How the Light Gets In --- And Out

How the Light Gets In --- And Out

Reflections on 2 Corinthians 4.1-12

The Induction of the Rev’d Timothy Morgan

9 September 2019

Christ Church

Hope BC

Click here to listen to the Sermon as preached on Monday night at Christ Church Hope.

2 Corinthians 4.1-12

            ^4.1Therefore, since it is by God’s mercy that we are engaged in this ministry, we do not lose heart.  ²We have renounced the shameful things that one hides; we refuse to practice cunning or to falsify God’s word; but by the open statement of the truth we commend ourselves to the conscience of everyone in the sight of God.  ³And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing.  ⁴In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.  ⁵For we do not proclaim ourselves; we proclaim Jesus Christ as Lord and ourselves as your slaves for Jesus’ sake.  ⁶For it is the God who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

            ⁷But we have this treasure in clay jars, so that it may be made clear that this extraordinary power belongs to God and does not come from us.  ⁸We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; ⁹persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; ¹⁰always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be made visible in our bodies.  ¹¹For while we live, we are always being given up to death for Jesus’ sake, so that the life of Jesus may be made visible in our mortal flesh.  ¹²So death is at work in us, but life in you.

Do not be deceived by outward appearances.

            I grew up in Colorado Springs where the Great Plains meet the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains at the foot of Pikes Peak.  Millions of years ago my home town lay on the bed of a shallow but vast inland sea.  In the sediment cavities of various sizes formed as organic material or minerals decayed or dissolved in the surrounding waters.  Over millions of years water saturated with various minerals seeped back into these cavities creating layers around the shell.  When the sea retreated, these bubbles solidified and became geodes, unattractive objects, some round, others oblong, some small, some large, that are found in the hills where my friends and I wandered.

            It is only when you break open a geode or cut it open with a rock-cutting saw that its hidden treasure is revealed.  All the colours of the rainbow dazzle your eyes.  A veritable forest of crystals grows out the interior of the shell towards the centre.  I have a pair of bookends at home that my father had made for me out of a geode he had found.  They followed me to university and have been with me for almost fifty years.  Whenever I look at them, I am reminded that one should always avoid being deceived by outward appearances.  What looks like a stone potato may actually be concealing a glorious display of God’s handiwork.

Being broken doesn’t mean something or someone is not beautiful.

            When Tim sent me the readings for tonight’s celebration of this new chapter in the life of Christ Church, I was overjoyed to see the reading from the fourth chapter of 2 Corinthians.  For me it is Paul writing at his most open and honest best.  I hope you will forgive me for reading just a few more verses from this chapter where Paul cracks open the gospel geode to reveal the glory of God being made manifest in the lives of Christ’s disciples.

            ⁷But we have this treasure in clay jars, so that it may be made clear that this extraordinary power belongs to God and does not come from us.  ⁸We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; ⁹persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; ¹⁰always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be made visible in our bodies.  ¹¹For while we live, we are always being given up to death for Jesus’ sake, so that the life of Jesus may be made visible in our mortal flesh.  ¹²So death is at work in us, but life in you.

            I think that the last twenty-five years have shown all of us the fragility of the vessel we call ‘the church’ as it carries the ‘light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ’.  All of the cracks and chips caused by our struggles to be faithful to our apostolic ministry of proclaiming the good news of God in Christ revealed and constantly being revealed by the Holy Spirit can be seen in the fabric of every parish of our Diocese.  I dare say many of us here tonight have a few cracks and chips that weren’t there twenty-five years ago.

            We know the costs of being faithful to the apostolic tradition rather than human traditionalism.  We may be tempted to try and hide from ourselves and from others these cracks and chips.  But they are sacraments, outward and visible signs of God’s inward and spiritual grace working in us and through us.  They are the marks of an honourable and faithful ‘Via Dolorosa’, the way of the Cross that leads us not to everlasting defeat but to eternal life, not just in some distant future, but in the here and now.

