Prayer 1566: inspired by Luke 6:27-38

Mindful walking with my Greening the Bible class

(on Luke 6:27-38)
O God, our help and our rock,
we join in creation's morning hymn of praise
and offer you our hearts: hear our prayer.
Teach us to love as You love, O Holy One,
who forgives all our sin,
and whose mercy endures forever.
Teach us to love even those who oppose us,
and pray for those who hurt us,
that their hearts
and ours
may be turned to amity.
Lead us to do good for the sake of good,
as a testimony to your truth, Lord Christ.
Plant our feet in the way of justice and mercy,
upholding each other in love in your Holy Name.
Spirit of God, breathe your love into us,
and shelter those we lift before You in hope.

Amen.

Prayer, day 1565

Dutch iris

Holy One, we praise you: guide us as we seek to do your will today.
Give us strength to carry your light into places of darkness.
Give us hope for those who are in despair or sadness.
Give us endurance for those who are ill and facing a long path to healing.
Give us gentle compassion for those who are angry and hurting.
Give us wisdom for those who are filled with rejection and denial.

Help us to love God and each other in the way of Christ:
fiercely, patiently, and completely.
Consecrate the hands and minds of doctors and nurses as they seek to use the gifts given by you, O God, to bring healing to the hurting.
Blessed Savior, shine the light of your countenance upon us, and bless especially those for whom we pray.

Amen.
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Prayer 1564: for Dame Julian of Norwich

Dame Julian of Norwich, whose feast day is today.

Holy One, your love makes all things new:
creation lifts its voice in praise,
and we rise to give you thanks: alleluia!
In tenderness and sweetness You have created us, O God:
may we live gladly this day to bring You honor.
O God, let us know well your meaning, your perfect wisdom incarnate,
that Christ is love, and we are in Christ.
May we trust in God forever,
assured that we will never be overcome,
though tempests rage about us and travails ensnare us.
For we begin and end in the love in which You bore us, Lord Christ:
as our Mother you bear us for joy and life unending.
Holy Spirit, confirm us in love and hope
as we pray for mercy and compassion
to guide us this day,
and grant us peace.

Amen.

Prayer 1563: The Fourth Sunday of Easter (Shepherd Sunday)

The window in the columbarium of Church of the Good Shepherd, Town and Country, MO.

O God, you have borne us up through the trackless night:
set us on the path of holiness and praise, for your love's sake.
Open our ears, O Shepherd, that we may know your voice
as you call to us in love and mercy.
Open our eyes, Lord Christ,
to see you walking before us in love,
teaching us to follow the way of life and light.
Give us humble, thankful hearts,
that we may follow you in faith and trust,
remembering your abundant love and grace.
Tame the wilderness in our hearts,
that we may be united to work for justice and peace
against the forces of death.

As we gather around your table, O Holy One,
let our hearts be fed by love
and strengthened for service to You and each other.
Tend us and keep us, O Lord,
for You seek out the lost and comfort the fearful
with tenderness and mercy.
Holy One, you bear all creation within your arms:
place upon your shoulders those for whom we pray,
and grant them peace.

Amen.

Prayer 1562

Iris are blooming!

Most Merciful One, Source of Light, Ground of Our Being, who is creating the heavens and earth, we sing out to You in love.
O God, pour out your favor upon us this day, and lead us into pathways of justice and peace.
Grant us courage to fight for justice and truth, that we may be knit together in hope in the cause of Love Incarnate.
Open our minds to your wisdom, that we may be drawn deeper into the mystery of your grace with humility and gratitude.
Guide our steps in love and service, that at day's end we are brought home to You, O Savior.
Holy One, by the power of your Spirit, anoint us to your service this day, and take us by the hand as we seek to follow You.
Blessed Jesus, draw all those whom we remember before You under the shadow of your wing, as we pray.

Amen.

Prayer 1561: For compassion and empathy

O God, who has sustained us and loved us through the night, we rise to thank and praise your holy Name.
May we remember all our blessings, and with grateful hearts testify to your wonders.
May we heed your call to tenderness and compassion, renouncing the forces of fear and hopelessness.
May we fight the forces of selfishness, injustice, and oppression, armed with your love and wisdom, O Holy One.
May we open our hearts with empathy, and support those bowed down by pain, illness, or anxiety.

Blessed Savior, comfort those who cry out to You, and bless those we now name.

Amen.

Prayer, day 1559: Walking in mercy and gentleness

False Bird of Paradise, Missouri Botanical Garden.

