People's Prayers

Monday, October 28, 2024

Prayers of the People: The Saints Among Us ~ 4th Sunday in the Season of Creation '24

For Sunday, November 3, 2024; Readings: Revelation 7:9-17, Psalm 24, Sr. Joan Chittister,* John 11:32-44

Painting is "Multitude of Worshippers"

by Gregory Staton

They will hunger no more; the sun will not strike them…for the Lamb at the center…will be their shepherd…and God will wipe every tear from their eyes. [Revelation 7:16-17]

Those who have clean hands and a pure heart, who have not pledged themselves to falsehood, nor sworn by what is a fraud…shall receive blessing from the Lord, and a just reward from the God of their Salvation. [Ps 24:4-5]

They are people like you and me. With one exception, perhaps… [Sr. Joan Chittister]

The dead man came out, his hands and feet bound with strips of cloth, and his face wrapped in a cloth. Jesus said to them, "Unbind him, and let him go." [John 11:44]

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/2024/09/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 asterisk.

Week IV's Theme is:
The Saints Among Us

Today we celebrate the Feast of All Saints. What comes to mind when you think of a Saint? For many of us, I expect, the mind-image that arises is of someone many centuries and continents removed from our everyday place and time in this world; someone who is an example of complete perfection in every facet of life that is unattainable for us mere mortals, and, if we're honest, living a life undesirably difficult for us to accomplish. The word “saint” comes from the Greek word hagios [hay-gee-ose], which means “consecrated to God, holy, sacred, pious.” Yet many saints and Saints, the ordinary and the officially designated, are/were flawed humans with real human frailties and struggles, even, shockingly for some, a few sins, large and small, along the way. When and how then did their lives become so exemplary? The best discussion I have found is from Sister Joan Chittister*, which follows. This piece offers us some food for prayerful thought on ways we might discover our inner saint and seek to, at the very least, support the very basic tenets of the Greatest Commandment [Matthew 22:36-40, Mark 12:28-34, Luke 10:25-28].

*"For centuries the church has confronted the human community with role models of greatness. We call them saints when what we really often mean to say is "icon," "star," "hero," ones so possessed by an internal vision of divine goodness that they give us a glimpse of the face of God in the center of the human. They give us a taste of the possibilities of greatness in ourselves. What qualities will be necessary to live a life of integrity, of holiness, in the twenty-first century? What models of those values, if any, have been raised up to show us the way to God in a world that is more preoccupied with the material than with the spiritual, more self-centered than selfless, more concerned with the mundane than with the divine, more parochial than cosmic? (They) are male and female, Christian and non-Christian, married and unmarried, religious and lay, pragmatists and artists, named saint by a process or proclaimed saint by the people who lived in the shadow of their lives. They are people like you and me. With one exception, perhaps. In their eyes burn the eyes of a God who sees injustice and decries it, sees poverty and condemns it, sees inequality and refuses it, sees wrong and demands that it be set right. These are people for whom the Law above the law is first in their lives. These are people who did not temporize with the evil in one system just because another system could have been worse. These are people who saw themselves clearly as the others' keepers. These are people who gave themselves entirely to the impulses of God for the sake of the world."

Sr. Joan has not painted an easy picture of a lifestyle for our time-limited journey in earthly existence. There are choices to be made and sooner rather than later though there’s always an opportunity for us to seek God first above all else, to receive a blessing from the Lord and a just reward from the God of our Salvation. It requires some dedication, some intention, and some significant transformation. Jesus calls us to come out from our self-imposed tombs and unbind ourselves from the temptations that lock us away from our divine endowment. In that release we can change not only ourselves but the culture we live in. Author Parker Palmer** says it best, [We] can transform our culture only as we are inwardly transformed. So, let us begin, again, together.

