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dreamprayact

~ Reflections of a preacher, poet, and contemplative activist

dreamprayact

Monthly Archives: May 2012

Gather Around the Table of Grace

31 Thursday May 2012

Posted by mark lloyd richardson in Prayers, Worship Liturgy

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

blessing, bread and wine, creation, Eucharist, forgiveness, Great Thanksgiving, Holy Communion, Holy Spirit, Hosanna, Jesus Christ

Here is a prayer that may be used as a Great Thanksgiving or Eucharistic Prayer in celebrating Holy Communion on Trinity Sunday, coming up in a few days.

It is always good to give you thanks, O God, for our lives are brought forth and renewed by your creating Spirit. You form us in your image and breathe into us the breath of life. You love us with an undying love.

You call us by name and bring us on a journey filled with wonder and amazement. In spite of the dangers and worries of this life, you challenge us to live in just, loving, and humble ways for the sake of the world you love.

When we fail to be the people you need us to be, you continue to draw us toward the light and life of your presence. You offer us grace to become new people, redeemed by the ministry of Christ, empowered by the Spirit of love, blessed by the gifts of Creation.

So as we gather around the table of grace this morning, seeking strength for the journey we are on, we raise our voices with all who have gone before us, with all creation, and with all the company of heaven, to sing your praises: (“Sanctus,” #2257-b in The Faith We Sing)

            Holy, holy, holy Lord; God of power and might.
            Heaven and earth are full of your glory.
            Hosanna in the highest! (3X)
            Blest is the one who come in the name of the Lord.
            Hosanna in the highest! (3X)

Holy God, you sent us your beloved Son Jesus, who identified fully with our humanity, taking on the same flesh we do, knowing the same grief we know in the losses and deaths that accompany life, suffering the same pain we suffer because of the grip of sin upon the world.

Jesus became one of us and one with us in life’s journey.

He welcomed all to the table of grace and gave these common elements of the earth and the vine in celebration of the great gifts of life and joy in the eternal kingdom.

Jesus took the bread, and having blessed it, he gave it to his friends, as he gives it to us today, saying, “This is my body broken for you.”

Jesus took the cup, raised it in blessing, and shared it with his friends, as he shares it with us today, saying, “This is my life poured out for you and for many for the forgiveness of sin. Whenever you receive these gifts of bread and wine remember me and remember the life that I offer you this day.”

O God—Mother, Father, Spirit, Christ—giver of all good gifts, hope for the weary, strength for the disheartened, peace for the grieving, mercy for the sinner, grace for us all, pour out your Holy Spirit upon us gathered here and upon these gifts. May they become for us the presence of Christ, in whom we find our life and our joy.

By your Spirit, make us one with Christ, one in communion with one another, one in solidarity with all who hunger for justice and righteousness, one in harmony with all creation.

Through your Son, our Savior, Jesus Christ, who lives with you and the Holy Spirit, all honor and glory be yours, loving God, now and forever. Amen.

Words (c) 2009 Mark Lloyd Richardson
Photo (c) 2012 Dallis Day Richardson
(Permission granted to use this prayer in worship with credit given.)

Holy Mystery, Three in One

30 Wednesday May 2012

Posted by mark lloyd richardson in Worship Liturgy

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

Call to Worship, Christ, God, HolySpirit, Mystery, Trinity, Worship liturgy

Here is a Call to Worship for use on Trinity Sunday:

One: God is the music in our souls,

All: touching deep chords within us,

One: soothing our weary hearts,

All: connecting us with the melody of life.

One: The Spirit breathes grace through our world,

All: helping us to forgive one another,

One: convincing us that we are God’s own,

All: praying for us when we have lost all words.

One: Christ invites us into a full and generous life,

All: a compassionate and affirming life,

One: a life abounding in joy and peace,

All: a life that never loses sight of eternity.

One: Come, Holy Mystery, Three in One, and meet us here.

All: Come, and we will know true worship.

Words (c) 2008 Mark Lloyd Richardson
(Permission to use in worship with credit given.)

