Prayers of the People: Keeping the Wolves From the Door ~ 2nd Sunday after Pentecost '20 Yr A

For Sunday, June 14, 2020, Readings: Genesis 18:1-15, (21:1-7), Psalm 116:1, 10-17, Romans 5:1-8, Matthew 9:35-10:8(9-23)

      Now Sarah said, "God has brought laughter for me; everyone who hears will laugh with me." [Genesis 21:6]

       I love the LORD, because he has heard the voice of my supplication, because he has inclined his ear to me...How shall I repay the Lord for all the good things he has done for me?...I will call upon the Name of the LORD. [Psalm 116:1,10-11]

      Since we are justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ...we have obtained access to this grace...and we boast in our hope of sharing the glory of God...we also boast in our sufferings...[that] produces endurance...and character produces hope, and hope does not disappoint us, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit... [Romans 5:1-6]

      Jesus went about...proclaiming the good news...curing every disease...he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said..."The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore ask the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest"..."See, I am sending you out like sheep into the midst of wolves; so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves...But the one who endures to the end will be saved."  [Matthew 9:35-38; 10:16]

         When [Jesus] saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. It is startling, at times, when the words of Scripture are so easily seen in the news, in the cities and towns, in the streets of today. When Jesus sent the disciples - and us by extension - out like sheep into the midst of wolves with the admonishment to be wise as serpents and innocent as doves, it wasn't with the understanding that all will be easy and comfortable. In fact, then as now, the assignment is quite frightening and dangerous. The key tools for our success at attaining a share in the glory of God are wisdom and innocence. Innocence, it must be said, is NOT about being naïve or dimwitted. It is about paying attention to surroundings, who or what is lurking in them, and keeping ourselves and each other safe from the clutches of sin. 

       Sheep are as good or better at flocking together as their feathery avian counterparts and just as skittish when disturbed. Unlike the birds of the air, sheep have limited directional options and will frequently scatter helter-skelter when frightened. The shepherd's job to calm them is all the more difficult and important as the shepherd must continually shift the flock to different pastures for feeding and safety. But sheep do come to trust their shepherd and to recognize and remember both animal and human faces and, along with a keen sense of smell, the comfort or danger they represent. The behavior of the flock is communal and spontaneous - impulsive and reactionary - to threats real and merely perceived. How like sheep we humans are, except that our sense of "smell" doesn't always tip us off to the many wolves in our midst.  

      The wolves of this world are many indeed, but there are billions upon billions of sheep. The importance of our flocking together as a community of Christ was never more crucial as now.  Jesus was clear when he says later in Matthew: For where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there among them [Mt 18:20]. As the body of Christ, each endowed with specific gifts from the Holy Spirit, we are called to labor in the fields of the LORD, to build up the Kingdom, and ultimately to share in God's glory through the sacrifice of Jesus. Our safe haven is always shepherded by the constant Presence of Christ among and within us.  

     Our community of believers is a place to learn from, comfort, and guide one another around the wolves that would devour us, harass us, or tempt us. As we flock together, we also reap the benefit of joyful times. God gave laughter to an aged Sarah, and to us in many and various ways. While we may not always feel like whistling while we work, we can seek pause to enjoy our life together, gather others lost and alone in their fields, and continually shift ourselves and our fellow sheep out of the dens of wolves and back onto the path of hope that leads to the Heavenly and Eternal Pasture. As Paul told the Romans, Hope does not disappoint us, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given us.

LET US, GOD’S PEOPLE, PRAY

Leader:  ~ God of Grace and Hope, arouse and provoke us in heart and in mind to take up the labor in Your fields, sow to the Spirit, and reap the plentiful harvest to grow Your family of faith.

