Before Jesus....

Advent3A, St. Martin’s Episcopal Church, Moses Lake, December 11, 2022, by Sr. Annette Fricke Before Jesus, there was a very long line of prophets. I cannot tell you why the appointed gospels of Advent this year did not begin with the genealogy presented in the gospel of Matthew or that it in no way follows the chronological order of Matthew. The first Sunday in Advent was from Matthew 24, last Sunday was from Matthew 3 and today, it is from Matthew 11. The setting in today’s gospel is that John has been jailed. If we were the Jewish people of Jesus’ day, we would have a certain perspective. We would be the people who are looking for the promised Messiah of God. How do we recognize the Messiah? What is the concrete evidence that the Messiah is finally here? The Jews looked for signs. What makes a true prophet as opposed to false prophets? What makes the Messiah as opposed to false Messiahs? For prophets, if most of the prophesies come true, they are considered a true prophet. But if the people have never seen the Messiah, only prophets, how can they determine that Jesus is the Messiah when there are others also claiming to be the Messiah? From other sources, we know that there were others stating they were the Messiah at the time. However, those followers died out. Was it something they said or did that helped make the decision to follow Jesus? What makes Jesus stand out? “Jesus, are you the one who is to come, or should we look for another?” How can we know for certain? Can we know for certain? These answers that Jesus gave was enough for many to become his disciples: “Tell John what you see and hear. The blind can now see, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, the poor have good news brought to them.” And we are going to add on to this another for the beatitudes, “And blessed is anyone who takes no offense at me.” There is our clue, our starting point. We are to be in conversation with those who don’t take offense at Jesus. At our baptisms, we are to let our lights so shine before others that they may see our good works and glorify God in heaven. John preached in the wilderness about Jesus. At the in-person convention before this one, it was decided that the diocesan theme was “setting a table in the wilderness.” That theme served the diocese well through COVID. Like many people during that time, most of us didn’t really dress up to go anywhere and avoided going places. John, a prophet in a long line of prophets did not look like anything special either—probably wore itchy clothes, old sandals that were falling apart and ate locusts and honey because they were handy. We also do not need to be dressed a certain way to get others interested in Jesus. John is a good role model because he is being himself, not trying to impress the crowd, but giving them the answers they need, and keeps pointing them to Jesus. Now that John is in prison, it’s time for Jesus to take his place as the Messiah, the one who is not only close to God, but is God—both God and human so that he can bridge the gap between humanity and God. Jesus is saying to us, get on with it, go out from the wilderness and make disciples who love God enough to truly care about others. As our baptismal vows state, “Let your light so shine before others that they may see your good works and glorify God who is in heaven.” Where do you see Jesus at work today? Tell what you see and hear. The blind can now see, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, the poor have good news brought to them through us, his disciples. Go out from the wilderness and make disciples---make a difference to those who are seeking to find the Messiah and tell them, “The Messiah is here!”

