People's Prayers

Tuesday, February 19, 2019

Prayers of the People: Love: The Do's and Don'ts ~ 7th Sunday after the Epiphany Yr C '19

For Sunday, February 24, 2019, 7^th Sunday after the Epiphany, Yr C, Readings: Genesis 45:3-11, 15; Psalm 37:1-12, 41-42;

1 Corinthians 15:35-38, 42-50; Luke 6:27-38

Then Joseph said to his brothers…do not be distressed , or angry with yourselves, because you sold me here…And he kissed all his brothers and wept upon them… [Genesis 45:5a, 15]

Commit your way to the Lord and put your trust in him…Do not fret…over the one who prospers…Refrain from anger, leave rage alone…the Lord…is their stronghold…because they seek refuge in him. [Psalm 37:5a, 8a, 9a, 41b, 42b]

So it is with the resurrection of the dead…What is sown…is sown in dishonor…it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness, it is raised in power. It is sown a physical body, it is raised a spiritual body. [1 Corinthians 15:42a, 43-44a]

Jesus said, “…Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you. If anyone strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also…Do to others as you would have them do to you…for the measure you give will be the measure you get back.” [Luke 6:27-29a, 31, 38b]

On the face of the readings, the theme is pretty simple: Do this, don’t do that. Do to others as you would have them do to you, do not judge, and you will not be judged; do not condemn, and you will not be condemned, says Jesus*, and all we have to do is love the unlovable, forgive the unforgivable. Sure, we’ve heard it all before. Not so easy to practice, at least in my life.

The beginning point for this week’s lesson is Joseph forgiving his brothers. It is quite a dramatic story especially if you know all that happened before [Genesis 37, 39-50]. Joseph is the youngest, the favorite and best-loved of his father, the tattle-taler, the dreamer of grandiose dreams, an all-around annoying little brother which caused the older brothers to successfully plot to be rid of him. It is a compelling story of the stuff of novels and Broadway musicals. But perhaps in the abstract we only consider it as a nice piece of holy fiction that doesn’t have much impact on our life and times. But what if I was Joseph…

A priest friend recounted a TV interview he saw with a man who had committed his life to working with young offenders. The man’s son had just been murdered by such a person and the interviewer asked if he had forgiven the murderer. He said that he had forgiven him because the killer was just the kind of young person he was trying to help. Is that within or beyond my capacity to do, especially if that was my child? I seriously wonder as I question my faith and my commitment.

It isn’t that Jesus is promoting a dismissal of appropriate blame and its consequences. Rather, as we simply do not and will not know what transpires between God and the one who offended, we cannot, should not, must not assume the final verdict of God who knows what changes of heart and soul occur. It’s God’s job, not mine, is to sort out the truly wicked evildoers and the truly righteous and faithful, and all in-between, and to judge, punish/reward accordingly. Isn’t that what we want for ourselves? Earthly legal systems do what they must and should; in the Earthly realm of Christ, we are charged with loving and forgiving anyway.

Yet before we can approach attempting this difficult kind of love and forgiveness, we have to do some internal, self-directed work to believe – and accept – that God truly loves and forgives us, you, me. That is the hardest work of all.

graphic by Christina Brennan Lee

In real time, when we let go of judgment, or at least begin to want to reduce and redirect it, we can find that receiving and accepting God’s love helps us first, to love and forgive ourselves, and then, to love and forgive others, as we are forgiven by God. The more we are able to love, the more we are able to forgive, and the more we forgive, the more we love and so on. It isn't meant to be a solitary practice and struggle, it is to be a part of life in a faith community, that by sharing the difficulties and rewards, we grow in the strength and courage to push on.

