Prayer for Understanding
Source of Wisdom, still our minds in these moments of listening, so that we may be fully present and attuned to your life-giving Word this day. Amen.
Psalm 111
What do you think of when you hear the word acrostic?
This type of poem is written to describe a person or event using the letters of the name of that person or event
Often children in school are asked to write an acrostic using the letters of their own name
Or, maybe they write an acrostic using the letters of the words mother or father for Mother’s Day and Father’s Day cards
One well known acrostics was written in 1916
M Is for the Many things she gave me,
O Means only that she’s growing Old.
T Is for the Tears she shed to save me,
H Is for her Heart of purest gold.
E Is for her Eyes with love light shining,
R Means Right and Right she’ll always be.
Put them all together, They spell MOTHER.
A word that means the world to me.
The psalm we read today is an acrostic, but instead of using a word, the letters that are used to begin each line are the letters of the Hebrew alphabet, in order
The theme of the psalm is God
One source calls this psalm the ABCs of theology
Since the order in which the qualities of God are listed is dictated by the letters of the alphabet,
the qualities are in no particular order as far as importance or building upon the previous statement, as many theological works are structured
There are a variety of themes introduced
And Psalms 111 and 112 work together
They are the ABC’s of Theology and Anthropology
Psalm 111 tells us about God and 112 tells us about the human response to God
Like Psalm 111 Psalm 112 is also an alphabetic acrostic
They are each divided into 10 verses and to a large degree the statement that Psalm 111 makes about God has a corresponding statement about the human response to what God has done
Verse 1 says
Praise the Lord! I will give thanks to the Lord with my whole heart, in the company of the upright, in the congregation.
And in 112: 1 we read
Praise the Lord! Happy are those who fear the Lord, who greatly delight in his commandments.
111:4 says He has gained renown by his wonderful deeds; the Lord is gracious and merciful
112: 4 They rise in the darkness as a light for the upright, they are gracious, merciful and righteous.
The Lord has been shown to perform wonderful deeds that are gracious and merciful. The people of God who benefit from these wonderful deeds in turn are gracious, merciful and righteous to those around them
To know God is to have one’ s life improved.
This psalm that uses a creative device to draw our attention to what we know of God is the psalm that we read on the fourth Sunday in Epiphany
It is appropriate to read this psalm during the season of Epiphany
Epiphany is the season that we focus on who God has been revealed to be
We know that God has been revealed in the past
We have the record of scripture
We have the stories of what Jesus said and did, and we have the record of visions that were given to prophets in days of yore
We also believe and experience that revelation continues to happen
If we look to believers such as the Society of Friends or Quakers, we find that they affirm that
“Our most compelling message is that God is active among us, available to transform, guide, comfort, and minister to each one of us directly.”
They encourage people to
“Make a quiet place in your daily life for communion with God. Pray for those who are near to you as well as those who are distant. Worship as often as you can.”
 And further they say “Read the Bible, the writings of Friends, and all writings which reveal the ways of God.” (found at fgcquaker.org)
There are other ways that they give suggestion as to how to find the voice of God in one’s life so that it may be followed.
There is no lack of conviction in their practise
They, like the psalmist wait for the still small voice, knowing that if they seek the Lord that the Lord will be found.
During the season of Epiphany, we recognize the epiphany that led the magi from the east to come and find Jesus with his parents
We also recognize that epiphanies are still given
Some hear God in the silence and simplicity of a Society of Friends meeting
Others hear and experience God as Martin Luther King Jr did, as one who answers prayer and directs action
Dr King knew that God has created all people equally and desires us to be valued for the content of our character rather than the way we look
God speaks to those who are called into ministry, directing them to serve and help so that others may grow in faith
You may already know the following story of mine quite well, but it was an epiphany of my own and I ask you to bear with me as I tell it again
Sometimes God speaks to us through dreams or scripture
And sometimes God speaks through the voice of another
When our boys were quite young we lived in Brampton and attended North Bramalea Presbyterian Church.
At the time I was working at the Peel Literacy Guild, and from time to time the minister at North Bramalea would ask me to cover the preaching when he was away
As time went on it came to be that I covered pretty well all of the Sundays that he was away
Folks in the congregation would tell me that I should go into ministry full time, to which I would smile and say I didn’t think so
You see I had already served as a Diaconal Minister for five years, and that did not seem to be the way for me to use my gifts
The field of adult literacy seemed to be the place that God was calling me to be
And I was quite sure that when folks said I should go into preaching ministry full time they were just being nice
Then one week when I was preaching the organist, Louise, had her parents visiting
Louise and I were friends and she told me how my preaching had been received by her folks, her dad in particular
While Mr. and Mrs. Waldie were at lunch at Louise’s after church, Mr. Waldie said
“You know, I wouldn’t be surprised if after those boys of hers are grown up that she went into preaching full time.”
When I heard that I thought, “maybe that is what I am to do”
I looked into what was needed to take the special basic program for Diaconal Ministers to be ordained
I contacted the session and through them I was in touch with the presbytery
Things began to move in place, all because one Christian man was led to speak up and because I followed the leading of God
Epiphanies happen in a variety of ways
Thankfully, when the psalmist reflected upon what God had done in his life, he shared that epiphany in psalms 111 and 112
We have the usual proclamations about God’s might that inspire the psalmist to give thanks, to name God as great, to attribute honour and majesty to God, to remind the people of the covenant that God has given to the people
These are all strong and dependable characteristics of God, who is addressed as the Lord
Lord is considered to be a male title,
The strength of God in protecting the people and making a covenant are roles that would be played by men in the day that this psalm was written.