Today Salvation has come to Your House

Proper26C, October 30, 2022, St. Martin’s Episcopal Church by Sr. Annette Fricke, OPA This is a rare set of lessons because Proper 26 is almost the most Sundays in ordinary time after Pentecost and before Christ the King Sunday. When was the last time you heard a sermon on Zacchaeus? But I bet most of you know the song about Zacchaeus. It does tell the story of Zacchaeus, well, the first part. And if you don’t know the Zacchaeus song, I can teach it to you. Just don’t ask me for the hand movements because I don’t remember them. Except for the obvious (to me) children’s song associated with this gospel lesson, another children’s song comes to mind. This gospel lesson takes place in Jericho. The song “Joshua fought the battle of Jericho” is now resonating in my mind as I ponder this text. Who was Joshua? He was an Old Testament prophet, the one who came to be a leader after Moses died. Jericho has a history, a history of being destroyed. Joshua fought the battle of Jericho and won. By contrast, the sycamore tree thought to be the one that Zacchaeus climbed to see Jesus still stands in the city center of Jericho. It is thought to be 2,000 years old. The sycamore tree has a sturdy trunk and low spreading branches, making it ideal for climbing. The tree was tall and strong. As a short man, he probably figured out many ways to overcome obstacles like not being able to see the person speaking to a crowd. He came to both hear and see Jesus. The crowd did not like him because he was a tax collector, the chief tax collector, and as with many tax collectors, thought to be asking for more than what he was to collect and keeping the rest for himself. Tax collectors are not listed in Hymn 293. But remember also that Matthew was a tax collector before following Jesus. To back up just a bit into the previous chapter, in verse 24, Jesus said, “How hard it is for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God!” The crowd now is accusing Jesus of going to be a guest in the house of a sinner! Is it any different today? Do we not still judge others by our own personal standards? Are there certain classes of people we consider to be sinners as opposed to us? On a previous candidacy test taken by me was a question that asked, “Does anyone consider you to be a stuffed shirt?” I had no idea what that meant. Coming from a background of small town/farming community, my idea of a stuffed shirt was a scarecrow. Many of us still struggle with trying to relate to people who are different from us. The point is, Zacchaeus was thought to be a sinner simply because he was a tax collector and a rich man. Yet despite what the crowd thought, not only did he want to see Jesus, Jesus in fact, recognized him. In the previous chapter, Jesus said to “sell all you have, distribute the money to the poor.” The man turned away sad. But Zacchaeus responded by giving away half his possessions and said if he has defrauded anyone, he will pay back four times the amount. Jesus responds, “Today salvation has come to this house.” This means that his whole household has been blessed and Zacchaeus has been deemed a child of Abraham. Maybe we should add tax collectors to the lyrics of Hymn 293. When we bless others with what we give, we, in return are also blessed. We may not have as much to give as Zacchaeus, but we do have some to give. We sometimes need reminding that God is inclusive of all people, not just certain groups. God loves all people, every one of us, adults and children, the poor, the short and the tall, those medically compromised. All of God’s people have a seat at the table.

The Ethics of God

Proper17 St. Martin’s Episcopal Church, by Sr. Annette Fricke, OP, The Ethics of God Luke is the gospel that often puts Jesus in the setting of a meal. Feeding people is important. Feeding everyone is important, both the feeding out on the grass and the more formal meals with those of importance in the community. A meal with important people is where Jesus is in this gospel lesson. Perhaps we should think of God as the one who provides food, invites others to a heavenly banquet. By now not only do the disciples know that Jesus sometimes bucks tradition, so do all the people with whom Jesus interacts. At first glance, this piece of Luke looks like a lesson in etiquette.[1] Etiquette, as you know concerns the seating chart. And of course, there are the placement of silverware, cups, glasses, napkins and who sits at the head of the table. Usually, it is the host who sits at the head of the table. If in a king or queen’s court, people are seated in line of importance of position in the palace. In the Jewish society of the time, apparently that mattered because the host decided where each person sat and gave the best seats to those who were considered the most esteemed and most deserving of honor. Jesus has decided to take this opportunity as a teaching moment. He brings up seating arrangements which have been in place since at least the writing of Genesis. In Old Testament times the Israelites sat at table;[2] and in the order of their dignity or seniority [3]. We also know that double and five-fold portions were given to distinguished guests. Food was given to the poor, but it was less and sometimes just crumbs.[4] In the backdrop of the Old Testament where a banquet is a frequent emblem of heavenly happiness,[5] Jesus brings us a vision of the kingdom of God that is the reverse of his day’s wedding feast. His day’s wedding feast is also a reflection of how many people of that day and age lived their lives. Basically, he is saying to them that they are focusing on the wrong things. If a tradition is not all inclusive where people are treated with equal dignity and respect, it needs to change. Luke, throughout his book continuously informs us from start to finish that Jesus turns societal norms upside down. Jesus says that we should not be honoring the powerful, but those who have nothing and are considered nothing in society. We should be honoring the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind. Also, of concern are those who have grown up in dysfunctional families of abuse and neglect, whose chance for normal relationships is severely compromised. Is the gospel lesson just about proper etiquette? Absolutely not. As Dietrich Bonhoeffer has written, “Your ‘yes’ to God requires your ‘no’ to all injustice, to all evil, to all lies, to all oppression and violation of the weak and poor…” “The ethic of God is honoring others above yourself, embodying God’s generosity. We are to be the ethics of God. We may be tempted to take a seat not meant for us, even though it is clearly marked at the place setting. We have seen that in the movies how someone will disguise themselves or obtain the ID of the person they are pretending to be. But there is one thing to keep in mind, in God’s kingdom, we are all God’s children and our role as God’s children is to invite and make friends with those we don’t know, those who have severe mental illnesses, those who may have a criminal background, take a healthcare job or work as a prison guard, feed the hungry who for some reason are not able to obtain food for themselves at this time, be a friend to someone who doesn’t seem to have a friend. We live in a transactional culture where giving expects a return. Yet Jesus talks about generosity. But the reward is being in a place where all are honored. Assessing worth is eliminated. Disregard questions of worthiness to be where you are---I did this and I did that, I earned my spot. When Luke talks about releasing the captives, we are all captives. We are captives especially to our own way of thinking, when we engage in comparing ourselves to others, and when we somehow think we are superior to another person. The truth is all of us are good at something. We all have something to offer the people of our communities and of the world. Remember that we are a role model to other people whether we know it or not. [1] Working Preacher for Proper17C August 28, 2022 [2] I Samuel 16:11 [3] Genesis 43:33 [4]http://www.biblehistory.com/links.php?cat=39&sub=413&cat_name=Manners+%26+Customs&subcat_name=Banquets+and+Feasts [5] Isaiah 25:6; Luke 14:15; Revelation 19:9

