Month: December 2021

March 2, 2025

Lectionary Texts

Exodus 34.29-35 — Moses returns from the mountain, his face shining with light so bright from his encounter with God that he wears a veil.

Psalm 99 — God is enthroned. Extol God, lover of justice! Moses and Aaron were God’s priests. Worship at God’s holy mountain.

2 Corinthians 3.12 – 4.6 — We wear a veil of misunderstanding when we read scripture without faith. God’s glory shines in each of us as in Moses.

Luke 9. 28-36 — The Transfiguration.

Preaching Thoughts

2 Corinthians
         “Whenever Moses is read, a veil lies over their minds; but when one turns to the Lord, the veil is removed.” It’s tempting to take that to mean Christians read the scripture rightly; others don’t. But I think what it means to “turn to the Lord” is not to have the right beliefs but to be wiling to be changed. Paul says “the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.” So to read scripture with that radical freedom means we’re not bound by doctrinal presuppositions; we’re open to what we hear in scripture as we listen with our hearts.
       Paul is thinking of a veil that obscures our seeing: we can’t see the real meaning of scripture. But Moses’ veil didn’t obscure what he saw; it obscured his shining. So when we read scripture with faith, with the openness to hear and be changed, the veil is removed: the glory of God shines out from us for others to see. To read scripture truly we have to be ready to discover God’s glory in ourselves! “All of us, with unveiled faces, see the glory of the Lord as though reflected in a mirror.” We are the shining image of Christ.
       Jesus asks us to love our enemies. We learn to love ourselves, to accept and forgive ourselves, not as evil scum but as people who are evolving, each at our own pace, along our own path. All of us, each in our own ways, are being transformed into the image of Christ from one degree of glory to another. It’s all glory.

Luke        The Sunday of the Transfiguration brings to a climactic close the season of Epiphany, with its theme of Jesus as light of the world. Resist the temptation to “explain” the Transfiguration. It’s a mystery, a wonder, a vision, but not an idea. It’s a richly symbolic story. Building a doctrine around this story is like Peter wanting to erect three structures around Jesus, Elijah and Moses. It’s silly. This is about mystery. The light of splendid visions gets our attention, but it’s in the cloud—in our unknowing— that we hear the voice of God.
      The story is a kaleidoscope of scriptural images. It weaves together the light of Creation; Moses on the mountain; the Exodus; Elijah taken up in a chariot of fire; and, with Moses and Elijah the “law and the prophets” (indicating both Israel’s history and scripture); Jesus’ baptism, death and resurrection; and the cross, both for Jesus and for us.
       The Exodus is suggested by Moses’ presence—and also in that when they talk of Jesus’ “departure” the Greek word Luke uses is “exodus.” Jesus leads us through the Red Sea of death to freedom. Jesus is the pillar of light that leads us in our Exodus journey. • What would the church look like if the heart of our ministry were exodus—liberation, new life, and becoming free?
       When Moses and Elijah talk with Jesus about his “exodus,” it’s his death. The cross is central to the story, which begins “eight days after these sayings…” —which were that Jesus would suffer and die and be raised, and that his followers should take up their cross as well. In contradiction to Peter’s objection, the Transfiguration is God’s affirmation of Jesus’ words: “Listen to him.” The great paradox of the cross is that there is glory in self-giving for the sake of love, because love outlives even life itself. • What might our lives or our church be like if our highest value was self-giving for the sake of love?
       This story is essentially a Resurrection appearance. Having shown us the cross, the Gospel story shows us what’s next. Jesus has already died— he has already surrendered his life to God, and accepted the cross— and now on the mountain he is risen, shining with the light of resurrection, appearing with Moses and Elijah who also have already died. Because he is already dead and raised, the Crucified One resurrected, on Good Friday the Resurrected One was crucified! We are given courage to accept the cross, to accept the suffering involved in loving and doing justice, for there is glory in it. But the story isn’t about the glory, it’s about death and resurrection. • What needs to die in us for our faith to be resurrected?
       Peter says “Let’s build booths,” but a cloud—we might say a cloud of unknowing—envelopes them and they can’t construct, can’t see, can’t figure things out. • Can we let go of our need to understand and control, and simply behold the mystery? Can we worship and love, in a cloud of unknowing?
       On the mountain God says the same thing God says at Jesus’ baptism, “This is my Son, my Chosen.” The two stories are connected: resurrection is the end result of baptism. Baptism is a call to risk and sacrifice, even to suffer, even to die, for the sake of love and justice, knowing it is the doorway to resurrection. We are baptized into a reality suffused with the light of glory, a reality greater than just our earthly days. The story of the Transfiguration ushers us unto Lent with an invitation to die, so we can allow ourselves to be raised to new life. • Do we teach that baptism is an invitation to die, and so to be raised? • In our world the “Chosen” of God are targeted for death, yet they shine. Where do you see them?
       And God says “Listen to him.” Faith isn’t about believing stuff about Jesus, no matter how glorious. It’s about listening to him, day by day, moment by moment. When we listen we may hear something new, even radically contradictory to what we have believed. (Peter had to get rid of his old way of thinking when Jesus spoke of his cross.) • What “booths,” what structures, habits, or teachings of the church get in the way of our listening?
       By pointing us toward the cross (and resurrection) the Transfiguration story prepares us to enter the season of Lent with hope and not foreboding. This is the way to life that is infinite.

Call to Worship

1.
Leader: God of light, such lovely light, we awaken to you.
All: You shine in us with beauty and grace.
Christ, light of the world, you shimmer in us all.
All people are held in the glow of your grace;
all people are radiant with your glory.
Holy Spirit, flame of heaven, you gleam in us to enlighten the world.
Shine in us, that we may bear the beams of your love to all the world,
in the name and the company of the risen Christ. Amen.

2. Adapted from Psalm 99
Leader: The Holy One Reigns! Let the people tremble!
All: The Holy One is great! Holy is God!
Praise the Holy One our God, and worship at God’s holy mountain.
For the Holy One our God is holy.
Mighty Ruler, lover of justice, you have established equity.
You have brought forth righteousness and justice.
You led your people and spoke to them in the pillar of cloud.
Alleluia! God of love, lead us by your light,
transform us by your grace, that we may truly follow Christ. Alleluia!

3. (May also be used as a response/ affirmation)
Leader: God of glory, you create us with light.
You fashion us out of glory, and it shines in our faces.
All: We worship you in awe, and we seek your presence among us.
Christ, you are the glory of God, the light of the world.
You are the fulfillment of the law and prophets.
We turn to you to teach us, to heal us, to re-make us,
so that we will again shine with the glory of your image.
Holy Spirit, you are the light of grace within us.
Each of us is a pillar of fire, shining with the power of your love.
Alleluia! Come, Holy Spirit, and transform us
from one degree of glory to another, by your grace. Alleluia!

4.
Leader: God, you have rescued us from the power of darkness
and delivered us into the Realm of your beloved Son.
All: We give thanks that you have enabled us
to share in the inheritance of the saints in the light.
Light of the World, shine upon us, and grant us your grace;
Strengthen us with your glorious power.
Alleluia! Come, Holy Spirit, and transform us by your grace. Alleluia!

Collect / Prayer of the Day

1.
God of glory, Christ shone upon the mountaintop. Cast the brilliance of your gospel into our hearts, that Christ may shine in us in all we do. Amen.2.
God of love, your Word is made flesh, your law fulfilled and the prophets revealed in Christ. Your light shines among us. Speak, for we are listening. Amen.

3.
God of love, your Christ stands radiant among us, and in his light we see anew. He is the pillar of fire for our Way, the light for our path. We open our hearts to your Spirit, that we might hear your living Word in our worship and in our lives, and be transformed from one degree of glory to another by your grace. Amen.

4.
God of Light, help us to see you; help us to hear. We are asleep; our eyes are dim; there is so much that we fear and desire that we do not easily see clearly what is before us. Shine the light of your Word upon us. Awaken us to your grace. We open our hearts to the presence and the voice of your Beloved Son. Grant by your Spirit that we may listen to him. Amen.

Listening Prayer

(suitable as a Collect, preparation for hearing scriptures, or invitation to prayer)

1.
Light of Christ, shine on me.
May I behold your beauty,
trust your grace,
and listen for your voice.
Light of Christ, shine in me,
that I may be radiant with your love,
in this moment and to eternal life.
Amen.

2.
God of love,
when Christ shone with glory
you enveloped the disciples in mystery,
in a cloud of unknowing,
and said, “Listen to him.”
I let go of clinging to glory,
and listen.

3.
God, your glory shines in us.
But we veil our beauty,
afraid of the power of your glory.
Hold us in your mystery;
fill us with your love;
give us humble courage,
that your glory might shine forth.

Prayer of Confession

1.
Pastor: The grace of God be with you.
All: And also with you.
Trusting in God’s tender mercy, let us confess our sin to God with one another.
Loving God, you have created us with light,
with the radiance of love and the splendor of your presence.
It shines in our faces and glows in our hearts.
But we have veiled your light, and covered over your glory.
We have dimmed your love and darkened your presence within us.
Forgive us.
Remove the coverings that hide your light in us.
Warm us again by your Spirit, and rekindle the light of your grace within us,
that we may shine with the image of Christ, your Beloved,
and in Christ’s power radiate your love as pillars of light.
SILENT PRAYER… THE WORD OF GRACE

2.
God, for the ways in which your light shines in us, we give you thanks.
[silent prayer…]
For the ways in which we hide that light, we ask forgiveness and healing.
[Silent prayer…]
God of grace, we give thanks that you forgive our sin entirely,
and lead us from darkness to light, from death to life,
in the grace of your Christ Jesus. Amen.

Response / Creed / Affirmation

1.
         God of all Creation, we trust in you. Love is your light, and mercy is your glory.
         Christ Jesus, word of God made flesh, light of the world, God’s Beloved, in you we see God’s glory, and in you we see our own true glory. Your love is light for our path, and your love is our path.
         Holy Spirit, light of God in us, we give you our hearts, that we may always accompany you in your journey of justice and liberation, that we may always wonder, that we may always listen. Light of love, lead us, and we will follow. Amen.

2.
       We love and trust in in God, Holy Trinity, creator of all that is and all that is to come.
       We love and trust in Jesus Christ, the Chosen One of God, Light of the World, fulfillment of the law and prophets, and the One who leads us in our exodus from death to life, from bondage to freedom, from sleep to wakefulness, from exile to the present moment. We follow Christ in the Way of the Cross: the way of compassion, justice, and non-violent self-giving, for the sake of the healing of the world.
       We are empowered by the Holy Spirit, united as the Body of Christ, set free by God’s perfect forgiveness, and drawn by the mystery of resurrection and the light of eternal life. Christ, illumine our path, that by your light we may be light for the world. Amen.

