"That Your Love... May Overflow."

"Holy One, I ask for the grace to pray and meditate on behalf of my communtiy of faith.  May we learn patience, tolernce, compassion, gentleness, and empathy for ourselves and one another.  May we abstain from ignorance, anger, anxiety, compulsive behavour, discouragement, shame and self-centeredness.  May we know and follow Jesus more closely; seeking justice, loving kindness, and walking humbly.  I pray especially today for civilians in Syria."

Philippians 1:8-11
8For God is my witness, how I long for all of you with the compassion of Christ Jesus. 9And this is my prayer, that your love may overflow more and more with knowledge and full insight 10to help you to determine what is best, so that on the day of Christ you may be pure and blameless, 11having produced the harvest of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ for the glory and praise of God.

1) "...I long for all of you with the compassion of Christ Jesus;" "...that you love may ooverflow more and more;" "...full isight;" "...to help you determine what is best;" "...produced the harvest of righteousness;" "...for the glory and praise of God."

2)  Are we producing the harvest of righteousness?  Are we producing a harvest of right relationships among ourselves, with others with God?  That's a hard question to ask as Russia backs a government suspected of gassing its own citizens; as the US continues to bomb those same civilians; as Canada ties up refugee support applictions with red tape.  Where is the production of the harvest of right relationships?  We harvest self-righteousness all over the place.  How I long for us to be pure and blameless on the day of Christ.  The path to "knowledge and full insight to help determine what is best," is that our love "overflow more and more."

3) What is the invitation in all this?  to continue the daily task of letting go of resentment and nurturing compassion and love.  Resentment of world governements; resentment of religious fundamentalists; resentment of angry, ignorant self-agrandizing world leaders; resentment of puffed up members of my own community; resentment of my own helplessness and ineffectiveness.  None of it helps.  And to nurture love and compassion for the same.

"Holy One, melt away our resentment, and fill us with the compassion of Christ Jesus, that our love may overflow more and more with knowledge and full insight to help us determine what is best, so that on the day of Christ, we may be pure and blameless, having produced the harvest of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ for your glory and praise."

Breathprayer: "That your love... may overflow."

"Praying with Joy... Sharing in the Gospel"

"I ask for the grace to pray and meditate on behalf of my congregation.  May we learn patience, tolerance, compassion, empathy and gentleness.  May we abstain from anger, anxiety, compulsive behaviour, discouragement, and shame.  May we know and follow Jesus more closely, seeking justice, loving kindness, and walking humbly, as he prepares to enter the city of Jerusalem."

Philippians 1:3-8
3 I thank my God every time I remember you, 4constantly praying with joy in every one of my prayers for all of you, 5because of your sharing in the gospel from the first day until now. 6I am confident of this, that the one who began a good work among you will bring it to completion by the day of Jesus Christ. 7It is right for me to think this way about all of you, because you hold me in your heart, for all of you share in God’s grace with me, both in my imprisonment and in the defence and confirmation of the gospel. 8For God is my witness, how I long for all of you with the compassion of Christ Jesus.

1) "...praying with joy;" "...I am confident in this... the one who began a good work... will bring it to completion;" "...you hold me in your heart;" "...share in God's grace;" "...God is my witness;" "...how I long for all of you;" "...the copassion of Christ Jesus;" "...I remember you;" "...constantly prayering with joy;"

2)  How do we share in the gospel?  Most days, I could create a log list of how we DO NOT share in the gospel.  I'm more likely to take the ways we share in the gospel for granted.  But there are many ways we share in the gospel from the many ministries we share from food bank, to soup kitchen, to thrift shop, to worship, to study, to fellowship, to affordable housing, to refugee sponsorship and support.  We share abundantly in the gospel as we build lives and  meaning together.  But there is a but.  Is what we are currently doing to share in the gospel sustainable?  will we be able to keep doing it?  And does it move us to pray with joy in every one of our prayers?  Are we confident that the One who began a good work among us will bring it to completion?  I think we often thank ourselves for the work, and forget that we serve more than our own sense of right and wrong.  We serve out of self-righteousness, maintaining what has been, rather than seeking God's will for today. 

