Magnificat

The Rich are against my religion
God,

I am ready to magnify
Pregnant calling for the downfall of the mighty
and the poor being filled with good things

Raising up all those who have
Never
Ever, Been empowered before

I can picture Mary and Elizabeth
glowing and tired, demanding you step up and step in God

In a world, where the hospitals are full of sick children
again
I am more than ready to demand healing

God I am tired of this human nonsense:
where money is ready for war, but not for childcare, food or healing

I am am ready for magnficat
to Magnify
All the things you promise (instead of the humans)

I am hungry for the time when justice turns the world upside down
the moment when we can see the hope of all children
incarnate
in a baby

I am pregnant with it.

As my kiddos say
Lets Go, God

Let’s Magnificat,
We have been waiting for it
Forever

Amen.

Feel free to use/adapt/share with credit to Pastor Katy Stenta

Magnificat Artwork by Katy Stenta on Canvas feel free to use/share with credit

Advent

Advent is about waiting
Because we are waiting
For the poor to be filled with good things
For women to believed
For the prisoner to be set free
For healing

We don’t need practice in waiting
We know Christmas is a quiet participation in the miracle that is yet still unfolding

We want to participate in the waiting, and the greed smashing, equity making, creation beauty that is Christmas

So we are an advent people.
Proclaiming the Magnificat together with Mary:
Until the Alleluias of Christmas
Are born

feel free to use/share/adapt with credit to Pastor Katy Stenta

Joy And Justice, Advent 3

God,
God of joy
that tastes like justice
on the tongue

God of comfort
that are the warm embrace of
to be one’s full self on the street

God of blessings
that cannot be divided or mangled
that are not confused with wealth or greed

God, I hear your voice
establishing justice on the earth–
in the midst of all of this! Still, we hear it!

Under the stars, there is justice
You breathe it into your people–
A dignity that is inborn, that all people
are beloved and worthy of love

We are inherently made in God’s image
There is not one single exception,
and Mary’s Magnificat, calls down Justice

Come let us Sing with her
And Call down Food
and Fill those in Need with Good Things

Come Jesus, I Cry in Joy for your Justice
I cannot wait, so I too will dream and wrok
And Dream for this World.

And say a prayer for it too.
Amen.

Advent Unleashed

Advent
Is the prayer
For justice
And healing
In the midst
Of impatience
And pain

It’s the cry of love
In a world of no

The grace of yes
Reaching out
To the whole of humanity
Without question
Qualifiers or pause

All Amens and Alleluias
Of Mary’s Magnificat

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Magnifcat

We could Magnifcat
Some more
Fill the hungry
with good things
Send those
Rich
A
Way
Empty
Bring
the
Mighty
Down
Scatter
the Proud
in
Thought
and Heart

We will watch
the mercy

I am
ready
to
watch
a
world
full
of mercy

Feel free to adapt/share/use with credit to Pastor Katy Stenta

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Magnificat again

An Advent Prayer for the World Weary

Here’s a Prayer

for anyone who is going into Advent Tired

Weary of almost two years of

pandemicking

Two years of pastoring or preaching or caring or writing prayers for people

who are ill, or caretaking,

or trying to find a bed in the hospital, or a spot for surgery.

Here’s a prayer for a timeframe where the hard things have been harder

and the loneliness has felt excruciating,

and the reassessing has hit like a hammer

and the promised whisper of the baby Jesus

is hard to hear over the to do lists,

and the worrying

and apocalyptic understanding of health/political/biogotted infrastructures and economies

of this time and space.

And Lord,

It makes us wonder if this is some of what Mary felt in tumultuous and occupied Jerusalem

when she faced the angel,

overwhelmed by it all

We too feel her determination

As she opened her mouth and

found that the words that tumbled out were

It doesn’t have to be this way!

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It doesn’t have to be this way!

Magnify the Lord!

Bring down the Mighty

Fill the Hungry with Good Things.

So as we enter this Advent, tired and hungry and lonely God.

Remind us that,Advent is a good time for these feelings, Lord.

Advent is about preparation,

and understanding that we are ready for Jesus!

Lord,

I think we need Christ right now,

And that’s ok,

Remind us that it’s ok,

It’s ok to really, truly need Jesus!

and traditional to be world weary at Advent.