Then in verse 4 we are told that God is merciful
In the Hebrew language mercy has a female connotation as the following quote describes
“It is amazing that the emotion “mercy “or “compassion,” “ra-cha-min,” is derived from the name of the most motherly organ in the human body: the womb, “re-chem.”
This is where the strongest connection of compassion and love are bonded between the mother and the baby, respectively.
Men may need to learn this, but if you are a mother, no further words are necessary; you have experienced this compassion first hand.” (hebrew.jerusalmeprayerteam.org. Sept. 18, 2016)
God has all of the strength of a Lord and all of the compassion of a mother, so great is the love and protection that is given to the people by God
To a degree the love of God was depicted in the dependable kind of love that was shown in the actions of one mother
Donna Devereaux Copeland shared on Facebook that many years ago she was afraid on her first day of kindergarten
She was going to be left alone in a new place
She wondered how she would get home
Her mother knew that Donna needed more than words to reassure her
Donna’s mother put her wedding ring in Donna’s sock, so Donna had a reminder that her mother would be coming back to get her when kindergarten was finished for the day
By one symbolic act Donna’s mother reminded her of a dependable mother’s love.
Another of the truths of God is that God is both transcendent and imminent
The transcendence of God is shown in the power of his works
God has given the people a heritage, precepts or teachings, and a covenant
The history of the Israelites is the history of God’s planning and control in the best sense of the word
As the psalmist wrote, they had been given the teaching and wonderful deeds of God
They had been shown the power of God through the wonders of creation and of being guided through the wilderness to a new land
God had given them a covenant which proved that God was their protector and guide./
At the same time God is imminent
God is interested in such things as feeding the people and caring for them in the close and nurturing way that a mother would
God was a part of their lives and so they could praise God with their whole hearts
The ways God acts in this world are amazing
Sometimes God acts through powerful or famous men and women like Dr Martín Luther King and Mother Teresa
Sometimes God acts through the quietness of nature
Sometimes through the action of those who are not at all well known
In all cases, there is an epiphany
A call of God to get our attention and an invitation to respond
Scott Shaunfield shared the following story at the site “Inspiration Peak”
He is now a firefighter and paramedic in Houston Texas
When he was in school, he participated in an undergraduate internship with a hospital chaplain
Much of his time was spent visiting patients that were assigned to him
One night he went into the dark room of a patient who was inconsolable
Scott was at a loss as to what he should say or how to help this patient
The man was confused and wanted to share something, but couldn’t make himself understood
Scott stayed for a very short time and left feeling useless
The next time he was at the hospital he was to follow up on the people he had visited last, including this man
To his surprise, when he went in the room this time the light was on and the man was sitting up talking to his daughter
Scott was sure the man would not remember him
He introduced himself and said he didn’t expect that the patient would remember his last visit
To his surprise the man said, “I remember you. You were the angel that gave me hope in my darkest hour!”
Scott was certainly surprised because he felt that all he did was show up
He chose to take a lesson from that encounter, and to always try to be kind
He learned that you never know for sure what impact you may have, and to never lose an opportunity
Psalm 11 reminds us that God has been revealed and so we praise
God is full of honour and majesty, grace and mercy
And so, we as God’s people are gracious and merciful
In epiphany we celebrate God’s revelation and live as those who have seen God
Invitation to the Offering
Jesus’ ministry was often filled with challenge and choice. We face challenge and choice as we follow him in a new day and age. The invitation to give an offering week by week is a challenge. The gifts we choose to offer continue his ministry of healing and hope. Take the challenge and give as God has blessed you.
Prayer of Dedication
Lord Jesus, we bring our gifts to you, asking that you bless them so that they may accomplish more than we can ask or imagine in your name. Bless us, too, so that our lives speak of our choice to follow you, and our ministries offer the healing and hope you have offered us. Amen.
Prayers of Thanksgiving and Intercession
Holy God, Lord of heaven and earth, in you we live and move and have our being.
Your energy fills the cosmos and enlivens every cell of our bodies.
You are around us, within us and beyond us.
Thank you for the simple pleasures of each day, and for the strength to meet the challenges that arise.
When it feels like we have come to the end of our own resources,
replenish us with the energy of your Spirit so that we know you are there for us and with us.
In these strange times of isolation and distancing, we are grateful for prayer in its many forms,
for the intimate ways we can find communion with you: in word and in silence, in music and movement, in the Spirit’s breath within us.
Draw close to us when we are feeling frustration or fear in the days ahead,
and renew our spirits to continue serving you as best we can.
Hear us now as we pray for the earth, this precious and fragile home to all living things:
For declining species of plant and animal life (Hold a silence)
For the earth’s climate (Hold a silence)
For the oceans and the rainforests. (Hold a silence)
Teach us how to be more faithful stewards of your earth
and live more respectfully in your creation.
Hear us as we pray for the economy:
For those whose decisions shape it (Hold a silence)
For employers and business owners (Hold a silence)
For workers and those who cannot find work (Hold a silence)
For those who have lost their jobs and those whose businesses are at risk
(Hold a silence)
For all who seek economic justice, fairness and the common good,
And for those who struggle to discern what this means in a complex world.
(Hold a silence)
Teach us how to care for our neighbours in these days of economic uncertainty.
We pray for our own circle of family and friends.
Heal, bless, lead and encourage them.
Grant to each one the particular gifts needed this day
and lead them to a healthy, productive future. (Hold a silence)
We pray for neighbours and strangers in our community
who face struggles and sorrows as the pandemic stretches on. (Hold a silence)
Remind us that we belong to each other and to you
and help us respond to one another with compassion and kindness.
Finally, in silence, we bring to you the cares and hopes on our minds today.
(Hold a silence)
Thank you for hearing the prayers of every heart.
We join our prayers with all who follow Jesus as we pray the words he taught us:
The Lord’s Prayer