People's Prayers

Monday, June 28, 2021

Prayers of the People: Stand Up, Step Out, and Shake Off ~ 6th Sunday after Pentecost '21 Yr B

For Sunday, July 4, 2021, Readings: Ezekiel 2:1-5, Psalm 123, 2 Corinthians 12:2-10, Mark 6:1-13

The Lord said to me, “O mortal, stand up on your feet and I and I will speak to you. [Ezekiel 2:1]

To you I lift up my eyes…as the eyes of servants look to the hand of their masters, so our eyes look to the Lord our God until he show us his mercy… [Psalm 123:1a, 2a, 3]

I know a person in Christ who… heard things…that no mortal is permitted to repeat…to keep me from being too elated, a thorn was given me in the flesh…I appealed to the Lord…but he said, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power in made perfect in weakness”… Therefore I am content with weaknesses, insults…for the sake of Christ; for whenever I am weak, then I am strong. [2 Corinthians 12:2, 4b, 7b, 8a, 9a, 10]

Then Jesus said to [the disciples], "Prophets are not without honor, except in their hometown, and among their own kin, and in their own house"... He said to [the disciples] …if any place will not welcome you and they refuse to you, as you leave shake off the dust that is on your feet as a testimony against them.” [Mark 6:4,10a, 11]

In our times, as throughout history, powerful/charismatic leaders attract some ardent followers who want to stay very close, follow every move, and idolize. Such absolute devotion by others can easily skew one's initial humility and original intent. Some who claim power and authority become more interested in the adulation and adoration than in the responsibilities of genuine leadership. They cultivate and bask in the unfettered loyalty of some, while deliberately oppressing and persecuting others who aren't so easily beguiled.

Staying modest and humble in the face of eager and constant admirers is difficult for the most sainted of humans. Ezekiel, as priest and designated prophet, likely understood his position of dependence and insignificance as God orders him to stand up and then God would speak to him. Paul may have recognized a tendency in himself for pride in accomplishment and accepted the thorn as a sacred reminder to be aware of the dangers of holding deep power of persuasion over others. His monologue in this passage almost sounds as if he is reminding himself, as well as the Church at Corinth, in his repetition that he, himself, doesn't know everything but God knows.

As in every life in the public eye, there are always detractors. Jesus was his most human self in his frustration with the hometown reaction he received. He kept moving along, doing what he could, where he could while amazed at the unbelief of those who had known him from childhood. Later, Jesus called the Disciples and sent them off two by two to do God's work, and the command to shake off the dust if not welcomed, was a reminder that earthly time is short to get done what needs to be done. We are also called to keep moving ~ together ~ shaking off the disappointment and the dust of the detractors, stepping out again toward the next opportunity to offer the justice, truth, and welcome of the Gospel. Together, we can also work to keep the thorns of despair, hardship, and calamity from piercing us all the way through.

Ezekiel, Paul, and Jesus were all doing the work God had given them to do and, as in every human life, some days were better than others. There are two post-Communion prayers in the US Episcopal Book of Common Prayer and both say that we are "living members" of the Body of Christ. In one, we, the pray-ers, ask God to, "Send us now into the world in peace..." and in the other to "...send us out to do the work you have given us to do..."

Let us, then, stand up, step out in faith, shake off the dust of disappointment and the pressure of our thorns, to do the work we have been given to do, for the sake of Christ and in His name.

LET US, GOD’S PEOPLE, PRAY

Leader: ~ O Lord our God, stand us on our feet and speak to our souls of Your sufficient grace. Quicken our ability to recognize and endure the thorns in this life for the sake of Christ, whose power dwells within us and gives us strength through our weakness.

