Monday Prayer: After the Fire

God of Pentecosts-

We have received from you an inheritance of fire, not of ashes.

You have breathed your Spirit into us and we have been born anew.

And now our raised hands look for your purpose.

Our feet look for your path.

We look to spend our inheritance as fools for your grace,

As fools in your grace.

As fools by your grace.

Amen.

11th Hour Preacher Party: When you pray, move your feet!

 Recently I listened to an interview by Krista Tippett, "On Being," with Congressman John Lewis (originally broadcast the end of March 2013). The interview was so moving that I immediately bought Lewis' book, Across That Bridge, Life Lessons and a Vision for Change. 

Both the interview and the book conveyed Lewis' DEEP faith and his profound belief that the kingdom of God is already here, we just need to live into it. Every act of social justice is a step toward making real - within us and the world -  the reality of God's kingdom which is ALREADY present!

"Faith is being so sure of what the spirit has whispered in your heart that your belief in its eventuality is unshakable..."

Pentecost Sunday strikes me as the perfect day to celebrate this reality - that God's dream that all people have the means to live fully and equally because we are all made in God's image, made good to do good IS already a reality, all we have to do is live into it.

For me, this is what the Book of Acts ultimately conveys to us: in the giving of the Holy Spirit and the formation of the Church, God's desire that all creation love one another as God love's us is already a reality.

Lewis makes note of the training that Rosa Park's received prior to that fateful day when she refused to give up her bus seat:

"The new theology (Miles Horton) studied posited that faith should respond not only to the ethereal needs of humanity, but it should have a holistic impact on the lives of believers and on the communities in which they lived. If faith had power, he declared, then its ability should be challenged to answer even our physical and material concerns and not be reserved for religious services and activities. If faith had meaning, its benefits should accrue not only after death, but it should have the capacity to answer the cries of humanity here and now..."

 But of all the phrases I could quote in this very moving book perhaps my favorite is this African saying:

"When you pray, move your feet!"

On this day when we celebrate the birth of the Church, what aspect of the Holy Spirit is tugging at you? Where are you feeling called to move your feet? What text is the Holy Spirit whispering in and through your heart?

This is the 11th Hour Preacher Party. Let's dance together through this day as we seek the words to speak into the cries of humanity and remind our people, as we make a wish and blow out the birthday candles, that

"Life is like a drama, and any person who is truly committed to an ideal must believe in the authority of a divine plan. Not a rigid, micromanagement of human behavior that predicts every step of every individual, but a set of divine boundaries that governs the present, the past, and the future—a set of principles humankind does not have the capacity to override, no matter how far we attempt to stray from its dictates."

Pull up a chair, here's a mug...would you like coffee or tea? And, thank you ALL for the gifts of your presence that you bring and share with this party.

11th Hour Preacher Party: On Fire Edition

It's here!  It's here!  PENTECOST is finally here!  Can I get an "Amen"?

If you were suffering through the Easter lectionary like I was, you are ready like I am for a big ol' tongues of fire, rushing wind, out-pouring of languages Pentecost celebration!  I am so ready.

Too bad hardly anyone will be there to celebrate with me.  Ho hum.  I hope our gals and pals in the non-US parts of the world will have sanctuaries bursting with excitement and Spirit.

What sorts of sermons and creative ideas are brewing?  The options seem endless for children's sermons even.

We had a lot of fire burning at my church this week leading up to Pentecost, but in a good way. We held a fundraiser by smoking 8-10 lb pork "butts" (some people call them shoulders, but this other name was WAY more fun to say in church for the last 6 weeks) for folks who had ordered and prepaid.  My husband and another man spent 48 hours at the church around the clock tending fires and cooking 110 roasts for 12-16 each over 4 grills.  They were awesome.  Others spent time, too.  The wind-spirit carried the smell throughout the neighborhood.  The flame cooked the meat.  The money will re-stock our benevolence account so that we can continue to serve our neighbors in need.  Definitely a sign of life, spirit-life reaching out beyond the too-often insulated community of our church. 

Where's the Spirit carrying you this weekend?  How is the Spirit equipping you and your church for where you will be sent?

Join the party in the comments.  It will be a wonderful weekend!

Tuesday Lectionary Leanings: Unforgettable Fire Edition

Lessons for the coming Sunday can be found here .

What do the Holy Spirit and a charcoal grill have in common?

I thought about that yesterday as we made Memorial Day dinner on a park grill; I watched the initial rush of flame shoot into the air as we lit our charcoal; then the rhythmic dance of flickering "tongues"; finally the warm orange glow illuminating the whitened coals.

On Pentecost we celebrate that first dramatic rush of the Holy Spirit onto the infant Christian community. But in our other lessons we hear about the other, quieter ways in which the Spirit moves.

How will you help your faith community "catch the fire" this Sunday? Please share your insights as you plan, pray and write your way toward Sunday.

(Artwork from Episcopal Cafe' -- check out the art blog!)

Tuesday Lectionary Leanings: Weeder's Digest Edition

This coming Sunday's lectionary readings can be found here .

An interesting collection of lessons today. Our Old Testament readings speak to God's glory and sovereignty. The Epistle lesson tells us that we, as the people of God, are more than subjects of this God -- we're adopted members of God's family and heirs to the Reign of God. (As a friend of mine would say: "Wowsers.") And then in the Gospel lesson we get an intriguing set of parables that describe what this Reign of God is like. Our God -- a God who causes the rain to fall on good and bad alike -- allows the bad to grow along with the good, and cautions us to have patience with God's kairos so that, in our zeal to combat evil, we don't also injure the good. The Reign of God is compared to both a mustard seed and a bit of yeast mixed into dough -- something that starts out small but grows into something huge and amazing.

Any bits of insight into the texts working, like those tiny yeast beasties, through your thoughts right now? How are you tackling the wheat-and-tares parable? Discuss!