“We do, however, speak a message of wisdom among the mature, but not the wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are coming to nothing. No, we declare God’s wisdom, a mystery that has been hidden and that God destined for our glory before time began. None of the rulers of this age understood it, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory… Brothers and sisters, I could not address you as people who live by the Spirit but as people who are still worldly—mere infants in Christ. I gave you milk, not solid food, for you were not yet ready for it. Indeed, you are still not ready. You are still worldly. For since there is jealousy and quarreling among you, are you not worldly? Are you not acting like mere humans?”
(1 Cor. 2:6-8, 3:1-3)
As we learn to love God, God teaches us wisdom through the Spirit that delivers us from the wisdom of the present age. When we love someone, we are transformed so as to take on their perspective and values. God’s mind was a mystery to the Ancients until we received Jesus as the image of what God is truly like. The wisdom of God is cross-shaped sacrificial love, not the coercive attempts as power and control eschewed by the rulers of this age.
The wisdom of the Spirit does not fit inside the wisdom of the world; it transcends all our political ideologies and philosophies. We are spiritual babies when we try to use Jesus merely to justify our preferred party in the political binary in this country. Sometimes we keep God’s wisdom out of our thinking about politics; sometimes we believe that we can use political power and control to bring about the Kingdom. A life of the Spirit means we having a different foundation that teaches us to live creatively, maintaining our integrity in the public sphere. As we mature in God’s sacrificial love, we cling less tightly to the wisdom of the world and find our home in the wisdom of the Spirit.
This liturgy is meant to help us detach from “the wisdom of the age” so that we might learn Spirit wisdom. It requires us to open our hearts in order to allow the Holy Spirit to reveal to us where we have been captured by partisan political messages that have become a lens through which we see the world, rather than the sacrificial love of God revealed on the cross. The opening prayer, confession, intercession, and closing Collect are all derived from the Book of Common Prayer, with some edits.
O God the Father, Creator of heaven and earth,
Have mercy upon us.
O God the Son, Redeemer of the world,
Have mercy upon us.
O God the Holy Spirit, Sanctifier of the faithful,
Have mercy upon us.
O holy, blessed, and glorious Trinity, one God,
Have mercy upon us.
Most merciful God,
we confess that we have sinned against you
in thought, word, and deed,
by what we have done in the name of partisan politics,
and by what we have left undone by our political indifference.
We have not loved you with our whole heart;
we have not loved our neighbors as ourselves.
We have found our solace in the wisdom of the present age,
and ignored the deeper wisdom of Your Spirit.
We are truly sorry and we humbly repent.
For the sake of your Son Jesus Christ,
have mercy on us and forgive us;
that we may delight in your will,
and walk in your ways,
to the glory of your Name. Amen.
Deliver us, O Lord, by Your wisdom:
From tribal partisanship that gives us a sense of superiority:
Good Lord, deliver us.
From dehumanizing and denigrating those we consider on “the other side”:
Good Lord, deliver us.
From the glee and vainglory we feel when “we” win and “they” lose:
Good Lord, deliver us.
From allowing political hostility to divide Your Church:
Good Lord, deliver us.
From seeking power to impose your kingdom on our neighbors rather than offering the way of sacrificial love:
Good Lord, deliver us.
From allowing our nationality or party allegiance to usurp our citizenship in heaven:
Good Lord, deliver us.
For using Your Holy Name in vain to justify the rulers and wisdom of the present age:
Good Lord, deliver us.
From denying Your wisdom the opportunity to transform our public engagement:
Good Lord, deliver us.
(Pivot to intercession from a purer heart)
Let us pray for the Church and for the world.
Grant, Almighty God, that all who confess your Name may be united in your truth, live together in your love, and reveal your glory in the world.
(Pray for our church; La Viña and Casas de Jesus in Peru; Orlando Children’s Church; One More Child; any other church to whom you may be connected)
Lord, in your mercy
Hear our prayer.
Guide the people of this land, and of all the nations, in the ways of justice and peace; that we may honor one another and serve the common good.
(Pray for our president, Joe Biden; our president-elect, Donald Trump; our governor, senators, representatives, mayors)
Lord, in your mercy
Hear our prayer.
Give us all a reverence for the earth as your own creation, that we may use its resources rightly in the service of others and to your honor and glory.
(Pray for creation care initiatives)
Lord, in your mercy
Hear our prayer.
Bless all whose lives are closely linked with ours, and grant that we may serve Christ in them, and love one another as he loves us.
(Pray for family, friends, co-workers, neighbors)
Lord, in your mercy
Hear our prayer.
Comfort and heal all those who suffer in body, mind, or spirit; give them courage and hope in their troubles, and bring them the joy of your salvation.
(Pray for the sick, those who suffer with their mental health, all affected by war and famine, the imprisoned, those in poverty)
Lord, in your mercy
Hear our prayer.
We commend to your mercy all who have died, that your will for them may be fulfilled; and we pray that we may share with all your saints in your eternal kingdom.
(Silently remember those who have already passed on)
Lord, in your mercy
Hear our prayer.
O God, by whom the meek are guided in judgment, and light rises up in darkness for the godly: Grant us, in all our doubts and uncertainties, the grace to ask what You would have us to do, that the Spirit of wisdom may save us from all false choices, and that in Your light we may see light, and in Your straight path may not stumble; through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.