People's Prayers

Tuesday, July 1, 2014

Prayers of the People: Yoke of Ages, 4th Sunday after Pentecost

for Sunday, July 6, 2014, Readings: Gen 24: 34-38; Ps 45: 10-17; Romans 7:15-25a; Mt 11:16-19, 25-30

I thank you, [God], Lord of heaven and Earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and the intelligent and have revealed them to infants. - Matthew 11:25

Yoke: the bar that is used as a frame to pull or support something heavy.[yourdictionary.com]

We are never without our yoke - we are either carrying heavy loads for ourselves, or joined to another to share all that life brings, or with others to pull for some purpose or cause. If we were not yoked from birth to those who raised us we would simply have died. Even in our darkest most alone moments, we are lifting and dragging a weighty burden, and our happiest moments are linked with those we love.
We knew God from birth but as we grew older, wiser, and more intelligent, we lost what we knew and the stress and strain of life became harder. Jesus invites us to be yoked with him and with each other to bear a good and lighter burden, and, to know God again. This is a yoke of choice, a yoke of freedom, a yoke for all time and, all ages.

LET US, GOD’S PEOPLE, PRAY

Leader: ~ Most Holy Jesus, we come to You as You called us, to seek the knowledge of our God that only You can reveal. Let us learn our way of life from You, and be united with each other in Your love.

Holy Jesus, we welcome Your yoke and Your burden

RESPONSE: We rest our weary souls in Your gentle and humble heart

~ Most Holy Jesus, enlighten and burden all political leaders of our world, our nation, and our community, with a great desire to do the good they are capable of doing and to avoid the evil that is sometimes more tempting to do. Grant them the vision to see into the eyes and hearts of those for whom they legislate, and be able to see themselves and those they love. We pray especially for: add your own petitions

Holy Jesus, we welcome Your yoke and Your burden

We rest our weary souls in Your gentle and humble heart

~ Most Holy Jesus, soothe the pain and suffering of those depleted by disease, injury, or depression, and comfort those who give them care. We pray especially for: add your own petitions

Holy Jesus, we welcome Your yoke and Your burden

We rest our weary souls in Your gentle and humble heart

~ Most Holy Jesus, please ease the arduous path of grief for those who mourn, and help us all, as we reluctantly yield those we have loved, to the gracious and glorious reception into Your eternal life. We pray especially for: add your own petitions

Holy Jesus, we welcome Your yoke and Your burden

We rest our weary souls in Your gentle and humble heart

~ Most Holy Jesus, we pause in this moment to offer You our other heartfelt intentions and petitions, silently or aloud…………..

Holy Jesus, we welcome Your yoke and Your burden

We rest our weary souls in Your gentle and humble heart

~ Most Holy Jesus, for those who wear the visible sign of Your yoke, we ask a revival of spirit and restoration of joy in their daily work and life. Let us be mutual companions on this journey of our souls, caring and carrying in turn. We pray especially for: add your own petitions

Holy Jesus, we welcome Your yoke and Your burden

We rest our weary souls in Your gentle and humble heart

The Celebrant adds: O God of our spirit and our humanity, help us to come as children to listen and learn, to hear and grow. Grant us the revelation of Your wisdom, true delight in Your law, and let us be held captive only by Your love and grace. We ask this through our Most Holy Jesus and Your Glorious Holy Spirit, who live and reign with You, as One God throughout all eternity and beyond. Amen.

Please feel free to request a prayer or meditation to be composed for a particular person, 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. If you would like the weekly Prayers of the People prior to its appearance on the blog, please send me an email. Personal prayer requestors will remain anonymous.

Sunday, June 29, 2014

Meditation Moments: Ellington and Welles

Rod's Prayer for Us

I am leaving you well and whole.
That is my parting gift to you.*

Lord, Dear Lord of love, God Almighty, God Above,
Please look down and see my people through.
Come Sunday ~ Duke Ellington** [1899-1974]

Dear Rod:
We rest easier in our hearts today knowing your words, your voice remain even as your earthly presence has been reborn as eternal and unbounded. You know that the celebration of you, through the jazz vespers you designed, was as glorious an hour as any of us have ever spent and we know you speak to us from each phrase, each note, each breath - the most joyful noise resounding beyond the barriers of earth and ether, hearts and souls.
The prayers, the Scripture (from The Message, of course), and mostly the music and the lyrics have given us the clearest blueprint for all of us to follow til we meet again. Knowing that you put this together in the very last days, as you knew you were leaving this life, is the purest, most ideal, truly inspirational model of how to live and die with the utmost grace, dignity, and peace.
Thank you, my friend. All of us who knew and loved you will carry your love for us forever and give it away as often as we can to as many as we can, as you did. AMEN and HALLELUJAH!

