A Prayer for the Sixteenth Sunday of Ordinary Time (Year A)

[This is one of a series of Prayers for the Christian Year. To see the other posts, click here.]

Living, loving Father,

You, O Lord, know all that there is to know about each of us. You have searched us, known us, and yet still love us beyond our understanding. Even if we attempt to flee from You, there is nowhere we can go where You are not. In every corner of our world, You are there.

There have been many times when we thought ourselves to be alone. It often feels like, if You are anywhere in our world, it could only be somewhere far away from wherever we are and whatever we are going through. But regardless of how it feels, You are here, even if we have been completely unaware.

At other times, it feels like we have awoken to an entirely new life in an entirely new world, where Your loving presence surrounds us like the air that we breathe. Your Scriptures and Your friends throughout history have testified that this is how things really are, all of the time, so help us, in this moment, to know that You are here.

Help us to experience how profoundly good it is to have a living, loving Father who is always near and who calls us His own beloved children. Everyone in our world, even our world itself, needs to know this in the deepest ways possible. So use us, here in this world, in these bodies, to increase Your hope in our world.

We hope in the face of sometimes hopeless situations, only because we have come to trust in Your loving wisdom, since You let a variety of things grow together, so that in the end, as many as possible can join us along Your way being transformed to the point that our lives shine like the sun in Your kingdom.

As completely as we know how, we open ourselves to You to have Your way with us, to reveal to us things we need to know about ourselves, showing us if there are any wicked ways in us, and leading us in Your everlasting way.

The one who has best taught us to live this way is your beloved Son, our Savior, Jesus. It is as his students that we again take the step of following him by praying the prayer that He taught us, saying

Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name, Your kingdom come, Your will be done,  on earth as in heaven.

Give us today our daily bread.

Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us.

Save us from the time of trial and deliver us from evil.

For the kingdom, the power, and the glory are Yours now and for ever. Amen

Notes:

Depending on which system of ordering one pays attention to, this Sunday can also be referred to as Proper 11, or (in 2011) the Fifth Sunday after Pentecost. Regardless of the system, the readings are the same. So, the readings for this week, on which this prayer is based, are:

  • Genesis 28:10-19a: The ninth of thirteen possible consecutive readings after Pentecost from Genesis, and the second of four on the life of Jacob. This passage is the story of "Jacob's ladder." As Jacob was running for his life from his brother, Esau, after swindling him out of his birthright and their father's blessing, he has a dream of a ladder reaching to heaven, is spoken to by God, and becomes convinced of God's presence with him.
  • Psalm 139:1-12, 23-24: David's prayer that God would search him, know him, and lead him along further in his ways, combined with praising God for being ever-present everywhere in the world.
  • Romans 8:12-25: The eighth of sixteen possible consecutive readings after Pentecost from Romans, and the second of three consecutive readings from the great passages of Romans 8. In this passage, Paul explores the meaning and implications of our identity as God's children, being given the privilege through our adoption to call God "Abba, Father," and being given a role in bringing his hope into the midst of a cosmos "groaning in labor pains."
  • Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43: All of the gospel readings after Pentecost in Year A come from Matthew, and this is the second of three consecutive readings of Jesus' parables in Matthew 13. This passage contains Jesus' parable of the weeds and the wheat, which a landowner allowed to grow together so that the wheat would not be uprooted. It also skips ahead in the chapter to Jesus' explanation of the parable to his disciples, as he explains its application to the end of the age and how, in the end, God's righteous children will come to "shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father."

A Prayer for the Fifteenth Sunday of Ordinary Time (Year A)

[This is one of a series of Prayers for the Christian Year. To see the other posts, click here.] Living, loving Father,

Your word is a lamp to our feet and a light to our path. We need Your word to sink deeply into our hearts.

We are determined to do the things that You say, and are well aware that we desperately need Your help to do them, so we ask that You would give us life, O Lord, according to Your word and help us to receive in full the life that You offer us.

Some among us, whether our closest neighbors or faces we have never seen around the world, are crying out to You today, that if life is to be this way, why do we live? Have mercy on us, Lord. Grant our prayers for peace, for deliverance, for justice, and for the good news of Your kingdom to open every ear and bring light to every soul.

Whether we have always lived life by Your ways, or whether we have been deceptive and sought to have our own way, Your good news has come to us and assured us that as we abide in Your beloved Son Jesus, there is no condemnation awaiting us.

Help us to set our minds on the things of the Spirit, so that Your life and peace will grow in us and spread through us to others.

Give us the kinds of ears that truly listen to the things You say, so that Your word will not be snatched away from us, nor weakened by trouble or persecution, nor choked  by the cares of the world and the lure of wealth. Rather, may Your word sink deeply into us, and stay there and have its full effect, as we receive it with joy, understand it, and allow it multiply Your work in our lives and in our world.

