People's Prayers

Tuesday, March 31, 2020

Prayers of the People: Hosanna! Always and Especially in the Time of Covid 19 ~ Passion/Palm Sunday '20 Yr A

For Sunday, April 5, 2020, Readings: The Liturgy of the Palms: Matthew 21:1-11, Psalm 118:1-2, 19-29; The Liturgy of the Word: Isaiah 50:4-9a,
Psalm 31:9-16, Philippians 2:5-11, Mt 26:14-27:66

The crowds that went ahead of him and that followed were shouting, “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest heaven!” [Matthew 21:9]

Hosannah, Lord, hosannah! Lord, send us now success. Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord… [Psalm 118:25-26a]

The Lord God has given me the tongue of a teacher... Morning by morning he wakens...my ear...The Lord God helps me...and I know I shall not be put to shame. [Isaiah 50:4, 7b]

But as for me, I have trusted in you, O Lord. I have said, "You are my God. My times are in your hand...in your loving-kindness save me." [Psalm 31:14-15a, 16b]

Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God...And being found in human form, he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death...[Philippians 2:5-11]

Then [Jesus] went with them to a place called Gethsemane; and he said to his disciples. "Sit here while I go over there and pray"...Then he came to the disciples and found them sleeping; and he said to Peter, "So you could not stay awake with me one hour? Stay awake and pray that you may not come into the time of trial; the spirit is indeed willing, but the flesh is weak." [Matthew 26:36, 40-41]

Hosanna! The perfect short prayer, for these and other times, that we didn’t know that we knew.

How strange “Palm Sunday” is this year as I write in the midst of the Coronavirus/ Covid-19 Pandemic. With churches closed, the festival-like processions with waving palms and joyful hymns don’t lend themselves to online liturgies with no congregants. For those of us in Christian denominations that follow the Revised Common Lectionary, it almost seems more appropriate, just now, to move directly into the second part of this particular Sunday’s usual worship practice, the Passion narratives. However, these two parts are inextricably interwoven and significantly more cohesive and substantive when taken together than when separated. It is human nature to only want the fun part, yet as we know all too well, in the span of mortal life we cannot overlook the difficult in favor of only the pleasurable. And, that is why the shout of HOSANNA! is more important than ever, on this day and on every day.

Hosanna, pronounced “Hoshana” in the Hebrew [Old] Testament, comes to us today in Psalm 118 appointed for the “Liturgy of the Palms,” in verse 25-26 (NRSV): Hosannah, Lord, hosannah! Lord, send us now success. Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord; we bless you from the house of the Lord. In original Aramaic, the language Jesus would likely have spoken, the exclamation was “help, save, I pray.” The words of the Psalm become clearer with that in mind if we shift to “Help, Lord, Help! Lord, send us now success.” In the Jewish Study Bible (of the Jewish Publication Society and published by Oxford Press 1985/1999), verses 25-26 read as O Lord, deliver us! O Lord, let us prosper! May he who enters be blessed in the name of the Lord; we bless you from the House of the Lord.

Christian usage in the Christian [New] Testament has become an exclamation of special respect for the one who saves us. Neither definition excludes the other and so to proclaim Hosanna! is to recognize, celebrate, and respect Jesus as our Lord and Savior even as we ask him to help us.

As we continue to stay at home to prevent further spreading and/or incurring this new plague, we are given a fresh opportunity, perhaps never undertaken before, namely, to read the full texts of today’s readings without at once listening to the recitation by another. We begin with the acquiring of the animal for Jesus to ride, the choice of which has significance. As Jesus was accused later in the week of proclaiming himself "King of the Jews," riding into the city of Jerusalem on a donkey symbolized that he was coming in peace, as a ruler would do to show a peaceful arrival rather than a warrior King riding in on a horse bent on war. Then the procession with palm branches celebrates Jesus' triumphal entry into Jerusalem just on the heels of his miraculous raising of Lazarus from the dead just two miles away. The greetings of hosanna are a recognition that he is a Messiah who will remove and save them from the oppression of Rome.