A Psalm for a Spring Day

25 Friday May 2012

Posted by mark lloyd richardson in Uncategorized

≈ 10 Comments

Tags

creation, hope, peace, praise, Psalm, spring

How lovely is your dwelling place,
Lord of heaven and earth.

The flowers bloom in your gracious Light,
The trees spread their branches in praise!
Even the sparrow finds a home
At the altar of your spacious Care.

My heart delights in your Presence!
My soul sings of your eternal Glory!

You are my Guide through each day,
The Fountain of my persistent hope,
The Ever-flowing Stream of peace,
The Source of this amazing life!

How lovely is your dwelling place,
Lord of all that is and ever will be.

Words (c)2012 Mark Lloyd Richardson

20120525-181542.jpg

The Prayer of Jesus

22 Tuesday May 2012

Posted by mark lloyd richardson in Prayers

≈ 13 Comments

Tags

Blessings, forgiveness, God's Realm, Grand Tetons, Lord's Prayer, prayer, Sacred story, Strength to love, Wyoming

A paraphrase of the Lord’s Prayer

God of sacred story,
your light shines in all creation,
your name is music to our ears.

We look for the coming of your Realm,
when all your people will live in peace.

We pray for your aims to be accomplished
in places close to home and far away.

Provide us with food and drink for this day.

Give us forgiving hearts toward one another,
even as we have known your mercy toward us.

Keep us from hoarding your blessings,
and save us from the lure of evil all around us.

For you invite us into your Realm,
where we find the strength to love,
and the hope of your glory for all time.  Amen.

Words (c) 2004 Mark Lloyd Richardson
Photo (c) 2009 Dallis Day Richardson (Oxbow Bend River, Grand Tetons, Wyoming)

Be the Blessing

21 Monday May 2012

Posted by mark lloyd richardson in Reflections

≈ 19 Comments

Tags

Ascension of Jesus, blessing, Christian faith, Easter, Jesus, Least of these

Jesus said, “I am sending upon you what my Father promised; so stay here in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high.” Then he led them out as far as Bethany, and, lifting up his hands, he blessed them. While he was blessing them, he withdrew from them and was carried up into heaven. ~ Luke 24:49-51

This is the Gospel account of the ascension of Jesus, which is celebrated in Christian tradition late in the Easter season. I find meaning in this story in that Jesus’ blessing happens in the midst of his letting go of the very ones he loves – his friends who seek to know and honor God through their lives.

The truth is, Jesus blessed people from all walks of life. He blessed the sick, the young, the hungry, the forgotten, the stranger, the oppressed, and the vulnerable of this world.

Jesus blessed the earth and all it creatures by living into the fullness of the Creator God, the One who knows when even a tiny sparrow falls to the earth.

Jesus blessed the Samaritan, the Jew, and the Gentile. Jesus blessed male and female, young and old, poor and rich.

Isn’t it strange that the Christian faith has so often been used to draw lines between the ones who are “In” and the ones who are “Out?”

Isn’t it strange that Jesus’ life was all about showing people the way to God, and yet so many people use Jesus as an excuse to tell others where they are going wrong?

Jesus blessed “the least of these,” our sisters and brothers. He didn’t ask qualifying questions first, like, what church do you attend, or what are your political views, or do you abide by all the commandments. He didn’t ask about income, education, marital status, or sexuality.

Jesus spread God’s blessing around like there was no tomorrow! He brought healing to broken bodies. He offered forgiveness to dispirited people. He fed the hungry, prayed for the sick and dying, and demonstrated through his very life that God loves us and wants to create God’s Realm within us and through us!

Wouldn’t it be great if people of all faiths embraced the universality of God’s blessing?

Wouldn’t it be great if we understood that God’s blessing is not restricted to any one spiritual path or religion, and that God is God and we are not?

Wouldn’t it be great if our first thought each morning was to imagine where God was calling us to be a blessing through our words and deeds that day?

Then we would see the beginnings of the peaceful Reigning of God on earth!