3.
Jesus, you shine with the light of eternal life; therefore we trust in you. In your love you fulfill the law and the prophets; so we listen to you. You proclaim the Way of the Cross; and we follow you. You lead us in exodus from death to life; therefore we follow you. You face your life and your death with the light of resurrection; therefore we open our heart to you, that we too may shine with the light of God’s love, for the sake of the healing of the world. Amen.

Readings

(Poetry by Steve Garnaas-Holmes)


                  Light

You do not need to fetch it or make it.
         It is in you.

The chaos out there roars, so dark,
         but sit still and listen:
         
“Let there be light” speaks in your darkness.
         Let it be.

Let it become you. Fill you.
         Ageless, it claims you.

Calm, unworried by what it falls on,
         it radiates peace.

Let it shine in you,
         a simple lamp by the window,

before you bear it
         out into the world
         that needs it so badly.



         The Light Does Not Insist

Even on the darkest winter days
light reaches in,
gently entering my dimmest rooms:
neither hesitant nor brash,
simply offering itself
with no mind to all that is opaque,
all that distorts,
transfiguring the room.
and the air in the room.

I, too,
reach in toward that gentle light,
not anxious or forceful, that calmly glows
and changes everything.


              The Jug

You are walking a path before dawn
there are others
you are carrying a large ancient jug

Maybe clay it is light it is leaking
you hold it wounded to your chest
how soon will it run out? will they see?

You try to hold it all together
the light and illimitable burden
the hollows and failings and ill-fitting pieces

It is bleeding brightly
the hand of the sun on a tree
light poured out at your feet

The dimness is pregnant
the way is immersed
you can see they can see

You hug the jar weeping
hurrying sweating
nothing stops it from spilling away

You sense a surrender a death a defeat
the jug has collapsed and disappeared
light falling from your hands

Why do you weep? why are you afraid?
did you not know
that your only purpose here is

to shed light to shed light to shed light



                Mantle of Light

The evening light settles like snow on everything,
giving new shape to the gate beside the road,
and the people standing in the gate,
whose faces are of molten gold,
and whose hands are flocks of birds,
in which the hand and the light turn
at the same time, as if speaking to each other.
We are frescoes, perfected while the light is still wet.
Trees are poured down out of light
into ground that does not resist.
Their twigs bend almost imperceptibly under their yoke.
The air is so thick you like to move your hand through it.
In this light everything is a child,
or an angel, and even the darkness believes.

This does not mean anything,
but it helps me learn the light within,
and remember how to see,
and bear this luminous mantle
as if it is not burdensome.

Eucharistic Prayer

(The body of the prayer may be read responsively or by the presider[s] alone.)

1.
Beloved, God is with you.
And also with you.
Lift up your hearts.
We lift them up to God.
Let us give thanks to the Faithful One, our God.
It is good to give God thanks and praise.

Loving God, you create us, and create us always anew;
you set us free, and set all people free;
you walk with us into new life, life with all and for all.
In the beginning was your Word, and your Word was light;
your love is the light of all people, and shines in each of us.
Though we are blind to your light, and try to cover it over,
still you shine in all people, and you gather all people in your light.
When we seek to divide, you invite us back,
back to the table of your light.
So with all Creation we sing your praise:

Holy, holy, holy One, God of power and love,
all Creation shimmers with your presence.
Amazing and beautiful! You save us!
Blessed are they who come in your love.
Amazing and beautiful! You save us!

Blessed are all who come in your name,and blessed is Jesus, your Christ.
He taught and healed, freeing captives
and binding the wounds of the community.
The light of his love awakened us to our loveliness.Those who feared that light in themselves and others
tried to put out the light: they crucified Jesus.
But you raised him from the dead,
for the light shines in the darkness,
and the darkness cannot overcome it.

[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, and one in our love for the world.
May your light shine in us, the light of the risen Christ,
the light of love. Amen.


2.
Beloved, God is with you.
And also with you.
Lift up your hearts.
We lift them up to God.
Let us give thanks to the Faithful One, our God.
It is good and beautiful to give God thanks and praise.

Creator God, we thank you. For in the beginning
you said “let there be light,” and there was light.
The light shines in the darkness,
and the darkness cannot overcome it.
You claim us as your people, and covenant with us to be our God.
You set your shining bow in the sky as a sign of your faithfulness.
When we go from you, imprisoned by our wants and fears,
you set us free from all that oppresses us.
You leads us to freedom by a pillar of fire.
You give us your Word, a lamp for our feet and a light on our path.
You give us Jesus, the light of the world.
Therefore in gratitude, with all Creation, we sing your praise.

            [Sanctus, spoken or sung:]
        Holy, holy, holy One, God of power and might,
        heaven and earth are full of your glory.
        Hosanna in the highest.
        Blessed is the one who comes in the name of God.
        Hosanna in the highest.
               [or alternate version]

Blessed are all who come in your name,
and blessed is Jesus, your Christ, the light of the world.
The light of your grace shined in him.
He created for us a dwelling built not of walls but of light.
He fed the hungry and healed the broken.
He kindled your light in us whose spirits were dim,
and called us forth as light for the world.
For his witness to justice he was crucified,
but the darkness cannot overcome the light:
in love you raised him from the dead.
Even as he faced his death he shone with the light of resurrection.

       [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:

                [Memorial Acclamation, spoken or sung:]
        Christ has died. Christ is risen. Christ will come again.
                     —or—
        Dying, Christ destroyed our death. Rising, Christ restores our life.
        Christ will come again in glory.
             [or alternative]

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.
May we live always in the light of resurrection,
with the light of your Word guiding us,
the light of your love shining in us,
for the healing of the world.

     [Spoken or sung]
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.

Prayer of Dedication / Sending / [after Communion]

God, we thank you for [this mystery in which] you have given yourself to us in love. As the risen Christ shone on the mountain, ready to face his death, we too, by your grace in us, shine with the light of your love, ready to go out into the world and serve, confident in your grace. Bless us that we may listen to Christ always, and shine with your love, for the blessing of the world, in the grace of your Spirit and in the name of Christ. Amen.

Suggested Songs

(Click on titles to view, and hear an audio clip, on the Music page)

Christ on the Mountain [Tune: Be Thou My Vision]

Christ on the mountain, our law and our light, we
come to your table with all you invite.
Hearts all aglow with your Spirit’s bright rays,
gladly we offer our gifts and our praise.

Dawning of heaven, our heart’s rising sun,
feasting upon you, we all become one,
bright with the love that your Spirit imparts,
radiant with mercy in each of our hearts.

Christ, as your Body, we pray by your grace, that
we give your deep love a voice and a face,
by love transfigured, with light in our hands,
bringing your gospel to earth’s farthest lands.


Christ on the Mountain Height [Tune: Fairest Lord Jesus]

Christ on the mountain height, radiant with God’s delight,
shining with love and mercy bright,
from fear and death released, we come in thanks to feast
upon your resurrection’s light.

Jesus, Beloved One, bright as Easter’s rising sun,
called to listen and follow you,
fearless of pain or loss, help us to bear your cross
with love’s pure light in all we do.

Savior and dearest friend, Law and Prophet’s fullest end,
strengthened by love, by the Spirit drawn,
feed us with courage, Lord. Help us to live your Word
and trust in Easter’s promised dawn.


Christ, Transfigured [Tune: Ode to Joy]

Christ, transfigured on the mountain, Law and Prophet, Living Word,
by your glory we are humbled, by your presence we are stirred.
Christ, you are God’s faithful servant, God’s beloved Son so dear.
Guide us by this radiant vision: help us listen; help us hear.

Christ, you choose to suffer and to die, rejected, on the cross,
sharing in our sin and death, our struggles, and our pain and loss.
In your faithful, loving presence, even in our darkest nights,
we behold you, God’s Beloved, shining with love’s healing light.

Help us serve you, each transfigured by light shining from above.
Fill us with your Holy Spirit, radiant with the light of love.
In self-giving, help us share our neighbor’s suffering through the night,
and be lamps for those who struggle, with compassion’s gentle light.


Jesus, Transfigured [Tune: Fairest Lord Jesus]

Jesus, transfigured, bright with heaven’s mystery,
highest of prophets and all the law,
our power to comprehend comes to its humble end
in reverent wonder, love and awe.

Sun of the morning, radiant with holy light,
wake us from sleep, that we may see:
see holy glory in each day’s story,
in every day, eternity.

Light of the world, O Christ, shine in us with all your love.
Crucified and risen One,
fill us with holy fire, our hearts with grace inspire,
to share the warmth of heaven’s Sun.


Light for the World [Original tune; dialogue between congregation and soloist]

Love, may we live by your light; let us be light for the world.

Christ, you appeared on the mountain top, shining with radiant glory.
You are God’s Son, the light of the world, and we will tell your story.

God said, “Let light shine out of the dark,” and shines with that glory in Jesus.
And when we turn our faces to Christ, God shines in our own heart.

When you belong to the Lord you are light, no longer held in darkness.
Live what is loving and true, my friends, as children of light.

You are the light, the light of the world. Let God’s light shine in you.
Let your light shine so that others may see, and glorify God.


Listen (Tune: The Gift of Love/ Water Is Wide)

“This is my dear Beloved Son, the Light of Life, my Chosen One.
And so I ask that by my grace you listen for his gentle voice.

“For when you listen and attend in silence deep, you meet your Friend,
whose voice no words can catch or hold, and yet whose love is clearly told.

“And listen well with love’s deep art, to what is in your neighbor’s heart,
for there I dwell, and there I speak; and there I hide, for you to seek.

“My glory shines in every face of my beloved human race.
So listen well with wond’ring care: behold my glory shining there.”


Resurrection Light [Tune: Joyful, Joyful]

Wake us, Jesus from our dreams, to see you in a holy light:
Law and prophet, loving promise God has sent to guide us right.
As Elijah, call us Godward, speak the living truth to us.
As our Moses, lead us in our liberating exodus.

Wake us, Jesus, from our fear of pain and death, and from our sin.
Grant that we may live illumined by the world you usher in.
All things shine with light reflected from the dawn that fills our sight.
All of life is thus transfigured by your resurrection’s light.

Wake us, Jesus from complacent dreaming on the mountain’s height.
Teach us humble service: your departure is our guiding light.
Preach the gospel, feed the hungry, heal the broken, give them sight.
Give your life, then find it, shining bright with Resurrection light.

Transfiguration (A communion song) (Tune: Be Thou My Vision)
[This song may be found in Table Songs, a collection of communion songs to familiar tunes.]

Christ on the mountain, our law and our light… we
come to your table with all you invite.
Hearts all aglow with your Spirit’s bright rays,
gladly we offer our gifts and our praise.

