Tending Scattered Wool

How does one pray for all the stories and concerns that flood our way in today’s environment? Sometimes, we just don’t know how. We run out of words….

Here are some beautiful prayers from the Book of Common Prayer (ACNA 2019) that you might find helpful. I find them remindful – of the gospel reality that Father, Son, and Spirit are always present and at work and that he invites us to receive of his love and goodness by crying out to him in times of need.

Here are a a few examples:

50. FOR THE MEDICAL PROFESSIONS

Almighty God, whose blessed Son Jesus Christ went about doing good, and healing all manner of sickness and disease among the people: Continue in our hospitals his gracious work among us [especially in __________]; console and heal the sick; grant to the physicians, nurses, and assisting staff wisdom and skill, diligence and patience; prosper their work, O Lord, and send down your blessing upon all who serve the suffering; through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.

80. FOR TRUSTFULNESS IN TIMES OF WORRY AND ANXIETY

Most loving Father, you will us to give thanks for all things, to dread nothing but the loss of you, and to cast all our care on the One who cares for us. Preserve us from faithless fears and worldly anxieties, and grant that no clouds of this mortal life may hide from us the light of that love which is immortal, and which you have manifested unto us in your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.

82. FOR QUIET CONFIDENCE

O God of peace, who has taught us that in returning and rest we shall be saved, in quietness and in confidence shall be our strength: By the might of thy Spirit lift us, we pray to you, to your presence, where we may be still and know that you are God; through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.

95. IN TIMES OF SUFFERING OR WEAKNESS

Dear Lord and Savior Jesus Christ: I hold up all my weakness to your strength, my failure to your faithfulness, my sinfulness to your perfection, my loneliness to your compassion, my little pains to your great agony on the Cross. I pray that you will cleanse me, strengthen me, guide me, so that in all ways my life may be lived as you would have it lived, without cowardice and for you alone. Show me how to live in true humility, true contrition, and true love.  Amen.

I have attached a .pdf with a collection of such prayers for special occasions.

Occasional Prayers from the ACNA Book of Common Prayer 2019

You can download the entire BCP 2019 here for free.

May the Lord grant you peace and a deepening awareness of Him drawing all of your life into His love and care.

Grammar School

 A common response to being made aware of one’s short-comings or being faced with threat is to try harder. We double down. In the times of our greatest need, we are tempted to turn in on ourselves for resolve to overcome.

That is not a gospel response.

This is all too common of a response in life. Let me provide a typical example. When I read on spiritual growth, too often I am cast back upon myself. What does this look like? I (subject) walk away with a list of things I am to do (verb) that will cause God (object) to transform me…..or something like that.   That is not the gospel (this is actually a form of Pelagianism which teaches we can be and do better by our own efforts apart from God’s grace).

Back to gospel grammar school for me….

A Gospel Grammar*

A basic sentence has a subject, a verb and an object.

So what is a gospel grammar?

God is always the subject.

God’s redemptive activity is the verb.

All creation, human kind supremely, is the object.

This provides us our ingredients for a gospel orientation for our grammar:                       What God has done, is doing, and will do on behalf of all creation. Creation, including us, is in a receptive and responsive posture.

This grammar is crucial in our teaching, writing, story telling, and shepherding.

An Example of Gospel Grammar in Action

One of my colleagues found a wonderful, old (1970’s!) interview of James Torrence. The entire interview is 20+ minutes long. But fast forward to 17:30 and listen to the sweet story Torrence tells of caring for a man desperately in need. Torrence shepherds him to the reality of the Father, Son and Spirit and the gospel reality we are gathered into. Go ahead and take a moment to watch this short clip (it will open in a separate tab).

What a sweet story of pastoral kindness oriented around the gospel of our Lord! This story is also recorded as the opening of chapter 2 in his book Worship, Community and the Triune God of Grace (which is worth the read). Note how Torrence did not “throw the man back upon himself” in  his time of deep need and profound spiritual inability.  He related to the man from a Trinitarian, Christ-centered starting point. It is the gospel grammar in action. Beautiful. Torrence provides us a model for gospel orientation in caring for others. And to responding to ourselves in seasons of uncertainty (of which we find ourselves in today).

Shepherding with a Gospel Grammar

God is always previous.

He is there before we arrive. He has been working before we are aware of it.

He is always the subject. He is always acting on our behalf, on behalf of the entire world.

We are always being moved towards, invited in, wooed. Ours is always a response to his primary loving and faithful pursuit. Always.

Each of us knows others, even ourselves, who resemble the man on the beach.  How is Jesus graciously teaching you to not throw yourself back upon yourself with doubling down determination? How is he teaching you to not throw others back upon themselves in a time of need?

God invites us to rest in his provident care and reflect that in our pastoral-grammar to others and ourselves.

Take the gospel grammar test: Pay attention to how you order your statements over the coming weeks. I’d love to hear what you notice.

*Credit goes to Vicar Ken Robertson at International Anglican Church, Colorado Springs, CO for introducing me to this gospel orientational in one’s grammar.

Here is a list of some of my reads from 2019.

Please feel free to share and please share some of your recent favorite reads.

Peace

Scott

2019 Reads List

How does the gospel play into being conformed to the image of Christ? Are we conformed by our efforts of study and prayer and other works? If we fail, do we simply have to confess our failure then double down and try harder next time? What is God after in us anyway?

What Conformed is Not Primarily…
Conformed is not primarily about character, our behaviors. It involves this, but this is not what conformed to the image of Christ is primarily concerned with.

Conformed is also not primarily concerned with mission, what we do for God. Service to God and others is crucial, but it is not the first concern.

So what is the first concern?

Perfected in the Father’s Love (I John 4:7-19)
In a word, conformed is about relationship. We are perfected in the Father’s love.

Being conformed is primarily concerned with growing in the Father’s love in Christ. Communion first. Then comes the other elements mentioned above as corollary. As we grow in deeper communion, our character is radically changed. And we are immersed in his love, just as his Son was, we, also like his Son, willingly lay our lives down for his purposes. We sacrificially serve God and others. But first things first…

It’s not about trying harder. God is not impatiently waiting until we get our act together.

Attached is the recording of a plenary session given at the PTM Conference October 2019.  Take some time to listen to the session. I have also attached a .pdf of the slides that accompany the talk.

I’d love to hear your feedback. And feel free to pass it along to others.

Conformed PTM Plenary 2019