Words (c) 2012 Mark Lloyd Richardson

My Beautiful One

17 Thursday May 2012

Posted by mark lloyd richardson in Poems

≈ 25 Comments

Tags

beauty, love poetry, marriage, relationship, risk, Romance, San Luis Obispo, sweetness of life

Nine years ago today, Dallis and I stood on the back deck of Al and Catherine Topp’s home in Los Osos, California, surrounded by family and a few close friends, and said “I Do” to one another. Each of us had been married once before, and we grasped the enormity of getting a second chance with one another.

Mark & Dallis Richardson wedding dayWe first met a couple of years earlier when her mother was hospitalized and I went to make a pastoral visit (this is a whole other story with a few interesting details that may need to be told some other time). It was more than a year after this hospital visit that we went to see a movie together (“A Beautiful Mind”) in San Luis Obispo and ended up falling in love! Within a few weeks of this first date I wrote the poem below – the first of many love poems I have written for Dallis.

Bluffs at Montana de Oro State Park

My Beautiful One

In these green hills beauty speaks its radiance
in lustrous grasses draped in dew,
in calm shade of oak and pine,
in sunlight dancing amid the shadows…
speaking, speaking for the world’s delight.

In these wild bluffs beauty risks its heart
in thunderous crash of breaking waves,
in plunging cliffs of sculptured rock,
in enormity echoing amid the sameness…
risking, risking for the world’s repair.

In these soft meadows beauty plays its aria
in mellow throat songs of nightingale,
in whispering breezes off the sea,
in sweetness rising amid the sadness…
playing, playing for the world’s pleasure.

You, my love, my beautiful one,
are the spoken radiance,
the heart’s risk,
the playful aria for me.

Happy anniversary to my beautiful one, whose presence makes life sweet!

Words (c) 2002 Mark Lloyd Richardson
Photos (c) 2003, 2010 Dallis Day Richardson

In Tune with the Song

16 Wednesday May 2012

Posted by mark lloyd richardson in Sermon portions

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

Christian life, faith, First Epistle of John, Great commandments, Music, Rob Bell, Song of life, spirit

Our experience of faith changes as we move through life. It changes as our understanding deepens and allows for more paradox in the fabric of faith. It changes as our eyes are opened to the truly bewildering gift life is and the astonishing lack of control we have over it.

In First John we read: “By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and obey his commandments. For the love of God is this, that we obey his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome, for whatever is born of God conquers the world. And this is the victory that conquers the world, our faith.” (5:2-4)

God-inspired love reaches well beyond our comfort zones and natural boundaries to enable us to greet each person as an image of the Creator. Such love begins in simple obedience to the great commandments – loving God with all our hearts, souls, minds, and strength, and loving others as we love ourselves.

A few years ago Dallis and I stood in solidarity with a congregation that had publicly stated its inclusive stance toward all people, and was targeted by a hate-filled person as a result. Their pastor later visited him in county jail to tell him that the people of the church were willing to forgive. Sometimes love is not a happy feeling but rather a difficult choice to obey God’s commandment.

The Danish philosopher Soren Kierkegaard observed, “Christianity is not a doctrine to be taught, but a life to be lived.” Christ teaches us a new way to live, not all bottled up in our self-interest or personal comfort, but moving beyond ourselves to make a difference.

Nicole, a colleague of mine who recently launched a house church with four families, wrote a blog post about the experience of their first gathering. They began by viewing a teaching video by Rob Bell that makes a connection between the Christian life and music, suggesting that following God is about “being in tune with the song.”

Nicole writes, “Most all of us can connect to the idea that when we think of God we hear a song and following God is about learning to be in tune with the song. Jesus shows us what this looks like and following him through living as he did enables us to hear the song and be in tune with the song….

“This is especially important to me because over the years I have been struck by how often people will say they don’t know enough about God or the Bible and will discount their experience of faith, believing that without all the knowledge and background their faith and walk with God is less valid….