Lord, Teach us to Pray

Proper12C July 24, 2022, St. Martin’s Episcopal Church, Moses Lake, WA by Sr. Annette Fricke, OPA If you’re looking for a source to learn about prayer, Luke and its sequel Acts are the perfect primers. There are more references to prayer than either Matthew, Mark, or John. By the way, coming in dead last, there are only 29 references to prayer in John. Luke has 63. In that 63, Luke has 12 unique verses and 3 unique stories. Out of those 3 unique stories, the compilers of the lectionary chose for this Sunday, The Friend at Midnight. The Lord's prayer is found in just 2 of the 4 gospels. The form we use is taken from Matthew. Matthew begins the prayer with Our Father in heaven in English translation, in Greek, Our Father in the heavens. That’s right, it is plural as in more than one heaven. The change from plural heavens to just one heaven is found in a body of early Christian teachings called the Didache. In Luke, it simply begins, “Our Father.” Remember that the time in which these words were uttered by Jesus in Aramaic, then translated into Greek was a patriarchal society. Also remember the image of God as a “hen gathering her chicks” points to God being like a mother as well. We only have the comparison of what we experience ourselves and the images and traits ascribed to God by the experience of those disciples who have gone before us. God is like a hen gathering her chickens. God gives guidance on how to live our lives. God, through the Holy Spirit calls, gathers and enlightens the church, the baptized and probably others as well of which we are unaware. We are the recipients of God's grace, a grace made available to all. We are children of the living God. Note the structure of the 10 commandments. The first commandments are regarding our relationship with God. The rest is about how we treat each other. The 10 commandments are summarized by Jesus “You shall love the Lord, your God with all your heart, with all your mind, and with all your strength and your neighbor as yourself. “. That is how the Our Father or the Lord's Prayer is also structured. Praying that prayer is saying to God, we want to be part of God’s kingdom! We also want to be baptized and participate in the Eucharist to be a part of God’s kingdom. And yet, the kingdom is not such a good analogy either. It suggests a world of kings and conquering which is quite the opposite of the image of a loving Father who listens to his children, helping them along each moment of life troubles and pleasures. But this is how it has been handed on to us, so much unchanged that nearly every funeral of a Christian burial, or memorial will have all reciting the Lord’s Prayer and Psalm 23 word for word. Listen and you will observe that these are both ingrained in the hearts and souls of those who learned them from childhood. We ought to be thanking Luke for taking the time to further explain who God is and what it means to be in prayer with God. “On one hand, we don’t have to be” concerned about approaching God “properly” by saying our prayers “with the right words or at the right time.” We can be bold and shameless in our requests to God at any time.” Because “the man’s request isn’t just for himself, but for his late-night-visiting friends, that he might properly care for their needs.” This “story [then] suggests that there is a similar friendship between God and us – we can approach God as a friend.” If we are interested in doing God’s will, we can approach God on the intimate level of a friend who will go out of the way to meet the needs of another friend. God does not need our prayers but invites us to enter that relationship whenever and with whatever we choose, and God will hear us. God also invites us to be persistent in our prayers. We should not give up on each other. We should not give up on God. After all, God does not give up on us.

