Suggested Proper Prayers for the Fourth Sunday in Lent

Proper Prayers for the Fourth Sunday of Lent (RCL Lent 4C)

Joshua 5.9-12; Psalm 32; 2 Corinthians 5.6-21; Luke 15.1-3, 11b-32

Collect of the Day

Gracious Father, whose blessed Son Jesus Christ came from heaven to be the true bead which gives life to the world, evermore give us this bread,so that  he may live in us, and we in him, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever.  Amen.  [1]

or

God of compassion, you welcome the wayward, and you embrace us all with your mercy.  By our baptism clothe us with garments of your grace, and feed us at the table of your love, through Jesus Christ, our Saviourand Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.  [2]

or

Eternal Lover of our wayward race, you open your arms to accept us even before we turn to meet your welcome; you invite us to forgiveness even before our hearts are softened to repentance.  Hold before us the image of our humanity made new, so that we may live in Jesus Christ, your new creation.  Amen.  [3]

or

Merciful Lord, you know our struggle to serve you:  when sin spoils our lives and overshadows our hearts, come to our aid and turn us back to you again; through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen. [3]

or

God of compassion, you await the sinner’s return and spread a feast to welcome home the lost.  Save us from the temptations that lead away from you, and draw us back by the constancy of your love, so thatwe may take our place in your household and gladly share our inheritance with others.  Grant this through Christ, our liberator from sin, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, holy and mighty God for ever and ever. Amen.  [4]

or

Undignified God, spirit of dangerous feasts, inviting the unclean to your table: find us in the far country of hopelessness and greed; free us from the prison of resentment and envy and bring us back to life; through Jesus Christ, the friend of sinners.  Amen. [5]

Prayer over the Gifts

God of mercy and compassion, your Word calls us home to faith and love.  Accept all we offer you this day, in the name of Jesus Christ the Lord.  Amen. [1]

or

God our provider, you have not fed with bread alone, but with words of grace and life.  Bless us and these your gifts, which we receive from your bounty, through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.  [2]

Proper Preface of Lent

Blessed are you gracious God, creator of heaven and earth, because you bid your faithful people to cleanse their hearts and to prepare with joy for the paschal feast; that reborn through the waters of baptism and renewed in the eucharistic mystery, we may be more fervent in prayer and more generous in the works of love.  Therefore we raise our voices to you in praise to proclaim the glory of your name.  [1]

or

Blessed are you, gracious God, creator of heaven and earth; we give you thanks and praise through Jesus Christ our Lord, who was tempted in every way, yet did not sin.  By his grace we are able to triumph over every evil, and to live no longer for ourselves alone, but for him who died for us and rose again.  Therefore with angels and archangels and all who have served you in every age, we raise our voices to proclaim the glory of your name.  [1]

or

It is indeed right, our duty and our joy, that we should at all times and in all places give thanks and praise to you, almighty and merciful God, through our SaviourJesus Christ. You call your people to cleanse their hearts and prepare with joy for the paschal feast, that renewed in the gift of baptism, we may come to the fullness of your grace.  And so, with all the choirs of angels, with the church on earth and the hosts of heaven, we praise your name and joy their unending hymn:

Prayer after Communion

Giver of life, you enlighten all who come into the world.  Fill our hearts with the splendour of your grace, so thatwe may perfectly love you and worthily praise your holy name, through Jesus Christ the Lord.  Amen. [1]

or

Compassionate God, you have fed us with the bread of heaven.  Sustain us in our Lenten pilgrimage:  may our fasting be hunger for justice; our alms, a making of peace; and our prayer, the song of grateful hearts, through Jesus Christ, our Saviourand Lord. Amen.  [2]

Prayer over the People 

In place of the blessing an ancient Lenten tradition is the Prayer over the People.  