And help us to sit with that a bit I pray.

Amen.

Here’s a Prayer

for anyone who is going into Advent Tired

Weary of almost two years of

pandemicking

Two years of pastoring or preaching or caring or writing prayers for people

who are ill, or caretaking,

or trying to find a bed in the hospital, or a spot for surgery.

Here’s a prayer for a timeframe where the hard things have been harder

and the loneliness has felt excruciating,

and the reassessing has hit like a hammer

and the promised whisper of the baby Jesus

is hard to hear over the to do lists,

and the worrying

and apocalyptic understanding of health/political/biogotted infrastructures and economies

of this time and space.

And Lord,

It makes us wonder if this is some of what Mary felt in tumultuous and occupied Jerusalem

when she faced the angel,

overwhelmed by it all

We too feel her determination

As she opened her mouth and

found that the words that tumbled out were

It doesn’t have to be this way!

It doesn’t have to be this way!

Magnify the Lord!

Bring down the Mighty

Fill the Hungry with Good Things.

So as we enter this Advent, tired and hungry and lonely God.

Remind us that,Advent is a good time for these feelings, Lord.

Advent is about preparation,

and understanding that we are ready for Jesus!

Lord,

I think we need Christ right now,

And that’s ok,

Remind us that it’s ok,

It’s ok to really, truly need Jesus!

and traditional to be world weary at Advent.

And help us to sit with that a bit I pray.

Amen.

Complete List of Pandemic Prayers and Resources

With Thanks to April Fiet, Andre Henry, David Hogg and Kevin Miguel Garcia for the Inspirational Tweets

Originally Published at RevGalBlogPals https://revgalblogpals.org/2021/12/03/an-advent-prayer-for-the-world-weary/

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Please feel free to share/adapt/use with credit to Pastor Katy Stenta

All I want…(Magnificat)

All I want for Christmas God,

is everything

Peace on Earth, and no more guns,

and the end of the filibuster,

and every child fed.

All girls want is equity–

and all pregnant people want is easy and safe access to abortion

and childbirth, family leave and chidcare.

Jesus Christ, do you hear me?

All we want is equity, and Black Lives to Matter

and Native Land Returned

and Queer Families to be acknowledged and safe

and for all Bodies to be Affirmed.

All we want is for Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness

to include healthcare and shelter for every single person

and the humanity of one single person to never ever be debased.

All I want is for pronouns to be universal, and for people to not look at me weird if I refer to God as she or ze or they.

All I want is for everyone to understand that no human being is illegal,

and that disability porn is disgusting, and that any nation where people have to beg to get basic things is severely lacking.

Holy Spirit– you have heard me say this before, so you know.

All I want is a world where addiction is understood to be a disease,

mental illness care is not a shambles

and neither is blamed whenever some domestic terrorist incident happens.

All I want is a world where everyone who wants access to therapy can get it–

without barriers for free.

All I want is a place where politics are not politics but policies of care and where politicians are there to serve the people.

All I want is a world where mindless corporations are not favored and technology is first and foremost used to help one another.

God–why did you make my imagination so unlimited, when it seems that our capabilities are so limited?

How is it I can so easily imagine the Kingdom to come? I know its not really my job to bring it about, because I can’t, that’s your job.

Nor can I demand it, for it will come in its own time.

But wow Lord, whenever I imagine what can be, my mind just goes wild with the possibilities! Help me to see some of the fruit of the Spirit I pray!

Because, as you know, I want it all!

Amen.

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Imprecation: Shatter Them

Lord God, how do I do this prayer thing when I’m really angry at someone?

Can I wish them ill? Do I throw curses off of my tongue?

(If I use the fancy word for curses: imprecation, does that make it better? It feels better to say Imprecation)

What did Moses do when the Pharaoh continually made a promise to free the Hebrew people, and then took it back, over and over again?

What did Jesus do when people tried to throw him off the cliff the first time he preached?

Can I just shake the dust off from those encounters, and continue on my day?

That doesn’t feel like enough!

Lord, God, I know it is my job to name evil when I see it, and that a synonym of imprecation and curses is simply denunciation.