The Passion narrative develops the details of his Last Supper, betrayal by Judas, and the machinations of the Chief Priests whose local standing and power among the Jewish hierarchy and Rome were clearly threatened by this acclaimed and unorthodox prophet and miracle-worker. All of these elements were carefully noticed and recorded by the Roman occupiers and the Sanhedrin, the Jewish Council who had its own police force and trial court. How easy, it seems, to go from enthusiastic cheers of the crowd to the strongly manipulated and equally enthusiastic and deathly jeers by the same people mere days later.

Two thousand plus years on, it is still a story for our own time. How easily are we turned from waving palms to throwing punishing stones by a few well-placed headlines or Facebook comments because we simply followed the crowd?

Jesus enters the chaos of his times as he enters the chaos of our own. As Lutheran Pastor David Lose has noted:

“The tragedy of the day is that the people are half right. He did come as God’s Messiah. But they misunderstood what that meant – not “regime change” by violence, but rather the love of God poured out upon the world in a way that dissolved all the things we use to differentiate ourselves from others and the formation of a single humanity that knows itself – and all those around them! – as God’s beloved people. The other tragedy of the day is that the religious and political authorities are also half right. Jesus was a threat. For that matter, he still is. He threatens our penchant to define ourselves over and against others. He threatens the way in which we seek to establish our future by hoarding wealth and power. He threatens our habit of drawing lines and making rules about who is acceptable and who is not. He threatens all of these things and more…Jesus’ resurrection…affirms that God’s love is stronger than hate and God’s life is stronger than death…[Still, in this day,] he continues to threaten our reliance on anything – our wealth, position, political identity, good works, relationships or, for that matter, our limitations or life tragedies – anything other than God’s mercy. What’s hard about this message is that we all have come at times to seek our identity and secure our future on things other than God. The blessing of this message is that none of these other things are up to the job. No matter what we trust in, we will be disappointed, as only God’s Word can declare us as not just acceptable but as blessed and beloved. Jesus’ journey to the cross shows us just how far he was willing to go to demonstrate to us God’s unconditional love and acceptance. And once you hear that message of grace, mercy, and love, then whether you name it Palm Sunday, Passion Sunday, or just the Sixth Sunday in Lent, there is suddenly good reason to shout our hosanna with all the joy and hope we can muster.”*

Let us pray in distance and together, this day and always: Hosanna!

*Click here for the full text: [http://www.davidlose.net/2017/04/palmpassion-sunday-a/]

LET US, GOD’S PEOPLE, PRAY

Leader: ~ Jesus, Son of Man, Son of God, in this year of years, our usual way of living has changed as quickly as those who turned from Hosanna to Crucify Him. Grant us the willingness to walk consciously through this Holy Week with fresh eyes, and, the uncomfortable awareness of how often we, too, have slept in Your presence.

O Lord our GOD,

RESPONSE: Our times are in Your Hands

~ Jesus, Son of Man, Son of God, lighten the hearts and enlighten the minds of all who govern in this Community, this Nation, and this World, that they may seek the cause of healing humanity through global cooperation. We pray especially for: add your own petitions

O Lord our GOD,

Our times are in Your Hands

~ Jesus, Son of Man, Son of God, cradle in Your benevolent arms all who are sick, desperate, or hopeless, and give peace of heart to those who care and worry. We now join our voices to pray aloud for those in need… add your own petitions

O Lord our GOD

Our times are in Your Hands

~ Jesus, Son of Man, Son of God, ease the burden of grief in these dark times, as those we mourn now live in the eternal radiance of everlasting resurrection in You. We pray especially for… add your own petitions

O Lord our GOD

Our times are in Your Hands

~ Jesus, Son of Man, Son of God, we pause in this moment to offer You our other heartfelt thanksgivings, intercessions, petitions, and memorials, aloud or silently… add your own petitions

O Lord our GOD

Our times are in Your Hands

~ Jesus, Son of Man, Son of God, embrace and enrich those You have called to lead us in Your Church through this sacred week and beyond. Inspire their words, their prayers, and their souls, that they and we together, may draw ever closer to You. We pray especially for: add your own petitions

The Celebrant adds: GOD Almighty, Creator of Heaven and Earth, in Your loving-kindness sustain our hope and save us from this time of trial, that humbled in our human form, we may seek and serve Christ in ourselves, in each other, and in all of humankind. We ask through Jesus, our Strength and our Redeemer; and the Holy Spirit, the Wisdom of our Souls, who together with You are One God, now and forever. Amen.