Your word came to us most clearly in the life of Your Son, our Savior, Jesus Christ. It is as his students again today that we prayer the prayer he taught us, saying,

Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name, Your kingdom come, Your will be done,  on earth as in heaven.

Give us today our daily bread.

Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us.

Save us from the time of trial and deliver us from evil.

For the kingdom, the power, and the glory are Yours now and for ever. Amen

Notes:

Depending on which system of ordering one pays attention to, this Sunday can also be referred to as Proper 10, or (in 2011) the Fourth Sunday after Pentecost. Regardless of the system, the readings are the same. So, the readings for this week, on which this prayer is based, are:

  • Genesis 25:19-34: The eighth of thirteen possible consecutive readings after Pentecost from Genesis, and the first of four on the life of Jacob. This week's passage recalls the birth of Jacob and his twin brother Esau, including how they struggled with one another from the time they were in the womb and how Jacob swindled his brother out of his birthright.
  • Psalm 119:105-112: A section of the longest psalm, which focuses on the goodness of God's law and the psalmist's desire to live by it.
  • Romans 8:1-11: The seventh of sixteen possible consecutive readings after Pentecost from Romans, and the first of three consecutive readings from the great passages of Romans 8. In this passage, Paul assures his readers that in Christ, there is no condemnation, because of what "the law of the Spirit of life" has done for them. Therefore, they should live in accordance with the Spirit through setting their minds on the things of the Spirit, and experiencing the life and peace that will come to them in their mortal bodies through God's Spirit dwelling in them.
  • Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23: All of the gospel readings after Pentecost in Year A come from Matthew, and this is the first of three consecutive readings of Jesus' parables in Matthew 13. This passage contains his parable of the farmer who went out to plant his seed, with seed falling in different places and producing different results. The reading also skips ahead in the chapter to Jesus' explanation of the parable to his disciples, identifying the seed as "the word of the kingdom."

Big Changes in My Work Roles

This post is of a different nature than most of the other things that I put on here. My family and I have been going through some fairly drastic changes in our lives, most of which have been of our own choosing. So particularly for any family and friends who have been affected by them or think that we've lost our minds, I thought I'd explain a bit of our motivations.

In February, my Pastor and my church very generously offered me a three month Sabbatical from my work as Director of Discipleship. There were several reasons that the break came at a very needed time, but they can really be boiled down to two things: First, after my Dad's death in December of last year, there were a lot of things to take care of and questions to answer regarding his business and what direction our family would go with it in the future. The break was a great opportunity for me to make a big dent in sorting those things out, as well as some space to grieve his death.

The other major factor was that after two and a half years in my position at our church, it had become very clear to me that there were some parts of my role which I loved and did effectively. Unfortunately, though, most of those things did not fit within the majority of my responsibilities. Much of what I was hired to do (and the church really needs someone doing well) were things I cared about deeply but managing them wasn't a match for me.

Although perhaps we shouldn't expect to work within our strengths all of the time, I read an author recently who proposed that we seek to work 80% of the time within our areas of strength and the other 20% in areas that are mostly learning for us. More than two years of having that reversed (really feeling like I only worked about 20% in my strengths and 80% was a steep learning curve) had really taken its toll on me.

Those factors combined with grieving my Dad's death resulted in me not being in a very good place emotionally, and although I was aware that things weren't good, I don't think I knew the extent to which they had drained me until I was a couple of weeks into the Sabbatical. I felt really good for the first time in a long time. My wife and closest friends said things like it was good to see me being myself again, they hadn't seen me that good in a while, and that they didn't realize how bad I must have been.

So, it didn't take being on my Sabbatical for very long to realize that some of the changes needed to stay and that I couldn't go back to doing things the same way as before. I sought a lot of help through those months, by meeting with a grief counselor, meeting with a spiritual director, and having good conversations with family, friends, and my Pastor.

As the Sabbatical came to an end, I sought to reorder my work life in a way that works much better, and I couldn't be happier with how things have turned out. So, particularly since several of our friends at our church have asked, here's a description of what I'm doing now:

  • I'm still on staff at First United Methodist Church of Midland, but now in two different part-time roles, both of which are in areas I enjoy and feel like I do well. On one side, I get to continue to be involved in the Spiritual Formation ministries of our church, by leading retreats and spiritual formation groups, as well as teaching classes. The other role is with our internet-based communications, as I'm currently working on building a new website for the church which will launch this fall. One of the best parts of my new roles at church is the flexibility I have. I no longer have my own office there, but mostly work from home.
  • I also have taken over managing my Dad's (and Granddad's and Great-Granddad's) farm and ranch business. During the Sabbatical, I was surprised to discover how much I enjoyed getting my feet wet in those tasks. I often don't know what I'm doing, but I like it! Thankfully, I have very capable and dependable people helping me and knowledgeable friends to ask questions of when I'm out of my league.
  • What I'm viewing as the third part of my work is to get to do things I've wanted to do for a long time, especially writing. Most of that takes place through this blog, but I've also submitted a book proposal and have some other projects in mind which I'm looking forward to pursuing. Writing doesn't do much to help me pay the bills, but I really like the process of doing it, even if it ends up that hardly anyone beyond my wife and Mom end up reading something.
This is no way proves that we haven't lost our minds, but hopefully it at least helps any of you who may have wondered about us to know a little bit more of the story.

