Month: September 2022

February 19, 2023

Lectionary Texts

Exodus 24.12-18. Moses goes up on the mountain and encounters God, who shines with light.

Psalm 99 praises God and God’s glory, in language reminiscent of Moses’ experience on the mountain.

2 Peter 1.16-21 refers to God’s blessing of Christ on the mountain. “Pay attention to the prophetic message like a lamp shining in a dark place.”

Matthew 17.1-9, in parallel to the story of Moses, describes the vision of Jesus transfigured in light on the mountain. We witness Jesus’ glory, his approval from God, his shining forth the good news, his authority equal to the law (represented by Moses) and the prophets (Elijah), and the command that we listen to him.

Preaching Thoughts

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 symbolic story, weaving together Moses on the mountain; the “law and the prophets,” indicating not only Israel’s history but also scripture; Jesus’ baptism, death and resurrection; and in particular the cross.

The cross is not immediately evident in today’s reading other than in the tiny little introduction: “Six days later…” Six days after what? After Jesus told his disciples to take up the cross, and predicted his own execution. In contradiction to Peter’s objection (“God forbid it! This must never happen to you!”) the Transfiguration is God’s affirmation of Jesus’ words: “Listen to him.”

This story is essentially a Resurrection appearance. Having shown us the cross, the Gospel story shows us what’s next. Jesus has already died—before it happens 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. We are given courage to accept the cross, to accept the suffering involved in loving and doing justice, because there is glory at the end of it.

When God says the same thing God says at Jesus’ baptism, “This is my Son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased,” it’s clear that they’re connected: resurrection is the end result of baptism. Baptism is a call to risk and sacrifice, even to suffer, for the sake of love and justice, knowing that we are baptized into a greater reality—one suffused with the light of glory— greater than just our earthly days.

By pointing us toward the cross (and resurrection) the Transfiguration story prepares us to enter the season of Lent with hope and not foreboding.

Call to Worship

1.
Leader: God of love, in the light of the sunrise,
All: we behold your glory.
In the light of that stars at night,
we behold your mystery.
In the light in each other’s eyes,
we behold your presence.
In the light of Christ,
we behold your love.
Light of God, shine upon us.
Light of Christ, shine within us.
Holy Spirit, radiate your goodness through us. Amen.

2.
Leader: In the beginning God said, “Let there be light.”
All: We behold your glory.
Jesus is the light of the world.
We behold your glory.
Christ lives, shining with the light of resurrection.
We behold your glory. Alleluia!

3.
Leader: Light of Creation, light from God,
All: we are in awe. We worship in wonder and praise.
Light of love, shining in Christ,
we are your Beloved. We thank you in humility and joy.
Light of the Spirit, fire of love,
we are aflame with you. We burn with your courage and love.
You have said, “This is my Own, my Beloved. Listen to him.”
We are listening, God. Speak, and create us anew. Amen.

4.
Leader: God of light, spark of Creation, fire of love, you dazzle us!
All: Your glory is beyond our understanding. We worship you in awe.
Christ, pillar of fire, light of the world, your love illumines our path
as you lead us toward freedom.
Your grace is beyond our comprehension. We follow you in trust.
Holy Spirit, sun of our hearts, you enlighten us.
In the mystery of your presence we ourselves become flame.
Alleluia! Star of God, make beautiful the darkness.
Sun of God, dawn in our hearts.
Light of God, lead us by your grace. Alleluia!

5.
Leader: Christ, light of the world, you are our law and God’s living Word.
All: You are the dawn from on high, the light for our path.
Guide us in all that we do, and enlighten our hearts.
In the light of your day lead us, to do the works of light.
Be present with us, and shine in our hearts.
Alleluia! Come, Holy Spirit, and transform us by your grace. Alleluia!

6.
Leader: Light of Christ, grant your peace to the world,
All: and bless all creation with the light of your love.
Deliver us from the power of the shadows,
and bring us into the dominion of your light.
Christ, you are the light of the world. Alleluia
Fill us with your Spirit, that by your grace
we may be light for the world. Alleluia!

Collect / Prayer of the Day

1.
God, your Chosen One Jesus shone on the mountain with the light of glory. You said to the disciples, “Listen to him.” May Christ speak to us now in scripture, word and silence; by your grace may we listen and hear and be enlightened. 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.
Light of God, you shine upon us, and we worship you.
The rising dawn of your mercy envelops us, and awakens our hearts.
The gentle glow of your forgiveness
brings life to our spirit like flowers in spring.
The radiance of your Word lights our path and leads our way.
And Christ, the pillar of fire that goes before us,
leads us always toward love and justice.
By your grace, we listen, and we follow. Amen.

Prayer of Confession

1.
God of light,
let the dawn of your mercy rise upon
all that is unseen in the nighttime of our hearts,
that we may see ourselves in the light of your love.
What is shadowed by guilt or shame,
enlighten with your grace.
What is hidden in gloom bring into your light.
By the light of Christ, the Sun of Mercy,
may your grace shine in our hearts.

2.
God, in the rising sun of your mercy
we look at what is dull and lightless in us,
and we open ourselves to the light of your grace.
We look at what is hidden in us,
what we have denied, shadowed in shame,
and we open ourselves to the light of your grace.
We look at what is broken, and what has died,
and we open ourselves to the light of your grace.
Forgive us, heal us,
and let the light of your grace dawn upon us and within us.
          [Silent prayers of confession]
Pastor: By the light of Christ, I proclaim that your sins are forgiven entirely.
All: And your sins are forgiven entirely.
In the rising light of Christ, we are set free to live with grace.
Our sins are forgiven.
May we live always in the light of your grace.

Listening Prayer

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

Loving God,
our little minds want to understand and explain.
Our grasping hands want to cling.
But your light invites us
simply to behold.
In silence, we listen for your voice,
we gaze at your mystery,
and we open ourselves to your grace.

Response / Creed / Affirmation

Christ, Light of God, by your radiance we know that the law of God is love.
By your shining among us we trust that the word of the prophets is love.
Christ, Beloved of God, you are the light of our lives, and we listen.
May your love guide our way in the day and in the night. Amen.

Eucharistic Prayer

[After the introduction, the body of the prayer may be read responsively with the presiding leader(s) and congregation, or by the leader(s) alone.]

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.

God of wonder, we are grateful.
For in the darkness you said “Let there be light.”
In that light you create all things;
and every created thing shines with your glory.
You establish your law of love.
You send us prophets who lead us to mercy and justice.
In the fullness of time you sent Jesus, Light of the World.
Therefore, radiant with joy, 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, your Beloved,
the light of the world.
In his love he fulfilled the law and prophets.
His teaching and healing gleamed with your grace.
Even in his this death he radiated your mercy,
and in his resurrection he shined with your glory.

     (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 Spirit on us,
that we may be for the world the Body of Christ,
living as resurrected people,
radiant with hope and courage,
shining with the light of your love,
by the grace of your Spirit,
the Sun of Loveliness, burning in us.

     [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

[Adapt as needed.]
1.
Gracious God, we thank you for (the mystery that you give yourself to us / this mystery in which you have given yourself to us.) By your grace you have saved us from the power of death, and raised us as angels of light. Send us into the world as peacemakers and healers, and to work for justice, the sake of the healing of the world, in the name of Christ. Amen.

2.
Gracious God, may the light of your love shine in us.
May the radiance of hope surround us.
May the glow of mercy light our way.
May the brilliance of your grace give beauty to all our world.
Light of Christ, be the sun of our days
and the moon of our nights,
to our deep joy and your everlasting glory. Amen.

3.
Gracious God, we thank you for (the mystery that you give yourself to us / this mystery in which you have given yourself to us.) You have fed us with the light of your love, the radiance of your delight in us, the rising sun of resurrection, the fire of your passion for all beings. Send us out to be light for the world in the power of your Spirit aflame in us. Amen.

4.
Gracious God, we thank you for (the mystery that you give yourself to us / this mystery in which you have given yourself to us.) Open our hearts always to receive you in reverence and awe, in humble trust and gratitude for your grace. Send us into the world as stewards of your mysteries, following the pillar of fire, the light of the world, our savior Jesus Christ, in company with Moses and the prophets, that we may work with them to set your people free, by the grace of your Spirit. Amen.

5.
Gracious God, we thank you for (the mystery that you give yourself to us / this mystery in which you have given yourself to us.) You feed us with your splendor; you fill us with your light. Send us into the world to shine with your glory, to walk in the light of justice and mercy, to radiate with your love, as light for all those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death. may your dawn rise upon us all and lead us in the way of peace. 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.

Transfiguration (A communion song) (Tune: Be Thou My Vision)
[This 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 12, 2023

Lectionary Texts

In Deuteronomy 30.15-20 God sets before us a choice: God’s ways, which lead to life, and the world’s ways, which lead to death. God implores us to choose life.

Psalm 119.1-8 celebrates the life and power of living in faithfulness to God. (Each verse of this psalm speaks of God’s Word or law using a different metaphor: God’s ways, testimonies, precepts, commands, statutes…)

1 Corinthians 3.1-9 The apostle Paul is troubled to hear of divisions in the church in Corinth. He reminds them that it is God who creates and grows the church, not any individual. We are all God’s servants, God’s tools—we are God’s farm!

In Matthew 5.21-37 Jesus examines the laws of God not as legal requirements, but as guides to love. He addresses laws concerning murder (which he sees in terms of respect and reconciliation) adultery and divorce (in terms of what causes us to sin) and swearing oaths (about being true to our word).
       NOTE: From year to year the Epiphany season expands or contracts to make room for Lent and Easter, which follow the lunar calendar. This year the seventh and eighth Sundays after Epiphany are omitted. In the lectionary those weeks include some of Jesus’ central teachings in the Sermon on the Mount, teachings crucial to Christian faith and practice. Since the lectionary omits them this year I encourage you to consider skipping the assigned reading this week (Jesus’ teaching on adultery and divorce) and substitute next week’s reading: Matthew 5. 38-48,regarding love of enemy. It’s really the beating heart of Jesus’ faith. If you do choose this route, you might also want to substitute next weeks Hebrew Bible reading as well: Leviticus 19.1-2, 9-18, in which God sets out laws that protect the rights and well-being of the poor, and provide for integrity, compassion and justice in the community: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”

Preaching Thoughts

Jesus says, “You have heard it said… but I say to you…” He is not denying, refuting or doing away with religious laws: he’s escalating them. He’s getting at the real heart of the law, which is not merely avoiding doing terrible things, but actually loving your neighbor—even those who hurt you. So when he talks about murder it’s not just about not killing, it’s about not diminishing another’s life in any way. The prohibition against adultery is not merely a matter of avoiding extra-martial sex, it’s about being faithful in every way.

What Jesus is asking us to do is to actually love people. Not use them, not try to get around them to some higher purpose, but to love them fully and deeply, with no other desire or agenda—not even to be right. Jesus asks us to care about the person, regardless of how they bear or project their pain, regardless of how they treat us. In an argument, Jesus invites us to stop trying to win, and instead just try to love them. Even if it’s really important that they get what we’re saying, Jesus says love them first, love them totally no matter what—then add in trying to get your point across, in a way that deepens your love for them.

The heart of all this is that our primary energy is love, and love supersedes all our other motivations, energies, loyalties and desires, including the desire to win out over our enemies. Jesus’ command to love always and only is the toughest of all, especially in situations of conflict, because we want to dilute our love with wanting to win or teach a lesson or get even, or divert our love entirely to protect ourselves and abandon the well-being of others. To love even our enemies requires the deepest continual self-examination, repentance and discipline.

Jesus asks us to love unconditionally. But, golly, we want to reserve at least a few conditions, don’t we? Jesus doesn’t give us room for that. So of course we fail. We fail miserably. We don’t always love our neighbor as ourselves; we don’t often love our enemies. Jesus’ escalation of the law seems overwhelming. “Be perfect, as God is perfect.” It’s too much! When we truly confront the serious requirement of the law, we feel like giving up. “Sorry, Jesus. I just can’t do that. Go find somebody else, somebody better then me to follow you. Sorry.”

