Prayer of the Day-Collect for Transfiguration Sunday Yr B

Photo by Eclecticity, Rocky Mountains

God of majesty and mystery: We praise and thank you for the mountaintop revelations that you bestow on us; through the transfigured light of Jesus, the light of the world. May the transfigured light of Jesus inspire us as we go down from the mountain into the valleys of this world to shine your light and share your love in all the dark places. In the name of Jesus, our Saviour and Messiah, we pray. 

Prayer of the Day/Collect for 1st Sunday in Lent, Year A

Cross by Eclecticity

LORD God, your Son Jesus was able to resist the temptation of the devil after fasting for forty days and nights in the wilderness. As we follow Jesus during our Lenten wilderness journey, grant us your grace to resist the temptations we face each day; through Jesus Christ our Saviour; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit; one God, now and forever. Amen. 

Prayer of the Day/Collect for 13 Pentecost, Year B

Image credit: www.carllegge.com

Jesus, Bread from Heaven, Holy One of God: so feed us with your word and sacrament that we, like Peter, may always come to you for sustenance to love and serve you and our neighbour; for your love’s sake. Amen. 

Maundy Thursday-what's in a name?

Today marks the foot washing of the disciples

Painting by Hanna Varghese, Last Supper

by Jesus as a symbolic act of humble service. It was also on this night that Jesus instituted the Lord's Supper. The sacrament of the altar/the Eucharist/Holy Communion-whatever this meal is called by the various traditions and denominations-I believe was originally intended as a sign of unity among the followers of Jesus. Yet, to this very day, it remains a sign of the opposite, a sign of division. Moreover, the arrogance, acrimony, and know-it-all attitudes among far too many theologians and clergy is a scandal, and I believe, likely the cause of much grief for Jesus himself. 

   Where does the word Maundy come from and what does it mean? Well, down through the centuries there have been at least three interpretations. 

   First, there is the Latin word mandatum, which means "command," and is associated with the words of Jesus in John 13, when he gives his disciples a new commandment to love one another. Others associate it with the synoptic gospels and Paul's account of the Lord's Supper when Jesus says, "do this." 

   Second, there is the Latin word mundo, which means "wash," and again is associated with John 13, where Jesus washes his disciples feet.

   Third, there is the word maund, which means "basket," and on Maundy Thursday the poor were given  food baskets. The poor were also given specially minted coins called maund money. 

Tutu Global Forgiveness Challenge

One of the inspiring and insightful Christians in our day is Desmond Tutu. He has started, as of today, a Global Forgiveness Challenge. Forgiveness, likely for most of us, is or has been a challenge, especially if there has been great loss or hurt due to cruelty, evil, oppression, injustice, abuse, etc. However, it is possible, with the help of God, thanks to the grace, saving work, and influence of Jesus. I don't think we ever become "experts" at forgiveness, given the human condition. However, with practice, hopefully we continue to learn and grow through the journey. So I've signed up for this 30 day challenge, how about you? 

Christmas Eve/Day Collect Prayer of the Day

Holy One of heaven and earth, we are filled with awe, wonder and

Image Credit: Wm. Kurelek Northern Nativity

gratitude as we celebrate the birth of the Incarnate Jesus. May joy, peace, love and hope fill our hearts and lives on this holy day and every day as we share the Good News of your saving grace through your Son, Jesus the Messiah, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit; one God, now and through all ages of ages.



Of shrewd managers, prophets, injustice, and the way we are

Image credit: Unknown artist, found at: http://www.pericope.org/buls-notes/images/shrewd_manager.jpg 

 This past Sunday's gospel, Luke 16:1-13, includes the parable of the shrewd manager. It is one of Jesus' hardest parables to hear and to preach. Here is this crook who doctors up the books and swindles his master, and exploits the debtors to boot, making them beholden to him at a later date (in a blackmail-like position) should he need to resort to such a measure. 

   Then in my morning devotion time, I read from the prophet Amos. He, like most, if not all the biblical prophets was given an almost impossible call-to preach justice among the complacent, self-centred Northern Kingdom aristocrats, who pampered themselves and entertained themselves to death while laying in their ivory beds. All of this wealth gained by robbing the poor and endlessly exploiting them. 

   We preachers of today, how do we handle such texts? Do we go the route of the televangelists and avoid such texts by focussing solely on "the gospel of health and wealth," which is not gospel at all? Or do we let fly like Jesus and Amos and "let the chips fall where they may?" 

   Whatever we do, the truth is the truth, we all are indicted in the lifestyle we lead-at least here in the Western world. Our wealth and self-indulgent lives are no better than the ancient Israelite aristocrats. We too exploit the weak and the poor endlessly by making whole nations into our slave labour camps in order to extract mother nature's resources for our high-tech devices, toys, gadgets, computers, etc. 

   In our sinful, exploitative state, one day, as singer-songwriter Bruce Cockburn so astutely observes in one of his songs several years ago: "the word mercy is going to have a new meaning when we are judged by the children of our slaves." 

   So the question for us all, in relation to our sinful, exploitative state is: how, when and can we repent, not merely as individuals, rather as a society and civilization, and return to the LORD our God, who is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love?  

Tuesday Thought and Photo

A Longing Deer

 

 

"As a deer longs for flowing streams, so my soul longs for you, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God." (Psalm 42:1-2a)

   I took this photo around sunset and edited it with the help of Picasa. The deer's ribs remind me that we long to stay alive; we hunger and thirst for our physical health and well-being. In a similar manner, as Jesus said in John's Gospel 6:35:"Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty." May that hunger and thirst be fulfilled both physically, mentally, and spiritually for all of humankind.