Prayer 2479: For Integrity

O Lord Our Helper, 
we lift our eyes to You, 
that You may guide and direct us this day. 

Grant us a thirst for wisdom, O Great Counselor, 
that we may walk in your paths with integrity 
and demonstrate your truth without fail.
May we pull down the corruption within our hearts, O God, 
and turn to follow your ethic of loving one another 
and seeking healing and abundance for all. 

Turn us, O Shepherd, from pursuing our selfish desires;
let us love You and your law with undivided hearts. 
Teach us how to live together 
in pursuit of the common good, Lord Jesus,
bearing with each other in lovingkindness, 
caring for the stranger, the lost, and the oppressed 
as You taught us. 

Anoint us by your Spirit 
to be renewed by your right hand
that we may walk in holiness and purity of heart, 
O Most High;
and look with favor upon those for whom we pray.

Amen.

Prayer, day 2478

O God, look with favor upon your servants today.

Let us turn our hearts toward those who,
in the midst of plenty,
are in want in body or soul.
Let us hunger for justice and redemption
as much as we hunger for food.
Let us remember how love has blessed us in our lives,
and let go of discontent and rancor.

Help us to stop building a mountain of our resentments,
and dwell instead within the mansion of our blessings.

Give your protection
to those who are in danger from the cold this day,
and let us work to give them shelter as our own.
Comfort those whose needs we bring before You.

Amen.

Prayer 2477: The Feast of St. Martin of Tours (Armistice Day/Remembrance Day)

We praise You, 
O Compassionate One, 
and lift our hearts 
to be filled by your light. 

Clothe us, O Lord, 
in a spirit of compassion and generosity:
give us the imagination
to see ourselves
in the place of our suffering kindred.

May we see the face of our Savior, 
in the one shivering in the cold, 
and in the refugee fleeing the ravages of war.

May we put down our swords
in the name of your love, Blessed Jesus, 
and work for true peace in the world.

Pour out your spirit upon us,
O God of Grace,
and grant your blessing to all who seek You.

Amen.

Prayer, day 2476: The Sunday before Veterans' Day

Almighty God, 

we remember before You today

the end of fighting in World War I, 

and we honor before You those who fought 

and who were killed or wounded in that terrible struggle. 

We remember before You 

the millions of civilians killed or made homeless 

in that terrible conflict, 

and the generations of young men 

whose loss still affects their countries.

On this day, 

may we celebrate peace, 

peace that is founded on security for all, 

peace that calls for respecting the dignity 

of all persons and nations, 

peace that seeks to build the world rather than destroy it.

Every life lost is a world destroyed, O God.

We pray for our veterans, 

the men and women who served this country, 

in all the wars and conflicts since, 

that they be honored for their sacrifice and cared for in their needs.

We pray that we honor the fast You have chosen, O Almighty One: 

to care for each other 

with compassion, kindness, and generosity, 

and to protect the vulnerable 

with the same force and determination 

we present in any conflict, 

remembering that we are all knit together by humanity.

Lord, You know our needs and our concerns: 

rest your protecting hand 

upon those for whom we pray, 

and grant them comfort and aid.

Amen.

Prayer 2475

We lift our prayers to You, 
O Holy One, Source of All Good, 
The Way and the Sublime. 

We place our trust in You, O Beloved Creator, 
for You are ever-faithful 
even as we wander. 

Our feet know the path 
You blazed for us, Blessed Jesus: 
grant us the strength of will 
and the firmness of conscience 
to walk in that way even in the face of others' doubt. 

Let us proclaim your glory, O Holy One,
with full-throated joy, 
telling out the story 
of your abundant grace and mercy 
to all who seek You.

Pour out your blessing upon all who seek You, Lord, 
and gather within your embrace 
all those for whom we pray.

Amen.

Prayer, day 2474

Most Merciful God,
You are are home and our refuge:
we gather in peace to worship and praise You.
Before You, O God, we bow our hearts,
and center ourselves in your goodness and grace;
accept our prayers and praises, in your mercy.

For the gift of companions of the heart,
and loving embraces at journey's end,
we give thanks to You, O God.
Strengthen all who seek to serve You, Blessed Savior,
and prosper their labors to the glory of your kingdom, we humbly pray.
Pour out your wisdom upon us, O Holy Spirit,
that we may be united in seeking the common good,
and stand alongside all who suffer want or any other injustice.
Make us loving, compassionate guardians of your creation,
that we may be filled with wonder
at the imprint of your beauty all around us, O Creator.