Look down in mercy, Lord, on your people who kneel before you; and grant that those whom you have nourished by your Word and Sacraments may bring forth fruit worthy of repentance; through Christ our Lord.  Amen.  [7]

 

Sources

[1]       The Book of Alternative Services 1985

[2]       Evangelical Lutheran Worship 2006

[3]       Trial Use Collects for Years A, B & C and Seasonal Prayers over the Gifts and after Communion 2016

[4]       Opening Prayers:  Collects in Contemporary Language 1997, 1999, 2001

[5]       Prayers for an Inclusive Church 2009

[6]       Revised Common Lectionary Prayers 2002

[7]       The Book of Occasional Services2003

N.B.  When a word or phrase appears is italicized in a liturgical text, it is an alteration made by the Ven. Richard Geoffrey Leggett to the original text.

One Pebble at a Time: Reflections on Luke 13.1-9

One Pebble at a Time

Reflections on Luke 13.1-9

RCL Lent 3C

24 March 2019

Holy Trinity Anglican Cathedral

New Westminster BC

Click here to listen to the Sermon as preached at the 10.00 Eucharist on Sunday the 24th.

Luke 13.1-9

            ^13.1At that very time there were some present who told [Jesus] about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices.  ²He asked them, “Do you think that because these Galileans suffered in this way they were worse sinners than all other Galileans?  ³No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all perish as they did.  ⁴Or those eighteen who were killed when the tower of Siloam fell on them — do you think that they were worse offenders than all the others living in Jerusalem?  ⁵No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all perish just as they did.”

            ⁶Then he told this parable: “A man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard; and he came looking for fruit on it and found none.  ⁷So he said to the gardener, ‘See here!  For three years I have come looking for fruit on this fig tree, and still I find none.  Cut it down!  Why should it be wasting the soil?’  ⁸He replied, ‘Sir, let it alone for one more year, until I dig around it and put manure on it.  ⁹If it bears fruit next year, well and good; but if not, you can cut it down.’ ”

            By mid-April of 1981 spring was making a tentative effort to gain a foothold in southern Wisconsin where my seminary, Nashotah House, is located.  As a final year student the coming of more sunlight and warmer temperatures heralded the changes that were soon to occur for me and many of my classmates.  In six weeks we would graduate.  In eight weeks I would be ordained to the transitional diaconate and begin to exercise the ministry for which I had been preparing for three years.

            To be sure there were still papers to be written and final examinations to take, but it was a good time.  As one of the two senior sacristans of the House I had survived the rigorous and time-consuming preparations for the many liturgical celebrations of Lent, Holy Week and Easter.  This was the time of year that the second-year sacristans took up the reins in preparation for graduation and for their duties in the coming year.  Now that I was freed from many of my duties, I could concentrate on finishing my theological studies well.

            We were in class when the news of the tragedy came to us.  The wife of one of the first-year students had parked her car in the driveway of their home and left it running while she went to open the garage door to unload the groceries.  When she shut the door of her card, the transmission shifted from park into reverse.  The car, with her two-year-old son still in his car seat, rolled into a pond. Despite her desperate and those of her neighbours, the boy drowned.

            The next week was one of the more intense weeks I have ever experienced. But the pain and shock we were all suffering became even more horrible when we learned that the accident need not to have happened at all.  Several years earlier the car manufacturer had learned of the defect that caused the transmission to shift when the driver’s door was shut with any force.  Someone in the company did the math and realized how much it would cost the company to re-call the vehicles and repair the defect. We ever learned that the memorandum had indicated that the cost of any wrongful death settlements would be far less than the cost of a wholesale recall.

            Now I’m sure that the person responsible for this calculation did not wish Michael’s death.  They undertook the cold equations, provided the analysis and then let someone in a higher pay grade make the decision.  But Michael’s death was the result of their actions and the choices they made.

            I will not pretend that today’s gospel reading from Luke is easy to understand. Throughout the history of the Jewish and Christian peoples there has been a desire to understand why things happen the way that they do.  Countless theologians and even more countless believers have tried to understand how God is working in the world and what is the relationship between our actions and God’s will.  We hear people wrestling with this question in today’s gospel.  Why would God allow Herod kill people who are simply following their religious duties and traditions?  They must have done something wrong.  Why would God allow a group of workmen die in an industrial accident? They must have been great sinners.

