Prayer 1968: The Fourth Sunday After Pentecost

Most Merciful God,
we give thanks to enter your courts today,
and worship you in joyful praise.

Sow within our hearts, O Creator,
your blessed, life-giving word,
that we may walk humbly in your paths,
and bear abundant fruit of the spirit.
May your kingdom come, O Father, within our hearts,
and remind us of the manifold graces we receive,
that we may witness to your truth and power.

May we embody your grace into our common life together,
as a testimony to your love, O Holy Savior.
By the power of the Holy Spirit,
bless us this day,
that our lives may testify to the amazing grace and love of God.

We ask your blessing, O God of Grace,
upon all those who call upon you,
especially those we now name.

Amen.

Prayer 1967: Living the Commandment of Love

Holy, Holy, Holy Lord,
we sing a song of thanksgiving before You,
recalling the comforting weight of your hand
shielding and guarding us through the night:
O God, we lift our hearts to You.

God of Compassion, grant us wisdom,
that we may study your Word,
and never stray from the heart of your law:
to love You in word and deed,
and to love our neighbors as our own selves.
Almighty One, you command us to relieve suffering,
to stand alongside the oppressed,
to welcome the homeless,
remembering that your law is grounded in love,
for we are ourselves upheld
only through your grace and mercy.

Blessed Savior,
strengthen us in integrity and compassion,
that we may we do justice,
love mercy,
and walk humbly and honorably with You in every moment.
May we tear down the edifices of cruelty and injustice,
remembering we are each other's keeper
as Christ's hands and heart in the world.

Accept now, we pray,
our intercessions and our cares which we place before You,
O Merciful God,
Creator, Redeemer, Sustainer,
that your blessing may cover these beloveds
in a cloud of comfort and peace.

Amen.

Written in response to the Attorney General's claim that removing children from their families at our borders is Biblical based on Romans 13:1.
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Prayer 1966: To the Captain of Our Souls

O God, Captain of Our Souls,
we bend the knee of our hearts before You,
opening ourselves to your light and your guidance,
offering you our prayers and praises.

Fill the sail of our spirits with the wind of your wisdom,
that we may be directed in all our journeying
by your abundant love and mercy.

May we set our course today
by the light of your Son, Jesus Christ,
that we may be guided and gentled
into paths of justice and peace, integrity and compassion,
caring for the least among us
as Christ's hands and heart in the world.

Lift us up by the tide of your grace, O Spirit of Love,
that compassion and thankfulness may overspill our hearts--
that we may pry the fist of fear from its grip within us
and relax into your tender embrace.

At day's end, O Holy One,
may we anchor ourselves within your truth,
secure beneath your protecting hand,
and rest in contentment beneath your velvet sky,
having done your will with joy.

We ask your blessing, O Loving One,
upon all whose hope is in You,
especially these whose needs we lift before You.

Amen.


Illustration from Bede's Life of St. Cuthbert

Prayer 1965: opening the gates of our hearts

Ever-watchful, Ever-loving God,
we are refreshed within your tender embrace:
we lift our hearts to you in prayer,
and thank you for all your gifts to us.

Let us sing out your praise with our lives,
and walk in gratitude, wisdom, and kindness
as living testaments to the power of your gospel of love.

Guide us to live with integrity
and generosity of spirit, Lord Christ:
teach us and gentle us,
that we may serve you and each other
in the name of true justice and peace.

May we open the gates of our hearts,
that the Spirit of Healing may live within us,
and direct us to paths of reconciliation and hope.

Merciful God, place the seal of your love upon our hearts,
and pour out the balm of your blessing upon these beloveds for whom we pray.

Amen.

Little Graces: Speaking to the Soul for June 13, 2018

Mark 4:26-34

The moth went flying around my house yesterday as if he owned the joint.

According to my daughter, the moth was the size of a jumbo-jet, a monster out of a Japanese horror movie. To my eyes, this was a tiny brown interloper—harmless. Much better a brown moth than a voracious mosquito, in my opinion. But she would not rest until I had gotten it out of the house. In my daughter’s mind, the moth was huge. What to me was an insignificant thing was instead, to her mind, a pest and a barrier to peace of mind.

