During Lent, here on the blog, I’m looking at the Prayers for World, Church, Nation, Social Order, Natural Order, and Family as found at the end of the Episcopal Book of Common Prayer (BCP) and borrowing from the Episcopal Church’s 2021 Lent curriculum: Life Transformed: The Way of Love in Lent, which is exploring the seven disciplines of the Way of Love. We’ve already seen that Turn is a perfect way to start Lent and that Pray is our entry into faith-filled Lenten practices. Prayer for our World is especially important in this COVID-tide as we are so closely linked with all our sisters and brothers around the globe.
Today we will see how the Way of Love tenet “Learn”
can inform our prayers and interaction, esp. with the Church universal. The
Lent curriculum tells us, “Lent has always been the traditional time of study
and growth for those who seek to follow Jesus’ way and LEARN his life and
teachings. As Christians, we are invited to continue to grow in our knowledge
and love of God. Remember, Episcopal tradition holds that we never really
“arrive” in our journey with God…However, gaining wisdom is not simply studying
a book or memorizing a few facts. Wisdom goes beyond mere knowledge into
action. We cannot be considered wise if we do not act in accordance with what
we have learned. Wisdom demands integrity.”
Intentional prayer for the church, your local
congregation, diocese, province, national and international benefits from learning
about the beliefs and about the needs in and of the church. The Lent study
notes, “When we are dedicated to learning more about God’s wisdom
through relationship with Jesus and with others, we open ourselves up to God’s
holy word made manifest in all with whom we come in contact.” The same is true
when we learn more about our own church and even about other faith traditions.
We begin to see and learn where we agree, what we don’t always agree about, and
how our worship styles are the same or different.
Learning about the church beyond our own parish can really
enrich our lives. In this COVID-tide, many are virtually attending church
services from more than one parish or even denomination. My husband and I have
developed the habit of Sunday worship at both the Washington National Cathedral
and our home church. On a couple of Sundays, we’ve “attended” Baptist services
when my granddaughter was doing a solo. Nearly every day I find time for
Morning Prayer from Washington National Cathedral, Canterbury Cathedral, or my
own parish.
Seeing how other places worship and hearing different
preachers is enriching and helps us learn and grow in knowledge. Often the
Washington National Cathedral invites guest speakers who I would not have heard
otherwise. These women and men give new insight into scripture from their
lives, culture, and faith traditions.
You might want to take time this week to find out what your faith community professes at a local and national level. For instance, the Episcopal Church website states: The Episcopal Church welcomes all who worship Jesus Christ, in 111 dioceses and regional areas in 17 nations. The Episcopal Church is a member province of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The mission of the church, as stated in the Book of Common Prayer’s catechism (p. 855), is “to restore all people to unity with God and each other in Christ.” As part of that mission, we’re following Jesus into loving, liberating and life-giving relationship with God, with each other and with the earth as the Episcopal branch of the Jesus Movement. We seek every day to love God with our whole heart, mind and soul, and to love our neighbors as ourselves (Matthew 22:36-40)."
EVANGELISM: Listen for Jesus’ movement in our lives and
in the world. Give thanks. Proclaim and celebrate it! Invite the Spirit to do
the rest.
RECONCILIATION: Embody the loving, liberating,
life-giving way of Jesus with each other.
CREATION CARE: Encounter and honor the face of God in
creation."
The Episcopal Church website suggests: "TRY THIS: Look
around and notice wherever you see people nurturing relationship 1) with God,
2) with each other and 3) with creation. What’s happening? What’s helping people
to heal and live in sync with God, with each other and with the earth? What are
the fruits of these relationships?"
As you learn about your church, you might ask yourself if
you accept the tenets of your faith community. If so, why? If not, what do you
disagree with?
Do you feel called to act more deeply in your city or
church, or in your Diocese or Province or beyond?
At the end of the BCP, there are Prayers for the Church,
including for parishes, diocese, etc. I’ve chosen the first one for this week.
Gracious Father, we pray for thy holy Catholic Church.
Fill it with all truth, in all truth with all peace. Where it is corrupt,
purify it; where it is in error, direct it; where in any thing it is amiss,
reform it. Where it is right, strengthen it; where it is in want, provide for
it; where it is divided, reunite it; for the sake of Jesus Christ thy Son our
Savior. Amen.
And from the Lent curriculum:
O Lord, you have taught us that without love whatever we
do is worth nothing; Send your Holy Spirit and pour into our hearts your
greatest gift, which is love, the true bond of peace and of all virtue, without
which whoever lives is accounted dead before you. Grant this for the sake of
your only Son Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever. Amen. (Book of Common Prayer, p. 216)
