LENTEN PRAYERS 2018: PRAYING THE DAILY GOSPEL

SEVENTH SATURDAY

Lamentations 3:37-58 (the Book of Common prayer lists no gospel reading for the day)

Is this your word for us, Sovereign One? Are we left with this calamity, our hopes dashed on the stones of Golgotha? For what sin is He punished?

We cannot avoid suffering too. Have we chosen this by our long resistance, or our timid faith? Have You chased Him down, and us with Him, in order to bring ruin?

Do You keep your anger wrapped around You? Do You maintain a wall against all of our prayers? Are You not moved by our tears?

We could barely watch the slow agony of death. The cry of abandonment echoes through us as though it had torn us open. How will we endure the days and weeks and years in which our consciences pierce us as He was pierced? 

Our lives are ruins! Our grief is an abyss! We cry aloud to You, but we are left in the depths of our own darkness. Will You answer, or are we abandoned forever?

NOTE: This is the final post for Lent. There will be an Easter Prayer tomorrow.

LENTEN PRAYERS 2018: PRAYING THE DAILY GOSPEL

SEVENTH FRIDAY

John 13:36-38, 19:38-42

Jesus, our Teacher and Friend, many of us have followed You for a long time. We haven’t always understood where You were leading us, but we have tried to continue in your steps and learn from You.

In our history with You, we have failed You in so many ways that we are no longer tempted to make grand claims or promises. We are hesitant to say, “I will lay down my life for You!”

We may lay down our lives for You as we follow You in trust. We are willing, most days. But our confidence is in You, not in our own claims or our own performance. 

Strengthen our resolve to follow You no matter what trials or resistance we may face. Enable us to walk the way of the cross with You, in friendship and faith, for your glory. Amen.

LENTEN PRAYERS 2018: PRAYING THE DAILY GOSPEL

SEVENTH THURSDAY

Mark 14:12-25

Jesus, we hear your warning to your disciples, and we wonder, which of us will betray You? Which of us will disown and sell You out in order to achieve our own ends?

But, of course, each of us has already betrayed You. Each of us has put our own desires, agendas and security before yours. Each of us has foolishly rejected your teaching and cynically thrown You aside in resistance to the new life that You create among us.

Although we often push You aside or sell You out, You do not push us aside. You do not shame us before our sisters and brothers. You do not force us from the table of fellowship. But You do warn about the calamity that we bring upon ourselves by our rejection and betrayal. 

Still, You give yourself for us. You take, bless, break and give us the nourishing bread of your own life. You share the blood red wine of a new covenant. You share yourself with us to the very end. We receive your gifts in joy tinged with sorrow. Amen.

LENTEN PRAYERS 2018: PRAYING THE DAILY GOSPEL

SEVENTH WEDNESDAY

Mark 12:1-11

The earth is yours, Creator God, but we have claimed it as our own. We have ravaged it, greedily, for fruit of many kinds. We have refused to nurture and care for it as You intend. We have been arrogant and violent in our responses, refusing to hear your prophets and preachers as they call us to wise and faithful stewardship.

Forgive us God, for even in the context of the church as an expression of your reign of justice and generosity, we pastors, priests, elders and stewards have frequently acted for our own interests and enrichment. We have stolen your resources. We have usurped your honor. We have replaced your vision of reconciled people in a fully reconciled creation with our own narrow visions of power and control. We have, in many ways, rejected You and rejected the way of suffering in which Christ Jesus instructed us. 

Do not simply reject or judge us, God. Do a new work in us. Soften our hard hearts and give us hearts for glad stewardship that honors You and gives You what You are due. We want to serve only You. Amen.

Prayer for March 25-31, 2018 

Sermon Text: Mark 14:1-15:47

That we may glimpse the depth of pain to which we have contributed

You who were wounded for our transgressions and rejected as a threat to settled religion and imperial power, we worship You. As we worship You, our worship is tinged with sadness and with a sense of complicity in all that You suffered.

We hope that we would pour out our love like the woman who anointed You with her expensive perfume. We hope that we would stand and watch with the women who stayed alert to all that was happening as they prepared to minister to You in death. We hope that we would have the boldness to receive and care for your body. We hope that in the moment of death we would recognize your true identity.