When we really get honest and admit that sometimes I feel like that, that’s when Jesus comes. He comes and sits down next to me and says, “Hey. I love you.” “But I’m a miserable failure! I’m no good.” “I know. In fact, you’re worse than you think. But I love you.” And I begin to see how I expect Jesus to put conditions on his love, that since I’m a lousy disciple he must love me less. But he doesn’t buy that. He loves me unconditionally. And when I let that love flood into me, and fill me, it overflows. Then I see clearly: Of course I don’t have enough love. I don’t have any love at all. It’s all God’s love, flowing through me. It’s not mine. All I have to do is get myself out of the way and let God’s love flow through. Turns out I’m not the salt of the earth. I’m the saltshaker.

Call to Worship

1.
Leader: God of all Creation, your beauty surrounds us.
All: We thank you.
Jesus, compassion of God, you reach out to the wounded and the abused.
We join you.
Holy Spirit, you give us love, wisdom and courage.
We open ourselves to your grace.
Shape us by your power as vessels of your mercy.

2.
Leader: God of love, we are not alone.
All: We are one with all Creation, and we thank you.
You come to us in our neighbors, with love and blessing.
We are one in Christ, and we praise you.
You live in us, and your love binds us together.
In your Spirit we are one, and we serve you with gladness;
we worship you with joy. Alleluia!

3.
Leader: God of Creation, we come in awe.
All: In wonder, we praise you.
Christ, our brother, our savior, we come in gratitude.
In joy, we thank you.
Holy Spirit, spirit of life, we come in humility.
In faith, we give ourselves to you.
Receive us, change our hearts, and give us in love to the world.
God of love, we are yours.
Alleluia!

4.
Leader: Beauty, you surround us.
All: Alleluia!
Love, you come to us.
Alleluia!
Wonder, you stir in us.
Alleluia!
God of light, we worship you. Alleluia!

Collect / Prayer of the Day

1.
God of grace and mercy, you call us to love. Our hearts swirl with many feelings; our hands tremble with many fears and desires. Receive all our emotions, calm our wandering minds, and settle us in your love. Shape us with the gentle hands of your grace as vessels of your mercy, in the name and spirit of Christ. Amen.

2.
God of truth, we hear it said there are things we should do and ought to do. But we long to know what you want us to do. We long to listen to your voice alone, and hear your Word, to know your desire for us. Speak to us. Teach us your will, and lead us in the path of your love. Give us Jesus, to show us your ways, and we will follow. Amen.

3.
God of truth, we have heard your law, and we seek to be faithful. Our obedience falters; our understanding is weak. Speak to us and write your law on our hearts, that we might truly be faithful not in duty, but in love and joy. Amen.

4.
God of life, your love is the sun in our darkness. May the light of your love dawn upon us, flood our hearts, and make us holy. Show us your Way, and lead us in your path, and we will shine with your love, in the name and the Spirit of Christ. Amen.

5.
Gentle and almighty God, the world is in turmoil and you call us to peace. The world is in conflict and you call us to love. The world is in pain, and you call us to healing. In the dark and chaos speak your Word of light. Our hearts are open. Fill us with your life. We pray in the Spirit of Christ. Amen.

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 when we have been in harmony with you,
or with life, and we give thanks.
[silent prayer…]
We recall when we have been out of harmony, 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

Listening Prayer

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

As the roots of trees
gather water and food
so may our prayers sink deep into you,
O God of grace,
and fill us with your love.

Response / Creed / Affirmation

1.
       In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was God, whose judgment is mercy, who created the light in all people, who looks upon us all with love.
       We follow Jesus, the Appointed One, who honored the sacred in all, even his enemies; who fed and healed, who taught the way of love, who sought to free the holy in each of us. He entered into the suffering of the world, and revealed God’s heart most clearly in his passion for our wholeness. For his resistance to injustice he was crucified; but he was raised from the dead.
       We live by the Holy Spirit, the love of God in us, empowering us with courage to love the world, to love through our anger and sorrow, to love at all costs, to do justice, and to work for the healing of the world in the name of Christ.

2.
Spirit of love, rise up pure in us like a spring of water.
Fire of love, burn in us brightly, a beacon of mercy.
Furnace of love, burn away all other energies but the energy of love.
Courage of love, help us face our enemies with compassion.
Gratefulness of love, help us be faithful in all relationships.
God of love, breathe in us with every breath.

3.
       God, our Heavenly Lover, we give ourselves to you—you who create all things, who love all things, who redeem all things.
       Christ, Compassion of God, Lover of our souls, we follow you. In love you healed and set people free, you fed the poor and raised up the downtrodden, and you taught us the way of love and nonviolence. Christ, you who died in love, whom God raised in love, you live among us still, and your love is the song in our hearts and the air we breathe. Your love is the judgment of the world, the measure of all things, and the salvation of our souls.
       Holy Spirit of love, you fill us and empower us to love all people in the name of Christ, to love our enemies and pray for those who oppose us, to join you in transforming the world by the power of love. As your Church, the Body of Christ, we devote ourselves to the Way of Compassion, the way of Christ; trusting in the power of forgiveness, the reality of resurrection, and the mystery of eternal life, for the sake of the healing of this world that you love so much. Amen.

Eucharistic Prayer

[After the introduction, the body of the prayer may be read responsively with the presiding leader(s) and congregation, or by the leader(s) alone.]

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.

God of love we thank you,
for in love you create us and claim us as your Beloved.
In love you confront all that oppresses us and all people,
and in love you set us free.
Though we reject your love for us, and for others,
still you are faithful.
So, 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]

Blessed are all who come in your name,
and blessed is Jesus, your Christ,
who loved beyond all boundaries,
who included the rejected and blessed the broken,
who invited all to his table of grace.
For his generosity of love he was opposed;
he was scorned and crucified.
But you raised him from the dead,
and still he invites us to the table he shares
with all your Beloved of every tribe and tradition.

     (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 in love, in holy self-giving,
in union with Christ’s self-giving,
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 Spirit on us,
that we may be for the world the Body of Christ,
fearless in love, inclusive in generosity,
and courageous in the face of opposition,
for the sake of the wholeness of the human family,
in the name and the company of Jesus.

              [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

[Adapt as needed.]
Gracious God, we thank you for (the mystery that you give yourself to us. / this mystery in which you have given yourself to us. ) You have promised us grace, and you have been true to your word, showering us with your blessing. You have been faithful to us, for better, for worse, in sickness and in health. Send us now into the world, fed by your grace, trusting in your goodness, and radiant with your mercy, for the sake of the mending of the world, in the name and the company of Christ. Amen.

Suggested Songs

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

Light for the World       (Original song)
[A dialogue between soloist and congregation. May be used as a “theme song” throughout the Epiphany season, using two or three verses per week. Throughout the season the congregation sings the chorus; each week the soloist’s verses relate to the day’s lectionary readings. Lyrics for this week:]

Congregation
Love, may we live by your light.
Let us be light for the world.

Cantor:
Your Word, O God, is a light to our path; may we be steadfast and upright.
May we be faithful and reconciled, and true to our word.

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

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

Let your light shine in us, O God, to love even enemies humbly
Help us be perfectly loving, O God, as your love is perfect.


Eternal Life    (Original song)

This is how we will know eternal life:
we will love one another.
I lay down my life, all that is mine alone,
that we may be raised together.

We are not bound by any earthy thing
when our lives we surrender to God
whose love is eternal life,
and so we will love one another.


Fulfill Your Love In Me     (Original song)

Refrain:
Fulfill your love in me, O Loving Spirit,
fulfill your love in me, O Heart of Love.

Speak the name Beloved in my deepest soul.
Hold me in your heart, your gentle loving. (Refrain)

Heal me with your mercy and your tenderness.
Bring to life the grace in me to love you. (Refrain)

Give me grace to love my neighbor as myself,
freely, with the love with which you love me. (Refrain)


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 so 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.


O Christ, My Way   (Tune: The Water Is Wide/ Gift of Love)

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 your 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.


Steadfast Love       (Tune: This Is My father’s World)

O God of faithful love, in every time and land,
the human race with tender grace you hold in gentle hands.
So may we love as well, with gracious tenderness:
the love you give we too will live, and thus our faith confess.

To those who cause us hurt, when anger calls our name,
we show the face of loving grace, for you treat us the same.
O God, you know our flaws, yet you forgive and heal;
and may we so, to friend and foe, your steadfast love reveal.

Optional concluding blessing verse for the end of the service:
Now go in peace, my friends, with God’s deep love in you,
God’s gentleness, God’s will to bless in all you say and do.
Go forth in Christ to serve, go forth, beloved friends,
still bound in prayer and loving care until we meet again.

January 22, 2023

Lectionary Texts

Isaiah 9.1-4 celebrates the light of God’s liberating grace, which overwhelms the darkness of war, injustice and oppression.

Psalm 27 says, If God is my light, then I have nothing to fear. I seek to live close to God (“in the house of the Lord”), to pay attention to God’s presence (“to seek God’s face”) and to live according to God’s leading (“Teach me your way”).

In 1 Corinthians 1. 10-18 Paul responds to news of divisions in the church in Corinth with a plea for unity. Our unity does not come from anyone’s leadership, but from our life in Christ.

In Matthew 4.12-23 Jesus proclaims God’s power and presence in the world (“The realm of heaven has come near”). He calls disciples to follow him in proclaiming the good news and healing people. Jesus then goes about living out the good news he proclaims.

Preaching Thoughts

The great theme of the Epiphany season is the church’s calling to bear the light of Christ into the world. It is not our beliefs about that light, but the light itself in us, that unites us.

In the Isaiah reading the Epiphany theme of light shines forth. “The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light.” Justice, liberation and the end of warfare is like dawn after a dark night. The Psalm reflects that light: “God is my light and my salvation.”

Matthew locates Jesus in Galilee, quoting the Isaiah passage, thereby placing Jesus in the prophetic tradition, and the work of justice and liberation. By establishing the prophetic context Matthew suggests that Jesus’ healings aren’t just individual favors: Jesus is healing the cosmos. The call to follow is a call to more than personal devotion: it’s a call to participate in that work.

It doesn’t really matter whether or not Simon, Andrew, James and John knew Jesus before he called them. What matters is that they left everything. What might we have to leave behind to really faithfully follow Jesus? What nets still entangle us, what loyalties keep us rooted to the spot?

What exactly does Jesus mean by “fishing for people?” Keep the question open. (Don’t get stuck on the literal image of “catching” people like helpless, unsuspecting fish.) It doesn’t necessarily mean capturing converts, which is a little manipulative, demeaning and oppressive. It can mean gathering people into the net of God’s grace. It can mean seeking the treasure that is other people. It can be about deepening relationships with others instead of seeking our own profit. It can mean being “bait” that attracts people to God.

Call to Worship

1. [ Isaiah 9.2-4]
Leader: The people who walked in darkness
        have seen a great light;
All: those who lived in a land of deep darkness—
        on them light has shined.
You have multiplied the nation,
        you have increased its joy;
they rejoice before you as with joy at the harvest,
        as people exult when dividing plunder.
For the yoke of their burden,
        and the bar across their shoulders,
the rod of their oppressor,
        you have broken as on the day of Midian.
All the weapons of war and the wounds of war
        are done away with, burned as fuel for the fire.
Alleluia!

2.
Leader: Creator God, you are light in our darkness;
you are the morning rising in our night.
All: Your dawning touches our heart.
We turn to you.
We awaken.
Christ, light of the world, you call to us.
Your voice stirs in our hearts.
Our hopes catch fire.
We want to follow you.
Holy Spirit, you are the rising sun in us that brings us to new life.
Alleluia! May we shine with your light.
Come, Holy Spirit, and transform us by your grace. Alleluia!

3.
Leader: Those who walked in darkness have seen a great light,
All: for you have sent us Christ, who has broken oppression,
and overcome the forces of war.
You are our light and our salvation. Whom shall we fear?
May we dwell in your heart all our days,
and behold your beauty.
Teach us your ways, O God, and lead us in a path of love and wisdom.
Alleluia! Come, Holy Spirit, and transform us by your grace. Alleluia!

4.
Leader: Creator God, we praise you!
All: Risen Christ, we greet you!
We give thanks that your Realm of grace is at hand.
Have mercy on us, and receive our prayers.
You alone rule all Creation, and we look to you for our salvation.
Grant your peace in this world, and bless those who seek you.
Christ gathers us in the net of his love, and makes us fishers of people.
Alleluia! Grant that we may follow Christ
and be transformed by the power of your Spirit. Alleluia!

