People's Prayers

Monday, October 14, 2024

Prayers of the People: Our Living Planet, 2nd Sunday in the Season of Creation ’24

For Sunday, October 20, 2024; Readings: Genesis 1: 20-31, Psalm 8,*

Chief Seattle,** Matthew 6:25-34

God saw everything that he had made, and indeed it was very good. [Genesis 1:31a]

Lord, our God, the whole world tells the greatness of your name. Your glory reaches beyond the stars. [Psalm 8*]

The earth is precious to god and to harm the earth is to heap contempt on its Creator. Continue to contaminate your bed and you will one night suffocate in your waste. [Chief Seattle**]

Look at the birds of the air; they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them…And can any of you by worrying add a single hour to your span of life?... Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not clothed like one of these. [Matthew 6:26, 27, 28b-29]

Nearly every day there is news about the deteriorating condition of our planet. Disastrous environmental events that poison water systems and food supplies, and the catastrophes of hurricanes, tornadoes, wildfires, and earthquakes that devastate huge areas and millions of people. And there are the horrifying effects of war and diseases impacting other issues of human survival. All of this requires our continuous attention and purposeful action, as our obedience to the God-ordered stewardship of the Creation we inhabit. We share the planet with so many who continue to deny that there are climate issues and that we could have and still can make significant changes to how we humans manage the Earth we have been given. We waste precious time arguing about how, when, and IF to improve upon what we have been and not been doing.

In this week’s reading from Genesis we hear of the the sea creatures, birds of the sky, the cattle, creeping, and wild others, and also “we” humans have all arrived. God has given us charge over all Creation; yet humans have, all too often, taken the words dominion and subdue out of the context of caring management and cultivation, to promote the strictest definitions of power and control, especially for profit.

Today we are to re-awaken our consciousness to our earthly surroundings close by, and well beyond, our mere location, to learn, and more deeply know, this great gift of our Creator ~ Our Living Planet: Earth.

We are to re-examine its lushness, its highest peaks and deepest depths, the fragrances and the freshness; to re-discover our companion creatures and the extraordinary interconnectedness of life among the plants and organisms that support us. We are to marvel at the vastness of the oceans, the rhythm of the tides, the flow of rivers, the tiny critters in and around a narrow flowing creek. We must look and see what has gone before and where we are now, to intentionally seek ways to safely improve and enhance our world's potential. Most importantly, we are to discover ways to maintain and expand protections against industrial waste, general pollution, the loss of precious water resources, and especially the vast impact of our everyday thoughtless and selfish actions individually, collectively, and globally. This Earth and her resources feed our bodies, provide oxygen for our breath, and in particular give us breath-taking beauty in which we know the wonder of God in the tiniest flower, a glorious butterfly, and the miracle of birthing a tiny replica of ourselves.

We are called to be a servant to our earthly domain, and to humanity, as in Christ’s teaching and example given in this week’s reading from Matthew, the words of the Psalm, and the stirring message from Chief Seattle. In last week’s reading of Genesis 1, through the poetry from In the Beginning Liturgy [© Mark Earey], we heard, in part: Creator God, help us find our place within your diverse creation. In the beginning, God spoke his very image, and the returning echo formed humanity. Creator God, open our eyes to see you reflected in every human face. In the beginning, God created, and it was good. [emphasis added]

Let us protect and prosper the gift we have been given.

LET US, GOD’S PEOPLE, PRAY

Leader: ~ Most Holy Designer and Artisan, architect of all that is, the seen and the unseen, grant us the humility to understand our true place in, and responsibilities for Your Creation. Incline our minds and hearts to learn from every living creature and life form, and to be voice and champion for the protection and preservation of this Earth and all that is in it, that you have given us to care for and to prosper.