Lord of Mercy and Grace

RESPONSE: We lift our eyes to You

~ O Lord our God, You know the hearts and souls of us all, including those who govern in this World, this Country, and this Community. Fill us with ever-increasing fortitude and determination to persist in speaking Your truths of love, justice, and mercy on behalf of the most beleaguered and oppressed near and far. We pray especially for: add your own petitions

Lord of Mercy and Grace

We lift our eyes to You

~ O Lord our God, restore hope and wholeness to all who struggle with chronic illness, homelessness, or recovery, and infuse their supporters with energy and endurance. We now join our hearts together to pray for those in need… add your own petitions

Lord of Mercy and Grace

We lift our eyes to You

~ O Lord our God, ease the sorrow of all who mourn as those who now live again in You, are filled with joy in the bliss of eternal peace. We pray especially for… add your own petitions

Lord of Mercy and Grace

We lift our eyes to You

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

Lord of Mercy and Grace

We lift our eyes to You

~ O Lord our God, we give You thanks for all those ordained to guide us on our journey to You. Grant them continuing renewal of faith and confidence in teaching and proclaiming the Good News of Christ. We pray especially for: add your own petitions

Lord of Mercy and Grace

We lift our eyes to You

The Celebrant adds: Almighty Creator, our Eternal God, embolden our willingness to shake off the dust of rejection and mockery when we step out in faith and turn our lives to Christ. Fill us with humility in spirit to be as the footsteps of Jesus on all the paths we travel. We ask through Jesus, our Prophet and Redeemer; and the Holy Spirit, the Breath of God; who together with You reign as One God, now and forever. Amen.

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Monday, June 21, 2021

Prayers of the People: Two Daughters ~ 5th Sunday after Pentecost '21 Yr B

For Sunday, June 27, 2021; Readings: Wisdom 1:13-15; 2:23-34; Psalm 30, 2 Corinthians 8:7-15,

Mark 5:21-43

God did not make death, and he does not delight in the death of the living…for God created us for incorruption and made us in the image of his eternity…but through the devil’s envy death entered the world… [Wisdom of Solomon 1:13, 2:23-34]

For his wrath endures but the twinkling of an eye, his favor for a lifetime. Weeping may spend the night, but joy comes in the morning…O Lord my God, I will give you thanks for ever. [Psalm 30:5-6, 13b]

...I am testing the genuineness of your love against the earnestness of others...For if the eagerness is there, the gift is acceptable according to what one has – not according to what one does not have...it is a question of fair balance between your present abundance and their need… [2 Cor 8:8b, 12, 13b-14a]

When Jesus had crossed again in the boat to the other side, a great crowd gathered around him; and he was by the sea...Jesus said to the leader of the synagogue, 'Do not fear, only believe.' [Mark 5: 21, 36b]

In these chaotic times our attention is divided among so many issues as we begin to re-emerge from over a year of pandemic fears and quarantines, humanitarian crises in our own land and across the world, as well as political angst and anger. It feels much like the storm in the Sea of Galilee that so frightened experienced sailors that they woke the sleeping Jesus to calm the seas and still the winds. When the sea was quieted, Jesus and the disciples continued on their way to cross over to the other side.

We continue to cross a churning sea of unknown depth and limit to seek to re-establish our footing on solid ground – and from the disarray, the anger, and the fear, some of us move into new consciousness, some of us retreat into the old.

Paul enters testy waters as he asks the Corinthians to cross over from the previous idea of financial support for the poor in Jerusalem, to acting on finishing the plan and giving the funds. He tells us all that if we are eager to help, any gift is acceptable, given according to what we have and not given from what we do not have. I especially like when he says in verses 13 and 14, I do not mean that there should be relief for others and pressure on you, but it is a question of fair balance between your present abundance and their need… What is too much; what is too little? Our own eagerness – or lack of – will determine how we give. How we are judged later is not open to any earthly discussion or decision.

Mark gives us Jesus and the Disciples after the storm we read last week, landing on the other shore where Jesus is met by a frightened father, a leader of the synagogue, in fear of his daughter's serious illness. Jesus agrees to go to see the child. On the way, a woman afflicted with hemorrhages for 12 years reached for and touched his cloak and was suddenly healed. Then Jesus goes on to the home of Jairus and is told that the child has died – but of course, we know how this story ends.

