Meditation Moment in Pentecost: Tick-Tock... '23

Life is short and we do not have too much time 

to gladden the hearts of those 

who travel this journey with us, 

so be quick to love and 

make haste to be kind.  

~ Henri Frédéric Amiel* 

O God of All Time -
   My present moments are too rapidly becoming my past moments even as I am looking ahead for a glimpse of my future moments. And I am dribbling away the precious life you have given me, by more than a few drops at a time ~ how much is left?? Only You would know.
    It's always much easier to say "LOVE ONE ANOTHER" than it is to do, especially in a world filled with horror, tragedy, and rage. So, Lord of Now, help me stay in the moment and worry not about the next. Please help me swim through each of the laps I have left knowing that all I truly have is You, all I can truly give is the knowledge of You that I offer through my thoughts which are revealed through my actions. Oh how pathetic when I think of some of my actions BUT that was then, this is NOW....so here I am thinking:
        Dear God of This Moment, please give me the strength to show love to fill in the blank who has been unkind to me here or there, in real or perceived ways. Even if the opportunity for a one-on-one conversation is not presented, at the very (seriously very) least I can do is offer a prayer for her/him to You. Help me balance the weights of time and swing the pendulum to the far reaches of kindness, tolerance, and love. Maybe, that really will make things better somehow. I can't change the face of all the political strife in the world. But I can, in a moment of frustration, as well as in a moment of beauty, think secondly of how to frame a brief prayer in their honor, for their well-being, for my soul. It certainly can't hurt especially for as long as that clock is ticking. amen.

*Henri Frédéric Amiel [1821-1881] was a Swiss philosopher, critic, and poet.  He was a professor of aesthetics at the University of Geneva in 1849 and later a professor of moral philosophy.

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Meditation Moment in Pentecost: Still-a-Maze-ing

I have not failed. 

I have just found 10,000 ways 

that won't work.

~ Thomas Edison*

Oh Lord of the Maze that is Life, 

  There are days when I get lost in trying to find my direction. I go one way and hit a wall, turn around and go in the opposite direction, turn left, turn right, and I have lost my way, again. I turn around and start over, and, repeat. 

  Okay so I've been through this track 'way too many times but here I am again asking You for a map to find my way. I know I've made promises I haven't kept very well, but I really mean it this time, that is, I wholeheartedly promise to keep trying. Maybe just feeling Your presence will give me the perseverance to keep moving and I do know to feel it, I have to seek it. One of these paths will be a Good one and with You walking by my side, I'll know it's right when the light bulb goes on.  amen.

*Thomas Edison, American inventor best known for the phonograph, the motion picture camera, and, of course, a practical light bulb and there is so much more. Holding almost 1200 patents, his inventions and business acumen still informs many of the designs and methods of today's technology. He has an extensive biography that is well worth investigating.

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Prayers of the People: Then, Now, & Forever ~ 2nd Sunday after Pentecost '23 Yr A

For Sunday, June 11, 2023; Readings: Hosea 5:15-6:6, Psalm 50:7-15, Romans 4:13-25,

 Matthew 9:9-13, 18-26

  For I desire steadfast love and not sacrifice, the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings. 

[Hosea 6:6]

    Offer to God a sacrifice of Thanksgiving, and pay your vows to the Most High. Call on me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you shall glorify me. [Psalm 50:14-15]

   For the promise that he would inherit the world did not come to Abraham or to his descendants through the law but through the righteousness of faith. For if it is the adherents of the law who are to be the heirs, faith is null and the promise is void. [Romans 4:13-14]

  [Jesus] said, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. Go and learn what this means, ‘I desire mercy not sacrifice.’ For I have not come to call the righteous but sinners.” [Matthew 9:12]

  The opening reading this week is from Hosea, someone we don’t hear from all that much yet this week his thoughts appear twice. Hosea is one of the Twelve Minor Prophets whose writings are aggregated into one book in the Jewish Bible. In the Christian version of the Hebrew [Old] Testament, he has his own, if brief, book. The Talmud refers to him as the “greatest prophet of his generation” and his writings take us from doom to restoration. He is also quoted in the Qu’ran. As we all: Jews, Christians, and Muslims are children of Abraham, this should not come as a surprise though, sadly, it often does. We’ll see Jesus quote him in Mt 9:13, building on Hosea’s quote about what God truly wants ~ not things we think we are to sacrifice to God as God has/is everything. This piece from Hosea is worth reading in full, and beyond that he has an interesting personal history which includes his wife Gomer, and is of restoring and forgiving.  

