Advent 2: Love

 This Advent, I am simply offering some prayers for your Advent devotions. Each week, I’ll include the Collect from the Episcopal Book of Common Prayer for that Sunday. I’ve added the Collect from Women’s Uncommon Prayers, a collection of prayers by women in the church from 2000. This feminine leaning set of prayers can offer a different insight into our spiritual journey. I’ll also include a prayer from Daily Prayer for All Seasons, compiled in 2014. I have also added one for each week from The Lives we Actually Have by Kate Bowler. The Bowler book is a resource I just recently learned about, and it is definitely one to add to your collection.

Each week in Advent traditionally has a theme. Hope—Love—Joy—Peace. The prayers help us focus on that theme. Use this offering however you feel led. You can pray all of them each weekday, use them just on Sunday, pray one a day, etc. May your Advent journey be blessed this year.

“Are you the one who is to come, or shall we look for another?” (Matthew 11:3)

Merciful God, who sent your messengers the prophets to preach repentance and prepare the way for our salvation: Give us grace to heed their warnings and forsake our sins, that we may greet with joy the coming of Jesus Christ our Redeemer; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen (Book of Common Prayer)

Life-giving God, in whom we live and move and have our being: Kindle your love within us as we await the coming of your Son our Savior Jesus Christ, that we might humbly serve others in his name, both now and forever. Amen. (Women’s Uncommon Prayers)

God, we are waiting for love, not the simple kind or the sweep-you-off-your-feet kind, but the absurd kind.

The kind wrapped in rags, resting in a bucket of animal feed. Love enough to save us all.

Blessed are we who look for Love deeper, fuller, truer—than we have ever known, than we could have ever hoped for.

Blessed are we who seek you, the light that dawned so long ago in that dark stable.
Love given.
Love received.

Receive this gift, dear one.
Love has come for you. (The Lives we Actually Have/Kate Bowler)

O Holy One, thank you for coming to us anew this day. Prepare our hearts and reawaken our love for you as we discern your call within us. May we join with you in making level the path for all people. Amen. (Daily Prayer for All Seasons)

October 4: Feast of St. Francis

 This week we celebrate the Feast of St. Francis of Assisi. Many churches will have animal blessings and talk about his life and ministry. Francis, the rich, young soldier of Assisi walked away from all the trappings of wealth and power to live among and minister to the least of society. His actions resulted in others joining his life and ultimately the Order of Franciscans emerged.

The Prayer of St. Francis is likely not by Francis. It isn’t found in any of his writings, but it has been widely known and shared at least since the early 20^th Century as the Prayer of St. Francis. In praying it today, I would encourage you to pause and meditate on each phrase and the scripture I’ve attached to it. Then you may want to add your own petitions for peace, love, forgiveness, etc. (The image is a view from St. Francis on the Hill Episcopal Church, El Paso, TX)

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace.
…The peace of God, which passes all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ (Philippians 4:7)
Where can I pray for peace?

Where there is hatred, let me bring love.
…Let us love one another, for love comes from God. (I John 4:7)
What is my part in bearing love instead of hate?

Where there is offence, let me bring pardon.
…Jesus answered, “I tell you, [forgive] not seven times, but seventy-seven times. (Matthew 18:22)
Who have I offended or need to forgive?

Where there is discord, let me bring union.
…in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. (Romans 12:5)
When can I build up the Body to create union instead of division?

Where there is error, let me bring truth.
…Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. (John 14:6)
What truth can I share in my part of the world?

Where there is doubt, let me bring faith.
…For we walk by faith, not by sight. (2 Corinthians 5:7)
Who can I support in their faith walk?

Where there is despair, let me bring hope.
…This hope is a strong and trustworthy anchor for our souls. (Hebrews 6:19)
Where can I share hope today?

Where there is darkness, let me bring your light.
…In him was life; and the life was the light of men. (John 1:4)
What is the light in my life?

Where there is sadness, let me bring joy.
…You will grieve, but your grief will turn to joy. (John 16:20)
When can I bring joy into grief?

O Master, let me not seek as much to be consoled as to console,
…You, O Lord, are kind and forgiving, rich in loving devotion to all who call on You. (Psalm 86:5)
What consolation can I offer others?

to be understood as to understand,
…when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. (John 16:13)
Where do I need more understanding?

to be loved as to love,
…By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another. (John 13:35)
How can I be more loving?

for it is in giving that one receives,
…Give, and it will be given to you (Luke 6:38)
In what ways can I be more giving?

it is in self-forgetting that one finds,
…Jesus said, ‘you must give up your own way, take up your cross, and follow me’ (Matthew 16:24)
What part of myself do I need to give up or forget?

it is in pardoning that one is pardoned,
…Be tolerant of one another and forgive each other (Colossians 3:13)
Who do I need to pardon?

it is in dying that one is raised to eternal life
…I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full. (John 10:10)
How can I more fully accept God’s life in me?

