Meditation in Eastertide ~ Thursday, Week 6 ~ The Ascension of Jesus

May 9, 2024 ~ Thursday, Week 6

   ~ Luke 24:50-53:  Then [Jesus] led them out as far as Bethany, and, lifting up his hands, he blessed them. While he was blessing them, he withdrew from them and was carried up into heaven. And they worshiped him, and returned to Jerusalem with great joy; and they were continually in the temple 

blessing God.                             

 

          Forty Days after Easter comes the Ascension of the Resurrected Christ into Heaven. One of the five major milestones in the life of Christ ~ the others are baptism, transfiguration, crucifixion, and resurrection.

        The Ascension is professed in both the Nicene and Apostles' Creeds. Whether actual, mystical or metaphorical, it is one of the great feasts of the Christian liturgical calendar. It signifies the completion of his earthly presence as he takes his divine presence seated at the right hand of the Father [Nicene Creed, Book of Common Prayer, 1979]. 

        The readings for today give us a direction for our own earthly lives. In the Acts of the Apostles 1:11, we hear that as Christ's body was being elevated, suddenly two men in robes stood by them. They said, "Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking up toward heaven?" From Ephesians 1:15-23, Paul prays ...that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ...may give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation as you come to know him, so that, with the eyes of your heart enlightened, you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance among the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power for us who believe...

       Holy Jesus, Son of God, as Your Church we are now Your Body on Earth ~ Your Hands and Your Feet, Your Eyes and Your Ears to carry out Your mission in our own time. On this Ascension Day, let us ascend in our hearts, minds, and souls and raise our own continual prayers that we may be fully Yours in our thoughts, words and actions.

      Help us to be mindfully caring for all the People of God ~ all colors, races, ethnicities, genders, all differences and similarities, in every way they and we are created. Embolden us to follow Your command to love one another in the unjudging, compassionate, unselfish, and generous way we are also to love ourselves.

     Guide our steps as we seek to discover You in in every encounter, to understand that ALL, Every, and Each of us are Created by God and worthy of our compassion for as long as we have the Breath of Your Spirit within us. Grant us the wisdom to know the hope to which we are called with the eyes of our enlightened hearts, eager to be Your True Disciples following Your Way for All of Your People.  Amen. Alleluia! 

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Meditation in Eastertide ~ Wednesday, Week 6 ~ You DO Want to Know Her!

May 8, 2024 ~ Wednesday, Week 6

That love of God is hard and marvelous.

It cannot and will not be broken 

because of our sins.

Julian of Norwich*

*Julian of Norwich [1342-1416], is celebrated on our Liturgical Calendar on this date. She was an English Anchoress in Norwich, England. She was a hermit of her time when an anchor or an anchoress lived in a small cell attached to a wall of the church, where she had a window into the sanctuary to participate in daily Mass and receive Communion. Her life consisted of daily devotions, prayer, devotional reading, and writing. She is considered to be one of the most important mystics in all of Christianity. Her manuscript of Revelations of Divine Love ~ also known as The Short Text ~ is thought to be the oldest surviving book written in English by a woman. She is probably best known for her words that with God, All shall be well, and all shall be well, and all manner of things shall be well. And while that quote was my first introduction to Julian, many years ago, for me, there are so very many quotes of Julian that resonate within me, such as the one above, that it is very difficult to choose one. Here are a few more that speak to me:

   If there is anywhere on earth a lover of God who is always kept safe, I know nothing of it, for it was not shown to me. But this was shown: that in falling and rising again we are always kept in that same precious love. 

 

   Our Savior is our true Mother in whom we are endlessly born

and out of whom we shall never come.

      

   In every soul to be saved is a godly will that has never consented to sin, in the past or in the future. Just as there is an animal will in our lower nature that does not will what is good, so there is a godly will in our higher part, which by its basic goodness never wills what is evil, but only what is good.

