Proper 29, Year A (Reign of Christ): Litany for Pandemic Response

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This week’s litany is specifically focused on the pandemic, as is the attention of most of the U.S. with 247,000 dead, and over 1000 per day losing their lives to uncontrolled COVID-19. When I hear the words of Christ here in Matthew 25 saying, “Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me..,” all I can hear is the pleas of doctors and nurses to please wear a mask, don’t go to gatherings or bars, keep your distance. These are small acts of love that, lamentably, so many people who say they follow Christ are neglecting.

This parable is a powerful critique on this moment. On how we are responding collectively to this crisis and those most in danger of harm from it. On how willing or unwilling we are to do concrete but simple acts of love.

Honestly, I can’t get it out of my head. I have trouble understanding the world right now. It’s hard to write liturgy for these times, y’all.

God, help us to see that even the tiniest actions we do or don’t do
Can be a testament to love:
Wearing a mask,
Staying home instead,
Visiting outdoors at a few paces distance,
Taking measured precautions…

Proper 27 (Year A, 2020): Litany for Lady Wisdom

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Well, I just had to; Lady Wisdom is too beautiful and compelling not to address. So here is another litany for this week, Proper 27, Year A, based in the account of Lady Wisdom as told in the Wisdom of Solomon.

God, we are looking the one who makes Herself found by seekers:
Lady Wisdom (1).
We fix our thoughts on her
And she graciously appears (2).

Proper 26 (Year A, 2020): Litany for Mirroring

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In this week’s Lectionary selections, the prophet Micah calls out those who lead God’s “people astray, who cry "Peace" when they have something to eat, but declare war against those who put nothing into their mouths” (Micah 3;5).

And Christ, in an echo of Micah’s fiery whistleblowing, calls out the scribes and Pharisees of his day: “They tie up heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on the shoulders of others; but they themselves are unwilling to lift a finger to move them.” (Matthew 23:4)

As we finish out this election cycle over the next week, it makes sense to become reflective about our society. How do we treat those who “put nothing in their mouths,” the hungry, poor, houseless? What burdens do we lay on the shoulders of the disabled, the least politically powerful, the least upwardly mobile, the sick? And how might we become willing to move them? These are, in part, what we are voting about. But they are also an invitation to reflect on our own lives and practice. And we know from these sacred scriptures, that God is silence and shadow toward the unjust (Micah 3: 6,7); that God humbles the exalted and exalts the humble (Matthew 23:12).

Are we listening to and voting in solidarity with the most marginalized people in society? Are we listening to Black women, Women of Color, LGBTQ voices, the perspectives of the Disabled, the unjustly incarcerated, the under-resourced? This is what we have the opportunity to reflect on now, that we are invited into both by this Lectionary and by this cultural and historic moment.

God, you invite us to hold the scriptures up
LIke a mirror ,
To perceive ourselves in their plane,
To reflect upon our works, policies, and actions….

Proper 25 (Year A, 2020): Litany for Love Your Neighbor

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(Litany for Hatred is also for Proper 25 of Year A)

This litany is based in the teachings of Christ in Matthew 22. "'You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.' This is the greatest and first commandment. And a second is like it: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.'”

God we ask for help in loving our neighbors (1) -
Those who are different from us,
Those whose ethnicity or nation of origin is different from ours,
Those whose race is different from ours,
Those whose political affiliation is different from ours,
Those whose religious practices are different from ours…



Proper 15 (Year A): Litany for What Comes Out

n 2017, the litany I wrote for Proper 15 in Year A covered some of the First Testament texts for the week. This year I’m focusing on the gospel passage, Matthew 15. 

God we know that out of the mouth
The heart speaks.
It’s not how put-together we are on the outside that defines us -
Not how attractive or fancy or impressive we are -It’s the state of our hearts
And what proceeds from them.

Palm Sunday (Year A): Litany for Triumphal Entry

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In this week’s account of the Triumphal Entry of Jesus into Jerusalem, crowds of people shout praise to God, seeming to understand that Jesus was their long-awaited God-representative. Then, mysteriously, those hordes of supporters disappear. They’re never heard from again. Or maybe they are, but they’ve changed their minds about Jesus’ goodness and divinity. 

What happened to those people? Did they just stay home after that, thinking their contributions, work, and message didn’t matter? Did they not come to Jesus’ defense later because they had changed their minds about him? Or because they were afraid? Or because they were lazy and apathetic and assumed he’d take care of everything all by himself?