Amen and Amen.

Psalm 27: Hope and Prayer

 As we continue in our exploration of the Psalms from the Sunday lectionary, we come to Psalm 27, full of affirmations of security and salvation. The lessons also reflect the theme of hope. From Isaiah 9:1-4 we hear The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who lived in a land of deep darkness— on them light has shined. The Gospel (Matthew 4:12-23) repeats this promise and tells us that Jesus began his ministry as that Light by calling Andrew, Peter, James, and John from their job as fishermen. The Epistle to the Corinthians reminds everyone that the message about the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. (I Corinthians 1:10-18)

God’s ways are not human ways. God’s timing isn’t the same as human time. There were many centuries between Isaiah’s prophecy and its fulfillment in Jesus of Nazareth. As Paul notes in his letter to the church at Corinth humans have the sad habit of fighting with each other. It is easy to get discouraged when we think God isn’t paying any attention to the problems that seem to be everywhere. That isn’t true, of course. There is always God’s hope behind and between the lines of any story.

The portion of Psalm 27 for Sunday (verses 1, 5-13) offers hope with the reminder that God is light, salvation, strength and never deserts us. Psalm 27 praises God for God’s help when we are afraid or in trouble. The New Living Translation says that God calls us to come and talk with me. Isn’t that what prayer is—conversation with God? We can make it complex and think we need the right words. Sometimes prayer is grief that silences words or beauty that takes away our breath. Sometimes prayer is a quick ‘thanks’ or ‘help’ or even ‘why’? God hears no matter how we pray.

With the Psalmist, our response to God’s invitation to talk freely to God is Your face Lord will I seek. The New Living Translation has this response and plea, my heart responds, “Lord, I am coming.” Do not turn your back on me.  Do not reject your servant in anger.  You have always been my helper. Don’t leave me now; don’t abandon me,  O God of my salvation!

God is always in every occurrence whether we think it’s good or bad. Each prayer is reaching out to God to find God in the situation. It is looking for God’s face. Where do we find God’s face? For some it is nature or in a church. It may be in your own face or the faces of loved ones. For others it is in the faces of hurting humanity. It’s easy to overlook the fact that each person we meet is God’s face looking back at us. Whose face will you look at to find the Face of God? 

Psalm 27:1, 5-13

1 The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom then shall I fear? *  the Lord is the strength of my life; of whom then shall I be afraid? 5 One thing have I asked of the Lord; one thing I seek; *  that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life; 6 To behold the fair beauty of the Lord *  and to seek him in his temple. 7 For in the day of trouble he shall keep me safe in his shelter; *  he shall hide me in the secrecy of his dwelling and set me high upon a rock. 8 Even now he lifts up my head *  above my enemies round about me. 9 Therefore I will offer in his dwelling an oblation with sounds of great gladness; *  I will sing and make music to the Lord. 10 Hearken to my voice, O Lord, when I call; *  have mercy on me and answer me. 11 You speak in my heart and say, “Seek my face.” *  Your face, Lord, will I seek. 12 Hide not your face from me, *  nor turn away your servant in displeasure. 13 You have been my helper; cast me not away; *  do not forsake me, O God of my salvation.

The Lord is my light and my salvation—so why should I be afraid? The Lord is my fortress, protecting me from danger, so why should I tremble? The one thing I ask of the Lord—the thing I seek most—is to live in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, Delighting in the Lord’s perfections and meditating in his Temple. For he will conceal me there when troubles come; he will hide me in his sanctuary.  He will place me out of reach on a high rock. Then I will hold my head high above my enemies who surround me. At his sanctuary I will offer sacrifices with shouts of joy, singing and praising the Lord with music. Hear me as I pray, O Lord.  Be merciful and answer me! My heart has heard you say, “Come and talk with me.”  And my heart responds, “Lord, I am coming.” Do not turn your back on me.  Do not reject your servant in anger.  You have always been my helper. Don’t leave me now; don’t abandon me,  O God of my salvation! (New Living Translation)

Next week we’ll look at what Psalm 15 has to say.

Lord's Prayer as a Rule of Life: Intro

 Welcome to this Lenten study of the Lord’s Prayer as a Rule of Life, based on The Lord’s Prayer: Walk in Love by Cynthia Davis, and a few other resources. During Lent this blog will give an overview of the Zoom study several of us are engaged in. You can download the slides from the Thursday evening sessions here. If you want to join the weekly study, email Cindy.

Each week we’ll open with prayer, sharing of our inspiration, reflect on the book(s) and scripture and close in prayer. This week our opening prayer was the Lord’s Prayer sung in Ukranian.

As part of the study, we covenant together to pray the Lord’s Prayer at least once a day and to really listen to the words. Sometimes when a prayer is very familiar, we speed through it without thinking about the words. You may want to pray through different versions of the Prayer. Some are found in The Lord’s Prayer: Walk in Love and online.

The Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church invites us to “Become a church that looks and acts like Jesus.” Our goal in this study is to participate in the Becoming a Church model that says, “We are becoming a new and re-formed church…individuals, small, gathered communities and congregations whose way of life is the way of Jesus and his way of love, no longer centered on empire and establishment, no longer fixated on preserving institutions, no longer shoring up white supremacy or anything else that hurts or harms any child of God. By God’s grace—WE ARE BECOMING A CHURCH THAT LOOKS AND ACTS LIKE JESUS.”

We’ll use the Lord’s Prayer as a blueprint for ways to:

•          Center on Jesus Christ
•          Practice the selfless, self-giving way of the cross
•          Unite around the practice of a rule of life in small, gathered communities
•         Reclaim our Christian identity as a Spirit-driven, countercultural, underground movement
•         Live and bear bold witness to the vision and values of Jesus

Recently I’ve begun reading Canon Stephanie Spellers book The Church Cracked Open. In the introduction, Spellers notes, “Like our forebearers, we have to embrace uncertainty and loss, humbly recenter our lives with the margins, and fundamentally redefine what is holy, what is worship, and what makes us a follower of Jesus.” She refers to the woman who breaks the alabaster jar of ointment for Jesus noting, she “takes something precious and breaks it... [because Jesus] was the holy one, the center of her world, and she had reoriented her life around him as her focus…[we need] to recenter away from empire and onto God and God’s dream…live more like children made in the image of our unselfishly, extravagantly loving God…we seek to triumph over fear and muster the courage to break the jar…or let God break and disrupt us.”  

The Becoming a Church website tells us “Transformation and re-formation like this requires intention, wisdom, community and the Spirit…a Rule of Life….an intentional commitment to a set of habits and practices that provide guidance, rhythm and inspiration for living a beautiful, holy life…” All Christians pray the words. By looking at them intentionally we can see ways the Lord’s Prayer can be a basis for a Rule of Life which is Jesus-centered. 

Prayer is an important part of any Rule of Life. RichardRohr notes, “Prayer is not primarily saying words or thinking thoughts. It is, rather, a life stance. It’s a way of living in the Presence…” Others have noted the same thing:

•       Prayer is time when you are ‘real with God’….time to ‘stop and listen’ to God. The Lord’s prayer incorporates the basics of all prayer: Praise or Adoration, Confession of faults, Thanks for needs being met, and Supplication or Intercession for our needs and those of others. (Bible.org)

•       Living a praying life will make us instruments of God’s peace, agents of God’s love…this is our vocation as Christians, our response to the call of God. (The Praying Life, Deborah Smith Douglas, pg. x)

•       [Lord’s Prayer] sums up…the way [Jesus] read and responded to the signs of the times, the way in which he understood his own vocation and mission and invited his followers to share it. (The Lord and His Prayer, NT Wright, pg. 2)

•       God wants to be your dwelling place. He has no interest in being a weekend getaway or a Sunday bungalow or a summer cottage…he wants to be your home. [Jesus said] “My father will love them and we will come and make our home with them (John 14:23). (The Great House of God, Max Lucado, pg. 4)

The Lord’s Prayer is introduced to us in Matthew 6:5-15 and Luke 11:1-11. Read these scripture references, and the verses preceding and following to get a picture of what was happening with Jesus and his disciples at that time.

To use the Lord’s Prayer as our Rule of Life for this Lent journey, we can follow the five suggested steps from the Becoming a Church site for establishing or recommitting to a Rule of Life. As we intentionally use the Lord’s Prayer as the basis for our Lent rule, we can use the steps in this way:

1.       Start by praying the Lord’s Prayer with the intention of using the words to form your mind toward God and orient your life toward Christ.

How do the familiar words of the Lord’s Prayer transform our thoughts and actions toward Christ and God? You may want to pray using different versions to listen for differences that might inspire you to respond to the familiar words in a new way.

2.       Pray the Lord’s Prayer with intention to hear what the words of the prayer can teach you about living and acting more like Jesus.

Are there words or phrases in the Prayer that jump out as ways to be more Christ-like? Sit with these words or phrases and consider how they can help you become a part of the Body that “looks and acts like Jesus” throughout Lent.

3.       Identify spiritual habits that will help you live a Way of Love toward one another and all creation based on the Lord’s Prayer.

Think about what spiritual habits you might continue, resume, and/or begin that will help you live a vision of Beloved Community as outlined in the Lord’s Prayer.

4.       The weekly study will give us a chance to share ways to build the words and demands of the Lord’s Prayer into our individual Rule of Life.

How do you think using the Lord’s Prayer daily will impact your daily interactions?

5.       Being a community during Lent will help us be accountable and deepen our intention to continue using the Lord’s Prayer to direct our lives even beyond Lent. 

As we embark on this journey, ask yourself:

How might praying the Lord’s Prayer intentionally and daily impact my Lenten journey?

How might using the Lord’s Prayer as a Rule of Life give new insight and direction?