So too, it is with the mustard seed. A small, insignificant thing becomes a big thing—but in this case, instead of being a disturber of the peace, it becomes a blessing—at least from the point of view of the birds who find their home within its branches.

This Sunday’s gospel from Mark talks about little things growing and becoming blessings-- even the mustard seed, which was seen by many to be a pest. Yet if allowed to take up valuable space in the garden, it provided a home for dozens of birds. And birds are vital helpers in pollinating the other plants of the garden. They eat mosquitos and flies and other pests. And their work ends up being a grace to the gardener.

Grace undergirds this brief little parable Jesus tells, and teaches us to never overlook the importance small things, easily overlooked things, can have in our lives, if we allow them. This shrub grown from the tiny seed grows through no effort of our own, but nonetheless blesses the birds—and us.

And if by grace the birds are given a home from such a small thing, then how much more can we be certain that God’s grace and love spreads out and provides shelter for us, a place to rest and refresh ourselves within God’s love and protection?

The little seeds of the gospel are waiting to sprout up—often in places where we least expect it. And so it has been throughout time. In Jesus’s lifetime, only a few dozen people, perhaps less, took in his message and stuck with it all the way through the crucifixion and beyond to the resurrection. Yet here we are. Called together as Christ’s body, the Church to translate and proclaim and embody God’s love for everyone. 

Against every impulse of the world we live in, where we are taught to be afraid, to fear scarcity, to feel small, insignificant, and overwhelmed, until the doubt beats like the tattoo of our hearts racing through fear, or resentment, or pain. Actually, put that way, those are the same fears that confronted Jesus’s listeners. In the face of those fears, God calls them AND us to come to be fully ourselves, to fulfill the dream God has for us to be fully alive, through being conduits or channels for God’s abundant love, grace, and comfort. 

May we learn to have faith in little things, because from little things, great blessings grow.



This was first published at Episcopal Cafe's Speaking to the Soul on June 13, 2018.

Prayer, day 1964

Almighty, Life-Giving God,
we praise You in joy before the rising sun.

Spirit of the Living God,
breathe into our spirits the gift of grace
and let mercy take root within us,
for we know our manifold faults.

Forgive us, O Blessed Savior,
for our divisions, our fears, our jealousies,
and enlighten us by your living, eternal wisdom.

Help us to perfect ourselves in love, O Holy One,
that we are living witnesses to You
through our words and deeds.

Guide us into generosity and empathy,
seeing your imprint in each person, Lord Christ.

Unite us through love of You, O Redeemer,
who are known by many names but one truth.
Pour out your blessing over us, and place your hand of healing over all.

Amen.
adapted from 1608

Prayer, day 1963

Holy God,
we thank You for bringing us through the dark of night
to the dawn of this new day.
Awaken us from our slumber
with a song of joy and wonder imprinted upon our souls,
that we may worship and bless You through our day. 

You made us from the earth
that we may remember our kinship with it:
may we serve and care for this Earth, our home.
May we remember and honor the wisdom
that is woven into the very fabric of creation,
that calls us to be humble and reverent before it.
Merciful One, may we use your gifts to feed the hungry
and care for those in trouble,
remembering your call to love and compassion.
May we seek to embody your healing touch upon those we meet,
and serve the common good in each step. 

Broadcast your mercy like seeds, Almighty God,
upon those whom we raise before You as we pray.

Amen.
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Prayer, day 1962

Photo from National Geographic, and it is just stunning.

Bless and keep us, Loving One,
and hold us in the hollow of your hand.
Give rest to the weary
and justice to the oppressed, Lord Christ,
using us as the instruments of your mercy.
Make us strong in the ways of wisdom and peace,
and help us to put aside our hurtful ways.
Shield us from those who wish us ill,
and help us live lives of authentic grace and compassion,
immersed in your gospel of love.
We ask that your Spirit of Healing and Comfort
rest upon those we now name, and grant them peace.

Amen.
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Out of the Depths: Sermon for Proper 5B

Many of us have had quite a rough time the last few months. We hear every day a constant barrage of bad news. School shootings-- which hits me particularly hard, every time, as a former public school teacher. Cruelties, both great and casual, that are visited upon the most vulnerable among us. Beloved friends getting devastating diagnoses. And then, this week, two celebrity suicides of Kate Spade and Anthony Bourdain. And the deaths of these two creative, passionate people have brought to the forefront a conversation and hopefully some action about mental health treatment and mental illness, about suicide prevention.