Sibling Jesus, I am praying that you Help me to reject evil, Lord. Gift me with a better understanding than hate the sin and love the sinner (because that just isn’t good enough)

And I know the Psalms is full of really hard curses like: Give them what they deserve, and let my enemies experience what I have experienced.

Hannah says ” He will guard the feet of his faithful ones,but the wicked shall be cut off in darkness; for not by might does one prevail. The Lord! His adversaries shall be shattered;” (1 Sam 1:9)

Mother Mary, who is often portrayed as sweet and quiet prays: “God has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts. He has brought down the powerful from their thrones, and lifted up the lowly; he has filled the hungry with good things, and sent the rich away empty.” (Luke 1: 51-53)

So I guess my prayer will echo theirs, in it’s own simplicity.

And trust you know the full meaning of the prayer, because I confess I do not.

And justice is yours.

Lord shatter the enemy.

Those in power Shatter them to pieces.

Shatter the hardhearted as only you can.

In Christ’s name. I submit this prayer to you, O God.

Amen

Use/Copy/Adapt with Credit to Pastor Katy Stenta

Denunciation of Evil Prayer

Mundane Prayers & Pandemic Prayers

Bulletin: God Answers Hannah Pastor Katy Stenta

God Answers Hannah (Extended Advent Opt 1) Imprecation: Shatter Them
1 Samuel 1:9-11, 19-20; 2:1-10
Luke 1:46-55 Opt Psalm 96

Call to Worship (Luke 1: 47-49)
My Soul magnifies the Lord,
and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior
For the Holy One has done great things for me,
Holy is His name, Holy is the Lord God Almighty

Hymn Joyful, Joyful We Adore Thee

(Luke 1: 51-53) Prayer of Confession: Lord, we confess that we look for strength in power and money, instead of in the lifegiving practices that you model. So often your Holy Spirit is at work renewing and creating and we confess we spend too much time worrying about the structures being ruined, instead of looking for opportunities to learn and grow. Remind us that you bring down the powerful, and lift up the lowly. Help us to preach the good news of how you fill the hungry with good things and send the rich away empty, we pray.

(Luke 1: 50) Assurance of Pardon: God’s mercy is for all who fear him, from generation to generation. Hear the Good News: In Jesus Christ we are forgiven.

1 Samuel 1:12-17, 2:1-8 (Note we read at home or in our drive in at the same time, and we do so by Pastor Katy indicating what we should read by holding up a finger)
(1 Finger) Hannah was praying silently; only her lips moved, but her voice was not heard; therefore Eli thought she was drunk.
(2 Fingers) So Eli said to her, ‘How long will you make a drunken spectacle of yourself? Put away your wine.’
(Pastor Katy) But Hannah answered, ‘No, my lord, I am a woman deeply troubled; I have drunk neither wine nor strong drink, but I have been pouring out my soul before the Lord. 16Do not regard your servant as a worthless woman, for I have been speaking out of my great anxiety and vexation all this time.’
(3 Fingers) Then Eli answered, ‘Go in peace; the God of Israel grant the petition you have made to him.’
(4 Fingers) Hannah prayed and said, ’My heart exults in the Lord; my strength is exalted in my God. My mouth derides my enemies, because I rejoice in my victory.
(5 Fingers) There is no Holy One like the Lord, no one besides you; there is no Rock like our God.
(6 Fingers) Talk no more so very proudly, let not arrogance come from your mouth for the Lord is a God of knowledge, and by him actions are weighed.
(7 Fingers) The bows of the mighty are broken, but the feeble gird on strength.
(Pastor Katy) Those who were full have hired themselves out for bread, but those who were hungry are fat with spoil. The barren has borne seven, but she who has many children is forlorn.
(8 Fingers) The Lord kills and brings to life; he brings down to Sheol and raises up.
(9 Fingers) The Lord makes poor and makes rich; he brings low, he also exalts.
(10 Fingers) He raises up the poor from the dust; he lifts the needy from the ash heap to make them sit with princes and inherit a seat of honor. For the pillars of the earth are the Lord’s, and on them he has set the world.

Children’s Sermon

Sermon “Power & Prayer”

Hymn: Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty

The Lord’s Prayer

Passing of the Peace

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More Narrative Lectionary Resources