Author: Steve

November 17, 2024

Lectionary Texts

1 Samuel 1. 4-20 — Hannah’s prayer … which in due time is answered.

1 Samuel 2.1-10 — Hannah’s prayer of thanks. There is no Rock like our God. God brings low, and also exalts. God raises up the poor from the dust

Hebrews 10.11-25 — that through Jesus’ sacrifice our sins have been removed once for all. Therefore rather than worry about our forgiveness, our faith can focus on bearing witness, doing good, and encouraging one another.

In Mark 13. 1-8 Jesus warns that the temple will be destroyed, frightening changes will occur and his followers will be persecuted. But he describes this not as the end of the world, but as “birthpangs.”

Preaching Thoughts

1 Samuel 1
       Hannah is not exactly one of those Hebrew “uppity women,” but she is belittled as if she were, and she stands firm against the priest’s ill treatment and justifies herself and shows herself to be a woman of great faith.

1 Samuel 2
       The story of Zechariah and Elizabeth in Luke 1 is a clear parallel to Hanna’s story, and here Hannah prays in a way that will be echoed by Mary’s Magnificat. The heart of it is the great biblical theme of God raising up the lowly and bringing down the rich and powerful.

Hebrews
       This passage repeats last week’s theme, that in Christ we know we are forgiven, absolutely and permanently. It’s hard for folks to trust this. I still hear people worry whether God will accept them, forgive them, love them deeply. Yes. We can’t say this enough. So rather than worry about our forgiveness, our faith can focus on bearing witness, doing good, and encouraging one another.

Mark
       As we move toward the culmination of the church year on Christ the Sovereign Sunday, our scriptures begin to look toward the end of things as they are, and God’s new Creation. In these and following verses Jesus warns that the temple will be destroyed, frightening changes will occur and his followers will be persecuted. With only a little modification, his words sound a lot like climate change; the collapse of the church’s influence and centrality in Western culture in the 21^st Century; and the rise of political powers that support White supremacy, environmental abuse, nationalism, militarism, and a whole lot of stuff Jesus preached against. Jesus’ words may sound a bit extreme, but he wasn’t exaggerating.
       Back in the 70’s some people stirred up a lot of angst (and made a lot of money) fretting about “end times.” There was some “Left Behind” panic, and little cults expecting the imminent end of the world. We’ve outgrown that… but meanwhile the actual end of human history is more conceivable now. Any one of many real dangers could spell, if not the end of civilization as we know it, at least radical crises—climate change, micro-plastic pollution, nuclear war, water shortages, threats to democracy… The threats are real.
       So how do people of faith deal with that? The answer isn’t in this reading. It’s spread throughout the Gospel. But this passage makes it clear that we will carry out God’s call to compassion, healing, peace, justice and nonviolence in the face of opposition, violence, greed and fear. We will go through rough times. But God will sustain us. “Do not be alarmed.” Part of what sustains us is the trust that God and God’s will and God’s Creative Energy are not only greater than we imagine, they’re greater than we can imagine. Jesus describes these awful visions not as the end, but as “birthpangs.” God is at work in ways we can’t know. The Life Force is strong, and Peace may find a way even when human intelligence can’t. Grace may prevail even in the face of profound disaster. Our hope is not wishing that things will turn out OK, but trust that Grace happens no matter how things turn out, that Love is already at work, as surely as gravity, influencing everything. Even the worst case scenario is labor pains. God will bring forth something new. Resurrection will happen. God has the power to turn death into life, despair into joy. Life will go on. Love will not end.
       So we learn to trust the mystery of Resurrection. We keep the faith. This was the way of Jesus toward the cross. This was the way of the first disciples, who experienced the murder of Jesus, the weight of religious persecution, the fall of Jerusalem, the destruction of the Temple, and the crushing power of Roman oppression. We know how to do this. So we live our lives with gentle faith in the face of violence and greed. We live with forgiveness in the face of cruelty. We live with love in the face of fear. We live with hope even in the face of doom itself. It will all be thrown down. But love will not. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness can’t overcome it.

Call to Worship

1.
Leader: Eternal God, we praise you!
       All: Amidst all that changes, you are present.
You have been here forever, waiting for us.
       We are here, to be present for you.
Let all that is passing fall away.
        With open hands, we let go of all but you.
        Alleluia! Spirit of Life, transform us by your grace. Alleluia!

2.
Leader: Eternal God, Creator of all that is and all that is to come, we praise you.
       All: Risen Christ, you who hold the door open for us
       into this world, and into the next,
       we greet you, and we listen for your voice.
Holy Spirit, you who transform all things, we open our hearts to your presence.
        Holy One, Breath of Life, Flesh of Love and Bone of Faithfulness,
        we thank you.
        You are the turning of the world;
        you are the Mysterious Unfolding within us.
We come to you to worship, to be blessed, to be changed.
        Alleluia! Come, Spirit of Grace,
        and transform us according to your will. Alleluia!

3.
Leader: God of grace,
so much changes, so much fails,
so much confuses and confounds us.
     All: But your love continuously unfolds,
     your grace works its mysterious power.
We are afraid for things that will not last.
     But your mercy lasts forever;
     your tender love for us holds steadfast.
So we worship you in awe and gratitude.
    We open our hearts to your grace,
     that your hope for the world
     will find a home in us. Amen.

Collect / Prayer of the Day

1.
Eternal God, so much changes around us. So much is passing. So much is frightening. But you are present with us, steadfast and solid in your love. We open our hearts to your presence, to your Word, to your Spirit living in us. Help us to hear, to be healed, and to be made new. We pray in the spirit of Christ, who has died and is risen and is with us always. Amen.

2.
Holy God, you make this world, and remake it according to your grace. You move this world toward your will. Help us to move with you. Speak to us, and strengthen our hearts, so that we can be faithful to you always. Amen.

3.
God of love, this word sometimes seems to be walking toward its own destruction. But Jesus walked resolutely toward the cross, trusting your grace. Give us trust. Give us hope. Give us courage. Give us Jesus. Amen.

4.
God of Patience, bear with us humans while we try to figure out how to live. God of Forgiveness, be gentle with those who destroy life and promote injustice, and those who don’t know how to resist them. God of Resurrection, you hold this struggling world in your hands. Bring forth new birth—in the world and in us. God of the Crucified and Risen Christ, give us faith to live with grace, with love and mercy, unswayed by the troubles of the world. By your Holy Spirit, lead us in the ways of Peace. Amen.

5.
Eternal God, World-Maker, Change-Maker, Birth-Maker,
all things come and go… but you.
Loving Christ, Burgeoning Mercy, Healing Unfolding,
fear may conquer many… but not you.
Holy Spirit, Transforming Fire, Energy of Creation,
so much slips through our fingers… but not yours.
Holy One, as worlds change your love remains steadfast.
You work your Creating power faithfully, making all things new.
God of love, deepen our trust. Strengthen our faith.
Encourage our love, in the spirit of Christ. Amen.

Listening Prayer

(suitable as a Collect, preparation for hearing scriptures, or invitation to prayer)
O constant God,
when all is thrown down,
your love is not.
We turn to you,
we rely upon you.
Pour yourself into us
that we may be constant in you.

Prayer of Confession

The grace of God be with you.
        And also with you.
Trusting in God’s tender mercy, let us confess our sin to God with one another.
        Gentle God, we confess that we have left your ways
        and followed the ways of the world
        ways that will fail and not endure.
        We have fit in with the culture
        rather than staying true to your Spirit in us.
        Forgive us; re-root us in your Spirit,
        and remake us in the image of Christ. Amen.
SILENT PRAYER… THE WORD OF GRACE

Reading

When the towers fell

         “Do you see these great buildings?
         Not one stone will be left here upon another.”
                   —Mark 13.2


When the towers fell
it seemed the center of the world had vanished,
but the center, it turns out, is elsewhere.
When the towers fell
it seemed the end of the world,
but wars and rumors
have come and gone, and here we are.
They said everything changed
but nothing changed.
Empires come, and pass. Stones fall.
Hate and anger are still unable to build, but only destroy.
Still some people harm; some bless.
We seek stones unfallen, but stones still fall.
Even stones are made of smoke.

Listen. Things happen, things pass;
but they don’t express God’s love for you.
That’s constant. And so is God’s invitation.

Now—before the tower of this moment falls—
is the time to decide whether to be kind and how,
whether to show mercy.
This is the moment—unchanging—
and always has been, the moment
to love.

Response / Creed / Affirmation

        Holy God, we know you as the Creator of all that is and all that is to come, who makes and remakes the world in love and wisdom. You are moving this world toward perfect love, transforming all Creation by grace.
        We look to Jesus, your Christ, the embodiment of your presence among us. He taught and healed, proclaimed your Word, gathered a community, and announced the coming of your Realm of Grace. In his death and resurrection you have shown us the end of the world to which we cling and the coming of a new heaven and earth. He lives among us, accompanying us in faithful living and prophetic witness.
        We live by the power of the Holy Spirit, your transforming energy within and among us. As one church, the Body of Christ, we bear witness to your grace, practice your forgiveness, work for justice, rely on your promise of resurrection, and see all things in light of the eternity of all that is rooted in you. We devote ourselves to proclaiming your good news to all peoples, for the sake of the transformation of the world. 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.

Blessed God, we praise you.
Creator of all that is and is to come, we thank you.
You create us, claim us, and accompany us.
From the interlocking powers that entrap us
you set us free.
You invite us into your Realm of Grace
that is free from the world’s fear and hostility.
You have given us Jesus, who showed us how to resist evil.
In the face of his death he ate with his friends,
a feast of hope and liberation.
You have set a table before us in the presence of our enemies;
and we come, all of us siblings in your love,
to feast on your mercy and to 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 embodied your love.
In the face of brokenness he healed people,
in the face of hunger he fed people,
in the face of our sin he forgave.
He was crucified, and with him the hopes of a people.
And yet you raised him from the dead,
and with him the hope of a people.
This is a feast of death and resurrection
in the arms of Christ,
a feast of hope and trust.

     (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.
As worlds change around us, your love remains steady,
and yet by it we are transformed.
You feed us with the mystery of your grace,
that we may share in the courageous love of Christ,
and the peace of your Holy Spirit,
for the sake of the redemption 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.]
Gracious God, we thank you for
the mystery that you give yourself to us /
this mystery in which you have given yourself to us.
Amid the changing of worlds your love is steadfast. You have drawn us into the Realm of your Grace that is eternal. Send us out into the world, unwavering in bearing the steadfast love of Christ, at peace in the grace of your Holy Spirit, for the sake of the world you love. Amen.

Suggested Songs

(Click on titles to view songs on the Music page.)


God of the Future     [Tune: SLANE – Be Thou My Vision]
God of our dark night, and God of our day,
God of our journey, whose will is our way,
when our path dims and the future’s unknown,
still you walk with us; we’re never alone.

Though the familiar should fade and turn strange,
your steady love for us never will change.
So when we worry and can’t see the way
Love, still your grace is enough for today.

All that is taken and all that we lose,
all of the cost of the path that we choose
never compares with the grace you impart:
faithful and gracious, you give us your heart.

Bless all the journeys we still are to make.
May they shed mercy and light for your sake
Lead us with courage on journeys unknown,
walking in blessing, and never alone.

Be our companion, our courage, our nerve,
You, the heart in us, to love and to serve.
Blessings you promise, whatever befall.
Still you walk with us, O lover of all.

In All that Changes (Tune: Breathe on Me, Breath of God)

In all that changes, God, all that will fail or fall,
your loving presence still abides, and will not fade at all.

In all that changes, God, your love is strong and sure.
Therefore we give in thanks for grace, and trust it will endure.

Through raging storm and sea, you are the rock that stands.
Free from all else, we give ourselves into your loving hands.


Love Will Bear Us Over (Tune : Holy Manna)

When our world is changing ‘round us and we long for good old days,
what that lasts will bear us over to new earth, new heaven, new ways?
Love will lead us when the path is unfamiliar, come what may:
set our heart to love our neighbors and our feet will find the way.

Christ gives us a new commandment: “Share the love that you’ve been given.”
When we do we’re resurrected, entering new earth and heaven.
When we love our neighbor more than caring for what used to be,
then our love will bear us over, then our love will set us free.

September 22, 2024

Lectionary Texts

Proverbs 31.10-31 — A capable wife

Psalm 1 — Those who follow God’s ways are like trees growing near water, bearing fruit and never failing.

James 3.13-4.3, 7-8a — Contrasting selfish desire with “gentleness born of wisdom.” Conflicting desires within us cause the conflicts between us.

Mark 9.30-37 — The first must be last; the greatest must be a servant. Welcome the child.

Preaching Thoughts

Proverbs
       Clearly the passage celebrates the wisdom, strength and industry of a woman who manages the estate and runs the family business and is not just a “helpmate.” Her attention is not on her own well-being alone, but that of her whole household. Given this woman’s energy, initiative and command, it’s clear that when a stay-at-home mom is asked if she works the answer is Yes. The description is a healthy corrective to our socially rehearsed images of a wife (and women in general) as subservient, passive and powerless.

Psalm
       The image of the life of the wicked is of one’s life efforts being chaff that are blown away by the wind. The image of righteousness is being deeply rooted in the continual grace and life-force of God. The former experience life-fruits being taken, blown away, while the latter experience grace being given, flowing toward them. Dwell on this image of being deeply rooted, nourished by the stream of God’s grace that continually flows and feeds your soul, unseen, underground….
       I see the psalm has built an opposing team of the wicked, sinners, and… scoffers. Hm. It seems scoffing has become a major political movement these days…. But as I imagine those scoffers I find myself sitting there scoffing at them. Oops. Busted. Maybe we’re being invited to be less judgmental, even of the wicked.
       Our typical dualistic way of thought is to imagine that we are among the righteous, while the wicked—“those people”—sit in the seat of scoffers, and are are hauled off to perdition by God’s police/angels. But what if the poem is all about us? I delight in God’s word, and I also follow the path of wickedness. Maybe the psalm isn’t about God sweeping away those sinners like chaff in the wind, but God removing my sin, getting rid of my own faults—and they disappear like chaff blown away in the wind! Even when the judgment is about me, it’s all grace!

James
       Here’s another word of warning to the scoffers. Just being “right” doesn’t count for anything. There is a kind of fake wisdom that sounds smart but is motivated by selfish ambition. Real wisdom is about relationship. Whoever is wise is gentle and respectful. If political discourse has given way to a whole lot of scoffing, James’ antidote is being “peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without a trace of partiality or hypocrisy.” How’s that for a debate strategy?
       “Where there is envy and selfish ambition, there will also be disorder and wickedness of every kind…. You want something and can’t obtain it, so you engage in conflicts.” Social disorder comes from inner disorder. This doesn’t mean that social movements can’t cause upheaval and even “disorder.” If the established order is unjust, God would have us disorder it, like Jesus upending the dealers’ tables. But we have to do it out of gentleness born of wisdom, not selfish ambition.
       “Draw near to God, and God will draw near to you.” If you preach on this be mindful of those who’ve been trying to draw near to God for a long time and don’t feel God drawing anywhere near them. God is near to us, but we actually seldom feel it. Sometimes our discouragement comes from our wanting the feeling more than trusting the presence. Even when you feel God is absent, God is there. In fact that discomfort you feel is God in you, reaching out for relationship. Our feelings, including the sense that God is near or far, are fleeting, imperfect, and conditioned by our whole life history. Don’t count on them to have the whole picture. When Jesus quotes Psalm 22, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” he hasn’t been forsaken: God is as near to him as ever, right in him. When you draw near to God, in whatever way you’re given to do so, God does draw near to you, even if you can’t tell.