            There is a Japanese art form called kintsugi.  It is the art of repairing broken ceramics with various metals, often gold and silver. When the artist is finished with the repairs, the cracks and chips are not invisible.  On the contrary, our eyes are immediately drawn to them.  They are no longer signs of decay or misuse or damage; they frame the story of this vessel, so precious that it cannot be thrown away.  Something new emerges from the fragments of the old, perhaps not with the same beauty as graced the original, but with the beauty of its courage to tell its story without fear or concealment.  The potter, the jeweller and the vessel look us straight in the eye and say, ‘Here is a treasure.  Even its imperfections now shine with the light of truth.  Being broken doesn’t mean something or someone isn’t beautiful.’

There’s a crack in everything, that’s how the light gets in.[1]

            My friends, especially Tim and the people of Christ Church, you have a precious treasure, the good news of God in Christ.  Just as a diamond has many facets, so are there many faces to this good news among you.  Here in Hope I am confident that, working together, you will dare to name how you have experienced that good news and to discern what good news your friends and neighbours here in Hope need to see in you and hear from you.

            But even the most precious of diamonds has its flaws, records of the story of how this diamond came to be under the pressure of millions of years. Do not be afraid to let people see the cracks and chips that tell your story.  They record how this Christian community has not only lived through difficult times, but how you have mended those cracks and chips with the precious metal that is Christ in us, earthen vessels even though we are.

            In 1992 Leonard Cohen released an album entitled The Future.  Among its songs was ‘Anthem’.  When he was interviewed about the album and about this song in particular, Cohen said,

. . . there is a crack in everything that you can put together: Physical objects, mental objects, constructions of any kind.  But that’s where the light gets in, and that’s where the resurrection is and that’s where the return, that’s where the repentance is.  It is with the confrontation, with the brokenness of things. [2]

            And so, my friends, “Ring the bells that still can ring / Forget your perfect offering / There is a crack, a crack in everything / That’s how the light gets in.” [3]  And, I dare to add, it’s also how the light gets out and transforms our shadows into the glorious day of the Lord.

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[1]‘Anthem’ by Leonard Cohen, 1992.

[2]https://qz.com/835076/leonard-cohens-anthem-the-story-of-the-line-there-is-a-crack-in-everything-that’s-how-the-light-gets-in/accessed on 8 September 2019.

[3]‘Anthem’ by Leonard Cohen, 1992.

Tradition Not Treason: Reflections on Deuteronomy 30.15-20 (RCL Proper 23C, 8 September 2019)

Tradition Not Treason

Reflections on Deuteronomy 30.15-20

Founders’ Day

RCL Proper 23C

8 September 2019

Holy Trinity Anglican Cathedral

New Westminster BC

Click here to listen to the Sermon as preached at the 10.00 Eucharist.

Deuteronomy 30.15-20

            ^30.15See, I have set before you today life and prosperity, death and adversity.  ¹⁶If you obey the commandments of the Lord your God that I am commanding you today, by loving the Lord your God, walking in his ways, and observing his commandments, decrees, and ordinances, then you shall live and become numerous, and the Lord your God will bless you in the land that you are entering to possess.  ¹⁷But if your heart turns away and you do not hear, but are led astray to bow down to other gods and serve them, ¹⁸I declare to you today that you shall perish; you shall not live long in the land that you are crossing the Jordan to enter and possess.  ¹⁹I call heaven and earth to witness against you today that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses.  Choose life so that you and your descendants may live, ²⁰loving the Lordyour God, obeying him, and holding fast to him; for that means life to you and length of days, so that you may live in the land that the Lord swore to give to your ancestors, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob.

Tradition or Treason?

            I grew up in a household filled with two kinds of music:  the music of the Church and the music of the stage.  Church music came from my mother’s long involvement in church choirs, an involvement that I shared from the age of eleven or so.  The music of the stage was also my mother’s passion, although my father was a fan as well.