Jesus' Urgent Call to Discipleship/3PentecostCProper8

A bit of background may be in order here. Remember that the Romans were very much in charge at the time of Jesus. Israel was not the dominant culture and Samaria was just a small Jewish community descended from only 3 tribes of Israel. Jesus thought it important to unite Judaism, not just Gentiles, but all people. God’s grace and generosity are to be made available to all. It is evident from Luke's writing that eventually, the early disciples did go to many places preaching the gospel. But that is not the case in today’s lesson. Luke begins his gospel with Jesus’ ministry in Jerusalem at the temple, moves to his ministry in Galilee, then back to Jerusalem. This gospel passage takes a dramatic turn in the story. This is not so much a geographical turn, but a theological one. Note the indicator which is in there twice for emphasis: ‘Jesus turned his face towards Jerusalem.’ This is an important statement indicating a new direction, again not so much geographical, but theological. Jesus is now on his way to the cross, no doubt about it, and Jesus is even more keenly aware of this than previously. He is tirelessly still trying to train his disciples in evangelism and discipleship. And once again, they are not received by the Samaritan villages and the disciples James and John again put their foots in their mouths. Surely by now they get it, but nope. They don’t get it. Jesus makes it very clear that he does not want them to call down fire from heaven as Elijah did. The kingdom of God is not about vengeance, but reconciliation. Just reading this part of the narrative, we know for sure that Jesus probably had a few more things to say than what was recorded here. I’ll bet he was deeply concerned about what would happen after his ascension and the disciples no longer had his physical presence to guide them every time they messed up. Indeed, the Church has messed up throughout history—burning so-called heretics at the stake, war against the Turks, Catholics killing Protestants and the other way around, Native Americans being forced to learn English and quit speaking their native language by Catholic schools, antisemitism, and a few other isms. And if we were to go out of our usual way to meet with others and tell them about Jesus, how would we do it? Would we be able to do it? And if we did and were rejected, what would we do next? How would we incorporate new Christians who responded positively into our congregation? What does it mean to be a disciple of Jesus Christ? From this reading, it is going out of one’s comfort zone, meeting people, talking about Jesus to strangers. It also means showing no judgments when others reject us. I suspect many of us struggle as much or more than the very human James and John. Those two seem to think well of themselves to the point where they ask Jesus to sit on his right and left in the kingdom of heaven. Jesus is probably thinking—they did not listen to me before, did they listen to what I was saying just now? There are multiple excuses listed as to why people do not want to follow Jesus. Jesus’ answer to this is straightforward, “Follow me.” “No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of heaven.” Jesus’ call to discipleship is one of commitment and urgency. It is a call that goes out to all people, including people who don’t look like us, who may have a different lifestyle than us, who may live a different culture from us. Most of all, it is important that we listen to each other including people we know and people we do not know. It is only by listening to each other that we will be able to communicate with each other and thereby become more effective in our ministry, our many ministries. We are called to be disciples of Jesus, to teach, to preach, to evangelize in whatever shape or form it may take. May we be open to God’s guidance in this mission every day. The coming of God’s kingdom is now. Now is the time to act. Just as the earlier disciples, we learn by doing. Jesus says, “Follow me.” Jesus is still here to guide us and give direction. Let us follow his lead.

Prayer before Sermon Composition

It is a fact that sermons don't just fall out of the sky nor are they found under a stone on our morning walks. The truth of the matter, each preacher has his/her own method of sermon preparation. I don't know a preacher who does not pray before composing a sermon, but then, I have never asked. I suppose there are many things that the seminary I attended many years ago leaves me in some ways at a place where I find myself at a loss. For example, what should I ask of God before writing and most important delivering a sermon? I write sermons, but my writing style is frequently not my delivery style. I hesitate. I want to make a sermon fresh, airy, with life and something that will not put a congregation to sleep. I want it to waken minds and hearts to enliven and activate a Christian life. This all began in Grade 4. I had a teacher who inspired me to write. She gave me the courage to believe in myself. We all need someone who inspires. With this in mind, I offer a prayer for sermon preparation. It is a highly edited form of St. Thomas Aquinas' prayer before study. Prayer before Sermon Composition True Source of light and wisdom, graciously let a ray of Your brilliance penetrate the darkness of my understanding. Give me a sharp sense of these scriptures and the ability to grasp them fundamentally. Grant to me what is needed to explain and express myself with thoroughness what you would have me say about these texts at this time. I want to make a sermon fresh, airy, with life and something that will not put a congregation to sleep. I want it to waken minds and hearts to enliven and activate a Christian life. Point out the beginning, direct the progress, and help in completion. through Christ our Lord. Amen. ---St. Thomas Aquinas/Annette Fricke

