Praying with Creation:
the Season after Pentecost
The Holy Trinity through
the Reign of Christ Sunday and Thanksgiving
Year B
The Holy Trinity through the Sixteenth Sunday
after Pentecost
by Dennis Ormseth
The Holy Trinity
Isaiah
6:1-8; Psalm 29; Romans 8:12-17; John 3:1-17
Triune God, your
infinite glory breaks forth over waters, cedars, and fire – indeed over all
created things. In the flesh of your child Jesus, you embrace the whole
material cosmos in your love. In and with the winds that caress the earth, your
Spirit catches us up together into your divine life. Inspire us to love and
care for the world of your creation as perfectly as you do.
Second Sunday after Pentecost
Ezekiel
17:22-24; Psalm 92:1-4, 11-14 (12-15 NRSV); 2 Cor. 5:6-17; Mark 4:26-34
Creator of all life,
your love is hidden in the mystery of seeds and growth. It is revealed in the
bountiful harvest of their fruit. In and through the death and resurrection of
our Lord Jesus Christ, help us to see in the natural world as well as in humankind
the birth of the new creation you have promised to bring forth for all things.
Third Sunday after Pentecost
Job
38:1-11; Psalm 107:1-3, 23-32; 2 Cor. 6:1-13; Mark 4:35-41
God of the sun and
earth, of the winds and the waters, you delivered our ancestors in faith from
storms and drought of your making, to new life in the new land you gave them.
Now storms and drought of our own making threaten the future of many living
things on the earth you have given us. With Jesus’ disciples, we cry on their behalf,
“do you not care that we are perishing?” At this solstice and in remembrance of
Saint John the Baptist, who decreased in order that Christ might increase, help
us understand and respect the limits you set to human presence and action, and
move the whole earth toward your promised peace.
Fourth Sunday after Pentecost
Lamentation
3:22-33; Psalm 30; 2 Cor. 8:7-15; Mark 5:21-43
Gracious provider of all
good things, in your wisdom you balance abundance and need to sustain all
living things. On this weekend of celebration of our nation’s independence, we
confess that we have used our freedom to disrupt that balance in our favor, and
acknowledge that our way of life cannot be sustained. In your mercy you heal
the destitute woman but also hear the plea of the powerful ruler. Heal the
fears that drive our greed, and deliver our children from the desolation to
come.
Fifth Sunday after Pentecost
Ezekiel
2:1-5; Psalm 123; 2 Cor. 12:2-10; Mark 6:1-13
Merciful creator, it is
not your habit to leave your people clueless. In your steadfast love, you
reveal inconvenient but inescapable truths about our lives, and call us to
repentance. Help us to acknowledge the interdependence of all living things,
and trusting fully in the sufficiency of your provision, to walk lightly the
way of Christ on our common journey with the earth.
Sixth Sunday after Pentecost
Amos
7:7-15; Psalm 85:8-13; Ephesians 1:3-14; Mark 6:14-29
God of Amos, your plan
for the fullness of time encompasses all things both on earth and in heaven.
You use those close to the earth, the herdsmen and gardeners of our age, to
remind us that righteousness and peace kiss where faithfulness springs from the
ground and righteousness looks down from the sky. Give us wisdom and courage to
seek from each other those things that sustain the well being of all your
creatures.
Seventh Sunday after Pentecost
Jeremiah
23; 1-6: Psalm 23:1-6; Ephesians 2:11-22; Mark 6:30-34, 53-56
Shepherd for the whole
creation, there are no strangers to your love. For you there is no ‘beyond”
where your love will be unknown, no wilderness where your creatures are left to
fend for themselves. You break through the fences and walls we build to protect
our privileges and preserve our rights. As Jesus fed many with little, surprise
us with your amazing bounty, even in the deserts of our own making.
Eighth Sunday after Pentecost
2
Kings 4:42-44; Psalm 145:10-19; Ephesians 3:14-21; John 6:1-21
Parent for all families
of creation, all eyes look to you to satisfy their needs. Beholding your
Christ, they are filled with the vision of your glory. Without you, they are
filled with terror. In the feast in the wilderness, Jesus fed all who came,
simply because they were there. May we see Christ in the feast that is your
daily creation in the world around us, and share his love with all creatures
that come.
