October 3, 2021
World Communion Sunday
Lectionary Texts
In Job 1.1, 2. 1-10 we hear the beginning of the ancient story that explores the meaning of suffering. (This section, explaining Job’s suffering, was not part of the original tale.)
In Psalm 26 the author pleads for justice and declares their righteousness.
(Alternate: Psalm 25 pleads to God: teach me to trust you, and to know your ways and to follow them. Remember me with mercy, not with condemnation.)
Hebrews 1. 1-4; 2. 5-12: just as God spoke through prophets, now God has spoken in Jesus, who is the manifestation of God’s being. Jesus has been given a lowly place in Creation, equal to us, and suffering like us, in order to lead us toward God, to be the “pioneer,” or guide, of our faith. In Christ we are all brothers and sisters.
In Mark 10. 2-12 Jesus teaches about divorce. In 10.13-16 his disciples try to keep children away from Jesus but he welcomes the children. He says the Reign of God belongs to people who are childlike, and that we receive it “as a little child.”
Call to Worship
(World Communion Sunday:)
Leader: Creator of all things,
All: we praise!
Of earth and sky, the seas and stars, and all living beings,
we praise!
Loving Mother and Father of all people, nations and races,
we adore!
You whose arms hold Koreans and Bolivians, Rawandans and Inuit,
we adore!
For Baptist and Orthodox, Methodist and Moravian, Congregational and Coptic,
we give thanks!
With all your Beloved we gather at your table to feast with our siblings in Christ,
one in the Body of Christ, one in your love.
We worship, we receive your grace, and we give of ourselves, for the sake of the world.
Alleluia!
2.
Leader: Holy Parent, Give of Life,
All: we are your children.
Christ, brother to all who are suffering,
in you we are all siblings.
Holy Spirit, love that unites us,
make us and all humanity your holy family.
We thank you. We bless you. We worship you.
Collect / Prayer of the Day
1.
O, how we want to be equals to you, O God!— but we are not. You are the Creator; we are your creatures. You are the parent and we are the child. You are the One who Speaks, and we are your Word. Speak now, God, that we may hear your Word, and receive your Word, and become your Word in the Spirit of Christ. Amen.
2.
Gracious God, as Christ welcomed the little children, so you welcome us. We come to you not in pride of accomplishment, not in power and might, but in smallness and need. We are tender little ones in your presence. Forgive us for trying to be bigger than each other. Heal our fear and receive us into the lap of your gentle grace. Bless us as we listen to your scripture read and your good news proclaimed, that we may be renewed as your children, made in your image, faithful to you. Amen.
Prayer of Confession
Gentle God, we are your children, yet we want to be independent of you. We are siblings yet we want to be superior to others. You offer us your love as a gift but we want to deserve it. We want to do things our way. We confess how deeply we need you. We open our hearts to you. With the grace we have seen in Christ, receive us, forgive us, heal us of our fears, and set us free, that we may receive your grace as beloved children.
Listening Prayer
(suitable as a Collect, preparation for hearing scriptures, or invitation to prayer)
Mother God, hold us in your lap.
Receive our hearts;
tend our hurts, cherish our gifts,
embrace us in your love.
Feed us your grace.
Show us your way.
Amen.
Eucharistic Prayer
(World Communion Sunday)
1.
Creator God, you have made the whole universe
from a single batch of dough,
and all humanity from one lump of dust,
breathing your one Spirit into us in our many forms,
many colors, many languages.
You continually create us as one, set us free from our divisions,
and walk with us into new life that is not like our captivity.
And so we celebrate with this Bread of Liberation, Bread of Unity.
As many grains are made into one loaf,
you make us into one Body in Christ.
We thank you for Jesus, who embodied your loving presence
and called us to our natural unity,
bringing back the outcast, restoring the forgotten.
For challenging our proud divisions
he was crucified by the forces of separation,
but he was raised by the power of unity and oneness, the power of love.
In his life, death and resurrection we behold your grace,
and we give thanks.
[The Blessing and Covenant…] *
Jesus said, “Do this in remembrance of me.”
As often as we break this bread and share this cup
we remember his death and resurrection until he comes again.
Remembering these, your mighty acts in Jesus Christ,
we offer ourselves in praise and thanksgiving
as a living and holy sacrifice,
in union with Christ’s offering for us,
as we proclaim the mystery of our faith:
Christ has died; Christ is risen; Christ will come again.
Pour out your Holy Spirit on these gifts of bread and cup,
that they may be for us the body and blood of Christ.
Pour out your Holy Spirit on us,
that we may be for the world the Body of Christ,
one in your love, one with each other, one in Christ,
and one in ministry to all the world
by the power of your Spirit alive in us. Amen.
____________________________
* The Blessing and Covenant
[I usually don’t print the words. I want people to be looking at the bread, not their bulletins.]
On the night in which he gave himself for us,
Jesus took bread, blessed it,. broke it, and gave it to his disciples,
saying, “Take and eat; this is my body.”
