rick morley | a garden path

prayers of the people for September 11th

August 16, 2011

by rick

Lower Manhattan as the new One World Trade Center rises above the skyline. Photo by Rick Morley.

Prayers of the People for September 11th, based on the occasion of the Tenth Anniversary of the Terrorist Attacks on September 11th, 2001 and the lessons from Proper 19 Year A of the Revised Common Lectionary.
• Also on this site is a longer, litany-style, set of prayers for the same day,
• a reflection on Matthew 18:21-35, the Gospel lesson for 9/11/11, and
• a reflection on Exodus 14:19-31, the Hebrew Bible lesson.

Officiant Lord, as we the world pauses today to look back and to look forward, we pause to pray to you, our only defender and the author of peace.

Intercessor O God, in a pillar of fire you visited the Israelites and you lit up the night; so empower your Church to light up the darkness of our world, and drive terror and hate from the earth.
Lord, in your mercy,
hear our prayer.

As Moses stretched out his hand to divide the waters, and brought the Israelites into a land of freedom; we pray for our nation, O God, that you might always bless us, and all, with freedom from oppression and fear.
Lord, in your mercy,
hear our prayer.

When you bring freedom O God, the mountains skip like rams and the little hills like young sheep; so spread your mercy over all the earth that all your children can dance without fear.
Lord, in your mercy,
hear our prayer. Read More

the good news about being lost – Matthew 16:21-28

August 16, 2011

by rick

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The Madonna and Child from the nave of St. James Episcopal Church in Woodstock, Vermont. Photo by Rick Morley.

The following is a reflection on Matthew 16:21-28, the Gospel lesson for August 28, 2011, according to the Revised Common Lectionary (Proper 17).
• Be sure to check out a reflection on the Hebrew Bible lesson for the same day .

“Get behind me Satan!” has been a stock conversational phrase in our culture for quite some time now. But, even though we use it, and hear it, often, I’m not sure we’re much closer to understanding it. Read More

tearing down the gates – Matthew 16:13-20

August 9, 2011

by rick

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Gospels / Lectionary

The tomb effigy of a knight, from The Cloisters in New York City. Photo by Rick Morley.

The following is a reflection on Matthew 16:13-20, the Gospel lesson for August 21, 2011, according to the Revised Common Lectionary. On this site there is also a reflection on the Old Testament lesson for the same day.

Peter could have proclaimed Jesus as the Messiah, the Christ, in many, many places. The choices were practically limitless. He could have done it in the Temple, on a mountaintop, or on a boat by the sea.

But, no.

Jesus had, inexplicably taken his disciples to Caesarea Philippi. What a strange place for a Jewish rabbi to take his students…

At one time, the town was called Banias, and Herod Philip changed it’s name to honor the Caesar…and while he was at it, himself too. It was the global cultic center of Pan worship. Remember Pan? The goat god? It was believed that he was born in a nearby, creepy looking cave, called…the Gates of Hell. Read More

using email in ministry and maintaining sanity

August 8, 2011

by rick

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ministry resources

Turn the Mail Off There have been some excellent posts recently by Michael Hyatt and the Tentblogger on email management. I’d like to add a few things about email that are specific to pastoral ministry.

First of all, pastoral ministry is not a “desk job.” An office is helpful in many respects, but it shouldn’t be the place where someone in pastoral ministry spends even 50% of their time, unless you happen to be doing a lot of counseling in there! Why do I say this in a post about email? Because the office is a place where one can get stuck doing email and busywork all day long. Get out of the office, and get out among your people. Honestly, doing work at a coffee shop or local library is preferable to working in the office, because at least there you’re a presence in the community.
Email is a tool to be used for ministry, and not ministry itself. It’s a tool that should be used primarily for quickly communicatingthings where it’s more time effective than a phone or face-to-face interaction. A rule I use: if the email ends up being more than a page, I exit the email and pick up the phone. Read More

fear versus compassion – Genesis 1:8-2:10

August 7, 2011

by rick

comments 3

Exodus / Lectionary / Old Testament

Architectural ensemble from a Jain meeting hall from 17th century India. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Photo by Rick Morley.

The following is a reflection on Genesis 1:8-2:10, the Old Testament lesson for August 21, 2011, according to the Revised Common Lectionary. On this site there is also a reflection on the Gospel lesson of the day.

The opening of the Book of Exodus is a primer on two ways of living: reacting out of fear, and acting out of compassion.

