This week’s prayer really resonated with me, and I wanted to share it:

Almighty God, whose Son our Savior Jesus Christ is the Light of the world: Grant that Your people, illumined by Your Word and Sacraments, may shine with the radiance of Christ’s glory, that He may be known, worshiped and obeyed to the ends of the earth; through Jesus Christ our Lord who, with You and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns, one God, now and forever. Amen.

Wow… shine with the light Christ’s glory.

Third Sunday after Pentecost:

Grant, O Lord, that the course of this world may be peaceably governed by Your providence; and that Your Church may joyfully serve You in confidence and serenity; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.  Amen.

This prayer has some of the greatest modifiers the Church could ever hope to pray for.  Imagine: us, Christ’s Body and Bride, His beloved people, … peaceably governed… joyfully serv[ing]… in confidence and serenity… Picture that Church!

That’s what the season of Pentecost is about.  A season to remind us Who is Boss, and for us to rest in that knowledge; for us to put down our swords and pick up our plowshares, and to, side by side, hand in hand, “joyfully serve”.

I have nothing to add to this; I just want to draw your attention to that picture, that unity, that… rightness.

Our pastor here in La Paz, the guy who, along with his wife has been kind enough to do an English-Speaking service for a few Americans, a couple of New Zealanders and a British missionary all these months, had a story to share about God’s peaceable governing and the strange way it sometimes looks.

Upon returning to Bolivia from the States about 13 years ago, their first child, a son, was stillborn.  In the aftermath, they waited for comfort and encouragement, but it didn’t seem like it was gonna come.  Many well-meaning people said the usual stupid things.

Then, one day, shortly before the funeral, the pastor sensed a tiny voice telling him, “Your son has fulfilled his ministry”.  This was, he thought, an outlandish thought; he hadn’t even had a chance to live, let alone minister!

But then, at the funeral, a man, a Baptist missionary, sat down beside him, put his arm around him…

… My friend the pastor thought another failed word of comfort was coming…

… And he said, “Your son has fulfilled his ministry.”  He got up, and rejoined the others at the funeral.

Then my pastor’s eyes were opened; he looked around and realized what this had meant: pastors from the community, who for years had fought over doctrinal non-essentials, and who never spoke or fellowshipped, were hugging, praying, weeping together.

The death of this precious child had brought them together.

I don’t know that God took the child, but I know He used the tragedy to create something new.  What happened was rather remarkable; this tragedy woke these clergy up to the realization that our petty squabbles, our doctrinal cold wars, our liberal or conservative fundamentalism, are blinding us to the things that really matter: bearing one another’s burdens, standing side by side, building up the Body of Christ.

Peaceably.  Joyfully.  In confidence and serenity.

Amen.

Collect for Trinity Sunday:

Almighty and everlasting God, You have given to us Your servants grace, by the confession of a true faith, to acknowledge the glory of the eternal Trinity, and in the power of Your divine Majesty to worship the Unity: Keep us steadfast in this faith and worship, and bring us at last to see You in Your one and eternal Glory, O Father; who with the Son and the Holy Spirit live and reign, one God, for ever and ever.  Amen.

Mike Mason, in the best marriage ever, The Mystery of Marriage, wrote that human love and marriage is a testimony to God as Trinity – an eternally loving community of Father, Son and Spirit.

That’s a great thing to ponder.

But, I’m not really going to reflect on the Trinity today (besides, Mike Mason’s thoughts above are worth a lifetime of thought and worship).  Since I was rather undisciplined last week, and didn’t write anything about Pentecost, I’m gonna backtrack and write about this season we have entered.  Read on.

Ahhh! The season of (most people say, “after”) Pentecost. A lot of people call it “ordinary time”. It is loooooong.  For those who, like me until four years ago, are unfamiliar with it, this season lasts from last Sunday until (this year) November 30, when Advent begins the new Christian year.  For people who don’t like ordinary things, “ordinary time” can be a real drag.

But all is not lost, brothers and sisters.  The reason this season is looooooong, from my humble observations and reading, is that it is the season of the Church’s life that represents the Church’s ministry to the world as we await the Advent, the coming return of Christ.  Christ’s Bride has been waiting, and working, hoping in the blessed assurance of His coming for over two thousand years.  Indeed, this season is long.

But it’s not – again, in my humble opinion – really all that ordinary!  It’s meant to be a time of vibrant ministry, of joyously and faithfully being Christ’s hands, feet, eyes, ears and voice in the world.

May this be the most un-ordinary of seasons for you!

For those of you who may not know, a collect (pronounced with the emphasis on the first syllable) is an ancient prayer of the church. As I go through the daily offices (regular times of prayer), I have the joy of praying these along with millions of other Christians world-wide.

This week’s collect just rocks:

Blessed Father, who caused all holy Scriptures to be written for our learning: Grant us so to hear them, read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest them, that we may embrace and ever hold fast the blessed hope of everlasting life, which You have given us in our Savior Jesus Christ; who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

What a passion for God’s word is ingrained in that prayer! The desire (that we should all have) of reading, marking, learning and (most awesome of all) digesting God’s very words brings such a powerful word-picture to my head. The writer of this prayer nailed it. And it makes the same desire rise up in me; I hope it does that to you, too!