In this week’s readings, two more crossings have occurred as two daughters are healed – a woman suffering for 12 years crosses back into full health, and a girl of 12 years, seemingly dead, crosses back into life. Perhaps those witnessing also crossed over into a new or greater level of faith as Jesus tells the woman, Daughter, your faith has made you well. Also, it was the faith of Jairus that Jesus responded to in the raising of his daughter.

It is in the working through faith that we are healed of the ailments of our souls. It is in a determined community of faith, crossing various angry seas at times and floating along in the moments of tranquil waters, that we find our eagerness of purpose. With all hands on deck pulling together in all the sea changes we face, giving time, talent, and money according to what we each have, in principle and with the genuineness of our love, we will bring ourselves and each other safely to that heavenly shore, where there is no death, or chaos, or strife, but only life everlasting. Through our conscious faith in Christ and the actions of our hearts and hands, many more of God’s daughters and sons will be lifted up out of nights spent weeping, into the dawn of the joy that comes through restoration in God.

LET US, GOD’S PEOPLE, PRAY

Leader: ~ O God of Mercy and Healing, hear our cries to lift us each day and restore us to Your favor and spiritual health, that through Your help we may be clothed with the joy of Your immortal righteousness.

O Lord our God

RESPONSE: We will give You thanks forever

~ O God of Mercy and Healing, awaken the gifts of compassion, virtue, and morality within us and all who govern in our World, in our Country, and in our Community, to ensure that a fair balance be struck between the abundance of the few and the needs of the many. We pray especially for: add your own petitions

O Lord our God

We will give You thanks forever

~ O God of Mercy and Healing, relieve the suffering of those with serious illness, addiction, or desperate life circumstance, and give wisdom and respite to those who tend their needs. We now join our hearts together to pray for those in need… add your own petitions

O Lord our God

We will give You thanks forever

~ O God of Mercy and Healing, fill us with the peace of knowing that those who have crossed to the other side, now live again forever, in the glorious bliss of Your eternal kingdom. We pray especially for… add your own petitions

O Lord our God

We will give You thanks forever

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

O Lord our God

We will give You thanks forever

~ O God of Mercy and Healing, endow great wisdom, clarity of purpose, and stamina upon all who lead us in Your Church and in the fields of Christ’s Mission and Ministry, as we walk together with eagerness and faith. We pray especially for: add your own petitions

O Lord our God

We will give You thanks forever

The Celebrant adds: O Lord of Peace and Wholeness, as the woman reached to Jesus, and the child awakened at his call, grant us the determination to reach toward You with fearless faith, genuine love, and purity of intent to act for justice and mercy to prevail among all Your people. We ask through Jesus, the Healer of our souls; and the Holy Spirit, the Sanctifier of our hearts; Who together with You reign as One God, now and forever. Amen.

Monday, June 14, 2021

Prayers of the People: The Crossings ~ 4th Sunday after Pentecost '21 Yr B

For Sunday, June 20, 2021, Readings: Job 38:1-11, Psalm 107:1-3, 23-32, 2 Corinthians 6:1-13, Mark 4:35-41

The Lord answered Job our of the whirlwind…”Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth? Tell me if you have understanding…” [Job 38:1, 4]

Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, his mercy endures forever…they cried to the Lord in their trouble…He stilled the storm to a whisper…Then they were glad because of the calm. [Psalm 107:1, 28, 30]

As we work together with Christ, we urge you not to accept the grace of God in vain…as servants of God we have commended ourselves in every way: through great endurance…hardships, calamities…kindness, holiness of spirit…in honor and dishonor, in ill repute and good repute. [2 Corinthians 6:1, 4, 6, 8a]

A great windstorm arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so that the boat was already being swamped. But he was…asleep…and they woke him up and said to him, “Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?” He woke up and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, “Peace! Be Still!” Then the wind ceased, and there was a dead calm. He said to them, “Why are you afraid? Have you no faith?” [Mark 4:37-40]

