Transfiguration Sunday (Year C, 2022): Litany for Spiritual Practice

February 22, 2022 Fran Pratt

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See also: “Transfiguration Sunday (Year C): Litany for Impatience” from 2019)

I find it interesting how the timeline goes in the story of Christ’s transfiguration. I notice that he gets transfigured (filled with light) and meets with his guides (Moses and Elijah) while he’s praying alone. Not in a group.

Jesus is in his corner minding his own business attending to his own spiritual work in solitude. And that’s where the transfiguration happens. That’s the place from which the guidance and encouragement comes. From the spiritual practice of prayer, contemplation, silence, solitude.

I meet plenty of people who think I’m totally wrong about spiritual practice. Meaning, spiritual practice that involves stillness, solitude or silence being a path to communion with God. People disagree with me, and that’s fine. The world’s mystics seem to agree, based on their writings. Regardless, I’ll still preach the gospel of the transformative (transfigurative) power of spiritual practice till my body gives out.

God, we set our intention to realize the truth about ourselves:
That we bear your image,
That your Kin-dom is within us,
When we look in a mirror, we see your glory.

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Epiphany 7 (Year C, 2022): Litany for Fretting

February 16, 2022 Fran Pratt

(See also: “Litany for the Hard Teachings” - in PATREON - which focuses on the beatitudes of Luke 6)

Upon this reading of the Lectionary passages for this week, I’m bowled over by the word “fret.”

Do not fret because of the wicked (Psalm 37:1)
Do not fret over those who prosper by way of evil. (Psalm 37:7)
Do not fret--it leads only to evil. (Psalm 37:8)
Do not fret about your safety (Psalm 37:40)
Do not fret about your enemies (Luke 6:27).
Do not fret about meanies who hit or steal from you (Luke 6:29)
Do not fret about what others are doing that you don’t like (Luke 6:37).
Do not fret over whether you’ll have enough (Luke 6:38).
Do not fret about that bad thing you did (Genesis 45:5).

I’m thinking about all the fretting I do, which I’m working on unlearning. Wow, I can really fret with the best fretters around.

But I want to learn the Way of No Fretting. The way of trust and gratitude. The way of childlike faith in God’s care. The way of Julian’s “All shall be well.”

And there’s a lot to fret about. More things than we can even take in with our human minds. The fret-fest is overwhelming.

So we ask ourselves: where do we want to live? In world-driven, low consciousness (asleep to God) hamster wheel of fretting about this and that? Or in Spirit? In love? In the freedom from worry and fretting which is salvation, the imperishable? I think we get to choose. Every day we choose.

Easier said than done but we keep practicing.

God, in these days it's easy for us to fret over political divisions,
Over potential wars and conflicts,
Over the possibility of losing our way of life,
Over the future of our planet,
Over an endless array of problems and threats.
This anxiety can immobilize us and render us useless.

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Epiphany 6 (Year C, 2022): Litany for the Blessing of God

February 10, 2022 Fran Pratt

This litany is based primarily in this week’s Lectionary Gospel reading from Luke 6, but I’m also exploring some of the ways God’s reputation has been besmirched and misinterpreted by the global church; and how we might come to the Divine freshly, using the lens of Luke’s beatitudes to get a better picture.

If this particular litany isn’t finding resonance for your Sunday plans, see also (search in Patreon) “Litany for Loving Kinship” from 2019.

I want to offer a reminder: when we pray these prayers aloud together, yes, we are doing congregational liturgy. But we are also doing a form of interactive sacred art. We are embodying a poem with our voices. So read with heart and gusto! We aren’t robots who speak in a monotone - we are artists making the work of the people!

God, we have heard about the goodness you extend to all humanity.
The rumor is: you are Love.
But a lot of what we’ve heard from other humans has been unclear on that,
Instead ascribing human ego to you.
So we are searching for the Real You,
And getting real about ourselves in the process.

