People's Prayers

Monday, September 20, 2021

Prayers of the People: Well Seasoned ~ 18th Sunday after Pentecost '21 Yr B

For Sunday, September 26, 2021; Readings: Numbers 11:4-6, 10-16, 24-29; Psalm 19:7-14, James 5:13-20,

Mark 9:38-50

The rabble among them had a strong craving…”Eldad and Medad are prophesying in the camp”…And Joshua…said, “My Lord Moses, stop them!”…But Moses said…”Would that all the Lord’s people were prophets and the Lord would put his spirit on them!” [Numbers 11:4a, 27b, 28b, 29]

Let the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, my strength and my redeemer. [Psalm 19:14]

The prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise them up; and anyone who has sins will be forgiven...pray for one another so that you may be healed…if anyone…wanders from the truth and is brought back by another…whoever brings back a sinner…will save the sinner’s soul from death… [James 5:13-15, 19-20]

But Jesus said, “Do not stop him; for no one who does a deed of power in my name will be able…to speak evil of me. Whoever is not against us is for us…For everyone will be salted with fire. Salt is good; but if salt has lost its saltiness, how can you season it? Have salt in yourselves and be at peace with one another. [Mark 9:39, 49-50]

This week, our reading from the Hebrew Testament is from the Book of Numbers, the fourth of the 5 Books of Moses in the Jewish Torah. The name of the Book comes from the two censuses taken of the Israelites. In Numbers, the Israelites have reached Sinai and been given the Law and the Covenant of God. God has come to dwell among them in the Tent of Meeting, a portable residence for the Ark of the Covenant where access was strictly limited. The Israelites are grumbling with their earthly cravings, again, remembering NOT the hardships of Egyptian slavery, but If only we had meat to eat. We remember the fish…the cucumbers, the melons…but now…there is nothing at all but this manna to look at. Of course, we know down the road this nothing/manna will be remembered as the Bread of Angels. But Moses is frustrated and takes his complaint to God who in turn invites the 70 Elders of Israel to the Tent of Meeting, which is a pretty big deal. Off went Moses with 68 of the Elders. It seems Eldad and Medad weren’t interested. However, God took some of the spirit that was on him and put it on the seventy elders…and they prophesied, but only that time. Yet the Spirit rested on Eldad and Medad, too, and even though they had remained behind, both began to prophesy in the camp. A young man and Joshua told Moses. Joshua wanted Moses to stop them but Moses, knowing it was God’s doing, asked if Joshua was jealous for the sake of Moses and followed on saying Would that all the Lord’s people were prophets…

The Psalm brings multiple examples of "parallelisms", which essentially is a poetic form that repeats by a variety of parallel phrases. For example, The law of the Lord is perfect, …the testimony…is sure, …the statutes…are just, …and so on, reinforcing the reward in keeping them. The end of this Psalm is a familiar opening for a sermon by preachers of a variety of denominations, Let the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O Lord…and there are a variety of endings, and the form we’re using this week says, my strength and my redeemer.

Whether suffering or cheerful or sinning, James reminds us of the power of the prayer of faith for ourselves and for others. If someone we know wanders from the truth and is brought back by another then the other has saved the wanderer’s soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins. Let’s work on that together ~ if you or I are wandering off, let’s pledge to bring each other back!

Jesus, like Moses, tells the disciples not to worry about someone “else” doing good things in Jesus’ name ~ for Whoever is not against us is for us. Nor are we to worry about stumbling. We’re better off entering God’s Kingdom with the wounds we acquire in this earthly life, by shedding what causes us to stumble into sin, than to enter the unquenchable fire whole and sin-filled. This piece is quite shocking in some ways in its gruesome details but sometimes we need to be startled to listen closely again. We are all the little ones of Jesus, and we are to remember each other in that way and treat ourselves and one another accordingly. Jesus tells them and us that we are ready for the work we are called to do in his name for we are salted with fire. But as with literal salt, its essence can slip away, become stale, no longer enhancing the flavor of the food. We have Christ’s salt within us, in as many sizes, shapes, colors and flavors as we are, and we are to be at peace with one another to feed the flock of Christ. Let us be generous and fired up, well seasoned with constant and unending prayer, in and of faith, for ourselves and for others as in Christ we are called to Serve, Act, Love, and Teach.