Wesley's Sermon 25: Upon Our Lord's Sermon on the Mount, Discourse 5

[This is a post on one of John Wesley's Sermons as part of the Getting to Know John series. See the other posts here.] This is the fifth of Wesley's thirteen sermons on Jesus' Sermon on the Mount (Matthew chapters 5, 6, and 7). This sermon focuses on Matthew 5:17-20:

17“Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets; I have come not to abolish but to fulfill. 18For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth pass away, not one letter, not one stroke of a letter, will pass from the law until all is accomplished. 19Therefore, whoever breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches others to do the same, will be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.20For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.

Wesley makes some brilliant points in this message, which are important to understanding him, his theology, and his ministry.Although Wesley organizes this sermon verse-by-verse (which is unusual for him), the key themes that emerge include the relationship of the law to the gospel, and what inward and outward holiness have to do with one another.

In examining Jesus' words in this passage about the law, Wesley makes a strong case for an idea that would be just as controversial among Christians in our day as it was in his: there is no conflict between the law and the gospel. A view which many hold today, and apparently did in Wesley's day also, is that the law was only in place until the coming of Jesus, and is now no longer necessary because of Jesus' gospel. Wesley, and apparently in this passage- Jesus himself, would have none of that.

Rather than the law and gospel being at odds with one another, or at least one doing away with the other, Wesley makes the case that they both do the same thing in different ways. The law, he says, points us toward life through commands, while the gospel does so through promises. The law makes way for and points us toward the gospel, and the gospel makes it possible for us to fulfill the law.

Let's try to put some skin around this by looking at the great commandments, which both come from Old Testament law, to love God and love our neighbors as ourselves. The law says, "you must do this," and the gospel says, "you are able to do this." In other words, God will work in us (gospel) that which God commands of us (law). Neither of these can be set aside in the way of Jesus.

Another part of the sermon that stands out is Wesley's comments on the righteousness of the Scribes and Pharisees, and what it means that our righteousness should surpass theirs. Again, his comments aren't what many of us would be expecting to hear.

Rather than only claiming that the Scribes and Pharisees' righteousness was outward, and ours can exceed those by not trusting in outward things, but in an inward faith, Wesley again holds on to both sides of the spectrum. He gives the Scribes and Pharisees credit for how outwardly devoted they were and makes the case that our righteousness can't exceed theirs if it can't even catch up to theirs. Using Luke 18:9-14 to illustrate, Wesley points out how devoted the Scribes and Pharisees were in their practices of being different from others for what they thought were God's purposes, their practices of fasting, prayer, sacrifices, and studying the Scriptures, and how they gave of what they had to help others. So, rather than advising us to set aside the righteousness of the Scribes and Pharisees, Wesley says that if we are to exceed them, we must first catch up to them.

In other words, we need those outward things that we normally chastise the Scribes and Pharisees for having trusted in. The main difference, and how our righteousness is to exceed theirs, is that in the way of Jesus, we are pursuing inward and outward holiness. To propose that either could exist without the other is unthinkable for Wesley.

To dig in further to this sermon:

Top Posts for June 2011

A Prayer for the Fourteenth Sunday of Ordinary Time (Year A)

[This is one of a series of Prayers for the Christian Year. To see the other posts, click here.] Living, loving Father,

You are our Lord, our King, and we bow our hearts in worship to You today. Even though You are over all, we are humbled because, for some reason, You desire us and have come in pursuit of our hearts.

Your pursuit of us has taken many forms, surely more than we are aware of. In everything that we have done, every place we have been, every person we have encountered, and every task we have set ourselves to doing, You have been there. You were with us all along, You were there before we were, working good before we had any idea, and You remain after us, keeping all of Your children in Your loving care.

Yet if this is true, why do we still find ourselves so far from You? Free us, O God, from the things that hold us back from You, from the sin that dwells in our bodies. May we come to delight in You as You delight in us, so that our minds, hearts, bodies, and souls may all be rescued as we learn more fully to live under the easy yoke and light burden of Your Son, our Savior, Jesus Christ.

We come today to receive the rest for our souls that He promised, entrusting the things that burden us over to You. And again we take His yoke upon us, for we are Your children and His students, praying the prayer that He taught us, saying,

Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name, Your kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as in heaven.