Collect / Prayer of the Day

1.
God of truth, you speak your Word, and we barely hear it beneath the rumble and clatter of our world. Tune the ears of our heart to your voice. Clear our minds to listen. Let us hear Jesus calling us, and answer, and follow, by the powerful grace of your Holy Spirit. Amen.

2.
Loving God, Jesus called the disciples and they followed. In scripture and reflection, in prayer, in song and in silence, help us to hear your voice, to lay aside all that entangles us, and to follow you. May we follow now in our worship and all our days, by the grace of your Spirit. Amen.

3.
Gracious God, you cast your net into the deep waters of our hearts. Draw us up, gather us into the net of your making, so that we will come to you and follow. Even now, silver fish deep in our hearts are rising toward the light. Help us to hear your voice. Help us to answer. Help us to follow you. Amen.

4.
God of love, Christ proclaimed that the realm of heaven has drawn near, and called us to repent. We give thanks for the realm of your grace, and turn from our self-centered lives in order to hear your good news. Bless us, that as the scriptures are read and your good news proclaimed, we may hear what you are saying to us today. Amen.

5.
God of love, our eyes are on the nets of our work.
Open them to receive your call.
Our hands are on the worn, familiar wood of the boats of our lives.
Open them to reach for you.
We are casting our nets into the riches of this world.
May we cast the nets of our hearts into the deep sea of your grace.
May all of our work, and all of our lives,
become one with your work of the healing of the world,
in the name and Spirit of Christ.

Prayer of Confession

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.
Gentle God,
into the darkness of our hearts,
shine your light,
that we may see,
and that all that is not of life and blessing may be made new.
As the dawn transforms the night,
forgive our sin,
and make us new in the power of your grace. Amen.
(Silent prayer… the word of grace )

Listening Prayer

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

Loving Christ, unexpected,
you come into our lives
and ask us to follow.
We leave our nets,
let go of all that entangles,
surrender all our other loyalties,
and we come with you.

Response / Creed / Affirmation

1.
         We believe in God, creator of all, who has fashioned each in God’s image, with God’s gifts, God’s love, God’s glory.
         We are called to follow Jesus, God’s love made flesh, who fed and healed, who taught and forgave, who called forth a community of freedom and justice. For his challenge to systems of injustice he was crucified; but he was raised from the dead, and still goes before us in life.
         We live by the power and the grace of the Holy Spirit, God’s loving presence leading, guiding, empowering us. We are called and gifted by the Spirit to join Jesus in lives of compassion, forgiveness, beauty, joy and justice. We commit ourselves to trust in God, to follow Jesus, and to listen to the Holy Spirit in all our lives, and to help one another to do so, as the Body of Christ. These things we profess with our words and our lives, with the help of the Spirit, in the name of Christ. Amen.

2.
       We give our hearts to you, God, Creator of all things, ruler of all things to come, our light and our life.
       We follow Jesus Christ, your Word made flesh, who taught and healed, who loved and blessed, who called disciples and proclaimed the Realm of your grace. He was crucified and buried, but you raised him to new life. He lives among us, and calls us still to follow as his apprentices in the ministry of the healing of the world.
      We live by the Holy Spirit, as the Body of Christ, your Church. We trust in the power of forgiveness, the reality of resurrection, the presence of eternal life, and the communion of all people as one. We commit ourselves to follow Jesus in prayer, in faith, in love and in service, by the grace of your Holy Spirit. Amen.

3.
We believe in God, maker of all things. We follow Christ, who healed and taught and proclaimed the good news of your love. He was crucified, yet you raised him from death and he lives with us now, teaching us love. We believe in the power of love to change lives, to lead people to you, and to hold us together in a net of grace. We believe that we are called to serve Christ as fishers of people, empowered by the Holy Spirit. We believe in the power of forgiveness, the communion of saints, the reality of resurrection and the infinite promise of life. Amen.

Poetry

                     No fear

          The Lord is my light and my salvation;
                    whom shall I fear?
          The Lord is the stronghold of my life;
                    of whom shall I be afraid?
                                   — Psalm 27.1

Inside you, God,
there is nothing to fear.
No power can overwhelm,
no enemy threaten.

Be light in me,
pure and powerful light
that cannot be injured,
that simply shines
without fear.

May I be light,
strong and unafraid,
trusting and true.
Amen.

Eucharistic Prayer

[After the introduction the body of the prayer may be read responsively or by the presider(s) only.]

Leader:God is with you.
All: 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, 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,
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, 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 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.

      [Spoken or sung]
Amen.

Prayer of Dedication / Sending

1.
Gracious God, we give you our lives, symbolized in our gifts. Receive them with love, bless them with grace and use them according to your will. Jesus goes before us and beckons us to follow. By your Spirit help us follow: help us live lives of love and courage, for the sake of the healing of the world, in the name of Christ. Amen.

2.
Gracious God, we give you these 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 as your disciples to join in your work of teaching and healing, and proclaiming the good news of your grace, for the sake of the transformation of the world, in the name and the Spirit of Christ. Amen.

3.
Gracious God, we give you these gifts as symbols of our lives. Receive them with love, bless them with grace, and use them according to your will. By the power of your Spirit at work in us, may we be fishers of people, drawing them in to your heart, gathering them in the great network of love that is your church, blessing them with your grace. Send us in the power of your Spirit, and in the name and company of Christ. Amen

Prayer after Communion

God, we thank you for this mystery in which you have given yourself to us. You have caught us up in the net of your grace, and you have called us to follow Christ. Give us faith and courage to follow. Guide us by your Spirit. Fill us with your love. Make us lovers of people, in the Spirit of Christ. Amen.

Suggested Songs

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

Light for the World         (Original song) – [weekly Epiphany “Theme song”]
A dialogue between soloist and congregation. May be used as a “theme song” throughout the Epiphany season, using two or three verses per week. Throughout the season the congregation sings the chorus; each week the soloist’s verses relate to the day’s lectionary readings. Lyrics for this week:

Congregation
Love, may we live by your light.
Let us be light for the world.

Cantor:
The people in darkness have seen a great light. On them your glory has risen.
For you have broken oppression’s power. Your people rejoice!

You are my light, God, so who shall I fear? You shelter me, safe in your mercy.
Jesus, your call illumines my way, and so I will follow.


Calling Me – (Original song)

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 song)

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.

January 15, 2023

Lectionary Texts

Isaiah 49.1-7 is the second of Isaiah’s “servant songs” (we heard the first last week). As God’s servant you may feel you have “labored in vain,” but, doing God’s will, you are sustained. God says, “It is not enough to serve your own people; I will give you as a light to the whole world.” You will even gain the respect of rulers.

Psalm 40.1-11 turns from concern with one’s self to God, to the whole community. First we give thanks for God’s help in trouble, and praise those who trust God. Then we affirm that what God wants is not “sacrifices and sin offerings” but “an open ear” to listen for God’s desire, and the commitment to do God’s will. Finally we move to telling “the glad news of deliverance in the great congregation.”

In 1 Corinthians 1. 1-9 Paul greets the church in Corinth as those “called to be saints,” assuring them that they do not lack any spiritual gift so that they can serve faithfully.

In John 1. 29-42 John the Baptist calls Jesus “the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world,” saying that he saw the Spirit descend and remain on him. Some of John’s disciples begin to follow Jesus, including Andrew, who recruits his brother Peter.

Preaching Thoughts

Martin Luther King, Jr. Day.
(See worship resources specifically for for MLK Jr. Day here.)

Isaiah
It’s tempting to want to have power and authority, to be admired and listened to. But Isaiah suggests that God’s servant will not necessarily be glorified—but God will. When devote ourselves to serving God, and allow God’s Spirit to work through us, good stuff happens… though we might never see the results. We might think we’ve labored in vain. Bu the assurance is that in the big picture, our little labors make a difference.

1 Corinthians
We often speak of our dreams our hopes and aspirations in life; but we don’t often speak of being called: not that we desire to do something or be someone, but that God calls us and gives us the gifts to carry out God’s purposes in our lives. Our calling is not necessarily what we want to do but what the Spirit, live and free in us, wants to do. (Though sometimes what you feel drawn to is exactly what the Spirit is in you to do!) The key is not having any special skill or ability, but discerning how God is acting in and through our lives.

Lamb of God
You can preach a few dozen sermons on various aspects of the rich image of Jesus as the lamb of God who take away the sin of the world. Note that Jesus doesn’t take away our (plural) sins—our acts of selfishness—but he takes away our sin—the state of being separated from God (or at least thinking we are). Jesus connects us with God even as we continue to think we’re separate and act as if we’re the center of (or the only thing in) the world.

Some folks interpret this image with that misleading substitutionary idea, that Jesus suffered punishment so we wouldn’t have to, by being a sacrificial lamb—a scapegoat. It’s true that Jesus is a scapegoat: society loads its sins on him and expects him to carry them away, off into the desert. This is how we treat all the victims of injustice: they suffer so we don’t have to. But Jesus’ ministry makes it clear that that doesn’t actually take away our sin: it makes it worse. “What you do to the least of these you do to me.” Our slaughter of God’s lambs only deepens our alienation from God. But the good news is that even in our sin, even as we torture God by causing God’s beloved children to suffer, Jesus does away with our separation from God: in his being he embodies the unity of the human and divine, and in his ministry he makes clear that we are forgiven and have no reason to distance ourselves from God. In that manner he takes away the sin of the world.

And maybe it’s in that same vein that Jesus sends us out like lambs in the midst of wolves (Lk. 10.13).

Invitations
Don’t overlook the wonderful exchange between Jesus and the two disciples.
—He asks “What are you looking for?” That’s a question Jesus keeps asking us. Ponder that. Of course we’re seeking God—but how, in what form? When we think we’ve found something, how will we know its actually God, and not something easier and cheaper we were looking for instead? If we find happiness, is that God? Or success? Or is it more likely to be healing, or justice? Can we learn to seek simply being one with God, without other trappings?
—They answer “Where are you staying?” It might be curiosity about his lodgings, but maybe it’s more like “What do you stand for? What principles do you stand on? Where are you at?” Or maybe the question we most often have: “Where should we look for you?”
—He answers “Come and see.” Isn’t that Jesus’ invitation to us all the time? Not “Here, let me tell you what to think,” but “Come closer. Pay attention. Notice what you see.”


“Takes away the sin”
What might it meant to say that Jesus “takes away the sin of the world” in the face of racism? Certainly not that we’re done with racism. And certainly not that God doesn’t judge racism. God judges and condemns racism, militarism, materialism, violence and oppression in every form. It doesn’t mean that we are not guilty, culpable and responsible to effect restitution. So what does it mean?

I think it meas that Jesus removes the distance between us and God that our racism creates. When white folks separate ourselves from people of color, even unthinkingly, when we participate in white supremacy, even accidentally, we betray our oneness with all people and with God. We alienate ourselves from God. But even in our sin God holds us close. Jesus reveals this to us, and invites us to live out of God’s grace instead of our fears and habits. In that way he sets us free. He takes away the sin of the world. Guilt is no longer the issue. The issue is how we establish and maintain just relationships.

Call to Worship

1. (John 1.35-39)
Leader: John was standing with two of his disciples. As Jesus went by he said,
“Look, here is the lamb of God!”
All: The two disciples heard him say this, and they followed Jesus.
When Jesus turned and saw them following him he said,
“What are you looking for?”
Calling him teacher, they said,
“Rabbi, where are you staying?”
He said to them, “Come and see.”
They came and saw where he was staying,
and they remained with him that day.
Jesus, we come to be near you, to see, and to stay with you.

2. ( based on Psalm 29)
Leader: God, you have rescued us from the pit of our despairing.
All: You have put a new song in our mouths.
You have given us Christ, who delights to do your will.
We are glad to tell the good news of your salvation.
You do not desire burnt offerings and sacrifices.
But you have given us open ears.
May we hear, and in our hearing praise you. Alleluia!

3.
Leader: Lamb of God, Forgiving One, you carry our sin.
All: Lamb of God, you give yourself for us, and set us free.
Lamb of God, faithful servant, you call us.
Lamb of God, Gentle One, you show us the way.
In your spirit, we follow.
Bless us, and use us for your will. Amen.

4.
Leader: Creator God, eternal Spirit of Love, we praise you!
All: Your grace is our salvation, and we thank you!
Risen Christ, Lamb of God, you have shown us the Way of Life.
Gentle One, give us your Spirit to follow on the Way of Love.
Holy Spirit, as you descended upon Christ, come to us, and remain with us.
Grant us the compassion to trust your love,
to love others as ourselves, and to live only in love.
Glory be to you, O God of all Creation, God of our Salvation!
Alleluia! Come, Holy Spirit, and transform us by your grace. Alleluia!