Mark
       We are quick to jump on the disciples for being so dense, arguing about who’s the greatest. But of course we do it all the time. We’re not necessarily vying for 1^st place, but we’re comparing ourselves, measuring ourselves on some scale, judging according to some binary spectrum of good and bad, worthy and unworthy. Jesus upends the spectrum: top must be bottom; first must be last and servant of all. See if you can get to that lowest spot, lower than drug dealers and terrorists, lower than Jesus. Then Jesus does away with the scale altogether. “Welcome a child.” So, maybe: be less”great” than the child, be servant of the child, be less important, less powerful than the child. Be here for the child’s sake, not your own. Be vulnerable, powerless, receptive, without status—and welcoming to all those who are like that. Greatest? Not even close. Off the charts. Jesus does away with the chart. Trashes the measuring tape. And that, children, is truly great.

Call to Worship

1.
Leader: Creator God, we praise you
          All: Risen Christ, we greet you!
Holy Spirit, we are one body by your grace.
        Blessed are those whose delight is in the Word of God.
        They are like trees planted by streams of water,
        who bear fruit in season, and whose leaves do not wither.
Grant us the gift of gentleness born of wisdom.
        God, we draw near to you, who draw hear to us.
        We root ourselves in you. We submit ourselves to you. We worship you.

2.
Leader: Abba God, loving father, we are your trusting children.
        All: Hold us in your love.
Amma God, loving mother, you give us life.
        Raise us up with courage.
Living Spirit, Holy One, you breathe into us your beauty and wisdom.
        Send us into this world with your love.
        We seek you. We fall into your arms. We worship.

3.
Leader: Loving God, heart of our being, you encompass us in grace.
All: Praise be to you! Alleluia!
Loving Christ, you embrace us in love and forgiveness.
Praise be to you! Alleluia!
Holy Spirit, you fill us with your humility, compassion and self-giving.
May our whole lives be praise to you. Alleluia!

4.
Leader: Creator God, mighty and powerful, we praise you.
All: You reign over us in love.
Crucified and risen Christ, tender and powerless, we thank you.
You reach out to us in love.
Holy Spirit, divine energy within and among us, we worship you.
You fill us with your love.
May we be present to you in our worship now, and in all our lives. Amen.

5.
Leader: Creator God,
All: you are enough.
Loving Christ,
we need no other.
Breath of Life,
you satisfy us. We rest in you.
We worship you with praise and gratitude. Alleluia!

Prayer

1.
Loving, steadfast God, the world is large and brutal. We feel like children, small and vulnerable. Hold us in your steady arms like a strong mother. Guide us like a wise father. Speak to us and raise us up as your wise, loving, gentle children. We pray in the presence and power of our brother Jesus. Amen.

2.
Leader: God of grace, Holy Child, you come among us small and tender.
        All: Open our hearts to welcome the child that is your Word.
Your voice is small, easily drowned out by those who would be great.
        Open our ears to hear your Word.
We so easily betray and deny you, and turn from you, hidden in the “little people.”
        Open our hands, to serve you in humble love.
        Grant us your wisdom, that we may live in faith, through Christ. Amen.

3.
God of peace, still our anxious hearts. Calm our wandering minds. Relax our tense hands. Open our waiting souls. Speak to us your Word of Life, and give us your Spirit. Amen.

4.
God, you welcome the child within us,
the tender, the unsure,
the still small voice.
You welcome the child among us,
the vulnerable, the overlooked,
the silent.
By your grace, help us
to attend to your children around us,
and to honor the child within us,
in the spirit of Christ,
who welcomes us as his own children. Amen.

5.
God, we want to follow powerful leaders, but you call us to follow the Crucified One. We want to be great but you invite us to be children. We want easy lives, but you shepherd us into dying and rising. Give us courage. Give us faith, Give us the gentleness born of wisdom. Speak to us and renew us as your trusting children. We pray in the name and the Spirit of Christ. Amen.

Listening Prayer

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

Gentle One,
you welcome the child within us,
hungering, wondering,
longing for your lap.
Humble One,
you receive us,
and we abide in your embrace.

Reading

1.               Psalm 1 – Paraphrase A

There is a quieter voice
       than that of your appetite;
a deeper way
        than getting what you want;
greater wisdom
        than your cynicism.
Follow the deeper way
        and you’ll discover happiness:
find delight in each moment
        as a word spoken by God.
Be mindful of the simple path;
        every breath, be mindful.
You will be like a tree
        rooted near flowing streams.
Your fruitful life will nourish the world;
        your leaves will never wither;
        your living will be always rich.
The oblivious heart does not survive;
        it is chaff blown away in the wind.
It cannot stand up to scrutiny.
        Its babbling is silenced
        in the congregation of your heart.
God is your path. Stay on it.
        Any other gradually fades
        and goes nowhere.



2.              Psalm 1 – Paraphrase B

Deep joy is yours.
        Don’t ask anyone else for it.
No one can lead you to it.
        You don’t have more than anyone else.
Find your delight in God’s grace.
        Be mindful of it each moment.
Then you are like a tree
        rooted near life-giving streams
that bears fruit in its season
        whose leaves are always vibrant with life.

When you’re wrapped up in your own desires
        it doesn’t turn out this way.
You’re like a leaf that’s already fallen off,
        blown away.
Folks like that resist the truth.
        Their lives are never accompanied.
Let God be your eye, your compassion.
        Let the other ones go their way.

Prayer of Confession

1.
Pastor: God of mercy, trusting in your grace, we confess our sin to you and to another.
        All: You come among us in the small and vulnerable,
        but we have turned away from them for more important things.
        Your Spirit speaks within us, a tender child,
        but we ignore you for louder voices.
        You ask us to be as a child, small, receiving, and vulnerable;
        but we have sought dominance and strength.
        Forgive our sin, heal our fear, and make us once again
        the trusting children of God.
[Silent prayer … Words of grace….]

2.
Pastor: The grace of God is with you.
        Congregation: And also with you.
Trusting in God’s tender mercy, let us confess our sin to God with one another.
        God of love, we confess we have wanted to be “great,”
        to better than others, superior, and safer.
        Give us trust in your grace, to be “least,”
        to be humble, trusting and loving.
        Give us faith not to control, but to receive.
        Forgive our sin and renew our hearts.
[Silent prayer….]
Children of God, hear the good news that we know in Christ:
that your sins are forgiven entirely,
and you are set free to live by the Holy Spirit as a child of God,
now and always, in the name of Christ. Thanks be to God.

Response / Creed / Affirmation

1. [Philippians 2.5-11]
Leader: Have the same mind that was in Christ Jesus,
who, though divine,
did not cling to equality with God.
        All: Christ became utterly empty,
        born a human, choosing the place of a slave.
        In complete humility Christ became obedient to death,
        even death on a cross.
Therefore God also highly exalted Christ
with a name that is above every name,
        so that at the name of Jesus
        every knee should bend,
        in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
        and every tongue confess
        that Jesus Christ is Lord,
        to the glory of God, the Giver of Life.

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, you who are mighty and infinite,
and yet who serve us humbly, we praise you.
You who create the universe create us in love;
you give us your Spirit.
You come among us as a child,
and yet with the power to save us.
You set us free from oppression,
and call us to humbly serve the lowly and the outcast.
When we sin your forgive us,
and humbly offer us new life.
You come among us in Christ, not as a ruler but a servant.
And so in humble gratitude, together with all Creation,
we give you thanks and sing your praise.
_____________________

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

Blessed are all who come in your name,
and blessed is Jesus, your Christ.
He loved, he taught, he fed, he healed,
he embraced the lowly and the outcast.
He offered his Realm not to the powerful but to children.
Though of divine nature he did not cling to status
but emptied himself and became a servant.
He became vulnerable to death, even death on a cross.
But you raised him from the dead,
and by your glory the One who was last became the First.

     (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,
rooted by the streams of your love and bearing fruit,
humbly welcoming and serving all,
with the gentleness born of wisdom,
guided and upheld by your Spirit,
for the sake of the healing of the world.

     [Spoken or sung]
Amen.

____________
* The Blessing and Covenant
[I usually don’t print the words. I want people to be looking at the bread, not their bulletins.]

On the night in which he gave himself for us
Jesus took bread, blessed it,. broke it, and gave it to his disciples,saying,
“Take and eat; this is my body.”
In the same way, after the supper he took the cup,
blessed it with thanks and gave it to them, saying,
“Drink of this, all of you. This is my blood,
poured out for you and for many, in a new Covenant,
which is the forgiveness of sin.”
As long as we break this bread and share this cup
we remember his death and resurrection, until he comes again.

Prayer of Dedication / Sending / After Communion

[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 Spirit in us may we be deeply welcoming of all, especially the most vulnerable, in the name of Christ. Amen.

2.
… We open our arms to you to come among us as a child. By your Spirit in us may we humbly welcome and serve all people, for the sake of the healing of the world, in the name of Christ. Amen.

3.
…Receive us with love, bless us with grace and use us according to your will. Help us by your Spirit to let go of our desires and attachments and live in gratitude and generosity for the sake of your desire for the healing of the world, in the name of Christ. Amen.

4.
… You who have welcomed us, bless us with your grace that we may welcome the vulnerable, serve the lowly, and work for healing and justice alongside Jesus, who finds the lowest place, and blesses it. May our lives be praise to you Amen.

Suggested Songs

(Click on titles to view songs on the Music page.)

I Take Up my Cross (Dialogue between soloist & congregation)

Refrain: Letting go, I am held. I take up my cross and follow.

1. Jesus, you call to me, and draw me into your life.
2. Christ, I leave all behind, to follow you in love.
3. I yield my life to you, for you alone are God.
4. Loved with your costly love, I’ll suffer for the sake of love.
5. Christ, make my one desire to be to serve you in love.

We Welcome the Child [Original song]

We welcome the child among us.
We welcome the tender ones.
In our embrace we meet your grace,
your gentle love divine.

Welcome to those who are fragile, a safe healing place to belong,
a shelter from harm, a comforting arm, a refuge where you may grow strong.
We welcome…

Welcome the child within us, the small, timid voice in the night,
her wonder and fear at the world so near, the child of your love and delight.
We welcome…

God, you are a child among us, no power or might or control.
By your gentle part you soften my heart and make me a more loving soul.
We welcome…

November 24, 2024

Lectionary Texts

2 Samuel 23.1-7 — David’s last words: a just ruler is like the dawn.. God’s covenant… the godless are like thorns.

Psalm 132 — God will place one of David’s descendants on the throne.

Revelation 1.4b-8 —Christ our ruler has freed us and made us into a new commonwealth.

John 18.33-37 —“My kingdom is not from this world.”

Preaching Thoughts

       “My kingdom is not from this world.” What does it mean for us to claim Jesus as “king,” or to proclaim “Jesus Christ is lord?” (I have mixed feelings about the word “lord.” It adequately expresses honor, power and authority, but it also reeks of sexism, being exclusively masculine, as in “lords and ladies.” So I go with “Chief.”) You can understand Pilate’s confusion: is Jesus really a king or not? Jesus points out how inapt the title of “king” is for him: he has no jurisdiction over an area of land, and has no political or military power. His is a different kind of realm. For one thing, he has’t conquered a certain existing place and its people; he created the nation: he “freed us from our sins by his blood, and made us to be a kingdom” (Rev. 1.5-6). Jesus’ realm is not a political one but a spiritual one. Jesus is our “higher power.”
       Historically a person usually became king by conquering a territory. Jesus has not conquered any territory, but he has conquered the interlocking powers that enslave us: the grip of sin, the headlock of our ego, and our deep distrust of God; our fears, desires and attachments; the pull of social pressures, political allegiances and economic pressures and the domination of the world’s way of thinking. In pouring himself out in love, even to death, and forgiving us even as we murdered him, Jesus has conveyed to us the perfect, bottomless love of God, rescued us from the hand of all those oppressive powers, and delivered us into a new world ruled by grace. The superior power of Jesus’ love has done this.
       And Jesus doesn’t just have personal power. An earthly king has power over us that we don’t have. A political king rules over people but not in them. But Jesus’ power is in us: it’s a power he gives us. Jesus is not just an authority in the sense of a rule-maker. Jesus as “Lord” or “sovereign” is the template for our lives. We don’t just venerate Jesus, we emulate him. And he gives us the power to do that. As subservient to Christ’s love we love. Our lives are cruciform as his was: we pour out ourselves in love for others, no matter the cost. To claim Jesus as ruler of our lives is to make him the center of our rule of life, our intentional discipline, our way of living. It means we are wiling to suffer for the sake of love, to be faithful to God and in harmony with God and God’s grace, no matter what.
       Living that way in our culture is like living in a parallel universe. It’s a realm that’s “not from this world.” We don’t obey the command of any ruler or the demands of any legal code: we are faithful to Christ and Christ alone. Most of the time we also obey the laws of the nation where we live—but not necessarily. When they are in conflict “we obey God and not any human authority” (Act 5.29). Christ, and the love that Christ embodies, is our highest loyalty. We pledge allegiance to Christ, and no flag or nation. Yes, that sounds radical and even subversive. So it is. That’s why Jesus got crucified, and Christians got persecuted, and Civil Rights marchers got jailed. To claim Christ as Lord is serious business. It means death and resurrection.
And because Jesus is the ruler of our resurrection we trust Jesus as the ruler of our crucifixion.
       “Jesus Christ, ruler of the kings of the earth” (Rev. 1.5). Doesn’t seem like it, does it? It’s easy to say Jesus is my Lord, but is Jesus sovereign over all human history? In the symbolic imagery of the Bible does Jesus really sit at the right hand of God ruling over the universe? Because, seriously, it does not look remotely like that, does it? How can Jesus be sovereign over a world that’s as messed up as we are? We’re led astray by our notion of what it means to “rule.” Remember just a couple weeks ago in our readings Jesus says of the secular world, “their rulers it over them, and their great ones are tyrants over them. But it is not so among you; but whoever wishes to become great among you must be your servant” (Mk. 10.42-43). Christ’s superiority is not in making people do what he wants them to do, but in serving people with love. He leaves us free to use, ignore or abuse that gift. And yet love remains the basic, fundamental force, and strongest power in the universe. It’s like gravity. You can’t escape it. It doesn’t “make stuff happen” by manipulate anything, but it influences everything, and makes some things possible and other things impossible. Love, embodied by Christ, the Chief of Love, rules everything. When we tap into that love it’s like connecting with an electrical current, or entering into an energy field: we have power greater than our own, and greater than any one person’s power, even an earthly ruler. Christ, crucified, seemingly powerless, is the power of heaven at work. Think of it. Love came up against worldly power: Jesus vs. Caesar. How did that turn out? Jesus changed the world and Caesar… got a salad named after him.
       In the cross and resurrection we see the mystery that love is the greatest force in the universe, more powerful than rulers and armies and even death. And Jesus is the Chief, which is to say, the Head Servant, of Love. So it is him, and that love, we follow. The Reign of Love, the Empire of Grace, may not be apparent in the news. But it will be radiant in the hearts and lives of the followers of Jesus.

Call to Worship

1.
(Revelation 1.4-8)
Leader: Grace to you and peace
from the one who is and who was and who is to come,
and from the seven spirits who are before the throne,
and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness,
the firstborn of the dead, and sovereign of the rulers of the earth.
      All: To Christ, who loves us
       and whose blood was shed in freeing us from our sins,
       and who has made us to be a nation of priests
       serving our God and Life-Giver,
       to Christ be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.
Look! Christ is coming with the clouds,
for every eye to see,
even those who pierced Jesus—
on whose account all the tribes of the earth will wail.
       So it is to be. Amen.
“I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says God the Holy One,
who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.
       Alleluia! With humble gratitude, we worship!

2.
Leader: Glorious God, mighty and eternal,
you have conquered all the powers of this world.
All: But you have done it not with force or domination;
you have done it in the love of the crucified and risen Christ.
God of perfect love and boundless grace, you are our sovereign.
Christ, you are the Chief and ruler of our lives.
We thank you; we honor you; we seek to emulate you.
We worship in humble gratitude, with open hearts.
By your Spirit, may Love rule in our lives.