A few of the selections from the Jazz Vespers at the Episcopal Church of Sts. Andrew & Matthew in Wilmington, DE on Saturday, June 28, 2014 designed by and in memory of our dearest brother in Christ, The Rev Rod Welles:

Come Sunday by Duke Ellington
Hold to God's Unchanging Hands, music by Paul Halley

Ecclesiastes 12:6-7 (The Message):
Life, lovely while it lasts, is soon over.
Life as we know it, precious and beautiful, ends.
The body is put back in the same ground it came from.
The spirit returns to God, who first breathed it.

1John 4:7-13 (The Message)

John 14:12-17. 25-27 (The Message)
.....*vv 25-27 speak clearly to me of Rod's directive to us all:
I am telling you these things while I am still living with you.
The Friend, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send at my
request, will make everything plain to you, reminding you of
all the things I have told you. I am leaving you well and
whole. That is my parting gift to you. [emphasis added]

I'm So Glad Jesus Lifted Me, a Negro Spiritual
In That Great Gittin' Up Mornin', A Negro Spiritual
Take the 'A' Train, Billy Strayhorn/Duke Ellington
and so much more...

**Duke Ellington, American composer, musician, and jazz orchestra leader for more than 50 years is an icon of American music. If you need to know more, just listen.

I cannot post the video here but use the link below or go to YouTube and search for Duke Ellington, Come Sunday and click on the link for the version by Kathleen Battle and Brandon Marsalis, oh my!

Come Sunday - Kathleen Battle & Brandon Marsalis
Please feel free to request a prayer or meditation to be composed for a particular person, 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. If you would like the weekly Prayers of the People prior to its appearance on the blog, please send me an email. Personal prayer requestors will remain anonymous.

Friday, June 27, 2014

Meditation Moments: Permanently Temporary

photo by Christina Brennan Lee
Buddhist Temple Grounds - Kamakura, Japan

The plants and flowers
I raised about my hut
I now surrender
To the will
Of the wind
― Ryōkan* [1758-1831]

Esteemed Mikado of the Cosmos ~
I, Your humble human creature, still find myself clinging to the notion that I have control of my life and even my property. Except that the more I try to divest myself of stuff, the more stuff I seem to accumulate (after all, I have room now since I got rid of the other stuff). And then there was that tree that fell in the storm.
In terms of my life, well, there's no problem there - I could say that everything I plan happens exactly as I want, except You know better. All that is great, ordinary, or awful in living is really only temporary.
The wind blows, the roof leaks, the new car gets old, ......s/he dies.
Help me, Most Supreme of us All, to surrender my illusion of control and find tranquility in the now moment of life. Grant me the insight to know that whatever else was, is, or will be, Your love is eternal, sustaining, and the only part of the Cosmos that is permanent. amen.



*Ryōkan was a Japanese zen buddhist monk, poet, calligrapher, and for most of his life, a hermit. Known for his eccentricities and humor, as much as for his poems, it is in his work that the essence of zen life is presented.


Please feel free to request a prayer or meditation to be composed for a particular person, 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. If you would like the weekly Prayers of the People prior to its appearance on the blog, please send me an email. Personal prayer requestors will remain anonymous.

Meditation Moments: Prepare to be Amazed

Amazement
watercolor by Jamie Winter

Our goal should be to live life in radical amazement. ....get up in the morning and look at the world in a way that takes nothing for granted. Everything is phenomenal; everything is incredible; never treat life casually. To be spiritual is to be amazed.

― Abraham Joshua Heschel* [1907-1972]

God of gods, Lord of kings, Revealer of mysteries ~

Being amazed when I get up in the morning isn't usually first on my list of things to do although some mornings it's amazing I've gotten that far. But before I know it the day has gone and I've missed it. The way I'm going, my whole life will be gone and I really don't want to wait until that specific moment to discover what true amazement is all about.

God of Creation, too much time has passed and I want to experience this life and all that is in it as an act of radical amazement. You have hung the heavens, filled the seas, and planted the earth. Help me see, feel, hear, taste, touch, and know the spirituality of wonder in every possible moment...in the moments that are joyful, in the moments when I am lost, and in the moments that are so ordinary they seem to meld into the next without notice. Grant me, each day, the vision to see the splendor, the ability to savor each breath, and the insight to expand my consciousness of amazement as my spirit absorbs and lives into the essence of You. amen.

*Abraham Joshua Heschel, a Polish born American philosopher, theologian, rabbi and is considered one of the leaders of his disciplines in the 20th century. He authored many books and was a professor of Jewish mysticism at the Jewish Theological Seminary of America. A strong advocate of the American Civil Rights movement, Heschel lost close family members in the Nazi Holocaust of World War II.

