6.27.21
5th Sunday after Pentecost — Ordinary Time 13
Lectionary Texts
In 2 Samuel 1.17-27 Saul, the king, and his son Jonathan have died in battle. David sings a song to honor them—especially Jonathan, whom he loved.
Psalm 130 is a cry to God from the deep, dark places of our lives, trusting in God’s goodness. God does not judge us according to our shortcomings, but forgives us.
In 2 Corinthians 8. 7-15 Paul encourages a church that excels in many things to excel in generosity. He does not intend that “there should be relief for others and pressure on you,” but that there is “a balance between your abundance and their need, so that their abundance may be for your need.” We all have gifts to offer and we need others’ gifts.
In Mark 5.21-43 Jesus is on the way to heal a girl near death when a woman with a flow of blood touches the fringe of his prayer shawl, and is healed. Jesus stops to talk with her. He is told that it is now too late: the girl has died. But he goes to her house anyway, and revives her.
Call to Worship
1.
Leader: God of life and wholeness, we come to you broken, in a broken world.
All: We reach out for the hem of your garment.
We come to you longing for healing.
We open ourselves to your mercy.
You come among us full of grace.
We feel your spirit move in us, and we are healed.
And so we bow before you, and in gratitude, humility and wonder
we tell the story of your grace.
Collect / Prayer of the Day
1.
God of love, even as the world presses in on you with all its wants and demands, you walk among us in peace. You radiate your mercy and grace. We open ourselves to your love. We listen for your Word to enter us and change us. We reach for the hem of your garment. Enter our longing, and heal us. Amen.
2.
Gracious God, Jesus went among the people healing them. We too have been touched by his grace. We give you thanks and open our hearts to you. Bless us in our worship that by your grace we may reach out and touch the hem of your garment and be made new by the power of your spirit. We pray in the name of Christ. Amen.
3.
Gentle God, we come before you with every kind of wound and brokenness, with illness and sadness, struggle, guilt and weakness. We reach out to touch the hem of Christ’s garment. May the power of your Holy Spirit flow forth and heal us, bless us, make us whole, and draw us together as one body. By your Spirit in us, may your will be done, and your grace be praised. Amen.
Readings
1. From Psalm 130, paraphrased
Out of the deepest places in our hearts we cry to you, O Lord.
Hear the silent cries of our souls.
God, if you kept track our sin, who could survive? But you forgive abundantly, and we are deeply grateful.
I wait for you, Holy One. My soul waits. In your Word is my only hope.
My soul aches for you,
more than one in a long night awaiting morning,
more than one awaiting morning.
O people, hope in God, for with God there is steadfast love,
and with God there is power to redeem.
God will redeem us from all our unfaithfulness.
Response / Creed / Affirmation
We give our hearts to God, creator of all, the Holy Beloved, who makes everything whole, and whose only will for all creation is healing and redemption.
We follow Jesus, who embodied God’s transforming power among us in his love, his teaching and his healing. In his death and resurrection we witness God’s healing and redeeming power over all brokenness, even sin and death. The Risen Christ lives among us still with power to heal and bless and raise all people to new life.
We live by the power of the Holy Spirit, God’s creating power in us. As the Church, the Body of Christ, we are called to be a healing presence in the world for individuals, groups and all humankind. We trust the power of forgiveness and the reality of resurrection; and we devote ourselves to lives of healing, justice and reconciliation in the name of Christ, for the sake of the redemption of the world and the coming of the Reign of God.
Listening Prayer
(suitable as a Collect, preparation for hearing scriptures, or invitation to intercessions)
We need not understand… only touch the hem of your garment.
Your power moves in ways we do not know.
Your wholeness flows into our hearts.
You touch us, and raise us to new life.
We await your touch.
Prayer of Confession
The grace of God be with you.
And also with you.
Trusting in God’s tender mercy, let us confess our sin to God with one another.
Gentle God, we confess that we are in need of your healing and your forgiveness.
For all that is broken in our minds and bodies, we ask your healing.
For all that is amiss in our choices and our relationships, we ask your forgiveness.
For all that works against life and blessing in our hearts, and in the world,
we open ourselves to your transforming grace.
Heal us, forgive us, and make us new. Amen.
Prayer of Dedication / Sending
As Jesus, hurrying to an important mission, paused to attend to a woman in need, so fill us with your Spirit that we may pause and tend to those around us. May your power flow through us, not by our effort but by your grace. May we be attentive in the midst of chaos, confident in the face of death, and healing in the midst of anguish, by the working of your love, in the name of Christ. Amen.
Prayer after Communion
Gracious God, we thank you for this mystery in which you have given yourself to us. You have healed us. You have raised us from the dead. Send us into the world to offer your grace to all who hunger for it, especially those who are denied mercy in this world, in the name of Christ and the power of your Holy Spirit. Amen.
Suggested Songs
We Feast on Your Love
Jesus, My Healer