Hold us within the hollow of your hand, Lord Jesus,
and gather us within your healing embrace.
Hear our prayers, O Holy One,
and shelter all who call upon your Name.

Amen.

Prayer, day 2473

Holy One, 
we lift our praise to you on the morning wind, 
remembering your goodness and lovingkindness 
in all things. 
Our souls wait for you, O Lord; 
like watchmen for the morning, 
we seek You and your wisdom to guide us.

Help us be humble and kind, 
remembering your compassion 
to all who turn to You in need. 
Let us seek to give what we ourselves receive, 
and walk in mercy and fellowship with each other 
as you teach us to do.

Let us remember that Christ comes among us 
as refugee and asylum-seeker 
as well as healer. 
Let us see your face, Lord Jesus, 
in the faces of the poor, the desperate, and the marginalized. 
Let us still our souls 
to hear your call to forgiveness and repentance 
as we walk our pilgrim path in service to You, O God.

Bless all people in their daily lives and work, Almighty One, 
and place the balm of your Spirit on those we now name.

Amen.

Prayer 2472: Prayer in the beauty of dawn

O Lord Our Shepherd,
we rise to greet you in prayer,
grateful for your lovingkindness and mercy. 

The dawn spreads before us,
O Fashioner of Light,
and tells of your hand supporting us
throughout the night watches.

Forgive us our willfulness,
and the stubborn sins in which we wallow,
O One Who Knows, 
for we grieve the hurts we have caused.

Renew our hearts and spirits, Blessed Savior,
that we may cling to your law
and walk in the Way of Love always.
Grant us the courage
to work for the abundance of peace
that is the inheritance of those
who pull up the weeds of anger, malice, and greed,
that we may tend to the flourishing
of all living things
in the name of God,
our Creator and Redeemer. 

By the power of the Holy Spirit,
keep us as the apple of your eye today,
O Light of Our Hearts,
and grant your blessing and restoration
upon all for whom we pray.

Amen.


Photo: Dawn this morning, November 6, 2019. The heavens are telling the glory of God.

Prayer, day 2471: Sustained by the Bread of Life

God of Mercy, we praise You and bless You
for abiding with us always,
in gratitude and awe for your saving deeds in our lives.

Bread of Life,
you nourish us and sustain us ever with your love,
sweeter than honey on the tongue.
May we look with eyes of wonder today
on the glory of your handiwork, O Holy One,
remembering that you have knit us together
as one body, one community
regardless of our differences.

Blessed Savior, help us to see deeper
into the mystery of your abundant grace,
and lift each other over the hindrances that impede us.

Gather into your embrace
all whose hope is in you, O Christ,
and grant your peace and comfort to those for whom we pray.

Amen.

Prayer 2470: A song of praise throughout the day

O God who sustains me all my days, 
and nourishes my spirit with your steadfast love, 
hear my prayer in the morning light. 
Each hour I will proclaim your goodness 
and marvel at the intricate works of your hand, 
arrayed before my wondering eyes. 

Forgive my offenses, O Merciful One, 
and take me by the hand to lead me. 

Accept my humble praises 
before your glorious dawn, 
guide my feet at noonday's crest, 
and enfold my cares when I lay down to sleep. 
Even in the velvet dark I will rejoice 
at your hand upon the crown of my head, 
at your mercy and grace under which I rest. 

Watch over all who seek You, 
O God Who Sees, 
and send your angels to tend to those 
whose hopes rest in You, as we pray.

Amen.

Prayer, day 2469: 21st Sunday after Pentecost (Feast of All Saints, transferred)

We ever abide under the loving gaze of the Almighty:
Lord, hear our prayers
whispered from beneath your wing.
You know the ache of our hearts, O Redeemer,
at the suffering of the world:
give us hearts overflowing with your compassion,
that we may bear your grace and mercy
into the darkest hour of grief
as well as the brightest dawn of hope.

Let us sing a song of the saints of God
by the testimony our lives give
in the eyes of the world.

May we ever be led by the example of the righteous,
those who humbly serve God and their neighbor;
who defend the oppressed and forgotten,
and advocate for the liberation of the poor;
who run toward the imperiled
and lay down their lives for others.

By the power of the Holy Spirit,
console and soothe the hearts of the mourning,
and grant your peace and relief
to all whose hope rests within your love,
O Merciful One.

Amen.

Bless. Offer. Pray. Give. Do.: Sermon for the Feast of All Saints, (tr.) 21st Sunday After Pentecost

Many of us, when we think of the Beatitudes, first think of Matthew’s version, the one we will hear next year on the Feast of All Saints. Matthew’s version is given from a mountain, and his is sometimes more difficult to understands. For instance, he starts off “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” When I was a kid, I always wondered what being poor in spirit means, and those puzzling words often drew my attention away from the rest of the reading as I kept turning over that add phrase in my head. 