Dawning of heaven, our heart’s rising sun,
feasting upon you, we all become one,
bright with the love that your Spirit imparts,
radiant with mercy in each of our hearts.

Christ, as your Body, we pray by your grace… that
we give your deep love a voice and a face,
by love transfigured, with light in our hands,
bringing your gospel to earth’s farthest lands.

Wake Us From Our Sleep (Original song)

God of mercy, wake us with your light.
Rouse our sleeping hearts and give us sight.
Raise us up from death; fill us with your breath.
Wake us from our sleep to live new lives in you.

Life comes only from the Word you give.
You alone have power to make us live.
Seeking what is True, Love, we turn to you:
springs of living water flow, and so we live.

Christ, you touch our hearts and heal our fear.
Even in our pain your grace is near.
Spirit, you who save, raise us from our grave.
Born again, dry bones who rise, we live in you.

Christ, light of the world, your radiance bright
wakens us to day out of our night:
shining in, it heals; shining out, reveals.
Help us all to live as children of the light.

February 23, 2025

Lectionary Texts

Genesis 45.3-11, 15 — Joseph reveals himself to his brothers. God has been in charge all along. “It was not you who sent me here, but God.”

Psalm 37 — Don’t fret because some people get away with evil; commit your way to God, and God will act on your behalf.

1 Corinthians 15. 35-50 — The resurrection body: “What is sown is perishable, what is raised is imperishable…. If there is a physical body, there is also a spiritual body.”

Luke 6.27-38 — Love your enemies. God is kind to the ungrateful and the wicked.

Preaching Thoughts

Genesis
       In the old way of seeing God, God was in control of stuff. God actually schemed to get Joseph sold into slavery in Egypt, in preparation for the famine God would bring about a generation later. As Joseph says later (Gen. 50.20): “Even though you intended to do harm to me, God intended it for good. I don’t think God intended for Joseph to be treated unjustly; I think God’s intent overrules human intents. Even though we choose evil, God can turn a disaster into a miracle.

1 Corinthians
       Paul says there is such a thing as a resurrection body that’s not the same as our physical pre-death body. This opens a question of what exactly the body of the post-Easter Christ is. Paul’s own writing suggests it clearly: the “spiritual body” of the risen Christ is us, the church, the Body of Christ. When people say, “Well, if Jesus was raised physically from the dead, where’s his body?” the answer is right here. It’s us. Jesus was raised not as an individual, but as a community. Paul says a lot about that, like in 1 Cor. 12.
       The unspoken thing about the resurrection body is that for it to live, the first body has to die. As Jesus says in Jn. 12.24, “Unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains just a single grain; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.”

Luke
       The command to “love your neighbor as yourself” means not only to love them as much as you love yourself, but to love them as if they are your self. We don’t live according to the flesh, our “self” defined by and confined to our physical bodies, but we live according to the Spirit: even though we appear in separate bodies we are all one body, in one spirit. (We’re the resurrection body of Christ.) You and your neighbor are part of the same body. To love our neighbor is to love ourselves.
       Here is a clear charge for non-violence and radical compassion. But, as has been noted, non-violent resistance is still resistance. Turning the other cheek, in Jesus’ honor-addicted culture, created a situation that put the aggressor in an awkward position. Carrying a Roman soldier’s burden beyond the allotted mile put him in an awkward spot. Non-violent resistance questions, and possibly de-stabilizes, and maybe even undermines structures of domination. Jesus’ ministry always points in two directions: both healing brokenness and also breaking systems that cause brokenness.
       This is not purely strategic. It’s fundamentally theological and spiritual. Jesus asks us to live this way because God lives this way. God turns the other cheek. God goes the second mile. Much religion, both then and now, is based on the urge to get God’s approval, to “get saved.” But God doesn’t work that way. “If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them.” But God is kind to the ungrateful and the wicked. God loves even God’s enemies. Be merciful, just as God is merciful.
       Wait. So isn’t there any punishment for sin? It sounds like there’s a catch, a little bit of God’s retribution, for “the measure you give will be the measure you get back.” I don’t think this means God is mean toward those who are mean , but simply that when we create hurt, we experience it. God won’t judge us or punish us, but God won’t save us from the consequences of our own sin. Still no matter what we do, God is kind to the ungrateful and the wicked. We receive God’s grace, a good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, put into our lap.

Call to Worship

1.
Leader: God, you who are love, you create us in love.
All: We are the body of your love.
Christ, love made flesh, you come to us in grace and healing.
We are your Beloved, blessed and embraced.
Holy Spirit, energy of love, your fire alone in us is our life.
We are bearers of your love to this world.
Fill us with your love, fill us to overflowing,
for the sake of the world you love. Amen.

2.
Leader: God of hope, like Joseph we have been sold into slavery.
All:We have been controlled by forces beyond us.
But you have set us free, and given us dignity and grace.
We thank you. With gratitude and awe we worship you.
In our worship we open our hearts to you,
like Joseph’s brothers receiving the bounty of grain.
Fill us with your love, that we may bless and serve others
according to the power you give us.

3.
Leader: God of life, we need you.
All:Sown in weakness, we come to you.
You love us, bless us, and set us free.
Raised in power, we thank you.
Receive our lives and transform them in your love.
Raised in one spiritual, body, we worship you.

Collect / Prayer of the Day

1.
God of love, you who created us in love, and for love, fill us with your love.
Fill us to overflowing with love even for those we oppose or dislike.
Fill us with the self-giving love of Christ.
Give us hearts of peace, not war.
God of love, fill us with your love. Amen.

2.
Gracious God, set us free from our desires to be right, to be safe, to be comfortable. With the love of Christ warm in our hearts, we turn to you to receive your Spirit, the spirit of gentleness and mercy, the spirit of courage and generosity. Bless us, that we may be vessels of your love for our neighbors, even for our enemies, in the spirit of Christ. Amen.

3.
God of grace, as Joseph was sold into slavery, we too suffer forces that bind us and impoverish us. As you raised up Joseph to reign with generosity, set us free, and empower us to forgive and to love and to give freely and boldly. May the seeds of our hearts die and be buried in you, and be raised, rich with the fruit of your love. Amen.

4.
Merciful One, we have received your grace abundantly, in good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, placed lovingly in our lap. How can we not thank you? How can we not share that love and mercy and grace with others? We open our hearts to behold your mercy, to be shaped by your grace, and to live in your love, in the Spirit of Christ. Amen.

5.
God of love, you command us to love our neighbors, to love even our enemies. You know how hard this is for us. Open our eyes to your grace, open our hearts to your love, so that we might receive it, in good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, placed lovingly in our lap. By your Word, and the presence of Christ, and the power of your Holy Spirit, fill us with your love, that we may be merciful as you re merciful, in the name of Christ. Amen.

Listening prayer

Merciful One,
you have been kind even
to the ungrateful and the wicked.
We have received your grace,
a good measure, pressed down,
shaken together, running over,
placed in our lap.
We give thanks,
and we open ourselves wider
to receive your Spirit,
that we may be merciful
as you are merciful.

Prayer of Confession

1.
Pastor: The grace of God is with you.
Congregation: And also with you.
Trusting in God’s tender mercy, we open ourselves in honesty to God.
God of love, help us to see ourselves with the eyes of love,
to see what is in us that is loving, and what is not loving.
God, we recall those times we have acted in love, and we give thanks.
[silent prayer…]
We recall when we have not acted in love; we call to mind those relationships in which love comes harder for us, and we seek your grace..
[silent prayer…]
God of mercy, in Christ you have shown us your grace.
Forgive us, heal us, and perfect your love in us.
      [Silent prayer … The Word of Grace]

2.
…
God of mercy, we bear with us our little judgments,
sure that some are better and some more sinful than others.
But we confess we are all under your grace, all forgiven,
for you are kind to the ungrateful and the wicked,
and at times we each are among them.
At times we all have been enemies of your grace;
and yet you love your enemies.
Therefore in humility we confess our sin
and ask your forgiveness,
trusting that we receive your grace, in good measure,
pressed down, shaken together, running over.
Merciful One, may we be merciful as you are merciful.
…

Reading

          (Luke 6.27-38)
Leader: I say to you that listen, Love your enemies.
All: God of grace, give us compassion for those who are hard to love.
Do good to those who hate you, bless those
who curse you, pray for those who abuse you.
We pray for those who oppose or mistreat us, for they are deeply wounded.
If anyone strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also.
Give us grace and courage to be nonviolent.
And from anyone who takes away your coat do not withhold even your shirt.
Give us your spirit of generosity
Give to everyone who begs from you;
and if anyone takes away your goods, do not ask for them again.
Give us your spirit of forgiveness.
Do to others as you would have them do to you.
Help us see others as extensions of ourselves, and love them.
Love your enemies, do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return.
We desire only to be loving, not to be right, to be secure, to be victorious.
Be merciful, just as God is merciful.
Give us your spirit of mercy.
Do not judge, and you will not be judged;
do not condemn, and you will not be condemned.
Forgive, and you will be forgiven;
give, and it will be given to you.
A good measure, pressed down, shaken together,
running over, will be put into your lap;
for the measure you give will be the measure you get back.”
May we love as you have loved us.
We pray in the name and the spirit and the company of Christ. Amen.

Response / Creed / Affirmation

         We love you and entrust ourselves to you, God, Creator of all, you who are Love: wherever there is love, there you are.
         We love you and entrust ourselves to you, Jesus. You are Christ: you embodied God’s love, feeding and healing, extending companionship to the outcast and the “unworthy.” You showed us how to love; and the cost of love; and the power of love. For your love that disturbed power structures you were crucified; but in love you were raised from then dead. For your love is more powerful than anger, fear or violence.
        We love you and entrust ourselves to you, Holy Spirit, for you are the Oneness that unites us with all, neighbor and stranger, friend and enemy. You are the energy of Love that enables us to bless, to serve, to forgive and to extend healing to all people. In the power of your grace, as one Body in you, we devote our lives to love, generosity and justice, in the name of Christ. Amen.

Prayer of Dedication / Sending

God of love, you have loved us perfectly. Fill us and guide us with your Spirit, that we may perfectly love and serve you, and love others—even our enemies—as ourselves. By your grace may be love one another ass you have loved us, and be merciful as you are merciful. We pray in the name and the unity and the companionship of Jesus. Amen.

Suggested Songs

(Click on titles to view, and hear an audio clip, on the Music page)
All songs with “Love” tag, especially:

At Your Feet [Original tune]

Jesus, at your feet I bow.
I am yours completely now.
By your mercy show me how
to be loving.

Jesus, Master, you who save,
you have served me as a slave.
This, the perfect gift you gave:
to be loving.

