Saturday, September 19, 2020

Prayer of Confession for Rosh Hashanah & Tashlich

Holy and merciful Creator, we confess to you and to one another, and to the whole communions of saints in heaven and on earth, that we have sinned by our own fault in thought, word, and deed, by what we have done and what we have failed to do.


I have failed to loved God with my whole heart, might, mind, and strength. I have failed to love my neighbor.

I have gone after false gods and worshipped idols; I have failed to trust in God’s sovereignty. I have been prideful, believing the lie that I alone am responsible for and capable of saving myself. I have failed to do all things with an eye single to the glory of God; I have been more concerned about self-preservation than the will and power of God. I have failed to trust in Jesus. I have failed to acknowledge God’s proper and true lordship over my life and our world, putting a variety of false gods on the throne instead.

I have failed to rely on the Atonement, accept the forgiveness that Christ offers, put my whole trust in Christ’s grace, and serve Christ as Lord in union with the church universal.

I have taken the Lord’s name in vain by entering a covenant and failing to follow the teachings and example of Christ in all things, in public and in private. I have failed to forgive others as Christ has forgiven me. I have failed to mourn with those that mourn, comfort those who stand in need of comfort, and stand as a witness of God at all times and in all things and in all places. I have failed to always remember Christ and keep Christ’s commandments.

I have failed to keep the sabbath day holy and make it a delight. I have neglected rest, allowing myself to become so exhausted by the demands of my own life and the pain of the world that I am unable to do anything to relieve it. I have neglected prayer and worship. I have gone to church, but been distracted by homework, family drama, the news, social media, and more.

I have failed to honor my father and mother and other relationships. I have ignored a phone call I could have answered and neglected reaching out. I have failed to be fully present during our conversations, allowing myself to be distracted by lesser things.

I have allowed others to be killed by remaining silent in the face of injustice, oppression, and misinformation. I have not spoken up enough about racial injustice, about the border crisis, about climate change, about inadequate healthcare. I have allowed myself to shrink and be paralyzed by the enormity of the world’s grief. Often, I have closed my eyes in the face of it.

I have been dishonest with my family and friends. I have said I’m fine when I’m not. I have failed to accept compassion and support from people who would be more than willing to offer it, if they only knew what I needed.

I have coveted the property, health, experiences, and bodies of others. I have allowed envy and jealousy to rob my joy. I have been unwise with my money in pursuit of worldly goods.

I have neglected God’s command to love and serve others. I have not given a full tithe with time and money. I have sat at home instead of spending my time serving others.

I have not obeyed the Word of Wisdom. I have not acted in loving and responsible ways towards my body. I have not acted in loving and responsible ways towards my soul, my heart, my mind. I have used harsh words with myself and withheld compassion.

I have not been faithful in reading scripture.

I have neglected temple attendance and family history.

I have allowed fear to rule my life - fear of the unknown, fear of the future, fear of vulnerability, fear of being honest, fear of being seen, fear of change, fear of happiness, fear of failure, fear of disappointment.

I have betrayed myself. I have not respected myself. I have remained silent when I should have spoken up for myself.

I have cowered in hopelessness and let it control me.

I have forgotten who I am - who God made me to be and who Christ enables me to be.

I have numbed and avoided the heartbreak and the beauty of my life and this world.

I have failed to accept the freedom and power God gives me to resist evil, injustice, and oppression in whatever forms they present themselves. I have chosen single-use plastics, when more sustainable alternatives were available. I have purchased products that rely on the exploitation of other people. I have been blind to human suffering and indifferent in the face of injustice and oppression. I have failed to adequately address the racism and prejudice in my own heart.

I have wasted time and numbed my mind on social media. I have commented rashly in anger. I have used harsh words. I have failed to see others’ perspectives. I have commented in self-righteousness, in judgment, in ignorance and error.

I have failed to work for the redemption of the world and establish the Kingdom of Heaven on earth.

I have failed to express gratitude for God’s bounty. I have failed to find joy, despite the myriad gifts God has bestowed.


Lord, in your mercy, hear and answer us. Restore us and let your anger depart, for your mercy is great. Accomplish in us the good work of your salvation, that your glory may be established in the world.


For the kingdom and the power and the glory are yours forever.
In the Name of Jesus Christ,
Amen. So be it.


Living Waters
"Living Waters," Linda Curley Christiensen (click for source)

Friday, September 18, 2020

Rosh Hashanah, Feast of Trumpets

Angel VIII by Jorge Cocco | Altus Fine Art
"Angel Moroni" by Jorge Cocco (click to purchase)  

What is Rosh Hashanah?