Oh Dear Job, it’s no wonder that the trials and tribulations of that man give rise to the expression the patience of Job. After lengthy conversations with his friends, in prior chapters, in this reading God, speaking from out of the whirlwind, is setting the record straight, reminding Job just Who has done all the work of Creation and asking the age-old question, “where were you when I was doing all of this?” The Book of Job can be confounding if taken in literal terms. Essentially, Job is based on an ancient folktale about a saintly man of that name who is also mentioned in Ezekiel 14:14, 20. This is considered to be the most difficult Book of all to interpret because of its poetic and often ambiguous language. For our purposes this week, this reading reminds us Who has Created everything, and of course, the whirlwind mentioned resonates with the appointed parts of the psalm, this section of 2 Corinthians, and, most tellingly, the storm on the Galilee in Mark’s Gospel.

Jesus wants to cross to the other side of the lake, leaving the crowds behind. He settles down for a nap as the boat sets sail. Then the storm. The Disciples are terrified of this storm on the water. But wait, aren't most of them experienced fishermen? That must have been one whale of a storm to frighten them so much and you can almost hear the translation of Jesus' words to them in today's terms as "Seriously, you woke me for this? Where is your faith?" Jesus then tells the waves and winds, Be Still! And so they become, still and dead calm.

And what does this all mean for my life? How is my level of faith? In last week’s Gospel, Jesus said we only needed faith the size of a mustard seed. What is my faith level, then, if I’m fearful of tempestuous storms? For me it depends on the day and the fear; especially during times in every human age of not only fear but raging anger and strong division in each country and across the world. But Paul urges the Corinthians not to accept the grace of God in vain. That sentence jumped out at me. No complacency, no cowering, whatever the hardships, calamities, beatings, imprisonments, riots...sleepless nights...kindness, holiness of spirit..., as if most on that list isn’t frightening enough, but the message is: we have the grace we need. And whatever part of now we are in, it is the acceptable time to recognize that every now is the day of Salvation! We are to commend ourselves as God’s servants to the work to be done in the fields of faith-filled living.

Of course, it is difficult and often thankless work in this earth-bound, high-tech, materialistic, us vs. them, temporary life. Keeping my faith in God through Christ and the Holy Spirit conscious and active takes great effort sometimes. Yet it also means that I may surprise myself with my own strength, resilience, and capacity to face the fearsome foes and woes in life, especially the ones I create for myself. And so even in the most ordinary of times with some low-level daily frustrations, the excitement of great sunshine and joy, or the stormiest days with anger and fear all around, I can reboot by crossing to the other side of my heart and mind for some time to breathe deeply, be still, and calm the winds and waves within myself. And then one step forward and another, and another, in faith, in hope, in genuine love, truthful speech, and the power of God [2 Cor 6:6b-7a], I can cross back, renewed and with great awe, to join again with wide open heart and soul to the One Who even the wind and sea obey.

LET US, GOD’S PEOPLE, PRAY

Leader: ~ O Lord of the Whirlwind and the Calm, in the smallest and largest moments of everyday life, in the face of angry seas or fearsome foes, in joy and in suffering, prod our souls often to turn first and always to You in faith with our hearts wide open.

Lord of Enduring Mercy

RESPONSE: Still our fear and quicken our faith

~ O Lord of the Whirlwind and the Calm, as Your servants, with Your power, we commend ourselves by endurance in afflictions, labors, and calamities, with patience, kindness, and truthful speech to challenge the leaders of Earthly, National, and Local governments as we strive to successfully defeat discrimination, injustice, and physical danger for all Your people. We pray especially for: add your own petitions

Lord of Enduring Mercy

Still our fear and quicken our faith

~ O Lord of the Whirlwind and the Calm, restore health and give comfort to those who suffer in body, mind, or spirit, and give patience to those who tend their needs We now join our hearts together to pray for those in need... add your own petitions