Next week we’ll dive into the first line of the prayer. This week, start formulating your Rule of Life for Lent.

Palm Sunday: ReCreate

We are nearing the climax of the season of Lent. This Sunday is Palm Sunday. We celebrate, and often RECREATE, Jesus entry into Jerusalem. This Sunday and this week is a time when we can let God work to RECREATE us into those who can greet with joy Easter’s message. 
This year, many of us may not have the comfort of the familiar in-person experience of processions and palms and lovely music. We may still be in isolation to protect ourselves and our neighbors from the spread of COVID19. 
We can still walk the Way of the Cross with Jesus. Perhaps it will be an even more intentional Way this year as we find new avenues to share and experience the Holy Events. 
Next week, I'll be posting a study Walk with Jesus: Holy Week 2020. Along with reading scripture relating to Jesus life and ministry, there are questions and activities to help us consider Holy Week in light of social distancing and self-isolation.  You can download the entire study, or just visit this page every day next week.  (If you download the pdf, you should be able to print it 2 pages to a sheet (8.5 x 11) if you set it to landscape.)

The Book of Common Prayer collect for Palm Sunday reminds us of the stretch of Christ’s life from incarnation to the cross. As we pray, we ask that we may “walk in the way of his suffering [to] share in his resurrection.”

Almighty and everliving God, in your tender love for the human race you sent your Son our Savior Jesus Christ to take upon him our nature, and to suffer death upon the cross, giving us the example of his great humility: Mercifully grant that we may walk in the way of his suffering, and also share in his resurrection; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

I am always struck by the whiplash of events during the Palm Sunday service. We open with the triumphal waving of palms and shouts of ‘Hosanna!’ Then, we hear the Passion Gospel and respond with our own cries of ‘Crucify’. Just like the people in Jerusalem during that first Holy Week, we are confronted by our own humanity and our regrettable tendency to go along with the crowd. Whether they shout Hosanna or Crucify, we don’t stop to think about what’s happening.

As we pray the collect today, might we think about how God might work to RECREATE our hearts so that we pause and think and listen before echoing the crowd. It may be the voices on social media, or on the nightly news, or on Twitter, or in our neighborhoods that need to be checked before responding. It may be that we need to let God RECREATE our hearts to respond with love and peace rather than with words that inflame and exacerbate some situation (which may or may not even be true).

That response may very well cause us to ‘walk in the way of his suffering’ as we are laughed at or even reviled. Yet, we may also become instruments to RECREATE and restore and reconcile our corner of the world. Our response may be to Walk the Way of the Cross in prayer and intentional time with God this week.  



LENT BOX

Our Lent box (a small box, plastic bag or storage container) is almost done. This week, add a cross as a symbol of Good Friday and Christ’s sacrifice.

Hold the cross and pray during Holy Week that your heart can be RECREATED on Easter.

Living Lent

Use the cross to meditate on the sacrifice of Jesus that gives us new life.

Meditate on the new creation Christ’s death brings

Throughout the week, use this prayer, the daily prayers for Holy Week, or others to help you focus on the day by day progression from Palm Sunday to Maundy Thursday to Good Friday to Holy Saturday.

St. Teresa of Avila

Just last year, I did a meditation on Teresa of Avila’s life, so I won’t repeat it. You can refresh your memory here. This time I’d suggest using on of the prayers attributed to St. Teresa as our meditation focus this week.

Br. Curtis Almquist of the Society of St. John Evangelist notes,  “There are so many variables in life over which we have little, if any, control. Rather than seeing life as a series of obstacles, frustrations, and impenetrable questions, we could instead see life as an endless stream of invitations to cooperate with whatever God is up to, and to abandon ourselves into God’s hands and God’s time.”

Teresa herself resisted the invitation of the Spirit to join the religious life. Even within the religious community she faced condemnation for her life of austerity and mystic experiences. In the Gospel for St. Teresa’s day (October 15), Jesus tells us, “You are the light of the world. A city built on a hill cannot be hidden. No one after lighting a lamp puts it under the bushel basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven.”  (Matthew 5:14-16)

When Teresa finally embraced God’s invitation, and her part in God’s work, she was able to reform the Carmelite Order, found several monasteries and write extensively. The Collect for St. Teresa says, “O God, by your Holy Spirit you moved Teresa of Avila to manifest to your Church the way of perfection…enkindle within us a keen and unquenchable longing for true holiness; through Jesus Christ, the joy of loving hearts…”

One of the prayers she is known for begins “Christ has no body but yours”. Jesus told his followers, ‘you are the light of the world’, the way God works in the world. Brother Curtis encourages us to listen for God’s invitation to how we are to do God’s work in our own lives.

This week, I suggest using this prayer in your quiet time and ask God what God’s invitation to you is for each day. As I’ve said before, it may not be a huge thing. We can be the smile someone needs, or we can be the way money is raised for cancer treatment, or the political action needed to make a change. All are God’s work in the world. As you pray this prayer, ponder how God might use YOUR hands, feet, or eyes to bring God’s compassion to the world. Think about how you really are Christ’s body within the world.