Bathe your people in light and truth, O Holy One,
that they may be clad in the armor of Love
to face the events of this day.
May we walk in mercy and gentleness
upon the path of kindness
for all of our fellow creatures.
May we be guided by your Love
where we might stumble,
and may we make your Word a lantern for our feet.
Watch over, bless, comfort, and strengthen, we pray,
these your children in their needs and concerns.

Amen.
105 (written four years ago today)

Prayer 1558: inspired by 1 John 4:7-21

Morning light, La Sagrada Familia, Barcelona, Spain.

Most Merciful One, in You I place my trust:
I lift my heart and praise You,
my Rock and my Fortress.

O God, let me seek your wisdom,
that it may be a lamp to my heart
and lead me in paths of lovingkindness.
For wisdom in the Lord
brings mercy and justice to flower:
it opens the heart to gentleness;
it supplants enmity and scorn.
Lord Christ, place your blessing upon those
who seek to follow your way
of integrity and peace.
Holy Spirit, kindle our hearts
with gentle wisdom and grace
that our lives may sing out God's glory.

God is love and mercy indeed:
pour out your peace that knows no end,
and bless those we raise before You as we pray.

Amen.

Prayer 1557

Clematis

Almighty God, Creator and Sustainer of Life, we bend the knee of our hearts before You in gratitude and praise.
Lord Christ, lead us to a deeper knowledge of You, that our hearts and minds may be transformed and renewed.
Holy Spirit, set your seal upon our hearts, that we may proclaim good news to all with joy.

All praise to You, O God, for You have called our wandering spirits home, and in You is our hope and our joy.
Preserve us from all hardness of heart, Most Holy One, and give us perseverence in the face of trial and temptation.
Plant within our hearts empathy, justice, and peace, that we may walk in love throughout this day.

Lord, we place our cares and concerns before You: place your hand of blessing over all who call upon You.

Amen.

Meeting the Stranger, Meeting Jesus: Sermon for the Third Sunday of Easter, Year A

Jesus and the disciples on the Road to Emmaus. Artist unknown.

Readings: Acts 2:14a, 36-41; Psalm 116:1-3, 10-17; 1 Peter 1:17-23; Luke 24:13-35

In our gospel story, two disciples—possibly Cleopas and his wife—are walking on the road from Jerusalem to Emmaus on Resurrection Day. Their hearts are filled with a mixture of heaviness and hope, for they have heard strange tales, this third day after Jesus’s crucifixion, about Jesus being risen from the dead. But they dare not believe it.

Then suddenly, a stranger starts walking alongside them. The stranger asks what they are discussing, and they pass along the story that they have heard about Jesus and the empty tomb. They obviously are completely bewildered if not a whole lot doubtful about the story they have been told. They believe that their hopes in Jesus have been dashed, regardless of the empty tomb. Possibly they heard the rumors spread by the authorities that Jesus’s body had been stolen away.

This stranger, after asking what they are talking about, then does a curious thing: he begins interpreting all that Jesus had done on earth to prove that he was the One whom scripture had foretold. You would think that, as small as the community of followers was, these two would wonder where a stranger would get so much information about Jesus.

Being hospitable and intrigued, they invite the stranger to stay with them as they have their evening meal. It is at the point that the stranger breaks the bread that suddenly, “their eyes are opened” to the truth—the one who has been walking and talking with them is doing what he has done countless times before. Jesus is breaking the bread—which to our Christian understanding echoes with Eucharistic meaning—and suddenly they know who he is. Just when that happens, though, he disappears once more. As the experience they have had begins to sink in, they realize that only Jesus could have made their “hearts burn within them.” It is when Jesus takes, breaks, blesses and gives the bread to them that he is fully known. It can be the same way with us.

Now, some of us respond to this story, and some of the other early resurrection stories, with wondering HOW the disciples could fail to recognize Jesus when they see him, especially given their natural longing as the word begins to get out that his body is no longer in the tomb.

How well do we know any other person, really? We are all mysteries to each other, no matter how much we are bound by common interests or memberships in groups, or language, or socio-economic class, or race, or vows, or birth, or anything else. And with Jesus, this mystery can be intensified—remember all the times throughout scripture that even Jesus’s closest friends fail to understand exactly who he is or what he is doing.