In each hurting one I meet
it is you, O Christ, I greet.
Make my faithfulness complete,
to be loving.


Create us Now [Tune: Gift of Love/ The Water Is Wide]

Creating God, you breathe your Word
and new each day create the world;
your light you sing, your love you give;
you breathe in us, and so we live.

Creating God, you gather grain
from scattered fields, baptized by rain;
raised up in love, from death released,
it brings forth grace that spreads a feast.

Above the meadows of our hearts
your rising sun your love imparts.
Remade in love, raised from the dead,
Make us your wine, your living bread.

With our dear Christ, we, too, have died,
like seeds once sown and multiplied.
Now raise us up from death anew.
Create us now, dear God, in you.


Drawing Me [Original tune]

Holy One, Mystery, how will you keep drawing me
nearer to the heart within the heart?
Nearer still, falling in, closer to the heart within,
draw me God. I fall into your love.
Lover, you are calling, you are drawing,
I am falling into you in love.

Deep in me there’s a voice, there’s a hunger, there’s a choice,
seeking something vital that is you.
By your grace drawing me, may I fall eternally
nearer to my center deep in you.
Lover, you are calling, you are drawing,
I am falling into you in love.


God of all Gentleness [Tune: Be Thou My Vision]

God of all gentleness, God of pure love,
you do not watch us from heights far above,
you are no tyrant, but patient and mild,
present with grace in the poor, in the child.

God of all mercy, may we be the ones
bearing your love to your daughters and sons,
not out of pity but humbly, with grace,
for in the poor we see your human face.

God of all justice, give us hearts to care,
hope to free prisoners of fear and despair,
courage to challenge the ways that oppress,
deep love to reach out to heal and to bless.

God of compassion, your Spirit now pour
into us all, for it’s we who are poor,
hungry for justice, for healing and grace,
and for full life for the whole human race.


Love Only [Tune: Be Thou My Vision]

God, may your deep love shine bright in my heart,
may it be always your love I impart.
In ease or conflict, your love be my stay,
as your Beloved, your love to convey.

When people scare me and I feel alone,
help me see they, too, have wounds of their own.
Help me surrender my sword and my shield,
love and love only by your grace to yield.

God, by your Spirit, fill me with your grace, to
love and to heal in each moment and place.
Love and love only, through conflict or strife,
sets us all free and gives healing and life.


Love-Sowing God [Tune: The river Is Wide)]

Love-sowing God, sow love in me.
Sow seeds of grace abundantly.
My soul be soil where love may root and grow
and bear your precious fruit.

Where habit’s feet and wheels have tracked,
my anxious work the soil has packed,
soften my soul with bliss or pain,
so love may enter in again.

My angry thorns, my selfish weeds,
God, clear away, and sow your seeds.
Despite the hungry, wanting bird,
Love, plant in me your living Word.

Love-sowing God, your labors done,
help me to trust the rain and sun,
receive your grace and faithfully
bear forth your love that grows in me.


Make Us Merciful (Tune: Fairest Lord Jesus)

Merciful parent, God, prodigal with grace and love,
welcoming children through your pain,
gently receive us all, break down our shame’s dark wall,
that we may never leave again.

Gentle and gracious God, you who love your children,
you take us in though we turn away.
Fold us in your embrace; fill us with peace and grace,
that we may live your gentle way.

God, give us spacious hearts, generous and kind and wide,
no matter what hurtful things folks do.
Help us to love and bless, steadfast in gentleness.
Lord, make us merciful as you.

New Breath (Tune: Morning Has Broken)

Christ, we are baptized into your dying,
and like the sunrise, we are made new,
given new breath, to live every moment,
for out of death comes new life in you

Great Holy Spirit, breathe in us daily,
set free from fear that once bound us in,
free now to love our neighbors with courage,
rising above our death and our sin..

Blessed and forgiven and resurrected,
set free for living by grace alone,
may we live lives of gentle compassion,
with the same light that in Jesus shone.

O Christ, My Way [Tune: The River Is Wide]

O Christ, my truth, my life, my way,
I give my heart to you this day.
I give myself, yes all of me,
that where you are I too may be.

O Christ, my way, the path I take
is love alone, for you love’s sake.
O be my heart, my strength and nerve,
that I may love and bless and serve.

O Christ, my truth, in you I see
the God who dwells in you and me.
But God remains yet far above
until I live in humble love.

O Christ, my life, I give my heart,
for when in you I take my part
and share your love, your work and strife,
I share in full your risen life.


Open My Heart [Tune: Open my eyes]

Open my eyes that I may see everyone ‘round me lovingly,
shedding my labels, habits and fear, see with a heart that’s true and clear.
Patiently, God, may I behold each blessed life as it unfolds.
Open my eyes, illumine me, Spirit divine.

Open my ears and let me hear unspoken stories, unshed tears.
Help me to hear with love shining through stories that no one’s listened to.
Tenderly, God, help me to hold what is within each person’s soul.
Open my ears, illumine me, Spirit divine.

Open my heart and grant me love, mercy for those I’m heedless of.
Help me to know each person I face as one you bless with gentle grace
Lovingly, God, please make me more mindful of those whom we ignore.
Open my heart, illumine me, spirit divine.


Set Me Free (to love) [Original tune]

From all that binds me, Love, set me free.
From all that binds me, Love, set me free.
Set me free, Love, set me free.
Oh Love, set me free for love.

From what I fear, O Love, set me free….
From what I cling to, Love, set me free…
To live in perfect love, set me free….

February 16, 2025

Lectionary Texts

Jeremiah 17.5-10 — “Blessed are those who trust in the Lord.. they shall be like a tree planted by water.” “The heart is devious above all else; it is perverse— who can understand it?”

Psalm 1 — “They are like trees planted by streams of water, which yield their fruit in its season, and their leaves do not wither.

1 Corinthians 15.12-20 — “If Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile…. But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have died.”

Luke 6.17-26 — The first part of Jesus’ Sermon on the Plain (preceded by healings): blessings and woes.

Preaching thoughts

Jeremiah
       Faith is not heaving all the right answers. It’s being rooted in God. Both Jeremiah and the Psalm offer this image of being deeply rooted in a life-giving, nourishing stream. In faith we don;t have to “go to God:” we are already rooted in God; all we have to do is receive the grace that flows to us, underground, unseen, but steady. Those who we judge as “unrighteous” aren’t punished; but they’re like “shrubs in the desert who don’t see when relief comes.” They don’t receive the grace that’s given to them, that streams below them. Maybe, as in one of Jesus’ parables, their roots are too shallow.
       But what impedes our receiving God’s grace? What makes it so hard to send our roots down, down, deep into God? Well, that’s a mystery. “The heart is devious.” Our sin is our disconnectedness from God, the illusion that we’re separate. And in our separateness we can’t see clearly. So we ask God to help us see—this is not judgment, but discernment: we welcome God’s “testing the mind and searching the heart.”
       A special warning is given to those who “amass wealth unjustly”. That’s not just people who make money through immoral means. It means those who keep their money and spend it on themselves instead of using it justly. Of course, though that’s especially true for billionaires, it’s true for all of us, isn’t it?

1 Corinthians
       Paul seems to be arguing backwards: the proof of resurrection is that Christ is risen. But I think he’s not really trying to convince skeptics that there is such a thing as resurrection. He’s reminding us who do believe in resurrection that it’s the bedrock of our faith. We’re not just following somebody who taught us some really good moral precepts. We’re entrusting ourselves to a God who brings life out of death—as we have seen in the resurrection of Christ. Our faith in is God’s grace, which transcends the powers and limitations of this world. You can agree with the ideas you’ve learned from Jesus, but the life of faith isn’t an idea, it’s a commitment, an adventure—and a risk. If you really live by Jesus’ teachings—blessed are you poor, you who mourn, you who hunger for justice—then you’ll necessarily risk the riches, comforts and security of this world for the sake of love and justice. You will have to let go of much. And only a God of resurrection will get you through that.

Luke
       It is noted that this is a sermon on the plain, not the mount, that the blessed are “you poor,” not “those (others) who are poor in spirit.” Which did Jesus say? Both. For Jesus people’s “physical” and “spiritual” needs were part of the same thing. He didn’t distinguish. He offered physical experiences—healing their physical bodies, feeding them physical food—all of which carried profound spiritual meaning, affecting their relationship with God, themselves and others. The spiritual / physical dualism is false. Everything is both. For the poor, oppressed and downtrodden, sometimes justice comes in the form of encouragement, empathy and companionship, and sometimes it comes in the form of real food, or money, or political power. “Good news for the poo” means both “thoughts and prayers” and also legislation.
       Jesus’ beatitudes are a radical counter to secular understanding of what makes for happiness. The source of our blessing is not the condition of our lives—whether or not we’re poor, or mourning, or longing for justice that’s unfulfilled. Rather, the source of our blessing is God’s grace, which is available to everybody, including the poor and miserable. God’s grace brings life out of death; it transcends, overwhelms and subverts human fate, will and intention.
       Jesus is not necessarily coaching us to become poor or grieving, but to love, even at great risk, trusting God to bless us even if we do become poor or hungry. And he’s encouraging those who are poor and mourning that God is with them. The poor are not more blessed than the rest of us, but if we’re not rooted in God’s grace, we’re less aware of our blessing, less able to receive the nourishment that flows from those underground streams of blessing, because our trust is in our own skill, resources, bank account, luck, whatever. The times we truly behold the depth of God’s grace is when we have to, when there’s no other option, when we really are poor or powerless.
       If we really want to receive the blessing that Jesus offers the poor, the way is not necessarily to take on suffering, but to be loving. (“If I give away all my possessions, and if I hand over my body so that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.”) If we are loving toward those who suffer, we will befriend them, share their burdens (“weep with those who weep”), advocate for them, ally ourselves with them. Their concerns will concern us. We don’t have to wait till someone we love dies to receive the blessing of those who mourn. All we need to do is open ourselves to being brokenhearted for the world and its profound hurt. Scary as that is, there’s blessing there. We don’t need to find ways to make people speak ill of us. All we have to do is stop trying to avoid criticism. If we live for love, if we seek justice, if we give attention and power and voice to those who are poor or powerless or broken, it won’t be popular. Systems of domination will resist, and people will speak ill of us. But there’s blessing there.
       Jesus pairs woes with his blessings. These are not punishments. It’s not retribution. It’s just the flip side. It’s clarity about what it’s like when we don’t live in harmony with God’s grace. It’s about the hollowness of rooting our happiness in possessions, comfort and status. Inherent in these woes is a critique of the prosperity gospel or a religion that urges us to seek happiness, comfort, reward and a sense of security. (In fact in the desert following his baptism Jesus had to wrestle with the temptation of power, security, and status, and renounce them.) Of course there’s also a critique of the rich and powerful (Jeremiah: “those who amass wealth unjustly”) and those who decline to enter with compassion into the suffering of the world. His blessings and woes mirror the image in both Jeremiah and the Psalm: those who live in harmony with God’s grace and compassion are rooted in good soil with life-giving streams. Those who invest merely in their own happiness have no roots in God’s life-giving grace, and will eventually shrivel up, lifeless.