The sad fact is that these two people, whose work brought so much joy to so many in very different ways, are just two of the nearly 45,000 Americans who will complete suicide this year, and perhaps four times as many will attempt it. Sometimes it feels like the waters of hopelessness and despair have risen up to our necks, too.

This is why I myself am grateful for the vision of mercy and honesty which is at the heart of our psalm reading this week, Psalm 130. Its beginning is immediately relatable: “Out of the depths have I called to you, O Lord….” The word for “depths” is the one used to speak of ocean deeps, a place at the very center of our being, yet dark and remote. For the people who first prayed this psalm, especially, the sea was a place of mystery and danger. Thus, the psalmist, in trying to express the extent of his feeling of desolation and alienation, creates an image of waters rising over his head and pulling him under. And haven’t we all felt that way, at one time or another?

Yet even in the cry from the foundation of his heart and soul, the psalmist voices his first statement of trust, for he knows that God can hear his voice no matter where the psalmist is. Just as in our reading from Genesis, the psalmist is certain that God is already seeking him out and listening for his voice even if his cry is not one of joy or surprise but of anxiety. God hears the psalmist’s voice from the depths—because God is always with us in the depths of our fear, anxiety, and despair. When we feel separated from God, it is not God who has done the moving away—it is us, sometimes, like the man and the woman in Eden, because we think we can run things just fine on our own.

In this particular case of this psalm, just as in our reading from Genesis, what has separated the writer from being fully in communion with God are his own actions. God has not abandoned and will not abandon the psalmist-- or us. The psalmist confesses and acknowledges his very great fault and sins, which if counted would lead to utter condemnation. The psalmist lives in hope of forgiveness, mercy and reconciliation with God. And that’s the same message Jesus gives us in our gospel, as well: Despite all our human calculations and barriers, God’s love, mercy and reconciliation cannot be contained. Rather, God’s love will go where it will, making families of people who once were not only strangers but often outcasts.

Even though this is a psalm of lament, nonetheless hope shines through it throughout. This is possible because of the three great qualities attributed to God in this brief psalm: forgiveness, steadfast love—which is the term used in the Old Testament for “grace”-- and the power to redeem. These are the three essential qualities of God mentioned in this psalm which are vitally important to those who feel they have done something which has disrupted their relationship with God or with others.

The same God who has known us from our very first breath, loves us enough to allow us to choose to wander from obedience. The great Episcopal theologian, laywoman, and teacher Verna Dozier remarked, “Creation is an act of love. To love is to be vulnerable. The story of creation bears that fact out. The lover seeks the beloved. The lover is not complete without the beloved.”(1)  Our reading from Genesis begins with God seeking God’s beloved creatures—and finding that they are hiding, not out of fear, it seems, but because they feel shame already before they have confessed what they have done to rupture the trust that God had laid upon them. And so too it is with us, sometimes.

Out of the depths within myself I cry to you, my God.

After the Name of “Lord,” the word that appears the most in this short psalm is “wait.” “Waiting for the Lord” is repeated, although varied slightly, three times in succession, and the phrase then follows two repetitions of “more than watchmen for the morning” in verse 5. At the end of the psalm, the psalmist addresses the people of Israel, repeating once again to “wait for the Lord,” and reminding the people that God is merciful, seeking to redeem rather than to destroy. The verb used at the very end, though, which here translated as “wait,” however, also can be translated as “hope.”

And I think that’s key, because unlike “waiting,” hope is not passive. Hope is an act of faith and will—sometimes a rebellious act of faith and will, even.

This waiting upon God that we do is filled with hope for forgiveness, for reconciliation with ourselves and with each other, as well as with our God. When times are the darkest, we place our hope in God, whose love never fails. But we also ourselves are called to embody that hopefulness for each other—caring for each other, being present with each other, looking out for each other, extending mercy and grace to each other and to ourselves because our actions are grounded in belovedness. That’s what being children of God made in God’s image and likeness means.