O Divine Parent, Breath of our Being

RESPONSE: We bless You by our faith in action

~ Most Holy Designer and Artisan, instill within us and all who lead the Governments of our Planet, our Nation, and our Community, the urgency to care for, feed, and house all people; to stem the increasing tide of violence, and to assure the well-being of eco-systems and environments that sustain the life and existence of Your entire Earth. We pray especially for: add your own petitions

O Divine Parent, Breath of our Being
We bless You by our faith in action

~ Most Holy Designer and Artisan, surround the hearts of all who live with chronic illness, or critical need with Your peace and healing; and grant endurance for those who give them care. We now join our hearts together to pray for those in need… add your own petitions

O Divine Parent, Breath of our Being
We bless You by our faith in action

~ Most Holy Designer and Artisan, keep us in the knowledge that love never dies and that those we have sent ahead, have new life in the holy grandeur of Your Eternal Kingdom. We pray especially for… add your own petitions

O Divine Parent, Breath of our Being
We bless You by our faith in action

~ Most Holy Designer and Artisan, we pause in this moment to offer You our other heartfelt thanksgivings, intercessions, petitions, and memorials… add your own petitions

O Divine Parent, Breath of our Being

We bless You by our faith in action

~ Most Holy Designer and Artisan, set alight the spirits of those called by You to lead us in Your Church, who guide us in ways to make the path to You clear, and who join us to love, honor, and serve as Christ has taught and shown by His example. We pray especially for: add your own petitions

O Divine Parent, Breath of our Being
We bless You by our faith in action

The Celebrant adds: O God of Glory, awaken us each day with the renewed desire to restore and cherish Your precious gift of Our Living Planet, the literal ground that supports every earthly being. Kindle our fervor to actively engage in assuring its health and wholeness, for all who live and breathe on this planet now and always. We ask through Jesus, our Lord and our Teacher; and the Holy Spirit, the Divine Limitless Energy of our souls; who together with You are One God, forever and ever. Amen.

Click here for more information about: Season of Creation ~ In The Beginning

* Psalm 8
-Lord, our God, the whole world tells the greatness of your name. Your glory reaches beyond the stars.
-Even the babble of infants declares your strength, your power to halt the enemy and avenger.
-I see your handiwork in the heavens: The moon and the stars you set in place.
-What is humankind that you remember them, the human race that you care for them?
-You treat them like gods, dressing them in glory and splendor. You give them charge of the earth, laying all at their feet: cattle and sheep, wild beasts, birds of the sky, fish of the sea, every swimming creature.
-Lord our God, the whole world tells the greatness of your name.
[From The Psalter: A faithful and inclusive rendering, Liturgy Training Publications (International Committee on English in the Liturgy, Inc.), 1994]

** A Reading from Chief Seattle: Every part of this earth is sacred to my people. Every shiny pine needle, every sandy shore, every mist in the dark woods, every meadow, every humming insect. All are holy in the memory and experience of my people. We know the sap which courses through the trees as we know the blood that courses through our veins. We are part of the earth and it is part of us. The perfumed flowers are our sisters. The bear, the deer, the great eagle, these are our brothers. The rocky crests, the juices in the meadow, the body heat of the pony, and humanity, all belong to the same family. The rivers are our brother. They quench our thirst. They carry our canoes and feed our children. So you must give to the rivers the kindness you would give to any brother. The air is very precious to us, the air shares its spirit with all the life it supports. The wind that gave our grandfather his first breath also receives his last sigh. The wind also gives our children the spirit of life. Will you teach your children what we have taught our children? That the earth is our mother? What befalls the earth befalls all the children of earth. This we know: the earth does not belong to man, man belongs to the earth. All things are connected like the blood that unites us all. Man did not weave the web of life, he is merely a strand in it. Whatever he does to the web, he does to himself. One thing we know: our God is also your god. The earth is precious to god and to harm the earth is to heap contempt on its Creator. Continue to contaminate your bed and you will one night suffocate in your waste. Excerpts from a speech to the President of the United States, Attributed to Chief Seattle, Duwamish Tribe, 1855

All compositions remain the property of the owner of this blog but may be used with attribution and edited for local use as long as they are not sold or charged for in any way. For more information or comments, contact: Leeosophy@gmail.com

Monday, October 7, 2024

Prayers of the People: Setting Our Soul's Sights ~ Proper 23, 21st Sunday after Pentecost '24 Yr B