Luke’s version of the beatitudes is much more straightforward—and it is not directed outwardly at “them.” In Luke, Jesus’s first statement is personal: “Blessed are YOU who are poor, for YOURS is the kingdom of God.” Not “THOSE” but “YOU.” What Jesus is doing by speaking directly to us with blessings is this: to remind us that God is alongside us, especially the poor, hungry, or those in need of relief. When Jesus pronounces his “woes” in this reading, it can be uncomfortable to many of us who are NOT poor, the same was that last week’s gospel can make us uncomfortable when we realize that we are all prone to being judgmental and thinking ourselves superior from those on the margins. 

Yet when you set Jesus’s blessings and woes side by side in the Lucan version of the Beatitudes, you understand too that what is especially outrageous is those who hoard wealth in the face of the poverty of those on the borderlines of their lives, filling themselves full in the face of those who are hungry, and laughing at the weeping of those undergoing trauma and tragedy. Actually it doesn’t even require laughing. Indifference is just as bad. And we see too much of that at work in the world around us. The Beatitudes call on us to renounce that indifference, and instead claim kinship with those on the margins, just as the saints of the world still do in ways small and great to this day. 

Professor Richard Swanson points out that the word in Greek translated here as “poor” (for that is the language of the New Testament as we have received it) is ptochoi. He then muses upon another word, a Greek verb, that begins with “pt:” ptuo, which means “I am spitting,” which shouldn’t surprise anyone who grew up watching cartoons—that probably still is literally the sound of spitting in our head: ptooey. 

What if we understood Jesus’s first words here, then, as “Blessed are you who are spit upon, for yours is the kingdom of God?” How would that change our understanding of the beatitudes? And let’s face it: in this upside down world in which we live, if we TRULY express Christian values in the face of the idolatry of the individual that falsely has aligned itself with American Christianity, the risk of being spit upon is not negligible. 

As we celebrate the Feast of All Saints and the Feast of All Souls today, we remember people who, in ways small and great, were willing to be spit upon, to go against the logic and the dominant culture around them, in order to testify to the God Jesus came to bring to flesh and bone before our eyes: the God who always takes interest in those who are humble in spirit, and yet filled with awe and wonder at the glory of this God-infused creation of which we are a part. And saints are those who see with the eyes of Jesus the belovedness of everyone, regardless of any other condition. Those people who are saints, even when not perfect. 

I know it’s hard for us—it’s certainly hard for me. When Luke combines blessings with woes, it brings us up short. Because if we believe that those who are spit upon are blessed, we also have to understand the spiritual peril in being those who spit upon others—especially the poor and the hungry and those borne down by weeping, pain, trauma. Those who dream up new ways to treat supplicants with contempt rather than mercy, like the San Francisco cathedral I read about a few years ago who, when they were frustrated with the homeless who were sleeping in some of their sheltered doorways, used an overhead sprinkler system to spray them with water several times during the night. Maybe they were afraid there wasn't enough to go around, I don't know.

I do know that our culture is predicated upon scarcity, and over and over again we hear a drumbeat warning us that we don’t have enough. That idea of scarcity makes everyone else a competitor in a mad scramble for power and wealth. It’s a culture based on fear. And that is the reason why there are 366 reminders throughout scripture not to be afraid—one for every day of the year, and then another just because, in case we need it. But that’s not the culture of the Beatitudes. 

The culture of the Beaitudes is the culture of the kingdom of God—one where we don’t sit on fluffy cloud playing harps in the hereafter, but instead joyously set about doing the work to prepare the fields of the kingdom by sowing love and reconciliation. The culture of the Beatitudes is the culture of the Saints we celebrate today. As a matter of fact, the word for saint is right in there. “Beati”—is the beginning of the word “beatify” which means to recognize someone as a saint. And the entire point of this day is to remember that saints are NOT born, they are made. 

As we sing in one of my favorite songs for this feast, "I Sing A Song of the Saints of God." The third verse is a vivid reminder that there are saints all around us: 

They lived not only in ages past; 
there are hundreds of thousands still;
the world is bright with the joyous saints
who love to do Jesus’ will.
You can meet them in school,
or in lanes, or at sea,
in church, or in trains,
or in shops, or at tea;
for the saints of God
are just folk like me,
and I mean to be one too.