3)  What is the invitation in all this?  To serve with joy.  To continue sharing the Gospel through worship, fellowship and service.  To trust that the One who began a good work among us will bring it to completion.  To hold those with whom I serve in my heart, as I trust they hold me in theirs. 

"Holy One, who began a good work among us, bring your work to its completion.  Make us joyful in service to one another and help us to hold one another in our hearts."

Breathprayer: "Praying with joy... sharing in the Gospel."

"The Riches... of His Glorious Inheritance."

"Holy One, may I have the grace to pray and meditate on behalf of my community of faith.  May we learn patience, tolerance, empathy, compassion and gentleness.  May we abstain from anger, anxiety, compulsive behaviour, discouragement, and shame.  May we know and follow Jesus more closely, seeking justice, loving kindness and walking humbly."


Ephesians 1:15-19
15 I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love^* towards all the saints, and for this reason ¹⁶I do not cease to give thanks for you as I remember you in my prayers. ¹⁷I pray that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation as you come to know him, ¹⁸so that, with the eyes of your heart enlightened, you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance among the saints, ¹⁹and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power for us who believe, according to the working of his great power.


1) "...I remember you in my prayers;" "...the Father of glory;" "...a spirit of wisdom and revelation;" "..the eye of your heart enlightened;" "...the hope to which he has called you;" "...the riches of his glorious inheritance;" "...immeasurable greatness;" "...great power;"


2) Wouldn't it be nice to "know what is the hope to which he has called" us? or "what are the riches of his glorious inheritance"? or "what is the immeasurable greatness of his power"?  What is it to have the eye of the heart enlightened?  What is the hope to which Christ has called us?   what are the riches of his glorious inheritance?  what is the immeasurable greatness of his power?  Are we supposed to know the answers to these questions?  Do we assume the answers?  Do we just accept the slogans that we've been handed from generations before?  Do we believe/trust the hope, the riches and the greatness of God's power? Are they eyes of our hearts enlightened? 


3) What is the invitation in all this?  To trust that the power God invests in us is of immeasurable greatness.  To trust that, though I perceive scarcity, God promises a riches of his glorious inheritance.  To choose the hope to which we have been called.  To let our hearts be enlightened.


"Holy One, enlighten our hearts to know hope, riches and your immeasurable greatness."


Breathprayer: "The riches... of his glorious inheritance."

"Your Life... Hidden with Christ in God."

"Holy One, I ask for the desire to pray and meditate regularly on behalf of me community of faith.  May we learn patience, tolerance, humility, compassion, empathy, and gentleness.  May we abstain from anger, anxiety, compulsive behaviour, discouragement, shame, self-centeredness and ignorance.  May we know and follow Jesus more closely, seeking justice, loving kindness and walking humbly."


Colossians 3:1-4
3So if you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. ²Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth, ³for you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. ⁴When Christ who is your^* life is revealed, then you also will be revealed with him in glory.


1) "...raised with Christ;" "...seek the things that are above;" "...set your mind on things that are above;" "...you have died;" "...your life is hidden with Christ in God;" "...Christ... is your life;" "...you... will be revealed with [Christ] in glory;:"  "you life is hidden with Christ in God;"


2) I am so terribly conscious just how many times Paul says something to the effect of "set your mind on things that are above/on spiritual things/on spirit/in Christ."  You'd think this was a recurring issue or something... It is so very easy to let our minds wander astray to "things that are on earth."  Ego sneaks back in, self-centeredness, anxiety, fear, animosity, resentment, obsession, stubbornness, self-interest, greed, distrust, frustration, ignorance.  Ignorance.  IGNORANCE.  Something happens in the world, the world changes and suddenly we are ignorant again, having to learn 1) that there is something we don't know, 2) what we actually don't know 3) that we need to go outside our own small selves to learn how to respond to the new world.  What a trap we get into when we believe that we need to earn our way to Christ.  If we have to "earn" our way to Christ, the ignorance is something to be deeply ashamed of because ignorance is an obstacle.  But our life is already "hidden with Christ in God."  We don't need to earn it.  There is no shame in being incomplete, that's how we are made, our completion is in God. 


