*The Season of Creation originated
in the Anglican Church of South Africa and was formalized in 2008. It is
designed for us to explore our faith from a Creation perspective. For more
information see: https://prayersofthepeople.blogspot.com/2018/10/prayers-of-people-in-beginning-1st.html We use Biblical and other
readings that pertain to the specific theme of each of the 7 weeks of the
Season. Alternate readings used are posted with asterisks.
Week VII's Theme is: The Cosmic Christ
We have arrived at the final
Sunday in the Season of Creation (SoC) and it is also the Last Sunday
after Pentecost in the Lectionary season, both of which celebrate Christ the
King. Coming next week we begin the Season of Advent, a new “Church Year,” a
time of heart and soul preparation for the birth of the Child in whom the
fullness of God is pleased to dwell [Colossians
15:19].
All of the readings chosen for
this last Sunday of SoC have a mystical quality to me. The Letter to the
Colossians lays out clearly the various names, titles, and roles of Jesus the
Risen Christ, not easily understood in our “modern” times as they also were not
in their own time. I think we can understand firstborn of all creation and
head of the body, the church, and also he is the beginning. How do
you understand firstborn of the dead? Looking at various
translations, I found it expressed as of the dead, from the dead, from among
the dead, etc. For me, the most relatable is in a translation from “J.B.
Phillips New Testament” which says: Life from nothing began through him, and life from the dead
began through him, and he is, therefore, justly called the Lord of all. Check any translation(s) you have on hand or online and
discover what speaks to you. An online source I use often is www.biblegateway.com as it contains quite a large variety of translations and paraphrases that are useful and interesting.
Psalm 24, was likely sung or
recited as an entrance processional. Verse 1 opens with a declaration that the
earth and all that is in it belongs to the Lord and follows by
saying that the world and all who dwell therein is also God’s,
referencing the first part in what is called a parallelism, that is, the
wording parallels or repeats the first; synonymous. Every one of the 150 psalms
contains at least one parallelism. Verse 2 also proclaims God as Creator. From
there the psalm describes how humans enter God’s domain in verses 3-6 and in
the final verses, we learn how God enters our human space and it is by way of Lift
up your heads, that is by lifting up our heads to acknowledge one greater
than ourselves, as we are our own gatekeepers opening or closing to allow God,
Jesus, and the Holy Spirit to enter, or not.
The Gospel of John is one of the
most mystical of all. In this passage, the anonymous author of John’s Gospel is
referring to John the Baptist naming Jesus as The Lamb of God who takes away
the sin of the world. While some of
these words and phrases may be somewhat familiar to anyone who regularly reads
the Christian/New Testament and/or hears them
read in a church setting, they may, as said above, also seem irrelevant in the scheme of daily
living in today’s world. Yet we, who would be counted as faithful Christians might
take heed and examine more closely. It is in this daily life in this, our time
that we may easily lose track of our allegiances and settle in more with the
temporary earthly powers than with the everlasting divine Kingship of Christ.
In his
book, The Coming of the Cosmic Christ, author, developer, and teacher of
Creation Spirituality, Dr. Matthew Fox, writes: Listen to the Cosmic Christ, to Cosmic Wisdom calling all
the children of God together: “Come children, drink of my waters which are all
common waters. They are free and available to all my children. Drink of my
wisdom from your own unique well.”
Although Jesus has
told us that his kingdom is not from here [John 18:36], it is here,
in this time and place, where we encounter him, if we seek
him, and if we choose to follow.
**A Reading From the Writings of Matthew
Fox: “Listen to the Cosmic Christ, to Cosmic Wisdom calling all the children of
God together: “Come children, drink of my waters which are all common waters.
They are free and available to all my children. Drink of my wisdom from your
own unique well. Let the Taoists drink and the Muslims drink; let the Jews
drink and the Buddhists drink; let the Christians drink and let the native
peoples drink. And then tell me: What have you drunk? How deeply have you
imbibed my refreshment? What wet and running wisdom drips from inside you to
the outside? What have you to share with others of my wisdom and harmonious
living, of the dripping of the oils of compassion and the lubricants of your
common anointings as my images, my other “Christs,” my co-creators of wisdom on
earth? I am tired of your religious wars, your sectarian divisions, your
crusading spirits that arise from disharmony. I long for harmony. If there must
be competition, let it take place at the level of shared gifts and bountiful
outpouring of wisdom. Pray together. Create harmony and healing together.
Celebrate, praise, and thank together. Cease using religion to divide. Use it
for its purpose, to reconnect to Mother Earth, to blessings, to the underground
river that I am and that you all share. And cease scandalizing the young by
your indifference to these awesome blessings, by your competition, and your
boredom. Praise one another. Praise the earth. In doing so, you praise me.” ~ Matthew
Fox, The Coming of the Cosmic Christ, Harper and Row, San Francisco,
1988.
LET US, GOD’S PEOPLE, PRAY
Leader: ~ Lord
God Almighty, in our fleeting mortality turn us always to Christ in whose
Kingdom, now and forever, we are forgiven and saved by Your Holy Lamb, for in Him
all things hold together.
Holy
Jesus, Firstborn of All Creation
RESPONSE:
Let us Drink of Your Wisdom
~ Lord God Almighty, for
all who are governed by power or throne, by force or dominion by grant, on our
Planet, in our Country, and in our Community, we implore You to infuse the
wisdom, sanity, and humanity of Jesus into all who lead Your people. We pray
especially for: add your own petitions
Holy Jesus, Firstborn of All Creation
Let us Drink of Your Wisdom
~ Lord God Almighty, send
healing grace to all who suffer in spirit, in mind, or in body, and
grace-filled endurance to all who give them care. We now join our hearts to
pray aloud for those in need… add your own petitions
Holy Jesus, Firstborn of All Creation
Let us Drink of Your Wisdom
~ Lord God Almighty, lighten
our grieving hearts with joy, as the souls of our cherished departed are with
you today, in the ceaseless joy of Your Eternal Paradise. We pray
especially for… add your own petitions
Holy Jesus, Firstborn of All Creation
Let us Drink of Your Wisdom
~ Lord God Almighty, we pause
in this moment to offer You our other heartfelt thanksgivings, intercessions,
petitions, and memorials, aloud or silently… add your own petitions
Holy Jesus, Firstborn of All Creation
Let us Drink of Your Wisdom
~ Lord God Almighty, excite the souls of those chosen to lead us
through Your Word and Sacraments, keeping us eager to create harmony and
healing together among all God’s People. We pray especially for: add your own petitions
Holy Jesus, Firstborn of All Creation
Let us Drink of Your Wisdom
The Celebrant adds: Most
Holy Christ, Image of the Invisible God, arouse us from our daily complacence
to rediscover the fullness of God in Your Presence in ourselves. Teach us to
celebrate, praise, and give thanks together in Your Church and in Creation at large,
through our Mother Earth and all the Life she contains. Grant us clean hands
and a pure heart to receive Your blessing as we seek Your face in all others. We
ask through the Holy Spirit, the very Breath of Love; and our Omnipotent
Creator; who together with You, are One God, for ever and for evermore. Amen.