But there a few things we have to remember. The risen Jesus has been changed by the events of his Passion and Resurrection. He has come more fully into unity with God the Father, and his earthly life is changing--coming to an end as he has been known, becoming different. Jesus has been lifted up on the cross as a light for the whole world—not just for his disciples and friends. The scriptures we heard today said that “their eyes were kept from recognizing him.” We have the very same issue, as we were also reminded in the story last week about Thomas. We too hunger to know Jesus, but we are not sure what exactly we are looking for.

There is an important point here: these disciples got to meet Jesus when they welcomed the stranger, and insisted that this stranger stay with them and enter into fellowship with them. THIS is one of the other tangible ways we can meet Jesus. We can meet Jesus in the face not just of our friends, but when we look into the face of the stranger.

Once again this story reminds us that life according to the gospel is one of radical hospitality, and that flies in the face of almost everything we are often told about how we are supposed to react to strangers in our midst. We too easily fall into habits of trying to separate “us” from “them.” Whoever “them” ends up being, we are told to fear “them,” judge “them,” isolate “them.” We certainly are not taught to look for the face of Christ in the stranger. Yet that is where, over and over again throughout the witness of scripture, we end up encountering and finding God.

Each of may have our own Emmaus moment. As many of you may know, I am not a cradle Episcopalian. I was born and christened a United Methodist, then, when our pastor was moved when I was four, my mother began a decade-long journey through the nooks and crannies of Evangelical American Christendom, and we three kids bobbed along and followed in her wake like baby ducks following Mama Duck. It wasn’t until I was 12 that I first entered an Episcopal Church.

My teacher’s husband was being confirmed, and she invited me to come. Now, I had never been to any church like this in my life. Unfamiliar with the liturgical tradition of the Episcopal Church, I sat there in my dress, fake pearls, and hat (my mother mistakenly thought lady’s headgear was required). I fought off her attempt to put me in little lace gloves only with great tomboy vigor, but it was a struggle.

I sat at my friend’s confirmation and tried to take it all in without looking too stunned.
There was a bulletin, and it told you everything that was going to happen.
The people leading the service were dressed in special clothes, not three-piece suits.
There was one guy wearing a piece of pointy headgear that I knew from my chess set meant he was a bishop.

There were candles and a real pipe organ.
The sermon was filled with joy, and the only mention of hell was preceded by a “what the…” at the announcements.
Women were allowed to read the lessons.

In the middle there was a thing called “the peace,” in which I was hugged and kissed on the cheek and complimented on my hat by several older ladies who thought I was being knowingly retro in my garb rather than dressed to match a scene in The Quiet Man.

But the thing that really got me was when we knelt and heard the words that recounted God’s saving deeds throughout history. Invocations were said over the bread and wine, and then they were broken and offered to all of us. Now for the past 8 years, I had been raised in churches that rarely, if ever, celebrated communion. But here, we gathered around the altar, kneeling side by side. Unlike at other churches’ Lord’ Supper” remembrances which I had attended, even as a stranger I was welcomed.

And that’s where I really met Jesus. I met him in the breaking of the bread and the sharing of the cup.  
“Body of Christ; Bread of Heaven.”
“Blood of Christ; Cup of Salvation.”

That’s when my savior was made known to me in the bread, in the cup, in the blessing, in the fellowship of all those gathered together worshipping. This is when I learned what a sacrament truly can be—as Mother Pamela reminded us last week, “an outward and visible sign” – and the most miraculous, transformative part—“of an inward and spiritual grace.”

It was grace that opened the disciples’ hearts to hear Jesus interpret his significance throughout the history and scriptures of Israel. Their hearts had been stirred as he spoke, and we should be familiar with that. Our own worship service every Sunday begins with the liturgy of the Word, and then moves to the liturgy of the table.

It was grace that opened their eyes to who he really was then in the blessing, breaking, and sharing of the Eucharist. Every week we come here, hungry for the living Word, hoping to encounter Christ and to be equipped by that encounter for our own daily ministry as disciples. 

I would argue that we can know Jesus fully in the breaking of the bread. But that’s not all. Jesus seeks to work transformation in us, and the Eucharist is one of the ways that he does it. In the story, the moment Jesus breaks the bread, two things happen simultaneously: the two disciples become aware of who Jesus IS--NOT just who he was. Then he vanishes, so that they may know that he is not what he once was—he is MORE. Like them, we get to know the risen, living Christ in the breaking of the bread, and gain a new understanding that he is our living savior, who has brought us into himself, and by doing so, has united us also with each other, with all creation—and with God.

