Cursed are the greedy, the one who put corporations before others, for they will end up with only money
Cursed are the liars, the fakers and the scammers, for they will end up with nothing
Cursed are the penny pinchers, the ones who think they immune, the ones who take other’s lives into their hands, their is the guilt of hurting others
Blessed are those who stay home and wait for the resurrection not as a date on the calendar but the as the return to wholeness, health and peace in the community. For theirs is the faith of the church.
Blessed are those who are at work, seeing hundreds of people a day, honoring the essentials of staying alive. For the work of their hands reflects the shape of their hearts.
Blessed are those who are waiting, waiting for the isolation to end, waiting to see if their loved one comes home safe from work, waiting to hear the news of a test in their lives. For theirs is the fullness of times
Blessed are the truck drivers and the custodial staffs who apply and scrub for all of us, for theirs will be all the comfort in the world.
Blessed are the truth tellers, the scientists and the fact fact-finders, for theirs will be the relationships of hope.
Blessed are the stressed, the homeworkers, the homeschoolers, the teachers without students, the workers without offices theirs will be peace.
This prayer is for the huggers who are missing their hugs, the introverts who are stuck in their house with their family, for the extroverts who are stuck in their house with only their family, for the singletons who are alone, for the immunocompromised or disabled who everyone dismisses, for the the family of the immunocompromised or disabled who are trying to keep them safe, for the children who are bored and lonely and only sort of understand.For those who are worried about their parents, and those who are worried about their children, because that is what family is for. This prayer is for the doctors and nurses who are battling everyday, for the grocery store workers, the custodial staff, the garbage collectors, the truckers who are keeping things running. Its for all those people who don’t have health insurance, it’s for all those people who are out of work, laid off, or short of hours. This prayer is for those who live daily with anxiety or depression, those who deal with mental illness, those who live with addiction–all those people for whom this weight is heavier because they already deal with so much. This is a prayer for the sick who can’t get tests or treatment, because of the risk of infection. And finally for the sick, and the families of the sick. For those who are dying and those who have lost family and friends. This is a prayer for everyone, because we all need it.
I confess that when I said I didn’t have enough time, I didn’t mean it. When I said I didn’t want to work, or that I wanted to be alone, or even that I wanted more time with my family. In fact, I don’t think this was what I meant at all. I didn’t know what I was praying for when I wished for a staycation.
What I realize I meant was that I have trouble prioritizing. What I realize now is that I really don’t know who or what is essential. What I meant was, I was burnt out and caring for all the things I needed to care about (or all of the things I thought I needed to care about) was very, very hard. I confess now that I have this gift of time, I don’t know what to do with it. Help me to be ok with that I pray.
Is this an act of God, asked Abram & Sarai when they were barren
Hagar when she was abused by Abram & Sarai
Job when he watched everything he loved drip away
Joseph when he was cast into the pit
Puah & Shiprah when they were ordered to put the babies in the water
Moses when he understood his people were enslaved
The Prodigal wondered when he was lost, the widow thought when she lived on nothing, Mary & Martha questioned when Lazarus died, the disciples cried when they arrested Jesus for heresy.
Is this an act of God we ask when the hurricanes howl and the tornados terrorize and the earthquakes wreak havoc?
How about a world pandemic is this an act of God?
Where is our Force Majeure? We want a new contract. If it’s an act of God then there’s nothing under our control and we can just wait for God’s helicopter to save us.
But Abraham & Sarah became the parents of nations
Hagar kept her child safe & found her freedom
Joseph was raised from the pit the Pharaoh’s advisor
Puah & Shiprah hid the babies from the Pharaoh
Moses lead the slaves to freedom
The Prodigal came home, the Widow gave away her mites, Lazarus was healed and returned to Mary and Martha, and Jesus rose from the dead.
I don’t really know what an act of God is.
But I know who God is, God is the God of jubilee, the God healing, the God of redos, reconciliations and resurrections.
We can enact the will of God. We are Abraham & Sarah, Joseph, Puah & Shiprah, Moses. When we enact the will of God return home, we become healed, give to the poor and become resurrected with Christ.