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Monday, March 23, 2020

Prayers of the People: Unbind and Distantly Gather ~ 5th Sunday in Lent '20 Yr A

For Sunday, March 29, 2020 ~ Readings: Ezekiel 37:1-14, Psalm 130, Romans 8:6-11, John 11:1-45

The hand of the LORD came upon me...He said to me "Mortal, can these bones live?" I answered, "O Lord GOD, you know." Then he said to me, "Prophesy to these bones and say to them: O dry bones hear the word of the Lord...I will cause breath to enter you and you shall live. I will lay sinews on you...and put breath in you, and you shall live; and you shall know that I am the LORD." [Ezekiel 37:1a, 3-5, 6b]

Out of the depths have I called to you, O LORD; LORD, hear my voice...For there is forgiveness with you...I wait for the LORD; my soul waits for him; in his word is my hope. [Psalm 130: 1, 3a, 4]

But if Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness. If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will give life to your mortal bodies also through his Spirit that dwells in you. [Romans 8:10-11]

Martha said to him, "I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day." Jesus said to her, "I m the resurrection and the life. Those who believe in me, even though they die, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die." [John 11:24-26]

I know people who have had to hunker down in full-on desert sandstorms in Iraq. They tell me it's blinding, abrading, choking, and all-around frightening. The dunes shape-shift so swiftly as to bury and lay bare concurrently. When the particles settle, the air is so dry it's nearly electric. Without shelter and protection, flesh peels off limbs in sheets and, in the aridity of the desert, you cannot tell the old bones from the new.
The bones of Ezekiel's valley were very dry, empty, and scattered, each from the other. I’m sure even in his vision, Ezekiel had difficulty in imagining them re-connected, re-fleshed, and re-animated, yet through God’s instructions and Ezekiel’s obedience in prophesying, they were. We, as Christians, see this as a foreshadowing of Christ’s Resurrection from the dead. The Pharisaic teaching, that Martha and Mary knew, was that all the righteous would be raised on “the last day.”

Martha and Mary must have felt scattered and lost at the death of their beloved brother; so painful a loss that Jesus also wept. Who among us cannot understand that while shedding an ocean of tears in the midst of immediate grief, there can be a sense of emptiness that feels as vast, as dry, and as deep as the sands of the Sinai? They wondered why Jesus, who could have saved Lazarus, didn’t come sooner. The teaching of the time was that a soul lingered nearby for 3 days after death. Mary was clear to Jesus that Lazarus was now dead 4 days. All was truly lost, until…

We don’t expect or believe that Jesus will call our loved ones out of the grave and restore them to full life and health, certainly not in this life. We hope for it, perhaps dream about it. But the reality of the earthly loss arrives very quickly and never leaves. Yet Paul reminds us that setting our minds on the flesh of this life is death to eternal life. We are to set our minds on the Spirit which is life and peace. No, it definitely isn't easy, especially in the times of life when we feel blown about as in a sandstorm; frightened of the next few days or weeks or months as in these times of a pandemic. Some of us are covered over and some of us laid bare. But no matter the age or wellness of our bones, hope is always the best antidote to despair and the best place to find hope is in a community of faith.

A community exists even when we are at a distance from each other, as many of us are right now. We must work harder to find other ways to communicate ~ telephone for those who aren’t able to use or receive electronic or social media. Write a simple note ~ letters are so underutilized in the age of the internet. If your church has an online service or there is one on tv or radio ~ call someone and put your phone on speaker so to share the time ~ even pray together. It's an interesting thought that while we "pray together" in church, we may still feel comfortably separate. Now is a great time to find comfort in praying with each other.

We all believe and hope in different ways for different outcomes, but as a community in these solitary and arid times, we must gather our bones and come alive together in whatever new ways we can discover. The psalmist says in his word is my hope. The Word of the Gospel can re-animate our hope as we seek the Spirit of Christ within us. We are not alone, even at a distance from each other whether across deserts, oceans, or one street, as long as we choose hope and reach out to each other in love. In Christ fear is unbound, the Light fills and surrounds us, distance fades as we gather ~ even distantly ~ in faith.