Rosh Hashanah (in scripture, the Day of Remembrance or the Feast of Trumpets), welcomes God as Sovereign King/Master of the universe and Judge, invites Israel to repentance, and initiates the gathering of the fall harvest and Israel. The shofar is blown three times on Rosh Hashanah, affirming God’s kingship, God’s covenant, and God’s Messiah. 

This year, Rosh Hashanah begins at sundown on September 18.

Themes

  • God’s Kingship: Trumpets & God as Sovereign King/Master of the Universe

    • Shofar heralds arrival of the king

    • “We are not the ones in charge of the world…no matter how free and powerful we may be, the world is not ours to control, exploit, or dominate” (Kushner, To Life!, 109)

    • Humility 

      • Kindness to God’s creations

      • Let go of perfectionism and social justice fatigue

  • God’s Covenant: God as Judge

    • Invitation to repentance, “return to God”

      • “ The gates of repentance remain open until the Day of Atonement“ (Kolatch, Jewish Book of Why, 222)

    • God judges past year: Our deeds count, God cares about what we do

      • Punishment AND reward, it’s not only about mistakes

    • God judges/writes year ahead: Faith can arm us against and through the uncertainties of life

    • God’s promise of mercy

    • New year:

      • Examine our lives during the past year

      • Hopes, prayers, and intentions for the year ahead  

  • God’s Messiah: God as Lord of the Harvest & Gathering

    • Beginning of fall harvest - thanksgiving

    • Looks forward to Messiah and gathering of Israel

(For Latter-day Saints, consider the parallels between these themes - trumpets, covenant/judgment, and gathering - and the Restoration, especially the Book of Mormon, which is announced by Moroni's trumpet and prophecies both of the gathering and judgment of God's people. Further, the golden plates were given to Joseph Smith on Rosh Hashanah!)

Symbols

  • Shofar (ram’s horn)

    • welcomes God as King

    • sound of celebration and victory

    • remembers near-sacrifice of Isaac and God’s providence of a ram

  • Apples & honey - hope for sweet new year

  • Pomegranate - many seeds, symbolize hope that new year will be filled with many good deeds 

  • Round challah (bread) - circle of the year, crown for God

  • White clothing, curtains, tablecloths, flowers

  • Bird

    • “As hovering birds, so will the Lord protect Jerusalem“ Isaiah 31:5

    • “reflects the hope that man’s prayers will be carried heavenward“ (Kolatch, Jewish Book of Why, 234)

Scripture

  • Lev 23:24-25

Rituals

  • Rosh Hashanah Seder meal

  • Tashlich - cast off sins (crumbs in moving body of water)

    • Sins: mistakes, sorrows, evil/wickedness committed by and against us

Traditional Food

“New fruit” (something never tried before)

Round challah (bread)

Apples

Honey 

Pomegranate

Fish

Dates

Head (lettuce, fish cookie/cracker)

Rubia (Green string beans or sesame seeds)

Karti (leeks or scallions)

Silka (beets)

Gezer (carrots)

Kara (pumpkin or gourd)

Resources (Clickable Links)


For Latter-day Saints:

Sunday, September 6, 2020

"Who do you say I am?": A Testimony


 

God is difficult. God is unseen. God can be hard to find sometimes.

God is a symbol, a metaphor. God represents our deepest aspirations for ourselves and the cosmos. God is a vision of what could be, and the strength to make that vision a reality. 

God is the energy of electrons vibrating. God is the constant expansion of the universe, and God will be its collapse. God is photons. God is whatever magic that turns sunlight into food. God is breath, God is the mechanism that turns glucose into movement. God is the energetic connection between people. God is love.

God is healer and God is healing. God is our immune system and herbs and doctors.

God is justice. God is listening to the marginalized and oppressed. God speaks in their voices. God's righteous indignation pours out upon the oppressor and the unrepentant. 

God is Black Lives Matter. God is a dead black body, shot in the back 7 times. God is the tears of a bereaved mother. God is the child whose parent lies in a grave. God is the signs held high, God is the sweat that falls for hours in the hot sun, God is the water and powerade donated buy strangers. God is the fire that demands we see and hear the enslaved, just as God was the fire on Mt. Sinai. 

God is reconciliation, repentance, forgiveness. God is a new path through the wilderness. God is a shadow by day and pillar by night. God is the Rock that gives Living Water. God is our food, our drink, our strength. God is our refuge, our shelter, our very present help in time of trouble. God is our comfort, our peace, our joy. God is the smile of a friend. 

God is the sovereign king over all the earth, whose we welcome with trumpets. God calls us to repentance, to change, to transformation into the image of Christ. God gathers us in as we gather the fall harvest. God is judge, attentive to our deeds and sealing us in the Book of Life. God is atonement - the opportunity to change, make things right, start anew. 

God is near, within every cell. God is every song I sing and every tear I cry. God is life itself.