In the same way, after the supper he took the cup,
blessed it with thanks and gave it to them, saying,
“Drink of this, all of you. This is my blood,
poured out for you and for many, in a new Covenant,
which is the forgiveness of sin.”
As long as we break this bread and share this cup
we remember his death and resurrection, until he comes again.
2.
Eucharistic Prayer
The Holy One be with you.
And also with you.
Lift up your hearts.
We lift them up to our God.
Let us give thanks to the Holy One our God.
It is good to give God thanks and praise.
It is our delight to give you our thanks,
for we are born from you, and we bear your loving image.
We and all living beings are your beloved children.
You make a Covenant with us, drawing us into your holy family.
You judge the forces of oppression that divide us, and set us free.
You walk with us as refugees to a new life you create for us.
Even though we wander from our home in you,
you give us Jesus, who like a mother calling her children home,
invites us back to your table.
And so we come, singing your praise with all Creation.
[Sung, to the tune of “Jesus Loves Me”]
Holy, holy, holy Lord, source of life and love adored,
Heav’n and earth are radiant with your glory, heaven sent.
Praise God! Hosanna! Praise in the highest.
Blest is the one__ who comes__ in your name.
Blessed are all who come in your name,
and blessed is Jesus, your Christ.
With humility he comes among us as a child;
with a call to justice invites us to welcome the children;
with healing he makes us one family;
with love he blesses the child within each of us.
With so many of the children of this world, vulnerable and neglected,
he suffered our violence and injustice. He was crucified, but you raised him from the dead.
[The blessing and Covenant] *
We thank you for your life-giving acts in Jesus Christ.
Therefore with praise and thanksgiving we offer ourselves
as a living sacrifice, in union with Christ’s offering for us,
as we proclaim the mystery of our faith:
[sung]
Dying Christ destroyed our death. Rising Christ restores our life.
Christ will come again in love, With the Spirit, rising Dove.
Alleluia! Alleluia!
Alleluia! Christ, dead and risen, lives!
Pour out your Holy Spirit on these gifts of food,
that they may be for the hungry the body of your love.
Pour out your Holy Spirit on these gifts of read and cup,
that they may be for us the Body and Blood of Christ.
Pour out your Holy Spirit on us, that we may be the Body of Christ,
children of God, who reach out with your love
to our whole human family.
All glory and honor is yours, loving God, now and forever.
Amen.
[sung]
As a Mother gathers in all her children, makes them kin,
you unite us in this meal, in the love that you reveal.
Yes, Jesus loves us. Yes, Jesus loves us.
Yes, Jesus loves us: this table tells us so.
______________________
* The Blessing and Covenant
[I usually don’t print the words. I want people to be looking at the bread, not their bulletins.]
On the night in which he gave himself for us,
Jesus took bread, blessed it,. broke it, and gave it to his disciples,
saying, “Take and eat; this is my body.”
In the same way, after the supper he took the cup,
blessed it with thanks and gave it to them, saying,
“Drink of this, all of you. This is my blood,
poured out for you and for many, in a new Covenant,
which is the forgiveness of sin.”
As long as we break this bread and share this cup
we remember his death and resurrection, until he comes again.
Suggested Songs
(Click on titles to view songs on the Music page.)
Jesus, Come Speak to Us [Tune: Fairest Lord Jesus]
God, you have gathered us, hungry for the Bread of Life,
thirsty for waters of flowing grace.
Our broken hearts are yours, open and waiting.
We want to meet you face to face.
Jesus, come speak to us. Sit beside the way with us.
Draw from the well and refresh our souls.
Shine light into our hearts, heal hidden wounds within,
call forth our gifts and make us whole.
Spirit, our Breath of Life, fill us with your grace and truth.
Make us your vessels of love and light.
Flow like a river, welling up within us
with waters of eternal life.
O Faithful God [Tune: Finlandia]
O faithful God, whose steadfast love is sure,
O Loving Father, Mother kind and strong:
your Covenant forever will endure;
you bind us to your heart our whole life long.
No matter how rebellious is your child,
in you we are brought home and reconciled
You hold us, God, in kinship with each other.
We have been loved and held when we would run.
We all are siblings, all born of one Mother;
though we would flee, you join us all as one.
Our deepest wounds come from our deepest love,
and so our highest hope for life above
So teach us God, to bravely love each other,
for all belong within your house of grace,
to give our enemy, who is our brother,
our steadfast mercy, and a wide embrace;
for in our love, though we be right or wrong,
we know the grace to which we all belong.
We Welcome the Child [Original song]
We welcome the child among us.
We welcome the tender ones.
In our embrace we meet your grace,
your gentle love divine.
Welcome to those who are fragile,
a safe healing place to belong,
a shelter from harm, a comforting arm,
a refuge where you may grow strong.
Welcome the child within us,
the small, timid voice in the night,
her wonder and fear at the world so near,
the child of your love and delight.
God, you are a child among us,
no power or might or control.
By your gentle part you soften my heart
and make me a more loving soul.