As a society, we are not people who easily confess to hope—we are all too prone to wrap ourselves in cynicism and a studied air of indifference when opportunities to create new relationships come before us. I confess to being in a state of tension myself for the last many months. This tension most often manifests itself in sleeplessness in the middle of the night: sometimes I jolt awake, heart racing, and the anxieties of the previous day or week crash in upon me like a wave on the ocean. And I am sure I am not alone in this.

Out of the depths within myself I cry to you, my God.

And yet, even when things are the darkest, there is hope, and mercy, and forgiveness, and reconciliation. On the heels of this cry from the deepest troughs in our heart, Psalm 131 follows, and I think it actually continues the thought found in Psalm 130. Psalm 131 continues:

O LORD, I am not proud;
     I have no haughty looks.
I do not occupy myself with great matters,
     or with things that are too hard for me.
But I still my soul and make it quiet, 
like a child upon its mother's breast;
     my soul is quieted within me.
O Israel, wait upon the LORD,
     from this time forth for evermore.

Psalm 131 reinforces the sense of hopefulness and trust in Psalm 130, but expands it further, grounding itself in humility and simplicity. The beautiful maternal image of laying upon the breast of God like a child who has awakened from sleep in the night with tears and terror continues to remind us of God’s promise never to abandon us, no matter what. Whether you have been the sobbing child or the weary parent in that scenario, you know how eagerly you await the dawn on nights like that. 

Both Psalm 130 and Psalm 131 end with a reminder for the community to remember the forgiveness, steadfast love, and redemption of God as our foundation—and go and do likewise. In a world where too many of us feel isolated and alone, we are reminded that we are made for God, but also, significantly for each other.

That’s also what Jesus is reminding us in our gospel today. Jesus invites everyone into the circle of love, and calls us to continue to carry on that work. That’s the Jesus that Presiding Bishop Curry is calling us to reclaim—to remember how radically inclusive Jesus’s vision is, the same dream that God had for us from creation onward. The heart of Jesus’s message, contrary to what we see represented on TV, is not self-centeredness, but community—community rooted in abundant grace, abundant mercy, abundant hope and faith in each other.

Loving-kindness encircles us so that we may then embody it out into this aching, hurting world. Grace upon grace raises us and heals us, if only we will let it—but not for own sakes only—no, so we can go out, renewed, restored and reconciled so that we can renew, restore, and reconcile, in the name of our brother Jesus, who has claimed us as his kindred through his determination that no one be left to sink in the depths.

Back in April of 2017, I wrote this prayer in response to Psalms 130 and 131 when they came up in the daily office readings, and I would like to pray it with you now, if you will indulge me.

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.


Preached at 8 and 10 am at St. Mark's Episcopal Church, St. Louis, MO, on June 10, 2018.

Readings:
Genesis 3:8-15
Psalm 130
2 Corinthians 4:13-5:1
Mark 3:20-35

Citations:
(1) Verna Dozier, The Dream of God: A Call to Return, 2006, chapter 2.

Prayer, day 1961: Third Sunday after Pentecost

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, as one family,
united by love and acceptance,
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 1960: Inspired by Matthew 15:10-20

Bishop Doug Sparks explains the history of St. Augustine's Church in Gary, IN.

Almighty God, our Shield and our Stay,
we praise you and bless your tender hand
that has rested upon our brows
as a mother watched her sleeping babe through the night.

May we be led, Lord Jesus, by your holy example
in paths of gentleness and integrity,
that our lives be testimony to your gospel of justice.
Let the words that come from our hearts be pure,
and the works that proceed from our hands be loving,
that we may give only honor and glory to you, O God,
telling out your love and faithfulness for all to witness.

In the name of our Savior,
let us soothe the suffering,
heal the hurting,
feed the hungry,
shelter the refugee and the stranger,
as you have called us to do,
tearing down the barriers that divide us.
May all we do as your disciples, O Holy One, be sealed by joy,
that we may knit together the frayed strands of peace
that we have undone with cutting words and selfish ways.

God of Abundance, pour out your Spirit within us,
and bless and keep all those whose cares and hopes we lift before You.

Amen.

Prayer 1959: Inspired by Matthew 14:22-36

Most Merciful God,
who is making the heavens and the earth,
we center our hearts within your loving-kindness,
and rise to give you thanks at the dawning of the day.