5.
Leader: Jesus asked John’s followers,
“What are you looking for?”
All: We are looking for you, God.
They asked him, “Where are you staying?”
Where shall we look for you?
He answered , “Come and see.”
We come to you, God. We draw near to look and listen,
to behold you among us. We come to worship.

Collect / Prayer of the Day

1.
God of mercy, you have sent us Jesus, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world. We want to see him, to hear his word, to receive your grace through him. Speak your Word to us, and give us life. Amen.

2.
God of love, you have given us as light to the nations. Speak to us now and fill us with the light of your Word. Show us Jesus, so we might see, and follow. Amen.

3.
God of love, you sent us your lamb to show us the way of mercy and justice. Open our hearts that we may hear your call, receive your grace, and follow the Lamb. Amen.

4.
Gracious God: Jesus, the Lamb of God, walks through our midst. He asks what we are looking for. We are looking for him, and for his grace. He invites us to come and see. Help us to draw near, and to look and listen; help us to follow. Amen.

5.
Lamb of God, Anointed One,
you take away the sin of the world,
and we worship you.
Lamb of God, Gentle One,
you walk beside us
through green pastures
and the valley of the shadow of death,
and we follow you.
Lamb of God, Tender One,
you suffer for us, and we thank you.
Lamb of God, Willing One,
you live in us, and we bear your loveliness
onto this hurting world.

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.
Most merciful God, we confess that we have sinned against you
in thought, word and deed,
by what we have done, and by what we have left undone.
We have not loved you with our whole heart;
we have not loved our neighbors as ourselves.
We are truly sorry and we humbly repent.
Gather us in your loving arms;
have mercy on us and forgive us,
and transform us according to your grace,
that we may delight in your will, and walk in your ways,
by the grace of Christ and the power of your Holy Spirit. Amen.
[Silent prayer… the word of grace]

2.
Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world,
we turn to you.
Our sin is more than we can bear;
but you have forgiven us completely.
We sin more than we know,
and you forgive us more than we can imagine.
In your mercy, help us accept you grace,
become more free, and live as new people.
[Silent prayer… the word of grace]

Listening Prayer

(suitable as a Collect, preparation for hearing scriptures, or invitation to prayer)
1.
Lamb of God,
as the Spirit descended upon you,
so may it descend upon us and remain,
that we may be your gentle lambs.

2.
God of love,
Jesus says “Come and see.”
We come, to be near you.
We come, to behold you.
We come, to discern.
Open our eyes.

3.
Christ, Lamb of God, walk with us through green pastures.
Rest with us beside still waters.
Lamb of God, accompany us in paths of righteousness.
Even through the valley of the shadow of death,
lead us Lamb of God, to eternal life.
Amen.

Response / Creed / Affirmation

      We believe in God, the Creator of all that is, whose only desire is life and blessing, and whose grace alone is our salvation.
      We follow Christ, the Lamb of God, the Forgiving One, who revealed God by healing, loving, and blessing. By the Spirit of God that descended upon him Jesus showed us a world ruled by God’s grace alone. He forgave his enemies and taught us to do the same, gentle as a lamb. For his love he was crucified. But on the third day God raised him to new life. He lives among us still, granting to us his spirit of peace and love.
      We live by the Holy Spirit, God’s presence in all people, which makes us one; and God’s power in us to live with compassion and courage. We are Christ’s Body, the one Church. We trust in the power of forgiveness, the reality of resurrection and the mystery of eternal life. We devote ourselves as followers of the Lamb of God to lives of gentleness, forgiveness and compassion, that we ourselves may be lambs of God for the healing of the world. Amen.

Poetry

                Lamb of God

It has been said you actually can
get the lion and lamb to lie down together.
It just takes a lot of lambs.

This is true. Jesus is the lamb
who lies down with us, the lions,
and we consume him.

God-with-us enters
our ravenous selfishness
and fills even our sin with God.

Jesus enters the jaws of death
and holds them open for us
to walk through safely.

Even in our sin and death
God is with us, so there is
no separation between us.

Be mindful of the lamb,
gently present, vulnerable,
always with us in love.

Behold the lamb of God,
who takes away
the sin of the world.

Eucharistic Prayer

[After the introduction the body of the prayer may be read responsively or by the presiding leader(s) alone.]

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.

Gracious One, we give you thanks,
for you create us in love, claim us with faithfulness,
and continually set us free.
You guide and shelter us and feed us as your tender lambs.
God of Love, Shepherd of our Souls, in love
you come among us as one of the sheep in Jesus, the Lamb of God.
By your grace you take away the sin of the world.
In grateful joy we sing your praise, with all Creation.

            [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 Lamb of God, in whom your Spirit lived.
He taught and healed, fed the hungry, and stood for justice.
He was crucified, and you raised him from the dead.
By his grace he takes away the sin of the world,
saving us from our fear and distrust of you.
Lamb of God, he renews for us your Covenant
to be with us in love forever.

     (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 Spirit on us,
that we may be for the world the Body of Christ,
gentle as lambs among wolves,
through our courage and love
to participate in your work of the healing of the world,
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.
Gracious God, we give you our lives, symbolized in our gifts. Receive them with love, bless them with grace and use them according to your will. Send us in the power of your Spirit as your lambs, to do justice, to practice mercy, to walk humbly and confidently with you in the ways of peace, for the sake of the healing of the world, in the name of Christ. Amen.
2.
Gracious God, in gratitude for all you have given us, and in faithful stewardship of what you have placed in our hands to share with the world, we give our lives, symbolized in these gifts. Receive them with love, bless them with grace and use them according to your will. Help us to follow Christ in setting this world free from fear, in the name of Christ and the power of your Holy Spirit. Amen.

3.
God, we thank you for (the mystery that you give yourself to us / this mystery in which you have given yourself to us.) Lamb of God, you who take away the sin of the world, grant that in gratitude we may follow you, for the sake of the mending of the world. Amen.

Suggested Songs

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

Light for the World (Original song) – [Epiphany “Theme song”]
[A dialogue between soloist and congregation. May be used as a “theme song” throughout the Epiphany season, using one to three verses per week. Throughout the season the congregation sings the chorus; each week the soloist’s verses relate to the day’s lectionary readings. Lyrics for this week:]

Congregation
Love, may we live by your light.
Let us be light for the world.

Cantor:
“You are my servant in whom I delight, a light unto the nations.”
Shine for the ones who dwell in the dark, with comfort and justice.

Jesus, Beloved, the Lamb of God, the light of your love shining brightly,
you take away the sin of the world, and we will follow.


Behold the Lamb of God (Original song)

Behold the lamb of God,
who takes away the sin of the world.
Come, let us follow.
Come, let us follow the lamb of God
Who takes away the sin of the world.

January 8, 2023

Lectionary Texts

Isaiah 42.1-9 describes God’s gentle servant, who brings healing and justice—nonviolently.

Psalm 29 celebrates God’s strength and the power of God’s voice, which is “enthroned over the flood” like the Spirit brooding over the waters at Creation.

In Acts 10.34-43 Peter summarizes Jesus’ life and ministry: anointed by the Spirit, he went about doing good and healing; he was put to death but rose again, and sends us to bring grace to other people.

Matthew 3. 13-17 tells of Jesus’ baptism.

Preaching Thoughts

Baptism
(I’ve offered thoughts on Baptism in more detail here.)
Today is a great day to offer a Baptismal Renewal. (Here’s a baptismal / renewal liturgy.) Like being married, we are only baptized once, and don’t need to “remarry,” but we need to renew our vows all the time. It’s a great way to start the new year. Here’s a Service of Baptismal Renewal. And here are some general thoughts about the meaning of baptism. And here’s a brief summary of some salient points.
• Baptism is A symbol of death and rebirth. God births us (“born of water and the Spirit, Jn. 3.5) and re-creates us as God’s Beloved, sets us free, and empowers us to live by God’s Spirit. As with the waters of chaos at Creation, God’s water breaks and God gives us new birth as people of the Spirit (1 Pet. 1.3-5). We are born again (always) as beloved children of God.
• God joyfully claims us as God’s Own: “You are my child, my Beloved, with whom I am well pleased” (Mt. 3.17). God doesn’t just tolerate us: God is actually delighted with us!
• God washes us clean of our past, our shame and our fear. God promises healing and blessing. The bath” of baptism isn’t just the washing away of the guilt for the bad stuff we do; it’s also washing away our fear that we’re not good enough. “With you I am well pleased!”
• The Spirit flows through us, makes us alive, and nourishes us like water in our bodies or a plant.
• We are immersed in Christ, part of the Body of Christ.
• God invites us to join Jesus in washing people’s feet.
• God shares our tears.
• The trick to being re-born is that first we have to die. We drown in Christ, losing our individual, self-made, self-enclosed “self,” and we are raised to new life as part of Christ’s body (Rom. 6.4; Col. 2.12).
• We surrender our ego’s insistence on being an individual and “die” into unity with the Holy One. We are all part of one life, one heart, one body.
• God goes with us through the Red sea, setting us free from what oppresses us and charging us to help God set others free.
• God invites us to entrust ourselves to God: to let ourselves float in the River of God, trusting that God bears us, letting God take us where God will.
• God anoints us as people who love not by the world’s expectations but by the Spirit.
• Like the water in a river (and its power), the Holy Spirit is the power in us to love boldly, to offer mercy and to do justice.
• We baptize infants because it’s not a symbol of our faith, but God’s “prevenient” action. Baptism is God’s “I do.” Confirmation is our response.

The ritual act of Baptism itself doesn’t make any of this happen like some magic trick; it’s already happening. The sacrament symbolizes all this in a way we can experience it and let it shape our living

Isaiah 42
The song in Isaiah 42. 1-9 is one of the “Servant Songs” praising God’s servant, who suffers in order to do God’s will. God says the servant is “my chosen, in whom my soul delights” (a phrase quoted at Jesus’ baptism). This servant will be nonviolent (“a bruised reed he will not break”) and will establish justice and liberate the oppressed and imprisoned. The allusion to this passage at Jesus’ baptism places his ministry in the prophetic context: not saving individual souls but calling the nation to righteousness and justice. It does the same for baptism. We are not baptized into a club. We are baptized into a workforce, the Body of Christ, sent to do the work of healing and justice.

Gospel
The voice from heaven at Jesus’ baptism alludes to two Old testament scriptures: “This is my son” sounds like Psalm 2, which people considered to be about the Messiah. The phrase “with whom I am well pleased” sounds like Isaiah’s song about a suffering servant. The combination of the two allusions suggests that Jesus is the anointed one of God—though not a conquering warrior, but a suffering reconciler.

A frequently asked question: If John performed a baptism of repentance and the forgiveness of sin, why was Jesus baptized? He didn’t sin, did he? Three responses.
       A. The idea that Jesus was sinless is related to the image of him as a sacrificial lamb, without blemish. In real life, I bet he did sin. He was a human being. Sin is way too pernicious for even Jesus to avoid. It’s human nature. It’s the function of the ego. We don’t need Jesus to be perfect to believe God lived fully in him, and that he sets us free from our sin. In fact I think Jesus has more authority in our struggle against sin precisely because he did sin, and had to learn to be free even from his own sin.
       B. To repent is to turn to God. We have to do this every moment of the day. Whenever our love, desire, gratitude or attention is focused on anything other than God, it’s sin. Even Jesus had to repent, to continually return to God. His authority as a savior is not in his never having needed forgiveness, but in his always letting go and turning to God, always asking for forgiveness, and always trusting it.
      C. John’s baptism was for forgiveness of sin; but baptism in Christ is a different thing. In receiving baptism Jesus changed it from merely repenting to being re-created, born of God and filled with the Spirit. So sometimes the apostles encountered people who knew of John’s baptism, but not baptism “in the Holy Spirit”—as in Acts 18.25 and 19.1-7. Jesus’s baptism wasn’t primarily about repentance: it was about being open to being born again in the Spirit. That’s the baptism we celebrate. In Jesus’ baptism, baptism itself was reborn: re-created as something new, something which we could share with him.

