Prayers of Intercession - Fifth Sunday in Lent - Year C

God of new life, you reach out to embrace your people with new purpose and new possibilities. Give us the wisdom to know and the perseverance to follow your will all the days of our life. Open our ears to hear your upward call in Christ Jesus, that we do not remain stuck in the ways that lead to death and destruction. Protect those who are surrounded by death and destruction in Ukraine, keep them safe in the midst of this evil war. Make a way for those who seek to bring aid to the people who are suffering, remove any obstacles that threaten to delay or disrupt these relief efforts. Through your Holy Spirit inspire the leaders of nations to make decisions and take actions that will end this war and bring peace that will last.

In your loving-kindness, O God have mercy and hear our prayer.

God of extravagant grace, you pour out on your people an abundance of blessings. Open our eyes to see the wonders of your love shown to us in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus. Help us to order our lives with priorities of our Savior. He reminded us that there will always be poor and disadvantaged people to care for. Give us the same heart of compassion that Jesus has, that we might pursue the work of reconciliation and justice with commitment and energy.

In your loving-kindness, O God have mercy and hear our prayer.

God of compassionate love, you make paths in the wilderness of our lives, and streams in the desert of our despair, guide those who feel lost and alone due to circumstances beyond their control, renew the lives of those who suffer from illness, grief and disappointment. Be present with those in hospital, and work through the nurses and doctors to restore health or provide comfort, we pray especially for (names) For those who grieve the loss of a loved one grant them comfort and strength, we pray this week for the family and friends of (names).

In your loving-kindness, O God have mercy and hear our prayer.

God of wondrous beauty, you have created an amazing world filled with a diversity of life and landscape. Open our hearts to the gift of your creation, that we might treat all people and places with respectful care and concern. Where the environment is threatened and treated as disposable trash, where people are disregarded and deemed of little value, help us to do the work of restoration and protection, giving proper value to all you have created.

In your loving-kindness, O God have mercy and hear our prayer.

In a moment of silence we bring you the concerns that weigh on our hearts, trusting that you will hear them.  (a brief time of silence)

We bring these prayers before your throne of grace through Jesus Christ and in the mystery of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Prayers of Intercession - Fourth Sunday in Lent - Year C

God of new life, there’s a wideness in your mercy like the wideness of the sea. Be close today to all who know what it means to be lost or alone. Your love is broader than the measures of our mind. Have mercy on those who find themselves in the depths of despair out of foolishness or hastiness or greed or willfulness. Show them the way back to your gracious embrace that their life would be renewed so that they would respond with lives lived in grateful service to others in your holy name.

In your loving-kindness, O God have mercy and hear our prayer.

God of peace that passes all understand, you save your people from harm and danger, you rescue those surrounded by threats and violence. Protect the people of Ukraine in this time of war and give wisdom to the leaders of the nations that they would find a pathway to peace. Keep those who work to bring relief and assistance to all those impacted by this war, that humanitarian aid would not be hindered in any manner.

In your loving-kindness, O God have mercy and hear our prayer.

God of compassionate love, you hear the cry of the distressed and destitute, turn your ear to those who are suffering physically, emotionally or spiritually. To those who are ill or recovering from surgery bring healing and wholeness. Surround those in hospital with your comforting and restorative presence, (names) and those we name in our hearts. Strengthen all in this congregation who face struggles, that they would be better equipped to deal with their circumstances.

In your loving-kindness, O God have mercy and hear our prayer.

God of gracious patience, you have reconciled us to yourself through Christ by not counting our sins against us. You given us the ministry of reconciliation. Make us people who are merciful and forgiving that we may know the blessing of being peacemakers, showing welcome and acceptance of others in the same manner of Christ our Lord. Fill us with your Holy Spirit so that we can fulfill the ministry and mission you have given to all who follow your Son.

In your loving-kindness, O God have mercy and hear our prayer.

In a moment of silence we bring you the concerns that weigh on our hearts, trusting that you will hear them.  (a brief time of silence)

We bring these prayers before your throne of grace through Jesus Christ and in the mystery of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

The Meaning of Freedom

There has been a lot of talk about ‘freedom’ in recent weeks, but in the words of Inigo Montoya from The Princess Bride: “You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means.” I found it quite pertinent that the Orthodox scholar Alexander Schmemann, in his book Of Water & the Spirit, has some insights worth sharing on this subject. I came across these paragraphs today as I read this book as part of my studies in the Doctor of Worship Studies program at the Robert E. Webber Institute for Worship Studies. Here are a few gems from Schmemann:

In a section on renunciation of evil and Satan in the Orthodox baptismal rite:

The terrible truth is that the overwhelming majority of Christians simply do not see the presence and action of Satan in the world and, therefore, feel no need to renounce “his works and his service.”… They are blind to the fact that the “demonic” consists primarily in falsification and counterfeit, in deviating even positive values from their true meaning, in presenting black as white and vice verse, in a subtle and vicious lie and confusion. They do not understand that such seemingly positive and even Christian notions as “freedom’ and “liberation,” “love,” “happiness,” “success,” “achievement,” “growth,” “self-fulfillment” – notions which truly shape… modern society, motivations and their ideologies – can in fact be deviated from their real significance and become vehicles of the “demonic.” 

In a section on confessing and reverencing Christ in the Orthodox baptismal rite:

We are taught today that the dignity and freedom of [a person] consists precisely in not bowing down before anyone or anything, in [a person’s] constant affirmation of [themselves] as their sole master. But how miserable, how petty is this “dignity” and this “freedom”!... How truly noble, truly human and genuinely free are those who still know what it means to bow before the High and the Holy, the True and the Beautiful; who know what reverence and respect are; who know that bowing down before God is the true condition of freedom and dignity.

As I read those words I was struck by the paradoxical truth that freedom for us comes not from doing what we want but from freely turning to God, living our lives in obedience to Christ and his commands, by the power of God’s Spirit. This kind of freedom is a rarity in our society these days.