Liturgy for a Bike Ride

How can cycling be a unique spiritual discipline? Why don't you ask God to show you!

1 | Gratitude

Lord, we begin with a grateful heart.

We thank you for margin today to go for a ride,
however short, however long;
For the people around us
who help make this ride possible;
For friendships where bikes were the initial excuse
to forge deeper connection;
For this route - roads, paths, terrain -
shaped and constructed over time -
a partnership between humans and creation.

We thank you for the bicycle,
this humble yet beautiful instrument,
capable of magnifying
the gifts of bodies that move and breathe -
for bones, muscles, organs, breath, life.

We ask for eyes to see the beauty of your world,
big and small;
For ears to hear your voice today,
and hearts able to take action.

How good is life for the one
who experiences even a taste of these things!
For these good things all come from
the abundance of your love and generosity for your creation.

2 | Formation

Reveal to us, God,
you who know us all so well,
the aspects of this sub-culture
that are fleeting,
worth little value to ourselves, to others, to you.
Help us to put off, to remove, to flee from
the ways this specific action tries to shape us into a specific mold.

Show us the temptations,
patterns of doing, thinking, living, being,
that distract us from living the life you have for us,
and pull our hearts away from you.

Uncover the unique habits of thought and action,
the ways bikes can form and de-form our character.

Cycling can guide our growth
into one who brings wholeness,
or one who leaves behind a trail of brokenness;
one who is a bright light illuminating the darkness,
or a force manipulating the world around us;
one more humble, joyful, kind,
or one forfeiting our human calling,
overflowing with pride and consumed with self;
one who cultivates your garden world,
or one who un-does the good of your creation.

3 | Counter-formation

We offer all of this,
as much of us we can muster -
heart, body, mind, soul -
as a living sacrifice to you, Lord.

Is it scandalous to ask
that we be strengthened through riding a bike
in ways everlasting,
in more than just muscular, cardiovascular, or mental fitness?

To do so means placing ourselves
in continuous situations
to allow your Holy Spirit to transform us,
to allow you, God, to do the work only you can do,
to shape us into one more like Jesus.
Is that even more scandalous to ask?

We want to grow
in character over performance,
in patience over speed,
in building up over tearing down,
in abundance over competitiveness,
in connectedness over individuality,
in narrow way over the easy life,
in humility over pride,
and, above all to grow in love and service -
to you, God, and to others.

4 | Grace

Transform this humble act into something sacred,
a full-person, whole-body, image of God action.
Guide us in surrendering
our whole selves to you on this ride and after.

We give all to you,
including this little ride
done by one of your little creatures,
as an act of trust towards your grace.

Give us the desire to release our lives to you,
knowing you have life abundantly to give
if we can let go of our control, coercion,
manipulation, and mishandling.

With each revolution of the pedals
form us into creatures more heavenly.
With each inhale, fill us with your Spirit.
With each exhale, rid us of the ways we go astray.

Ultimately - grow us in our capacity to love,
and guide us to be more loving.

We ask to see the beauty around us more clearly,
to be grateful for what you have for us this time,
to be brought into more discoveries of this mysterious overlap of heaven and earth,
here, now, and forward.