 

  Pray inwardly, even if it seems to give you no pleasure. It is bringing great benefit, even if you do not perceive it. Pray inwardly, even if you sense nothing, see nothing, even if you think you are achieving nothing. For it is in dryness and emptiness, in sickness and weakness, that our prayer pleases Christ most.

O Great Creator of Me ~ My Nurturer, Comforter, and Soother,

    Some days I want too much from others and they want too much from me. While I’m certainly certain that I try to meet the expectations of them, I often feel that they leave me alone in the dust of frustration, theirs and mine. I can easily dig myself deeper and deeper into the ditch of resentment even though I know ~ deep down ~ that, too often, I am not the accommodating person I like to think I am. 

   Please help me overcome at least some of my selfish diversions and turn me as close to never-ending thanksgiving and praise as possible. Remind me often of Julian’s words to pray inwardly, even if it…isn’t giving me any particular pleasure, and even if I think I am achieving nothing. Just let me stop often in each day to take a long slow deep breath in and on the breath out just whisper a small quiet thank you for all that I have in this life and for knowing, if not always believing in each crazy minute of a crazy day or week or month, that Your love for me cannot and will not be broken no matter what I do or do not do. Thank You, Thank You, Thank You…amen.

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Meditation in Eastertide ~ Tuesday, Week 6 '24: THE Journey

May 7, 2024 ~ Week 6

It's good to have an end to journey toward; 

but it's the journey that matters in the end.

 ~ Ernest Hemingway*        

 

Dear Master Travel Agent ~

     As You know, I've come a good distance on this journey and sometimes I don't know how I've gotten this far let alone figured out where I'm headed. I do know that I'm ultimately headed in Your direction and, that it is how I get there matters, it's just that there have been so many twists and turns and amazing ups and significant downs along the road so far I often feel directionally challenged. Am I headed down or up the right road? Will effort, spelling, and punctuation count toward my final grade (please, though, not neatness)? 

     In the meantime, I'm just here to ask for the usual traveler stuff ~ please continue as my Guide and Companion along the Way and help me to recognize You wherever I go in those I know and those I meet along the way. While Google Maps won't help, I look forward to little hints from You here and there that I'm on the right track. Thanks for letting me get this far and, if it's not too much of a bother, I'd like to go on for quite a while yet, whatever the bumps and bites and storms but especially the love and glee and joy that are yet to come. amen. 

 

*Ernest Hemingway, [1899-1961] American journalist and author, was the 5^th American winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1954, for his mastery of the art of the narrative [particularly] in The Old Man and the Sea. His books and stories are considered classics in American literature. Multiple marriages and a colorful life led Hemingway down many roads in his fairly short but completely filled journey that ended by suicide in 1961, yet left a legacy of writing that will never die.

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Prayers of the People: Chosen For The Mission ~ Sunday after the Ascension, 7th Sunday of Easter '24 Yr B

For Sunday, May 12, 2024; Readings: Acts 1:15-17, 21-26; Psalm 1, 1 John 5:9-13, 

John 17:6-19

  In those days Peter stood up…and said…one of these must become a witness with us to his resurrection…Then they prayed and said, “Lord, you know everyone’s heart. Show us which one of these two you have chosen…And they cast lots…and the lot fell on Matthias… [Acts 1:15a, 22b, 24, 26a]

   Happy are they who have not walked in the counsel of the wicked…Their delight is in the law of the Lord…they are like trees planted by streams of water, bearing fruit in due season, with leaves that do not wither... [Psalm 1: 1a, 2a, 3a]

   God gave us eternal live, and this life is in his Son. Whoever has the Son has life…I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know you have eternal life. [1 John 5: 11b-12a, 13]

   Looking up to heaven, Jesus prayed, "I have made your name known to those whom you gave me from the world...When I was with them, I protected them in your name...I ask you to protect them from the evil one...Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth. As you have sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world."  [John 17:6,12a,15b,17-18]

    We have arrived at the last Sunday of the Easter Season with a gathering of non-sequential readings that speak to us from after the Resurrection, before the Crucifixion, and sometime after Pentecost. And, this past Thursday, the Church Calendar points us to the Ascension of Jesus. But there's no reference to that on this day.