*Sister Joan Chittister, Roman Catholic nun and former Prioress of the Benedictine Sisters of Erie, PA, an activist, author and speaker on a variety of subjects such as spirituality, religious life, peace, and justice among others. The excerpt is from: A Passion for Life: Fragments of the Face of God, Orbis, Maryknoll, NY, 1996

**Parker J. Palmer is an author, educator, and activist who focuses on issues in education, community, leadership, spirituality and social change. He is the founder and Senior Partner Emeritus of the Center for Courage & Renewal.

LET US, GOD’S PEOPLE, PRAY

Leader: ~ O Lord of Hosts, O King of Glory, in these times of trial and travail, strengthen us to arise each day with inner peace, purity of heart, and complete trust in You. Fill us with humility, humanity, and hope by following the example and the actions of the Saints who have gone before, and the saints who live among us now.

O God of our Salvation

RESPONSE: Help us to unbind our faith

~ O Lord of Hosts, our King of Glory, fill us with the trust that You make all things among us new again. Endow and galvanize us, who abide with You in love, with continued perseverance to exhort Local, National, and Global Leaders not to pledge to falsehoods nor swear to frauds but to move toward the just reward of all who work on Christ’s behalf. We pray especially for: add your own petitions

O God of our Salvation

Help us unbind our faith

~ O Lord of Hosts, our King of Glory, deliver from distress all those in anguish from illness of body, mind, or spirit, and infuse those who give them care with gentle and peaceful hearts. We now join our hearts together to pray for those in need… add your own petitions

O God of our Salvation

Help us unbind our faith

~ O Lord of Hosts, our King of Glory, as You wipe the tears of all who mourn, keep us all in the knowledge that earthly death will be no more with the joy and gladness of all who live again in Your Communion of Saints now and forever. We pray especially for… add your own petitions

O God of our Salvation

Help us unbind our faith

~ O Lord of Hosts, our King of Glory, we pause in this moment to offer You our other heartfelt thanksgivings, intercessions, petitions, and memorials… add your own petitions

O God of our Salvation

Help us unbind our faith

~ O Lord of Hosts, our King of Glory, inspire the hearts, minds, and souls of all who lead us in Your Church, who encourage and remind us, through Word and Sacrament, how to lead faithful lives in and through Your grace and mercy. We pray especially for: add your own petitions

O God of our Salvation

Help us unbind our faith

The Celebrant adds: God of us all, saints and sinners together, set our hearts free from the prison of hate, the emptiness of self-importance, and the mindlessness of earthly privilege. Guide us each to claim our divine endowment of hope, grace, and mercy, as we strive toward ascending the hill of the Lord to drink forever from the water of life. We ask through Jesus, our Saving Lamb; in the Unity of the Holy Spirit; who together with You are One God above all, through all, and in all, for ever and ever. Amen.

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Prayers of the People: All Saints Sunday, Proper 26, 24th Sunday after Pentecost '24 Yr B

For Sunday, November 3, 2024; Readings: Wisdom of Solomon, 3:1-9, Psalm 24, Revelation 21:1-6a,

John 11:32-44

Those who trust in him will understand truth, and the faithful will abide with him in love...

[Wisdom of Solomon 3:9]

[The] home of God is among mortals…God himself will be with them; he will wipe every tear from their eyes. Death will be no more; mourning and crying and pain will be no more; for the first things have passed away.

[Revelation 21:3b-4]

The dead man came out, his hands and feet bound with strips of cloth, and his face wrapped in a cloth. Jesus said to them, "Unbind him, and let him go." [John 11:44]

Today we celebrate the Feast of All Saints. What comes to mind when you think of a Saint? For many of us, I expect, the mind-image that arises is of someone many centuries and continents removed from our everyday place and time in this world; someone who is an example of complete perfection in every facet of life that is unattainable for us mere mortals, and, if we're honest, living a life undesirably difficult for us to accomplish. The word “saint” comes from the Greek word hagios [hay-gee-ose], which means “consecrated to God, holy, sacred, pious. Yet many saints and Saints, the ordinary and the officially designated, are/were flawed humans with real human frailties and struggles, even, shockingly, a few sins along the way. When and how then did their lives become so exemplary? The best discussion I have found is from Sister Joan Chittister*, which follows. This piece offers us some food for prayerful thought on ways we might discover our inner saint and seek to, at the very least, support the very basic tenets of the Greatest Commandment [Matthew 22:36-40, Mark 12:28-34, Luke 10:25-28].

