Come, follow me – August 11
Today’s Readings: AM Psalm 101, 109:1-4(5-19)20-30; PM Psalm 119:121-144
2 Samuel 14:21-33; Acts 21:15-26; Mark 10:17-31
“And here we offer and present unto thee, O Lord, our selves, our souls and bodies, to be a reasonable, holy, and living sacrifice unto thee; humbly beseeching thee that we, and all others who shall be partakers of this Holy Communion, may worthily receive the most precious Body and Blood of thy Son Jesus Christ, be filled with thy grace and heavenly benediction, and made one body with him, that he may dwell in us, and we in him.” (Book of Common Prayer, page 336)
These words from the Eucharistic Prayer, Rite I, were rolling through my head this morning. This portion of the Eucharistic Prayer is called the prayer of oblation. Engrained in my memory from childhood, the poetic nature of the prayer’s phrasing captures me. Even now, I find myself pouring over the words again: “We offer and present unto thee, O Lord, our selves, our souls and bodies”. Our selves, our souls and bodies. I am struck by how the words flow so smoothly in spoken word, and then I feel a bit stuck pondering how hard this is to do, to present our whole selves before God.
What does offering my life to God mean? Honestly, I get overwhelmed in imagining the totality of this question. I have to slow down, reel myself back in, and be present in the moment. Offering my life to God means first being centered upon God’s law and God’s love through the gift of Jesus. Becky+ explored this in her reflection yesterday.
A host of other questions bubble up about presenting my whole life to God. What are the implications for this? And, does God really want what I have to offer? There is some stuff in there I am not too pleased with. If I give my life to God, what about others in my life – will I have to sacrifice those relationships to belong solely to God?
This reflection will not address each of these swirling, sweeping questions. What I will point our hearts and minds toward is the gospel reading from Mark 10. Jesus is about to head out on another trip and a guy runs up and kneels in front of Jesus. Breathless, the man asks, “What must I do to inherit eternal life?” Jesus responds like this, “You know the commandments: ‘You shall not murder; You shall not commit adultery; You shall not steal; You shall not bear false witness; You shall not defraud; Honor your father and mother.’ ”
The man nods and says to Jesus, “Teacher, I have kept all these since my youth.”
Then, this beautiful thing happens that can get lost in the scripture, as it is subtle. After Jesus cites the law and the man assents to following these laws, Jesus gazes at the man and loves him. I imagine Jesus smiling at him with tender care and feeling warmth in his chest as he beholds the gleam of this beloved child of God. Perhaps he even reaches out a hand and touches the man on the shoulder. Jesus then speaks lovingly and honestly, “You lack one thing; go, sell what you own, and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me.”
Jesus asks the man to offer his whole life – his self, his soul and body. When the man hears Jesus’ words and realizes how hard this would be, he is shocked and goes away grieving, for we are told he has many possessions.
While during Sunday worship we usually use Rite II language for Holy Eucharist, I commend to you the prayer of oblation from our Episcopal tradition. Meditate on those words to God, in which we corporately offer all of our selves, all of our souls, and all of our bodies as a sacrifice to the Lord. We do this – we make this gift to God – not to be disposed of or set aside, but rather to “be filled with [God’s] grace and heavenly benediction” and joined in unity with God – that God may dwell in us, and we in God.
Friends, this life in Christianity is a wild journey. I do not always understand it. I am grateful that Jesus lovingly looks upon us as we fret and speaks truth to us. And I pray that the Holy Spirit continues empowering us to offer ourselves to God each day.
Katherine+
Questions for Reflection
What does offering your life to God mean? What are the obstacles? What are the helps that keep you on track?
What would wisdom and truth would Jesus tell you?
Daily Challenge
Set aside about 12 minutes to listen to Brother Mark Brown from the Society of St. John the Evangelist, preaching on the prayer of oblation from a speaker series in 2010.