Prayers

When the Tempter Quotes Scripture

/ Rev. Eric Anderson / Leave a comment

tentaciones_de_cristo_botticelliThis poem was written as part of a sermon (of the same title) delivered at Church of the Holy Cross UCC in Hilo, Hawai’i, on March 5, 2017.

Did a quaking pulse accompany
You to the Temple’s zenith, Jesus?
With the Tempter?
Did your sandals slip or grip the cedar of the ridge?
Did your mortal soul take hold, just for a moment,
To protest:
“Tempter, you have lifted me too high”?

Ah, now you hear the words of sweet assurance:
“On their hands the messengers of God
Will bear you up,
No bruise will mar your angel-guarded feet
As gently they regain the comfort
Of the ground.”

Across the ages, words of Psalmist’s faith.
And did they challenge You to step, to leap,
To dive toward ground?
For just a moment, did you fail to see
The test it posed to God, and see instead a test
Of your own faith?

We know your story’s ending, Jesus,
How you deflected Tempter’s texts
And Tempter’s taunts
How you refused to put God to the test,
How you refused the bread and realms which were
In truth, your own.

We know this story’s end was the beginning,
Taking your unbruised feet to Galilee,
Samaria,
Jerusalem and Bethany and to the courts of Pilate
Where those feet were bruised and pierced by nails
For love
Of
Us.

Christmas Prayer 2016

/ Rev. Eric Anderson / Leave a comment

img_1767When Christmas falls on Sunday, it’s not just any service. It’s not just any Sunday service, and it’s also not just any Christmas service. Though every worship experience should connect with the heart and soul, Christmas truly demands it, and it also demands that we step outside the “usual” – since God did precisely that by coming to Earth in Jesus.

Thus this song, which was the pastoral prayer this morning. Mele Kalikimaka – Merry Christmas!

[Chorus]
Come to us, Christ Child
With the wailings of a newborn
Interrupt our sleep with an infant’s shrill demands.
Let us clothe your flailing arms with hope for all tomorrows.
Let us feed your hungers for deep peace around the world.
Let our arms enfold with the tender love of mother.
Let us sing a lullaby of joy
As our Christmas prayer:
As our Christmas prayer.

Your family fled from Herod
So we pray for refugees
May the ones oppressed by rage and fear
Soon shout that they are free.
You were given gifts by magi
So we pray we might be wise.
When we turn away from suffering
Redirect our eyes.

[Chorus]

As you grew from child to teacher
So we pray for all to learn
The depth of your compassion
And the love for which we yearn.
From your first hours in the manger
To your triumph over the grave,
Give us hope and confidence
You were born on Earth to save!

[Chorus]

Let us sing a lullaby of joy
As our Christmas prayer,
As our Christmas prayer,
As our Christmas prayer

A Musical Prayer

/ Rev. Eric Anderson / Leave a comment

On November 13, 2016, Church of the Holy Cross UCC celebrated “Sing Praise Sunday,” a service with very little speaking and plenty of music. Children sang, the choirs sang, the people sang (their favorite hymns, so they sang right out!), and the pastor couldn’t quite see speaking a pastoral prayer, so, there was this:

 

Here are the lyrics:

Creator God be with us.
Send us rain and shine upon us all.
In steadfast love incline our hearts to justice.
Raise us when our weary spirits fall.
Raise us when our weary spirits fall.

Savior Christ be with us.
Heal all those suffer, those who sigh.
Forgive us when we serve ourselves, not justice.
Raise us to eternal life on high.
Raise us to eternal life on high.

(Chorus)

God, hear our prayer.
Christ, hear our prayer.
Holy Spirit, hear our prayer.
Bring your grace
To your world.

Holy Spirit be with us.
Guide us as we find our way.
Fill us with the fire of your compassion.
Inspire your children as we pray.
Inspire your children as we pray.

(Chorus, repeat third verse)

A Sliver of Shale

/ Rev. Eric Anderson / Leave a comment
A sliver of shale and Johann Sebastian Bach

A sliver of shale and Johann Sebastian Bach

A sliver of shale
(at least, I think it’s shale),
A ceramic flower,
A vial of sand,
A thank-you plaque,
A pen which bears the likeness
Of Johann Sebastian Bach,
And coffee mugs which range
From “Failte (welcome)”
On to “Pastor”
With scarce a pause
At “Music Dude”;

Photos on the wall,
One hanging in a keychain:

These are
The tributaries
Of memory, O God.

May I ever feel the love
With which they passed
From others’ hands
To mine.

May I ever know the love
They represent
Is echoed, doubled,
Amplified a thousandfold
In You.

Amen.

October Morning

/ Rev. Eric Anderson / Leave a comment

October morning

The rays of light, streaming from the azure dome
Of heaven set aglow the diamond frost
Upon the green or topaz stems of grass,
The pearls of mist that rise above
The sleeping surface of the river,
The scarlets and the saffrons that adorn
The soaring limbs upon the trees:
Invitation to adore the Author of such wonder.

And later, worship’s hymns a-fading,
Lowering clouds release a few brief crystals,
Barely visible descending from the sky,
Argent briefly resting on a surface, then
A luminescent globe for just a moment,
Before the liquid water vanishes
Into the insubstantial air.
The glory of New England in October!

A Tuesday Morning’s Dialogue of Twitter Prayers

/ Rev. Eric Anderson / 1 Comment
 
This series of brief prayers was born on Twitter in an impromptu conversation between the amazing Rachel Hackenberg and myself. When I saw the first one, it sparked the second, and to my delight she replied with the third. For a few minutes, as we each prepared ourselves for the day, we exchanged these poems 140 characters at a time.

She has very kindly given me permission to collect and publish them here. But make sure to visit RachelHackenberg.com regularly and benefit from her words and wisdom!

Rev. Hackenberg’s poems are indented to the left; mine to the right.
 
If a star can shine
beyond its extinction,
surely I can manage
to rise and shine
through my weariness.
 
Help, God.
 
 
 
If the tiny monarch’s
Cloak of salmon and sable
Can float it across the miles
Perhaps even I can fly. 
 
Help me, God.
 
 
 
If a song can sway the air
and pierce the heart until
the trees dream of love,
maybe I too can dance. 
 
Help me, God.
 
 
 
If an insubstantial thought
Can leap the miles
Flutter the heart 
Open the eyes
Maybe even I can hope. 
 
Help me, God.
 
 
 
And if there is hope,
then at last the moon
can sigh and melt, and
the sun can bleed with life.
 
God, help.
 
 
 
And if there is life,
Then sun and moon and tears of clouds
Can rain upon the earth
To call forth wild growth. 
 
God, help.