3.
Leader: Infinite God, Heavenly Lover, we are your loyal subjects.
All: Gentle Christ, whose throne is the cross,
we are your loyal subjects.
Spirit of Grace, your are the great power in our living.
Renouncing all other allegiances, we bow to you.
We give you the gifts of our lives.
We worship you. Bless us that we may faithfully serve you,
by the grace of Christ, in the power of your Holy Spirit. Amen.

Collect / Prayer of the Day

1.
Eternal God, Creator and Sovereign of the Universe, you have established Christ as the ruler of all Creation. The world of human power and empire is an illusion. The real world is your Empire of Grace, ruled over by Christ, the living embodiment of your love. We come to align ourselves once again to your reign of grace. Speak your Word to us as citizens of heaven, that we may be loyal to you alone. We pledge allegiance to you and to no other, in the name of Christ. Amen.

2.
Eternal God, though we are beset by many powers, forces and authorities, we have only one God, who is you. We have only one Superior, who is Christ. Our highest allegiance is to you, and our greatest loyalty. Christ, you who are the Way and the Truth and the Life, speak to us now. May we hear with joy what you are saying, and may your Word have authority for us. We are the citizens of your realm; speak to us, beloved Sovereign, for we are listening. Amen.

3.
God of love, you have established Jesus Christ as sovereign of the world. Help us to renounce all other loyalties. O Gentle Christ, bless us that your love may rule over our lives. Fill us with the power of your grace and the authority of your mercy. Give us the humility to receive your gifts and the strength to serve you faithfully. Rule over us, that our lives may be in harmony with yours, by the gift of your Holy Spirit. Amen.

4.
Holy God, you love us into being. You are the Breath of our life. You are the heartbeat of our body and soul. Your Christ, poured out in love, crucified in powerlessness and raised in glory, is our one Protector and Provider. We bow to you. We submit our hearts ad our minds and our lives to you. Be the ruler, the power, the measure of our lives. Christ, our Chief, our sovereign, and our model, reign in our hearts. Make us vassals of your mercy, vessels of your grace, emissaries of your perfect love, by the gift of your Holy Spirit, for the sake of the wholeness of the world, and your abiding glory. Amen.

Listening Prayer

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

God of love,
over the many voices in my head
impose your calm and quiet.
Conquer the warring energies in my heart
with your pure love.
God, may you be the one voice
I listen to and obey.

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, we confess that we have not allowed you to rule our lives.
      We have strained against your grace,
      and sought our own ways,
      and obeyed impulses not of your Spirit.
      Forgive us, and return us,
      so that your grace may rule in our lives.
      Sovereign God, your will be done. Amen.
SILENT PRAYER… THE WORD OF GRACE

Readings

1.
(Colossians 1.15-20)
Leader: Christ is the visible appearance of the invisible God,
the beloved older sibling of all creation.
      All: All things in heaven and on earth were created in Christ,
       everything visible and invisible,
       rulers and powers and systems and empires—
       everything was created through Christ and for Christ.
Christ came before anything,
and in Christ everything holds together.
       Christ is the head and the church is the body.
Christ is the Source of life, and has turned even death into a birth:
so Christ is first in every way.
       In Christ God lives completely.
Through Christ God reconciles us to God—
all of us, and everything on earth and in heaven:
in dying on the cross, Christ brought God and humanity together.
       This is the mystery, hidden for ages but now revealed:
       that Christ is alive in us. Alleluia!

2.
Philippians 2.5-11
Leader: Beloved, be of the mind of Christ
       All: who was divine
       and yet who did not cling to equality with God,
but became utterly empty,
       born a human,
       choosing the place of a slave.
In complete humility
       Christ was obedient to death,
       even death on a cross.Therefore God exalted Christ with a name above every name
       so that at the name of Jesus
       every knee should bend
       in heaven, on earth and under the earth,
and every tongue confess
       that Jesus Christ is Sovereign,
       to the glory of God the Giver of Life.

Creed / Affirmation

1.
       We trust in God, creator of all that is and that shall be, the One in whom all things exist, the Love who orders all of life.
       We follow Jesus Christ, who fully embodies God’s love and grace. Jesus taught and healed, suffered and shared, and gathered a community of blessing, inclusion and transformation. He proclaimed a Realm of grace counter to the ways of the world. He was crucified by the powers of violence and Empire; but by the power of your grace you raised Christ from the dead, and Christ lives and reigns among us as our savior, our servant and our superior.
       We live in the Holy Spirit, God’s presence within and among us, whose grace and power orders our lives. By that Spirit we devote ourselves to serve Christ as faithful subjects and companions, willingly foregoing power, security and esteem for the sake of enfleshing God’s love for the world, to the glory of God. Amen.

2.
       We give our hearts to You, God, eternal creator and ruler of all that is and all that is to come, whose power and grace is unsearchable yet evident in the world around us, hidden in the ordinary, present in all things.
       We follow you, Christ, our Superior and Sovereign, who appeared in Jesus among the poor, teaching, healing and doing miracles, gathering a community, and proclaiming your Realm of Grace. In your death and resurrection you have overthrown the powers of this world and established your Realm among us. The Risen Christ lives and reigns; Christ prevails even amidst all evil, suffering and injustice; Christ directs our lives and confirms our hopes. Hidden in your humble appearance, vulnerability and powerlessness, you are our Sovereign, and the ruler of all Creation.
       We live by your Holy Spirit within and among us, the power of your reign in our hearts that guides and strengthens us to do respond to your desire, to live in love, and to work as the Body of Christ for your realm of mercy and justice. We renounce worldly powers and values, and pledge allegiance to your love and grace, which redeems the world and grants the gift of eternal life. 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.

Blessed God, Creator of all that is and that is to come,
ruler of the universe and sovereign of our hearts, we praise you.
You claim us as your people and make Covenant to be our God.
You deliver us from the tyranny of the powers that enslave us.
You rescue us from the domination of the empires of this world
and set us free to live in the Empire of your grace.
You have given us Jesus Christ, who rules our hearts in love,
who commands this meal for our blessing and our delight.
Therefore with all Creation we bow in gratitude and 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,
ruler of our hearts.
He conquered the powers of selfishness and fear,
not with force but with love and mercy.
He resisted the powers of oppression and injustice,
not with might but in humility and powerlessness.
He was crucified by powers that claimed authority
but you raised him with the power of your grace.
The power with which he reigns, the power of love,
is not his alone; he gives it to us.
In this meal we receive his power,
that we too may endure with him in humility and love.

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

             [Memorial Acclamation, 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,
ruled by his love, conformed to his grace,
and confident in the everlasting power of his blessing.
To Christ alone we give our thanks and our loyalty.
Blessed by these gifts may we serve faithfully,
for the sake of the world,
in the name 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 of Dedication / Sending / after Communion

[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.
The power that raised Christ from the dead, the power by which Christ rules the world, is your love, love which you give us freely and deeply. May we serve Christ as our Chief and our model, in the power of your Spirit. Amen.

Suggested Songs

(Click on titles to view songs on the Music page.)

Christ, Ruler of All Things [Tune: ST. ELIZABETH (Fairest Lord Jesus)]

Christ, ruler of all things, what is seen and unseen,
your love reigns; your grace is sure.
Beneath our fear and strife, death fails to conquer life:
your tender mercy still endures.

Christ, ruler of our hearts, come and reign within us.
Make us comrades, siblings, friends.
Your love be our life, our only power,
that gives us life that never ends.

Christ, ruler of the earth, bring your gentle justice:
your Realm come, your will be done.
Heal all oppression; fill us with mercy,
as faithful as the rising sun.

Christ, ruler of all things, of what is and is to come,
Risen One, our song we raise.
Rule in our living; guide us with tender love.
Your grace in us will be your praise.


Love Is Enthroned (Tune: Finlandia)

O, risen Christ, who once appeared among us,
you have ascended! Loud we sing your praise.
Though we may see no shadow of your nearness,
you have not gone; your loving presence stays.
You are no longer in one time or place,
but in all things, to radiate your grace.

Christ has ascended, reigning now above.
Love is enthroned at the Creator’s side.
All powers on earth are subject to Christ’s love,
who is our history’s unseen, gentle guide.
Though evil try to make this world its home,
Love is its Lord, and love shall overcome.

Go in the peace of Christ who is our Lord,
and gently heal, amid the fear and strife.
For we who eat and drink the living Word
are now Christ’s Body, and Christ’s earthly life.
We may not see the journey or the end,
but Christ still reigns, our ruler and our friend.


O Jesus, Wounded Sovereign [Tune: O Sacred Head Now Wounded]

Dear Jesus, you who suffer and walk among the poor
whose hearts and lives are broken, whose faith is still unsure:
despised, accused and battered, you do not say a word.
So powerless, yet loving!— you are my Sovereign Lord.

You bear no arms but loving, no threats nor flags unfurled.
You wear no kingly robes, but the sorrows of the world.
Yet your forgiveness conquers each worldly rule and reign,
and rises, whole, undaunted, from evil, death and pain.

While emperors abuse you, and people shrug or stare,
and dark injustice troubles the ones for whom you care,
your mighty grace arises, and hidden from our sight,
enfolds all living beings in your triumphant light.

Though Caesar cannot see you, and empires stumble, blind,
your Reign of love, triumphant, rules all of humankind.
The power of Creation, that showers us with grace,
is hidden in your weak hands, and in your trembling face.

O Jesus, wounded Sovereign, I pray, give me the nerve
without this world’s armor to love and bless and serve.
My master and companion, rule all eternity
with grace and deep compassion, and, Lord, begin with me.


O Sovereign Love (Tune: Amazing Grace)

Beloved, you who guard and guide and give for every need,
reign in my heart, O Sovereign Christ; direct each thought and deed.

O Sovereign Love, my root, my sun, my purpose and my peace,
I spurn the world’s vain, anxious rule, and trust your Law of Grace.

The Empire of your justice, God, with mercy’s clear command
shall be my home; my loyalty is to no lesser land.

In humble and obedient thanks I pledge my life to you,
to join your work of justice, God, to make the world anew.

Reign in my heart, O Christ, my Rule. In faith I am compelled
to serve you, who by love alone have conquered all the world.

November 1 or November 3, 2024

Lectionary Texts

Isaiah 25.6-9 — On this mountain God will make a feast… and swallow up death.. and wipe away tears

Psalm 24 —The earth is God’s… The king of glory enters!

Revelation 21.1-6 — The new heaven and new earth. Death will be no more. “Behold, I make all things new.”

John 11. 32-44 —Jesus raises Lazarus.

Preaching Thoughts

Isaiah
       The prophet foresees the coming war, the destruction of Jerusalem, and the dominance of ruthless people—and yet beyond that, a great feast symbolizing God’s establishment of a new reality that will “swallow up” death and destruction — not just for Israel but for all the world, as one community. It’s a defiant vision of hope in the face of calamity and the threat of despair. Isaiah refuses to despair. We can see this as a vision of a possible future outcome of human history.. but it can also be a vision of the deeper reality that we are part of even now, though we can’t see it. Despite our wars and violence, despite our ravaging the earth and abusing and exploiting people, God prepares a feast of Life for us; God frees us from the shroud of our fear and selfishness; God removes our disgrace; God wipes away our tears. Even death itself is swallowed up in God’s love. Imagine that this is happening, not just in the future, but now, in a dimension we can’t comprehend.

Revelation
       John foresees a new reality—not just among human nations, but the entire cosmos: a new Creation. It is symbolized, as in Isaiah, by the city of Jerusalem, the intimate presence of God, and the end of death and sorrow. The “water from the springs of the water of life” remind me of Jesus’ promise in John 3: “The water I give will become in them a spring of living water gushing up to eternal life.” As with Isiah’s vision, we can see this as a future prediction, or a description of the afterlife, but it might also be a vision about the grace of God that is with us always. Maybe the “new heaven and earth” are wheat we experience with the renewal of our consciousness, a new way of seeing reality, when we re in Christ. Somehow, in inexpressible ways, at the heart of existence is this shining love, this tender compassion, this loving presence. “Heaven” is not “up” but in. At the center of our lives God is present, making all things new, wiping away our tears, gathering up our suffering and our failure in God’s mysterious grace, continually giving us the water of life. Maybe in ways beyond our comprehending, “It is done!”

John
       I assume this passage was chosen for the lectionary for All Saints Day because, like the other readings, it gives us hope that people we love who have died still have a bright future, and that maybe we will get to see them again. That’s OK with me. Maybe All Saints Day needs to be sort of a general funeral for everybody we have loved and lost. If your people need to hear that, go there.
       But this story doesn’t take me to the afterlife. It brings me face to face with mortality and grief. Maybe the significant thing about this story for All Saints is not that Lazarus (and also your dear grandmother) will be raised to life again at some point, and there will be death no more—but that the saints of God are those who live life in the face of death and who love even in times of grief.
       “Jesus wept” —because he loved Lazarus, and loved Mary, and being deeply and profoundly human, his heart was broken. Here’s a picture of God with us: not magically fixing thing, but broken-hearted, standing beside us, weeping with us at our losses. People complain about that: “Couldn’t he have kept him from dying?” And Jesus’ tears seem to silently answer: “No. I can’t keep anyone from dying. I can’t prevent you from suffering. I can’t fix things like you want. But I can love you and be with you.” As much as we fight it, this is God’s word to us. God doesn’t seem to prevent tragedy; it keeps right on happening. But God is with us, and God’s heart breaks with us. Isn’t this some of the message of the cross? That God shares our pain, endures our losses, knows our suffering? The saints of God are the ones who trust this and carry on, even when loss is huge and grief is heavy. They don’t try to “be strong.” They are real. They grieve. They show love. They don’t try to “make sense” of loss and suffering (remember Job?); they simply trust that life is good even when it hurts.
       The good news, the healing, the miracles even, only come after the grieving. When Martha hesitates about opening the tomb because it will stink she touches that fear we have that grief is bottomless. If we face it, it will hurt too much. “Don’t get me started, “ we say, “or I’ll cry and never be able to stop.” We’re afraid of making a big stink. But Jesus assures us that this grieving, this work of facing our losses, staring into the grave, opening up our wounds, leads to glory. The saints of God are those who face mortality and live radiantly.
       … And the dead man came out. Clearly, not actually dead, at least not any more. Maybe the saints of God are those who have heard the voice of Christ calling them out of their dead places, calling to something in them that has died, something that maybe they feel they have lost, but that God treasures. Maybe the saints are those who come out of old dead places, who leave lifeless things behind, who allow themselves to be unbound snd set free. Maybe what it means to be one of the saints of God is to allow God, with great love and a broken heart, to call us out of old lives into something new and unprecedented… and we come: awkward, still bound up in the rags of death, but willing, and alive in a new way.

Call to Worship

1.
For all the saints who have led us through the ages, we praise you.
      For all the saints in our own lives
      who have loved us and shown us your grace, we thank you.
With all the communion of saints, we glorify you.
      Alleluia! God of all the saints, transform us by your grace. Alleluia!
2.
Leader: God, you have sent us saints who have guided and inspired us; and we thank you.
      All: You have given us saints who have loved and us and transformed us. We praise you.
May we be your saints, shining with your light, radiant with your love.
      Alleluia! Come, Holy Spirit, and transform us by your grace. Alleluia!

3.
Leader: God, you call us from death to life.
      All: We hear your voice, and something in us wakens.
You call us out of lifeless places, into the light of your grace.
      We hear your voice, and something in us rises.
You call us to be unbound, to be free, to be new.
      We hear your voice,
      and something in us enters into your new day.
      We praise you. We worship you. We give you thanks. Amen.

Collect / Prayer of the Day

1.
Gracious God, we give thanks for the saints who have gone before us: people of all ages, even children, who have shined a light on the way with their love. Make us holy with the same love they had. Help us to hear your Word and to be changed by your Spirit in us, sanctified for your purposes, in the name of Christ. Amen.

2.
God of love, in the company of your saints, we are lifted by their faith. With them we are warmed by your grace and led by your Spirit. Sanctify us with them: restore in us our true, holy calling as your beloved people. May love be our worship; love be our lives. Amen.