The short version for all of this is to always remember that what I give out in this life is what I’ll get back in the next. Remember the Lord’s Prayer? Spend some time with it this week to read what it says, beyond the familiar syllables in recitation, especially…forgive us our trespasses/sins, AS we forgive those who trespass/sin against us. Hear what it is we are truly asking for! And, of course, Do this, Don’t do that, click here: https://www.songfacts.com/lyrics/five-man-electrical-band/signs

*Jesus also said this week: If anyone strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also. Do take a look at: Walter Wink on Turn the Other Cheek Walter Wink, [1935-2012] was a theologian and Professor Emeritus of Biblical Interpretation at Auburn Theological Seminary in New York City. His easily-read article explains much more about this in a useful and slightly more humanly satisfying context. As Gandhi taught, "The first principle of nonviolent action is that of noncooperation with everything humiliating."

LET US, GOD’S PEOPLE, PRAY

Leader: ~ O God, our Stronghold and our Refuge, grant us the courage and the strength of faith to trust in, and accept as true, Your all-encompassing love for ourselves. Release us from judgment and anger that we may grant the same mercy and compassion to all others as we receive from You.

O Lord, Most High

RESPONSE: Urge our hearts to love and forgive

~ O God, our Stronghold and our Refuge, impel the hearts, minds, and souls of all who govern across every location on this Earth, to act always with the highest ethical, moral, and spiritual intent for those they lead. We pray especially for: add your own petitions

O Lord, Most High

Urge our hearts to love and forgive

~ O God, our Stronghold and our Refuge, ease the distress for those who are poor in health, in spirit, or in the basic needs of life, and for those who selflessly aid and comfort them. We now join our voices to pray aloud for those in need… add your own petitions

O Lord, Most High

Urge our hearts to love and forgive

~ O God, our Stronghold and our Refuge, soften the grief for all who are bereft, as our beloved, raised to new life in glory and joy, are now with You for all eternity. We pray especially for... add your own petitions

O Lord, Most High

Urge our hearts to love and forgive

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

O Lord, Most High

Urge our hearts to love and forgive

~ O God, our Stronghold and our Refuge, grant extra blessings for those who lead us in Your Church, as they inspire and encourage us by Your Word and Sacraments, to take delight in and commit our ways and our lives entirely to You. We pray especially for: add your own petitions

O Lord, Most High

Urge our hearts to love and forgive

The Celebrant adds: Merciful, Benevolent God, relieve us of distress, frustration, and rage over the wickedness of others, and leave that judgment to You. Heighten our desire to be as generous with our love and forgiveness in this life, as You have promised to return to us in the next. We ask through Jesus, our Risen Christ; and the Holy Spirit, the Breath of our Souls; who together with You, are God Almighty, now and forever. Amen.

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Monday, February 11, 2019

Prayers of the People: Good News/Bad News ~ 6th Sunday after the Epiphany Yr C '19

For Sunday, February 17, 2019, 6th Sunday after the Epiphany, Yr C, Readings: Jeremiah 17:5-10, Psalm 1, 1 Corinthians 15:12-20, Luke 6:17-26

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Cursed are those who trust in mere mortals and make mere flesh their strength, whose hearts turn away from the Lord…Blessed are those who trust in the Lord, whose trust is the Lord…I the Lord test the mind and search the heart, to give to all according to…the fruit of their doings. [Jeremiah 17:5, 7, 10]

Happy are they who have not walked in the counsel of the wicked…their delight is in the law of the Lord… [Psalm 1:1a, 2a]

Now if Christ is proclaimed as raised from the dead, how can some of you say there is no resurrection of the dead…But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have died. [1 Corinthians 15:12, 20]

And all in the crowd were trying to touch [Jesus], for power came out from him and healed all of them…And he looked up at his disciples and said: Blessed are you who are poor for yours is the kingdom of God…But woe to you who are rich, for you have received your consolation… [Luke 6:19-20, 24]

This Sunday we are treated to readings we don’t often get to in the season after the Epiphany. Owing to the date of Easter derived from the Lunar calendar, some years have fewer Sundays in this season. So on this, our Seventh Sunday after the Epiphany we are confronted by the prophetic and instructive blessings and woes. The Good News/Bad News Sunday.