Give us today our daily bread.

Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us.

Save us from the time of trial and deliver us from evil.

For the kingdom, the power, and the glory are Yours now and for ever. Amen

Notes:

Depending on which system of ordering one pays attention to, this Sunday can also be referred to as Proper 9, or (in 2011) the Third Sunday after Pentecost. Regardless of the system, the readings are the same. So, the readings for this week, on which this prayer is based, are:

  • Genesis 24:34-38, 42-49, 58-67: The seventh of thirteen possible consecutive readings after Pentecost from Genesis, and the fifth of five on the life of Abraham, although he is only an indirect character in this week's passage. This is the story of Abraham's servant being sent back to Abraham's native land to find a wife for his son, Isaac.
  • Psalm 45:10-17: A wedding psalm which has also traditionally been interpreted as a Messianic prophecy.
  • Romans 7:15-25a: The sixth of sixteen possible consecutive readings after Pentecost from Romans. In this passage, Paul famously describes his tendency to do the things he does not want to do and his inability to do the good things he does want to do. He concludes with the question and answer, "Who will rescue me from this body of death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!"
  • Matthew 11:16-19, 25-30: All of the gospel readings after Pentecost in Year A come from Matthew. This passage is Jesus' thanksgiving to God that he had revealed his identity to "infants" and hidden it from "the wise and the intelligent." It concludes with Jesus' profound invitation to take his yoke, learn from him, and find rest for our souls, because his yoke is easy and his burden is light."

Completely Unhelpful Thoughts I've Shared With My Son

A few days ago, I was tucking my two year old son into bed, and he started begging me to lay on his floor as he fell asleep. I've done that at times in the past, particularly if he doesn't feel good, but we generally like for him to go to sleep by himself.

As I looked at his face and tried to think of the best response to, "But Daddy, I really need you to lay down on my floor for a little while," I thought that I had a moment of fatherhood brilliance.

The idea came to mind to use the moment to teach a profound spiritual truth to my toddler about God's presence with us. He has a book we read together at night that has a line where a person smiles and whispers, "God is here." So I thought to myself, "That's it! I'll teach him that God is in the room with him, and then it will let me off the hook about having to lay on his floor." The conversation went something like this.

Little D: But Daddy, I really need you to lay down on my floor for a while.

Me: Hey, Bud, you know that part in your book where someone smiles and whispers, "God is here"?

Little D: Yeah.

Me: Well, it's like that. I can't stay in your room right now, but God is here with you. So if you're laying here in your bed, you can look over there and imagine that God is laying on your floor while you fall asleep.

Little D:

Me: Does that help a little bit?

Little D, without any moment of hesitation: No.

He made it very clear that he wasn't willing to accept theology in exchange for my presence in the room (even though I still think my theology was good). As soon as he did so, I knew what I had done was a bit silly; two year olds need their dads to be there in front of their eyes and live out what God is like, much more than they need us to use words to try to explain to them that an invisible God is always near. There are things about this that are both troubling and relieving to me.

Why it troubles me: I feel like I'm pretty good at explaining theology to people, but living it out in front of the always-learning eyes of a pre-schooler is a different ballgame. I enjoy talking about theology, I've got a really good sermon in my file about God's presence with us, and talking about these things with people is even part of what I get paid to do. But those things didn't do my little boy one ounce of good the other night.

What he told me with his quick "No" was that he needs a daddy whose character is so much like that of Jesus that it will make the theology lessons come easier later on. He needs me to be the kind of person who, by seeing me every day, will help him when he gets older and starts to think for himself about what we mean when we say that God is here, or is loving, good, forgiving, trustworthy, or holy... that those things will be very naturally believable to him because of how he has seen them in the life of his Daddy right before his eyes.

That sounds good as a write it, but it's a very tall order when I'm crabby, just wanting people to go along with my own plans so that I can accomplish the things I want to, and certainly not feeling much like that kind of Daddy that he needs. There are plenty of times that I would prefer trying to explain sanctification to a two year old than give him living proof of it.

But here's why it relieves me: because that Daddy that he wants and needs, who shows him what God's character is like and passes it on to him, is not only who he needs but is also who I most want to be. If I work at answering the question, deep-down at my gut level, of what I want most in life... that's it. I want to be that kind of man for my family. So I'm relieved that I don't have to come up with a children's book that would effectively help my kids understand atonement theories or the widely different views on eschatology, but instead that my main task is to shape my life in a way that I will predictably become more and more who they need me to be.

It's still a rare night that I lay down on his floor while he falls asleep, but I'm glad he gave me the reminder that my theology degrees are really not helpful to him, unless he can see with his eyes what they mean as he watches me.

So I guess I'll give up on that idea of reading Wesley's sermons to him for bedtime stories...