3.
Beautiful God, we are brought together in your grace. We are blessed in one another’s company. We are transformed by your Word. Speak to us, and help us listen with our deepest hearts, so that we may become more and more ourselves, more true to the glory you have planted within and among us, and more faithful to one another. In your embodied Word, Christ living among us, come, Lord, and speak. Amen.

Listening Prayer

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

Loving Christ,
broken-hearted Christ,
peering into our tombs,
you speak,
and something in us hears.
The Lazarus in us listens.

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.

Blessed are you, O God, Creator of all and all that is to come.
By your grace you have given us life and made us a people.
You have surrounded us with saints,
women, children and men who have rejoiced in your grace,
shared in your work of redemption,
and shined with your love and lit the way for us.
They have worked for justice; they have offered healing;
they have been examples of mercy, faith and love.
You have gathered us into the community of the redeemed,
and given us as a light to the nations.
Therefore together with the whole communion of saints,
who gather with us art this table,
and in union 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,
who showed us the way of love,
and who died for us in love,
so that as your saints we might live in love.
He preached good news to the poor,
he lifted up the downtrodden and gathered the outcast,
and recognized what in us was holy
and worthy of following in the way of compassion and joy.
Worthy is Christ, who by his grace has gathered for you
saints from every tribe and language and people and nation.
You have called us to share in the inheritance
of the saints in the light,
and in the dominion of your beloved Son,
in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

[… The Blessing and Covenant …] *

In this meal Christ sanctifies us once again,
offering us love, calling us to love,
and inviting us into Christ’s death and resurrection.
In Christ’s dying and rising
you have sealed the lives of your saints.
In thanksgiving 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 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 as the Body of Christ we may embody your love.
Raise us to new life, sanctify us by your grace,
and make us perfect vessels of your love..
In communion with Christ and all the saints,
we offer our lives as a living sacrifice,
that we may uplift one another in the ministry of the gospel
and fulfill the sacred purpose
for which you have sent us in your name.

     [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.]
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 raised us to new life in the death and resurrection of Christ; you have made us whole in your love, united us as one body in your grace, and sanctified us by your Spirit. Together with all your saints, send us out to love, to serve, to live in the new world of your grace, in the name and Spirit of Christ. Amen.

Suggested Songs

(Click on titles to view songs and hear audio clips on the Music page.)

Blessed [Original tune. Includes 4-part version for choir]

Dear God, receive me anew, mourning and poor in my soul,
hungry for what makes me whole.
Bless me by making me simple like you.

Refrain: Blessed are the ones who have nothing but God,
for God and God alone shall fill their lives.

Mercy please grant me anew. Make my heart pure by your grace,
humble, that I may see your face.
Bless me by making me gentle like you. Refrain

Courage please give me anew, peace in the world to make,
and to suffer for your Gospel’s sake.
Bless me by making me faithful to you. Refrain


Eternal Life [Original tune. Includes 4-part version for choir.]

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.


For Your Saints [ Tune: Joyful, Joyful]

God, we thank you for your saints and for their time among us here,
In their faith, their service and their ready smile we’ve felt you near.
In their steadfast love of others and their persevering grace,
we have known your living presence; we have seen your human face.

God, we thank you for the faith that lifts our hearts and lights our way,
for your hidden, healing presence walking with us day by day.
As we face death’s shadows, still we walk with courage and with love,
persevering in the faith that you have granted from above.

“Children, I will never leave you or forsake you,” you have said.
You have been our helper, God, so there is nothing that we dread.
By your grace that never fails us, guide, sustain and lead us on,
‘till we step with grateful hearts into the light of heaven’s dawn.

God Bless the Saints [Tune: Blest Be the Tie that Binds ]

God bless the saints we’ve known,
who loved us through the years,
who shared our struggles and cherished our joys
and held us and wiped our tears.

God bless the teachers and guides
whose wisdom brightens our days,
whose courage lifts our struggling hearts,
and shines your light on our ways.

God bless the quiet ones
who serve in humble ways
without their seeing the fruit of their faith,
yet live in prayerful praise.

God, help us be your saints
who trust your loving grace,
that we may be a holy blessing
in our own time and place.

November 3, 2024

Lectionary Texts

Ruth 1. 1-18 — The set-up for Ruth’s story. Ruth says to Naomi, “where you go I will go.”

Psalm 146 —trust in God, not in worldly power. God cares for the poor and powerless, and lifts up those who are bowed down. (See a paraphrase below.)

Hebrews 9. 11-14 — Jesus the high priest (and sacrifice) purifies us with his blood..

Mark 12.28-34 — The great commandment.

Preaching Thoughts

Ruth
       The story of Israel is peppered with the contributions of non-Israelites, including Ruth, the Moabite grandmother of king David. Here we see her Moabite roots. And we see the life of an immigrant, who leaves behind not only geography but also family and even religion, to emigrate to a new place. Even if they leave for a “better life,” immigrants and refugees have to leave behind a lot of life.
       Ruth’s pledge to Naomi is a model for faith: to say to Jesus “Where you go, I will go; Where you lodge, I will lodge; your people shall be my people, and your God my God. Where you die, I will die.” (Or how you will suffer, I will suffer.) That’s what we mean by faith.

Hebrews
       Hebrews is rooted in the priestly cult of the temple, with high priests and animal sacrifices. We have to be careful translating it into our contemporary religious setting. At the beginning of this passage Jesus is the high priest, but then he becomes the sacrifice, and Hebrews goes on to focus on the cleansing power of his blood. This doesn’t mean Jesus “paid the price” for our sin. The sacrifice is not his physical blood but his willingness to love us at any cost. In Jesus’ self-giving, pouring himself out in love, even to the point of suffering and death, he conveyed God’s love to us. And that love purifies us. We stand before God justified, absolved of wrongdoing, and purified, not because we’re innocent, and not because though we’re guilty Jesus posted bail; we’re purified because God us loves us and forgives us and makes us clean. Jesus embodied that. He “offered himself to God,” that is, submitted to the demands of love, no mater the cost. In his willingness to be condemned even though innocent, “without blemish,” and by enduring the unjust judgment of humans, he destroyed that judgment: see this condemnation? It’s bogus! We’re not condemned, we’re beloved!

Mark
       Of the hundreds of questions Jesus was asked, he answered all but three indirectly, with parables or with another question. But here he answers directly! What is the most important commandment? To love God. And it has a twin: to love your neighbor. Jesus makes it clear that they’re two sides of the same coin, to ways of looking at the same love. How we love our neighbor is how we love God. (Whatever you do to the least of these…) Some people say we ought to have the Ten Commandments posted in our courtrooms because we’re a Christian nation. Well, now, that would make us Jewish, wouldn’t it? Christians don’t have ten commandments. We have one: “Love one another as I have loved you.” God’s love for us is our love for others; and that is how we love God.
       This is what it means to be a Christian: to love like Jesus. We have a lot of garbage we carry around in our “Christian” bags that have little to do with love. We might sometimes sort of want to be loving, but not as desperately as we want to be happy, secure, accepted, or right. In our politics, our economics, and our relationships, love doesn’t always come out on top. Sometimes the issue is not that we fail be loving enough, but that we fail to renounce everything that gets in the way of our love, everything that dilutes our love, everything that comes first. We have a lot to let go of to really be faithful to the God of love.
       Notice that the shema in Dt. 6.4-5 says to love God with all your heart, soul and might. Jesus adds your mind. I think he means more than just your thoughts. He means your mindfulness, your awareness, your worldview, your consciousness. Maybe along the lines of what Paul means in Romans 12.2 about the “renewal of your mindfulness.”

Call to Worship

1.
Leader: Creator God, you are the Love that gives us life.
      All: You shower us with love, and we worship you.
Loving Christ, you give us the love with which we love God.
      You fill us with love, and we thank you.
Holy Spirit, you are the Love with which we love others.
      You fill us with love, and we serve you with joy. Alleluia!

2.
Leader: Creator God, how you love us!
      All: Alleluia! We praise you.
Loving Christ, how you forgive us and heal us!
      Alleluia! We thank you.
Holy Spirit, how you fill us with love for God and our neighbor!
      Alleluia! God of Love, we worship you.

3.
Leader: Infinite Love, you create us.
       All: Mysterious Mercy, you claim us.
Unbounded Compassion, you adore us.
       Heaven’s Joy, you delight in us.
Loving God, you call us with your beauty.
       Holy One, we are in love.
Spirit of mercy, you fill us with your compassion.
       We breathe in your love; we inhale your Spirit,
       so we may be loving to you and to the world,
       in the name of Christ.

4.
Leader: God of love, you give us life.
       All: Holy One, we love you!
Jesus, Christ of God, you embody God’s love for us.
       Loving One, we love you!
Holy Spirit, spirit of love, you fill our hearts.
       Radiant One, we love you!
       Fill our hearts; transform our minds;
       make us vessels of your love. Amen.

Prayer

1.
God of love, you who create us in love and call us to love: we earnestly desire to love you with our whole hearts, our whole souls, our whole minds, and all our strength. Help us to love you and to love our neighbor, not by our own will but by your grace, your infinite love in us. We pray in the name of our Teacher, our Beloved, Jesus. Amen.

2.
Leader: God says, “Beloved, I give you my love!”
      All: How can we trust such good news?
Jesus says, “As God has loved me, so I have loved you; abide in my love. “
      How can we receive such love?
We do not know how to pray, but the Spirit intercedes for us.
      Spirit of Love, enter our hearts, transform our lives,
      and fill us with you light,
      that we may truly love as we have been loved.,
      in the name and the Spirit of Christ. Amen.

3.
God of love, your Jesus shows us how to be loving. As Jesus models you for us, help us to model Jesus for the world. Put our hands on his hands, our feet on his, our hearts in his, so we may become more perfectly loving, by the gift of your grace. Amen.

4.
Gracious God, in this world we are taught to acquire possessions, to seek certain character traits, and to accomplish certain things. But they are not love. We turn to you, to forgive our failure to love perfectly, to purify us of all that is not love, and to fan the flames of your love in us for you and for the world, that we may be prefect vessels of your love, by the grace of Christ, in the power of your Spirit. Amen.

5.
Loving One,
you love us perfectly,
with all your heart and mind and soul and strength.
Help us receive your love,
and be filled to overflowing with your love
to bear your love into this world.

6.
Gracious God, your Word is a word of love.
We seek not merely to understand your words,
but to receive your love.
Speak to us now, that your Word may take root in our hearts,
and fill us with love for you and for our neighbors,
by the grace of your Holy Spirit. Amen.

Listening Prayer

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

Heavenly Lover,
perfect love,
infinite Heart,
surround us, enfold us,
and fill us,
that we may become
the body of your love.

Prayer of Confession

1
Pastor: The grace of God is with you.
      All: And also with you.
Trusting in God’s tender mercy, let us come honestly before God.
We recall those times when we have been most in harmony with God’s love,
and we give thanks. {Silent prayer]
We recall those times when we have been most out of harmony with God’s love,
and we open our hearts to God’s mercy. [Silent prayer….]
By the grace we know in Christ Jesus, God forgives us entirely,
redeems us and sets us free to live by the power of the Spirit of love,
in the name of Christ.
      Thanks be to God.

2.
God of love,
we confess that though you ask us to be loving,
we seek to be successful, secure, and so many other things.
All that we have sought but love, we name before you.
All we have clung to, we release.
All that we have put before love, we renounce.
Cleanse us. Forgive us. Heal us of our selfishness.
Make us perfect vessels of your infinite love,
in the name ad the Spirit of Christ.

Reading

               Psalm 146 — A paraphrase

O Holy Presence, Power of Life,
       we praise you.
We praise you with our saying and doing;
        we praise you by being.

Our life doesn’t come from powerful people;
        it’s not soldiers who make us free.
What they control dies with them:
        that’s little stuff, not what’s deeply life-giving.

But unbounded life wells up in us
        when we open our hearts to your love for all,
when our hearts fall into the Heart
        who is at the heart of all things—

you— who create galaxies,
        who handmade the earth;
who filled the oceans drop by drop
        and gave them their tiny and huge creatures,

you who never give up on us,
        who liberate the oppressed,
who are food for the hungry
        and who lift those who are bowed down.

O Love, you set us free
        from whatever imprisons us;
you open our eyes when we are blind;
        and in you we discover deep love.

You are present in the stranger;
        you are the hope and dignity
of the homeless child, the single mother,
        the strength of the vulnerable ones.

Those who turn to you
        you feed with life,
but the spirit of selfishness
        you starve to death.

Holy One,
        you love the world into being.
Amazing!
        Amazing!

Response / Creed / Affirmation

1.
      We believe in God, who is Love, whose love is unconditional, perfect, absolute and eternal.
       We follow Jesus, the Beloved of God, who embodied God’s love. In love he taught the curious, fed the hungry and healed the broken. In love he suffered our evil, and was crucified. And in love God raised him from the dead. Christ lives among us still in the eternal power of love.
      We live by the power of the Holy Spirit, the spirit of love, the love of God flowing through us for the world. In that love we seek a world of justice and mercy; and we live lives of forgiveness, gratitude and courage. The Spirit of Love gives us life that is eternal, which is our power, and our hope and our joy.

2.
               A prayer for love

God. help me to love you today with all my heart.
Transform my will. May all my desires lead me toward you.
Overwhelm all my fears with love for you.

Help me to love you with all my soul.
Let the inner core of who I am be your glory,
shining toward you.

Help me to love you with all my mind.
Let my thoughts be of you, seeing you in all things,
awake and mindful.

Help me love you with all my strength,
giving deeply of myself, and of all I possess.
May every deed be an act of pure love.

And may all of my thoughts and desires,
my actions and my very being,
mirror my love for you in love for others.

I pray in the name of Christ, who has loved me
with all his heart, and all his soul,
and all his mind, and all his strength. 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.

Blessed are you, O God, Creator of all things,
ruler of the world and all that is to come.
In the beginning was your Word; your Word was love,
and by your Word you created all things.
You have loved us into being,
and you surround us with your love in all Creation.
Though we wander from your love, your love for us remains steadfast.
You heal us, you restore us, you set us free.
You overthrow the powers of evil and oppression,
not with violence but with love.
In Christ you have loved us with all your heart, mind, soul and strength.
Therefore with all Creation we praise you with one voice:

            [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 embodied your love.
He gave us love, so that we might love;
he loved even those who were least loved among us.
His love had the power to heal,
the power to overcome injustice and oppression.
In this meal, with grateful joy
we feast upon your love, given to us in Christ.

     (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 as we receive the Body of Christ
we may become the Body of Christ,
the body of your love.
Feed us with love that is bold and courageous,
confident with tender hope,
and the power that changes the world.
By the power of your Spirit and the love of Christ
make us the body of your love.

     [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.]
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 poured into us your love. We give you our lives, that you may use them as vessels of your love, that above all else we may love, for to love our neighbors is to love you. So bless us, in the name of Christ and the power of your Holy Spirit. Amen.

Suggested Songs

(Click on titles to view songs on the Music page.)

At Your Feet [Original song]

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

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

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


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.

Fill Me, Love (Tune: Lead Me, Lord)

Fill me, Love, fill me with the oil of love,
may my lamp burn, burn long and bright.
For, Love, you fill me when my heart is empty,
so I may shine through the longest night.



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.

Verses:
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)

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

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

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

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

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

Love Only      (Tune: Be Thou My Vision)

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

When people scare me 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.

Love-sowing God [Tune: “Gift of Love” – The River Is Wide]

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

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

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

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


Love Will Bear Us Over [ Tune: Holy Manna]

When our world is changing ‘round us and we long for good old days,
what that lasts will bear us over to new earth, new heaven, new ways?
Love will lead us when the path is unfamiliar, come what may:
set our heart to love our neighbors and our feet will find the way.

Christ gives us a new commandment: “Share the love that you’ve been given.”
When we do we’re resurrected, entering new earth and heaven.
When we love our neighbor more than caring for what used to be,
then our love will bear us over, then our love will set us free.