But, since most of those closest to You did not act in faithful, loving or discerning ways, we admit that we would probably join in the parade of actors who brought You misery.

We would likely find ourselves among those who betrayed You, slept as You prayed, came to arrest You by mob action, denied knowing You, bore false witness against You, accused You of blasphemy, falsely condemned You, mocked You, struck You, spit upon You, and put You to death.

Christ Jesus, we know that we would not be telling your story if it had ended there. But, for a moment, let us recognize the depth of our failure as your disciples, the depth of the pain to which we have contributed, and the lack of faith that we have shown. 

In your mercy, hear our prayer. Amen. 

NOTE: For our worship, we sang the Palm Sunday songs, but did Passion week readings. The sermon incorporated both themes, but the prayer did not.

LENTEN PRAYERS 2018: PRAYING THE DAILY GOSPEL

SIXTH TUESDAY

Mark 11:27-33

Jesus, Anointed One, help us to be among those who acknowledge, praise, and submit to your authority as God’s Agent of reconciliation and renewal.

Forgive us when we resist and challenge your authority. Forgive us when we are simply irritated by the challenge that your authority poses to our customary way of doing things.  Forgive us when we reject the new world of peace, justice, and neighborly welcome that you are creating in your God-given authority.

Help us not to be afraid to ask serious questions in the context of our faith, but let those questions arise from a deep desire for knowledge that will enable us to trust You more fully as we declare your wondrous works and serve You with greater boldness. 

We submit to your authority, not in timid or fatalistic ways, but with rejoicing and glad obedience. You are our Teacher and Savior. Amen.

LENTEN PRAYERS 2018: PRAYING THE DAILY GOSPEL

SIXTH MONDAY

Mark 11:12-25

Christ Jesus, make our lives fruitful for the reign of God. Do not give up on us. Do not let us wither away, but prune whatever is useless. Nurture our weary faith to new vitality.

Disrupt us whenever we turn our faith practices into commercial enterprises for trade in religious commodities. Forgive us for our crass materialism. Forgive us for forgetting the heart of our lives together.

Turn our focus back to God’s sovereignty and God’s reconciling plan for all of creation. Let us live in gratitude and welcome diverse people from many lands to pray with us. Broaden our vision and stir our prayers for all nations. 

Deepen our faith. Enable us to trust that You can provide for our true needs and do new creation in response to our prayers. Amen.

LENTEN PRAYERS 2018: PRAYING THE DAILY GOSPEL

SIXTH SUNDAY

Luke 19:41-48

Jesus, weep for us! Weep for us because in all our worldly, pragmatic wisdom, we do not know what creates real peace. We do not know how to receive your gift that quells our individual and corporate anxiety.

Many of us are somewhat comfortable with all that we have amassed, but we are continuously nagged by the notion that we need more. We keep accumulating. Then we keep developing better home security systems and bigger national defense systems, in order to protect all that is ours. We are even willing to do or permit violence in order to achieve security. But these measures provide only modest relief for our anxiety.

We cling to the words of pastors, priests and politicians who speak to our fears and deepen our anxiety in order to have control over us. Now, we are out of control in our desperate grasping for what can never be achieved through anxious acts.

Enable us to cling to your words. Enable us to follow You by investing ourselves in God’s reign and trusting You for all that we truly need. Enable us to follow You in acting with generosity toward our many neighbors and loving our enemies in ways that make us vulnerable. 

Eradicate the anxiety and the violence that rattle our minds. Enable us to keep our thoughts focused on You, our model and source of peace. Help us to receive your peace in order to be peacemakers in our individual, corporate and national lives. Amen.

LENTEN PRAYERS 2018: PRAYING THE DAILY GOSPEL

SIXTH SATURDAY

Mark 10:46-52

Jesus, God’s Anointed One, we rejoice in You. We rejoice that You hear the cry for mercy that is nearly drowned out by the noise of life and often silenced by those who believe that your time is too important to be taken up by those who are most vulnerable. We rejoice that You stop and that you command others, including us, to bring poor, sick, wounded, and disabled persons into your presence.

You take time to ask what is needed. You give what is required. You attribute healing to the faith of those who implore You to act as your word completes the renewing action. 