3) What is the invitation in all this?  To accept that Paul needs to continually beseech us to return to setting our minds on spiritual things because it is simply our nature to want to set our minds on earthly things.  Then to set our minds "on the things that are above" again.  Over and over, once course correction after the other.


"Holy One, help us seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at your right hand.  Set our minds on things that are above."


Breathprayer: "Your life... hidden with Christ in God."

"Son of David... Let Our Eyes Be Opened."

"I ask for the desire to pray and meditate on behalf of my community of faith.  May we learn patience, tolerance, gentleness, empathy and compassion.  May we abstain from anger, anxiety, compulsive behaviour, discouragement, and shame.  May we know and follow Jesus more closely, seeking justice, loving kindness and walking humbly."


Matthew 20:29-35
29 As they were leaving Jericho, a large crowd followed him. ³⁰There were two blind men sitting by the roadside. When they heard that Jesus was passing by, they shouted, ‘Lord,^* have mercy on us, Son of David!’ ³¹The crowd sternly ordered them to be quiet; but they shouted even more loudly, ‘Have mercy on us, Lord, Son of David!’ ³²Jesus stood still and called them, saying, ‘What do you want me to do for you?’ ³³They said to him, ‘Lord, let our eyes be opened.’ ³⁴Moved with compassion, Jesus touched their eyes. Immediately they regained their sight and followed him.


1) "...followed him;" "...Jesus stood still;" "...let our eyes be opened;" "...moved with compassion;" "...immediately they regained their sight;" "...and followed him;" "...they heard that Jesus was passing by;" "...they shouted;" "...they shouted even more loudly;" "Jesus stood still and called them;" "What do you want me to do for you?"


2) They "shouted" twice, and "said" once.  They needed to speak louder, to be heard over the crowd trying to silence them, then they needed to articulate exactly what they wanted.  Jesus was moved with compassion.  What do we want Jesus to do for us?  as a congregation?  What do we want specifically?  Do we want ministry at Trinity United Church to continue into the future?  Do we want it to change in the ways that it needs to change so it can be here?  Or do we just want ministry here to be the way it has always been so it can comfort those who are already here until they are no longer in need of the ministry?  What do we want Jesus to do for us?  Do we want Jesus to magically make an entire generation of young people to suddenly show up and do things our way?  Do we want Jesus to make the financial burdens disappear?  Do we want Jesus to make us live really, really, really long lives so we can keep the church going?  Do we want Jesus to make all of us win the lottery so we can tithe the winnings to the church?  Do we only want Jesus to give us what we need so we can do what Jesus wants us to do?  I believe that the purpose to "let our eyes be opened" was to make it easier to follow Jesus (it is a curious turn of phrase if they only wanted to see).  What do we need so that following Jesus would be easier?  Maybe we ourselves, need to ask Jesus to let our eyes be opened?


3) What is the invitation in all this?  If we focus on asking for what makes following Jesus easier, we will receive everything that heals us, everything that sets us free, everything that renews our wholeness, everything that reconciles us to God.


"Lord, let our eyes be opened."


Breathprayer: "Son of David... Let our eyes be opened."

"He Who Raised Christ... Dwells in You."

"I ask for the desire to pray and meditate on behalf of my congregation.  My we learn patience, tolerance, compassion, empathy, and gentleness.  May we abstain from anger, anxiety, compulsive behaviour, discouragement, and shame.  May we know and follow Jesus more closely, seeking justice, loving kindness and walking humbly."