Make Us Merciful (Tune: Fairest Lord Jesus)

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

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

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

O Christ, My Way    (Tune: The River Is Wide)

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

O Christ, my way, the path I take
is love alone, for 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.

O Sovereign Love (Tune: Amazing Grace)

Beloved, you who guard and guide and give for every need,
reign in my heart, O Sovereign Christ; direct each thought and deed.

O Sovereign Love, my root, my sun, my purpose and my peace,
I spurn the world’s vain, anxious rule, and trust your Law of Grace.

The Empire of your justice, God, with mercy’s clear command
shall be my home; my loyalty is to no lesser land.

In humble and obedient thanks I pledge my life to you,
to join your work of justice, God, to make the world anew.

Reign in my heart, O Christ, my Rule. In faith I am compelled
to serve you, who by love alone have conquered all the world.

Open My Heart [ Tune: Open My Eyes]

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

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

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


Set Me Free (to Love) [Original song]

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

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

October 27, 2024

Lectionary Texts

Job 42. 1-6, 10-17, —Job’s response: “I have uttered what I did not understand. I repent.” Plus the added “Happily Ever After” ending.

Psalm 34 — I sought God, who answered me. Taste and see that God is good. God is near to the brokenhearted.

Hebrews 7. 23-28 — Jesus, the great high priest who has been made perfect.

Mark 10.46-52 — The healing of blind Bartimaeus.

[Bartimaeus‘ cry to Jesus is the basis of the historic Jesus Prayer—“Lord Jesus Christ, son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner”— slightly altered in these resources.]

Preaching Thoughts

Job
       Job asks God, Why do bad things happen to good people?” God replies, “Look at Creation. Do you understand it? No. Neither can you figure out an explanation for suffering But meanwhile, this Creation: amazing, isn’t it? And you’re part of it.” Hm. That’s sort of an answer but not entirely. It basically means (a) there is no “reason” for suffering, it just happens; (b) it’s not something you can understand anyway; and (c) life is more than your suffering. Cool, huh? And as partial as this answer is, Job accepts it. The ancient poem invites us to accept the randomness of life, including its suffering, and let go of the illusion that life ought to be fair. God does not balance things out, punishing evil and rewarding goodness. It’s not so neat. So don’t judge. Stop trying to make it make sense. Abandon your desire for explanations (and blame and credit) and just accept the present moment, without judgment, without dwelling on what you wish reality were like. Life is this, not something else. Be here now.
       Ironically, stewards of the Job story couldn’t live with that conclusion, so they contradicted the very point of the story and explained suffering —and made everything better. They came up with an explanation: Job suffered because God let Satan test him. And they balanced everything out: in the end Job got a new wife and kids and a better car and a second house at the lake and his team won the Super Bowl three years in a row! Baloney. I never read this part, or I would be too tempted to make fun of it.

Mark
       Bartimaeus sits beside the Way. The Way is both a roadway and also a way of life, the way of discipleship. When Bartimaeus is transformed by his healing, he follows Jesus on the Way.
       A usual the people around Jesus try to protect him (or maybe themselves) from people in need. Jesus corrects them. Our churches can be like that, excluding (intentionally or not) the very people Jesus wants to connect with.
       Jesus asks Bartimaeus what he wants. Jesus is profoundly attentive, not making assumptions, not acting for the other, but letting the man make his own choices.


A Bartimaeus Meditation

Bartimaeus, a blind beggar, was sitting beside the Way.
             What is the Way you are beside: something incomplete,
             something not yet happening? Offer it to God.

He began to shout out and say, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!”
Many sternly ordered him to be quiet.
             What has silenced you?
             What has kept you from rushing headlong to God?

Jesus stood still and said, “Call him here.”
             Imagine Jesus calls you.
             Jesus wants you. Wants you near.

They called the blind man, saying to him,
“Take heart; get up, he is calling you.”
              Recite these words to yourself.
Take heart; get up, your Love is calling you.

Throwing off his cloak, he sprang up and came to Jesus.
              Your souls is not as timid as you:
casting your safety aside, leaping, unseeing, to the Beloved.

Then Jesus said to him, “What do you want me to do for you?”
              Let him ask you.
And again.

“My teacher, let me see again.”
              What would you see?

Jesus said to him, “Go; your faith has made you well.”
              Your crying out, your soul’s leaping,
your blind begging is holy.

Immediately he regained his sight and followed him on the way.
          What is the new Way you will follow on?

Pray this all day long without ceasing:
             “Jesus, Beloved of God, have mercy on me.
             “Jesus, Beloved of God, have mercy on me.”

Call to Worship

1.
Leader: Creator of all, God, we open ourselves to the gift of all Creation.
       All: Jesus Christ, Beloved of God, have mercy on us, for we need you.
Loving Christ, we open our arms to your love and your healing.
       Jesus Christ, Beloved of God, have mercy on us, for we need you.
Holy Spirit, come fill us with your power and your grace.
       Jesus Christ, Beloved of God, have mercy on us, for we need you.
       We worship in gratitude, in trust and in joy. Alleluia!

2.
Leader: Creator God, source of our being, we turn to you for life and breath.
       All: O Love, have mercy on us!
Crucified and Risen Christ, bearer of forgiveness and healing, we turn to you for grace.
       O Love, have mercy on us!
Holy Spirit, divine presence and energy within and among us,
we turn to you on behalf of one another and the whole hurting world.
       O Love, have mercy on us, and grant us your peace. Amen.

3.
We have sought God, who has answered us, and delivered us from all our fears.
       We poor souls cried out, and the Holy One heard us,
       and saved us from every trouble.
Those who trust God have no want;
       they who seek the Holy One lack no good thing.
Bless the Eternal One at all times; let God’s praise be continually in your mouths.
       Alleluia! Christ Jesus, son of God, have mercy on us. Alleluia!

4.
Leader: People of God, Christ has drawn near.
       All: Jesus, Beloved of God, have mercy on us!
What do you want him to do for you?
       We want to see again.
       We want to see with eyes of hope and faith,
       to see with eyes of love.
Your faith will make you well.
       We worship in faith and trust,
       in joy and gratitude.

Collect / Prayer of the Day

1.
Gracious God, like Bartimaeus we are blind to your ways and cannot see your grace. Open the eyes of our hearts, that we may see, and follow faithfully. Amen.

2.
Jesus, Beloved of God, have mercy on us. A voice in us cries out, wiser than our public politeness. A beggar in us knows we need you. Give us grace to stop and be still, and behold you face to face. Give us faith to ask, and to wait. Jesus, Beloved of God, have mercy on us. Amen.

3.
Gracious God, as the blind beggar came to Jesus with his prayer, we come to you. Open our eyes that we may see your presence. Open our ears that we may hear the deepest desires of our own hearts. And open our hearts and minds by the power of your Holy Spirit, that as the Scriptures are read and your Word proclaimed, we may hear with joy what you say to us today. Amen.

Listening Prayer

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

Beloved,
you stand still and ask us,
“What do you want?”
We are still as well,
and give time
for our beggar hearts to answer.

Reading

            Psalm 34.1-8 – A paraphrase

Beloved, my heart pours into yours,
        and every word I say is your praise.
You are the song, and I am your singing.
        You are the hope of a heart stripped bare.
Our lives are a love song to you;
        our love is your glory let loose.

I opened myself to you
        and you received me.
You came between me and my fear.
        I wonder, with grateful awareness:
        how you radiate in me!
Mindful of you,
        I am free from shame.

My smallest voice cried out
        and you heard from within.
In my deepest trouble
        you held me.
The arms of your presence enfold me;
        they make my world.

O Beloved, all that I taste or see
        is your goodness.
Living in you
        is deep joy.

Suggested Songs

(Click on titles to view songs on the Music page.)

Christ Our Healer
(Tune: Joyful, Joyful
Or: HOLY MANNA or Love Divine, All Loves Excelling)

Christ, our healer, you have touched us, reaching through the dark divide,
healing broken hearts and bodies, casting death’s old shroud aside:
raised us from our bed of sorrows, put your arm around our pain,
raising us to new tomorrows, bringing us to life again.

Christ, our teacher, in our healing you have given us your gift:
grace to bless, your love revealing, pow’r to heal and hope to lift.
In your Spirit, your forgiveness, your compassion we embrace
ev’ry wounded, shamed or silenced child of God with gentle grace.

Christ, our savior, you are going on to every town and field,
on to every land and people, on until the world is healed.
Use us in the whole world’s mending, use us as your healing hands,
’till as one the world, made whole, takes up its mat with joy and stands.



Jesus, My Healer (Tune: Fairest Lord Jesus)

Jesus, my healer, come to me and touch me;
lay your hand upon my soul.
All of my woundedness gently embrace and bless
and, though I’m broken, make me whole.

Source of our healing, God, our Re-Creator,
your deep joy is to raise and bless.
Your faithful promises and all our trusting hope
are stronger than our dark distress.

Spirit of healing, move among your people
to bear the blessing that flows from you:
with tender love to bless the world’s brokenness
and share the grace that made us new.

I am Listening [ Original song]

Speak, for I am listening.
My heart is open.
Speak, for I am listening,
open to your word


Please, I Want to See Anew [Original song]
[A dialogue between soloist and congregation]

Jesus, your brother, your Savior, says,
“What do you want me to do for you?”

Please, I want to see anew.
Jesus, please give me sight.
I want to see with the eyes of love.
I want to walk in the light.

Help us to see by the light of your grace,
aware of your presence, awake to you.

 Heal all our blindness, the eyes we close;
Give us the courage to look with love.

Teach us the ways of your heart, O God.
Show us your path, the Way of Love.

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.

October 20, 2024

Lectionary Texts

Job 38. 1-7 — God’s response to Job.

Psalm 104 — The glory of Creation.

Hebrews 5.1-10 — Christ was appointed by God as a high priest according to the order of Melchizedek.

Mark 10. 35-45 — Whoever wishes to become great must be a servant. The Human One came not to be served but to serve.

Preaching Thoughts

Job
       Job asks, Why do bad things happen to good people? God answers: “I can’t tell you. Did you create the world? Do you understand the cosmos? No. Well, you can’t understand this, either.” To me God’s response to Job says three things. The first is that we’re confused by our belief that we can correctly judge “good” and “bad.” Do we have the wisdom to understand the world? Did we see the plans? Nope. We don’t have that insight. We can’t actually judge correctly any more than we can describe how to set the bounds of the sea. That’s above our pay grade. So stop trying to make sense of it. Just accept it.
       God’s answer also suggests that God doesn’t “make “good stuff happen to good people and bad stuff happen to bad people. Life doesn’t work like that. Stuff happens. Accept the randomness (and even unfairness) of life. Life isn’t supposed to be “fair.” But, oh. how hard it is for us to let go of that! How often do we cry to the heavens, “What have I done to serve this?!?” Our resistance to accepting the unfairness of undeserved misfortune is part and parcel of our resistance to accepting the gift of undeserved grace. There is no deserving. Here is only God’s presence, and God’s grace.
       Job has asked God to explain his suffering. Instead God invites Job to be mindful of the whole universe. God’s response goes way beyond the lectionary selection. God goes on for four whole chapters about Creation. We get a walking tour of the entire universe. Why? Because Job is part of that amazing wonder. Even in his suffering, he is part of a beautiful thing. God lifts him out of his individual experience and connects him with the shared experience of all living things, the whole world. It sounds a bit callous, but God essentially says, “Look at this amazing world. Isn’t it cool? And you’re going to complain? Your little existence is not the extent of your life. You are part of this whole thing. Expand your consciousness.” Now, that’s not a helpful things to say to someone in crisis. But the book of Job wasn’t meant for them. It was meant for us. Now. God is saying “Expand your consciousness now, so that when suffering comes you can greet it with the mindfulness of the entire universe, not just your one isolated little life. You are a single note in a great symphony. Hear the whole symphony.

Psalm
       See a paraphrase of a portion of Psalm 104 below.
       As well as celebrating Creation, the Psalm invites us into “Creation consciousness” in which we are aware of not only the grandeur but the sacredness of Creation, and attentive to God’s self-expression in it, and willing participants in it, responsible to it and cooperating with it. We are not separate from “Nature,” but part of it. We are integral parts of God’s ecosystem..


Hebrews
       The book of Hebrews, as its name implies, is deeply rooted in the sacrificial practice of the Temple. In next week’s reading we’ll see Jesus as a sacrifice. Today we see Christ as a priest. The role of the priest was as an intermediary between the people and God. Though Hebrews was written before we invented the Trinity, the image of the Christ is not just a human office Sometimes we feel like crying out to God, “I know I screw up sometimes, but—God, you just don’t understand. You have no idea how hard it is to be human!” In Christ God says, “Oh, yes, I do.” I’ve beeb through the worst of it just like you—with you. Christ as high priest embodies both our belovedness before God and God’s mercy toward us.
       Jesus offered up prayers to the one who could save him from death and he was heard. That he was heard doesn’t mean he was saved from death—he clearly wasn’t—but simply that he was heard. God listened to him. God did not abandon him. God went through it with him. When we pray to God in difficulty, we often ask God to remove us from the difficulty. But what God does is companion us through the difficulty.
       He learned obedience through what he suffered. Contrary to the medieval theology apparent in places like Mel Gibson’s movie “The Passion of Jesus Christ,” what’s saving about Jesus is not the physical blood he shed, nor the pain he endured (many people have suffered longer and more deeply than Jesus did); what’s saving is the grace he offers. Jesus’ suffering doesn’t mean suffering is good for us. What Hebrews is talking about isn’t physical pain but humble subservience. It’s the obedience described in today’s Gospel passage, or the self-emptying in Philippians 2.5-11. Jesus’ saving power is not the might of a warrior but the paradoxical power of powerlessness. His saving power is his vulnerability, what Paul repeatedly named as “Christ, and Christ crucified.”

Mark
       James and John sound insensitive and arrogant. But put this moment in context. Since the Transfiguration in chapter 9, Mark has been pointing us toward the cross. Today’s passage follows this scene (vv. 31-34), unfortunately omitted from the lectionary: “They were on the road, going up to Jerusalem, and Jesus was walking ahead of them; they were amazed, and those who followed were afraid. He took the twelve aside again and began to tell them what was to happen to him.” The disciples are beginning to get that sinking feeling that Jesus is speaking literally, that people in power are going to stop him with deadly force—and they themselves will be in danger. They’re terrified. And how do they cope? They escape into fantasies of domination. “Grant us to sit beside you in glory.” They don’t sound arrogant; they sound scared. We all partake of that a little. When we’re suffering we think ahead to when it will all be better. Our innate desire for security, power and belonging escalates into desire for superiority. They are not unlike us. They speak for those who are afraid of losing our White American culture. They reflect our desire to come out on top. And Jesus disappoints them
       Jesus brings them back to earth, and to the present moment—and to their calling. He names the culture of dominance, of lording it over people, and specifically rejects it. “You must be slaves of all.” Jesus models downward mobility.
       James and John’s overconfident “We are able” will soon be proven false in the garden. (How odd that we sing a hymn of such self-confidence without irony!)
       “To give his life as a ransom for many.” Jesus is not speaking of his death as payment for our sins, but as self-giving that sets us free from the bondage of our fear and selfishness. In his self-giving he re-connects us with God’s love; in his vulnerability he redeems our own brokenness; in his forgiveness he restores our trust in God. In his willingness to suffer for our sake he saves us from believing we have to earn our salvation. He just gives it to us. And this he does, and can only do, from a position of humility, vulnerability and submission.
       And so he sets our calling before us: that we too should serve others, that we renounce domination and instead exercise the paradoxical power of powerlessness, the power that lifts others from beneath them. To follow Jesus is to follow him I downward mobility into radical letting go, deep trust, and humble service.

Call to Worship

1.
Leader: Eternal Creator, in the silence of galaxies
       All: your Word shines.
Loving Christ, in the voices of the hurting
       your Word cries out.
Holy Spirit, in the secrets of our own hearts
       your Word whispers.
       Give us faith to listen for your voice,
       and answer. Alleluia.

