People's Prayers

Monday, October 12, 2020

Prayers of the People: Facial Recognition ~ 20th Sunday after Pentecost Yr A

For Sunday, October 18, 2020, Readings: Exodus 33:12-23, Psalm 99, 1 Thessalonians 1:1-10, Matthew 22:15-22

The LORD said to Moses, "I will do the very thing that you have asked; for you have found favor in my sight, and I know you by name. [Exodus 33:17]

  O LORD our God, you answered them indeed; you were a God who forgave them, yet punished them for their evil deeds. [Psalm 99:8]

   For the word of the Lord has sounded forth from you...in every place your faith in God has become known...how you turned to God from idols, to serve a living and true God... [1 Thess 1:8a, 9b]

   The Pharisees went and plotted to entrap Jesus in what he said...But Jesus, aware of their malice said, "Why are you putting me to the test, you hypocrites? Show me the coin used for the tax." ...Then he said to them, "Give therefore to the emperor the things that are the emperor's, and to God the things that are God's." [Matthew 22:15,18-21]

   Is this the same Moses who pleaded with God not to send him to Pharaoh and said: …I have never been eloquent…I am slow of speech and slow of tongue…? [Exodus 4:10] As a model of trust and experience, Moses certainly has a lot to say to God again this week and even more intensely than last week. With an insistent tone, in a startling lesson in courage, he perseveres in his demands that require God to listen and respond ~ but, Moses also knows when to take a breath and wait for God's voice. Among other things, this is a reminder that each one of us can speak to God in our own voices with our own words and tell, ask, and even demand, and then quietly, patiently, and with an open heart, listen for ~ and accept ~ how and when God chooses to answer.
We are shown by Moses and then Paul reminds us to recognize and live into our deep relationship with God as we build our trust and faith, to feel the power of the Holy Spirit within us. Each breath we take comes from God and that awareness gives us the willingness, however tentative at times, to begin to act upon it. The more we are conscious of living our faith, the more faith grows, and our prayer and action become a truer reflection of the image of God that we already are.
       The subtle twist in the Gospel lesson of Jesus and Caesar's money is often lost, much like the obscurity of an inside joke that only works when everyone "gets it." Remembering that this is just after the triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem to cheers and high excitement, provides a heightened sense of tension in this week of weeks in Christ’s brief human experience. We know what is ahead in only a few short days.
On the surface, this seemingly casual exchange appears as a teaching on the separation of Church and State but wait. As so very often happens, Jesus is turning the tables on those almost-smart-enough Pharisees. Instead of falling into their trap, he caught them in his. The coin with the Emperor Caesar's image also contained an inscription that proclaimed the divinity of Caesar. While the coin was the mandatory currency by the occupying Romans, for the Jews the image alone was clearly as blasphemous as the inscription regarding divinity. All Pharisees would know that from the prohibitions in both Genesis and Exodus against graven images and proclamations of divinity other than the God of Abraham. While the coins were required in everyday life, especially for paying Roman taxes, anyone on Temple grounds with such a coin in his pocket would be guilty of the very serious offense of blasphemy. That's why there were money changers at the Temple to exchange Roman money for an acceptable coin for Jewish offerings, coins that contained no human or animal images. The Pharisees' disciples were expecting Jesus to uphold the coin, perhaps even on Temple grounds, and then they could proclaim him as a blasphemer. No such luck. When Jesus tosses off the "Give therefore to the Emperor the things that are the emperor's, and to God the things that are God's," the Pharisees' disciples were amazed because they suddenly knew the joke was on them. It has been suggested that perhaps, in his quietly subversive way, Jesus was hinting about a payback to Caesar as in "Give to Caesar what he deserves?"
        We are created in the image of God and we are called to give the currency of ourselves to God's purpose. Although Moses was denied seeing the Face of God, seeking and finding God in Christ in one another is the only facial recognition we need.

LET US, GOD’S PEOPLE, PRAY

Leader: ~ O Lord, our God, because Moses asked, You gave Your presence and favor through him to us. We ask that You awaken our faith through each breath You give us, that we may serve You with joy, in the hope of Christ, by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit.