Jesus, we cry to You now. Heal our blindness! Enable us to see You for who You are in all your vulnerability and your glory. Give us humility and faith that is bold enough to shout our need for your help. May your word work effectively in us and enable us to follow You in the way that you lead. Amen.

LENTEN PRAYERS 2018: PRAYING THE DAILY GOSPEL

SIXTH FRIDAY

Mark 10:32-45

Jesus, even though we live our lives in the midst of a life and death drama of cosmic significance, we are often so focused on ourselves that we can only think about our own well-being, our own status, our own benefit.

We miss the larger vision because of our narrow focus on ourselves. We fail to see what You are doing. We fail to see the great cost that You take upon yourself in order to make the reign of God truly and meaningfully present among us. And we fail to see the magnificent possibilities for newness that You are creating which will gradually unfold in beauty in and around us.

Forgive us for our narcissism. Forgive us for our competitiveness. Forgive us for resisting your command and your example. 

Transform us! Enable us to see the possibilities for service that You place before us. Energize us for service by the gift of your Spirit! Enable us to share the cup and baptism that You endured—the way of suffering and death—by your constant presence with us. Amen.

LENTEN PRAYERS 2018: PRAYING THE DAILY GOSPEL

SIXTH THURSDAY

Mark 10:17-31

Jesus, our Teacher, we rejoice that we may come to You with the questions that lie in the most sensitive places in our minds. You listen and hear us in our anxious need.

We are grateful that when we are overly sure of our own righteousness You do not pronounce judgement upon us but look upon us and love us. And we are thankful that You are able to see the gaps in our fidelity—the idols that we have erected for our own benefit--and that You call us to action that exposes them.

Expose the idols that now control us! Call us to action that breaks their power in our lives. Free us from every form of bondage that keeps us from experiencing the fullness of life that You desire for us.

We acknowledge that all things are possible with God. We rejoice that You bring people into the realm of God who seem to have no chance of dwelling in the Divine Presence. That includes us!

Some of us have left much in order to follow You. As we follow, enable us to rejoice in the abundant gifts that we share within the broad community of faith that looks to You for salvation, wisdom, and guidance. Amen.

LENTEN PRAYERS 2018: PRAYING THE DAILY GOSPEL

SIXTH WEDNESDAY

Mark 10:1-16

Jesus, You are both more demanding and more tender than we expect You to be. As You instruct us, You call us to faithfulness that is based on God’s creative intention for human wholeness, particularly for relationships that are nurtured and cherished in abiding love. You challenge our tendency to turn relationships into disposable commodities when that seems convenient to us. You block the easy way that we want to make for ourselves.

Sometimes your demands seem unreasonable and harsh to us, so we look for another way. But we keep running up against your word, and we keep hearing your challenging call to fidelity, and we move toward You, again.

You welcome us! You cause us to rejoice! You provide constant help!

When we reflect on your loving welcome, we even rejoice that your invitation is broader than we would make it, that You welcome all who come to You, including many whom we have hindered in their coming: the most vulnerable, most sick, poorest, and most sinful. 

Christ Jesus, help us to welcome many with the tenderness with which You welcomed the children who were brought to You. Stir us to bring many to receive your greeting and your embrace. Amen.

LENTEN PRAYERS 2018: PRAYING THE DAILY GOSPEL

FIFTH TUESDAY

Mark 9:42-50

Christ Jesus, when we are tempted to treat sin casually, You remind us how deeply destructive it is. In poetic speech, You exhort us to take drastic measures to eliminate sin from our lives. You warn us against creating hazards that would cause the most vulnerable among us to stumble, lose their way, and abandon their faith in You.

Forgive us when we are casual, even slipshod, in our attentiveness to your instruction and commands. Forgive us when we are careless of the impact that our faithless acts may have upon others. 

Guide us into obedience that is not characterized by grim scrupulosity, but by glad fidelity. May our faithfulness strengthen and uphold sisters and brothers who are struggling to live faithfully. We rejoice that your Spirit helps each of us each day. Amen.

LENTEN PRAYERS 2018: PRAYING THE DAILY GOSPEL

FIFTH MONDAY

Mark 9:30-41

 God of wisdom, we thank You for Jesus’ instruction and ministry. We thank You that Jesus enables us to see in new ways that challenge our competitiveness and our desire to be served. We rejoice that Jesus challenges our limited perspective and enables us to see that others who are not part of our circle, cohort, or congregation, are still doing the ministry of liberation and healing that Jesus does among us.

