Rosary Prayer Aid

FYI: The Rosary Prayer Aid that has been available for the last three years from a link in the menu on the right has just recently been upgraded to include a Flash version that can be used online or downloaded for offline use.

Proper 18 Sunday September 9

Deuteronomy 30:15-20 ; Philemon 1-20 ; Luke 14:25-33 ; Psalm 1

Your turn ... seriously ...

Proper 17 Sunday September 2

Ecclesiasticus 10:(7-11)12-18 ; Hebrews 13:1-8 ; Luke 14:1,7-14 ; Psalm 112

" Let mutual love continue. " Hebrews 13:1

Is there any reason to say anything more? If we truly focused on and followed this advice which so succinctly summarizes what we read as the greatest commandments in Matthew 22:37-40 , Mark 12:29-31 and Luke 10:27 ... would we really need to spend so much time in scribishly debating arrogance, pride, where to sit at the table, or who to invite for dinner and why? I'm surprised this bible verse isn't available on a t-shirt from cafepress .

Proper 16 Sunday August 26

Isaiah 28:14-22 ; Hebrews 12:18-19,22-29 ; Luke 13:22-30 ; Psalm 46

" ... for indeed our God is a consuming fire. " Hebrews 12:29

Yikes ... more strong words ...especially if you or I are one of the "scoffers" mentioned in Isaiah who "have made lies our refuge" who will be "beaten down" by "the overwhelming scourge". Doesn't sound fun ... nope ... not at all. But wait ... we're not the "scoffers" ... no ... not us ... at least not the exact "scoffers" Isaiah speaks of ... or at least most of us taking the time to actually read these passages aren't ... yep ... that's right ... and, oh by the way, there's some more "good" news for us and well ... there's some "bad" news too.

First the "good" news ... well really ... do I actually have to tell you this? You know the "good" news, yes? Jesus ... the new covenant ... faith ... sound familiar? Sound comforting. Well it's all pretty much spelled out in today's passage from Hebrews. Out with the "blazing fire, and darkness, and gloom" ... and in with the "innumerable angels in festal gathering, and to the assembly of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven".

And the "bad" news? Well along all this there is "God the judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect, and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant" ... then there's that whole bit about the "narrow door".

An are you really ready to be "shaken"? Right now? You go "first". No wait ... I mean "last" ... argh. 177 out.

Proper 15 Sunday August 19

Jeremiah 23:23-29 ; Hebrews 12:1-7(8-10)11-14 ; Luke 12:49-56 ; Psalm 82

"Jesus said, 'I came to bring fire to the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled!'" Luke 12:49

Ok now ... there's certainly somewhat of a different tone in the readings this week ... not so very comforting at first, or even second, glance ... not at all. "Judgements", "divisions", and "hypocrites" ... as well as the "cloud of witnesses" enjoying a noisy cookout next door. I will have to look at these passages again tomorrow with hopes of maybe then finding the "peaceful fruit".

Proper 14 Sunday August 12

Genesis 15:1-6 ; Hebrews 11:1-3(4-7)8-16 ; Luke 12:32-40 ; Psalm 33 or 33:12-15, 18-22

"Do not be afraid, little flock, for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom." Luke 12:32

I will be able to sleep much better tonight after having read and reread this Sunday's bible passages ... these words from Luke as well as the other readings are most reassuring ... I can feel the worry slipping from me even now. I'm not going to think to much about this ... I'm just going to go quiet and try to "be ready" to meet the "flockers".

Proper 13 Sunday August 5

Ecclesiastes 1:12-14;2:(1-7,11)18-23; Colossians 3:(5-11)12-17; Luke 12:13-21; Psalm 49 or 49:1-11

"And he said to them, 'Take care! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; for one's life does not consist in the abundance of possessions.' " Luke 12:15

You've heard this, right? Do you believe it? Are you ever on guard against greed? Sure, sometimes ... and good for you when you are ... that leaves more for the rest of us ... just kidding. I can actually tie this reading from Luke with the words from Ecclesiastes that "all is vanity and a chasing after wind" and from the Psalm that "Those who are honored, but have no understanding, are like the beasts that perish". I'm pretty sure with "greed" and I'm thinking "honored" in the context of the Psalm applies to "rich relations" and "them that have" ... you know ... yes, us .

I kind of get it ... but can I live it? Hmmmm. And if I read ahead in Luke ... yes, it's OK if you do that ... and "consider the lilies" can I "not worry" and really survive simple clothed in what Macarius calls, in his Homily 20, the "garment of his grace"? This is starting to get hard, isn't it?

Proper 12 Sunday July 29

Genesis 18:20-33; Colossians 2:6-15; Luke 11:1-13; Psalm 138

Abraham answered, "Let me take it upon myself to speak to the Lord, I who am but dust and ashes. Suppose five of the fifty righteous are lacking? Will you destroy the whole city for lack of five?" Genesis 18:27-28

"For everyone who asks receives, and everyone who searches finds, and for everyone who knocks, the door will be opened." Luke 11:10

To me the readings for this week from Genesis and from Luke are about several important aspects of our access to God. First and foremost ... even if we are not so fortunate as to have God and two angels actually show up at our door as they did with Abraham, we still have only to speak and God will hear.

Secondly ... God will listen ... I'm not sure I would be so bold as the almost too clever Abraham who seems to think he's going to outsmart God with his series of questions about the number of righteous that need to be found in Sodom in order that the city be saved when it might have been much simpler to be at least an honest sack of "dust and ashes" and just ask for what he really wanted ... that Lot and his family be spared.

And thirdly ... God will answer. It may not be the answer that you expect ... it may even sometimes seem more like a "snake" than a "fish" ... but it will be the right answer.