I’m honestly curious about those questions, despite knowing I’ll never have an answer.* But the un-knowing does lead me to one knowing: the critical mass of people either stayed home or turned against Jesus. The critical mass of people had power that they either abdicated or used against him. 

So this week, as I give thanks for the witness of Christ to God’s lovingkindness, I am contemplating my own power. My own power to stay home and save lives. My own power to advocate for the poor and marginalized. My own power to be the hands and feet of Jesus in the world now when “Christ has no hands and feet except ours.”

God, we remember Christ’s triumphal entry into Jerusalem,
His arrival met with cheering Hosannas.
He, seated on a humble donkey,
Accepting the praises of a fickle crowd (Matthew 21:1-11). 

see also: “Litany for Palm Sunday, Year A” from 2016.

Epiphany 2 (Year A): Litany for What We’re Looking For

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In preparing to write this litany I was reading through some commentaries, and one point in particular, made by Dr. Audrey West, struck me (especially in regards to my recent sermon at PeaceWilco): that the first quote Jesus utters in John’s gospel account is a question. “What are you looking for” (NRSV), also translated “What are you seeking?” The two disciples, one of whom is Andrew, reply with their own urgent question “Where are you staying?” 

What are we looking for? This is a deep, compelling, beautiful question. I believe it resonates to us today. What are we looking for? In our addictions, our people pleasing, our unrest, our endless consumption, our entertainment? 

Are we looking for peace? Connection? To be seen? To be free? To be accepted? It’s not  always an easy question to answer. Not even Andrew and his friend answered it - basically, whatever it is we think you’ve got it, Jesus. But it bears consideration for mindful, spiritual people of all traditions. 

God, so many of us are searching and longing
For a good life,
For community and reciprocal relationships,
For acceptance,
For peace and freedom from worry,
For safety,
For engaging work,
For abundance….

Litany for Wisdom’s Indwelling

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The lectionary passages for this week present us with two Divine emanations: the Wisdom, or Sophia, of God, “covering the earth like a mist,” portrayed as female; and the Christ, God’s human incarnation, through whom “all things came into being,” who is known in male form among humans. We are on the cusp of Epiphany, the revelation of Jesus as Christ, and here we find ourselves being reminded of Wisdom. I like to think of her as the gift of Consciousness. The creator gives us animus, life, and then consciousness finds a resting place within us as host.

The scriptures say that Wisdom “took root in an honored people” and “entered the soul of a servant of the Lord.” It’s mysterious and I love it. And it’s a perfect theme for a prayer to start the new year.

Wisdom, you came from the mouth of God,
And covered the earth like a mist,
You opened the mouths of the mute,
And made unconscious beings conscious.
You find souls who are willing to hold you
And guide, shelter, and reward them.

Christmas (Year A): Litany for Holy Refugees

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For the first Sunday after Christmas. This litany is inspired by the account in Matthew 2 in which the Holy Family flees the murderous despotism of Herod, leaving secretly on a night journey toward Egypt. 

God, as the Holy Family fled their home country
To find refuge in a new place (1),
In the secrecy of night,
For their safety, for their lives,To escape the rule of despots (2)
And the hands of murderers…

Christmas Eve (Year A): Litany for Silent Night

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This is part of my effort to make 2019 a #yearofwritingsustainably
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This year's Christmas litany is perhaps more poetic and abstract than others I've supplied. I like to lean into the poetry and metaphor of the major holy days. If your community is not down to poeticize, you can peruse my selection of Christmas litanies from prior years.  But I hope you'll use your imagination and go with me here to a silent night filled with feminine energy and imagery, love and light finding embodiment and beginning in a human woman's belly.

Christmas blessings to you and your community. 

Silent night.
A feminine hollow
Filled with Divinity,
Demonstrating humanity’s worth.

Litany for Opening Up to God

This prayer is taken from this week's Lectionary selections (Proper 24, Year A): Exodus 33, Isaiah 45 and Matthew 22.

God, your goodness is always parading past us.
We have only to look out for it. (1)
You are always being gracious to us.
We have only to realize it.
You are always being merciful to us.
We have only to internalize it.

You cover us with your hands and show us your glory - as much as we can handle,
If we only attune ourselves to you.

