Lent 5

Thursday, March 14, 2013

Fast·Pray·Give
Week 5

Pastor's Peace

Grace to you and peace, in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.

Really?  Is it already the fifth week of Lent?  Is it already Wednesday of the fifth week of Lent? 

How many promises of moving toward a "more disciplined life" have I broken?

Roberta Bondi was one of my professors at Candler School of Theology.  One of the ways that she defined "prayer" was: "shared life with God."  She, also, spent a good deal of time studying the earlier abbas and ammas, the monastics.  The Desert Mothers and Fathers were Hermits, Ascetics and Monks who lived mainly in the Scetes desert of Egypt, beginning around the 3rd century CE.  They were believed to be the first Christians who abandoned the cities of the pagan world to live in solitude. 

Citing the writings of the monastics, Roberta published some of their teachings to help we, contemporary Christians, work toward "disciplined prayer lives."  Her work offers examples from the prayer lives of the abbas and ammas.  Below is an example:

Pilgrim: I can't seem to be faithful to my discipline.  I should give up.

Response:  A brother asked one of the fathers:  "If by chance I oversleep and am late for the hour of prayer, I am ashamed that others will hear me praying so late, and so I became reluctant to keep the rule of prayer."  And, the old man said, "If ever you oversleep the dawn, rise when you wake, shut the door and the windows and say your prayers.  For it is written, 'The day is thine and the night is thine. God is glorified whenever time it is...'"

In other words: "Keep working the plan."

Blessing for the Way,

Rev. Tracy

The source for this liturgy is Feasting On The Word: Liturgies for Year C, Worship Companion.

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Invitation to Lenten Discipline

Here's a little "bread for the journey" 

A little bread for the journey...(again, from R. Bondi's work):

Pilgrim:  I'm so critical of myself; I feel so guilty all the time.

Response:  "...To throw yourself before God, not to measure your progress, to leave behind all self-will; these are the instruments for the work of the soul."

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Texts for Lent Week 4:

Isaiah 43:16–21                     Philippians 3:4b–14

Psalm 126                               John 12:1–8

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Prayers

Household Prayer: Morning

Loving God, in all I do this day, use me as a sign of your reconciling love.

Let me not view anyone from a human point of view,

but let me see all whom I will encounter with the eyes of Christ,

through whom I pray. Amen.

Household Prayer: Evening

Merciful God, if like the Prodigal Son I have strayed from you this day,

call me back to your loving embrace.

If like the elder son, I have harbored resentment for the grace you give to others, reprove me.

Help me claim in thought and deed the inheritance of the saints

who share with Jesus compassion and forgiveness to all who lose

their way. Amen.

Prayers of Intercession

God our Provider,

out of your fullness you cause life to spring up in barren landscapes;

you have power to control troubled waters, making a path of safety;

you hear our cries and receive our tears; you restore us to joy and laughter.

You have done great things for us, O God, and are continually making all things new.  We thank you, O God:

You are making all things new.

We thank you for the gift of your Son, Jesus Christ,

whose life and ministry has guided us through this Lenten season and guides us in every season of life.  In his suffering and death, he knows full well the troubles and pains we face in this earthly life.  In his resurrection is the hope of our own.  Surrounded by your overflowing love, we are not alone.  We thank you, O God:

You are making all things new.

With thanksgiving we celebrate your care

and the gift of newness in our lives: for recovery from illness or injury;  for calm after a time of unrest or turmoil; for a sense of direction after uncertainty;

for new life; for new opportunities. We thank you, O God:

You are making all things new.

We pray for people who wait in difficult places.

For those who are suffering and those at life’s end; for people struggling with employment and financial worries; for those estranged from loved ones; for those trapped in the grip of addiction; for people enduring emotional or spiritual turmoil.

Because you are able to make a way in every wilderness, we thank you, O God:

You are making all things new.

We pray for the needs of the world.

May peace invade places of war and justice crowd out oppression and cruelty.  Protect soldiers and citizens alike from harm’s way and make all conflict cease. Bless leaders of communities, states, and nations, that they may speak the truth  and work with others for the common good.  Pour out healing on the earth itself, depleted and injured by our careless consumption and intentional greed.  Comfort those devastated by natural disasters; strengthen those supplying shelter, food, and aid. Amid the chaos of this world, your Spirit intercedes with sighs too deep for words.  We thank you, O God:

You are making all things new.

We pray in the name of Jesus Christ, crucified and risen. Amen.

For Your Reflection

John 12:1–8 draws our attention to three people: Mary, Judas, and Jesus.

It is easy enough to identify Mary as “the good disciple” and Judas as “the bad disciple” not only in this story but also in the larger story of Jesus’ life and death. We can (and do) make this judgment: Mary is accepted and affirmed, while Judas is rejected. But is this the judgment that the other person in the story would make? As one commentator puts it, “. . . if Jesus

came to save the lost, surely there is no one in the gospel story who is more lost than the one who betrays Jesus. . . . If the Good Shepherd can and does go to any length to save a lost sheep, is Judas beyond the saving grasp of the Good Shepherd?Ӡ This is not a question with an easy answer. As this story

ushers you into Holy Week, consider how the cross, the grace of Christ, speaks to this story and to your own life story, which like most life stories may not be a simple “either/or” example of faithfulness, but a “both/and” mix of faithfulness and unfaithfulness.