Call to Worship

1.
Leader: Creator God, you are a stream of living water;
we are trees planted nearby, rooted in your deep, flowing love.
All: We drink form your blessing; we grow in your grace.
By the gentle presence of Christ with us
we avoid the ways selfishness and cynicism,
even when they are al around us.
We fill ourselves with your Word, and we delight in your ways;
rooted in your Creation, we flourish in your love.
All of our evil perishes in your grace.
It becomes like dry leaves, blown away in the wind of your Spirit.
In closeness with you, we bear the fruit of love
for the healing of the world.
Flow in us, God of life, and once again transform us by your grace. Alleluia!

2.
Leader: Happy are those whose delight is in God’s Word.
All: They are like trees planted by streams of water.
They yield their fruit in its season, and their leaves do not wither.
We come to root ourselves in your love, O God.
May we bear the fruit of your Spirit,
the fruit of your love. Amen.

3.
Leader: Creator God, we seek you.
People: Risen Christ, we rely on you.
Holy Spirit, you are lour life and our breath.
We thank you for always being with us.
When we are lonely you comfort us,
when we are poor you enrich us,
when we are lost you guide us.
You are always with us.
We worship you in gratitude, with open hearts.

Collect / Prayer of the Day

1.
God of love, we come with fears and desires, habits and attachments, and all our compulsive agendas. Give us peace to release them all, to seek only your love, and to give only your love. Bless us with your grace, that our lives may be shaped by the love that bears all things, hopes all things, endures all things, in the name of Christ. Amen.

2.
Gracious God, we seek to be happy, but we only find deep joy in you. We strive to be strong, yet our strength is only in you. We desire the riches of this world, but only your grace is truly what we need. Open us to your Word now; help us to surrender everything but our love for you, our trust in you, and our willingness to receive your grace. We pray in the name and the Spirit of Christ. Amen.

3.
God of grace, the world tells us to seek power, possessions, esteem and security. But you alone are our power and our security. Your love alone is the esteem we need. Help us to renounce the goods of the world and turn to you again to receive your grace. Be our hope in despair, our consolation in sorrow, our riches in need, and our power to love as Jesus loved. Amen.

Listening Prayer

(suitable as a Collect, preparation for hearing scriptures, or invitation to prayer)

1.
God of infinite grace,
we are trees planted by streams of your love.
Let the deep roots of our souls,
the invisible root hairs of our prayer,
sink deep in your grace,
and draw up your blessing,
unseen, into our hearts
and our community.

2.
Beloved, we thank you:
out of poverty, abundance.
We open to you:
out of hunger, fullness.
We trust you:
out of weeping, laughing.
May your grace well up in us,
out of our dying, your rising.

Prayer of Confession

1.
Gracious God,
we confess our sin to you,
for we have denied your light in us;
we have betrayed your Holy Spirit in us.
We have sought happiness and security
instead of faithfulness and trust.
For those sins which weigh upon us,
and those we do not even know
we ask your forgiveness.
Heal our hearts, renew your Spirit within us,
and restore in us the image of Christ,
that by your grace
we may be light for the world. Amen.

2.
Loving God, we confess the poverty of our spirits.
We lift up to you the hunger of our souls,
and our broken hearts. We need you.
Turn us away from the riches of this world,
to receive the riches of your grace.
Forgive our sin, heal our hearts,
renew our hope; create us anew.

Readings

1.
     Person 1: Jesus, help me. I’m trying to get ahead, but I’m falling behind. I’m too weak and inadequate. I don’t know what’s worse: the worry or the shame.
Jesus: Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the Realm of God.
     Person 2: I’m missing something. I feel a deep longing that is never satisfied.
Jesus: Blessed are you who are hungry, for you will be filled.
     Person 3: I’m trying to be happy, but my heart is broken.
Jesus: Blessed are you who are mourning, for one day you will laugh.
     Person 4: People don’t take me seriously.
Jesus: Blessed are you when people exclude you: this is how they treat the prophets.
     Person 1: I see people who are powerful and successful and glamorous, and I am jealous.
Jesus: Woe to those of whom everyone speaks well: this his how people treat the false prophets.
     Person 2: Jesus, I feel empty.
Jesus: Only an empty vessel is ready to be filled.
     Person 3: I feel powerless.
Jesus: The power is not ours, but God’s.
     Person 4: I want to be deeply alive.
Jesus: Yes. First you have to die. Then, miracles.

2.
Adapted from 1 Corinthians 1.23-31

We give thanks to God because of the grace God has given us in Christ Jesus. Not many of us are wise by human standards, not many are powerful, or of noble birth. But God chose what is foolish in the world to teach the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to save the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to reduce to nothing things that are. God alone is the source of our life in Christ, who became for us wisdom from God, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption. Therefore we proclaim Christ crucified and raised, a stumbling block to those who seek signs, and foolishness to those who want proof. But to us who are being saved, this is the power of God. Alleluia!

Response / Creed / Affirmation

1.
     We love and you trust you, God, for you bring light out of darkness, Creation out of chaos, life out of death.
     We love you and trust you, Jesus, for you embody the grace of God: you brought healing out of sickness and food out of need. You gave hope and dignity to those who had none. Though you were rejected you brought love to the unloving. You were crucified, but God raised you from the dead.
     We love you and trust you, Holy Spirit, for our own spirits are poor without you. You bring consolation to our sorrow and power to our weakness. By your grace you raise us up out of our dying, and give us the gift of eternal life. Holy One, we give ourselves to you, that we may live in trust and joy, and the love of Christ, for the sake of the healing of the world, in your name. Amen.

2.
     We affirm our trust in you, God: though the world clamors for our allegiance you are our only source of identity, belonging and security. You offer us consolation in our sorrows, nourishment for our hunger, and healing for our brokenness.
     We affirm our trust in you, Christ, for though the world tells us to seek power, prestige and possessions, you show us the power of love, and radical trust in God. In your dying and rising you reveal the grace that God offers us, and lead us to surrender our lives in love, and to die and rise with you.
     We affirm our trust in you, Holy Spirit, for by your power in us we stand against the world’s greed and divisions, its materialism and prejudice, its reliance on force and violence. Because we trust you, by your grace we renounce the ways of selfishness and fear, and devote ourselves to courageous love, deep generosity, and the struggle for justice, in the name and the spirit and the company of Christ.

Eucharistic Prayer

God is with you.
And also with you.
Lift up your heart.
We lift them up to God.
Let us give thanks to the Holy One, our God.
It is good and beautiful to give God our praise. God of grace we thank you.
Out of the “No” of all nothing you brought the “Yes” of Creation.
Out of our nobodiness you have made us Somebody.
Out of our oppression you have set us free,
with all your Beloved.
In our mourning you have comforted us.
In our hunger you feed us, and we gather at your table
with all whom you have raised up, singing your praise:
     (Sanctus)

Blessed are all who come in your name,
and blessed is Jesus, your Christ,
who brought forth healing amid sickness, bread amid hunger,
community amid brokenness, hope amid despair.
Without worldly power or wealth he trusted utterly in your grace,
and fearlessly proclaimed your love.
Though he was excluded, reviled and rejected,
he offered only love.
     (The Blessing and Covenant)*

As long as we break this bread and share this cup
we remember his death and resurrection, until he comes again.
Therefore, remembering these your mighty acts in Jesus Christ,
we offer ourselves as a living and holy sacrifice,
in union with Christ’s offering for us,
as we proclaim the mystery of our faith:
     (Memorial Acclamation)

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 Spirit on us,
that we may be for the world the Body of Christ,
raised from the dead and reliant upon your grace alone.
Send us to the world,
to its poverty and hunger, its sorrow and hatred,
to sow your love, in the name of Christ,
for the healing of the world.
     (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.

Prayer Dedication / Sending / after Communion

1.
God, we thank you for this mystery in which you have given yourself to us. In our hunger you have fed us. In our brokenness you have joined us, and made us one. Into our empty hands you have placed the riches of your grace. Send us now, grateful and trusting, to share that grace with all who are poor and hungry, mourning and rejected, in the name and the love and the companionship of Jesus. Amen.

2.
God of grace, you have raised us up from death to life. When we are weak you are strong. Give us deep trust in your grace, and send us out as hollow, fragile vessels of your inextinguishable grace; to be light in the darkness and healing in the hurt, to be among the poor and powerless with hope and courage; to love at all costs, knowing our life is in you alone. We pray, as we go, in the name and the company of Christ. Amen.

3.
.God, we thank you for this mystery in which you have given yourself to us /
that mystery that you give yourself to us.
By your Spirit may we be stewards of your blessing. May we be trees planted by streams of your grace, faithfully bearing the fruit of your love. Send us to the poor, the mourning, and those hungry for justice. May we find our happiness in your grace alone, accompanied by Christ and empowered by your Holy Spirit, for the sake of the wholeness of the world. Amen.

Suggested Songs

(Click on titles to view, and hear an audio clip, on the Music page)

Blessed (Original tune. Music also includes Eucharistic prayer responses)

Dear God, receive me anew, mourning and poor in my soul,
hungry for what makes me whole.
Bless me by making me simple like you.
Blessed are the ones who have nothing but God,
for God and God alone shall fill their lives.

Mercy please grant me anew. Make my heart pure by your grace,
humble, that I may see your face.
Bless me by making me gentle like you.
Blessed are the ones who have nothing but God,
for God and God alone shall fill their lives.

Courage please give me anew, peace in the world to make,
and to suffer for your Gospel’s sake.
Bless me by making me faithful to you.
Blessed are the ones who have nothing but God,
for God and God alone shall fill their lives.


By your grace (Tune: What Wondrous Love Is This)

What wondrous love is this O my soul, O my soul,
what wondrous love is this, O my soul!
That you so freely give the bread by which we live,
that you revive our soul, by your Word, by your Word,
and by your life in us make us whole.

Our lives we give to you, by your grace, by your grace,
our lives we give to you, by your grace.
Lord, use the gifts we give to help your children live
that all may come and feast by your grace, by your grace,
the greatest and the least, by your grace.


Return, My Soul (Tune: Finlandia)

Return, my soul, from all your hungry wandering,your fearful search for comfort and control.Let go my grasp of things apart from God,for God alone can heal and hold my soul.Return to God, for God alone will love me,and give me life, and bless and make me whole.