In times of storm and tempest,
when we are tossed about,
let us always see you walking alongside us, Beloved Savior,
our steadfast companion in all our ways.
Your love, Blessed Jesus, sets our feet upon solid ground;
you strengthen us to walk, through faith, alongside you.
You are our solid rock, O Holy One:
let us serve you in joyful anticipation and hope,
hearing your loving call above the howling of the wind,
the light of your countenance guiding us in the darkness,
bidding us to love, not fear.

Spirit of the Living God,
lead us to wisdom and truth,
that we may be a blessing to others today.
Guide your people in integrity, compassion, and holiness,
and grant your peace to those we now name.

Amen.

Prayer 1958: inspired by Matthew 14:13-21

Two little girls sleep in a detention center in Nogales, Arizona run by the US government in 2014. Photo from this article, Forst peek: Immigrant children flood detention center," June 18, 2014, at https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/politics/immigration/2014/06/18/arizona-immigrant-children-holding-area-tour/10780449/.

For peace, we pray to you, Lord God:
accept and consecrate our hands and our hearts,
offered to you today to assist your holy work as your disciples.

Blessed Jesus, you mulitplied the loaves and fishes
that all who came to your disciples hungry would be fed,
with much left over:
renew our steadfastness to your gospel of abundance,
that we may tend each other in love and tenderness.
Lord, you have commanded us
to care for the hungry, the outcast, the homeless:
purify our hearts to hear again your word,
that it may fall like seed upon good soil,
that righteousness and justice may flourish within us.
May we overcome evil with good in your Name,
O God of Mercy, O Undivided Trinity,
empowered by your Holy Spirit,
nourished by your Word and sacraments.

Holy One, we place ourselves into your care,
trusting in your grace and mercy always:
extend the awning of your comfort and blessing
over those whose needs we lay before You as we pray.

Amen.

Children warehoused in a detention center in 2014 in Arizona-- photo from the article cited above: https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/politics/immigration/2014/06/18/arizona-immigrant-children-holding-area-tour/10780449/

Prayer 1957: All is at Rest, All Is at Peace (Ecclesiastes 3:1-8)

In peace, we pray to you, O God,
for you have molded us and given us life,
and our times are in your hand.
Whether building up or tearing down,
all is at rest, all is at peace,
all is centered within you, Our Safe Harbor.

From birth to death and beyond the grave,
in times of illness and in times of healing,
we make our song to You, O Creator.
Your hand is upon us, O Loving One,
in our tears and in our mourning,
as it is in our laughter and dancing joy.
Your love, Blessed Savior, is a lamp to guide us,
whether we are lost or found,
seeking or finding,
building up or casting down:
all is contained within your holy wisdom.
Even when we know not the words to pray,
You, O Holy Spirit, know already
what weighs upon our hearts,
and enfold us in your shining light and tender embrace:
speak, Lord, for your servant is listening.

Abide within us, we pray, O Holy One,
that within each season of our lives,
we may rest in the assurance of your mercy and companionship
mending the ragged hems of our hearts,
restoring our souls by your grace.

Upon each indrawn breath,
may we breathe in your peace, Lord Christ:
may our prayers rise like kindled sparks from the depths of our spirits,
gathered within the hearth of your Sacred Heart as we pray.

Amen.

Prayer, day 1956

Lord, with outstretched hearts we lift up to You: 
we acclaim You and bless You, 
our God and Creator of all that is. 

Make of us mighty redwoods 
in the House of God; 
make us a dwelling place of beauty and holiness. 
Let your peace pour down upon us 
and sink into our very souls, 
refreshing us like a cool rain. 
Let our roots spread deeply 
into the wisdom and love of God, 
the Ground of Our Being. 

May our arms open wide 
to embrace all creation, 
reverencing and sustaining all life 
as your beautiful gift and blessing. 
May we reach toward 
the bluest firmament of your love, 
O Holy One, 
and provide a canopy of blessing to all we meet. 

May we remember 
our dependence upon each other, 
and rejoice in the fellowship of Christ 
that makes us one. 
At day's end, may we look out 
upon the time You have given us 
and be glad, 
and sing out your blessings with gratitude. 
May our whispered prayers be carried to you, 
gathered by the wind of your grace 
that dances about us. 

United within your steadfast faithfulness, O God, 
we lift our prayer to you, 
and ask your blessing upon us.

Amen.
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