People's Prayers

Monday, December 2, 2019

Prayers of the People: The Family Tree ~ 2nd Sunday of Advent '19 Yr A

For Sunday, December 8, 2019 ~ Readings: Isaiah 11:1-10, Psalm 72: 1-7, 18-19; Romans 15:4-13, Matthew 3:1-12

A shoot shall come out from the stump of Jesse, and a branch shall grow out of his roots. The spirit of the Lord shall rest on him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord. [Isaiah 11:1-2]

Give the King your justice, O God, and your righteousness to the King’s son…to defend the needy…[and] rescue the poor. [Psalm 72:1, 4]

May the God of steadfastness and encouragement grant you to live in harmony with one another...May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. [Romans 15:5a, 13]

In those days John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness of Judea, proclaiming, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near." This is the one of whom the prophet Isaiah spoke when he said, "The voice of one crying in the wilderness: 'Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight...He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.'" [Matthew 3:1-3, 11b]

Oh, come O Rod of Jesse's stem,
From ev'ry foe deliver them
That trust your mighty pow'are to save,
Bring them in vict'ry through the grave.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to you, O Israel!

Isaiah begins this week's readings with: “A shoot shall come out from the stump of Jesse, and a branch shall grow out of his roots.” Having not grown up with a "Jesse Tree" tradition, the reading would usually zip through my ears with no particular impact until I decided to look deeper into this hint of family history.

There's been a serious uptick in the field of genealogy over the last decade or so with online access to family records and DNA kits that allow one to explore both lineage and geographical heritage. Discovering the branches of one's family tree is fascinating, even addicting, and can also be frustrating when one limb is missing or the records stop short of fully revealing the information sought. Yet even the smallest detail can add depth and connectedness to the relationship with those who have gone before us. And so it is with the family tree of Jesus.

Jesse was the grandson of Ruth (of “whither thou goest, I will go”) and her husband, Boaz. We first hear of Jesse in the Book of Ruth [Ruth 4:13-18] as the son of their son, Obed. Jesse grows to be a farmer with eight sons [1 Samuel 16], the youngest of which is David who becomes King of the Israelites. It is through Jesse’s family tree that this root, this Branch, flowers into Jesus. The coming of Jesus is the reason we contemplate in Advent, celebrate at Christmas, and rejuvenate in Lent.

The secular spectacle of christmas [intentional lower "c"] has, for so many, replaced the spiritual celebration and worship in Christ's Mass with the frenzy of over-shopping, garish outdoor decorating with clashing colors of lights, and inflated cartoon characters on lawns that go flat in the morning in a metaphorical anti-climax.

Yet even in this environment Isaiah tells us that this ...root of Jesse shall stand as a signal to the peoples...Paul wants us to abound in hope, and the Gospel of Matthew brings us the very direct and not shy voice of John the Baptist.

This is the first appearance of John, cousin to Jesus, and prophesied voice in the wilderness. In his own time, he was unconventional in many ways and then, as now, his message is at once compelling and disturbing. Nonetheless, it is John who ushers in the public ministry of Jesus and takes the Pharisees and Sadducees to task for their faithless presumptions of self-importance. Calling them vipers was more than just name-calling, it was quite a slur! Likening people to animals in those times was akin to calling them heathens or pagans – that is, having no accepted/biblically-based religion. While his warnings are dire, our hopeful understanding is that the unquenchable fire will be for those who intentionally/knowingly/deliberately break God’s law. Our merciful God of steadfastness and encouragement knows our hearts and gives us every opportunity to adjust our intentions to bear fruit worthy of repentance however well we accomplish or fail in our life’s mission.

And so we light the second candle of Advent, the candle of Love. New Testament scholar, theologian, and author Marcus Borg tells us that Advent…is a season of anticipation, yearning and longing for a different kind of life and a different kind of world. In this second week of Advent, one way to prepare the way of the Lord is by contemplating: What kind of life, what kind of world am I longing for? Where is God, where is Jesus, in my family tree? Am I too far out on a limb or can I decorate my branch with hope, peace, joyful anticipation, and, of course, unending Divine Love? Jesus is indeed the reason for the season; the reason for our Christ-mas - our act of worship of the One we call Messiah, the Anointed Son of God, the very embodiment of Love itself.

LET US, GOD’S PEOPLE, PRAY

Leader: ~ Blessed Lord God, we restlessly await the branch that shall come again from the roots of Jesse. Open us to hear and heed the wilderness voice, as we prepare the way within ourselves, bearing fruit worthy of repentance.