LET US, GOD’S PEOPLE, PRAY

Leader: ~ O God, our Strength, remove strong earthly cravings from our desires and keep us mindful of our how we use our mouths and meditations in ways great, small, indifferent, hurtful, and irreverent. Open us to feel the depth and energy of Your Presence always, and especially when we pray in faith for others and ourselves.

O Lord, our Redeemer

RESPONSE: Guide our words and hearts

~ O God, our Strength, as our world seethes with devastating natural disasters, disease, anger, violence, and fear, guide those who lead with integrity and compassion on this Earth, in our Nation, and in our Community, to exert strong influence for the most positive actions in the ways of justice, health, and peace everywhere. We pray especially for: add your own petitions

O Lord, our Redeemer

Guide our words and hearts

~ O God, our Strength, infuse all hope into those longing for release from sickness, injury, or the struggles of life, and give comfort from the prayers we lift together. We now join our hearts together to pray for those in need… add your own petitions

O Lord, our Redeemer
Guide our words and hearts

~ O God, our Strength, grant the sweetness of memory for all who mourn as the endless days of rejoicing begin for those who now live again in Your Eternal Life. We pray especially for… add your own petitions

O Lord, our Redeemer
Guide our words and hearts

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

O Lord, our Redeemer

Guide our words and hearts

~ O God, our Strength, we give You great thanks for those who have been chosen for the challenge of leading us in Your Church. Bless them for praying with us and for us, and for guiding our spiritual journey in Your service. We pray especially for: add your own petitions

O Lord, our Redeemer

Guide our words and hearts

The Celebrant adds: O God of Justice and Joy, salt our souls with the fire of Christ’s love, that we may live and act through the power of Your Name, bringing each other back from wandering afar of our faith into sin. We ask through Jesus, our Teacher and Redeemer; and through the Holy Spirit, the Channel of Your Grace; who together with You, are One God, forever and ever. Amen.

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Monday, September 13, 2021

Prayers of the People: You Go First ~ 17th Sunday after Pentecost '21 Yr B

For Sunday, September 19, 2021, Readings: Wisdom of Solomon 1:16-2:1, 12-22; Psalm 54,

James 3:13-4:3, 7-8a; Mark 9:30-37

The ungodly by their words and deeds summoned death…[they] lie in wait for the righteous…for their wickedness blinded them, and they did not know the secret purposes of God, nor hoped for the wages of holiness, nor discerned the prize for the blameless souls. [Wisdom of Solomon 1:16a, 12a, 21b-22]

Hear my prayer, O God; give ear to the words of my mouth…Behold, God is my helper; it is the Lord who sustains my life. [Psalm 54:2, 4]

But if you have bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not be boastful and false to the truth...But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy...And a harvest of righteousness is sown in peace for those who make peace. [James 3:14, 17-18]

...for [Jesus] was teaching his disciples, saying to them, "The Son of Man is to be betrayed into human hands, and they will kill him, and three days after being killed, he will rise again." But they did not understand what he was saying and were afraid to ask him...Then they came to Capernaum; and...on the way they had argued with one another who was the greatest. [Jesus]...said to them, "Whoever wants to be first must be last of all and servant of all." Then he...said to them, "Whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes not me but the one who sent me." [Mark 9:31-32, 33a, 34b, 35b, 37]

