Rejoice Always
Tuesday, December 7, 2010 -- Week of 2 Advent, Year One
Ambrose, Bishop of Milan, 397
To read about our daily commemorations, go to our Holy Women, Holy Men blog:
http://liturgyandmusic.wordpress.com/category/holy-women-holy-men/
Today's Readings for the Daily Office (Book of Common Prayer, p 936)
Psalms 26, 28 (morning) 36, 39 (evening)
Isaiah 5:13-17, 24-25
1 Thessalonians 5:12-28
Luke 21:29-38
"Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you." (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18)
We hear a similar theme every Sunday as we begin our Eucharistic Prayer. "Lift up your hearts." "We lift them to the Lord." "Let us give thanks to the Lord our God." "It is right to give our thanks and praise." "It is right, and a good and joyful thing, always and everywhere to give thanks to you, Father Almighty, Creator of heaven and earth..."
Rejoice. Pray. Give thanks. In all circumstances; always and everywhere.
But what about the rotten times. What about times of misery and suffering, injustice or betrayal? How can we rejoice, pray and give thanks when things go so obviously wrong so often?
It is easy to miss that the focal prayer of Christian practice is a prayer grounded in a tragic evil. The Eucharistic Prayer is also called the Great Thanksgiving. (Eucharist is the Greek word for "Thanksgiving") It looks like a festive and joyful setting -- vestments, candles, beautiful appointments. But it is a prayer grounded in the death of Jesus. We remember his Last Supper with his friends, when he took bread and wine and identified them with his own life and presence. He gave thanks, blessed, broke and gave not only the bread that day, but also his body the next day. Out of his offering of himself in love comes new life -- resurrection. In our prayer of Great Thanksgiving we receive forgiveness, reconciliation and renewal that comes through the suffering, evil and tragedy which is the story of Jesus' death.
He is with us. He is especially with us in the rotten times. We never suffer alone, nor will we die alone. Rejoice. Pray. Give thanks. In all circumstances; always and everywhere. God is with us. Jesus shows us how that is true.
When we find ourselves in situations like the cross -- when pain and suffering are real and unavoidable -- we can offer our suffering to God as Jesus did on the cross. We can ask God to do now what God did through Jesus on the cross -- to accept and use our suffering, in God's mysterious ways, for the healing and reconciliation of the world. If we can take, bless, break and give our own misery, our grief becomes meaningful. We offer in our own sadness or loss our own Eucharist, our Great Thanksgiving. Jesus has shown us that God takes such dark gifts and does more than we can ask or imagine with them. As God brought resurrection through the suffering of Jesus, so God can bring new life through our sufferings as well.
God is with us -- right here; right now. In fact, right here and right now are the only ways God can be with us, for the only thing we have is right here and right now. This is the sacramental presence of Christ with us -- whatever is presented to us in the present moment. Embrace the moment with a radical acceptance. "Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you."
God is with us -- right here; right now -- always and everywhere. Even in the injustice and suffering of the world. As Jesus shows us in the cross, he is with us especially in our experience of injustice and suffering. We place everything upon the altar of our hearts as our body and blood, our Eucharistic sacrifice. God blesses us even as we are broken and given. It is the characteristically Christian way of life -- Eucharist. Thanksgiving. In all circumstances; always and everywhere.
Ambrose, Bishop of Milan, 397
To read about our daily commemorations, go to our Holy Women, Holy Men blog:
http://liturgyandmusic.wordpress.com/category/holy-women-holy-men/
Today's Readings for the Daily Office (Book of Common Prayer, p 936)
Psalms 26, 28 (morning) 36, 39 (evening)
Isaiah 5:13-17, 24-25
1 Thessalonians 5:12-28
Luke 21:29-38
"Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you." (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18)
We hear a similar theme every Sunday as we begin our Eucharistic Prayer. "Lift up your hearts." "We lift them to the Lord." "Let us give thanks to the Lord our God." "It is right to give our thanks and praise." "It is right, and a good and joyful thing, always and everywhere to give thanks to you, Father Almighty, Creator of heaven and earth..."