We don’t direct the flow of your grace and mercy.
You do.
We don’t decide who gets what.
You do.
You show no deference to anyone
You do not regard people with partiality.  (2)

Though we don’t know you,
You call us by name. (3)
Though we don’t know you,
There’s no one else but you. (4)

We set our minds toward knowing you.
We open the spaces of our hearts to you.
We set our bodies in stillness, that we might hear from you.
We open our spirits to meeting with you.

You are always gracious to appear,
Surprising us with your beauty.

Amen

1) Exodus 33:19
2) Matthew 22:16
3) Isaiah 45:4
4) Isaiah 45:5

 

Pentecost 3 (Year A): Litany for Wonders

The Old Testament text for this third week of Pentecost is Genesis 18, the account of messengers coming to Abraham and Sarah and informing them that Sarah will give birth to a child in her old age. When Sarah hears this, she sees the irony and humor of it - Now? After I’m old and gray and spent my youth hoping and praying for a child? Now? I imagine she laughed for joy and irony and disbelief and the ignorance of men. I imagine if she’d been texting her sister in that moment she’d be like IDK IF THESE OLD DUDES KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT WOMEN. WE ARE NOT ETERNALLY FERTILE. LOL!

But the Lord responds: Is anything too wonderful for me?

And so, old Sarah gets knocked up, gives birth, and names her kid “Laughter.” Wonders never cease.

 

Is anything too wonderful for the Lord? (1)
Nothing is too wonderful for you.
You make wonders bloom from your hands,
And from your imagination spring amazing things.

Your wonders will never cease.
Your wonders will never cease.

Old women bear children. (2)
Trees bear fruit out of season.
Rocks give forth springs of water. (3)
Seas part. (4)
Storms are stilled. (5)
Sickness and disease are cured. (6)
Whole nations are brought out of bondage. (7)
Crowds are fed from your hand. (8)
Dry bones are enlivened. (9)
The dead are raised to life. (10)

Your wonders will never cease.
Your wonders will never cease.

We enter your presence with thanksgiving,
And your courts with praise.
We give thanks to you,
We bless your name.
For you are good; your steadfast love endures forever,
and your faithfulness to all generations. (11)

Amen

(1) Genesis 18:14
(2) Genesis 21:2
(3) Numbers 20:11
(4) Exodus 14:21
(5) Matthew 8, Mark 4
(6) Matthew 10:8
(7) Exodus 20
(8) Matthew 14, 15, John 6, Mark 8
(9) Ezekiel 37
(10) John 11, Mark 5, Luke 8, 1 Kings 17, 2 Kings 4, and many more
(11) Psalm 100:4,5

Trinity Sunday (Year A): Litany for Holy Trinities

The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ,
The love of Yahweh,
And the communion of the Holy Spirit
Surround us. (1)

On all sides we are surrounded
By a trinity of grace, mercy and love.
Just as Creator, Son, and Spirit
Live in harmony together.
So do Truth, Beauty, and Righteousness
Live in harmony together.

Things we never thought could come together
Have joined in communion.
    Body and Blood have allied with Healing.
    Pain and Brokenness have become Teachers.
    Love and Mercy have fulfilled Justice.
    Servanthood and Kindness have completed Authority.
    Last and First have re-imagined Heirarchy.
    Questions and Freedom have informed Certainty.
    Dirt and Spit have alchemized Life.
    Body and Mind have been enlivened by Spirit.
    Light and Darkness have given shape to Vision.
    Resurrection and Ascension have made way for Presence.
   
Seemingly unrelated, incomplete ideas have been made whole
Holy Trinities abound on this earth, doing good work:
    Bad made good
    Last made first,
    Servant made ruler
    Poor made rich.
    Ordinary made sacred;
In the gift of the Holy Spirit.

Thanks be to God
For the Gift of the Spirit
Which completes and gives life to all things:
Thanks be to God.

Amen

(1) 2 Corinthians 13:!3

 

Ascension Day: Litany for Spiritual Power

This Sunday is Ascension Day, in which we remember the ascension of Christ into heaven. The week's Lectionary reading contained the word "power" 6 times. The word stuck out to me, and I was thinking about how the church calendar and Lectionary selections are leading up to the next BIG DAY, which is Pentecost. And about how mostly we go around completely forgetful that we have any access to spiritual power at all, that we have been shared power to change things, move mountains, bring healing and peace, offer forgiveness. Seems like a first step to tapping into that might be simply acknowledging it. Just speaking the word aloud seems to bring with it a new energy. So I invite you to pray this prayer with me, as we raise your awareness of our inheritance.