Paul was in prison how many times? 7EasterC, 052922, St. Martin's Episcopal Church, Moses Lake, WA

You who love the Lord, hate evil! If I could just be certain that God is speaking through this person or writer, then I might believe that this person is speaking the truth about God. Have you ever thought that way? Like maybe some version of that? When you study the scriptures, you hear things like, “The first five books of the Bible were written by Moses.” Really? Moses was alive at the creation of the world? That is what people believed for a very long amount of time including Jesus and to this day. But the truth is, that upon critical analysis, you will soon discover that there are many writers. “Most scholars agree(d) (now) that the five books of the Pentateuch—Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy—came from four sources: the Yahwist, the Elohist, the Deuteronomist and the Priestly source.” That has been determined by the style of the writing, the vocabulary used, all of the literary analyses we use today for anything “penned” by an author. Paul, for example, in the original Greek uses very long, complex sentences compared to other writings in the New Testament. I think his style shows up in our modern liturgy! Now that the subject of Paul has been mentioned, have you ever noticed how many times Paul has been imprisoned and why has it happened so many times? Clement of Rome, (one of the first popes) claims that Paul was seven times behind bars; Paul says simply that it was “far more imprisonments” than his rival apostles (2 Cor. 11:23). It has been suggested that the frequency of Paul’s imprisonment is not descriptive of a heroic political prisoner. It describes someone “poor, homeless, and of an ethnicity that marked him.” Paul “looked a lot like those who get overpoliced and thrown in jail today.” Furthermore, Paul is not following the Roman way of life, but Jewish customs which are not in line with that city’s ethnic values. Profiling by some police is still a real thing. If a person is in hoodie and sweatpants with holes and looking disheveled, that person should not cruise down a four-lane street in a brand-new car. The police will believe it is stolen. People I worked with in Pierce County will tell the same story if that person is black. So why is Paul imprisoned with his companion Silas this time? The story goes that a slave-girl was making money for her owners by fortune-telling. She was thought to be “possessed by a spirit of Python; she was a Pythoness. Python was the name of a snake which guarded the oracle of Delphi and was killed by the god Apollo. Apollo was a deity of the Greeks and Romans. “Python was used for ventriloquists” to utter “mysterious oracles which were believed to be the voice of Apollo.” Luke writes that Paul was annoyed. That seems to be an understatement. In fact, “Acts does not provide a significant rationale for Paul’s reaction. Perhaps the best we can argue is that the (slave) girl’s proclamation while true was also misleading in Paul’s eyes. That is, the ambiguities of her message, the source of her inspiration, and her role as a profitable fortuneteller corroded the full message Paul hoped to proclaim. If Paul was just annoyed, why didn’t he ignore her? The Greek word here actually means, “greatly annoyed.” As a Christian, Paul hates evil and decided something could be done. In Lukan style, Paul setting at liberty the slave girl who is oppressed. We also, can respond to the evil around us. Shootings of innocent children in our schools are evil and have been going on for far too long. We need to take action to address this situation. There are certainly several things we can do. And it is more than just praying about it, far more. Complacency is not an option. Complacency changes nothing. How we treat others matters and what we teach our children matters from the time they are born. If it takes laws and police to enforce what is fair, so be it. If it takes mental health interventions, we can help make it happen. Luke is spot on with his stated mission of the gospel: To set free those who are oppressed, to proclaim release to the captive. Justice must prevail and evil needs to be stamped out. We love the Lord by loving others. You who love the Lord, hate evil! Hate it enough to do something about it with me.

About Tabitha or do we mean Dorcas?

