Isaiah

A Prayer for the Innocents

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prphotohoneymoonGod of all times and all places, we stand on the brink of a new year. Many of us harboring hopes for better days ahead. We want to leave the difficulties of 2013 behind and start new when that ball drops. Yet, we are probably not heeding Isaiah’s advice and recounting your gracious deeds and praiseworthy acts. It is by your mercy that we gather as the body of Christ. Open our eyes to all that you have done for us.

Just days ago, we welcomed you anew into our lives. We sang carols and lit candles in honor of the One whose light shines in our darkness. Many of us have already forgotten the promise of Christ. We’ve packed away our decorations and moved on, away from the vulnerability of the manger. We don’t want to think of the innocents slaughtered then… or now. The news reports of war, violence, and political unrest disturb us. We do not want to know about the children who have died in Iraq, Afghanistan, South Sudan, Egypt and countless other places. You are the Prince of Peace who can guide our feet in the way of peace. Let us turn away no longer. Shine your light in us and through us that we might become the way of peace here and now.

Ever faithful God, you wait patiently for us to come to you. You hear our songs of praise and wait until the familiar words touch our hearts and transform our lives. You are not ashamed to call us brothers and sisters even when we hesitate to speak your name. That manger in Bethlehem was not meant just for the wise ones who come bearing gifts but also for those who show up with nothing more than a yearning for life. Our decisions about who you love and who is welcome in your sanctuary are meaningless. You came into the world to seek and to save the lost, even those of us who’ve gotten lost on the way to Bethlehem. In this Christmas season reveal to us the radical inclusion of your love. Show us how to open our doors wide enough to let all your children enter in.

You call us to trust in you but we often forget to rely on your grace. The echos of lamentation and weeping make us want to hide rather than step out boldly bearing witness to the light that cannot be overcome by any darkness. As we face this new year, we pray for courage, the courage of Joseph who trusted you more than we can comprehend… The courage of Mary who brought you into the world for us… Grant us the courage to tend the fire of new life given to us once again. May we comfort those who weep and walk with those who lament, carrying hope for those unable to carry it for themselves.

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Holy One who reveals our humanity, we are grateful for your overwhelming love for us. We yearn to make this year a year when your name will be praised and proclaimed in our congregations. We want to walk with you on a path of peace, letting go of those things we no longer need, making room for those who might want to join us as we seek to serve you. Let this year be a time of transformation for us, for our neighbors, for strangers, and for all those innocents who have yet to walk through our doors. By your grace and mercy, may we, the body of Christ right now, be the agents of your hope, peace, joy, and love.

With grateful hearts we pray in the name of Jesus the Christ. Amen.

RCL – Year A – First Sunday After Christmas – December 29, 2013
Isaiah 63:7-9 with
Psalm 148
Hebrews 2:10-18
Matthew 2:13-23

A Holy Way

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This poem is based on the Isaiah text and is on pg. 81 of my book, A Circle in the Dark: Daily Meditations for Advent, Wipf & Stock, 2011. A Holy Way When will we be still and listen? We busy ourselves with so little that matters, sowing more discord than peace. You make no distinction among … Read More

Bidding Prayer for the First Sunday of Advent – Hope

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bidding prayer for first sunday Anvent hope

Come, let us pray for Church throughout the world.
            People may quietly voice their prayers
God of the wakeful and the exhausted, we lift our prayers to you in the light of hope. As we begin our preparations to honor Christ’s coming anew, make us mindful of others whose names for you may differ from ours. In our desire to worship and celebrate you, we want to do so truthfully, allowing your light to shine through us. As we enter this season of light, we lift up to you the darkness of our world.
O children of God, come,
let us walk in the light of the Lord!

Let us pray for the United Church of Christ gathered here and elsewhere.
People may quietly voice their prayers
God of all churches and peoples, hear our prayers for the United Church of Christ—it’s leaders, pastors, teachers, members, and friends. May all that we do bring the light of hope into the world. You have blessed us with a vision of unity and a call to work for justice in the world. In gratitude for your grace and your guidance, we ask that you continue to shape and reshape us into the church you would have us be.
O children of God, come,
let us walk in the light of the Lord!

Let us pray for all the peoples of the world.
People may quietly voice their prayers
God of startling diversity, teach us to see with sacred eyes, recognizing your image stamped on every human face. We hear the prophet’s words of peace and pray for the day when weapons will turn into tools for planting and nations shall not seek to annihilate one another. Ignite the light of hope in all the leaders of this world—especially in Syria and Iran, and all the other countries where there is war or the threat of war. Remind all your people that you are to be the judge between nations and that we are to seek peace and pursue it so that one day we will learn war no more.
O children of God, come,
let us walk in the light of the Lord!

Let us pray for our nation and those who lead it.
            People may quietly voice their prayers
God of all nations and all places, lead us to a place of acceptance and justice. Our nation is home to a variety of peoples and cultures with hopes and dreams for lives fully lived. Grant wisdom and humility to those who would lead us. Let us set aside the works of darkness that can divide us and put on the armor of light that will honor all. We live in a country rich with resources and abundance in so much. Grant us the wisdom, courage, and compassion necessary to live simply so that all may live fully.
O children of God, come,
let us walk in the light of the Lord!

Let us pray for all those who are in need of healing.
People may quietly voice their prayers
God of the brokenhearted and downtrodden, be with all those who are without hope. Let us be your agents of mercy and healing. We pray for those who lack the resources they need for medical care, for those who are homeless, and those who are broken in body, mind, or spirit. For those of us enjoying health and wholeness, make us mindful of the responsibility we have to our neighbors, near and far, who are in need.
O children of God, come,
let us walk in the light of the Lord!