    After the Resurrection, in the lesson from Acts, the beginnings of organizing the Church as a body for the expression of faith emerges. Peter tells the crowd of believers that it is time to call a replacement for Judas and there are two worthy candidates who have traveled with them all along. It is imperative that the empty slot be filled with another who can also be an official witness to the resurrection, with the Eleven chosen by Jesus. They pray and ask God to choose, lots are cast, and the lot fell on Matthias.

    The reading from the Epistle of 1st John was written perhaps 10-15 years after the Book of Acts but set in a time probably after Pentecost. It’s uncertain as to whether or not the author is the same John who wrote the Gospel, but this Letter, or perhaps a sermon, is to remind us that belief in Jesus is at the same time belief in God, and it is through our faith that we are given eternal life. 

    With the Gospel, we move backwards in time to before the crucifixion. This reading is in the middle of what is known as the "Farewell Discourse" of Jesus that takes place just after the Last Supper has been finished. In this moment, Jesus is praying for the Apostles, updating God on the progress of the mission so far. He says, While I was with them, I protected them in your name that you have given me. I guarded them and not one of them was lost except the one destined to be lost, so that the scripture might be fulfilled. [John 17:12] The one lost, of course, refers to Judas. And in this prayer, also for us, Jesus asks God to protect us not just for our own sake but for the sake of the whole world. In that way, God's love will live in us and be given out to the world through us, as we carry on with Christ's mission, the work we have been given to do. The disciples were, and we are, sent into the world sheltered in love, by love, and for the love of God through Jesus. As he looks up to heaven, Jesus asks God to make his own joy complete in us and to sanctify ~ or hallow ~ us in the truth of God's Word. 

    We have come to know Jesus through these and other words of the Christian Testament. The beginning of the Gospel of John tells us that In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. [John 1:1] We know that the Word is Jesus, our Christ, our Messiah, our Savior. We've learned about Jesus after his birth, and before his death, resurrection, and ascension. Through these writings, we are given the instructions of how we are to follow Christ in this world, in our time, knowing that through Christ’s prayer we are also sanctified in the truth.

    What will be your prayer to God after these readings? What part of Christ's mission now calls to you before you venture into the world again? As God knows our hearts, I pray to continually seek to love and serve Christ during all my living days, and to love and serve others in Christ’s name. As the original 12 were chosen by Jesus, and Matthias was chosen by God, we, too, are empowered to fulfill the Mission and Ministry of our Redeemer. We, now, are The Chosen to carry on Christ’s mission here and now.

 LET US, GOD’S PEOPLE, PRAY

Leader:  ~ Jesus, our Savior Christ, by prayer, the casting of lots, and through Divine Will, Matthias was chosen to join in Your ministry and apostleship. Guide us on our walk, chosen in our time, to seek the joy and challenge of discipleship with You, striving to be living examples of Your ministry and mission.

                                                      Living, Loving God

         RESPONSE:      Sanctify us in Your Truth             

~ Jesus, our Savior Christ, fill us with the spiritual substance and stamina to stand together, in continual witness, to all who govern on this Earth, in this Nation, and in this Community, seeking justice, mercy, and freedom for all of God’s people. We pray especially for: add your own petitions

                                                     Living Loving God

                                                     Sanctify us in Your Truth

~ Jesus, our Savior Christ, raise the hope and the spirits of all who suffer with severe illness, depression, or serious life circumstance, and give strength to all who give them care.   We now join our hearts together to pray for those in need… add your own petitions

                                                     Living Loving God

                                                     Sanctify us in Your Truth  

~ Jesus, our Savior Christ, happy are we who, with drying tears, celebrate our loved ones now arrived, to live again in the glory of eternity with You.  We pray especially for… add your own petitions