"For centuries the church has confronted the human community with role models of greatness. We call them saints when what we really often mean to say is "icon," "star," "hero," ones so possessed by an internal vision of divine goodness that they give us a glimpse of the face of God in the center of the human. They give us a taste of the possibilities of greatness in ourselves. What qualities will be necessary to live a life of integrity, of holiness, in the twenty-first century? What models of those values, if any, have been raised up to show us the way to God in a world that is more preoccupied with the material than with the spiritual, more self-centered than selfless, more concerned with the mundane than with the divine, more parochial than cosmic? (They) are male and female, Christian and non-Christian, married and unmarried, religious and lay, pragmatists and artists, named saint by a process or proclaimed saint by the people who lived in the shadow of their lives. They are people like you and me. With one exception, perhaps. In their eyes burn the eyes of a God who sees injustice and decries it, sees poverty and condemns it, sees inequality and refuses it, sees wrong and demands that it be set right. These are people for whom the Law above the law is first in their lives. These are people who did not temporize with the evil in one system just because another system could have been worse. These are people who saw themselves clearly as the others' keepers. These are people who gave themselves entirely to the impulses of God for the sake of the world."

Sr. Joan has not painted an easy picture of a lifestyle for our time-limited journey in earthly existence. There are choices to be made and sooner rather than later though there’s always an opportunity for us to seek God first above all else, to receive a blessing from the Lord and a just reward from the God of our Salvation. It requires some dedication, some intention, and some transformation. We have good company with us as Solomon tells us, the home of God is among mortals. Jesus calls us to come out from our self-imposed tombs and unbind ourselves from the temptations that lock us away from our divine endowment. In that release we can change not only ourselves but the culture we live in. Author Parker Palmer** says it best, [We] can transform our culture only as we are inwardly transformed. So, no matter what is going on around us, let us each day begin again, together.

*Sister Joan Chittister is a Roman Catholic nun and former Prioress of the Benedictine Sisters of Erie, PA and an activist, author and speaker on a variety of subjects such as spirituality, religious life, peace, and justice among others. The excerpt is from: A Passion for Life: Fragments of the Face of God, Orbis, Maryknoll, NY, 1996

LET US, GOD’S PEOPLE, PRAY

Leader: ~ O Lord of Hosts, O King of Glory, in these times of trial and travail, strengthen us to arise each day with inner peace, purity of heart, and complete trust in You. Fill us with humility, humanity, and hope following the example of the Saints who have gone before, and the saints who live among us now.

O God of our Salvation

RESPONSE: Help us to unbind our faith

O God of our Salvation

Help us unbind our faith

~ O Lord of Hosts, our King of Glory, deliver from distress all those in anguish from illness of body, mind, or spirit, and infuse those who give them care with gentle and peaceful hearts. We now join our hearts to pray for those in need… add your own petitions

O God of our Salvation

Help us unbind our faith

O God of our Salvation

Help us unbind our faith

~ O Lord of Hosts, our King of Glory, we pause in this moment to offer You our other heartfelt thanksgivings, intercessions, petitions, and memorials… add your own petitions

O God of our Salvation

Help us unbind our faith

O God of our Salvation

Help us unbind our faith

Monday, October 21, 2024

Prayers of the People: Let Me See ~ Proper 25, 23rd Sunday after Pentecost, Year B

For Sunday, October 27, 2024; Readings: Job 42:1-6, 10-17; Psalm 34:1-8, 19-22;