            One of my favourites was and remains A Fiddler on the Roof.  I think that part of my attraction is the sense of identity with the struggles that Tevye and his family undergo in the early years of the twentieth century as questions begin to pound against the walls of the traditions and customs that surround not only Tevye’s community but many other communities at that time.  There is a sense of doom that casts a shadow because you and I know that World War 1 in on the horizon, the Russian Revolution is stirring and the horrors of the Shoah, the ‘Final Solution’ are only thirty years away.

            I cannot help myself when, in the opening number, Tevye sings his lament, ‘Tradition!’  It is a lament, you know, because in the space of the musical, tradition, as Tevye and his community know, will lie in pieces all around them.  The moment that really touches me is a little later when he sings ‘If I Were a Rich Man’:

If I were rich, I’d have the time that I lack

to sit in the synagogue and pray

And maybe have a seat by the Easter wall

And I'd discuss the holy books with the learned men,

several hours every day
That would be the sweetest thing of all

            Tradition is an interesting word.  It comes from the Latin traherewhich means ‘to hand over, to pass down, to transmit’.  In the English language traherehas given birth to two words whose connotations are at cross purposes:  ‘tradition’ and ‘treason’.  There may be some deep wisdom in how we distinguish between ‘tradition’ and ‘traditionalism’.  We intuit that ‘traditionalism’ may, at times, betray ‘tradition’, commit ‘treason’ against the wisdom and insights that have been handed down to us from our ancestors.

Honouring our Tradition

            Today we honour the tradition of the founders of this Parish.  They came to this place bearing a variety of motivations, some we remember as honourable, some we remember as causing harm to the indigenous peoples who dwelt and still dwell in this fertile land.  We fail the founders and we fail ourselves if we do not remember both the light and shadows of our past.  We will not commit the treason of an unquestioning traditionalism.

            What is the tradition that the founders passed along to us and that we, in our turn, are called to hand on to those who follow?

• We celebrate and hand on to others a tradition of faithful witness to the saving work of God made known to us in Christ Jesus through our life as a community of word, prayer and sacrament.
• We celebrate and hand on to others the resolve to face and resist evil in whatever form it takes, to be courageous enough to acknowledge our own part and to seek reconciliation.
• We celebrate and hand on to others our experience of the good news of God in Christ and invite others to join us as disciples of Christ and as agents of God’s saving purposes.
• We celebrate and hand on to others diakonia, a self-giving and self-sacrificing life of service for the good of the world around us recognizing that we are all children of one Creator, embodiments of one Christ, bearers of one Spirit.
• We celebrate and hand on to others the call to strive for justice and peace, ‘thinking globally and acting locally’ so that ‘all [God’s] children shall be free’.
• We celebrate and hand on to others the stewardship of this earth, the only home we have.

This is the tradition we have received.  This is the tradition we live out in this time and in this place.  This is the tradition we and every generation struggle to express in ways that speak and encourage those with whom we live, move and have our being.

Where are we going from here?

            In 1859 the Rev’d John Sheepshanks used the tools he had to hand, space in the Customs House and a Chinese gong, to summon the good folk of New Westminster to join in the pilgrimage of Christian tradition.  Not many showed up.  But soon land was acquired and a building built so that the tradition could be shared and lived sheltered from the rain and the sun.

            In 1865 the first church burnt to the ground and the opportunity was given to Parish to build a new church on the foundations of the tradition of Christian discipleship to which they were summoned by a gong and later by bells. The Parish became a Cathedral Parish with the prestige and the pitfalls of being the ‘Mother Church’ of the Diocese. New challenges were faced, traditionalism no doubt raised its head, but the heart of the tradition continued to beat.

