Email from Church of the Redeemer

Morning Devotion for the Season of Epiphany

February 5, 2024

Invitatory

I will give you as a light to the nations, that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son: and to the Holy Spirit: as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen.

Prayer for the Parish (BCP p. 817)

Almighty and everliving God, ruler of all things in heaven and earth, hear our prayers for this parish family. Strengthen the faithful, arouse the careless, and restore the penitent. Grant us all things necessary for our common life, and bring us all to be of one heart and mind within your holy Church; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Meditation - Winnie Smith

Yesterday was our parish Annual Meeting. I’ll admit, this isn’t necessarily the most exciting day of the year. But an annual meeting is important for church business: yesterday we elected four new Vestry members and thanked four outgoing members; we heard from some of our leaders, and we were able to reflect on the past year and look with hope to the coming one. Keeping up with the business of the Redeemer is vital for us to understand how we can and will move forward. Money matters, as do the varied ministries and the work done in our community. Thank you to all those who were present in Burns Hall yesterday for valuing this place, your fellow parishioners, and the work we are trying to do together.

The prayer copied above is one of the many occasional and specific prayers found in the back of our prayer book. This one is specifically for the parish, and it feels appropriate to pray following the Annual Meeting. “Strengthen the faithful, arouse the careless, and restore the penitent.” That covers a wide swath of the congregation, doesn’t it? Our faith - even that of the most faithful and committed Christians - can always be strengthened. The very nature of faith is that it is not certain, therefore it always holds room for more, or deeper, or clearer faith. And while many among us have strong faith, others might be simply going through the motions of worship and of belief. We need God’s help to “arouse the careless.” This prayer acknowledges that many who come to church are singing hymns and joining in prayers, but perhaps only on a surface level. We ask God to help them more deeply and fully appreciate these words and this act of worshiping together. We pray that God will “restore the penitent.” The word penitent seems off-putting because it implies wrongdoing and regret over behavior; it seems to force people into looking backwards rather than forwards. In reality, I hope that everyone is counted among “the penitent” at one time or another, that all think of their choices and acknowledge mistakes when they’re made. Penitent doesn’t have to mean woeful; it merely means accountable.

We are all at times faithful, careless, and penitent. The beauty of any parish community is that we come together as people with different backgrounds, interests, experiences of church and God, degrees of faith, and expectations of what church should be, but we are united by a desire to know God and one another. That is what the latter part of this prayer asks of God: “Grant us all things necessary for our common life, and bring us all to be of one heart and mind within your holy Church.” This doesn’t mean that we erase what makes us different, or that we strive for homogeneity. The prayers asks God to help us work together to love and serve Him and one another as the parish family we are. I hope we all take a moment to thank God for allowing us to be a part of this Redeemer family.

The Lord’s Prayer

Our Father, who art in heaven,

hallowed be thy Name,

thy kingdom come,

thy will be done,

on earth as it is in heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread.

And forgive us our trespasses,

as we forgive those

who trespass against us.

And lead us not into temptation,

but deliver us from evil.