                                                Lord of Love and Glory                                 

RESPONSE:           We call upon Your Name

~ God of Grace and Hope, keep us wise, fervent, and unceasing in our quest to speak Your truth to misguided power as we strive for Justice, Compassion, and Principled governing across this World, this Country, and our Community. We pray especially for: add your own petitions

                                                Lord of Love and Glory

                                                We call upon Your Name

                                               

~ God of Grace and Hope, grant comfort and endurance to all who suffer from chronic or life-threatening disease, depression, or desperate circumstance, and constantly renew the energy of their caregivers. We now join our hearts together to pray for those in need… add your own petitions

                                                Lord of Love and Glory

                                                We call upon Your Name

           

~ God of Grace and Hope, precious in Your sight is the death of Your servants. We hold them always in our hearts as You now hold them in Your everlasting embrace. We pray especially for… add your own petitions

                                                Lord of Love and Glory

                                                We call upon Your Name

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

                                                Lord of Love and Glory

                                                We call upon Your Name

           

~ God of Grace and Hope, uplift and uphold all who lead us on our journey to You, as faithful witnesses of the love and presence of Christ, through their prayer and service in His name. We pray especially for: add your own petitions

                                                Lord of Love and Glory

                                                We call upon Your Name

                                                                                                        

The Celebrant adds:  Holy God, Holy and Mighty God, guide us to safeguard our souls from the devouring wolves of temptation in this life. Fill us with the innocence and wonder of holy laughter, and diligence in Your service as we spend our human time in thanksgiving for the gift of Salvation. We ask through the redeeming sacrifice of Jesus, our Christ, and Your boundless love from the Holy Spirit, who together with You are One God, forever and ever.   Amen.

All compositions remain the property of the owner of this blog but may be used with attribution and edited for local use as long as they are not sold or charged for in any way. For more information or comments, contact: Leeosophy@gmail.com

Prayers of the People: Beyond Two Men and a Bird ~ Trinity Sunday, 1st Sunday after Pentecost '20 Yr A

For Sunday, June 7, 2020,  Year A Readings: Genesis 1;1-2:4a; Canticle 13, 2 Corinthians 13:11-13, Matthew 28:16-20

        In the beginning...God created the heavens and the earth...God said, "Let there be light...called the dry land Earth and the waters seas...Let the Earth put forth vegetation...and living creatures of every kind...Let us make humankind in our image, according to our likeness" and God saw everything that he had made, and...it was very good. [Genesis 1:1]

                 Glory to you, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit; we will praise you and highly exalt you forever. [Canticle 13]

            The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with all of you. [2 Corinthians 13:13]

           Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them...And Jesus came and said to them, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age." [Matthew 28:16-20]

               How do you think about the Trinity? Many of us revert to how we were raised to “see” and wonder about this enduring mystery. We often envision the Trinity as two men and a bird within a triangle. Let us now begin to think outside the triangle.  

        The imagery of the Holy Trinity is as varied as it is old and intends to help us, and the many who came before us, attempt to articulate that for which there are no adequate words. Perhaps Michelangelo used the Face of God as an old man, painted on the Sistine Chapel, metaphorically to suggest timelessness, as God is from beyond time and impossible for human comprehension. Jesus was human as well as Divine so that is easier to grasp, except he is often depicted as lighter-haired, blue-eyed European rather than the middle-eastern Jewish man he was. The Holy Spirit as the Dove of Peace and also Tongues of Fire isn’t always clear. Perhaps St. Patrick really did use a shamrock to explain how three are all in one. We do need something to help us somehow. Who of us doesn’t have a photo of someone we hold dear or even as I do, of great-grandparents I never knew. It is somehow a comfort to me to know what they looked like. But then, IF we can understand what God looks like, we aren’t understanding God at all, not even a little.

            A mystery, if explained, is no longer a mystery. There is no specific Scriptural reference to the Trinity. The Jews knew God as the Wisdom, the Power, and the Glory and tried to wrestle with an idea to make God analogous to humans. It was through Jesus that the Apostles came to know God as their personal “Father” then made manifest in the Jesus they knew and came to understand as God’s Son. The Holy Spirit fell upon them with the Gifts that gave them and us all, the Great Commission in this Gospel – to go forth and make disciples of all nations…

          The mystery of the Trinity is nothing if not confounding and controversial. One God/Three Persons ~ separate yet one, equal with different roles that are ultimately the same, belief in one is meant to be belief in all and the One that is the same but different. Got that? That’s probably why we have Trinitarians, Unitarians, and No-tarians.

