7th Sunday of Easter, June 4, 2000 “Series B”
Grace be unto you and peace, from God our Father and from our Lord, Jesus Christ. Amen.
Let us pray: Dear Heavenly Father, I can not come to you in prayer as eloquently as your Son has done for us, as reflected in our Gospel lesson. Yet as a pastor of your church, I too pray that our congregation might be so united with you, that we might live and act to reflect your love in a way that will enable others to experience of your Holy Spirit present in our lives, and to know the forgiveness that we have received, as a result of Christ’s death and resurrection.
Jesus asks you, his heavenly Father, the very Creator of this Universe, that we might be one with him, as he is one with you. I realize that this is the very foundation of his ministry, and yet, I sometimes wonder if we, his church, truly grasp and understand the importance of his prayer for us.
For to be one with Jesus, and to be one with you, not only assures us of your adoption of us as your own, not only assures us that we participate in Jesus’ victory over sin and death, but it also calls us to be at one with Jesus in his ministry, the ministry to which you sent him to this earth to accomplish.
By the power of your Holy Spirit, move among each of us here present, and inspire us to envision ways that we might reach out to others with the saving grace with which your Son reached out to those of his day. Help us to envision new avenues of ministry, so that we don’t just talk about the ills of our society, but actively invest our time and energy and resources to do something to meet the challenges of our day.
Help us to realize that we now stand at a crossroads in our ministry. For so long, our indebtedness has dictated what we can, and what we can not do. This reality has even taken its toll on all of us, including me. How much I had wanted to exercise creativity, become innovative, and reach out to provide new ways to enhance the faith of this congregation.
And yet, the reality of the situation was such that we couldn’t afford to do much more than we were presently doing. To be honest with you Lord, although I rejoice in the fact that our debt has been retired, I also pray for your continued guidance, that I might help to lead this congregation to become excited about carrying on your ministry.
Inspire us through your Holy Spirit, to seek new ways to become more dynamic in helping our youth grow in faith. I believe that your Spirit has led us to improve our confirmation program, but there is more to be done. With all of the pressures of this world that tug and pull at the faith of our youth, open our hearts and minds to find ways to support them.
Help us to realize that we might not be able to meet this challenge on our own, that we might need to engage others with special skills to assist us.
I have seen the enthusiasm and excitement that is generated in the lives of our youth at camp, and how quickly it dissipates when we return. I have seen the excitement that Shawn Smith was able to generate with his concert, and yet that was so long ago. I have heard of the success of youth programs in other parishes, which attract a multitude of youth.
Oh Lord, help us to become more dynamic in our ministry to our youth. Help us to envision developing such a program that will be exciting for them to attend, within the context of our own faith. And grant us the courage to see it through.
And dear Lord, enable us to envision new ways of supporting our parents to nurture their own faith, as well as assisting them to fulfill their vows to raise their children to affirm the faith of their baptism. To be a parent is an awesome responsibility, especially in this time, when so many outside influences in our world would undermine our parental leadership, as well as the fabric of the relationship between husbands and wives.
In his prayer, Oh Lord, Jesus asked that we not be taken out of the world, but that we might be protected from evil. He asked this of you through the assurance of having given us your word. Inspire us, Lord, to find new and exciting ways of proclaiming your word, that it might strengthen the bonds between husbands and wives, parents and children.
To this end, may our worship not only become more dynamic, but may we also seek to provide other activities that will increase fellowship and support among our families. For your word, oh Lord, is a dynamic word, which encounters us in a variety of ways and in a variety of activities. Grant us opportunity to bring families together in your presence, that we might come to grow in fellowship and support of each other.
And grant that we might find ever increasing ways to support our senior members to enjoy fellowship in your presence, and to share their faith and experience with others. Over the years, oh Lord, I have discovered the richness of your grace ever present in the lives of those who have lived their lives in faith. They have been an inspiration to me, as I myself have grown in faith.
Grant us your vision, oh Lord, to find new ways to support these persons of faith, and to encourage them to share their experiences in ways that create deeper faith in us all. I have heard of programs that pair youth preparing for confirmation with senior members of the congregation, in which relationships have been formed that deepen the faith, not only of the youth, but also the senior. Help us to discern ways in which we might also support our senior members and encourage their witness.
Oh God, Jesus prayed that we might be one, as he was one with you. So unite us through the power of your Holy Spirit, that we might embrace the ministry that you set before us. I do not claim to know all of the ways in which we might achieve this. I am only your humble servant, who seeks your guidance and trusts in you to help lead us to do what we are able, to further your kingdom. Grant me the courage and inspiration to do what I can, and the wisdom to realize my limitations and seek the expertise of others to do what I can not do.
And finally, Lord, Jesus prayed that you might sanctify us in the truth, that your word is truth. And then he assured you that he has sent us into the world, just as you had sent him into the world.
I echo his prayer, oh God. I pray that through your Holy Spirit, you would sanctify us as a congregation of your church. I pray that you would make us holy, as this term implies – not in the sense of being devoid of sin, but in the sense of being about the business to which you have consecrated us to carry forth.
Inspire in us a renewed sense of mission, centered in your word, which we might embrace with enthusiasm. Help us to realize that you have blessed us with this facility in order to use it to proclaim your word, to deepen the faith of each other, and to reach out to our community with your grace. Grant us a renewed vision of our purpose, which might unite us as a people dedicated to the ministry your Son initiated.
Where our vision is limited, open us to see new opportunity. Where we need help, grant us the courage to seek it. When we fail, grant us your forgiveness and the ability to try again. Never let us tire of embracing your ministry, as you never tire of embracing us with your grace. Protect us from the evil of this world, especially the evil of indifference and hopelessness. Rather, inspire us to care about making a difference in the lives of those around us, and grant us the means to do so.
Sanctify us Lord. Make us holy. Make us your church!
Amen.