Forgive us when we perceive ourselves as better than our companions in faith. Forgive us for the many strategies we use to resist understanding your demanding call upon our lives. Forgive us for holding back when You command service to one another. Forgive us for interfering with the ministry of others.

Open our minds. Soften our hearts. Help us to welcome the most vulnerable in our midst. Help us to welcome those who are doing your work who are not part of our community. Enable us to set aside our arrogance and competition in order to serve one another with gladness. 

Help us to keep following You and to keep learning even when we are confused about what we are doing. Amen.

Prayer for March 18-24, 2018 

Sermon Text: Jeremiah 31:31-34

That You will continue your work of transformation among us

Merciful God, we rejoice that You do not utterly abandon your people when they fail to keep covenant with You. We rejoice that You did not leave Israel in exile and misery, but that You liberated and made new covenant out of your deep and abiding love.

When your people have been unable to change, unable to turn back to You in faith, unable to escape disaster brought by their own choices You have enabled their return, transformed hearts and minds, and rescued from dire trouble.

Even though You have brought us within the scope of your covenant and written your word on our hearts and minds, we have still managed to forget You and turn from You in various acts of rebellion. We have shamed ourselves!  

But we rejoice that You have not abandoned us. We rejoice that You have forgiven us and continued your work of transformation among us. Our stubbornness often makes change painfully slow, but we rejoice that You have not given up on us, that You continue to accompany us, and that You enable us to tell others of your goodness to us. Amen.

LENTEN PRAYERS 2018: PRAYING THE DAILY GOSPEL

FIFTH SUNDAY

John 8:46-59

Jesus, since we often resist You, it is not difficult to understand the strong resistance You encountered among many of your people. Your words were audacious, irritating, and unsettling to those whose lives seemed settled and secure, whose faith seemed firmly grounded. You seemed mentally ill or demon-possessed and blasphemous.

Since we often smooth out your words so they do not require so much of us, it is easy to miss the deep challenge that your life and teaching presented to settled politics and settled religion that had closed themselves to new creation.

For the most part, those of us whose have grown complacent in our settled lives are not looking for change. We are not hoping for disruptive and radical newness. We are looking for more of the same. We are hoping to keep our advantage in the world. 

Christ Jesus, banish whatever resistance remains in us. Enable us to open ourselves fully to your presence and instruction. Help us perceive the truth in your radical claims about your identity, then respond with loving obedience that brings glory to God. Amen.

LENTEN PRAYERS 2018: PRAYING THE DAILY GOSPEL

FIFTH SATURDAY

Mark 9:14-29

Healing, Liberating God, how seldom we allow ourselves to be overwhelmed by all of the wonders that You have done among us. How, uncommon it is for us to hasten to enter your presence.

When people come among us seeking healing or freedom from spiritual oppression, we are frequently stymied by their needs. We do not have much faith that You can act in healing, liberating ways among us. We are slow to turn to You, in prayer, for the deliverance of others.

We believe. And we cry, “Help our unbelief,” but our faith seems to stay timid and weak. 

Transform us! Deepen our faith! Enable us to be agents of your reign that, in the end, will not be stymied by any other power or authority. Enable us to be agents of life that is full, free, and fruitful. Amen.

LENTEN PRAYERS 2018: PRAYING THE DAILY GOSPEL

FIFTH FRIDAY    

Mark 9:1-13 (I have added verse 1 to the assigned reading)

O God, though your reign has not come to fullness, some of us, like some of Jesus’ disciples, have seen that it is already present, in power, and that it stands in opposition to every form of power and authority that vaunts itself as source of well-being and peace, or that extends itself by deadly acts and self-worship.

We have seen that Jesus embodies both the warnings and promises of Israel’s instruction and prophecy. In Jesus, we have encountered your wisdom and your glory.

Whether bedazzled in Jesus’ presence, or enshrouded in confusion or mystery, we have heard your instruction to listen to Jesus, your Beloved. We have heard, and we are trying to live our entire lives as acts of worship and praise to You. 

Enable us to be faithful and fruitful followers of Jesus. Help us point others to the One who is radiant among us. Amen.