            To them and to us Jesus simply responds, ‘That’s the wrong question.  The right question is this --- Do I understand that my actions, for good and for ill, affect the lives of others, some of whom I know and many of whom I do not know?’  After all, the Galileans whom Herod is supposed to have killed were more likely the innocent victims of Herod’s paranoia rather than their own imperfections. After all, the Muslim worshippers killed in Christchurch were innocent victims of a young man holding abhorrent views about Islam and immigrants rather than the thin edge of some international conspiracy to undermine pluralist democracies.  After all, the workmen killed in the construction accident in Siloam were more likely the victims of shoddy materials and disregard for any safety protocols than they were for some secret indiscretions. After all, the young people who are killed in industrial accidents in British Columbia are more often victims of peer pressure and fear of standing up to their bosses rather than some deadly sin.

            One of the most powerful tools that evil uses in the world today is the quiet whisper in our ears that what we do does not matter.  We are told that we live in a world so complex that the actions of individuals do not matter.  We look at the evil done in the world and fear takes hold of us, freezing us into inaction.  It’s when I begin to hear this whisper and to see the immensity of wrong that exists in our world that I realize the simple wisdom of a familiar bumper sticker: Think globally.  Act locally.

            We can never underestimate the power of one person to influence the community in which they live and potentially the world in which all of us live.  We can never underestimate the power each one of us has to influence the lives of our families, our friends and our neighbourhoods. When Jesus tells his audience to repent, he is asking them more to take seriously the implications of their own actions and decisions than he is asking them to create a catalogue of ‘things done and things left undone’ for which they are sorry.  When Jesus tells them the parable of the fig tree, he is reminding them of God’s patience towards us and God’s nurture of us so that we can become the persons God knows us to be.

            We here at Holy Trinity know that there are hungry people.  So, once a week, fifty-two weeks a year, we feed them breakfast.  We provide them with clothing and items for their personal needs.  We connect them with resources and with agencies so that their human dignity is respected.  On a busy week we may feed 100 people.  On a slow week 60.  But we act in our own small way to make our small plot of land a place of help, hope and home.

            We know that there is a need for more affordable housing.  So, for more years than some may wish to remember, we’ve been working towards re-developing the land occupied by the Parish Hall and Offices.  It’s not an easy path, but we are drawing closer, I believe, to the realization of our hopes.  Some may ask what difference forty-two affordable housing units will make in the face of widespread need.  My answer is that we are doing our part and hope that our witness will inspire others to do theirs.  In the meantime there will be forty-two individual, couples and families who will find our small plot of land a place of help, hope and home.

            We make our choices, my friends, as disciples of Jesus.  Not out of guilt but out of joy.  Not out of a sense of entitlement but of loving obligation. Not out of a sense of scarcity but out of gratitude for God’s abundance and generosity.  Just as a pebble thrown into a pond creates ripples that rock the leaves on the surface of the pond, so God throws us out into the world, trusting that the choices we make will, in small but significant ways, rock our world and bring God’s reign of justice and peace just a little bit nearer.  As it was in the beginning, is now and will be for ever. Amen.

Proper Prayers for the Third Sunday in Lent (24 March 2019)

Proper Prayers for the Third Sunday of Lent (RCL Lent 3C)

Isaiah 55.1-9; Psalm 63.1-8; 1 Corinthians 10.1-13; Luke 13.1-9

Collect of the Day

Father of mercy, alone we have no power in ourselves to help ourselves.  When we are discouraged by our weakness, strengthen us to follow Christ, our pattern and our hope; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever.  Amen.  [1]

or

Eternal God, your kingdom has broken into our troubled world through the life, death and resurrection of your Son.  Help us to hear your word and obey it, and bring your saving love to fruition in our lives, through Jesus Christ, our Saviour and Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.  Amen.  [2]

or

Eternal God, give us insight to discern your will for us, to give up what harms us, and to seek the perfection we are promised; through Jesus Christ our Saviour. Amen.  [3]