Hebrews 7:23-26, Mark 10:46-52

I have uttered what I did not understand, things too wonderful for me, which I did not know...had heard of you by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees you; therefore I despise myself and repent in dust and ashes...And the Lord restored the fortunes of Job... [Job 42:3b, 5-6, 10a]

I sought the Lord, and he answered me and delivered me out of all my terror. Look upon him and be radiant, let not your faces be ashamed. [Psalm 34:4-5]

…Jesus holds his priesthood permanently, because he continues forever. Consequently he is able for all time to save those who approach God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them. [Hebrews 7:24-25]

And they called the blind man, saying to him, take heart, he is calling you...Then Jesus said to him, "What do you want me to do for you?" The blind man said to him, “My teacher, let me see again.” Jesus said to him, “Go; your faith has made you well.” [Mark 10:49b, 51a]

A difficult book to interpret at best, Job is a mix of prose, poetry, and folk tale with language that is ambiguous for translators. As it is told he was the unwitting player in a bet between God and Satan. Along for the ride are the equally unwitting friends of Job who harangue him unmercifully in the midst of his severe trials. Although Job questioned God's justice and motives, he never once doubted God's power. In this epilogue, he now realizes that, as with all of us, he was questioning God without having all the information and he is remorseful. He repents of his doubt and says that in the past he had heard God in his ear but now my eye sees you. FINALLY Job is restored and to even greater wealth and health after so many chapters of disaster, scorn, and pain. God pays off after winning the bet. Is the message of Job perseverance? He sought God's answers and help and received both. What is left out of this particular segment is God’s rebuke of Job’s friends [Job 42:7-9] who were not the least supportive throughout his travails and were spared harsher punishment than a ritual sacrifice because of Job’s awakening to the knowledge that we mere mortals cannot know the mind of God.

The Psalmist sings a song a faith in action that reminds us that God is always present and hears us when we call. We may not have the fairy-tale ending of Job in this life, but our times in affliction will be rewarded if we press on even as we sometimes struggle with our trust as doubts creep in.

Bartimaeus also withstood the scorn of the crowds, first just generally because he was a beggar (not unlike us today with our impatience with "street" people), and secondly because he was delaying their journey to Jerusalem. He, too, persevered in getting the attention of Jesus. Then all he had to do was ask and he was restored to fullness through his sight.

Do I seek the Lord first when I'm in trouble? Do I ask for what I really need or only what I merely want? Am I specific or vague: just give me…I want…fix my life, fix the world. For Job and Bartimaeus the afflictions were obvious. Yet it was through their asking that their faith was displayed, however imperfect. Through our questions, through our fears, God is with us and knows our hearts. Our faith will make us well in many and various ways unexpected and often only known in hindsight. An important point, for me, is that even with Job’s restoration to twice as much fortune as before, I’m certain that his prior losses still caused some continuing grief, as well as some hurt from the maltreatment by friends in his adversity, whatever his new understanding of God. Restoration of the wellness of our souls is always available to us also. All we have to do is ask saying Lord, I want to see (and taste and hear).

LET US, GOD’S PEOPLE, PRAY

Leader: ~ Gracious, Merciful God, in these difficult times let us, in faith, call out Your name to be saved from our fears, be ransomed by our trust, and to forever rejoice in Your Greatness. May the radiance of Your presence shine upon our faces and through our eyes as a beacon to draw us all nearer to You.