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Epiphany 5 (Year C, 2022): Litany for Trying Again

February 1, 2022 Fran Pratt

If you need some encouragement, this one's for you.

This week I’m thinking about Isaiah in his vision; he sees himself standing before God, with God looking very terrifying and judgey, and he says, “Woe is me! I am lost, for I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips; yet my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts!"

And with an almost-magical touch of a burning coal, an angel restores Isaiah’s self-concept. The story Isaiah is telling about himself, about his unworthiness, is revised in an instant. He can see himself as belonging there in the presence of glory.

I’m thinking also of the exhausted fishermen in Luke 5, who have worked all night for nothing. No fish. No success. Their work has been a failure and they are beleaguered and disheartened.

And then, with an almost-magical word, Jesus invites them to try again. Try again at the thing you’ve already been failing at all night long! So they gather their last energy for one more try, and cast the nets again. And suddenly the story of the night of failure is revised. The fishermen can see themselves in light of success and blessing.

I wonder how many of us are in need of a new self-concept. Or in need of a bit of encouragement to give it one more try.

I know, it’s been hard. We’re beat down. So many of our efforts have failed. We have come to see ourselves as unworthy. We feel we don’t fit in with the glory all around us. And our pockets are empty at the end of long work.

May the burning coal touch your lips, revising the stories you tell about yourself.

May Christ’s word of encouragement touch your discouraged mind, giving you the strength to start again, to try again, and to embrace a new story of hope.

God, we have been through some difficult years.
We are weary after a long night’s work (1)
And worried about coming up empty-handed.
Our failures have etched themselves deep in our souls (2),
Leading us to believe we aren’t worthy of your company.
We are in need of a new story, a more true identity.

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Epiphany 4 (Year C, 2022): Litany for Conduits of Love

January 27, 2022 Fran Pratt

In this week’s gospel reading from Luke 4, Jesus is speaking some hard truths that his audience doesn’t like to hear and it nearly gets him thrown off a cliff. And what is this message that is so offends the tender ears of his listeners? Simply put: you. aren’t. special.

Mmm, they do not want to hear that Israel isn’t the primary (read: only) beneficiary of God’s love. They don’t want to hear that God healed a Syrian and fed a Sidonite while Israelites ailed and hungered. God is supposed to be their very own pet god, working solely on their behalf.

And Jesus, as ever, points out instead the boundlessness of God’s love and regard, for humans of all nationalities. Not just Israelite Jews. And not just American Christians, either.

Jesus is breathing fire here, and it is the fire of unconditional love. May we learn how to channel it too! Even though it might make the gatekeepers mad.

(I’ve included elements from the other readings in this week’s Lectionary selection in this litany as well.)

God, we are working on knowing that you’re within us.
We’re getting better at working with the power you share with us.
Your power and energy are unlimited,
But our humanity is a finite container;
So instead of being containers,
We’re learning to be like pipes - conduits of love.

Epiphany 3 (Year C, 2022): Litany for How Not to Quit

January 20, 2022 Fran Pratt

I chuckled at Jesus’ lil mic drop moment in this week’s gospel of Luke 4. He stands up, reads a brief passage from Isaiah, hands the scroll back, sits down and says “this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.” I’m it, y’all. It’s me and it’s happening here and now. I feel a little sass from him here and I like it.

He’s “proclaiming release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free… the year of the Lord's favor." A big deal. A strong statement - a MANIFESTO! - and one that threatens to topple all the power systems of his day.

And I’m thinking, if we were to proclaim these things with as much confidence here in our own time and place, what systems would topple? The prison-industrial complex? The medical-industrial complex? Capitalism’s hierarchy of haves and have-nots?...

My thinking is: they killed Jesus because they knew he was serious. He was working for a large-scale power shift and toppling of hierarchies. They thought killing the head would stop the beast, but SURPRISE WE’RE STILL HERE. Of course, lots of people interpret this differently than I do.