            In 1898 a fire roared up the creek valley to the east of us and the splendid Cathedral found itself in ruins again.  Within three years a new Cathedral was built and consecrated.  Our story and our participation in God’s mission continued. A Parish Hall was built, then demolished so that a new Hall could rise.  The Bishop moved the centre of the Diocese to Vancouver, a loss that even decades later can arouse warm feelings.  But the tradition of ministry in this place, the tradition of service to the needs and concerns of this city, the tradition of witness to the good news of God in Christ could not be undermined.

            Ten years ago we began to envision a renewal of this Cathedral so that we could honour the tradition handed down to us, not just by the generation of 1859, but by the generations since the apostles and earliest disciples of Jesus. It has not been an easy journey and we are not yet where we hoped we would be ten years ago.  But the ministry began continues because

The Spirit of the Lord is upon [us], because he has anointed [us] to bring good news to the poor. He has sent [us] to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour. [Luke 4.18-19 NRSV alt.] 

This is why we are here.  This is why we seek to renew this place in the heart of New Westminster.  This is the tradition on which we were founded.  May God give us the strength, the perseverance and the patience to hand it on.

            

            

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Proper Prayers for Pentecost 13 (RCL Proper 23C, 8 September 2019)

Proper Prayers for RCL Proper 23C

RCL Complementary Series

Deuteronomy 30.15-20; Psalm 1; Philemon 1-21; Luke 14.25-33

RCL Semi-continuous Series

Jeremiah 18.1-11; Psalm 139.1-5, 12-17 (BAS); Philemon 1-21; Luke 14.25-33

Collect of the Day

Stir up, O Lord, the wills of your faithful people, that/so that richly bearing the fruit of good works, we may by you be richly rewarded; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who is alive and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever.  Amen.  [1]

or

Direct us, O Lord God, in all our doings with your continual help, that/so that in all our works, begun, continued, and ended in you, we may glorify your holy name; and finally, by your mercy, bring us to everlasting life, through Jesus Christ, our Saviour and Lord.  Amen.  [2]

or

Jealous God, you call us to hate the life that is an echo of death and a whisper of fear: give us the courage to pass through shadows and count the cost of a love beyond measure; through Jesus Christ, the one who is fully alive.  Amen.  [3]

or

Almighty God, you search us and know us:  may we rely on you in strength and rest on you in weakness, now and in all our days; through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.  [3]

or

God of the ages, you call the Church to keep watch in the world and to discern the signs of the times.  Grant us the wisdom which your Spirit bestows, that/so that with courage we may proclaim your prophetic word and complete the work you have set before us.  We make our prayer through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God for ever and ever.  Amen. [4]

or

Creator God, you form us on the wheel of life as a potter moulds the clay.  Shape us into holy vessels, bearing the mark of your wise crafting, that/so that we may remain strong and useful through years of faithful and obedient service in Christ’s name.  Amen. [6]

or

Source of life and blessing, of garden, orchard, field, root us in obedience to you and nourish us by your ever-flowing Spirit, that/so that, perceiving only the good we might do, our lives may be fruitful, our labour productive, and our service useful, in communion with Jesus, our brother.  Amen.  [6]

Prayer over the Gifts

Great and holy God, accept our offering of labour and love.  May we bring you true and spiritual worship and be one with you. We ask this in the name of Jesus Christ the Lord.  Amen.  [1]

or

Holy God, gracious and merciful, you bring forth food from the earth and nourish your whole creation.  Turn our hearts toward those who hunger in any way, so that all may know your care; and prepare us now to feast on the bread of life, Jesus Christ, our Saviour and Lord.  Amen.  [3]

or

God of all creation, all you have made is good, and your love endures forever.  You bring forth bread from the earth and fruit from the vine.  Nourish us with these gifts, so that we might for the world signs of your gracious presence in Jesus Christ, our Saviour and Lord.  Amen.  [3]

or

Blessed are you, O God, maker of all things.  Through your goodness you have blessed us with these gifts:  our selves, our time and our possessions.  Use us, and what we have gathered, in feeding the world with your love, through the one who gave himself for us, Jesus Christ, our Saviour and Lord.  Amen.  [3]

or

God of mercy and grace, the eyes of all wait upon you,  and you open your hand in blessing.  Fill us with good things at your table, so that we may come to the help of all in need, through Jesus Christ, our redeemer and Lord.  Amen. [3]

or

Merciful God, as grains of wheat scattered upon the hills were gathered together to become one bread, so let your church be gathered together from the ends of the earth into your kingdom, for yours is the glory through Jesus Christ, now and for ever.  Amen.  [3]