   The partial piece of Psalm 50 appointed for today continues this theme that God isn’t interested in the sacrifice of livestock but rather a sacrifice of thanksgiving and honoring God by actions that pay our vows to God. Again, reading the full Psalm from verse 1 to 23, gives us a greater understanding of what God is calling us to be and to do.

   After his conversion, Paul understood that strict obedience to The Law as only a system of rules was, in a sense, replacing personal goodness and obedience to God; a message found often in the teachings of Jesus. Paul further realized that for Gentiles to understand salvation, it needed to be expressed as God’s promise, as it had first been given to Abraham and later to Moses. As one source says: Therefore, Abraham could be the spiritual ancestor of everyone who shared his obedient faith, quite independently of racial heritage [emphasis added]. It is to fulfilling our faithful commitment and thanksgiving to God rather than arbitrary sacrifice that God calls us.

   This week’s Gospel reading from Matthew begins with the Call of Matthew: As Jesus was walking along, he saw a man called Matthew sitting at the tax-collection station, and he said to him, “Follow me.” And he got up and followed him. After this was a dinner to which many tax collectors and sinners came to sit with Jesus and the disciples. The rigidly Law-abiding, righteous Pharisees asked the disciples why Jesus would eat with such people. Jesus overheard and responded that well people don’t need a doctor and, with the piece from Hosea but with his own interpretation said: “Go and learn what this means. ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ For I have not come to call the righteous but sinners.” 

   So for this week, the sum and substance of these readings for me are fairly clear. God doesn’t want and certainly doesn’t need blood sacrifices, just simply our following through with the faith commitments we’ve made. And, they/we who have begun to feel sorry for what we have and haven’t done can and must learn to accept the ceaseless outpouring of forgiveness that God is offering. Put the angry God of vengeance behind you. Too much rule-based religion has been grounded in fear. Hear the words of Jesus: EVERYONE who yearns to, wants to, hopes to, or is even afraid to receive the love of God, has it. Believe it, and know that God through Christ, with the Holy Spirit loves and forgives continuously, constantly, then, now, and forever.

LET US, GOD’S PEOPLE, PRAY

Leader:  ~ O God, our God, You give eternal life to the dead and call into existence the things that do and cannot exist without You. Remind our hearts and our souls, to return our selves to You. In offering a sacrifice of thanksgiving and in paying our vows to You by our ways in living, we have the gift of calling on You in our days of trouble. Let us glorify our God!

                                          Lord God of Promise

RESPONSE:               By Faith we rest in Your Grace 

~ O God, our God, guide us in the ways and strength of faith, that we may deliver to the leaders of this Planet, this Country, and this Community, the message that we require mercy from and by you, not a sacrifice of principle or loss of human rights and basic needs. We pray especially for: add your own petitions

                                                       Lord God of Promise

                                                       By Faith we rest in Your Grace                                                  

~ O God, our God, still the fear and quiet the anxiety of all who are ill in body, mind, or spirit, and give energy and strength of purpose to all who give them care. We now join our hearts to pray for those in need… add your own petitions

                                                       Lord God of Promise

                                                       By Faith we rest in Your Grace                                                  

~ O God, our God, embrace the hearts of all who grieve and guide them to the comfort of knowing, that all whom we have loved and lost, are risen in the joy of eternal life with You. We pray especially for… add your own petitions

                                                       Lord God of Promise

                                                       By Faith we rest in Your Grace                                                  

~ O God, our God, we pause in this moment to offer You our other heartfelt thanksgivings, intercessions, petitions, and memorials… add your own petitions

                                                       Lord God of Promise

                                                       By Faith we rest in Your Grace                                                  

~ O God, our God, renew again and always, the souls, the hearts, and the minds of all those anointed to serve Your Church, in guiding and teaching, listening and caring. Give them the self-knowing and courage to care as much for their own needs as for ours. We pray especially for: add your own petitions

                                                       Lord God of Promise

                                                       By Faith we rest in Your Grace  

                                   

The Celebrant adds: Most High and Loving Creator, as Jesus called Matthew, so he calls us each to follow Him. Open our eyes and hearts each day with our spirits renewed, to go forth as Christ’s Body in all that we do in love and with mercy for all of Your people. We ask through Jesus, our Lord and Redeemer; and the Holy Spirit, the Fire of our Faith, who live and reign with You, One God, now and forever. Amen. 

