Dear Family of Love and God!
Happy Self-Care Saturday! Today was another long day down in Ontario California for Diocesan convention. Sometimes in life we find ourselves not knowing what to believe and and what to believe. How is belief different from faith? Believing is the one of those things and action words that causes us to seek out the tangible and faith causes us to seek out the intangible. When we believe something we are actively acknowledging the entire reality of something. For we Christian types in certain denominations we recite almost every Sunday the words of the Nicene Creed or at times of baptism and the daily office we say the words of the Apostle's creed they all start out with the words "I Believe" or "We Believe" For those of you who don't know what they look like here they are . Let us use these two creeds as the basis of our meditation tonight.
Let's start with the Apostle's Creed:
I believe in God, the Father almighty,
maker of heaven and earth;
And in Jesus Christ his only Son our Lord;
who was conceived by the Holy Ghost,
born of the Virgin Mary,
suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, dead, and buried.
He descended into hell.
The third day he rose again from the dead.
He ascended into heaven,
and sitteth on the right hand of God the Father almighty.
From thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Ghost,
the holy catholic Church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and the life everlasting. Amen.
Now let us turn to the The Nicene Creed
We believe in one God,
the Father, the Almighty,
maker of heaven and earth,
of all that is, seen and unseen.
We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ,
the only Son of God,
eternally begotten of the Father,
God from God, Light from Light,
true God from true God,
begotten, not made,
of one Being with the Father.
Through him all things were made.
For us and for our salvation
he came down from heaven:
by the power of the Holy Spirit
he became incarnate from the Virgin Mary,
and was made man.
For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate;
he suffered death and was buried.
On the third day he rose again
in accordance with the Scriptures;
he ascended into heaven
and is seated at the right hand of the Father.
He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead,
and his kingdom will have no end.
We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life,
who proceeds from the Father and the Son.
With the Father and the Son he is worshiped and glorified.
He has spoken through the Prophets.
We believe in one holy catholic and apostolic Church.
We acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins.
We look for the resurrection of the dead,
and the life of the world to come. Amen
Sometimes when I'm in church and I am leading or reciting these two creeds it is as if I am signing and agreeing to these sacred words that cement my faith in God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit. Sometimes we all have times when our beliefs are being challenged day after day and night after night because of events in either our lives or the conditions and situations in this fragile and broken world. We must learn that believing requires a great deal of letting go and letting God, Trust in God, and getting rid of all things that trigger our fear, hate, anxiety and anything that keeps us away from being in full relationship with God.
Today's #AdventWord is #Believe what is tomorrow's______________?
Let us light a candle and be at prayer:
God we pray that we may not only believe in you but the courage to believe in ourselves.
God we pray, for all of our family members who are feeling invisible right now. Help them to see how beautiful and loving we are.
God we pray, for the healing of all of our family members who are ill that their bodies, minds, and spirits may be returned to health and wholeness.
God we pray for peace in the world's war torn areas and that divisions may cease and that they may be united in heart and spirit.
God of our being help us to move from fear into faith as we tell our stories from our hearts. Help us to find the ways to be believed.
God of our being help us to listen to the stories of our family members without judgement and fear and listen with our heart's ears.
God of mercy help us to do justice, love, mercy and walk humbly with you and speak truth to power by sharing our stories of injustice, inequality, and invisibility.
God of all creation we pray for all living things in Your Cathedral of Life and that we begin to tell the story of the destruction of the resources on this Planet Earth Our Island Home.
God of all Goodness and love may we look into the mirror and see you with loving eyes, smiles, and tender glances. May we see your reflection in us and and in the eyes of our family members.
God help us when we waiver in our beliefs the courage to continue to seek you.
God we pray for ourselves and on behalf of our family members remembering especially________
Come Lord Jesus and accept our prayers in your most Holy Name. Amen.
Or these prayers may be said:
God of the lonely, lost, and disenfranchised we pray for all of our family members who are feeling invisible. May they be given courage to help effect change so that justice may roll down and everyone will have equality and human rights.
God of the lonely, lost, and disenfranchised, we pray for all of the least of these who will be spending the night in the cold and without shelter.
God of the lonely, lost, and disenfranchised, we pray for all people who are suffering with mental illness and those who care for them.
God of the lonely, lost , and disenfranchised, we pay that we may rise to help all of our family members who are in need.
God of the lonely, lost, and disenfranchised, take away all bitterness, strife, and division that infect our hearts that we may be loving, united, and steadfast in proclaiming liberty, justice, and peace to all.
God of the lonely, lost, and disenfranchised, we pray for all living things that they may be protected from harm and that we may become good stewards of God's Cathedral of life.
God of the lonely, lost, and disenfranchised, we pray that we all may have the courage to live authentically as our true selves without fear, violence, and abuse.
God of the lonely, lost, and disenfranchised, we pray for all refugees, undocumented immigrants, captives, political prisoners, victims of violence, abuse, terror, and human trafficking.
God of the lonely, lost, and disenfranchised, we pray for all children of the world that they may be protected from harm, abuse, and bullying. We pray for all of our orphaned family members may find loving and forever homes!
God of the lonely, lost, and disenfranchised, we pray for all of our LGBTQ family members that they may be afforded all human rights that that we may give them dignity and respect as Jesus did to all whom He came into contact with.
God of the lonely, lost, and disenfranchised, we offer our additional prayers and thanksgivings for ourselves and one behalf our all of our family members, remembering especially_____________
Jesus, our Redeemer, reconciler, healer and friend of the lonely, lost, and disenfranchised we pray these prayers in Your most Holy Name. Amen.
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Good Night Dear Ones! I love you and give thanks to God for you this day and always.
With love, joy, hope, and peace.
Sara
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