a few more boxes to be checked off before we can really enjoy life."
                               ―  Thích Nhất Hạnh* 1926-


              It’s one thing to hope for and plan for the future. It’s another thing to live in it before it arrives and, in so doing, miss all the opportunities of today to smile, appreciate, enjoy. Even in the darkest of times, light will shine through the clouds. How many times have you played the game of: once the car is paid off….once the kids are through college….once the new roof is on….once the dentist bills are paid….once the house is fixed up, paid off, sold….once we retire….THEN we'll be able to…… Take moments you have in the NOW and the THEN will take care of itself.

Dear God of Maybe Someday ~
           All this business of "live for today and tomorrow will take care of itself" is all well and fine but I have bills to pay, income to worry about, repairs that can't wait for the house and the car and even the teeth and, and, and.... [once again: insert long, s l o w, d e e p, breath here]. Ok, all right, for today I will give up looking so far ahead that today is gone before I know it. I will take on setting the cell phone timer to go off once an hour for 6 hours and when it does I will take one, long, slow, deep breath and take 30 seconds to look around me and notice something I haven't noticed before whether in my immediate surroundings or outside of a window. Or, I will look at a picture of someone I love and smile and be glad to have him or her in my life. I will pray to be aware of and to be thankful for all the good moments that I have in this day.  I will thank You, Dear Lord, and remember that Life is a gift, as someone once put on a tacky plaque, that's why we call it the present. amen.



*Thích Nhất Hạnh is a Vietnamese Zen Buddhist monk, peace activist, teacher, prolific author, and poet who was once nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.  He has written and lectured extensively on the connections between Buddhism and Christianity in such works as "Living Buddha, Living Christ" and "Going Home, Jesus and Buddha as Brothers." He studied comparative religion at Princeton University and was appointed lecturer in Buddhism at Columbia University.  He currently lives in a monastery in the South of France but travels frequently around the world to lecture.



Please feel free to request a prayer to be composed for a particular concern or topic for posting in this space. You may leave your request in the comments section or contact me directly at 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. Requestors will remain anonymous.
 

Prayers for Lent, Day 18: Give Up, Take On, Pray

Our Savior is our true Mother in whom we are endlessly born and out of whom

we shall never come.     

~ Julian of Norwich* 1342-ca 1416  

      Few of us can claim personal experience with unconditional love either received or given. Perhaps a moment with a child, even a pet, but such a rarefied occasion is fleeting and fragile.

      Yet there are those times when even the strongest of us needs the all-ecompassing embrace of one who requires nothing in return, has no expectations, and wants only to care for and comfort, nurture and love us.  Whisper in your heart to the One and know.

O Great Nurturer, Comforter, and Soother,

       Some days I want too much from others and they want too much from me. I'm certain that I try to meet the expectations of them and I often feel that they leave me alone in the dust of frustration. I can easily dig myself deeper and deeper into the ditch of resentment. For today I will give up feeling aggravated when I think my needs aren't being met. I will take on meeting others where they are, doing as I'm able to do with and for them, and let go of open (or secret) expectations of any kind of return for my efforts. I will pray to release myself from inward annoyance, outward irritation, and turn to You for sustenance, reassurance, and refreshment. amen.


* Julian of Norwich, was an English Anchoress (a hermit who lived in, and was sometimes permanently enclosed in, a small cell attached to a wall of the church whose life consisted of daily devotions, prayer, devotional reading, and writing). She is considered to be one of the most important mystics in all of Christianity. Her manuscript of Revelations of Divine Love - also known as the Short Text - is thought to be the oldest surviving book written in English by a woman.  She is probably best known for her words that with God, "All shall be well, and all shall be well, and all manner of things shall be well."




Please feel free to request a prayer to be composed for a particular concern or topic for posting in this space. You may leave your request in the comments section or contact me directly at 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. Requestors will remain anonymous.

Prayers for Lent, Day 17, Give Up, Take On, Pray

Psalm 23 speaks to us in the simplest of terms that belie the intricacy of its depth. The symbolism in this well-known Psalm is far more complex and fascinating than just the obvious image of a guy walking down a lane with a big staff and a dog, or the pretty girl of nursery rhymes with a bow on her crook as the sheep dutifully follow.  
      The demands on real living shepherds are constant and endless.  Sheep are peculiarly needy and helpless creatures, quite restive, and even self-destructive at times. They can stand still for hours or bolt into stampede because an apple drops unexpectedly from a tree. The shepherd must keep continuous vigil against disease, insect infestations, predators, pecking order fights, escape artists, water and food supplies. Sheep will NOT lie down unless they are completely contented and secure. A special oil mixture that the shepherd prepares and swabs around the sheep's head and nose keeps deadly insects from burrowing and causing panic and disease, and the sheep is calmed for a bit. Then there are shearing and lambing seasons...*
         Taken line by line in this Psalm we can see, feel, and almost hear Jesus, our Shepherd, here with us, reviving, caring, comforting, and anointing. Watching over us, preparing our table, restoring us.  Nothing we need is withheld.  A Good Shepherd's job is never done.


Most Gracious and Vigilant Shepherd,
      How much of my life I have known the words of this lovely little Psalm ~ but have I paid attention to them?  Have I understood what they really mean in my life?  They're so familiar that when it comes time I recite them with a matter-of-fact monotone voice without even listening to myself.  But for today, I will give up taking for granted that You ARE the Shepherd who restores my soul and anoints my heart when I call on You. I will take on reading this Psalm carefully and slowly at least twice.  I will pray these words with conscious intention, recognizing the important message that Christ Jesus IS my shepherd.  I will read it one time as a prayer for myself, emphasizing the parts that do refer to me:  The Lord is MY Shepherd; I shall not be in want. He makes ME lie down in green pastures and leads ME beside still waters......
       And then, I will read it once more (at least). Only this time I'll add the name and appropriate pronouns of someone I know as an intercessory prayer. And I will carry the image of Jesus leading us, comforting us, anointing us as we walk toward dwelling in the House of the Lord forever. I think I will call this, Psalm 23.1.  amen.


Psalm 23  (format from the Book of Common Prayer)

The LORD is Anna's shepherd;
She shall not be in want.

He makes Anna lie down in green pastures
and leads her beside still waters.

He revives Anna's soul
and guides her along right pathways for his Name's sake.

Though Anna walks through the valley of the shadow of death,
She shall fear no evil;
for you are with her;
your rod and your staff, they comfort her.

You spread a table before Anna in the presence of those
who trouble her;
You anoint her head with oil,
and her cup is running over.

Surely your goodness and mercy shall follow her all the days
of her life,
And Anna will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever.

Amen.


*I commend to you a charming and interesting little book, A Shepherd Looks at Psalm 23, by W. Phillip Keller, for a closer look at the connections between the Psalm's descriptions and real life sheep farming.


Please feel free to request a prayer to be composed for a particular concern or topic for posting in this space. You may leave your request in the comments section or contact me directly at 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. Requestors will remain anonymous.