Morning Prayer

Our morning prayer service is an opportunity to carve out space for contemplation and stillness in our otherwise busy lives.

We offer you a warm welcome, and as is our practice, we remember that the land on which we meet is, was, and always will be native land. We acknowledge those indigenous tribes to Oklahoma: the Wichitas, Caddos, Plains Apaches, and the Quapaws, as the original custodians of the land in this place. We grieve the violence done to native language, culture, and personhood, and seek to honor the sovereignty and dignity of native peoples.

Carolyn Sargent and Glenda Stansbury

Let us begin the day with this time of consideration, holy listening, supported silence, song, and prayer. We invite you to settle into your seat, let your shoulders drop, and take a deep breath. Today we ask ourselves:

• When you hear Christ’s call to “feed my sheep,” what comes to mind for you? Is there a way that you specifically feel drawn to answer this call?
• The unnamed disciple recognizes who the stranger on the shore is when he sees the abundance of fish in their nets. Have you ever recognized the presence of God through someone else’s generosity?
• Jesus doesn’t demand an apology from Peter before breaking bread with him. Share a time in your life where the act of sharing a meal seemed to help restore a relationship that was fractured.

As we reflect together, remember: your whole self is welcome here.

My Shepherd Is the Living God, Hymn 247
New Century Hymnal

One: Our Creator, who is in heaven, holy is your name. Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is heaven.

All: Help us, Holy One, to make the only world we know a place where you would feel at home. Let us work in ways that bring peace, comfort the afflicted, and alleviate suffering. God, hear our prayer.
 
One: Give us this day our daily bread.

All: Help us to ask for what we need, Holy One, and to share what we have. Let us live in ways that ensure everyone has enough. God, hear our prayer.
 
One: Forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.

All: All of us have fallen short at one time or another, so may mercy be our first instinct. Let us loosen our grip on grudges and grievances. God, hear our prayer.
 
One: Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.

All: We know that violence begets violence, so help us transform our pain instead of transmitting it. Grant us courage to do the next faithful thing. God, hear our prayer.
 
One: We lift up the beloveds of this congregation: Phil Manning’s brother Mark, Tyler Minton’s grandmother, George + Jeanette Atwood, Meg Hunt, Mike Fox, and Carolyn Wade.

All: In a world where it is so easy to feel forgotten, may our beloveds know that we hold them close. God, hear our prayer.
 
One: Despite our best efforts, we do not always know what we need, what our neighbors need, or what to say.

All: Trusting that the Spirit intercedes for us, God, hear our prayer.
 
One: In our sleeping and waking, in our work and in our play, in our responsibilities and in our rest, come to us, Holy One, abide with us, and grant us your peace.

Rev. Sheridan Irick

Ignatian imagination—sometimes called imaginative prayer— engages the heart and mind in envisioning a scriptural narrative using sensory details, historical insight and our own imaginations. It encourages us to read scripture with our whole selves: body, emotions, memory, and spirit. Rather than analyzing a Gospel story from a distance, you step inside it.

• Set the Scene: Imagine the setting. Engage the senses. Feel the heat of the sun or the cool breeze. Notice the sights, sounds, textures, and smells.  
• Enter the Scene: Place yourself in the story, perhaps as a spectator or a character, allowing the scene to unfold around you. Pay attention not only to what happens, but how it feels. What emotions are present in the scene? Where do you notice tension, hope, resistance, or compassion?  What tones of voice or facial expressions do you think people had? You might imagine words not recorded in Scripture—what else might Jesus say in this moment? If you were to add to the conversation, what would you say?
• Let the Story Meet Your Story: As you sit in the scene, notice where your own life connects: Do you identify with someone in the story? What parts of your own experience—joy, grief, questions—are mirrored here?

[an Australian paraphrase by Rev. Nathan Nettleton]

One of the places where Jesus appeared to his followers after his resurrection was at Lake Galilee. A few of them had gathered there: Simon Peter; Thomas the Twin; Nathaniel, who came from Cana in Galilee; the two sons of Zebedee; and a couple of others. Simon Peter had decided to go fishing, and the rest of them had said, “You can count us in. We’ll come too.” They spent the night in the boat, but they didn’t catch a thing.
 
They were heading back in to shore as the sun came up, when they saw a man standing on the beach. It was Jesus, but they didn’t recognize him. Jesus called out to them, “Morning boys! How are the fish biting?”
 
“We haven’t caught a thing,” they replied.
 
Jesus said, “Try casting off the right-hand side of the boat instead. You’ll find some there.”
 
So they did, and suddenly there were fish everywhere—more than they could pull in. The disciple with whom Jesus had been most intimate said to Peter, “It’s got to be the Lord!”
 
Simon Peter had been stripped for work, but when he heard it was the Lord, he threw his shirt back on, dived into the sea, and struck out for the shore. They weren’t far off the beach—no more than a hundred meters—so the rest of them dragged the boat in with the load of fish.
 
When they arrived on the beach, they found that Jesus had a fire going and was baking some damper-bread and barbecuing some fish. He looked up and said to them, “Put on some of the fish you’ve just caught.”
 
Simon Peter dragged in the catch. There were a hundred and fifty-three fish in all, most of them whoppers. It was surprising that the fishing tackle was still intact after landing them all. Jesus said, “Breakfast’s ready. Come and get it!”
 
Some of the disciples half-wanted to say, “Who are you?” but none dared because they knew it was the Lord. Jesus divided up the bread among them and then did the same with the fish. This was the third time the disciples had seen Jesus alive since he had been raised from the dead.
 
When they had finished eating breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of John, do you love me above anyone else?”
 
Simon Peter replied, “Yes, Lord. You know I do.”
 
Jesus said to him, “Then feed my lambs.”
 
Then he asked him again, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?”
 
He replied, “Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.”
 
Jesus said to him, “Well, take care of my sheep.”
 
Jesus asked him a third time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?”
 
Peter was starting to feel hurt that Jesus kept questioning his love, and the third time he replied, “Lord, you know everything. You know how much I love you.”
 
Jesus said to him, “Feed my sheep. I kid you not, Simon, when you were a young bloke, you dressed however you liked and went wherever you wanted. But when you are an old man, you’ll put your hands up when you’re told to, you’ll wear what’s issued to you, and you’ll be taken places you don’t want to go.” (In saying this, Jesus was foreshadowing the kind of death Simon Peter would eventually face in his honoring of God.) After that, Jesus simply said, “Follow me.”

Savior, like a Shepherd Lead Us, Hymn 252
New Century Hymnal

Go out into the world in the upheaval of resurrection. May God raise you from all that would entomb you. May Christ call you by name and go ahead of you. And may the Holy Spirit empower you for all that is good.