Jeremiah starts us off with similar wording to Psalm 1 which follows in the appointed lectionary. Jeremiah would have known this Psalm and his perspective is trust in God. He tells his audience, and us, that those who trust in mere mortals and whose hearts turn away…shall be like a shrub in the desert…in the parched places…uninhabited salt land. Those who trust in the Lord are blessed, and like a tree planted by water have strong roots and nothing to fear, even when heat comes. Jeremiah further says that the Lord will test the minds and hearts and give each what is deserved, according to their ways.

The Psalmist tells us a slightly different rendering with essentially the same outcome. God knows what we’re up to and we will prosper if we live according the God’s law, however, the way of the wicked is doomed.

Paul, writing to the Corinthians, was engaging them to move beyond believing only what could be seen. The Pharisees, of which Paul is reputed to have been one, is one sect of Judaism that believes in an afterlife. Some in Corinth were questioning resurrection in general. Paul argued that if there was no resurrection from the dead then Christ would not be raised and they would all retain their sins. A conundrum for the sophisticated Corinthians to ponder as they certainly didn’t want to be merely like the rest of human-kind. Paul continued his work with them through the end of this and beyond into his second letter to them.

Luke’s version of the Beatitudes is similar yet distinctly different than the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew. As Jesus arrived at a level place there was a great crowd who had come to hear him and be healed. He then spoke to his disciples and delivered a set of 4 blessings and a set of 4 woes, two states of being or of life from which to choose. This is not sweetness and light, even for the blessed. Sacrifice and self-denial, persecution, and deprivation doesn’t sound much like a blessing. But then, those who are living high off the fat now will face complete reversal of fortune when, as the Psalmist says, the wicked shall not stand upright when judgment comes. Faith is tested every day in various ways in this human existence. Choice of lifestyle is not available to everyone when there are significant hardships. Yet for those who are able to have a high, even luxurious living standard, it is difficult to choose Christ when considerable distraction and temptation abound in the arenas of instant gratification.

Hope in Christ is what Paul is giving us. Jeremiah, the Psalmist, and Jesus all give us the options in how to live life. Nothing is easy but there is always hope. God knows whatever we choose and Jesus IS Risen which is the VERY Good News and always within us. A quote I once read brings it home for me: Hope is hearing the melody of the future – faith is dancing to it today.

LET US, GOD’S PEOPLE, PRAY

Leader: ~ All-Knowing God, guide us through our darkest and weakest moments with the assurance of Your blessings, helping us to remain rooted deeply in faith with delight in Your law.

O Lord, our Strength

RESPONSE: We put our trust in You

~ All-Knowing God, turn all leaders of government, across Your Creation, away from the false counsel of cursed mortals with wicked intent, toward choosing to prosper all of Your beloved, and standing upright when judgment comes. We pray especially for: add your own petitions

O Lord, our Strength

We put our trust in You

~ All-Knowing God, embrace the hearts of all who are seriously ill, addicted, or life-weary, and give energy to those who see to their care. We now join our voices to pray aloud for those in need… add your own petitions

O Lord, our Strength

We put our trust in You

~ All-Knowing God, surround those who mourn with Your perfect peace, as the glory and joy of eternity now enfolds those we have sent ahead to You. We pray especially for: add your own petitions

O Lord, our Strength

We put our trust in You

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

O Lord, our Strength

We put our trust in You

~ All-Knowing God, grant all who lead us in Your Church with wise and gracious spirits, as they guide each of us and themselves, toward the radiance of everlasting life in You. We pray especially for: add your own petitions

O Lord, our Strength

We put our trust in You

The Celebrant adds: God of Hope and Healing, as you test our minds and search our hearts, keep us mindful of the choices we make in all that we do. Endow us with the courage to accept and trust Your blessings where we are, and to be spared the woes of those whose hearts turn away. We ask through Jesus, our Risen Christ; and the Holy Spirit, Sanctifier of our Souls; who together with You are One God, now and forever. Amen.