2.
Leader: Gracious One, you are our life.
       All: You are our Source, our security, our beauty.
Loving Christ, you are our healing.
       You are our courage, our healing, our hope.
Holy Spirit, you are our breath.
       You are our compassion, our generosity, our love.
       We worship you. Breathe new life in us, and set us free. Amen.

3.
Leader: Creator God, you hold all the universe in your loving hands.
       All: Eternal and almighty God, we praise you.
Gentle Christ, both human and divine, you chose the most humble path among us.
       Loving servant, we praise you.
Holy Spirit, you unfold your compassion within and among us.
       Present and life-giving Spirit, we welcome you into our hearts.
       In the name of Christ we worship you.

4.
Leader: Mighty God, Creator of the universe, you reign over all things,
and yet you stoop to help us, and humbly serve our needs.
       All: Radiant Christ, you who hold the worlds in your hands,
       you kneel to wash the feet of your betrayers,
       and humbly sit with the poor.
Eternal God, grant us your spirit of humble service.
       Alleluia! Come, Holy Spirit, and transform us by your grace. Alleluia!

Collect / Prayer of the Day

1.
Loving God, open the windows of our hearts, that the light of your love may flow in. Open our ears, that we may hear your Word. Open our arms, to embrace your way. Open our hands, that we may serve you with strength and joy. Speak to us; we are listening. Amen.

2.
God of grace, your Christ comes among us not with power and dominion but in vulnerability and humble service. We do not look up to see Christ; we look down, and find our salvation there, kneeling at our feet, serving us in love. We thank you for your grace, and pray that you may fill us with your humble love, in the power of your spirit, in the presence of your Christ. Amen.

Listening Prayer

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

Gentle God,
gracious God,
humble God,
we open our hearts to your grace,
serving us with love,
kneeling before us,
granting us your healing,
your mercy, your power.

Readings

            Psalm 104. 1, 24-35. – A paraphrase

O God, I bless you!
       May my soul be my blessing and thanks,
for you are infinitely good;
       you are the perfect heart of all things.

Your working unfolds richly with grace
       and layers upon layers of your poetry.
Earth abounds with your presence—
       all these living things, your creatures!

Yonder is the sea, great and wide,
       teeming with innumerable beings,
       small and great in the hidden waters.
Beneath our confident ships,
       deeper than our understanding,
swims a great secret creature whom you made,
       at home in the depths.

Your creatures live in faith,
       looking to you for their sustenance
       from moment to moment.
So simple, the way of life!:
       you provide, and they gather.
You open your hand
       and fill them with good things.
These “dumb creatures” who do not understand
       cannot imagine life without you.

When you withhold their breath,
       they are once again only dust.
You give of your Spirit,
       and create them anew with each breath.
In each breath of every creature
       you make a new Creation altogether.

This glory is eternal!
       God, may it give you joy,
you whose mere look trembles the earth,
       whose simple touch ignites mountains!

Let this awe fill me as long as I live.
       Let this song be the breath of my being.
May my mindfulness delight you
       as much as you delight me.

Let all that is sinful in me be consumed;
       let all my evil be no more,
so that all of me is a blessing to you,
       so that I may be your Alleluia!

Prayer of Confession

Loving God, we confess
we want to be safe, we want to be respected,
we want to feel good about ourselves,
we want to be in control,
more than we want to be faithful.
We confess our self-centeredness,
and surrender it to your grace.
Forgive us, open our hearts to your gift,
and strengthen us to follow Christ
in humble service.

Response / Creed / Affirmation

1.
      We love a God who reigns over us not with force and manipulation but with the power of love, to lift us up and set us free.
      We follow Jesus, God’s Anointed, who shared the power of healing and forgiveness. He was crucified by the powers of domination, but he was raised by the power of love.
      We live by the grace of the Holy Spirit, who empowers us to serve humbly, to bless and not to threaten, to create and not destroy. By that Spirit we seek to serve, to forgive, to heal, and to lift up those who are oppressed. By that Spirit alone, and not by any power of this world, we receive life that is eternal and joy that sustains us always. Alleluia!

2.
      We trust you and give our lives to you, God: Creator of all things and ruler of the universe, yet humbly serving, coming among us in Christ.
       We trust you and give our lives to you, Jesus, the Christ of God, the embodiment of God’s self-giving love. In your teaching and healing, in your reaching out to the outcast and rejected, you took the lowest place of service. Though divine you did not cling to that, but emptied yourself and came among us as a human, subservient even to death, even the shameful death of the cross. In such love we proclaim that you are our savior, our Lord and our model.
       We trust you and give our lives to you Holy Spirit of God, for you are the spirit of loving self-giving, who empowers us to serve, to forgive, to count all others as worthy of our love. By your grace we seek the lowest place of service, justice and hope, trusting in the mystery of resurrection and the gift of eternal life, given to us in the name of Christ. Our great and humble God, we give ourselves to you. Amen.
1.
      We love a God who reigns over us not with force and manipulation but with the power of love, to lift us up and set us free.
      We follow Jesus, God’s Anointed, who shared the power of healing and forgiveness. He was crucified by the powers of domination, but he was raised by the power of love.
      We live by the grace of the Holy Spirit, who empowers us to serve humbly, to bless and not to threaten, to create and not destroy. By that Spirit we seek to serve, to forgive, to heal, and to lift up those who are oppressed. By that Spirit alone, and not by any power of this world, we receive life that is eternal and joy that sustains us always. Alleluia!

2.
      We trust you and give our lives to you, God: Creator of all things and ruler of the universe, yet humbly serving, coming among us in Christ.
       We trust you and give our lives to you, Jesus, the Christ of God, the embodiment of God’s self-giving love. In your teaching and healing, in your reaching out to the outcast and rejected, you took the lowest place of service. Though divine you did not cling to that, but emptied yourself and came among us as a human, subservient even to death, even the shameful death of the cross. In such love we proclaim that you are our savior, our Lord and our model.
       We trust you and give our lives to you Holy Spirit of God, for you are the spirit of loving self-giving, who empowers us to serve, to forgive, to count all others as worthy of our love. By your grace we seek the lowest place of service, justice and hope, trusting in the mystery of resurrection and the gift of eternal life, given to us in the name of Christ. Our great and humble God, we give ourselves to you. 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.


Holy One, we thank you, for though you are the Creator of the universe
and ruler of all that is, you humbly serve us.
All of life is your loving self-giving: in the gifts of Creation,
in the community of all who have sustained us,in your gentle forgiveness.
In this holy meal you enter into the fruits of the ground,the gifts of the earth,
taking your place in this cup and bread.
You come to us humble, in the form of our neighbors,
both those who care for us and those in need.
Here we are gathered, all of us, made one in the mystery of your self-giving.
Therefore 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,
who poured himself out for us.
In healing and teaching and feeding the hungry,
in embracing lepers and defending the ostracized
he gave of himself to others in humble service.
He did not claim status or seek victory,
but sought the lowest place of service.
From a place of vulnerability he loved deeply,
embodying the power of powerlessness.
Though divine, Christ, in radical self-emptying,
came among us as a human, subservient to death,
even death on a cross.
But you raised him from the dead,
and we acclaim his as our savior, our Chief and our model.

     (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,
hat 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.
Trusting in your grace in the mystery of the power of powerlessness,
we seek to serve, and to lift up others.
As you humbly love us here, fill us with your love,
that we may count all as worthy of our love,
for the sake of the wholeness 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

[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 poured your self out in self-giving in your Word, in this meal, in this community, and in your presence with and among us. Now send us, strengthened by your love, humility and courage, to serve and to honor others, knowing we will find you in the lowest places, loving, healing, serving, and giving life. Amen.

Suggested Songs

(Click on titles to view songs on the Music page.)

At Your Feet

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

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

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


God, I Surrender

God, I surrender myself to you,
all that I have and all I do.
All my desires I give to you.
Take them from me and make me new.

God, I surrender myself to you,
all that I have and all I do.
Trusting you wholly I follow you
Take my life and make me new.


I Am Listening

Speak, for I am listening.
My heart is open.
Speak, for I am listening,
open to your word.

October 13, 2024

Lectionary Texts

Job 23. 1-9, 16-17 — Job despairs that in his suffering he can’t find God anywhere. He wishes he could vanish as completely as God seems to have.

Psalm 22 — My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?

Hebrews 4. 12-16 says that God’s Word is alive, and sees us in our deepest reality. Jesus, the “great high priest,” sympathizes because he knows our weakness and shares our human travails.

Mark 10.17-31 Sell what you have and give to the poor. … The camel and the eye of the needle. … With humans salvation is impossible but with God all things are possible.

Preaching Thoughts

Job
       It sounds like the deepest despair from the trash pit of the world, but it’s really the way we all feel sometimes. God just isn’t there. We want to connect but there’s only silence. It can feel like punishment, like banishment, like anger. Or that there’s something wrong with us. But it’s not that God is avoiding us, or that we lack faith. It’s just that we can’t see God. Our senses are too weak. We expect to be able to “feel” God’s presence, but in fact we seldom do. The experience of being abandoned by God is a real part of our faith. We need not judge ourselves, that our faith is weak or inadequate if we feel this way. It’s normal! The essence of faith is not “feeling God,” but reaching out for God even when we can’t feel anything there at all.

Psalm
       Here’s that cry of longing faith: “Why have you forsaken me?” Of course it’s spoken to God with the trust that God is actually listening. And, as happens in the laments, as the psalmist goes on we hear of God’s goodness… and it becomes a song of praise. But we have to go through the night to get to the dawn. We have to be honest about our spiritual loneliness before we discover our spiritual home. First we feel the longing, and only then the belonging.

Hebrews
       The Word of God is sharper than any two-edged sword. God’s x-ray vision. There’s no hiding anything from God. Nothing is hidden. God sees us in our deepest reality. Sees us from the inside out. God not only separates out our good motives from our bad, God also understands where those bad motives come from, understands our wounds and fears, understands the burdens we bear in our hearts that make us stumble, lose our balance, crash into things and go astray. This is God’s judgment: not ferocious criticism, but compassionate understanding, even if sometimes what’s needed is surgery with that scalpel of the Word.
       Jesus, our great high priest, understands our weakness because he too has gone through the suffering we experience. So God’s judgment is always mercy. Always. Approach the throne of grace with confidence, knowing you will receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

Mark
        “Why do you call me good?” Jesus really doesn’t believe in judging people, even to the point that he’s unwilling to call himself good. We’re all just human. That’s all.
       “You lack one thing.” We can follow all the commandments and still fail to love God and neighbor. Righteousness isn’t a matter of following the rules but an open and generous heart.
       “Sell what you own..” The key to Jesus’ wisdom is to let go and trust. It’s at the heart of so much of his teaching: lose your life to find it… blessed are the poor… look at the lilies… take up your cross… forgive seven times seventy times… whatever you do to the least of these… it’s all rooted in letting go. Our main spiritual problem is our attachments: the things we think we can’t let go of. It’s addiction. We’re addicted to all sorts of things: possessions, comfort, control, reputation, security, belonging, power, happiness…. We’re even addicted to our religion and our ideas of God. We can’t allow ourselves to let go of them and allow God to show us something new. We need to follow AA’s Twelve Steps that lead us to let go, not necessarily of alcohol, but whatever we can’t let go of—to let it go anyway and trust God to offer us new life. It’s death and resurrection.
       Our clinging is what blocks us from drawing near to God. God can only be apprehended from a position of empty-handed openness and receptivity. It’s harder to get close to God while hanging on to anything else than it is to cram a camel through the eye of a sewing needle. (No, not merely a narrow gate; an actual sewing needle. Though Jesus does use exaggerations, this is not one of them.)
       “Then who can be saved?” Well, nobody. Nobody can do what they need to do to get saved, which is why they need to be rescued. For a drowning person to do what they need to do to be saved is what we call swimming. Actually being saved means being rescued exactly when they can’t do what they need to do to be saved. For us, it’s impossible; for God, it’s what God does.
       “We’ve left everything.” Peter is kind of raising the stakes. Jesus raises them further: “Before this is over you’ll leave even more of everything.” Not merely possession, but land, home, family.
       Note that in speaking of what we lose and then receive from God, “fathers” is included in what we let go of, but not what we receive. In the new world there’s no authority figure, no hierarchy. We have mothers, but we’re all siblings. In that way the last is first and the first last: we’re not on a ladder but in a circle.

Call to Worship

1.
Leader: Giver of Life, you fill us.
       All: We praise you.
Gift of Love, you save us.
       We thank you.
Power of grace, you bear us into new life,
       We serve you with joy. Alleluia!

2.
Leader: Gracious One, you are our life.
       All: You are our Source, our security, our beauty.
Loving Christ, you are our healing.
       You are our courage, our healing, our hope.
Holy Spirit, you are our breath.
       You are our compassion, our generosity, our love.
       We worship you. Breathe new life in us, and set us free. Amen.

3.
Leader: God of life, you invite us and we come.
     All: Jesus, Beloved, you call to us and we draw near.
We release all we have been clinging to,
and open our hands to you.
     We release all and set at at your feet.
Our anxieties, our hopes, our possessions,
we lay in your hands.
     Do with them as you will,
     for the sake of the world.
We let them go. We are here.
     We are here. We are open.
     We worship you.

Collect / Prayer of the Day

1.
God we hear your call and we want to follow… and our fears and desires pull us back. Speak to us again, call us again, and stir our hearts to move. Let your spirit move in us, that we may become more fully the people you create us to be. Amen.

2.
God of mercy, we want to know what to do to inherit your love. Speak your truth to us, set us free, and bring us with you on the path of Life. We open our heart to your Word. Amen.

3.
Loving God, to enter the realm of your grace there is only one thing needed: to let go of everything and be present. So in your Spirit we relinquish everything we cling to; we let go of our concerns and fears, to be present with you, to listen for your voice, to receive your grace. With empty hands and open hearts we wait in your presence. Amen.

4.
Gracious God, we seek many kinds of wealth, but your Word is all that will give us life and make our living rich. Be generous with your Word now, so that as the Scriptures are read and your good news is proclaimed, we may hear with joy what you are saying to us today.

Listening Prayer

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

Loving God,
I give you all that I care about.
Letting go, I trust you.
With open hands,
I receive your grace.

Prayer of Confession / Devotion

1.
God, I confess all that I cling to,
all that stands between me and following Jesus.
I confess I need your grace;
all I have done, all I possess, is not sufficient,
but your grace is more than enough.
Help me release what I cling to,
give freely of al my gifts,
and follow you.

2.
Holy God, fountain of life,
my love, my deepest hope and only treasure:
strip me of all that I cling to but you,
that I may come to you empty handed.
I will be poor for you; I will be hungry for you.
I will bring you no riches, no wealth with which to buy your love.
I open to you the simple treasure chest of my heart.
I yield all to you, that I may be yours.
Make me your treasure, yours and none other’s.
In the name of Christ, who gave all, I pray. Amen.

Response / Creed / Affirmation

         We give our hearts to you, God, Creator of all, giver of life, Source of all that is; whose love is faithful, whose grace is abundant, whose heart is generous with mercy.
         We follow Jesus, the Christ, the embodiment of God’s love, who taught and healed, who fed the hungry, who set us free from our fears and wants. He was crucified and died; but in the infinite generosity of your grace you raised him to life. He reigns among us, living proof of your steadfast love, calling us to faithful trust in you.
         We live by the Holy Spirit, your Word unfolding in us, that leads us to live lives of gratitude and trust, compassion, courage and generosity. We believe in the power of forgiveness, the reality of resurrection, the gift of the community of the Body of Christ, and the mystery of eternal life. In gratitude to God, we commit ourselves to lives of abundant love, for the sake of the world, in the name of Christ, who lives and reigns with the Creator and the Holy Spirit, now and forever. Amen.

