6.9.24 Prayers of Church & Community, Westminster Presbyterian Church, Pasadena, CA

 Prayers of Church & Community, June 9, 2024

Westminster Presbyterian Church

Tiger Lilly, Monte Vista Grove

In the quiet of this moment, O God,

We catch our breath and regain our balance.

In this place, Dear God, we discover ourselves all over again … who we are in your eyes … we learn of your will and we learn of your purpose … your kindly ways … the ways to which you call us … that we might lead good lives, lives for the sake of Christ, lives of generosity and kindness, lives filled with wisdom and grace.

Here in this place, O God, we learn the realities of life … the pain and sorrow of others, the hurt we’ve experienced … the hurt we’ve done to others … here, in this place of light and love, we see the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth … the good and the bad, the worst of it, and the best of it, where we have failed and fallen, where we have risen to the occasion and fulfilled the high calling of Christ.

We pray for our nation, O God … we pray our leaders … we pray for our President and his family, we pray for the members of Congress and their constituents, we pray for the judiciary and those stand before them … in all regards, dear God, may the common good be the center-point of concern, may justice and liberty for all be the guiding light, may peace be sought, may peace be secured, may our children be safe.

Holy God, Eternal Light, we pray for ourselves … we need your guiding light, we need your mercy and your love … our mortal flesh needs your eternal glory to fulfill its purpose and complete its tasks … our souls need your goodness, your grace, that we might dream the dreams of your creation, dream the dreams of Christ on the road, dream the dreams of the Risen Christ, to give life to the world around us.

We pray for loved ones and friends … we pray for the family and friends of Terry Flach … may your great love, O God, be their guide and comfort in the valley of the the Shadow of Death.

Bless Westminster, we pray, in its quest for a new minister … bless our present moment, that faith, hope, and love would fill this place to overflowing … that all who enter its doors will enjoy the goodness of Christ, find a place of welcome and friendship and affirmation - a place to heal, a home in which to spiritually thrive and emotionally gain strength …  

We remember D Day, O God, the beginning of the end of fascism’s death-grip on Europe … the militarism that terrorized the Pacific … we commemorate the memory of tens of thousands of men and women who carried the torch of freedom, who did what was necessary, in distant lands and faraway places. 

All of this, In the name of our LORD Jesus Christ who taught us to pray, saying:

Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy Kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors; and lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory, forever. Amen. 

Planning the Attack

Most of you know I love to cook ... and this morning, I began planning a menu for Tuesday night, 7 friends ...

I'll not divulge what foods I'm looking at, but on the planning itself - checking out recipe after recipe, YouTube, Cooks Illustrated, prepping some veggies, ok, like fresh fennel bulb ... and then this and that, and so forth.

I felt like a conductor ... but, then, I've never been a conductor, so what do I know?

But, then, maybe a field marshal ... but I've never done that either.

Oh well ...

First this, and then that ... maybe, maybe not ... add a bit? ... will that merge well? garnish with oh yeah yum yum ... and we're off and running.

I love to cook ... it's relaxing and energizing ... and while I can defer to things I know well, ever so often a challenging new recipe is good for the soul.

And when it's ready, to bring the plated food to the table, join the guests, and say bon appetite. I never take a bite myself, until I've seen my guests take their first bites - I watch carefully ... and listen, too ... a shake of the head, Mmm or yum, and "O gosh, this is really good" ... and my day is complete. Sometimes the food ain't so great - oh well ... friendship yet covers a multitude of sins.

Some things always work ... some things need some work ... but cooking for friends is one of my life's great delights. It's an art form, it's never ever finished, there's always something more to learn, an improvement to be made, an ingredient to be added, or left out ... but the smile of friends around a table, a drink or two, and laughter ... and the soul is happy and content.

Theological Friendships

I have some friends, and mostly we see eye-to-eye on the issues of life.

But that hasn't always been the case.

I've had good friends who stood in a place quite different than I did. Most of those friendships were brief, but some have endured for years.

I've tried to think through what those enduring friendships have been like, and why they endured in spite of differing takes on things.

In some respects, we simply liked each other, and respected each other's integrity - that we worked at hard at what we believed, and we sought to live our lives faithfully in and through the love of Christ.

And while we might kid the daylights out of one another, our conversations were marked with a lot of listening and "I understand your point of view a little more clearly now."

I've learned that it's possible to understand someone's point of view and still not agree, but it's harder to vilify someone when you understand and respect them.

In terms of my friendships, understanding and respect came from a lot of early-morning breakfasts with ham and eggs and lots of coffee. "Okay, I'll see ya' again in two weeks." And looking back, humor played a huge roll as well - jokes and banter were as important as the ham and eggs.

In reality, I think such friendships are rare. Mostly, we hang around with those who stand in our corner. Makes sense. We like those who like what we like.

But Jesus reminds us that such friendship, or love, is no big deal. What's really a big deal is "loving our enemies."

I think Jesus chooses the word "enemy" to make something clear to us - that love can be far and beyond similarities and commonalities, and that such love is deeply ethical in how we view and treat one another.

I hold my convictions firmly - I guess that's what makes them convictions. But I've enjoyed the honest criticism of others who hold their convictions with equal firmness. But when we "love our enemy," we refuse to make the final move - that "I'm right and you're wrong." A friendship of differing views can endure when we bow before the mystery of God's grace and love - that we're both servants of the Most High God, both driven by honest and Spirit-impelled motives. Though our instincts want to bring closure to the argument, "You're wrong; I'm right!", we refuse to make that final move.

And with that, I've enjoyed some remarkable friendships over the years.

But can this be translated into an entire denomination where practices are at stake?

Where the question of ordination is on the table?

To be or not to be?

There are sane and reasonable voices who yet champion more conversation and better listening.

And while that might make for interesting conversations over ham and eggs, it hardly helps us out of the impasse of practice - to ordain LGBT persons or not.

Yet others who say, "The time for listening is done. We have listened to one another, and we understand one another. We're just in different places."

My heart aches for my LGBT friends, and when someone (usually straight) suggests that we need more time, I usually think, "Well, that's easy for YOU to say."

I offer no answers here.

Anyone who has read my previous postings know that I'm short on answers for our current situation.

Local option?

Gracious separation?

While I might enjoy friendships with folks of other persuasions, and benefit from lively discussion, I'm still left, as they are, with the question of practice.

And that's the divide for the denomination.

As I see it.