Tuesday, February 5, 2019

Prayers of the People: Long Haulin' ~ 5th Sunday after the Epiphany '19 Yr C

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For Sunday, February 10, 2019, 5^th Sunday after the Epiphany, Year C, Readings: Isaiah 6:1-8, (9-13); Psalm 138, 1 Corinthians 15:1-11,

Luke 5:1-11

One of the seraphs…holding a live coal…touched my mouth with it and said, “...your guilt has departed and your sin is blotted out.” Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send…” And I said, “Here I am, send me!” [Isaiah 6:6-8]

All the kings of the earth will praise you, O Lord, when they have heard the words of your mouth. They will sing of the ways of the Lord…The Lord will make good his purpose for me…O Lord, your love endures for ever…

[Psalm 138: 5, 6a, 9a]

I would remind you…of the good news that I proclaimed to you…by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me has not been in vain. [1 Corinthians 15:1a, 10a]

…[Jesus] said to Simon, “Put out in the deep water and let down your nets for a catch.” …they caught so many fish that their nets were beginning to break…when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees saying, “Go away from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man!”…Then Jesus said to Simon, “Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching people.”…they left everything and followed him. [Luke 5:4b, 6b, 8, 10b, 11b]

In religious circles – as well as secular – we often hear and/or use the word call as, for example, “I/She/He/They are called to ordained ministry, working with homeless shelters, political activism, or medical training, etc. In the lessons and the Gospel, and to some extent in the Psalm appointed for this week we are hearing the language that expresses a calling. The dictionary defines calling in this context as, 1: a strong inner impulse toward a particular course of action especially when accompanied by conviction of divine influence; and, 2: the vocation or profession in which one customarily engages.

We also use the word commission when one has been more formally launched into her or his chosen path. And that is defined as, 1: an instruction, command, or duty given to a person or group of people; and, 2: a group of people officially charged with a particular function.

People may be “called” without being further commissioned for a variety of reasons such as ignoring or declining the call. A commission, doesn’t necessarily require a “call” in that it may simply be a matter of accepting a job as a means to an end and being instructed in its parameters. You can decline a call, you can quit a job, but that divine spark, that still small voice within that nags and niggles will continue to make itself known whether or not you accept. When a sense of a divine call is then allowed to bubble up, one may then be commissioned to engage with it all the way throughout the entirety of one’s life, in many and various and surprising ways.

Isaiah engages us immediately with his vision that places him in the presence of the Divine. In the Lord’s presence, Isaiah declares that he is unworthy as a man of unclean lips. The description that Isaiah then gives when the seraph touches his mouth with a burning coal makes me want to put ice on my lips! Seraph is the highest order of angels and that informs us that this encounter is clearly significant. The angel tells him that now his guilt has been sent away and his sin is blotted out. God speaks asking “Whom shall I send?” Isaiah answers, “Here I am, send me.” He then clearly accepts the commission of the Lord who tells him all that he must do. When Isaiah asks, How long, O Lord?, the answer is stark. It is a very long time indeed.

For the Psalmist, the call is accepted within his heart and all the kings of the earth will be commissioned when they hear God’s words, and “sing of the ways of the Lord.” Presumably, this will be enough for the kings to reign accordingly.

Paul’s call was abrupt and startling when we read it in Acts 9 and it is Ananias who is then called to commission him on behalf of Jesus. In this letter to the Corinthians, Paul reminds us of his own feelings of unworthiness when he tells us that Jesus also appeared to him as he had to many others. Paul, feeling especially unfit as a persecutor in his former life, now speaks of his sense and earnestness of mission in his words, But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me has not been in vain…I worked harder…though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me.

And then we come to our favorite fishermen. Jesus calls them to go to the deeper water with their nets. You can almost hear the sigh of Simon, who, weary after a full night of fishing with no yield, says, “…if you say so, I will…” Simon has perhaps felt the call and although he is still uncertain, he follows an instinct and does as Jesus says. In a parallel to Isaiah and Paul, Simon stunned by the overly abundant haul of fish, and realizing the reason, spontaneously tells Jesus to go away from him because he is a sinful man. The initial commissioning for Simon who becomes Peter, and for all those with him comes with the words of Jesus, Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching people. And they all accepted by leaving everything to follow him and embark on an unexpected new life. They are given the Great Commission by Jesus after the Resurrection [Matthew 28:19-20] which fills the rest of their lives.