Throughout the conflict with Pharaoh and the Egyptians, it’s fear and hard-heartedness which drives the narrative. Interestingly, when the children of Israel make it to the other side of the Sea with their freedom they take the fear and hard-heartedness with them…but we’ll get to that in a few weeks…
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hold your tongue: proper 15, year a

August 3, 2011

by rick

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Gospels / Lectionary / New Testament

A detail of a fierce camel's tongue, from the Asian Collection at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in NYC. Photo by Rick Morley.

A reflection on Matthew 15:10-28, the Gospel lesson for August 14, 2011 according to the Revised Common Lectionary. A reflection on the Old Testament lesson for the same day can be found here.

…”it is what comes out of the mouth that defiles.”

In Frederick Buechner’s The Son of Laughter, Rachel says to her son Jacob: “A word can never be unspoken once it has been spoken. Do you understand what I mean?…This is what I mean. If you speak a word with the strength of your heart in it, you can never get that word out of the ears of the one you speak it to and back into your mouth again. Once a word goes forth, it makes things happen for better or for worse. Nothing you do will ever make those things unhappen even though you live for a thousand years.”

Those words are true, in the fullest sense of the word.
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when God sends you: proper 15 , year a

August 3, 2011

by rick

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Lectionary / Old Testament / Pentateuch

A view between the lions in the Romanesque Hall at The Cloisters in NYC. Photo by Rick Morley.

A reflection on Genesis 45:1-15, the Old Testament lesson for August 14, 2011 according to the Revised Common Lectionary. A reflection on the Gospel lesson for the same day can be found here.

“And now, do not be distressed, or angry with yourselves, because you sold me here; for God sent me before you to preserve life…God sent me here before you to preserve for you a remnant on earth…So it was not you who sent me here, but God.”

The last time that Joseph laid eyes on his brothers, they had just beaten him to a bloody pulp, thrown him into a pit, and then sold him off as a slave to some passing Ishmaelites. Now, Joseph is the most important person in all of Egypt, save for Pharaoh himself.

He could crush his brothers. He could torture them. He could really teach them a lesson.

Instead, he tells them not to worry, it wasn’t them who did all that to him, it was God sending him to Egypt.

What faith it takes to utter such words. I’m not sure I could muster it.
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teaching stewardship, and eating your cake too

July 27, 2011

by rick

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ministry resources / stewardship

Stewardship in church isn’t about money. I mean, it is. But, it’s also about far more than that.

It’s about relationship. It’s about our relationship with God, and our relationships with each other.

It’s also about thankfulness. Thankfulness to God for life and it’s many blessings, including our church community.

Last year we tried a new stewardship idea at St. Mark’s–an idea that highlighted the twin themes of relationship and thankfulness.

Our stewardship campaign looked like this: Read More

retelling resurrection: proper, 14 year a

July 26, 2011

by rick

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Creation / Gospels / Lectionary / New Testament

The sunset over the Gulf of Mexico from Palm Island, Florida. Photo by Rick Morley

A reflection on Matthew 14:22-33, the Gospel lesson for August 7, 2011, for proper 14 in the Revised Common Lectionary. A reflection on the Old Testament lesson for the same day is available here.

If ever there is a story in the gospels which sums up the Gospel, this is it.

The story begins like the story of Creation. As the Spirit of God hovered over the waters just before light was called into being—Jesus walks on the troubled waters towards the disciples.

As God became flesh, sent from above to us below—Jesus comes to the disciples.

As the world was in darkness prior to the Incarnation, and as the rulers and prophets of Jerusalem really didn’t know what was going on in Bethlehem—the disciples see Jesus and their first reaction is fear: they don’t know what to make of him.
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innocence lost: proper 14, year a

July 23, 2011

by rick

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Exodus / Lectionary / Old Testament / Pentateuch

Mattie Morley playing with an elephant fountain in southern Manhattan. Photo by Rick Morley.

A reflection on Genesis 37:1-4, 12-28, the Old Testament lesson for Sunday August 7, 2010 according to the Revised Common Lectionary. A reflection on the Gospel lesson for the same day is available here.

Isaac had two boys, and one conspired to lie and cheat his way into a blessing that, by birth right, belonged to the other.

Jacob had twelve boys, and ten of them conspired to kill one of their brothers–and probably would have if one lone brother hadn’t spoken up and talked them into merely selling him into slavery.

Ah, the joys of family…

Functionally, the story of Jacob’s deceit serves as a demonstration of the power of God: he chose Jacob above and beyond the societal norms of choosing an elder brother. (A similar effect is found in the choosing of David to be King, as he was the youngest of his brothers.)