or

God of infinite goodness, throughout the ages you have persevered in claiming and reclaiming your people.  Renew for us your call to repentance, surround us with witnesses to aid us in our journey, and grant us the time to fashion our lives anew; through Jesus Christ our Saviour.  Amen.  [3]

or

God of salvation, we stand before you on holy ground, for your name is glorified and your mercy revealed wherever your mighty deeds are remembered.  Since you are holy and forbearing, turn us from every rash and shallow judgement to seek the ways of repentance.  We ask this through Christ, our deliverance and hope, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, holy and might God for ever and ever.  Amen.  [4]

or

Living Mystery, whose way is not ours, whose name cannot be bought or sold: lead us from justice without compassion and sacrifice without mercy to a love that nurtures and a grace without price; through Jesus Christ, the true Bread.  Amen.  [5]

Prayer over the Gifts

Gracious God, we know your power to triumph over weakness.  May we who ask forgiveness be ready to forgive one another, in the name of Jesus the Lord.  Amen.  [1]

or

God our provider, you have not fed with bread alone, but with words of grace and life.  Bless us and these your gifts, which we receive from your bounty, through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.  [2]

Proper Preface of Lent

Blessed are you gracious God, creator of heaven and earth, because you bid your faithful people to cleanse their hearts and to prepare with joy for the paschal feast; that reborn through the waters of baptism and renewed in the eucharistic mystery, we may be more fervent in prayer and more generous in the works of love.  Therefore we raise our voices to you in praise to proclaim the glory of your name.  [1]

or

Blessed are you, gracious God, creator of heaven and earth; we give you thanks and praise through Jesus Christ our Lord, who was tempted in every way, yet did not sin.  By his grace we are able to triumph over every evil, and to live no longer for ourselves alone, but for him who died for us and rose again.  Therefore with angels and archangels and all who have served you in every age, we raise our voices to proclaim the glory of your name.  [1]

or

It is indeed right, our duty and our joy, that we should at all times and in all places give thanks and praise to you, almighty and merciful God, through our SaviourJesus Christ. You call your people to cleanse their hearts and prepare with joy for the paschal feast, that renewed in the gift of baptism, we may come to the fullness of your grace.  And so, with all the choirs of angels, with the church on earth and the hosts of heaven, we praise your name and joy their unending hymn:

Prayer after Communion

God of mercy and forgiveness, may we who share this sacrament live together in unity and peace, in the name of Jesus Christ the Lord.  Amen.  [1]

or

Compassionate God, you have fed us with the bread of heaven.  Sustain us in our Lenten pilgrimage:  may our fasting be hunger for justice; our alms, a making of peace; and our prayer, the song of grateful hearts, through Jesus Christ, our Saviour and Lord. Amen.  [2]

Prayer over the People 

In place of the blessing an ancient Lenten tradition is the Prayer over the People.  

Look mercifully on this your family, almighty God, that by your great goodness they may be governed and preserved evermore; through Christ our Lord.  Amen.  [7]

 

Sources

[1]       The Book of Alternative Services 1985

[2]       Evangelical Lutheran Worship 2006

[3]       Trial Use Collects for Years A, B & C and Seasonal Prayers over the Gifts and after Communion 2016

[4]       Opening Prayers:  Collects in Contemporary Language 1997, 1999, 2001

[5]       Prayers for an Inclusive Church 2009

[6]       Revised Common Lectionary Prayers 2002

[7]       The Book of Occasional Services2003

N.B.  When a word or phrase appears is italicized in a liturgical text, it is an alteration made by the Ven. Richard Geoffrey Leggett to the original text.