Isaiah, the Psalmist, Paul, Peter and those who became disciples/Apostles, were in it to win it for God, for Jesus, for the abundant catch of people, for whatever came to them and at them for the length of their lives. They acknowledged, accepted, and obeyed the call. We, too, are what we are by God’s creation. Now all we have to do is acknowledge that we are each called by God to discern and accept the commission through the words of the Gospel, then work it every day so that God’s grace within us is not ever in vain. The Good News in Christ is that we are in this together, for the long haul.

LET US, GOD’S PEOPLE, PRAY

Leader: ~ O Lord Most High, cajole us to delve into the depths of our faith, that we may be captured in the net of Christ and the bounty of Your grace toward us may never be in vain.

O God of Grace

RESPONSE: Your Love endures forever

~ O Lord Most High, open the ears of all who wield the power of government across this planet, in our country, and within our community, that they may hear Your Word and give You praise by moving according to Your ways. Guide them to make good Your purpose for the emancipation of all Your people from injustice, intolerance, and incessant injury. We pray especially for: add your own petitions

O God of Grace

Your Love endures forever

~ O Lord Most High, bind the wounds and heal the hearts of all who suffer in body, mind, or spirit and give strength to those who give them care. We now join our voices to pray aloud for those in need…add your own petitions

O God of Grace

Your Love endures forever

~ O Lord Most High, brighten the shadows for all who are bereaved, as those who have stepped from the constrains of this life, now delight in the glory and radiance of new and unending life in Christ. We pray especially for: add your own petitions

O God of Grace

Your Love endures forever

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

O God of Grace

Your Love endures forever

~ O Lord Most High, renew and empower those who welcome us to the sacred feast at Your table and proclaim the Good News of Christ’s Gospel, that together we may know and experience Your blessings and abiding love. We pray especially for: add your own petitions

O God of Grace

Your Love endures forever

The Celebrant adds: O Holy Lord of Hosts, so immerse us in the confidence of Your love that we feel our guilt depart and we stand in Your strength with the courage to say, “Send me.” Diminish our fear of the deep as we set our sails for Christ and bring others along to our glorious destination. We ask through Jesus, Fisher of Souls; and the Holy Spirit, our Navigator; who together with You are One God in Glory, now and forever more. Amen.

Monday, January 28, 2019

Prayers of the People: Loving Home ~ 4th Sunday after the Epiphany Yr C '19

For Sunday, February 3, 2019, 4^th Sunday after the Epiphany, Year C, Readings: Jeremiah 1:4-10, Psalm 71:1-6, 1 Corinthians 13:1-14,

Luke 4:21-30

The word of the LORD came to me saying, "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you...Do not say, ‘I am only a boy’ for you shall go to whom I send you…Now I have put my words in your mouth." [Jeremiah 1:4-5a, 7b, 9b]

In you, O LORD, have I taken refuge; let me never be ashamed...you are my crag and my stronghold. [Psalm 71:1, 3b]

If I speak in the tongues of mortals and of angels, but do not have love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal...And now faith, hope, and love abide...and the greatest of these is love. [1 Cor 13:1, 13]

And [Jesus] said, "Truly no prophet is accepted in the prophet's hometown...there were many widows...a severe famine...yet Elijah was sent to none...there were many lepers...and none of them was cleansed except Naaman, the Syrian." When they heard this, all in the synagogue were filled with rage. [Luke 4:24-28]

