People's Prayers

Monday, July 28, 2014

Prayers of the People: With Last Week's Yeast, 8th Sunday after Pentecost

for August 3, 2014, 8th Sunday after Pentecost, Readings: Gen 32: 22-31; Ps 17: 1-7, 16; Romans 9:1-5; Mt 14:13-21

Taking the five loaves and the two fish, he looked up to heaven, and blessed and broke the loaves, and gave them to the disciples, and all the disciples gave them to the crowds. And all ate and were filled... ~ Matthew 14:19b-20a

In last week's Gospel reading from Matthew, Jesus used several parables to explain the Kingdom of Heaven to the disciples. In one he likened the Kingdom to "...yeast that a woman took and mixed in with three measures of flour until all of it was leavened." [Mt 13:33] Is it too much to presume that the bread broken and blessed by Jesus and served by the disciples was made by one or more women? The Gospel this week tells us that "those who ate were about 5,000 men, besides women and children." [Mt: 14:21, emphasis added]

On July 29, 2014, the Episcopal Church in the USA remembered and celebrates the 40th Anniversary of the ordination of the first 11 courageous and barrier-shattering women. Besides all the men who have gone before and come after, let us also remember and celebrate the overlooked women in this Gospel, in the Church, in everyday life, who are the bread-makers, the child-bearers, the mothers, daughters, sisters, nieces, aunts, grandmothers, and, priests to us all. Let us use the yeast we are given to leaven the world, especially the children, and raise everyone to new heights of health, education, prosperity, and, love.

LET US, GOD’S PEOPLE, PRAY

Leader: ~ O God of Abundance, when we wrestle with all the issues, ideas, and dilemmas of everyday life, You feed our souls through the words and actions of Jesus. If only we will listen, learn, and let our actions reflect Your message.

Jesus, Bread of Life

RESPONSE: Help us to incline our ears to You and heed Your words

~ O God of Abundance, on this Earth with ample prosperity to feed, heal, and care for its people, why are so many without so much? Help us find ways to reach the conscience of the political and corporate leaders of the world, of our country, and our community, so they fix their eyes on justice, and turn from the menace of war to the humanity of peace. Let us work most particularly for the health and safety of all of the world’s children. We pray especially for: add your own petitions

Jesus, Bread of Life

Help us to incline our ears to You and heed Your words

~ O God of Abundance, sustain the hope for all among us who suffer from chronic illness, injury, and anxiety, and bolster the energy of their care providers. We pray especially for: add your own petitions

Jesus, Bread of Life

Help us to incline our ears to You and heed Your words

~ O God of Abundance, soften the pain of those who, in sorrow, commend their loved ones to Your eternal care. We are soothed by knowing that You receive with joy and open arms those we have newly sent ahead. We pray especially for: add your own petitions

Jesus, Bread of Life

Help us to incline our ears to You and heed Your words

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

Jesus, Bread of Life

Help us to incline our ears to You and heed Your words

~ O God of Abundance, we ask Your special blessings upon those who are chosen to feed our souls through Your Word and Sacraments. Let them experience Your loving embrace and support as they lead us ever closer to knowing You. We pray especially for: add your own petitions

Jesus, Bread of Life

Help us to incline our ears to You and heed Your words

The Celebrant adds: Lord of Compassion and Sustenance, we come together in this community seeking our spiritual fill from the broken pieces of the Eucharist. As we receive this sacred Gift, grant us wisdom, courage, and fortitude to carry You with us into our lives and the lives of all we meet. We ask for these blessings through Jesus, Bread of Life; the Holy Spirit, Breath of Souls; who together with You, Creator of Life and Souls, are the One God, forever and eternally. 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, July 27, 2014

Meditation Moments: Differently Me

I can't go back to yesterday,

because

I was a different person then.

~ Lewis Carroll* [1832-1898]

Was I a better or a worse person yesterday?   What I know for sure is that today I have new experiences to reflect upon and a fresh perspective about now. Today might be a "normal" day filled with the routine and the ordinary but then one never knows what the world's news will be, what wonderful surprises will occur, or what difficulties great and small will arise.
So, Dear God of All Possibilities, grant me the energy, curiosity, and persistence to explore all that this day offers. Let me accept all the busy-ness, relationships, moments of boredom, the stresses, the quiet, the noise, the laughter, the tears that this day may bring. I want to be aware of all the colors, the art, the music, and the characters that usually fade into the background in an everyday day. If it becomes an extraordinary day, I hope to have the reflexes to go with whatever comes. As I lay my head down on the pillow at the end of it, help me sift through the moments where I found You most present. And, might there be a refreshing and peaceful sleep to follow? I'll need all that will empower and motivate the different person I will be tomorrow. amen.