Proper Prayers for the Second Sunday in Lent (RCL Lent 2C, 17 March 2019

Proper Prayers for the Second Sunday of Lent (RCL Lent 2C)

Genesis 15.1-12, 17-18; Psalm 27; Philippians 3.17-4.1; Luke 13.31-35

Collect of the Day

Almighty God, whose Son was revealed in majesty before he suffered death upon the cross, give us faith to perceive his glory, so that being strengthened by his grace we may be changed into his likeness, from glory to glory; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever.  Amen.  [1]

or

God of the covenant, in the mystery of the cross you promise everlasting life to the world.  Gather all peoples into your arms, and shelter us with your mercy, so that we may rejoice in the life we share in your Son, Jesus Christ, our Saviour and Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.  Amen.  [2]

or

Brooding Spirit, beneath your wings there is creation and life:  accompany us on the difficult path with the disappeared, the broken and the fearful, so that we find the way to the city of our peace where we are all accepted as your beloved; through the cross of Jesus Christ, our only Lord.  Amen.  [3]

or

Hope beyond all human hope, you promised Abraham and Sarah descendants as numerous as the stars.  You promise light and salvation in the midst of darkness and despair, and redemption to a world that will not listen.  Gather us in tenderness and open our ears to your word, so that we may live faithfully and confidently in your promises.  We ask this in the name of Jesus Christ.  Amen.  [3]

or

God of the covenant, your presence fills us with awe, your word gives us unshakable hope. Fix in our hearts the image of your Son in glory, so that, sustained on the path of discipleship, we may pass over with him to newness of life.  Grant this through Christ, our deliverance and hope, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, holy and mighty God for ever and ever. Amen.  [4]

Prayer over the Gifts

God of wisdom, may the light of the eternal Word, our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, guide us to your glory. We ask this in his name.  Amen. [1]

or

God our provider, you have not fed with bread alone, but with words of grace and life.  Bless us and these your gifts, which we receive from your bounty, through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.  [2]

Proper Preface of Lent

Blessed are you gracious God, creator of heaven and earth, because you bid your faithful people to cleanse their hearts and to prepare with joy for the paschal feast; that reborn through the waters of baptism and renewed in the eucharistic mystery, we may be more fervent in prayer and more generous in the works of love.  Therefore we raise our voices to you in praise to proclaim the glory of your name.  [1]

or

Blessed are you, gracious God, creator of heaven and earth; we give you thanks and praise through Jesus Christ our Lord, who was tempted in every way, yet did not sin.  By his grace we are able to triumph over every evil, and to live no longer for ourselves alone, but for him who died for us and rose again.  Therefore with angels and archangels and all who have served you in every age, we raise our voices to proclaim the glory of your name.  [1]

or

It is indeed right, our duty and our joy, that we should at all times and in all places give thanks and praise to you, almighty and merciful God, through our SaviourJesus Christ. You call your people to cleanse their hearts and prepare with joy for the paschal feast, that renewed in the gift of baptism, we may come to the fullness of your grace.  And so, with all the choirs of angels, with the church on earth and the hosts of heaven, we praise your name and joy their unending hymn:

Prayer after Communion

Creator of heaven and earth, we thank you for these holy mysteries, which bring us now a share in the life to come, through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.  [1]

or

Compassionate God, you have fed us with the bread of heaven.  Sustain us in our Lenten pilgrimage:  may our fasting be hunger for justice; our alms, a making of peace; and our prayer, the song of grateful hearts, through Jesus Christ, our Saviour and Lord. Amen.  [2]

Prayer over the People 

In place of the blessing an ancient Lenten tradition is the Prayer over the People.  

Keep this your family, Lord, with your never-failing mercy, so that relying solely on the help of your heavenly grace, they may be upheld by your divine protection; through Christ our Lord.  Amen.  [7]

 

Sources

[1]       The Book of Alternative Services 1985

[2]       Evangelical Lutheran Worship 2006

[3]       Trial Use Collects for Years A, B & C and Seasonal Prayers over the Gifts and after Communion 2016

[4]       Opening Prayers:  Collects in Contemporary Language 1997, 1999, 2001

[5]       Prayers for an Inclusive Church 2009

[6]       Revised Common Lectionary Prayers 2002

[7]       The Book of Occasional Services 2003

N.B.  When a word or phrase appears is italicized in a liturgical text, it is an alteration made by the Ven. Richard Geoffrey Leggett to the original text.