Lord of Enduring Mercy

Still our fear and quicken our faith

~ O Lord of the Whirlwind and the Calm, lighten the burden for all who grieve, as You embrace those newly arrived to dwell with You in the glory of everlasting life and peace. We pray especially for… add your own petitions

Lord of Enduring Mercy

Still our fear and quicken our faith

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

Lord of Enduring Mercy

Still our fear and quicken our faith

~ Lord of the Whirlwind and the Calm, endow our ordained Shepherds with extra measures of genuine faith-filled love, holiness of spirit, and serenity of soul, to guide and join us in the ministry of this life that we discover in service to Your Will. We pray especially for: add your own petitions.

Lord of Enduring Mercy

Still our fear and quicken our faith

The Celebrant adds: O God Almighty and Ever-Living, release us from merely accepting Your grace in vain. Deliver us from life’s storms, into the humility of knowing that every moment of now is the acceptable time to recognize the day of our Salvation. Fill us with faith enough to quell the angry tempests within ourselves and with each other, that, putting no obstacle in anyone’s way, we may walk together, if differently, to Your Eternal Shore. We ask through Jesus, our Peace and our Salvation, and the Holy Spirit, the Fount of our Wisdom, Who together with You, are One God for all of time eternal. Amen.

Monday, June 7, 2021

Prayers of the People: To See What We Cannot See ~ 3rd Sunday after Pentecost '21 Yr B

For Sunday, June 13, 2021; Readings: Ezekiel 17:22-24, Psalm 92: 1-4, 11-14; 2 Corinthians 5:6-10, [11-13], 14-17; Mark 4:26:34

Thus says the Lord GOD, I…will take a sprig…I myself will plant it…that it may produce and become a noble cedar. Under it every kind of bird will live; in the shade of its branches will nest winged creatures of every kind. [Ezekiel 17:22-23]

It is a good thing to give thanks to the Lord, and to sing praise to your Name, O Most High…The righteous shall flourish…and shall spread like a cedar of Lebanon…Those who are planted in the house of the Lord shall flourish in the courts of our God; They shall still bear fruit in old age… [Psalm 92:1, 11-13a]

We are always confident; even though we know that while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord – for we walk by faith, not by sight…For the love of Christ urges us on…[2 Cor 5:6-7, 14a]

With what can we compare the kingdom of God...It is like a mustard seed, which, when sown upon the ground, is the smallest of all the seeds on earth; yet when it is sown it grows up and becomes the greatest of all shrubs, and puts forth large branches, so that the birds of the air can make nests in its shade." [Mark 4:30-32]

As priest and prophet to the exiles in Babylon, Ezekiel gave hope of the restoration ahead to the hopeless and helpless. Not always an easy read, Ezekiel, according to an editor in an edition of the New Oxford Annotated Bible, brings an unparalled synthesis of the terrestrial and the celestial in Israel’s religion. Certainly, the earthly and the heavenly are present in this lovely image of God planting a cedar that will be noble, bear fruit, and all the birds will live and nest in this gift from God’s own hand. The Psalmist continues this theme of being planted and bearing fruit in old age.

Paul suddenly shifts our attention in his assertion in the beginning of this 2nd Corinthians passage, that “We are always confident…” I am far from confident in my faith at times. In retreating to the passage just before this one, I was able to find a bit of internal footing, that is, Paul tells us just before that we [are to] look not at what can be seen but at what cannot be seen; for what can be seen is temporary, but what cannot be seen is eternal. [2 Cor 4:18] It all seems very cryptic, but it then weaves into Paul's reminder this week that being at home in this earthly body, that is seen and also temporary, is life away from the Lord. We are called to seek our eternal, and not yet seen, home with our Lord God, to walk by faith, not by sight. In so doing, we rejoin the imagery of Ezekiel and the Psalmist as we become a new creation in Christ.

