A Prayer of Confession in Response to the Ninth Commandment

"Neither shall you bear false witness against your neighbor." (Deut 5:20) 

God of Justice, 

you have prescribed an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth

to punish false witnesses with the same punishment they wish 

to impose on those they malign and slander. 

 

Have mercy, O God! 

 

We confess the corruption of our human nature.

Condemning in others what we despise in ourselves,

we readily and thoughtlessly project onto our neighbors 

the evil we harbor within.

 

Quick to accuse, slow to confess,

eager to judge, reluctant to repent,

we say one thing and do another,

crafting a self-image that cannot withstand scrutiny

and will not be able to stand in the judgment.

 

Forgive our hypocrisy, O God. 

Forgive every careless and libelous word, 

every indulgence in gossip,

every smear, every slur, every disparagement of others.

 

Spirit of Truth,

you require honesty of your people

and love for our neighbors.

 

O give us courage 

to remove the logs and beams from our own eyes,

to think of others as better than ourselves, 

not only that we might avoid the punishment 

of the hypocrite and the false accuser,

but that we might embody the grace 

of the true Judge who refrains from judging,

and who bore the judgement for us in his death on the cross,

the Faithful and True Witness, 

your Son Jesus Christ

who taught us to pray, saying,

 

The Lord's Prayer

"Our Father, who art in heaven ..."

Hopeful developments

Set aside any personal feelings you may have about the interviewer, and note this hopeful development from a smart doctor putting two and two together.

The Good Confession

Released today, The Good Confession, a collection of twenty-one recent sermons and five short table rites for the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper.

  

Prayers of the People on National Day of Prayer (March 15, 2020)

God of peace, we pray for the world,

for all nations, from east to west, from north to south,

for all who are enlisted in the battle 

against disease and illness, pestilence and plague, flu and virus,

for all elected officials, administrators, 

researchers, scientists, epidemiologists, 

doctors, nurses, health care workers, 

including those caring for loved ones at home, 

and of course, we pray for the sick, especially the elderly, 

those in nursing homes, and those with underlying conditions 

and weak immune systems.

Grant your healing and protection to one and all.

We pray for workers asked to work from home, 

students whose schools are closed or who must now study from home,

for teachers who must now teach from home,

for those in need of groceries, household goods, and other supplies,

with no way to venture out. 

We pray for businesses and industries under financial stress, 

and hospitals, doctor's offices, and emergency rooms pressed to the limit.

We pray for first responders, law enforcement, 

security personnel, and our military, 

dealing not only with the day-to-day risks of their calling,

but who now must be wary of possible contagion.

We pray, O Lord, for this nation,

that in this trying time we might come together, 

not fleetingly, superficially, and opportunitistically, but enduringly

with a renewed sense of neighborliness, concern, and mutual regard, 

with a spirit of love and good will, 

with humility, gratitude, trust, and generosity,

and inspire your church to take an exemplary and winsome lead 

in so doing.

Lord, we pray for the just who know you, 

that you may guard and protect, your saints, 

heal and nurture your people of faith, 

that we might be a blessing and bearers of hope 

to one another, to our neighbors, 

and to this confused, declining, and dangerous world. 

Lord, we pray for the unjust, 

that you would guard and protect those who do not yet know you,

that you might appear to and call them as you know how best to do: 

through your Spirit at work in creation and culture, 

through your Word  at work in the church, 

through dreams and visions, by whatever means, 

that you would awaken them to your goodness in Jesus Christ, 

and usher them by the waters of baptism 

into your kingdom of grace, forgiveness, and eternal peace.

We pray for ... 

[Silence.]

And we pray for one another as people of prayer, called to prayer,

that each of us might draw nearer to you in faith, 

trusting in you to turn our petitions into concrete blessings 

for all those we name before you;

help us to model and practice the penitence and faith of your priestly people,

that you might heal this land, this nation, and this world 

far beyond our own finite reach. 

All this we ask in the name of Jesus,

who taught us to pray, saying, "Our Father ... " 

Amen.

Planning and leading worship when the size of gatherings need to be limited or when church is cancelled

A faculty colleague has asked about planning worship and preaching in light of the present CDC recommendations against holding large gatherings—yesterday we were asked not to gather in numbers greater than 50 people, today that number has been reduced to ten (10), an interesting number in light of the Jewish tradition that ten men and a Torah scroll was the threshhold for forming a synagogue.

Until I can respond more fully, I noted another colleague (in pastoral ministry) linked to this article at Hacking Christianity, which explains more of the technical side of things. I gather there will be a number of such logistical suggestions forthcoming and available, so I will not attempt to duplicate that effort. More to follow ... 

Read the actual Apocalypse and calm down

Everytime I run across a cute or quasi-clever neologism that hitches the suffix –ocalypse to some popular impulse to set everyone's hair on fire, I think: Now whoever came up with that very likely has never actually read the Book of Revelation or has not done so recently or seriously. The same is true of the Bible generally. What does panic indicate so clearly and accurately as someone who does not know the Bible, is unaquainted with the promises and the nature of God, and has no sense of the sheer goodness and grace of God and his desire that none should perish? Put another way, when you find that reading the actual Apocalypse (the Book of Revelation) has a calming effect on you, when you come away from it profoundly reassured, then you know you are the right track and you can also recognize that all the folks in panic mode over everything are, to put it kindly, not. 

This is good advice for seminary students, too

This article is good advice for seminary students, too, with just two needed amendments:

(1) In theological circles, what the author characterizes here as secondary literature, i.e. highly specialized academic journal articles from the last 20 years, is really more tertiary or quaternary at best, and thus even farther removed from the great books and essential authors that one should read, especially when one bears in mind that prayer is truly the primary theological discourse of the faith and scripture is its primary literature.

(2) His characterization of nearly all the literature required for a vocation or professional education is substitutable or replacable by the latest and most up-to-date practical resource. But, while this is certainly true of programmatic helps and how-to resources in the field of ministry, as well as in the latest trends in, say, progressive political theology and biblical hermeneutics, etc., there remains that body of great books: Augustine's Confessions, Calvin's Institutes, Kierkegaard's Christian Discourses and Sickness Unto Death, Bonhoeffer's Cost of Discipleship, are in no danger of ever being replaced. (I would like to think that one day Oecolampadius' Sermons on the First Epistle of John will be widely numbered among them.) Meanwhile, one thing the article makes clear is the requisite decision and resolution to slow down, actually read, and soak in the books and their ideas, and to do so on their own terms, giving them your firsthand engagement.

If I could add a third amendment, let it be this:

(3) Extrapolate and this reader's wisdom to life beyond college and seminary. Don't think it must be confined to that narrow "interim" between adolescence and adult responsiibility. This is one of the open secrets and blessings, often overlooked, of the pastoral office, or (as it should be called), the pastor's study. If you understand and structure your pastoral rule of life aright and take pains to communicate it to your congregation (so that they and your staff help you protect it), then you will find you are actually paid and expected to not just read scan the latest articles on techniques for ministry, but to dive deep into and inhabit the most important and essential texts of the Christian faith. It begins with daily reading of scripture, of course. But more on this in a forthcoming piece. 

Before you assume you know where all your parishioners stand on public issues

... some of the latest numbers from Gallup. Just a snapshot of the nation at present, but it's good to stay on top of such things before you jump to conclusions.