Blessed are those who stay home and wait for the resurrection not as a date on the calendar but the as the return to wholeness, health and peace in the community
Note: The apocalyptic nature of this reading gave me pause! The exegetes (esp NL Podcast) see this as referring to Jesus’ Passion as the space/place when God draws near to us. Our current times raise largely unanswerable questions about theodicy (why). While why is fascinating, more often what we really have to answer is “Given the situation, now what? What are we called to be and do?” I do have to confess to having a list of questions for God for when I get there. Don’t know if I’ll just know the answers; won’t feel the need to know anymore; or will have them answered. But I definitely have a list!
(referencing Isaiah 40:3-5, Mark 1:3, Matthew 3:3, Luke 3:4)
In the lonely places
The wilderness
Where we stand forlorn
Windswept and alone
Your voice calls out Prepare a way for the Lord
In the dark places
The shadows
Where we hide our fears
Embrace our tears
Your voice calls out Prepare a way for the Lord
God of hope, we come to you in the midst of a world fraught with troubles. Although the darkness is powerful, open our eyes, Lord, to the light of your presence. Give us faith to stand against the voices of division and violence. Through your Spirit remake us into hope-filled disciples, discovering lives attune to your wonder, and sparking in others a desire to know you more. In the name of the One who comes to us, we pray, Amen.
ere’s a prayer from Walter Brueggemann. It references Romans 8:18-25.
Waiting and Longing
God of the seasons,
God of the years,
God of the eons,
Alpha and Omega,
before us and after us.
You promise and we wait:
we wait with eager longing,
we wait amid doubt and anxiety,
we wait with patience thin
and then doubt,
and then we take life into our own hands.
We wait because you are the one and the only one.
We wait for your peace and your mercy,
for your justice and your good rule.
Give us your spirit that we may wait
obediently and with discernment,
caringly and without passivity,
trustingly and without cynicism
honestly and without utopianism,
Grant that our wait may be appropriate to your coming
soon and very soon,
soon and not late,
late but not too late.
Pecking away at our computers, sitting in a knot of traffic: we wait for you, God of all words, to speak to us.
Pacing the halls of a hospital, sitting outside the principal’s office: we wait for you, God of comfort, to fill us with hope.
In the silence of each night, beginning each day’s new journey: we wait for you, Steadfast Love, for you are our safe place.
Prayer of the Day
Keeper of every moment in eternity:
we come, not only to hear
those words which can transform us,
but to be filled with your grace and hope.
We have come, not out of habit,
but to respond to your call,
willing to be called away
from the familiar ways of our lives.
Walker of our journeys,
in the midst of our harried lives,
you call us to lay aside all that entangles us,
to follow you into service to others.
You invite us to step into
the waters of life and hope,
reaching out to draw others
to our side so, that together,
we might enter your kingdom
of laughter and joy.
Our Lord Jesus calls us to watch and pray, so let’s do that now,
responding to Lord, in your mercy with come and save your people.
Lord Jesus, thank you for coming in the flesh at Bethlehem, and for coming to us whenever we gather in your name. Keep us alert and watchful through the dark night of this world, and give us confidence as we wait for your coming in glory.
Lord, in your mercy… come and save your people.
We pray for your church—its people and pastors. Keep us alert and watchful in support of one another, guard us from everything false and untrue, and shine on us with the light of your holy word.
Lord, in your mercy… come and save your people.
We pray for the people of the world. Wake all people up to your just judgment and to your saving blood. Keep us alert and watchful as your witnesses in the world.
Lord, in your mercy… come and save your people.
We pray for the nations. Lift the eyes of those in authority to their duty to govern wisely and well, for the good of all. Curb all terror and replace it with peace. Keep us alert and watchful to serve you by giving good service to others on our daily lives.
Lord, in your mercy… come and save your people.
Thank you for providing us with everything we need for daily living. Bring relief to all those affected by drought, and poverty. Keep us alert and watchful to the needs of others, and move us to give generously to appeals at Christmas time.
Lord, in your mercy… come and save your people.
Lord, stand by those who wake or watch or weep. Rest those who are weary. Soothe those who suffer. Shield those who prosper. And come to those we know in particular need and whom we now name silently in our hearts… (brief silence)
Lord, in your mercy… come and save your people.
Lord Jesus, we do not know the day or the hour that you will come with great power and glory. Keep us always alert and watchful so we may welcome you with joy. For you live and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit, one God now and forever. Amen.
~ posted on the Lutheran Church of Australia’s Worship Planning Page. http://www.lca.org.au/
Here’s a call to worship and opening prayer based on the scripture readings for Proper 8 B (Ordinary 13 B). They come from the Ministry Matters website.