Poetry

           Thin thread

All of your smarts
don’t fit in the lifeboat.
Your accomplishments
are too heavy for this parachute.
Even your thoughts
are only junk in your pockets.
The ideas people have of you,
even your own,
make quite a pile,
don’t they,
enough to fill a grave,
too big a pile
to fit through
the tiny door to heaven,
the little keyhole
into real life.
All that fits through
the needle’s eye
is your soul.

Why are you
afraid of that?
Thread this realm
with your beauty.

You are a song,
it passes through,
whole and perfect,
and fills the world.

Prayer of Dedication / Sending / after Communion

[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 give us the gift of eternal life. In trust and gratitude we release all else, that open to your grace, we may love you and love our neighbor and hold nothing back. We pray in the name and the spirit of Christ. Amen.

Suggested Songs

(Click on titles to view songs & hear excerpts on the Music page.)


All of the Gifts I Have (Tune: Fairest Lord Jesus)

All of the gifts I have, all that is within me,
you give to me, O God, with care;
all of my prayers and skills, passions and energies
you grant to me to freely share.

Here are my hopes and dreams, attitudes and deepest loves,
all of the treasure to which I cling.
I will not hold them in, stilling my ardent song,
but serving you I’ll freely sing.

In all I keep or give, may I do my very best
in everything I say and do,
in harmony with you, only to love and bless,
with joy, to serve and honor you.

All That We Hold In Our Hands ( Original song)

What do we hold in our hearts?
The hopes of a hungering people,
longing for you, and for bread,
and to truly be free.
What can we do, who are small?
The power is not ours at all:
God, you have hidden such grace
here in our hands.

What do we hold in our hands?
Nothing we have is unworthy.
An everyday gift you can use
in miraculous ways.
All that we hold in our hands
you’ll use if we give it to you.
Use what we hold in our hands
for what you will do.

What do we hold in our hands?
In it you’ve hidden the wondrous,
fishes and loaves you can use
to feed thousands with love.
All that we hold in our hands
we give in the name of your Son:
more than we ask or imagine,
may your will be done.

What do we hold in our hands?
Grace is abundant, not lacking.
Look now and see what we have
and find power and life.
All that we hold in our hands,
all that we have or can do,
all that we are by your grace
we give now to you.

All that we hold in our hands,
all that we have or can do,
all that we are by your grace
we give now to you.

Feast on Mercy (Original song)
[A dialogue between soloist and congregation]

Refrain: May not my comfort cloud my eyes
to see the needy at my door.
But, poor in spirit, may I rise,
and feast on mercy with the poor.

Cantor: Poor Christ, I confess: I cling to all I posses.
With grace, open my eyes to see the poor
who bear your image to my door. [Refrain]

My my privilege and place
not blind me to my need for grace.
With empty hands I come, for I am sure
with grace, O God, you feed the poor. [Refrain]

As one who by your hand is fed
I hunger now to share your bread,
to see that justice for the poor is done,
for at your table we are one. [Refrain]

Giving Heart (Tune: The Water is Wide- Gift of Love)

O God of grace, you set us free
and feed us all abundantly,
so help me trust the gifts you give,
with giving heart and hands to live.

Come, Spirit, come, and set me free
from all I cling to fearfully.
Come heal my heart, my fears relieve,
so I may give as I receive.

Your Bread of Life transforms us, Lord,
so we become your living Word.
Our lives no more are ours to hold,
but yours to share with all the world.

The Giving Song [Tune: DOVE OF PEACE (I Come with Joy)]

God, send me out into the world to share all I possess.
My generosity shall be the faith that I confess,
the faith that I confess

For you have given me such gifts, grace infinite and deep,
that I can only share them all. There’s nothing I will keep,
there’s nothing I will keep..

And let my giving change me, Lord, to make me more like you:
to let your blessing flow through me, creating me anew,
creating me anew.

My life will not be known by what I have, but how I share,
courageously, with trust in you, with love and joy and care,
with love and joy and care.

Set Me Free (To Love) (Original song)

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

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

With Open Hands     
(Tune: The Water Is Wide / Gift of Love
or DEO GRACIAS, O Love, How Deep)

O Love, we come with open hands
for grace we do not understand.
We simply take, and we are blessed
that you receive us as your guest.

We open all our treasure stores
in gratitude that freely pours
from open hearts that you have healed,
so in our love, yours is revealed.

You open wide great heaven’s doors;
your love includes, heals and restores.
We share your feast, and we are called
with open arms to all the world.

October 6, 2024

World Communion Sunday

Lectionary Texts

Job 1.1, 2. 1-10 — The beginning of the story of Job: God & Satan’s “deal.”

Psalm 26 — Vindicate me… I walk I integrity.

Hebrews 1. 1-4; 2. 5-12 —As God spoke through prophets, now God has spoken in Jesus, the “pioneer of our faith.” We are under angels, who are under Christ (thought Christ was once made lower than angels).

Mark 10. 2-16 — Jesus teaches on divorce. … “Let the little children come… receive the Realm of God as a child.”

Preaching Thoughts

Communion
       It seems paradoxical to preach that in the Eucharist we are in communion with all Christians around the world when Communion itself is among the things that divide us. I usually insist on respecting multiple interpretations and traditions, but here’s a place where I’ll step out and say the traditional Roman Catholic teaching is just plain wrong. Jesus clearly shared food with everybody—sometimes 5000 at a time—including believers and unbelievers, clean and unclean, righteous and sinners, Jews and gentiles. It’s just plain wrong to insist that one must belong to a certain sect to partake of the Eucharist. I see no biblical warrant for it, and plentiful evidence to the contrary. Paul says, “All who eat and drink without discerning the body, eat and drink judgment against themselves.” This is often interpreted to mean you’re supposed to see the physical flesh of Jesus in the bread and wine. But in the context of everything Paul is talking about, that is, the church, I think he means discerning the body of Christ—the community, the whole. The bread, and the complete self-giving it symbolizes, lead us to be mindful of the whole human community Jesus died for, including people of every tradition, denomination, sect, religion, belief system or unbelief. I think central to Jesus’ and Paul’s gospel is the radical inclusiveness of God’s love and the profound oneness of the human family.
       Jesus does something radical in his sharing of meals. He clearly—blatantly, out loud and unmistakably—demolishes the exclusions, restrictions and taboos around table fellowship of both religious laws and cultural habits. What was the one charge they brought against him at his trial that was actually true? “He eats with sinners.” You betcha. That was his ministry. Calling all of us to one table. None are insiders, none are foreigners, none are deserving or undeserving. All are simply invited. Think of how many meals and stories about meals Jesus gives us. In most of them the meal includes outsiders. He eats with pharisees and tax collectors and prostitutes. He’s eating with Simon and in comes an outsider, whom he welcomes. With Zacchaeus Jesus himself is the outsider. At the Last Supper he includes Judas (in the place of honor!) In his parables, at the king’s wedding banquet the poor and excluded are invited. Jesus enacts the line from Psalm 23: “You have prepared a table for me in the presence of my enemies.” And Jesus invites them in! This is the community Jesus intends to create around his table. We are all one.
       The great mystery is: when we receive the Body of Christ we become the Body of Christ. We ourselves become the one loaf he is offering us. We are part of one another. Paul speaks of the one Body in Romans 12 and 1 Corinthians 12. The eucharist is the symbol that we are indeed one body, part of one another, around the world. When we eat the bread it becomes part of our body. And we become part of one another’s bodies. We are drawn into spiritual quantum entanglement. We are one another. So we love our neighbors as ourselves, not just as much as we love ourselves, but as ourselves: as the rest of ourselves.
       Be mindful how you celebrate this feast. Be intentional about invitation and inclusion. I once attend a service in which “communion” was offered after the service: I had to fight the exiting traffic down the aisle to the railing where it was self-serve. Me and one other older woman who apparently didn’t appreciate my coming to kneel beside her. I didn’t “commune” with anybody. It was the loneliest communion I ever had. Absolute travesty. When our oldest son was about 2 or 3, we held him in our arms as we came forward to receive communion at a church that didn’t serve those who had not been confirmed. As we turned away he said, blessedly loud enough for all to hear, “Why didn’t I get any?” Good question. Of course some would argue he was too young to understand. I’d argue so are you. Who “understands” this mystery? It’s not a concept you understand. It’s a love you receive. It’s an inclusion you accept. (Our son did understand that!) I mean, you eat this bread—and there’s God in it! It’s not the pastor, it’s Jesus giving it to you! And you think you understand that? Ha.
       So. Make your invitation clear, especially to people who may expect there to be restrictions. I offer it to anyone who wants it. Everyone has already been invited by Christ. I’m not going to interfere! There is no prerequisite but to be hungry—for God, for interaction, for forgiveness or acceptance, for feeling like you’re part of something, even just for a snack—it’s all the Spirit’s invitation to something sacred.

Job
       This passage is profoundly problematic for me. Not all scholars agree but I am convinced the original, ancient tale of Job consisted only of chapters 3 through 42.6. The God-made-a-bet beginning and the Happy Ending are later (unfortunate) additions. I believe this is true for two reasons. One is the form: this section is poetry, while the prologue in Chap. 1-2 and the epilogue in 42.7-17 is prose. They feel different. But the other is the very heart of the story.
       The story of Job addresses the age old question of why we suffer, and especially why bad things happen to good people. The assumption behind the question is that life is supposed to be fair: God rewards good people and punishes bad people. So why do good people suffer? Job’s three friends try to theologize around that by basically saying “Well, you must have deserved this somehow.” They argue from the old assumption of the fairness of life. Job doesn’t buy it… but still wants to know why he’s suffering. After patiently listening to his not-very-helpful friends, he loses all patience and cries out, “I want to argue with God but God’s not answering.” (Next week’s lectionary) And God responds! (The following week.) God says, “Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth?”(38.2) And goes on to describe the vastness of Creation and how ignorant we are. And (three weeks from now) Job responds, “You’re right. I don’t know what I’m talking about. Sorry I asked.” Then comes the Happy Ending.
       God’s response says two things to me. One is, basically, “Shit happens. Do you think you can ferret out a reason for everything? It’s way too complicated. Besides, who says life is supposed to be fair? Are you so smart you know that? Where did you hear that when I was designing the world?” Some suffering is caused by injustice, and sometimes people bring suffering on themselves. But some of it just happens. Life isn’t actually fair, and isn’t supposed to be. It’s just not true that “everything happens for a reason.” Sometimes things just happen. God doesn’t reward goodness and punish evil. There isn’t always a “reason” bad things happen to good people. That’s not how it works. And if you humans think you can figure out a “system,” you’re deluding yourselves.
       But there’s more. God places Job’s suffering in the context of the whole, magnificent universe. Yes, you’re miserable, but you’re part of this glorious thing! Some parts of it hurt, but as a whole it’s pretty marvelous. Everything won’t work out well for every individual person, but as a whole it’s wonderful, and worth it. And you’re part of the whole wonderful Oneness of it all.
       And Job’s response is to accept the randomness of suffering. That’s the heart of the story: to accept the randomness of suffering. But I think at some point the stewards of the story couldn’t stand that conclusion, so they made up a prologue and epilogue that contradicted the whole point of the story by explaining Job’s suffering!… and then making everything all better again. As if either the cause (God making a bet??) or the outcome (happily ever after? Seriously?) is relevant to any actual human suffering. What about suffering that’s not caused by Satan having made a back room wager with God? What about suffering that doesn’t end so nicely? Besides, would anybody be OK if God destroyed their life and their family… and then they got another spouse and more kids as replacements? I think not. The story hangs together much better, and speaks to actual life, without the fairy tale beginning and ending.
       So. What to do with this passage. I just skip it. The following weeks speak louder and clearer without this part.

Psalm
       Well, this is a pretty self-righteous psalm, isn’t it? I think of it not as bragging to God, but maybe it’s along the lines of what Job may have thought: I’m not so bad as to deserve this suffering, am I? Or maybe it’s really more aspirational. I read it as “I want not to sit with the wicked… I want to walk in integrity…” Then the line “try me and test my heart and mind” is more of an honest plea for God to help me repent than a self-assured pronouncement of how good I am. But that takes some re-writing or explaining. (See a version below)

Hebrews
       Hebrews was written long before we invented the Holy Trinity, but the lines of thought here are pretty Trinitarian. “Christ” is not Jesus’ last name, but the title of an eternal, cosmic presence, an aspect of God, that Jesus embodies. That eternal Christ was there at the beginning, through whom God created the worlds. Christ is a self-expression of God, and sustains all things. Christ seated “at the right hand of the Majesty on high” is an image that lends itself to the Trinity.        Hebrews lays out a hierarchy of Christ above angels, who are above humans, and all things are subject to humans, though we can’t see it yet. We don’t have to buy the whole architecture to appreciate that God chooses to take a low place to raise us up. Christ saves us not in power and dominion but in powerlessness and vulnerability. Christ is the pioneer of our salvation, made perfect in suffering. As our pioneer, Christ leads us, and we follow, seeking the place that is low, powerless and vulnerable. This is model for Christian humility, not superiority.

Mark
       Tread carefully in preaching on Jesus’ teachings about divorce. A strict prohibition against divorce isn’t life-giving. Jesus’ teaching is rooted in the Jewish laws and culture of the times, and doesn’t exactly translate into ours. In that culture marriage was a man’s prerogative, not a woman’s. (A man is allowed to divorce a woman, but not vice versa.) The wife was almost in the position of being the husband’s property. (According to the law, if a woman was raped it was her husband to whom reparations were to be paid.) And a single woman was at great financial risk. Given the legal status of the wife, Jesus’ teaching protects her from being used and cast into poverty. It also puts her on an equal footing with the man. They are one flesh. The woman is not subservient; she is an equal part and partner.
       This passage is sometimes used to justify heterosexism: “obviously marriage is between a man and a woman.” Again, this teaching is so embedded in Jewish culture and sexual regulations that it doesn’t translate into our world. It has no integrity to lift this one bit of sexual law out of the whole Hebrew canon without honoring the rest of it, too. We freely neglect commandments that regulate a woman’s period, the obligation of a man to marry his brother’s widow, the obligation for a rapist to marry his victim, and for that matter the taking of multiple wives. To take this one commandment as inviolable and ignore the others has no integrity or moral weight. Like animal sacrifices, the insistence that marriage can exist only between a man and woman is one that needs to be let go of.
       Let the little children come. Think of all the ways we prevent children from getting close to Jesus, including how we do worship. Think of all the ways we try to keep plenty of kinds of folks at a distance. It’s partly evident in how exclusive our worship can be. We’ve learned to make our sanctuaries handicap accessible, but how welcoming are we to to kids, or people with mental illness or on the spectrum, or the homeless? We keep people away from Jesus not only in our Sunday worship, but in our daily discipleship. We bring Jesus to the people we feel comfortable with, but not those outside that circle. For people to come to Jesus doesn’t necessitate their going to church; maybe they just need to get close to you. “Let them come to me.”
       Receive the realm of God as a child. What might this mean? Vulnerable… powerless… curious.. dependent… receptive… trusting… without status… playful… without preconceptions… still growing and learning… “beginner’s mind”… adaptable… as beloved as a mother’s infant, without cause or deserving, just given…. Maybe to enter the realm as a child is to be without history, without a record, without accomplishments and mistakes, just living, and accepted, in the moment.

Call to Worship

1.
Leader: Creator of all things,
       All: we praise!
Of earth and sky, the seas and stars, and all living beings,
       we praise!
Loving Mother and Father of all people, nations and races,
       we adore!
You whose arms hold Koreans and Bolivians, Rawandans and Inuit,
       we adore!
For Baptist and Orthodox, Methodist and Moravian, Congregational and Coptic,
       we give thanks!
With all your Beloved we gather at your table to feast with our siblings in Christ,
one in the Body of Christ, one in your love.
       We worship, we receive your grace, and we give of ourselves, for the sake of the world.
       Alleluia!

