St. Paul’s Cycle of Prayer – Friday – Daughters of the King, Brotherhood of St. Andrew, Marthas, worship volunteers (acolytes, ushers and greeters, chalice bearers) and all over volunteer groups who work so tirelessly and joyfully for the Kingdom of God and the Body of Christ at St. Paul’s.

(click Prayer Instructions for links to Morning or Evening Prayer for today)

Who is your Nathan? After King David committed adultery with Bathsheba AND had her husband killed by sending him to the front lines and instructing the other men to leave him to battle on his own. It is such a shocking crime, especially for a “man after God’s own heart”. God sent Nathan, the prophet, to confront David, and he told David a story of a rich man taking a poor man’s last lamb to feed his guests. David was furious and demanded the rich man be punished by death, to which Nathan famously responds, “YOU are the man!”

A pretty brave message delivered by the prophet to the king. We all need a Nathan, someone who is unafraid to speak the truth to us, to hold up to the light of day when we have sinned and fallen short.

Who is your Nathan? Perhaps you need to give someone permission to hold you accountable, with no strings attached. Someone who will say, “you are the man (or woman)” to your face and live to tell about it.

St. Paul’s Cycle of Prayer – Thursday – The people of Bondeau, Haiti, especially Pere Phanord, the school teachers and medical clinic volunteers, for our Cursillo community.

(click Prayer Instructions for links to Morning or Evening Prayer for today)

On this Feast of the Transfiguration of Jesus, Paul’s 2nd letter to the church in Corinth (chapter 4) connects our faith and our role in the world and the spread of the gospel to that amazing event on the mountaintop where Jesus is joined by Elijah and Moses, shining with the glory of God:

5For we do not proclaim ourselves; we proclaim Jesus Christ as Lord and ourselves as your slaves for Jesus’ sake. 6For it is the God who said, ‘Let light shine out of darkness’, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

Proclaim Jesus y’all. Proclaim him as Lord. God has already overcome the darkness.

Wednesday – Paul’s Place after school program and the St. Paul’s Day School

36For what will it profit them to gain the whole world and forfeit their life? 

Says Jesus in today’s gospel reading from the gospel of Mark. As we prepare for our 2nd funeral in 3 days at St. Paul’s, I am once again reminded not only of our mortality, not only of our hope in Christ, but also of these words from Jesus which speak to the heart of how to live our lives in the days we are given. This same passage reminds us to take up our cross each day – for following Jesus is not always very easy. Yet the lure of “gaining the whole world” is real. 

The call of “the world” is insidiuous and infiltrates every decision we make if we let it. Jesus knew it was our greatest tempatation. So he reminds us: 35For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake, and for the sake of the gospel, will save it.

Lord, help me to lose my life for your sake, and for the sake of the gospel, this day and every day.

St. Paul’s Cycle of Prayer – Tuesday – Seekers and other Young Adults, those in our community who are unchurched, our community and those in need, especially Family Promise and CROS ministries

(click Prayer Instructions for links to Morning or Evening Prayer for today)

Having spent a wonderful weekend with my family as my brother was inducted into the MS Sports Hall of Fame, and great quality time with my grandson, these words from Psalm 78 stood out for me this morning:

⁵He gave his decrees to Jacob
and established a law for Israel, *
which he commanded them to teach their children;

⁶That the generations to come might know,
and the children yet unborn; *
that they in their turn might tell it to their children;

I have another grandchild who is yet unborn. This is a good reminder – teach our children so they in turn might pass it on. So….bring your kids to church!

Monday – Children, youth, and family ministries of St. Paul’s and those who teach and work with our youth. Our music program and choirs.

And, we pray, give us such an awareness of your mercies, that with truly thankful hearts we may show forth your praise, not only with our lips, but in our lives, by giving up our selves to your service, and by walking before you in holiness and righteousness all our days…

The above is taken from the General Thanksgiving which is usually said as part of Morning and Evening Prayer. What struck me this morning as I was praying was the phrase “give us such an awareness of your mercies”. As we move through life, with the ups and downs, struggles, challenges, joys, celebrations, may we always be acutely aware of the mercies of God, which leads us to have truly thankful hearts. This weekend was such a delightful time with family – all our kids and both sons-in-law, our new grandson, all my brothers and most of their families, and some good visit with my mom and dad were all special. And then I spent over 5 hours with my four brothers and our mom, just talking, catching up, harrassing one another, it was way fun. Driving back to my daughter’s house about 2 hours from my mother’s, I was giving thanks for the blessings of famliy. I was reminded, made more aware, of God’s mercies.