So I wonder, how do we go all in for this liberation manifesto as imagined by Isaiah and embraced by the Christ? How can we put our money and time and action where our mouth is? And, knowing that the powers that be won’t like it… that even our own religious systems and hierarchies won’t like it, that we will face ongoing resistance and a long, uphill battle?

Further, how can we partner with and serve people of faith who have already been doing this long uphill, resistance-laden work for centuries? Like the Rev. Dr. King whom we celebrated in the US this week, and so many other civil rights activists and other advocates doing long work?

I hope in 2022 we are not just thinking about this but actually doing it.

God, we are waking up to ways we have been complacent with Christ’s vision.
When he said, “I’m here to free captives,
Heal broken systems and wake up oblivious people,
Dismantle oppression in all forms,”
We believe he meant it.
And we hear the invitation to participate.

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Epiphany 1 (First Sunday after Epiphany, Year C, 2022): Litany for God in the World

January 5, 2022 Fran Pratt

Baptism of the Lord. This litany draws from the texts for the first Sunday after Epiphany. It is, for me, a prayer of completion and gratitude. God-with-us is never far off.

God, as we celebrate Epiphany -
The revealing of God-with-us,
God lovingly entered into the earth-realm,
God in human form,
God affirmed by heaven’s voice (1),
God sought and found by wisdom-seekers (2),
God companionable with creation,
God revealed as Love,
God participating in human life and ritual (3),
God’s Spirit present among us (4)...

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Epiphany (Year C 2022): Litany for the Light of Love

January 3, 2022 Fran Pratt

In the texts for Epiphany Year C, the epistle mentions “the wisdom of God in its rich variety” (Ephesians 3:10). Paul seems to grasp the winsome invitation of God’s welcome to humans of all kinds. The most unexpected people show up at the door - astrologers from far away who glimpsed the story in the stars; gentiles whom Jews like Paul would have avoided any religious sharing with; peasants with nothing to recommend them. “Nations shall come,” says the prophet Isaiah, drawn by the light of Love (60:3). You just never know when a king, or a beggar, might come knocking.

Where we thought we needed to be gate-keepers, we find we get to be greeters. Where once we saw foreigners, now we perceive fellow travelers. Let this expansive light (Arise, shine, for your light has come! - Isaiah 60:1) be our guidance here in this new year.

God, wise people the world over have sought and found you,
And experienced the Love that undergirds the universe,
That is the hallmark of your presence
And the stuff of your being.

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Epiphany 6, Transfiguration, Year B (2021): Litany for our Highest Spiritual Selves

February 9, 2021 Fran Pratt

Here is the litany for Transfiguration Sunday, Year B, which I wrote in 2018. I still like it a lot.

I looked up the dictionary definition of transfiguration: "a complete change of form or appearance into a more beautiful or spiritual state" (citation). Over the years I've come to interpret most of the actions and experiences of Christ as invitations. E.g. Jesus resurrects; we are invited into resurrection. Jesus is embodied; we are invited to embrace our embodiment. Jesus heals; we are invited into healing. Jesus is baptized; we are invited into baptism. Jesus undergoes transfiguration; we are invited to undergo transfiguration, etc.

Speaking of baptism, I've also come to understand baptism as a precursor to the transfiguration; almost as though baptism is a ritual signaling our consent to the ongoing process of transfiguration. Every culture has its rituals of symbolic purification in preparation for transformation and higher spiritual awareness. I had never noticed this connection until I started learning more about other spiritual traditions.

This week's gospel text comes from Mark 9. Jesus's baptism is recounted in Mark 1. The life of Christ is full of these kinds of symbols, laced with layers of meaning. Embodiment > purification > transfiguration > death > resurrection > ascension. They are both actual and symbolic, inviting us to perceive our own lives in this multidimensional way.

And here we are at Lent's doorway, with this opportunity to ask ourselves: What rituals of purification do I need to engage in to prepare for and give consent to a higher way of being, a personal transfiguration?