Ninth Sunday after Pentecost
Exodus
16:2-4, 9-15; Psalm 78:23-29; Ephesians 4:1-16; John 6:24-35
Gracious creator, you
heard the hungry cry of your people in the wilderness and provided manna
sufficient to sustain them on their journey home. Hear now the cry of your
whole creation as we journey together home to you. Feed us with the bread of
life here on Earth, and help us in Christ to see and trust your presence above
and through and in all that is. Amen.
Tenth Sunday after Pentecost
1
Kings 19:4-8; Psalm 34:1-8; Ephesians 4:25-5:2; John 6:35, 41-51
God of Elijah, you led
your prophet through the wilderness where he had come to die, and brought him
to new life in your presence on the mountain. Help us to conserve wilderness as
place for us in which to fathom the dependence of all things on your
life-sustaining love. In Christ bring all peoples to see your glory amidst the
mountains of Earth. Amen.
Eleventh Sunday after Pentecost
Proverbs
9:1-6; Psalm 34:9-14; Ephesians 5:15-20; John 6:51-58
All-encompassing Wisdom,
the days and years of our world move to the rhythm of your song of love for the
Earth. Our hearts are drawn forward by its melody into the great feast you are
preparing for all beings. Lighten our steps upon your holy ground, and help us
to make the most of the time you give us on our way. Amen.
Twelfth Sunday after Pentecost
Joshua
24:1-21, 14-18; Psalm 34:15-22; Ephesians 6:10-20; John 6:56-69
Sovereign of the
universe, you are hidden in the infinite recesses of the cosmos but you come to
us in the breaking of bread amidst the gathered communities of your people on
Earth. We are honored to love and serve you in the good company of all the
marvelous creatures with whom we share this planet. By your Spirit, free us
from our mutual fear of each other, and empower us to love all that you love.
Amen.
Thirteenth Sunday after Pentecost
Deuteronomy
4:1-2, 6-9; Psalm 15; James 1:17-27; Mark 7:1-8, 14-15, 21-23
Source of all wisdom and
truth, you gave your people your law so that we might live in harmony with each
other and with the Earth. Help us to see that nothing you create is unclean in
your eyes. Guide us into all truth and righteousness, so that our children and
our children’s children may dwell sustainably on your holy ground.
Fourteenth Sunday after Pentecost
Isaiah
35:4-7a; Psalm 146; James 2: 1-10 [11-13] 14-17; Mark: 24-37
God of all creation, all
earth glories in your presence. Even wilderness is made glad and the desert
rejoices and blossoms. Through Jesus you bring hope to creatures for which we
have little or no regard. So fill your people with your spirit, that we might
bring healing to all that lives.
Fifteenth Sunday after Pentecost
Isaiah
50:4-9a; Psalm 116:1-8; James 3:1-12; Mark 8:27-38
God of infinite mercy,
your loving sacrifice is the source of all life. All the broken ones of our
wounded world are held together in the hands of your crucified and risen Son.
We resist following in his way, and the destruction of your beloved creation is
the consequence. Forgive our resistance and empower our work to heal and mend
the damage we are doing.
Sixteenth Sunday after Pentecost: Jeremiah 11:18-20; Psalm 54; James 3:13-4:3,
7-8a; Mark 9:30-37
Wise and gracious creator, your greatness is your eternally abundant love. You
create the tree and its fruit. We seek a different greatness, and destroy the
fruit with the tree. Our way of life is not sustainable apart from your mercy.
By your spirit, help us behold the power of your love in all that surrounds us,
both in the immensity and in the minutia of the universe.
Seventeenth Sunday after Pentecost through the Reign of Christ Sunday and
Thanksgiving
by Ben Stewart
Seventeenth Sunday after Pentecost
Numbers
11:4-6, 10-16, 24-29; Psalm 19:7-14; James 5:13-20; Mark 9:38-50
God of sun and rain, You
shape all your creatures for mutual care, such that none can stand alone. Let
no idols of wealth or status keep us from sharing in the beloved community that
your wide embrace creates in Jesus Christ, the prince of peace. Amen.