*Lewis Carroll was the pen name of British born author, Charles Lutwidge Dodgson, best known for Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass, and a host of other children's stories and poems. A mathematics lecturer, he was also an avid photographer, wrote political pamphlets, and essays.

Please feel free to request a prayer or meditation to be composed for a 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, July 25, 2014

Meditation Moments: Auto-matic Christian

Anyone who thinks sitting in church can make you a Christian must also think that sitting in a garage can make you a car.
           ― Garrison Keillor* [1942- ]


Dear God,
I have faithfully attended church on most Sundays of the year except for vacations, most holiday weekends and when I'm tired (I DO show up on Christmas and Easter, though). I give money, I go to coffee hour. That's about all I have time for in a busy week. I know there are other things going on in the building at different times - I see all the posters for a study of this or that, a prayer service of some kind or another - but I never bother with all that, it's for holier people than me anyway. At least you know I'm trying, more or less, to do my duty as a Christian. So, when You have a moment, I think I'd like to be a Mercedes, or maybe a Lexus, hmmm, no how about a Jaguar, no wait...a Maserati, YES! - I've always wanted to learn to speak Italian. amen.

*Garrison Keillor is an American author, humorist, storyteller, and radio host of Minnesota Public Radio's "A Prairie Home Companion." A commentator on life through his Lake Wobegon stories and other novels and writing, he is well known for his sharp wit disguised in a quiet unassuming manner.

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.

Thursday, July 24, 2014

Meditation Moments: X marks the spot

If you're not careful, the newspapers will have you hating the people who are being oppressed, and loving the people who are doing the oppressing.
~ Malcolm X * [1925-1965 ]

           I don't want to read a newspaper, magazine, or social media, listen to a radio station, or watch a tv program that will make me crazy angry because of its extremes in political or religious or whatever viewpoint. But I also realize that if I only accept what I want to hear, I may miss something important that may alter my thoughts by opening my mind. And besides, if I already know my mind, why would I be afraid to hear another idea?
OH, the dilemma! Dear Lord of all Critical Thinking, grant me the patience to hear other voices and not be quick to reject them without thinking through the points they make. Push me, also, not to blindly follow the directives of the voices I like better. Your Gospel gives me the criteria for listening to the opinions of others who set themselves up as authorities of all information. To Love your neighbor as [if s/he is] yourself [Mark 12:31] is, for me, the standard by which I try to look at my own thoughts and actions and, those engaged in the public information business attempting to sway my opinions.
             Sometimes, no matter how difficult the message or the messenger is at the time, there may still be truth, wisdom, and a new perspective to be gained when my mind is open. I don't have to change my opinions - but I'm free to. I don't have to listen to the disagreeable stuff all the time, either - right?
          Malcolm was a child of You, God of Abraham, and spoke a truth we don't always want to hear even now. But in this case, as with searching for truth as a treasure, X marks this spot very clearly. Please help me to stop, think, and reflect, and, to remember that I must re-evaluate regularly how I accept, reject, and act on an uncomfortable truth. amen.

*Malcom X was born as Malcolm Little and after a more than difficult childhood and later imprisonment, he converted to The Nation of Islam becoming a minister and a very outspoken, radical, and controversial human rights activist. After traveling in the Middle East and Africa and changing affiliations from The Nation of Islam to Sunni Islam, he repudiated many of his early beliefs and teachings. He said, "I did many things as a [Nation of Islam] Muslim that I'm sorry for now. I was a zombie then ... pointed in a certain direction and told to march." He was assassinated by three members of The Nation of Islam in 1965.

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.

Wednesday, July 23, 2014

Meditation Moments Interruption for TEN THOUSAND THANK YOUs!