Christ has no body but yours,
No hands, no feet on earth but yours,
Yours are the eyes with which he looks
Compassion on this world,
Yours are the feet with which he walks to do good,
Yours are the hands, with which he blesses all the world.
Yours are the hands, yours are the feet,
Yours are the eyes, you are his body.
Christ has no body now but yours,
No hands, no feet on earth but yours,
Yours are the eyes with which he looks
compassion on this world.
Christ has no body now on earth but yours.

If you prefer, you can meditate on the words using this setting by David Ogden.  

St. Francis: Make me an Instrument of Your Peace

Francis of Assisi is best known for founding the Franciscan Order, and his love of creation. He didn’t start out as a religious man. Francis was born 1181 or 1182 in Assisi, Italy during a time when the various city states of Italy were at war. His mother named him Giovanni di Pietro di Bernardone. His father called him Francesco. When he was about 20, he was held as a prisoner of war for a year.
Four years later he had a vision of Christ while in the Chapel of San Damiano, near Assisi. He was told “go and repair my house”. Assuming it was the church he was in, Francis set out to do that. In the process, he gathered followers who wanted to live simply and help in the work.

In 1209, he composed the Regula primitiva or "Primitive Rule" for his followers ("friars"). They were simply "To follow the teachings of our Lord Jesus Christ and to walk in his footsteps.” A year later, on April 16, 1210, Pope Innocent III approved Order. From this grew the men's Order of Friars Minor, the women's Order of Saint Clare, and the Third Order of Saint Francis.

He set up the first creche with live animals to help the people experience the nativity in 1223. Francis died on October 3, 1226 and was canonized by Pope Gregory IX on July 16, 1228. He has become associated with patronage of animals and the natural environment. Many churches have Blessing of Animals services somewhere near October 4.

One prayer attributed to Francis begins “Lord, make me an instrument of your peace”. We can use this prayer to enrich our own prayer life. The video will offer you images to sit with as you pray the words of the familiar prayer. You may want to pause the video if a certain phrase is meaningful to you. Let the words and images, and music fill your heart and soul and bring you closer to God.

If you prefer, you can download the images from the video and use them in your praying.
(Music in the video is a bit patchy-it happens when going from one older technology to a newer one. My apologies.) 

What part of the prayer is most meaningful to you?

Extraordinary Women: Hildegard of Bingen

This week we meet Hildegard of Bingen, whose feast day is September 16.  In the past, I've explored other aspects of her life and work. In 2015, I did a series of posts about Hildegard that you can find by entering 'Hildegard' in the search box of the blog. This time, I’ve made a video of some of her writings and mandalas.

The video has ideas for using mandalas as prayer aids, and even making your own mandala. Mandalas of many forms can be found online. A mandala is simply a round or oval form with things that are spiritually meaningful or symbolic to you.

Hildegard based her mandalas on visions she had. In the video you’ll see one I made several years ago as a lectio divino activity based on a grain of seed falling to the ground. There is also one made of pictures cut from magazines that a group created at a retreat on being co-creators with God.

There is no one way to ‘properly’ do a Mandala. The hints in the video, which are downloadable here, are starting points for your own use of mandalas as prayer aids. 
And watch for the Advent Mandala series in December! We'll explore ways to use the Advent wreath as a mandala for our Advent meditations and Christmas preparations. 

Epiphany: Pray

In this Epiphany series we are looking at the disciplines of the Episcopal Church’s Way of Love, as part of the Jesus Movement. This is “an intentional commitment to a set of practices. It's a commitment to follow Jesus: Turn, Learn, Pray, Worship, Bless, Go, Rest.” In Advent, we followed the Advent curriculum, modified into weekly planner pages. Since January 6, we’ve looked at the practices of ‘Go’, ‘Learn’, ‘Bless’. Last week we considered how Jesus joined in the Worship of his community when he returned to Nazareth.

Today, we continue in that same chapter (Luke 4:21-30), as Jesus elaborates on his announcement that Isaiah 61 had ‘been fulfilled in your hearing’. At first, “All spoke well of him and were amazed at the gracious words that came from his mouth.” Then, he acknowledges that it is difficult to be accepted by those who think they know you. He says, “’Doubtless you will quote to me this proverb, 'Doctor, cure yourself!' And you will say, 'Do here also in your hometown the things that we have heard you did at Capernaum.'" And he said, ‘Truly I tell you, no prophet is accepted in the prophet's hometown.’”