                                                     Living Loving God

                                                     Sanctify us in Your Truth

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

                                                     Living Loving God

                                                     Sanctify us in Your Truth

~ Jesus, our Savior Christ, refresh and renew the spiritual tools of all who lead us in Your church, as they guide and inspire us to find delight in Your Word, and walk with us in faith-building and faith-in-action. We pray especially for: add your own petitions

                                                     Living Loving God

                                                     Sanctify us in Your Truth

The Celebrant adds: Glorious and Almighty Lord, who knows our hearts and minds, protect our souls from evil in and of the world, that we in turn, may offer Your love, shelter, and eternal life to all we meet in the righteous work You have given us to do. We ask through Your Son our Savior, Jesus Christ; and the Comfort of the Holy Spirit; who together with You, reign as One God, now and forever. Amen.

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Meditation in Eastertide ~ Monday, Week 6: Praying with All My Selves?

May 6, 2024 ~ Monday, Week 6

     Every one of us is a variety of persons at the same time, it may be a very rich blending, but also it may be an unfortunate meeting of discordant personalities. We are different according to circumstances and surroundings; the various people that meet us know us as different persons. 
   There is a Russian proverb that says, 'He is a lion when meeting sheep, but he is a sheep when he meets lions.' When it comes to praying, our first difficulty is to find which one of our personalities should be put forward to meet God...because we are so unaccustomed to be our real self that in all truth we do not know which one that is...  

~ Metropolitan Anthony Bloom* 

Well, God, 
          today I come to You as close to being me as I can as there seems to be a few of me so that may just be all of me, or at least me in one mood or another.  It's early in the day and I haven’t had enough coffee yet. There's no one here but me. No one to impress, to one-up, to anger, to suck up to, to order around, to help. No make-up or jewelry, no special clothes, I don't look my best or my worst. I'm just me. You know more about me than I ever will and You still love me. Thank you. I'm just here today to spend a few minutes with You. It's nice to quietly give love and receive love. That's all for now. I'll be back later or tomorrow with all of my MEs and I might, possibly, ok one of me will probably ask for something.  amen. 

*Metropolitan Anthony Bloom [1914-2003] was born in Lausanne, Switzerland. He spent his early childhood in Russia and Iran and the family settled in Paris after the Russian revolution. He went into WWII as a surgeon for France, a participant in the French Resistance, and a secretly professed monk in the Russian Orthodox Church. He was ordained in 1948 and sent to Britain where he was later appointed vicar for the Russian Patriarchal parish in London. In 1957 he was consecrated Bishop and in 1962 as Archbishop for the Russian Orthodox Church in Britain and Ireland.  He was then assigned as Metropolitan ~ Russian Orthodox Archbishop [or Diocesan Bishop] ~ for the Moscow Patriarchate [jurisdiction/territory] in Western Europe.  In 1966 he was released from the larger responsibilities upon mutual agreement so he could devote himself to the pastoral needs of his diocese.  Between 1966 and 1986 he wrote and published six books on prayer including Living Prayer from which the above quote is taken.  

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Meditation in Eastertide ~ Saturday, Week 5 '24: The Constant Pursuit Of...

May 4, 2024 ~ Saturday, Week 5

It is the very pursuit of happiness

that thwarts happiness. 

 

~ Viktor E. Frankl* 

 

So, God,

      Where did some of us get the idea that happiness is our birthright? We spend so much of our lives chasing after it and even worrying about how to get it, and then how to keep it. How many of us have said: If I can just have that car, if we can live in that neighborhood, if that promotion comes through, if I win the big lottery, then I'll be happy. We waste whole days of living looking back crying or regretting about "if only _X_ had been different" and looking ahead thinking "if only I can have _Y_" that we completely miss today. I want to stop missing now by spending my time wishing to change the past while dreaming about having all the things I think I want to have in the future.  Please, Lord, while I know it's useful and responsible to make plans and work toward fulfilling current and future goals, at the same time help me see that this moment is the place to fully be and live with whatever is happening. 

