"O Lord, strong and mighty, Lord of hosts and King of Glory: Cleanse our hearts from sin, keep our hands pure, and turn our minds from what is passing away; so that at the last we may stand in your holy place and receive your blessing; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen."
Psalm 1, Jeremiah 17:5-10, and Luke 16:19-31
Growing up as an acolyte in the Church, I was always intrigued by the actions that took place around the table. The priest at my church while I was growing up was always very precise and exact in his manual actions during the prayers. He was so precise and exact that he appeared to be in the midst of a well-choreographer liturgical prayer. Helping him set the table for communion was so easy because we always knew how he prepared the table, and to this day I think I could serve with him and not miss a beat because of his exactness and my familiarity with his way of celebrating the Eucharist.
As he began to prepare the table he would wash his hands with the water provided. As the alter server poured water over his fingertips, Fr. Gene would always pray a prayer that went like this (if my memory is serving me correctly): "Lord, wash me of my sins and cleanse me of my iniquities so that I may be made whiter than snow." He said this prayer as he set the table for communion, and part of me wouldn't be surprised if he said this prayer every time he washed his hands. An adaptation of Psalm 51, this was a beautiful prayer to hear as he whispered it to himself in preparation for communion.
I think of this in light of today's collect. I'm reminded again that as Christians all things that we do should be for good and to glorify God. We can all get caught up in things that are "passing away", and maybe we could find a way to make even these things into something that can reveal God's grace.
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