The first reading comes from The Wisdom of Solomon, considered an apocryphal book, that is not part of the “official” Christian Canon of the Bible. The word canon basically means the body of work that cannot be changed ~ not that it can’t be re-interpreted through new information and translation, just that the substance of it is set in stone ~ so to speak. The apocryphal writings for biblical purposes are those thought to have been written between 200 BC and 400 AD [or in the language of scholars BCE, Before the Common Era, and CE, Common Era, when dates became more or less standardized globally.] You can go to Wikipedia for a beginning look at Biblical Apocrypha. I offer this explanation only because if some of you are interested in reading more of this Book and discovering others in this “hidden” collection, you may not have it in your printed Bible. Many modern Bibles do include these writings in between the Old Testament and the New Testament, and they become known as "intertestamental writings." But many do not, such as the NIV and KJV (though the KJV did have them for almost 300 years). Online Biblical search sites such as Bible Gateway do not include these writings. Where they are included as non-canonical, they are, for the most part, considered to be useful for instruction without necessarily carrying the full weight of either Testament. One could spend a semester at least on discovering the levels and possible origins of non-canonical writings but, while I find this all very interesting, I believe that such effort brings no extra credit towards salvation.

In the case of this reading, it is considered by some to be representative of the Jewish religious instruction in which Jesus grew up. This lesson reminds us that there is more to this human life than a comfortable existence. There are those who will mock and try to upend our intentions, but we are to live in God’s ways and choose eternal life as God’s child for our destiny.

The writer of James brings being righteous into our instruction. It is one of those words we hear often in Bible readings ~ we can guess by its sound that it means to be "right" with God and in truth it does mean that, to lead a life that is pleasing to God, someone whose actions God [who knows us] would find to be justified and ethical. We are told very specifically what happens to those who sit in the seats of the scornful [Ps 1:1] and are boastful and false to the truth [James 3:14b]. James charts the course of attitudes and behaviors reflecting earthly and inwardly unmet cravings against those who find their path in the wisdom, peace, and gentleness from above. Jesus is working to prepare the disciples, again, for all that is to come, and, again, they do not understand.

As the writer of Mark tells us, the chosen disciples were those closest and most committed to Jesus. Yet, close as they were, they were still afraid to ask Jesus to explain what he meant about being betrayed and killed and rising from the dead. Yet, on the way to Capernaum, they were arguing with each other about which one of themselves was the greatest of all. Perhaps they were confused about and so ignored the hard truth Jesus was giving because it was too difficult to digest and discuss.

In a culture, such as ours in the west, that teaches that one must strive to thrive through success, achievement, wealth, power, and position, it is exceedingly difficult to avoid the traps of envy, ambition, conflict, distrust, and so on. Fear of asking questions is also prevalent ~ one learns early to be fearful of being labeled stupid if one asks a “dumb” question. Perhaps each of the disciples were worried that they would ask the wrong question and fail a test of sorts. Or perhaps they were unable to determine the right question. James references that as well by telling us that if we didn’t get what we asked for, it was because we asked wrongly.

Jesus gives the disciples, and us, the terms of a righteous life: Be last not first, a servant of all, and those who welcome all as children in his name will be welcoming God into their midst. As followers of Jesus, we are to commit to selfless service, especially among those who make no return; humility in shedding all trace of inward and outward aspiration to greatness; and we must submit ourselves to God. The height and breadth and depth of all that is required can feel daunting. But the disciples were together in the best and worst of times as we are in our communities of faith, working together, learning to understand, committing, and submitting ourselves to Christ for the eternal life of our souls. As we draw near to God, God will draw nearer to thee and me. Ok, let's begin, you go first.

LET US, GOD’S PEOPLE, PRAY

Leader:  ~ God of Wisdom and Mercy, refresh our souls to keep us from envy and selfish ambition, able to resist earthly, unspiritual temptation, willing to yield and submit our hearts and minds to You.