Call to Worship

1.
Leader: In the beginning when God began to create,
the world was formless and void,
and the Spirit of God brooded over the waters.
All: The voice of the Holy One is over the waters.
And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light.
The light was the life of all beings.
The Spirit like a dove descends upon us.
O God, we worship you. We serve you. We trust you.

2.
Leader: God of love, your grace flows about us like a mighty river.
All: It is gentle, and it is strong.
We are immersed in your presence.
You give us life, and we thank you.
We come to plunge into you, O God.
In the water of your womb, birth us once again to a new and holy life.
Alleluia!

3.
Leader: In the beginning, O God,all is darkness, formless and empty.
All: “Light!” you say, and there is light, and the light is the life of all people.
In the desert, water flows, and you invite us.
Christ, river of life, we come to you.
Spirit, dove of peace, pure energy of love, you sing out in us:
We are your beloved in whom you are well pleased.
We plunge into your grace, and we are made new.
We rise, newborn and gleaming. In praise and thanksgiving we worship you.
Alleluia!

4.
Leader: Creator God, we praise you!
All:: Risen Christ, we greet you!
Holy Spirit, we are one body by your grace.
You alone are holy, and we worship you.
Jesus was baptized in the Jordan, to share our life and our struggles,
our suffering and our death.
Alleluia! Baptized into Christ, we are one with his resurrection.
We worship you, O God, with praise and thanksgiving,.
one with Christ in the Holy Spirit. Alleluia!

5.
Christ was baptized in the Jordan, immersed in our lives.
And we are baptized into Christ.
You spoke to him, claimed him as your beloved,
and poured out your Holy Spirit upon him.
Alleluia! Speak to us and claim us in his name.Come, Holy Spirit, and transform us by your grace. Alleluia!

6. (Psalm 29:1-4)
Leader: Ascribe to the Holy One, O heavenly beings,
All: Ascribe to God glory and strength.
Ascribe to God the glory of God’s name,
Worship God in holy splendor.
The voice of God is upon the water.
The God of glory thunders, the Supreme upon many waters.
The voice of God is powerful.
The voice of God is full of majesty.
Let us praise the name of the Holy One!
Alleluia! Let us worship in awe!

Collect / Prayer of the Day

1.
God of love, as John baptized Jesus in the Jordan, baptize us in your Word. Immerse us in your presence, fill us with your Spirit, wash us with your grace, nourish us with your joy, and empower us to do your will, for the sake of the world, in the name and the Spirit of Christ. Amen.

2.
God of life we turn to you for life. God of love, we come to drink of your love. God of light, we open our hearts, that we may shine with your light. Bathe us in your Word; immerse us in your grace. Amen.

3.
God of love, as Jesus was immersed in the waters of the Jordan, immerse us in your love. As Jesus heard you speak, so may we hear your Word, your promise, your ever-present, deeply loving voice. Baptize us in your Spirit, O God, and birth us anew in the name of Christ. Amen.

4.
Gracious God, John the Baptist called people to a baptism of repentance, and Jesus came to be baptized. Jesus comes with us now, to hear your Word, to be baptized in your light, and to be drawn into service in the power of your Spirit. Give us life, God: give us your Word. Amen.

5.
Gracious God, as Jesus waded out into the Jordan and was baptized, we wade into your Word; we immerse ourselves in your presence, we bathe ourselves in your voice. May the heavens open to us as we listen and receive. May your Spirit descend upon us. May we hear your voice, and be transformed in order to do your will, in the name of Christ. Amen.

6.
Loving God, at the Baptism of Jesus in the River Jordan you proclaimed him your beloved Son and anointed him with your Holy Spirit. Enable us, and all who are baptized into Christ, to be faithful to our calling as your children and stewards of your Holy Spirit. Open our hearts now, so that as the scriptures are read and your good news proclaimed, we may hear your voice renewing your Covenant with us today. Amen.

Listening Prayer

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

Down, deep
into the water of your grace
we sink.
Hold us, bathe us,
birth us.
We are yours.

Response / Creed / Affirmation

Leader: Eternal God, in the beginning your Spirit brooded over the waters.
All: You breathed into us the spirit of life.
The Red Sea was the water of our womb,
where we came to life by your grace.
We have come out into the world as your children,
your beloved in whom you delight.
Jesus invites us into the waters of his baptism,
into his tears, his suffering, his death.
And with him we are raised to new life,
born again of water and the Word.
God anoints us with the Spirit, to be a light to the nations,
to establish justice, to open the eyes of the blind, to set free the prisoners.
Alleluia! We are baptized into Christ,
and transformed by your grace. Alleluia!

Poetry

 
           Baptized into you

Eternal God,

Baptized into you,
I am immersed in you.

You are poured into me:
I am your body; you are my blood.

Baptized into Christ Jesus,
I am Christ myself.

My is life poured into the same cup
as you: one cup, one body.

With Christ, then, let me be poured out
in love for the world;

emptied infinitely, infinitely filled,
a vessel of your infinite Spirit.

Glory to you, O God,
Mother, Son and Holy Spirit.

Baptismal blessing

May the grace of a flowing spring well up in you,
a spring of water gushing up to eternal life.
The renewal of a flowing stream be yours;
the gift of God’s blessing like warm rain fall upon you.
May God’s love, hidden as the darkness of the deepest sea,
full of wonder and mystery, give you peace.
May the river of your life carry you always in grace.
May the love of God flow through you,
making all the world green and beautiful.

Prayer of Dedication / Sending

1.
Gracious God, we give you our lives, symbolized in our gifts. Receive them with love, bless them with grace and use them according to your will. Lead us always into the depths of your love, into the flowing stream of your Spirit, into the clear waters of discernment, and into the world to serve, in the name and Spirit of Christ. Amen.

2.
Gracious God, you have claimed us as your beloved children., promised us your faithful presence, and anointed us with your Spirit that we may do your will in this world. In gratitude we give you our lives, symbolized in these gifts. Receive them with love, bless them with grace, and use them according to your will. Send us into the world as your faithful servants, that in our living we may show forth your grace and proclaim your love, in the name of Christ. Amen.

Suggested Songs

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

Light for the World (Original song) – [weekly Epiphany “Theme song”]
A dialogue between soloist and congregation. May be used as a “theme song” throughout the Epiphany season, using one to three verses per week. Throughout the season the congregation sings the chorus; each week the soloist’s verses relate to the day’s lectionary readings. Lyrics for this week:

Congregation
Love, may we live by your light.
Let us be light for the world.

Cantor:
“You are my servant in whom I delight, a light unto the nations.”
Shine for the ones who dwell in the dark, with comfort and justice.

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.

See all songs with Baptism tag, especially these:


God, We Rise to Serve You       
           (Tune: Sing We Now of Christmas / Now the Green Blade Rises]

God, we rise to serve you, baptized in your love
as your Holy Spirit hovers like a dove.
We, your Beloved, whom you bless with grace,
offer you our gifts with love and joy and peace.

God, your Spirit in us, dove with wings unfurled,
gives us pow’r to bring forth justice to the world.
Baptized in Christ, we serve with mercy’s grace,
bringing to the world your love and joy and peace.


Immersed in Blessing       (Tune: Joyful, Joyful)

Baptized in your grace with Jesus, loving God, we sing your praise.
Echoing your own delight, with joy and thanks our song we raise.
Your beloved children, birthed anew and rising from your womb,
God, we bear your love through all our living, and beyond the tomb.

God you heal, forgive and nourish, and revive us breath by breath;
you restore our broken trust and save us from our fear of death.
Like a dry and withered plant revived by water at its root,
we are saved by streams of grace, for flourishing and bearing fruit.

Bathed in grace, immersed in blessing, joined with your Beloved Son,
how can we not love each other?— for your Spirit makes us One.
Carried on a stream of mercy, springs beneath and rain above,
may we flow with peace and in your Spirit flood the world with love.


Spirit Feast (Tune: Cradle Song)

With hearts that are baptized in mercy and grace,
we enter the mystery of this time and place
to feast on your mercy in light from above,
receiving your Spirit, made one in your love.

The cup that we drink from flows deep with your love,
the water of blessing, descent of the dove.
“My Chosen, Beloved, in whim I am pleased,”
we’re sent by your Spirit to shine with your light.

With blest, grateful hearts, God, we come to this feast,
and pray that your Spirit in us be released.
This sharing, this joy and this justice you share
is ours now to bring to the word everywhere.

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 fear no great 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.

When Jesus Was Baptized (Tune: Cradle Song)

When Jesus was baptized, John said to repent,
and follow the Righteous One whom God had sent.
So wash us, dear God, and create us anew,
born fresh from your grace, living wholly in you.

When Jesus was baptized in waters that flow,
he sank in the Source of what makes all things grow.
So, held in Creation, renewed and made one,
we swim in the grace of your life-giving Son.

When Jesus was baptized in light, like a dove
your Spirit came down and you filled him with love.
So give us your Spirit: let all that we do
be you living in us, as we live in you.

When Jesus was baptized you spoke from above,
saying “This is my servant, my son, whom I love.”
So help us to hear you speak love when you call,
and as your Beloved, share freely with all.


You Are My Delight (Tune: Londonderry Air, “Oh, Danny Boy”)

We come with you, dear Jesus, through the desert hills,
down to the river, flowing gently by,
where through the rocks and valleys, deepening, it spills,
and flows into the sea, the earth, the sky.
    As we sink down and rise up from the water
    a dove descends, a voice speaks, clear and bright:
    “Know you are my beloved son, my daughter,
    my spirit is in you and you are my delight.

We go our way, and in our daily living
we follow you, and scatter rays of love
in deeds of caring, healing grace and giving,
for still we hear that voice and see the dove:
    “No river can undo you, for with you I go.
    I give my heart to you, and give you light.
    For you are mine, I hold you and I love you so.
   All water says, ‘Remember you are my delight.’”


          OFFERING SONGS
                       (Can be found in Offering Songs)

(Tune: Fairest Lord Jesus)

Blessed by your Spirit, God, and immersed in deepest grace,
baptized in love, in love we live.
In us your mercy grows; love like a river flows;
and so our finest gifts we give.

—or—

Baptized in love, O God, washed, renewed and risen, new,
in your Spirit we are one.
Yours are the gifts we give; yours are the lives we live,
bright shining as the morning sun.


             (Tune: Old 100th,
or Gift of Love (“The Water Is Wide”), or
               or Tallis’ Canon)

To You, O God, our praise we give,
For baptized into Christ, we live.
Thus may your Holy Spirit be
Our life and breath eternally! Amen.

               (Tune: Morning Has Broken)

Baptized, anointed, filled with your Spirit,
we are appointed bearers of light:
for liberation, servants of justice,
bringing the nations joy and delight.

Gladly we praise you, God our Creator,
joyfully raise our hearts up in prayer.
Humbly we give you thanks, Holy Spirit,
help us to live your Word everywhere.

—or—

Great holy giver of life and wonder,
deep like a river your blessings flow.
Gladly we give you praise and thanksgiving:
gifts we will give wherever we go.

—or—

Washed in your waters, baptized with Jesus,
your sons and daughters, risen anew,
each day we live we freely surrender,
our lives we give, God, gladly to you.


                (Tune: Be Thou My Vision)

God, we are raised to new life with your Son,
filled with your Spirit and baptized as one.
Branches of one vine, your fruits we will bear,
going to all the world, your great love to share.

God, We Rise to Serve You       [Tune: Sing We Now of Christmas]

God, we rise to serve you, baptized in your love
as your Holy Spirit hovers like a dove.
We, your Beloved, whom you bless with grace,
offer you our gifts with love and joy and peace.

God, your Spirit in us, dove with wings unfurled,
gives us pow’r to bring forth justice to the world.
Baptized in Christ, we serve with mercy’s grace,
bringing to the world your love and joy and peace.


When Jesus Was Baptized (Tune:Cradle Song)

When Jesus was baptized, John said to repent,
and follow the Righteous One whom God had sent.
So wash us, dear God, and create us anew,
born fresh from your grace, living wholly in you.

When Jesus was baptized in waters that flow,
he sank in the Source of what makes all things grow.
So, held in Creation, renewed and made one,
we swim in the grace of your life-giving Son.

When Jesus was baptized in light, like a dove
your Spirit came down and you filled him with love.
So give us your Spirit: let all that we do
be you living in us, as we live in you.

When Jesus was baptized you spoke from above,
saying “This is my servant, my child, whom I love.”
So help us to hear you speak love when you call,
and as your Beloved, share freely with all.