Sing praises, all the earth, sing praises!
Clap your hands, dance for joy, all you people! (1)
For the Holy One is ruler over all,
Overseeing with majesty, wisdom and love. (2)

The Christ has risen from the dead.
He has scoured hell and overcome it.
The Christ has appeared in life,
Proving himself and his word
The Resurrection and the Life, the Christ,
Has ascended into heaven and is seated at Yahweh’s right hand.
We, who look to Christ as our example and our teacher,
Wait upon his promise of power.

And indeed it has been given to us:
A spirit of wisdom and revelation as we come to know Christ (3)
That the eyes of our hearts may be enlightened
That we may know the hope to which we are called
And the riches of our glorious inheritance,
The immeasurable greatness of his power. (4)

Christ, Help us to know
Help us to listen and understand;
Give us courage to walk in the fullness
Of the power of Christ in us.

Amen

1. Psalm 47:1

2. Psalm 93:1

3. Eph 1:17

4. Eph 1:18-19
   
   
   
   
    

Easter 6 (Year A): Litany for Abiding Love

The Lectionary passages for the sixth Sunday of Easter (Year A) include Acts 17, John 14, and Psalm 66. I've been contemplating what it might mean to be powered by love, as if divine love were a battery that fuels us. Or as if, when we take the bread and the cup of Eucharist, we ingest love, it becomes part of us, and fuels our activity in the world. How might we train ourselves to run on love rather than on ego? How can we learn to operate on a new system? What spiritual practices might form that pathway in us?

Eternal Divine Love,
Creator and Parent of all,
Ruler of Heaven and Earth
We are your children, your offspring. (1)

You give to all mortals life and breath
And all things.
You allot the times of our existence
And the boundaries of our places. (2)

We confess our blindness to your presence.
Make us aware of you.
We confess the smallness of our concept of you.
Enlarge our knowing.
We confess our ego-driven tendencies.
Power us instead with Love.

We have searched and groped for you
Though you are not far from each one of us. (3)
We cried aloud to you
And you have heard our prayer. (4)
We bless you,
For you have not rejected us nor removed your steadfast Love from us. (5)

Help us to keep your commandments (6)
And to abide in your Love .(7)

Amen

(1) Acts 17:28
(2) Acts 17:25,26
(3) Acts 17:27
(4) Psalm 66:17,19
(5) Psalm 66:20
(6) John 14:15
(7) John 14:21

Easter 5 (Year A): Litany for Looking at Christ

Here are the Lectionary passages for this Sunday, May 14, Year A. I have utilized the 1 Peter 2 and John 14 passages.
 

Eternal Christ, Out-poured Heart of God,
Merciful One,
Originator of Forgiveness,
Author of Peace:

It is to you that we can look
When we want to see God.
It is to you that we can draw near
When we want to be close to God.
It is you that we can imagine
When we want to understand God.
It is to you that we can turn
When we need to take refuge in God.
It is through you we can go;
You’re a direct route to God. (1)

You were with us all along,
But we kept on rejecting you. (2)
Now, just in the nick of time,
We are wrapping our arms around you. (3)

We rely upon your gracious promise:
That if we ask for anything in your name, you’ll do it. (4)
We ask to join you,
To be part of that divine communion --
You in God, God in you, (5)
Us, dancing and working along with you.
Where you are,
There may we be also (6)

Amen

(1) John 14:6
(2) 1 Pet 2:7
(3) 1 Pet 2:10
(4) John 14:13
(5) John 14:10
(6) John 14:3

Easter 3 (Year A): Litany for the Road to Emmaus

The Lectionary texts for the third week of Easter (Year A) include the account in Luke of Jesus walking with some disciples on the road to Emmaus. Shortly after Jesus' resurrection, they were walking along discussing all the things that had happened. Jesus joins them, but they don't recognize them, even though the "disappearance" of his body is what they're discussing. With a great deal of patience, Jesus walks along with them and expounds the whole story of how he got to be there, starting with Moses. But the disciples don't realize its him until dinnertime, after they've invited him in to eat, when he takes bread and breaks it and serves it to them - only then do they understand that it was him all along, explaining everything.

God, you are always being kind to us,
Always loving us toward yourself;
Just as Christ showed his wounds to doubting Thomas
With grace and kindness;
Just as Christ shared his story to the men walking the road to Emmaus
With patience and generosity.