Jesus, who of course would know the writings of Ezekiel, carries it further in his likening the Kingdom of God to a mustard seed, a very tiny seed that grows into a shrub or tree so large that birds can nest in its branches. The parable of the mustard seed appears in the Gospels of Mark, Matthew, and Luke, and has always resonated with me, especially later on in Luke [17:6] and in Matthew [17:20] when Jesus says that all we need is faith the size of one of these very tiny seeds and mountains can be moved. Just how small is that exactly? Some varieties yield seeds the size of the period that ends this sentence. Only that much, or rather that little faith? Ok then, I can do that with a good heart and a little more confidence. Through noble cedars bearing fruit, birds of every kind nesting, mountains moving, tiny seeds that scatter and grow until the harvest ~ the love of Christ urges us on toward our home in the eternal Kingdom of God. All we have to do is keep our eyes on what we cannot see.

LET US, GOD’S PEOPLE, PRAY

Leader: ~ Master Sower, Creator of the Seeds of Life, You have given each of us the means to blossom into eternal life from our earthly existence. Grant us the willingness to consciously tend the ground of our beings to be the fertile soil to grow as a new creation in Christ.

O LORD, our God

RESPONSE: Help us walk by faith, not sight

~ Master Sower, Creator of the Seeds of Life, open the hearts and souls of all who govern in this world, whether by legitimate rule or reign of fear, and plant the sprigs of noble change needed to bring about the full and equal flowering of all Your people. We pray especially for: add your own petitions

O LORD, our God

Help us walk by faith, not sight

~ Master Sower, Creator of the Seeds of Life, cultivate healing in all who are weakened by severe illness, depression, or desperation, and re-invigorate all who give them care. We now join our hearts together to pray for those in need… add your own petitions

O LORD, our God

Help us walk by faith, not sight

~ Master Sower, Creator of the Seeds of Life, in the beauty and abundance Your Earth provides, we can merely glimpse and give continuous thanksgiving for the brilliance of eternal life, where those we love now live anew and thrive forever. We pray especially for… add your own petitions

O LORD, our God

Help us walk by faith, not sight

~ Master Sower, Creator of the Seeds of Life, we pause in this moment to offer You our other heartfelt thanksgivings, intercessions, petitions, and memorials… add your own petitions

O LORD, our God

Help us walk by faith, not sight

~ Master Sower, Creator of the Seeds of Life, enrich the special combination of humility in faith and spiritual confidence in those chosen to serve as leaders in Your Church. Guide them as they guide us to bloom vibrantly, in and for the love of Christ. We pray especially for: add your own petitions

O LORD, our God

Help us walk by faith, not sight

The Celebrant adds: O God, Most High, instill the wisdom within us each to know that however small and humble our beginnings, as we walk by faith and not by sight, we will reap the fullness of life eternal from the seeds of Your infinite love and grace. We ask through Jesus, our Christ, in whom all Creation is new; and the Holy Spirit, who enriches the roots of our souls; who together with You, are One God, now and for ever. Amen.

Monday, May 31, 2021

Prayers of the People: The Family We Choose ~ 2nd Sunday after Pentecost '21 Yr B

For Sunday, June 6, 2021; Readings: Genesis 3:8-15, Psalm 130, 2 Corinthians 4:13-5:1, Mark 3:20-35

[God] said, “…Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?...Then the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this that you have done?” The woman said, “The serpent tricked me, and I ate.” [Genesis 3:11b, 13]

Out of the depths have I called to you, O Lord; Lord hear my voice…For there is forgiveness with you…wait for the Lord, for with the Lord there is mercy. [Psalm 130:1a, 3a, 6]

Yes, everything is for your sake, so that grace…may increase thanksgiving to the glory of God…So do not lose heart. Even though our outer nature is wasting away, our inner nature is being renewed day by day. [2 Corinthians 4:15-16]