“Do not say, I am only a boy,” God said to Jeremiah when he balked at God’s appointment of him as a prophet, citing his lack of skill to speak. In contrast, the synagogue congregation in Nazareth whispered about Jesus saying, “Is this not Joseph’s son?” as if to say, “who is this boy preaching to us?” Jeremiah’s lack of confidence was bolstered with God’s insistence that God would be present and give him the words he would need in his prophetic work. Jesus, however, was very confident in his statement that Isaiah’s words were being fulfilled in and by him in their hearing. Following that, after pointing out that no prophet is accepted in his or her hometown and giving a few unpopular examples, the outrage led to Jesus being driven from the town and barely escaping being thrown from a cliff. (I do like the part where Jesus seems to slip away from the angry crowd apparently unnoticed.) But Jeremiah and Jesus were similar and different in other ways. Jeremiah was living in the times that saw the destruction of Solomon's Temple and Jerusalem itself and the beginning of the Babylonian exile, he himself living out his days away from home, in Egypt. Jesus returns to the home of his childhood, and it didn't go well.

The Psalmist is reassuring to those of us who are reluctant to emulate Jeremiah or Jesus in public or even in private. There is something unnerving about being open and vocal about our individual faith, especially if we are less than confident about our beliefs, why we have them, and what they are based on. Yet the Psalmist is reminding us that God is our refuge, our hope, our confidence, and our strength. All we need to do is turn in God’s direction.

For me, of the four appointed readings for this Sunday, the significance of the reading from 1st Corinthians (13: 1-14) cannot be understated. It is so very much more than a pretty thing to recite at a wedding. In the context of all the readings for this Sunday, it brings the Word to now, to our time, to our space. It is helpfully and clearly instructive. I see it as a blueprint of our inner spiritual selves, our internal faith home, where some rooms are still under construction, some are in serious need of renovation, and still others are only vaguely outlined. As we look outside in this complex world, there is no denying the dissension, hatred, intolerance, and rage in seemingly every facet of human life through war, religion, race, gender, and so much more. There is a cacophony of clanging voices of politicos and power mongers disparaging everyone who is not one of them. Their supporters and detractors escalate the decibels to unbearable levels where few have a clear tone, or a calming demeanor that defuses the raging. But, turning inside, if we listen we can hear, as so many have sung, All You Need is Love, Love is the Answer, How Deep is Your Love, Endless Love, I Just Called to Say I Love You, etc., etc., etc. Love is the ultimate goal of all human endeavor, the path to eternal life.

When the anger is boiling, when the resentment seeps in, when irritation begins its churning, let us take a breath and discover a more excellent way to live. Let us first seek ways to experience love and acceptance from within ourselves for ourselves. God is our refuge and our strength to grow and to act consciously with confidence in faith, in hope, and especially and intentionally, to live with and by love. Easy? Of course not, but building a room one floorboard at a time moves us closer to a solid foundation to stand in faith, and strengthens our resolve to leave the inside to build an outside community that grows in love. A supportive loving neighborhood grows beyond its boundaries by spreading out to foster a more loving hometown crowd. Love doesn't mean agreement in all things. It does mean acceptance and tolerance of the differences that divide and welcoming the caring that connects. From one hometown to another, love may not solve all problems but it will make a positive difference in everyone it inhabits. "Home is where the heart is", said Roman author and philosopher Pliny the Elder, who was about 10 when Jesus was crucified. Let's set our hearts on each other and through the Christ within us, we can build a loving home for us all.

LET US, GOD’S PEOPLE, PRAY

Leader: ~ O Lord, our Hope and our Confidence, You knew us, and formed us, and consecrated us before our earthly birth. Guide us to put away childish ways of envy, boasting, and arrogance to follow Your call to reveal Your endless Love in all that we are, and in all that we say and do.

O God, our Refuge, our Strength

RESPONSE: Deliver us from wickedness

~ O Lord, our Hope and our Confidence, grant our mortal tongues the words of justice, mercy, tolerance, and compassion to calm fear, dissolve rage, and to fill the hearts and souls of all who hold power in countries and communities across this planet. We pray especially for: add your own petitions

O God our Refuge, our Strength