LET US, GOD’S PEOPLE, PRAY

Leader: ~ Most Merciful GOD, unbind us from the desires and fears that dry our souls, our hearts, and our bones. Set our minds on the Spirit of life and peace, that we may seek, believe, and follow Christ Jesus, who is the Resurrection and the Life.

O Lord, our GOD

RESPONSE: Rest Your hand upon us

~ Most Merciful GOD, endow those who govern with the capacity, foresight, and willingness to act decisively for the benefit of all Your people throughout this Community, this Nation, and this Planet. We pray especially for: add your own petitions

O Lord, our GOD

Rest Your hand upon us

~ Most Merciful GOD, bestow Your healing touch upon all in ill-health, emotional turmoil, or despair; and for those who give them care, rest for today and hope for tomorrow. We now join our voices to pray aloud for those in need… add your own petitions

O Lord, our GOD

Rest Your hand upon us

~ Most Merciful GOD, let our tears be dried and our grief released, for as Jesus called Lazarus from his tomb, You call our loved ones to the joy of new and eternal life. We pray especially for… add your own petitions

O Lord, our GOD

Rest Your hand upon us

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

O Lord, our GOD

Rest Your hand upon us

~ Most Merciful GOD, hearten the spirits of those sent to us to lead Your Church as they prophesy Your Word, and bring us together into the Light of Christ. We pray especially for: add your own petitions

O Lord, our GOD

Rest Your hand upon us

The Celebrant adds: O Lord our GOD, breathe into our mortal bones and awaken us from the death of sin, as our waiting souls turn toward the radiance of Your mercy, forgiveness, and everlasting life. We ask through Jesus, our Redeemer Christ; and the Holy Spirit, our Compass and our Guide; who together with You are One God, now and forever. Amen.

Monday, March 16, 2020

Prayers of the People: Was Blind, Still Am sometimes ~ Fourth Sunday in Lent '20 Yr A

For Sunday, March 22, 2020 ~ Readings: Samuel 16:1-13, Psalm 23, Ephesians 5:8-14, John 9:1-41

But the LORD said to Samuel, "Do not look on his appearance of on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him; for the LORD does not see as mortals see; they look on the outward appearance, but the LORD looks on the heart." [1 Samuel 16:7]

Surely your goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever. [Psalm 23:6]

Once you were in darkness, but now in the Lord you are light. Live as children of light - for the fruit of the light is found in all that is good and right and true. [Ephesians 5:8-14]

"...As long as I am in the world, I am the light o the world." When [Jesus] said this, he spat on the ground and made mud with the saliva and spread the mud on the [blind] man's eyes saying to him, "Go, wash in the pool of Siloam" (which means Sent). Then he went and washed and came back able to see. [John 9:5-6]

Did you ever wonder why if Jesus knew he could make the blind man see, he didn’t just snap his fingers or simply say "you can see now"? But then, symbolism - when recognized or at least intuited - is important even if not always understood completely. Spittle in ancient times was deemed to have medicinal properties. The mud he made with his saliva became a healing agent, and in turn, Jesus became a known healer. (Have you also ever wondered if any of the Pharisees tried this mud idea later?)

Jesus explains that this man had not sinned as the Pharisees who, by tradition and their interpretation of The Law, attributed all misfortune to sin. His eyes were opened to sight after he washed clean - perhaps as in the waters of Baptism washing us clean of sin? We are told in the passage that the name Siloam translates as sent, as Jesus was and is sent by God to open our eyes to see the light, to believe and follow the life to which God calls us. None of us is perfect but we are forgiven - as is David who, as we know from his later story, was far from perfect (and in that there is hope for us all!).

The choosing of David by God, in the passage from 1 Samuel, is merely the beginning of the compelling story of this man. The "blind man" is unnamed and his story is brief, yet important, but David begins his reign fresh from his pastures as a young shepherd and has a long and chaotic life.

The Psalm appointed for this week is attributed by some traditions to David himself, and surely, he or whoever authored it, thoroughly understood the nature of sheep and shepherding. The symbolism comes through the depth of each line that refers back to how to work with real-life sheep.* For example, sheep are inherently nervous creatures and are frightened to stampede by an apple dropping from a tree. The shepherd massages each sheep with oil to keep burrowing insects from infecting their eyes and to comfort them. They are terrified by fast flowing water and can only drink from water that appears to be still. The psalmist asks the Lord to lead him beside still waters and the lectionary’s timing for this could not be any better given the turbulent times in which we live.