Lent: a time of fasting, preparation, re-focusing. It begins, in the church calendar, with this picture, the example, of what we, too, are to become: the image of Christ shining gloriously, full of embodied light. He is fully become; he is his own true self - even before Good Friday. Even before resurrection. He even tells the disciples that they don’t have to die physically in order to see the kingdom of God come in power (Mark 9:1)! And we are invited to follow that path toward “a complete change of form...into a more spiritual state,” even as we live these homely, challenging lives here on earth.

God, we celebrate the transfiguration of Christ -
Christ, shining gloriously with heaven’s light,
Embodying his True Self, even while on earth.
He is fully Become, fully realized.

Epiphany 5: Litany for Healing and Renewal

February 2, 2021 Fran Pratt

In light of my own state of exhaustion, and the exhausting times we have endured together, I offer this prayer based on this week’s Lectionary selections.

Have you not known?
Have you not heard?
Yahweh is the everlasting God,
The Creator of the ends of the earth (1)
Yet, in our weariness, we often forget
The lovingkindness of Spirit to us when we falter. …

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Epiphany 4, Year B (2021): Litany for Caring for Each Other

January 28, 2021 Fran Pratt

Here is this week's litany from 2018: Litany for Unclean Spirits, which focuses on the text from Mark 1 in which Christ casts out the unclean spirit in Capernaum.

This time around, I'm dealing primarily with the text of 1 Corinthians 8, in which Saint Paul discusses what was apparently an issue: whether or not to eat food sacrificed to idols. He points out that all things have their existence in God as represented by Christ: “through whom are all things and through whom we exist.” Rather than splitting hairs about doctrine and correctness, he invites the Corinthian church to see all their decisions and actions first through a lens of love for others, urging them to “ take care that this liberty of yours does not somehow become a stumbling block to the weak.

We too are invited into this tension: we live in liberation from dogma, yet we can choose to center our right action in Love for Neighbor. This litany leans into those themes.

God, you have given all things to us,
Things in heaven and things on earth;
Placed the land under our stewardship,
And the people under one another’s mutual care…

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Epiphany 3 (Year B, 2021): Litany for a New Day

January 21, 2021 Fran Pratt

In Jonah 3, a group of people turn from idolatrous and evil ways, repenting (turning away from) their old, exploitative ways.

Psalm 62 exhorts us to look to God - not to any earthly thing. Not to riches or wealth. Not to powerful people. To the Divine Within.

In Mark 1, John the Baptist is arrested and imprisoned. Jesus is assembling a group of followers - disciples, they’re called. His unifying message is: the Kingdom of God is near! Repent!... In other words: Turn away from your old ways of thinking about success, about victory, about what is really happening, and what is really important in the world; and believe instead in the good news of God - that all divine resources are yours for the taking, that the commonwealth of heaven is a place where you and every other person belongs. Re-wire your brain with the understanding that all are one, all are Beloved, all are welcome, and all are forgiven for whatever they did before they understood that.

I write this litany immediately following the inauguration of the new president and vice-president of the US. We (some of us) in the US are tentatively hopeful, anxiously expectant. It is a moment in which we have the opportunity to listen to this week’s scriptures in an open-minded way - to hear of the Ninevites repentance, the Psalmic call to trust in God and not in economies or rulers, and the invitation of Christ to turn our attention to the Kingdom of God, which is near at hand and available to us as we move forward, working for change. I hope this prayer inspires and offers some hope. . .

Epiphany 2, Year B 2021: Litany for Truth-Tellers

January 12, 2021 Fran Pratt

Y’all. I can’t make this up. This is the lectionary for this week.

Synopsis of 1 Samuel 3 and the preceding events:

Eli the priest has scoundrels for sons. His sons are, by their lineage, also priests; they are thieving and lying and raping - doing immeasurable damage to the priesthood and the nation - and Eli, though he pleads with them, cannot (will not?) control nor contain them. They are allowed to wreak havoc. A “man of God” gives Eli a message that his sons have doomed their whole family to destruction and penury.