I am convinced that when we gather around this altar together, that’s when we fully come together, which in itself is a great mystery. Jesus is the bridge that brings us together and helps us to remember that we may not fully know each other, but through the love of God we can love each other and welcome each other—no exceptions.

It’s here that we are all reminded that we are one body, as well, and not just ANY body, but also the Body of Christ. It’s here we are reminded that we can all be signs to each other of God’s grace and mercy. And then we can embody that grace to the entire world, as each of us remembers that by our baptism we are all ministers in a Church that is called to minister to the world, the dark places as well as the light, as Christ’s own.

As a result of meeting the stranger on the road to Emmaus, we are called to live into who we are called to be: Body of Christ; Bread of Heaven. Bread for the World, Bread for ALL the world. As the Body of Christ, we are called to embody the Good News of God’s grace and love to a world that is hungry for it. Come, taste and see that the Lord is good. Let us gather around the table, where none are outcast, and all are fed and led to meet Jesus in both friend and stranger, and then, together, let us carry his love out into the world.

Preached at the Episcopal Church of the Good Shepherd, Town and Country, MO, on April 30, 2017.

Prayer 1556: The Third Sunday of Easter

There are no strangers- only friends we have not met. This gentleman wanted us to slow down and enjoy the scent of bay leaves in the gardens at Parc Guell in Barcelona.

Most Merciful God, we thank You for bringing us to this day, that we may worship and praise You in every moment.
Holy One, let us make our lives an offering to You.
Bless and keep your servants as we seek to serve You with all that we have and all that we are.

As we gather around your altars, let our hearts be joined in love and faith, and let us know you in the breaking of bread.
Open our eyes to see the face of Christ in the friend and the stranger, to see your holy light shining from every person.
Walk beside us, Blessed Savior, and guide us into deeper knowledge of you, that our hearts may burn with your truth.

By the power of the Holy Spirit, shield the joyous, and grant your comfort and peace to all whose put their hope in You.

Amen.

Prayer 1555: for God's presence

Resting butterfly, Buttefly House, St. Louis.

Be among us, Lord Jesus,
as we make our prayers to You.
Be among us, O Almighty One,
as we meditate upon your Word
and remember your saving help.
Be among us, O Spirit of Truth,
to guide our hearts, minds, and souls
and make them holy offerings to our God.
Be among us, O God,
as storms rage without and within,
and lead us to safety and reconciliation.

May peace, justice, compassion, and love
reign in our lives today, O Merciful One.
May we embody God's grace in our words and deeds,
and testify always to your mercy and care as we pray.

Amen.

Prayer, day 1554: God's abundant grace

Dogwood blossoms represent the cross and wounds of Christ.

Almighty God, from the sleeping ground
You bring forth blooming life in Spring:
bring forth also new life in our hearts.
You fed the multitudes with bread in the desert:
feed our spirits with your abundant Word.

Let us be renewed in our fellowship,
and inspired by our time in prayer with You,
that we may be united in Truth and Love.

May we treasure our blessings,
obey your will,
and pray for the healing of our faults,
which only comes through your grace.

Look with favor upon your servants, we pray,
who rest within your steadfast Love.

Amen.
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Prayer 1553: led by the light of love

In times of anxiety, every breath can be a prayer of thanksgiving.

Most Merciful God, who has watched over us through the depths of night, lead us now into the light of your love. By your tender mercy, may we be drawn closer to you, Lord Jesus, and inspired by your truth. O Holy One, You have gathered us within your embrace: may we worship You in humility and loving-kindness. Keep us from all scorn or arrogance, O God, and make us gentle and true in all our ways, our spirits a haven for healing. Lord Christ, abide within us today, and fill the hearts of the weary with hope as we pray.

Amen.

Prayer 1552: in pathways of hope and healing

Morphos in motion at the Butterfly House: the beauty of God's creation!

Most Merciful God, we offer you our hearts,
filled with thanks and praise for your saving help.
Happy are those who walk in the Way of Love,
upheld by grace and gratitude!
Keep us, O Lord, as the apple of your eye,
and lead us in the ways of justice and peace.
Purify us that we may be one with Christ,
and unified in love with all creation, we humbly pray.
Hide us under the shadow of your wings
when we need respite,
and strengthen us to bear witness to your truth in our lives.
Remembering your forgiveness and lovingkindness,
may we deal compassionately with others,
loving each other as ourselves.
O Bright Morningstar,
lead us into pathways of hope and healing,
and shine your light upon those we now remember.

Amen.