“Yet with music, all can enjoy the song…. Everyone can participate in the music and have a valid and real experience of it…. The faith journey is about learning to let go and hear the song, love the song, and live into the song as our text for the night says (John 4: 24, The Message): ‘God is sheer being itself – Spirit. Those who worship him must do it out of their very being, their spirits, their true selves, in adoration’” [Nicole Reilly, “House Church Reflection 051112,” othermodels.wordpress.com].

As followers of Jesus we pattern our lives after Christ. Our faith does not mean that we don’t meet opposition or trouble in our lives. Rather the Spirit of this Christ accompanies us even when we face challenges. As we listen faithfully and lovingly to the God who gives us new birth into a living hope we receive the strength to overcome.

When troubles come my way, it helps me to remember that God is at the Center. Then I sense the Spirit that is present in my breathing, the Light that refuses to go out in the darkness, the Beauty that bursts forth in unexpected places, the Love that holds me when I most need it, the Song that sings itself within me! I place my trust in these truths and it gives me courage.

Words (c) 2012 Mark Lloyd Richardson (from this past Sunday’s sermon)
Photos (c) 2012 Dallis Day Richardson

If You Knew

14 Monday May 2012

Posted by mark lloyd richardson in Poems

≈ 22 Comments

Tags

children, gift of life, life, Morro Bay, nature

Sunset at Morro Bay, CaliforniaIf You Knew

how many colors the sky can become,
how many birds wait to dazzle you in flight,
how many deer run the lonely hills behind you,
how many trails are left to explore,
how many songs remain to be sung,
how many children walk this earth afraid,
how many days you have left to live,
would you live differently?

Words (c) 2007 Mark Lloyd Richardson
Photo (c) 2012 Dallis Day Richardson (Morro Bay, California)

This Wondrous Life

12 Saturday May 2012

Posted by mark lloyd richardson in Poems

≈ 8 Comments

Tags

being human, God's creation, Guadalupe-Nipomo Dunes, love of life, Oso Flaco Lake, surprise endings, unanswered questions

Oso Flaco Lake TrailTo be in love with this wondrous life
is to know that nothing is as it seems
there are no predictable outcomes
only complicated plots and surprise endings
you don’t know how long it will last
where you are you never expected to be
what you do you are surprised to be doing
even the person you are becoming
continues to amaze you
because you didn’t realize
all the feelings it is possible to feel
all the thoughts it is possible to think
all the puzzles that remain unsolved
all the questions that linger unanswered
all the places that pass by unexplored.

Words (c) 2007 Mark Lloyd Richardson
Photo (c) 2010 Dallis Day Richardson
(Oso Flaco Lake Trail in the Guadalupe-Nipomo Dunes)

Conversations by the Water Fountain

09 Wednesday May 2012

Posted by mark lloyd richardson in Reflections

≈ 12 Comments

Tags

Birds, Fountain, I Feel Good, James Brown, Water

In my blogging collaboration with my wife Dallis, usually what happens is that I write something and pass it along to her to see if she has photos to accompany my writing. She has a lot of photos, and the natural world and its creatures are among her favorite subjects.

With this post, the process is reversed. Dallis gave me a photo of some birds camped out at the fountain in our backyard, and my job was to write something.

But I need your help. What do you think? Option A, B, or C? Cast your vote in the comment section below! You might even say why.

Garden fountain

Note: In the imaginary conversations below, little bird’s words are in italics!

Option A

“Isn’t water just the greatest?”

“It sure is! It’s so refreshing! It’s the most wonderful thing in the whole wide world! I’m so happy the inside people installed this outside bath just for us.”

“Me too!”

 (Cue James Brown singing, “I Feel Good!”)

Option B

“You know what I find amazing?”

“What’s that?”

“They can make a sky that goes on forever and ever, with hundreds of thousands of trees and branches for perching, but they can’t make a decent size bird pool! Simply amazing!”

Option C

“You see, little one, this is how the world works – bigger is better, might makes right, survival of the strongest, all that!”

“But this fountain is big enough for both of us.”

“No it isn’t. I like to spread out and move around. I like to marvel at the magnificence of myself! And I can’t do that with you hanging around. So, go find your own fountain.”

“But…”

“BEAT IT … NOW!”

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