2.
Leader: Holy Parent, Give of Life,
       All: we are your children.
Christ, brother to all who are suffering,
        in you we are all siblings.
Holy Spirit, love that unites us,
       make us and all humanity your holy family.
       We thank you. We bless you. We worship you.

3.
Leader: Loving God, Infinite parent, you birth us and claim us.
All: We are in awe, and we praise you.
Gentle Christ, you love us and walk beside us.
We are made new, and we thank you.
Holy Spirit, you breathe your life into us and re-create us each moment.
We are your children, and we live in your love.
We are your beloved, and we worship you.

4.
Leader: Gentle God, we come to you as children.
All: We come as your little ones,
in need of your power and grace.
We come hungry for your love.
And you welcome us, not because of our past,
not for our deserving
but because we are your beloved children.
We come with all our siblings around the world.
Though we may squabble we are one at your table,
All our siblings are with us here in your love,
from every nation, every language, every culture.
Gather us, God, and make us one in your love,
one in the Body of Christ.
We worship you. We submit ourselves to you. Alleluia!

Prayer of the Day

1.
O, how we want to be equals to you, O God!— but we are not. You are the Creator; we are your creatures. You are the parent and we are the child. You are the One who Speaks, and we are your Word. Speak now, God, that we may hear your Word, and receive your Word, and become your Word in the Spirit of Christ. Amen.

2.
Gracious God, as Christ welcomed the little children, so you welcome us. We come to you not in pride of accomplishment, not in power and might, but in smallness and need. We are tender little ones in your presence. Forgive us for trying to be bigger than each other. Heal our fear and receive us into the lap of your gentle grace. Bless us as we listen to your scripture read and your good news proclaimed, that we may be renewed as your children, made in your image, faithful to you. Amen.

3.
Holy God, Infinite Love, Intimate Lover, Faithful One, we come from you. We rest in you. We listen for you. Open our hearts to your presence. Open our ears to your Word. Open our arms to your children. Open our future to your grace. Amen.

4.
Loving God, we gather here at your table with all our siblings in Christ around the world. In the mystery of your grace, they are all here. Though we have many different stories we are all one. We all live by the power of the one Spirit. We worship as one body. We are made as grains into one loaf. And with one voice, in glorious million-part harmony, we sing your praise. Bless us, that all our lives we may live in harmony with one another. Amen.

5.
Loving God, we give you thanks that you love all your children. There is no blessing you give to one people that you do not give to all people. There is no favor you grant to one that you withhold from any. On this World Communion Sunday we pray for all your people, all nations, all races, that we may all know your love and freedom, that we may all share your blessings, that we may all live in loving and grateful harmony, as your beloved children. Amen.

Listening Prayer

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

Mother God, hold us in your lap.
Receive our hearts;
tend our hurts, cherish our gifts,
embrace us in your love.
Feed us your grace.
Show us your way.
Amen.

Prayer of Confession

Gentle God, we are your children, yet we want to be independent of you. We are siblings yet we want to be superior to others. You offer us your love as a gift but we want to deserve it. We want to do things our way. We confess how deeply we need you. We open our hearts to you. With the grace we have seen in Christ, receive us, forgive us, heal us of our fears, and set us free, that we may receive your grace as beloved children.

Readings

1.
Psalm 26 – Paraphrase A

You are on my side, God.
       It is you who enables me to walk in integrity.
       Therefore I trust you absolutely.
Help me see myself, God,
       look with me in your knowing way into my heart and mind.
With your steadfast love right there before me
       I can walk faithfully behind you.

I won’t join the cynical ones;
       I don’t want to be judgmental.
I don’t want to participate in evil,
       or cooperate with injustice.
You wash me clean,
       and I approach you with humble trust.
Let my life be a song of thanksgiving,
       and all I do convey your love.

O God, I treasure your presence;
       I see your glory everywhere.
Don’t let me get carried away by my weaknesses,
       swept up in my attachments.
I know I’m capable of evil;
       I always seem to have some on hand.
Help me walk in integrity;
       save me by your strong grace.
Thanks to you, I stand on level ground!
       Let the whole world know I bless you!

2.
Psalm 26 – Paraphrase B


     Response

Bless my journey, O God,
for I have walked in faithfulness
     I have trusted in you without straying.
Trace my steps, O Lord,
and reveal the truth of my heart.
     I trust in your faithfulness;
     I walk in your path.

Response

I do not sit outside the circle, nor am I
among those who refuse to walk with you.
     I choose a different path than evildoing,
     and I will not depart from your ways.
I leave behind what separates me from you;
my life is a journey toward your heart.
     My life is a song of thanksgiving,
     a story of your wonderful love.

O God, your presence makes this place holy,
and makes wherever I am shine with your glory.
     Keep me from being swept away in the crowd
     and abandoning your ways,
     from filling my life with desires
     and my hands with things.

     Response

As for me, I will walk in integrity.
Redeem me and be gracious to me.
     My feet are on gentle ground.
     In the great circle of life I sing your praise.

     Response


          

3.
Psalm 26 – Paraphrase C

     Response
You are my only security, God.
     I find my safety in you.
You are my Holy One.
     There is no good in my life apart from you.
As for the noble ones, who are always accepted,
     whom even I admired,
they have secretly married sorrow,
     and chosen a path going nowhere.
I will not pay what they do for comfort,
     or speak as they do just to be admired. Response

Holy One, you are my present and my future.
     The estate I have inherited is you yourself!
Everything that befalls me has you in it,
     therefore all that is, is gift.
I bless you, for you give me mindfulness.
     you speak to my heart,
     even in shadowtimes, when I see nothing.
Holy One, I hold you always before me.
     Mindful of your presence, I find firm footing. Response

Therefore my guts rejoice; my heartbeat is delight;
     my whole body rests in your grace.
I know you will not let me slip away.
     You will not abandon your Beloved to oblivion.
Show me the path of life.
     Your presence is a flowing fountain of joy.
     Your hand is a land of abundant delight. Response

Poetry

           As a child

Little sparrow
crisp as nature’s card trick
finding banquet enough
among sand and gravel
I would live as truly as you.

Little spider
doddle in nature’s margin
deft cartographer
hanging your art
and waiting
I would know as much as you.

Little bee of joy
flying pun
nosing the erotic flower
I would live as generously as you.

Little worm
good humor of the dirt
waving nodding left and right
then going left
renewing the soil
I would live as peaceably as you.

Little frog
surprise of a dead leaf leaping
your one ballet move
then still
I would live as you
in the hand of God.

Response / Creed / Affirmation

1.
We love you, God, infinite creator of all that is, and we rejoice that we are your children. We come from you; we are born of your love. You create us as living images of you and your grace.
We follow you, Jesus, Christ of God, Word made flesh, love made real. You healed and taught. You welcomed and blessed all God’s children. You included all people as siblings. You included the outcast, the wounded, the children. For your love and courage you were crucified; but in love God raised you from the dead. You live among us, calling, guiding, blessing.
Holy Spirit, we live by your grace. Born of God, adopted by God, blessed by God, we live by your life and power in us. You lead us to live lives of love and courage, to bless all our siblings, to live together as children of God in harmony and joy,
We give thanks to you, O God, and promise to live as children of your love. 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.]

1.

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.

Creator God, you have made the whole universe
from a single batch of dough,
and all humanity from one lump of dust,
breathing your one Spirit into us in our many forms,
many colors, many languages.
You continually create us as one, set us free from our divisions,
and walk with us into new life that is not like our captivity.
And so we celebrate with this Bread of Liberation, Bread of Unity.
       As many grains are made into one loaf,
       you make us into one Body in Christ.

We thank you for Jesus, who embodied your loving presence
and called us to our natural unity,
bringing back the outcast, restoring the forgotten.
For challenging our proud divisions
he was crucified by the forces of separation,
but he was raised by the power of unity and oneness, the power of love.
       In his life, death and resurrection we behold your grace,
       and we give thanks.

                     [The Blessing and Covenant…] *

Jesus said, “Do this in remembrance of me.”
As often as we break this bread and share this cup
we remember his death and resurrection until he comes again.
       Remembering these, your mighty acts in Jesus Christ,
       we offer ourselves in praise and thanksgiving
       as a living and holy sacrifice,
       in union with Christ’s offering for us,
       as we proclaim the mystery of our faith:
       Christ has died; Christ is risen; Christ will come again.

Pour out your Holy Spirit on these gifts of bread and cup,
that they may be for us the body and blood of Christ.       
Pour out your Holy Spirit on us,
       that we may be for the world the Body of Christ,
       one in your love, one with each other, one in Christ,
       and one in ministry to all the world
       by the power of your Spirit alive in us. Amen.
                                   


2.
The Holy One be with you.
       And also with you.
Lift up your hearts.
       We lift them up to our God.
Let us give thanks to the Holy One our God.
       It is good to give God thanks and praise.

It is our delight to give you our thanks,
for we are born from you, and we bear your loving image.
       We and all living beings are your beloved children.
       You make a Covenant with us, drawing us into your holy family.
       You judge the forces of oppression that divide us, and set us free.
       You walk with us as refugees to a new life you create for us.
       Even though we wander from our home in you,
       you give us Jesus, who like a mother calling her children home,
       invites us back to your table.
       And so we come, singing your praise with all Creation.

[Sung, to the tune of “Jesus Loves Me”]
Holy, holy, holy Lord, source of life and love adored,
Heav’n and earth are radiant with your glory, heaven sent.
Praise God! Hosanna! Praise in the highest.
Blest is the one__ who comes__ in your name.

Blessed are all who come in your name,
and blessed is Jesus, your Christ.
       With humility he comes among us as a child;
       with a call to justice invites us to welcome the children;
       with healing he makes us one family;
       with love he blesses the child within each of us.
With so many of the children of this world, vulnerable and neglected,
he suffered our violence and injustice.        He was crucified, but you raised him from the dead.

[The blessing and Covenant] *

We thank you for your life-giving acts in Jesus Christ.
       Therefore with praise and thanksgiving we offer ourselves
       as a living sacrifice, in union with Christ’s offering for us,
       as we proclaim the mystery of our faith:

[sung]
Dying Christ destroyed our death. Rising Christ restores our life.
Christ will come again in love, With the Spirit, rising Dove.
Alleluia! Alleluia!
Alleluia! Christ, dead and risen, lives!

Pour out your Holy Spirit on these gifts of food,
that they may be for the hungry the body of your love.
Pour out your Holy Spirit on these gifts of read and cup,
that they may be for us the Body and Blood of Christ.       
       Pour out your Holy Spirit on us, that we may be the Body of Christ,
       children of God, who reach out with your love
       to our whole human family.
All glory and honor is yours, loving God, now and forever.
       Amen.

[sung]
As a Mother gathers in all her children, makes them kin,
you unite us in this meal, in the love that you reveal.
Yes, Jesus loves us. Yes, Jesus loves us.
Yes, Jesus loves us: this table tells us so.
                         ______________________

* The Blessing and Covenant
[I usually don’t print the words. I want people to be looking at the bread, not their bulletins.]
On the night in which he gave himself for us,
Jesus took bread, blessed it,. broke it, and gave it to his disciples,
saying, “Take and eat; this is my body.”
In the same way, after the supper he took the cup,
blessed it with thanks and gave it to them, saying,
“Drink of this, all of you. This is my blood,
poured out for you and for many, in a new Covenant,
which is the forgiveness of sin.”
As long as we break this bread and share this cup
we remember his death and resurrection, until he comes again.

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 cherish us as your beloved children. You are gentle and tender with what is fragile in us. You have fed us with your love. Send us in love for all your children, as gentle and loving as you, for the sake of the healing of the world, in the name of Christ. Amen.

2.
…In the love of Christ you make us all one, all who love you, all around the world. Not by our own doing but by your grace, we are one Body. We thank you. Feasting on your one Spirit, fed by your one love, we go as one people, to love and to serve, humbly as children in this world, for the sake of the restoration of our wholeness, to your glory, in the name of Christ. Amen.

Suggested Songs

(Click on titles to view songs on the Music page.)

Child of God (Original song)

I’m a child, a child of God,
God’s beloved in whom God is pleased.
I will live in the peace of God.

You’re a child…

Children of the Heavenly Mother (Tune: Children of the Heavenly Father)

Children of the Heavenly Mother,
gather gladly with each other,
for you call us to your table
bringing gifts as we are able.

You have held us and caressed us,
washed and taught us, healed and blessed us;
now you cherish and adore us
and you set this table for us.*

You have birthed us, and have freed us;
with your body now you feed us.
In this grace, O loving mother,
we are one with one another.

So we praise you, heavenly Mother,
Holy Spirit, Christ our brother,
All Creation sings together
honor, thanks and praise for ever.

* Without communion: “and you set our lives before us.”

Family (Tune: Children of the Heavenly Father)

Children of one loving Mother,
we are each a sister, brother.
In your image, God, you mold us;
in one family, Love, you hold us.

Though we strive with one another,
hurt our sister or our brother,
in our struggles and our wronging
still is blessing and belonging.

We are not alone, but rather,
God, you grant us grace together.
May we learn to love the Other
as our sister-self or brother.

As one family, God, you gather
all your children here together.
Help us shed all walls and labels:
bring us home, Love, to your table.

Jesus, Come Speak to Us [Tune: Fairest Lord Jesus]

God, you have gathered us, hungry for the Bread of Life,
thirsty for waters of flowing grace.
Our broken hearts are yours, open and waiting.
We want to meet you face to face.

Jesus, come speak to us. Sit beside the way with us.
Draw from the well and refresh our souls.
Shine light into our hearts, heal hidden wounds within,
call forth our gifts and make us whole.

Spirit, our Breath of Life, fill us with your grace and truth.
Make us your vessels of love and light.
Flow like a river, welling up within us
with waters of eternal life.


O Faithful God [Tune: Finlandia]

O faithful God, whose steadfast love is sure,
O Loving Father, Mother kind and strong:
your Covenant forever will endure;
you bind us to your heart our whole life long.
No matter how rebellious is your child,
in you we are brought home and reconciled

You hold us, God, in kinship with each other.
We have been loved and held when we would run.
We all are siblings, all born of one Mother;
though we would flee, you join us all as one.
Our deepest wounds come from our deepest love,
and so our highest hope for life above

So teach us God, to bravely love each other,
for all belong within your house of grace,
to give our enemy, who is our brother,
our steadfast mercy, and a wide embrace;
for in our love, though we be right or wrong,
we know the grace to which we all belong.


We Welcome the Child [Original song]

We welcome the child among us.
We welcome the tender ones.
In our embrace we meet your grace,
your gentle love divine.

Welcome to those who are fragile,
a safe healing place to belong,
a shelter from harm, a comforting arm,
a refuge where you may grow strong.

Welcome the child within us,
the small, timid voice in the night,
her wonder and fear at the world so near,
the child of your love and delight.

God, you are a child among us,
no power or might or control.
By your gentle part you soften my heart
and make me a more loving soul.

Your Holy Feast (Tune: “Londonderry Air,” Oh Danny Boy)

Oh healing Christ, you bring us to your table here,
to share with you, and all the ones you love.
We come as one, alike forgiven, healed and dear.
Oh come and bless us, Spirit, tender Dove.
Oh, make us yours, your servants and your lovers.
Oh, make us one, united here in you.
Oh, make us new: the Red Sea lead us over,
and set us free to walk in harmony with you.

Oh, Christ, you come, forgiving, risen from the dead,
in gracious love, that far outlives the grave.
You offer us your life in this, your humble bread,
and in this wine, your love poured out to save.
So fill us with your peace and make us one again.
Oh, fill us with your gentle, freeing love.
Oh risen Christ, draw us into your rising here,
and fill us with your light now dawning from above.

We come to eat the bread of peace you offer us.
We come to drink your resurrecting wine.
We come to feast upon your presence here with us,
and so become your Body as we dine.
So make us whole again, and be our living breath.
Make us your hands, and you will be our nerve.
Oh, risen Christ, we join you, rising up from death,
and by your side we’ll go, made new, to love and serve.