Prayer 1551: for perseverence in times of trial (Ecclesiasticus 2:1-11)

Detail from a window in the McCarthy room, Eden Theological Seminary,
from which I will, with God's help, soon be graduating, thanks be to God.

Blessed is the Holy One, who bears our joys and sorrows,
and holds us as in a mother's tender care: thanks be to God.
Lord, we wait for your mercy like watchmen for the morning:
our hope is in your grace and steadfast love.

Make us faithful companions in Christ,
bearers of his saving help throughout the world,
we humbly pray.
Strengthen us in hope and faith
as we walk the path of discipleship, O God,
and help us to persevere in times of trial.
Send forth your Spirit to fill us with wisdom,
with generous hearts to support each other in love, as we pray.

Amen.

Prayer 1550: in humble discipleship

Spring blooms gladden the heart.

Eternal God: Earth-maker, Pain-Bearer, Life-giver,
we rise to make our prayer before You, grateful for your care. 
Strengthen our obedience and devotion to your Law of Love and your Way of Mercy, that we may serve You in all things.

Strip out all arrogance and contempt, O Holy One,
and lead us from using each other to loving each other.
Let us walk gently and peaceably with each other, discerning the face of Christ in all persons we encounter.

Lord, guide the hands and hearts of all healers, care-givers, doctors, and nurses, who tend to the sick and suffering.
Tune our hearts to the song of your grace, O God, and bless and keep those whom we lift before You.

Amen.

Prayer 1549: Second Sunday of Easter

A wildflower spotted along a walk in the woods.

Everlasting One, Prince of Peace,
we lift our hearts before your altars
to give you thanks and praise!
Alleluia!

Let us join in the song of all the saints,
robed in glory,
as we worship you
and bear your witness into the world.
Let us walk in the name of a living faith,
steadfast enough to question and to hope.

Secure in your loving embrace, O Christ,
may we enter more deeply
into amazement and wonder before your throne.
May we shed all certainties
but the saving power of your love,
for You, O Holy One,
are our portion and our cup.

Bend the arc of your mercy
over all who call upon You, O God,
and gather within your presence all for whom we pray.

Amen.

Prayer 1548: For Earth Day

View of Falls, Yosemite National Park

Creator of the Universe,
who is making Heaven and Earth,
let all that lives tell out your glory.

Waterfalls and rapid, Yosemite Valley.

Rocks and hills,
ocean depths and craggy peaks,
the wind that caresses them,
all join to sing out your Holy Name.
You planted your holy song, O Lord,
in laughing brook and rambling river
fed by rain before time.

Autmn grasses, Creve Coeur Lake.

Murmuring grass and field of wheat
whisper "Alleluia!"
as the beauty of the Lord passes by.
Thunder and rain, summer sun and shadow
work together with soil and seed
to prepare a table in the wilderness by your will.

Sunset, St. Lucia.

The works of your Hand, O Mighty One,
testify to your steadfast kindness and mercy:
You crown all you see as good.

Sunset, Du Bois, Illinois.

Forgive us for our trespasses against each other,
and against the Earth, our mother,
for seeking to hoard her riches
and denying her integrity.

Franciscan brothers in Mui Forest, Marin County.

May we walk gently upon this Earth,
that bears us like a chariot through space,
upheld by your wondrous Love.
May we care for all creation,
being dedicated and blessed by You,
called to serve its renewal and guard its unity.

Dancing on the beach, St. Lucia.

By the power of the Holy Spirit,
that moved over the waters of creation,
renew and recreate in us
a reverence for the Earth and all her inhabitants.
Lord Christ, center us in your wisdom,
and pour out your healing
over all we remember before You.

Amen.

Prayer 1547: Easter Friday

Dawn's light moves across the cross, Holy Saturday, 2016, Church of the Good Shepherd, Town and Country, MO.

Lord Jesus Christ, your mercy endures forever.
Like a mighty oak you hold your arms wide
and seek to draw the world to yourself:
we find a home within your branches.
Your wisdom and love sustains and refreshes our souls:
God is our dayspring and our help.

May we seek You and bear witness to your glory
in each face we see, in each hand we take.
Make us bearers of your grace and mercy
as we support each other in following your Way.

Holy Spirit, be our steadfast companion;
let us walk the holy path of compassion and hope.
Lord Christ, you poured yourself out for us:
may we welcome You with a shout of joy into our hearts.

Give us your blessing as we serve You, O God,
and grant your comfort and blessing to those we now name.

Amen.