Holy God, Living and True
Strengthen our faith and conviction

~ O Lord, our God, no matter what coin we render to political power, our greatest currency is ourselves, who are made in Your image. Guide our actions, voices, and words in the houses of government in this Nation, in this World, and on the local streets and roads of our lives, to always reflect Your graciousness and mercy. We pray especially for: add your own petitions

Holy God, Living and True
Strengthen our faith and conviction

~ O Lord, our God, soothe and heal all who live in chronic pain, worry, and hopelessness, and rejuvenate those who give love and care. We now join our hearts together to pray for those in need… add your own petitions

Holy God, Living and True
Strengthen our faith and conviction

~ O Lord, our God, our hearts are full of love and thanksgiving for those You have called home to glory and rejoicing in new life through Christ. We pray especially for… add your own petitions

Holy God, Living and True
Strengthen our faith and conviction

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

Holy God, Living and True
Strengthen our faith and conviction

~ O Lord, our God, magnify Your presence in and through all who teach us Your Word, guide our Worship,
hear our needs, and whose life work is to walk with us toward You. We pray especially for: add your own petitions

Holy God, Living and True
Strengthen our faith and conviction

The Celebrant adds: O God Most High, keep us close in Your holy heart that we are reminded often of Your constancy, to ask often for Your favor, and to be conscious of how to serve You in every moment of this brief and mortal life. We ask this through our Savior, Jesus Christ, and the power of the Holy Spirit, who together with You, reign as One God now and forever. Amen.

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Monday, October 5, 2020

Prayers of the People: The Calf, The Wrath, and The Wardrobe ~ 19th Sunday after Pentecost, ' 20 Year A

For Sunday, October 11, 2020, Readings: Exodus 32:1-14, Psalm 106: 1-6, 19-23; Philippians 4:1-9, Matthew 22:1-14

But Moses implored the LORD his God...And the LORD changed his mind about the disaster that he had planned to bring on his people. [Exodus 32:11a, 14]

Hallelujah! Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good, for his mercy endures forever. [Psalm 106:1]

...stand firm in the Lord...The Lord is near. Do not worry...but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace that passes all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. [Philippians 4:1b, 6-7]

The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave a wedding banquet for his son. He sent his slaves to call those who had been invited...but they would not come...they made light of it and went away...Then he said to his slaves, 'The wedding is ready but those invited were not worthy'...those slaves...gathered all whom they found...But when the king came in...he noticed a man...not wearing a wedding robe...the king said...'bind him...and throw him into the outer darkness...' For many are called but few are chosen. [Matthew 22:1-14]

Party Planners have their hands full with the readings for this week. Back in the desert, the Israelites are restless. Moses hasn't come back from God's mountain soon enough to suit them. Just like any group of unruly children left with a not-so-responsible babysitter, or petulant adults who can be as bad or worse, there is a lot of the familiar grumbling and complaining from our favorite wanderers. It quickly escalates into a huge party centered around a golden calf crafted by Aaron (the unhelpful care-taker) with their melted gold jewelry. They forgot God their Savior, who had done great things in Egypt [Psalm 106: 21]. God is, to put it mildly, not pleased telling Moses I have seen...how stiff necked they are...Now let me alone, so that my wrath may burn hot against them... Moses implored God to calm down and turn away from wrath and prevent a disaster. God took a breath and changed the plan. But humans are humans and there is no doubt in my mind that some of the grumbling continued even if there was no more overt defiance on their journey.

The Psalmist sings out a huge sigh of relief and Hallelujah for the saving help and intervention by Moses for the Israelites, who nearly exchanged their Glory for the image of an ox...

Matthew tells a Jesus parable of a king's wedding banquet where the guests declined and made light of the invitation. Even after a second invitation was issued, the invitees refused and killed the king's own messengers. The king destroyed them and their city as retaliation, but was still determined to fill the banquet hall and people out on the streets were all invited.

