Stirring Things Up

In prayer, one might want to pay attention to what one is asking for...

Stir up your power, O Lord, and with great might come
among us; and, because we are sorely hindered by our sins,
let your bountiful grace and mercy speedily help and deliver
us; through Jesus Christ our Lord, to whom, with you and
the Holy Spirit, be honor and glory, now and for ever. Amen.

When we ask God to "stir up your power... and with great might come among us", are we prepared for what that might mean? This is the daunting question that hangs over my head this morning as I am up to get a cup of coffee with my partner, and then help her bake cookies for an office party before I enter the sanctuary to be reminded that we are at "Stir up Sunday". I know God isn't coming to help me bake cookies, deck the halls, and trim the tree while writing an opinion piece for the newspaper... and keeping tabs on my football team. I don't think God is so much concerned with my mundane tasks.
But when God is invited to "stir up" the power and come into our lives, things change. If we are really paying attention, God has a way of knocking us out of our routines and our self-absorption and becoming aware that the universe is a whole lot bigger than what our eyes perceive. That's not always comforting.
Why do we invite God to come into our lives? "Because we are sorely hindered by our sins." When I think about how I've been perceiving the world lately, I think of how I am seeing the glass half-empty. I am observing and absorbing the fears being expressed to me by many state workers about the impending doom called the Rick Scott administration taking over state government. I shake my head at the prevailing stupidity that results from the ungrounded fear of gay people, be it in the Congress or in the Anglican Communion. I cringe when I hear a bigot invoke "God's law" as the justification for being cruel to another of God's children. I know what such words do to the image of Christianity. And I sometimes feel as though I am screaming into the wind as I try to say, "It ain't necessarily so!" My frustration interferes and obscures hope. So I feel that I succumb to a sin called "hopelessness" which is the opposite of the hope that is necessary to grow a seed of faith.
"Let your bountiful grace and mercy speedily help and deliver us". And we arrive at what I believe this collect is building towards: a prayer the author Anne Lamott would call, "O God; help! help! help!" Things in the world are chaotic and crazy, God: hurry up and get here and help us to make it better. Advent is a season of preparing for Jesus to enter the picture and become a catalyst for change. That change begins with us. It begins with finding the small, still voice inside ourselves that guides our words to speak truth to power. "Power" being the human powers in our lives. That is the power of the Lord that has been stirred up so often in my life. And yes, I have been figuratively imprisoned, beheaded, and crucified for doing such things. But I still do it. And, with God's help, I will continue to do so.
"Stir up your power, O Lord, and with great might come among us; and, because we are sorely hindered by our sins, let your bountiful grace and mercy speedily help and deliver us." Bring it on! The world needs a catalyst, and let us be that vehicle for change.