Christ, Most Holy Teacher

RESPONSE: Heal and open the eyes of our souls

~ Gracious, Merciful God, empower us to hold fast, to stand strong for truth, mercy, and justice before the leaders of our World, our Country, and our Community. Strengthen us to prod open the eyes of those blinded by self-interest, political machinations, and other oppressive conditions that do not fulfill Your love for all Your people. We pray especially for:

Christ, Most Holy Teacher

Heal and open the eyes of our souls

~ Gracious, Merciful God, comfort all who are burdened with serious illness, addiction, and/or emotional distress, and grant energy and peace to those who give them care. We now join our voices to pray aloud for those in need…

Christ, Most Holy Teacher

Heal and open the eyes of our souls

~ Gracious, Merciful God, in the midst of sorrow for our temporary loss, we give joyful thanksgiving for the glorious welcome of our loved ones into Your eternal kingdom. We pray especially for:

Christ, Most Holy Teacher

Heal and open the eyes of our souls

~ Gracious, Merciful God, we pause in this moment to offer You our other heartfelt thanksgivings, intercessions, petitions, and memorials, aloud or silently…

Christ, Most Holy Teacher

Heal and open the eyes of our souls

~ Gracious, Merciful God, we offer our thanksgivings for all who are anointed to lead us in worship, who tell us of the former things of You that have come to pass, show us by example of prayer and preaching how to live in this life, and walk with us to discover the Word that will lead us to You. We pray especially for:

Christ, Most Holy Teacher

Heal and open the eyes of our souls

The Celebrant adds: Lord of Grace and Goodness, help us to regain our spiritual sight and be made well through the renewal of our faith by growing our desire to love, serve, and trust You with our whole hearts, minds, and souls. We ask through Jesus, our Teacher and Great High Priest; and the Holy Spirit, our Sanctifier and Source of Wisdom; who with You are One God, now and forevermore. Amen.

Prayers of the People: Our Common Humanity ~ 3rd Sunday in the Season of Creation '24

For Sunday, October 27, 2024, Readings: "Human Family"*, Psalm 146, Philippians 2:1-5,

Matthew 25:31-45

I note the obvious differences In the human family…the variety of our skin tones Can confuse, bemuse, delight…I’ve seen the wonders of the world yet not one common man…I’ve seen ten thousand women…But I’ve not seen any two who really were the same…We are more alike my friends, Than we are unalike. [Human Family, by Maya Angelou]*

Happy are they who have the God of Jacob for their help! Whose hope is in the Lord their God…who keeps his promise for ever…Who gives justice to the oppressed…opens the eyes of the blind, lifts up those who are bowed down… [Psalm 146:5, 6b, 7a, 8b]

If there is any encouragement in Christ, any consolation from love, any sharing in the Spirit…make my joy complete…Do nothing from selfish ambition…Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ. [Philippians 2:1a, 2a, 3a, 5a]

Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me…Truly I tell you, that just as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me. [Matthew 25:40, 45]

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 an asterisk and follow the prayers below.

Week III's Theme is:
Our Common Humanity

We are truly all in "this" together ~ this multiverse, this planet, this life, right in the now that is all we ever have. Yet all too often, especially in these fraught times, we look at others and others look at us as different because of skin color, regional accent, nationality, religion, political views, sexual orientation, life circumstance, or merely because someone lives in a different part of the world, the country, or the city. We too easily dismiss, and worse ~ completely and immediately reject ~ those who aren't like us. Suddenly they become one of them, not to be trusted or valued as the full human person God created, and in God's own image. When we ignore, avoid, or dismiss an other person for such reasons, we damage ourselves and our souls by de-valuing a child of God’s making.
     Maya Angelou’s poem Human Family breaks through the self-imposed shields and barriers and says quite starkly, truthfully, unequivocally, with necessary repetition: We are more alike, my friend, than we are unalike.
    The Psalmist calls us to celebrate our God, the God of Jacob, as our hope, as one whose promise is kept forever, who gives justice to the oppressed, and opens the eyes of the blind. This phrasing also bears repeating, to be written down and available to our eyes and hearts at waking, mid-day, and in the approach to sleep as a mantra in prayer to be embedded in our life’s purpose as God’s agents in Creation.
    The writer of Philippians reminds us to do nothing from selfish ambitions and, in humility regard others as better than yourselves…look not to your own interests, but to the interest of others. And most importantly, we are to Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ. This, too, gives us a charge, a mindset, our primary mission in this life.
     Jesus is quite specific when he tells his story in his time through this part of Matthew’s Gospel that comes now to us, that whatever we do to another we do to him; and, whatever we do not do to another, we do not do to him. It is always the perfect time to work with each other to discover how we can, together, be in the same mind that was in Christ for the benefit, betterment, and salvation of our common humanity, and never more perfect than today, even when we disagree about many things. If we cannot find common ground with some, then we must redouble our efforts with those with whom we can, for the sake of Jesus, our Christ, and for all of humankind that each of our God-Given lives touch.