The crowd came together again, so that Jesus and his disciples could not even eat. When his family heard it, they went out to restrain him, for people were saying, "He has gone out of his mind."…And he called them to him, and spoke to them in parables, “…And if a house is divided against itself, the house will not be able to stand.”…A crowd was sitting around him; and they said to him, "Your mother and your brothers and sisters are outside, asking for you." And he replied, "Who are my mother and my brothers?" And looking at those who sat around him, he said, "Here are my mother and my brothers! Whoever does the will of God is my brother and sister and mother." [Mark 3:20-21, 23a, 25, 32-35]

Many years ago, I was a young military spouse living within Fort Benning, Georgia. A military base is self-contained and as complex, or more so, as any well-run city with all the usual infrastructures within its unique mission and industry. One of the more surprising elements when I first arrived was the special team of soldiers deployed daily to remove snakes hanging from the limbs of trees in the housing areas. With a hundred thousand+ residents that includes soldiers, families with children, and household pets, having snakes drop from trees is not ideal to say the least, especially as there are a few poisonous varieties. This memory surfaces whenever I hear the Genesis story of the tempting, trickster, dangerous serpent, often depicted in trees.

Snakes are mentioned over 80 times in the Bible as deceptive creatures that lure us with the promise we want to hear that something God has forbidden us is actually good. While I cannot imagine being lured by a snake in this life, insert shivers here, we cannot judge a snake by its scales. Eve and Adam in turn wanted to eat that fruit and gave into the temptation having received encouragement and permission from the serpent. It is important to remember that God had told them NOT to eat the fruit of that particular tree, but temptation snakes, er, sneaks up on us all. And after all, God created us with free will to choose our way. Our freedom of choice was a calculated risk on God’s part but then if we aren’t free to choose obedience to God, of what moral value would our obedience have?

Snakes in many guises are everywhere. We even call someone who sells potentially dangerous, medically untested remedies, a "snake oil salesman." Still today, advertised "snake oil" is a hugely profitable business and we all fall prey at one time or another, when the message, the promise, is just what we want to hear. And so it is in all facets of human life. We are drawn to those who promise that all difficulties and troubles will be resolved if only we buy the whole truckload of what they're selling. We line up against those who try to tell us that we are only looking at a mirage because we like our sales person better than theirs. We become that divided house that Jesus speaks of. And he would know about household division.

Even Jesus with his storied ancestry arrives in his home territory with less than a happy welcome from his family. Mary, his mother, and the brothers of Jesus think he's crazy and needs to be physically restrained. Perhaps Mary and her other sons were embarrassed by Jesus in the sight of others, for not following an expected career path. Most families I know or know of have tales about embarrassing or alienating relatives who have befouled the family tree and perhaps even been disowned. It is no easy feat to understand, support, and accept a member of the family who has gone in unexpected and inexplicable ways. And sadly, too often, a household divides. Jesus defines family for himself, and by extension for us, as those who do the will of God. And how are we to determine what is the will of God, and what is the True Source and not the snake oil? How do we choose to be part the family of Christ in addition to our own family and stand together when we each understand things so differently? We won't know for sure that we've made the right choices until ... And, until, whenever I feel I'm out on an uncertain limb of Christ's family tree, I go back constantly to my favorite prayer by Thomas Merton:

My Lord God, I have no idea where I am going. I do not see the road ahead of me. I cannot know for certain where it will end. Nor do I really know myself, and the fact that I think I am following your will does not mean that I am actually doing so. But I believe that the desire to please You does in fact please You. And I hope I have that desire in all that I am doing. I hope that I will never do anything apart from that desire. And I know that, if I do this, You will lead me by the right road, though I may know nothing about it. Therefore, I will trust You always though I may seem to be lost and in the shadow of death. I will not fear, for You are ever with me, and You will never leave me to face my perils alone. ~ From: Thoughts in Solitude¸ Thomas Merton

LET US, GOD’S PEOPLE, PRAY

Leader: ~ Lord God Almighty, as by Your Will we were created with freedom to choose, guide our souls away from human serpents that would lead us by charm and guile down the tangled garden path of earthly wants. Renew our inner nature each day that we may seek and make good Your purpose in this life that prepares us for the next.