Prayers for Christ Church Eureka for the New Year (Reflection on 2018 for 2019)

This sermon was preached at Christ Episcopal Church in Eureka CA at the Christmas Lessons and Carols service on the First Sunday after Christmas, December 30, 2018.

On this penultimate day of 2018, I invite us to reflect on this year together, specifically what we have heard read from Scripture and preached from this pulpit throughout the year. Have you noticed a common theme or thread? Or perhaps a particular message that you found especially pertinent to you, your life or the life of this community?

Today, in the place of a homily I would like to briefly summarize several of my sermons by offering them as short prayers. I’ve preached over 50 sermons here so far, but don’t worry, I’m not going to offer 50 prayers. Instead, I will offer 18 short prayers as we remember 2018 and look towards 2019.

May the divine voice of love reign supreme in our hearts and may it silence those other voices of fear, anger and condemnation and may we find our authority in God’s healing love.

May we each find an ereymon topon, a personal place for prayerful silence and solitude where we can hear God’s voice and be renewed.

May we learn to let go of our presumptions and prejudice, may we practice deep listening and cultivate a discipline of daily silence so that we can see the Transfiguration taking place, every day, in each of us.

May we claim the blessings of the biblical covenants: the covenantal blessing of Noah, through whom God promised we will survive; the covenantal blessings of Abraham and Moses through whom God promised we will thrive; and the covenantal blessing of Christ through whom God gives us Himself in whom we ultimately abide.

May we learn to see and touch the Risen Christ who promises to be among us here whenever we gather in His Name.

May we see the divine method in the apparent madness of forgiveness.

May we remember and practice John Wesley’s three simple rules: “Do no harm, Do good and stay in love with God.”

May we celebrate the colorful diversity of the Holy Spirit who wants to sweep us up into the eternal circle dance of the Holy Trinity and who longs to make beautifully unique music through each of us, like wind through an organ pipe.

May we practice “giant sequoia patience” as we extend our roots deep and wide in the soil of prayer and Scripture so that we can continue to harvest a bounty of love beyond anything we can ever ask or imagine.

May we remain proud Americans in celebrating the core idea and value upon which our country was founded: the idea that all persons are created equal; that all people have been endowed by their Creator with the unalienable rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. May we remember that patriotism without criticism has no head while criticism without patriotism has no heart.

May we remain open to each other and be willing to have our hearts and minds changed.

May we live our lives like a river flows, carried by the surprise of its own unfolding.

May we move deeper into the ever-giving flow of divine generosity, like the Sea of Galilee that both gives and receives water as opposed to the Dead Sea which only receives water and becomes stagnant.

May we practice empathy like St. Francis the Deacon and discover our own unique calls to the diaconate, the servanthood of Christ.

May we carry on the 4,000-year-old ministry of Melchizedek, the royal priest who nourished Abraham with consecrated bread and wine and a blessing.

May we remember that we are Anglicans and not angels. And may we treasure in our hearts the angelic message that God enjoys going overboard in expressing how much he loves being with us and wants to bless us with heavenly peace and give birth to something beautiful through us.

May we be refreshed by the Word made flesh.

And finally, may we seek to glorify God, follow Jesus Christ, and serve all people through the power of the Holy Spirit. Amen.