LET US, GOD’S PEOPLE, PRAY

Leader: ~ Blessed are You, Lord of and in our Souls, Creator of Our Entire Human Family, fill us with delight in discovering the wonder and joy of our many colors, the array of all our shapes, sizes, and ages, the personhood of us all that is the Christ within. Keep us ever mindful and respectful, that each of us are the other to someone when we step out of our own and into another’s comfort zone. May Your Light radiate from our eyes, and our everyday words and actions reflect that we are more alike than unalike in Christ.

O Christ, Son of Humanity

RESPONSE: Our Help, Hope, and Faith are in You

~ Blessed are You, Lord of and in our Souls, empower us to hold fast, to not lose heart, to stand strong for truth, mercy, and justice before the leaders of our World, our Country, and our Community. Strengthen us to prod open the hearts of those blinded by selfish ambition, political machinations, and all oppressive actions that do not reflect the mind of Christ in them or in ourselves. We pray especially for: add your own petitions

O Christ, Son of Humanity

Our Help, Hope, and Faith are in You

~ Blessed are You, Lord of and in our Souls, comfort all who are burdened with serious illness, addiction, and/or emotional distress, and grant energy and peace to those who give them care. We now join our hearts together to pray for those in need… add your own petitions

O Christ, Son of Humanity

Our Help, Hope, and Faith are in You

~ Blessed are You, Lord of and in our Souls, in the midst of sorrow for our temporary loss, we find love and consolation in Your glorious welcome for those we cherish, now at peace in Your eternal kingdom. We pray especially for… add your own petitions

O Christ, Son of Humanity

Our Help, Hope, and Faith are in You

~ Blessed are You, Lord of and in our Souls, we pause in this moment to offer You our other heartfelt thanksgivings, intercessions, petitions, and memorials… add your own petitions

O Christ, Son of Humanity

Our Help, Hope, and Faith are in You

~ Blessed are You, Lord of and in our Souls, we ask Your special blessings for all who are chosen and anointed to show us by example of prayer, preaching, and humble compassion, how to share in the Spirit in this life, and discover the Word that will lead us to You in the next. We pray especially for: add your own petitions

O Christ, Son of Humanity

Our Help, Hope, and Faith are in You

The Celebrant adds: Most Gracious God of the Hungry and the Privileged, Lord of those Raised High and those Laid Low, grant us the joyful yet solemn awareness that we bear within us the very substance of Your Incarnate Son. Open our souls to sing your praise as long as we have breath, for You who brought our common humanity and all else in the heavens and on Earth into being, for You who keeps Your promise forever. We ask through the Compassion of Jesus our Christ; and the Wisdom of the Holy Spirit; who live and reign with You as One God, every day, every way, always, and forever. Amen.

*Human Family – a poem by Maya Angelou:
"I note the obvious differences
   In the human family. Some of us are serious,
Some thrive on comedy. Some declare their lives are lived
   As true profundity,
   And others claim they really live
The real reality. The variety of our skin tones
   Can confuse, bemuse, delight,
Brown and pink and beige and purple,
   Tan and blue and white.
I've sailed upon the seven seas
   And stopped in every land,
I've seen the wonders of the world
   Not yet one common man.
I know ten thousand women
   Called Jane and Mary Jane,
But I've not seen any two
   Who really were the same.
Mirror twins are different
   Although their features jibe,
And lovers think quite different thoughts
   While lying side by side.
We love and lose in China,
We weep on England's moors,
And laugh and moan in Guinea,
And thrive on Spanish shores.
We seek success in Finland,
Are born and die in Maine.
In minor ways we differ, In major we're the same.
I note the obvious differences
   Between each sort and type,
But we are more alike, my friends,
   Than we are unalike.
We are more alike, my friends,
   Than we are unalike.
We are more alike, my friends,
   Than we are unalike."