Preface

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 Saviour Jesus Christ; who on this day overcame death and the grave, and by his glorious resurrection opened to us the way of everlasting life.  And so, with all the choirs of angels, with the church on earth and the hosts of heaven, we praise your name and join their unending hymn. [2a]

or

Blessed are you, gracious God, creator of heaven and earth; you are the source of light and life for all your creation, you made us in your own image, and call us to new life in Jesus Christ our Saviour.  Therefore we praise you, joining our voices 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 on this first day of the week overcame death and the grave, and by his glorious resurrection opened to us the way of everlasting life.  In our unending joy we echo on earth the song of the angels in heaven as we raise our voices to proclaim the glory of your name.  [1]

or

Blessed are you, gracious God, creator of heaven and earth; by water and the Holy Spirit you have made us a holy people in Jesus Christ our Lord; you renew that mystery in bread and wine and nourish us, to show forth your glory in all the world. Therefore with angels and archangels, and with all the holy people who have served you in every age, we raise our voices to proclaim the glory of your name.  [1]

Prayer after Communion

Father/Creator of all, your word and sacrament give us food and life.  May we who have shared in holy things bear fruit to your honour and glory, in the name of Jesus Christ the Lord.  Amen.  [1]

or

We give you thanks, almighty God, that you have refreshed us through the healing power of this gift of life.  In your mercy, strengthen us through this gift, in faith toward you and in fervent love toward one another; for the sake of Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen. [3]

or

O God, we give you thanks that you have set before us this feast, the body and blood of your Son.  By your Spirit strengthen us to serve all in need and to give ourselves away as bread for the hungry, through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.  [3]

or

God of abundance, with this bread of life and cup of salvation you have united us with Christ, making us one with all your people.  Now send us forth in the power of your Spirit, so that we may proclaim your redeeming love to the world and continue forever in the risen life of Jesus Christ, our Lord.  Amen.  [3]

or

Gracious God, in this meal you have drawn us to your heart, and nourished us at your table with food and drink, the body and blood of Christ.  Now send us forth to be your people in the world, and to proclaim your truth this day and evermore, through Jesus Christ, our Saviour and Lord.  Amen.  [3]

or

O God, our life, our strength, our food, we give you thanks for sustaining us with the body and blood of your Son.  By your Holy Spirit, enliven us to be his body in the world, so that more and more we will giveyou praise and serve your earth and its many peoples, through Jesus Christ, our Saviour and Lord.  Amen.  [3]

Notes

[1]       The Book of Alternative Services1985

[2]       Evangelical Lutheran Worship2006

[2a]      Evangelical Lutheran Worship:  Leaders Desk Edition2006

[3]       Alternative Collects for Years A, B & C of the RCL and Seasonal Prayers over the Gifts and after Communion2019

[4]       Opening Prayers:  Collects in Contemporary Language1997

[5]       Prayers for an Inclusive Church2009

[6]       Revised Common Lectionary Prayers2002

N.B. Text in italics are possible alternatives suggested by the Ven. Richard Geoffrey Leggett, Ph.D.

