Читать книгу Just in Time! Prayers for Lent and Holy Week - David N. Mosser - Страница 7

Simply put, this is chiefly a book of liturgical prayers for use in public worship by the community of faith. These prayers are for occasions of the Christian year when the church journeys thorough the darkest moments of the Jesus story as Jesus is on his way to the cross. These prayers not only prepare for the "shadow of death" times but also help believers anticipate the joy of Easter's promise. Lent begins on Ash Wednesday. For most churches the Lenten observance ends on Good Friday, although technically it extends through the Easter vigil or in some traditions Holy Saturday. In our worship experiences we reflect on the profundity of Jesus' passion and death, and anticipate his decisive resurrection. As we ponder these aspects of Jesus' humanity, we therefore consider our humanity too. Consequently Lent is the time of the liturgical year when Christians explore together what it means to be fully human.

As we observe human life reflected in modern culture, many individuals appear increasingly more disconnected and more privatized. If this is true, then public worship also may be on the wane, as are other modes of long-established community behavior. Perhaps an element of this individualistic tendency pertains to personal computers and cell phones that no doubt contribute to introverted behaviors not common thirty years ago. In other words, people today have multiple options from which to choose in order to disengage from community life.

Further, in terms of faith community, we regularly hear people suggest that they are "spiritual" but not "religious." Despite a spate of self-medicating spirituality that has run amok in our culture, there is a faithful and tradition-observing segment of our church culture that still believes not only in private but also deliberate public prayer. Abingdon Press's intention for this specific volume in the Just in Time! series is to provide resources for communal prayer for those who lead and participate in public worship during Lent and Holy Week. These forty days tend to be when the church is at its most self-reflective best.

In our fast-paced world most of us know what it is like to have too much to do and seemingly too little time in which to do it. It is often easy enough for us to let the most momentous parts of life slip by the wayside. Our fervent mantra is mañana, or tomorrow, as we who live near the United States' southern border are fond of saying. We will attend to these weighty matters and events tomorrow, or perhaps the day after that. But during the season of Lent we humans face questions about life and death that, in many respects, we cannot put off. Lent questions are not simply questions asked during Lent. Rather we ask Lent-type questions at the scene of an automobile accident, in the parlor of a funeral home, in an ambulance en route to the emergency room, or at the bedside of a stricken patient. These questions are ones that when they come cannot be put off!

Sometimes people have the spiritual gift of prayer. But whether prayer is our gift or not, we, like the disciples, each implore Jesus: "Lord, teach us to pray, as John taught his disciples" (Luke 11:1). We need to have models for prayer—especially at times when it is difficult for us to form our words to God and focus our attention on God. Yet, Lent is a time given to us for exactly this purpose. We learn to pray in the community as we prepare for the Lord's vindication. Lenten prayer is the crucible for authentic faith.

The prayers offered here as models aim for honesty and integrity before God. Few of these prayers are akin to a "wish list," but are rather sincere words addressed in concert with other worshipers who desire a deeper commitment to one another and to God. Recently I heard an unusual but earnest prayer. The prayer merely was this: "Dear Lord, help me be the kind of person my dog thinks I am. Amen." We have all heard many prayers, and my guess is that this prayer is about as honest as most people could ever muster. Honest prayer makes us open and vulnerable before God and God's mercy.

Accordingly God calls us to be most honest with ourselves and with the divine during the penitential season of Lent. In Lent we also worship ritually with our sisters and brothers in the faith. Many contemporary believers forget to appreciate that when a congregation prays together it shares in a centuries-old ritual. As we offer God our prayers, we reaffirm our bold belief that God hears the prayers of God's people. At times, no doubt, each of us has attended churches where we profoundly sensed the boldness and confidence of the people's prayers. The ritual of prayer is one way we enact our daring faith in God's providence.

In fact, the community of faith often welcomes the role of ritual in its worship life because regular worship is as important to us as the air we breathe. In John Wesley's sermon titled "The Great Privilege of those that are Born of God" he notes what he calls "spiritual respiration." Wesley writes that when a person is born of God, "born of the Spirit the . . . breath of God is immediately inspired, breathed into the new-born soul . . . prayer being the breath of every soul which is truly born of God. And by this new kind of spiritual respiration, spiritual life is not only sustained but increased day by day" (The Works of John Wesley, vol.1, sermon 19, edited by Albert C. Outler [Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1984], p. 434). Bold prayers reveal bold believers. Bold believers reveal God's persuasive witness in the world. In all of this the idea is that God breathes into our souls and then our act of breathing sends God's Spirit back out to the world. This is part of what ritual worship and prayer does for us—we breathe God in and out together as the household of faith.

Not only do our worship rituals allow us to breathe in the Spirit of God, but enacting ritual also orients us within our community's social structures. Whether the ritual is a handshake, the singing of an opening hymn, or the reciting of the Apostle's Creed, it helps us participate in community. Worship leaders, armed with the people's prayer concerns, facilitate ritual by offering sacrifices of prayer on the people's behalf. In Jesus we have a high priest who offers sacrifices for us (Hebrews 2:17–3:1). Lent is the time when we reflect most deeply on that atoning sacrifice of Jesus on our behalf. Yet we remember that Jesus did not sacrifice for his own sin, as he was "without sin." Hence, Jesus becomes our eternal high priest. Jesus intercedes for us and prays for us. In Jesus we can approach God's throne with courage because it is Jesus who offers a perfect sacrifice for us. Ritual reminds us about Jesus' place near God's throne of grace. As we pray together in Lent we remind ourselves that like the original disciples "we believers are all in the same boat."

I learned the importance of ritual in my first parish when I altered the order of worship slightly one Sunday morning. It seemed to me that the flow of worship would be better if I switched two of the worship elements. I never thought that anyone would notice because the change I enacted was ever so slight. Yet, after worship, several people commented on how uncomfortable the change had made them. Clearly, change is part of life. But, conversely, this experience helped me recognize that people take the order of worship much more to heart than I had assumed.

Paul, in writing about speaking in tongues, imparted something profound: "All things should be done decently and in order" (1 Corinthians 14:40). Long-standing rituals in social conventions and worship services supply a deep purpose. The purpose of ritual in worship is to invite people to the throne of grace. We now approach this throne with boldness because of Jesus our great High Priest. Worship is the time and the place where we come to the throne of grace.

During Lent our prayers may seem ritualistic. The reason for this circumstance is that during this high holy season of Lent, worship leaders guide people both emotionally and intellectually through difficult times by the use of familiar words and rituals. Leading congregations via familiar prayers and worship elements allows people to negotiate the deep value and meaning that Lent has for us as a season of spiritual preparation.

As you use this diminutive book for devotional purposes, or as you assemble worship materials, bulletins, and guides for people you lead in worship, may the depth of our faith be transparent as we honor God's holy name together. As Jesus walked the Lenten path toward his passion, may we also walk with him during Lent as his faithful followers and devout disciples.

David Neil Mosser

First United Methodist Church

Arlington, Texas 76011

18 June 2010—Saint Fortunatus ("the Philosopher") Feast Day