People's Prayers

Monday, November 6, 2017

Prayers of the People: Ready or Not 23rd Sunday after Pentecost '17 Yr A

for November 12, 2017, 23rd Sunday after Pentecost, Readings: Amos 5:18-24, Psalm 70, 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18, Mt 25:1-13

But let justice roll down like the waters, and righteousness like an everflowing stream. [Amos 5:18024]

Be pleased, O God, to deliver me; O LORD, make haste to help me...Let all who seek you rejoice and be glad in you... [Psalm 70:1, 4a]

Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up in the clouds together with them to meet the Lord in the air; and so we will be with the Lord forever. Therefore encourage one another with these words.

[1 Thessalonians 4:17-18]

Jesus said, "Then the kingdom of heaven will be like this. Ten bridesmaids took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were foolish, and five were wise...As the bridegroom was delayed, all of them became drowsy and slept...the bridegroom came and those who were ready went with him...Keep awake therefore, for you know neither the day or the hour." [Matthew 25:1-2, 5, 13]

Keep awake, therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour. [Mt 25:13] Of all the admonitions of Jesus, this one always sends a chill up and down my spine. I've spent a considerable amount of time in hospital emergency rooms with family, friends, and as part of some coursework, and the swiftness of some unexpected deaths can sometimes unnerve and unsettle even the most experienced and detached medical staff.
In my own life, the hour and the day have suddenly and stunningly whisked away those I hold most deeply in my heart so abruptly, years on I still feel the reverberation in my body, as if being hit with a concussive blow that that continues to viscerally echo through me. These wrenching experiences and this cautionary parable starkly remind me that I, too, can be gone in a nano-flash.

It's so easy to dismiss the notion of Christ's Coming Again in these current times so far and away from the time and place of the telling of this parable. We don't think of Jesus as delayed if indeed we think concretely of Jesus and his return at all. Playing the role of active Christian, faithful in prayer, giver of alms, and doer of good deeds, is all well and good but my inwardly digested attitude of Christ needs some work. Paul asks us to encourage one another with the promise and hope of our resurrection in Christ, but are we too busy and distracted in the now to vigorously and eagerly prepare for the indiscernible then?

For those afflicted with serious and potentially fatal illness, the reality of mortality is palpable and many will engage in the restoration and renewal of their faith and the relationship to God that had been set aside or even lost. For those who are seemingly healthy and busy and pursuing human endeavors, that sense of mortality is still abstract. But in these difficult and uncertain times, one only needs to catch a news report to hear of yet another horrific mass tragedy so unpredictable that it takes our conscious and communal breath away, or a natural disaster that kills hundreds of thousands and leaves millions desperate. It is no small matter for our souls to stay awake and alert, to be as ready as one can be, to seek reconciliation with God and our neighbor and within ourselves and it is never more urgent than today. Time to get more oil for the lamp, trim the wick, and start again to match my Sunday best to my daily thoughts, words, and actions. O LORD, make haste to help me. [Ps 70:1b]

LET US, GOD’S PEOPLE, PRAY

Leader: ~ O God, Almighty and All-Knowing, deliver us from the foolishness of wasting our lives pursuing vain, empty, and temporary pleasures. Keep us earnest and sincere in living out the faith we claim, encouraging one another to remember and to trust, our coming resurrection and unending life in Christ.

Lord of Promise and Trust

RESPONSE: Let us seek and rejoice in You

~ O God, Almighty and All-Knowing, make haste to help us in these days of distressing political turmoil, distrust in one another, and increasing violence everywhere. Send Your Holy Spirit to breathe through us, that we may find courage and strong yet calm, rational, and peace-filled voices within ourselves. Give us the words to speak to, and inspire, all who hold power on our planet, in our nation, and in our hometowns, to turn the weapons of today into tools of justice, righteousness, harmony, and stability. We pray especially for: add your own petitions

Lord of Promise and Trust

Let us seek and rejoice in You

~ O God, Almighty and All-Knowing, comfort all who suffer serious physical or emotional pain, or desperate life circumstance, and instill hope and stamina in those provide support. We now join our voices to pray aloud for those in need… add your own petitions

Lord of Promise and Trust

Let us seek and rejoice in You

~ O God, Almighty and All-Knowing, as our hearts weep with those who mourn, hold us all fast in Your all-encompassing Presence. Help us to find and extend consolation in Your faithful assurance of life everlasting now granted to all who live again in Your steadfast love. We pray especially for: add your own petitions

Lord of Promise and Trust

Let us seek and rejoice in You

~ O God, Almighty and All-Knowing, we pause in this moment to offer You our other heartfelt thanksgivings, intercessions, petitions, and memorials, aloud or silently… add your own petitions

Lord of Promise and Trust

Let us seek and rejoice in You

~ O God, Almighty and All-Knowing, grant our spiritual leaders the purity of heart, the wisdom of Christ, and the fidelity of faith to guide our soul journeys toward Your Eternal Kingdom. We pray especially for: add your own petitions

Lord of Promise and Trust

Let us seek and rejoice in You

The Celebrant adds: O God our Source, our Savior, our Destination, grant us the will, the wisdom, and the inner peace to rise each day to face our fears, decry injustice, and keep our souls awake and alert for the unknown day and hour of our new joy-filled life in You. We ask this through Jesus, our Coming Christ, and the Holy Spirit, our Advocate, who, together with You, reign as One God, in heaven, on earth, and beyond all time and space. Amen.