The perplexing part is that one guest wasn't dressed properly infuriating the king who had him bound and thrown where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. And Jesus then tells us that many are called but few are chosen. I realize that trying to understand this allegory through the lens of my everyday life, I'm surely missing the point. Others who are more learned and wiser than me will likely have a clearer and more theological explanation, but what comes to me hearkens back to the Exodus story. We can be chastened or even frightened into submission and obedience even if that "obedience" is half-hearted and insincere. But if I dress my heart and soul with the proper attire of prayer and supplication with thanksgiving as Paul tells us, the peace of God that passes all understanding, will guard my heart and my mind in Christ Jesus. The more I pray and attend to an honorable, just, and pure mindset, the more of God's peace I will receive, through both the most difficult and the most delightful days of my short temporal existence.

Upon self-reflection, I re-discover too many golden calves in my life that call me away from the ultimate invitation. By my own lack of attention, willfulness, or laziness, I am making light of the purpose for which I was created, dismissing the gift of being called and chosen. Avoiding the temptations of the something shiny syndrome is no easy task for this imperfect mortal. As I ponder these readings about a gleaming calf, God's wrath, and what is an appropriate wardrobe to meet the Divine, I realize how now is always a good time for me to RSVP ~ Dear God, I accept! I have the directions, and THANKS for inviting me.

LET US, GOD’S PEOPLE, PRAY

Leader: ~ Most Merciful Lord, grant us the courage to disavow worship of shiny distractions to stand firm in Your always present love. May we humbly accept Your continuing invitation to be joined with You through our prayer and supplication with thanksgiving.

O God, our Peace
RESPONSE: Guard our hearts

~ Most Merciful Lord, visit Your saving help upon us that we may successfully prevail upon political leaders, to act with justice and do what is right for the health and safety of all, on our Planet, in our Country, and throughout every village, town, and city in Your Creation. We pray especially for: add your own petitions

O God, our Peace
Guard our hearts

~ Most Merciful Lord, shine Your light and whisper Your comfort into the shadows of those suffering through illness, emotional trials, and natural and human-made disasters. We now join our hearts together to pray for those in need… add your own petitions

O God, our Peace
Guard our hearts

~ Most Merciful Lord, joyfully receive our beloved into the sunshine of Your grace upon grace, in the fullness of Christ, the very expression of Your love for us all. We pray especially for… add your own petitions

O God, our Peace
Guard our hearts

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

O God, our Peace
Guard our hearts

~ Most Merciful Lord, refresh and excite those who are called to lead us in Your Church and who inspire us to learn, grow, and live in and through Christ, by thought, word, and action. We pray especially for: add your own petitions

O God, our Peace
Guard our hearts

The Celebrant adds: O God, Mighty and Good, guide us to follow all that is true, honorable, and just, in excellence and purity, as You would have us do, to be among Your chosen. We ask for Your continuing patience as we pledge ourselves again to Jesus, our Redeemer Christ; and the Holy Spirit, our Constant Companion; who together with You, live and reign as One God, now and for eternity. Amen.

Monday, September 28, 2020

Prayers of the People: Tenants, Anyone? ~ 18th Sunday after Pentecost '20 Yr A

For Sunday, October 4, 2020; Readings: Exodus 20:1-4, 7-9, 12-20; Psalm 19, Philippians 3:4b-14, Matthew 21:33-46

Moses said to the people, "Do not be afraid; for God has come only to test you and to put the fear of him upon up so that you do not sin." [Exodus 20:20]

The Law of the LORD is perfect and revives the soul...Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O LORD, my strength and my redeemer. [Psalm 19:7, 14]

...forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the heavenly call of God in Christ Jesus. [Philippians 3:13b-14]

Jesus said [to the Pharisees], "Have you never read in the scriptures: 'The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone'...Therefore I tell you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people that produces the fruits of the kingdom. [Matthew 21:42-43]

This week we are given a personal reading by God in a passage we know as The Ten Commandments, or The Decalogue ~ from the Greek for “the ten words.” The Israelites are frightened by the power and enormity of God’s voice, the thunder and lightning and sound of an otherworldly trumpet. Well, who wouldn’t be? They turn to Moses to request that he, only, act as God’s spokesman. Moses tries to reassure them but explains that it is God’s test to put the fear in them so that they don’t sin. How soon they and we all forget…

Paul is writing to his most loyal congregation. He wants them – and us – to understand that in strength of faith, even during hardship, we can press on…because Christ Jesus has made me/us his own. Our power comes from our Lord through our faith. Some days are easier than others.