        Franciscan theologian Richard Rohr tells us that early in its existence "...the Western Church overemphasized the individual names Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, but not so much the quality of the relationships between them, which is where all the power and meaning lies!" And further, "The real and essential point is how the three ‘persons’ relate to one another ~ infinite outpouring and infinite receiving..."

        Rohr tells us that "...Niels Bohr, [a Danish physicist who was a major contributor to quantum physics and nuclear fission] said the universe is 'not only stranger than we think, but stranger than we can think...' The doctrine of the Trinity is saying the same thing: God is not only stranger than we think, but stranger than we can think...Perhaps much of the weakness of the first 2,000 years of reflection on most of our doctrines and dogmas is that we've tried to understand them with a logical or rational mind instead of through love, prayer, and participation itself..." Perhaps we are called, as one mystic suggested, to be almost a fourth person in the flow of God...[to read the piece in its entirety, click the link: Richard Rohr's Daily Meditation, The Trinity]

        If rational knowing all that God is becomes the substance and goal of our faith, aren't we merely reducing God to our level and then dismissing all that God is? Otherwise, how does one claim to have faith? [see John 20:24-29, Doubting Thomas] 

      One of my favorite ways to attempt a kind of explanation/understanding is through a piece of a 6th century creed from Dublin known as Tírechán’s Creed ~ when speaking of God it says:

He has a Son who is co-eternal with himself;

   and similar in all respects to himself;

   and neither is the Son younger than the Father,

   nor is the Father older than the Son;

   and the Holy Spirit breathes in them.

And the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit are inseparable.

       If we think outside the Triangle that was developed to try to contain and explain, perhaps we can arrive at the beginning where all things are possible with, in, and through God. So, now that the mystery of the Trinity is solved, any questions? Well, at least we have looked beyond two men and a bird image!

LET US, GOD’S PEOPLE, PRAY

Leader:  ~ Divine and Holy Trinity, from You is every form of the Creation and its Life, including the redemption of our sins and the fire of Pentecost within us. Even with all You’ve given, we beg You yet again, to urge our souls to discard the obstacles of our own making, that prevent us from fully dedicating our lives to You.

                                                         Abba-Son-Spirit

RESPONSE:                    We must praise you and highly exalt you forever

~ Divine and Holy Trinity, quicken our fervor with the intellect, love, and courage You have instilled in us, to exhort the political leaders in this Nation, on this Planet, and in our Community, to immediately turn to principled governing with integrity, mercy, justice, and in peace. We pray especially for: add your own petitions

                                                       Abba-Son-Spirit

                                                       We must praise you and highly exalt you forever

~ Divine and Holy Trinity, infuse an extra measure of the grace of hope upon all who are ill in mind, body, or spirit, along with strength and perseverance for those who give them continuing care. We now join our hearts together to pray for those in need… add your own petitions

                                                       Abba-Son-Spirit

                                                       We must praise you and highly exalt you forever

           

~ Divine and Holy Trinity, in our earthly grief, we cling to the knowing that You carry those who have left our realm, into the warmth of holy comfort and the peace of Your life everlasting. We pray especially for…add your own petitions

                                                       Abba-Son-Spirit

                                                       We must praise you and highly exalt you forever

~ Divine and Holy Trinity, we pause in this moment to offer You our other thanksgivings, intercessions, petitions, and memorials… add your own petitions

                                                       Abba-Son-Spirit

                                                       We must praise you and highly exalt you forever

                      

~ Divine and Holy Trinity, bestow peace of heart, strength of mind, and courage of conviction, on all You have called and anointed, as guides for our souls in this life. We pray especially for: add your own petitions

  

                                                       Abba-Son-Spirit

                                                       We must praise you and highly exalt you forever

                                                                                                      

The Celebrant adds: Eternal Whole, All Who are One, we are each endowed with Your essence to accompany us in all that we pray, think, and do. Enhance and enrich the desire of our souls to seek our ultimate fulfillment in humble service to Your call. We beseech You as our Holy Creator, our Messiah Christ, and our Sacred Spirit, Who together are One God, forever and ever.  Amen. 