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Prayers of the People: Our World at Peace, 5th Sunday in the Season of Creation, '17 Yr A

For Sunday, November 12, 2017, 5^th Sunday in the Season of Creation,Readings: Micah 4:3-4, Psalm 85:6-14*, A Prayer**, Matthew 5:43-48

For information on the Season of Creation click here: http://prayersofthepeople.blogspot.com/2017/10/prayers-of-people-in-beginning-1st.html
Season of Creation Week 5's Theme is: Our World at Peace

Created by Soviet artist Evgeny Vuchetich, presented to the UN in 1959,

by the Gov’t of the USSR to symbolize man's desire to put an end to war,

and turn means of destruction into tools to benefit mankind.

It is located in the North Garden of UN Headquarters, New York City.

...they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more...and no one shall make them afraid. [Micah 3:3b, 4b]

*Turn, revive us, nourish our joy. Show us mercy, save us, Lord. I listen to God speaking, "I, the Lord, speak peace, peace to my faithful people who turn their hearts to me." [Psalm 85:6-8]

**...As we honor the graves of our neighbours may we face those we fear, cry justice for the oppressed, tell of love without end: may peace flourish till the moon fails. [Rosemary Power]

But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you...for God makes the sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have...And if you greet only your brothers and sisters, of what more are you doing than others?" [Matthew 5:44a, 45b, 46a, 47a]

Love my enemies? Maybe a question parallel to another that Jesus posed is: Who is my enemy? How many of us really think of having personal enemies? If honest, most of us can easily and quickly name those we dislike intensely, whether we know them or not. Pointing toward those who hold unfathomable political, religious, and social views, and/or those whose observed intolerance makes my blood pressure rise and my head want to explode. Of course it is then that I catch myself exhibiting very high levels of intolerance for others' intolerance! But still, I must love them. Perhaps I'd rather begin to "love" an enemy of my country - or at least pray that they go away and do no more harm - than be confronted with flesh and blood enemies of my self-righteousness that I am required to love.
Rosemary Power in her A Prayer** calls us to account saying we are all guilty when We build barriers to hide what we fear to see, we draw lines in other people's hearts, we trample underfoot what others hold dear, we wear wounds unhealed with anger, we defend ourselves from other people's rights. And that all happens whether or not we are fully engaged or distractedly dismissive, or even simply living in blissful ignorance. Too often we are proud of our piety in Church and then head outside for the rest of the week with the same old un-peace-like attitudes as if putting aside the costume and mask we wore on Sunday morning. Or if Church is not a regular occurrence, we still roll along in the guise of "Good Christian." Jesus tells us if you love only those who love you and if you greet only your brothers and sisters, of what more are you doing than others? We, as Christians, are called to a higher standard beyond doing just enough to satisfy our sense of "good." But when is "just enough" ever really enough?
We must aspire to be loving and peaceful within ourselves reflecting the love of Christ, as well as we truly can, in what we think and what we do. If we do not sincerely try, then complacency, hatred, violence, and fear only escalates and will kill us all, if not in body, certainly in soul. I know that I must consciously work on reconciling my Christian intentions with my thoughts and actions, little by little, peace by piece. Loving my enemies doesn't mean standing by and allowing viciousness and injury to go unchecked and unpunished, but in seeking peace, I can take a deep breath and find ways to genuinely act and care for those less fortunate, as I am able. And perhaps more importantly, I can diligently pray for myself and especially for those whose motives, actions, and mindset I do not understand, learning how to conjure love, lest I allow my own anger and frustration to feed the whirlwind of destruction. Oh LORD, this is the hardest thing You ask of me. Dear God, grant me Your Peace to give and retain, to plant and to embody, to be constant in the pursuit of putting our world at peace through love.

LET US, GOD’S PEOPLE, PRAY

Leader: ~ Almighty All-Knowing God, You created each of us as bearers of the seeds of peace to one another and our world. Turn us from the fear and anger that divide us, and revive our faithfulness to You in our everyday thoughts, words, and actions. Nourish our joy for service to this Earth and all Your people, especially those we name as our enemies.

Lord of Mercy and Hope

RESPONSE: Let us embody Your Love and Peace

~ Almighty All-Knowing God, save us from these days of distressing political turmoil, distrust in one another, and increasing violence everywhere. Send Your Holy Spirit to breathe through us, that we may find courage and strong yet calm, rational, and peace-filled voices within ourselves. Give us the words to speak to, and inspire, all who hold power on our planet, in our nation, and in our hometowns, to turn the swords of today into tools of justice, harmony, and stability. We pray especially for: add your own petitions

Lord of Mercy and Hope