A Prayer for Gathering

-

 


              Spirit of the Living God, Spirit of Christ Jesus, gather us in, and gather us out as well, out there beyond our four walls. Inculcate in us a habit of meeting our neighbor, and in so doing meeting the Holy Other—entertaining angels unaware. Give us hearts burning with welcome, so all those people, fragmented by our isolated individualistic present, might find the joy of community. Give us as well discerning minds, that we might know what you are up to, where you are leading us, and how we might gather in the holy name of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Table of Contents: Seven Central Things

-
Image
Introduction Intro (Ash Wednesday) The Road to Emmaus Saul on the Road to Damascus A Unified Theory of Lutheranism Today Gathering Gathering at Pentecost (Sun 18 th ) Not Gathering The Art of Gathering Gather in a 3D World How Then Shall We Gather? Gather Prayer Baptism (Jesus + < Jesus Alone)—Galatians 3:23-29 An Emergency Baptism (Sun 25 th ) BEM and Indiscriminate Baptism Baptism in a 3D World What then of Baptism? Baptism Prayer Confession & Forgiveness The 51st Psalm A Shattered Unicorn The Book of Forgiving (Sun 3 rd ) Yup, it really means you are forgiven. How Shall We Confess and Forgive? A Prayer The Word Word, words, joy, judgement Chuckwagon Grace The Bible a Cradle The Word for Now (Sun 10 th ) What is the Good Word? A Prayer Giving Thanks Sanctifying Gratitude I would have been Blind, instead I See Grateful Thankfulness, Now It is Good to Give God Thanks and Praise (Sun 17 th ) A Prayer The Meal R
Read more

Sent Out in Song

-
Image
                The Hymn “The Canticle of the Turning” is a favorite among a whole generation of Lutherans, probably all for vaguely the same reason, it was sung at an especially powerful moment in their life. For me it was sung before my cohort of Young Adults in Global Mission left the Lutheran Center in Chicago to our particular destinations around the world. A one-man band sent us off; if I remember correctly, he was simultaneously playing bagpipes, a harmonica, and drums. He played as all of us excited and anxious young people sang Mary’s song about the transformation of the whole world on account of her son, our Lord, Jesus Christ. It was the song that sent us out into the world to join in that mission. In my case that song sent me to an 850-year-old English abbey converted into a retreat centre where I cleaned rooms, taught kids archery, and served booze to Anglican Bishops.               I think that song was sung in LTSP’s chapel the night I and 11 other seminarians found ou
Read more

Intro: The Seven Central Things—Reflections for Lent

-
Image
                Welcome to Lent. A time for Alms, Fasting, and Prayer. A 40-day journey through the wilderness toward Easter. A time to ground ourselves to the core of our faith, so that we do not miss the precious gifts we’ve been given.               One of those gifts, I believe, is the gift of the Christian liturgy. Looking all the way back to the earliest descriptions of Christian worship, in Luke’s Gospel, in the Didache (an early Christian Catechism), to Justin Martyr’s testimony to the Emperor, and looking all the way forward to the Book of Common Prayer, the reforms of Vatican 2, the Lutheran Book of Worship, and Evangelical Lutheran Worship, there are some consistent things we do—signs of God’s love we embody together. There are things we practice in worship that spill out into our daily lives. Different folk name and number them differently, my shorthand is the Seven Central Things of Worship, they are: Gathering, Baptism, Confession & Forgiveness, Word, Thanksgiving,
Read more