Then he goes on to remind the people of Nazareth of prophetic responses to two Gentiles who Pray and are blessed by God. He states, “there were many widows in Israel in the time of Elijah…yet Elijah was sent to none of them except to a widow at Zarephath in Sidon.” (1 Kings 17:8-24) Jesus notes that the leper cleansed by Elisha was ‘Naaman the Syrian.’ (2 Kings 5:1-19)

Is it that this young man that they all know as ‘Joseph’s son’ is claiming to be like Elijah and Elisha, revered prophets from Israel’s past? Or is it that he says that God cares for Gentiles just as much as the chosen Hebrew ‘children of God’? For whatever reason, “When they heard this, all in the synagogue were filled with rage. They got up, drove him out of the town, and led him to the brow of the hill on which their town was built, so that they might hurl him off the cliff. But he passed through the midst of them and went on his way.”

Nazareth is built up the side of a hill, as seen in this Byzantine mosaic from the Chora Church in Constantinople. The attempt to ‘hurl him off the cliff’ is not an empty threat. However, he ‘he passed through the midst of them and went on his way’. In the hubbub of the mob scene, Jesus simply walks away. No fighting back, or engaging in further arguments, Jesus simply leaves.

Perhaps it was that he was grounding in prayer that enabled Jesus to face such conflict without the need to become part of it. Perhaps it was that he had just faced down Satan in the wilderness (Luke 4:1-13) through the power of prayer.

When we Pray, we too can respond differently to the challenges in our lives. We don’t feel the need to control the outcome or make it come out 'our way'. When we ‘take it to the Lord in prayer’, as the song Whata Friend we Have in Jesus advises, we can face the 'trials and temptations...trouble anywhere." The song proclaims, "We should never be discouraged. Take it to the Lord in prayer."

We don't have to pretend to be 'perfect'. As Lisa Leonard notes on Ann Voskamp’s blog from earlier this week, “Perfection is a lie. It demands more and more, never offering a moment’s rest. Perfect is never satisfied." She admits, "I kept reaching further and further, thinking I was almost there, but perfection was always just out of reach. No matter how hard I tried, I could not be perfect. I can’t always be happy. I am not perfect; I am just me. I’m learning I have to let go of perfection to have joy. I am learning I have to show up and speak up and be honest—no matter how messy.” 

I have a friend whose favorite saying when things get crazy is, "Show up, pay attention, tell the truth, and don't get attached to the results." That's what happens when we Pray and turn problems over to God. We can be honest, and not think we have to control the end result. 

When we Pray God sees the real person. God knows we are not perfect. We don’t have to, and can’t, pretend with God. We can, as Leonard, and my friend both encourage: show up, be truthful and honest—'no matter how messy’, and let God take care of the result. 

When we are connected to God in prayer, we know we are loved no matter what happens, or what we do. In fact, we don’t even have to ‘do’ anything except ‘take it to the Lord in prayer’. The song reminds us “O what peace we often forfeit,/ O what needless pain we bear, All because we do not carry/ Everything to God in prayer.”

Jesus was connected to God in prayer. It gave him strength and peace and confidence. When we Pray and connect to God, we discover, ‘Jesus knows our every weakness…In His arms He’ll take and shield thee,/ Thou wilt find a solace there.’

Jesus told the people of Nazareth that God responds to all prayer requests no matter who they come from. That made him very unpopular, but it tells us that God does hear our prayers! Later in the same Gospel (Luke 18:1), Jesus “told his disciples a parable [about the insistent widow and reluctant judge] to show them that they should always pray and not give up.” We can find courage in that story and in Jesus’ own life of prayer.

Are there things you need to Pray about, or let God take care of?

Can you let go of perfection and control in order to ‘take it to the Lord in prayer’?

How can you be more honest with God in your prayer life?

Joy, Patience, Prayer

Last time we considered how to have enthusiastic zeal for our work in the Kingdom. In order to carry on, we have to be strengthened and that happens when we “Rejoice in hope, be patient in suffering, persevere in prayer” (Romans 12:12). The NIV translation is even simpler: “Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.”

Three easy steps to maintaining our connection to God-right? Yes, when we can remember to follow those steps. In Gill’s Exposition of the Bible we are reminded that we are “Rejoicing in hope...of the glory of God.” He says, “…nothing tends more to animate the people of God to a cheerful serving of him, or to make them more patient under afflictions, than a hope of being forever with the Lord.” Our service is not for ourselves, or even for those we are working to help. All our work and life ought to point to God.

Verses 11 and 12 of Romans 12 together are a summary of the way we can remain linked to God and God’s love. “Do not lag in zeal, be ardent in spirit, serve the Lord. Rejoice in hope, be patient in suffering, persevere in prayer.” It requires enthusiasm in service as well as remaining in contact through the good times and bad with hope and patience. Ultimately the only way to do that is through prayer. In Hebrews 10:36, we are reminded to “persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised.”

Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary notes, “[God] is honored by our hope and trust in him, especially when we rejoice in that hope. He is served, not only by working for him, but by sitting still quietly, when he calls us to suffer. Patience for God's sake, is true piety. Those that rejoice in hope, are likely to be patient in tribulation. We should not be cold in the duty of prayer, nor soon weary of it.”