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Meditation Moment in Pentecost: X Marks The Spot '23

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* 

    I don't want to read a newspaper, magazine, or social media post, listen to a radio station, or watch a tv program that will make me crazy angry because of my sense of its extremes in political or religious or whatever viewpoint. But I also realize that if I accept only 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 at least some of the points they try to make. At the very least it will help me to understand what I believe and why. 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. 
     Sometimes, no matter how difficult the message or the messenger is at the time, there may still be some 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. And even he was able to change his mind and be honest about it. 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.              

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Meditation Moment in Pentecost: Que Sera, Sera; Then and Now, and Forever? '23

            

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... 

    from "A Tale of Two Cities"        

~ Charles Dickens*

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 3:19

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 would 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 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, to change any negative outcomes of que sera sera. amen.

*Charles Dickens  [1812-1870], 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.

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Meditation in Pentecost: Mind a Beginning? '23

In the beginner's mind there are many possibilities, 

but in the expert's mind there are few. 

~ Shunryu Suzuki* 

Dear Most Enlightened Creator, please help me to recapture my beginner's mind, the one that was insatiably curious, hungry for spiritual experience, searching for enlightenment, eager to sit with You in Christ through the Holy Spirit, to be filled with the pearls and diamonds of Your wisdom and teaching. I want to recapture the energy and the mystery and set aside much of what I now "know" through the academic, the intellectual, and from life experience. I want to learn in new ways with a fresh unfinished mind that is wide with wonder like those who have only just begun their first encounters with You. Take me out of my self, encourage me to breathe through my monkey-mind that jumps through the branches of distractions and never seems to settle in one spot long before turning and jumping again. Teach me to work on the inside, reaching deeply for the silent illumination that calls me back time and again, and to practice and to practice and to practice the silent non-thinking that allows me to simply “be” with You, until I apprehend the beginning even if not until my end.  amen.

*Shunyru Suzuki, a Sōtō Zen monk, born and trained in Japan, opened the first Buddhist monastery outside of Asia. He is widely known for his book, Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind which was the onset of the popularization of Zen Buddhism in the West. He founded the San Francisco Zen Center and affiliate temples. Contrary to popular understanding, Buddhism is not so much a religion as it is a philosophy based on the teachings attributed to the Buddha. It is not a theistic religion as it has no beliefs in a Supreme Being or any "god". The teachings are complementary to Christian beliefs in many ways and have been known and studied by illustrious Christian scholars such as St. Jerome, of the 4th century, who was the first to translate the Bible into Latin. His commentaries on Scripture are still widely read today and he spoke of The Buddha in some of his other writings.

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Meditation in Pentecost: Sure'n Up '23

Piglet sidled up to Pooh from behind. “Pooh,” he whispered.

“Yes,” said Pooh.

“Nothing,” said Piglet, taking Pooh’s paw, “I just wanted to be sure of you.”*

Well, Dear God of all Hunny Bears and Other Sweet Creatures, 

     I’m having one of "those" days and weeks and even a month! It's been such a busy time, so very much stuff going on, some happiness here, a worry or two there, and a few other things. I might not have been paying as much attention to You lately as I could have, but here I am now, just sidling up to You. It seemed like it was past time for us to take a walk together and for me to check in. I just want You to be as sure of me as I am of You ~ ok, that might take some work on my part so here I am sure-ing things up with You. Thanks for being here even when I've wandered a little bit away. I'll try not to let it happen again but in case it does, I promise again to remember You quicker the next time and then I'll be sure to reach up. amen.

*Winnie-the-Pooh and Piglet came from the fertile imagination of English-born playwright, author, and child's poet, A. A. Milne [1881-1956], who based the main character, Pooh, on the teddy bear of the same name belonging to Milne's son, Christopher Robin Milne.   

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