King of the Jews--Feb. 21, 2012

Here my prayer, O Lord;
let my cry come to you.

Help me to reject anger--not pressing
it until it produces strife--

to reject all that keeps me from
the surpassing value of knowing you.

You are King of the Jews;
be also King of my life.

Lectionary Readings
Ps. 42; 146; 102; 133
Prov. 30:1-4, 24-33
Phil. 3:1-11
John 18:28-38

Selected Verses
Ps. 102:1
Hear my prayer, O LORD;
      let my cry come to you.

Prov. 30:33
For as pressing milk produces curds,
      and pressing the nose produces blood,
      so pressing anger produces strife.

Phil. 3:8a
More than that, I regard everything as loss because of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord.

John 18:33
Then Pilate entered the headquarters again, summoned Jesus, and asked him, "Are you the King of the Jews?"

Clever or Courageous--Feb. 20, 2012

Peter had courage enough to
follow Jesus and the soldiers
to the high priest's courtyard;
then Peter saw danger and hid.

O, God make us strong to know
when we should hide from danger
and when--in the interest of others--
we must not let danger block our way.

Lectionary Readings
Ps. 5; 145; 82; 29
Prov. 27:1-6, 10-12
Phil. 2:1-13
John 18:15-18, 25-27

Selected Verses
Ps. 29:11
May the LORD give strength to his people!
      May the LORD bless his people with peace!

Prov. 27:12
The clever see danger and hide;
      but the simple go on, and suffer for it.

Phil. 2:4
Let each of you look not to your own interests, but to the interests of others.

John 18:25
Now Simon Peter was standing and warming himself. [The police in the court yard of the high priest] asked him, "You are not also one of his disciples, are you?" He denied it and said, "I am not."

Calves Released from Winter Stalls--Feb. 19, 2012

Rise for us, O Sun of Righteousness,
rise with healing in your wings,
for we need to be healed.

Come, O Heavenly Mother/Father come,
like a compassionate parent come;
we need your compassion.

Come Lord Jesus, full of glory; unveil
our faces to behold your glory--
transform us in your image.

Then send us leaping out into the world,
calves released from winter stalls,
to tell crowds who you are.

Lectionary Readings
Ps. 103; 150; 117; 139
Mal. 4:1-6
2 Cor. 3:7-18
Luke 9:18-27

Selected Verses
Ps. 103:13
As a father has compassion for his children,
      so the LORD has compassion for those who fear him.

Mal. 4:2
But for you who revere my name the sun of righteousness shall rise, with healing in its wings. You shall go out leaping like calves from the stall.

2 Cor. 3:18
And all of us, with unveiled faces, seeing the glory of the Lord as though reflected in a mirror, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another; for this comes from the Lord, the Spirit.

Luke 9:18
Once when Jesus was praying alone, with only the disciples near him, he asked them, "Who do the crowds say that I am?"

In Time of Sorrow--Feb. 18, 2012

We must love in truth and action,
but sometimes no action seems to serve.

Instead of jumping to the aid of Lazarus,
Jesus stayed away two whole days.

Rachel died birthing her son--all she
could do was to name him for her sorrow.

God, you have kept track of our sorrows,
counted all the tears in our bottles.

In our own mourning, console us;
and make us present to others who mourn.

Lectionary Readings
Ps. 56; 149; 118; 111
Gen. 35:1-20
1 John 3:11-18
John 11:1-16

Selected Verses
Ps. 56:8
You have kept count of my tossings;
      put my tears in your bottle.
      Are they not in your record?

Gen. 35:18a
As [Rachel's] soul was departing (for she died), she named him Ben-oni [Son of my sorrow]…

1 John 3:18
Little children, let us love, not in word or speech, but in truth and action.

John 11:5
Accordingly, though Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus, after having heard that Lazarus was ill, he stayed two days longer in the place where he was.

God's Children Now--Feb. 17, 2012

We are your children now.
We do not know what we will be;
but we trust we will see you as you are,
that we will be with you; and that is enough.

Surround us with your steadfast love,
and protect us from wickedness--
the wickedness of others and
our wicked propensities.

Teach us to give freely
and to receive graciously.
You sent Jesus into the world;
send us, too, to serve in his name.

Lectionary Readings
Ps. 130; 148; 32; 139
Gen. 32:22-33:17
1 John 3:1-10
John 10:31-42

Selected Verses
Ps. 32:10
Many are the torments of the wicked,
      but steadfast love surrounds those who trust in the LORD.

Gen. 33:9
But Esau said, "I have enough, my brother; keep what you have for yourself."

1 John 3:2
Beloved, we are God's children now; what we will be has not yet been revealed. What we do know is this: when he is revealed, we will be like him, for we will see him as he is.

John 10:36
"…can you say that the one whom the Father has sanctified and sent into the world is blaspheming because I said, 'I am God's Son'? …" [Jesus to those who wanted to stone him]

The Stronghold of Our Lives--Feb. 16, 2012

You whom Jesus called Father,
you, the stronghold of our lives,

we are not worthy of the least of
all the steadfast love and faithfulness
that you, O God, have showered upon us.

In your righteousness, help us do the right;
and take away our fear, for no power
can snatch us out of your hand.

We ask in the name of Jesus,
who died for us who
are unrighteous.

Lectionary Readings
Ps. 36; 147:12-20; 80; 27
Gen. 32:3-21
1 John 2:18-29
John 10:19-30

Selected Verses
Ps. 27:1b
The LORD is the stronghold of my life;
      of whom shall I be afraid?

Gen. 32:10
I am not worthy of the least of all the steadfast love and all the faithfulness that you have shown to your servant, for with only my staff I crossed this Jordan; and now I have become two companies.

1 John 2:29
If you know that [the Holy One] is righteous, you may be sure that everyone who does right has been born of him.

John 10:29
"…What my Father has given me is greater than all else, and no one can snatch it out of the Father's hand. …" [Jesus to those who asked if he was the Messiah]

The Gate for Us--Feb. 15, 2012

Lord Jesus, truly you are the gate for us; through you
we come in and go out to find pasture.

You open your tent and welcome us to your holy hill,
although we have no right to be there;

for the desire of the flesh, the desire of the eyes,
the pride in riches--these sins we have
known, and they come not from you.

We have ill-treated those you gave us to treat
kindly. All this you have witnessed,

yet you are the gate for us; forgive us,
that we may enter by you.

Lectionary Readings
Ps. 15; 147:1-11; 48; 4
Gen. 31:25-50
1 John 2:12-17
John 10:1-18

Selected Verses
Ps. 15:1
O LORD, who may abide in your tent?
      Who may dwell on your holy hill?

Gen. 31:50
"…If you ill-treat my daughters, or if you take wives in addition to my daughters, though no one else is with us, remember that God is witness between you and me." [Laban to Jacob, at the Mizpah pillar]

1 John 2:16
…for all that is in the world--the desire of the flesh, the desire of the eyes, the pride in riches--comes not from the Father but from the world.

John 10:9
"…I am the gate. Whoever enters by me will be saved, and will come in and go out and find pasture. …" [Jesus to the Pharisees]