   Knowing Lord
        RESPONSE: Draw us near to You

~ God of Wisdom and Mercy, embolden us to stand together in Christ’s name as we strive to ensure ethical, principled, just, and peaceable governing by the leaders of our World, our Nation, and our Community. We pray especially for: add your own petitions

                                                       Knowing Lord
                                                       Draw us near to You

~ God of Wisdom and Mercy, grant hope and comfort to all who suffer in body, mind, or spirit, and renewed energy to all who give them care. We now join our hearts together to pray for those in need… add your own petitions

                                                       Knowing Lord
                                                       Draw us near to You

~ God of Wisdom and Mercy, shine Your perfect light into the darkness of grief, as You gather those newly departed from this life, into the gleaming expanse of eternal life with You. We pray especially for… add your own petitions

                                                       Knowing Lord
                                                       Draw us near to You

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

                                                       Knowing Lord
                                                       Draw us near to You

~ God of Wisdom and Mercy, quicken the minds and hearts of those anointed to share Your Word and Sacraments with us, and free us from the fear of asking questions about our faith. Guide them to lead us in the building of a diverse worshiping community, dedicated to sowing the best seeds for a harvest of righteousness and peace. We pray especially for: add your own petitions

                                                       Knowing Lord
                                                       Draw us near to You

The Celebrant adds: O Lord our God, release us from the grip of mortal pride and temporal lures to be Christ’s selfless, humble, and welcoming servants of all. Let us seek to do the work You have given us to do, not for our own greatness, but the greatness of Your Eternal Kingdom. We ask through the glory and sacrifice of our Savior Christ; and the wise counsel of the Spirit Most Holy; who together with You, are One, boundless, and eternal God, forever and ever. Amen.

Monday, September 6, 2021

Prayers of the People: Him and Me ~ 16th Sunday after Pentecost '21 Yr B

For Sunday, September 12, 2021, Readings: Isaiah 50:4-9a, Psalm 116:1-8, James 3:1-12, Mark 8:27-38

The Lord God has given me the tongue of a teacher, that I may know how to sustain the weary with a word. Morning by morning he wakens – wakens my ear to listen as those who are taught. [Isaiah 50:4]

I love the Lord, because he has heard the voice of my supplication…Gracious is the Lord and righteous; our God is full of compassion. [Psalm 116:1a, 4]

For all of us make many mistakes. Anyone who makes no mistakes in speaking is perfect, able to keep the whole body in check with a bridle...How great a forest is set ablaze by a small fire! And the tongue is a fire…From the same mouth come blessing and cursing.

[James 3:2, 5b-6a, 10]

Jesus went on with his disciples to the villages of Caesarea Philippi; and on the way he asked his disciples, "Who do people say that I am?" And they answered him, "John the Baptist; and others, Elijah; and still others, one of the prophets." He asked them, "But who do you say that I am?" [Mark 8:27-29a]

Isaiah brings us the voice of the Servant in this autobiographical passage. Messages from Prophets are not always welcomed and often met with significant and violent backlash. This piece is often used in Christian interpretation to refer to Jesus, especially in verses 5-6, I was not rebellious, I did not turn backward. I gave my back to those who struck me…I did not hide my face from insult and spitting…God has given this Servant’s tongue the ability to teach us to awaken, to listen and be sustained, to know that we cannot be shamed or disgraced by our faith and our faith-filled works with God helping us. The Psalmist follows on with how God has heard the pleas and lifted those brought low. We aren’t always aware of our supplications being heard but the last line is a reminder to continue to walk in the presence of the Lord in the land of the living.

James says, in truth, not many of you should become teachers because teachers are held to a higher standard. He then gives us a true tongue lashing that spares no detail in his descriptions of the restless evil in our mouths, full of deadly poison within us! James is blunt saying that out of our mouths come both blessing and cursing. [I humbly admit I am guilty as charged and will continue to work on that with diligence.]

In this mid-point of his Gospel, Mark recounts a trip to Caesarea Philippi with the disciples when Jesus asks them what they have heard others say about him. Always an easier question to answer especially in a group: Who do THEY say...? "They and them" are the best at giving opinions, making comments, uninformed decisions, or judgments ~ hey, it's not me, it was "them" ~ they said, they did, they believe... But then comes the real question: "Who do you say that I am?" Money on the table time and Peter was right on it! "You are the Messiah." Easy-peasy until the conversation went downhill.