      Oh, while you're at it, push me to see and understand the luxury and advantage of the life I have with all its ups, downs, and sideways moments with the sheer privilege of choice to just think about how to attain certain "things" that may fill me with happiness.  As I muse about me, uncountable millions of Your children are hungry, desperate, in fear for their lives, imprisoned, tortured, enslaved, reviled for the color of their skin, their gender, their sexual orientation, their religion, their nationality, ethnicity, and so much more, and much of it in the name of You in some misguided and dangerous religious fervor and the damaging primacy of nationalism.

    As a child finds joy in blowing the seeds of a dandelion into the breeze, let me seek and experience the joy in the present as the fruit of the past, with lessons learned as the seeds of the future. Endow me with the grace to accept wherever and however the seeds of today fall, fail, and blossom. Remind me each waking hour to keep myself grounded in You in heart, mind, and spirit, rather than the constant pursuit of that mostly indefinable something I could call Happiness. Guide, or even shove me, into being far less selfish in order to bloom into being more selfless, in this Your Ground with the gift of living in it. I'm beginning right now. amen.    

*Viktor Frankl, [1905-1997] an Austrian neurologist and psychiatrist, focused some of his early studies on depression and suicide and set up a youth counseling center in Vienna that successfully reduced teen suicide. Later he set up a suicide prevention program in a psychiatric hospital for women from 1933 to 1937. Being Jewish, he was required to close his practice as the Germans annexed Austria and he was interned in the Nazi Holocaust of concentration camps for three years losing his wife, his mother, and his brother. His seminal work, Man's Search for Meaning, chronicles his imprisonment. It was through this unimaginable time he realized the importance of finding meaning in all forms of existence even under the most difficult and nearly  indescribably horrible experiences and yet finding reasons to continue to live. As he said, crisis offers new opportunities to live as if for the second time. He authored many other books including Yes to Life In Spite of Everything, published 11 months after his liberation from Auschwitz. 

 

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Meditation in Eastertide ~ Friday, Week 5: The Road to ....

May 3, 2024 ~ Friday, Week 5

You are what you do, 

not what you say you'll do.

~ C.G. Jung* 

Dear Spirit of All Good Intentions ~

       I am often guilty of following the path of least resistance, also known as the prettier and easier way to procrastinate. Equally as often, I make elaborate plans to do so many good things but then allow myself to fall into the bottomless pit of more or even less enjoyable distractions. I can also jump easily into being overly busy at both necessary and superficial pursuits or worse, slacking off altogether. As Paul says in Romans 7:19: For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I do. Well, I'm not out there doing so much evil, I mean, I don't think I'm doing bad things so much as I'm just not doing as many good things as I could. Or, maybe, it's just that my intention planning or completion are off track as so many bad things are happening all over at an overwhelming pace so I just walk past to buy cupcakes.

       I can easily race through a day, a week, a month thoughtlessly, without really processing WHY I'm doing things and what exactly are my intentions be they good, not-so-good, or just neutral.  

      Please help me by-pass the mere intent to do. Stoke within me the doing and not merely saying. Push my head and heart to begin and end each day with the prayer I need to kickstart my engine from idea to initiative to action. Help me to walk through each part of the day with You as my reason for being, with You as my reason for doing, with You who inspires all Good Intentions. Um, do You mind if I take the walk along that pretty path while I pray?  I'll consciously work to stay intentionally focused on doing what must be done afterward while still carrying my prayer with me. amen

*Carl Gustav Jung was a Swiss psychiatrist and psychotherapist and is known as the founder of analytical psychology. He developed the concept of archetypes, extroversion and introversion, and the collective unconscious. His deep and collegial friendship with Sigmund Freud lasted about 6 years until a serious disagreement broke the relationship. Jung believed, in part, that spiritual development, a journey of transformation was essential for human well-being. His study of many religions gave rise to his thought that in what he called individuation, a journey to meet the self also leads to meeting the Divine.

 

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