I Had a Dream: Reflections on Sirach 10.12-18 (RCL Proper 22C, 1 September 2019)

I Had a Dream

Reflections on Sirach 10.12-18

RCL Proper 22C

1 September 2019

Holy Trinity Anglican Cathedral

New Westminster BC

Sirach 10.12-18

            ^10.12The beginning of human pride is to forsake the Lord; the heart has withdrawn from its Maker.  ¹³For the beginning of pride is sin, and the one who clings to it pours out abominations.  Therefore the Lord brings upon them unheard-of calamities, and destroys them completely.  ¹⁴The Lord overthrows the thrones of rulers, and enthrones the lowly in their place.  ¹⁵The Lord plucks up the roots of the nations, and plants the humble in their place.  ¹⁶The Lord lays waste the lands of the nations, and destroys them to the foundations of the earth.  ¹⁷He removes some of them and destroys them, and erases the memory of them from the earth.  ¹⁸Pride was not created for human beings, or violent anger for those born of women.

Pride is bursting out all over.

         In many parts of the world the month of August is filled with events in support of the LGBTQ community.  Collectively these events often include the word ‘pride’ in the title and description. Given the cultural, social, political and legal forces that have kept and, in many places, still keep LGBTQ people hidden, hiding and subject to shame and discrimination, pride in oneself seems to be more than a fitting attitude to encourage.

         Here in Canada there is a resurgence of pride among indigenous peoples as they claim their rightful place at the table as decisions made as to how we care for ‘this fragile earth, our island home’, how we make political decisions for the common good and how we celebrate the wisdom and gifts that the many peoples of Canada possess.  Indigenous music can be heard in all forms of media and every basic television package includes channels such as the Aboriginal Peoples Television Network.

         Pride, it would seem, is a necessary expression of the love of self embodied in Jesus’ summary of the Law:  “Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one.  Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.  This is the first and the great commandment.  The second is like it:  Love your neighbour as yourself.  There is no commandment greater than these.” [1]

         Yet the writer of Sirach is not so sure that pride is a good thing.  He considers it the product of sin and cautions his readers that “[the] beginning of human pride is to forsake the Lord; the heart has withdrawn from its Maker.” [2]  Yet I think that there is a bit more to explore here about what kind of ‘pride’ we’re talking about.

I had a dream.

         The pride that we are witnessing in the LGBTQ community, among indigenous peoples throughout the world and among various groups of people who are resisting various kinds of public shaming by rejoicing in who they are is, I think, a healthy self-love.  It is healthy self-lovebecause it does claim superiority over others by saying, ‘I’m better than you because I’m x, y or z.’ It is healthy self-lovebecause it is based upon respect for others, a genuine desire to build bridges and to learn from others, rather than mere tolerance that says, ‘Don’t tread on me and I won’t stomp on you!’  It is healthy self-lovebecause it expresses gratitude for God’s gifts in us rather than a more selfish worldview that believes ‘it’s better to be me than it is to be you.’

         A few nights ago I had a vivid dream that may reveal how I’ve been struggling with whole question of pride.  I was with two people, one of whom I wanted to talk to about matters of shared interest and one of whom I did not to talk to yet once more about their personal problems. I had managed to double-book myself and was trying to negotiate with them about with whom I would meet first and how long we would meet.  Neither was happy nor was I.  We were in a book store which had a statue that was known for asking passer-byes questions that they could not avoid asking.

         I heard someone say, ‘Has she asked you the question yet?’  And before I do anything or say anything, I knew what the question would be:  ‘Richard, do you love yourself?’  And then I woke up.  I’ve been chewing on this question for several days and I think that I’ve begun to break the question down into ways that Sirach would appreciate.

         Do I love who I am?  Notice that I use the phrase, ‘who I am’.  Each one of us has to undertake a realistic assessment of our strengths and our weaknesses, our hopes and our fears, our moments of clarity and our moments of confusion.  We have to take ownership of the decisions we’ve made and those we have avoided making, recognizing that the consequences of ‘things done and left undone’ shape who we are and affect people around us.  This kind of self-examination can lead us to realize that we may love who we are now because we are grateful that it is a stage on our life-long journey to become who God wants to be.