Rejoice. Pray. Give thanks. In all circumstances; always and everywhere.
But what about the rotten times. What about times of misery and suffering, injustice or betrayal? How can we rejoice, pray and give thanks when things go so obviously wrong so often?
It is easy to miss that the focal prayer of Christian practice is a prayer grounded in a tragic evil. The Eucharistic Prayer is also called the Great Thanksgiving. (Eucharist is the Greek word for "Thanksgiving") It looks like a festive and joyful setting -- vestments, candles, beautiful appointments. But it is a prayer grounded in the death of Jesus. We remember his Last Supper with his friends, when he took bread and wine and identified them with his own life and presence. He gave thanks, blessed, broke and gave not only the bread that day, but also his body the next day. Out of his offering of himself in love comes new life -- resurrection. In our prayer of Great Thanksgiving we receive forgiveness, reconciliation and renewal that comes through the suffering, evil and tragedy which is the story of Jesus' death.
He is with us. He is especially with us in the rotten times. We never suffer alone, nor will we die alone. Rejoice. Pray. Give thanks. In all circumstances; always and everywhere. God is with us. Jesus shows us how that is true.
When we find ourselves in situations like the cross -- when pain and suffering are real and unavoidable -- we can offer our suffering to God as Jesus did on the cross. We can ask God to do now what God did through Jesus on the cross -- to accept and use our suffering, in God's mysterious ways, for the healing and reconciliation of the world. If we can take, bless, break and give our own misery, our grief becomes meaningful. We offer in our own sadness or loss our own Eucharist, our Great Thanksgiving. Jesus has shown us that God takes such dark gifts and does more than we can ask or imagine with them. As God brought resurrection through the suffering of Jesus, so God can bring new life through our sufferings as well.
God is with us -- right here; right now. In fact, right here and right now are the only ways God can be with us, for the only thing we have is right here and right now. This is the sacramental presence of Christ with us -- whatever is presented to us in the present moment. Embrace the moment with a radical acceptance. "Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you."
God is with us -- right here; right now -- always and everywhere. Even in the injustice and suffering of the world. As Jesus shows us in the cross, he is with us especially in our experience of injustice and suffering. We place everything upon the altar of our hearts as our body and blood, our Eucharistic sacrifice. God blesses us even as we are broken and given. It is the characteristically Christian way of life -- Eucharist. Thanksgiving. In all circumstances; always and everywhere.
Lowell
__________________
| Audio podcast: Listen to an audio podcast of the most recent Morning Reflections from today and the past week. Click the following link: -- Morning Reflection Podcasts About Morning Reflections "Morning Reflections" is a brief thought about the scripture readings from the Daily Office of Morning and Evening Prayer according to the practice found in the Book of Common Prayer of the Episcopal Church. Morning Prayer begins on p. 80 of the Book of Common Prayer. Evening Prayer begins on p. 117 An online resource for praying the Daily Office is found at missionstclare.com -- Click for online Daily Office Another form of the office from Phyllis Tickle's "Divine Hours" is available on our partner web site www.ExploreFaith.org at this location -- http://explorefaith.org/prayer/fixed/index.html -- Click for Divine Hours Discussion Blog: To comment on today's reflection or readings, go to http://lowellsblog.blogspot.com, or click here for Lowell's blog find today's reading, click "comment" at the bottom of the reading, and post your thoughts. |
| The Mission of St. Paul's Episcopal Church is to explore and celebrate God's infinite grace, acceptance, and love. See our Web site at www.stpaulsfay.org Our Rule of Life: We aspire to... worship weekly pray daily learn constantly serve joyfully live generously. Lowell Grisham, Rector St. Paul's Episcopal Church Fayetteville, Arkansas |
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