Return, my soul, from all the things that dull me,that soothe my sense, but leave my sin in place.My broken heart, return from tricks and bargains;turn to the One who meets me face to face.Return to God. Each moment turn again;
receive unending love and life and grace.

I turn, O God, to you who love with patience.You walk beside me, though I cannot see.You are my life in dry and weary deserts,my spring of life that flows eternally.I turn to you, from false desire and grasping,and letting go, I find that you hold me.


We Lift Our Spirits Up (Tune: SURSUM CORDA, Alfred Norton Smith,
or Abide with Me, or Spirit of God, Descend Upon my Heart)

We lift our spirits up to you, O God,
O Love, our morning sun, our living breath.
You are our first and final dwelling, God:
receive our prayers, receive our life and death.

Our grateful thanks we give you for your care
that bears us through the challenges we face,
for nothing we desire can compare
with your compassion and your healing grace.

O God, we open wide our longing soul:
breathe into us your mercy and delight.
We give to you all that we would control,
make us pure vessels of your love and light.

February 9, 2025

Lectionary Texts

Isaiah 6.1-8 — God calls Isaiah. “Here am I; send me!”

Psalm 138 — “You answered when I called out in need…” “Though I walk in the midst of trouble you preserve my life…” “Fulfill your purpose for me.”

1 Corinthians 15.1-11 — Christ died, rose, and appeared to the apostles.. Then me, “the least of the apostles.”

Luke 5.1-11 — After a miraculous catch of fish; Jesus calls the first disciples.

Preaching thoughts

Isaiah
       We hear three stories today about God’s call, and how we typically feel unworthy. Isiah cries out Isaiah cries, “Woe is me! I am lost, for I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips.” Ponder the symbolic, evocative, freaky image of the seraph touching a live coal to Isaiah’s mouth. Isaiah is cleansed, purified. But it’s got to hurt. God’s refining fire is never destructive, only creative—but that’s not to say it sin’t painful. The flame of God’s grace burns away your feelings of inadequacy. God knows what they’re doing when they call you. Your inadequacy is not an issue, and won’t be, ever. Ever. You’ve been sealed. The wound of your shame has been cauterized.
       “Here am I. Send me!” This is the prayer of faith: not “God here’s what I want you to do for me…” but “God, what can I do for you? Here am I. Send me.”

Psalm
       “Before the gods I sing your praise” might give pause to the literalists, but relax. There aren’t other gods. But there are plenty of idols. The god of success, of being right, of winning, the god of White Supremacy…. In the face of all those false gods, I honor the real one. One way the real God is different is that God honors the lowly (v.6); all the other idols are about dominating the lowly, eliminating the losers. Those gods are accessible only to those who have already attained insider status. But God is with and for everyone, including the outsiders, those who are “not right,” even the inadequate. Even you.
       Another difference is that all our idols serve themselves. The god of Winning makes winning look good and losing look bad. But God. The Loving One, is not here for God’s sake but for ours. God attends to us, knows us, cares about us. “On the day I called, you answered me.” God listens.
       But God’s care for us is not for ourselves in isolation (that would be the god of selfishness); it’s for us as part of God’s loving world. “God will fulfill God’s purpose for me” (v.8). My well-being is embedded in the world’s well-being. My peace is inherent in my call.

1 Corinthians
       
Paul recites an ancient creed about Christ’s death and resurrection and appearance to the apostles. Then Paul adds Christ’s appearance to Paul himself, “the least of the apostles.” But, he says, “by the grace of God I am what I am.” Paul echoes Isiah’s concern about being unworthy: it’s not by his own effort, goodness or deserving that Paul is able to count himself among the apostles, but by God’s grace. You can see Paul trying to juggle his frequent need to justify himself with his trust in God’s grace: “I worked harder than anybody—well, but, yeah, really it was not me, but God in me. Got it?”

Luke
       This is several kinds of stories all at once: a miracle story, a story about call, an experience of death and resurrection. The call to the disciples comes out of Jesus fulfilling his call, bringing God’s realm of grace to people. The call comes gradually, as step by step Peter and the disciples are moved into greater levels of trust, gratitude and service. But each step entails mystery, uncertainty, resistance, and eventually letting go.
       Jesus sees the boats and climbs in—climbs into our lives. We’re in the same boat now! The future disciple’s call begins in a simple task: to let Jesus use their boat to preach. Are you willing to be used by grace, even for a simple task? In what ways does God use the ordinary things of your life, even your job, to spread grace? I imagine Peter and the others silently working the oars to keep the boat positioned for Jesus to speak to the people. How do you intentionally keep your life “pointed toward Jesus, and well aligned so Jesus’ message comes through your living?
       Jesus bids us to go out “into the deep.” Imagine what they might mean: to reflect deeply… to be open to mystery, and the depths of grace just beyond our seeing… to explore the deeper layers of meaning in what we experience… to live deeply…. In what ways is Jesus calling you to go out into the deep?
       “We fished all night.” Notice how Jesus always heads right for where it hurts. Jesus leads us toward our fears and failures, and invites us to see them anew. What has been our trauma lingering in our unconscious (the deep) Jesus brings up into to our consciousness and transforms it ; he empowers us to re-write the story. The very place of our failure becomes a place of grace.
       “But if you say so…” Jesus invites them to fish where they think they’ve exhausted all possibilities.For Jesus there is always another “And yet…” How do you listen for Jesus’ invitation to discover possibilities you didn’t see before?
       They catch a miraculous number of fish. Can you trust that there is an overabundance of grace right beneath, you, that you can’t see but is there, waiting for you? What would lead you to trust that?
      The nets began to break and the boats to sink. Sometimes success can capsize us. Sometimes the net of our job can hardly bear the weight of all we’re trying to do. Sometimes—not only when we’re failing but also when we’re succeeding—we need to call on others, and rely on community.
       “I am sinful”… “Be not afraid.” This is a moment of death-and-resurrection for Peter. Peter is transported beyond the realm of what he can accomplish—the catch of fish is purely given—and he becomes aware of his inadequacy and undeserving, and his sin. And in that very place, that very moment, Jesus accepts him, reassures him, and calls him. An old, doubting, self-centered Peter dies, and a new disciple Peter is raised up. God’s call isn’t just a job assignment: it’s a death-and-resurrection experience, a transformation of who we are—yes, our broken, unworthy, inadequate selves—into exactly what God needs: still ourselves, still fisherfolk, but now in the service of God.
       I’m struck by how richly this story reflects on the life of faith, its inner movements, and the transformations we undergo:
       The crowd presses in: we are seeking… we experience hunger…
       He saw two boa: we are sought.. we experience an alternative vision – more than one way…

       He got into a boat: we are visited …. we experience presence…

       He asked Peter to put out: we are invited, we experience dislocation…

       He taught the crowds: we are enlightened… we experience opening…

       He said “Put out into the deep”: we are led… we experience mystery…

       “We fished all night”: we are defeated… we experience resistance…

       “But if you say so”: we are willing… we experience something new…

       They caught so many: we are blessed … we experience overabundance…

       The nets were threatened: we are challenged… we experience our limits…

       They signaled their partners: we are accompanied we experience community, shared risk…

       “I am sinful!”: we are revealed… we experience crisis, self-confrontation, a death…

       “Do not be afraid”: we are assured… we experience grace
       “You will fish for people”: we are transformed… we surrender old consciousness…

       They left it all & followed: we are sent… we enter into a new way of being, a resurrection…

Call to Worship

1. [Isaiah 6.1-8]
Leader: I saw God sitting on a throne, high and lofty.
Seraphs were in attendance, and they called to one another:
All: “Holy, holy, holy is God Omnipotent;
the whole earth is full of God’s glory.”
I said, “Woe is me, for I am a person of unclean lips
and I live among people of unclean lips,
yet my eyes have seen the Holy One, Almighty God.”
One of the seraphs flew to me holding a live coal from the altar
in a pair of tongs, touched my mouth with it and said,
“Now that this has touched your lips,
your guilt has departed and your sin is blotted out.”
Then I heard the voice of the Holy One saying,
“Who shall I send, and who will go for us?’ And I said,
“Here am I; send me!”

2.
Leader: God of glory, you have done wonders in our midst.
All:We are in awe.
You call us to serve you.
Are we worthy?
You do not call those who are prepared;
you prepare those who are called.
We thank you, God, as we worship you.
Touch us with the fire of your love,
that we may faithfully serve you as prophets,
as bearers of your love, as fishers of people.

3.
Leader: We are just ordinary people,
like fishers mending their nets.
All: But Jesus has come and climbed into our lives
and proclaimed good news among us.
Jesus has invited us out into the deep.
We worship amid mystery.
Unseen shoals of blessing shimmer beneath us.
By God’s grace we have received a miraculous catch of grace.
Our blessings are not because we’re worthy,
but because we’re forgiven.
Jesus calls us to follow.
Help us, Spirit, to let go of everything we cling to;
to worship in humility, gratitude and trust;
and to follow and serve humbly with love. Amen.

Collect / Prayer of the Day

1.
God of love, Jesus entered the lives of the fishers, spoke grace to them, and called them to follow him. Come into our lives now, speak your Word to us, and stir up your spirit in us to follow your call. Amen.

2.
God of grace, you come to us in holiness and splendor, and grant us grace that we have not earned. You give us your deep compassion, and we feel unworthy. Jesus calls us to work by his side, and we know we are not good enough. But you touch us with the flame of your love, and call us, and remind us that we are your Beloved. Speak to us now, God, remind us again, and call us to your work, in the Spirit of Christ. Amen.

3.
Gracious God, Jesus stood in the fishermen’s boat and taught the people. Come and stand among us now and speak to us. As Jesus called his disciples, you call us to give our lives to you. Open our hearts and minds, we may hear with joy and follow with courage. Amen.

Listening Prayer

(suitable as a Collect, preparation for hearing scriptures, or invitation to prayer)
1.
God of abundance,
we sail on your deep unknown.
We let down our nets of prayer
into the depths of your mystery
and we haul up your grace.
In the silence, we wait.

2.
Jesus, you climb into the boat of our lives
and teach us your word.
You invite us out into the depths.
Out of the ordinariness, even the despair of our lives,
you bring beautiful abundance.
Our unworthiness haunts us.
But you call us. You promise fruitfulness.
You throw the net of your love
into the dark depths of our hearts
and bring forth a shimmering harvest
of grace and possibility.
To our doubt, Beloved, speak.