Monday, October 14, 2024

Prayers of the People: Are You Able ...~ Proper 24, 22nd Sunday after Pentecost '24 Yr B

For Sunday, October 20, 2024, Readings: Job 38:1-7 (34-41), Psalm 104: 1-9, 25, 37b; Hebrews 5:1-10, Mark 10:35-45

Then the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind: ...Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth? Tell me if you have understanding. Who determined its measurements ~ surely you know! Or stretched the line upon it? On what were its bases sunk, or who laid its cornerstone when the morning stars sang together and all the heavenly beings shouted for joy? [Job 38: 1a,4-7]

Bless the Lord, O my soul [Ps 104:1a]

Every high priest chosen from among mortals is put in charge of things pertaining to God on their behalf, to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins...In the days of his flesh, Jesus offered up prayers and supplications...and he was heard because of his reverent submission. [Hebrews 5:1, 7b]

Are you able to drink from the cup that I drink...So Jesus called them and said...whoever wishes to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wishes to be first among you but be slave of all. For the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many. [Mark 10:38b, 42a, 43b-45]

In this age of high technological achievement and more devices for instant information access than anyone can possibly need or use, some days all I seem to do is spin in circles trying to find a simple answer to a simple question. The amazement and the wonders of life disappear in a haze of frustration, complaint, and a waste of precious mortal time. And then, God, speaking to Job whose earthly trials far exceed my own or yours, says, WHERE WERE YOU when I laid the foundation of the earth? ...WHO determined its measurements...On what were its bases sunk...or WHO laid its cornerstone…my favorite line in all of Job: when the morning stars sang together and all the heavenly beings shouted for joy? The bigger question for me is, where am I as Creation in all of its forms continues to spin all around me? With much of the world in turmoil and whirlwinds from so many sources, why am I frazzling over some temporary nonsense? I must, instead, remember to pray for my soul to bless the Lord as the Psalmist says.
The writer of Hebrews reminds us that high priests were chosen from among mortals to be in charge of things pertaining to God, among other duties. In no way a "high priest," I am nonetheless very mortal and especially subject to weakness in many ways. Therefore, created as a conscious being, I am called by God to actively discover in what ways I am to offer sacrifice for my own sins and on behalf of others. Jesus explains to his ambitious disciples that the cost of being great is not so glamorous as it might seem. Coming back to the theme of the last shall be first and the first last, we are to be servants of Christ for one another, not seeking personal power or status, but rather to put the needs of others ahead of our own. That news may be disappointing for some on days when the temptations of earthly delight seem particularly appealing.
I may not be a major change-agent for the entire world, but I can work to remember my place and responsibility as an active part of God's Creation. Through continuous prayer for renewal of my faith, and the willingness to listen, be present, and help the people of God however I am able, I can ease the desire for being the one served to the choice of being the servant. The cup of Christ may taste bitter at times but the end result will be as sweet and everlasting as the chorus of the morning stars singing together. May my soul be the blessing that God is calling it to be. May I discover each day the courage to drink deeply of the Cup that is prepared for me. And may I always know, through all the dizzying changes and chances of this mortal life, that God is present wherever I am.

LET US, GOD’S PEOPLE, PRAY

Leader: ~ Great and Living Lord of all that is, the seen and the unseen, excite us each new day with the abundance in Your precious gift of this living, breathing planet; as our Divine Designer and Holy Artisan, You have made it all! Let us sing our thanksgivings with the morning stars as we praise and serve You, one another, and all of Your Creation.