How do we go about being blessed and being a blessing to others, like those saints? There at the end of our gospel passage today, if you listen, are the verbs for living a Beatitude-shaped life. Take a look and mark them out: 
Listen.
Love.
Do good.
Bless.
Pray.
Offer.
Give.
Do. 

 “I say to you that listen, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you. If anyone strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also; and from anyone who takes away your coat do not withhold even your shirt. Give to everyone who begs from you; and if anyone takes away your goods, do not ask for them again. Do to others as you would have them do to you.” 

Listen. Love. Do good. Bless. Pray. Offer. Give. Do. 

In the Beatitudes, Jesus calls us to one-ness with each other. Jesus calls us to renounce calculations of giving based on fear, calculations of giving to each other that in the end don’t cost us too much, whether that’s in money or attention or time. Instead, we are called to expand our circle of well-being to include everyone, to have the kind of love for each other that sees that peace can only exist where we all support each other. That love can only exist where generosity and empathy rule.

That’s the kind of life real saints embody for us. 

They listen. 
They love. 
They do good, even in—ESPECIALLY in—the face of evils big and mundane, no matter the cost.
They bless, where others laugh in spite and malice. They pray, where others shrug, and in praying, they take responsibility for change. 
They offer, where others take.
They give, where others turn away.
They DO, embodying the Christ-shaped life.

That’s the kind of love that lives on even after our death, as we remember our loved one who are gone from us but not forgotten. What makes them live on in us is their love, their companionship, their support. All the other stuff is just chaff that blows away in the wind.

The Beatitudes encompass the greatest lesson in the lives of the saints, and that lesson is this: no matter what we have or don’t have, whether wealthy or poor, whether sinner or saint, we cannot depend upon our own resources to be blessed and to be a blessing to others. It doesn’t work that way. The key to being blessed is to acknowledge our reliance upon God, whether we are deserving or not in our own minds, that doesn’t matter. To know that God’s grace and mercy are not only necessary, but also real and present in our lives. That changes our perspective from fear to fullness, which is what the beatitudes are all about.

The gift of the Beatitude-shaped life is the gift of acknowledging our own need for others, our own need for God. To be standing in the need of mercy and receive it is to be blessed. To be standing with others helping you stand when you can’t go on is to be blessed. As Pastor David Lose notes, “For what is the promise of mercy to those who are not weak, forgiveness to those who have not sinned, grace to those who do not need it, or life to those not dead? It is at best meaningless and more likely downright offensive.”

Hear again our Savior’s words: Listen. Love. Do good. Bless, Pray. Offer. Give. Do. This is the way of being a saint of God, and we mean to be one, too. 

Amen.

Preached at the 505 on November 2, and at 8:00 and 10:30 on November 3, 2019, at St. Martin's Episcopal Church, Ellisville.

Readings:
Daniel 7:1-3,15-18Psalm 149Ephesians 1:11-23Luke 6:20-31

Citations:
1) Richard Swanson, Commentary on Luke 6:20-31, November 3, 2013, at Working Preacher.
2) David Lose, "Losers," October 28, 2013, at Dear Working Preacher.

Prayer 2468: For the Feast of All Souls

Life Giver of All, 
we lift our hearts to You, 
remembering those we love 
who dwell in your light,
and giving thanks for your eternal love.

Master of the Worlds,
gather within your embrace all who mourn,
and lift up those who celebrate the life and love
of those we see no more
except in our hearts and memories.
Strengthen us in faith, O Savior,
that we ourselves may run the race set before us,
seeking to love and serve You until,
through a glass darkly,
we may see a glimmer of your heavenly banquet
spread out as a feast for all.

O Lord Our Peace,
we rest within your bountiful mercy today,
and ask your blessing upon us,
that we may grow in faith like a mustard seed,
and walk humbly beside our God always.
By your grace,
hear the whispered prayers of your children,
and grant your blessing to those for whom we pray.

Amen.

Prayer 2467: Lord's Prayer Cycle: Yours is the Kingdom, and the Power, and the Glory

Our Father in heaven, 
loving Parent and Creator, 
tender Mother,
yours is the kingdom 
and the power 
and the glory! 

We lift up our praises and thanksgivings 
for your dominion within our hearts,
for your pursuit and love of us always, 
as it is and as it shall be. 
At your command all things are, 
and the rising sun reveals 
the glory of your creation and majesty. 
May you reign in our hearts, 
and may we glorify your Name 
as your people. 
Let us set our hands 
to build your kingdom on earth 
by living according your to commands, 
establishing justice, 
and loving always. 

Hear our prayers and supplications 
that we raise before You, 
especially for those we now name.

Amen.