LENTEN PRAYERS 2018: PRAYING THE DAILY GOSPEL

FIFTH THURSDAY

Mark 8:27-9:1

Sovereign God, we gather with others who have affirmed that Jesus is your Anointed One. We believe that You sent Jesus among us to make your presence and your reign evident among us. We believe that Jesus acted as your Agent of salvation and new creation.

But some days we doubt! Particularly as we observe a world in which oppression and violence still flourish, and where calamitous events disrupt and destroy the lives of so many people.

Other days we resist! Particularly when You call us to the radical self-giving that characterized Jesus’ ministry among us. We are not sure that suffering and death was the necessary path for Jesus. And we are not particularly pleased that Jesus called us to follow his way of suffering and death.

Frankly, we want an easier way. We want to hold on to our lives. But Jesus has shown us that self-preservation is not his way, and that it ultimately fails. 

Enable us to trust fully. Enable us to follow Jesus all the way to the end of the road he leads us on. Give us courage to die whatever death is necessary to give as Jesus gave and to serve as Jesus served. Help us imitate our Savior who reconciles all creation to You. Amen.

LENTEN PRAYERS 2018: PRAYING THE DAILY GOSPEL

FIFTH WEDNESDAY

Mark 8:11-26

Christ, our Provider, we are like others who have received abundant blessings from your hands and seen You do wondrous things, but who still crave some sign that validates your authority and proves that You are God’s Messiah, God’s Agent of Newness.

You act with compassion toward many who are in need: healing the sick, feeding the hungry, liberating the spiritually oppressed, but refuse to do anything merely as a display of power that might satisfy the curiosity of the curious, quell the doubts of those who doubt, or overcome the resistance of those who resist You. 

Though we sometimes doubt, we trust in You. Forgive us when our doubts arise because we are resistant to the truth You would teach us and the path in which You would lead us. We ask that You open our eyes more fully to your presence among us, that You completely heal the blindness of our hearts. Amen.

LENTEN PRAYERS 2018: PRAYING THE DAILY GOSPEL

FOURTH TUESDAY

Mark 8:1-10

God of grace, You have fed, clothed, and sheltered us. You have provided for every one of our needs. You have been faithful beyond anything that we could possibly earn or deserve.

In love and mercy, You have called us to share in Christ’s ministry to the poor and hungry. You have called us to be people of compassion. You have instructed us to feed those who are hungry and weak. And You have taken our meager resources and multiplied them so that they are adequate for the needs we see among our diverse neighbors.

In spite of our experience of your abundant provision, in spite of all that we have witnessed of your generosity, we continue to doubt that there are enough resources to provide for those in need. We continue to question how to respond and continue to be anxious in the face of widespread need.

Forgive us for our forgetfulness. Forgive us for our lack of faith. Remind us of all that You have done and give us a vision for a world in which all are adequately provided for from the abundance that You have generated and still generate today.  

Enable us to be humble, yet faithful stewards of your abundance. Amen.

LENTEN PRAYERS 2018: PRAYING THE DAILY GOSPEL

FOURTH MONDAY

Mark 7:24-37

God of all, from the scripture it almost seems that Jesus’ ministry outside the borders of Israel was unintended. When he encounters a loving mother, desperate to see her daughter released from spiritual oppression, his words seem insulting and he seems resistant to act on her behalf until she responds with a mixture of humility and shrewdness. He is moved to action. He liberates. He affirms her words as the basis for his action and expands the scope of his ministry in a different direction than he has gone before.

Once again outside the borders of Israel, he encounters a deaf and partially mute man brought to him by compassionate friends. He listens to their pleas. He touches. He prays. He heals. He asks for secrecy.

But who can keep such healing secret? Who can halt the healed tongue? Praise pours forth. People are amazed. Jesus’ abilities are proclaimed.

God, we rejoice that Jesus has touched, healed and liberated many who were outside of Israel. We rejoice because that includes us! We have also been brought into Christ’s presence by people who loved us and acted in compassion. We know that we had no claim upon your power or your grace. We could not assume anything. But we are overjoyed to be included within the broad scope of Jesus’ ministry.    

We rejoice that we have been healed, liberated, forgiven, and empowered to follow Jesus and continue his ministry. Amen.    