         Love of self means a commitment of heart, mind, body and strength to work towards that ‘full stature of Christ’ which God has implanted in every human being, that ‘maturity’ which enables each one of us to love as God has loved us in Christ.  Unless I love myself as I am in this way, then I may fall into the trap that I think Sirach is describing, a trap I’m going to call ‘chauvinism’.

         Chauvinism takes many forms, but they all share one characteristic in common. Chauvinism is based on the belief that God is not the centre, but that something else is.  Perhaps the centre is our ethnicity or our religion or our social class or our gender identity.  There are just as many ‘liberal’ chauvinists as there are ‘conservative’ chauvinists --- maybe even a few ‘centrist’ chauvinists.  If God makes any appearance among chauvinists, God is seen as having chosen our group, to the exclusion of all others, for some special purpose or blessings.  We are proud of our identity not because it celebrates the diversity of God’s creation, but because it makes us better than anyone else.  Chauvinism is not interested in the ‘common good’; it seeks advantage and preferential treatment.

         Chauvinism always seeks the head table and is rarely, if ever, found in the kitchen cooking and serving the food.  This is the poisonous, the contaminating pride about which Sirach warns us.  Such pride is ultimately self-destructive because it collapses in on itself creating a spiritual, emotional and moral black hole.

         Faithful pride is a self-love that never loses sight of the source of all that we are, all that we have and all that we might become.  Faithful self-love rejoices that before we loved God, God loved us, all of us.  Faithful self-love, especially on a Labour Day weekend, remembers that we live in a mutually inter-dependent world where remembering the labour and sacrifices of others arouses in us a commitment to work for a just and sustainable world where all God’s children are free. 

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[1]The Book of Alternative Services1985, 69.

[2]Sirach 10.12 (New Revised Standard Version).

Proper Prayers for RCL Proper 22C (1 September 2019)

Proper Prayers for RCL Proper 22C

RCL Complementary Series

Proverbs 25.6-7 or Sirach 10.12-18; Psalm 112; Hebrews 13.1-8, 15-16; Luke 14.1, 7-14

RCL Semi-continuous Series

Jeremiah 2.4-13; Psalm 81.1, 10-16; Hebrews 13.1-8, 15-16; Luke 14.1, 7-14

Collect of the Day

Author and Giver of all good things, graft in our hearts the love of your name, increase in us true religion, nourish us in all goodness, and of your great mercy keep us in the same; 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 God, you resist those who are proud and give grace to those who are humble.  Give us the humility of your Son, that we may embody the generosity of Jesus Christ, our Saviour and Lord.  Amen. [2]

or

Inviting God, laying open your table to those without status or power, and setting a place for the foreign and the unwanted:  overturn our tables of power and teach us to receive bread from strange and wounded hands; through Jesus Christ, the one given for all.  Amen. [3]

or

God of power and justice, like Jeremiah you weep over those who wander from you and who enter into chaos and destruction.  By your tears and through your mercy, teach us your ways and write them on our hearts, so that we may follow faithful the path you show us.  Amen.  [3]

or

God and judge of all, you show us that the way to your kingdom is through humility and service.  Keep us true to the path of justice and give us the reward promised to those who make a place for the rejected and the poor.  We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God for ever and ever.  Amen. [4]

Prayer over the Gifts

Merciful God, receive all we offer you this day.  Give us grace to love one another that/so thatyour love may be made perfect in us.  We ask this in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen. [1]

or

Holy God, gracious and merciful, you bring forth food from the earth and nourish your whole creation.  Turn our hearts toward those who hunger in any way, so that all may know your care; and prepare us now to feast on the bread of life, Jesus Christ, our Saviour and Lord.  Amen.  [3]

or

God of all creation, all you have made is good, and your love endures forever.  You bring forth bread from the earth and fruit from the vine.  Nourish us with these gifts, so that we might for the world signs of your gracious presence in Jesus Christ, our Saviour and Lord.  Amen.  [3]