And then with Matthew we are into an infamous Vineyard scenario. This time Jesus tells us a parable about the tenants who are running the place and when the owner's representatives came to collect the owner's share of the produce, the evil and rebellious tenants beat one, stoned one, and killed another. The owner sends a second group who received the same treatment. Finally, the owner sent his son, assuming his son would be treated with all due respect. But even the son was killed so the conspiring tenants could "get his inheritance." [Mt 21:38b]

At first glance, I can't help wondering if some of these tenants had been the disgruntled workers of the previous vineyard parable, those who worked longer hours and received the same pay as those who worked fewer.

At second glance, I feel as if I'm reading a headline about a local, national, or even international situation. Hateful rhetoric, tragedy, and rage seem to be so commonplace, as to almost desensitize us from shock. Violence, even in mere language, has become frighteningly normalized as otherwise “nice” people make vicious and disturbing comments on social media. The headlines on air and in print show us that every-day life is getting meaner by the moment. Not unlike in Jesus' own time, brutality in word and deed is the tool of vengeful cowards who know no other way to express their own fear and impotence.

And then there's the third glance, Jesus is giving a lesson to the disciples about what is happening then, what is to come, and the ever-watching Pharisees unhappily get the picture about who's who and what's what in this parable. And as they should know, God is pretty clear in Exodus about The Law ~ how we are to behave ourselves and toward one another. Legal scholars often argue about interpretating the differences between the spirit of the law – the intent of the framer – and the letter of the law – defining its literal understanding. Paul cuts through to the heart of it and tells us in Philippians: ...this one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the heavenly call of God in Christ Jesus. [Philippians 3:13b-14]

We are the tenants in this parable as the vineyard is all of Creation and God is the owner. Our travel along this temporary road of earthly life is filled with bumps, potholes, sunshine, rain, disasters and rewards, and everything else. While we often despair of the mean-ness in today’s world, we are to take heart and even rejoice in the Presence of Christ, the Cornerstone of our spiritual foundation. The Summary of the Law that Jesus gives us in Mark 12:29-31 is our simple map to guide us forward. As we work for the good of this vineyard in faith, hope, and love, let us seek in Christ the sustenance, renewal, and the revival of our souls that readies and steadies us for all that is to come. So, who wants to join this group of good tenants, anyone? Let’s gather and press on toward the Cornerstone that is the Living Christ.

LET US, GOD’S PEOPLE, PRAY

Leader: ~ O LORD, our God, grant us the humility to desire and accept the call as tenants in Your earthly vineyard. Turn us from the idols of temptation and fill us with acceptable words and meditations to nurture, produce, and share the fruits of Your perfect Law.

O God of Glory
RESPONSE: Cleanse us from our faults

~ O LORD, our God, strengthen and empower our voices in the governing halls across our Community, our Nation, and our World, to urge generosity of spirit, compassion, and ethical judgment in every facet of policy and legislation. We pray especially for: add your own petitions

O God of Glory
Cleanse us from our faults

~ O LORD, our God, heal the pain of all who are chronically ill in body, mind, or spirit, and embrace the hearts of those who give them care. We now join our hearts together to pray for those in need… add your own petitions

O God of Glory
Cleanse us from our faults

~ O LORD, our God, deepen the joy of our loved ones who now live again in the peace and glory of Your eternal sunshine. We pray especially for… add your own petitions

O God of Glory
Cleanse us from our faults

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

O God of Glory
Cleanse us from our faults

~ O LORD, our God, renew and increase the energy and excite the hearts of all who are chosen to lead and enlighten us on our mutual path to You. We pray especially for: add your own petitions