Paul speaks to the Ephesians, and ultimately to us, exhorting us to awaken from the sleep of the darkness of sin to live as children of light, and to discover what is pleasing to the Lord. Things are always easier to see in the light though not necessarily more clearly. The Pharisees used a different lens to "see" what Jesus what trying to tell them - they didn't seem to get the whole picture. God tells Samuel that the Lord does not see as mortals see...the Lord looks on each heart.

This is a good week to try to see what is in my heart, what blinders are on my eyes, and what darkness I invite into my life. I can use this Psalm as a personal prayer and plea as I speak the "my, and the I, and the me" for myself, and then I can take those personal pronouns and replace them with the name of someone else as a prayer for her or him or them any time and particularly for those currently in fear or already infected with this terrible virus: The Lord is their shepherd; they shall not be in want. He makes them lie down in green pastures and leads them beside still waters…

I know that I have often been figuratively blinded to the true Light of Christ by the temptations and distractions in this mortal existence. I still am, at times, when it is easier to turn to the sleep of the dark than to wake and answer Christ’s call. O Jesus, massage the blindness from my eyes, it is past time for this Sleeper to awake again! The Light is already shining if I just sit at Your table and see.

*I commend to you a lovely little book titled, A Shepherd Looks at Psalm 23 by W. Phillip Keller who once was a true contemporary shepherd. He unpacks all that the psalm speaks of in relation to how a shepherd cares for sheep as God cares and (tries to) lead us.

LET US, GOD’S PEOPLE, PRAY

Leader: ~ Eternal Shepherd, Merciful and Just, You chose David in his youth and us from the womb, knowing our full potential. Look into our hearts and lead us from the blindness of self-pride to the clarity of eyes opened to the fullness life in You.

O God of Truth and Light

RESPONSE: Let us awake!

~ Eternal Shepherd, Merciful and Just, arouse and kindle the inner vision of those who lead us in this World, this Country, and this Community, so they will see themselves as You see them, and begin to shepherd their own flocks with integrity, principle, and compassion. We pray especially for: add your own petitions

O God of Truth and Light

Let us awake!

~ Eternal Shepherd, Merciful and Just, comfort all who suffer with physical illness, fear of sickness, or economic anxiety, and impart Your calming Spirit 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 Truth and Light

Let us awake!

~ Eternal Shepherd, Merciful and Just, soothe the hearts of all who grieve, as our loved ones now live again in the delight of endless green pastures, dwelling in Your House forever. We pray especially for… add your own petitions

O God of Truth and Light

Let us awake!

~ Eternal Shepherd, Merciful and Just, 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 Truth and Light

Let us awake!

~ Eternal Shepherd, Merciful and Just, amplify Your Spirit already within those who are anointed to guide Your Church along right pathways, as we walk together seeking the fruit of the light of Christ. We pray especially for: add your own petitions

O God of Truth and Light

Let us awake!

The Celebrant adds: O LORD our God, still the turbulent waters of our times and release us from the darkness we make for ourselves. Draw us to the table that You spread before us, where the cup of Your goodness and mercy overflows in this life and anoints us for the next. We ask this through Jesus our Christ, True Light from True Light; and the Guiding Spirit of all that is Holy; who live and reign with You, one God, forever and ever. Amen.

Monday, March 9, 2020

Prayers of the People: Well, A Deep Subject ~ Third Sunday in Lent '20 Yr A

For Sunday, March 15, 2020 ~ Readings: Exodus 17:1-7, Psalm 95, Romans 5:1-11, John 4:5-42

Moses said to them, "Why do you quarrel with me? Why do you test the LORD?"...The LORD said to Moses...I will be standing there in front of you on the rock at Horeb. Strike the rock, and water will come out of it, so the people may drink." [Exodus 17:2b, 5a, 6a]

Come, let us sing to the LORD, let us shout for joy to the Rock of our Salvation. [Psalm 95:1]

Since we are justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have obtained access to this grace in which we stand; and we boast in our hope of sharing the glory of God. [Romans 5:1-3]