or

Blessed are you, O God, maker of all things.  Through your goodness you have blessed us with these gifts:  our selves, our time and our possessions.  Use us, and what we have gathered, in feeding the world with your love, through the one who gave himself for us, Jesus Christ, our Saviour and Lord.  Amen.  [3]

or

God of mercy and grace, the eyes of all wait upon you,  and you open your hand in blessing.  Fill us with good things at your table, so that we may come to the help of all in need, through Jesus Christ, our redeemer and Lord.  Amen. [3]

or

Merciful God, as grains of wheat scattered upon the hills were gathered together to become one bread, so let your church be gathered together from the ends of the earth into your kingdom, for yours is the glory through Jesus Christ, now and for ever.  Amen.  [3]

Preface

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 Saviour Jesus Christ; who on this day overcame death and the grave, and by his glorious resurrection opened to us the way of everlasting life.  And so, with all the choirs of angels, with the church on earth and the hosts of heaven, we praise your name and join their unending hymn. [2a]

or

Blessed are you, gracious God, creator of heaven and earth; you are the source of light and life for all your creation, you made us in your own image, and call us to new life in Jesus Christ our Saviour.  Therefore we praise you, joining our voices 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 on this first day of the week overcame death and the grave, and by his glorious resurrection opened to us the way of everlasting life.  In our unending joy we echo on earth the song of the angels in heaven as we raise our voices to proclaim the glory of your name.  [1]

or

Blessed are you, gracious God, creator of heaven and earth; by water and the Holy Spirit you have made us a holy people in Jesus Christ our Lord; you renew that mystery in bread and wine and nourish us, to show forth your glory in all the world. Therefore with angels and archangels, and with all the holy people who have served you in every age, we raise our voices to proclaim the glory of your name.  [1]

Prayer after Communion

Almighty God/Giver of all good things, you renew us at your table with the bread of life.  May your holy food strengthen us in love and help us to serve you in each other.  We ask this in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.  [1]

or

We give you thanks, almighty God, that you have refreshed us through the healing power of this gift of life.  In your mercy, strengthen us through this gift, in faith toward you and in fervent love toward one another; for the sake of Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen. [3]

or

O God, we give you thanks that you have set before us this feast, the body and blood of your Son.  By your Spirit strengthen us to serve all in need and to give ourselves away as bread for the hungry, through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.  [3]

or

God of abundance, with this bread of life and cup of salvation you have united us with Christ, making us one with all your people.  Now send us forth in the power of your Spirit, so that we may proclaim your redeeming love to the world and continue forever in the risen life of Jesus Christ, our Lord.  Amen.  [3]

or

Gracious God, in this meal you have drawn us to your heart, and nourished us at your table with food and drink, the body and blood of Christ.  Now send us forth to be your people in the world, and to proclaim your truth this day and evermore, through Jesus Christ, our Saviour and Lord.  Amen.  [3]

or

O God, our life, our strength, our food, we give you thanks for sustaining us with the body and blood of your Son.  By your Holy Spirit, enliven us to be his body in the world, so that more and more we will giveyou praise and serve your earth and its many peoples, through Jesus Christ, our Saviour and Lord.  Amen.  [3]

Notes

[1]       The Book of Alternative Services 1985

[2]       Evangelical Lutheran Worship 2006

[2a]      Evangelical Lutheran Worship:  Leaders Desk Edition 2006

[3]       Alternative Collects for Years A, B & C of the RCL and Seasonal Prayers over the Gifts and after Communion 2019

[4]       Opening Prayers:  Collects in Contemporary Language 1997

[5]       Prayers for an Inclusive Church 2009

[6]       Revised Common Lectionary Prayers 2002

N.B.  Text in italics are possible alternatives suggested by the Ven. Richard Geoffrey Leggett, Ph.D.