EXCHANGES ON THE WAY: LENTEN PRAYERS
Day 30: Fifth Tuesday
Mark 13:1-37

     Jesus, we don't know quite what to make of your words of prophecy. So much has been fulfilled, some of it many times over. Your people were left scattered among the nations after the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple. They still mourn. And many still await the messiah.
     We acclaim You as Messiah. But since You have not returned, we look for an overflow of meaning in your words. Some of us map out elaborate schemas to try to narrow the time frame in which your return may be expected. Some of us make no effort to predict the times, but attempt to live in ways that are consistent with your teaching and with the movement of your Spirit among us.
     Enable us to live with eyes wide open to the new things that You are already doing among us that we have not yet perceived. Enable us to live our faith boldly and rely on the guidance of the Spirit to speak words of forgiveness and hope. Help us to practice personal righteousness and communal justice. May our entire life be lived in acknowledgement of your sovereignty and reign. And help us stand firm in faith, no matter what confusing or frightening circumstances may arise before us. Amen.
   

EXCHANGES ON THE WAY: LENTEN PRAYERS
Day 29: Fifth Monday
Mark 12:35-44

     Jesus, we are so easily impressed and deceived by appearances, but You are not. You are able to tell when we faith leaders, and others of standing, are strutting around so that we will be acknowledged and respected by others. You see our hunger for approval. You see our greed. You know the ways that we have enriched ourselves at the cost of the most vulnerable persons among us. You know what judgment we deserve in order to realign our lives with the will that will be done on earth as in heaven.
     Teacher, we like to think we are generous as we give from the overflow of our wealth. But You consider a different form of economics in which the self-giving gifts of those who are already at a disadvantage, those who have been maligned and kept in need by our predatory economics, weigh more heavily on the scale of values of God's reign.
     Teacher, keep teaching us. Don't give up on us. Let your words penetrate to the core of our being and alter us for generosity that flows freely and enhances the lives of many. Help us to give without self-consciousness and without concern for our status and reputation, even as we work to bring about systemic justice. Amen.

Note: this is another prayer that may be most meaningful or irritating to people in church leadership.

Prayer for March 29-April 4, 2020

Sermon Text(s): John 11:1-45; Ezekiel 37:1-14

That we may be liberated from deathly powers to overflow with compassion for our neighbors

You who are resurrection and life, we turn to You in this time of crisis. We turn to You in our worry, fear, confusion and vulnerability. We turn to You because many of us, here and throughout the world, are under threat, and death looms large, casting a long shadow in our lives.

You who are resurrection and life, we turn to You, because we know that You are able to do the unexpected. You are able to heal sickness that seems beyond healing. You are able to bring order out of chaos and life from death.

We ask for healing. We ask for survival. But we also ask that you transform our individual and communal lives so that we are no longer captivated by corporate and political powers that feed on death. Free us from all that terrifies and controls us. Liberate us for courageous faithfulness that overflows with compassion for our neighbors – especially for those who are most vulnerable.

We trust in You. Overcome our fear and deepen our faith. Amen.

LENT 2020
Fifth Sunday

For reflection:

• When have you most freely given your whole self to God?
• In what ways do you hold back from loving God with total devotion? Loving your neighbor as yourself?
• In what ways do you still resist Christ's presence and leadership in your life?
• What judgments* of God may be necessary to set our personal, communal, and national lives right (in alignment with God's reign)?

* Judgment is God's work of setting things right. It does not necessarily involve condemnation. See Romans 8:1-2.

EXCHANGES ON THE WAY: LENTEN PRAYERS
Day 28: Fifth Saturday
Mark 12:28-34

     God we love You! We praise You! We thank You for delivering us from oppression and sin. We rejoice that You have led us into new life. We thank You for providing adequately, and sometimes abundantly, for all of our needs.
     Holy One, enable us to invest all that we are in You. Enable us to love You without hesitation and without stint. Divert us and draw us to yourself when we are tempted to divide our loyalty between You and some object or idea of human creation. Keep us from worshiping ourselves in the guise of the things we have made.
     As we love You, and give ourselves to You, in joyful response to the generous self-giving love You have demonstrated in Jesus, enable us to see our neighbors more clearly. Make us more sensitive to their needs and enable us to respond with compassion, generosity, and creativity that matches those needs. Enable us to love them, too, without hesitation and without stint, so that we may live in joyful communion with one another in your presence.
     You have overwhelmed us with your love. Let love flow through us every day. Amen.

EXCHANGES ON THE WAY: LENTEN PRAYERS
Day 27: Fifth Friday
Mark 12:18-27

     Jesus, life-giving teacher we worship You. We worship You in spite of our doubts or outright skepticism about resurrection and new life. We worship You with hope, even though we are inclined to imagine the life of the world to come as more of the same thing as that to which we have become most accustomed, and in which many of us have grown complacent.
     Forgive us for our doubts and skepticism. Forgive us for our resistance to You. Open our hearts to learn from You and to ask questions that express our desire to learn. Help us as we follow You on the path of suffering and death to remember that it is also the way of life. Give us a glimpse of the fullness of God's glory, that inspires and energizes our walk with You and our service in the world You created and love.
     We praise You for teaching us and revealing God's presence to us. We praise You for giving us life and for renewing all of creation. Make us fit for your enduring reign. Amen.

EXCHANGES ON THE WAY: LENTEN PRAYERS
Day 26: Fifth Thursday
Mark 12:13-17

     Wise Teacher, how often You answered those who questioned or challenged You with words that still required discernment for action. As we try to follow You in faithfulness, we still find that discernment is required for many of our choices. We count on the guidance of your Spirit to help us.
     We find questions of loyalty to our various governments particularly tricky. What commitment and loyalty do they deserve from us? Some imagine that they deserve our deepest commitment, energy and creativity. They easily usurp your place in our lives as they demand everything from us and act as though the law of the land is God's law.
     Help us to be good citizens and neighbors. But help us to discern the limits of our loyalty wisely. Do not let us make an idol of powers that call for absolute allegiance. Enable us to give all the best of our resources and our selves. to You. Amen.