The World, the Flesh & The Devil: Reflections on Luke 4.1-13

The World, the Flesh & the Devil

Reflections on Luke 4.1-13

RCL Lent 1C

10 March 2019

Holy Trinity Cathedral

New Westminster BC

Click here to listen to the Sermon as preached at the 10.00 Eucharist on Sunday the 10th.

Luke 4.1-13

                  ^4.1Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness, ²where for forty days he was tempted by the devil.  He ate nothing at all during those days, and when they were over, he was famished.  ³The devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become a loaf of bread.”  ⁴Jesus answered him, “It is written, ‘One does not live by bread alone.’ ”

                  ⁵Then the devil led him up and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world.  ⁶And the devil said to him, “To you I will give their glory and all this authority; for it has been given over to me, and I give it to anyone I please. ⁷If you, then, will worship me, it will all be yours.”  ⁸Jesus answered him, “It is written, ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve only him.’ ”

                  ⁹Then the devil took him to Jerusalem, and placed him on the pinnacle of the temple, saying to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down from here, ¹⁰for it is written,

‘He will command his angels concerning you, to protect you,’ ¹¹and ‘On their hands they will bear you up, so that you will not dash your foot against a stone.’ ”

                  ¹²Jesus answered him, “It is said, ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’ ”  ¹³When the devil had finished every test, he departed from him until an opportune time.

            Every year Jim Griffiss, the professor of theology at Nashotah House, the seminary where I studied, would offer an advanced seminar in theology. He limited enrolment in the seminar to ten to twelve graduating students.  It was always held in the afternoons in the seminar room Jim had added to his house and there was always good Wisconsin beer --- local brew not generic national labels.

            I was fortunate enough to gain a seat in Jim’s seminar during my final year at Nashotah.  The seminar was entitled simply ‘Evil’.  We spent the first session discussing why Jim had chosen just the world ‘evil’ to describe the seminar.  That session alone was worth the tuition fee.  What Jim led us to see is that many of the ways we talk about evil assume underlying answers:  Is evil a ‘problem’?  Is evil a ‘question’?  Is evil a ‘mystery’?  Is evil a ‘symbol’?  Why does God ‘allow’ evil?  The list goes on and on

            Evil has been a subject of Christian conversation since the earliest disciples of Jesus tried to explain to potential converts why an all-powerful God would allow humans to arrest, torture and execute Jesus if Jesus is the ‘Son of God’.  Evil has been an experience all people of faith have struggled to understand even as Jesus was tempted to embrace the world, the flesh and the devil in the desert of Judea.  And just like my friends in the ‘evil’ seminar thirty-eight years ago, Christians have come up with various ways of describing how in the story of Jesus of Nazareth evil finds its match.

            Almost every time I’ve prepared a family for the baptism of their child, the first stumbling block in our conversation has been the three-fold renunciations that come early in the liturgy.

• Do you renounce Satan and all the spiritual forces of wickedness that rebel against God?
• Do you renounce the evil powers of this world which corrupt and destroy the creatures of God?
• Do you renounce all sinful desires that draw you from the love of God? [1]

I can honestly say that I have struggled to find ways to respond to the questions and concerns parents and others have above these words spoken publicly and formally on the occasion of the baptism.  I can also say that, in preparing for today’s sermon, I found some of the words that I’ve always wanted to say.

            Evil is ‘looking for love in all the wrong places’.  Embedded in the heart of every human being is the capacity to love and the desire to be loved.  Think of all those cute videos on social media that show ducks that think they’re dogs, cats that adopt rabbits and chimpanzees that recognize their rescuers years later.  We enjoy watching them because these videos speak to something deep within ourselves. They are parables of the world as we would like it to be, a world in which we are loved for who we are not who someone wants us to be, a world where love knows no barrier based on our looks, our possessions, our personal history, a world where we know that there is enough for everyone and we do not need to fear giving.