Call to Worship
(based on Psalm 130)
Wait for the Lord, like those who hope in God’s mercy. God’s steadfast love endures forever.
Watch for God, like those who eagerly await the morning. We watch for God, whose power redeems us.
Hear God’s hopeful word, like those who long for pardon. Sing praise to God and rejoice in God’s love.
Opening Prayer
(inspired by Mark 5:21-43)
Loving God,
we are yours.
We come as we are,
with our cares and concerns.
We long to touch you
and find healing in your embrace.
Strengthen our faith
and heal our brokenness,
that we may worship you with joy. Amen.
God of compassion, the way of the cross is as much a mystery to us as it was to the immediate followers of Jesus. But we have heard how your grace is exercised in the journey of suffering and rejection experienced by Jesus. Help us to hear with ears inspired, to see with eyes opened to your ways, and to respond with lives committed to your service.
God of our Lenten journey, we watch and walk with Jesus.
We repent O God. We cannot name our own cross even though we try. You must show us the cross you give us. Help us see. Give us the faith to respond and follow Jesus. We have heard that it is in losing our life for the sake of Gospel of Jesus that we find our life.
God of our Lenten journey, we watch and walk with Jesus.
— from The Prayers of Our Church, written by Bishop Telmor Sartison. Posted on the Worshipwebsite of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada.
The Path Ahead
(based on Mark 13: 24-37)
Watch out! Be alert!
Christ comes when you least expect it.
In the beggar on the street,
In the loved one at our table,
In the stranger in our pew,
In the refugee on our shores,
In the hour of birth.
In the hour of death.
With judgement and mercy, Christ comes.
Watch out! Be alert!
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ,
the love of God,
and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit,
will
be with you now and always.
Amen!
— written by Bruce Prewer, and posted on Bruce Prewer’s Homepage. Visit his site for other wonderful lectionary-based worship resources.
Lord, we had the best laid plans. The teacher were teaching, the doctors were healing, the calendars were full. And we had everything set. But plans are ephemeral, the illusion of control. Now all our best laid plans fail. We cobble together new ones, but they are ragged and imperfect. We have no best laid plans. All we have is you, O God. Be with us we pray. (Silent confession) Amen.
Greek lectionary for vv. 1-8 What is the foundation of your life? And second, what is the destiny of life? Jesus as the cornerstone (cf. 12:10) and the days of fulfillment. The disciples actually ask, “Where are these stones from/What kind of stones are these?” (no adjective) http://lectionarygreek.blogspot.com/2012/11/mark-131-8.html
The birthpangs of deliverance—and remaining ready. Parallels between the times Jesus says the master may return and the upcoming betrayals related to his Passion. Yet there is still hope even for the faithless disciples. http://www.workingpreacher.org/preaching.aspx?commentary_id=4239
Lord, we had the best laid plans. The teacher were teaching, the doctors were healing, the calendars were full. And we had everything set. But plans are ephemeral, the illusion of control. Lord, when I get stressed, I go over my schedule. First x, then y, then z. First x, then y, then z. Now all my best laid plans fail. I cobble together new ones, but they are ragged and imperfect. I have no best laid plans. All I have is you God, comforter in the middle of the night. God who stands by the lonely, wrapping them in the breath of the Holy Spirit. God of the sick and poor–I’m so glad that I worship the God of the sick and the poor in this uncertain time. God of kairos, I’m glad you don’t run on human time, because it’s all slurring together and last week sounds like last year and the future is dim at best.
God, sometimes prayer is out of an abundance of caution. Nothing has hit close to home yet, but I feel shadows in the valley of death. I hear the cries of those around me. I can taste the panic in the air. How can I not pray? Out of an abundance of caution, I am lifting my eyes to the hills, from whom does my help come? My help comes from the Lord my God, they are my rock and my salvation. I pray for the miracles of this age: for people being connected to one another in this isolating time, for those who are struggling financially to experience generosity and hope while work is scarce and stability is scarcer. Lord out of an abundance, out of your abundance and our caution I pray that we all practice responsibility and community. Help us to hold onto peace, Encourage us with good courage, help us to grasp & hold onto all that which is good and remind us, especially in trying times, to render no one evil for evil. In your abundance and our caution, I pray. Amen.
katyandtheword 