It is this deep grace,
     This boundless giving,
     This patient character,
     This kind regard for all;
That inspires our hearts,
And by which we recognize you.

Relentlessly, you give of yourself
So that we might know and understand you.
Over and over again, you kindly explain the story
In words we can take in.
We know you instantly, the moment you break bread with us --
We can see you in your glorious reality.

Make our hearts ready for more:
     More understanding
     More responsibility
     More of your kingdom;
And graciously work with us where we are confused
So that we may see you in your full beauty.

Amen

Maundy Thursday (Year A): Litany for Dinner and Foot-washing

The Lectionary texts for Maundy Thursday include the account of the commands concerning Passover remembrance in Exodus, of Christ's celebration of Passover in 1 Corinthians, and the story of Jesus washing feet after dinner from John 13. Jesus brings the Passover story right back to himself, and then ties it up with a bow of down-and-dirty servanthood.

God, we receive the love of Christ.
We receive his great example,
We receive the power and work he demonstrated by your spirit;
And we receive the commands he has given.

This is Christ’s command:
That we love one another (John 13:34)
Just as Christ loved his disciples and others he met.
As Christ has done so must we do.

This is Christ’s example:
Washing the feet of his friends; (John 13:14-15)
Humbly doing the work of a servant
Becoming vulnerable, laying down his life.

This is Christ’s legacy
Which we receive as the gift of heaven:
Where once there was sacrifice,
Now there is mercy.  (Hosea 6:6)
Where once there was flesh and blood,
Now there are bread and wine. (1 Corinthians 11:23-26)

The mercy of God has been made known in the body of Christ.
The character of God has been made known in the work of Christ.
He has shown us a way forward,
And we will follow the path of peace.

Amen

Lent 5 (Year A): Litany for Dry Bones

This week's Lectionary readings contain the accounts of Ezekiel's vision of a valley of dry bones, and of Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead. I've also included elements from Romans 8 and Psalm 130.

I wait for the Lord, my soul waits,
And in his word I hope;
My soul waits for the Lord more than those who watch for the morning,
More than those who watch for the morning. (1)

You free us from our graves (2)
And the traps our minds set for us. (3)
You free us from the constant hell of our own egos and deceptions,
And show us the path of peace.

You breath the breath of life into us (4)
And give life to our bodies through your Spirit. (5)
Come from the four winds, O breath,
And breathe upon us, that we may live. (4)

Where there was once a tame breeze
There is a wind.
Where there was once a valley of dry bones
There is a multitude of life.

Our bones were dried up;
Our hope was lost. (6)
But we hope in the LORD! For with the LORD there is steadfast love,
And great power to redeem. (7)

1) Psalm 130:5,6
2) Ezekiel 37:12
3) Romans 8:6,7
4) Ezekiel 37:9
5) Romans 8:11
6) Ezekiel 37:11
7) Psalm 130:7

Lent 4 (Year A): Litany for Blindness

This litany incorporates the New Testament readings from this week's Lectionary passages: when Jesus heals a man born blind in John 9, and a section of Ephesians 5. I am particularly captivated by the image of Jesus smearing mud on the man's face as part of the healing. I think there's all kinds of goodness in that image if we look for it.
 

God, we understand that sometimes, before our eyes can see, they must get muddy.
The mud is a crucial step: Jesus working on us.
We can’t know sight until we’ve tried to see through mud. (1)
We must realize our blindness, and admit it.

The blindness itself isn’t our sin.
It’s pretending we can see when we can’t that is harmful.
It’s judging the mud of others to be worse than our own that sets us back.
It’s being dishonest about our blindness that displeases You. (2)

To all the ways we’ve been blind to our own true selves,
Open our eyes, Oh God.
To all the ways we’ve been blind to the suffering of others,
Open our eyes, Oh God.
To all the ways we’ve been blind to and complicit in our society’s brokenness,
Open our eyes, Oh God.
To all the ways we’ve been blind to the sacredness of human beings,
Open our eyes, Oh God.
To all the ways we’ve been blind to your invitation and calling in our lives,
Open our eyes, Oh God.
To all the ways we’ve been blind to the way of your kingdom coming, now and not-yet,
Open our eyes, Oh God.

We want to live as children of light. (3)
We want to learn what pleases You.  (4)
We want light shined on the deepest recesses of our beings,
So that all that is hidden may become visible. (5)

Amen

1. John 9:11

2. John 9:41

3. Eph 5:8

4. Eph 5:10

5. Eph 5:13