You Are My Delight (Tune: Londonderry Air, “Oh, Danny Boy”)

We come with you, dear Jesus, through the desert hills,
down to the river, flowing gently by,
where through the rocks and valleys, deepening, it spills,
and flows into the sea, the earth, the sky.
As we sink down and rise up from the water
a dove descends, a voice speaks, clear and bright:
“Know you are my beloved son, my daughter,
my spirit is in you and you are my delight.

We go our way, and in our daily living
we follow you, and scatter rays of love
in deeds of caring, healing grace and giving,
for still we hear that voice and see the dove:
“No river can undo you, for with you I go.
I give my heart to you, and give you light.
For you are mine, I hold you and I love you so.
All water says, ‘Remember you are my delight.’”


          Offering Songs (Tune: Fairest Lord Jesus)

Blessed by your Spirit, God, and immersed in deepest grace,
baptized in love, in love we live.
No floods can sweep away what you have given us,
and so our finest gifts we give.

—or—

Baptized in love, O God, and immersed in deepest grace,
in your Spirit we are one.
Yours are the gifts we give; yours are the lives we live,
bright shining as the morning sun.


             (Tune: OLD HUNDREDTH,
            or GIFT OF LOVE (“The Water Is Wide”),
            or Tallis’ Canon

To You, O God, our praise we give,
For baptized into Christ, we live.
Thus may your Holy Spirit be
Our life and breath eternally! Amen.


               (Tune: Morning Has Broken)

Baptized, anointed, filled with your Spirit,
we are appointed bearers of light:
for liberation, servants of justice,
bringing the nations joy and delight.

Gladly we praise you, God our Creator,
joyfully raise our hearts up in prayer.
Humbly we give you thanks, Holy Spirit,
help us to live your Word everywhere.

—or—
Great holy giver of life and wonder,
deep like a river your blessings flow.
Gladly we give you praise and thanksgiving:
gifts we will give wherever we go.


                (Tune: Be Thou My Vision)

God, we are raised to new life with your Son,
filled with your Spirit and baptized as one.
Branches of one vine, your fruits we will bear,
going to all the world, your great love to share.

January 4, 2026

Lectionary Texts

Isaiah 60.1-6 proclaims that light has come upon God’s people in the midst of the world’s darkness. This light enables us to see the abundance of God’s grace—so much so that other nations will also be drawn to this light. This passage also uses images that Matthew may have had in mind in the visit of the magi.

Psalm 72 is a prayer for the enthronement of a new king, asking that the king reign with justice (that is, with concern for all people, especially the poor), put an end to oppression and violence, and have dominion far and wide; and that the realm be blessed with abundance and peace.

Ephesians 3. 1-12 says that God’s self-revelation in Christ is not only for Israel but for the whole world: “the Gentiles have become members of the same body.”

In Matthew 12. 1-12 Magi from the east seek the newborn king. Though they are from another nation and practice a different religion, they see Jesus as having influence and even sovereignty over their own lives.

Preaching Thoughts

The 11^th day
       Merry Christmas! Yes, Christmas is not the 27 days from Nov. 28 – Dec. 24, but the twelve days from Dec 25 – Jan. 5. Twelve days. Jan. 4 is the the 11^th day of Christmas. It’s not over till Epiphany, January 6. So though we’ll observe Epiphany on this Sunday, it’s still Christmas! Let the liturgical rhythm help us get out of the commercialized, consumerist, materialism of our culture, and really observe the Christmas season as the Feast of the Nativity of Christ. So it’s still appropriate to sing Christmas songs this week, and not just We Three Kings!

Light
       “Epiphany,” meaning “revealing,” is all about light. We celebrate Christ as the light of the world. The season begins with the light of the star that leads the magi to Jesus, and ends in the Transfiguration, with Jesus shining (even before his death!) with the light of resurrection. Along the way we hear a lot about light. Watch for it each week. (The song Light for the World, below, highlights those references.) The light of Christ’s love illumines our path and guides our way. We look at life in the light of God’s love, and that changes how we see the world. And the light of that love shines in us, so that our own lives become lights for others: streetlamps that offer guidance and safety, lighthouses that warn of danger, a new dawn that signals hope and beauty. Even when the scriptures aren’t literally talking about light, they describe how God’s love changes the world like light changes the darkness.

Light and dark
       But be thoughtful in your use of the image of light and darkness. Sometimes when we speak of darkness we mean not knowing (“I’m in the dark”), or gloomy, or evil, or sad, or… lots of things. And sometimes it’s better to say that than to simply call it “dark.” Watch out especially for the binary thought that light=good and dark=bad. We live in a culture that is chronically distorted by racism that judges people by how light or dark their skin is. So we judge dark people as bad and lighter people as good. It’s not just semantics. It’s instinctive, even among dark-skinned people. Sometimes when we reinforce the binary idea that light = good and dark = bad we reinforce its racist overtones. We don’t mean to—but we do. So watch out for this.
       All symbols are limited. Sometimes dark is good. God dwells in darkness… Creation begins, life is conceived and seeds sprout in the dark…darkness allows sleep and Sabbath rest….some people like their coffee black.. black people are learning to contradict the good/bad binary and appreciate the beauty of their dark skin… And sometimes light is bad: we wear sunglasses… light pollution prevents our seeing the stars… driving in too much glare or a winter whiteout can be deadly. The light can still shine in the darkness, and the darkness is unable to overcome it, but be wary of simplistic binaries. Be careful to define your terms and attend to your context. Let’s be clear what we mean (and don’t mean) by light or darkness.

Light and justice
The theme of this season is that Jesus is the light of the world. The season begins with the light of a star and ends on transfiguration Sunday with Jesus shining with divine light on a mountain top. Along the way we hear a lot about light. Watch for it each week. (The song Light for the World, below, highlights those references.) The light of Christ’s love illumines our path and guides our way. We look at life in the light of God’s love, and that changes how we see the world. And the light of that love shines in us, so that our own lives become lights for others: streetlamps that offer guidance and safety, lighthouses that warn of danger, a new dawn that signals hope and beauty. Even when the scriptures aren’t literally talking about light, they describe how God’s love changes the world like light changes the darkness.

Isaiah
       Obviously the crafters of the lectionary chose this passage for Epiphany because it says “they shall bring gold and frankincense.” But it’s not just about that. It’s a message of hope and restoration, and in fact mission. We are called to “see and be radiant.” We’re to be light for the world.Ultimately this is not about what we shall receive but what we shall give.
        Remember the prophet says “Rise, shine, your light has come” to a weak, humiliated, discouraged, exiled people. It’s easy for privileged folks to go off on some “aren’t we special?” path. Don’t. This is a message of restoration for people who are broken. “Nations shall come to your light” is not about superiority, but the restoration of dignity. What is there in a message to exiled people that speaks to us today? Who among us is this actually speaking to? What part of ourselves—our souls, or our church— is exiled and needing encouragement?

Matthew
       Like every scripture, this is a symbolic story, not a historical account. The word “magi” that Matthew uses suggests Zoroastrian astrologers: not quite philosophers, and certainly not kings. Nothing scriptural suggests there were three, just because there were three gifts. (The gifts are an allusion to Isaiah 60.6: “They shall bring gold and frankincense, and shall proclaim the praise of God.” Matthew, foreshadowing the cross, adds myrrh.) Nor should we insist the magi were men, though we might assume so. So there could have been dozens of them, or maybe just a couple of old women. But that’s not what Matthew is likely to have had in mind, since this is a purely symbolic story: what matters is that they represent people from outside the Jewish faith. The point is not how or whether it happened but what it’s about. So don’t go off counting magi, or learning about Zoroastrians, astronomy or Middle Eastern geography. Matthew made this up. It’s a story. What’s it about?
       It’s about Jesus as “’king.” What does it mean for Jesus to rule in your heart?
      It’s about Jesus as sovereign over more than Christians. Matthew is creating a bookend at the beginning of his gospel, matched by the Great Commission at the end, about Jesus’ relevance for “all nations.” Avoiding evangelistic conquest and Christian colonialism, what might it mean for us to be part of a movement that is intended for the well-being of the whole world, not just us Christians?
      It’s about revealing. How might Christ be revealed—particularly in us— to others, especially those outside the Church?
      It’s about the witness of foreigners. How do we relate to outsiders, strangers, foreigners, people of other religions? Do we acknowledge their quest for the holy even if it doesn’t match ours? Are we willing to listen to them, hear their stories, learn from them, honor them?
      It’s about about seeking, and being guided. How willing are we to acknowledge truth beyond what we know? To seek God in mystery? What are the stars that guide you, and you follow? Where do you seek Christ? (Even in foreign, unexpected or “improper”places?)
      It’s about light that leads the way. The star guided the magi. What are the guiding stars in your life? How are you and your way of living a guiding star for others to find hope and love?
      It’s about pilgrimage. (Matthew mentions “two years.” hHs the magi’s journey taken that long?) What kind of journey might you be on? How does God go with you, guide you, help you get directions? What might it be like to maintain the discipline of a long pilgrimage, without quitting, without diversion?
      It’s about going by “another road.” What old ways are you/we being invited to abandon, to accept new ways of going? Note that it’s not exploring new frontiers, but going home.
      It’s about resistance. We can expect to encounter our Herods who oppose us or want to co-opt our faith; we will have to be ready to resist, to refuse to cooperate with the Powers. Are you ready?
      It’s about imperial power and violence, and our non-cooperation. It’s about state-sponsored terrorism. This story is a shadow of the crucifixion. Jesus is a “wanted “person. He did not safely escape the slaughter in Bethlehem. He died in all those children. We often slide over this part. Such a nasty thing to include in our Christmas stories! But this is why we need Jesus. We’re neck deep in a culture of violence and we need a different kind of power in our lives. Imperial power in our world takes form in capitalism, consumerism, white supremacy, patriarchy, nationalism, and systems of power, privilege and exclusion. Empire preserves its power, even at the expense of slaughter. The “slaughter of the innocents” may appear in our world as executions, mass shootings, poor health care, mass incarceration, environmental threat, and dangers that disproportionately affect the poor and people of color. Empire is in the business of death. But God is in the business of life even in the face of brutality. Herod is threatened by the young “king’s” power, and wants to use the magi to destroy the child, but with God’s guidance the magi do not cooperate with Herod. Like Herod trying to use the magi for his own purposes, do you see other powers trying to co-opt Christianity? Where do you see that in our world? How do we practice resistance? How do we practice life in the face of death?

For more Epiphany resources see Epiphany Sunday, Year B and Year C. (The lectionary readings are the same.)

Call to Worship

1.
Reader: People of faith, look! In our darkness a light shines: the star is love.
All: Alleluia! In gratitude we follow the star of love.
The star moves ahead of us, and leads us faithfully.
Alleluia! In wonder we follow the star of love.
The star hides itself in each of us: in everyone we meet, in all God’s people.
Alleluia! In devotion we follow the star of love. Alleluia!

2.
Leader: Rise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you.
All: Darkness covers the earth, but you have risen upon us.
We see and are radiant. Our hearts thrill and rejoice.
By the grace of your mercy may your dawn rise upon us.
Give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death,
and guide our feet in the way of peace. Amen.

3.
Leader: God of Mystery, your light has led us to you.
All: Alleluia! All through our days your Word has shone; your star has lit the way.
You have accompanied us, guided us, and guarded us.
Alleluia! We have come through miles and years to this place, this moment.
We have come to praise you, to honor you, to worship you.
Alleluia! We thank you for your grace. We wonder at your presence.
And we are still learning to seek your presence and to follow your light.
We are still asking, “Where is the child?”
Help us to search, and help us to find.
God, we praise you for the One who shepherds your people.
Alleluia! We worship you with thanksgiving and praise.
Open the eyes of our hearts to see, and to wonder. Alleluia!

4.
Leader: God, you led the magi by a star to find the Christ child.
All: Lead us by your Word, and draw us closer to you.
The magi gave the child gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh.
Help us by your Spirit to honor Christ by giving our gifts.
Like the magi, we are seeking you. Help us always to seek, and to find.
Alleluia! Come, Holy Spirit, and transform us by your grace. Alleluia!

5.
Leader: Creator God, we praise you!
All: Risen Christ, we greet you!
Holy Spirit, we are one body by your grace.
You alone are holy, and we worship you.
Light of the world, you shine upon us, and we thank you.
Light of Christ, you lead us, and we gladly follow.
Alleluia! Shine upon us in our worship,
that we may bear your light into the world. Alleluia!

