Change is Coming - July 12
Today’s Readings: AM Psalm 25; PM Psalm 9, 15; 1 Samuel 18:5-16,27b-30; Acts 11:19-30; Mark 1:29-45
Last night, I worshiped at our 5:00 p.m. Celtic service of Holy Eucharist. At that service, we have a number of alternative prayers, candles, and instrumental music, and lately, we have been using Eucharistic Prayer C from the Book of Common Prayer. Often referred to as the ‘Star Wars’ prayer, it draws attention to “the vast expanse of interstellar space, galaxies, suns, the planets in their courses, and this fragile earth, our island home.” It’s weird and earthy, and I love it.
But it’s not my favorite for those reasons. At the end of the Eucharistic Prayer is my absolute favorite few lines. We are commanded to “Open our eyes to see your hand at work in the world about us. Deliver us from the presumption of coming to this Table for solace only, and not for strength; for pardon only, and not for renewal. Let the grace of this Holy Communion make us one body, one spirit in Christ, that we may worthily serve the world in his name.” What a powerful way of communicating the hope and power of the Eucharist! We are coming to be renewed, strengthened, and changed! Yes, it is about sin and redemption, but it’s also about a lot more.
Here is the kicker: if we need to be renewed and strengthened, then there is something we all need that we don’t already have. The people who show up on Sunday are not complete without God’s grace and renewal. And the people who leave Sunday are better off than they were before they walked in.
In today’s Gospel, there is a lot of healing. Demons are cast out, people are cured, a leper is made clean. People’s lives are fundamentally changed. When people encounter Jesus, they are not the same people as before.
The power of the Gospel is that this same gift is what we experience each invitation to the table, to be healed, to be renewed, to be made clean, to be strengthened, and to be changed. In the words of Annie Dillard, ‘we are mixing up a batch of TNT.” You and I will be different when we walk out of the building. I think a more serious consideration should be if we are open and willing to that change?
If you have the option of going to Church this Sunday and you feel safe doing so, please do. If you can’t get to church and live in the Birmingham area, someone from Saint Stephen’s will bring you the Holy Eucharist (just let me know). And I’m praying that after those sacred moments, once again, life will never be the same. Isn’t that what believe? Or does it all hinge on an openness to believe that truth?
Change is coming, and it’s coming Sunday. Are you open to what could happen?
John+
Questions for Self-Reflection: Is the Holy Eucharist a part of your life of faith? What role does it play? How has the pandemic changed that practice for you? What has filled its place?
Daily Challenge: Spend some time with the four different Eucharistic Prayers in the Book of Common Prayer. On the sidebar click “the Holy Eucharist” and then click “Rite II.” Consider which language is most meaningful to you.