"In His Word... I Hope."

"I ask for the desire to pray and meditate on behalf of my community of faith.  May we learn patience, tolerance, compassion, empathy and gentleness.  May we abstain from anger, anxiety, compulsive behaviour, discouragement, shame, and isolation.  May we learn to listen to one another and create an environment of trust.  May we discern together the presence and will of Christ Jesus, seeking justice, loving kindness and walking humbly.  Today I pray for my larger community of faith that extends beyond my own congregation as community continues to break down."


Psalm 130:1-5
Out of the depths I cry to you, O Lord.
²   Lord, hear my voice!
Let your ears be attentive
   to the voice of my supplications!

³ If you, O Lord, should mark iniquities,
   Lord, who could stand?
⁴ But there is forgiveness with you,
   so that you may be revered.

⁵ I wait for the Lord, my soul waits,
   and in his word I hope;


1)  "...out of the depths:" "...I cry to you;" "...supplications;" "...there is forgiveness with you;" "...I wait for the Lord, my soul waits;" "...in his word, I hope;" "...my soul waits;" "...in his word, I hope;"


2) Once again, I hear many possibilities for breath prayers: "Out of the depths... I cry to you;" "I cry to you... hear my voice;" "Hear my voice... be attentive;" "wait for the Lord... my soul waits;" I could go on.  I pull this psalm out of the lectionary for next week as I start preparation for Lent 5.  It happens to fit the discouragement I'm feeling around regional relationships in the church.  It frustrates me that we tend so strongly to isolation when I know that this is not how we discern God's will in the church, we discern God's will in community.  But I can't force other people to participate in community with me.  Everyone cries out of the depths: "I'm too busy!" "My life is harder than your life!" "You don't know what I've been through this year!" "My church's work is more important than your church's work!" "You don't trust me the way you should and that's an attack on me!"  And the fact is we are leaderless.  It is not dissimilar to the issues we face within our congregations, no one willing to step up and lead.  No one willing to take responsibility for a process.  No one letting go of their own cause long enough to hear the cause of the group, God's cause for the group.  I hear the crying from the depths... where is the listening, waiting, hoping?  No one steps up to lead because the people want to stone Moses.


3) What is the invitation in all this? Perhaps to take seriously the call to take up leadership?  I have a strong impulse against that.  I don't want that responsibility.  But maybe I need to nurture a willingness to hear what God has to say about that? 


"Holy One, teach us to wait and to find hope in the waiting."


Breathprayer: "In his word... I hope."