advent 2a: prayers

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PRAYERS OF THE PEOPLE

Officiant     In the hushed anticipation of your coming, O Lord, shine upon us Your glorious Light, that we might be ready for your coming, and eager to pray:

Intercessor     O God, in days to come the mountain of your house will be established, and your joy shall reign. We pray for the church (especially…), that you might teach us your ways and that we might walk in your paths.

Come Lord Jesus, and hear our prayer.

Out of Zion shall go forth instruction, and you, O God, shall judge between the nations. We pray for our nation, and all nations, that your peace would be manifest in every corner of the earth.

Come Lord Jesus, and hear our prayer.

In your Kingdom, O Lord, wolves lie down with lambs and children play with serpents without fear. We pray for the sick, the suffering, and those in distress of any kind (especially…); that you would heal all injuries, comfort all grief, and settle all wrongs.

Come Lord Jesus, and hear our prayer.

In your Kingdom, O Lord, even the wilderness and dry land are glad and rejoice. We pray for those who rejoice this week as they celebrate their birthday (especially… and anniversaries…); that they might obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing might flee away.

Come Lord Jesus, and hear our prayer.

In the fulness of time, O God, you sent your son, to be born of our sister Mary. And his name was Emmanuel: God With Us. We thank you for your Presence with us, and we pray that you might be always present with those whom we love but see no longer.

Come Lord Jesus, and hear our prayer.

Officiant     O Christ, hear our prayers; and when you come among us like the rising of the sun, may we, Your Church, be ready to meet you and find our home in you. Come Lord Jesus. Amen.

ADVENT CANDLE LIGHTING

Leader   The light shines in the darkness
People   And the darkness has not overcome it

Reader   On this Second Sunday of Advent we light these two candles to remind us of the Light that shines in the world; the Light that we wait for; the Light that is coming: Jesus our Redeemer.

(Light the candles)

Leader   Let us pray,
Let these candles, O Lord, be a sign to us this day of the root that comes out of the stump of Jesse which makes the wolf and the lamb lie down together, and which makes every path straight; that when our Lord Jesus comes he might find his light burning in us, in our homes, in our community, and in our church. In the Name of Jesus, we pray. Amen.

advent 2a reflection: you’re so vain

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Advent / Year A

Do not presume to say to yourselves, `We have Abraham as our ancestor’; for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children to Abraham.

The Pharisees and the Sadducees were coming out to the wilderness to John the Baptist to be baptized. That’s pretty stunning in and of itself, wouldn’t you agree?

And, John is less than impressed.

“You brood of vipers!” he roars.

Sounds like an interesting call to worship. Might have to give that a try sometime.

But, I digress. Read More

advent 1a reflection: like a thief

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Advent / Eschatology / Jesus / Lectionary / New Testament / Year A

The following is a reflection on 24:36-44, the Gospel Lesson appointed for the 1st Sunday of Advent, Year A.

I was sitting on the couch. Watching TV. Who knows what great and inspiring programming I was zoning out to…

My wife yelled from upstairs: “Rick…RICK!”

“Yes?” I said, rather annoyed that she hadn’t had the grace to wait for a commercial break.

“My water broke.” Read More

advent 1a prayers

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Advent / Prayers of the People

Prayers of the People

Officiant    In the hushed anticipation of your coming, O Lord, kindle in us the desire to remain awake; that we might be ready for your coming, and eager to pray.

Intercessor    O God, in days to come the mountain of your house will be established, and your joy shall reign. We pray for the Church, that you might teach us your ways and that we might walk in your path.

Come Lord Jesus, and hear our prayer.

Out of Zion shall go forth instruction, and you, O God, shall judge between the nations. We pray for our nation, and all nations, that your peace would be manifest in every corner of the earth.

Come Lord Jesus, and hear our prayer.

In your Kingdom, O Lord, wolves lie down with lambs and children play with serpents without fear. We pray for the sick, the suffering, and those in distress of any kind (especially…); that you would heal all injuries, comfort all grief, and settle all wrongs.