Response / Creed / Affirmation

     We give our hearts to God, the Holy of Holies, Creator of all things that are and that are to come, the source of our life and all love, who sets us free and births us into new lives, whose miracles are just out of our sight, but near.
     We follow Jesus, the Christ of God, the embodiment of God’s love. He taught and healed the people, he loved them and called them, beyond what they knew they could do. He made of them a gifted community, including the outcast and empowering the lowly. He resisted injustice, and for his witness he was crucified. But he was raised from the dead, and lives among us, blessing us and calling us.
     We live by the Holy Spirit, the power of God’s love in us. The Spirit calls us to lives of love and service, of healing and forgiveness, of courage to do justice and to love tenderly, where we discover the deep blessings hidden in our callings. By the grace of the Spirit that sustains and empowers us we die to our fears and desires, and rise with Christ in abundant and beautiful love. Alleluia!

Eucharistic Prayer

God is with you.
And also with you.
Lift up your hearts.
We lift them up to God.
Let us give thanks to the Holy One, our God.
It is good and beautiful to give God our praise.

We thank you, God, for this beautiful and amazing world.
Shoals of blessing shimmer just beyond what we see.
When our lives seem bleak or pointless,
you bring to the surface such abundant grace we are astonished.
Our minds can scarcely comprehend it. Our nets are near breaking.
So we fall to our knees, humbled and in awe.
But you lift us up and call us to lives of praise and service.
Therefore with gratitude and wonder we sing your praise:
     (Sanctus)

Blessed are all who come in your name,
and blessed is Jesus, your Christ,
who climbs into the boat of our lives and teaches us,
who directs us into deeper waters,
who multiplies blessing.
He calls us to join him in ministry to the world,
and promises to be with us always.
     (The Blessing and Covenant)*

As long as we break this bread and share this cup
we remember his death and resurrection, until he comes again.
Therefore, remembering these your mighty acts in Jesus Christ,
we offer ourselves as a living and holy sacrifice,
in union with Christ’s offering for us,
as we proclaim the mystery of our faith:
     (Memorial Acclamation)

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 Spirit on us,
that we may be for the world the Body of Christ,
fishers of people, who behold the bounty of your grace,
and who cast the net of your love far and wide in this world
for the sake of all your Beloved.
     (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.

Prayer after Communion

Gracious God, thank you for this mystery in which you have given yourself to us. You have raised up a miracle among us, a gift of nourishment and beauty, a gift of forgiveness and your deep trust in us. Encouraged not by our worthiness but your grace in us, we follow you, in the power of your Spirit, in ministry to the world. Amen.

Prayer of Dedication / Sending

1.
Gracious God, we give you our lives, symbolized in these gifts. Receive them with love, bless them with grace and use them according to your will. You call us, and make our daily lives vessels for your grace. We surrender our plans and our possessions, to follow Christ in all we do. Send us out to follow Jesus, to spread the net of your love over all the earth, for the sake of the healing of the world, in the name of Christ. Amen.

2.
God of love, Jesus has called us to join him as fishers of people: to include all in the wide net of your love. Send us with your love, with courage that overcomes our doubt, grace that heals our shame, and faith that opens our eyes to your miracles, so that we may love freely and deeply, in the name and the company of Jesus. Amen.

Suggested Songs

(Click on titles to view, and hear an audio clip, on the Music page)

Breath of God (Tune: “Londonderry Air” – O, Danny Boy)

O Holy One, Creator of the stars of night,
whose dust we are, created with your light,
now breathe your spirit into us and give us life;
give us new hearts that beat with your delight.
Our dust and ashes, Love, we give in faith to you.
Receive our lives, our sin, our wounds, our death;
and raise us up with Christ from death to life by grace.
God, may we be your love and you our living breath.

Breathe into us the breath of your compassion, God,
the breath to sing your praise in all we do,
the breath to run the race of justice, long and far.
Breathe, holy breath: empower and renew.
O be the grace that fills our lungs, reviving us;
O be the wind on which our hearts can soar;
O be our life, our beauty and our living breath.
O Spirit, come breathe in us now and evermore.

Calling Me      (Original tune)

Dear God, Creator eternally, you call everything to be.
How are you calling me, even now?
Who do you call me to be?
Where is your image in me, calling me?

Jesus, lord of the fishermen, calling your children,
you call to me once again, even now.
What will you lead me to do?
How can I witness to you, calling me, calling me?

Spirit, power of love in me, how do you set me free,
what gifts are you giving me, even now?
I am a vessel for you.
Humbly I listen to you, calling me, calling me.

Drawing Me      (Original tune)

Holy One, Mystery, how will you keep drawing me
nearer to the heart within the heart?
Nearer still, falling in, closer to the heart within,
draw me God. I fall into your love.
Lover, you are calling, you are drawing,
I am falling into you in love.

Deep in me there’s a voice, there’s a hunger, there’s a choice,
seeking something vital that is you.
By your grace drawing me, may I fall eternally
nearer to my center deep in you.
Lover, you are calling, you are drawing,
I am falling into you in love.


God Has a Dream      (Original tune)

God has a dream for us,
that Jesus is revealing,
a world of love, made whole, set free,
a world of justice and healing.

Dream, Jesus dream in us.
May we dream like you.
Dream, Jesus, dream in us.
May your dream come true.

Dream, Jesus in us, we pray,
and may our dreaming be waking.
May your dream be our guide, our way,
to join in the world you are making.

Dream, Jesus dream in us.
May we dream like you.
Dream, Jesus, dream in us.
May your dream come true.

January 19, 2025

Lectionary Texts

Isaiah 62.1-5 — Israel’s vindication. “You shall be called My delight Is in Her. “As a young man marries a young woman, so shall your builder marry you.”

Psalm 36 — “How precious is your steadfast love, O God! All people may take refuge in the shadow of your wings. They feast on the abundance of your house, and you give them drink from the river of your delights. For with you is the fountain of life; in your light we see light.”

1 Corinthians 12. 1-11 — Spiritual gifts. “There are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit.”

John 2.1-11 — Jesus turns water wine.

Preaching Thoughts

Isaiah
        These words of adoration, delight and faithfulness are spoken to people returning from exile. God cherishes, blesses, and promises fidelity to people who have been oppressed, abused, devalued or silenced.

1 Corinthians 12. 1-11
       Paul says: the Spirit moves in each of us differently, with different gifts, but there are not separate spirits: there is one Holy Spirit, and it is in us all. Some people take the list here, with other references to spiritual gifts in Paul, as an exhaustive “canonical” list of spiritual gifts. There aren’t a finite number of specific gifts. They are innumerable. A spiritual gift is any way the Spirit works in you for the sake of the community. Sop, yeah, apostleship and interpretation of tongues are spiritual gifts. So are patience, generosity, openness to wonder, cooperativeness and a sense of humor…
       Help your people do more than pick their gifts off some biblical list, but discover how the Spirit moves in them in ways that offer grace. Whatever it is, it’s a gift, and it comes from the Spirit. Seek ways in worship to celebrate people’s gifts. For instance in prayer time invite people to call out spiritual gifts they see in each other, in the community—no names, just gifts.

John
       Faithful love. This scene picks up in Isaiah’s imagery of God’s marriage to us. Life is a wedding celebration: a feast of covenantal love and faithfulness. The steward says to the bridegroom “you have kept the good wine till now.” Jesus is the one who produced the wine, so in a sense, John hints, Jesus is our bridegroom, the one who will be faithful to us in love forever. A hint that all of life is both a wedding and communion with God, a eucharistic feast.
      Abundance. A wedding gift of 180 gallons of very fine wine is a gift of delight, an act of joy, a multiplication of astounding abundance and generosity.
       Transformation. The story suggests Jesus’ power to transform, the splendor to which Jesus calls us, the way grace makes something wonderful of the ordinary stuff of life.
     Purification. The jars were used for the Jewish rites of purification, but Jesus has repurposed them, as if we do not need to be purified (“You have already been cleansed by the word that I have spoken to you, [15.3])— we need to celebrate! Our problem is not that we’re evil sinners, but that we don’t trust God’s glory in us enough to let ourselves be made signs of God’a grace. Jesus shifts the work of faith from the fiction of being “good enough” to the gospel of being loved.
      Sign. “This was the first of his signs; and his disciples believed in him.” John says the gospel is written “so that you may believe” (20.31). By “believe” John doesn’t mean “think,” as in “I believe Jesus is the Son of God.” John means to entrust ourselves. As in “I’m crossing this rickety bridge because I believe in it.” John begins his narrative about Jesus with the invitation: “come and see.” In John the “signs” are not showy proofs of Jesus’ divinity, but events John can point to that help us see who Jesus is and entrust ourselves to him. The miracle of God’s loving faithfulness, the abundance of God’s glory, God’s power to transform us, God’s delighted acceptance of us regardless of how “clean” we feel—all these are signs of who God is, and signs that we can entrust ourselves to God.

Call to Worship

1.
Leader: Beloved, you who take us in marriage,
All: we give ourselves to you.
Water of life, flowing in our need,
we receive your abundance.
Spirit of Beauty, wine of wonder,
we drink of your grace.
God, you turn the water of our lives into the wine of your delight.
We worship you with gratitude and awe.

2.
Leader: God of miracles, we praise you.
You have turned water into wine!
All: The ordinary into the beautiful.
Scarcity into abundance.
Despair into confidence.
And you turn us once again into your people:
No one into Someone.
Scattered pieces into one Body.
Ordinary lives changed into worship. Alleluia!

3. (Adapted from Ps. 36.5-10)
Leader: O God, your love reaches to the ends of the universe.
All: Your grace that saves all living things is as solid as a mighty mountain.
We take refuge in the shadow of your wings.
We feast on the abundance of your house; we drink from the river of your delights.
With you is the fountain of life. In your light, we see light.
We open our hearts to your love now and always,
your grace to all who will receive it!

4.
Leader: O Crucified and Risen Christ, you eat with the poor,
All: and you provide the finest wine.
You suffer with the brokenhearted,
and you sing songs of praise.
You go toward the cross
and yet you dance with joy.
Amidst the world’s injustice you go about healing,
And amidst the world’s sorrow you go about rejoicing.
Grant us your Spirit, that in this world of suffering and injustice
we may be people of joy and healing,
O Christ, in you we are one with all who suffer,
and one with you who live and reign
with the Creator and the Spirit forever. Amen.

Collect / Prayer of the Day

1.
God of might and miracle, Jesus turned water into wine at the wedding in Cana. All of life is the feast of your marriage to us. Every moment you perform your miracles, turning the water of our lives into the wine of your grace. Open our hearts to receive your blessings, to drink deeply of your love, and to enjoy the goodness of your gifts. Amen.2.Creator God, we confess that too much we live by our own wits and wants, and not by the leading of your Spirit. Yet your Spirit is within us. Speak to us now; revive your Spirit in us, and by it lead us in lives of faithfulness, love and justice, in the name of Christ. Amen.