Young Samuel is Eli’s acolyte. God isn’t often heard from, but one night Samuel hears a voice, which he and Eli figure out to be the voice of God. God gives Samuel a message: Eli’s family will be punished for the iniquity of the scoundrel sons - they’ll lose everything, confirming the other, earlier message.

Samuel is hesitant to tell his mentor the bad news - that injustice will and must be held accountable, if not by the priesthood, if not by the society, then by God; that the ones who have lied and thieved and assaulted WILL be held responsible. But he tells Eli the truth of the prophecy God has given him. Eli meets it with acceptance, and Samuel gains a reputation as a Truth-Teller.

Flip to the Gospel reading from John 1….

Jesus is in the process of gathering disciples. He’s got Philip, Andrew, and Peter. And from a distance he sees Nathanael. Jesus immediately identifies Nathanael as “an Israelite in whom there is no deceit,” as a Truth-Teller. Nathanael is a Truth-Teller and Jesus wants him.

Aaaand relate it to today...

Last week we had a mob, incited by the lies of political leaders and conspiracy theories, ransack the US Capitol, killing 5 humans, endangering countless others, and proving that years of lies and deceit are bearing evil fruit and that, like the sons of Eli, those responsible must be contained and held accountable lest they bring the whole country down into their eventual destruction. OK!

I wait to see what will be done. I pray that faith communities will awaken to their duty as Truth-Tellers. And that we, as individuals, will be those “in whom there is no deceit.” Our theology matters, and conflating the message and work of Christ with deceitful narratives of Christian Nationalism, Christo-fascism, White Supremacy, and violence is bad theology that leads to harm.

This litany is inspired by these texts, but I have thrown a lot of other references in.

God, we pray for our faith community,
As a whole and as individuals,
That we will have the courage to hold fast to truth,
Even when truth is inconvenient,
Even when truth convicts us,
Even when truth is difficult,
Even when truth is not what we’d hoped,
Even when truth is hard to tell …

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Epiphany, Baptism of the Lord, Year B: Litany for the Unorthodox

January 6, 2021 Fran Pratt

It occurs to me, upon reading the account of John the Baptist baptizing the Christ in Mark 1, and the discussion between Paul and some disciples that happens in Acts 19, that what John was doing was pretty radical. I’m always tempted to overlook him as a character in the story, but the story seems to find its way back to quirky, weird old John the Baptist again and again. In the Advent scriptures he’s referred to as the “voice of one calling in the wilderness.” And in today’s scriptures he’s subverting the whole religious system of the day by proclaiming forgiveness of sins by way of repentance, changing course, and baptism, i.e. ceremonial/ritual washing.

The faith tradition he’s part of has taught that forgiveness comes through animal sacrifice via official priestly and religious channels. But John is going around all official channels. John is sidestepping ALL accepted protocols regarding how to live: he lives outside the community, dresses and eats oddly, and preaches an alternative form of spiritual practice. And Jesus comes along and adds veracity to John’s unorthodox work! He allows himself to be baptized by John, aligning himself with unofficial, unverified spiritual practice and procedure. Then the Spirit validates the work too, coming in the form of a dove to add weight to Jesus and John’s claims!

John seems to stand in his own authority, trusting his instincts, making it up as he goes along, doing what resonates for him because he has no roadmap; he is in uncharted religious territory, making way for a Christ few people seemed to really expect to arrive, and helping usher in a new paradigm of faith and action.

I have a hunch that we are in uncharted spiritual and religious territory too.

God, we find ourselves in need of extra creativity in these times -
When the old ways don’t seem to be working anymore,
When the problems we face are vast and unsettling,
When our energy and ingenuity have been depleted.