Of course, no one wanted to hear what was coming next: suffering, rejection, and death ~ did they hear the part about rising in three days? Peter ~ Dear Peter ~ started to argue and was shut down by Jesus in the familiar words: Get behind me, Satan! But this reality was not going to be pleasant or easy and Jesus told the disciples and all the crowd around about saving or losing one's life, then and now. Peter, the disciples, and we, are told to get out of the mindset of human things and focus on divine things. We must take up our cross and concern ourselves unashamedly with the Gospel. Yes, there may be difficulties, rejection, and perhaps suffering because of it. But here in this day, I take solace and strength and am heartened by the words of Catholic social activist Dorothy Day* who said, If I have achieved anything in my life, it is because I have not been embarrassed to talk about God.

The question hangs heavy in the air: Who do I say Jesus is? Do I express my answer well enough merely by wearing a cross, doing occasional good deeds, and attending Church? Am I embarrassed to speak openly of my faith in the face of scoffers? Is trying to keep my all-too-restless tongue tamed one way to take up my cross? There are no easy outs or answers, just truth between me and Jesus in my real time. There are no They and Them in this conversation, just Him and me, and He will never let me face my walk in the land of the living alone.

LET US, GOD’S PEOPLE, PRAY

Leader: ~ Gracious and Righteous Lord, You have helped us when we were brought low, heard our supplications, and treated us well. Please energize our souls with the courage to name Jesus as our Messiah and take up our cross to follow Him, for the sake of the Gospel and life everlasting.

O God of Compassion
RESPONSE: Hear our prayer

~ Gracious and Righteous Lord, amplify the strength of our voices to implore and persuade all political leaders in our World, in our Nation and in our Community, to grant immediate aid and protection to all current and future victims of war, tyranny, violence, and natural disaster. We pray especially for: add your own petitions

O God of Compassion
Hear our prayer

~ Gracious and Righteous Lord, in Your generous heart, cradle all who are exhausted by the endless pain of disease or depression, and fortify those whose work is to give comfort. We now join our hearts together to pray for those in need… add your own petitions

O God of Compassion
Hear our prayer

~ Gracious and Righteous Lord, gladden our mournful hearts as those we love now live forever in the splendor of Your Eternal Shores. We pray especially for… add your own petitions

O God of Compassion
Hear our prayer

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

O God of Compassion
Hear our prayer

~ Gracious and Righteous Lord, anoint and sanctify again all who lead us in Your Church, who teach us the ways of discipleship, and who journey with us toward You in every phase of our lives. We pray especially for: add your own petitions

O God of Compassion

Hear our prayer

The Celebrant adds: O Lord God, guide the tongues of all who should teach and awaken the ears of others to listen. Help our imperfect selves remain always teachable, upright in the face of scorn, with our tongues more filled with blessings than curses, and learning each day to turn from mere human things to the divine Words of our Savior. We ask through Christ Jesus, our Messiah; and the Holy Spirit, our Fount of Wisdom, who together with You reign as the fullness of One God, now and forever. Amen

Monday, August 30, 2021

Prayers of the People: Openings ~ 15th Sunday after Pentecost '21 Yr B

For Sunday, September 5, 2021, Readings: Isaiah 35:4-7a, Psalm 146, James 2:1-10, [11-13], 14-17;

Mark 7:24-37

Say to those who are of a fearful heart, 'Be strong, do not fear! Here is your God…He will come and save you.'

[Isaiah 35:4a,c]

Put not your trust in rulers, nor of any child of earth…Happy are they who have the God of Jacob for their help…The Lord sets prisoners free…opens the eyes of the blind…lifts up those who are bowed down…loves the righteous…cares for the stranger…sustains the orphan and widow, but frustrates the way of the wicked.