Romans 8:6-11
⁶To set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit^* is life and peace. ⁷For this reason the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God’s law—indeed it cannot, ⁸and those who are in the flesh cannot please God.
9 But you are not in the flesh; you are in the Spirit,^* since the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him. ¹⁰But if Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit^* is life because of righteousness. ¹¹If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ^* from the dead will give life to your mortal bodies also through^* his Spirit that dwells in you.


1) "...life and peace;" "...you are in the spirit;" "...the Spirit of God dwells in you;" "...Christ is in you;" "...the spirit is life;" "...raised Christ from the dead;" "... life to your mortal bodies;" "...his Spirit that dwells in you;" "...set the mind on the spirit;" "...to set the mind on the spirit is life and peace;" "...you are in the spirit;" "...the Spirit of God dwells in you;"


2) awareness of the constant assertions that "the spirit of God dwells in you."  This is a base assumption of Paul's.  And that Spirit means life and peace.  It is easier said than done to "set the mind on the spirit."  It is so easy to get distracted by anger, anxiety, compulsive behaviour, discouragement, shame... But I do know from my own experience, life is easier when I trust God's presence, trust that the spirit of God dwells in all that is happening around me, especially when things are going in ways that are contrary to how I would have them.  As I reread the first verse: "To set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace,"  I feel a sense of, "Yeah... duh... have you figured that out yet?"  Setting the mind on the spirit is no just a daily practice, but sometimes hour by hour and moment by moment, constantly another course correction to come back to center, come back to the core. 


3) What is the invitation in all this?  To keep returning to the heart.  To keep reminding myself, ourselves, to set the mind on the Spirit, to trust that it is there, and trust that by so doing, we will find life and peace. 


"Holy One, help us to trust in your indwelling, and to know you life and peace."


Breathprayer: "He who raised Christ... dwells in you."

"Test Yourself... Jesus Christ Is in You."

"I pray for the desire to pray and meditate on behalf of my community of faith.  May we learn patience, tolernce, compassion, gentleness, and empathy.   May we abstain from anger, anxiety, compulsive behaviour, discouragement, and shame.  May know and follow Jesus more closely, seeking justice, loving kindness, and walking humbly with God."

2 Corinthians 13:3-5
3since you desire proof that Christ is speaking in me. He is not weak in dealing with you, but is powerful in you. 4For he was crucified in weakness, but lives by the power of God. For we are weak in him, but in dealing with you we will live with him by the power of God.

5 Examine yourselves to see whether you are living in the faith. Test yourselves. Do you not realize that Jesus Christ is in you?—unless, indeed, you fail to pass the test!

1) "...proof;" "...powerful in you;" "...crucified in weakness;" "...lives by the power;" "...we live with him by the power of God;" "...examine yourselves;" "...living in the faith;" "...test yourself;" "Jesus Christ is in you;" "...Jesus Christ is in you;" "...examine yourself;"

2) I can't help but notice how approriate this text is given "The Work" I did yesterday.  I am constantly frustrated with how often certain indiduals trigger the worst in me.  They have a knack for drawing out the worst in me and I resent it... and consequently them, so much.  And I trully hate myself when "bated" into pettiess, bitterness and anger.  I lose alll empathy, and compassion.  I get tunnel vision and grind away on what that person did, more often than not, my complaint may be perfectly legitimate, but my dwelling and obscessing on it does more harm than good.  And I can't stand  myself in the process.  Ultimately, I'm triggered by my trigger and the downward spiral begins (continues?).  "For we are weak in him, but in dealing with you we will live with him by the power of God."  I'm not fair with myself to expect more than I would expect of anyone else.  I can only continue to examine myself daily and continue to ask to find Christ.

3)  What is the invitation in all this?  To continue to test myself daily, but to also find gentleness, patience, tolerance, compassion and empathy with my own defects of character, in particular, my own triggers.  To trust that Jesus Christ is in me, living by the power of God.

"Holy One, make me mindful of your presence."

Breathprayer: "Test yourself... Jesus Christ is in you."