For Sunday, October 13, 2024, Readings: Job 23:1-9, 16-17; Psalm 22:1-15,

Hebrews 4:12-16; Mark 10:17-31

Oh that I knew where I might find him, that I might come even to his dwelling!...he would give heed to me. There an upright person could reason with him, and I should be acquitted forever by my judge. [Job 23:3, 6b-7]

…you were my God when I was still in my mother’s womb. Be not far from me, for trouble is near, and there is none to help. [Psalm 22:10b-11]

The word of God is living and active... able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart...we have a great high priest...Jesus...Let us...approach the throne of grace with boldness, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need. [Hebrews 4:12 a,b; 14a, 16]

It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God...[but] for God all things are possible...many who are first will be last, and the last will be first. [Mark 10:25, 27b, 31]

Job, poor Job! We're 23 chapters into his story and things are not only as grim as ever in this terrible game between Satan and God, they are getting worse. In this passage he is answering the continuing attacks from Eliphaz and his other friends. He keeps trying, keeps wondering, keeps asking God: WHY?! And then he answers himself as he knows deeply in his faithful heart, that God would listen to reason and acquit him of these terrible trials, if only he could find God, if only he didn't feel “terrified.” STILL, he doesn't give up; he perseveres. He is honest in his self-defense and in his fear. How long, I ask myself, would I endure with half of Job’s troubles without giving up on God, let alone my friends?

We’re just barely halfway through the Book of Job and there are many difficult questions posed by this entire story in how it shapes our faith and what we believe about what really does God do to us, for us, and, as Job asks, “Why?”

Job is considered by many scholars to be the oldest book of the Bible, written before Genesis, possibly between 1900 and 1700 BCE [Before the Common Era, formerly and still sometimes referred to as BC, in Christian commentary, before Christ]. But the authorship of Job is unknown ~ was it Moses or Solomon? No one knows because the original manuscript does not exist.

The Psalmist lays out the entire case so painfully and so well as to what happens within us when we hit those inexplicable walls of grief and terrible misfortune. Sometimes it feels helpful when I need to scream in despair, to come to this psalm and yell it to the wind as catharsis, to cry it out to feel emotionally lighter and regain some hope however fragile.

The writer of Hebrews confirms what Job believes, that God knows and judges the thoughts and the intentions of our hearts. We have help to hold fast to our faith in and through Jesus, our great high priest, who was tested in every respect as we are and remained without sin. With faith in Christ’s support, we are to be bold and ask God for the mercy and grace that we need to keep us strong and faith-filled on our soul’s journey to eternal life.

This piece from Mark’s Gospel is asking us what it is that we truly need in this life. A man grieves as he walks away from Jesus because while he follows the commandments he doesn't want to let go of his earthly possessions. Perhaps he expected Jesus to extol him for following the Law and confirm his personal sense that there was nothing more he needed do. How many in recent years, months, and weeks, all over this world, and ongoing in our own country as I write, have lost so much because of winds, floods, fires, war, and the everyday tragedies and tempests of life? How many of us say "Oh yes, I believe and follow the Commandments" and go about our everyday lives as if there was nothing we have to do differently, assured of our place in the front of the line at the gates of God’s Kingdom? Will we cry out "Where is God?" when the winds, tragedies, and tempests hit our lives? Will our faith crumble; will we give in to despair? Perhaps we think we will not because our faith is that strong, or those awful things of life won’t happen to me.

Job never stops asking for God to be present because hope keeps him going, as it can for us all even in the times when our faith is weakest. And if we wonder if Jesus literally meant that a camel would have to go through that needle’s eye, Jesus tells us plainly, with God all things are possible.

Through the intentions of our hearts we can seek the path of Christ that is sometimes rocky, sometimes tempestuous, and sometimes calm as we try to remember always that each moment and each day begins and ends with Him beside us.

As difficult as it is in the worst of times, we are called to cling to hope. As great as it is on the greatest day ~ let us give great thanks and continuing prayers of hope for others. Let us set our soul’s sights on the eye of that needle with Jesus as the thread that will pull us through.

LET US, GOD’S PEOPLE, PRAY

Leader: ~ Holy God, Living and Active, keep us mindful of our thoughts and the intentions of our hearts, that we may measure our spiritual wealth each day, by the ways we live into and out of our love for You.

O Lord our God