Eight months ago I was asked by the rector of my Episcopal parish to try my hand at writing the Prayers of the People for two Sundays, Advent 1 and 2. And then 3, 4, and...I'm still doing them. My first surprise was learning that they're being used in several places regularly besides my own parish, and in other places now and then or in bits and pieces.
Having circulated a few of the pieces early on among a trusted few, I was strongly encouraged to post them on Facebook and then in this space that was created for me by a very pushy (and much appreciated) friend. And so it grows. The blog was established on December 10, 2013, I began writing every day in Lent, and today I reached an unbelievable (to me) milestone of more than 10,000 page views!!
Thanks to all who have read a page or two, a big Thank You to those who show up regularly, Great Thanks to those who read and share on Facebook, Twitter, or elsewhere, and Especially to those who have chosen to "follow" me. I am continually amazed. This has turned into a prayer discipline for myself and the day is never complete for me now unless I've been writing. Writing regularly is something I've long wanted to do but have never allowed myself the time until just one more prompting (at the top of a long list over many years) finally pushed me over an edge.
If you have liked something I've written or not, (some pieces are better than others, for sure!) please drop me a line and let me know. Any requests? I've done a few, not all are published here. I'd love to hear from some of you - email address is at the bottom.
Meanwhile, again, THANK YOU! Tell your friends, and, please stay tuned! Many blessings to all of you who have blessed me by your presence.

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, July 22, 2014

Meditation Moments: Que sera is now and again

for everything there is a season ~ Ecclesiastes 3:1-8

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness...it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair...in short, the period was so far like the present period...

                                                                                                                                ~ Charles Dickens* [1812-1870]

What has been is what will be, and what has been done is what will be done; there is nothing new under the sun.   ~ Ecclesiastes 1:9

O God of Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow ~

Just about the time I get very discouraged about the world - which is pretty much every day at the moment - I remember the piece from Ecclesiastes 1:9 which leads me to the piece that opens Dickens' A Tale of Two Cities from 1859 - sigh, not much does change does it? Wars, poverty, diseases that should be gone are coming back, squabbles and bitter debates in governmental corridors over basic human needs and decent wages vs. corporate greed and excessive profit...us vs them at home and everywhere else and, O Dear God - the children - the terrible things happening to the world's children. If I go on with those thoughts I could lose hope.

But then I remember there is Ecclesiastes 3:1-8: For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven...and I can breathe again, while the storms of the world rage around me, even if only briefly. I will step my foot in wherever I can to rage back as productively as possible, to help if only in meager ways but always striving to move past what I think I can manage. And in the midst of all the terror, injustice, anguish, and despair, there still is beauty, joy, goodness, and love. Help me keep my jar of hope cleansed with faith and filled with the essence of wonder. Grant me the strength of heart to love well, care deeply, live in gratitude, and act with positive purpose, and, always in Your name. Que sera sera. amen.

*Charles Dickens, English born Victorian author is still known for many of his 15 novels but most popular today, among them, is A Tale of Two Cities and A Christmas Carol. Many of his short stories, novels, and articles chronicled the class distinctions and severe poverty and hardships of his 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.

Prayers of the People: Pearls and Mustard, 7th Sunday after Pentecost

for July 27, 2014, 7th Sunday after Pentecost, Readings: Gen 29: 15-28; Ps 105: 1-11, 44-45; Romans 8:26-39; Mt 13:31-52

When morning came, there was Leah! So Jacob said to Laban, 'What is this you have done to me? I served you for Rachel, didn't I? Why have you deceived me?'
[Gen 29:25 NIV]

The Kingdom of Heaven is like a mustard seed...like yeast...like treasure hidden in a field...[and] like [a pearl] of great value... [Matthew 13:31, 33, 44, 45 NIV]

A Taste of Creation this week -
the deceiver is deceived, and there is more sibling rivalry and jealousy. In using imperfect people to show us to ourselves, we also see that we are still counted among all those that God loves, regardless of our flaws.
Jesus lets us know there is something for everyone in God's Kingdom whether we are planting the tiny mustard seeds to grow into large trees that birds will flock to, mixing yeast with flour to expand the dough, finding buried treasure in the field, or discovering a pearl so perfect that we sell all we own to buy it.
One message is that there is no perfection in humanity but our smallest efforts can grow and yield a large return. All we have to do is recognize that God is always here, we just have to look, and sometimes that requires a little digging. We have to work pretty hard to be separated from the love of God through Jesus, even with all of our faults. So even when we start small, all that we do will expand, and we'll be able to achieve the greatest possible reward. After all, If God is for us, who can be against us? [Romans 8:31b] Only us.

LET US, GOD’S PEOPLE, PRAY

Leader: ~ O God of Strength and Presence, the hidden gems in Your Creation: the smallest seeds yielding the largest trees, the yeast that expands the dough, the treasure for which we buy the field, are all markers of Your bountiful love that begins in small ways and fills our souls beyond measure. Catch us in Your net, keep us worthy, and gather us into the good basket of Your bountiful harvest.