[Psalm 146:2a, 7-8]

My brothers and sisters, do you with your acts of favoritism really believe in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ…What good is it…if you say you have faith but do not have works? [James 2:1, 14]

But she answered [Jesus], 'Sir, even the dogs under the table eat the children's crumbs.' Then he said to her, 'For saying that, you may go ~ the demon has left your daughter'...Then looking up to heaven, [Jesus] sighed and said to him, 'Ephphatha,' that is, 'Be opened.' And immediately his ears were opened, his tongue was released, and he spoke plainly. [Mark 7:28-29, 34-35]

In the midst of all that is happening in our world at this moment, come the appointed readings for this week filled with hope, warnings, instruction, and questions. We are emphatically reminded that awareness, attentiveness, and good works are keys to how we live into the faith we claim, and we ignore them at our eternal peril. In taking easier ~ even unconscious/habitual ~ paths in giving favor to ourselves and only certain others, by not working on behalf of all our sisters and brothers, in following the laws we like and not the ones we don't, we are in sin and our faith will slowly falter and die.

Isaiah opens us with the hopeful message to all who are of a fearful heart by encouraging us to be strong and not fear, and then comes an immediate warning of God’s vengeance and recompense yet what follows is the comforting He will come and save you.

The Psalmist instructs us not to put trust in rulers, nor in any child of earth and then parallels the comforting words of Isaiah about the healings of the blind, the deaf, the lame, and others.

James then asks if I really believe....well, sure, when I'm consciously aware, attentively faithful, and when in church, more or less. I have to think about what I believe, sometimes. Yet at other times I'm absolutely certain. I suddenly realize how rarely aware of how unaware of God I am in the rush of the day, the list to be completed, life whipping by at warp speed. I am all-too-often lax in the action specified in the Royal Law of scripture to love your neighbor as yourself.

And then here is Jesus saying, "Ephphatha" ~ "Be opened." This miraculous phrase gives me a pause, a moment to breathe, an opening of my own to release me from the self-imposed binding of mindless selfishness. The writer of James is trying to open us all to act on what we say we believe; after all, aren’t actions borne out of consciousness, mindfulness, and faithfulness the keys to living out our faith in God?

Even the Syrophoenician woman opened herself ~ in an unexpected way for a woman of her time ~ to talk back to Jesus with quite a stunning retort. Jesus was in the middle of his ministry, and he was becoming well known for his healing and preaching, sought after by his Jewish followers. Being confronted by a non-Jewish [Gentile] woman asking for her child to be healed he told her, in effect, that Jewish people [the "children"] should be fed [healed] first as it wasn't fair to throw their food [healing] to the dogs [Gentiles]. Was he merely testing her or was he in turn also opened by her candor when she replied, Sir, even the dogs under the table eat the children's crumbs? Jesus replied, For saying that you may go, and her child was released from the demon.

As Jesus healed the man who was deaf and couldn't speak clearly, he also heals us. By these words we can open up to new insight, new awareness. We were created to live and act in faith, to reap the harvest of eternal life, to love and treat all our neighbors as if they were our own selves. Let us explore and re-discover the faith that becomes more conscious with every thought, with every kindness, and every action centered in Christ. It is true that the promises in Scripture of retribution for evil or an easy life for goodness aren't always seen or heard, yet even the tiniest crumbs of faith paired with good acts and obedience to God's law, will live and thrive and grow. A sentence from one of the post-Communion Prayers in the Episcopal Book of Common [page 365] sums it up quite beautifully: Send us now into the world in peace, and grant us strength and courage to love and serve you with gladness and singleness of heart. Ephphatha!

LET US, GOD’S PEOPLE, PRAY

Leader: ~ O Lord our God, rouse us from the distractions of our own time, that we may turn crumbs of neglect into seeds of generosity that blossom into love for our neighbors and ourselves. Guide us to fulfill the royal law according to Scripture and use our work in this earthly life as a reflection of our abiding belief in You.

God of Hope and Compassion

RESPONSE: Transform our Faith into Action

~ O Lord our God, empower our voices to disquiet the satisfaction of those who profit from injustice, and help us turn aside such rulers of earth. Let us call for those who wield power in the halls of government on our Planet, in our Nation, and in our Community, to be true of heart, turn their trust to You, and work to ensure the dignity and humanity of all. We pray especially for: add your own petitions

God of Hope and Compassion