All compositions remain the property of the owner of this blog but may be used with attribution and edited for local use as long as they are not sold or charged for in any way. For more information or comments, contact: Leeosophy@gmail.com

Prayers of the People: Fire in the Souls ~ Pentecost Sunday '20 Yr A

For Sunday, May 31, 2020, Readings: Acts 2:1-21; Ps 104:25-35, 37; 1 Cor 12:3-13; Jn 20:19-23

    When the day of Pentecost had come, the disciples were altogether in one place. And suddenly from heaven there came a sound like the rush of a violent wind... Divided tongues, as of fire, appeared among them, and a tongue rested on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages as the Spirit gave them ability... then everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved. [Acts 2:1-4, 21]

       O Lord, how manifold are your works! In wisdom you have made them all...You send forth your Spirit, and they are created...Bless the Lord, O my soul. [Psalm 104: 25a, 31a, 37a]

    Now there are a variety of gifts but the same Spirit...but it is the same God that activates all of them in everyone...To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good...the same Spirit, who allots to each one individually just as the Spirit chooses. For just as the body is one and has many members of the body, though many are one body, so it is with Christ. For in the one Spirit we were all baptized into one body - Jews or Greeks, slaves or free... [1 Corinthians 12:4a, 6b-7, 11]

      ...[Jesus] cried out, "Let anyone who is thirsty come to me, and let the one who believes in me drink. As the Scripture has said, 'Out of the believer's heart shall flow the living water.' Now he said this about the Spirit, which the believers were about to receive..." [John 7:37b-39a]

      Fifty Days after Easter, 

Ten Days after the Ascension 

comes Pentecost, 

 the feast of Holy Spirit:

the Birth Day of the Christian Church  

        The word Pentecost comes from the Greek for "fiftieth" and carries much ancient history and tradition along with its place on the Christian calendar. On the Jewish calendar, this ancient feast is Shavuot and follows 50 days after Passover. Shavuot celebrates the giving of the Law to Moses on Mt. Sinai and perhaps is another reason the disciples were gathered. Being together, perhaps comforted by a familiar and venerable ritual, they waited for the unknown sign promised by the resurrected Jesus in his final in-person teachings.

        Remember, that in just in the previous month and a half, the disciples had experienced the arrest and violent execution of Jesus, his resurrection, various appearances to them, his ascension, and their own grief and fear and uncertainty at these inexplicable turns of events. Here they are gathered together again without quite knowing what was next or when. Suddenly a sound like a violent wind and tongues of fire resting on them, and speaking in multiple languages gave them more than good reason to be bewildered, astonished, and amazed! And then, their ministry began in earnest, taking Christ's message far and wide.

        Today we are blasé. We know the story too well; we are immune to the thrill and amazement of it. In "normal years" we pack the churches at Christmas and Easter yet come Pentecost, all seems routine even if a "festival Eucharist" is celebrated. Of course, Christmas, Good Friday, and Easter are all critical to our Christian history. We can't have gotten to this point at all without Christ's birth, death, and resurrection. But it was the arrival of the Holy Spirit, on that Pentecost, that fired up the Apostles. That was the moment that sent them around the known world proclaiming Christ, converting, and making the way for us to be the Church here, now, more than 2,000 years later. Without that Pentecost, would we still know about Christmas, Good Friday, or Easter? 

       It is in these pandemic times with fear, frustration, anger, and intolerance swirling around in ever more intense levels, that we can take the time to stop and read the texts with new understanding, a fresh awareness of what it must have been like for those in that Upper Room. From the devastation of the Crucifixion, to the confusion and the wonder of the resurrection, to the joy of his return among them and suddenly bewildered by his ascension. And now only 10 days after his final leaving...they are waiting...and wondering...for what they are unsure.           

