ruach elohim
For seasonable weather, and for an abundance of the fruits of the earth, let us pray to the Lord.
Lord, have mercy.
A tradition of our Church is the Prayers of the People as part of the Liturgy of the Word during Holy Eucharist. The prayers may take any form at all, from the sets written in the prayerbook to prayers offered extemporaneously by members of the congregation, as long they include intercessions for the Universal Church, its members, and its mission, the Nation and all in authority, the welfare of the world, the concerns of the local community, those who suffer and those in any trouble, and the departed.
As part of our Sunday morning services of Summer Eucharist meant to be educational and experiential for our congregation, we have tried a little bit of nearly the range of possibilities. This morning, as summer draws to a close for us, we are returning to The Book of Common Prayer, with Form II selectively printed in the worship booklet.
Our summer has been extraordinarily wet and rainy; but this could be counted a blessing, especially considering the extreme drought across much of the country. And so our liturgy as prepared for today does not include the petition for seasonable weather. With iHurricane Isaac in the Gulf of Mexico now, however, we shall add that!
All this brings a couple of things to mind. One is the TV evangelist turned presidential hopeful some years ago, who hinted personal credit for having prayed a hurricane away from the east coast of the United States. The other is my own day at a diocesan commission meeting with the bishop on Tuesday, October 3, 1995, when Hurricane Opal was way down off Mexico and the bishop opened our session with a prayer that Opal would continue its course into unpopulated areas of Mexico. Observation and experience might suggest that ruach elohim the Wind of God is not in the storms, or is in them mischievously, even capriciously. We needn’t go there at the moment.
As well as prayers, those with commonsense will be keeping an eye on Isaac’s track forecasts, which keep shifting significantly.
TW+
Theological rationalization of course is that erratic hurricanes are part of the natural order and that where we humans choose to live is part of our godly free will.
Theological rationalization of course is that erratic hurricanes are part of the natural order and that where we humans choose to live is part of our godly free will.