For me, there has always been a fine line between the prayers for the church and the world (prayers of the people, intercessory prayers, etc) and the prayer of confession. At it's best, the prayers of the people lead us from individual concerns for the local congregation out to wider concerns for the rest of the community and world. We pray for healing, for peace, for justice, for wisdom, for guidance. We recognize the places of need in the world and ask for God's intercession in those places.
The prayer of confession is our recognition of those places where we have failed to act. Through this prayer we pray for forgiveness not just for the things we have done but also for the things we have not done. We are reminded as we pray of the needy we have not helped. We are reminded as we pray of the neighbors we have not loved.
In other words, through the prayer of confession, we are reminded of the places we have failed to meet the needs of those we pray for during our prayers for others.
And if you are still reading you are probably wondering, "okay, where is he going with this?"
There is a new-ish song on the radio that I hear as a bit of intercession and a bit of confession. Every time I hear "Walk Me Home" by P!nk, I think of having a conversation with Jesus.
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God Beyond Boundaries: Religious Barriers
Today, we wrapped up the series we have been working through for the last two months. Through this series, we have explored the ways in which God goes beyond the boundaries that surround us -- from national boundaries to interpersonal boundaries, and everything in between. Looking at Luke 13:10-17, we find that Jesus takes us beyond religious boundaries as well.
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Borders and boundaries can make us feel safe. They make us feel comfortable. They let us know our limits and help define us. But Jesus frequently pushes beyond those boundaries in ways that made the people of his time uncomfortable and in ways that can still make us uncomfortable today.
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Borders and boundaries can make us feel safe. They make us feel comfortable. They let us know our limits and help define us. But Jesus frequently pushes beyond those boundaries in ways that made the people of his time uncomfortable and in ways that can still make us uncomfortable today.
God Beyond Boundaries: Peace through Division?
Today we started worship off with a baptism for one of the newest members of our community. We then read Luke 12:49-56, one of the more challenging segments of Jesus' teachings. As Jesus has gone through his ministry, he has repeatedly returned to a message of peace, love, and relationship. But today, he says that he comes bringing not peace but division.
On any Sunday, this would be a difficult passage to wrestle with. But, while the text itself may not feel like a good fit with baptism, our celebration of this sacrament actually helps us interpret these words from Jesus. What happens when we commit ourselves to God before all others? What happens in our world when we love everyone, even those the world tells us to hate?
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What a great, uplifting text for us on a day we celebrate baptism. Jesus comes not to bring peace. Instead his coming heralds division. Just what we need to hear on a day when we celebrate new life and our unity in the body of Christ.
What in the world does this have to do with the message that Jesus brought? Why would God come down, offering us relationship, teaching us to love each other, and then tell us he is bringing division and conflict into the world?
On any Sunday, this would be a difficult passage to wrestle with. But, while the text itself may not feel like a good fit with baptism, our celebration of this sacrament actually helps us interpret these words from Jesus. What happens when we commit ourselves to God before all others? What happens in our world when we love everyone, even those the world tells us to hate?
* * *
What a great, uplifting text for us on a day we celebrate baptism. Jesus comes not to bring peace. Instead his coming heralds division. Just what we need to hear on a day when we celebrate new life and our unity in the body of Christ.
What in the world does this have to do with the message that Jesus brought? Why would God come down, offering us relationship, teaching us to love each other, and then tell us he is bringing division and conflict into the world?
God Beyond Boundaries: Strangers and Immigrants
The Letter to the Hebrews was written at a time of persecution for believers. Written to those who were Hebrew believers who were considering returning to the Jewish faith to avoid continued persecution, it is offered as both encouragement and challenge. Today's text (see Hebrews 11:1-3, 8-16) raises up some of those who have gone before us in faith to encourage us along the way. But it also leaves us with a question: What do earthly authorities and earthly borders mean to those who are citizens of God's kingdom?
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Over the last few weeks, we have explored some of the ways that God reaches into our lives and challenges our assumptions. As Jesus was traveling the countryside teaching and healing people, he was also constantly reaching beyond the boundaries and barriers that people had erected between each other.
Every time we assume God is on our side and everyone else is wrong, we find an example to go against it. In the Old Testament, we found a general of a foreign nation that is openly hostile to Israel who is healed by God.
In the gospels, Jesus refuses to put a limit on those we are called to love. He centers a foreigner as the perfect example of a loving neighbor.
When we complain that other people are not acting like us, are not doing faith the way we are, Jesus points out that not all faith looks the same.
When we seek to know how to speak to God, when his disciples ask them how they should pray, Jesus shows us that God is neither a distant despot nor a cosmic butler. Instead, God is as close to us as family.
Today, our text offers us another challenge related to borders. In this letter written to a group of Hebrew believers, we are pointed toward the unseen and unknown. God rarely steps out in front of us and yells “here I am!” But we have faith and trust in those things that have been passed on to us. We have faith and trust in the stories of those that have come before. We have faith and trust in the word of God that came down to live among us. We have faith and trust in the evidence we see of God still working in the world today.
* * *
Over the last few weeks, we have explored some of the ways that God reaches into our lives and challenges our assumptions. As Jesus was traveling the countryside teaching and healing people, he was also constantly reaching beyond the boundaries and barriers that people had erected between each other.
Every time we assume God is on our side and everyone else is wrong, we find an example to go against it. In the Old Testament, we found a general of a foreign nation that is openly hostile to Israel who is healed by God.
In the gospels, Jesus refuses to put a limit on those we are called to love. He centers a foreigner as the perfect example of a loving neighbor.
When we complain that other people are not acting like us, are not doing faith the way we are, Jesus points out that not all faith looks the same.
When we seek to know how to speak to God, when his disciples ask them how they should pray, Jesus shows us that God is neither a distant despot nor a cosmic butler. Instead, God is as close to us as family.
Today, our text offers us another challenge related to borders. In this letter written to a group of Hebrew believers, we are pointed toward the unseen and unknown. God rarely steps out in front of us and yells “here I am!” But we have faith and trust in those things that have been passed on to us. We have faith and trust in the stories of those that have come before. We have faith and trust in the word of God that came down to live among us. We have faith and trust in the evidence we see of God still working in the world today.