We can too easily forget the prayer part of remaining in connection with God, esp. when we are actively and enthusiastically involved in a ministry that is close to our heart. Prayer tends to slip to the back of the line, until we are confronted with a problem. Maybe, if we could keep prayer at the front of the line, we wouldn’t be caught off guard by challenges…! Prayer helps us to remain “Patient in affliction” and to “be joyful in hope”. It all works together. Isn’t that wonderful!

The three steps are:

“Be joyful in hope” and “Rejoice in the Lord always: again I say, Rejoice.” (Philippians 4:4)
“[be] Patient in affliction” because “if we hope for that we see not, then do we with patience wait for it.” (Romans 8:25)
When we are “Faithful in prayer” it joins us with the long line of saints through the ages starting with those in the upper room before Pentecost when “They all joined together constantly in prayer, along with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brothers.” (Acts 1:14)

Are there steps this week I can take to be more enthusiastic, joyful in my relationship to God and to stay joined to God in an active prayer life? Maybe I can look for the good and give others the benefit of the doubt, undergirding it all with intentional prayer, esp. when I feel put out about something or someone...what about you?

Let love be genuine (sincere, honest); hate what is evil, hold fast to what is good; love one another with mutual affection; outdo one another in showing honour. Do not lag in zeal, be ardent in spirit, serve the Lord. Rejoice in hope, be patient in suffering, persevere in prayer. Contribute to the needs of the saints; extend hospitality to strangers. Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. Live in harmony with one another; do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly; do not claim to be wiser than you are

Expect God-through Prayer

On this 3^rd week of Advent, we continue to look at how to Expect God to Act in our lives. God does act, even when we aren’t aware of it. Expecting God is becoming aware of the Holy in our lives again. It is rediscovering the “faith of a child” that simply waits with expectation for God to be present and act. Advent seems the perfect time to wait in expectation.

Expectant waiting is not just a passive thing. It’s not just sitting around waiting for God to show up. Think about Mary and Joseph as they waited in expectation for their Child to be born. Anyone who has ever been a parent or around an expectant couple knows they didn’t just sit around. They had to do things to get prepared. The cradle and the swaddling clothing had to be made. They had time to consider how their lives would change with the addition of a baby.

There are things we can do prepare ourselves to expect God. Active waiting might involve putting down the i-pad and going for a walk. Even if you don’t find God right away, you may improve your health! On the other hand, you may just catch a glimpse of the Holy. Hands Free Mama, another blog I catch periodically notes, “If you should happen to catch a glimpse of what really matters in life, regard it with care. Decorate it with flowers. Cover it with love. Hold it in the sunshine. Give it a little bit of your time and attention. And if the world tries to push you forward, listen to your heart instead. Because if you don’t make time for what really matters, no one else is going to do it.” (sorry I can't find the exact post for this quote.)

I think that what she says can carry over into our Expecting God in the day-to-day. When we do see or experience or notice God we should pause and regard God, care for the time, decorate it, perhaps, and certainly love and be loved by God. We should hold and give the Gift of God our time and attention so that we can hear that still small voice of God.

One way to do that is prayer. Not necessarily the rote prayers we may say regularly, but quiet time spent expecting and waiting for God. Joan Chittister comments, “Prayer is an attitude toward life that sees everything as ultimately sacred, everything as potentially life-changing, everything as revelatory of life’s meaning. It is our link between daily-ness and eternity.” (taken from a FB post 11/19/13)

Finding and keeping a prayer time can help to rediscover the anticipation of the child’s faith and the awareness of God’s presence. And prayer can be done while walking or while kneeling, while sitting on a bus or in the quiet of your room. God is delighted when we turn to him in prayer, which is of itself a form of faith and expectation. We pray because we expect God to be there. And when we do pray, we hear God say-I Love You.

Some might argue that prayer isn’t a very active way of Expecting God. On the other hand, prayer can be very intense and indeed active. Prayer in itself is waiting expectantly to hear God and to know God. Continuing to practice time with God will help you find that God is present in the day-to-day...maybe when and where you’d least expect to find God.

This prayer from another blog I follow encapsulates, for me, what we want when we wait and pray expectantly, esp. in Advent:

We're waiting for a revolution;
Waiting for the impossible.

We're waiting for change,
For the coming of the One.

We're waiting to be told, "Yes,"
To be included.

Go with hope that,
Whatever you are waiting for,
God will answer
The prayer of your heart.  

Will you take some time during the rest of this busy season to “catch a glimpse of what really matters in life [and] regard it with care”? Will I?

Lively Lent-Telling the Story

It's right there in the Baptismal Covenant: "Share the Good News of God in Christ”. That really is our life’s work. We have to know our own story and how God has worked in our lives before we can share it with others. Some of us have powerful stories of transformation that lead to witnessing. Those of us with more ‘humble’ stories can also share how God works.