Thursday, June 26, 2014

Meditation Moments: Finding the Then in Now

When I have something to say that I think will be too difficult for adults, I write it in a book for children. Children are excited by new ideas; they have not yet closed the doors and windows of their imaginations. Provided the story is good... nothing is too difficult for children.
― Madeleine L'Engle* [1918-2007]

Ruler of the Universe We Know, and All the Ones We Don't ~
It's amazing to watch children at play. They see the wonder, the color, the surprise, and have the imagination to find excitement in a beautifully creative understanding of life. They accept revelation, move boundaries, and effortlessly disentangle enigmas. They ask why a thousand times without caring how many times they get the same answer and never stop looking for another.
Lord, when did my world become so limited, fixed, and absolute? How did I lose my curiosity and agree to be constrained by imposed and unexplored assumptions? Please help me find the child in me that my education, life experience, and trying to prove my worth to others has set aside. Open my eyes to possibilities, potential, insight, and a new experience of You. Let me learn how to play again and to expand my inner vision to rediscover delight, joy, laughter, and un-seriousness in my relationship with You. Grant me the gift to know now what I knew then and the non-sense to live it. amen.

*Madeleine L'Engle, an author of many books and articles, among other accolades she was a Newbery award winner for her junior novel A Wrinkle in Time. L'Engle was a strong Episcopalian, and later in life she was a "writer-in-residence" at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in New York City where she is now buried. Because of some of her theological views such as universal salvation and a limit to divine punishment, many Christian libraries and bookstores refused to carry her books while at the same time she was criticized by secular reviewers as being "too religious." On writing for children, she often said that children could understand very complex topics better than adults and she emphasized the importance of being childlike and not childish.

Please feel free to request a prayer or meditation to be composed for a particular person, 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. If you would like the weekly Prayers of the People prior to its appearance on the blog, please send me an email. Personal prayer requestors will remain anonymous.

Tuesday, June 24, 2014

Meditation Moments: 3 hours? Oh sure...

I have so much to do that I shall spend the first three hours in prayer.
— Martin Luther* [1483-1546]

Oh sure, God - not a problem, I'll just kick that off every morning! Can I just tell You how much I have to do every day? I'll bet Martin Luther didn't have to shop for groceries or prepare meals! And all the places I have to go? All the expectations others have of me? The pressure to get everything done on time and correctly, the phone calls, email, voicemail, bill paying, mowing the lawn, the laundry, text messages, travel reservations, doctor appointments.
If I had the time I could go on and on for hours about how much time I do NOT have for prayer.....um, er, well, on the other hand, I guess I could just turn it all over to YOU...sort of like I just did. Hmm, I guess it isn't a requirement to lock myself up in a chapel on a kneeler. So, ok then, I'll just go on and on to You while I'm going around in my day. I already feel a little charged up, and wirelessly. amen.

*Martin Luther was a German monk and theologian who is credited with the start of the Protestant Reformation. He was ultimately excommunicated by the Roman Catholic Church. He challenged the authority of the Pope on several levels and disavowed the Bible as the only source of divinely-revealed knowledge. He believed in "the priesthood of all believers" for baptized people and translating the Bible into the local language made it more accessible from the academic Latin known only by clergy and the very well-educated. He married and introduced singing by the congregation. His later writings were antagonistic toward Jews and remain controversial. Nonetheless the Lutheran Church, in its various forms, follow the basic tenets of his theology to this day.

Please feel free to request a prayer or meditation to be composed for a particular person, 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. If you would like the weekly Prayers of the People prior to its appearance on the blog, please send me an email. Personal prayer requestors will remain anonymous.

Monday, June 23, 2014

Prayers of the People: The Price of Free, 3rd Sunday after Pentecost

for Sunday, June 29, 2014, Readings: Gen 22:1-18, Ps 13, Romans 6:12-23, Mt 10:37-42

...the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 6:23b NRSV

This week our first reading is related to one of the four "texts of terror" as author and seminary Professor Phyllis Trible describes several biblical accounts in her book of that name. Even many non-Bible readers are aware of God's call to Abraham to take his son Isaac and make him a burnt offering, to sacrifice his beloved child's life, as a test of obedience. Who hasn't wondered, and worried, if this is what it means to "obey" God?
It's easy, and scary, to get caught up in the language of fear but each of this week's readings reinforces the steadfast love of God which will not harm us, and the full reward of Christ by doing what we should be doing anyway, welcoming and caring for others.
Free gift? Well, it is free choice and, at the very least, the promise of eternity seems well worth obedience and hospitality as the price.

LET US, GOD’S PEOPLE, PRAY

Leader: ~ Lord of Righteousness, God of Grace, from the teachings of Christ we have learned obedience in our hearts and the release of our souls from the death grip of sin. We are thankful and humbled for Your exquisite love that sanctifies and gives us eternal life, through Jesus, Your Son and our Redeemer.