Collect / Prayer of the Day

1.
Holy Mystery, your light shines in the darkness. The bright star of your loving presence hovers over us, shines within us, and leads us steadfastly. We pause now to watch and listen, to take our reckoning by your star, that we may continue to follow faithfully, to seek you in this world, and to give you our gifts. Speak your Word, for we are listening. Amen.

2.
God of Mystery, God of Revealing: as the magi searched diligently for the Christ child, may we also continually seek your presence. As the light of the star led the magi, we pray that the light of love will lead us always. May the light of your Word shine upon us now and lead us nearer to you. Amen.

3.
Loving God, the magi sought the Christ child over miles and years. We, too, seek your Christ. By the light of your Word, lead us to life. Speak to us and we will listen. Lead us and we will follow. Amen.

4.
God of truth, your star led the magi to the Christ child. Your Word is a lamp for our feet. Lead us by your light. Shine your Word upon us. Help us to seek, to see, and to follow. Amen.

5.
Eternal God, you led the magi by a star to the Christ child. Lead us by the light of your Word into the presence of Christ. Bring us near, bless us with your light, and enable us to open the treasure chests of our hearts and offer you our gifts. Guide us by your holy light, so that as the scriptures are read and your good news proclaimed, we may hear with joy what you are saying to us today. Amen.

6.
Light of stars, glimmer of grace, shine for us.
Spreading light of the morning dawn, give us hope and beauty.
Light of Christ, gleaming in one another’s eyes,
speak to us of your glory.
Light of love, flaming in our hearts,
lead us toward you in wonder. Amen.

Prayer of Confession

God of Love,
we confess we do not always follow your star of love;
we turn aside; we weary of the journey.
We confess we sometimes cooperate with Herod;
we sometimes fail to give our gifts.
Forgive us; renew your Spirit in us.
Be our star and guide us.

Response / Creed / Affirmation

1.
      We trust in God, Creator of all that is, whose light guides us and whose grace extends to all people of the world.
      We follow Jesus, the Christ of God, Light of the world, who is the ruler of our hearts, before whom we bow in adoration and reverence, to whom we offer the gifts of our hands and hearts. Jesus loved people and healed them, and taught the way of true wisdom. Though many would make him king, he was not a ruler of a nation but the Prince of Peace. Earthly kings were threatened by him, and crucified him, but he was raised from the dead, sovereign even over life itself.
     We live by the Holy Spirit, whose light is a star that guides us, whose grace gives us gifts to offer the world, whose companionship makes us one with peoples of all nations, tribes and traditions. In the power of that Spirit we devote ourselves to love and justice, for the sake of Christ, the sovereign of our hearts.

2.
Leader: The grace of the Beloved, Jesus Christ, be with you.
All: And also with you.
Pastor: The splendor of Christ shines upon us.
People: The light of Christ guides us.
A star of grace and hope shines on our horizon.
We will follow.
The light of love will lead us to the Christ child.
We will honor him and offer our gifts.
The powers of this world will try to use love for greedy purposes.
We will learn to go by another road,
to live by another way, the way of mercy and justice.
Lead us, O Christ, by the light of your love. Amen.

Listening Prayer

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

God of Light, Star of Love,
we fix the eyes of our hearts on you.
Lead us; guide us
to where shall see Christ,
and kneel.

Eucharistic Prayer

[Advent Eucharistic Responses includes some musical responses (Sanctus, Memorial Acclamation and Amen) that are appropriate for Epiphany.]

After the introduction, the body of the prayer may be read responsively or by the presiding leader(s) alone.

——— #1 ———

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.

We thank you and praise you, Divine Mystery,
Creator of all that is and all that shall be.
Stars of your making sparkle above us,
and to those who are wise and attentive they reveal your presence.
With starlight and pillars of fire you have led us out of darkness and into light;
through prophets and poets you have led us in wonder and love.
And you have given us gifts, that we may live fully and richly in grace.
As magi knelt before the Christ child and offered their gifts
we kneel in humble gratitude and offer you gifts,
in one voice with all creation singing 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]

        [Alternate version : this and and following responses sung to the tune of “We Three Kings”]
        Holy, Holy, Holy One, God whose love is bright as the sun,
        all Creation sings your praise! Hosanna we sing as one!
        O, Blessed is the one who comes in your name, O Holy One.
        Praise! Hosanna in the highest! Peace on earth, to everyone.

Blessed are all who come in your name, and blessed is Jesus, your Christ.
He bore your love to all people, including those of foreign lands and religions.
He offered us gifts from the treasure chest of his faith:
he forgave and taught; he fed the hungry and healed the broken;
he proclaimed a new Realm of grace and justice.
The rulers of Empire sought him and killed him,
but you raised him from the dead.
This is the wisdom that leads us, the star that lights our way.

[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 mystery at the heart of our faith:

        Memorial Acclamation
                [Sung version:]
        Dying, Christ destroyed our death. Rising, Christ restores our life.
        Christ will come again in glory, leading us all to life.
        O, God of mercy, God of light, God whose love in us burns bright,
        lead us, guide us, walk beside us, fill us with your gentle light.

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.
Open up your treasure chest in us,
that we may be a royal priesthood of your love.
Guide us by the light of your love to do justice, to practice mercy,
to kneel humbly before you in every child of yours.
“And you, children, will be called prophets of the Most High,
for you will go before God to prepare God’s ways,
to give knowledge of salvation to God’s people by the forgiveness of their sins.”
By your tender mercy may your dawn from on high break upon us,
to give light to those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death,
and to guide our feet into the way of peace. Great Amen
[Sung version:]
        Amen! Your will be done. Amen, O Holy One.
        Make us now the living Body of Christ, our Love, your Son.
        O, praise be yours, and glory be all throughout eternity!
        Alleluia! Alleluia! Thanks and praise we sing to thee.

——— #2 ———

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 light, you blessed the darkness with Creation.
You fashioned us in the light of your love.
In the night of our bondage
you broke the power of oppression and set us free,
leading your children by a pillar of light.

You call us always to follow your light,
even the faintest star of love and justice and mercy.
Therefore with those who come from afar to honor you,
and 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, light of the world.
He loved and healed, and showed to many your light shining in them.
He showed us the light of love
and taught us to forsake all that glitters and follow that light alone.
By oppression he was crucified,
but by grace you have raised him from the dead,
still coming among us to renew your covenant to be with us in love.

[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,
your Word made flesh in our daily lives,
light for the world, in the name of Christ. .

                [Spoken or sung]
        Amen

———— #3 ———


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.

Blessed are you, O God, Creator of all things,
and ruler of all that is to come.
In the beginning was your Word, which is the light of life,
through which you have made all things.
Though we turn from your light, still you shine upon us and within us,
and lead us to seek your presence, guided by the light of wonder.
Therefore, in company with those who bring you gold,
we honor you with our obedience and our 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.
Child of Mary, Light of the World and Prince of Peace.
He has brought us the light of hope and healing,
and embodied your Covenant to be with us in love and blessing.
[… The Blessing and Covenant…]

The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it:
for you have raised your Crucified Christ from death.
Therefore in company with those who bring you myrrh
we offer you our life unto death,
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 our Lord Jesus Christ.
Pour out your Spirit on is, that we may be the Body of Christ for the world.
In company with those who bring you frankincense
we offer you our prayers, our worship and our service.
Unite us with you, with one another, and with Christ, in service to others.
Grant that by these gifts at work in us we may be light for the world
in the love of Christ and the power of the Holy Spirit.

               [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 after Communion / Dedication / Sending

[Adapt as needed]
1.
Gracious God, we thank you for ( the mystery that/ this mystery in which) you have given yourself to us. Send us now into the world, attentive to the star of your love, following it with faithfulness, seeking its glory in all we meet, and shining with its light through our humble giving of the gifts you give us, in the name and Spirit of Christ. Amen.

2.
Gracious God, we thank you for ( the mystery that/ this mystery in which) you have given yourself to us. You have fed us with the light of your love, even in the shadow of Empire. Send us into the world to serve you faithfully. Lead us by your light; give us courage to follow and not turn back. Give us wisdom to know when to go by another road. Guide us with the light of Christ and the power of your Spirit. Amen.

3.
Gracious God, we thank you for this mystery in which you have given yourself to us. You have revealed yourself to us in Christ, in the Word, in this meal, and in your Spirit within and among us. Send us into the world to search for your presence, to follow your light, and to be a light for others in the name of Christ. Amen.

4.
Gracious God, we thank you for (the mystery that/ this mystery in which) you have given yourself to us. By the light of your grace you draw us closer to your heart. Send us into the world to seek your presence, to give our gifts, and to lead others toward you by the light of our love and faith, in the name of Christ and the power of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

5.
Gracious and ever-present God, we thank you for (the mystery that/ this mystery in which) you have given yourself to us. Bless us that by your gifts at work in us we may shine with the brightness of your appearing. Send us into the world to bear your light, to guide those who seek you and to illumine the path of those who struggle. Christ, Light of the World, be with us! Holy Spirit, star of our hearts, shine brightly! Amen.

Suggested Songs

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

Light for the World (Original song) – [A weekly Epiphany “Theme song”]
A dialogue between soloist and congregation. May be used as a “theme song” throughout the Epiphany season, using one to three verses per week. Throughout the season the congregation sings the chorus; each week the soloist’s verses relate to the day’s lectionary readings. Lyrics for this week:

Congregation
Love, may we live by your light.
Let us be light for the world.

Cantor:
Magi who followed the light of your star offered their gifts to your glory.
May we shine brightly wherever we are. Our love will tell your story.

May we be guided by love alone, the star shining bright in our darkness.
For when we follow the leading of love, we’re nearer to you, God.


Guiding Star (Tune: Of the Father’s Love Begotten)

Christ we search for you with longing, but we need not travel far.
In the darkness shines a mystery; in the night a radiant star.
For your love appears before us, gleaming right where we are,
evermore and evermore.

So we bring our gifts to honor you, and we come on bended knee,
offering our hearts and living, that to you the glory be.
May your light adorn and guide us, now and in eternity,
evermore and evermore.

Christ, you are the star that guides us; your love is the way we know.
Keep us faithful in our seeking: may we take the path you show.
May the light of your love shine in us, here and everywhere we go,
evermore and evermore. Amen.


        Two song songs of Invitation to Communion (Found in Advent Table Songs)

Lovely Jesus (Tune: Rocking)
Lovely Jesus, light divine, light divine,
light of the world and light of mine.
I will follow, follow, follow you.
Lead me in what love will dare to do.
Here I bring my gifts to you.
Use them as your love will do.

Gentle Jesus, friend and guide, friend and guide,
now you call us to your side.
Here you give yourself as living food,
and we feast in joy and gratitude.
Gentle Jesus, make us one;
may your will in love be done.


Your Light (Tune: What Child Is This)

O God, your light now fills our sight;
your song now fills our hearing.
Our gifts we bring, and your praise we sing,
as we feast at Christ’s appearing.
Christ, Christ, Emmanuel,
your love we share, your grace we tell.
Christ, Light of the World, we come!
O fill us, Love, with your brightness!

Advent to Epiphany – the Story

[Solo.Congregation may join in on final chorus.]
(Tune: Hallelujah, Leonard Cohen)

In the darkest time of year,
a time of hope, and a time of fear,
the prophet says that God is coming to you.
And so we turn from greed and hate,
still learning to pray and watch and wait,
and sing our fragile, hopeful hallelujah.
     Hallelujah…

Young Mary said her “Yes” to him,
and Jesus was born in Bethlehem,
and laid him in a manger, that’ll do you.
The light of love shone in the night.
The shepherds came to see the sight,
and angels sang a glorious Hallelujah.
     Hallelujah…

Some wise men traveled from afar,
just following such a tiny star,
as if its simple light could shine right though you.
They gave their treasures to the king,
who makes you want to serve and sing,
who tells you you can be his Hallelujah.
     Hallelujah…

       Three Blessing Songs (All are in Advent Blessing Songs)

Light of Christ (Tune: Away in a Manger)

My friends, may the star over Bethlehem’s skies
now give you God’s peace, make you gentle and wise,
and lead you, as though by a light from above:
the light of dear Christ in you, shining with love.