Come Lord Jesus, and hear our prayer.

In your Kingdom, O Lord, even the wilderness and dry land are glad and rejoice. We pray for those who rejoice this week as they celebrate their birthday (especially… and anniversaries…); that they might obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing might flee away.

Come Lord Jesus, and hear our prayer.

In the fulness of time, O God, you sent your son, to be born of our sister Mary. And his name was Emmanuel: God With Us. We thank you for your Presence with us, and we pray that you might be always present with those whom we love but see no longer.

Come Lord Jesus, and hear our prayer.

Officiant    Come among us O God, and hear our prayers; so that when your Son Jesus comes among us with great might, and in manger mild, we might recognize his face and his voice, and come to adore him. Amen.

Advent Candle Lighting

Leader   The light shines in the darkness
People   And the darkness has not overcome it

Reader   On this first Sunday of Advent we light this candle to remind us of the Light that shines in the world; the Light that we wait for; the Light that is coming: Jesus our Redeemer.

Leader   Let us pray,
Let this candle, O Lord, be a sign to us this day to lay aside the works of darkness and put on the armor of light, that when our Lord Jesus comes he might find his light burning in us, in our homes, in our community, and in our church. In the Name of Jesus, we pray. Amen.

a little note…

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Some of you have emailed, messaged, and poked me…wondering where in the heck I went! Well, having finished blogging the three year cycle of the lectionary, this fall I’ve been resting on my previous work. I’ve also be struggling with health issues these past two months which has contributed to my delinquency. But, I think I’m about to turn a corner, and I’m energized to “get back in the saddle” this Advent and begin a new three year cycle of the lectionary—probably looking at lessons which I passed over in the previous series, or looking at the same lesson from a different angle. I’m also in the midst of freshening up the blog—and there should be a “reveal” sometime in early December. To those who have read this blog for a long time, or those that just happen to stumble upon it…thank you so much for taking the time to read what I’ve written, and thank you for your ministries to the Church and to Jesus our Great Shepherd.

keeping it simple – a reflection on Luke 17:5-10

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Gospels / Jesus / Lectionary / New Testament / Religion / Year C

The following is a reflection on Luke 17:5-10, the Gospel lesson appointed for Proper 22C according to the Revised Common Lectionary.

Chartres Cathedral in Morning Mist. Photo by Rick Morley.

The apostles ask Jesus to “increase” their faith.

For me, when a parishioner walks into my office and asks for help increasing and deepening their faith, I’m thrilled! I break out some good books, talk about their prayer life, get them signed up to serve Communion on Sunday…

But Jesus? He brushes the disciples off. Read More

squandering right – a reflection on Luke 16:1-13

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Gospels / Jesus / Lectionary / Money / New Testament / Religion / Status / Year C

The following is a reflection on Luke 16:1-13, the Gospel lesson appointed for Proper 20 C, of the Revised Common Lectionary.

A view from the chancel of Quimper Cathedral in Quimper, France. Photo by Rick Morley.

What’s the fastest way to make God laugh? Tell Him your long-range plans.

Almost every year I plan this Sunday as a ‘welcome back’ Sunday where we have all the kids in church, and we have them come up and get involved in the sermon… I always envision a tear in every mother’s eye, and the fall program year being be kicked off successfully.

And every Year C I check the Gospel lesson.

Ooops.

Nothing like telling a bunch of kids to make friends by dishonest wealth this year. Read More

nobody does this – a reflection on Luke 15:1-10

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Gospels / Jesus / Lectionary / New Testament / Year C

The following is a reflection on Luke 15:1-10, the Gospel lesson appointed for Proper 19C of of the Revised Common Lectionary.

A flock of sheep grazing through the megalithic Carnac Alignments, in Carnac, France.

A flock of sheep grazing through the megalithic Carnac Alignments, in Carnac, France. Photo by Rick Morley.

Which one of you, having a hundred sheep and losing one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness and go after the one that is lost until he finds it?

Nobody. No one does this. No one would ever do that. Read More