Present and Coming Christ

RESPONSE: Bind us together in peace

~ Blessed Lord God, impose justice and righteousness on the hearts of all who govern in this World, this Nation, and this Community, that they may decide with equity for the meek, defend the needy, and rescue the poor, and us all, from oppression and evil. We pray especially for: add your own petitions

Present and Coming Christ

Bind us together in peace

~ Blessed Lord God, relieve pain and distress from all who are ill or downhearted, and strengthen all who give needed care. We now join our voices to pray aloud for those in need… add your own petitions

Present and Coming Christ

Bind us together in peace

~ Blessed Lord God, help us to be calmly present with those who mourn even as we rejoice with all who now live again in Your Eternal Glory. We pray especially for… add your own petitions

Present and Coming Christ

Bind us together in peace

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

Present and Coming Christ

Bind us together in peace

~ Blessed Lord God, enfold and guide those who lead Your Church as they walk in faith with us, into uncertain, ever-changing tides and times. We pray especially for: add your own petitions

Present and Coming Christ

Bind us together in peace

The Celebrant adds: Steadfast, Encouraging God, grant us harmony and hope and turn us toward You again, to follow the Way of Truth and Mercy. Fill us with all the joy and peace of believing in the glory that is and is to come. We ask through Jesus, our Living Redeemer; and the Holy Spirit, the Fire of our Faith; who together with You are One God, now and forever. Amen.

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Monday, November 25, 2019

Prayers of the People: Happy New Year! ~ 1st Sunday of Advent '19 Yr A

For Sunday, December 1, 2019, Readings: Isaiah 2:1-5, Psalm 122, Romans 13:11-14, Matthew 24:36-44

Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord...that he may teach us his ways and that we may walk in his paths...He shall judge between the nations...they shall beat their swords into ploughshares...neither shall they learn war any more. [Isaiah 2:3b,4]

Now our feet are standing within your gates, O Jerusalem…built as a city that is at unity with itself…Pray for the peace of Jerusalem.

[Psalm 122:2-3, 6a]

You know what time it is, how it is now the moment for you to wake from sleep. For salvation is nearer to us now than when we first became believers...let us live honorably...put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires. [Romans 13:11, 13a, 14]

Jesus said to the disciples, "But about that day and hour no one knows...Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an unexpected hour." [Matthew 24:36a, 44]

It’s a brand new Liturgical year in the denominations using the Revised Common Lectionary [RCL]. In the RCL we have a schedule of 4 readings appointed for each Sunday in the Liturgical/Church year, and for the 2-year Daily Lectionary. We use an Old Testament reading, a Psalm, an Epistle, and a Gospel specific to a liturgical season of the year. Last Sunday we completed the appointed readings for Year C in the three-year Sunday cycle and begin again now with Year A.

The name of our new season, Advent, comes from the Latin “adventus” which means coming, and that derives from the Greek parousia [pa-roo-see-a] which is a term used for the Second Coming of Christ. Advent is a season of preparation for the Nativity of Jesus through repentance and joyful expectation.

In a series of booklets for group study called Bridges to Contemplative Living with Thomas Merton, editors Jonathan Montaldo and Robert G. Toth, writing in the Advent and Christmas volume, say that Advent disposes us to conversion. Conversion? That's a term, a thought, a sensation which often makes more than a few of us who were born into Christianity uncomfortable. After all, I don’t need to be converted if I already believe – or, do I? Montaldo and Toth say further that Advent is a time for judging the choices we make for living our lives. This season is a ritual moment for confronting discomforting truths. It catches us in the act of living unconnected from the Gospel... It would appear that a little refreshment of our conversion is in order.

The Trappist Monk, author, and mystic Thomas Merton, said, We are numbered in the billions and massed together...worked to the point of insensibility, dazed by information, drugged by entertainment, surfeited with everything...there is no room for thought. There is no room for attention, for the awareness of our state... What would Merton, who died in 1968, think of the excess and indulgences of this day and age, the addiction to smart phones and social media, 24 hours of non-stop, never-ending everything?! It all speaks to me of being exiled in a wilderness of plenty where too much is still not enough and we are unexpectedly unconscious of all that we have and all that we are, or, are not.

In this Advent, now is the moment to wake and discover the faith choices we have yet to make. NOW, for as Jesus reminds us that day and hour no one knows...Therefore you must also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an unexpected hour. As Paul also reminds us in this week's excerpt from the Letter to the Romans, “Let us then lay aside the works of darkness and put on the armor of light…live honorably…” With Christ as our armor of light, hope is more than fantasy. Hope shines on the path ahead and propels us toward the House of God.

Get busy, prepare yourself. Jesus is coming! Happy New Year.

LET US, GOD’S PEOPLE, PRAY

Leader: ~ O Lord our God, jolt us awake from contented sleep and expose us in our self-imposed wilderness of plenty. Set us on a conscious and urgent quest for Christ’s Salvation, expecting that in an unknown hour we will be called to answer for the paths we choose or ignore in this life.