      For us, today is the day to move beyond merely knowing the story. Today is the day to seek the feeling of the Spirit within us – to be as amazed and astonished and bewildered as the Apostles - and to be reinvigorated and excited.  We have the Spirit within us! And God’s grace, and the love and Salvation of Christ for the wanting of it. THIS IS the day that the LORD has made! Let us truly rejoice and be glad and joy-filled, and alive in it! After all, what else is faith for?
        On this fiftieth day from Easter, we are to know that we, too, are filled with the Holy Spirit, we are to accept and welcome the extraordinary gifts and abilities bestowed on us, chosen for and unique to each of us. To be eager and enthusiastic in embracing all that a true life of faith calls us to be and to do, to live fully in the belief in Christ that we claim to have. We also celebrate, with our Jewish heritage, the giving of the Law on Sinai as our rules of life, transformed by Jesus into the Greatest Commandment [see Matthew 22:37-39]. On this Birthday of the Church*, let us claim our heritage as children of God, equal one and all, and to use the language of love with each other and especially with those who aren't so lovingly inclined. It is in times such as these, as we strive to be all that Jesus has shown us we can be, that the Spirit gives us what we need to withstand the challenges. Christmas is wonderful, and lovely, and blessed, Easter is fragrant and joyful, but with Pentecost comes the true gift that brings fire to our souls and lifts our life's journey to a new level!

       *As the Birthday of the Church, Pentecost marks the official beginning of the ministry of the Apostles beyond their local area and into the world at large. The descent of the Holy Spirit in the form of tongues of fire imbued, instilled, and infused them, and each of us by extension, with extra-ordinary gifts to bring the message of Christ to everyone. This day is known as Whitsun/Whitsunday in Ireland and the United Kingdom, a name descending from a Gaelic celebration of medieval or perhaps even more ancient times, often wearing whit or white robes. 

LET US, GOD’S PEOPLE, PRAY

Leader:  ~ Most Holy Spirit, Breath of God, let us breathe deeply of Your sacred fire and the gifts that it brings into us, onto us, and through us, to fuel our desire for faith-filled living and action, in the name of Christ Jesus, our Lord.  

                                                         Spirit of Goodness and Glory

RESPONSE:                    Fall afresh on us

~ Most Holy Spirit, Breath of God, set our tongues alight to speak in the fervent language of Your Truth to the leaders of this Earth, this Country, and this Community, as the voice of those crying in the continuing wilderness of sickness, poverty, intolerance, and injustice. We pray especially for: add your own petitions

                                                       Spirit of Goodness and Glory

                                                       Fall afresh on us                                                      

~ Most Holy Spirit, Breath of God, lighten the burden of pain for those who are weakened in body, spirit, and soul; and ease the worry of all who give comfort and care, if only at a distance. We now join our hearts together to pray for those in need… add your own petitions

                                                       Spirit of Goodness and Glory

                                                       Fall afresh on us

           

~ Most Holy Spirit, Breath of God, soothe the weary hearts of those who struggle in the midst of grief, as You carry those who have left us, into the loving and eternal arms of Christ. We pray especially for… add your own petitions

                                                       Spirit of Goodness and Glory

                                                       Fall afresh on us

~ Most Holy Spirit, Breath of God, we pause in this moment to offer You our other heartfelt thanksgivings, intercessions, petitions, and memorials… add your own petitions

                                                       Spirit of Goodness and Glory

                                                       Fall afresh on us

                       

~ Most Holy Spirit, Breath of God, grant an extra measure of Your gifts to those who lead us in Your Church, as they valiantly strive to guide our spiritual journey through these trying and uncertain times. We pray especially for: add your own petitions

                                                       Spirit of Goodness and Glory

                                                       Fall afresh on us

                                                                                                       

The Celebrant adds: God of Creation, Redemption, and Wisdom, though we are many, we are one body in the one Spirit, all equal yet unique by Your design. Set our hearts ablaze again, that we may seek Your will, keep Your Commandments, and use our earthly lives for the common good of all. We ask through Jesus, our Redeemer Christ; and the Holy Spirit, our Wisdom Advocate; who together with You reign as One God, now and for eternity. Amen. 

All compositions remain the property of the owner of this blog but may be used with attribution and edite for local use 
as long as they are not sold or charged for in any way. For more information or comments, contact: 
Leeosophy@gmail.com