Epiphany (Year B): Litany for Sages

January 4, 2021 Fran Pratt

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The bulk of my work can be accessed via Patreon
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You can find archived litanies here, and purchase my book here.
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In the past I haven’t posted a litany for the day of Epiphany. But my love for this season has grown and deepened, and I find myself praying to become like the wise men from the east who were able to perceive a far off occurrence: a new and powerful embodiment of Divine Love in the world. I want to be that attuned, that attentive. And to be part of that embodiment.

So I offer this prayer, along with my greetings in this new year. May you be well, happy, and full of life and joy.

Arise, shine,
For your light has come.
The glory of God has risen upon us.
Let your heart thrill and rejoice.

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Epiphany 6: Litany for Inner Transformation

February 12, 2020 Fran Pratt

Hi! In 2019 I moved much of my work over to Patreon
as part of my effort to make this work sustainable.
So thanks for reading and subscribing.
You can find archived litanies here, and purchase my book here.

We are presented in Deuteronomy and Sirach with this idea that we get to choose how we live. We get to choose life and prosperity or death and adversity (Deut 30:15). We’re never forced into any path.

And then in the Gospel reading, Jesus is giving a treatise on what I’m calling inner transformation; telling us that what happens in our inner lives is as or more important, as or more informative of what actions are expressed in our outer lives. That our motivations come from within. That we need inner transformation before we can become true followers of the path of peace. He’s calling us to a radical self-honesty, to pay attention to our inner selves and do the work involved in deep transformation. He’s asking us to choose life.

God, we know that before each of us are life and death;
Whichever we choose we will be found (1).

We hear Christ’s call to radical self-honesty,
Humility, observation, and truthfulness (2).

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Epiphany 5 (Year A): Litany for Salt and Light

February 5, 2020 Fran Pratt

The Sermon on the Mount, in my opinion the most important piece of Christian scripture, moves along this week. In this portion of Matthew 5, Jesus places himself squarely inside the ancient wisdom tradition of his family line. He emphasizes that what he’s doing and teaching is a continuation of that tradition, a building upon it. He reminds his listeners of the great teachings of the prophet Isaiah:

“Is not this the fast that I choose: to loose the bonds of injustice, to undo the thongs of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free, and to break every yoke? Is it not to share your bread with the hungry, and bring the homeless poor into your house; when you see the naked, to cover them, and not to hide yourself from your own kin? Then your light shall break forth like the dawn, and your healing shall spring up quickly; your vindicator shall go before you, the glory of the LORD shall be your rear guard.

This is how to be salty salt, says Jesus. This is how to be illuminating light. To follow the tradition of compassion, the trajectory of love, the “arc of moral justice”. To season the world with good work.

God, injustice is a dry meal, bland and indigestible.
Poverty and prisons rot the bones (1).
Hierarchy and exploitation cover us in dimness,
And the poor and powerless are trampled in dust.

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Epiphany 4 (Year A): Litany for What's Good

January 31, 2020 Fran Pratt

This week’s Lectionary contains both the famous Micah 6:8 “Do justly, love mercy, walk humbly” admonition, and also Christ’s best and brightest sermon, in which he articulates the values and practices that constitute his religion. Revolutionary teachings, to which I’m clinging desperately and steadfastly these days.

God, you’ve told us what is good,
Christ has demonstrated it,
And our experience confirms it:
To do justice, love kindness, and walk with humility …

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Epiphany 3 (Year A): Litany for Fishing for People

January 21, 2020 Fran Pratt

This week’s Lectionary gospel is Matthew’s account of the calling of Andrew, Peter, James and John to leave behind their fishing vocation, and take up a new one allied with the Community of Heaven. Jesus famously says: “Follow me, and I will make you fish for people.” Which is a wry and funny thing (in my opinion) for him to say. I’m envisioning us here, gently swept up, netted into a new paradigm of love.

Oh God, we hear the Good News from Christ:
Change your mind! For God’s Community is right here,
And we take this news to heart,
Putting all our energy into making the transition…

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

January 16, 2020 Fran Pratt

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….

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