Jesus, Son of Man

RESPONSE: Grant us Your Armor of Light

~ O Lord our God, disturb and dishearten the souls of those who do evil in this world and prod all leaders of this Planet, globally and locally, into the dignity and decency necessary to govern for and prosper all. We pray especially for: Donald, our President; Tom, Chris, and Lisa, our Members of Congress; John, our Governor; Matt, our County Executive; and Mike, our Mayor.

Jesus, Son on Man

Grant us Your Armor of Light

~ O Lord our God, grant peace and quietness to all in chronic pain of body, mind, or spirit, and renew the strength of those who provide support. We now join our voices to pray aloud for those in need…

Jesus, Son on Man

Grant us Your Armor of Light

~ O Lord our God, as our own salvation is nearer to us each moment, we rejoice for those now on the highest mountain, inside the gates of Your House, in glory forever. We pray especially for…

Jesus, Son on Man

Grant us Your Armor of Light

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

Jesus, Son on Man

Grant us Your Armor of Light

~O Lord our God, inspire and refresh our Pastoral Guides whose life work strives to teach us Your ways to transform our temporal lives through the message of the Christ’s eternal Gospel. We pray especially for: Michael, our Presiding Bishop; Kevin our Bishop; David, our Rector; Lloyd, our Rector Emeritus; Emily and Peter, our Associate Priests.

Jesus, Son on Man

Grant us Your Armor of Light

The Celebrant adds: O Come, O Come, Emmanuel, excite our souls as we begin again to prepare ourselves for Your Kingdom. Make us ready to transform weapons of dominance into implements of peace, to confront ourselves in repentance, and experience the joy of conversion anew. We ask through the Holy Spirit, our Wisdom; and the Lord, the God of Jacob, who together with You are the One Eternal God, now and forever. Amen

Tuesday, November 19, 2019

Prayers of the People: The Cosmic Christ ~ Last Sunday in the Season of Creation '19

For Sunday, November 24, 2019, Readings: Colossians 1:15-20, Psalm 93, Revelation 1:4b-8, Luke 23:33-43

He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation…He is himself before all things and in him all things hold together. [Colossians 1:15a, 17]

Your testimonies are very sure, and holiness adorns your house, O Lord, for ever and for evermore. [Psalm 93:6]

Grace to you and peace from him who is and who was and who is to come…and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness…”I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God…

[Revelation 1:4b, 5a, 8a]

Father forgive them for they know not what they do…Then [one of the criminals] said, “Jesus, remember me…” and [Jesus] replied, “Truly I tell you , today you will be with me in Paradise.”

[Luke 23:34, 42a, 43]

We have arrived at the final Sunday in the Season of Creation (SoC) and also the Last Sunday after Pentecost in the Lectionary season, both of which celebrate Christ the King. Coming next we begin the Season of Advent, preparing for the birth of the Child in whom the fullness of God is pleased to dwell.

The readings from Colossians and Revelation for this SoC Sunday are filled with mysterious and almost abstract descriptions that are difficult to comprehend for most modern, western minds. While they also may be somewhat familiar to anyone who regularly reads the Christian [aka New] Testament and/or vaguely hears them read in a church setting, these words may seem irrelevant in the scheme of daily living in today’s world. How does one concretely grasp God, the Almighty who is and was and is to come, the Alpha and the Omega, from everlasting. Or, Jesus Christ, the image of the invisible God, the faithful witness, firstborn of all creation and also of the dead, ruler of the kings of the earth? Yet we, who would be counted as faithful Christians, should take heed and examine more closely. It is in this daily life in this time that we may easily lose track of our allegiances and settle in more with the temporary earthly powers than in the everlasting divine Kingship of Christ. Although Jesus says his kingdom is not from here, it is here and in this time and place where we encounter him, if we seek him, and if we choose to follow.

It seems strange that as we celebrate Christ as King that we end on the Gospel of Luke at the Crucifixion. Yet, without the Crucifixion and Resurrection of what purpose is Advent? For me, the crux of this Sunday’s lessons is the moment in Luke’s Gospel where the contrast is made between the hard-bitten criminal and that of the repentant one. In his response to the “Good Thief,” as he has been called, Jesus gives us the path to freedom from the darkness of sin and fear. For us who endeavor to follow, Christ is our unearthly King in this world who shows us the way to the true and never-ending Kingdom, Paradise, in the next. The question for each of us is: do we choose to be led astray by the hard-hearted in our brief sojourn in this time, or follow him who loves us and freed us from our sins by his blood? The answer, of course is to seek the path where: In him all things hold together. No easy task with strong faith let alone for those of us who falter in our faith at times. The readings for this Sunday are as timely today as when first written down. He has made us to be a kingdom, priests serving his God, our God, our Lord for ever and for evermore.

LET US, GOD’S PEOPLE, PRAY

Leader: ~ Lord God Almighty, in our fleeting mortality turn us always to Christ in whose Kingdom, now and forever, we are forgiven and saved, for in You all things hold together.