The Star (Tune: What Child Is This)

O God, may all your Church make flesh
the Word that you are giving;
the love of Christ and the Spirit’s power
make holy all of our living.
Love, love shall be the light
by which we live: so bless our sight.
Love, love shall be the star
by which you guide our living.


Walk Beside You (Tune: We Three Kings)

Go in peace, and take from this place
our dear love and God’s deep grace.
Serving, healing, Christ revealing, be God’s human face.
Oh, God of wonder, God of light,
shining with a love so bright,
bless you, guide, you, walk beside you,
fill you with God’s gentle light.

February 5, 2023

Lectionary Texts

Isaiah 58.1-9— God criticizes religiosity that does not lead us to love our neighbor and care for the poor. “You serve your own interest on your fast day, and oppress your workers. But real religious observance is to do justice and set people free.” In this your light will shine.

Psalm 112.— The righteous are those who give to the poor and delight in God’s will. They will be fearless in the face of adversity. They will be light in the darkness for those who hope.

1 Corinthians 2.1-5— The power of our ministry is not in our eloquence or wisdom, but the truth of Christ’s love, and the wisdom of God that transcends our own.

Matthew 5.13-20 —Jesus says we are salt and light for the world, and calls us to live with righteousness: not legalistic conformity, but living by the light of God’s desire.

Preaching Thoughts

Isaiah puts a new spin on the epiphany theme of light. We’ve heard that God’s light shines on us: now Isaiah says that our own light is “under a bushel,” to use Jesus’ image—the bushel of our injustice and selfishness. Our light can’t shine when we’re concerned with our own self-centered well-being. When we remove that covering—when we practice justice, mercy, generosity and love—our light is revealed like the dawn of a new day: “Then your light shall break forth like the dawn, and your healing shall spring up quickly.”

Neither Jesus nor the prophets would say your religion is between you and God. To love God is to love your neighbor, to serve them, to work for justice. “Righteousness” doesn’t mean being right., morally or otherwise. It means in right relationships. Faith is communal. As Paul says “We do not live to ourselves.” We are salt and light for the world. Too many folks think the essence of Christianity is “believing in Jesus” but Jesus would scoff at that. He wasn’t into “belief” as doctrine. The essence of Christianity—the saltiness of the salt—is loving your neighbor. For Jesus, to believe isn’t about what you think but how you trust. It’s not about believing “that” something is true, but believing in it: giving your heart to it. Believing in God means trusting God’s grace—which moves us to love our neighbors.

To be “light for the world” might simply mean to shine with God’s glory. Maybe it’s to illumine the path, so that by the light of the way we live others can find their way. To be a lighthouse pointing the way to justice and warning of the shoals of injustice. Maybe it means to live out the truth, in world world darkened by lies, misinformation and conspiracy theories. Maybe it means to live with love that brightens the world of the people around us.

We don’t value salt for its own sake, but for what it can do for our food. Especially in Jesus’ time it preserved food and made it palatable. For its usefulness, salt was worth money. We are “salt for the earth” only if we do what we are called to do. To be salt might mean to bring out the best in others. It might mean to be faithful to the gospel of God’s love for everyone. Maybe it means to be faithful to ourselves, to who God creates us to be—and to become.

Call to Worship

1.
Reader: In the beginning was the Word,
and the Word was God, and flowed from God.
All: And the Word is love.
Everything was made through the Word,
and what came into being through the Word is life.
And the life is the light of all people.
We worship in the light of God
Fill us with your light, O Love, that we may shine for the world. Alleluia!

2. [ Psalm 112]
Leader: Praise God! Happy are those who delight in doing God’s will
All: They are like light in the darkness.
They give generously and lend; they do justice.
They are not cowed by news of evil:
their hearts are firm, secure in God.
Their spirits are steady; they will not back away,
while the wicked fill themselves with worry and anger.
Praise God, who sustains the weak and the needy!

3. (1 Cor. 2.9-10)
Leader: No eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the human heart conceived,
what the Holy One has prepared for those who love God.
All: But these things you have revealed to us through the Spirit;
for the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God.
Reveal your light to us, O God, so that we may be your light.
Let your grace shine in us, that we may be light in the darkness
for all those who struggle or wander.
Illumine our way, that we may faithfully follow Christ.
Be our light, that we may be light for others, in the name of Christ. Amen.

4.
Leader: Creator God, Light of heaven, we praise you!
All: Risen Christ, light of the world, we greet you!
Holy Spirit, light of God within us, we shine with your loveliness.
Our lives are your praise. Our Being is your glory.
God, you have created us to shine with your love.
We confess that we have hidden your light;
but you forgive us, restore your radiance in us,
and give us as light to the world. We thank you.
May your light redeem us, and gleam in us with beauty.
Alleluia! Come, Spirit of Light, and transform us by your grace. Alleluia!

Collect / Prayer of the Day

1.
God, speak your word to us, a lamp unto our feet, so we may know your ways.
Shine your light upon us, so we can see your path.
Shine your light within us so we can know your presence.
Shine your light out through us,
so we can help you bring your love into this world. Amen.

2.
Eternal God, your light created the universe.
Your light shines in us.
Speak the light of your Word to us and re-create us,
that we may be light for the world,
in the spirit of Christ, our Light. Amen.

3.
God of life, in this sometimes dark world we seek you, our light, our sun, our dawn. We open the eye of our hearts to the morning sun. Rise upon us, speak your Word to us, and awaken us to your new day, with the voice of Christ, and the warmth of your Spirit. Amen.

4.
Gracious God, Jesus expressed great faith in us, calling us salt for the earth and light for the world. Kindle your light in us through the reading of scripture and the proclamation of your Word, in prayer and in song, in bread and in silence. Light the lamps of our hearts that we may radiate with your love, in the name and the spirit of Christ. Amen.

Prayer of Confession

Pastor: The grace of God be with you.
Congregation: And also with you.
Trusting in God’s tender mercy, let us confess our sin to God with one another.
Holy God, your light exposes our sin, but bathes us in grace.
In the light of your love we see ourselves truly.
We hold in your light all in us that is hurting and hurtful,
release our judgment of ourselves and one another,
and ask your healing and forgiveness.
[Silent prayer … the word of grace]

Readings

1. 1 Corinthians 2.1-12, a paraphrase
      When I came to you, siblings in God, I did not come proclaiming the mystery of God to you in lofty words or wisdom. All I know for sure is Jesus Christ, and him crucified. And I came to you in weakness and in fear and trepidation. My argument didn’t rest on philosophical wisdom, but it arose from the Spirit’s power, so that your faith might rest not on human wisdom but on the power of God.
       When those who are spiritually mature speak of wisdom it is not what the world thinks is wisdom, and certainly not the powerful people—they don’t know a thing about life. But we speak of God’s wisdom—confusing and obscured to them—which God decreed before the ages for our glory. None of the rulers of this age understood this; for if they had, they would not have crucified the Sovereign of glory. But, as it is written,
               “No eye has seen, nor ear heard—
               no, it hasn’t even dawned on us,
               what the Holy One has prepared for those who love God.”
     But God has revealed these things to us through the Spirit; for the Spirit knows everything, even the depths of God.

2. Psalm 112, a paraphrase
Holy One, our hearts sing your praise
with light that will shine forever.
Knowing you, we know deep joy.
The way you show us is the way of delight.
We draw close to you,
and blessing overtakes us.
Your grace is the greatest treasure in our house.
It will remain even when the house is gone.
Because your spirit is in us
we are gracious and merciful, desiring harmony.
We rise like candles in the dark
light for all who are searching.
We are fearlessly generous;
we are resolute in building justice.
We cannot be undone.
This light will shine forever.
Anxious rumors don’t budge us;
you are our solid bedrock.
In you we are steady. Fear can’t shake us.
In the end, we will look on what tried to destroy us,
and we will smile.
We share abundantly. We give to the poor.
It’s your generosity, not ours, shining in us forever.
The selfish and fearful only get more fearful; they rot in it.
But this light will shine forever.

Poetry

                    Light

Every act of justice,
every act of compassion or mercy
is a light, a star in the night of this world.

You may think your efforts small and meaningless.
You may think they make no difference.
But go out and look up at the stars.

Which one should not have reached out in love?
Which one should never have bothered
to act in courage and compassion?

None of them rids the night of its darkness.
Yet God walks out and looks at them all
and smiles.

They all shine until they are swept up
in the great light
of the One who dawns among us.

            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.

          Salt

You don’t aspire to saltiness.
It is who you are.

It’s the taste of being an element of earth
and an element of God.
Your saltiness is your faithfulness
to who God is in you.

The You of who you are
gives salt to this world.
It’s a quality that remains
even as it goes out into the stew of life
and adds to its savoriness.

Be true to your salt.
It will bring out the goodness in others.

          Salt

When the seawater finally evaporates
the pure salt of you remains.

Of the earth, stout crystal,
marvelous in your you-ness,

as first you left the Creator’s hand,
your grain, your truth,

this do not lose or trade,
or meekly become otherwise.

That of you that is purely you,
blood-mineral of life, of tears,

salting not in virtue or deeds
but essence, simply being you,

bringing out in others
their own flavor as well,

offer without apology,
with love and courage,

for God, savoring you so,
has chosen to salt this life with you.

Listening Prayer

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

God of Love, Light of Life,
may your sun shine on us,
shine on all living things,
shine on the world.
May your light pierce the darkness in us,
and transform it;
your light radiate from within us
out into the world,
giving it beauty and grace and healing.

Response / Creed / Affirmation

1.
Holy One, may the light of your love shine in us:
      that we may loosen the bonds of injustice,.
May the dawn of your justice rise in us:
      that we may undo the thongs of the yoke..
May the candle of your courage burn in us,
      that we may let the oppressed go free, and break every yoke
May the sun of your compassion shine in us,
      that we may share our bread with the hungry.
God of grace, by your spirit at work in us
      our light shall break forth like the dawn,
     and our healing shall spring up quickly.

Eucharistic Prayer

[After the introduction, the body of the prayer may be read responsively with the presiding leader(s) and congregation, or by the leader(s) alone.]

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.

In the beginning you said, “Let there be light.”
Through your Word all things were created, and in them was the light of life.
In the light of the rainbow you made covenant with all Creation.
In the pillar of fire you led us and all people out of slavery to freedom.
With the light of your Word you have guided us though law and prophets,
and in the fullness of time you sent Jesus, the light of the world.
Therefore with all who have been set free, all who shine with your light,
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]

Blessed are all who come in your name, and blessed is Jesus, your Christ.
He healed and fed people, he taught and forgave.
He saw your light in all people, and called us to shine with your grace.
He gathered a community of love and mercy, founded in your realm of justice.
For his resistance to oppression he was crucified,
but you raised him from the dead;
and he continues to renew your Covenant to be with us in love forever.

[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,
redeemed by your grace, shining with your light,
for the sake of the wholeness 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

[Adapt as needed.]
1.
Gracious God, we thank you for (the mystery that you give yourself to us / this mystery in which you have given yourself to us.) You have filled us with your light. Send us into the world to shine with your love and mercy, to do justice, to embody your Word, in the name and Spirit of Christ. Amen.

2.
Gracious God, we thank you for (the mystery that you give yourself to us / this mystery in which you have given yourself to us.) You have filled us with your loving presence. May your light shine in us that we may do justice, love mercy and walk humbly with you for the sake of the world, in the name and Spirit of Christ. Amen.

3
Gracious God, we thank you for (the mystery that you give yourself to us / this mystery in which you have given yourself to us.) You have fed us with your light; you have salted us with your grace. Send us into the world that in all our living we may be light. Send us to do justice for your sake, that we may be light for the world and seasoning for the earth, in the name and the Spirit of Christ. Amen.

Suggested Songs

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

Light for the World – (Original song)
[A dialogue between soloist and congregation. May be used as a “theme song” throughout the Epiphany season. The refrain is the same throughout: the soloist’s verses reflect the day’s readings. Relevant lyrics for this week:]

Congregation:
Love, may we live by your light.
Let us be light for the world.

Soloist:
Those who do justice are happy indeed: they are a light in the darkness.
Those who are generous shall not be moved, remembered forever.

“This is the fast that I choose,” says our God, “to loosen the bonds of injustice.
For then your light shall break forth like the dawn, rising in the darkness.”

You are the light, the light of the world. Give thanks for the light shining in you.
Let your light shine so that others may see, and glorify God.

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.