One way to help prepare to tell our story and share the Good News is to keep a journal. I know that word makes some of you cringe. Others think; how can journaling be a spiritual aid? Some of us get happy-writing! Oh boy! Others think of it more as a torture. Journaling is more than just writing random thoughts about the day or your spiritual life. It is a way to:

Delve deeper into a Bible passage by jotting down insights.
Store pictures, sayings, drawings, ideas, etc. that are important to you.
Capture thoughts about something that’s troubling you.
Record your prayers and the responses to them.
Remember inspirational sayings.
Consolidate thoughts about what you are reading.
Gather your ideas about sharing your journey

There is no right or wrong way to do a spiritual journal. You may already be keeping a ‘spiritual journal’ without knowing it. Today we’ll look at a few forms of journaling that you may not have thought of as spiritual journals or even journaling at all. They won’t all appeal to each of you. One caveat-to me a journal is not a diary. You know the ones we kept as teens. “Dear Diary, I saw the cutest boy today. I hope he asks me out…” Do girls today even keep such diaries?

The simplest Spiritual journal is a Prayer Diary. It can simply be a spiral notebook that you list your prayer requests in. Once a week or month (or whenever you decide) go back and look over the prayers. Write down what sort of answer God has given. You might, or might not, be moved to add some thoughts on ‘why God?’ or ‘thank you God’. Even if all you are doing is tracking prayer answers, you are journaling because you are looking at God in action and that will help you ‘share the Good news’.

Similar is the Prayer Diary is a Thanksgiving Journal where you write down several things each day you are thankful for. Again, it is a window into God’s actions in your life and an avenue to an easy way to ‘share the Good News’.

So, what if you want to take a step and journal more than just prayers and/or thanksgivings? The blank page can be rather intimidating. Some would say just start writing anything-random thoughts and eventually something will pop out to really focus on. And, some days that’s where I start. I’ll say, ‘it’s a gray day and looks like snow’ and go one for a while in that vein. Sometimes that’s all that gets put on the page, but other times, something sparks as I’m writing and I start thinking about the beauty of snow and the verse in Isaiah 1:18 that says ‘Come now, let us reason together," says the LORD. "Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool…’ Where else can you get inspiration?

You’d be surprised. It can be a line from the morning or evening lectionary that strikes home. It might be something in an email or a devotional or a picture. The other day, it was when this hawk flew into the tree in my yard. I had to take his/her picture and journal about the magic of such a creature of God, present in my life.

I’ve discovered that many books and even videos/movies and music can have lessons of great importance to our Christian walk. We are used to thinking of Oswald Chambers, Beth Moore, Max Lucado, Rowan Williams, Barbara Taylor Brown, Madeline L’Engle, and others of their stature as authors to turn to for good solid devotional material that can enrich our Journey. These are, indeed, great authors, and there are many more modern and not so modern. A line from one of their books can inspire a journal entry about something in your life. So can non-theological books like Little Women or A Dog's Purpose and moviles like Star Wars.  

You might find a blog that is thought provoking-like say the VarietiesOfGifts or this one that I write, or the site of a favorite author or artist. Their thoughts might just give you something to think about on paper. One that often gives me something to think about is Dirty Sexy Ministry, written by 2 female Episcopal priests. Another is titled While We Wait, by another Episcopal priest.

Another non-traditional place to start both journaling and sharing the message of God’s love is in music, which as we have heard, ‘has the power to sooth the savage beast.” St. Augustine of Hippo is quoted as saying, “He who sings, prays twice.” And Martin Luther once said, “Beautiful music is the art of the prophets that can calm the agitations of the soul; it is one of the most magnificent and delightful presents God has given us.”

In my journaling I’ll often include the words of some hymn or song that gets stuck in my head and then chat with myself and God about what those words really mean to me and my Walk. Most recently, the new song by Toby Mac-“Steal my Show” got stuck in my head. The final verse is a reminder that we need to let God Steal the Show and be in charge of what we do.

Come on and Steal my show
My life My plans My heart
It's all Yours, God
Take it away
My dreams My fears My family My career
Take it away Take it away
It's all Yours, God
So take it away Take it away
It's You I wanna live for

There are other aids to getting going in journals. Believe it or not-you can even find online Prayer Journals or downloadable ones-just do a 'Google' search for prayer journal or spiritual journal!

I’ve probably given you way more information than you will ever want or need about journaling. I hope you will give one of these options a try, even if just for a little while this Lent. In order to make your journal really a spiritual aid, you want to make it your own. Do it at a convenient time, in a way that is comfortable-write, draw, add pictures, clippings, sayings, etc. Martin Luther noted, “If you want to change the world, pick up your pen and write.” There really is something cathartic about writing your thoughts in pen and ink that isn’t present when typing.

When you know more of your own story and how God is present in your life, you can more easily and readily share that Good News! Good luck.

Next time we will look at the “seek and serve Christ in all persons, loving your neighbor as yourself” part of the Baptismal Covenant.