About Tabitha or do we mean Dorcas? The gift of new life, of eternal life, is the gift of the risen Christ. It is the promise of Jesus. It was true for Dorcas in Joppa. It was true for those “who have come out of the great ordeal” in the Revelation vision. It is true for us. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. Let’s begin with a little about Luke. Luke’s is the third gospel, but he also wrote the book of Acts. Unlike other gospel writers, he is the only one who writes both a gospel and an account of early ministry happening after Jesus’ resurrection and ascension. In Acts, he continues his style of placing stories of both prominent men and prominent women side by side. Today’s snippet from Acts is a story about Tabitha (otherwise known as Dorcas) which precedes the story about Cornelius. Furthermore, Luke is the only one who names a female disciple, and additionally, a female disciple whom he recognizes as one who is doing the work of a disciple of Jesus Christ. Tabitha is known to Peter and when he is called to come quickly, it appears that no questions are asked, and he comes. Their relationship, it appears, was one of mutual respect. Tabitha is a seamstress and sews clothing for the widows who are generally thought to be poor. She does this out of her own money. She is self-sacrificial. When she dies, the other widows of her group grieve much because, like Peter, they recognize her contribution to them. Peter helps them out because he cares about them. Peter responds, and when he gets there, he responds with compassion. Peter and his fellow disciples as well as the women believe in the power of prayer and the power of the Word. They have their own separate ministries as men and women, but they also interact. If you have studied the early church, you know that this is a long-standing pattern of ministry. In modern societal terms, categories of behaviors could be described as verboten, permissible, or “I should do what my conscience or best judgement tells me.” For those of you that don’t know what the word verboten means, it is a German word meaning forbidden. Societal norms often include a code of law that determines what behaviors are not acceptable. In this country, we have many layers of law at local, state, and federal levels. We have similar rules determined by the church also regarding what behaviors are not acceptable. Those rules can be more restrictive than that of society to assure appropriate behavior, mostly as it applies to adult behaviors. Next is permissible behavior. It is permissible if not encouraged to work towards the betterment of others according to both church and society. It is respectable to be polite, to show mutual respect to and for others. Permissible behavior is learning how to get along with others. Although as Christians we tend to think of “Do what your conscience tells you to do, use your best judgement” as being a rule of life, based, of course on scripture, there are times when we don’t take into account different age groups, those who work, those who are retired, men and women, divorced, children---or maybe we do, but can’t figure out a way to meet the needs of simply being supportive of each other, not just in times of crisis, but more often. It is important to provide for a support group. Activities, yes, but support for each other is paramount. We have new people in our midst, and we should welcome them. Now, nearly post-COVID, is a good time to re-group and consider how to incorporate what shape supporting each other will take. Consider being flexible and consider including in current groups and allowing for the formation of new groups. Remember most of all, it’s no so much the activity of meeting together, but getting to know each other and capitalizing on the support we can give each other in those activities. God works through us. It is the support that helps us grow as Christians, Christians who are called to go out into the world sharing the news that Jesus is alive and He is risen! Alleluia! *Connections, Year C, Volume 2, pp. 233-236. *New Proclamation Year C, Easter through Pentecost, 2004, p. 39. *Feasting on the Word, Year C Vol. 2, pp. 426-431. *Acts, Gerhard A. Krodel, pp. 184-186. *Connections, Year C, Volume 2, pp. 233-236. *New Proclamation Year C, Easter through Pentecost, 2004, p. 39. *Feasting on the Word, Year C Vol. 2, pp. 426-431. *Acts, Gerhard A. Krodel, pp. 184-186.

Prayer of loss of loved ones/PTSD for use on Episcopal/Anglican Rosary

Prayer of loss of loved ones/PTSD for use on Episcopal/Anglican Rosary The Cross: In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit Cruciform beads: Hear my prayer, O Lord; let my cry come to you. Do not hide your face from me in the day of my distress. Incline your ear to me; answer me speedily in the day when I call. The Weeks: 1. Forgive me for what I did not do to stop what may or may not have resulted in a different outcome. 2. Forgive me for being ashamed of my own actions and feelings, for continuing to hold onto the past. 3. Help me to deal with my present, living to the best of my ability regardless of my perceived rights and wrongdoings of my past. 4. Help me to be gracious to others as you have been gracious to us, not so much judging, but trying to understand several points of view. 5. Help me to realize that all lives are sacred in your sight and that you created us all in your image, to walk in your love. 6. Give me the strength I need to continue my life here on earth without those I loved so dearly in the past. 7. Heal my heart. Comfort me. Help me remember that all shall be well. Assure me of your continued guidance through this life. Invitatory Bead: The Lord’s Prayer Crucifix: All praise to you, God of heaven and earth. Psalm 102:1-2 NRSV, Annette Fricke