3.
Gracious God, as Jesus turned the water into wine, so you have made our lives beautiful and blessed. Jesus is with us in our celebration now, turning the water of our lives into the wine of your praise. In our worship, transform us and make us new in the image of Christ, that we may be your glory for all the world. Open our hearts and minds, that as the scriptures are read and your good news proclaimed we may hear with joy what you are saying to us today. Amen.

Listening prayer

1.
Faithful Jesus,
we are clay jars, ready for you.
Turn the water of our prayer
into the wine of your presence.

2.
Gracious God,
the waters of purification
have been changed
into the wine of celebration.
You have married us in delight.
Give us grace to accept your love.
Give us openness
to hear your transforming Word.

Prayer of Confession

1.
Pastor: The grace of God be with you.
All: And also with you.
Trusting in God’s tender mercy, let us confess our sin to God with one another.
Gracious God, in this wide world, we are small, and we do not understand.
We need you.
In this difficult world, we have faltered.
We need you.
In this hurtful world, we have been afraid to receive your grace and your delight,
and we have brought hurt upon ourselves and others.
We need you.
Grant us your grace, transform our hearts,
and restore in us your image,
that we may live fully in the delight you have for us.
We pray in the name of the Crucified and Risen Christ.
…Silent prayer…. The Word of Grace
(By the grace we know in Christ we are assured that all our sins are forgiven entirely, and we are set free to live by the power of the Holy Spirit alone. You are God’s child, God’s Beloved, in whom God finds delight.)

2.
God of miracles,
we offer to you the water of our lives:
all that is ordinary, all that is broken,
all that is not yet as it could be by your grace.
Work your transforming grace in us:
change our water into your wine.
Forgive our sin, heal our hearts,
and give us courage to be signs of your love,
abundant with beauty and delight.
By the grace you show us in Christ,
take who we honestly are,
and turn us into signs of your glory.

3.
Pastor: The grace of God be with you.
All: And also with you.
Trusting in God’s tender mercy, let us confess our sin to God with one another.
God, we confess we have thought ourselves Forsaken,
we have named ourselves Desolate.
“But you shall be named My Delight Is In Her,
and you will be called Married.”
Forgive our distrust. Heal our fear.
    [silent prayer…]
Beloved, the bridegroom has brought out the finest wine
to celebrate: you are made pure;
you are the object of God’s delight.
By the grace we know in Christ, your sins are forgiven.
God’s delight is in you; God has married you forever. Amen.
Amen.

4.
God of love,
we confess we have thought ourselves unworthy
to be vessels of your glory.
We have neglected the gifts of your Spirit in us.
We have displaced your spiritual gifts with our fears and appetites.
Heal our fear and distrust; forgive our unwillingness.
Revive your Spirit in us. Renew the gifts of your Spirit,
that each of us, each in our own way,
may be vessels of your grace,
water of humanity turned into wine of glory.

Response / Creed / Affirmation

1.
      We give our hearts to you, God, Creator of all, who hold all things in your loving hands, you who are the source of love and blessing, healing and joy.
      We give our hearts to Jesus, your Christ, who suffered with the broken hearted and lived as one who was powerless. He fed the hungry, healed the sick, brought good news to the poor and set free those who were oppressed. On the cross he suffered with those who mourn, who struggle, and who die. And in his rising he brings us through death to life, through tribulation to joy, and out of isolation into oneness. He turns our water into wine. He is in the world now, with the poor and suffering, embodying your healing, your justice and your delight.
      We give our hearts to your Holy Spirit, who is in us, uniting all who sorrow and who rejoice, who suffer and who heal. We live as one body, the Body of Christ. We trust in the power of your grace and the covenant of your presence in all things. And we devote ourselves to lives of joy and service for the sake of the healing of the world, in the Spirit of Christ. Amen.

2.
     We love and trust God, Creator of all that is and is to come, who fashions all Creation as One, with its many varied parts, united in the Spirit of Love.
     We love and trust Christ, the Beloved, who loved and healed, taught and fed among a broken humanity, for the sake of the wholeness of all. In brokenness Jesus was crucified, but in wholeness God raised Christ from the dead, whose risen body we are now part of, whole and united with all humanity, all Creation.
     We love and trust the Holy Spirit, who breathes in each of us, giving us all differing gifts, and giving us in love to each other, for the well being of all. By the Spirit’s grace the water of our lives is turned into the wine of worship and service. Joined by the one Spirit as the Body of Christ, we rejoice in God’s wedding to the world, and give ourselves to love, joy and faithfulness, for the sake of the wholeness of all Creation, in the name of Christ. Amen.

3.
We give thanks for the grace of God.
At times we have felt forsaken and called ourselves desolate.
     But we trust that God delights in us
     and has married us in faithful love forever.
At times we have thought ourselves unworthy,
unremarkable, in need of purification.
     But God has turned the water of our lives into fine wine,
     and the clay jars of our lives have become vessels of God’s glory.
At times we have thought of others as gifted but not ourselves.
     But God has given each of us gifts of the Spirit.
God, by your grace, help us to believe—to entrust ourselves to you.
     Help us to trust your faithful love,
     your transforming grace, your empowering Spirit.
     We are vessels of your grace. Alleluia!

Eucharistic Prayer

God is with you.
And also with you.
Lift up your hearts.
We lift them up to God.
Let us give thanks to the Holy One, our God.
It is good and beautiful to give God our praise.

Beautiful Creator,
you fashion this universe with loveliness and grace,
with overflowing abundance.
The jars of Creation brim with your joy.
You create us as your children, and promise your love.
You have married us, and your Covenant is eternal.
You know what traps us, and you set us free.
You know what we need, and your provide.
When we are anxious, you change the water of our fear
into the wine of gratitude.
We gather at this table, at the feast of your wedding to the world,
and with all Creation sing your praise:

            [Sanctus, spoken or sung:]
        Holy, holy, holy One, God of power and might,
        heaven and earth are full of your glory.
        Hosanna in the highest.
        Blessed is the one who comes in the name of God.
        Hosanna in the highest.
               [or alternate version]

Blessed are all who come in your name,
and blessed is Jesus, your Christ.
He performed miracles of joy, abundance, and healing.
He invited all to the table of your love,
and set it with generosity, so that the grace would never run out.
He was crucified, but death could not hold him;
life overflowed, and you raised him from the dead—
for your vows to be with us are unbreakable, even by death.

     (The Blessing and Covenant) *

As long as we break this bread and share this cup
we remember his death and resurrection, until he comes again.
Therefore, remembering these your mighty acts in Jesus Christ,
we offer ourselves as a living and holy sacrifice,
in union with Christ’s offering for us,
as we proclaim the mystery of our faith:

             [Memorial Acclamation, spoken or sung:]
        Christ has died. Christ is risen. Christ will come again.
                     —or—
        Dying, Christ destroyed our death. Rising, Christ restores our life.
        Christ will come again in glory.
             [or alternative]

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 Spirit, with many parts, many gifts,
many languages, many traditions —
one in your love, and one in ministry
for the sake of the wholeness of Creation,
in the name of Christ.

     [Spoken or sung]
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.

Prayer of Dedication / Sending / after Communion

1.
God of wonder, you have turned the water of this life into the wine of your presence. You have given us the gifts of your Spirit, different in each of us but all alike in your love and grace. Send us into the world as signs of your love, faithfulness, and delight, for the sake of the mending of the world, in the name and the company of Jesus. Amen.

2.
Gracious God, we give you our gifts as symbols of our lives. Receive them with love, bless them with grace, and use them according to your will. Send us into the world with the courage to be gentle when others are mean, to care for the poor and oppressed, and to be merciful as you are merciful. Grant that by your Spirit we may do justice, love kindness, and walk humbly with you all our days. Amen.

3.
God of love, we thank you for this mystery in which you have given yourself to us. You have changed the water of our daily bread into the wine of your presence. You have re-birthed us as the risen Body of Christ. Send us out into the world, redolent with your loveliness, radiant with your light, generous with your love, in the communion and the power of the Holy Spirit and the joy of Christ. Amen.

Suggested Songs

(Click on titles to view or hear an audio clip on the Music page)

Vine and Branches (Original tune)

You are the vine and we are your branches,
one with your life and rooted in your heart.
Flowing with grace, with life you fill us,
strengthened that nothing can break us apart.

You are the vine and we are your branches.
Deep in our hearts your life is flowing through.
Rooted in you, we grow and flourish.
You live within us, and we live in you.

You are the vine and we are your branches.
One common blood flows though all of our veins.
We all are part of one another.
We all are branches of one living vine.

You are the vine and we are your branches,
flowing with power greater than our own,
bearing your fruit to all Creation,
till all the seeds of your love have been sown.

Alleluia.

We Feast On Your Love     (Original song)

Chorus: We drink from your presence.
We feast on your love.
This is the banquet we’ve been dreaming of. (Repeat.)

You gather us; none is unworthy;
and no one is “greatest” or “least.”
You multiply what we offer,
so multitudes may feast. — Chorus

We hunger and thirst for your spirit,
we open ourselves to your grace.
In flows the mercy you offer
in every time and place. — Chorus

We taste the sweet wine made from water,
our bread is your body you give.
“Drink of the water I give you,
so you may truly live.”

You are the Nerve (Tune: Finlandia)

O God, your Christ is risen in your people.
On earth Christ has no body now but ours.
We are the flesh and blood of your compassion:
moved by your Spirit, with its loving powers.
God be our heart, and we will be your Body,
serving in love in all our days and hours.

We are your feet, that go with joy to others
to share your love, the gospel we confess.
We are your eyes that see what is and may be,
that see each person’s need and loveliness.
We are your hands, that work with strength for justice,
your hands that shelter, heal and feed and bless.

Love, move in me, and guide me by your Spirit,
even when I don’t see or understand.
My life is yours, to be your living Body,
that I may love and serve at your command.
This is my life, my purpose and my power:
you are the nerve, and I your willing hand.



Your Hands and Your Face (Tune: Be Thou My Vision)

God of all holiness, baptized in you,
we are your Body: your presence shines through.
We, poor in spirit, are blessed with your own.
May our lives shine forth with your grace alone

We who with Jesus do mourn with the world
shall see your banners of deep joy unfurled.
We who are hungry for love freely shared
feast at the banquet that you have prepared

May we be merciful and pure in heart,
your gentle peacemakers, doing our part.
Dying and rising, we do not fear loss,
sealed with your Spirit and marked with your cross.

Blest and beloved and baptized to serve,
we are your Body and you are our nerve.
Not by our effort, but by your pure grace,
may we be your hands and your human face.