Let us pray for those who are grieving.
People may quietly voice their prayers
God of life and death, comfort all those who mourn. We know that you have conquered death, and, yet, our hearts are fragile. As we remember those we love who have died, we trust that you hold them close. During this Advent season, we lift up to you those who face their first Christmas without a loved one–especially those who have died suddenly by violence, war, or suicide. We look to you for the hope that will shine in the darkness of loss.
O children of God, come,
let us walk in the light of the Lord!

Let us give thanks for our blessings.
People may quietly voice their prayers
God of peaceful simplicity and joyful abundance, hear our prayers of gratitude. We live in a world of miracles. As we walk in the light of hope, open our hearts to amazement that we might find contentment in the chaos and delight in the quiet. You have called and created us to be the body of Christ here and now and we are grateful.
O children of God, come,
let us walk in the light of the Lord!

bidding prayer for first sunday Anvent hope
image depicts four Advent candles, with the first one lit for hope. Image was modified from a creative commons public domain image.

RCL – Year A – First Sunday of Advent – December 1, 2013
Isaiah 2:1-5
Psalm 122
Romans 13:11-14
Matthew 24:36-44

Something Promising

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I have to say that my response to the Isaiah passage this week startled me a bit. I am not exactly known for my optimism and I’m not much of a cheerleader. But when I read this passage my immediate response was, “Yes!” and “Thank you!” From the first words of promise for all things new and a forgetting of all things that have been, to the concluding image of the wolf and the lamb, I heard only words of on-going promise. This passage is a good reminder that God is always doing something new; the story is not over.

I don’t mean this in a way that glosses over the very real struggles in the world today, but in a way that provides hope for the hopeless. This passage describes the promise of only good things to come. It speaks of God’s love for God’s people, a love that will one day make all things new. When faced with the often overwhelming suffering around the world, it cannot hurt to be reminded that God has not abandoned even one corner of creation or those living there.

These prophetic words are timeless and the promise is ongoing. The people of God have always gone through times of hardship; weeping and distress are part of what it means to be human. Wars have raged throughout human history, storms have destroyed lives, human frailty and failings have cause deep pain, and we have grieved and yearned for better ways of living. God knows this reality and sent Jesus into the world to remind us how much we are loved.

We need reminding even now. Unlike the people of Isaiah’s time or Jesus’ time, we have science and technology and are less likely to blame God for everything. This does not, however, take away our need for God’s promise to be with us and to be about creating new places of peace and joy–through us, with us, or in spite of us.

This is good news for all of us who speak God’s name. In spite of typhoons in the Philippines, war in Syria, AIDS in Africa, and grieving souls in all places, God is still at work in the world, in the Church (in all her varied forms), and in us. You and I get to take part in creating this new heaven and earth that is emerging from the old.

Today, I say “Yes!” to the ongoing promise that is being fulfilled in each of us, through each act of kindness, and I say, “Thank you!” because the story is not going to end with human misery, war, and devastation.

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RCL – Year C – Twenty-sixth Sunday after Pentecost – November 17, 2013
Isaiah 65:17-25 with Isaiah 12 or
Malachi 4:1-2a with Psalm 98
2 Thessalonians 3:6-13
Luke 21:5-19

A Prayer for Sabbath

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Steadfast God of love and mercy, how long you have waited for your people to bless your holy name! Through the words of ancient prophets and the Incarnate Word, you tell of your enduring, unconditional love for humanity. You call to us over and over again. Even now, your call to us continues.

We have wandered far from a time that honors the Sabbath. You gave us this day to help us be mindful that we are your people. We excel at ways to fill our quiet hours with our own thoughts and pursuits, forgetting our need to come to you for rest and to worship. Open our ears to the prophets of old, the teachings of Jesus, and those whose words point the way to you.

Gracious God, you are slow to anger and your steadfast love abounds. But, surely, we must test you. You have told us to feed the hungry and satisfy the needs of the afflicted. You want us to stop binding ourselves to destructive ways, pointing fingers at one another, and speaking badly of those around us. Yet, we so often fail in these simple things. We frequently overlook the hungry and turn away from the afflicted. We continue our warring ways, blaming others for our wrongs, and speaking against our neighbors. Have mercy on us. Open our hearts to compassion and peace.

God of all, you remind us that there is much that bends us over, many spirits can cripple us at any time. But the time for healing is now. We can embrace the freedom you offer us right now. We can honor you by giving up our self-interested ways and giving things to you in all things. Even as we are overwhelmed by the tragedies in our lives and the world around us, you embrace us and call us to Sabbath rest. Open our lives that we may we come to you with all that is within us.

Passionate, fiery God, we live in a chaotic world with all kinds of noise and busyness to take our attention from you. We are so easily lost in work, information, entertainment, and in less meaningful activities. Set us on fire! Let us be consumed with a fire that brings light into the dark places of our lives. Open our spirits that we may worship you with reverence and awe.

In gratitude for the abundance of your steadfast love and mercy, we pray in Christ’s name. Amen.

RCL – Year C – Fourteenth Sunday after Pentecost – August 25, 2013
Jeremiah 1:4-10 with Psalm 71:1-6 or
Isaiah 58:9b-14 with Psalm 103:1-8 and
Hebrews 12:18-29 and
Luke 13:10-17

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