Jacob's Well was there and Jesus tired out by his journey, was sitting by the well...A Samaritan woman came to draw water, and Jesus said to her, "Give me a drink."...The Samaritan woman said to him, "How is it that you, a Jew, ask a drink of me, a woman of Samaria?" (Jews do not share things in common with Samaritans.) Jesus answered her, "If you knew the gift of God...he would have given you living water....God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth." [John 4:6a, 7a, 9-10, 24]

In this Gospel reading, Jesus is taking a shortcut to Galilee. He and the disciples with him are in a part of the country where no respectable Jew would usually travel let alone strike up a conversation with one of those people, who is, of all things, also a woman! When the Jews returned from exile in Babylon, four centuries prior to this encounter, they refused to allow the Samaritans to participate in the rebuilding of Jerusalem and particularly the Temple. For the Samaritans, the Temple separated and centralized the worship of God in Jerusalem which gave rise to the woman’s comment to Jesus about the Samaritan worship of God on their own mountain. Also, the Jews would neither eat nor drink with Samaritans – it was likely, in part, because of the Jewish purity laws although we don't know all the issues that divided them. This passage highlights Jesus' willingness to have this conversation and to tell of the coming time when worship for all will be very different for the true believers, that worship of God is not exclusive to a time, place, or people. It also underscores many of the issues of the other in our current life and times.

Differences in culture, dress, religion, food and drink, accents, even among those of our own nation – and foremost, skin color – separate us, narrowing our human experiences, creating deep and ancient, or at least very old prejudices, handed down through generations with little explanation or understanding of the roots of the conflict. The Hatfields and McCoys of life and legend in our land, are just one example. Left unchecked and re-evaluated, layers of mistrust continue to deepen and solidify, turn to un-examined hate, and all too often, violence. Us vs. Them, is a prevailing human issue – if you're one of them you cannot be one of us. All too often we can't – or rather won’t – discuss the whys and wherefores of our opinions and deeply held beliefs. Understanding each other might taint what we've been taught to believe by those we accept as authoritative. Our beliefs have been sustained and enhanced by the continual distraction, misinformation, and propaganda from those who profit from our divisions. And, whether we admit it or not, many of us don’t like facts to get in the way of what we want to believe. Thinking differently about something I thought was undisputed is very uncomfortable, even scary.

WWYD? What Would You Do - if you were desperately thirsty in a place you didn't feel you belonged in, or your car broke down in a strange location, or you witnessed someone unlike yourself being harassed or worse? How have we fostered the isolating of ourselves and the marginalizing of others by what we have done and by what we have left undone?* Possibly in the communal desert of our own making, we falsely believe that it keeps us being us and them away from us which makes everything better for us. Great logic? I regularly have to stop and examine my reactions and the in-my-head responses to think and wonder why I am for it or against it, whatever it is and to whom it is directed, as well as who I accept as my authority on the matter and why. Lent is a moment to think about our desert moments in life. Is God in Jesus my Living Water for consolation, hope, compassion, and love of my neighbor as if s/he is myself, or just the One I blame and complain to? Jesus told the Samaritan woman that God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.
This is a Well that runs deep. How well are we each searching to bring up to our conscious thoughts and acts the living water, the spirit and truth of God, the Creator of ALL life in its multitude of shapes, forms, cultures, colors, genders, genomes, and faiths. How often do we say grace yet hate the neighbors - you know the ones who post opposite political views on Facebook or bumper stickers, attend a different church, mosque, temple, synagogue, or none at all? Jesus tells the Samaritan woman first before all others that he is the Messiah. She believes him. Do we? Time for us each to dig deep.

*from the Confession in the Book of Common Prayer, pg 360, emphasis added

LET US, GOD’S PEOPLE, PRAY

Leader: ~ O God of Grace and Peace, drive us from the desert of discouragement we lead ourselves into by our wayward hearts and selfish grumblings. Guide us back to the saving water from the Rock of Faith that washes away all fear, anguish, and uncertainty.

Lord of Living Water

RESPONSE: Our souls are quenched in You

~ O God of Grace and Peace, awaken, inspire, and turn the efforts of the leaders of this World, this Nation, and this Community into a cooperative spirit, especially now, for the common purpose of the health, safety, and prospering of all Your people everywhere. We pray especially for: add your own petitions

Lord of Living Water