            Evil eats into us when our desire to love and to be loved is misdirected. Evil gains a foothold in us when fear replaces hope, when self-interest blinds us to the needs and concerns of others, when we turn inward on ourselves rather than outward towards our neighbours. Evil often confuses quantity, however defined, with quality, confuses hoarding with responsible stewardship, confuses prejudice with joy in the diversity of humanity.

            Evil is more about nurture than about nature.  There are Christians who believe that we are inherently flawed creatures and there ‘is no health in us’.  This attitude is present in some of the prayers of the Anglican tradition.  I can understand this point of view.  I have been to Dachau.  I have seen the piles of eyeglasses, the heaps of shoes, the stacks of luggage taken from the inmates as they entered the concentration camp.  I have seen the crematoria.  I have few illusions about our ability to harm others and ourselves.  But I find myself more sympathetic to the view that we have to be taught to hate [2]and that the glory of God is a human being fully alive. [3]

            All of us are exposed to various forms of evil and, if the truth be told, all of us come away from such encounters touched by that evil and it leaves its imprint upon us like pine tar that we simply cannot wipe away.  Our families, our friends, our religious communities can be the remedies that help us regain our right minds and shape us so that we ‘persevere in resisting evil and, whenever [we] fall into sin, repent and return to the Lord’. [4]

            Evil is intentional and purposeful. Many years ago there was a television show character who loved to explain away every mistake, every misstep, every failing by saying, ‘the Devil made me do it.’  Here we face the real conundrum of evil.  Although we wish we were in control of every aspect of our lives, we must acknowledge that we often find ourselves under the sway of powerful forces that limit the gift of free will that God has placed in our very souls. But despair is the ultimate tool of evil and leaves us believing that ‘resistance is futile’ and we are powerless to effect change in ourselves, in our communities, in our world.  

            Lent, however, is a time to remember that the good news of God in Christ proclaims that we can choose to love and to be loved as God has loved us in Christ, that we can grow into the image of God that already implanted within us, that we can choose to resist evil in whatever form it takes and by whatever disguise it chooses.

            As I sometimes do before I preach, I looked up the meaning of ‘renounce’.  Two meanings were ones I already knew:  (i) to give up a claim or right and (ii) to give up some habit or pursuit voluntarily.  But a third meaning grabbed my attention:  (iii) to fail to follow suit because one has no cards that that suit left in one’s hand or to choose not to follow suit even if one has those cards in one’s hand.  That’s something I can understand because I come from a card-playing family.  Just as Jesus refused to play Satan’s game in the wilderness, so too can you and I refuse to play the game that evil tries to play in our times.  We do not have to follow suit. 

            Just because others live in fear must we live in fear.  We renounce fear.  Just because others look for love in all the wrong places must we turn away from the love of God made known to us in Jesus of Nazareth.  We renounce misdirected love.  Just because others choose paths of self-interest and division must we silence our song of God’s generosity and unifying grace.  We renounce everything that seeks to corrupt and destroy the creatures of God. Why?  Because “ ^{4. 16b}God is love, and those who abide in love abide in God, and God abides in them.  ¹⁷Love has been perfected among us in this:  that we may have boldness on the day of judgment, because as he is, so are we in this world.  ¹⁸There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. “  [5]

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[1]The Book of Alternative Services1985, 154.

[2]‘You’ve Got to Be Carefully Taught’ from Rodgers and Hammerstein’s South Pacific.

[3]Irenaeus of Lyons.

[4]The Book of Alternative Services1985, 159.

[5]John 14.16b-18a

Proper Prayers for the First Sunday in Lent 2019

Proper Prayers for the First Sunday of Lent (RCL Lent 1C)

