House of Bishops March 7

Having eyes do you not see, and having ears do you not hear? And do you not remember? When I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many baskets full of broken pieces did you take up?” They said to him, “Twelve.” “And the seven for the four thousand, how many baskets full of broken pieces did you take up?” And they said to him, “Seven.” And he said to them, “Do you not yet understand?”

Mark 8: 18-21

Father in Heaven, the House of Bishops of the Episcopal Church meets on March 7.  As these leaders and shepherds of our church come together, help them to understand and accept that we all have eyes and yet we are blind, that you gave us ears and yet we remain deaf.   Help them to remember that without Jesus Christ, we can do nothing.  Bring them to faith that we can do all things in Christ who strengthens us.

May they not rely on their own strength, but instead fall to their knees as beggars for bread and turn to the One Great Provider Who turned water into wine and fed five thousand with five loaves of bread and had an abundance left over.  Make them humble instruments of Jesus and obliterate any impulse they may have to save their flock by their own intelligence and effort.  Peel back the scales from their eyes and from ours.  Unstop the ears of us all.  May they and we come to the humiliating realization that you alone are God, you alone are Lord, you alone are Holy, and it is by your mercy alone that we may be saved.  All honor, praise, and glory are rightfully yours, Lord.  Amen.      

1 Corinthians 12:1-11

Now concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I do not want you to be ignorant: (1 Corinthians 12:1)
      Lord, too many in your church are ignorant about the gifts of your Spirit.

      A word received: There is great ignorance among my people about the gifts of my Spirit: some reject them, others regard them as irrelevant to the life of my church today. I want you to know about the gifts, desire them, receive them, and use them to build up my body.

You know that when you were Gentiles, carried away to these dumb idols, however you were led. (1 Corinthians 12:2)
      Jesus, much of your church is still being carried away by idolatry.

Therefore I make known to you that no one speaking by the Spirit of God calls Jesus accursed, and no one can say that Jesus is Lord except by the Holy Spirit. (1 Corinthians 12:3)
      Father, please flood the Episcopal Church with your Holy Spirit so that we will all know Jesus as Lord.

There are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. (1 Corinthians 12:4)
      Holy Spirit, please help us rejoice in the diversity of gifts you give us.

      A word received: All the gifts of the Spirit are from my Holy Spirit.

There are differences of ministries, but the same Lord. (1 Corinthians 12:5)
      Jesus, please help all of us, bishops, priests, deacons, and lay people, minister by the direction of your Holy Spirit; be Lord of all that we do in your name.

      A word received: Each of you is called into ministry. [The ministries may differ, but the call is the same. The call is from God to us.]

And there are diversities of activities, but it is the same God who works all in all. (1 Corinthians 12:6)
      Father, please let the various activities in our parish and diocese bring honor and glory to you.

      A word received: Diversity here does not mean diversity of sin and goodness. That is not my kind of diversity. I call my people to many forms of activity — that is my kind of diversity.

But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the profit of all: (1 Corinthians 12:7)
      Holy Spirit, please help us pass on to others what we have received from you.

      A word received: I want my people to be gifted — not gifted in the worldly sense, but gifted by my Spirit. I want them to know the blessings I have for them.

      A word received: I want each of you to use the gifts I have given you for the building up of the body of my son Jesus.

for to one is given the word of wisdom through the Spirit, to another the word of knowledge through the same Spirit, (1 Corinthians 12:8)
      Holy Spirit, you have told us that “the fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom.” (Psalm 111:10a) Bring us daily to such a good understanding of your purposes that through the fear of God we receive words of wisdom and knowledge for the building up of your church.

to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healings by the same Spirit, (1 Corinthians 12:9)
      Holy Spirit, please help us throughout this diocese walk by faith and not by sight (for if we looked only at the mess the Episcopal Church is in we would lose heart). Pour out gifts and ministries of healing throughout this diocese.

to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another discerning of spirits, to another different kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. (1 Corinthians 12:10)
      Lord Jesus, we long for all these gifts to be manifest throughout this diocese.

But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually as He wills. (1 Corinthians 12:11)
      Jesus, please help us rejoice in the gifts you give each of us and use them to build up your body, the church. Thank you.

Wednesday: 119:121-144: Genesis 50:15-26; 1 Corinthians 12:1-11; Mark 8:11-26
Thursday: 73; Exodus 1:6-22; 1 Corinthians 12:12-26; Mark 8:27-9:1

Albany Intercessor