O God of Glory
Cleanse us from our faults

The Celebrant adds: O Lord, our Strength and Redeemer, impel our wills to press on toward the goal for the prize of our Savior Christ. Keep us whole and sound and innocent of great offence, reviving our souls on our journey to You. We ask through Jesus our Christ, the Cornerstone of our life and faith; and the Holy Spirit who breathes the holy into our hearts; who together with You, are one God, now and forever. Amen

Monday, September 21, 2020

Prayers of the People: Saying and Doing ~ 17th Sunday after Pentecost '20 Yr A

For Sunday, September 27, 2020, Readings: Exodus 17:1-7, Psalm 78:1-4, 12-16; Philippians 2:1-13, Matthew 21:23-32

  The Lord said to Moses, "Go on ahead of the people, and take some of the elders of Israel with you; take in your hand the staff with which you struck the Nile, and go. I will be standing there in front of you on the rock at Horeb. Strike the rock, and water will come out of it, so that the people may drink. [Exodus 17:5-6a]

  We will recount to generations to come the praiseworthy deeds and the power of the LORD, and the wonderful works he has done. [Psalm 78:4]

  Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility regard others as better than yourselves. Let each of you look not to your own interests, but to the interests of others. Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus... [Philppians 2:3-5]

  Jesus said to [the Pharisees]: "Truly I tell you, the tax collectors and the prostitutes are going to the kingdom of God ahead of you. For John came to you in the way of righteousness and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors and the prostitutes believed in him; and even after you saw it, you did not change your minds and believe him. [Matthew 21:31b-32]

As we journey through this life, in times such as these, do you, like me and the ancient Israelites,

wonder from time to time – Is the Lord really here, among us? By our current standards the Israelites had it good; God's presence was clear in the pillars of cloud by day and fire by night. God made a deal with Moses to be always present and have Moses do all manner of fantastic feats to lead the Israelites, feed them, and quench their thirst. Still, it wasn't enough and they grumbled time and again looking back at the hardships of slavery as better than their wilderness journey. How much more difficult for us to know God's presence in our own times without Moses striking a rock for water or Jesus besting those "righteous, letter-of-the-law" chief priests and elders, at least until the time came for them to execute him. Yet even his death is Life for us.

Many of us would say, with a doubt or two creeping in, that we believe God is with us, even without concrete visual sightings of God's presence. But the days are busy and fraught with stress in ordinary routine, the toll of personal trials, and all the current craziness in the world at large. It's likely that we don't always stop and question the location of God in the midst of a Tuesday afternoon or Thursday night before bed, in an angry or frustrating conversation in person or on Facebook, or even on the happiest of occasions. Some weeks it's all some of us can do to find God on Sunday morning in online Church services. But for me, this week's readings say, God is here, where am I? How am I following? In other words, do I just plod along in life without conscious attention to how I express the faith I claim?
Faith is as faith does, actions always tell the tale - just think of the parable of two sons in this week's Gospel. I need to be mindfully awake, present in a given moment to think through how what I do, or what I have done, expresses how close to or far from God I am. Is it my personal and unconscious wilderness that keeps God absent while I’m in pursuit of my selfish ambitions, while I am judging others as less worthy than me, and while not contemplating how to take on the mind of Christ?
Humility in the face of all that God has done is part of Paul's message. Jesus reminds us that it isn’t always the high and mighty legal eagles that have all the answers. Stop, breathe, hear, listen. The message – the Word – is simple enough for everyone to understand. Let us each remember, when we're on that road paved with good intentions, pay attention. Who we think we are might surprise us. We are not what we say we’ll do. We ARE what we DO.

LET US, GOD’S PEOPLE, PRAY

Leader: ~ O Lord, our Rock and our Salvation, quench our spiritual thirst by the living waters of Your grace. Split the hard shell of our selfish-ambitions and flood us with Your loving presence as we strive to take on the mind of Christ.