Prayer for March 11-17, 2018

Sermon Text: Psalm 107:1-3, 17-22

That we may tell our stories of redemption with gladness

God, our Savior and Sovereign, we give thanks to You! We rejoice as recipients of your enduring love. We are the ones 

You have:

          Redeemed from many foes;

          Gathered from places of wandering and exile;

          Saved from many forms of distress;

          Healed; and

          Preserved from Death.

     

Even when we have acted as fools, rebelled against You, and brought suffering upon ourselves, You have heard our pleas. Your love has not failed even when ours has. You have continued to do wonderful works on our behalf. 

We turn our faces to You. We give You all of our thanks. We sing our songs of joy to You. We tell our stories with gladness. We give our whole selves to You as offerings of thanksgiving. Amen.

LENTEN PRAYERS 2018: PRAYING THE DAILY GOSPEL

FOURTH SUNDAY

John 6:27-40

Jesus, Savior, we have sought You for many things. Most of the time our seeking has been motivated by our physical needs: food, water, clothing, shelter, health and healing, personal security, and the like. You take such needs seriously and have promised to meet our true needs as we follow You and serve God’s reign with gladness.

But fulfilling those needs seldom satisfies our deepest hunger: to know God and live in God’s presence. We need more! And You are that more!

You give us new life that is durable. You nourish and energize us by your presence, by word and action. When we stay close to You, follow You, and carry on the ministry that You have done among us, we discover satisfaction that we could not create or conjure for ourselves. 

You are divine gift. You are Bread that is never consumed. You are bread that gives new life and energy. You are bread that satisfies. We have sought You because You have called and drawn us to yourself and fed us the bread of your presence. Hallelujah! Amen.

LENTEN PRAYERS 2018: PRAYING THE DAILY GOSPEL

FOURTH SATURDAY

Mark 7:1-23

God of creation and covenant, give us discernment. Enable us to see which of the traditions we cling to are deeply rooted in your word and which we have fabricated for our own reasons, our own comfort, and our own glory.

Forgive us for resisting your presence. Forgive us for closing our hearts against the work of transformation that Jesus is doing among us as Agent of your healing, liberating reign.

Prevent evil from fermenting in our hearts and minds and pouring from us in ways that corrupt and damage our relationships with others. Help us to avoid everything that diminishes us or our neighbors. 

Enable us to honor You with heart and mind, but also help us to use our bodies for works of obedience that bring honor to You. Energize us for the truly free, fully human life for which You have created and redeemed us. Amen.

LENTEN PRAYERS 2018: PRAYING THE DAILY GOSPEL

FOURTH FRIDAY

Mark 6:47-56

Jesus, Provider, we rejoice that You are not gripped by the confusion, fear, and disbelief that often characterize our lives. You are not afraid of the chaos that seems to surround and threaten us. You are not paralyzed by circumstances that often leave us feeling helpless.

Even when our faith is weak and we are gripped by terror, You seek us out. You do not ignore us or abandon us, but You see our crises and come to us during our nights of storm and dread.

Sometimes your arrival terrifies us. You are Mystery beyond our control! But then, as You draw close, the chaos around us is still, and the terror in our hearts is quieted, and we are simply amazed by You. 

After our anxious fears have subsided, You guide us along to continue your ministry of healing and renewal. We go gladly, trusting that You are able to minister to others even through our weaknesses. Amen.

LENTEN PRAYERS 2018: PRAYING THE DAILY GOSPEL

FOURTH THURSDAY

Mark 6:30-46

Jesus, we rejoice that You have not called us to endless, anxious ministry, but that You call us aside for rest and renewal when that is necessary. We rejoice, though, that You give us adequate energy when we are stretched beyond our normal limits. You help us keep going when rest is delayed.

Because we are still anxious, too often, we frequently fail to see that You have adequate resources to meet the needs around us. You are able to take our meager offerings and turn them into abundant provision for those who have no one to instruct them or tend to their needs.

Help us to trust You. Help us to remember that You are able to act in diverse circumstance, including some that seem hopeless or impossible to us. 

Fill us with your compassion. When You take, bless, break and give us the bread of life, help us to turn and see the needs of known neighbors, and unknown multitudes, and share your gifts for life with them. Amen.