The reading from Luke gives us an excellent starting point for beginning our conversation. It's all good ... yes ... you can ask now ... do it.

Proper 11 Sunday July 22

Genesis 18:1-10a (10b-14); Colossians 1:21-29; Luke 10:38-42; Psalm 15

"... there is need of only one thing. Mary has chosen the better part, which will not be taken away from her." Luke 10:42

This short reading from the Gospel according to Luke addresses so many things ... simplicity, discipleship, attentiveness, and even cooking ... but the bottom line is clear ... we are to "be the Mary".

OK, so how might we do that. Maybe first by looking in the mirror and saying "show me the Martha". That could help right? Try it ... go ahead. I know that I would certainly see someone who is frequently "distracted by many thing". Now once I start to recognize the Martha in myself it should be possible to actually get away from those times where I'm "just Martha being Martha" ... yes? Sure ... I can do that. And so can you.

Just now when I actually got up and did look in the mirror I could see out of the corner of my eye some unnecessary complexity that does distract me from following last week's reading where we were told "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself."

I could see the Martha that has crept into the church itself. No, I'm not so much thinking about the Building and Grounds Committee, the Bake Sale coming up in a few weeks or that group outing to the local Triple A baseball park ... I'm thinking about actual ceremonial specifics spelled out in the Book of Common Prayer ... and I'm suddenly seeing the neat little illustrations in A Priest's Handbook by Dennis Michno specifying hand positions for activities such as replacing the chalice ... maybe all this is because I recently read a church service visit that seemed so Martha focused I thought maybe it was written by an American Lit student in the style of Mark Twain as a joke ... it wasn't ... it was apparently written in complete seriousness by a candidate for the priesthood in the Episcopal Church ... hmmmmmm ... maybe I need to read a little George Fox to clear my head ... or maybe I should simply go back to today's reading "be the Mary" and "listen to what he is saying".

Proper 10 Sunday July 15, 2007

Deuteronomy 30:9-14; Psalm 25; Colossians 1:1-14; Luke 10:25-37

"You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself." Luke 10:27

Well here it is for all of us in one simple sentence ... a lawyer seeking eternal life is challenged by Jesus as to "what is written in the law" and answers his own question in a combination of guidance from Deuteronomy 6:5 and Leviticus 19:18. No I'm not providing links ... go drag out your bible and read this for yourself ... and leave your bible out where it is handy ... in fact get a couple and leave one in every room.

Jesus then responds "You have given the right answer; do this and you will live." and somehow I can't help but hear these words spoken in the same manner as those of the old knight hidden in the cave within the valley of the crescent moon who tells Indiana Jones "You have chosen wisely" after Jones selects the grail correctly in the movie Last Crusade.

In Matthew 22:37-40 and Mark 12:29-31 Jesus himself sums up what John Wesley called the "essence of Christian Perfection" with similar words.

Simple right ... just "do this and you will live". Well, the lawyer wasn't so sure. Apparently he felt he had no problem with loving God and needed no advice in that but he wanted clarification on who exactly were his neighbors. Interesting that he should ask as Leviticus is fairly clear that his neighbors are his fellow Jews .... you spotted this yourself when you looked it up I'll bet ... anyway, he had to have been shocked by Jesus' answer which we read in the bible passage we know of as the parable of the good Samaritan. Think how shocked you or others would be to hear that the neighbor to be loved as oneself was Dick Cheney, Cindy Sheehan or maybe Seung-Hui Cho. Hmmmmm ..... I'm thinking "do this and you will live" might be more complex than just having $30 a month charged to your mastercard by World Vision to sponsor a child in Ghana or tossing a couple of cans in a bag for the local food drive ... now don't stop doing this but ...

So then maybe this "love the Lord your God with all your heart" isn't so simple either. Yikes ... I'm starting to think we haven't got a prayer for inheriting eternal life. Hmmmmm ... prayer? Maybe there is a way after all.

Proper 9 Sunday July 8

Isaiah 66:10-16 ; Galatians 6:(1-10)14-18 ; Luke 10:1-12,16-20; Psalm 66 or 66:1-8

After this the Lord appointed seventy others and sent them on ahead of him in pairs to every town and place where he himself intended to go. Luke 10:1

I’m thinking it couldn’t have been so very easy to find the seventy who were sent out to cure the sick and proclaim the Kingdom of God ... Jesus had just explained the sacrifices needed by those who would follow him in his well known cautionary statements about the foxes and birds as well as letting the dead bury the dead and putting a hand to the plow and looking back. But maybe it was time to bring some extra help on board ... the twelve had just returned from a similar mission and though they had apparently cured diseases in their travels they had recently failed to cure a boy with convulsions, they were now arguing among themselves about which one was the greatest, and they were seriously considering fire-bombing a nearby village rather than merely shaking off the dust.

Those sent as part of the seventy had no formal training, only what they had learned from direct observations of Jesus, and some simple guidelines - there is a lot of work to be done, go quickly, travel light, work together - and a clear warning that it’s hard out there for a disciple. They went where Jesus himself intended to go .... and they returned with joy.

Tasks similar to those that the seventy faced still need doing. In fact today’s reading from Galatians as well as reading I am doing in The Fifty Homilies of Pseudo-Marcarius suggest to me that the journey of curing and proclaiming I should first take were I one of a new seventy would best be within myself. This may well be true for most of us. Surely there is work to be done ... hmmmm ... yes, there is. We should start now ... no waiting and thinking about this tomorrow. We will need to bring someone with us to help ... Anne Lamott, Macarius, William Barclay, bible passages in our iPods? And ... it will not be easy.