Deuteronomy 26.1-11; Psalm 91.1-2, 9-16; Romans 10.8b-13; Luke 4.1-13

Collect of the Day

Almighty God, whose Son fasted forty days in the wilderness, and was tempted as we are but did not sin, give us grace to discipline ourselves in submission to your Spirit, that as you know our weakness, so we may know your power to save; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.  [1]

or

O Lord God, you led your people through the wilderness and brought them to the promised land.  Guide us now, so that, following your Son, we may walk safely through the wilderness of this world toward the life you alone can give, through Jesus Christ, our Saviourand Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.  Amen.  [2]

or

Heavenly Father, your Son confronted the powers of darkness that obscure your compassion and love for all of creation:  help us to use these days to grow in wisdom and prayer, so that we may witness to that saving love proclaimed in Jesus Christ our Saviour.  Amen.  [3]

or

God of the wilderness, your Spirit leads us to face the truth, unprotected and exposed: in our times of trial help us to resist the worship of empty power, so that we may find our true food in Jesus Christ, the broken bread.  Amen.  [3]

or

Lord our God, you alone do we worship, only your word give life.  Sustain your Church on its Lenten journey.  When we walk through the desert of temptation, strengthen us to renounce the power of evil.  When our faith is tested by doubt, illumine our hearts with Easter’s bright promise.  We ask this through Christ, our deliverance and hope, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, holy and mighty God for ever and ever.  Amen. [4]

or

God of deliverance and freedom, you taught the people of Israel to acknowledge that all things come from your bountiful hand.  Deepen our faith so that we may resist temptation and, in the midst of trial, proclaim that Jesus Christ is Lord, now and for ever.  Amen.  [6]

Prayer over the Gifts

God our refuge and our strength, receive all we offer you this day, and through the death and resurrection of your Son transform us to his likeness.  We ask this in his name.  Amen.  [1]

or

God our provider, you have not fed with bread alone, but with words of grace and life.  Bless us and these your gifts, which we receive from your bounty, through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.  [2]

Proper Preface of Lent

Blessed are you gracious God, creator of heaven and earth, because you bid your faithful people to cleanse their hearts and to prepare with joy for the paschal feast; that reborn through the waters of baptism and renewed in the eucharistic mystery, we may be more fervent in prayer and more generous in the works of love.  Therefore we raise our voices to you in praise to proclaim the glory of your name.  [1]

or

Blessed are you, gracious God, creator of heaven and earth; we give you thanks and praise through Jesus Christ our Lord, who was tempted in every way, yet did not sin.  By his grace we are able to triumph over every evil, and to live no longer for ourselves alone, but for him who died for us and rose again. Therefore with angels and archangels and all who have served you in every age, we raise our voices to proclaim the glory of your name.  [1]

or

It is indeed right, our duty and our joy, that we should at all times and in all places give thanks and praise to you, almighty and merciful God, through our SaviourJesus Christ. You call your people to cleanse their hearts and prepare with joy for the paschal feast, that renewed in the gift of baptism, we may come to the fullness of your grace.  And so, with all the choirs of angels, with the church on earth and the hosts of heaven, we praise your name and joy their unending hymn:  [3]

Prayer after Communion

Faithful God, in this holy bread you increase our faith and hope and love.  Lead us in the path of Christ who is your Word of life.  We ask this in his name.  Amen.  [1]

or

Compassionate God, you have fed us with the bread of heaven.  Sustain us in our Lenten pilgrimage:  may our fasting be hunger for justice; our alms, a making of peace; and our prayer, the song of grateful hearts, through Jesus Christ, our Saviourand Lord. Amen.  [2]

Prayer over the People 

In place of the blessing an ancient Lenten tradition is the Prayer over the People.  

Grant, Almighty God, that your people may recognize their weakness and put their whole trust in your strength, so that they may rejoice for ever in the protection of your loving providence; through Christ our Lord.  Amen.  [7]

 

Sources

[1]       The Book of Alternative Services 1985

[2]       Evangelical Lutheran Worship 2006

[3]       Trial Use Collects for Years A, B & C and Seasonal Prayers over the Gifts and after Communion 2016

[4]       Opening Prayers:  Collects in Contemporary Language 1997, 1999, 2001

[5]       Prayers for an Inclusive Church 2009

[6]       Revised Common Lectionary Prayers 2002

[7]       The Book of Occasional Services 2003

N.B.  When a word or phrase appears is italicized in a liturgical text, it is an alteration made by the Ven. Richard Geoffrey Leggett to the original text.