Eighteenth Sunday after Pentecost
Genesis
2:18-24; Psalm 8; Hebrews 1:1-4, 2:5-12; Mark 10:2-16
God of our ancestors,
You formed us from the earth to live in loving community with one another. Form
us again for life that is faithful and steadfast, and teach us to trust your
goodness like little children, that we may bear your image in our bodies, in
the name of Jesus Christ, the first born of your new creation. Amen.
Nineteenth Sunday after Pentecost
Amos
5:6-7, 10-15; Psalm 90:12-17; Hebrews 4:12-16; Mark 10:17-31
Living God, You bring
the universe to being out of nothing. Through the ages, out of death, you bring
your creatures to life. Now, by your living word and holy meal, fill us with
abundant life, that we, too, may share in the goodness of your promised new
creation, in Jesus Christ, our beginning and our end. Amen.
Twentieth Sunday after Pentecost
Isaiah
53:4-12; Psalm 91:9-16; Hebrews 5:1-10; Mark 10:35-45
Shepherding God, You
turn your greatness into goodness for all creatures on earth. Shape us into
willing servants of your new creation, and make us desire always and only your
will, through Jesus Christ, our living savior. Amen.
Twenty-first Sunday after Pentecost
Jeremiah
31:7-9; Psalm 126; Hebrews 7:23-28; Mark 10:46-52
Holy One, The cries of
your creatures rise up from this suffering earth. In the name of Christ, heal
our blindness, dry our tears, and renew our land and waters by the power of
your Spirit. Amen.
All Saints Day
Isaiah
25:6-9; Psalm 24; Revelation 21:1-6a; John 11:32-44
God of our ancestors,
You hold all who have returned to the dust, and even out of death, you act to
bring forth life. Keep us in communion with our ancestors in faith, and make us
faithful and just to those who come after us, until the day when you gather all
generations into your new creation in Jesus Christ, the pioneer and perfector
of our faith. Amen.
Twenty-second Sunday after Pentecost
Deuteronomy
6:1-9; Psalm 119:1-8; Hebrews 9:11-14; Mark 12:28-34
Giver of the land, The
whole earth is filled with your glory. Give us reverence for your many dwelling
places among us, and, by the power of your Spirit, fill us with your love for
our neighbors and ourselves, through Jesus Christ, our living savior. Amen.
Twenty-third Sunday after Pentecost
1 Kings
17:8-16; Psalm 146; Hebrews 9:24-28; Mark 12:38-44
Generous God, You desire
abundant life for all, and you shower mercy on us like rain. As we gather for
worship, by the power of your Spirit, ease our heavy burdens and make us again
a people who do justice and love kindness in the name of Christ, our living
savior. Amen.
Twenty-fourth Sunday after Pentecost
Daniel
12:1-3; Psalm 16; Hebrews 10:11-14 [15-18] 19-25; Mark 13:1-8
Holy, saving God, You
make a way where there is no way. Steady our hearts and minds with your
promises, and by the power of your Spirit, Let the wars and destruction of this
age give way to the birth of your new creation, where your love is all in all,
through Jesus Christ, our strong rock and foundation. Amen.
The Reign of Christ Sunday
Daniel
7:9-10, 13-14; Psalm 93; Revelation 1:4b-8; John 18:33-37
Almighty and ever-living
God, You raised up Jesus among us as a tree of life, that all might be drawn
together in him. Grant that all the earth, now suffering under the power of sin,
may find abundant life again in the glorious and gentle rule of Jesus Christ,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
Amen.
Day of Thanksgiving
Maker of the fields,
forests, and streams, Your generous goodness comes to us new every day. By the
movement of your Spirit over our waters, at our tables, and among our
gatherings, help us to acknowledge your goodness, give thanks for your gifts,
extend our table to the stranger, and care for the land and water we share on this
good earth, through Jesus Christ, the fruitful vine, our living water, and our
bread of life.